State of the Union

[spdrun]

You can get the free WiFi thermostat, and put switches in parallel for manual extra heat/cool. Best of both worlds — you get a discount from the power company, and you can still control HVAC if you want to. Haha.

[flyer]

As I mentioned before, I also admire the way you’ve lived your life and raised your kids, BG. They should be proud to have you as their Mom.

Like you, we made sure our kids were clued in with regard to the economic realities of life, and, even though we did, and continue to do a lot for them, they take nothing for granted and, for the most part, have made their way in life on their own merits.

In our opinion, many of our kids peers (even college grads) from what some would call “privileged” backgrounds have “failed to launch” because they couldn’t cope with life outside of the cocoon.

They grew up with Mom and Dad telling them that life is like school–if you jump through all the hoops–you’ll get exactly what you want. When they find out this isn’t true in the real world–many cave.

Relating this to the op, I think the actual “State of the Union” may be a wake-up call for many, and, possibly, just what they need to face the realities of the future.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=FlyerInHi]Congrats, BG. You’re a doer, not a whiner.

About wifi thermostat, I think you have an older house where then C wire is often not connected, or even existing for that matter. If you connected the C wire, then my hat’s off to you.

BTW, SDGE installs free ecobee wifi thermostats. But they can up your temperature in the summer, if you run AC. Which one did you get?

Learning to be your own general contractor takes time. I suppose knowledge is why contractors charge a lot like doctors or lawyers. Since i started remodeling places, I’ve built a pretty good “rollodex” (really a smart phone). Whenever i see people doing work, I stop, talk to them and get phone numbers.

On the issue of spoiling kids, the worse is enabling substance abuse, bailing out of jail, etc….[/quote]

FIH, my house was remodeled 23-24 years ago with five wires from the furnace to the thermostat. It is wired and ducted for A/C but I do not have one. The yellow wire is still unused. The previous owner used the blue wire for the fan (instead of the green one) so I did, too. The green one is the common wire, which I hooked up to “C.” The red (heat?) and white (aux) wires match their posts on the new one. The mfr inserted a loop wire between the (secondary) r and rh posts and I left it there because I do not need those.

Surprisingly, two of the videos I watched on how to install this particular model featured “can-do” females (Honeywell employee?)

I got it brand new from a private (out-of-state) seller on Amazon for $100 + $5 postage ($80 – $100 off) because there is currently a newer model out for $200 to $220. He only had 13 and they all sold out in less than 4 hours. I needed it for just heat at present so I really don’t need all the features this one has. I programmed it online at their mytotalconnectcomfort.com site. Here is the model:

http://yourhome.honeywell.com/en/products/thermostat/wi-fi-9000-7-day-programmable-thermostat

http://yourhome.honeywell.com/en/products/thermostat

The first pic shows it in its default “blue” color but it has about a dozen screen colors to choose from.

Even though it’s pretty “conspicuous” on the wall, lol, I love it so far. I’ll like it better if I go on winter trips and want to check on it or program it from afar. It replaces the (failed) 2009 version (link below), which I also installed myself back then, to replace a HUGE boxy thermostat with bottom levers:

http://yourhome.honeywell.com/en/products/thermostat/7-day-programmable-rth2510b1000

**********************************************

Oh yeah. I know of boomers and seniors who continually bailed their forty-something kids out of jail (all due to repeat drug charges) … that is, until they no longer could. By then, it was too late. They used their own retirement funds to do so and two of them even had bondsmen liens on their own homes due to their wayward kids’ FTA in court. They should have never gotten involved in their kids’ problems to begin with.

You’re right. Having that type of “kid” has got to be way worse than having a kid stupid enough to have repeat (unplanned) kids of their own without any means to support them.

[NotCranky]

[quote=FlyerInHi

I also think anger is more psychological than real (because anger comes from within). Contentment over time seems to be based in the share of the pie rather the size of the slice. Anger seems most concentrated among low-educated White men. They are not living any worse than in the past but their status has eroded as our national attention has turned to other issues. Immigration used to bring new entrants who had to work their way up over a couple genererations. Now, new immigrants can leapfrog over the natives in a few years.

But ever the working class live better than they used to. The pickup trucks they drive are pretty luxurious compared the old ones of the 1970s.

If anger is psychologically self-induced, it can also be self-healed if one takes time to self reflect.[/quote]
I totally agree about anger and the psychological underpinnings, The same thing could be said for hubris. It has been said that anger is a form if temporary insanity. Maybe hubris is similar in some ways even if it is more sociable.

[FlyerInHi]

[quote=Blogstar]
I totally agree about anger and the psychological underpinnings, The same thing could be said for hubris. It has been said that anger is a form if temporary insanity. Maybe hubris is similar in some ways even if it is more sociable.[/quote]

Oh hohoho… Man that hurts. Could you please be kinder and call it pride?

[NotCranky]

[quote=FlyerInHi][quote=Blogstar]
I totally agree about anger and the psychological underpinnings, The same thing could be said for hubris. It has been said that anger is a form if temporary insanity. Maybe hubris is similar in some ways even if it is more sociable.[/quote]

Oh hohoho… Man that hurts. Could you please be kinder and call it pride?[/quote]
Fuck No!

[paramount]

“Anyone claiming that America’s economy is in decline is peddling fiction.”

“Read my lips no new taxes”

[no_such_reality]

[quote=bearishgurl][quote=spdrun]Agreed. Toss the ACA into the sewer. Replace with a base level of public insurance. Done.[/quote]

Between October and December 2015, three out of eight of my “renowned” longtime SD providers have elected to “retire” and close up shop. Two of them cited in letters that their decisions were not based upon their age but the fact that they were unable to keep their offices open due to the low reimbursements from Covered CA plans as well as Medi-Cal (from the one provider who accepted it).

I guess I’ll be out on the hunt sometime this year to replace two of them. They’ve all offered referrals to their patients.

It’s going to get ugly out there, folks. Put yourself in a medical provider’s place (who has fairly high overhead and often has to pay their own malpractice ins premiums). Especially one with 40+ years of experience who has made a name for themselves.[/quote]

That’s what they say, however, participating in a plan is voluntary on part of the provider. My current plan is really good, providers are happy when they see it, yet it has some of the lowest reimbursement rates I’ve seen.

The real problem , IMHO, is that the rate has gone down (significantly for non insured), and the work load has gone up massively. My dentist is a good example, they’ve extended their hours, added hygienists and weekend hours and they’re still booked. My doctor is the same way. It has gone from being able to get a appointment next week if needed to four weeks out and if it’s more urgent, head to urgent care.

But in a nutshell, extending coverage has changed it, instead of $200/unit they make $150, or maybe $125, and if they started taking Some other plans, maybe $100/unit. And demand went from 6 hours of patients scheduled in their office to a full waiting room with twelve hours of patients trying to squeeze in.

[FlyerInHi]

[quote=Blogstar][quote=FlyerInHi][quote=Blogstar]
I totally agree about anger and the psychological underpinnings, The same thing could be said for hubris. It has been said that anger is a form if temporary insanity. Maybe hubris is similar in some ways even if it is more sociable.[/quote]

Oh hohoho… Man that hurts. Could you please be kinder and call it pride?[/quote]
Fuck No![/quote]

I was thinking about this on my way back to SD.

Is humility a natural human trait or is it socially affected? Maybe cavemen were more prone to emotions such as anger and hubris.

[FlyerInHi]

BG, I have the same Honeywell thermostat in my own residence. It looks good/high tech, plus you can see the temp from across the room. I don’t like that it clicks and that if doesn’t have an occupancy sensor for auto-away. I think the Nest is a better thermostat for a family with people coming and going all day. You would save more energy with the Nest (maybe not in San Diego, but in hot/cold areas where hvac is needed almost year round).

Congrats on figuring out the wires. It looks like C was already hooked up at the furnace so you just had to connect at the thermostat. Some newer places, like 2004-2008, don’t even have C connected anywhere at all.

And this brings up technology. Maybe some people suffer angst because tech is moving too fast. It’s not like the old days of carbureted cars when any dude could be a mechanic. Now, you have to be a nerd to figure out cars with complex electronics.

[NotCranky]

[quote=FlyerInHi][quote=Blogstar][quote=FlyerInHi][quote=Blogstar]
I totally agree about anger and the psychological underpinnings, The same thing could be said for hubris. It has been said that anger is a form if temporary insanity. Maybe hubris is similar in some ways even if it is more sociable.[/quote]

Oh hohoho… Man that hurts. Could you please be kinder and call it pride?[/quote]
Fuck No![/quote]

I was thinking about this on my way back to SD.

Is humility a natural human trait or is it socially affected? Maybe cavemen were more prone to emotions such as anger and hubris.[/quote]

It doesn’t seem to me that cavemen would be more prone to these things, like anger and hubris , than modern people, or less either. Hubris is awful, but gets treated pretty well in the U.S. We have anger management courses ordered by courts sometimes, but hubris management is not even on the radar. Hubris orgies of various types are even in fashion. Show a little anger and you are a monster, flaunt hubris and you are in like Flynn.

[NotCranky]

I think you might enjoy this commentary, Brian . IT might even be on topic.
http://www.forbes.com/2009/08/24/hubris-gamblers-ruin-leadership-managing-varghese.html

[FlyerInHi]

[quote=Blogstar]I think you might enjoy this commentary, Brian . IT might even be on topic.
http://www.forbes.com/2009/08/24/hubris-gamblers-ruin-leadership-managing-varghese.html

[/quote]

That was a good article. I love the reference to Greek mythology. I used to read the stories as boy and I forgot the story of Ajax.

As far as being on topic, I think that we, in America, have to right to celebrate what did we right and our current state of the union. Our academics advocated intervention to pull the country out of recession; and we did that very well, considering the political headwinds and how other advanced countries managed their affairs. A little bit of vainglory.

But I agree that there is a lot chest pounding, pride, vainglory and hubris in America. Humility is often seen as defeatism, so you have to speak the language that most people understand.

[quote=Blogstar]

Still not happy about our war mongering ways.

North Korea may be bad but do you have to dedicate my kids school social studies time to show cold war style propaganda films against that country with all that is going on in the world?[/quote]

Now war mongering is hubris. Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, were big disasters. The costs didn’t justify the wars.

The proxy war in Syria that is destroying lives and creating millions of refugees… a real human tragedy that didn’t need to happen.

This is a linked article to the link .
After hubris, comeuppance. The Gods are watching!

http://www.herblondon.org/1384/the-dangers-of-hubris

[FlyerInHi]

Oil is cheap, the US Dollar is strong. Americans should be traveling the world and feeling good about us. The world is on sale for us.

Our economy is the best performing in the developed world. Why are so many people not feeling good about our status in the world?

[spdrun]

Because none of this translates into a lot of money in the pocket of the average American sheep. Hence the support for GOP idiots.

[Author]

Posts