[drboom]

As a former mobile electronics installer, I’ve seen just about every kind of DIY nightmare you can imagine. I’ve also seen a lot of “professional” nightmares: car audio installers are usually just one step up the auto shop evolutionary ladder from the Bondo slingers at body shops. I used to refer to one local shop (long since closed) as The Old Spaghetti Factory after seeing one too many of their alarm installs.

There’s a lot of truth to the article: if you have the slightest doubt about your mechanical ability, leave it to the pros. Myself, I have a ’05 Scion and maintenance doesn’t scare me a bit. Brakes, oil, plugs, belts, and the like are all within the reach of a home mechanic IF you have spent some time turning wrenches and have the ability to follow directions.

Speaking of directions, the Internet is a godsend for DIYers. I downloaded the full shop manual for my car for free (and legally). Back in the bad old days, it would have set me back $50-100 or more and occupied a bunch of shelf space.

[drboom]

As a former mobile electronics installer, I’ve seen just about every kind of DIY nightmare you can imagine. I’ve also seen a lot of “professional” nightmares: car audio installers are usually just one step up the auto shop evolutionary ladder from the Bondo slingers at body shops. I used to refer to one local shop (long since closed) as The Old Spaghetti Factory after seeing one too many of their alarm installs.

There’s a lot of truth to the article: if you have the slightest doubt about your mechanical ability, leave it to the pros. Myself, I have a ’05 Scion and maintenance doesn’t scare me a bit. Brakes, oil, plugs, belts, and the like are all within the reach of a home mechanic IF you have spent some time turning wrenches and have the ability to follow directions.

Speaking of directions, the Internet is a godsend for DIYers. I downloaded the full shop manual for my car for free (and legally). Back in the bad old days, it would have set me back $50-100 or more and occupied a bunch of shelf space.

[drboom]

[quote=North15]
If she has no chance, is so battered and damaged and of no good to anyone, why is she getting so much attention? What is it about Sarah Palin that attracts this level of scrutiny? What are liberals afraid of?[/quote]

I’m a Ron Paul cheerleader. I like my guns big and my government small.

The fact that anyone takes a small-bore populist like Palin seriously for national office is embarassing to me as a conservative and an American.

[drboom]

[quote=North15]
If she has no chance, is so battered and damaged and of no good to anyone, why is she getting so much attention? What is it about Sarah Palin that attracts this level of scrutiny? What are liberals afraid of?[/quote]

I’m a Ron Paul cheerleader. I like my guns big and my government small.

The fact that anyone takes a small-bore populist like Palin seriously for national office is embarassing to me as a conservative and an American.

[drboom]

[quote=North15]
If she has no chance, is so battered and damaged and of no good to anyone, why is she getting so much attention? What is it about Sarah Palin that attracts this level of scrutiny? What are liberals afraid of?[/quote]

I’m a Ron Paul cheerleader. I like my guns big and my government small.

The fact that anyone takes a small-bore populist like Palin seriously for national office is embarassing to me as a conservative and an American.

[drboom]

[quote=North15]
If she has no chance, is so battered and damaged and of no good to anyone, why is she getting so much attention? What is it about Sarah Palin that attracts this level of scrutiny? What are liberals afraid of?[/quote]

I’m a Ron Paul cheerleader. I like my guns big and my government small.

The fact that anyone takes a small-bore populist like Palin seriously for national office is embarassing to me as a conservative and an American.

[drboom]

[quote=North15]
If she has no chance, is so battered and damaged and of no good to anyone, why is she getting so much attention? What is it about Sarah Palin that attracts this level of scrutiny? What are liberals afraid of?[/quote]

I’m a Ron Paul cheerleader. I like my guns big and my government small.

The fact that anyone takes a small-bore populist like Palin seriously for national office is embarassing to me as a conservative and an American.

[drboom]

[quote=CA renter]
Please explain why this would not work.
[/quote]

I wish it would.

I can think of a couple of practical difficulties:

– Who determines the model that determines “highest and best”? Politicians would get involved, and you’d have all kinds of idiocy baked into the model that favored one group over the other. You can bet that “highest and best” would have little to do with “what gets the most money”.

– If there’s one thing I know about big software projects, it’s that they get delivered late and seldom do what they’re supposed to. By the time a decent system came online, we’d be well into the next housing boom.

I see where you’re coming from, but building a whole new infrastructure around a temporary problem doesn’t make a lot of sense. Things will eventually return to business as usual.

[drboom]

[quote=CA renter]
Please explain why this would not work.
[/quote]

I wish it would.

I can think of a couple of practical difficulties:

– Who determines the model that determines “highest and best”? Politicians would get involved, and you’d have all kinds of idiocy baked into the model that favored one group over the other. You can bet that “highest and best” would have little to do with “what gets the most money”.

– If there’s one thing I know about big software projects, it’s that they get delivered late and seldom do what they’re supposed to. By the time a decent system came online, we’d be well into the next housing boom.

I see where you’re coming from, but building a whole new infrastructure around a temporary problem doesn’t make a lot of sense. Things will eventually return to business as usual.

[drboom]

[quote=CA renter]
Please explain why this would not work.
[/quote]

I wish it would.

I can think of a couple of practical difficulties:

– Who determines the model that determines “highest and best”? Politicians would get involved, and you’d have all kinds of idiocy baked into the model that favored one group over the other. You can bet that “highest and best” would have little to do with “what gets the most money”.

– If there’s one thing I know about big software projects, it’s that they get delivered late and seldom do what they’re supposed to. By the time a decent system came online, we’d be well into the next housing boom.

I see where you’re coming from, but building a whole new infrastructure around a temporary problem doesn’t make a lot of sense. Things will eventually return to business as usual.

[drboom]

[quote=CA renter]
Please explain why this would not work.
[/quote]

I wish it would.

I can think of a couple of practical difficulties:

– Who determines the model that determines “highest and best”? Politicians would get involved, and you’d have all kinds of idiocy baked into the model that favored one group over the other. You can bet that “highest and best” would have little to do with “what gets the most money”.

– If there’s one thing I know about big software projects, it’s that they get delivered late and seldom do what they’re supposed to. By the time a decent system came online, we’d be well into the next housing boom.

I see where you’re coming from, but building a whole new infrastructure around a temporary problem doesn’t make a lot of sense. Things will eventually return to business as usual.

[drboom]

[quote=CA renter]
Please explain why this would not work.
[/quote]

I wish it would.

I can think of a couple of practical difficulties:

– Who determines the model that determines “highest and best”? Politicians would get involved, and you’d have all kinds of idiocy baked into the model that favored one group over the other. You can bet that “highest and best” would have little to do with “what gets the most money”.

– If there’s one thing I know about big software projects, it’s that they get delivered late and seldom do what they’re supposed to. By the time a decent system came online, we’d be well into the next housing boom.

I see where you’re coming from, but building a whole new infrastructure around a temporary problem doesn’t make a lot of sense. Things will eventually return to business as usual.

[drboom]

[quote=pri_dk]We won’t have to wait until 2012 to prove this prediction:

She’s going to Fox News.

She had a choice to finish out her term in a declining economy, or join Rush and the gang making huge money in the conservative media.

[/quote]

Agreed–Fox, or something like it.

I can’t blame her if she decided to get some financial security for her family. This is definitely the time to do it: she’s a hot commodity right now, but if she waits too long she might miss her chance to cash in.

Good luck to her and her family. But I gotta say that bailing out like this lowers my opinion of her as a public servant even further, a feat I didn’t think possible.

[drboom]

[quote=pri_dk]We won’t have to wait until 2012 to prove this prediction:

She’s going to Fox News.

She had a choice to finish out her term in a declining economy, or join Rush and the gang making huge money in the conservative media.

[/quote]

Agreed–Fox, or something like it.

I can’t blame her if she decided to get some financial security for her family. This is definitely the time to do it: she’s a hot commodity right now, but if she waits too long she might miss her chance to cash in.

Good luck to her and her family. But I gotta say that bailing out like this lowers my opinion of her as a public servant even further, a feat I didn’t think possible.

[drboom]

[quote=pri_dk]We won’t have to wait until 2012 to prove this prediction:

She’s going to Fox News.

She had a choice to finish out her term in a declining economy, or join Rush and the gang making huge money in the conservative media.

[/quote]

Agreed–Fox, or something like it.

I can’t blame her if she decided to get some financial security for her family. This is definitely the time to do it: she’s a hot commodity right now, but if she waits too long she might miss her chance to cash in.

Good luck to her and her family. But I gotta say that bailing out like this lowers my opinion of her as a public servant even further, a feat I didn’t think possible.

[Author]

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