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[quote=flu][quote=Hobie]Home Depot sells water pressure gauge ~$12. The pressure nut is double nutted meaning you have to loosen the lock nut first, then loosen the pressure bolt. Flow some water and recheck gauge. Easy.

You might keep an eye on the gauge when someone in the house turns on faucet. Should be same pressure. If it drops=bad regulator.

If you guys are so inclined, and want to spend about $400, you can install another pressure regular just after the meter. This will reduce the pressure to the landscaping. Advantage is less atomization at the spray heads. Bigger raindrops=more gets on the ground.

Another way is the install a smaller pressure reducer at the beginning of each sprinkler manifold.[/quote]

amazon has plenty of them

For example…

i bought mine at a local ACE Hardware.

I haven’t changed my regulator/shutoff valve yet.[/quote]
Home depot had what I needed. 100 psi and the pressure didn’t change when I loosened the screw. Now it leaks as well so definitely need to replace the regulator. Only lasted seven years. Thanks to both of you for your help.

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Not nearly handy enough to do something like this myself but I would like to test if my water regulator failed. After replacing two toilet refill kits in less than a month, I think the water pressure is too high, seems higher than before.

So I need to buy a pressure monitor kit and measure the water pressure, then try reducing the water pressure by turning a screw counter clockwise. I can measure at the outside hose bib?

And if it doesn’t go down then I need a plumber to change the regulator.

Thanks

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Once you start seeing targeted ads based on private conversations, it would be fairly obvious that Amazon is spying so they can’t really do that. I’d worry more about the government spying.

You can decide if you want to be a wuss and have Alexa alert 911 to save your life or get eaten alive by your cat. I don’t have a problem calling 911 if there is an emergency.

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I’d rather live with spyware. The specific “Alexa” keyword is processed locally and sent to cloud if that phrase is heard so its listening 24/7 but not spying 24/7. Just sends the phrase that you say after “Alexa” to the cloud. Since Amazon allows third party services it’s easier to process in the cloud rather than Amazon having to update each echo device. Preferable to do it this way instead of installing third party apps on the echos because the true worry to me would be if the firmware on the device gets hacked and then it could be spying on you 24/7.

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Sure it could be creepy to have microphones always on. Doesn’t bother me. If Amazon adds additional skills for emergency services, I think it will go from entertainment/cool device to a life saving device. Currently you can add a skill for “I’ve fallen and can’t get up” emergencies to send a text but it would be better to alert 911 directly.

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Home automation is great with the Amazon ecosystem but it is more useful when you have more devices automated and then it gets really expensive. Have four echos to cover most living areas. I’ve automated the hot water recirculating pump, ecobee thermostat, entertainment system, and five lights so far but so much more to add.

Main use is still music which is much better now that Amazon removed the limitation of playing prime music from one device at a time.

Bought two Google Home’s as well but really disappointed in them. Can’t even tell it to play a song you uploaded to Google Music.

Really loving the hands free listening of music on demand and turning on/off lights and temp control of heat/ac. Entertainment center and hot water is nice too much not as useful.

Also you can use the echo to order some things at an additional discount which is nice since they usually do it for home automation stuff that works with Echo.

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[quote=djc][quote=plm][quote=flu][quote=djc][quote=plm][quote=FlyerInHi]I think technically Mello Roos is not tax deductible. But people do it anyway.[/quote]

I think there was come clarification by the IRS that the mello roos are tax deductible in response to something CA tried to do.[/quote]

Reviving this old thread.

Anyone have further info on the above? This impacts me this tax year. :)[/quote]

they already ruled on it…since 2012

http://www.bubbleinfo.com/2012/04/16/mello-roos-is-deductible-now/%5B/quote%5D

My interpretation from the ruling is that it can be deductible, doesn’t mean that it is definitely deductible. Just that the State ruling mello roos as not deductible is wrong. That being said, I think it should be deductible but for most people it doesn’t matter because of AMT.[/quote]

Doesn’t AMT only kick in for high earners or is there something I’m missing?[/quote]

I would guess AMT would start for upper middle class. Since your probably need at least an upper middle class income to buy properties with mello roos, I would guess most people would be affected by AMT. But if you are a high earner then you may already pay a high tax rate so AMT doesn’t affect you.

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Now that I think about it, I made a mistake with paying property tax. I thought that I should make both payments this year because fed income taxes could be lower next year so it would be a bigger benefit. But I forgot about AMT, so there is no benefit paying both payments this year. I should have only made the first payment this year because AMT may go away next year. I’m pretty bad with financial stuff.

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[quote=flu][quote=djc][quote=plm][quote=FlyerInHi]I think technically Mello Roos is not tax deductible. But people do it anyway.[/quote]

I think there was come clarification by the IRS that the mello roos are tax deductible in response to something CA tried to do.[/quote]

Reviving this old thread.

Anyone have further info on the above? This impacts me this tax year. :)[/quote]

they already ruled on it…since 2012

http://www.bubbleinfo.com/2012/04/16/mello-roos-is-deductible-now/%5B/quote%5D

My interpretation from the ruling is that it can be deductible, doesn’t mean that it is definitely deductible. Just that the State ruling mello roos as not deductible is wrong. That being said, I think it should be deductible but for most people it doesn’t matter because of AMT.

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Unrelated topic but have anyone heard of or used Investools? TD Ameritrade will give me three years of this in addition to a gift card for putting more money into my account.

Don’t know much about investing in the stock market, so I should probably do it but don’t want to waste my time or be scammed. Seems like it does training and all kinds of fancy charts.

Thanks

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[quote=AN]There’s a difference between trying to time the market by staying in cash for a long extended period time to buy and sell at the time you think its optimal and to not participate in the market for a few days while you wait for an event to occur that can potentially crater the market. Once the event happened, then you’d buy back in at whatever price it is. That’s not timing the market. That’s just remove risk from your portfolio for a short period of time.[/quote]

Yes timing the market for a long duration is much worse than what you did which is more like risk adversion. But I would think most people who sold did not get back in right away like you did missing out on the rally. My problem was as the market kept going up without a correction, I stayed out since it just seemed more likely that there would be a correction.

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I don’t think it’s a good idea to time the market having made the mistake of keeping cash instead of investing it because I thought the market was due for a correction for years. I’ve put money in over the last six months and will continue to do so even though my returns have not been very good lately. Trump wasn’t good for my tech stocks. Buying bank stocks now, hopefully that’s the right move. Or is there a better sector to invest in?

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[quote=flu]Hey. Plm. Just fyi. My T-Mobile phone works great at SFO now. Either they improved the coverage or there was something seriously wrong with my other phone :)[/quote]

Good to know. Have fun in SF.

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[quote=bearishgurl][quote=spdrun]For either price, I’d take the fucking BART.[/quote]So would I (and exit Daly City to board the SamTrans bus line which goes to the SFO – not sure about CalTrain but I don’t think so). Also, (mostly business-type) hotels in SSF, Colma (Serramonte area), Millbrae, Burlingame and the Brisbane Business Park (just south of Candlestick Park, facing the bay) have their own shuttles to/from SFO. So do many hotels in SF but I have found the ones which have airport shuttles to be too expensive.

I almost always drive to SF. When I don’t stay with my kid(s), I have stayed in the Beresford and Beresford Arms (BA has very large rooms). They used to comp guests in the commercial parking lots they used for valet parking (normally $20+ daily). The guest just needs tips for the valet. They also have a nice wine and cheese buffet laid out for guests between 3:00 and 5:00 pm daily :=]

I’ve also stayed at the Holiday Inn at the Wharf. It has (cramped) free parking for guests but its rooms are very small.

The other hotels I’ve stayed in up there were in the SFO cities, mentioned above. They are out of the city so have more room (and free parking for guests) but a guest in those hotels really needs a car at their disposal (whether their own or rented).

Another thing … Many hotels in SF and near SFO are quite old and some are a bit remote (ex: the Brisbane). As such, they didn’t have wifi in the rooms when I stayed there. You can attach your computer to their network via CAT 5 cable (provided on the desk in the room). I carry a longer CAT 5 wire with me if I plan to stay in a hotel like this so I can use my computer in different parts of the room. Their lobbies DO have wifi and a computer room with printers and sending/receiving faxes is free at the Beresfords’ front desks.[/quote]

You might want to invest in a travel router for when there is no wifi. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RVIGY1I?tag=hootoo-us09-20

I have the older model so don’t know how this one is but it takes care of all my needs, wifi router, charger, battery bank, transfer files.

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[quote=spdrun]For either price, I’d take the fucking BART.[/quote]

This is in San Diego where there isn’t much public transportation. I wouldn’t take public transportation anyhow. Not much benefit unless its faster than cars.

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