Libertad's journal on e:strip™ - Buffalo, NY's Original Neighborhood Blogging Community (estrip v5.0)

10/03/08 09:36 - 47ºF - ID#4591458 Degrees

58 Degrees is the temperature in my house right now and I am freezing. I have known this was coming all summer and have been thinking about how to make my home more efficient.

I want to have my furnace serviced. Does anyone know of a good service person to do this? Is this something I should ask the landlord to pay for? If not I would rather just pay it myself because I'm sure it hasn't been done in years and I want it to be safe and efficient. I did have a carbon monoxide issue in my last house!

I also want to have vent-less gas fireplace logs installed in the fireplace. There is a gas hook up already. Do you think this is something that the service person could also connect or should I just do it myself? The gas key is kind of old and when I put my nose down to it you can sometimes smell a tint of gas coming from the key.

I have three large windows I want to cover with plastic. The window sills are wood so I don't want to ruin them. I'm thinking of making wood frames and covering those with plastic and inserting them into the window frame. I don't have a saw and am not so handy but am usually willing to try new things so I might give it a shot. I'm just wondering if this will be much more of a task than I can handle. I don't know what would be the best wood for making such a frame. I'm also wondering if making these inserts would be cost effective. Of course a saw would be an investment. I don't need a power saw of anything.

I'm also looking to buy at least one other electric space heater. I saw one at Lowes that uses radiant heat.

Not sure how I feel about that. They also have electric fireplaces. I saw one for about $80.

So hopefully it will be warmer in here soon. For now I refuse to turn on the heat!

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metalpeter writes at 07:44:16 10/03/08 - Comment #39632

The only thing I can say is I wouldn't do the gas thing your self, some stuff is fine but you don't want to make a tiny mistake with gas that could be deadly or if there is even just a small leak get you sick.

libertad writes at 06:52:19 10/03/08 - Comment #39626

Thanks for the recommendation guys. I checked out their website and they do seem to be a decent operation. They even have pictures of the workers. I'm going to contact them.

dcoffee, that thing that Paul has is a ventless gas stove which is more or less like the logs. These ventless systems have some device on it so they don't emit dangerous amounts of co2. They actually use up oxygen in your home and at the same time produce moisture. They say it is best to crack a window slightly while using them. Teh benefit of ventless systems is that they are very efficient. I'll have to check out that Am 1520, I usually listen to 970.

joshua writes at 05:07:09 10/03/08 - Comment #39621

If it helps, since for a lot of people this means a lot - the guy that came up to the office to speak to my boss looked clean and seemed experienced and professional. They have nice, fully equipped trucks they ride around in as well so it is no cracker jack operation.

joshua writes at 05:00:57 10/03/08 - Comment #39620

My boss just had a Reimer guy in this week. I heard about a $79 furnace tune-up deal on the radio also - maybe that is up your alley?

dcoffee writes at 03:00:25 10/03/08 - Comment #39619

I always hear about this Wizard of comfort guy, Reimer Heating and Air Conditioning, not sure if that is spelled right. They always advertise on am1520. But I'm going on advertising, not personal knowledge, so I don't know. But they claim to be inexpensive and professional. Change the filter too, that improves the efficiency, apparently you should do it every year. We have one of those radiant electric heaters, it works well. You can turn it on high to warm it up, then lower it just to keep it hot. Not sure about the efficiency since electric is included in our current apartment. About plasticing the windows, sometimes there is a draft that comes from the outside of the window frame. Check it on a breezy day to see if you need to tape the plastic to the wall and cover the whole window frame. I wanna know what Paul has in that one fireplace. I was there last Halloween and that heater was nice and warm. Is that the zero emissions Natural gas heater? We may be buying a house soon, so I'm keenly interested in this topic too.

libertad writes at 02:19:44 10/03/08 - Comment #39618

I actually haven't ever turned on the furnace. I'm definitely changing the filter it is gross, but from what I have been reading you should have your furnace serviced every year. They clean out the parts and adjust the flames to make it more efficient. They say this alone can save you 10%.

paul writes at 10:03:08 10/03/08 - Comment #39599

Did you try changing the furnice filter. That usually makes a difference.

Words: 373 -- , NY

10/09/08 20:53 - 61ºF - ID#46031Here we go

I have already been touched by the "economic crisis". My hours at work have been cut 8 hours a week. While this won't put me under because I have a diversification of income, it is certainly an indication that our futures are looking darker. As an employee of the state, my position did not look good but since the fall of the stock market it looks much bleaker. I *believe* that I will have a job and health insurance for at least a year.

One good thing is that my private student loan's rate will go down even further as result of knee jerk rate cuts. I have been paying more than my minimum payment and will do my best to continue as I am afraid of the rate going back up. I'm wishing that somehow the government might come and bail me out but I'm not holding my breath. I think that the "bailout" is really not going to help me at all. The news blames all of this on irresponsible lenders and irresponsible borrowers but I blame the entire system. I blame our war spending and allowing capitalism to rage out of control. I also blame our country for this crisis. This whole problem is that we never think of the future only of the moment and what will make us most comfortable in that moment. I guess I do it too, I am just as much a part of the problem.

Well here we go. The fall in services to our country is almost certainly going to snowball this into a full-blown depression. We seriously need drastic change to help pull us out of this. The change we needed was not to give those greedy bastards a bailout. It is not going to work! We needed that money they gave to bail them out to apply to services to put people to work. Recession my ass.

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metalpeter writes at 06:18:51 10/10/08 - Comment #40028

I'm not saying Bill Maher says everything I agree with, but two points he does bring up is that if we weren't in this war we would have money to spend on other things. Yes that is true but we wouldn't have as much as people think. We are spending more on the war then would get spent on other things that are not a war, and some of that money goes into the military anyways that is counted. His other point (this is kinda true and kinda not true) is that America Doesn't make anything anymore. I think there is a lot of truth to that. The reason for this is the same reason for the crash...............................
Greed. What Happens is companies out source, or have parts of what they made produced in other countries where it is cheaper. Yes profit is the goal but in the words of Steven Segal "how much is enough" (if you know the movie then you know what I mean). In other words Profit should be balanced what is good for the company, the workers and the country. Maybe the United States should close itself off like China Did in the past. The problem with the global economy is if a slave in a South African Jail can make 1,000 for the price it costs to make one some place else the prison label will get used by the greedy. So what happens is some country with low standards brings everyone else down them, I know it isn't that simple but I think it is very true.

vincent writes at 09:40:44 10/10/08 - Comment #39998

I'm sorry to hear about you losing a good amount of hours. The problem is that this state is a one trick pony economically speaking, living and dying with what Wall St makes or loses. It was fine when things were flying, but in lean times we're scrambling.

gardenmama writes at 09:09:36 10/10/08 - Comment #39996

Sorry to hear about your work - unfortunately, they almost always go after the part-timers first. I think sometimes that's a union issue - not sure though. I'm a city (Board of Ed) employee and they operate the same way. I imagine with the way things are going in the financial and political arenas, once the budget cutting starts to trickle down further, the District will likely start to have some fall-out from this too.

Job uncertainty sucks, at best. Good luck.

libertad writes at 08:56:11 10/10/08 - Comment #39995

tiny, no it wasn't just me. They cut all part-timers who were working more than 20 hours a week down to 20 (minimum number of hours). I'm pretty sure they are cutting down some team lead hours too, but I'm not really sure as they all are full-time.

imk2 writes at 09:56:52 10/09/08 - Comment #39969

wow, i should have gone out there and been even more irresponsible than i am right now. i could have gotten a nice house that i couldnt really afford paid for by the government. what a way to teach greedy, glutonous, wannabe's that they shouldn't behave that way.

(i know, i know, they're not paying for people's homes, but you know what i mean)

tinypliny writes at 09:42:53 10/09/08 - Comment #39964

:( Did they cut hours from everyone's shift?

jason writes at 09:09:34 10/09/08 - Comment #39952

PS - The "are you shitting me" was just a general outburst, and not aimed at you personally. Ehehe. You know how internet context goes sometimes...

jason writes at 09:08:06 10/09/08 - Comment #39951

First off, I'm really sorry to hear about your hours cut at work. I hope you can replace that income with something else in the meantime. With our state having such a deficit I'm sure this isn't the first time people are going to feel the pain, and on top of that, like a sledgehammer we have this crisis to deal with.

I don't know if the bailout is going to help us or not. Certainly I think the system has failed, no doubt, after all what is the point of regulation if it isn't enforced? I totally agree, the system has failed us, and to make matters worse the people in charge are the most self centered generation in American history.

So you and I are going to have to, and I'm sorry I have to use this phrase again, wipe their asses. We have to clean up this mess in the long run. You're damned right I'm angry. And you are a million percent on point with your observation about how we don't plan for the future. Our parents are flipping us the bird, and I hope we don't make the same mistake with our kids.

I know one thing, my confidence isn't high right now. I don't think the war spending is to blame, although we should be pissed we have to shoulder that burden as well, but how can we trust the government when they are in cahoots with the crooks?!? Are you shitting me??!

Words: 326 -- , NY

10/12/08 01:06 - 53ºF - ID#46072Explosive gas

Tomorrow is my last Sunday I have to work before my hours are cut. I really should be in bed right now, but i don't really feel like it. It is so great to have Sundays again and to be able to go my Buddhist monthly meeting at our community center they have once a month.

My gas is completely shut off right now because their was a gas leak coming from the fireplace. This is before I installed the gas logs I just bought. Now I may have to return them because the piping that needs to be replaced is accessed through the downstairs neighbors ceiling! I really don't know if my landlord will decide to restore the gas to my fireplace or just cap the fuel lines from the basement preventing me from ever using the gas logs and thus being freezing cold all season. The pipes are original so it is no surprise that they were leaking. Of course this happens on a 3 day weekend and the landlord is away at a wedding. Coincidentally, my landlord and his girlfriend moved out from downstairs and we have new neighbors. They are really awesome and I hate that one of the options that can be done is making a hole into their ceiling to access the piping that needs to be replaced to get our gas back on. My new neighbors were nice enough to let me use their dryer today which was so great cause then I didn't have to go to the laundromat.

Another weird thing about my apartment is the high humidity. I don't understand why it is like that in here because downstairs downstairs apartment is not like that at all. Every morning there is fog on all the windows especially in my bedroom. I don't really know what I can do to correct this problem so if anyone has experience dealing with this let me know. Now it seems that I will just have to get used to being damp. It may just be something that corrects itself over the winter. I did make an appointment to have my furnace serviced and it was $40 which is much cheaper than Remier and also I was told not to use Remier from a good friend who had used them and had a pretty bad experience and at least heard of others who had other problems with them. Remier wouldn't install my gas logs and the other one would but I'm not sure for how much. I really hope I don't have to return them because they would be so awesome to have! The National Fuel man that came today really seemed to think so to and I think he felt pretty bad turning all of our gas off.

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Words: 470 -- , NY

10/19/08 19:30 - 49ºF - ID#46196Somber beach day

Today we went to Fort Desoto to go to the beach with my Grandma from NY. My mom's cousin Erin or my Grandma's sisters' daughter was supposed to come and meet us there. Mike and I were swimming and when we were done I could see something was wrong with my Grandma. My sister then told me that Erin's sister had died and Erin had just found her body in her house. This is right before she was supposed to come to the beach. Her death was alcohol related. I'm really glad that my Grandmother just happened to be there about 20 minutes away from Erin at the time because Erin and her sister's parents both died a few years ago. My Grandma is really sad of course. Her and my mom left the beach to go be with Erin and Mike and I got a ride home with my sister.

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Words: 155 -- , NY

10/20/08 09:47 - 46ºF - ID#46207Tyranny of the majority

Florida will be decidiing on Amendment 2 which would place a state constitutional ban on gay marriage. Of course it is going to pass and some would say well that is OK because the voters decided. I say though that it should not be put to the majority. For exmaple, if Florida decided that they wanted to make a constitutional amendment baring interacial marriages it may very well pass but nonetheless would be an infringment of rights.

Really, I believe that the only reason these "Amendments" come up on the voting block is to encourage the social conservatives to vote. We (homosexuals) become pawns used for political gain. Meanwhile they get to publicly bash gays via the media and compare us to pedophiles and rapists.

I wrote this post becuase for some reason I duplicated my last post and I wanted to delete it without lowering the numbers.

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Words: 149 -- , NY

10/21/08 14:25 - 41ºF - ID#46233Sullivan Heating and Cooling

So Sullivan Heating and Cooling came to do a check on my furnace.

The man who came was Jerry Sullivan JR which I thought was impressive. Because I initiated them to come, my landlord paid to have mine and our new neighbors checked at the same time. He found that the neighbors furnace was reading 20ppm of carbon monoxide! The furnace will have to be replaced. My furnace was OK. So just a reminder people, every year your furnace should be checked. BTW, my carbon monoxide detector did not go off and we are above our neighbors. The girl said that she was feeling tired the last few weeks since they had the heat on. The price of the check was $40 compared to Remier who wanted like $80. Maybe Remier does something more than Sullivan, I don't know.

Oh and my hot water tank almost exploded while I was gone so I got a new one! Yeah! I think the new one will be much more efficient than the 14 year old one. Still gotta get the energy to put plastic on my windows. I tried making a frame for one of the windows but my craftsmanship fell apart because I didn't have long enough screws to hold it all together. Lots of stuff to do!

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Words: 220 -- , NY

10/24/08 08:58 - 39ºF - ID#46296NFTA fare increase?

NFTA wants to raise their fares to $2 a trip. If the increase does not go through, or the state does not raise their funding, then they will be forced to make cuts in service.

Current bus fares are $1.50 so this would be a 25% increase.

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ajay writes at 12:32:46 10/30/08 - Comment #41303

MUNI fares in SF are $1.50 .
But it is subsidised by the City, so maybe that's why the fares are low...

museumchick writes at 06:54:06 10/27/08 - Comment #41032

Albany only charges a dollar as fare for most bus routes. Two dollars can hit people kind of hard if they ride the bus regularly.

metalpeter writes at 06:08:11 10/24/08 - Comment #40913

I read about this some time ago. I think it is in the news again because there is some type of public comments on it and some meeting somewhere and at sometime soon I think. NFTA Claims that they are hurting for money, I know it sounds crazy. But don't they run the Airport and they owned land on the waterfront and to try and save money the bought a lot of new buses. I think where there big cost comes in is Bus Drivers. From what I have heard it is a pretty well paying job. I hope they don't raise the price but I'm sure they will, from what I heard they will do it as a two step program and it won't go up 50 cents right away. The other question is how much will transfers cost and how much will each additional zone cost?

james writes at 11:01:23 10/24/08 - Comment #40881

Well, with the price of gas coming down what are they supposed to do?

Oh ya, the opposite.

mrmike writes at 09:40:12 10/24/08 - Comment #40876

It's pretty greedy and follows the Thruway authority logic. More people have taken to buses, If they were smart, they would hold the line on fares and cut elsewhere, but the NFTA has never been accused of being smart.

matthew writes at 09:32:12 10/24/08 - Comment #40875

I think it's both (e:tinypliny).

That's a huge increase. And didn't the NFTA report a while back an increase in daily riders? Is this all to be blamed on the high price of gas?

When I take the bus I use the tokens (e:terry) gets from work. I'm gonna hold on to them, cause soon they'll be worth the price of gold. It's my new retirement plan!

tinypliny writes at 09:22:13 10/24/08 - Comment #40874

:( Nice while neighbouring Rochester cut their fares to $1/trip and increase bus-frequency recently, Buffalo is going the opposite way. All this frankly makes me think that the priorities of the Buffalo local government are so misplaced. Either that, or they are just plain greedy and corrupt.

Words: 44 -- , NY

10/25/08 12:46- ID#46320Ron Clark Academy

Seventh graders from Ron Clark Academy perform their "Whatever You Like" by T.I. parody at the Coca-Cola Leadership Summit in Atlanta

Obama on the left
McCain on the right
We can talk politics all night
And you can vote however you like
You can vote however you like, yeah

Democratic left
Republican right
November 4th we decide
And you can vote however you like
You can vote however you like, yeah

(McCain supporters)
McCain's the best candidate
With Palin as his running mate
They'll fight for gun rights, pro life,
The conservative right
Our future is bright
Better economy in site
And all the world will feel our military might

(Obama supporters)
But McCain and Bush are real close right
They vote alike and keep it tight
Obama's new, he's younger too
The Middle Class he will help you
He'll bring a change, he's got the brains
McCain and Bush are just the same
You are to blame, Iraq's a shame
Four more years would be insane

Lower your Taxes - you know Obama Won't
PROTECT THE LOWER CLASS - You know McCain won't!
Have enough experience - you know that they don't
STOP GLOBAL WARMING - you know that you won't

I want Obama
FORGET OBAMA
Stick with McCain and you're going to have some drama
We need it
HE'LL BRING IT
He'll be it
YOU'LL SEE IT
We'll do it
GET TO IT
Let's move it
DO IT!

Obama on the left
McCain on the right
We can talk politics all night
And you can vote however you like
You can vote however you like, yeah

Democratic left
Republican right
November 4th we decide
And you can vote however you like, I said
You can vote however you like, yeah

I'm talking big pipe lines, and low gas prices
Below $2.00 that would be nice

But to do it right we gotta start today
Finding renewable ways that are here to stay

I want Obama
FORGET OBAMA,
Stick wit McCain you gone have some drama
MORE WAR IN IRAQ
Iran he will attack
CAN'T BRING OUR TROOPS BACK
We gotta vote Barack!

Obama on the left
McCain on the right
We can talk politics all night
And you can vote however you like, I said
You can vote however you like, yeah

Democratic left
Republican right
November 4th we decide
And you can vote however you like, I said
You can vote however you like, yeah

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Words: 439 -- , NY

10/29/08 14:09 - 37ºF - ID#46407Political Costumes

NPR is looking for pictures of people dressed as politicians and or politcally current people. Maybe there will be some political costumes at the party?

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Words: 36 -- , NY

10/29/08 22:33 - 36ºF - ID#46413Yay I found the upload button!

e:mike looked like this on the first flight heading towards Atlanta. It was my first time flying with him and it was also my worst flight. It was the closest thing to turbulence I have felt. Definitely had my stomach drop and it sounded like the plane was struggling a lot.

1008/FloridaWithMikey0011029.jpg