"Hey Homeowners" written by James on estrip.org

12/04/09 10:47 - 33ºF - ID#50458

Hey Homeowners

If you received a letter from the city saying your home has been reassessed and you are angry, please contact your councilmember. They fight reassessments all the time. As the city's methodology for reassessment is balls stupid it is really easy to make a convincing case.

that is all

-James

Permalink: Hey_Homeowners.html
Words: 50
Location: Buffalo, NY

11/17/09 11:16 - 44ºF - ID#50328

Holiday Potluck Bonanza!

mark your calendars.

Thank you to Paul, Matthew, and Terry for being nice enough to host.

And thank you to you for being awesome.

metalpeter writes at 07:33:35 12/05/09 - Comment #53372: Just Thought of something, noticed that it is a bring food and drink, so is it a dinner that then turns into a party after that or just a dinner. Reason I ask is cause I'm wondering if it would still be going on after the Sabres Game?

heidi writes at 05:32:32 11/29/09 - Comment #53187: Looking forward to it... Are we organizing the potluck to create an actual full meal? I'm happy to make molasses crinkle cookies for (e:jim), or soup, or a veggie main course, or an appetizer...

I am planning to attend, however, because I MUST be in Bloss on Sunday, 12/20, if it's threatening snow, I'll have to leave sooner. Last year I got caught in that awful snowstorm right before xmas and missed out on my favorite annual event - judging the holiday lights contest: :::link:::

metalpeter writes at 04:18:33 11/28/09 - Comment #53165: I checked the date and I will be at the Sabres/Penguins game so I can't make it. Hope someone brings their camera and takes Pictures. Well or multiple people could. Hope everyone has a great time.

tinypliny writes at 06:50:38 11/18/09 - Comment #52970: That is so generous of you! :) I will badger you when the time comes - unless I change the plan. It has to be pumpkin themed - else those pumpkins would rot!

heidi writes at 06:45:39 11/18/09 - Comment #52969: (e:tinypliny), I have a stock pot you can borrow.

tinypliny writes at 06:24:22 11/18/09 - Comment #52968: I don't have anything that can safely hold 3/4th gallon of Hot soup...

tinypliny writes at 06:23:00 11/18/09 - Comment #52967: Problem is I would have to steal a stock pot too...

tinypliny writes at 06:21:48 11/18/09 - Comment #52966: Hmmm... thinking of stealing one of the pumpkins (smallest one?) on (e:PMT)'s porch and making a ultra-hot soup that would make people cry if they didn't want to. HEHEHEHE

metalpeter writes at 06:10:26 11/17/09 - Comment #52943: I have to double check to make sure I have no tickets for any events that Night, but I think I should be able to make it. I don't really cook so I have to figure out what to bring.

jim writes at 12:17:15 11/17/09 - Comment #52922: yay!

matthew writes at 11:27:57 11/17/09 - Comment #52920: Thanks for setting this up. Oh, and I don't mind if people want to bring their mammoths...as long as they aren't high heel wearing mammoth types.

Permalink: Holiday_Potluck_Bonanza_.html
Words: 27
Location: Buffalo, NY

11/02/09 12:17 - 49ºF - ID#50198

Obligatory Election Day Post

Hi everyone.

We have had three elections this year:
School Board
Primary
General
And each time I asked you guys for a few votes. So, here are the two I am asking you guys to cast.

1) Captain John Glascott for Sheriff. John, undoubtedly, has the experience necessary to run Erie County. He has run prisons, and even began his career as a corrections officer. The incumbent, Sheriff Tim Howard, is incompetent. He is under several different investigations by state and federal agencies. There have been several escapes from prison in the last month alone. Remember, because Tim Howard can not run a prison, Bucky Philips escaped while unsupervised and killed an officer. Tim Howard refused to let a woman with unpaid parking tickets in the holding center get her cancer medication.

2) Mark Polancarz for Comptroller. Mark has done a brilliant job over the last few years as our Comptroller. While the County Executive is trying to bypass county charter to cut human services, Mark is keeping him accountable. His opponent argues that Mark can't count. That Mark predicted a $10 Million budget shortfall and we ended up with a $10 Million surplus. What a crock. Mark examined the budget, told everyone there would be a shortfall, and the budget was adjusted. That is doing your job and doing it well. The opponent is being funded by Chris Collins to be a rubber stamp. We need Mark to keep him accountable.

If any of you live where there is a County Leg race, don't vote for Michele Iannello. So there, you can't say I never supported a Republican.

Permalink: Obligatory_Election_Day_Post.html
Words: 265
Location: Buffalo, NY

10/27/09 10:59 - 56ºF - ID#50129

Cement

Sometimes this job requires strange tasks.

Right now, I am reading a 100 page report on the cement industry, and steps to make it more green. It is a facinaiting read that totally does not make me want to pound my head against the wall 'till both explode.

That said, I think we have enough votes for the domestic partner resolution. That makes me feel like it is all worth while.

cement.

Permalink: Cement.html
Words: 71
Location: Buffalo, NY

10/25/09 09:58 - 46ºF - ID#50103

Boo

There once was a pumpkin
With a curl in his hair
And when he was good
He was very, very good
But when he was bad he was horrid

Permalink: Boo.html
Words: 35
Location: Buffalo, NY

10/20/09 03:43 - 55ºF - ID#50062

Dizzy

Permalink: Dizzy.html
Words: 5
Location: Buffalo, NY

10/19/09 03:32 - 54ºF - ID#50053

Domestic Partnership

Hey Everyone,

At 5:30 in council chambers on the 13th floor of City Hall, there will be a public hearing on Domestic Partnership legislation. It is completely open to the public, so if you want to say something in support of having a registry (sorry, only for two person families... grrr) stop by.

kisses,

-James

james writes at 03:32:23 10/20/09 - Comment #52262: We will force you to the head of the line. Your colleague at First Pres. wont be able to make it and we need to show everyone who the best Pres. Pastor in Buffalo is!

drew writes at 03:06:52 10/20/09 - Comment #52261: I will be there, but if I have to wait around a long long time to comment, I might leave.

jim writes at 11:34:13 10/20/09 - Comment #52258: Stand up and be counted! (accounted?)

james writes at 10:52:42 10/20/09 - Comment #52257: You could tell you are a home owner, Drew. Only a home owner in the city would make a joke about taxes like that :)

Will we be seeing you this evening? A few of your colleagues will be there, but none so awesome.

drew writes at 10:46:00 10/20/09 - Comment #52256: Thanks for the education, but I really was just trying to make a joke. :)

heidi writes at 09:55:15 10/20/09 - Comment #52255: To be geeky about the "gay tax"...
An Overview of Federal Rights and Protections Granted to Married Couples

:::link:::

It's very very important for same-sex couples or other nontraditional families to draw up contracts, wills, and other such legal devices to protect each others' interests in your assets.

For example, married couples who have owned & lived in a house for 2+ years automatically get the $500,000 exclusion on gain in selling the house, even if only one is on the title. Other households need to make sure that all members are on the title so that when they sell (or something unfortunate happens), they can each take their own $250K exemption. (Covered in my Federal Individual Income Taxation class last week ;-)

Here's the HRC summary of that:

C. Tax on Gain from the Sale of the Taxpayerâ€™s Principal Residence
Under Internal Revenue Code Â§121, a single taxpayer may exclude up to $250,000 of profit due to the sale of his or her personal principal residence from taxable income. Married couples filing jointly may exclude up to $500,000 on the sale of their home. Lesbian and gay couples, who are not permitted to marry or to file jointly, are therefore taxed on all gain above $250,000, creating a large tax penalty compared to similarly situated married couples.

james writes at 08:50:50 10/20/09 - Comment #52254: There already is a gay tax. Same-sex couples can't pay taxes as if they were an opposite-sex couple.

But, if Buffalo is anything like every other municipality that has this, there will be more opposite-sex couples signing up than same-sex.

drew writes at 12:07:31 10/20/09 - Comment #52250: Getting "registered" sounds more like a negative than a positive. Does any minority really want to be "registered" by the government?

I give it 5 weeks of existence before there is a "gay tax."

tinypliny writes at 09:48:28 10/19/09 - Comment #52241: I didn't know the City Hall had a 13th floor. I thought buildings here didn't have 13th floors.

I found this the hard way when I was staying in a high rise hotel in San Diego and tried that swipe card thingy in someone else door many many times (because I had miscounted the elevator beeps and not bothered to check the number).

That door turned out to be some scientist's whom I had just met that morning. I could see that she was terrified that I had come to off her in her sleep or something.

james writes at 09:38:11 10/19/09 - Comment #52236: You must pass a citizenship before entering CIty Hall... unless you have a ticket to pay.

Na, all are welcome. It is a public hearing, so anyone can attend. A little bit of me is hoping that the crazy nut-job "we hate homosinuals" will show up so they can be schooled by the real Christians who speak in favor of this.

tinypliny writes at 09:33:09 10/19/09 - Comment #52235: I didn't make this one - but are non-citizens and non-residents allowed a say in these matters?

Permalink: Domestic_Partnership.html
Words: 54
Location: Buffalo, NY

10/13/09 01:47 - 47ºF - ID#50006

Health Care

I posted a brief bit of this on Twitter/Facebook. But I will post it here as well.

I just got a letter from the parent of a four year old boy. A massive brain tumor caused by a rare form of cancer was discovered that impaired the child's sight and mobility. He had brain surgery and is now undergoing cancer treatment. Of course, the parents have auctioned off their entire lives to help their son and now have nothing.

Why do we have fundraisers for families like this? Why do we have fund raisers for the families of firefighters who die while on duty? We do we have memorial fund raisers dedicated to children who could not afford to fight their cancer?

It's enough to make me want to become a Communist.

Permalink: Health_Care.html
Words: 133
Location: Buffalo, NY

10/12/09 06:09 - 46ºF - ID#49998

Sewer lid

Permalink: Sewer_lid.html
Words: 5
Location: Buffalo, NY

10/09/09 12:23 - 53ºF - ID#49970

Domestic Partnerships

Howdy,

On Tuesday Councilmen LoCurto and Rivera will be introducing a Domestic Partnership resolution. It will create a registry and extend benefits to city employees. The following week, on either Tuesday or Thursday there will be a public hearing in council chambers.
If you are interested in this or want to say something, come on by. It will be awesome.

kisses,

-James