Jim's Journal
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03/25/2009 07:51 #48194
Life Spans of Deleteable Itemssource:
03/20/2009 11:28 #48133
RIP Space Bat
03/19/2009 21:17 #48128
Home Ownership!Category: all grown up
So, my Dad has let me know that there's a 401k account of my mother's that he hasn't cashed in since she passed away a few years ago, and he's decided he wants to use it to help me with a down payment for a house. That coupled with the $8000 first time home buyer's credit ( ) means that I am pretty sure that I'm going to own my own place sometime this year.
James and I have talked, and the only downside is that we'd only buy something if we knew exactly where we were planning on living next year, and we've been talking pretty seriously about moving to Portland, Oregon or Austin, Texas.
Money certainly doesn't go as far outside Buffalo. For the price of a 2,000 sqft Victorian home here we could only get a really cute 1 bedroom condo in downtown Portland, like this:
( )
Of course it would be in the middle of an awesome urban area that only gets 2" of snow every winter and has excellent public transit and career opportunities...
) means that I am pretty sure that I'm going to own my own place sometime this year.James and I have talked, and the only downside is that we'd only buy something if we knew exactly where we were planning on living next year, and we've been talking pretty seriously about moving to Portland, Oregon or Austin, Texas.
Money certainly doesn't go as far outside Buffalo. For the price of a 2,000 sqft Victorian home here we could only get a really cute 1 bedroom condo in downtown Portland, like this:
(
)Of course it would be in the middle of an awesome urban area that only gets 2" of snow every winter and has excellent public transit and career opportunities...
tinypliny - 03/26/09 19:20
I say go (or stay) where you can create the most worthwhile life. Good Luck! :)
I say go (or stay) where you can create the most worthwhile life. Good Luck! :)
heidi - 03/20/09 22:50
I want you to stay!!!
But I have some logical reasons too... It's hard to find a good community - you have one here, you have roots... you've said "I don't want to die here" (hmmm... might have been (e:james)) but that's what retirement's for! You can *live* here, and die somewhere else. :-)
And you really can't beat the housing prices... damn! $159K?? That's awesome. (Mortgage interest deduction!!! Every year!)
I want you to stay!!!
But I have some logical reasons too... It's hard to find a good community - you have one here, you have roots... you've said "I don't want to die here" (hmmm... might have been (e:james)) but that's what retirement's for! You can *live* here, and die somewhere else. :-)
And you really can't beat the housing prices... damn! $159K?? That's awesome. (Mortgage interest deduction!!! Every year!)
jim - 03/20/09 14:54
It's not a loan, it's a credit. No payback needed. You get an $8000 tax refund.
It's not a loan, it's a credit. No payback needed. You get an $8000 tax refund.
metalpeter - 03/20/09 14:16
I admit I didn't follow the links so I may have missed something. But the first interior looks pretty nice. I would say that taking the first time home owners loan is a bad idea. Granted I don't have all the facts but to get a tax credit on your taxes of that much money that you then have to payback seems like a bad idea. I don't know the percentage or how you pay it back but to me it seems like you could wind up just owing the IRS money. Of course the person who you should ask about that is (e:Terry).
I admit I didn't follow the links so I may have missed something. But the first interior looks pretty nice. I would say that taking the first time home owners loan is a bad idea. Granted I don't have all the facts but to get a tax credit on your taxes of that much money that you then have to payback seems like a bad idea. I don't know the percentage or how you pay it back but to me it seems like you could wind up just owing the IRS money. Of course the person who you should ask about that is (e:Terry).
james - 03/19/09 23:08
That last one looks suspiciously like the section-8 housing on Elmwood between Summer and North.
That last one looks suspiciously like the section-8 housing on Elmwood between Summer and North.
paul - 03/19/09 22:27
I hope you guys stay.
I hope you guys stay.
jim - 03/19/09 22:07
It is pretty exciting - my parents never had much money, so in the last 10 years I've pretty much been on my own. They bailed me out of jail once... that's about it :) It's not really that much money in the scheme of things, but it makes buying a home likely instead of a some-year-soon thing.
To get this kinda opportunity is very unexpected and nice.
It is pretty exciting - my parents never had much money, so in the last 10 years I've pretty much been on my own. They bailed me out of jail once... that's about it :) It's not really that much money in the scheme of things, but it makes buying a home likely instead of a some-year-soon thing.
To get this kinda opportunity is very unexpected and nice.
mrmike - 03/19/09 22:06
Nice to have the option
Nice to have the option
libertad - 03/19/09 22:04
How exciting. Good luck in finding a place.
How exciting. Good luck in finding a place.
jim - 03/19/09 21:50
I think James wants to move more then I do :)
I'd be perfectly content to live in this: :::link:::
I think James wants to move more then I do :)
I'd be perfectly content to live in this: :::link:::
03/18/2009 09:11 #48099
God vs SatanCategory: religion
Posted for mindless, meaningless amusement.
metalpeter - 03/18/09 18:17
This reminds me have you ever seen "The God and Devil Show" it is A cartoon that you can watch on the web and some of it was pretty funny. They even had this thing where you could vote on famous people being god or devil and then something would happen to them. I'm not sure if it is still online anywhere but hey if you have some extra time maybe look it up.
This reminds me have you ever seen "The God and Devil Show" it is A cartoon that you can watch on the web and some of it was pretty funny. They even had this thing where you could vote on famous people being god or devil and then something would happen to them. I'm not sure if it is still online anywhere but hey if you have some extra time maybe look it up.
03/17/2009 14:11 #48087
iPhone 3.0 SDKCategory: tech
The biggest news for me (aside from Copy&Paste) is that the SDK allows virtually unlimited access to hardware. Which means I can get one of these:
And build robots with iphones for brains. hooray!
And build robots with iphones for brains. hooray!
Oh okay, this is not yours.
Well Well, I am GLAD this is not my brother. I would be livid if he deleted my emails! :p
Yeah - I don't quite get this graph. What is the Y axis? High-Low what? Do you mean to that you delete email from family almost as soon as they come in?!