last minute

The image on the right is the proposed 2-story addition + garage + master suite for a house in Marshfield. The owner is hands-on and wants something big to fill up the great site. This small ranch near the ocean in Manomet is looking to get a second floor.

The second photo below is the updated model for the 3-story mentioned previously.


Anyone is the Atlanta area? Grab one of the limited splits from Chunklet at Criminal Records and enjoy the show.

Robert Pollard has a new, limited single and cd at Off Records, both limited to 500.

Eenie Meenie has a great sale. Spend $20 and you are entered to win a bunch of vinyl records.


Unfortunately the Sliver I purchased last week was not the one I wanted and the search continues for items on my ultimate want list:

#1) Of Montreal – Cherry Peel Japan pressing. To me, this is just a legend but a few years ago I got a cd only copy off http://www.half.com/ so I think it was actually made but I don’t have any proof of the artwork.

#2) Sealed Longbox of Bleach. Known copies exist and I already have Incesticide and Nevermind in this condition.

#3) White Stripes SP Singles Club – I won a copy in a Sub Pop contest but then traded it for the White Stripes record player, which I sold to help pay for our porch. So, it’s needed to complete my entire collection of the Sub Pop Singles Club V.2. Available on ebay in the $350+ range.

#4) ‘Marbled’ Bleach – I have a version of every other color but this version wasn’t officially released and now priced out of my reach. Only show up once a year on ebay.

packing materials and tape

Just about thru my Winter ebay stuff and here are the numbers: Listed 49 items: 28 sold, 10 didn’t sell, 11 are still available + 5 items sold to people that contacted me directly. Bidding totaled over 1K with $150 ebay/paypal fees while waiting to get paid for 4 items. Of course I can’t just sell, and have ordered stuff from K Records, Suburban Home, Kindercore and the White Stripes record boxes.

This weekend I overbid and won a Solid Marble Peach Sliver which should complete my Sub Pop Sliver Collection.

obituary birthday

Miss you a bunch and I know your watching down on us.
The more we learn, the more we feel...



pain..and all along we knew that You Know You're Right.

getting colder

Energy efficient moves this Fall/Winter including spending extra for energy saving Refrigerator and Dishwasher. Also added weather-stripping to three interior doors that act as exterior doors, installed clear removable caulk on upstairs windows, draft dodgers, programmable thermostat and had the zone-valve fixed on our boiler.

PC Basketball started and once again we don’t have anyone to pony up on the 3rd ticket. The only rule change I’ve noticed is that the ‘low-block’ is open on free throws. In other words, all the players at the line are now closer to the shooter with only 3 players each side. Also we have noticed super-mayor Steve Laffey sitting across from us this year. Hopefully I’ll have a chance to chat-him-up this season.

Ebay stuff has been listed with the hope of getting some spending money this year. I’ve listed over 30 items and 9 have sold already.

The newly resurrected Kindercore label has a super limited (100 copies) Christmas CD available for pre-order. If you have ever wanted a song written for, and about, your choice of subject. This HHBTM pre-order for the Keith John Adams cd may be your ticket.

rare opportunity

Do not wait. If you missed your chance from the 2005 tour here is your opportunity to pick up one of the best band items ever, a White Stripes Record Box that comes with a 7” slipmat. There's a bunch more stuff available from the cancelled tour including kilts, t-shirts and stickers. The White Stripes have the most innovative band merch ever, and that makes them better than the rest. Here is a list of creative merchandise from all their tours.

blandest

At right is the proposed design for the Riverside Cape that still needs local zoning approval for the a new bath and hallway + a new, front pergola with deck above.

Here is the existing rear of a Barrington Cape and besides adding a new second floor we are looking at removing the unused patio room while adding a deck, mudroom and garage. This is my first pass at the design.

open your wallet and smile sucker

Well, no surprise today as the voters of Portsmouth, who have no money and are completely broke, approved raising their taxes to finance a 3.2M wind turbine and gave the ‘advocates’ 4M to spend as they please while limiting any chance to amend their school budget. This was done with the approval of 2K votes.

This is the uninformed RI moron factor that keeps this place a Welfare State: Approve 2.6M financing for a 3.2M windmill that will, in 25 years, save the town 50K per year. Of course, no one cares how they will get the missing 600K to actually finish the project (can you say supplemental tax). I hope the people are smiling as they truck their trash to the dump this winter and find out this spring that the school budget fails to keep up with teacher/municipal benefits that are guaranteed.

Here’s another typical RI success story: It details how to sell out your family history and make yourself famous at the same time. A DeWolf descendent is cashing in and will never have to work again, she’s now a big-time RI advocate. Unfortunately I know a little too much about family members trashing relatives to make themselves feel good.

Here are a few more results from some amendments voted on around the US yesterday. This included NJ residents rejecting financing 450M for the Stem Cell scam, Oregon residents refusing to raise their cigarette tax to RI levels (2.02 per pack) to fund crimalien heath care and a few states trying to legalize pot. Q: How many new smokers do we need to finance free heath care for illegal aliens? A: None. They already get everything for free.

The funniest thing about the Oregon vote is the governors’ interpretation of why it was rejected: the big, bad tobacco companies purchasing votes. Well I guess that is better than the tampered voting machine excuse most Democrats use whenever they lose an election. They must saving that one for when Shillary goes down.

hot buy

Mudhoney has a new, live vinyl LP on Sub Pop that is limited to 500 copies. It is also available from my new favorite vinyl store Vinyl Collective or Suburban Home. Stay up to date on all things vinyl by linking to the news section.

Here is the definition of insane politicians fooling their constituents for favorable press.
The town of Portsmouth is broke, they have no money in reserve and the school system is under-funded. So what are the residents going to vote on today? Raising their taxes to borrow 4M for open space and 3M for a wind turbine.

So let’s add the numbers. The uninformed RI morons are (probably) going to approve raising their yearly taxes by an average of $100 per year AND now pay a $100 yearly permit fee to throw their trash out while the schools are still not funded correctly and will likely require a supplemental tax payment in about 4 months to finish the school year.

No trash pickup? I never knew this was an option. Starting Jan. 1st the town also will now require all residents to purchase a $100 permit to drive to the transfer station and throw their own trash out. To me, this is unacceptable.

Wind turbine? Not enough time to tell you why towns that are broke should not be trying to sell this fools gold. Maybe they should just plant corn so the price of beer, gas and food will not rise.

Here is the BeloJunkBond version of the Portsmouth votes.

last week

I spent most of last week working on some local jobs. This Barrington Ranch is under construction and the homeowner got cold feet on my original design (seen at right) when the contractor mentioned he could make it into a straight McFamily Room. So we developed a box that matched the existing roof with gable dormers. I feel it looks a little too big and still prefer the original, smaller design.

We have settled on this design, that includes a new front porch and full 3-bed second floor at the ranch mentioned below. Still working on the kitchen location and I’m still not convinced we shouldn’t go with the Gambrel roof in the opposite direction. Developing.

Next up is this Riverside Cape where the owner is looking to add a bath, front entry and take advantage of the water view.

by the book

To the right is an alternate design for the Barrington Cape that includes expanding the front dormer of the Dutch Colonial to the full width, shutters all around and continuing the new overhang around the gable ends.

This is a Bristol Bungalow and we are trying to add an in-law, mudroom, country kitchen and master suite. Here is my first pass at this small version of how to extend the existing house. We have decided to increase to width to 16’ and push the second floor dormer to align with below.

At the same time my design for this Barrington Ranch is coming together. Hope to add a second floor with 2-3 bedrooms and bath then remodel the kitchen and (desperately) add a new entry with mudroom. Stay tuned.

another nail

Finally, some confirmation it’s not just me about the Jounal. Today, investors have lowered Belo stock to junk status. This newspaper continues to die because of alienating their readers with sob stories about criminals and complete reprints of Taliban Times style BIASED reporting. Thanks Buddy for the financial info. If I remember correctly, a few weeks ago the largest shareholder of the Taliban Times sold their stock because of a feud over who controls the style of the reporting.

I have officially been on reduced subscription ($8 per month) since the beginning of the year and always hated writing the $57 quarterly check for the daily delivery. Now I read a second hand copy the next day for nothing. All this from someone who has read & delivered this company’s newspaper for over 30 years.

In fact, the federally required printing chart was in yesterday’s paper and it states 161K weekly subscribers at $220 per year with 221K papers printed daily.

The Journal was our state’s (1M residents) only newspaper that mattered. A smart man could turn it around by buying the company, firing every local writer and hiring a boatload of investigators to keep the pressure on the how our elected leadership works over business to pass special interest laws. RI General Assembly #1 business rule: Everything is a deal, no deal too small. Rule #2: Don't talk if you can nod, don't nod if you can wink.

new technique

Part of my services, in addition to drafting, is offering 3D modeling for architects, builders and homeowners. I’ve have created hundreds of models over the last 10 years but there was always a 'professional' limit to what I would offer to clients. However, an interactive program I have been starting to use allows me to put portions of the model on existing photos and I've posted some results. On this job we started with a photo of an Existing Un-build Lot and here is the proposed new house in pink.

Here are some samples from the largest job I’ve ever modeled, for a mansion north of Boston, and we used it to produce these color samples for the homeowner. Image #1 (rear), Image #2 (side) and the Front Entry Tower. , or porte cochere to the people that can afford them. Imagine the pressure of picking a paint color for a 8 Million dollar house.

This image is from a large addition in Wellesley with lots of stonework.

Lastly, I have been working on a second floor addition for a local Cape and came up with this design. This fantastic design tool has been on my computer for years but I’ve never been asked to do such work. Maybe I can turn that around. These samples show the range of projects that are consistantly coming in and out of my office.

time for a new one

New, free music available from The Staggering Statistics. Check out their new album, I'm Thinking About Changing, at http://www.staggeringstatistics.com/

Did you see the recently released, limited edition White Stripes Lomographics Camera's? If not, check out http://www.whitestripes.com/lomography/lomography.html and YES I was one of the first 333 people and awaiting my free Rob Jones poster. Some of his posters go for big bucks on ebay.

I've been selling a couple of items on ebay and most of my items are shipping overseas. Me thinks this has something to do with the declining value of the dollar?

lying vs. image

I'm wondering if there is anything less you can do to win a Nobel Peace Prize? Besides the American Media making it a crime against mankind to disagree with any points of a partisan movie, a UK court has found 11 inaccuracies that must be pointed out before socialist teachers spoon feed the lies to our kids. Let this roll around your mind while advocates continue to push for higher taxes to fix our non-problem.

• The film claims that melting snows on Mount Kilimanjaro evidence global warming. The Government's expert was forced to concede that this is not correct.
• The film suggests that evidence from ice cores proves that rising CO2 causes temperature increases over 650,000 years. The Court found that the film was misleading: over that period the rises in CO2 lagged behind the temperature rises by 800-2000 years.
• The film uses emotive images of Hurricane Katrina and suggests that this has been caused by global warming. The Government's expert had to accept that it was "not possible" to attribute one-off events to global warming.
• The film shows the drying up of Lake Chad and claims that this was caused by global warming. The Government's expert had to accept that this was not the case.
• The film claims that a study showed that polar bears had drowned due to disappearing arctic ice. It turned out that Mr Gore had misread the study: in fact four polar bears drowned and this was because of a particularly violent storm.
• The film threatens that global warming could stop the Gulf Stream throwing Europe into an ice age: the Claimant's evidence was that this was a scientific impossibility.
• The film blames global warming for species losses including coral reef bleaching. The Government could not find any evidence to support this claim.
• The film suggests that the Greenland ice covering could melt causing sea levels to rise dangerously. The evidence is that Greenland will not melt for millennia.
• The film suggests that the Antarctic ice covering is melting, the evidence was that it is in fact increasing.
• The film suggests that sea levels could rise by 7m causing the displacement of millions of people. In fact the evidence is that sea levels are expected to rise by about 40cm over the next hundred years and that there is no such threat of massive migration.
• The film claims that rising sea levels has caused the evacuation of certain Pacific islands to New Zealand. The Government are unable to substantiate this and the Court observed that this appears to be a false claim...

source link

starting slow

Of Montreal has released a new, limited single on Polyvinyl to promote the new tour that I missed this past weekend in Boston. However, after seeing an invitation to write the band on their myspace page, I sent a letter and got this band signed photo that looks great.

Recently we visited Florida for a perfect vacation: two days softball, one day Disney and two days at Universal. I hooked up with a team from Woonsocket and had a blast. Besides being thrown in the 4-hole and pitching for a new team, all while battling 95 degree weather, I was the cream in the oreo and definitely will consider playing with them again.

Chunklet has a limited edition book with bonus disk full of unreleased Melvins material and the limited Les Savy Fav vinyl LP.

Here is a very cool Space Station Image from about 185 miles above the Earth.

If you order the new Ramrods single from Cass, he will e-mail you about purchasing a super limited version of The Decks release, which is not listed on the site. Recently, three more releases went out of print on Cass.

Taking note from my successful Of Montreal request, I recently asked The Muldoons to sign one of their LP covers for me. Not only did they do that, but Hunter and Shane threw in a super limited color version of the vinyl, a cd version (not available anywhere) and limited pick. Very cool.

the bush-clinton way

This new version picks up where the first blog left off (after a break for the summer) and hopefully you will find great items to purchase and some smart-ass comments to piss you off. The title is a direct call to arms to fight what you are being fed by your politicians: more government will solve your problems. When you realize that "dependency is slavery" you will stop this corrupt bush-clinton-bush-clinton trap we have set for ourselves. No more Bush, Not another Clinton.