Minor things that bother you

[vdeane]

Wow.  I can't say I've ever had it that bad renting, but then, I'm normally renting an apartment in a complex; not a house with some random person as landlord (I only did that once, for three months when I had an internship; it wasn't the greatest place, but it got me though those three months), with dedicated maintenance people.  At my current place, every time a large number of small bugs have found their way in and taken residence (usually ants, but it was termites once), they've been over to spray the next day.  Snow removal is done well and prompt as well.  I like not having to worry about maintenance, yard work, and snow removal, plus a house would be way more space than I need (though I do have a larger than average one bedroom; most places wouldn't have room for my combined living room/office, especially with a dining room).  The main minuses I can think of are having to do laundry in a communal room in a separate building (coin-operated, too, so I periodically run to the bank for quarters), occasionally wishing I could go beyond what maintenance did (particularly with the paneling around the door or the plumbing), being stuck with an indoor TV antenna, and things like cabinetry and countertops are only updated between tenants.  I could see myself potentially getting a condo in the future, but I don't see owning a full home.  I don't feel like cleaning all that space, or doing yard work and snow removal.

I question, however, the idea that rent is just throwing money away while homeowners live "rent free" because mortgages get paid off or refunded when selling.  As a renter, I don't directly pay property or school taxes.  They're just another thing bundled into the rent.  Meanwhile, my parents pay more than double what I pay in rent just on those taxes for their house.  Property and school taxes are basically just rent paid to the government.  They're not like income taxes (based on what you make), sales taxes (based on what you spend), or fees (based on your activity).  The only way out of them is homelessness, and they're big money, too.  They strike me as a hassle, too, as everyone I've heard talk about paying them mentions going in person to the town/county offices to personally hand in a check.

[Scott5114]

I mean, as you mention above, you're paying those taxes one way or another; you're either paying them directly or paying them as part of your rent. But if you're paying them directly you can write part of them off against your federal taxes. Obviously, in high-tax states, you're going to run into the SALT cap, but here, property taxes are low enough that we come in well under the cap. (Our property taxes were $1,707 for the year 2020, which is less than two months of rent at the last place we rented.) When you have an active mortgage, this is all handled through the mortgage escrow account, so you're effectively paying it as part of your monthly housing bill the same as you would if you were renting.

Having to deliver the tax payment in person seems bizarre. Here, you get a tax bill in the mail from the county assessor in November, and you mail back your payment in the enclosed envelope by December 31, just like you would an electric bill or something. If you have a mortgage, the bank handles that for you out of the escrow account and you just get a copy of the bill in the mail for your records.

[JoePCool14]

My highway engineering professor constantly mislabeling and misspeaking about road things.

Emphasis on highway engineering professor.

[jakeroot]

I've resided in the same building for a couple of years now, and it's been a good experience. The original management company was just for the building, and they were very prompt. The company was purchased by another company about eight months later, which runs many other properties. The quality has dropped slightly since that happened (maintenance crew isn't always on site like they used to be). Still, maintenance requests are promptly serviced; common areas are clean; there are even a few new perks like door-to-door mail and trash service (as opposed to common areas for both).

Still, renting has some clear downsides:

* When I moved in (two beds, two baths), our rent was about $1850/month (12-month term). Once COVID hit, we went month to month, and it dropped into the $1700s. Now it's going back up, closer to $2000. The variable rate is not too troublesome, but it gets a little annoying, especially when it goes up substantially. Two-month warnings are required for rent increases, though, so it's workable.

* You're not earning any equity. Owning a home is considered one of the better investments you can make. Not the best, necessarily, but there is zero investment opportunity in renting. You're left to invest elsewhere, although this can be a good thing too if the money you are investing comes from what you might spend on homeownership-related expenses (property taxes, HOA dues, homeowners insurance).

* Either zero or reduced ability to make adjustments to the living conditions. Apart from a few things like my smart-home system (light bulbs + Amazon Echo), I am not free to change things like appliances, door locks, fixtures, paint, etc. This isn't a huge deal, and if those things break, it isn't on me. But there is a particular part of life you miss out on when you don't get to control those things. Recently, this became a significant issue when they started replacing our refrigerators with front panels that lacked water and ice dispensers. As it turns out, that feature is considered a liability. Fortunately, the backlash from other residents was strong enough that they stopped quite a few floors below us. The original replacement plan was rooted in improving the building's environmental impact; still not sure how throwing away a few hundred refrigerators is good for the environment.

[J N Winkler]

In any housing market, there will be some demand for rentals to accommodate short tenures, even for relatively well-paid workers.  For example, in the old days wet-behind-the-ears engineers newly hired by state highway departments were often posted in different districts around the state (where they and their families often lived in rental housing) so they could learn about real problems instead of relying just on what they learned at the A&M.

But it's certainly true that building equity is one of the big reasons for homeownership.  Another, in states that have homestead laws, is to avoid being made homeless if financial reverses result in bankruptcy.

[abefroman329]

My highway engineering professor constantly mislabeling and misspeaking about road things.

Emphasis on highway engineering professor.

That's nothing - I took a computer literacy class as an undergrad where the professor told us you could erase data from a CD-ROM with a magnet.

[hbelkins]

My highway engineering professor constantly mislabeling and misspeaking about road things.

Emphasis on highway engineering professor.

That's nothing - I took a computer literacy class as an undergrad where the professor told us you could erase data from a CD-ROM with a magnet.

If you use that magnet to break the CD-ROM into hundreds of small pieces that can't be reassembled, maybe.

I've found that data can be erased from a CD-ROM by applying one of the paper labels from a labeling kit on it. It's happened to me.

[abefroman329]

I wish that's what she meant. She meant that they could be wiped the same way a floppy disk could be wiped.

had to label a lot of CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs of data when I was a paralegal, and I messed up quite a few, but I don't think I ever put the label on the business side.

[renegade]

A guy in my office used to "erase" CD-ROMs by putting them in the microwave and turning it on for a couple of seconds.

The building manager couldn't figure out exactly why the microwave in the lunchroom needed to be replaced every couple of months.

[Max Rockatansky]

A guy in my office used to "erase" CD-ROMs by putting them in the microwave and turning it on for a couple of seconds.

The building manager couldn't figure out exactly why the microwave in the lunchroom needed to be replaced every couple of months.

Didn't follow the proper steps:

https://www.thoughtco.com/how-to-microwave-cd-safely-607827

[hbelkins]

I wish that's what she meant. She meant that they could be wiped the same way a floppy disk could be wiped.

had to label a lot of CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs of data when I was a paralegal, and I messed up quite a few, but I don't think I ever put the label on the business side.

I didn't do that. But for some reason, a couple of data disks to which I affixed a label became unreadable by any CD-ROM drive I own. I even removed the label and it didn't help. Unfortunately, one of the disks had data I didn't have stored anywhere else.

Interesting thought: Why do we spell computer storage devices "disk" but music storage devices "disc?"



Here's a minor thing that bothers me. One. Word. Sentences. That trend is becoming very popular. I. Just. Don't. Get. It. 

[J N Winkler]

I didn't do that. But for some reason, a couple of data disks to which I affixed a label became unreadable by any CD-ROM drive I own. I even removed the label and it didn't help. Unfortunately, one of the disks had data I didn't have stored anywhere else.

I never write directly onto an optical disc, even with a soft-tip utensil, let alone affix labels.

*  Labels can put a disc out of balance, so it doesn't spin correctly and becomes difficult to read.  (Some drives are more forgiving than others--I have an external CD/DVD/Blu-ray drive that often successfully reads discs that laptop internal drives can't handle.)  Removing the label doesn't necessarily correct the out-of-balance condition because adhesive residue is rarely deposited evenly.

*  Writing onto a disc can easily result in scratches on the recording side that render it unreadable.

When I burn an optical disc for archiving purposes, I generally save a directory listing of the contents as a log file and put the disc back on the spindle.

If I'm burning a CD or DVD to send someone through the mail, I put it in a jewel case with a piece of paper in the front (against the label side) describing the contents.

Interesting thought: Why do we spell computer storage devices "disk" but music storage devices "disc?"

I think the current names for the various types of optical discs are all genericized trademarks, with Sony setting the trend decades ago with Compact Disc.

Fun fact:  Blu-ray is correct while Blu-Ray (a very common usage) is not.

Here's a minor thing that bothers me. One. Word. Sentences. That trend is becoming very popular. I. Just. Don't. Get. It. 

In fiction I often see this usage of which to isolate relative clauses in their own sentences:

She found him monumentally irritating.  Which was inconvenient, since she had to work alongside him every day.

I can see it's done to improve flow, but it makes me cringe.

[jakeroot]

Fun fact:  Blu-ray is correct while Blu-Ray (a very common usage) is not.

Still wished they could have come up with a name without a hyphen. Regardless of the reason behind the name.

[Big John]

When I am watching a football game played on artificial turf and the announcer says "nothing but green grass"

[1995hoo]

When I am watching a football game played on artificial turf and the announcer says "nothing but green grass"

Watch a game played at Eastern Washington (Roos Field in Cheney, WA). I won't link a picture so as not to spoil the fun for you in finding it. Put it this way, it makes Boise State's field look mundane.

[hbelkins]

Today's Facebook outage prompted me to think of something that's annoyed me for awhile. People love to get on Twitter and complain about Facebook, how toxic Facebook is, how much misinformation is on Facebook, how FB is divisive, blah blah blah.

Really? How is Twitter any different? They're basically two different roads to get to the same destination. Facebook allows longer posts while Twitter has a very small character limit for a tweet. Facebook doesn't allow anonymous accounts (in theory anyway) while there are all sorts of accounts on Twitter of unknown origin. Facebook defaults to showing your stuff only to your friends unless you select "public", while Twitter feeds are viewable by everyone by default and you have to consciously limit your tweets to approved followers. Both purport to fact-check and flag "misinformation."

So tell me again why Facebook is so bad and Twitter isn't?

[renegade]

Facebook sucks.  Twitter blows.

[formulanone]

Ford versus Chevy
Your team against My Team
Hamburgers or Hot Dogs
Twitter and Facebook

Everyone has their favorites and some people talk trash because that's what gets attention. Nothing more to it than that; but generally the largest / most popular entity is always the biggest target.

[abefroman329]

I think Twitter is far more toxic than FB, personally.

[Scott5114]

I think Twitter is far more toxic than FB, personally.

They both suck for different reasons. Facebook leads people into dens of toxic crap because of its boneheaded algorithm that pushes groups and pages on people because they're highly engaged-with (meaning that shit-stirrers disproportionately end up on people's radar). Twitter's artificial character limit makes it so that posts must have any context truncated out of them, so any nuance goes right out the window for lack of any way to explain it.

[CtrlAltDel]

Fun fact:  Blu-ray is correct while Blu-Ray (a very common usage) is not.

Still wished they could have come up with a name without a hyphen. Regardless of the reason behind the name.

I mostly just wish they had spelled blue correctly.

[kkt]

I think Twitter is far more toxic than FB, personally.

They both suck for different reasons. Facebook leads people into dens of toxic crap because of its boneheaded algorithm that pushes groups and pages on people because they're highly engaged-with (meaning that shit-stirrers disproportionately end up on people's radar). Twitter's artificial character limit makes it so that posts must have any context truncated out of them, so any nuance goes right out the window for lack of any way to explain it.

Yes.  We're much better off here.

[D-Dey65]

Microsoft has forced an update on me that requires that I sign into every website I'm on all over again. So far though, I don't think they eliminated my files like when they forced it on me a couple of years ago,

[Bruce]

Damn, $170K is what my neighborhood went for back in the 1990s.

Today most homes around here are in the $450K+ range. And that's a bargain for the metro area.

[Scott5114]

Damn, $170K is what my neighborhood went for back in the 1990s.

Today most homes around here are in the $450K+ range. And that's a bargain for the metro area.

$470,000 here would get you a 4 bd/4 ba built in 2019 in a gated community.

But median household income here is only $55,849, compared to $89,260 for Snohomish County (and $102,486 for Seattle proper). If the average home here were $470,000, pretty much the whole damn city would be homeless.