Search found 533 matches

by davebarnes
Fri Feb 13, 2015 11:12 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Pick Out My New TV For Me
Replies: 30
Views: 7916

Easy

tj wrote:1.) Samsung 60" Plasma - $800 ---> http://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung-60- ... cat0101001
THIS ONE.
Large
Bright
Well known brand
wickedly low price
by davebarnes
Tue Feb 10, 2015 2:02 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Which masters is better investment?
Replies: 18
Views: 2947

ROI?

Well, my daughter graduated undergrad from Columbia.
I hate Texas.

So, UT for the FREE win!
by davebarnes
Mon Feb 09, 2015 11:12 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Valentine’s day dinner I could cook?
Replies: 40
Views: 5010

cooked

gkaplan wrote:Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches
Grilled pb&j sandwiches
by davebarnes
Mon Feb 09, 2015 11:08 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Food of the Fifties
Replies: 216
Views: 25200

Re: Food of the Fifties

Jello
Cake made with Betty Crocker mix
Deviled eggs
wheateena
White bread
by davebarnes
Mon Feb 09, 2015 9:59 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: DH and I are buying bicycles
Replies: 39
Views: 6661

local bike shop

Find a LBS you feel comfortable with.
Buy a bike with their help. Maybe even used.
Get it fitted for you.
by davebarnes
Mon Feb 09, 2015 9:54 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Amica burned me, now what...
Replies: 43
Views: 12010

fussy, they are

1970 became AMICA shareholder with car insurance
1987 they said no to rehabbed house because, EIFS
24 years with State Farm
2011 new house with AMICA
by davebarnes
Sat Feb 07, 2015 11:59 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Cheap web hosting
Replies: 15
Views: 2291

It's 2015

[OT comments removed by admin LadyGeek]
by davebarnes
Fri Feb 06, 2015 8:30 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Paperless Office?
Replies: 55
Views: 6322

Re: Paperless Office?

Well, my earlier post disappeared, so here is the short version.

buy hard drive 3x size of airbook
buy SuperDuper! and use Time Machine
buy VueScan for software
buy legal size scanner
PDFs

declutter before scanning
do it again
by davebarnes
Wed Feb 04, 2015 10:28 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: 3 must have car safety/'Convenience safety' features
Replies: 36
Views: 4654

Re: 3 must have car features

heated leather seats
radio - FM
what else is there?
by davebarnes
Wed Feb 04, 2015 10:26 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: garbage disposal installation
Replies: 33
Views: 2987

Easy

My 28-year old daughter installed her new disposal without my help. She went to Home Depot, bought it, brought it home, took the old one out, and put the new one in.
I plan to have her do mine when it needs replacing. LOL.
by davebarnes
Wed Feb 04, 2015 7:34 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?
Replies: 11037
Views: 2066811

Paddington

Paddington.
Very good.
Fun.
Recommended.
by davebarnes
Tue Feb 03, 2015 11:33 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Changing jobs and PTO
Replies: 9
Views: 2491

You lose

You get VACATION pay as it is yours.
You don't get PTO nor sick pay.
Which is why companies are shifting from vacation + sick to PTO. Clever.
by davebarnes
Sun Feb 01, 2015 9:32 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Are Checking Accounts National?
Replies: 13
Views: 1891

Why, yes they are

credit union
mine does back by phone ( I do this weekly)
mine is part of a giant network so "branch access" 'is easy if I need it (I do this once every 5 years)
mine allows me to use an ATM at any 7-11 for free (I do this once a year)

I like mine: DCU.org
by davebarnes
Sun Feb 01, 2015 8:23 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Need a new vacuum
Replies: 22
Views: 3275

Just do it

Miele
by davebarnes
Sat Jan 31, 2015 5:09 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Mac reliability?
Replies: 89
Views: 9760

Don't be so low rent

arthurdawg wrote:I love a good Mac vs. PC debate... pull up the popcorn!
Artisan pizza and micro brews.
by davebarnes
Sat Jan 31, 2015 1:49 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Free business checking with mobile deposit
Replies: 10
Views: 1265

Credit Union

My credit union since 1976.
http://www.DCU.org
by davebarnes
Sat Jan 31, 2015 1:47 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: POLL: How Will You Complete Your 2014 Taxes?
Replies: 69
Views: 8950

35 years and counting

I use a professional- a tax preparer. In the past 35 years, I have never received a notification from the IRS
If I am ever audited, I will have a professional that has my records and knows my case.
Family firm.
Started with the father and now have the son.
$260 with wages and small business.
Worth every dollar as my total prep time, including driving to see him, is under 3 hours.
by davebarnes
Fri Jan 30, 2015 10:28 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Mac reliability?
Replies: 89
Views: 9760

Re: As an Apple fanboi

ieee488 wrote:Cheapest Mac laptop is $899.
Have you actually purchased a Windows PC of the same price or you an Applehead who buys a $899 Mac and compares it to a $300 Windows PC.
How can that be a fair comparison?
That is problem with Appleheads. They don't compare like to like.
You missed my point entirely.
My point is/was - you should spend $1K on a Windows laptop.
Way too many Windows buyers focus/fixate on price and buy cheap crap because they can.
by davebarnes
Fri Jan 30, 2015 9:04 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Roth IRA vs 529 vs other for college savings
Replies: 11
Views: 2531

Roth IRA

Roth IRA for child.
It is not difficult to do.
Just think.
by davebarnes
Fri Jan 30, 2015 9:01 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Microsoft Excel vs. Apple Numbers
Replies: 20
Views: 15682

Seriously ???

nisiprius wrote:P.S. Quick test, just a reality check to see what is going to happen. The latest version of Numbers I have is Numbers '08.
It is not 2008.
It is now 2015.
Try again with the latest version of Numbers (3.52) instead of a 7-year old version.
Seriously.
by davebarnes
Fri Jan 30, 2015 8:55 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Mac reliability?
Replies: 89
Views: 9760

As an Apple fanboi

For me.
1989-1997: Macs. At work and at home (business and personal)
1997-2005: Windows machines. For home-based business. Bought some and built some.
2005-present: iMacs for home-based business. And, Macbooks. And iPhones.

I prefer Mac OS X over WIndows. Have Windows running under VMware Fusion on iMac.
You pay more for a Mac. You can sell it for more when you want to buy a new machine.
Macs are aesthetically more pleasing. Macbooks and iMacs win the beauty pageant.
I like the single vendor aspect when it comes to support.

Buy what you like.
Just don't buy a $300 Windows machine and then wonder why it does not perform very well or looks like a fugly piece of crap.
by davebarnes
Fri Jan 30, 2015 8:33 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Microsoft Excel vs. Apple Numbers
Replies: 20
Views: 15682

Different

They are very different.

Excel:
long history
legacy support
macros and formulae
used by spreadsheet wizards everywhere

Numbers:
simpler
target audience = casual user
a pro will hate it because it does not do "xxx" which Excel does

If you are creating a simple spreadsheet for your personal use: Use Numbers
If your spreadsheet is work related and everyone who will receive it (after you export from Numbers to Excel) uses Excel, then use Excel.
If you are an Apple employee, then we have tracked you and you can expect a "visit" soon.
by davebarnes
Thu Jan 29, 2015 4:14 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Bringing up 529s to the grandparents
Replies: 58
Views: 5943

Be smart

Forget the 529s.
Go for Roth IRAs.
by davebarnes
Thu Jan 29, 2015 4:07 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Took the GRE test [- Suggest a masters degree]
Replies: 38
Views: 4354

MBA

Best for your résumé is the MBA.
Find a program without a lot of writing.
I did not do much writing for mine (from Babson).
As an engineer nerd, I hate expository writing.

#2 on my list would be Computer Engineering/Science.
But, then, as someone who has been coding since 1965 (with 18 years spent in sales and marketing), I am biased.

Possibilities:
Econometrics. Not a lot of writing. Lots of reading and lots of statistics.
Genetic Engineering. Will only grow in importance over the coming decades.
Marketing. You can sleep thru it and still ace it.
by davebarnes
Thu Jan 29, 2015 3:58 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Rental Car Prices - is this the new normal ?
Replies: 89
Views: 14699

in Denver

I just experimented.
Denver, Hertz, Feb 11-17, 2015 is $175 with tax
not airport

30JAN2015
Another experiment
Denver, Hertz, Feb 11-17, 2015 $350 with tax
airport
by davebarnes
Mon Jan 26, 2015 10:07 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Finding a good realtor
Replies: 12
Views: 1613

screening

My screening questions are:
How many sides have you done in last 12 months?
Buy sides?
Sell sides?
The total should be 20+ as that will weed out the part timers.
The ratio is important as that helps you gage their level of expertise at representing you.
by davebarnes
Sun Jan 25, 2015 4:23 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Android or iPhone? Which do you like, and why?
Replies: 40
Views: 3921

whatever Tim tells me to buy

Our family:
1 iPhone 6+
1 iPhone 5
2 iMacs
1 iPad Mini
1 iPad Air
1 Macbook Air
1 Apple TV

We buy whatever Tim tells us to buy.

We like the UI for Apple products.
We like the safety of the walled garden.
We like the resale value of our old Apple stuff.
by davebarnes
Sun Jan 25, 2015 1:52 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Recommend a clickless mouse
Replies: 33
Views: 5163

Excellent recommendation

LAlearning wrote:New house with a separate office
Exactly.
by davebarnes
Sun Jan 25, 2015 10:28 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Reliability of LED televisions?
Replies: 18
Views: 11216

Stupid is better

Stupid TVs are better than smart TVs.
The reason is that the TV manufacturers are horribly incompetent when it comes to updating software.
A $100 external box (Apple or Roku) makes more sense than incorporating that functionality into a $1000+ device.

3D is a waste of money.
4K is a waste of money right now. The price premium for 4K will decline to zero in 2-3 years.
OLED is a technology for early adopters who are prepared to "waste" money.

Consumer Reports (worth the money for a subscription in my opinion) says these brands are very similar in reliability with a failure rate of 3-4%:
Panasonic
Hitachi
JVC
Sony
Sharp
Samsung
LG
Emerson
Philips
Sanyo
Dynex
Magnavox
Insignia - Best Buy's house brand
Toshiba
by davebarnes
Sat Jan 24, 2015 5:42 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: When to take a HSA distribution for past medical costs
Replies: 25
Views: 3381

best move

HueyLD wrote:Once you are 65 and on Medicare, you can withdraw an amount equal to Medicare premiums paid for you and your spouse (except for Medigap premiums). There will be no tax or penalty.
This, in my opinion, is the best action.
by davebarnes
Sat Jan 24, 2015 12:18 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Recommend a clickless mouse
Replies: 33
Views: 5163

Buy a Mac

lightheir wrote:Is the Apple mouse PC compatible? I don't use a Mac. Seems like on the website it's mac only. (Looks fantastic, though!)
You can buy a Mac to go with the mouse.
by davebarnes
Sat Jan 24, 2015 8:09 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Recommend a clickless mouse
Replies: 33
Views: 5163

Apple

https://www.apple.com/magicmouse/
It clicks, but is very quiet.
Image
by davebarnes
Fri Jan 23, 2015 11:06 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Selling a home - 1st timer
Replies: 26
Views: 4111

Re: Selling a home - 1st timer

Kosmo wrote:
davebarnes wrote:We spent $27K
Curious how much you think it would have sold for if you hadn't done the work. Was it worth it
It was a very strong buyers' market.
The roof was 24 years old and had hail damage. $10K
The water heater had a tiny leak. $1K
The floors were a 1980s' color (whitewash) and had 24 years of wear. $3.5K
The master bedroom carpet was 24 years old. $1.5K

Yes. Worth it. We love our new abode http://www.3968Vrain.com
by davebarnes
Fri Jan 23, 2015 4:47 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Women's Face Moisturizer/Lotion
Replies: 51
Views: 7037

Alpine Silk

My wife swears by this stuff
http://alpinesilk.co.nz/all-products
She buys it directly from them in large quantities.
Image
by davebarnes
Fri Jan 23, 2015 12:27 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Downsize, Reduce, Simplify.
Replies: 93
Views: 21645

Dieting is good

WormWood wrote: Do you feel liberated and more at ease?
Did you find the transition hard?
Do you wish you had done it sooner?
Yes.
No.
Yes. But, the results would have been way different.

We only downsized the living area by a few hundred sqft. But, we downsized the mortgage to $zero.
Given the trajectory of the housing market in the last decade, it would have been better to do it in 2007 instead of 2011. However, we would not have moved into the rapidly gentrifying, hip neighborhood that we live in now.
by davebarnes
Fri Jan 23, 2015 12:18 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Deleted
Replies: 76
Views: 10492

529s are stupid

529s are a horrible "investment".
You are better off buying gold bars and stashing them in a safe place.

When you fill out the FAFSA, 529 money is counted.
Gold bars (or cash under the mattress) are not.
Think about it.
by davebarnes
Fri Jan 23, 2015 11:54 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Selling a home - 1st timer
Replies: 26
Views: 4111

Some actions

1. Declutter. This usually means removing 2/3 of all the stuff in the house. Into storage or the dumpster. 2. Clean. Deep clean. Everything and then everything again. Never fry or sauté food in the house again. Clean the cat's litter box every day and immediately before every showing. 3. Hire a real estate agent. a. My favorite questions are: How many sides have you done in the past 12 months? Buy side and sold side? Proof source, please. The best answers are: 20+ and at least 50% on the sell side. The 20 gets rid of the part timers. b. You must feel comfortable with the agent. 4. Bring a stager in (for a $100 or so) to give you staging advice. How much of your stuff can you use? Will you have to rent (expensive) furniture? Ask your agent i...
by davebarnes
Wed Jan 21, 2015 11:54 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Checklist for buying a new car
Replies: 21
Views: 3140

yes, indeed

mhc wrote:Tell the dealer not to put any of their advertisement on your car.
I put that into the sales agreement before signing it. I make them initial it.

One time they ignored it and had to patch the trunk and then send new car to the body shop for painting. Then, I agreed to take ownership.
by davebarnes
Wed Jan 21, 2015 1:53 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: $7 gas - what would you do?
Replies: 125
Views: 23972

Nothing

We own 1 car and drive it about 5K miles per year.
Gas prices (up or down) do not change our driving habits.
I expect our next car to be electric as our typical daily mileage is fewer than 20.
by davebarnes
Sun Jan 18, 2015 10:34 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: MediCare and ? What are your out of pocket costs please.
Replies: 39
Views: 6759

Ymmv

Medicare advantage with Kaiser at $zero per month.
Part B at $105/mo
Out of pocket in 2014 was $3000 thanks to colon cancer.
Am huge fan of Kaiser.
by davebarnes
Sat Jan 17, 2015 8:40 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Wifi Thermostat??
Replies: 39
Views: 8253

This is not the 1940s

Technology changes rapidly.
Be mentally prepared to replace everything every 7 years and you will be OK.
by davebarnes
Sat Jan 17, 2015 7:12 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: garbage disposals - are these still used?
Replies: 52
Views: 7459

Huh?

cheese_breath wrote:are a few things the little critters can't handle like egg shells and coffee grounds.
What?
I put both down our builder's special (Badger 5) disposal all the time.
The really tough item is: fish skin. It bounces around and takes forever to grind up.

When you live in the big city with a sanitary sewer system AND on a 3000 sqft lot. You dispose and don't compost.
by davebarnes
Fri Jan 16, 2015 9:11 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: [Purchasing a] shopping cart
Replies: 22
Views: 3466

Be smart AND cheap

[OT comments removed by admin LadyGeek]
by davebarnes
Wed Jan 14, 2015 9:32 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Do you encrypt financial/investment documents on your PC?
Replies: 37
Views: 4030

Who cares?

Why?
I really don't care if someone sees my tax returns.
I send them to the IRS and they forward them to the CIA, FBI and NSA.
by davebarnes
Mon Jan 12, 2015 8:40 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?
Replies: 11037
Views: 2066811

Selma

jginseattle wrote:Selma. Arguably the best movie of 2014.l
Saw it today. Very good.
The opening scene from Birmingham should be studied by every filmmaker. Just perfect.