Useless Conversation

[schild]

Still working on babies, we only have so much time to get a couple more.

 

[Signe]

Congrats, Cheddar!  I hope you love your new promotion!

And  from me, too.  You're like Angeline Jolie except you're a man and they're all yours.  But you don't get to sleep with Brad Pitt.  Poor you! 

And you're ginger.

[rattran]

You mean he lied when he said he slept with Brad Pitt?

[Murgos]

Still working on babies, we only have so much time to get a couple more.

This thought process make no sense to me.  Was it written in Swahili or something and that's why it seems like gibberish?

[Lantyssa]

Chedder is making up for those of us who will remain childless.  All of us.

[Signe]

He's a saint in my book!

[RhyssaFireheart]

Chedder is making up for those of us who will remain childless.  All of us.

It's a nice offer, but he really doesn't have to make up for the kids I won't have.  The world isn't going to miss a few less rugrats crawling around.

ETA - duh, meant to say grats on the ding, Chedder!  Need any project managers in the Chicago area? 

[voodoolily]

Voodoo, I think I have the same ones but tinted green.

Mine are actually slightly more feminine than those, with a teeny bit of a cat's eye slant.

[Yegolev]

I am very tired but at the same time I need to do something to blow off steam.  Starting to get bored with Borderlands and am wondering if Fallen Earth will do it.  I really, really need to go to sleep, though.

[Vision]

I'm leaving for Japan in a month, and need a cellphone with international calling. I'll be living with a host family, so I'm not sure if I should wait for them to advise me on which service provider to go with, or just get an international sim card to work with a blackberry (which I've heard don't always work overseas).
Anyone have any input or info about cheap overseas calling?

[Trippy]

Well normally what you do if you want the cheapest cost per minute is buy an international calling card that has local access numbers from for the country you are calling from. I'm not sure if it would be easier to wait till you get to Japan to find one or try to buy one over the Internet or at a pre-paid phone shop near you before you go.

DO NOT use the international roaming rates of your current calling plan. E.g. if I used my US AT&T SIM to make a call from China to US that would be at $2.29/min. With an international calling card the rate would be as low as $0.02/min plus the rate for the local call using a local provider's SIM like China Mobile (~$0.10/min).

If you are lazy you may even be able to skip the international calling card depending on the international rates from the providers in Japan. E.g. with a China Mobile SIM calling the US from China without using the international calling card is ~$0.30/min which is still an order of magnitude cheaper than the rate AT&T charges.

[Merusk]

Since we're throwing out Cell Phone advice, remember this one.  Turn OFF your data roaming if you're traveling internationally, unless you enjoy $1,500+ monthly bills.

 Not my experience as I don't have a phone, just something I'd heard on the radio.  If it's wrong, don't blame the messenger.

[IainC]

Since we're throwing out Cell Phone advice, remember this one.  Turn OFF your data roaming if you're traveling internationally, unless you enjoy $1,500+ monthly bills.

 Not my experience as I don't have a phone, just something I'd heard on the radio.  If it's wrong, don't blame the messenger.

This happened to me. My voice roaming charges are quite reasonable so I didn't worry too much about using my German T-Mobile G1 in the US for 3 weeks. Then a month after I got back I had a 1200€ bill of which ~50€ was calls.

[Oban]

I'm leaving for Japan in a month, and need a cellphone with international calling. I'll be living with a host family, so I'm not sure if I should wait for them to advise me on which service provider to go with, or just get an international sim card to work with a blackberry (which I've heard don't always work overseas).
Anyone have any input or info about cheap overseas calling?

Wait and get a cellphone in Japan through your host family.  It will cost you less and have a few features that will make your stay that much more enjoyable...

[Samwise]

Just met with a structural engineer to talk about properly building out our basement, which will basically double the living space of our tiny house.  We were prepared for the possibility of having do it in stages over a couple of years as money allowed, but the engineer's off-the-cuff guess of how much it'd all cost was about half of what we have available to spend right now.

So...  Cautiously optimistic.  We've got a few other plans that are sort of waiting behind getting this done, and have been since we bought the house, so if it actually happens this year it will be fucking awesome.

[Sky]

Always double estimates and don't be surprised if it triples. That's my construction rule of thumb. May I ask what the structural engineer cost? We want to add a second story and I'll need to hire one on at some point, but I have no clue as to what they cost.

Also, cautious congrats on your bigger house!

[Vision]

Ok thanks. I'll probably wait for my host family to direct me towards a cellphone plan then. You were all very informative, actually. Not many people actually say thanks on the internet, so Thanks!

[Merusk]

Why a structural engineer? Are you trying to move beams and columns?

Also, I agree with Sky, double-to-triple is a good place to start your budget.  Also triple the time estimate given to you as you're a private homeowner so whoever you hire will send crews to the guys keeping them in business through this incredible decline in construction before they hit your place.

[Salamok]

Just met with a structural engineer to talk about properly building out our basement, which will basically double the living space of our tiny house.  We were prepared for the possibility of having do it in stages over a couple of years as money allowed, but the engineer's off-the-cuff guess of how much it'd all cost was about half of what we have available to spend right now.

So...  Cautiously optimistic.  We've got a few other plans that are sort of waiting behind getting this done, and have been since we bought the house, so if it actually happens this year it will be fucking awesome.

Be sure and watch about 10 episodes of Holmes on homes to put you in the proper frame of mind.

[Samwise]

Always double estimates and don't be surprised if it triples. That's my construction rule of thumb. May I ask what the structural engineer cost? We want to add a second story and I'll need to hire one on at some point, but I have no clue as to what they cost.

The engineer says his fee would be $3500 for measuring the place, drawing up plans, dealing with the permit office, et cetera; having him just come out and get an initial look  didn't cost anything.

We need an engineer because the work will involve a seismic upgrade -- replacing some crumbling century-old foundation, adding a couple of plywood shear walls in strategic areas, that sort of thing.  Since the work is all downstairs and in theory we'll be able to keep living upstairs I don't think it'll matter too much if the work drags on for a few months, so long as it gets done.

[Yegolev]

Why a structural engineer? Are you trying to move beams and columns?

Crap economy in the construction market, I hear.

Samwise.  Don't trust anything those bastards tell you.  People who work in construction would be mafioso if they weren't so fucking stupid.

/rageguy

[Yegolev]

So I was in Bed Bath & Beyond and I started looking at pepper mills.

[schild]

COOL STORY BRO

[Ironwood]

She can get Electrical safety plugs out and can switch off my hoover at the wall.

Oh Fuck.

[Signe]

You need to get her a tiny one so she can "help".

[NowhereMan]

She can get Electrical safety plugs out and can switch off my hoover at the wall.

Oh Fuck.

Soon it won't just be your wife getting annoyed and turning off the computer if you're not paying enough attention.

[Ironwood]

 

[Yegolev]

Might take the opposite tack and remove the covers so as to also remove the "forbidden" status of the outlets.  Assuming the woman goes for that.

[Signe]

I'm completely confused.  Is "turning off my hoover at the wall" some sort of code?

[NowhereMan]

I think it's a clever way of saying his daughter can turn off the hoover at the wall. Of course that's after running it through my enigma machine so perhaps it's less complicated than that.

[voodoolily]

According to the History Channel, the egg is a Modern Marvel. 

[Signe]

Maybe they meant the Ped Egg?

[voodoolily]

  Those are so nasty! I do not want to collect my dead foot skin in an ovoid sphere!!

[Signe]

Yikes!  I obviously have no idea what the fuck a ped egg is!  Yuck!   

[Ironwood]

I'm completely confused.  Is "turning off my hoover at the wall" some sort of code?

Elena has mastered Electrical sockets.

With all the fun that entails.

Today, the alarm clock.