Three Roomates, Two Rooms… Asking For A Friend

Really, asking for a friend. I am fine.

A friend of mine lives in a 2 bedroom apartment with a couple. The rent is split $750 for one and $1200 for the couple. Utilities are split 3 ways. There are two parking spots. Now, the couple is asking for more access to the parking spots instead of splitting them one per room. Even worse, they want it to be first come, first serve. This would be horrible for the single person as they work long hours and would never be home in time to use a parking spot.

How do you resolve this problem? Please help as I’ve never encountered this situation and am not sure what is standard protocol.

Another Funny Coronavirus from my neighbor… Moe Howard from the Three Stooges.

Funny Coronavirus PSA… by my neighbor!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xQ2RvRTsBo

Why We Are A Divided Nation

Today, you have the right wing blaming the Democrats for the government shutdown and the left wing blaming the President. We are a nation dangerously divided along party lines, within families, and amongst friends to the point where it’s easier to just “unfriend” someone as oppose to read another one of their annoying posts.

So, how did this come about? It wasn’t like this in the 50s, 60s and 70s. Yes, there were disagreements, but nothing at the levels we see now. The advent of the Internet did play an important role, but the real answer lies in the Fairness Act of 1949.

Title of my Next Book

The name of my next book is “The Zero Sum Conclusion”. I’d love to hear what you think that means. Think 50 years into the future

Religious “NONES” Need To Organize!!!

How do you organize a group of people who shun organizations but need representation? In other words, how do you herd cats? Any ideas?

This is a great article on the rise of the religious “nones” or those without religious affiliation.

Religious Nones Need To Organize – L.A. Times

Boredom and Brilliance

via Boredom and Brilliance

How To Remove Sealer From Brick

via How To Remove Sealer From Brick

How To Remove Sealer From Brick

If you want to remove a sealer from your patio brick, use a hot water power washer.

There, I said it. Nothing more, nothing less. I’ve tried several different methods and, quite frankly, this is the best way to go. If you go to your local rental company on a Friday afternoon, they will usually rent the machine to you for the whole weekend and charge you for just one day. You’ll need a truck to haul it around though. Make sure you use a machine that has at least 3500 psi but you don’t need any more than that.

Here is what my brick looked like after the sealer had turned into an opaque haze:

I tried muriatic acid and it did nothing. I used a sealer remover, which sort of worked, but was so slow, tedious and expensive. Finally, I saw a video about using a hot water power washer and gave it a try. Here are the results:

You can see the difference!!! Spectacularmongo!

The hot water power washer peeled the sealant right off. It was messy and it wasn’t fast but it worked really well. Make sure you wear old clothes because you will get dirty and wet. The gun is hot so wear a long sleeve shirt, plus, steel toed shoes are a MUST. This washer will tear your toes right off.

Now, my brick is back to its original form and I am loving it!

Good luck.

Boredom and Brilliance

I was spending the weekend at Crystal Cove State Park enjoying the ocean view with my wife and daughter when I noticed that all my daughter wanted to do was watch a TV show on her cell phone. We couldn’t get her to play in the sand or even take a nice sunset stroll with us. Then while I was going into town to get groceries, I heard an NPR podcast with Manoush Zomorodi about her new book, “Bored and Brilliant – How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Productive and Creative Self.” All of a sudden, the light bulb went off.

Manoush has figured out one of the biggest problems with today’s society and made me realize that cell phones and social media platforms are sucking the creativity right out of us as human beings. We’re all guilty of peeking at our phones unconsciously throughout the day, but I didn’t realize how obsessive we were about this until she explained the phenomenon. Of course, I immediately bought her book and am reading it now.

I implore you all to listen to her podcast because it will change your life. Well, if nothing else, it will chance your opinion of cell phone use.