Random randomness

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Sun Sep 06, 2020 9:24 am

Sudy wrote: ↑Sun Sep 06, 2020 8:00 am Yeah, average house price in Toronto is $1,036,485. ($792,000 USD.) So... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Holy shit.

I had no idea Toronto was so expensive.

Jaymon · Post by **Jaymon** » Sun Sep 06, 2020 9:46 am

I am one cup of coffee in the morning, unless there is a special occasion and I'll have a second cup some other time in the day.
Today might be one of those special occasions, considering that today I started by putting a spoonful of coffee grounds into my cereal bowl instead of a cup.

Sudy · Post by **Sudy** » Sun Sep 06, 2020 9:51 am

The average price in 2016 was only $688,011 in 2016 ($527,000 USD). So, to increase to $1,036,485 in four years....

"In March 2017, the cost of owning a home in the Greater Toronto Area had grown 33% in just one year's time, with 19% of that growth occurring in just the two most recent months. Even the less desirable, semi-detached homes have surpassed $1 million in value. Suburbs have seen large price increases as well. Homes that have not seen upgrades in decades are being sold well over asking price. Condominium prices are seeing consistent growth with each passing year, even with a large number of units under construction.[4] Economists are quick to compare the situation to many other historical real estate crises."

- Wikipedia - Canadian Property Bubble

Worked out pretty good for my parents and grandmother though, who were able to sell the family home and buy a much larger home/estate a few hours to the west.

Sudy · Post by **Sudy** » Sun Sep 06, 2020 9:52 am

Jaymon wrote: ↑Sun Sep 06, 2020 9:46 am I am one cup of coffee in the morning, unless there is a special occasion and I'll have a second cup some other time in the day.
Today might be one of those special occasions, considering that today I started by putting a spoonful of coffee grounds into my cereal bowl instead of a cup.

Holy crap, you usually put a cupful of coffee grounds in your cereal?

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Sun Sep 06, 2020 10:56 am

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Sat Sep 05, 2020 11:39 pm Just read where the majority of people under the age of 30 are living with their parents.

FWIW, the idea of kids moving out as soon as they're grown has been a historical anomaly, mostly of the last century. Sans research, I wouldn't be surprised if it had something to do with the rise of college.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Sun Sep 06, 2020 12:15 pm

Or urbanization.

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Sun Sep 06, 2020 2:39 pm

When I got out of the air force I moved in with my parents in southern California and stayed there until they moved back to Arkansas leaving me all alone with my things.

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Sun Sep 06, 2020 2:49 pm

as a single person, i can not afford a house here in Seattle (median price: $767,906)

Paradroid · Post by **Paradroid** » Sun Sep 06, 2020 3:06 pm

Jesus christ Sudy, that's even worse than here!

We've missed our chance to own a house. It'll never happen now, not via the normal route anyway. I'm seriously considering suggesting to the kids when they're older that we all pool our resources and buy some kind of large property that we can all occupy. I don't know what else I can do. There's no way they'll be able to afford a house on their own either, so they might go for it.

I wouldn't mind renting if we had the same kind of rental market as most of Europe, but it's shit here. Landlords can just kick you out, no reasons necessary. There are no 100-year leases like you get elsewhere.

What really pisses me off is that if we were paying a mortgage we'd be paying less money per month. So by paying more in rent we can't save the staggering amount of money needed for a mortgage. It's fucked up. We haven't missed a single rent payment in over 20 years, you'd think that would be enough for a lender.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sun Sep 06, 2020 3:08 pm

Theres always cheaper places to live.

Anonymous Bosch · Post by **Anonymous Bosch** » Sun Sep 06, 2020 4:16 pm

Paradroid wrote: ↑Sun Sep 06, 2020 3:06 pm Jesus christ Sudy, that's even worse than here!

We've missed our chance to own a house. It'll never happen now, not via the normal route anyway. I'm seriously considering suggesting to the kids when they're older that we all pool our resources and buy some kind of large property that we can all occupy. I don't know what else I can do. There's no way they'll be able to afford a house on their own either, so they might go for it.

I wouldn't mind renting if we had the same kind of rental market as most of Europe, but it's shit here. Landlords can just kick you out, no reasons necessary. There are no 100-year leases like you get elsewhere.

What really pisses me off is that if we were paying a mortgage we'd be paying less money per month. So by paying more in rent we can't save the staggering amount of money needed for a mortgage. It's fucked up. We haven't missed a single rent payment in over 20 years, you'd think that would be enough for a lender.

One of my best friends has a 20-yr-old son in the USAF. Because he's married, they're able to live off-base in a gorgeous (rental) house with Uncle Sam picking up the tab. Uncle Sam will also be covering the cost of his college education. So if/when he's done with the military, he'll have a completely debt-free education, plenty of useful work experience in his field of expertise (cyber-security), as well as a top secret security clearance. Not to mention earnings, savings, medical coverage, and retirement.

Compared to many of his 20-yr-old peers struggling to follow the conventional college career path, it's difficult to imagine a much more prosperous start in life for a young couple in today's day and age.

gbasden · Post by **gbasden** » Sun Sep 06, 2020 5:54 pm

Anonymous Bosch wrote: ↑Sun Sep 06, 2020 4:16 pm

Compared to many of his 20-yr-old peers struggling to follow the conventional college career path, it's difficult to imagine a much more prosperous start in life for a young couple in today's day and age.

I completely agree. I would recommend that path to my son, but the military is still no path for someone with autism, even very intelligent high functioning people. So I'm still planning on footing the bill for college. I can't imagine my son dealing with a drill instructor...

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Sun Sep 06, 2020 6:20 pm

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Sat Sep 05, 2020 11:39 pm Just read where the majority of people under the age of 30 are living with their parents.

Couldn't that just mean that there are more 0-18 year-olds than 19-30 years olds?

Moat_Man · Post by **Moat_Man** » Sun Sep 06, 2020 8:02 pm

The average selling price of a home in Vancouver was C$1.3M last month. That's ~US$1M.
The average selling price of a condo in Vancouver was C$856K last month. That's US$655K.

Most of our children will never be able to afford to own a home in the city they grew up in.

https://www.zolo.ca/vancouver-real-estate/trends

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Sun Sep 06, 2020 11:22 pm

gbasden wrote:
Anonymous Bosch wrote: ↑Sun Sep 06, 2020 4:16 pm

Compared to many of his 20-yr-old peers struggling to follow the conventional college career path, it's difficult to imagine a much more prosperous start in life for a young couple in today's day and age.
I completely agree. I would recommend that path to my son, but the military is still no path for someone with autism, even very intelligent high functioning people. So I'm still planning on footing the bill for college. I can't imagine my son dealing with a drill instructor...

The running gag in the military is that the spectrum folks end up in Comms or Intel.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Mon Sep 07, 2020 8:58 am

Moat_Man wrote: ↑Sun Sep 06, 2020 8:02 pm The average selling price of a home in Vancouver was C$1.3M last month. That's ~US$1M.
The average selling price of a condo in Vancouver was C$856K last month. That's US$655K.

Most of our children will never be able to afford to own a home in the city they grew up in.

https://www.zolo.ca/vancouver-real-estate/trends

I bought a 2bd/2bath condo in Alexandria, VA in April of 2019 for $406,000.

The woman across the street with the exact same floorplan put hers on the market a couple of days ago for $470,000 and it's already under contract.

Jaymon · Post by **Jaymon** » Mon Sep 07, 2020 10:05 am

Shopping for a home in the greater Seattle area was painful, the bare minimum of what we needed was $450k+ plus, and that was for places that came with many compromises. I was able to come up with some compromises of my own, and move to a small town in central Oregon to purchase an almost new home for $300k, and work from home full time.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Mon Sep 07, 2020 10:32 am

The WinAmp skin museum

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Mon Sep 07, 2020 12:08 pm

I never realized until today that they make handicap license plates.
It must have been a real struggle getting that wheelchair on and off his bike.
No, he didn't have one but he seemed to get around okay.

wonderpug · Post by **wonderpug** » Mon Sep 07, 2020 1:40 pm

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 07, 2020 12:08 pm I never realized until today that they make handicap license plates.
It must have been a real struggle getting that wheelchair on and off his bike.
No, he didn't have one but he seemed to get around okay.

There are more kinds of valid handicaps besides visibly obvious ones related to walking.

Sudy · Post by **Sudy** » Mon Sep 07, 2020 1:50 pm

Daehawk wrote: ↑Mon Sep 07, 2020 10:32 am The WinAmp skin museum

Oh wow! I actually found the skin I used from probably 1999 until I switched to MediaMonkey several years later.

This brings back so many memories... Winamp was simple, compact, and all you needed. I began by listening to midis of modern rock/alternative I heard on the radio, and RPG music. Then came Napster and MP3s. (Yes, I was "banned by Metallica"... life was rough until I found the next P2P platform; Napster was a pastime.) Eventually I mostly went "legit", amassing a huge CD collection and ripping them all. Then I downloaded with an eMusic subscription for years. I finally moved on from Winamp when I wanted more advanced library functions. Now, it's just Spotify. I still have MediaMonkey on my old/backup system, but there aren't even speakers hooked up to it. Mostly I use it to look up the names of tracks I've forgotten or aren't on Spotify, so I can look them up on Youtube.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Mon Sep 07, 2020 2:06 pm

Still think WinAmp was the best. I think I used that one a little while. I haven't dug deep to see if the one I used the most is there. It was a futuristic blue and silver as I recall. I then went back to original normal WinAmp and preferred it the most. There was also a cool retro one I used a bit with vacuum tubes and such.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Mon Sep 07, 2020 4:09 pm

I still use Winamp.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Mon Sep 07, 2020 4:10 pm

"It really whips the llama's ass!"

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Mon Sep 07, 2020 4:15 pm

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Mon Sep 07, 2020 4:10 pm "It really whips the llama's ass!"

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Mon Sep 07, 2020 4:29 pm

The kids have all shown an interest in learning piano. Mrs. Skinypupy has been asking for an actual upright piano for years, but I haven't been willing to make that sort of investment for something that they might actually use. I've been stubborn, insisting that the crappy Casio keyboard I bought for $300 some 15+ years ago will suit them just fine until they get serious about it.

This weekend, one of the local music stores was having a used piano sale. They have a program where they lease pianos out to schools, and they can trade them back in for a newer model every couple years. I grudgingly went with her to see if maybe that had any screaming deals. The cheapest model they had was $3,000, which was entirely out of the question. As we were leaving, the salesman asked if we were maybe interested in an electric pianos. Having not looked at keyboards in years, I was actually quite shocked at how well they played. It looks and feels nearly identical to the real thing. They also have some really cool built in features, such as an app (that connects to the piano via Bluetooth to an iPad or phone) which includes a ton of fun lessons and tools, and a headphone jack (which will be critical for my low patience days).

So I'm now the owner of a Roland RP500 digital piano (nearly identical to RP-501). They retail for $1,600, and we got a brand new one for $1,200 on sale. Feels like a pretty good compromise, and the kids love it. I even found myself sitting down to play, which I hadn't done in years.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Mon Sep 07, 2020 6:22 pm

I think our digital piano is just the next level down from that, and it sounds great. You'll probably love yours.

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Mon Sep 07, 2020 7:11 pm

weighted keys make a huuuuuge difference

oh and i have used foobar2000 for years. not 'pretty' like WinAmp out of the box, but it's still in active development, freeware, crazy customizable and has waaaaaaay more features now.

disarm · Post by **disarm** » Mon Sep 07, 2020 8:27 pm

This was my favorite skin for a long time... nice and simple dark theme. It always surprised me to see the crazy stuff that some people used...just didn't seem practical to having something like the ones that look like cartoons, pencil drawings, or celebrity photos. I was a stickler for keeping my Windows desktop looking clean though...minimal icons and non-flashy wallpaper all the way!

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Tue Sep 08, 2020 3:16 am

Went to get a haircut today... outdoor venue. The haircut itself is about 5 times more than my "normal" haircut price and does not even include a wash and blowdry, but these are not normal times. Add Lyft cost, eating out cost, and tip, it's absolutely RIDICULOUS cost for a haircut, but it can't be helped.

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Tue Sep 08, 2020 8:16 am

1978.
The last year I had a store bought haircut. $5.

Sudy · Post by **Sudy** » Tue Sep 08, 2020 8:55 am

I haven't had a haircut since before Covid. I've had to resort to bobby pins to keep it out of my eyes. I don't think I want to go back to long hair. But still being able to work from home, I don't have much motivation to get it cut. This has allowed me to grow my beard the longest of my life... I've never let it get past the itchy/unsightly stage before. I still trim the moustache though... as much as I'd like a handlebar (grew it that long once), I hate when it gets in my food or mouth.

The Meal · Post by **The Meal** » Tue Sep 08, 2020 9:40 am

I'd get haircuts every 6 weeks and would pay $25 each. My last haircut was on February 26. By mid-June I gave up on ever feeling comfortable going back for a haircut and received a set of clippers for $55. MHS helped me with one haircut, and I've done my own a few times since then. It's nice to get a haircut exactly when it's starting to feel shaggy, but I'm not doing nearly the same job as the professional did.

And I do feel terrible for her. Their family's sources of income included her salon job, their VRBO rental, and her husband's job as an airline mechanic. I can only imagine how things have changed for them since the pandemic. (However, the pandemic hasn't exactly treated our family very favorably, so it's not like I feel guilty about not providing any support.) If there's a major across-the-board rate hike for hair cutting professionals in the months and years ahead, I can see a situation where I get a professional haircut every few times but mostly use the clippers from home myself (at least until I *really* screw things up).

Paingod · Post by **Paingod** » Tue Sep 08, 2020 10:04 am

The Meal wrote: ↑Tue Sep 08, 2020 9:40 amI can see a situation where I get a professional haircut every few times but mostly use the clippers from home myself (at least until I *really* screw things up).

I think "Pandemic" may be a popular hairstyle until the current generation grows old and takes it with them. Folks have learned that hair length and cut consistency is a lot less important than it used to be.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Tue Sep 08, 2020 10:12 am

Last haircut was about March 2019.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Tue Sep 08, 2020 10:16 am

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Tue Sep 08, 2020 8:16 am 1978.
The last year I had a store bought haircut. $5.

1994 for me.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Tue Sep 08, 2020 10:30 am

I, too, bought a clipper this spring. Buzzed off all my hair a couple months ago, and it's just about time to do it again.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Tue Sep 08, 2020 10:46 am

My wife would buy me a new cordless trimmer every few years. The batteries get to where they wont hold a charge. tried different brands with some better than others. But they all die in a few years. Cant use a corded one as theres no power plugs in the bathroom or the two back rooms where the bathroom is. Bout time I got another one as this one is slowing down.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Tue Sep 08, 2020 11:00 am

Daehawk wrote: ↑Sun Sep 06, 2020 3:08 pm Theres always cheaper places to live.

There is a correlation between how much a place costs to live and access to critical resources, like jobs and good schools.

If you asked me a decade ago I would have told you my kids are out on their asses the day after their 4th year of college ends. I have since reconsidered. We have 5 bedrooms and it will be paid off well before that time comes (44 months to go!) so no big deal if they need to stick around a while longer.

The team I work on has lots of folks in their early to mid 20s all making good money who had apartments in the area but when we learned the WFH think would last more than a few weeks they mostly all moved back in with their parents, enjoying mom's cooking. My mom's apartment is smaller than my family room and smells like cigarettes so I'll just stay here.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Tue Sep 08, 2020 11:01 am

Kraken wrote: ↑Tue Sep 08, 2020 10:30 am I, too, bought a clipper this spring. Buzzed off all my hair a couple months ago, and it's just about time to do it again.

I did the same thing a month or so ago, after ~7 months of growth. It cut my shower time by about two thirds.