56FordGuy

Bud, got your message. Thanks!   No realtor yet. Plan to start talking with them next week, if I don't have someone lined up by then I'll ask. I suspect they will have various suggestions of things to update or change, I'm just trying to get the obvious stuff done first.    I've got to call Bud's guy, but if anyone else has a suggestion I'm all ears. :) 

About 40 minutes from downtown Nashville, between Gallatin and Westmoreland. If the guy works for a company that does drywall, I'd be happy to hire the company. Right now I just need to get it done.

I've patched and done small things, but I need a ceiling redone, need it hung over some brick and a few other miscellaneous jobs. I need to get it done in a month or two and don't have the time to do it myself right now. Getting ready to sell this house and move.

Need some work done on the house, right outside Gallatin. I've called 5 different companies, left three messages that haven't been returned and two numbers were disconnected. :lol: Anybody do drywall, or have a friend that does, or maybe saw a construction van at a gas station...:lol: If they were building any houses around my place right now I'd just stop in and ask, but no such luck. Suggestions?

When you say a small tractor, how small are we talking about?    New Holland's small tractors are built by a Chinese company called LS. Exact same machine, right down to the paint. Not saying they're bad, but the ones with NH stickers cost a whole lot more than the ones with LS stickers.    Kubota and Deer are the two biggest names in small lawn/ garden tractors right now. Price and quality will be pretty close between the two, in my opinion Deere has a few more creature comforts and adaptability. If you want a backhoe on a Kubota, it must be ordered that way from the factory, while it can be added later on the Deere. JD's 1 series have really been a big hit with the drive over, auto connect mower decks and the fact that you can have the back hoe on or off in about 5 minutes.    Personally I would avoid Mahindra and Kioti. Parts support is poor at best.    Like Grayfox, I've made a career out of working on equipment. If I were shopping for a small tractor right now, Deere and Kubota would be at the top of my list mechanically, but the dealership makes all the difference in the world. You may never need them to work on it, but eventually you'll need parts. If you're shopping for brand new, find out if the warranty covers transport to and from their shop or on-site calls. Deere's corporate warranty does not, but some dealers will provide free warranty transportation for their customers. 

Last time I passed through Lafayette, there was a small lot across from Walmart with a red flatbed diesel Ford 4x4 regular cab, 92-97 body style. May still be there.    Used prices have gotten crazy, so much so that I've seriously considered selling my 2001 F-350 Powerstroke and buying something newer. When 1/2 ton trucks are bringing almost what I paid for a 2 ton 4x4, it's hard not to ignore the prospect...

Yep, I would vote for "just don't care". If it's there, fine. If it isn't, fine. I don't intend to mount anything on it regardless, so I don't see it as nice to have. I really, 100% couldn't care less if it's there or not.    I only have one handgun with a rail, and it lives in the safe. Not because of the rail, but because I choose to carry a different style. Wouldn't make a dime's worth of difference to me if the rail was there or not. 

I currently work as a technician for an equipment dealer, and have owned two 'side' businesses in the past. One of them I sold, the other I closed due to some life changes. My advice would be to operate very, very conservatively. Rental/ lease customers will damage things in ways you can't even imagine. I've talked with factory engineers in my current job who told me "X part can't break", while I emailed them pictures of that exact part broken clean in half. Our lease customers pay a certain amount per month and we keep their machines running, with the exception of customer (or sub-leaser) damage. The cost of those repairs gets billed to our client, who can pass that cost on to their sub leasor or not at their discretion. Start small, as a side business you can manage on the weekends and evenings. Spend the money to open an LLC. Expect things to break that you never thought could fail, and expect customers to not pay or argue about what seem like pretty clear costs.    Having done both, I'm very happy being a dealership employee instead of an owner right now. I work for a good company who takes care of it's people, and if a job really falls apart I can move it up the chain and let management deal with the client. 

We have a 2005 Baja and its a great car. The thing folks may not realize is its a boxer engine, so the valve covers and heads are much closer to being horizontal than vertical. If you had an external coolant leak from a head gasket (I've seen it happen but it's not super common) it could drip onto the ground pretty easily. I would have to look at the folder tonight, but we did valve cover gaskets and a few other things not long ago. In our case the oil dripping from the valve over was landing on the exhaust and smoking. The timing belts themselves are rarely a problem, but the tensioners wear out. If you have the belt replaced, make sure all the tensioners are done as well. The Baja is a cool car with a cult following. If it needed head gaskets and everything else was in good shape I would probably spend the money and do it. Head and valve cover gaskets, timing tensioners, there aren't too many other super common problems on the cars to worry about.

  I carry a J frame, and rarely anything else. Lots of factors in play in that decision, including where I live and the places I go. The odds of me every needing a defensive handgun are very low, so I feel comfortable with 5 rounds of .38 special. If I went different places or lived in a different area I might be more inclined to carry a different weapon, but in my situation the J frame works well. I don't wear a Nomex suit or HANS device to drive to work, but if I drove a racecar it would be a different story. Different situations call for different solutions. 

It's no steel guitar, but it's better than about anything on the radio today. :)  Pretty damn cool. 

Coffee with chickory is great, it's my usual. Publix carries it.

So let me get this straight. The guy dressed like Florida Georgia Line is criticizing someone else's choice of attire? Seriously? :lol: I have to say, I'd probably rather encounter Poindexter OCing because he probably has the ability to carry on a conversation deeper than "Girlbeertruck...night, dirt, girlbeertruck! Redneck! 'Murica!" "Yeehawnascarbarbecuefourwheeldrive!"

Guess I'm the oddball, I had one and gave it away. Making a large cup of coffee just resulted in it being watered down, and my coffee cup wouldn't fit the machine anyway. I wasn't impressed. I make a full pot with the Bunn once a day, then occasionally make a smaller cup with the French press.

  I listed a few items that received no interest on here, some knives and firearm related stuff that ended up selling for more than double what I'd asked here on other sites.    For used guns, I tend to go to Gunbroker and look the the 'sold' listings, then list whatever I have in that ballpark. Usually. Sometimes I just go with a gut feeling on what it would take for me to be happy letting go of an item. 

  If you're going to sing the praises of something, at least spell it correctly. :lol:    When a 6.0 is right, it's an animal. A good running 6.0 can run circles around a 7.3. The problem is finding a good running 6.0. :lol:    Personally, I wouldn't want to own a 6.0. If you did buy it, I wouldn't bother 'bulletproofing' it. I'd stick that money away and when the 6.0 craps out, swap in a 5.9 Cummins. 

I have a drawer where I keep warranty info: receipts, packaging, etc. About once a year I end up going back to TSC with a "lifetime warranty" water hose that's failed. With all the original paperwork, it's a pretty smooth process. The question could be asked, who saves all that for a water hose? The guy that's had numerous ones fail and got tired of buying new ones. :lol: I don't expect their lifetime hose to really last longer than another brand, I just expect them to replace it. Keeping everything together makes it easier when that eventually happens.

  Because every 16 year old wants to look cool strutting around with a big, bad "combat" knife on their belt. Makes them "hardcore", or whatever it is the kids say these days.

I think it's $40-50 usually.

The rescue may not have a facility nearer to you. Most animal rescues have one building at most, and a lot depend on a network of volunteers to house animals in their homes. I doubt seriously people are running around stealing dogs to try and sell back to their owners. Most rescues I've been involved with spend far more money than they ever receive caring for animals that may never be adopted out.

The idea that the money you contribute to SS or the unemployment system goes into an account just for you is entirely false. The money you and I are forced to pay into the system is being used to pay benefits to current recipients, and massive amounts of beuracratic overhead. The money current recipients paid in was squandered long ago, and they should've been keeping a better watch on their elected representatives at that time to fix the damage before it got to this point. The government has no business in the retirement planning industry; if for no other reason than as we can all see they're pretty terrible at it. Stealing from one to give to another is wrong, even if the recipient was at one point robbed themselves. As for it being easy to save of you're not paying taxes or scamming the system, I'm sure it is. That has nothing to do with folks who are playing by the rules but not saving money. That's nobody's fault but their own.

  If you're working full time and unable to save, you're not living within your means. Sorry.    I agree, we should help folks who fall on though times; when we choose to, and not through the government. The .gov stealing my money through the tax system to give it to someone else is not helping the less fortunate, it is theft. Help should be (and is) available to people through a large variety of charities that rely on voluntary donations from people, and a lot of those donations would be a lot larger if we weren't already forced to 'give' to the less fortunate by way of government thuggery.    By my logic, folks on SS are leaches because they depend on the government to retire.    Yes. That is correct. I'm sorry you chose not to save money or decided to quit working at 60 years old, but it's not my job/ duty/ obligation to support you for a decision you made just like I didn't expect anyone to come swooping to my rescue when I quit my job.   I really wouldn't feel bad at all if the government stopped sending out checks to everyone other than employees who actually show up and work tomorrow; and those employees should get nervous because a large portion of the beuracracy would be unnecessary with no more entitlement programs. "Oh, but what about the so-and-so group who depend on those checks?" Private charities will fill the gap.    Will it ever happen? Nope. Not a chance. Too many people are too comfortable with big daddy government there to hold their hand, or they get scared when they see the hard times that will have to come before things can be fixed. We'll never see the US Federal government shrink down anywhere near what it truly should be, but just because it won't happen doesn't mean that it shouldn't. 

Of course. Any time there's uncertainty in one's life, the ideal solution is to run and suckle at the government's breast. To heck with being responsible or even self reliant, nobody can do that! Why, having some savings or a rainy day fund? Not being in debt up to your eyeballs and hanging by a financial thread? Unthinkable! No, when in doubt your first response should always be to turn to the government welfare system. It's the American way. :USA: For a lot of folks it's fun to talk about the end of the world, zombies, prepping, etc. Nobody ever talks about financial prepping, and it's a whole lot more likely most of us will face a financial problem long before a horde of zombies come charging at our homes. But who cares about that, there's unemployment, safe link wireless, section 8 housing, etc... :roll:

The fact that the government gets a portion of the entitlement funds from businesses doesn't make it any less of a government program.

Nor is it automatically warranted. Sounds like the gentleman that started this thread has new employment lined up anyway and didn't plan on filing for unemployment. How sad is it that our society has been conditioned that if you lose your job you have to immediately jump at the chance for "free government money" and lawyer up if you think they'll make it difficult to get your handout? :(