peejman

There's gotta be traffic cameras. And it would seem you already know the schedule.

75 years.

Welcome back! Congrats on the young'un. My youngest is 6 today. Kids change everything.

Trophy truck gymkhana. Cool.

Mmmm... robitussin. Makes roller coasters at Six Flags WAY more entertaining. So I'm told.

"The Ref" with Dennis Leary and Kevin Spacey, best Christmas movie for grown-ups.

I shot a guy's .308 Saiga once. BOOM!!! It was awesome.

Looks like my boys... What's wrong with part time? It's a foot in the door. ... As long its a beer or two at home and not a beer or 9 at the bar.

This, plus the boss's advice, plus stop drinking. Success is hard. If it was easy, anyone could do it.

John Sevier range is in Knox county. https://www.tn.gov/twra/article/john-sevier-hunter-education-center

The whole thing happened way too fast, and much faster than anyone expected. Cell service is very spotty so even if alerts had gone out sooner, there's a very strong chance plenty of people wouldn't have gotten them anyway. No one could have predicted the fire would jump 3 ridgelines and hit the town that fast. I doubt that reporter has ever hiked Chimney Tops. It's steeper than a 12 pitch roof. You can barely walk the slopes where the fire was, much less cut fire lines with heavy equipment. And even that wouldn't have mattered, the wind blew embers hundreds of yards from one ridge to the next.

Check this out... http://www.wbir.com/mb/news/local/lawmakers-address-decision-to-evacuate-gatlinburg/362066154 Love how the mayor jumps and and shuts her up.

I'm no expert, but I think you did really well. A couple comments... I may have tried a little harder to get out earlier in the 1st scenario. I don't have a dog in that fight all I want is to get out and call it in. You didn't have a great opportunity to get out and it's certainly a little questionable on getting forceful trying to leave. 2nd one, maybe approach the BG a little sooner after he was down to ensure he's down, disarm, and render aid to the clerk. But then you don't know if the BG has friends outside, so... Regardless, that looked like really good stuff. Way better than perforating paper.

There's crazy people everywhere.

I got the mower and the fridge. The fridge died about a month after closing, but I'm still using the mower 10 yrs later. Win some, lose some. In general, houses haven't been a great investment for me. Just bad timing I suppose. We lived in our first house for 7 yrs and I made 0.7% on it when I sold it, which didn't touch what we spent on improvements. We bought the current house and immediately spent $20k on renovations and have probably spent that much again in the 10 yrs since then (most of which was a new roof and HVAC). Only recently have I gained hope I could at least get my money back. If I'd had to sell it 5 yrs ago, i probably would've lost $50k. But it's still better than renting.

Honestly, with 3.5% down... keep saving. I wouldn't expect you to get a very good rate with that little down regardless of your credit. I'd be really surprised if you can avoid pmi at 3.5%. But, do some mortgage shopping and get pre-approved through at least 2 lenders prior to making any offers. As mentioned, figure out what payment you can afford and stick to it. Being "house poor" is no fun at all. Owning a house is very expensive. Whatever you find, you'll spend thousands on all sorts of little things in the first year or two. Stuff that breaks always costs hundreds, and sometimes thousands, to fix. Be very wary of home warranties, and read the fine print thoroughly. A lot of them don't cover anything that normally breaks. Don't sign a contract with a realtor, and don't be afraid to drop one and get another if you're not happy. They work off commission so their job is to sell you the most expensive house you'll buy. Don't get talked into something you really can't afford. Location, location, location. After that, build quality, build quality, build quality. Research local builders, who's good and who's not. The realtor should pretty well know already, and should also tell you who built every house you look at. Get a home inspection from a known good inspector. Be there for the inspection, ask lots of questions, and expect to get dirty. Everything is negotiable.

Mmmmm.... little feller, little feller.

Weather goob said Gatlinburg only got 1.3" of rain compared to 5.5" at spots in the valley. If that's accurate, the danger of more fires is still quite real.

You mean in-line with the bore and on center? Again, that's easy for any decent machinist.

So you're saying it's perfect for getting the wife tipsy. Duly noted.

FTFY. Whether or not there actually is a policy in place, and if so, whether or not it's adequate to cover the loss (without lawyers having to get involved) is the question.

It'll be tonite or tomorrow before we'll know. It certainly should slow/stop any further spread.

It's possible the construction might be covered under their existing homeowners, assuming they informed their policy holder of the construction in process.

We've saved a small variety of seeds for the first time this year. Time will tell how that works out.

Cool. I got to shoot a friend's Dad's Luger a long time ago. Other than raining hot brass, it was exceedingly cool.