Winter Banter and General Disco 2

[HIPPYVALLEY]

I shot this last night from the front yard.

 

 

[TwoDogNight]

Seeking advice from this diverse group...COMPLETELY non-weather related...NON-car nuts can skip?

Long time lurker but with the diversity of knowledge I've witnessed here for quite a few years...looking for thoughts/experiences...and yes, I know, first world problem here...

 

I inherited a pair of cars from my Dad.  The past two years they were winter stored at my Mom's house.  That may be changing.  

I have a (too small for everyday car, but sized well for the (toy) cars attached garage (22x22).  

Options that have come to mind:

A. both cars in the garage, and everyday cars live outside.  no cost is great, but someday I'll be commuting daily again and sometimes it does snow , and my wife might hate the toys getting the garage and not her car and it's inevitable especially in winter that using garage as pass through from outside, putting snowblower in garage, shovels, grocery, etc. the toys are going to be in the way/bumped/etc...see car nut in first sentence.  

B: stacked in one bay with a 4 post lift (i.e. directlift.com) and one of the everyday cars (mine) lives in the driveway. happy wife, happy life, a lift would be really nice for working on the cars.

C: B with one of those metal carports nestled in an area that would be too noticeable from the street.  What's best here...extend driveway asphalt (driveway redo may be on the docket for this year anyway), pour a cement pad, anchor on crushed stone?  advantage here is, not having to move cars (kids have cars as well, yes...our house looks like a used car lot) all the time to get cars in and out of garage, weather protection

D: single car prefab garage (i.e. https://www.kloterfarms.com/page.cfm?p=45764) AND the lift stacking one of the cars above the everyday other everyday in other bay.  partial man cave on a budget.   

E: dual lifts, dual stacking.  (a car nut can dream, right?)  Kinda wish my garage ceiling height was about 1' more to stack over my SUV, and about 3' longer for more room!

 

F: time machine and build that 24x24 garage I had a GREAT quote for two years ago.  :-(  economically, a poor idea then, and more so now but if I could roll back the clock, I think I would do it because the price was THAT good...but would I love to have that space to setup a man cave for working on the cars.  

  

So...any thoughts or experiences on lifts, carports, prefab garages?  

[radarman]

4 minutes ago, HIPPYVALLEY said:

I shot this last night from the front yard.

 

 

Glad our pack held out.  It's very bright out there tonight, and the snow amplifies it.  Few things better.

[HIPPYVALLEY]

1 minute ago, radarman said:

Glad our pack held out.  It's very bright out there tonight, and the snow amplifies it.  Few things better.

Yeah, full winter moons are awesome!   Clouds moved in tonight but last night it was so bright off the snow it was like twilight at 10pm.

[mreaves]

8 minutes ago, HIPPYVALLEY said:

Gorgeous!  I saw the moon rising tonight and was in awe at how big it looked but could not get to an open view before the clouds moved in.  It was like a 10 minute race that I lost driving across town. 

We were riding down the snowmobile trail and I topped a little rise and I had to pull over and take that picture of the moon. My crappy iPhone doesn’t do it justice. 

[HIPPYVALLEY]

1 minute ago, mreaves said:

We were riding down the snowmobile trail and I topped a little rise and I had to pull over and take that picture of the moon. My crappy iPhone doesn’t do it justice. 

It took me a second look at your post to realize you captured the East and West views almost simultaneously.

[mreaves]

1 minute ago, HIPPYVALLEY said:

It took me a second look at your post to realize you captured the East and West views almost simultaneously.

Not quite simultaneously. But the moon is rising in the notch that we were riding to. The bottom pic is looking west from the hill on the right. I think we were at 2100’ looking towards the spine. Camel’s Hump is on the left. 

[DavisStraight]

31 minutes ago, TwoDogNight said:

Seeking advice from this diverse group...COMPLETELY non-weather related...NON-car nuts can skip?

Long time lurker but with the diversity of knowledge I've witnessed here for quite a few years...looking for thoughts/experiences...and yes, I know, first world problem here...

 

I inherited a pair of cars from my Dad.  The past two years they were winter stored at my Mom's house.  That may be changing.  

I have a (too small for everyday car, but sized well for the (toy) cars attached garage (22x22).  

Options that have come to mind:

A. both cars in the garage, and everyday cars live outside.  no cost is great, but someday I'll be commuting daily again and sometimes it does snow , and my wife might hate the toys getting the garage and not her car and it's inevitable especially in winter that using garage as pass through from outside, putting snowblower in garage, shovels, grocery, etc. the toys are going to be in the way/bumped/etc...see car nut in first sentence.  

B: stacked in one bay with a 4 post lift (i.e. directlift.com) and one of the everyday cars (mine) lives in the driveway. happy wife, happy life, a lift would be really nice for working on the cars.

C: B with one of those metal carports nestled in an area that would be too noticeable from the street.  What's best here...extend driveway asphalt (driveway redo may be on the docket for this year anyway), pour a cement pad, anchor on crushed stone?  advantage here is, not having to move cars (kids have cars as well, yes...our house looks like a used car lot) all the time to get cars in and out of garage, weather protection

D: single car prefab garage (i.e. https://www.kloterfarms.com/page.cfm?p=45764) AND the lift stacking one of the cars above the everyday other everyday in other bay.  partial man cave on a budget.   

E: dual lifts, dual stacking.  (a car nut can dream, right?)  Kinda wish my garage ceiling height was about 1' more to stack over my SUV, and about 3' longer for more room!

 

F: time machine and build that 24x24 garage I had a GREAT quote for two years ago.  :-(  economically, a poor idea then, and more so now but if I could roll back the clock, I think I would do it because the price was THAT good...but would I love to have that space to setup a man cave for working on the cars.  

  

So...any thoughts or experiences on lifts, carports, prefab garages?  

I would go with either a lift if it fits, I've seen them at houses I appraise or a carport (cheapest option).

[OceanStWx]

Snow up to thy knickers 

[Damage In Tolland]

1 hour ago, DotRat_Wx said:

Make sure you bundle up on Tuesday junior..... 

Lol I've lost 20 pounds in 2 months. I actually took the job to load weight so I'm very happy. The gains I've tracked via my whoop fitness tracker have been cool. 

Back when it snowed a few weeks ago, made the mistake of not wearing gloves on some of the colder days. Feeling in my fingertips is just coming back lol 

Nice man. Was just busting. You know me. As long as you are drinking a lot of beer.. keep up the good work! Getting married is a huge endeavor 

[TalcottWx]

1 hour ago, Damage In Tolland said:

Nice man. Was just busting. You know me. As long as you are drinking a lot of beer.. keep up the good work! Getting married is a huge endeavor 

Thank you my friend. It's going to be great. We are doing summer 2022 at TPC River Highlands. Just signed contract with a band. A lot of planning and a ton of money. Happy wife happy life though. 

 

[40/70 Benchmark]

3 hours ago, DotRat_Wx said:

Make sure you bundle up on Tuesday junior..... 

Lol I've lost 20 pounds in 2 months. I actually took the job to load weight so I'm very happy. The gains I've tracked via my whoop fitness tracker have been cool. 

Back when it snowed a few weeks ago, made the mistake of not wearing gloves on some of the colder days. Feeling in my fingertips is just coming back lol 

Don't worry about the scale...its all about body mass. Build some lean mass and monitor how your pants fit at the waist. Leave Kev and his archaic height/weight chart in the early 80s.

[PhineasC]

9 minutes ago, 40/70 Benchmark said:

Don't worry about the scale...its all about body mass. Build some lean mass and monitor how your pants fit at the waist. Leave Kev and his archaic height/weight chart in the early 80s.

After lifting for the past 3 years I gained like 25 lbs and went down 2 pants sizes. 

[40/70 Benchmark]

3 minutes ago, PhineasC said:

After lifting for the past 3 years I gained like 25 lbs and went down 2 pants sizes. 

My PCP finally stopped popping an aneurysm every time he weighed me like 3 years ago. I'm 5'7", 215lbs......on Kev's handy, dandy chart, I should be scheduled for a bypass at 40YO, but my blood work is flawless and I have a 34-35" waist. Not ripped by any stretch of the imagination, but healthy.

[40/70 Benchmark]

Jay is a big dude...played ball in college, so body comp is def a factor.

[TalcottWx]

15 minutes ago, 40/70 Benchmark said:

Don't worry about the scale...its all about body mass. Build some lean mass and monitor how your pants fit at the waist. Leave Kev and his archaic height/weight chart in the early 80s.

I had some weird things happen during pandemic. Gained a ton of weight but didn't look like it. Also blood pressure was bad. Its insane how much better I feel already. 

[CoastalWx]

1 minute ago, 40/70 Benchmark said:

Jay is a big dude...played ball in college, so body comp is def a factor.

I love how  you can calculate your BMI and have 90% of the population obese by that metric.  

[DavisStraight]

6 minutes ago, PhineasC said:

After lifting for the past 3 years I gained like 25 lbs and went down 2 pants sizes. 

I weighed more when I lifted and had a smaller pants size too. Been so busy I haven't been working out and ended up with  gut, lost most of it on my diet and have to get back to working out to get back in shape.

[40/70 Benchmark]

Just now, DotRat_Wx said:

I had some weird things happen during pandemic. Gained a ton of weight but didn't look like it. Also blood pressure was bad. Its insane how much better I feel already. 

So happy for everything going on in your life....tough to believe you were a kid when you joined this place.

Good luck with the wedding planning lol

[TalcottWx]

2 minutes ago, 40/70 Benchmark said:

Jay is a big dude...played ball in college, so body comp is def a factor.

I haven't been lifting at all. My body is a mess in terms of damage from football now. I've been focusing on just cardio and losing weight. I'm sure lifting would help, but I am not keen on going to the gym during the pandemic. 

[40/70 Benchmark]

1 minute ago, DotRat_Wx said:

I haven't been lifting at all. My body is a mess in terms of damage from football now. I've been focusing on just cardio and losing weight. I'm sure lifting would help, but I am not keen on going to the gym during the pandemic. 

I hear ya.....I have been back since the summer, but I bought the bare essentials for my basement during lockdown.....squat rack and free weights. That is all you need, really.

[DavisStraight]

3 minutes ago, DotRat_Wx said:

I haven't been lifting at all. My body is a mess in terms of damage from football now. I've been focusing on just cardio and losing weight. I'm sure lifting would help, but I am not keen on going to the gym during the pandemic. 

Get weights and workout from home, me and my brother have a great gym set up in his basement, we put on the Bruins or Sox games and workout.

[TalcottWx]

Just now, 40/70 Benchmark said:

So happy for everything going on in your life....tough to believe you were a kid when you joined this place.

Good luck with the wedding planning lol

Thank you my friend. I joined in about 2007. Spent a year or so on AccuWeather. Found my way over to Eastern. I was a freshman in high school that year. It remains the worst year for snow BOS has had in my memory. I remember in 2011 or so we got hammered one time in Wilmington. Around the same time period a cool g2g in Worcester. I'm grateful for this board. I have learned so much here. This place and its members are awesome. I can't believe I've been here for about half of my life at this point. With luck I will be here until I am old and gray

[CoastalWx]

Yeah man best of luck Jay. The newest Dot Rat. LOL.

[40/70 Benchmark]

14 minutes ago, DotRat_Wx said:

Thank you my friend. I joined in about 2007. Spent a year or so on AccuWeather. Found my way over to Eastern. I was a freshman in high school that year. It remains the worst year for snow BOS has had in my memory. I remember in 2011 or so we got hammered one time in Wilmington. Around the same time period a cool g2g in Worcester. I'm grateful for this board. I have learned so much here. This place and its members are awesome. I can't believe I've been here for about half of my life at this point. With luck I will be here until I am old and gray

LOL I remember that....was like Jan 2011 you crashed in Wilmington.

Fun times.

[TalcottWx]

1 minute ago, DavisStraight said:

Get weights and workout from home, me and my brother have a great gym set up in his basement, we put on the Bruins or Sox games and workout.

Definitely moving toward that in the future. With the pandemic, prices on gym equipment are marked up to insane levels. Plus not enough room. 

We will be buying a house this year or next. Fiancé respects the hobby but thinks I'm insane trying to find best places for snowfall totals. The furthest I will get her to move is 101 area of NH. Stratham Exeter Portsmouth etc. We both love the cape, but that's a brutal place for snow. I have no interest in living in Boston or the city in the future. Being born and raised here, I've had enough of the congestion. I want a yard, peace, quiet, etc. I would think our most probable locations would be SE MA or 128 area. Maybe 495. Look into those towns who aren't completely ridiculously priced. Not many towns like that left. Dedham Canton Mansfield Foxboro Bridgewater Walpole Franklin Southborough Hanover Pembroke Wakefield Reading... Just some random towns to mention. I like the fact we can land a starter home for 5 or so years and these towns may still increase in value. They aren't perfect, but I'd be happy to move further inland weather wise. Blizzards here are a blast, but these locations will do better in marginal events and have benefit of less Seabreeze. Plus coastal MA does terrible with thunderstorms. This city was great and exciting to live in, but I've had enough. It's too congested, too pricey, the neighborhoods are dying, and it's just not the same. I want a driveway. A yard for the dogs. More of a classic American suburban life. I just don't fathron how people justify paying 1.1m for a 1000 Sq ft condo when you could buy a mansion for that price in other areas of the world and some parts of MA. It doesn't add up in my head. I also think this market has hit the ceiling. Prices can't go up foreber. Eventually it will bounce the other way. Urban flight will happen again. I share the opinion of many in belief we are on path to see a drastic change in the way people live soon. Caused by technology and accelerated by coronavirus. Leading companies in this world allow employees to work full time from home at this point. We will begin to see rural life become more attractive.

[40/70 Benchmark]

3 minutes ago, DotRat_Wx said:

Definitely moving toward that in the future. With the pandemic, prices on gym equipment are marked up to insane levels. Plus not enough room. 

We will be buying a house this year or next. Fiancé respects the hobby but thinks I'm insane trying to find best places for snowfall totals. The furthest I will get her to move is 101 area of NH. Stratham Exeter Portsmouth etc. We both love the cape, but that's a brutal place for snow. I have no interest in living in Boston or the city in the future. Being born and raised here, I've had enough of the congestion. I want a yard, peace, quiet, etc. I would think our most probable locations would be SE MA or 128 area. Maybe 495. Look into those towns who aren't completely ridiculously priced. Not many towns like that left. Dedham Canton Mansfield Foxboro Bridgewater Walpole Franklin Southborough Hanover Pembroke Wakefield Reading... Just some random towns to mention. I like the fact we can land a starter home for 5 or so years and these towns may still increase in value. They aren't perfect, but I'd be happy to move further inland weather wise. Blizzards here are a blast, but these locations will do better in marginal events and have benefit of less Seabreeze. Plus coastal MA does terrible with thunderstorms. This city was great and exciting to live in, but I've had enough. It's too congested, too pricey, the neighborhoods are dying, and it's just not the same. I want a driveway. A yard for the dogs. More of a classic American suburban life. I just don't fathron how people justify paying 1.1m for a 1000 Sq ft condo when you could buy a mansion for that price in other areas of the world and some parts of MA. It doesn't add up in my head. I also think this market has hit the ceiling. Prices can't go up foreber. Eventually it will bounce the other way. Urban flight will happen again. I share the opinion of many in belief we are on path to see a drastic change in the way people live soon. Caused by technology and accelerated by coronavirus. Leading companies in this world allow employees to work full time from home at this point. We will begin to see rural life become more attractive.

That is what we did....my wife is an immigrant, thus her income can not be counter towards the mortgage....hence the move to Methuen for a bit.

We will be back to Wilmington/Tewksbury/Andover area in a few years, but that area is just too much for me to swing as the only name on the note.

[TalcottWx]

9 minutes ago, CoastalWx said:

Yeah man best of luck Jay. The newest Dot Rat. LOL.

Too funny that you lived only a couple football fields from where I am. We often drunk walk your street home after getting plastered in Adams Village. We had Molinaris last night. Pizza was OK, place is a bit overrated in my eyes. Unfortunately Pats Pizza was not open. We weren't sure why, then saw the news. Yikes. 

[TauntonBlizzard2013]

10 minutes ago, DotRat_Wx said:

Definitely moving toward that in the future. With the pandemic, prices on gym equipment are marked up to insane levels. Plus not enough room. 

We will be buying a house this year or next. Fiancé respects the hobby but thinks I'm insane trying to find best places for snowfall totals. The furthest I will get her to move is 101 area of NH. Stratham Exeter Portsmouth etc. We both love the cape, but that's a brutal place for snow. I have no interest in living in Boston or the city in the future. Being born and raised here, I've had enough of the congestion. I want a yard, peace, quiet, etc. I would think our most probable locations would be SE MA or 128 area. Maybe 495. Look into those towns who aren't completely ridiculously priced. Not many towns like that left. Dedham Canton Mansfield Foxboro Bridgewater Walpole Franklin Southborough Hanover Pembroke Wakefield Reading... Just some random towns to mention. I like the fact we can land a starter home for 5 or so years and these towns may still increase in value. They aren't perfect, but I'd be happy to move further inland weather wise. Blizzards here are a blast, but these locations will do better in marginal events and have benefit of less Seabreeze. Plus coastal MA does terrible with thunderstorms. This city was great and exciting to live in, but I've had enough. It's too congested, too pricey, the neighborhoods are dying, and it's just not the same. I want a driveway. A yard for the dogs. More of a classic American suburban life. I just don't fathron how people justify paying 1.1m for a 1000 Sq ft condo when you could buy a mansion for that price in other areas of the world and some parts of MA. It doesn't add up in my head. I also think this market has hit the ceiling. Prices can't go up foreber. Eventually it will bounce the other way. Urban flight will happen again. I share the opinion of many in belief we are on path to see a drastic change in the way people live soon. Caused by technology and accelerated by coronavirus. Leading companies in this world allow employees to work full time from home at this point. We will begin to see rural life become more attractive.

Interior SE Mass has some nice places, and the snow is pretty comparable to Boston in the grand scheme.

Raynham, Taunton, Bridgewaters, Easton, Mansfield.

[TalcottWx]

3 minutes ago, 40/70 Benchmark said:

That is what we did....my wife is an immigrant, thus her income can not be counter towards the mortgage....hence the move to Methuen for a bit.

We will be back to Wilmington/Tewksbury/Andover area in a few years, but that area is just too much for me to swing as the only name on the note.

I love Wilmington Tewksbury area and Andover for its location. I cleaned up when I lived in N Andover in 2015.