Sad state of the South End

I keep an eye on some Boston real estate blogs. Interesting to see what the pundits and such have to stay about real estate in the Boston area - something always talked about even when there are not crises at hand... Although it is interesting to read agents blogs, as they put a positive spin on everything.

As most of you know, the South End went form a nice place to playground-for-the-rich in no time at all, and affordable is not a word mentioned around here. This is shown in a recent agent's blog entry:

If you do a search on South End Condos that are under $300,000 in the Boston MLS, five (5) results will be returned. One of the 5 is a parking space, and 3 of them are studio units no larger than 378 square feet.

Wow. maybe I should just buy a parking space and pitch a tent. And for those counting, the 5th condo referred to above is one that is in very rough shape (and only 654 sf, not exactly a palace). The agent brightly says "of course any buyer would want to do a total rehab". Now the condition is such that a rehab is in order. But it is a sad reflection that something that is 'affordable' is is such poor condition that living in it would be difficult and undesirable.

Maybe another few months of a collapsing economy might help...

Technology Failure, part 2

The phone wasn't enough fun, I'm having issues with my TV now, although they're small.

I've been a videophile of a bit for a while. Way back when I had 2 VCRs and a laserdisc player. Trouble is, back then TVs had only one input. So I bought a video switcher. It takes 4 inputs and sends a single signal to the TV. It also has an option to route any input to "input 1", so you can record any device to the VCR, while watching something else. Pretty spiffy for it's day.

But something is acting up. The video signal keeps dropping form the TV. I'll either have to finally remove the switch, or just replace some cables. Not a big deal, but it means disconnecting everything and re-wiring the TV system. I've gotten a new TV since then, so the VCR and DVD can go right into the TV now.


But now might be the time to face the fact the VCR is on it's last legs as well. Maybe it's time to finally break down and get a DVR... I don't record too much, but it would be easier to set up recording with button click rather than standard VCR finagling. As for the VCR - it does still need to hang around - I'm slowly transferring VCR tapes into the computer to re-burn or post or such. So I really don't want the VCR to die before that's done.

Now if I can just find that mysterious 'free time'.

Update - it got annoying enough I couldn't wait until the weekend. Luckily it's just the cable, which I swapped out. but thoughts of a re-wire and DVR are still on my mind...

Phone, take 2

No news on researching cordless phones, but had forgotten how much Verizon stinks. All the cordless phones can use caller ID to display who's calling, and integrate with your address book, etc. Unfortunately, Verizon charges $9/month for caller ID. Are you kidding me?!?!?! It's been so long since I tinkered with the home phone services, I didn't realize they still rake customers over the coals for this stuff, especially with land line phones seemingly 'going out of style'. To get all the features on your land line that you get "for free" on your standard cell phone, it will cost you $41 on top of your regular land line bill. Plus, there are another $50-off in fees features you can also add on your land line.

My land line is pretty much for 'general' calls these days. For people who I don't want bothering me on my cell phone. And it's powered at all times, so if there's an emergency, I can still make calls.

So maybe I'll leaning to the cheap end of things for the time being.... :)

Technology Failure 1 - the Phone

The first failure this week was the old cordless phone. I thought it was just the battery needing replacement after all these years, but a new battery didn't fix the problem. I suppose that is Taps for the phone.

This is something you don't buy often. If I remember I waited to buy this phone as it was one of the first to be a 900 MhHz phone, a new design at the time. Looking at models now, it seems there have been two advances since then, with DECT (digital) being the new standard. Of course, everything is smaller - including thinner handsets and tiny base stations.

One annoyance though, all the phone stations now stand on end. I like a phone to lie down and be nice and flat on a table. now they all stand up and say "Hey, here's a phone!" Does anyone really like this? but that's the only choice these days, so what can you do.

This is also one of those products where all the models look the same, so I have no idea what to look for. Guess I'll surf Amazon for customer reviews. Anyone have one of these with an opinion? The plus side is they all come with answering machines, so I'll probably be able to dump Verizon's Call Answering service and save a bunch of money.

Of course I can't buy a cordless phone ever without thinking of my Mother. I got her a cordless handset phone for her place a while back. Let's just say she's one of those people that often 'doesn't get' technology. She always stood next to the bast station to use the thing. This includes actually putting the cordless phone down to go into the other room and get something. Gotta love it.

What the hell are YOU starin at?

Well, I'm so giddy I'm just beside myself. Finally, after many years of waiting, Duckman has arrived on DVD.

For those not in the know, Duckman is a duck detective, who's a lousy detective, and spends most of his time ranting against society. And when he's not thinking about sex, he's at home with his dysfunctional family or his straight man Cornfed Pig. It was a great series brought to you by the same crew that did Rugrats. Unfortunately, a variety of cable channels and always changing times drove this show into obscurity even though it gained a cult following.

Now, after many years of waiting, Duckman has finally come to DVD. Even though many of the shows have ended up on Youtube, it's still nice to finally own my favourite episodes. now, to find time to watch...