Month: January 2022

Sport, Off-Road, Touring

Winter Blues Edition of SORT
As of Monday, January 31, 2022 at 9:00 PM pacific time:

Sport Off-Road Touring
2001 BMW
M3 Coupe		 1988 Mercedes-Benz
240GD		 1955 Ford
Courier Sedan Delivery
An over 20-year old BMW from Japan with 145 thousand miles, what could go wrong? An ex-Danish military vehicle that was refurbished in Poland, what could go wrong? A car as old as me with a speedometer & coolant gauge that are inoperable, what could go wrong?

Here is what last week’s cars sold for, or bid to, if the reserve was not met.
Sports: 2009 Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Black Series Sold for $425,000 on 1/31/22
Off-Road: 2018 Mercedes-Benz AMG G63 Sold for $205,000 on 1/26/22
Touring: 2014 Mercedes-Benz E63 S AMG Wagon Sold for $70,500 on 1/28/22

Kicker Rebate

It’s tax time and as usual I’m using the H&R Block software to led me through the job. I have all the info I need to file the Federal return, but I can’t yet because the software won’t let me. I have to wait on a program update that manages the Social Security section. Hey, it might be the same if I was using anybody’s else software too, because everybody is probably waiting on a US government thing.

Once all your basic money information is entered in. there is small window in the upper left that shows you what your rebate will be or what you will owe. As you continue filling out the sections the software it updates those figures to reflect any changes. This year we are going to get a couple hundred back from Uncle Sam.

Last year we owed the state a few bucks and as I filled out the state return for 2021 it looked like we were going to get like a few bucks back instead. That was until I got to the “Other Oregon Credits” section. There was something called a Kicker Rebate. On the next page I had to enter how much our state income tax liability was in 2020 and on the next page the calculated rebate made the the Oregon refund jump nearly $900!

Apparently this is an Oregon thing that when there is a revenue surplus above a certain amount they give that back to both citizens and corporations as a percentage of the tax they paid. We will gladly take it back.

Not Freaky Fast Today

We wanted to get some Jimmy Johns subs for lunch so I placed our standard order in the app and selected “as soon as possible” for a pick up time. It is a mere 10 minute drive to the store from home, with changing into real clothes and driving over it is typically waiting for me when I get there.

Today they didn’t live up to their motto of “Freaky Fast” at all. When I entered the store they were over a dozen people standing around awaiting sandwiches. There were only 3 employees working, where they usually have five, and one of them was taking orders of the walk-ins. I probably had a 15 minute wait compared to the normal, open the door, grab order and leave.

17.1 miles on a nice little loop.
Times Miata Driven since 01/01/22: 5

 

Sport, Off-Road, Touring

AMG Edition of SORT
As of Monday, January 24, 2022 at 9:00 PM pacific time:

Sport Off-Road Touring
2009 Mercedes-Benz
SL65 AMG Black Series		 2018 Mercedes-Benz
AMG G63		 2014 Mercedes-Benz
E63 S AMG Wagon
Insane in many ways, including with 7 days to go the bid is at $400,000 already. As aerodynamic as a brick, but has the HP to punch square shaped holes in any medium. Just the thing for hauling stuff to Goodwill in style and when you need to be there now.

Here is what last week’s cars sold for, or bid to, if the reserve was not met.
Sports: 1954 Chevrolet Corvette Sold for $73,500 on 1/20/22
Off-Road: 1997 Land Rover Defender Sold for $126,000 on 1/18/22
Touring: 1976 Pontiac Grand Prix Sold for $26,500 on 1/19/22

Cheeky Kid – Part Two

If you haven’t already, go read Part One, I’ll wait…

Donna is inclined to go ahead and write the cheeky kid the check. So am I, so we will, but I have some questions. Like, how come whoever did it last year didn’t ask for money? Is this just a let’s throw this out there and see how much money I can rake in? And how many people besides us are going to fall for it? If we don’t pay, and everyone else does, will he mow every where except for between our property lines and our half side of the median?

I also question why, in this day and age, are we even growing grass. It is time to xeriscape this thing. We are in a perpetual drought here in the west and last year year it was so bad that to keep the lake healthy enough to sustain the fish population they did not release any of the usual water that is used by farmers to irrigate their crops. It is time to plant some native plants, water them this year to get them set and move on. Or do what Lady Bird Johnson kind of did as First Lady in Texas, plant wildflowers.

Cheeky Kid – Part One

First some background. We live on a street that has 2 one way lanes separated by a 30 foot section of grass. In New Orleans where Donna grew up this grassy section between the pavement was called a Neutral Ground. In downtown Aiken, SC where we lived for 30 years, when this style road happened we just called it a median. Here in Klamath Falls we don’t know what they call it because it is the only street in town constructed in this manner.

In the other two places mentioned above the city took care of these grassy areas between the streets, here who knows. There is a sprinkler system in place up and down the street and the grass gets plenty of water, so in the summer it needs mowing once every couple weeks and somebody does do it. We have lived here for two years and the first year I don’t remember who did it, I think somebody from the next block up. This last summer the kid who lives across mowed it. Yesterday we got a letter in the mail from him:

December 30, 2021

Dear Mr. & Mrs. Bogardus,

My name is John Doe and I mow the center divide for all residents in the 1000 block of Pacific Terrace. The fee for 2021 is $49.50 per homeowner, which includes my fee of $400 and a Spray & Grow Fee for $95.00.

Please remit payment to me for the 2021 upkeep of the center divide in the amount of $49.50.

Thank you.

John Doe
1098 Pacific Terrace
Klamath Falls, OR 97601
541-555-9999

To be continued…

8 mile ice cream run.
Times Miata Driven since 01/01/22: 4

 

Peacock, We Hardly Knew Ya

Earlier this month, somewhere, somehow, I found out there was an offer for a year free of Peacock Premium just for Specturm subscribers. So I signed up. Here is the welcoming email:
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Thank you for signing up for Peacock Premium.

You now have access to thousands of hours of classic and current TV hits, movies, Peacock Originals, Dreamworks titles, live sports and more—included with your offer until 01/05/23 at no extra cost.

On 01/05/23, your access to Peacock Premium at no extra cost will end and you will be charged $4.99/month plus tax on a recurring basis unless you cancel before then. To cancel your Peacock Premium plan before you are charged on 01/05/23, please visit My Account.
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We downloaded the Roku app, signed in, poked around a bit and then exited. Never went back. Then 2 days ago, 01/18/22, we got another email from Peacock:
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Your Peacock offer has ended.

We hope you’ve enjoyed Peacock Premium at no extra cost. You no longer have access to Premium content but you can still watch Peacock for free. Restart Premium for only $4.99/month plus tax!
———

Wow, that year went by fast! Seemed like just 13 days.