I’ve seen a lot of hype about the return of Pizza Hut. I won’t argue with anyone over the merits of that as people have their reasons for liking that sort of thing. But let me be honest. The types of restaurants within that genre, while not a prevalent as they one were, are not gone either. This is one such place located in Pennsylvania. It’s been here longer than I have been on this Earth and was and is delicious as always. Reasonable priced, not pretentious, and alive and well

Here’s something a little abrasive but I’ll say it. Lot of complaints by people younger than me about the lack of home ownership opportunities. I totally empathize but it’s not new. Home affordability has been bad in a lot of places since the early 2000s. Beyond that though, I am not convinced that younger folks are ready to be homeowners either. This outlet was needing replacement and I have to be honest and say that a lot of younger folks aren’t handy. Home ownership requires being able to fix things and do the little maintenance items. I don’t see a lot of people in the Millenial and Gen Z demographic that can handle these things. Ones from rural areas and farming communities can, but a lot of the urban chic ones? I’m skeptical.

I wanted to tag @TheMarieOakes on this one respectfully, as she's been one of the best at discussing the costs of home ownership in modern times. This right here is an example of the things that you come across with houses and while not THE reason for the high costs, it's an example of many things that contribute to it. I'm very lucky in that I was willed a very impressive home from my parent's estate. I don't claim entitlement; it's all strictly due to circumstances and if I explained my side of things, you might have a different perspective. Simply put, I don't want to go down the rabbit hole on that part of the story. What I will talk about are the little hidden things you discover with a house that has some years on it. As expensive as houses are, you can often buy what you think is the American dream only to discover later that "oh boy, that's a problem", and right here is an example. The two electric receptacles in the kitchen island. This was a 1995 built home and everyone and his brother has seen this arrangement. On the surface, very few people would think twice about it. Beware!!! NOT CODE!!! Effective 2023, the NEC banned receptacles on the sides of kitchen islands and peninsulas. These are no allowed. Why are they out of code? Safety hazard and there are documented cases of fatalities involving small children. The problem here is that a common use for these outlets is powering kitchen appliances like a crock pot or maybe a coffee pot of some type. A small child can grab the cord and pull the appliance down, resulting in burns and other injuries. Thus the NEC pulled the plug on these, no pun intended. Now the question here is if what I have is legal? It depends on your local jurisdiction obviously, so checking with a qualified electrician is best practice. On paper, no, these I believe are grandfathered due to it being part of the original 1995 construction. They were compliant at that time, which required outlets, the number of which was determined by the size of the work area. But here's the thing. If I remodel, which will trigger a permit in almost every case, those have to go. The current rule allows you to not have any receptacles at all with a caveat: It must be rough wired for them, typically some type of junction box tucked under the counter that can be tapped into later if someone wants to add power. But here's the thing: The new outlets must be pop-ups that are integrated into the counter itself, not on the sides. See, these are the things that many people aren't discussing when it comes to home prices. Yes, demand exceeds supply, there's a lot of nonsense and politics involved in this matter. But what isn't mentioned is the cost of regulations. It's getting more and more expensive to simply build a house due to requirements that weren't a factor years ago. It's obviously not the reason for the high prices, but it's clearly a component of it. So, what's next for me in this situation? Technically I'm fine. I was going to swap out those outlets for USB-C charging ones but now I won't because it's a waste of money. I'll could put in decorator outlets and screwless plates if I want to keep them. Alternatively, I probably can remove the receptacles and tie off the wires with nuts and tape and put plates over them. My thinking is that when and if I sell, eliminating those might be one less complication. The problem I could run into is some PITA home inspector that could come in there and make an issue over it. Even though it's 1995 compliant, people can sometimes be unreasonable. So, we'll see.

Here’s an important tip for biz owners and especially political guys running for office. Be very careful with AI generated content. X themselves flags it but allows it with a disclaimer. Do NOT use it in your GMB. It’s OK maybe for FB, X, IG as long as your accounts are verified. But generally speaking the major platforms watch out for it and can be adversarial. In my demo here with my other operation, the real and AI modified photos are different. That can create deception in certain scenarios. Use genuine photos, not AI, especially if you’re a political candidate.

OK before you break my balls over the decorum, let me give the back story. You people on X have a nasty tendency to be of Mike Tyson’s “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face” mentality. You’ll talk crap because you can hide behind anonymity but would never act that way to someone’s face. The decorum are the remnants of my lost parents and the dining room set was my Grandparents and dates back to Philadelphia circa 1920s. I don’t want to hear about it being old fashioned. Not relevant for this post. The white walls are the story here. This dining room as well as the rest of the house, which is large, was 95% wallpapered. And when I say wallpapered, I mean wallpapered in the worst possible way. Floor to ceiling, real heavy stuff, it was garish and overdone. I had a realtor in here who was like “Oh my God!” and said I needed to hire a contractor and there was a lot of work needed to get this house in any kind of salable shape. She wasn’t wrong but where she was incorrect was in the contractor portion. I knew it was a massive undertaking but I also knew I had the ability to handle it myself. I did. The house is going to be painted by me of course, but it was the wall restoration that was a massive project. I did it all myself, over 3000 sf of it. Why is this important, at least in my view? I’m a GenXer, and I’ve reached a point where I’ve had it with the attitude out there, reflected often by people on here, about us. They don’t know anything about us and who we really are. My work here I believe is reflective of what Gen X is all about. We are adaptive, creative, bold, and have that can-do spirit that I personally think is lacking among Millenials, Boomers, and even Gen Z in a lot of cases. Am I special? No, not at all. Most Gen Xers would do what I did here as well. It’s time the world takes a look at us and what we have to offer. We’ve been discounted far too long and that has been a mistake.

Attention @SoundMoneyG @GSchifanelli Why is Maryland a failed state? Many reasons but this is one. Look at the difference in price and availability of oil based primer in Leesburg, VA vs Frederick, MD

I liked the pilot of The Incredible Hulk with Bill Bixby

Today’s words of wisdom: “Don’t police other people’s happiness” -Anonymous

God as my witness, it really happened 🤣🤣

Just wanted to sign off on the Flyers season. Not the outcome we wanted but the evidence is crystal clear. The Flyers are better, and the fans are the best there is. The Late, Great Gene Hart always said “Good Night and Good Hockey”. That spirit is alive and well tonight. But I think there’s a more appropriate quote for this moment from a man named Thomas Fuller…"It is always darkest just before the Day dawneth." @YaBoyCoots @LaurenHartMusic @Bighugh53 @Ike58Reese @SportsRadioWIP @ctherien6

YEP!!! 100% authentic. This is ChatGPT making cartoons off of my infamous stories. This stuff CAN'T be unmarketable. This is the Gen X experience right here.

OMG!! 300% accurate!! It really happened EXACTLY this way 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Nah, he’s not bitter

Steve Sharts

BTA

Pull Vladar for this face off

Yaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!