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Post by prufrock on Apr 29, 2018 15:09:24 GMT -5
I double-checked my application and realized that I only selected one location as a preference (I'm not sure how I made this error). Is there a way to add more locations at this point in the process? I just finished testing/interview in DC this past week. No. You are stuck with what you have. Gary knows the exceptions (I have forgotten), but they are rare. Pixie No bueno as I selected one of the more sought after locations in the country.  |
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Post by christina on Apr 29, 2018 17:46:36 GMT -5
Scottsdale is a nice suburb of Phoenix; unfortunately, it gets as hot as Phoenix. Average temp. in July is 106. I was there once in July, and it was 113 (in the shade). Didn't cool down much at night either. There is little humidity in Phoenix, so it is a dry heat, which is much better than high humidity heat. Pixie The suburb gets as hot as the city next to it đ |
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Post by Prrple on Apr 30, 2018 12:29:29 GMT -5
Thank you for all the metro area info, christina . The average high/low always raises an eyebrow for me. IMO, it is not a meaningful way to assess the reality of a location. For example, in the summer in Sacramento, CA, walking outside from inside in the afternoon is like walking into a convection oven. Highs in the 110s. It cools off at night. All winter, it's 53 degrees and raining. That comes out to a lovely average high that would give you no idea that you're going to be able to fry an egg on your sidewalk in the summer. I suspect that the same applies to some of the other averaging data, but that's the one that sticks out for me when reading these. Phoenix is hot in the summer and it averages 86.6. Dallas/Fort Worth is also hot in the summer. Here's what I wish these lists would include: average number of days above 100; average number of days it snows; average number of days below freezing; and average number of days where the temperature is anywhere near the average listed. I'll direct my letters to the makers of the lists... |
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Post by christina on Apr 30, 2018 13:33:30 GMT -5
They have highs and lows for each month but that info did not paste well over here so I deleted it
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Post by denise on Apr 30, 2018 16:17:44 GMT -5
I double-checked my application and realized that I only selected one location as a preference (I'm not sure how I made this error). Is there a way to add more locations at this point in the process? I just finished testing/interview in DC this past week. With all the reported computer glitches associated with the 2017 testing process, I would still reach out to the help desk and ask. Who knows-- it may have been a computer error. It sounds like a long shot though. I thought I was going to be stuck with my smallish GAL, but then OPM re-opened the test within months of the 2016 class receiving NORs and I all of a sudden had a chance to add locations. You just never know. Good luck. |
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Post by stevil on May 1, 2018 12:57:18 GMT -5
If you are looking at locations, I recommend one where hummingbirds will entertain and distract you. First hummingbird of the season spotted at our KC home this noon! All is right with the world now that spring has fully sprung.
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Post by hamster on May 1, 2018 14:23:56 GMT -5
If you are looking at locations, I recommend one where hummingbirds will entertain and distract you. First hummingbird of the season spotted at our KC home this noon! All is right with the world now that spring has fully sprung. With all due deference to my friend Stevil, the night-time serenade of yipping coyotes as you drift off into peaceful slumber, is much more entertaining than a few hummingbirds. Out West is objectively and indubitably the place to be! Mountains! Deserts! Star-gazing! Manly pursuits! Tolerance and inclusivity! Friendly folks! Reasonable reps! A salubrious climate! Horace Greeley was right! Best, Hamster Aim High! |
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Post by stevil on May 1, 2018 14:58:14 GMT -5
If you are looking at locations, I recommend one where hummingbirds will entertain and distract you. First hummingbird of the season spotted at our KC home this noon! All is right with the world now that spring has fully sprung. With all due deference to my friend Stevil, the night-time serenade of yipping coyotes as you drift off into peaceful slumber, is much more entertaining than a few hummingbirds. Out West is objectively and indubitably the place to be! Mountains! Deserts! Star-gazing! Manly pursuits! Tolerance and inclusivity! Friendly folks! Reasonable reps! A salubrious climate! Horace Greeley was right! Best, Hamster Aim High! I agree with this, but you forgot the stench of Javalina excretions - scorpions, spiders and snakes, oh my!! I do miss Tucson! |
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Post by 71stretch on May 1, 2018 16:37:23 GMT -5
Scottsdale is a nice suburb of Phoenix; unfortunately, it gets as hot as Phoenix. Average temp. in July is 106. I was there once in July, and it was 113 (in the shade). Didn't cool down much at night either. There is little humidity in Phoenix, so it is a dry heat, which is much better than high humidity heat. Pixie True that. In July and August, lows are regularly in the high 80s and low 90s, and that is just before sunrise. It's not unusual for temps over 100 to be reported on the 10 o'clock news. The "monsoon season" rainstorms used to cool things off in the summer, but decades of covering everything with concrete has created a "heat island" that keeps the storms from moving in at all, or often limits them to wind, dust, and an increase in humidity. But, you don't have to shovel that summer heat. And for about eight months of the year, the weather is pretty special. |
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Post by redryder on May 2, 2018 11:04:39 GMT -5
I was sitting in my office with a fellow judge who suddenly got up and went to the window. I heard the sound of what I assumed was a large mower or a tractor cutting the field next door. Nope. There is a fleet of ATV's in the field, running an obstacle course. How am I to work when I can while away the time watching the redneck version of the Shriners zoom around?
This is definitely a low-stress outpost.
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Post by Ace Midnight on May 2, 2018 11:06:49 GMT -5
the redneck version of the Shriners zoom around? I think they prefer the term, "Rural Americans." |
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Post by redryder on May 2, 2018 11:15:00 GMT -5
First they were going around a designated track. Now they are in two lines, like precision drills, crossing lines. I swear it is Jeff Foxworthy's posse.
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Post by christina on May 2, 2018 11:49:12 GMT -5
practical insights for anyone pining for rural America. one never knows when ATVs, tractors, or "target" practice on their own land, d.... it, may interfere with concentration!
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Post by JudgeKnot on May 2, 2018 14:59:56 GMT -5
For those of you thinking how awesome it is to live in the country, christina makes a great point. When you move to farmland, don't be surprised to hear tractors or smell manure. Around here, crops are harvested 24/7 during season, and that means tractors are running 24/7. If you move to a wooded area, don't be surprised to hear shotguns or rifles during rabbit season or deer season. It would be like moving into a home in the flight path of an airport, and then grousing because you have the jets flying overhead. We see it all the time around here: people moving from the city and then complaining about the smell of cow s____ and the noise from tractors all night long. It's country livin' folks. |
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Post by foghorn on May 2, 2018 16:15:36 GMT -5
practical insights for anyone pining for rural America. one never knows when ATVs, tractors, or "target" practice on their own land, d.... it, may interfere with concentration!
If it's super loud you'd be interested to see if someone is on your property, or perhaps in trouble--their link parted and their PTO shaft is free and going max rpm which can be dangerous, even lethal.
Fewer people make a big deal about blasting their music through hyper loud car systems --there is little anonymity, and that person's kin will hear about it.
You just want to avoid the areas with a heavy meth or other lab concentration.
fh |
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Post by Prrple on May 2, 2018 16:49:12 GMT -5
For those of you thinking how awesome it is to live in the country, christina makes a great point. When you move to farmland, don't be surprised to hear tractors or smell manure. Around here, crops are harvested 24/7 during season, and that means tractors are running 24/7. If you move to a wooded area, don't be surprised to hear shotguns or rifles during rabbit season or deer season. It would be like moving into a home in the flight path of an airport, and then grousing because you have the jets flying overhead. We see it all the time around here: people moving from the city and then complaining about the smell of cow s____ and the noise from tractors all night long. It's country livin' folks. You can always go "My Cousin Vinny" on them. Note: Vinny does drop the F bomb. |
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Post by JudgeKnot on May 14, 2018 13:39:39 GMT -5
For a bunch of economists, these people at the Chicago Federal Reserve seem to be pretty insensitive to how this plan would affect people. Illinois needs to figure out how to deal with their unfunded pension ($128 billion deficit and growing in a state of 12.8 million people), but this plan is harsh. Basically, if you recently bought a new home and put 20% down, this plan would wipe out all of your equity. "In our view, Illinoisâs best option is to impose a statewide residential property tax that expires when its unfunded pension liability is paid off. In our baseline scenario, we estimate that the tax rate required to pay off the pension debt over 30 years would be about 1%. This means that homeowners with homes worth $250,000 would pay an additional $2,500 per year in property taxes, those with homes worth $500,000 would pay an additional $5,000, and those with homes worth $1 million would pay an additional $10,000." All that on top of the property taxes they're already paying, which are the highest in the nation. midwest.chicagofedblogs.org/?p=3096"Initially, in all three scenarios, the value of the base declines by nearly 20% as home values adjust to reflect the new higher property tax liability that homeowners must pay." www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-05-12/audible-gasp-was-heard-when-chicago-fed-unveiled-its-solution-pension-problem |
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Post by SPN Lifer on May 14, 2018 14:21:52 GMT -5
Beyond geographical flexibility, there is occasionally another benefit of being a lifelong renter.
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Post by acttwo on May 16, 2018 17:47:56 GMT -5
For a bunch of economists, these people at the Chicago Federal Reserve seem to be pretty insensitive to how this plan would affect people. Illinois needs to figure out how to deal with their unfunded pension ($128 billion deficit and growing in a state of 12.8 million people), but this plan is harsh. Basically, if you recently bought a new home and put 20% down, this plan would wipe out all of your equity. "In our view, Illinoisâs best option is to impose a statewide residential property tax that expires when its unfunded pension liability is paid off. In our baseline scenario, we estimate that the tax rate required to pay off the pension debt over 30 years would be about 1%. This means that homeowners with homes worth $250,000 would pay an additional $2,500 per year in property taxes, those with homes worth $500,000 would pay an additional $5,000, and those with homes worth $1 million would pay an additional $10,000." All that on top of the property taxes they're already paying, which are the highest in the nation. midwest.chicagofedblogs.org/?p=3096"Initially, in all three scenarios, the value of the base declines by nearly 20% as home values adjust to reflect the new higher property tax liability that homeowners must pay." www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-05-12/audible-gasp-was-heard-when-chicago-fed-unveiled-its-solution-pension-problem At risk of my life, I say we bring back the much-hated soda tax, but impose it statewide, rather than just in Cook County. If nothing else, it will increase the sales tax haul of Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kentucky... |
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Post by acttwo on May 16, 2018 18:07:33 GMT -5
practical insights for anyone pining for rural America. one never knows when ATVs, tractors, or "target" practice on their own land, d.... it, may interfere with concentration! Gotta give Christina proper praise for all the work she is doing on these locations. Even if I never make it on the register, I have learned a lot about other cities in this great land! |
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