Sam S.

Suggest to tread lightly here and ask for side pics and ask about any cabinet damages. Might just be a great deal, but also might be one of the Adorama damaged ones floating around.

ZZ Top, Live from Texas. OR, for the reggae mentioned earlier in the thread, can't beat Downpressor Man:

Great suggestions and info. here in this thread. Really appreciate the detailed descriptions of everyone's experiences. dbomberger: Green Valley is on my list of places to visit. Looks pretty good on paper (climate, affordability, friendliness of community, things to do, etc.). Only drawback I've read about is the occasional rattlesnake getting into one's yard or garage (seems to be alleviated by, well, not leaving garage doors open and putting barrier or hardware cloth around fencing. Great to hear stories, experiences, and what others are looking for.

Interesting responses. Thanks to you all. Srinath: Never thought much about SC, but hear it's "tax friendly" overall for retirees. Interesting that you mention bugs, as I went out to my yard this AM for about 10 minutes and got destroyed by mosquitoes (I have the blood type). For kicks, I checked weather of Columbia compared to Lincoln. Unscientific I know, but today: Lincoln: 88, 60% humidity, heat index 96. Columbia: 92, 40% humidity, heat index 97. I'd like to spend a year or 2 post-retirement traveling and visiting places. Never been to SC, so that can go on the list.

If so, where and why? Currently, I live smack dab in the middle of the country (Nebraska), and am getting tired of high taxes, cold in winter and hot/humid in the summers. Have a few years to go working, but guy can plan and research can't he? Anyway, post your experience or thoughts. Where, and Why. Thanks!

If you don't have CD source material, than I wouldn't recommend getting a CD player. If, however, that changes and you want to explore other sources (e.g. CD's or LP's), then by all means have at it. FLAC files (someone will correct me if I'm wrong), as source files aren't going to be inferior to a CD. Personally, I'd recommend a speaker upgrade, which should be a relatively big difference or ROI. Forte III would be a great choice, or if you are concerned about budget, you could look at the used lines --- e.g. read the forum about the food chain. I have Forte III and Chorus. Really hard to listen to Forte III ahead of time in some locations - I bought without listening to, and I couldn't be happier with the purchase. Finally, retail prices aren't necessarily what you always pay. Check around, get quotes, look at B-stock as an option. Good luck!

A huge part of it is being in the right place at the right time. About 2 years ago, I had been looking quite religiously, and found a local pair of Forte II's, about an hour away. I made a deal on the phone for $500, and couldn't make it to pick them up until the next day. I got a call from the seller the next morning saying he sold them from underneath me. A few weeks later, I found a pair of Chorus II's about 3 hours away. Made another deal on the phone, drove up the next day and got them for $600. This seller said he had about 4 people that were lined up if I hadn't have showed. So in answer to your original question -- yes those are overpriced, but as others have mentioned prices are pretty high now. Don't let anxiety associated with "getting something right now" get in the way of a bad deal.

Golf courses open here and booming. New rules: pay online or over the phone, only 2 allowed in clubhouse at one time. Hand sanitizer in clubhouse after you pay (if you pay inside). Social distance on the course. Only 1 in each cart. Carts sprayed/sanitized after each use. Don't touch anyone else's balls (a given). Flagstick stays in. They put a foam core into the cup, so if you "sink" a putt, the ball stays on the top of the foam. Rakes removed from sand traps. Ball washers removed.

Black Mirror (Netflix)

On of the reasons eventually I'd like to move someplace else in retirement is high taxes (and weather). My property taxes (2400 sq ft house in city) are $6,000/yr. Sales taxes here 7%, state income taxes around 7%. Plus, Nebraska has an inheritance tax of 1% (with minor exemptions), and taxes social security income at the same rate of income (7%). HDBRBuilder: Heard good things about NW Arkansas -- on my list to visit, but not so much sold on rural areas. I'm thinking maybe Fayetteville or Bella Vista area.

Thanks for all the input. I was thinking merely of another company to invest on my own instead of Vanguard, and hadn't thought of an in-person advisor or individual rep. I've been leery of that in the past, but perhaps its something worth considering. Especially as I get older, I find it very hard to trust anyone.

I have a number of retirement accounts with Vanguard. Historically, I've liked the returns and lower fees. However, I recently had an awful customer service experience with them, and am looking elsewhere to invest. I'll likely leave the accounts I have there, just not contribute more to them. I wonder if anyone has suggestions for similar companies with better customer service? Any specific fund recommendations are also welcome. I'm leaning towards more conservative funds as i get older (50 now), and concerned about risks, market crashes, etc.

You might contact Cory @MetropolisLakeOutfitters. He is an authorized dealer, and can offer input and pricing not only re: Forte 3, but also amp suggestions. I think he recommends the Parasound you mention. While not an integrated amp, I have F3 that are pulling home theater + 2 channel, with a Marantz SR6012 AVR. I have no complaints. I've run a mix of vinyl, CD's, and sometimes digital music, in addition to movies/TV. The digital music is either ran through the USB port on the front (FLAC files) with flash drives, or from FLAC files on my phone over Wi-Fi. It works pretty well. I think one of the Rotel's has a USB port in the front. Not sure about Bluetooth, but I'm fairly certain Rotel is now owned by B&W, hence the push for matching those 2 together. Good luck.

dtel -- something like this would be great around your Tiki bar and native MS plants. I have some bananas I luckily was able to grow from seed from the Seedman (in MS), but they are now inside over the winter as they don't survive outside here. Here's the basic plan I followed --- I found Davy's templates and drawings a bit difficult to decipher. I did take photos of my process throughout and will post below. I can also share my template later on if anyone wants it. I basically followed the template from this link, although the dimensions were a bit difficult to follow in certain areas. My mix was equal parts (eyeballed) of portland cement, peat moss, and perlite. I added a bit of sand to it, and mixed with water to a consistency of a mud pie. The pictures don't show it, but I wrapped the whole thing in chicken wire, then filled in some of the gaps with expandable foam. After layering, I was able to carve and shape it -- mostly I used an angle grinder - sometimes with a diamond wheel (more aggressive) and sometimes a grinding or flap disk (less aggressive). It's very dusty. Hard part for me was the bottom -- when I went to move it. In retrospect, it might have been better to cut a board around the size of the shoulders, then fill in the bottom with a layer of hypertufa so that the dolly had a better point of contact. It's a fun project -- no need for intimidation. EDIT: Tried re-sizing photos and won't let me upload. I'll have to look into to post...

I'm not sure how you would move that one for $1400. Even with the lighter weight of hypertufa, I still had a difficult time moving this from my garage to the yard. I used around 3 and a half - 90LB bags of portland, in addition to the perlite and peat moss (which don't weigh much). So I'm guessing in the neighborhood of around 300 LBS. My materials were around $100 total, maybe $150 tops. I'm fortunate enough to have a brother in law with a HVAC business. He had a hydraulic dolly we shimmied it up onto, then strapped it on there to move to the backyard. My intent was to make three of these, using circa 1990's Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas as inspiration. Not sure if I'll make it that far - maybe smaller scale.

My summer project is now complete. Moai made from a foam base/core, wrapped with chicken wire, then hypertufa. Layers of hypertufa sculpted, and then carved - but mostly sculpted with the tufa. Had a difficult time moving it, but got it moved from the garage and leveled out. Its about 5.5 ft tall. Thanks to plans posted on another forum by Wavy Davy.

Hey Joe: I work in libraries and many libraries, colleges, and universities offer 3D printing, CNC routers, and laser cutters. Much more cost effective than buying your own machine, as they usually just charge for the materials you use (sometimes you can bring your own), or a fee to use their equipment. Not sure where you are located, but if you search for library makerspaces or university makerspaces in your area, you might find someone that can help. IF you 3D print, it will be made from ABS plastic, which is the same material used for Lego's. For other machines, such as the CNC router and laser cutter, you can use different materials (usually wood and sometimes metal). Whichever way you go, you'll first need a file to print or load into the CNC or 3D printer. Typically these are called .STL files. Sometimes, you can find a makerspace that has a 3D scanner, where you can take your part, scan it to create the STL file, or there's other CAD software to generate the file. Good luck.

That's promising news. FYI --- if anyone is splitting signals and feeding more than 1 TV, I've had good luck with the channel master CM-3410 signal amplifier.

No soldering. I can't remember -- but I think you just remove the screws on the front to gain access, then follow the instructions on Bob's website. If that's not the case, you might have to remove the passive radiator to gain access thru the back, but I don't think that's the case. Basically this procedure. You might have to remove the clips, but they shouldn't be soldered. You should see two leads like this, and you might have to pull the wires off to have more room to complete the swap. You just re-connect the wires after you've swapped the diaphragm, and re-install.

Yes, got to this page, then the info. is down towards the bottom. Currently $54 + $9 shipping. You can e-mail Bob from that site (About Us > Contact Us) for more info. You do the mod. yourself, but it's real simple. Here's a general overview of the process.

I've had KG2's I bought new in 1986. For years, I ran them with a HK330i and thought it was a nice match. For the price you mention, the KG2 would be a nice grab. Recently ---- I thought the KG2's sounded a bit muddy/flat. So I modified them with titanium tweeter diaphragms from Bob Crites, and can say that it was well worth the money, at least for me. I didn't realize the KG2's were 4 ohm speakers, so not sure about your other questions with the 930.

Please report back the results when you get it, set up, etc. Curious to know your experience.

And Brenda Lee --- I had no idea. Willie looks great for his age -- 86.

Anyone watching? Thoughts? I saw EP 1 ( - 1933) last night, then skipped to EP 4 (1953-1963). Old footage is great, and can't wait to hear the 60's/70's/80's parts. I'm impressed by Marty Stuart, and have a new-found appreciation for Willie Nelson in his earlier years.