A fire can happen to anyone. We all think that it isn’t possible that we will be a victim, but it could happen to you. There are many types of fires and many causes. Faulty wiring, a faulty product, a space heater left on, or… kids.
Just the other day there was a fire in a neighborhood close to my own. This fire was caused by teenagers playing with a lighter in a bedroom. Think back to when you were a teenager. You probably played with matches and lighters now and again. I know that I did. Heck, I almost burned our house down lighting tissue paper in my bedroom when I was about 8 years old. It makes sense to discuss fire safety with our kids.
Lancaster House Fire
I just had a discussion with my son about the dangers of playing with matches or lighters. They will probably do so when they are older and I let him know that I understood that. We discussed it and covered some of the safety issues associated with playing with fire.
My brother-in-law is an artistic type who happens to be a lawyer. He has a unique eye and I don’t always agree.
We were viewing some project photos and he picked a couple out as pictures for framing. I didn’t consider them anything but a picture to record the state of things prior to renovation. I often take pics of wiring and plumbing prior to tearing apart or buttoning up.
Well, if you live in Lancaster, NY, you probably received a lovely letter yesterday regarding your property taxes and your property assessment. There were increases that appear across the board. The equalization rate is no longer as we have moved to 100% valuation. The increases are staggering in many cases.
The town of Lancaster continues to spend, and spend, and spend on projects that don’t benefit the town as a whole.
There is a new police and courts facility in the works ($8,000,000 Plus).
There is the new use of a former library for an emergency management office (that’s right, Lancaster has one).
There is the proposed recreational facility that will certainly add long term costs.
etc. etc.
Let’s not forget that use of these properties suddenly pulls them off the tax rolls. And, in the case where a sale is possible, eliminates the funds from a sale (Depew Library is a prime example).
Many will be fighting the new assessment figures. In a couple of cases, I will be one of them. If you aren’t familiar with the tools available to you for searching property information here are a couple:
I know that there is quite a bit of state and/or federal funding drying up for Towns and Villages. How about cutting costs rather than continuing to spend. If a surplus builds, cut taxes!
Whoever it was the created this demonstration for GE’s SmartGrid project had some creativity. This is one of the coolest demonstrations of recognition (Facial recognition applied to an object). You must watch the video below.
You can do this yourself. It is a very cool party type demo. All that is needed is a web cam. Turn up the speakers since there is audio. In fact, blow into your microphone to create artificial wind. You will see the windmills really start to spin.
