Recent comments in /f/Maine

ecco-domenica t1_j9hkxp2 wrote

Reply to Dunkin budget vs. Electric bill by TarantinoFan23

I took the prospective homeowners course in 1998 in Portland. The instructor said for most of us, we could maintain a fast food habit or buy a house, choose one; that it makes that much of a difference. He'd had to quit his daily corner store coffee and delicious sub that he loved & he missed it but it was worth it to be a homeowner.

Not saying those darned millennials just need to give up their avocado toast to solve all their problems. I know the struggle is real and has gotten realer. I did my share of picking up a slice & diet pepsi on the fly because I was tired and stressed, instead of making a sandwich and bringing a nice apple. I regret all the $$$ I wasted on convenience food over the years. It's even more crazy expensive now.

So far, I'm maintaining the same electric costs even with the increase by being meticulous with lights & ghost power draws, but the biggest gain has been putting my water heater on a timer. A couple hours a day keeps it safely hot enough for dishes & showers without cooling down so much it costs more to heat back up.

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Alternative_Sort_404 t1_j9hj1qu wrote

Reply to comment by GoArmyNG in When in Auburn, you gotta visit the pole! by infinite_zero

Yeah, I’ve seen people ruin an entire side of their vehicle because they didn’t know how to get out of a situation once they got into it. Not pretty. But it IS better hitting a traffic control device than another person, tho. Seems like they’d have to be cutting through a parking area to hit that WalMart one to me… but I haven’t visited 🙄

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GoArmyNG t1_j9hhhdm wrote

Reply to comment by Alternative_Sort_404 in When in Auburn, you gotta visit the pole! by infinite_zero

I did bump one of those at a gas station while backing out of a spot by the door. It was shorter and narrower than my tailgate. I couldn't see it behind me at all. I thought I had an extra 6 inches, which I would have, if the post wasn't there.... but, at the end of the day, it didn't damage my truck or the post so who cares? Lol

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Alternative_Sort_404 t1_j9hgid4 wrote

Reply to comment by GoArmyNG in When in Auburn, you gotta visit the pole! by infinite_zero

That type of balustrade is too low to be obvious from inside a typical vehicle, esp when driven by a a distracted person… they always have them around gas pumps, and I can’t remember how many people hit them while I was working at one, but it was a lot! Pay attention drivers, they are there to keep you from damaging more important property than your own vehicle- like pedestrians, gas pumps, or other parked cars…

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all_stove_up t1_j9ha98w wrote

Reply to comment by TheBookShopOfBF in What’s killing high school athletics? I think it’s AAU. by Parrothead1970

Very spot on post! This is my take for what it is worth. All lower level athletics should be about skill development and creating a love for the game and teaching players to compete with sportsmanship. You never know when a kid will get a growth spurt and suddenly that kid blossoms into a great player. I have seen it happen plenty of times. As far as varsity athletics go, certainly the win-loss record matters.

In my opinion, sport specialization is hurting kids in the long run. Playing a sport year round is not conducive to athletic development (strength/speed, agility). It certainly leads to a higher level of skill development at an earlier age but often leads to overuse injuries. For example, AAU basketball starts (at least where I am) before the high school championship game is played. So kids on a team that have a deep playoff run go right from their season into AAU. Then comes summer league, followed by fall league. No wonder they complain about sore, stiff knees all the time. It isn’t surprising when stress fractures occur in the foot/lower leg or ligament damage in the knee. They put incredible demands on the body without allowing for strength development and recovery.
Unfortunately that horse is out of the barn and specialization is here to stay. And for the 2 or 3 sport athlete that never has much on an off-season, at least they are using different skills and movement patterns throughout the year.

I hate to see how things are trending for high school athletics. These were the things that athletics taught me 1. how to work together and be part of a team 2. how to dedicate myself and work hard to reach a goal 3. how to compete (much in life is still a competition). All these things have helped me later on in life.

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