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This is the unintended consequences nobody is talking about... https://www.craigslist.org/abo... Nathan

By the way, just before anyone takes this scant article too far and starts yelling at their companies' bulletin boards, classified ads, etc:

Finding roommates for a shared housing situation does not fall under the Fair Housing Act's provisions. It has been ruled a sufficiently personal and private matter by the courts that people are allowed to discriminate when they list to find a roommate.

However, I believe it only extends to male/female, not other protected characteristics. ( https://www.craigslist.org/abo... )

Then where else am I going to find the best 100% heterosexual, no gay stuff, Manhood Camping where guys get around a fire to J/O?

Yeah, even the best "luxury" mobile/modulars are not up to basic stickbuilt standards. And their max lifespan is measured in decades, not centuries. But they're closing on just as pricey. And they do require more maintenance, especially if not on a permanent foundation -- the roof needs care every other year or so and winter-frozen plumbing is a way of life.

Also, you can't get a loan unless they're on a permanent foundation, which (depending on your state) tax-wise turns them from a vehicle (cheap) to real estate (10-100x as much tax). Some local codes don't allow 'em at all without a foundation.

OTOH, you can get a near-new repo doublewide starting at $20k, and mobile-ready private lots start at around $20k. If you just want a retirement home that will last you 30 years or so, and aren't worried about its resale value, this can be a good option.

But if I were going for a lower-cost modular, it would be one of the metal prefabs -- 600sqft start at $18k and more-standard-sized houses at around $50k, plus setup and finishing work (which any local indy contractor can do at half the cost, to whatever specs you like).

If I was really strapped... I'd consider a pole barn conversion (make sure the contractor has experience; this will cost a third to half as much as a regular house of the same size, but requires specialty knowledge so you don't wind up with sinking floors).

Another option in mobiles are used contractor singlewides -- these in my observation are tougher than average, and often available at four figures.

And mobiles, even doublewides, are commonly available free for the moving (tho remember a mobile that's set unmaintained for more than a few years WILL have water damage). Here's a couple:

https://billings.craigslist.or...
I've been inside this one; it's rough, but salvageable if you're really handy. Lots of water damage including some floor that needs replacing, and one exterior wall that could stand rebuilding where the power pole leaned on it, and probably needs all-new plumbing. (Most freebies are in better shape than this.)

Ah, someone must have snagged the free doublewide, the listing is gone. Roof had multiple leaks from lack of regular maintenance, with concomitant ceiling damage, but otherwise was in good shape. Estimated cost to move it was $10k-$20k, so not precisely free, but you'd have moving costs regardless.

Conclusion: mobile/modular/prefab can be a good option, and if you're savvy you can keep costs down, but don't get suckered into believing it has the same long-term value as a stickbuilt house... no matter what your realtor tells you. Believe your insurance guy instead; he'll know what the real costs are, come to have to replace it.

but the biggest hurdle is the initial cost....which is why I drive a 15 year old car, although it only has 61000 miles on it. I rarely drive more than about 15 miles a day,

If you are OK with a 15-year old car, buy yourself a 3-year old Nissan leaf for ~$10K. If you don't care about the any of the doodads, it isn't hard to find a bare-bones model for under $8K. Its got 85 miles of range per charge so a 15 mile daily drive is easy.

You're a liar. You've never actually been to San Francisco.

My first trip there was probably while you were still in diapers. My last trip was about 3 weeks ago. You may still have been in diapers. But the weather was okay while I was there. Some hotel on Eddy street caught fire that night, I could almost see it from the 25th floor of the Parc 55 Hilton where I was staying.

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Also, why do you think it's worth your time to pontificate on why you don't understand why someone else likes something that you don't?

I spend my time as I see fit, and I've no need to explain or justify it to you. :)

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I mean if you're really "just another old guy" surely you've gathered enough wisdom in your time on earth to realize that a lot of different people like a lot of different things,

I've surely gathered enough wisdom in my time on Earth to realize that people like you will whine about anyone that doesn't fit your preconceived notions of how other people should behave.

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and if you can't understand why someone likes something, the reason is probably NOT because they are deluded

But it might be, and frequently is. You'd be surprised what peer pressure and prevailing opinions can make people do. I'll bet you wear the same exact style of clothes as all your peers or buddies or whatever, amirite? It's because you want to be different, just like everyone else.

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I think your entire post was just to make yourself fell better about your house payment. That's how it reads anyway.

Oh sonny, I don't need you being all angsty to make me feel wonderful about my offensively low house payment, that just comes naturally every time I look at rental prices in San Francisco: https://sfbay.craigslist.org/s...

I mean, who wouldn't swoon at getting 720 whole square feet of 'living' space for only $3490 a month? Or $6800 a month for 1165 square feet? Hell, my rec room is almost that big. Or $9500 for 2500 square feet- that's about the size of my place but at ten times the cost and that's for renting, not owning.

Wow, yes. This. Craigslist has no more than 50 employees.. Craigslist. Let that sink in. A service with a much higher profile, used by a lot more people.

Your rent is much more expensive than it has to be.

Picking a city with a reasonably good job market (Houston), I see it's easy to find a 3-bedroom apartment for $1500/month or $18000/year. The three people who would live in this apartment would get a total of $30000/year, so rent would eat up 60% of their guaranteed income. That's still a large fraction, but I didn't even try to hunt for affordable apartments, I just looked at the metro area as a whole, so I'm sure one could find much cheaper.

Would it be luxurious living on $10000/year? Of course not. That's why nearly everyone would look for a job in addition to their guaranteed income. But even without a job, you'd still have food on the table and a roof over your head.

"Deal locally, face-to-face"
https://www.craigslist.org/abo...
At least they did not paw with a fake cashiers check...

Why is this even on Slashdot? It sounds like it belongs on the Missed Connections page of Craigslist or something like that?

Are you fucking JOKING? I just did exactly what you suggested, and I can assure you, I would no more follow your advice about housing than I would live in Silicon Valley as an engineer. I sorted by "increasing price" to see all these great bargains. Here's what I found:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb... - "Hey ladies - the van is where I rape you. Repeatedly."
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb... - "I'm unemployed and you should be as into yoga as I am."
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb... - "Let's share the same bedroom, with bunk beds!"
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb... - "I can't get laid, so I hope I'll be able to fuck my roommate."
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb... - "Are you a recovering alcoholic or narcotics addict? Let's share a room!"

You've GOT to be kidding me, if you think these are "reasonable" ways to live for any professional making a 6 figure salary. These are, at *best* college dorm-style roommate arrangements: you have zero privacy, next to zero space, and zero quality of living, unless making ramen on a fucking hot plate while playing Xbox is your idea of luxury.

You're absolutely loony if you think any of this bullshit could be viewed as "reasonable". The more expensive listings in "rooms for rent" run up to 1200-1500 per month, and again, that is *for a room* in a shared home -- i.e., "this is your bedroom, 12 other people share this bathroom and kitchen."

Now, if I swing over to "apartments", and start looking around - I can find a $900/month 1 bedroom... that's 2.5 hours and 90 miles away from Cupertino. Not bad if I plow all my savings into a helicopter, right? http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb...

It rapidly escalates into 1500-2000 per month range, for 1BR *500-600 sq ft* places, in dubious areas for pretty dingy looking apartments, and prices go on up to the stratosphere from there if you want a "nice-ish" place. For $1450 a month, that's at the HIGH end of 1 BR rentals in Austin. For $1100 a month, I rented a 1BR + Den, 900 sqft apartment in NH about 40 minutes from Boston.

The people who want to live in Silicon Valley under these types of conditions are fucking mad.

Are you fucking JOKING? I just did exactly what you suggested, and I can assure you, I would no more follow your advice about housing than I would live in Silicon Valley as an engineer. I sorted by "increasing price" to see all these great bargains. Here's what I found:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb... - "Hey ladies - the van is where I rape you. Repeatedly."
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb... - "I'm unemployed and you should be as into yoga as I am."
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb... - "Let's share the same bedroom, with bunk beds!"
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb... - "I can't get laid, so I hope I'll be able to fuck my roommate."
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb... - "Are you a recovering alcoholic or narcotics addict? Let's share a room!"

You've GOT to be kidding me, if you think these are "reasonable" ways to live for any professional making a 6 figure salary. These are, at *best* college dorm-style roommate arrangements: you have zero privacy, next to zero space, and zero quality of living, unless making ramen on a fucking hot plate while playing Xbox is your idea of luxury.

You're absolutely loony if you think any of this bullshit could be viewed as "reasonable". The more expensive listings in "rooms for rent" run up to 1200-1500 per month, and again, that is *for a room* in a shared home -- i.e., "this is your bedroom, 12 other people share this bathroom and kitchen."

Now, if I swing over to "apartments", and start looking around - I can find a $900/month 1 bedroom... that's 2.5 hours and 90 miles away from Cupertino. Not bad if I plow all my savings into a helicopter, right? http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb...

It rapidly escalates into 1500-2000 per month range, for 1BR *500-600 sq ft* places, in dubious areas for pretty dingy looking apartments, and prices go on up to the stratosphere from there if you want a "nice-ish" place. For $1450 a month, that's at the HIGH end of 1 BR rentals in Austin. For $1100 a month, I rented a 1BR + Den, 900 sqft apartment in NH about 40 minutes from Boston.

The people who want to live in Silicon Valley under these types of conditions are fucking mad.

Are you fucking JOKING? I just did exactly what you suggested, and I can assure you, I would no more follow your advice about housing than I would live in Silicon Valley as an engineer. I sorted by "increasing price" to see all these great bargains. Here's what I found:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb... - "Hey ladies - the van is where I rape you. Repeatedly."
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb... - "I'm unemployed and you should be as into yoga as I am."
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb... - "Let's share the same bedroom, with bunk beds!"
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb... - "I can't get laid, so I hope I'll be able to fuck my roommate."
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb... - "Are you a recovering alcoholic or narcotics addict? Let's share a room!"

You've GOT to be kidding me, if you think these are "reasonable" ways to live for any professional making a 6 figure salary. These are, at *best* college dorm-style roommate arrangements: you have zero privacy, next to zero space, and zero quality of living, unless making ramen on a fucking hot plate while playing Xbox is your idea of luxury.

You're absolutely loony if you think any of this bullshit could be viewed as "reasonable". The more expensive listings in "rooms for rent" run up to 1200-1500 per month, and again, that is *for a room* in a shared home -- i.e., "this is your bedroom, 12 other people share this bathroom and kitchen."

Now, if I swing over to "apartments", and start looking around - I can find a $900/month 1 bedroom... that's 2.5 hours and 90 miles away from Cupertino. Not bad if I plow all my savings into a helicopter, right? http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb...

It rapidly escalates into 1500-2000 per month range, for 1BR *500-600 sq ft* places, in dubious areas for pretty dingy looking apartments, and prices go on up to the stratosphere from there if you want a "nice-ish" place. For $1450 a month, that's at the HIGH end of 1 BR rentals in Austin. For $1100 a month, I rented a 1BR + Den, 900 sqft apartment in NH about 40 minutes from Boston.

The people who want to live in Silicon Valley under these types of conditions are fucking mad.

Are you fucking JOKING? I just did exactly what you suggested, and I can assure you, I would no more follow your advice about housing than I would live in Silicon Valley as an engineer. I sorted by "increasing price" to see all these great bargains. Here's what I found:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb... - "Hey ladies - the van is where I rape you. Repeatedly."
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb... - "I'm unemployed and you should be as into yoga as I am."
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb... - "Let's share the same bedroom, with bunk beds!"
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb... - "I can't get laid, so I hope I'll be able to fuck my roommate."
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb... - "Are you a recovering alcoholic or narcotics addict? Let's share a room!"

You've GOT to be kidding me, if you think these are "reasonable" ways to live for any professional making a 6 figure salary. These are, at *best* college dorm-style roommate arrangements: you have zero privacy, next to zero space, and zero quality of living, unless making ramen on a fucking hot plate while playing Xbox is your idea of luxury.

You're absolutely loony if you think any of this bullshit could be viewed as "reasonable". The more expensive listings in "rooms for rent" run up to 1200-1500 per month, and again, that is *for a room* in a shared home -- i.e., "this is your bedroom, 12 other people share this bathroom and kitchen."

Now, if I swing over to "apartments", and start looking around - I can find a $900/month 1 bedroom... that's 2.5 hours and 90 miles away from Cupertino. Not bad if I plow all my savings into a helicopter, right? http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb...

It rapidly escalates into 1500-2000 per month range, for 1BR *500-600 sq ft* places, in dubious areas for pretty dingy looking apartments, and prices go on up to the stratosphere from there if you want a "nice-ish" place. For $1450 a month, that's at the HIGH end of 1 BR rentals in Austin. For $1100 a month, I rented a 1BR + Den, 900 sqft apartment in NH about 40 minutes from Boston.

The people who want to live in Silicon Valley under these types of conditions are fucking mad.

Are you fucking JOKING? I just did exactly what you suggested, and I can assure you, I would no more follow your advice about housing than I would live in Silicon Valley as an engineer. I sorted by "increasing price" to see all these great bargains. Here's what I found:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb... - "Hey ladies - the van is where I rape you. Repeatedly."
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb... - "I'm unemployed and you should be as into yoga as I am."
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb... - "Let's share the same bedroom, with bunk beds!"
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb... - "I can't get laid, so I hope I'll be able to fuck my roommate."
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb... - "Are you a recovering alcoholic or narcotics addict? Let's share a room!"

You've GOT to be kidding me, if you think these are "reasonable" ways to live for any professional making a 6 figure salary. These are, at *best* college dorm-style roommate arrangements: you have zero privacy, next to zero space, and zero quality of living, unless making ramen on a fucking hot plate while playing Xbox is your idea of luxury.

You're absolutely loony if you think any of this bullshit could be viewed as "reasonable". The more expensive listings in "rooms for rent" run up to 1200-1500 per month, and again, that is *for a room* in a shared home -- i.e., "this is your bedroom, 12 other people share this bathroom and kitchen."

Now, if I swing over to "apartments", and start looking around - I can find a $900/month 1 bedroom... that's 2.5 hours and 90 miles away from Cupertino. Not bad if I plow all my savings into a helicopter, right? http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb...

It rapidly escalates into 1500-2000 per month range, for 1BR *500-600 sq ft* places, in dubious areas for pretty dingy looking apartments, and prices go on up to the stratosphere from there if you want a "nice-ish" place. For $1450 a month, that's at the HIGH end of 1 BR rentals in Austin. For $1100 a month, I rented a 1BR + Den, 900 sqft apartment in NH about 40 minutes from Boston.

The people who want to live in Silicon Valley under these types of conditions are fucking mad.

Are you fucking JOKING? I just did exactly what you suggested, and I can assure you, I would no more follow your advice about housing than I would live in Silicon Valley as an engineer. I sorted by "increasing price" to see all these great bargains. Here's what I found:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb... - "Hey ladies - the van is where I rape you. Repeatedly."
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb... - "I'm unemployed and you should be as into yoga as I am."
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb... - "Let's share the same bedroom, with bunk beds!"
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb... - "I can't get laid, so I hope I'll be able to fuck my roommate."
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb... - "Are you a recovering alcoholic or narcotics addict? Let's share a room!"

You've GOT to be kidding me, if you think these are "reasonable" ways to live for any professional making a 6 figure salary. These are, at *best* college dorm-style roommate arrangements: you have zero privacy, next to zero space, and zero quality of living, unless making ramen on a fucking hot plate while playing Xbox is your idea of luxury.

You're absolutely loony if you think any of this bullshit could be viewed as "reasonable". The more expensive listings in "rooms for rent" run up to 1200-1500 per month, and again, that is *for a room* in a shared home -- i.e., "this is your bedroom, 12 other people share this bathroom and kitchen."

Now, if I swing over to "apartments", and start looking around - I can find a $900/month 1 bedroom... that's 2.5 hours and 90 miles away from Cupertino. Not bad if I plow all my savings into a helicopter, right? http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sb...

It rapidly escalates into 1500-2000 per month range, for 1BR *500-600 sq ft* places, in dubious areas for pretty dingy looking apartments, and prices go on up to the stratosphere from there if you want a "nice-ish" place. For $1450 a month, that's at the HIGH end of 1 BR rentals in Austin. For $1100 a month, I rented a 1BR + Den, 900 sqft apartment in NH about 40 minutes from Boston.

The people who want to live in Silicon Valley under these types of conditions are fucking mad.

No, they give them away for free. Evey week I see half a dozen listed on Craigslist free section.
http://seattle.craigslist.org/...

https://newyork.craigslist.org...

Certainly expensive, but with > 2500 listings under 2000 from a back-of-napkin search, I think you exaggerate a little.

Plus 2000/mo is 12 * 2000 == $24,000 or 1/5 your gross income. That's actually quite reasonable if that's the number being quoted considering the tertiary benefits of living in a large lively international city.

If you want to make more money and save it, there are countless cities where you can make more proportional (and probably real) dollars in less 'hot' urban centres. My city (Vancouver) has a grossly overpriced housing market (ripe for bubble bursting but that's another talk) and yet people still pay more and more for their properties. Its not uncommon to be leveraged to 50%+ gross income for rental/ownership. I'm sitting at around 1/4 so not that unreasonable, but I enjoy a much higher paying job than most of the millennial's scraping by sharing apartments with 2 friends to support themselves.

http://vancouver.craigslist.ca...

http://seattle.craigslist.org/...

Want to know who to blame for this crap? The corporations who pushed to be able to spoof their caller ID -- so they could call us from foreign call centers.

Dude, you are clueless on multiple levels. First, "spoofing" caller ID is normal - the ability to tell the phone company (this is a *high* level overview) what your number is when making outbound calls when using a non-POTS line. Due to the way the phone network works this can't easily be changed. And companies have done this for decades, it's not something new. Big multi-line companies typically want outbound calls to come from a single switchboard number.

Second, Rachel from card services works domestically:

http://orlando.craigslist.org/...

Since that'll go away, I'm going to paste it here:

Fronters and Closers Come be a Part of the Best L.I. Sales Team!!! (Downtown Orlando)
compensation: Top pay in the industry

We are in the business of helping consumers with interest rate reduction.
We are completely computerized (no typing required), Fully Licensed,
We will pay for your, State of Florida Telemarketing Salesperson License.

Job position: Fronter/Qualifier
Your job responsibility as a Fronter (Qualifier) will be, gather the client's contact information, see if the client qualifies for our services, and then transfer to a closing manager to complete the sale.

Closers job responsibity and requirements:
Must have 2 years of interest rate reduction sales experience an order to qualify for this position.
Your responsibility will be to explain thoroughly to the client the services we offer,
explain the process in which these services will be provided, and to transfer them to a verification officer to complete their enrollment.

If you are an experienced closer who has been in the industry for at least 2 years and you are ready to come and work with a company that is 100% legit and provide a great workplace for you to grow and make a great paycheck to take home every single week for all of your hard,
then this is the call you need to make to receive an immediate interview!

This is a fantastic job opportunity! Top pay in the industry! Non-stop leads all day!
Work hours are Monday through Thursday, from 10:00 a.m - 5:30 p.m.,
Friday hours: 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. (No Weekends)!

Paychecks Every Friday with Company Lunch provided!

Great work atmosphere, nice work stations and work space, beautiful building!
Please call by phone for an interview!

Zillow has many listings down below $58K, none of them for trailers - check out, say, ZIP code 39212. I suggested four people could easily live on a median salary, not minimum wage. And as far as livability goes, it's highly undesirable, but that is more or less orthogonal to the issue of whether or not you can live there.

The average rental cost you can find is - I'm guessing here, correct me if I'm wrong - derived from online sources like Craigslist? That's not the average place on the market, which has a lot of Section 8. As for used trailers, look at something like this to get an idea of what's out there. And remember that Jackson is one of the most expensive places in the state... if you really get out in the boonies and know how to fix your own stuff (a $1500 car can last a lot more than a year if you know how to fix it yourself), it can be insanely cheap.

You're full of shit.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/se...

It's less than 2K per month for that shitty apartment.

Get a used mouseman from ebay ($10 and free shipping), throw away the top cover, and 3-d print your own.

Don't own a 3-d printer? Probably one of your friends does, or the local university, or the local hackerspace, or as a last resort you can use shapeways.

Grab some modeling clay in your hand, make a 3-d scan of the resulting "handle", add fasteners for the buttons and ball (or IR chip), then 3-d print a custom-grip top cover. You can get IR mouse elements and ball elements from old mice, usually for free on Craigslist. Or the local Salvation Army store.

Purchase a sheet of friendly plastic (polycaprolactone), soften it in a pan of boiling water, then lay it over your relaxed open hand like a handkerchief. Wait for it to cool and harden, take a dremel to it, and use that as a custom-molded mouse top.

Get an Arduino, or any of the zillions of hobbyist microcontroller systems (pic, propeller, &c) which have a USB interface, and add buttons and an IR chip from an existing older mouse and program the buttons specifically for your needs.

Get a used mouse with lots of buttons, remount the buttons into a custom top as mentioned, then reprogram the button codes in the driver.

Or write your own USB driver at the OS level - it's not that hard. (For windows, it involves downloading the DDK and modifying an example found on the net.)

Well just wait until 150k: http://austin.craigslist.org/b...
You're almost there!

This.

At least for me, craigslist and thrift stores are able to provide replacement goods at a price which is comparable to repair, giving some basic options for your standard $50 device:
1 - Replace with newer model: $50, ~5 minutes of time (Amazon), comes with an extra feature/two (lower power, new setting, whatever).
2 - Replace from craigslist or thrift store: $25, ~30 minutes of time (10 minutes finding it, 10 minutes out-of-the-way driving, 10 minute pickup/chat)
3 - Diagnose and repair: $15, ~2 hours of time

Case in point: LITERALLY the first 'blender' on craiglist in my area:
http://orlando.craigslist.org/... ($35, could probably get it for $25).
http://www.amazon.com/Hamilton... (same blender, $54+shipping)
http://www.ereplacementparts.c... (parts start at $10+shipping).

I spent part of the weekend splicing some wires for a speaker system and record player. I have a EE degree, a CS PhD, do my own car/lawnmower maintenance, and usually have all of the tools needed. I'm pretty decent with repair, understanding things, and learning quickly. However, for many things it just isn't worth it.

Note: if more people start going the craigslist/thrift route, the repair option is going to come back onto the table.
Note: for large items (hard to physically move, expensive, etc.), the craigslist option isn't feasible, and the difference in pricing (like with a washer/dryer/fridge) starts to make 'repair' more attractive.

Uhm, it does in fact cost money to post job ads on Craigslist. See http://www.craigslist.org/abou... . It's one of their major sources of money, along with hooker ads (oops, "therapeutic services", my bad).

Why you would do so, however, eludes me. As with the poster above, at multiple employers that have tested the Craigslist waters we've never had anybody remotely qualified respond to one of our Craigslist ads. They're just pocket change compared to Dice.com or compared to paying a recruiter's fee, so it was a "why not?". But every one of our hires seems to have been either a personal referral from a current employee, or a recruiter lured them away from another company.

Well form what I am seeing it is more like 15 mil. for 777's on the black-market... http://vietnam.craigslist.org/...

Ahem http://vietnam.craigslist.org/...

The classic design in 2014? Not too bad. The classic design in 2018? Probably not going to cut it.

Maybe, maybe not. But this is still 2014.

Craig Newmark is a man of wealth and taste who is an expert of all things San Francisco, a famously cosmopolitan and artistic city. I imagine he probably knows several dozen skilled UI designers, and has been pitched by more than a few of them, and yet this is what his site still looks like after all these years. Does that look even remotely cutting edge? But that doesn't seem to have hurt the site's popularity.

> Citation needed

If you need a Citation, you can pick one up for a grand or two.

Oh yes I did.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/cas/?query=mw4m

I have a vacuum pump for sale for $75, which I though was a good deal. If you can get it for $0, don't pass it up.
http://utica.craigslist.org/tls/4120375327.html

Really? $8k/month? "Some parts"? There are about TWO parts of the U.S. that might qualify there, and even in those two -- San Francisco and Manhattan -- there are plenty of decent places for less than half that. Closer to 1/3, even in the best neighborhoods. Methinks the man doth exaggerate a bit.

Citation: my family owns a two-flat house on 19th Avenue in San Francisco and we're renting it out for $1800/mo. That's less than ONE QUARTER your cited figure. 2br/1ba with a decent dining room and a good-sized living room. It is quite a bit nicer than "decent." All remodeled in the last 5-10 years. You could rent the entire house -- 2 floors each containing what's described above above, with 2-car garage, small yard, and laundry area -- for $43k/yr. You could rent TWO such houses and not break $100k. I don't know what your definition of "decent" entails but if you need more than 8 bedrooms and 4 full bathrooms then maybe you shouldn't be looking at apartments.

Really? $8k/month? "Some parts"? There are about TWO parts of the U.S. that might qualify there, and even in those two -- San Francisco and Manhattan -- there are plenty of decent places for less than half that. Closer to 1/3, even in the best neighborhoods. Methinks the man doth exaggerate a bit.

Citation: my family owns a two-flat house on 19th Avenue in San Francisco and we're renting it out for $1800/mo. That's less than ONE QUARTER your cited figure. 2br/1ba with a decent dining room and a good-sized living room. It is quite a bit nicer than "decent." All remodeled in the last 5-10 years. You could rent the entire house -- 2 floors each containing what's described above above, with 2-car garage, small yard, and laundry area -- for $43k/yr. You could rent TWO such houses and not break $100k. I don't know what your definition of "decent" entails but if you need more than 8 bedrooms and 4 full bathrooms then maybe you shouldn't be looking at apartments.

Yes, and there is even one ad under vacation rental. I guess soldiers can park their hummers in her garage. Yes, it's a double-entendre.

http://baghdad.craigslist.org/

Appears so . . .

Only problem = crazy cost of living. Look at these rents: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/apa/

No problem if you're homeless, but if you want to live indoors, maybe because you have computers and such, $$$$ like crazy. Might as well live in San Franci$co.

So only hippies, new age types, and open source developers with trust funds can live in Santa Cruz.

Nothing new - I remember it as a richie haven back in the 1970s.

I always liked Searunner trimarians, but not enough to live near their factory.

And beaches? So. Calif. has WAY better beaches.

Project code names are not classified, ever. Every project has a unclassified code name like any of the above which can be used for things like budgeting and frankly, resumes. A guy I know tried to get "FLUFFY BUNNY" approved as a code name, but they denied it. The easy way to tell, is that unclassified code names are single words chosen by a random computer word generator, and the classified code names are always 2 words, chosen again by a random computer word generator.

While this may be interesting, the reality of the Fort Meade area is that any job in intelligence, analysis, or IT with a location of Fort Meade or Annapolis Junction, MD is a NSA job. Some of them even post on Craigslist and one time, I had a Facebook add pop up that said "Want an NSA Clearance?" (not a typo, the company messed up their grammar).

The mess up wasn't in grammar; the NSA doesn't have their own "clearance", they utilize the system put in place by the DoD, so the entire notion of an "NSA Clearance" is nonsensical. There are a variety of classification clearance levels that are required for different positions at the NSA.

Project code names are not classified, ever. Every project has a unclassified code name like any of the above which can be used for things like budgeting and frankly, resumes. A guy I know tried to get "FLUFFY BUNNY" approved as a code name, but they denied it. The easy way to tell, is that unclassified code names are single words chosen by a random computer word generator, and the classified code names are always 2 words, chosen again by a random computer word generator.

While this may be interesting, the reality of the Fort Meade area is that any job in intelligence, analysis, or IT with a location of Fort Meade or Annapolis Junction, MD is a NSA job. Some of them even post on Craigslist and one time, I had a Facebook add pop up that said "Want an NSA Clearance?" (not a typo, the company messed up their grammar).

Sounds like a Best of Craigslist post in the making.

Altamont's turbines have since 2008 been tethered four months of every year in an effort to protect migrating birds after environmentalists filed suit. According to the Golden Gate Audubon Society, 75 to 110 Golden Eagles, 380 Burrowing Owls, 300 Red-tailed Hawks, and 333 American Kestrels (falcons) are killed by Altamont turbines annually.

I was aware of wind turbine bird strikes. I didn't know the numbers.

...(beyond develop hobbies, spend time with family)...

Develop hobbies and spend time with your family.

Programming (or learning to program if you don't already know how) is a productive hobby. Get a train set. Repaint your house. Buy and restore a classic car by hand (although that can be quite expensive). Go hiking/kayaking/skiing/biking/fishing. Learn to play the guitar/bass/drums/piano/sax/trumpet/sousaphone. Have a barbeque. Build a barbeque. Go geocaching. Go geohashing . And get your kids/parents/spouse/siblings/friends/neighbors involved.

I only wish I have free time for these things

In LA they routinely work for $20 a day, and the promise of free lunch and a copy of the film when finished. Check out the production announcements on Craigslist LA sometime and you can see what non-union production puts people through.

Children were not originally designed to play with electronic devices. Children prefer objects which they can hold, throw, eat and break. This type of behavior can prove very expensive with an iPad. Better suggestion:

1. Borrow or buy a jigsaw with a thin blade. A hand jigsaw with a thin blade is okay but try to find a jigsaw with a table:
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/tls/3430299340.html

2. Buy a sheet of thin 1/8 inch tempered hardboard (aka high-density fiberboard) or 1/8 inch plywood:
www.homedepot.com/buy/1-8-in-4-ft-x-8-ft-tempered-hardboard-832777.html
www.lowes.com/pd_95321-99899-95321_0__?productId=3605348

3. Buy some spray adhesive:
www.drillspot.com/products/1348820/3m_45_1025oz_spray_adhesive

4. Download puzzle templates suitable for your child's age
https://www.google.com/search?q=puzzle+templates

5. Find some nice colorful pictures or posters to make into puzzles. Car dealerships often have great car posters for little boys. Highway rest stops or AAA have maps which make great puzzles. Hair salons have plenty of posters of women's hair styles. Doll shops have promotional posters of dolls. Travel agencies have promotional posters of exotic destinations. You get the idea.

6. Spray adhesive to the back of the poster and glue it on to the 1/8 inch board. Let sit for a while to cure.

7. Spray adhesive to the back of the puzzle design and glue to the other side of the board

8. For younger children cut a rectangular border to surround the puzzle and another rectangle to go under the puzzle
http://www.dinosaurjunction.com/130-46-thickbox/t-rex-wooden-puzzle.jpg

9. Start cutting according to the puzzle pattern and make toys which your children can pass on to their children and which have been proven for thousands of years not to cause attention deficit disorder.

10. Store the puzzles in empty boxes you get from a shoe store or cigar shop

Or you could just spend $7 and order one online:
http://www.dinosaurjunction.com/400-Shop-for-dinosaur-puzzles
https://www.google.com/search?q=wooden+jigsaw+puzzles&tbs=p_ord:p&tbm=shop

Your kids will have plenty of time to play with computers when they grow up. No need to start when they are three.

Yes there will. Just go here or here.

Every time Apple revs a product, there will always be those that feel the need to get the latest. Apple stuff is actually a pretty good deal if you buy 1 generation behind.

There are Javascript "engineer" positions going for 160k/yr in SF, and I know many folks making 150k-160k as Senior engineers, http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/eng/3343883515.html

Sounds like embedded systems would be a great fit for you. I would strongly recommend trying that path before something like iPad programming. Try checking out http://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/jjj?query=embedded+software&srchType=A before making a final decision.

Here's a suggestion.

Russia Wants a Hypersonic Bomber

What a coincidence! I happen to be selling one on Craigslist right now.

Stowaway on a train

Stowing a way on a train might be a really bad idea, FWIW.