How to get proxy working for Ubuntu 14.04 without GUI (Works for all users and sudo)

By default proxy settings aren't enabled on Ubuntu servers and I've come to find that there are syntax changes in 14.04 that are drastically different compared to their last LTS (Long Term Support) release without it being very obvious. I've crawled the web and have come across various solutions, but those solutions only fix pieces like apt-get and what I wanted is something that works across all users and all calls even when using sudo. One of the things that I figured out was the when you elevate with sudo it doesn't necessarily mean that it will inherit user variables and that was a key discovery that ultimately pointed me on the right path. Without further ado here are the steps. Keep in mind that I prefer vim for a text editor and my examples will reflect that and you can use whichever editor you are comfortable with.

1.) Update your environmental variable

The first step is to create exports in your environmental variables and you can do that by editing /etc/environment

sudo vim /etc/environment

In the file you should add your exports below the PATH= line and the syntax will look like this for each type, http, https, and ftp. (In older versions of Ubuntu you could use all_proxy which I am not sure is still in use and haven't tested for). One you edit for the exports you need, save and exit.

export http_proxy=http://yourproxyserver:proxyserverport

2.) Create your proxy file

As I've mentioned that by default Ubuntu doesn't have proxy settings enabled and this means that there ins't a proxy setting file for apt-get either. You will need to create one and if you are new to Linux, the file be will automatically created when you open a text editor by the name you intend to use for the file.

sudo vim /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/30proxy

Keep in mind that the two digit number before the file name is arbitrary, it can be any number except for ones already in use. If you want to use a number and see what's there you can run this to see what other files are in that directory;

ls /etc/apt/apt.conf.d

Moving on to editing the file, the syntax is highly specific and I would suggest copying and pasting what I have written below. Short of that, pay close attention to double quotes (" ") and semicolons (;) and be sure to close every curly bracket used. Save the file once done and off to editing sudoers file next.

3.) Update sudoers file

The sudoers file needs to be edited to allow it to not only inherit, but to also keep the environmental variables being passed to it that you specified in /etc/environment. The best way to edit the sudoers file located /etc/sudoers is to use viduso. Keep in mind unlike vi or vim it doesn't require you to type "i" to input and to save you press ctrl+x, agree with "y" and take the default .tmp file that visudo wants to use to update the sudoers file. The section that you be editing is towards the top where it lists "Defaults". There you will add additional lines equal to each environmental variable and here is the syntax for adding the http_proxy example from before;

Defaults env_keep += http_proxy

Once you are done editing we will perform some tests to find out if sudo is inheriting the environmental variables. Run the following two commands and the output should be the same for both, if sudo is missing ant of the grep searches than try to reboot first and if still the same issue than double check your syntax in previous edits.

env | grep proxy

and sudo env | grep proxy

Finally, try to run sudo apt-get update or if you have ruby installed sudo gem update and see if the updates run successfully.

Journey to my next SBR upper Part 1

After completing my SBR build things are sweet, things are great. There's something simply fun about shooting a SBR that needs to be experienced to make sense why something as seemingly banal as a shorter barrel is better. I've been running my 11.5 inch barrel with a Griffin M4SD compensator that mitigates muzzle climb well while keeping most of the concussive force away from the shooter even on a SBR. The M4SD has noticeably more side blast compared to an A2 flash hider, but that's to be expected when switching from a flash hider to a compensator. With the muzzle climb of .223/5.56 being manageable a part of me considered switching back to an A2 until I start shooting successive follow up shots and am reminded why I use a compensator. Two years and so many new products on the market later I wanted to build an upper around the new thinner cousin of the Noveske KX3, the Noveske KX5 in hopes of a muzzle device that balances muzzle control while directing the blast away from the shooter.

Ordering a part at a time on my last build afforded me the agility to change parts on the fly when either my initial choice for a part no longer meets my needs and specifications or a better part emerges on the market. I decide to repeat this method with the KX5 build and start with a loose idea of parts for the upper;

Noveske KX5
Barrel TBD
Keymod rail (likely BCM KMR)
Upper TBD

The first step was the barrel. A quick search on the internet reveals more choices than ever before and I realize that I need requirements and began making a list of things that I want to change about my existing SBR. One of the pitfalls I've encountered with a M4 profile barrel is that it heats up quickly and in turn heats up the Troy Battlerail Bravo until it becomes untenable to shoot without gloves. The debate over heat shifting point of impact rages on the the internet, but what I can tell you is that without being able to grip the forend my shot placement stops being consistent regardless of shift in POI. The heat issue lead me to choose a medium profile barrel that balances between weight increase and heating rate. The other requirements are maintaining a carbine gas system and to use a shorter barrel than what I have now to accommodate the KX5's long profile of 3.25 inches. The shortest a carbine gas system can be is ten inches and with the market offering either 10.3" or 10.5" those became my choices. Lastly I want to squeeze out as much accuracy out of the barrel while still being able to shoot either .223 Remington or 5.56 NATO and will be looking for a barrel chambered in .223 Wylde.

Though my requirements narrow my choices it still left me deciding between too many manufacturers without comparative data that indicates which barrel will best suit my build. I add another requirement for a twist rate of one in eight or ideally one in seven to better stabilize a 55 to 77 grain bullet through a sub-eleven inch barrel. Thorough deliberation left two choices between Noveske and Lothar-Walthar and I decide on Lothar-Walthar in the end. The things that steered me to L-W was the many emails that Woody from L-W answered as well as the performance that LaRue gets out of L-W's barrel blanks. Noveske is an outstanding company with a very long history for quality, but it was hard to resist a barrel of equal quality that cost around a hundred dollars less. The negative comments that I have for L-W is that they feel behind the times in terms of buying a barrel on the internet. Their website doesn't clearly convey what they have without reaching out to them to asking if a given configuration is available. Contacting them is a blast from the past with an @mindspring.com email address which I had no idea that domain still exists let alone that mail continues to be routed, or that anyone still uses those accounts.

Woody from L-W replies with the news that they have a 10.5 inch medium profile barrel in stainless steel with one in seven polygonal rifling available. A few more email exchanges to find out gas block size and total cost with shipping comes to $239.75. I ask Woody how to place an order since it wasn't obvious on their website. Is there a page on the site that I can place an order through? Do I email you this order and call you with a credit card? Maybe complete the transaction over paypal? No, no, and no.........he tells me that I need to write a letter with my order and that they accept either personal check, cashier's check, or money order. Had that been a phone conversation it would have been followed by a long pause of awkward silence.

With the ability to order anything on the web today it was weird, even awkward to type out an order and print it out only to stuff it in an envelope along with a check for the appropriate amount. Payment is no longer the final step by the consumer as I still need to write on to the envelope sender and return address, affix a stamp, and mail it. My present self is astonished with my past self at having done those things and wonder why anyone did it except that web ordering wasn't a thing back then yet. Soul crushing agony was around the corner at the realization that I am blind to the order fulfillment process. Letters don't let me click to see where my order sits, if it's shipped, and what the tracking number is. I am forced to wallow in the darkness that is mail order purgatory praying to the mocking demigods of snail mail and all things paper that it all miraculously comes together and that the barrel arrives. Now begins my descent into madness.

As I was driven slowly insane by the lack of order transparency I redirect my focus on figuring out the upper and rail. While I like the Bravo rail's full run of MIL-STD 1913 rails that enables me to mount accessories anywhere along the rail that flexibility comes with a price. MIL-STD 1913 specifications dictates a minimum dimension that can't be escaped and that translates to a rail that can only go so small yet maintain MIL-STD requirements while weight becomes a delicate balance between the rail's integrity and durability. I feel that keymod solves maintaining mounting flexibility without suffering MIL-STD 1913 restrictions for size and weight. With the KX5 being initially developed to fit under Noveske's super thin NSR rail I wanted to take advantage of that design specification and have part of the KX5 under the rail. Initial estimation points to either a twelve or thirteen inch rail to accomplish that look and will have a better idea when I can rough fit the parts. All of these thoughts regarding the rail distills down between Bravo Company Manufacturing's 13" KMR and Midwest Industry's 12" SSK. Both are well reviewed, durable, and light weigh solutions with just enough space to fit the KX5 with the final decision hinging on empirical measurement of actual length from upper to KX5 once parts arrive. For the upper I want mil-spec dimensions that surpass a typical upper's quality and the search leads me to Vltor's MUR upper which gives me increased wall thickness for a tough upper with a slightly different look compared to a traditional AR upper with very angular lines.

Withe the barrel ordered I impatiently eye my updated parts list and cultivate my inner zen to wait to order a part at a time;

Noveske KX5
Lothar-Walthar 10.5" barrel
Keymod rail (Either BCM KMR or MI SSK)
Vltor MUR upper

Now to get some of that patience that I hardly have any of.

Valjoux 7750 are not all created equal.....or are they?

I recently had a conversation with a friend about how various watch makers use the Valjoux 7750 and that sparked the idea for this post. For the uninitiated the 7750 is an automatic chronograph movement designed by Edmond Capt for Valjoux and released July 1, 1974 only to be discontinued shortly after its release due to the watch industry's quartz crisis. When the watch industry stabilized the movement was revived and put back into production in the 80's and various models of it exist today that offer GMT, moon phase, power reserve indicator, tricompax layout, etc.

Chronograph movements aren't exactly a new concept with the very first one invented by Louis Moinet in 1816 to solve the issue with tracking astronomical objects against an accurate time plot. The first automatic chronograph was introduce by Zenith with the El Primo on March 1, 1969 that still incorporated a column wheel design. The 7750 came five years later and solved a design hurdle which was a movement that can be manufactured easier, cheaper, and faster. Initially designed as a workhorse movement and still referred as such by watch makers the 7750's initial intention was not to be a high end movement, but an affordable chronograph ebauche.

What made the 7750 easier to manufacture was the use of a cam and lever known as the coulisse lever system to replace the column wheel. The column wheel is a very precisely created piece and took tens of hours by a single person to finish and polish by hand elsewhere the coulisse lever system required far less precision in manufacturing yet maintained high accuracy. Not only was it easier to manufacture it is far more rugged than the column wheel and is the only type of mechanical chronograph to pass military standards. A draw back to the coulisse lever was that it wouldn't consistently reset the chronograph hands back to zero and Capt solved this by utilizing an existing patent from Henri Jacot-Guyot who filed his patent in 1940 that of a heart shaped cam now ubiquitous to the 7750 that accurately resets the hands to zero.

Despite its humble start the 7750 has become synonymous with a high grade movement and the workhorse gained popularity among manufactures and watch enthusiasts alike for reliability and accuracy. While column wheel chronographs remain to be the highest echelon of chronograph movements the 7750 in various incarnations and modifications has found its way into many high grade watches. This is where the distinction begins within the 7750. Because it is a common ebauche you often hear advice from collectors to thosee interested in an automatic chronograph to purchase a 7750 based watch at the best price point, or that how IWC calibres 790x,791x, and 792x are just 7750s and no need to spend that kind of money. This is a common and unfortunate misconception and it is making the same statement when buying car that all V-8 engines are the same and it doesn't matter which one you buy, or when selecting a mobile phone that all smart phones are identical and that it makes no difference if you purchase an iPhone or an Android.

To be fair there are many custom options that can be ordered directly from ETA ranging from Geneva stripes to blued screws and that there are many watches with stock 7750s and its variants dropped straight in. I wanted to mention this because depending on the watch it is just a 7750 and you are quite possibly paying for the branding. An example of this is the Swatch Group to whom I often compare them as the Pepsi Co of the watch world due to the number of brands it owns. As of this writing Swatch Group owns Breguet, Harry Winston, Blancpain, Glashutte Original, Jaquet Droz, Leon Hatot, Omega, Longines, Rado, Union Glashutte, Tissot, Balmain, Certina, Mido, Hamilton, Calvin Klein Watches & Jewelry, Swatch, and Flik Flak along with several movement manufactures namely ETA. For this writing I am looking very specifically at those watch makers who does modify the movement and worthy of assigning their own in-house calibre name.

IWC is one of those companies that uses ebauches form ETA and modifies them in house with their 792xx calibres fitted with the Trovis regulator among other changes. Sinn is another manufacture with modifications to the 7750 that sets it apart from a stock ETA offering by using a proprietary blend of materials that allows the escapement to never need lubrication. Back to the column wheel discussion Longines overhauled the 7750 through ETA (both owned by Swatch Group) as the Longines L.688.2 or ETA model code A08.231 with the major change being the retrofit of a column wheel to replace the coulisse lever system and market it as an entry column wheel automatic chronograph.

Helmut Sinn made the prediction that the market will be flooded with too many 'luxury' watches and this is the precipice we are seeing and where many draw the incorrect conclusion of 7750 based watches. ETA currently offers 7750 with and without day/date, 7751 moon phase, 7753 tricompax, and 7754 ETACHRON regulator along with additional component variation at the factory in an attempt to distinguish one 7750 from another. The quartz crisis forced many brands to go under and those that survived did so because they cut costs by ceasing R&D and production of in-house calibres in favor of using ebauches from ETA. In retrospect without the quartz crisis the proliferation of the 7750 wouldn't have been possible. Omega was one of those companies when facing bankruptcy in the 80's began using ETA ebauches to cut costs and in recent years returned to in-house movements when the market was favorable and profitable again. With growing sales of mechanical watches companies are less timid of taking financial risks in developing their own in-house caliber and this coupled with the desire to stand out in the market we are seeing for the first time in many years the development and production of in-house calibres. Breitling who is known for chronograph watches and practically made the style fashionable finally replaced the B13 which is a 7750 for their in-house movement the B01.

Another factor to using the 7750 is a simple supply and demand issue where companies that are either getting back into or are getting into manufacturing in-house movements and does not have the production capacity. Tag Heuer has been struggling to cease use of Calibre 16 which is a 7750. They began by acquiring rights to existing movements and one of the acquisitions was the Seiko 6S78 which Tag Heuer modified and produce in Switzerland as the Calibre 1887. Tag Heuer didn't anticipate the growth well and went back to using Calibre 16 in some of their watches to keep up with demand. Conversely another strategy that took advantage of the supply issue was Panerai who purposely stunted production that essentially created a limited run. Panerai began developing their own in-house movements in 2002 and rapidly developed a replacement for every ebauche they were using from ETA all at their own pace with the exception of a 7750 reference design which it removes the chronograph functions and maintains a subdial seconds at 9'o clock as the OP III. Even ETA couldn't keep up with the demand and outsourced some of their manufacturing to other companies. To qualify as Swiss made movements the companies it outsourced to had to be in Switzerland such as Sellita.

The venerable 7750 will be seen less due to ETA's decision to no longer sell ebauches but complete movements only to new clients beginning in 2011. They have also been cutting back on 7750 production because the Swatch Group no longer wants to support their competition when they have a number of their own brands to support. Timing however couldn't be better when it was discovered that several patents expired under ETA and that some of the affected patents were for the ETA 2824 and 7750. Sellita being an outsourcing vendor for ETA already had manufacturing capabilities for those movements and began producing exact clones of those movements under their own brand name and calibres as SW-200 and SW-500 respectively. Sellita SW-500 has already been showing up in watches that formerly used 7750s such as the Sinn 356.

Can you find stock 7750s in various brands? Yes you can, but you can also find interestingly modified movements where the 7750 is a reference design. With the watch industry changing towards in-house movements and ETA withdrawing from the ebauche business, we may soon find the 7750 to be an in-house movement to Swatch Group companies only. Now to track down a Lemania 5100 next.....

Update;

I came across this amazing article on the 7750 and it's worth a read

Smart watches will be the end of mankind

The day that I dreaded lurks around the corner where I will have friends, colleagues, and absolute strangers that find out I work on watches involve me in discussion on a device which I have no interest in. It's bad enough in this day and age where it's acceptable to ignore your social surroundings by being absorbed in your mobile device and let life run by you, technology will soon allow minimal life participants to be even less engaging by strapping a relay system to your wrist.

The compelling reason that I hear most commonly is an urgent need to know why your phone just went off. As in you are driving and probably shouldn't check; let alone reply to that text, but you will risk life and limb to check that text. Seriously, you couldn't wait until you are at least stopped at a red light and get honked at as it turns green and you aren't moving because you are engrossed in an epic text conversation about the latest internet meme.

I came across an article on gizmodo that harks the need to know sentiment to which I commented on;

You need to know what just happened? So you're the idiot that causes unnecessary traffic jams and accidents because you just needed to know as you swerve to your and other driver's death? You must be the moron who is trying to reply to a text while riding his/her bicycle and gets creamed by a bus because you just had to know, and you must be the colossal buffoon who stepped off of the curb to cross the street when the cross walk is five feet away and you are hit by a cyclist replying to a text into traffic who is then struck by the motorist checking email just because you had to know.

As a watchmaker I already do not want to see the precious wrist real estate taken up by a gaudy gadget with a tiny screen that should tell you that you are a tasteless idiot, but instead pretends to be convenient by catering to your addiction of social media and messaging. If you ask me what I think about smart watches, now you know.

Quick little update: Seems the author of the gizmodo article Eric Limer has removed my comment. Apparently he is the sensitive sort who can't handle people that can see right through BS.

First time home buying experience in Massachusetts

I have been house hunting for the last few months and have learned a whole lot of what it means to buy a home along the way. There are misconceptions to real estate that will exist until you are faced with the task of buying a home, but you can get a head start by attending a first time home buyer's course. The courses are offered anywhere from free to a nominal fee and is a great resource for the target audience as well as a qualifying criteria for some incentive loan products that wouldn't otherwise be available to you. One of the things that the course will tell you is to assemble your home buying team. First and foremost you should have a buyer's agent who can help guide you through the weeds. I will leave links to the various people that I've worked with at the end of this post in case you live in the greater Boston area and are seeking reliable people to fill out your roster. You should also have your buying strategy figured out such as deciding ahead of time if you want the seller to cover closing costs. While having the seller pay the closing costs isn't atypical it may deter you away from certain sellers. Conversely keep in mind that closing costs on a single family home can range form $2,500 to $5,000 and condo's closing costing more.

Every market is unique and I have been looking for a place in eastern Massachusetts with the goal of remaining within a reasonable commute to Boston and Cambridge. For my target area the property I purchase will likely be an existing structure since developable lots (assuming that you can find one in the city to begin with) have other financial challenges. For the sake of explaining it let's say you find a lot for $120,000 and you want to finance it. Traditional mortgage for an existing home can accept a down payment as little as 3%, but for developable land You will need to plunk down 50% of the lot's sale price to have a bank finance it. The reason for the higher down payment is because banks are afraid of the lender walking away from the mortgage if the lender isn't deeply cash committed. To continue our example, the $120,000 lot would need $60,000 down for a bank to finance it and be confident that the lender will repay the loan versus 5% down which would be $6,000 and feasible that a lender may walk away from the mortgage without suffering a substantial loss.

If you are in the position of putting down half for a lot, you still need to consider the cost of building your dream home. Look around the street and locate the closest fire hydrant which will indicate where the water and sewer lines are. The further away you are from a hydrant, the more it will cost to plumb for water and sewer. You maybe in an area that sewer service isn't available and will have to bury a septic tank in the ground which limits your foundation size in relation to septic tank size and building code. The street may not have gas service and you will have to use propane, electric, or oil for your heating needs which are far more expensive options compared to gas. Maybe your street does not have gas run all the way down to your lot and will need to pay to have the gas run the rest of the street. While new constructions have ideal floor plans and have little to nothing wrong with them, your loan product becomes complex and may not qualify for a more favorable rate compared to a traditional mortgage. An alternative to consider is to put down 20% on an existing home to be free of PMI and either buy points or plan for renovations with the remaining cash to turn the existing structure into your ideal home.

It has been a buyer's market since the real estate bubble burst, but lately approaching an artificial position that is nearly a seller's market due to constrained inventory. Our economic climate has directly impacted the national inventory shortage by forcing home owners to hedge against uncertain times by staying in their homes longer. The shortage of new jobs which traditionally incited a homeowner to move has also contributed to the inventory shortage. People who bought a home at the height of the real estate inflation are just now coming out from being underwater and are either selling or refinancing their home. Those that are selling are in a position to receive a better offer on their home with the inventory constraint which lends to the artificial perception of it being a seller's market as a result. I think that the market will even out between buyers and sellers in New England throughout the remainder of 2013 as being in the northeast we experience an increase in inventory and sales activities during warmer months versus the colder months of the year.

One thing preventing another real estate inflation is the practice of an impartial third party to appraise a home. The home will appraise at fair market value with consideration for renovations and condition of the house which insures that the bank isn't approving a risky loan worth more than the property. The appraisal is submitted to the lending party and if it appraises lower than the agreed sale price, a rebuttal along with a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) can be sent by your agent to provide additional data to recalculate the value with. Even with a rebuttal the home cannot be valued above reasonable market value and this adds a layer of protection to the buyer where it is no longer possible for the seller to demand whatever they feel is right and expect a bank to agree with them. Once the appraisal is finalized, that is as much as the house can be sold for at that time. This is why it is critical that the seller remains realistic about what their home is worth. The constrained inventory is forcing fast actions from interested buyers often resulting in multiple offers submitted to a property priced to current market value. I have also seen properties sit on the market for a long time because the seller is expecting an unrealistic return on their investment.

The question that plagues every first time buyer is how does one know which house is the right one? This question is easily answered if you prepare a list of what you need at a minimum and what you want in an ideal home. To give you and idea I was looking for a single family home in select towns to meet my commute goal and I need 2 bedrooms, driveway, and a dry basement. Ideally I want a third bedroom or office, second full bath, and a garage. My list helped me narrow my choices and reveal listings relevant to me. Finance is an obvious constraint and is important to be pre-qualified by a reputable lender to know how much you can make an offer up to. Ask your agent for a lender recommendation if you haven't approached one yet. Once you've been pre-qualified use a mortgage calculator to figure out what monthly payments will look like to prevent biting off more than you can financially chew per month. The calculator in the link has you input taxes and insurance and computes your projected payments with PMI. It will also help you understand that when it comes to dealing in hundreds of thousands over a thirty year term that a difference of $10,000 makes for a negligible change in your monthly payment. Understanding this difference will better prepare you for negotiating an offer quickly. A bill that you will not have had as a renter is a water bill and the city you are looking to buy in will typically have a website that can tell you how you are billed and at what rate. Now that you know what features you are looking for in a home and how much you are willing to spend, it's time to start looking in person.

The first time you see a house it is both weird and exciting. In a short time you will master the process and will be able to figure out quickly if the home is right for you. Keep in mind that superficial things like paint color and wallpaper can be easily changed and shouldn't affect your decision. I remember the very first house that I saw which was a bank owned property in rather miserable shape. I walked through the front door and loudly declared, "nope" and that was my first taste of not liking a house and the end of my first viewing. I was told that you will know if a house is right and it's true, I knew the first house wasn't the place for me within seconds of walking in. A phenomenon that I have been experiencing is the ideal photo problem, or the inverse ebay law. eBay sellers are aware that buyers are favored in a dispute and would rather put up clear example of the sale item to mitigate negative feedback where else in real estate you see pictures of a home on MLS or Trulia and it looks amazing until you see the place in person and have to stand in exactly the right place at the right time of day to have it look as nice as it did in the pictures.

It's important to check if the listing is accurate against the house with simple mistakes like gas heat listed in place of oil heat or omit details that would otherwise make a likable feature a moot point such as having to walk through a bedroom to get to another bedroom. The weirdest example by far was a listing that supposedly had 1.5 baths. I walked in and saw immediately that the pictures grossly misrepresented the property and knew that the place wasn't for me, but since I was there I figured that I would get my house looking practice in. I located the first bathroom in the kitchen which is a little weird in it's self, but could not locate the half bath on the second floor or in the basement. I was just about to leave as I noticed a panel that leads to the attic. I pulled down the panel by the string and revealed the folded ladder to get up to the attic to discover there in the open is the half bath.....it looked as if the previous occupant had someone chained in the attic. In short I found the sloth room with the open concept prison style bathroom. (Ew! Seriously, who puts a bathroom in the attic and why would you leave a toilet exposed?)

Then there is what I dubbed as murder house which is a large colonial duplex listed as a four bedroom condo with a driveway and garage. The pictures of the unit showed stunning high arched ceilings and a promise of a large living space with condo convenience. I drove up the driveway and felt like I was driving on set to shoot an episode of Hoarders when I saw various crap everywhere in the driveway, against the three car garage, and in all garage bays. The steps leading to the front door is clearly neglected and wondered how the condo association hasn't repaired it yet. Past the front door is a foyer and once I figured out which of the three doors was the right one it opened to stairs that lead to the second floor unit. Exploring the place I found additional signs of hording on the vacant side and began to suspect that it is a multi-family owned by a single person who is trying to pass it off as a condo. The extra hoarding room is an obvious addition to the house at first glance as evidenced by the original roof cutting into the room. Being within arm's reach of the shingles I was able to see that the roof has been improperly taken care of with countless layers of shingles atop another that made for an overall thickness of 7~8 inches in shingles alone. I found another stair case in the back of the place and went down the stairs to find a narrow short hallway with a door at the end. I approached the door when I heard what sounded like strange music played on a Victrola (I kept picturing in my mind the sewer scene in Hellboy where Karl Ruprecht Kroenen is seated listening to a Victrola) and that is when it struck me that I was now behind the 1st floor resident's condo (realize there is no door on the second floor, only the door for the first floor condo which is creepy to think that your neighbor has easy access to your place. Compound that with the super creepy paintings in that short hallway to just make it all worse). It was at that moment that I felt that I was no longer on an episode of Hoarders but in a horror/slasher film and decided against making previous level slasher victim maneuver by exploring any further and risk losing life and limb. You need to look at every place you think maybe the one and see for your self as realty tends to tell a separate story from what the pictures represent.

Once you decide on a place you will submit an offer to the seller or the seller's agent. Don't worry if you've looked at a few places and haven't found anything yet, I looked at at least a dozen places before my first offer materialized. I know one couple that looked at ninety places before circling back to the very first property that they looked at and another couple who are the outliers that found a place within the first three places they looked at. Your agent will provide a CMA which compares similar properties recently sold within a mile (unless you are in the boonies) to give you a view of what current values are for that particular neighborhood as well as if values are trending up or down. You should listen to your agent's invaluable advice who's experience and insight will aid you in making an offer. The overall shape of the home and nuisances that may detract from the enjoyment of your home should be taken into consideration as well as the age and condition of appliances, HVAC, and water systems. You should also understand the difference between an upgrade and maintenance. Adding a second bath is an upgrade and should positively impact the resale price while replacing a twenty year old water heater is maintenance and you shouldn't be expected to shoulder the previous occupant's maintenance cost. Additions and remodels increase value and maintenance maintains value. Conversely lack of maintenance decreases value and just because an addition or remodel is made it doesn't necessary add value if it didn't update or improve the home.

Some sellers have taken these factors into account and price accordingly while others are greedy or clueless. Unless you offer asking price expect it to be countered. Countered doesn't mean rejected and you have to negotiate a price that both parties feel fair with, but if it is rejected you either offered too low to consider or you have a seller that wants too much. If the seller's counter is reasonable than there is no reason to keep going back and forth, but if you still do not feel that the price is fair than counter back. Be careful of emotionally vested sellers who may not be motivated to sell their home as well as becoming emotionally involved yourself. Yes, the buying process can be stressful and emotional at times, but it is a business transaction after all.

You will often hear that no one can tell you what a fair price for a home is except for yourself. Well, that really isn't a relevant statement these days when the buyer has so many resources available to determine fair current value. Along with your agent's expertise there are various web resources for prospecting home buyers such as Trulia and Zillow. Between the two sites I prefer Trulia for one invaluable feature: Sold Homes near. With this feature you have a filtered list of homes sold near the property you are interested in and gives you an overall average price on square footage as well as historical pricing in the area. This feature has helped me figure out on so many occasions if a home is over or under priced for the market and helped me avoid the pitfall of emotionally answering the fair price question. Other useful features are what the home sold for previously and nearby school ratings.

Once an offer has been accepted you should schedule an inspection. There will likely be very few surprises, but if there are tons of surprises than there maybe more problems than meets the eye. An inspection will always find something, but they aren't necessarily deal killers. After the inspection you should negotiate to either fix things that were discovered during the inspection or for compensation in the form of a lower sale price. I had one woman who was pretty unreasonable to work with during the offer phase and after the inspection revealed around twenty things on her home. I made a list in order of importance what I wanted repaired, replaced, or lower the sale price to reflect the defect and stated that the first two items were non-negotiable. The first was presence of WDOs (Wood Destroying Organisms, A.K.A termites and carpenter ants) that I wanted treated and any associated repairs performed. The second was to replace the basement windows. When I made the offer on the property I was informed that all windows were replaced but I discovered during the inspection that the basement windows were not replaced and were rotting out. She came back saying that she would only address the WDOs and nothing else which prompted me to walk away from the deal. Don't be afraid to walk away, the seller is not your friend and you have no obligation to stick around for a bad deal.

Once both parties agree on the inspection items you will contact your attorney and insurance agent. If you do not have an attorney than ask your agent for recommendations which may have hidden perks such as my attorney representing both myself and the lending institution without an additional cost. Once your attorney engages the seller's attorney you just have to wait. Title insurance is something that will appear as part of your closing costs but is seldom discussed at length. Despite the name it is not offered by your insurance agent, but by your attorney. Title insurance is mandated by your lender to avert any risks to the title that may exist when purchasing your home. What is seldom discussed is your option for Enhanced Title Insurance that protects the buyer after the home is purchased from unforeseen risks. Cost difference is negligible, but the coverage difference is huge and you should just tell your attorney that you want the enhanced option. The initial P&S will be drafted by the seller's attorney and attorneys will draft back and forth until all addendum and contingencies are satisfactory to both parties at which point you will be presented with the final draft to review. Once you sign the P&S it will be delivered to either the seller, seller's attorney, or sellers agent depending on the the P&S requirements along with your earnest money and will be countersigned by the seller and the P&S is fully executed at that point.

Copy of the fully executed P&S will be sent to your lender and your lender is free to apply for a mortgage on your behalf. It is at this point that your attorney will be contacted to get a list of fees for the closing which are both attorney's and regulatory fees;

Attorney Fees
Title Exam
Courier
Obtain Municipal Lien Certificate (MLC)
Rundown and Record
Lender’s Title Insurance
Owner’s Title Insurance
Survey/Plot Plan
Prepare Homestead
Deed
Record Mortgage with state
File MLC
Record Homestead

From this point forward unless you are contacted by your lender for any documentation required by a bank, you simply have to wait until the closing date. If the title and mortgage are available before the closing date, it is possible to have your agent contact the seller to see if they would like to move the closing date up in exchange for receiving the check sooner. Good luck and happy hunting for your first home.

As promised, here are the people to comprised my team;

Agent: Rick Nau, Ascend Realty Group

Lender: Dick Lee, Independent Mortgage, LLC.

Attorney: Ann Tran Mullin, Lee & Associates, P.C.

Inspector: John O'Riordan, Old School Home Inspections

Anstead Oceanis

Kickstarter has become my other bad habit where I peruse for campaigns I may want to fund that range from 'yesses! I needz this' to 'dear god what have you done?'. Among the projects I came across is the Anstead Oceanis. The designer Tom Anstead explains on his campaign page that his designs were inspired by his experience while he served in the Navy aboard the USS Independence. My curiosity was peaked for a watch designed around function while keeping aesthetics in mind.

Where many entry dive watches start between 50m to 100m, the Oceanis is designed to withstand a max depth of 990ft/300m which at 33ft per scuba ATM is an impressive 28 atmospheres. Greater depth requirement means a bigger case or a stronger case material along with a screw down crown to withstand the pressure. The brushed surgical steel case measures 44.3mm wide by 6.9mm, but add the case back, bezel, and sapphire crystal and the overall thickness comes out to 14.36mm making for a sizable watch. Anstead watch mitigates the additional material and R&D cost to survive the intended 300m depth and keeps a low retail cost of $399 after the campaign ended. The price point is a huge win for Anstead watches as you will be hard pressed to find a mechanical watch that can withstand 300m in that price range.

The Oceanis continues with the large aesthetics with a 4mm thick brown leather strap attached to 24mm lugs. The strap has the Anstead name impressed on the inside of the strap as well as it etched on the buckle and is a good quality strap but could stand to be manufactured with wearability in mind. Conventional strap making techniques thin the leather as it extends down from the watch that creates a taper. Sometimes this taper is obvious and other times it is hardly noticed. There are straps that do not have this thinning done but those straps typically start with very thin stock and doesn't have much room to thin any further. The Oceanis' strap remains the same thickness across the entire length and as a result creates an uncomfortable 8mm lump of leather where the strap overlay in the stays. If the leather was softer I maybe able to tolerate the thickness but this isn't the case here. The lack of strap color choice is another issue for me as I am personally not a fan of the color and between the two I have ordered a replacement strap. You can see in the following photos the new strap as well a side by side of the old and new. Even with a deployment clasp on the new strap it feels thinner and far more comfortable to wear.

The non reflective flat black surface of the 32mm wide dial is easy to read in daylight and the luminescent hands and markers make it just as easy to read in low to no light. The dial is protected by a thick sapphire crystal seated against an O-ring and is surrounded by a 120 click bezel that only turns counter clock-wise as it should. The bezel requires firm tension to turn which is a relief to find with positive clicks that can be heard and felt. For those wondering why the bezel isn't easier to turn and isn't unidirectional need to consider the application. The bezel gives a diver the oxygen supplies's remaining time by turning the index of the bezel to where the minute hand is from the moment when the oxygen is used. From that point the minute hand travel will indicate elapsed time against the bezel and tells the diver how long they have been under for and how much time they have left. If the bezel were to accidentally move it should only move counterclockwise wise so that you lose dive time versus if it were unidirectional you risk adding time and possibly running out of air. For reasons above the bezel shouldn't move too easily to prevent accidental moves to begin with.

The watch is powered by the Seiko NH36a which improved on it's predecessor the 7S26 through the more jeweled pivots and a hacking lever. A hacking watch means that when the crown is pulled the second hand stops for the purpose of synchronizing watches for accuracy. I like Seiko movements as they are reliable and durable while remaining affordable. It is the use of this movement versus Swiss movements like the ETA 2836 with a stop lever that helps keeps the cost down on the Oceanis. Watches with hacking ETA calibres capable of a 300m depth start at $850 and only go up from there. The only question that remains of a new movement is longevity but considering Seiko's track record I feel confident in it's ability to last.

The packaging leaves something to be desired, but considering the cost of the watch I shouldn't be complaining. If I were to pay $1k or higher I would expect a certain level of sophistication and experience in the packaging but I digress. The packaging is minimal and nothing special to note. It is a black box with a white top with the Anstead logo pressed into the lid which is printed in black. The watch is strapped on a miniature velveteen pillow and the color manual sits below the pillow. I suppose at the very least the minimalist design is tasteful.

I like the overall aesthetic of the watch but there are some flaws along with rooms for improvement, which I have emailed Tom and he was very receptive to. The day/date window of the dial is slightly misaligned to the left and crowds the day/date display. The case back threads aren't indexed so the etched case back will be randomly oriented (as you can see in the photo above, mine points to the right). The aforementioned strap thickness interfering with long term wearability. The bezel's quarter hours should have been lumed to aid in the use of the bezel in low to no light. I personally prefer screw in strap versus the ever so flimsy pins. When I changed out my strap I noticed that the pins were significantly bent and matched the contour of the case indicating that there is insufficient clearance between strap and case (to be fair this is the strap's thickness at fault). I do want to note that none of the above points detracts from the value and construction of the watch and hope to see the above list addressed in future releases from Anstead.

I have been wearing the watch daily since it's arrival and the watch has proven to be accurate and durable. I look forward to see what Anstead watches offer next, I personally would sacrifice submersible depth for a display back and a nice looking movement (maybe some Geneva stripes on the NH36a's rotar? perhaps some jeweling on the bridges? Could be sharp with some blued screws...). If you find your self looking for a well functioning dive watch under $400 or just a good looking reliable watch, you certainly found it in the Anstead Oceanis.

Gun Control, Tragedies, and Media's Dishonest Intensions

It's appalling to see CNN, MSNBC, and many other news outlets capitalize on the recent mass shooting tragedies by sensationalizing mass murderers. The news casters telling conveniently spun tales that are anywhere from twisting a small fact out of context to outright lies in the guise of journalism. A recent example that I watched was Anderson Cooper 360 (who's show's ironic catch line is, "keeping them honest") on CNN that 'reveals' that there are hidden provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; A.K.A. the Obamacare bill that supports gun rights. The section in question is H.R. 3590-766 Section 2717 subsection C; Protection for Second Amendment Gun Rights which isn't as well hidden as Anderson Cooper reports considering that it took me under a minute to find it after downloading the bill.

Transcript of the show is available on CNN's site for the entire story.

It's ludicrous to report that a legally passed bill signed by the President is a hidden, secret, or otherwise surprise section when it is every senator and President's job to read these bills before voting and signing off on them. If the case were true that the senators and the President did not know about it than that would be a confession of breaking their oaths they took when they took office; to faithfully discharge their duty. At forty seconds in on the video above, Anderson Cooper's field reporter asks healthcare advocate Joan Alker her opinion on how Section 2717 appeared in the bill and her reply is mind blowing, "I don't know, but I assume the NRA put it in at the last minute". It's laughable that CNN resorts to fabricating a conspiracy theory aided by a reputable professional woman like Ms. (I apologize if it is Mrs.) Alker. Despite Ms. Alker's education she manages to sound like she is wearing a tin foil hat when she suggests that the 'NRA' manages to walk into congress to pen in Section 2717 as well as altering the table of contents and simply walk out moments before voting on the bill.

To think that we poke fun at the Weekly World News (and it's parent the National Enquirer) for making up stories. At least there is honesty in dishonesty as we read those stories for the same reason they were written: for the thrill of it.

The news is a business and as a business it does have to make a profit. Profit margins are even more important if you are a publicly traded company that must answer to shareholders. It is sad to say that tragedy sells but it does. On the trail of those tragedies comes follow up stories that can will be milked for every red cent that can be squeezed out of the terrible situation. Time magazine once a reputable name in journalism has slumped further when reporting on 'facts' of how an AR-15 is capable of firing 45 rounds a minute in semiautomatic mode.

Photo Credit to ENDO

I would like to know where Time got the figure for 45 rounds since it's an odd number in the AR world. There are typically 10, 20, and 30 round magazines for the AR-15 pattern rifle and that would be a magazine change to reach the 45 round mark. Even by an untrained person a rate of a round every 1.33 seconds (60 seconds / 30 rounds, mag change, 15 more rounds = 1.33 seconds) is rather slow and is clear that Time never checked their facts by reaching out to a qualified person or company to make a judgement call on an AR-15's rate of fire. For those of you that have never pulled a trigger there is a simple simulation you can try. Stretch a bunch of doubled and tripled over rubber bands between thumb and index finger of your non-dominant hand and rest the pad of your index finger of your dominant hand on the stretched portion of the rubber bands and pull as if pulling a trigger. If you can pull it more than once every 1.33 seconds, congratulations for not being the slow person that Time magazine thanks you are. Another odd statement that Time makes is specifying 'semiautomatic mode' that seem to insinuate that there are modes other than 'Safe' and 'Fire' where AR-15s are semiautomatic only.

Adding to Time's misreporting of facts is the picture they used which is a silhouette of an AK (presumably 47) and not an AR-15; they can't even get the picture of the gun right. Apparently the Times is not in the habit of checking their facts before publishing an article. If I were to speculate like Time magazine then I would say that they find the all mighty dollar more important than fact and truth and willfully misrepresent facts to get more money out of your pocket.

The Society of Professional Journalists outline a code of ethics that are seldom followed in the present day as evident by the blatant lies and half truth told as gospel news. In light of the recent mass murders the section to Minimize Harm are ignored wholesale in favor of their company's profit margins. These so called journalists justify harassment of grieving victims by broadcasting their misery to a nation of curious onlookers to satisfy a perceived public need. Journalists everywhere, pay close attention to the following words as they will morally elevate you among your peers: stop reporting the name and picture of a mass murderer. It is possible to report the crime without making a celebrity out of the killer. It's sad that journalism's peers can not create policy to stop using the mass murderer's name and likeness and worse yet that no method of enforcement or accountability exists.

I want to raise some points for the sake of creating dialogue in the hopes of a positive impact in the wake of the mass murders and the resulting discussion of what can be done about it. Some of the points that I will be making are extreme, but don't think in narrow terms or as a suggestion of an attack on freedom of expression (the fact that I am writing this blog demonstrates my favor for the first amendment). What I hope to accomplish is perspective of our world and how we as people have a certain control and influence over how our media behaves and vice versa. With those disclaimers in place, let me begin.

It is generally agreed that creating celebrities out of mass and serial murderers is a bad idea, but despite this consensus our morbid curiosity creates the loophole for public need in the eyes of journalists. As long as we have a need to know, journalists will continue to tell you in spectacular fashion the latest serial or mass murder committed by X. I would love to be able to say that next time such a story comes on your TV with the inevitable murderer name dropping that you should change the channel, but that would be asking you to ostracize yourself from the world by choosing ignorance. We are faced with the unfortunate situation of let it be for free press or fix it for public safety.

Imagine if the SPJ's code of ethics were not just a suggestion but a set of federal guidelines and laws with an additional clause to omit the likeness and name of serial and mass murderers. With the weight of the government comes accountability for those that break their laws through fines and imprisonment. Federal enforcement would solve one paradox of the viewer's dilemma but it simultaneously creates a second paradox that infringe on the journalist's first amendment in the name of public safety. This hypothetical idea to marginalize the first amendment through specific limitations shouldn't be new to those of you that want to alter the second amendment in the name of public safety, yet somehow the idea of altering the first amendment specific to the press to make the world a safer place doesn't align to your moral compass. You want your government to protect you and are willing to give up your right to arms to do so, but not your right to run your mouth and complain how the world would be a better place without guns all the while expecting someone else to take the responsibility of holding a gun to take on the risk for your protection.

Mr. Colion Noir made some great points on his recent video regarding the mass shootings:

I live in Massachusetts where it is required to obtain a license if you are interested in firearm ownership. Interested individuals must take a basic firearm safety course approved by the state before you can apply for the desired classification license. The class typically costs around $100 and the application is another $100. Assuming you are not a felon, convicted of a DUI, domestic violence, or any one of the disqualifying items on the form than you will have a license mailed to you once you satisfy all the requirements. What I find bananas are the states that only license for CCW or for specific kinds of firearms. This means that residents of those states can purchase firearms without a permit or license as long as the buyer is 21 or older without a criminal record.

After the Colorado tragedy I looked up the gun laws in that state and come to find that Colorado requires you to obtain a Concealed Weapon Permit if you intend to conceal carry but not for purchase and ownership otherwise. The police investigation has discovered that the guns used were legally obtained but considering how lenient Colorado's gun laws are that statement is the same as saying all the clothing he owns were legally purchased. Connecticut does have a licensing system in place, but what the Sandy Hook perpetrator did was steal guns from his own mother. She clearly did not secure them as outlined in Connecticut's law where her unlicensed son shouldn't have had access. When motive is unclear and mental health issues are suspected as leading the would be killers to their brink, where was healthcare advocate Joan Alker on helping the mentally ill and the families to cope with mental illness? She was too busy making outrageous claims of conspiracy to CNN. This country always blames guns along with the perpetrator but what about those who are supposed to be in position to help but didn't because they were too high on their moral high horse about gun control?

It is natural to discuss gun control after a tragedy that was perpetrated by a fire arm, but every public and political discussion seem to blindly revolve around the concept of an 'Assault Weapon'. Under the tense political climate the government desperately wanted to save face by taking some sort of action. When push came to shove the politicians couldn't admit that they lacked the resources to keep everyone safe at all times and the next best thing was a whipping boy called the assault rifle. Politicians uneducated on firearms incorrectly classified semiautomatic sporting rifles as assault rifles because of resemblance in appearance alone. The news media relays this information in their sensational fashion warns an already panicked public to the dangers of these awful instruments of death. Fear begat fear and out of it comes a public outcry for some form of justice, reform, or anything that would make the pubic feel 'safe' again. Spurned by a misinformed and scared public to make an example, the second amendment comes under attack again with the same old assault rifle song and dance. Mr. Colion Noir again has a great video (yet again) that educates you on the difference between and assault rifle and one that looks like one;

To anyone reading this who are on the anti-gun side of the debate, please read on and contemplate the feasibility of getting your hands on an actual assault weapon tomorrow. I want to educate those of you that may not have a clear understanding of just how hard it is to acquire an actual assault (full auto) weapon and hope to once and for all remove the assault weapon debate off of the table so that we can finally begin to have a civil conversation regarding gun control. A full auto firearm falls under a Title II classification and my SBR article shows the difficulties and long wait time to obtain a Title II tax stamp. There are additional restrictions for getting a full auto firearm starting with availability and cost as well as state laws that may prevent ownership altogether. The Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986 (FOPA) made sales of full auto firearms illegal to civilians with the caveat that anything manufactured before the act was considered grandfathered and thus the limited supply. The short supply drove prices up reaching tens of thousands of dollars and a full auto 'AR-15' would cost $15,000 or more and it typically would be an M-16, not those 'evil' AR-15s as the media will have you believe.

The next inevitable point that is brought up by people who are 'knowledgeable' about guns are full auto conversions. If you are reading this and feel that you are about to be triumphant, prepare to be disappointed. You will need to replace the current fire control group to a full auto (FA) fire control group with a FA sear. You will also need the proper BCG and a barrel that can handle a high rate of fire. Sounds simple until you realize that the FA sear is a Title II item and requires a tax stamp, the same process as acquiring a tax stamp for any other Title II item such as SBR, SBS, and suppressors. The FA drop-in sears are regulated by FOPA and as a result cost as much as a FA rifle and just as limited in availability. This means that there are no new FA sears that you as a civilian can purchase. Assuming you live in an eligible state for FA ownership and have received your tax stamp and purchased a grandfathered drop-in FA sear for an obscene amount of money, your AR lower may not fit it. Most modern AR-15 lowers are machined with insufficient space to drop in FA fire control group as well as lacking the pin hole on purpose. For those 'knowledgeable' haters who are backpedaling by saying 'yeah I knew that'. I believe you, like I believe Time's report on AR's rate of fire.

I for one do agree with reasonable gun control and I am certain to draw criticism from the pro-gun readers, but think for a moment who you don't want to have a gun and why. I don't mean people you dislike but people who may not be a responsible gun owner. As much as gun control laws maybe a pain to you law abiding citizens they are there specifically to stop people that are considered dangerous or irresponsible from owning one. If those people deemed unfit get their hands on one than those same laws make for felonious penalties. To be clear when I say gun control that I mean a base set of laws that govern a license that will allow an individual to acquire firearms just like a driver's license allows you to operate a vehicle in your license class. No more and no less. A license system for every state will mean that there will be many citizens that will have the right to arms revoked but if the reasons are one of the following, would you say it's a bad reason?

-Convicted of a felony
-Convicted of domestic violence
-DUI (should mirror most state's driving law that scale the license suspension with number of offenses to eventual permanent suspension)
-Violent crime conviction
-Class A Drug conviction (sale, use, distribution, possession)
-Involuntarily committed to a mental institution currently or in the past
-Not a legal US resident or citizen
-Ever been incarcerated for 1 year or longer
-Have outstanding criminal warrants (excluding driving and parking citations)
-Currently being indicted for a felony or violent crime (pending outcome)
-Had a restraining order against you more than once to suggest repeat behavior
-Reported by a mental health professional to be considered as a danger to one self or others (Should have a review period every three months and not a permanent mark)

If you can look at the list above and still say to me what I propose is a bad idea than this stops being a civil discussion about gun control and becomes a stand off of opinions. My list isn't perfect and I can see how it can be exploited to reject a license but that's why it's a discussion. It's time for gun owners to take the rights fight to the government's door instead of waiting to hear what crazy ban idea is conceived next only to bitch about it after the fact. We are badly in need of people that are knowledgeable about guns to be in an effective position to positively lead gun control talks. There are discussions for a new ban right now, but a ban on firearms only affect the law abiding citizens and not the intended criminals. Laws are just like locks that they stop honest people and a criminal by definition isn't.

I want to welcome your opinion and want to encourage positive discussion on gun control and the recent tragedies in the comments. I also want to say that if all you can or want to do is complain, slander, flame, or otherwise just want to troll over mass homicide tragedies and the resulting discussion: you are a soulless dick who I hope will soon fulfill their life long search to be a prison bitch to a pro-gun dude with herpes who's junk looks.....uncomfortable.