Recent Comments

1. about 3 hours ago on Cathy Classics

   Women’s sizing is insane. I find there is a 10 inch difference in the amount of fabric at the waist of different pairs of pants in the same size. Even within the same brand and fit (curvy, skinny, etc.), the sizes can vary wildly.

2. about 3 hours ago on Arlo and Janis

   HOAs are very popular with developers, who want to maintain the look of their development until after they finish selling the last unit. It is frequently impossible to avoid buying a house in an HOA. The fees can be enormous and the rules are frequently both burdensome and hard to understand. Trying to read the full text of the rules for every home you consider is very challenging, especially in a hot housing market.

   I am delighted that the HOA in my neighborhood went defunct decades before we moved in, and it has not hurt my property values the tiniest bit that people get to pick what color to paint their house or what yard ornaments they prefer. The houses are well maintained without one, and city code is perfectly adequate to cover anything that is likely to be an issue. And the one house that went truly crazy with yard ornaments (including seasonally-dressed mannikins and dozens of seasonal stuffed animals) is a quirky delight. I am glad they have the freedom to do it.

   I can accept that HOAs have a more important role to play in a condo complex, where people live in close quarters with shared common areas. But I think that there should be a way to get rid of them in neighborhoods without any shared amenities to maintain.

3. about 3 hours ago on Arlo and Janis

   The people who want to serve as board members on an HOA are rarely people who want to preserve the rights of all while being as unintrusive as possible. They are more often people who want to be as controlling as possible and want to enforce total uniformity.

   A better solution would be to require a direct vote on any proposed changes to community rules, not more than once a year. Anything that fewer than 50% of homes vote for cannot be enacted. The same goes for repeal of existing rules.

4. about 6 hours ago on Arlo and Janis

   All the things you list an HOA regulating (including short term rentals) are already covered by zoning regulations from the municipal government. They also regulate and enforce other things people get annoyed about, like noise and unmown grass. In fact, your short term rental example could likely have been handled using municipal code enforcement, since I am sure they have noise and trash ordinances. However, it is one of the few things I have heard of an HOA fussing about that isn’t just petty tyranny.

   That said, some type of maintenance organization and fee is certainly required to maintain common areas. And property held in common must certainly have shared rules.

5. about 6 hours ago on Phoebe and Her Unicorn

   You could modify your original speech so it builds on the same theme as the previous presenter.

6. 1 day ago on Cathy Classics

   It is time for the server to say “may I suggest our special today…”

7. 3 days ago on Pickles

   See journalofethics . ama-assn . org /article/use-and-misuse-bmi-categories/2023-07

8. 3 days ago on Pickles

   True, but mostly because the medical people changed the definition in 1998.

9. 3 days ago on JumpStart

   He’s a fairly private person.

10. 3 days ago on JumpStart

    Yes, but I think it may be different for celebs. An awful lot of people want to date their stage persona rather than an actual human being.