dpberr

I think you'll be a-ok. You're thinking about things most homeowners do not. (They pretend the water will stop. They forget that water heaters eventually die.)

I am not in WNY so I can't help you with a contractor recommendation. I only offer some advice. If you have a wet basement, don't ignore or cover up the problem. If it's wet, you have to fix that problem first. If you have utilities in your basement, don't box them in a closet around your existing water heater, HVAC, etc. My sister bought a house with a finished basement and they did that - and when you want to put a new HVAC in or need room to remove the existing water heater, there is nowhere to go. You'll probably need a secondary egress out of your basement - that may get pricey if you need to excavate for an egress window.

It's amazing that the Western Conference has three teams with 40 wins at the break. (Warriors, Spurs, Thunder) Anybody think the Clippers will trade Paul or Griffin before the deadline?

It's only speculation but McMahon is up to his eyeballs in an FBI investigation in Allentown, PA that began this summer. So far, that investigation has spread to other agencies locally and has ties to influential people in NYC. The mayor who appears to be the main target of the DOJ, retained him as his attorney.

Please confuse efforts with results. Please?

I expect Mario to be cut but the Patriots? No way. Their whole "plan" is to do something different from game to game. They don't like one dimensional players and that's what Mario wants to be.

Not the worst crime committed. Worst crime was the 50th Super Bowl and your best idea was a British band (of questionable lameness) to headline the halftime show.

I've been tired of the LeSean McCoy show for a while. He could be innocent but come on - you are a multi millionaire with a career to protect. Be smart enough to party at your own gigantic house with all the booze you want.

Super Bowl Parade Not Half Terrible, Just Completely Terrible

BIG DEAL. REAL WINNERS HAVE AT LEAST TWO

No Clinton. No Bush.

I see little chance he's in Dallas. The Cowboys tired of Greg Hardy's personality and problems to the point he won't be back on a team desperate for pass rush. I don't think they want a sequel. IMO, I don't see any team that's willing to put up with his off the field shenanigans. The on the field return isn't there.

It's obvious that the Patriots and George W. Bush are responsible for this. Only they could pull off such a display of skulduggery.

Not a flip question - but curious - Why hasn't the NFL ever seriously considered Hawaii for more regular season games? Beats London. Mexico City. Toronto. Too small for a franchise, sure, but wouldn't it make a little more sense to promote the game on US soil first instead of soccer-rich foreign lands?

I don't care or mind Ryan is in Hawaii. In a way, I prefer it. Let Whaley get the groceries and have Ryan cook the meal. The less personnel meddling Ryan's involved in, the better, IMO.

Yay for reading! http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/9975540/researchers-inundated-requests-former-college-pro-football-players-tested-cte

For anyone interested, here is the full report on the two scenarios for Columbia rescue. It's interesting reading. http://history.nasa.gov/columbia/Troxell/Columbia%20Web%20Site/CAIB/CAIB%20Website/CAIB%20Report/Volume%202/part13.pdf The unfortunate thing about either scenario is that the investigation of the wing would have been doable and the shuttle could have remained in space for another two weeks. Columbia had just enough EVAs and had two experienced astronauts to go out and take a look. For me, the lack of situation awareness by NASA by not investigating the foam hit turned the mission into a suicide mission.

The Raiders should go to San Antonio. Makes more sense to me.

I read whatever I could on the Challenger and Columbia incidents back when the program was active. I don't call them accidents because NASA's hubris and laziness contributed to both losses of ship and crew. With Challenger, they knew about the fragility of the O-rings in cold temperatures well before January 1986. NASA nearly lost Discovery in 1985 to the same O-ring defect. With Columbia, they knew the wing was hit but didn't bother to send the crew out to do an emergency investigation. Hell they didn't even tell them it was possible the wing was compromised.

The Music City Miracle was still more painful in my opinion. That day changed the franchise. We lost this Super Bowl but kept annoying the NFL by going back, back and back again. This Super Bowl was a spear. MSM was a trident.

He could hire a nutritionist, a chef and a trainer. IMO, I think he works out plenty but it's his diet that's going to get him released from the team. That gut screams alcohol and carbs.

Yes and no. First off, it depends on the water heater. If you've got some $300 model, I wouldn't worry about it. If you're on well water with PSI below 80 and you have a water softener, you don't have to do it every year. If you're on municipal water where you've got PSI greater than 80 and your water isn't conditioned, it wouldn't hurt. There are some nice videos on Youtube on how to safely flush a water heater. To be honest, the biggest question is whether you have a drain or sump pit nearby to run the hose to.

Happy to report that the snowblower (Toro Powermax) did well in 30" of snow. Started up every time on the first pull, threw a lot of snow far. I'm impressed with the power output of the engine because 30" of snow is no joke for a two stage thrower. No one likes spending a lot of money on a snowblower but I was happy I did come Sunday morning. Coincidence or not, my neighbor's MTD broke apart at the welds.

+1. That's all coaching. IMO, the league knows both the Schwartz and Ryan defenses. They are two guys, for better or worse, that believe in their system so much that they won't change it. Ever. It's easy to beat with enough time and experience. Defense today is all about disguise, stealth and misdirection. Quarterbacks are way too smart, way too good to play the exact same defense every week and hope your talent gets the job done.

Manning should retire after the Super Bowl no matter what. Brady looked tired and old yesterday. I think age and injury caught up to the Pats this year. They were lights out first half of the season and hit a very big wall.