Yes, HOA’s are evil.  Some people in this world are only there to cause trouble.  Those types of people work at HOA’s.  An HOA is only there to upset you and order you around.

I used to live in a house in an HOA area.  Never again.  NEVER AGAIN.

The people who work in an HOA are evil.  There is no other word for it.  Try it and you’ll see.  Move into a house in an HOA area and live there for a few months.  You’ll see exactly what I mean.

I could go into details about what they did to us, the egging of vehicles, the legal threats, but it would be a waste of time and you wouldn’t believe me anyway.

Here’s the area where I used to live (from Google Maps):

My previous HOA-controlled neighborhood.

It’s in Caldwell, ID, just South of U.S. Highway 26.  It looks picture-perfect (from Google StreetView):

It looks picture-perfect (but it’s HOA-evil).

Looks can be deceiving.  Once you move in and start getting your stuff unpacked, the HOA-evil will hit you like a cup of ice water in the morning.  After that, the neighborhood doesn’t look so nice any more.

Speaking of the neighborhood, I think one of the reasons the neighbors were so hostile towards eachother is because the HOA pisses them all off on a regular basis, so they are in a nasty mood all the time.

But not all the neighbors are nasty.  We had nice neighbors.  The guy on our left had been hassled by the HOA for years.  He used to work a graveyard shift hauling something with a trailer.  The HOA only saw his trailer out front when he wasn’t working, during the day.  But he worked at night, when the evil bastards at the HOA were sleeping.  So they fined him for parking his trailer at his house all the time.  He told them to go to hell because he moved that trailer each working night, but they never withdrew the fines (see?: evil).

Speaking of trailers, the HOA really hates trailers.  We used a trailer to help us move all of our crap.  It’s our trailer.  We parked it next to our house on the side where the street doesn’t go anywhere.  Someone called the police and reported the vehicle & trailer “abandoned”.  Some of our neighbors were very hostile.

So we moved the trailer each week, to prevent the “abandoned” thing from happening each week.  That’s when the egging started.  We eventually had to put the trailer into external storage at our expense.  The HOA really doesn’t like trailers.

Anyway, the point of all this is that HOA’s are evil, and I recommend you not live under one.  I never will again.  NEVER.

This is a good idea. It’s an easy way to introduce someone to VR (Virtual Reality).

https://cardboard.withgoogle.com/

I tried it at home:

Google Cardboard OMG

I loaded up the Google Earth Cardboard demo and handed it to my roommate.  He looked through and said, “Wow!”  He was floating above Chicago, looking around in 3D, watching the buildings and scenery load and render… all on my Samsung S3 smartphone.

There are other demos available.  Lots of fun.  I recommend it.  I got my kit for about $25 at DodoCase:

http://www.dodocase.com/products/google-cardboard-vr-goggle-toolkit

I tried it at home

Whenever I watch MythBusters, they remind me, “Do NOT try this at home!”

Now read this shirt.

(I’m a rebel.)

I got mine from: http://www.whatonearthcatalog.com/cgi-bin/hazel.cgi?action=DETAIL&ITEM=VN3561

Normal is boring.

Yup!  Simple and true.  This helps me justify being weird.

I got mine here: http://www.whatonearthcatalog.com/cgi-bin/hazel.cgi?action=DETAIL&ITEM=CM3641

Don’t confuse me with the facts.

I thought it was mildly funny.  Got it from What on Earth:

http://www.whatonearthcatalog.com/cgi-bin/hazel.cgi?action=DETAIL&ITEM=CN1281

5 Deadly Terms Used By a Woman

The 5 Deadly Terms Used By a Woman are:

#1: FINE

This is the word women use to end an argument when she knows she is right and you need to shut up.

#2: NOTHING

Means something and you need to be worried.

#3: GO AHEAD

This is a dare, not permission, do not do it.

#4: WHATEVER

A Woman’s way of saying, “Screw you!”

#5: THAT’S OK

She is thinking long and hard on how and when you will pay for your mistake.

Bonus Word: WOW!

This is not a compliment. She is amazing that one person could be so stupid.

http://www.lighterside.com/product/five+deadly+terms.do

Desperate times call for procrastination.

I thought this was funny.  The usual saying goes, “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”

If it’s still available, it’d be here: http://www.whatonearthcatalog.com/whatonearth/Tees-Sweatshirts_3RA/View-All-Shirts-Sweatshirts_3RB/Item_s-DESPERATE-TIMES-CALL-FOR-PROCRASTINATION-SHIRT_CN1201.html

The Rebel Alliance logo, from Star Wars.  A symbol of hope.  A hope against tyranny and oppression.

Plus, if you’re evil, the Jedi just might kick your ass all over the galaxy.

I got mine from Thinkgeek.  If it’s still available, it’d be here:  http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/1dc1/

DO NOT WANT

Just search images.google.com for “DO NOT WANT” and you’ll see where this comes from.

Got it from Thinkgeek.  If it’s still available, it’d be here:  http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/1c49/

How about never?

This reminds me of a comic/joke I saw in a magazine somewhere:

No, Thursday’s out. How about never–is never good for you?

I think it’s really funny.

I got the shirt from Thinkgeek.  If it’s still available, it’d be here:  http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/1c39/

What kind of computer do you have? And please don’t say a white one.

Aaah, the good ol’ days in Earthlink tech support.

Except for the “good” part.

I got this from Thinkgeek.  If it’s still available, it’d be here:  http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/1c4a/

Here for the loot.

Yup, true.  What’s my share?

I got it from Thinkgeek.  If it’s still available, it’d be here:  http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/1c46/

Do I look like a people person?

Answer: NO.

I got this from Thinkgeek.  If it’s still available, it’d be here:  http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/1c3a/

No Place To Hide

Boba Fett.  Is there a more popular/capable bounty hunter in the galaxy?  (Me: shaking my head)

I like this design because it’s almost completely made up of other designs, such as the city in the clouds, Han frozen is carbonite, planets, Jabba’s palace’s silhouette, the Millennium Falcon…. space debris…

I got mine from Thinkgeek.  If it’s still available, it’d be here:  http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/b0ba/

DANGER
Flux Capacitor
1.21 Jigawatts

I’ve been a fan of Back to the Future since my sister dragged me to see it again.  She had the hots for Michael J. Fox.  I had the hots for his girl.  And that DeLorean.  Cool, man.

All those time paradoxes… going back and changing history… heavy, man.

I got this from ThinkGeek.  If it’s still available, it’d be here: http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/b77f/

I’m a fan of all the Avengers, including Captain America.  This shirt is for the second movie, Captain America: The Winter Soldier.  Nearly all the red has been worn off his shield.  I guess it has received a lot of abuse.

I got this from Thinkgeek.  If it’s still available, it’d be here:  http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/1bb1/

They paid!  I don’t have to take them to small-claims court!!  YAYYY!!!

I received the check on the 12th.  It was post-dated the 11th.  The check was dated the 5th.  Why the delay?

Did they write the check, then just leave it laying on the desk for 6 days?  Was the check laying there on their desk and they noticed it 6 days later and said, “Hum. I guess we should pay Hawk. We’re already over the deadline.”  Did they have to move money around so that the check wouldn’t bounce?  Were they just trying to cause me trouble?

I don’t know the answers to these questions.  I may never know.  But at least I got my security deposit back.

Turns out, it’s easy to file in small-claims court.  It’s much easier than I thought it’d be.  Just see this site:

https://www.lawhelpinteractive.org/

They have a walk-through which took me step-by-step through the whole thing, then generates a legal document that you can just print out.  That was the easy part.  The hard part is getting the defendant served.  From the instructions:

Giving Notice of Your Claim to the Defendant

You must give notice of your claim to the defendant. The procedure for giving notice to the defendant is called service of process. If service of process is completed correctly, and the defendant doesn’t answer your claim, the judge can give you a default judgment. The judge cannot give you a default judgment if service of process is not completed correctly. If there is more than one defendant, you must serve process on each defendant. If the defendants are husband and wife, you must serve process on each spouse.

Service of process should be completed within 30 days after you file your claim. In most counties, if you do not complete service of process within 30 days, your claim will be dismissed. If your claim is dismissed for lack of service, you can reopen your case by re-filing your claim. If you reopen your case within six months after you first filed your claim, you won’t have to pay another filing fee.

There are two basic ways to serve process: certified mail and personal delivery by a non-party. Service of process is complete when the court clerk receives a certified mail return receipt signed by the defendant, or an Idaho Sheriff’s Return of Service or an Affidavit of Service stating when and how the defendant was served.

a. Certified Mail

You can ask the court clerk to serve process on the defendant by certified mail. The court clerk will charge you a fee. The court clerk will mail the papers to the defendant, return receipt requested. If the court clerk does not receive a return receipt signed by the defendant, you will have to try a different way to serve process. Service of process by certified mail costs less than the other methods to serve process, but is often not completed because the defendant did not sign the return receipt.

b. Sheriff’s Office

In most counties, you can ask the sheriff’s office to serve process on the defendant. (Some counties have a marshal’s office that will serve process in small claims cases.) You will have to pay a fee, and you will have to provide information on where the defendant can be found. The sheriff’s office will not investigate to find the defendant for you.

In some counties, the court clerk will collect the fee for the sheriff, and give the papers to the sheriff’s office that are to be served on the defendant. In other counties, the court clerk will give you the papers, and you will have to take the papers to the sheriff’s office.

The sheriff’s office will prepare a “Sheriff’s Return of Service,” stating when and how the defendant was served, or that the sheriff was not able to deliver the papers. Some sheriff’s offices will file the return with the court clerk, others will give you the return to file with the court clerk.

c. Private Process Server

You can ask a private process server to serve process on the defendant. You can find them in the phone book. You will have to pay a fee, and you will have to provide information on where the defendant can be found. If you don’t know where the defendant can be found, some process servers offer investigative services. The process server will charge more to find the defendant for you.

The court clerk will give you the papers to be served on the defendant, and you will have to take them to the process server. Once the process server has delivered the papers to the defendant, the process server will prepare an “Affidavit of Service” stating when and how the defendant was served. If the process server was not able to deliver the papers, the affidavit will say so.

Some process servers will file the affidavit with the court clerk, some will give it to you to file. Service of process is not complete until the affidavit, stating when and how the defendant was served, is filed with the court clerk.

d. Any Person Not a Party and Over 18

You can ask any person who is at least 18 years old and not a party to your case to serve process on the defendant. You can get an Affidavit of Service from the court clerk. The server will complete the Affidavit after serving the defendant. You will have to file the completed Affidavit of Service with the court clerk.

Does anyone have any advice on which method is the best?

Dear Internet,

Do you have experience taking a realtor to small claims court?  I need to do this to get my deposit back on my previous rental house.  If you can help in any way, please email me at jedihawk at yahoo.com.

Thanks in advance.

Have [Portal Gun]
Will Travel

I also have it in white:

Have [Portal Gun]
Will Travel