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4. More "What to do now?"

I'm not sure exactly when the lighting struck… I've always enjoyed model railroads. The last time I had a layout was back in the mid '80's. But somewhere between contemplating retirement (still as a theory) and deciding to "go for it" I realized that if I retired then I could move down to the property with the wife and build the model railroad that I've always wanted. I can't say that that was the clincher but it definitely helped move my retirement further out of the theoretical ream. The

03/27/2016
3. More thoughts about retirement

I started my career some forty plus years ago… Initially helping my dad wire up the electricity in some out buildings on his property. (I can still remember when I first comprehended how three-way light switches work… the "light bulb"(s) went on… literally!) My first paying job was as a gofer for a local appliance repair shop. We installed refrigerators, ovens, dish washers, TV's & TV antenna, air conditioners, etc. When I wasn't busy installing something I hung out in the in-house repair shop.

03/26/2016
2. What to do now?

Here's a picture of my retirement property… We bought this as an investment… ("Diversifying my portfolio" as my accountant & stock manager put it). We intended on fixing it up and renting out the four (4!) "in-law" suites. The wife moved down to manage it (and never moved back!). Unfortunately we found out too late that the "in-law" suites weren't legal. One of the previous owner had put (four!) kitchens & bath rooms in the basement and garage loft areas without permits. A few law suits (and

03/25/2016
1. Thoughts on Retirement

Up until about 2013 Retirement was a fuzzy concept that didn't really feature into my day-to-day plans. It was a distant theory pertaining to something that I would do "some day". In 2011 I had sold off a lot of my Apple stock and bought a retirement property but this was done as more of an investment ("Diversifying my portfolio" as my accountant & stock manager put it) than anything that really had anything to do with an actual retirement. But then in late December of 2012 my ulcer went from

03/24/2016
8. The New (& Improved!) plan…

I got some good news last week: My contractor checked the building codes and it's legal for us to add a door to the room adjacent to the left (south) and remove the stairway! This not only adds 3'x13'==39' more square feet it eliminates the need to run an aisle from the stairs to the bottom areas (effectively cutting the useable area in half). So now our empty floor plan looks like this: With our "Givens & Druthers" (limited 24" reach & 48" aisles) we could do something like this: After much

04/27/2016
7. The Plan! (San Francisco)

There's an old adage that says "If you want to make God laugh… tell him your plans!" Here's my floor plan (North is to the right): It's approximately 19'x35' (minus the yellow (aisles)). This is what I'd like to model: The first part of my layout that I want to build is the north end terminus: The San Francisco Caltrain station. Here's a map: Quick side note: I'm NOT a modeler… so if it ain't part of the right-of-way… I ain't modeling it. ;-) Case in point: There are five(!) double-slip

04/04/2016

FEATURED Posts

24 Mar, 2016

1. Thoughts on Retirement

Up until about 2013 Retirement was a fuzzy concept that didn't really feature into my day-to-day plans. It was a distant theory pertaining to something that I would do "some day". In 2011 I had sold off a lot of my Apple stock and bought a retirement property but this was done as more of an investment ("Diversifying my portfolio" as my accountant & stock manager put it) than anything that really had anything to do with an actual retirement. But then in late December of 2012 my ulcer went from

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