Advice Posts

On Parents Behaving Poorly

There are a thousand ways to let your inexperienced children get themselves killed before they are old enough to know better. Letting them chase around and harass wild animals such as Canada Geese in Chambers Grove Park is as good as any. Check out this link to why letting your cute little 3-year-old daughter chase 50 wild geese in circles is an all around bad idea before you lose your mind over the stranger advising you against this activity, you silly lady.

Quora: Geese hiss at you, but can they really hurt you or injure you in any way if they peck at you with their rounded bill?

Information Overload – Need a virtual tutor

Spent a few minutes with Google looking for a decent app or website we can direct our kids to for working on the skills and concepts being introduced in the classroom. We are open to a subscription service, but don’t want to commit without some endorsement or referral from a trusted PDDer. Sure, there is plenty out there for free, but weeding through advertisements and such makes it complicated and cumbersome at times – we’d also like to track progress. Any of you using anything you can recommend? Specifically looking for math, spelling and phonics for the K-5 audience.

Looking for a specialist in preserving antique needlework

We inherited an old piece of needlework. It is probably about 50 years old, maybe older. It could be as much as 100 years old. We have it, but in a move the glass broke and we need it to be re-framed/matted — whatever you do to keep a piece like this looking good. Who do I call, where do I go to begin tracking down this?

Beach House Wedding Rental Advice

I’m looking for some help. My partner and I are looking to get married in the summer of 2015, at the beach on Park Point. We are trying to find out if anyone on PDD has gotten married in a rental house along the beach or have any suggestions you could share. I’m not even sure if it would be allowed. We really want to go the rental house route because it is more intimate and can be cheaper than a resort and less limiting on the hours we can be there (i.e. 9pm cutoff for the Park Point Beach House). Thanks in advance for any suggestions you have!!

Travel Advice: San Diego

In a few weeks, I’m going to be in the San Diego area for work [i.e. standing in front of a marketing display slapping backs and shaking hands]. The Prioress is going to meet me at the tail end for a few days.

Looking for help mixing a CD

I know there are a lot of music recording folks out there in the PDD community, so I am posting this plea for help.

I participate in a number of drum circles with a dear friend. I had discussed making a CD of some of our sessions for her to send to her sister. My friend has fallen ill, so now time seems to be of the essence.

Yakima Hack

Through some horse trading and good luck, I’ve acquired two Yakima Rocket Boxes. I would like to mount them both on the current touring rig for our upcoming summer travels, but they both hinge the same direction. I really don’t want to mount one backward, and therefore am trying to figure out if the hinges can be switched with any success.

App Recomendations

I know there are websites, public access TV shows, blogs, YouTube channels, radio shows and perhaps 1-900-services dedicated to all things iPad\phone\pod\touch – but I don’t have the time or interest in sorting through all of it. I need a few iPad app recommendations for the following: 4th grade Math Tutoring; Kindergarten sight word development and basic piano skill development. We justified getting an iPad as an “educational tool”; but have frankly been overwhelmed at the prospect of loading decent apps. At present, it’s a $500 machine for playing “Temple Run” and watching Netflix.  A well vetted resource for finding this information would also be valuable.

Best Duluth Internet Provider?

Since Charter just jacked up its rates for cable Internet from $35 to nearly $50/mo., I was wondering if anyone has a recommendation for a good high-speed internet provider that does not require a land-line phone. I need the service at my home for my laptop PC.

Viking Dishwasher

Is there any value in a 2010 Viking Professional Series Dishwasher that has never really worked the way it is suppose to? Are there any vendors that take this stuff on trade? Should I part it out on eBay? I traded my neighbor for it [his wife didn’t like it – there is no drying element] and the drain pump went out this weekend. I don’t want to put any money into it [it’s the worst dishwasher we’ve every had]; but it feels like there needs to be some value in it. I guess the damn thing was over 1K when they bought it and I’ve got sausage in my freezer that’s older than this thing. Perhaps I should set it out on Island Lake and sell chances at guessing when it falls through in the spring? Winner gets 1/2 the pot? [actual fundraiser by the Lion’s Club in my hometown, except it was a car on the Mississippi]. Will entertain interesting offers.

Duluth Carburetor Service

I am having some trouble with my 1986 Toyota pickup. I think it has something to do with the carburetor, but diagnosing the problem is beyond my limited mechanical skills. Since carburetors are not very common nowadays, I’m not sure where I can bring it for service/beta in Duluth. Know any good carb shops in Duluth? Or grumpy old men who fix things?

Simple Plumbing Job – DIY?

It looks like I need to replace the lateral sewer line connecting my house to the city system. I qualify for the “up to 3K” reimbursement; but the job is estimated at “around 6K.”

In lamenting to my friends on this issue, multiple responses have been “Schultsy can run a ‘mini’ [excavator]; why don’t you have him dig out the old line? Putting in a new one is pretty straight forward – like roofin’ – you’re just paying for labor.”

Does anybody have any experience with this? Is it simply digging out the old line, removing the old house trap and connecting into the waste out from the house and then hooking up to where it feeds into the city system? What part of this would need a “licensed plumber”? I don’t have “replace sewer line” on my bucket list, and I’d rather take that 3K [which I don’t have] and recreate with it.

Car Air Conditioning Service – Help!

I’m in search of a remotely cheap air conditioning service and recharge on my 2007 Chevrolet Aveo. It stopped working about a month ago during that one really long, hotter-than-blazes-every-day week in which I had to drive 50+ miles every day … and I’m taking a few trips to the Twin Cities in the next few weeks, so it would be lovely to have working AC again.

I’ve called Midas in West Duluth and Arrowhead Amoco, and they are both charging upwards of $100. Does anyone know of anywhere with good service that would be any cheaper? Thanks in advance!

Duluth Wedding Officiants

Nikki and I are finally shaking off the procrastination and getting down to planning our wedding (late)  and looking for an officiant!  If anyone knows, or has any recommendations for an officiant, we’d love to hear them!  The ceremony is being held in Leif Erikson Park this September and we’re looking for someone who’s either non-denominational or generally open-minded Christian.  We’ve emailed a few people from the various directory websites but would be much more comfortable with first-hand experience or recommendations.

South Shore Camping

I did not plan ahead very well for this summer to get my camping reservations established at the 6 month or 1 year window reservations open up. Probably for the best as this encourages some exploration. I’m looking for advice on campgrounds along the south shore of the Lake. I haven’t done much camping in Wisconsin — a few nights on Madeline — that’s it [not including sleeping in the car in Superior]. Anybody willing to share their favorite camping spots in northern Wisconsin? I don’t need hook-ups or showers or KOA amenities. A developed swimming area and beach would be nice, as the kids will be in tow.

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