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Tag Archives: life at home

Stone Mountain Highland Games this weekend

a man and his caber
Image by stevehdc via Flickr

Each year, during the third weekend in October, Scots gather in the meadow at Stone Mountain Park. For 37 years the Stone Mountain Highland Games have not only provided cool athletic competition, but also a great musical performances and social interactions.

I have been to a few of the events over the years and enjoyed watching athletic events like the Caber Toss (this is throwing a telephone pole, kids…), the Hammer Throw and the Sheaf Toss.

I’m also a sucker for bagpipe music.

Hit up the Stone Mountain Highland Games website for more info. Events start Friday evening and continue through Sunday. There IS an additional charge to get into the meadow, aside from the park’s entry fee.

from LilburnDwellings.com

Back from Vacation… and the Time Share Shuffle

Time Share Resales
Image by Thomas Hawk via Flickr

The family took a quick trip to the Smokies over the last few days…  We had a great time, thanks.  While we were there, we agreed to go to a Time Share Sales Presentation Tour.  Hey, $100 is $100… and the other inducements (I’ll report about them in the future…).

I’m not going to be specific about the name of the time share company… in fact I am going to be quite vague… but the points I am going to mention should apply across the board.

The new “Time Share” is actually quite different from the old “Pick a Week” concept that many think of with time shares.  Now you get to buy points.  The points can be exchanged for a variety of vacation options.  Maybe you could spend 10 days in Orlando… maybe a couple of days in Gatlinburg and a few days in Branson.  Or… a cruise… all without regard to which week you have and trying to find someone else that wants that particular week in your particular resort.

We were first introduced to the system by the Disney Vacation Club.  We have never purchased a DVC membership, but we have stayed in a DVC resort using points rented from a member.  Personally, I think it is a pretty cool system for vacation planning…

But… there is always a “but”…

While the DVC has a very strong ROFR (Right of First Refusal) which functions to keep resale prices stable, other time share companies do not.  What this means is that the price you can sell your timeshare for can be quite an ugly shocker…

Last I looked, new DVC points were about $100ea.  Resale points were about $80ea. in the same resort (same time frame).

On this trip (not to Disney), we were offered a package for $60,000 and another package for $30,000.  Tonight on Ebay I watched two sales from the same company go off…  The $60,000 package sold for $2025 (there was an additional $1904 in fees and closing costs).  The $30,000 package sold for $860 (add an additional $524).

In the interest of fairness, there are a couple of perks that come with buying from the developer… I can’t really detail them without giving away the name of the company… but I don’t see them worth 10x the cost.

And there is another thing… the “Secondary Offer”

After we said “no” a few times and they were pretty sure that we weren’t buying, we were sent down for an exit poll.  The pollster asked a few questions and then pitched the last ditch offer.  Honestly, we might have done it if the kids weren’t climbing the walls… but we didn’t.  After looking and researching, I would still say that the LDO (last ditch offer) wasn’t that bad.  It wouldn’t have been a money loser…

But, I’m glad we didn’t.  If we were to decide to buy the time share, which is a thought, we would be buying resale.  And we would be spending about the same amount of money to buy the time share as to rent the points…  Of course, if we bought it we would have to pay the monthly maintenance fees…

****Just as a disclaimer… I am a licensed real estate agent, but I do not sell time shares (new, resale, whatever).  In this case, I’m just a guy that went to one of the presentations tours.****

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Gwinnett County’s New Library Plan…

Smaller libraries can sometimes be found in pr...
Image via Wikipedia

The Gwinnett County Library System is reviewing the plan it had for several of its library branches; Lilburn, Snellville and Dacula.

According to the News article on the Library’s website, they are moving to a Regional Service Model.  Under that model, the three mentioned libraries would become “Computer Libraries” and would have “Customers will be able to use computers for longer periods of time, return books, pick up holds, get library cards and use a photocopier at the computer access Library locations. These library centers will continue to be staffed by librarians and other staff qualified to address information and reference questions. You will still be able to browse the entire collection online and request delivery of materials to the pick up location of your choice.”

The way I read that is that the affected branches wouldn’t have many books… but rather would be places to pick up ordered books instead of roaming the stacks.

The Gwinnett Daily Post recently had a story about the outcry from some business and civic leaders regarding the changes.  While I understand the desire to cut budgets…  This doesn’t really seem to be that much of a game changer to me…

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Gwinnett Schools Redistricting – Snellville and Loganville

City Of Snellville
Image via Wikipedia

Gwinnett County Public Schools are undergoing a redistricting plan due to growth in the county.  The new plan is expected to begin with the 2010 school year.  It was announced on October 2nd, 2009.  There are several dates to keep in mind:

  • November 4, Deadline for completion of boundary input forms.
  • November 13, 2009– Boundary committee completes review and submits recommendations.
  • November 19, 2009– Public redistricting comments from affected schools (Location Instructional Support Center Board Room, 7-9 p.m.
  • November 25-December 4– Final recommendations with revised boundary maps delivered to schools.
  • December 10, 2009– Anticipated Board of Education vote on redistricting.

The redistricting that affects Snellville and Loganville is as follows…

  • Snell Elementary School (pdf)– 4521 Centerville Highway in Snellville ( will affect Norton ES, Partee ES, Annistown ES, Shiloh ES, Centerville ES, Britt ES and Magill ES) (Snellville MS and Shiloh MS) (South Gwinnett HS and Shiloh HS)
  • Midway Middle School (pdf)– 3800 Brushy Fork Road in Loganville (will affect Snellville MS)

I also expected to see Lanier High School as part of the plan, but I guess it might not be ready in time.

If you’d like to send a message to the committee, here are the forms…

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Gwinnett Schools Redistricting – Duluth and Lawrenceville

Lawrenceville, Georgia
Image via Wikipedia

Gwinnett County Public Schools are undergoing a redistricting plan due to growth in the county.  The new plan is expected to begin with the 2010 school year.  It was announced on October 2nd, 2009.  There are several dates to keep in mind:

  • November 4, Deadline for completion of boundary input forms.
  • November 13, 2009– Boundary committee completes review and submits recommendations.
  • November 19, 2009– Public redistricting comments from affected schools (Location Instructional Support Center Board Room, 7-9 p.m.
  • November 25-December 4– Final recommendations with revised boundary maps delivered to schools.
  • December 10, 2009– Anticipated Board of Education vote on redistricting.

The redistricting that affects Duluth and Lawrenceville is as follows…

  • Ferguson Elementary School (pdf)– 1755 Centerview Drive in Duluth (will affect Hopkins ES, Minor ES, Corley ES, Kanoheda ES and Benefield ES) (Radloff MS, Sweetwater MS and Berkmar MS) (Berkmar HS and Meadowcreek HS)
  • Jenkins Elementary School (pdf)– 12 Village Way in Lawrenceville (will affect Simonton ES, Lawrenceville ES and Winn Holt ES)

I also expected to see Lanier High School as part of the plan, but I guess it might not be ready in time.

If you’d like to send a message to the committee, here are the forms…

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