June 27 2015:
Best top manufactured home insurance company in Collin County and Texas!
Last but absolutely not least I want to recommend the only people to go to insure a manufactured home. When we first moved into this manufactured home we needed insurance and we asked around and more than one person recommended Foremost insurance. In fact one person told us they were the only carrier that would insure a manufactured home. That is when my wife and I met John Wood he reminded me of a dean of a big college at first. He turned out to be the coolest dude I ever met. The guy that took his place is only 24 years old but as I have learned he is actually a little better than the best there was. His name is Mario Lopez and he like Juan Pena (who he recommended) is some kind of new wave computer genius type. I was amazed at how good all the repair workers were at computer technology. I remember back around 1995 people thought I was mentally challenged just for mentioning I liked to use computers. I whole heartily recommend Mario Lopez of Foremost on McDermott Dr. in my 2nd favorite city in Collin County, Allen, Texas ( https://www.txfb-ins.com/insurance/agent/Collin/32470/MarioLopez,Jr. ). I am wisely contracted out to Foremost insurance who has owned me willingly in every way someone can be dedicated to a big company since they got me back on my Ninja 1200 back around 2005. That Ninja got me through it all free as a bird. I even wrote a poem about that bike. From my Little Radman_Art History page:
My Green Dream
I am filled with joy
just a glimpse of the beauty of nature
fills my being with strength
on my motorcycle, my lady
any motorcycle is my woman
I love her, I hug her, I squeeze her.
We ride, we've seen so much
we've seen the sky light at dusk
bright light blue 2933, 2933
show me the way 2933
The big moon's, the bright sun
shimmering clouds, my motorcycle & me.
All the beauty I need to see
rushing all at me
pushing green air at me
Beauty, flying through beauty
I ride, I fly through my mother nature
suspended in beauty, in air so green
on a cloud so soft, I am a loft
cars move like chess pieces
Don't bite me for passing you
Big Beast like cars and trucks
Just let me pass not jealousy
Don't be jealous, let me fly for you
pretend your me then you will see
pretend you are free
flying at full speed
be me when you feel jealousy
The dancing wind,
tires grip like spider
stick here or there
sticky green sk8board
sk8ting on asphalt
I am sk8ting and that's all
I am a true street fighter, free
free flying, looking out, looking left
I see that, I saw that, I read that
Why, I ask why, look at the sky
I see beauty and I trust
True beauty not lies
The lying beauty is not
I trust beauty , Don't you, I do
I trust the sky, the trees, the birds
How can I be sad
In the state of free
Life's worries, Life's woe, Life's tow
Towed on a breeze, tow till I free
Tow me at 0 degrees at speeds
I'll lead, lead to freedom, lead me free
I'm laying down and floating on air
I'm relaxed into the circle turns
Don't lean over, I have learned
Just be natural, let her lead you
The green machine
let my bike speak to me, tell me
Now we are one, Neon green all one
nothing we can not do that all can't
Strong me and her, stronger than all else.
I was married on a mountain called Big Bear
I was safe with my friend the California the bear
so I stay warm, and strong, and free
Here in pretty McKinney
To be me this is who I want to be,
with my green lady, eyes of jade
My green lady and me
exactly what we want to be
to be me, with my green lady
Just naturally, naturally free
also from history page:
I was on my Ninja just getting on the highway and I meet up with two sport bikes. I have had my Ninja for 3 years now and I will tell you this has never happened before. These bike where nice a brand new GSX and a new Ninja. These dudes where not together either. We zoomed down the highway weaving and whizzing in ways only a sport bike can. One dude exited and me and the GSX rode about half way to my destination. As I exited to a inter change I gave aces high to the GSX. This actually happened more once I met this dudes and his wife at a gas station and ended up at the Garland Sonic. If you had a sport bike and were any where on 75 most likely you would round up and head down to the Sonic.
Many times I would meet up with kind strangers and ride down to Sonic in Garland on Thursday nights; where I never saw and probable never will see more sport bikes than most people have never seen. 2 times all different dudes were waiting out by my bike when I got out of class at CCCCD and we road down to that sport bike Thursday night non stop party. Those were some wild Texas times fore sure.
7 years I ruled 75 on my 2003Ninja 1200 from Plano to McKinney 2003 to 2008. I was just a good wholesome all American dude having good clean fun flying through traffic at speeds well in excess of a hundred miles a hour 80 percent of the times. I always respected the police and was on the look out constantly. My favorite thing would be to wave to a police bike office on duty and get a wave back. I was racing a supped up Jeep one time into McKinney late at night and the police in hiding on the service road flashed me, I slowed immediately and that was it, they let me go. Police love bikes like they love the adrenaline rush of being a police officer. I would only pop wheelies when they just happened; like bursting from a stop light. My bike was build for speed. I would like to catch air on familiar country roads I frequented. It is hard to look at the speedometer when you are going fast but I remember one time racing a supercharged Kawasaki 1200 (not a ninja) I saw it read 230 miles a hour. That was a fast bike and almost had me. I prided myself on leaning into a turn so sometimes my foot peg hit the pavement. That is how I got into my wreck that shredded right through my bike glove and took part of my palm off like butter. I always wore full safety gear cause it look so cool. My favorite trick was getting up to 160 miles a hour and kneeling on my gas tank with my hands out like Jesus on 75. I raced every kind of supped up car you can imagine from Porches to Dodge Vipers to those crazy Mustangs with stuff growling in there engines that were totally unnatural. They love their mustangs around here. Those new Corvettes were amazing too. I beat ever car I ever raced. To see a car take off is something I will never forget about my bike. It is almost like the movies it does something unnatural to the air to move something that big so hyper fast. The other sport bikers were something else. Most sport bikes had trouble keeping up with me as far as speed went. I even can say that about a big pack of bikes that followed me from Garland to McKinney one time I kept loosing them and had to slow down so they could catch up. Plano and close to that was my home stretch but those Dallas dudes ruled Dallas highways and made me feel like a beginner. I raced some bikes going into Sherman one time and I could not believe what I saw; they went so fast ahead of me I had to back down. Those North Texas country dudes rule sport bikes. So I hope your all happy I opened up about some of the sport bike stuff I did back then; for the 1st time on the internet. It was so much I will never regret it. If I had not had that big 250 Honda in my early teens I would have not lived to talk about it. From my history page: I am a motorcyclist and have been on and off since I was 12 years old. I was 12 years old doing jumps with my big Honda 250 street bike in Cockaponset State Forest where I lived in Killingworth Connecticut.
And my 1981 Honda Shadow in California. From my history page:
OK, more about my wife and I. I had 2 cars when I met her one was a Mustang 2, it was nice and in real good condition even though it was a 1970’s car. But when I met her I had a One Ton Ford, custom van. It had rust on the bottom but it was nice. It had hard wood floors and velvet cushioning. When we moved into the new place I got a cheap motorcycle like a 400 I think. It had straight pipes so it was load. It was a Honda and it was shiny and neat looking. Then there was this dude in Meriden, a older guy that fixed up bikes, he had this Early model 500 cc Honda Shadow, I loved that bike and still think they look nice. I wish they made bikes like that. I would take that thing out allot and took my wife every where on it. I even took her to where I used to ride my 250 Honda when I was a kid in Cacaponsit State Forest. Just looked it up on wikipedia.org, this bike was so nice they would customize it into a chopper, Yamaha and Kawasaki had similar models and even Ducati had a nice model like this, in the 1980’s. One time I had that bike out on a sunny day with the walkman on full blast I popped the best wheelie of my life at the stop light. That bike went straight up I road it out and made a nice light landing. Like I said when I met my wife I told her I wanted to move to California for a while and was determined to do it. So the idea was to put the motorcycle in the van so we would have two modes of transpiration in California.
Here are some photos I took a nice crisp winter day in2007:
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| I own this magazine. That is my bike on the left. |
Best top manufactured home repair services in the Collin County aria!
It never ends what I can tell you what we have been through the past couple months with the storms we have had recently. As of now we have had problems with our water heater. It began the exact time of our roof, It was leaking from the bottom and had to be replaced ASAP. http://www.dungansmckinneyhomes.com/ This place is a oasis if you live in a manufactured home. Dungans gave me the phone number of this amazing home repair dude; that installs their manufactured home parts. and he had a electrician friend that save the day by replacing a striped breaker switch. I was broke because the water heater kept breaking it. The water heater this time is equip with a drip pan and a water cut off valve to prevent leaking problems. I highly recommend this.
We have had well over 50 people at our house in the past month and a half. Absolutely everyone was so awesome and likable and I am grateful to have met them all.
Juan Pena and all his crew are all now my good buddy's for ever. https://m.facebook.com/d1value
And now Dungans http://www.dungansmckinneyhomes.com/ for saving the day with a custom part we needed desperately and immediately. And now JP's Home repair care of Dungans.
If you live in a manufactured home these people can save your life and your sanity like no one else!
June 15 2015:
I want to thank Chris Becherer of Tree Service Solutions of Anna Texas: for saving my paintings from our giant red oak falling on them. His climbing dude, was heroic in his efforts; crawling around on a dead tree, 50 feet in the air. His price was not that bad compared to a tree guy I talked to out of McKinney who would not even haul it out for more money.
Check him out at: http://treeservicesolutions.com/
June 10, 2015:
As always most of what I write here is copies of emails I sent to my mom. This is from a email I just sent her embellished and edited for the public.
The roof and walls are finished now. They did a great job. You know me I used all my charisma to secure the best workers we could afford. My wife was on vacation that very week, it was a happy coincidence. We got to hang out together while or house was taken over by a bunch of noise making construction workers. It was a very stressful experience and being together helped. I do not wish this experience on anyone. You can just imagine how it must be having your house ravaged by a storm like this. A hole in your roof where you live and the roof left in tatters; can cause you to reach a stress level that is not meant to be reached. We both had trouble sleeping up until the repairs were complete. The damage was done on May 10 2015 and the rain that fell right after that broke records. Rain like that with the damage we had was a absolute nightmare. I wish the rain would stop and it seemed to rain even more day after day.
June 8, 2015:
Hey don't look at me. I love my mom like a patriotic, true blue, United States, semper fi, solder.
"The motto of the Marine Corps is Semper Fidelis, Latin
for "always faithful" .Until 1871 it was "First to Fight", a motto that still applies. Through the years, Marines have
shortened it to Semper Fi, and "Semper Fi, Mac" is the universal
Marine Greeting."
I want to thank first and foremost Juan Pena:
I pound my chest to Juan and his crew. https://m.facebook.com/d1value
One way of demonstrating a being's wildness is for them to beat their chest while yelling. This might be combined with a Mighty Roar
I want to thank everyone else too
May 27 2015:
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| https://action.aarp.org/site/SPageNavigator/FraudMap.html;jsessionid=5C6C6F55612D8C7C33138041331D6910.app263b |
I want to thank my fellow seniors at AARP for this:
•Before hiring any post-disaster contractor, ask your insurer to survey the damage, and inquire about approved contractors.
Getting help after a disaster
Call the local police and your local Attorney General’s Office to report the scam. The following organizations can also provide information to disaster victims about how to get the help they need.
Fraud Watch Network
P.S. Spotted a scam? Tell us about it. Our scam-tracking map gives you information about the latest scams targeting people in your state. You’ll also find first-hand accounts from scam-spotters who are sharing their experiences so you know how to protect yourself and your family.
May 25 2015:
Call the local Better Business Bureau and ask if there are any complaints on file against the contractor(s) you are thinking of hiring. A call to the local building department inquiring about their professionalism and courtesy may be revealing. Ask each contractor who his primary supplier of materials is, and then call that supplier.
A quick call to a local credit bureau is also a good idea. Ask how long the company has been in business. If you uncover any pending suits or liens, walk away. You don’t need the problems that can occur when a contractor is in litigation, like the sheriff arriving to impound the contractor’s tools—or your building supplies. It happens.
Other sources for references are banks and subcontractors. Ask the GC who he has dealt with and call them, too. The banks can tell you about his fiduciary responsibility and the subcontractors about how well organized he is.
Another word of caution: Treat your contractors, subs, and the other people you hire with appropriate respect. They’re not your employees, they are businesspeople from whom you are buying services. A modicum of courtesy and basic consideration will be rewarded. That goes for the men and women who work for them, too.
Hiring a Contractor
Without a doubt, hiring a contractor is the part of home remodeling that causes more fear and anxiety than any other phase. How do you know you've got a good contractor, someone you can trust to do a good job for a fair price and stand behind his or her work? Unfortunately, there are no guarantees. But if you do your homework, you improve the odds of getting a contractor you will be happy with.
General Contractor
A general contractor is the person you hire to oversee the entire job, whether it's new construction or a major remodel job. The contractor is responsible for managing all aspects of the job including purchasing the materials and hiring the sub-contractors (subs). Typically, you sign a contract with the contractor and make payments only to him. The contractor is then responsible for paying the subs and suppliers. When you have a contractor on the job, that is the person you go to with all your questions and comments about the work. The contractor in turn communicates your concerns to the subs.
It's common knowledge that you want to get at least three bids on your job. The question is, whom do you ask to bid on the job? Word-of-mouth referrals are best. Ask your friends, family, and neighbors for the names of contractors they've been happy with. The responses you get back may include large design/build companies you're familiar with and smaller companies you've never heard of. Don't rule out this last bunch? There are many good contractors you've never heard of because they prefer to get all their referrals by word-of-mouth.
Whether you get referrals from people you trust or end up blindly calling listings from the phone book, it's important to trust your instincts. Did the contractor return your call promptly and show up on time for your appointment? During the meeting, did the contractor answer questions to your satisfaction? Willingly provide references? Lay out his expectations for the job? Did you feel like you had good rapport with this person? This is important; communication is the most important aspect of the client/contractor relationship and you have to feel that you can speak directly and honestly with your contractor.
Bids and References
When you ask contractors to bid on your job, be sure and provide each one with an identical packet of information that includes plans and a list of materials. It's important that they all bid the same job, otherwise you will have no basis for comparison.
The bids you receive should be in writing and contain an itemized list of labor and materials charges. You want fixed bids, not time and materials bids, which have a way of escalating far beyond what you expected the job to cost. The bids you receive will tell you a lot about the people bidding. Was the bid ready when the contractor promised it? It's a bad sign if the contractor breaks his first commitment to you. Was the bid outrageously high? This contractor is busy and only wants the job if you're willing to pay a premium for his time. Was the bid really low? This contractor either doesn't understand the scope of the job or deliberately underbid to get the job and will likely discover several unexpected problems that are not covered in the original contract and will require additional cash outlay.
When you get references from a contractor, make every effort to not only call the contractor's references, but to go over and see the work for yourself. You never know, that happy client could have entirely different quality standards than you do. Before you sign a contract, you also want to check into how he conducts business. Check the credit history and bank references, verify that the contractor carries both worker's compensation and liability insurance, and make sure there are no complaints against the contractor filed with the local consumer affairs office, builders' association, or Better Business Bureau.
May 15 2015:
Even though we should be thinking; no more rain. We refuse to think no more rain; no matter what.
Damage to Our Home From May 10 2015 Storms, Tornado, McKinney TX
The weirdest part of all this is I was just talking to a tree guy from Grayson-Collin Electric Cooperative: GCEChttp://www.grayson-collin.coop/ and we were looking right at the tree less than 3 days before the storm.
Link to this page: http://radmanart2ndhome.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_41.html
I am a well known artist in McKinney, Texas specializing in Western Art. 6 times in the Dallas Morning News for my paintings. I store my paintings under the huge tree that put a hole in our roof on May 10 2015. Many paintings were nearly destroyed. This area was ravaged with a series of tornados on May 10 2015. Please look up the news to read the stories. Plus my wife is a 6 year army vet of Killeen and Seagoville. The day I discovered this; I was almost in tears. If you can help us at all or forward a email to us; please we need help dealing with this tree and roof problem.
Links to stories about that day here:
This happened at almost the exact time of our tree:
The Associated Press 8:15 a.m. EDT May 10, 2015
CISCO, Texas (AP) — Several tornadoes have ripped through the northern part of the U.S. state of Texas, leaving one person dead and others unaccounted for in a sparsely populated area over the weekend, authorities said.
At Least 1 Dead as Two Tornadoes Touch Down in North Texas
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| This hole was directly above my first oil paintings I did in college. They survive by some miracle it stopped raining just in time. |
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| Notice how this huge tree is hanging over the center of the manufactured home. |
