I've always wanted to make this map thingy. It doesn't do anything yet, but I would like it to one day. I would like to link each of the states to the heads that are in them and set up a little section where people could kind of review the best parts of their respective cities/towns/districts...
I'd like it to start with a section called "Best Places that are Open 24HRS", and kind of expand upon it from there.
It would also be useful to link to the best sites we know of that are associated with each place (weekly newspapers, personal sites, art galleries, museums, show listings pages like this one, etc...)
Yes.
Maybe eventually we'll get an events calendar hooked up to this like I've always wanted also...
I think it would be incredibly useful, especially for a ramblin' man such as myself...
julie [email] said at 8:10 PM 06-16-2004: Ben, you are as bad as the U.S. Congress. Look people, just because Washington, D.C. isn't a state doesn't mean you can just ignore us forever.
julie [email] said at 8:34 PM 06-16-2004: Ahhhh. Now I see it. Nice clothes, emperor!
Seriously, though, I do like the map. You could add a function where if we're traveling, we could move our heads around on the map to show where we are on any given day.
Bendependent [email] said at 8:12 PM 06-16-2004: and Canada. I was gonna make some smaller ones under it like they do on crappy maps that don't fit on the page...
cecil [email] said at 8:16 PM 06-16-2004: No really, Alaska is just a Russian oil refinery and cruise ship destination. Hawaii is ours because we ran out of brown natives to kill.
zack [email] said at 8:25 PM 06-16-2004: I love the map. An Events calendar, updatable by the heads, and cross-refrencable by area and dates is the # 1 most desired upgrade on my list.
able.
anotherben [email] said at 8:25 PM 06-16-2004: i like it. especially if it is combined with the reviews section i swapped stuff for with the sisk.
a little section where people could kind of review the best parts of their respective cities/towns/districts... ... i hope we are not limited to whatever state we are in for reviewing things.
Bendependent [email] said at 1:33 AM 06-17-2004: it would also be cool if we set up a page for nonheaded killoggs readers to introduce themselves according to which state they are reading from...
josh [email] said at 1:32 PM 06-17-2004: Considering there are several US states with a greater population than your entire country, it's likely that the opposite is more accurate.
Woody said at 5:25 PM 06-17-2004: That's not unfunny! And I just got an automated email from this thread. Awesome! I got a dud one an hour ago, but I assume you were fixing stuff at that time.
Jeremy_Notloggedin said at 7:55 AM 06-17-2004: ben, i think this is a great idea. it definitely has the potential to become neglected though. you'd have to get josh to make it database driven though because i can't really see it working without a lot of collaboration. i would contribute a ton to this! it almost seems like there has to be something like this out there.
meredith [email] said at 1:25 PM 06-17-2004: I believe it has been years. I have been very bored at work today. I needed something that would enable me to stare at the screen with a look akin to concentration on my face for lengthy periods of time.
meredith [email] said at 1:33 PM 06-17-2004: I do indeed. I love it. I've been pretty busy actually. Just started a new job. I have my own office downtown, so I feel all successful and such. Also just finished shooting an indie flick and I'm in rehearsals for a show to go up in August. And I'm living with my boyfriend. And I'm sueing my old landlord. How about you?
myriam [email] said at 1:36 PM 06-17-2004: why are you suing your landlord? I have always wondered when to draw the line between being screwed and fighting back.
meredith [email] said at 1:41 PM 06-17-2004: Oh my God, you should totally fight back. There are so many laws that those assholes violate on a daily basis that no one even knows about.
I'm sueing him because he tried to intimidate me by screaming at me and accusing me of damage to the apartment which I didn't do. He's keeping part of my deposit. However, he has violated several Chicago leasing laws regarding the date he sent my itemized statement of damages and the dates which he was supposed to be reimbursing me with interest each year. He may also have violated a lock-out law by changing the locks on my storage without my consent while I was still living there. My lawyer is looking into it. (Hee. I have a lawyer.)
myriam [email] said at 1:56 PM 06-17-2004: wow. Good luck! My landlord comes onto my property without notice frequently and has given keys to, at last count, at least 4 separate shady "repairmen" who have also appeared in my apartment without notice. One morning at 8am I opened my bedroom door in my pajamas to find a DISGUSTING man standing right in front of me--supposedly the plumber, supposedly fixing a leak he said my roommate had called in that I had never even seen/heard of before. When I asked my roommate about it later that evening he said "Oh that? That was months ago. Didn't they already fix it?" Thank goodness I wasn't alone in the apartment at the time. I have taken to physically carrying around my laptop and digital camera wherever I go (literally--ALL DAY LONG EVERY DAY) because I have noticed small things missing.
I looked on my copy of the lease--for which I just spent an hour and a half during work hours (ie, I lost money for not being paid during that time) fighting with them to get--(I moved in in November and just got it THIS WEEK after YELLING at them)--and it says the landlord or people acting on his behalf can come in the apartment at ANY TIME and WITHOUT ANY NOTICE. Is that even legal?! It amazes me. I can't wait to get out.
meredith [email] said at 2:14 PM 06-17-2004: You should look up the laws to your state or city. I think that generally they have to notify you when they or anyone acting on their behalf is going to enter your place. That sounds like a terrible situation. I think that it may not matter what the lease says if it's not in compliance with state laws. Where do you live?
In Chicago, they have to provide you with a copy of your lease. They also have to provide you with a signed receipt for your deposit. You get interest paid on any deposit kept for 6 months or longer, they are supposed to pay you that interest at the conclusion of each year. Yes, in the event of an emergency or where repairs require entry. Entry by the landlord for any reason other than an emergency or for repairs require the landlord to give written notice 2 days in advance. Just reading over things, sounds like things aren't right. There's gotta be some place where you can look up your rights. www.renters-rights.com covers Illinois but there must be a similar site for where you live.
myriam [email] said at 2:23 PM 06-17-2004: Excellent advice. Thank you! I live in Boston. I'll see what I can find.
Btw, when I moved in I asked that they come and take a look at the place before I paid my security deposit. They refused, saying they only did that when the apartment was completely emptied, and since my roommate had lived there the year before, they wouldn't bother coming up to take a look. Besides the problem this obviously poses with my security deposit--which, incidentally, was made out to my current roommate and no interest is gained on it or anything, plus as far as I can tell he's under no legal obligation to give me any of it back--this *also* means that in 3 years they haven't come to check over the apartment. You can imagine how run-down all the apartments in that building must be--many of which are in similar situations with one renter staying and switching roommates.
For the record, and so you guys can all feel better about your housing situations, I pay 800$ a month for the privilege of being screwed like this, and that is a competitive rate for the area. Imagine how many shoddy landlords are raking in exhorbitant sums for sitting their asses on some piddly property in Boston. And with 33 universities in the area, they have over 300,000 guaranteed suckers coming into the city every year to pay their prices.
anotherben [email] said at 2:38 PM 06-17-2004: her comment seems to imply that she is being treated unfairly by the owners of "some piddly property" in beantown. whereas she fully entered into her current arrangement of her own free will.
josh [email] said at 3:40 PM 06-17-2004: But AFTER she entered the agreement (one would assume it was after, since she was at the apartment), they refused to review the apartment for damages - damages that could later be applied to her security deposit. This is against Boston law, according to the links Meredith provided - if a landlord takes a security deposit from a tenant, they MUST, by law, provide a written, signed document detailing the current condition of the property.
They also have accessed the apartment without notifying her (which is illegal in many states and DEFINITELY in Boston from what those links say), as well as given keys to third parties and given them free, unfettered access to the apartment, again, without notifying her - something else that is also illegal and undoubtedly not mentioned on her lease.
Also, she says the deposit is being returned without interest, which is against Boston law.
So, basically, her landlord is doing a lot of things that are against the law and that probably were NOT mentioned before she "entered into her current arrangement".
anotherben [email] said at 3:50 PM 06-17-2004: when I moved in I asked that they come and take a look at the place before I paid my security deposit. when they refused.. she could have refused to pay them the deposit. the violations since are reprehensible and she should call them on it.. but, to insinuate that she has been wronged by the price she pays.. she agreed to that price after (presumably) seeing the place. she then signed a lease after (presumably) reviewing it. we could argue back and forth for several pages, but in the end it would be more a game of battleship than an argument. i am not defending shitty landlords. i am simply making a case that the renter is not without obligation in making sure they are not shat upon.
myriam [email] said at 3:52 PM 06-17-2004: I'm a little screwed over the security deposit, because technically I gave it to my roommate and not the landlord himself; at the management company I was told they already had one on file from a previous tenant (the first guy my roommate lived with, and the last time the apartment completely changed hands) and I should make whatever arrangements were necessary with my roommate. He asked that I give him a deposit before I moved in and I did. This I regret. Anyway I believe I will just use it as my last month's rent and thus avoid the possibility that he will simply (and legally) not give it back.
About the access to my apt--yes, this is definitely the shadiest part of the arrangement. I was under the impression that since my lease said they could do that, I might be stuck. Perhaps the city law trumps the lease I signed?
meredith [email] said at 2:33 PM 06-17-2004: Well, if you are on the lease, you should be entitled to half of whatever that deposit is. I suppose that's something you and your roommate would have to agree on, but keep your cancelled checks that prove you've paid rent in case you have to use that for the future, also check these out:
http://www.bostonapartments.com/tenant.htm
http://www.cityofboston.gov/rentalhousing/
http://www.badlandlords.info/massachusetts.html
meredith [email] said at 1:43 PM 06-17-2004: The movie's kinda weird. It's called Inadequate and it's about this guy who is... pretty much inadequate. I play his girlfriend. My big scene is when I dump him.
Congrats on the raise! Are you still doing your record label thing? You were doing a record label thing, weren't you?
kiche [email] said at 12:50 PM 06-17-2004: will quebec, japan and france be included in this eventually? or are we only going to be evaluating the lower 48?
