Items tagged with 'good to know'
How to get to the indoor bike parking at the Empire State Plaza
Pretty much the best parking spot at the ESP.
By the way: There is indoor bike parking at the Empire State Plaza -- on the concourse level, even.
The bike racks are just outside the door to the bus turnaround area in the middle of the concourse, right across from the food court.
Maybe you've seen these racks and wondered how one ever get their bike there, because it's not exactly apparent. (Or you're googling this now.)
Well, wonder no longer.
A local service for wiping a computer clean of malware and other gunk?
A Neighbor writes:
I help my elderly neighbors with their computer from time to time. But their Windows machine is now so slow, probably because of malware and accumulated stuff, that it's almost impossible to use. They probably need to have computer wiped clean and have Windows reinstalled.
Can anyone suggest a local service that can do this? They don't need anything fancy -- there isn't really any data they need to save off the machine. It just needs to a clean re-install. And about how much might they expect to pay for this?
This seems like a pretty straightforward question. And we're guessing a lot of people have encountered similar situations with computers.
So, got a local service to suggest? Or maybe some other course of action? Please share. And a few sentences or about why you're suggesting a specific company are always appreciated.
How to reliably arrange transportation for a small group of people?
Chris emails (emphasis added):
With all the talk these past few weeks about Uber/Lyft and the state of cab transportation in the region, I have a more practical question. We live in Albany, and we have tickets for the Capital Region Brewcycle Tour in Troy. It looks great and we can't wait to check it out! We want to enjoy it AND get home safely. A DD is always the responsible default option but we're comfortable leaving a car in Troy overnight. All told, there will be 6 of us needing to get back. There would be one pick-up sometime around 12-1230 [at night] in Troy and 1 or 2 stops for drop off in Albany.
If I know when and where I need a pick up a week in advance, exactly how many people I have to transport and where we need to go, what is the best option out there? Is there a private car service that readers have used and would recommend? What was the cost? Is the state of cabs in Troy any better than Albany? Is there a good one that could accommodate 6 people?
Basically we're looking for a service that would get us home:
1- safely- not too interested in some some dude with a van who has a lot of free time
2- reliably- don't want to be stuck waiting on a street corner for someone to show up eventually
3- economically- I know a limo would work, but it seems terribly excessive and expensive for what amounts to about 25 minutes and 10 miles of driving.
With the advantage of being able to make arrangements in advance I'm hopeful we can find something reasonable. I'd be willing to leave a deposit or pay in advance to secure something.
Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Got a suggestion for Chris and friends? Please share!
Moving help for hire?
Jason emails:
I see that you have a few old Ask AOA posts on moving companies (from 2011 and 2010) which may be helpful to me, but was wondering if you'd consider opening that topic up again?
[W]e have some friends who will be moving to Niskayuna from Brooklyn. They're packing up their stuff there and will be driving it up in a truck they've rented. What they're looking for is to hire a few movers to unload the truck for a few hours on a Sunday morning. Based on what they have to unload, and the help of a few friends already lined up, they're figuring to hire two movers for two hours.
So I'd be interested to hear referrals to reliable companies that would do something like this, or maybe trustworthy freelancers. I also would be curious to know roughly what one could/should expect to pay for such a service?
Like most things, experience can make a big difference. We're always kind of amazed to see how experienced movers can maneuver some huge, heavy piece of furniture or appliance with relative ease.
So, got a suggestion for Jason and his friends? Please share!
A good attorney for writing a will?
Kate emails:
Could anyone recommend a good, reasonable lawyer to prepare a simple will?
A will is one of those things most people, especially younger people, are probably like, "Me? I don't need a will."
But you might surprised, even for the non-Warren Buffets of the world -- a will can help can help smooth the way a bit for your loved ones after you die. And while there are online services that now offer to help with preparing a will, an actual attorney might be able to ask you better questions for writing a more helpful will.
So, suggestions for Kate? Bonus points for explaining why you're suggesting that attorney. And extra bonus points for mentioning roughly how it much it cost, so Kate and everyone else has a good idea of what they might expect to pay.
Earlier on AOA:
+ Ask AOA: A good divorce attorney?
+ Ask AOA: Attorneys for small businesses?
photo: Flickr user Edinburgh City of Print (cc)
Where to rent a wheelchair?
W emails:
Wondering if I can rent a wheelchair somewhere for the weekend. A friend is coming to visit, and she suffered a big knee injury in a car crash, so walking a lot won't work for her. If I can wheel her around here and there, it will expand the activities we can do.
A wheelchair rental doesn't seem like something that should be too hard to find.
Got a suggestion for W? Please share.
photo: Flickr user Yahoo! Accessibility Lab (cc)
What about battery recycling?
Scott asks via the Facebook:
I have a question for AOA: do you know of anyone around here that does battery recycling?
OK, so the answer to this question is: it's a little bit complicated. And you might have a suggestion that could help.
Do you tip at food trucks, the coffee place, counter service?
There are a bunch of different conversations that could spin out of this post over at the Awl about a guy who was fired from a food truck after he complained on Twitter about not getting tipped on a complicated order. But we're most interested in this question:
Do you -- yes, you, the person reading this -- tip on orders at food trucks, the morning swing through the line at the coffee place, a pick-up pizza or takeout order, counter service at a fast-casual restaurant, and other similar situations? If so, how much? And if not, why not?
In most situations, tipping is a social custom/expectation in this country. Which means it's one of those things that "everyone knows how it works" except that, you know, not everyone knows how it works. And like any social custom/expectation it's subject to an evolution of views on it, based on shifting attitudes and context.
Food service is currently in one of those shifts. Tipping on sit-down service is a well-established practice -- "everyone" knows you should tip 15-20 percent. But a lot of restaurant business is now headed in the direction of the "fast casual" model, or the super casual like food trucks.
We get the sense that's causing confusion. Just recently we were in a Chipotle (a prime example of fast casual) and the group ahead of us had ordered a long, complicated series of stuff. After it all came together, the woman who ordered it tried to tip the Chipotle cashier to thank her for getting the whole thing straight, but the cashier politely declined.
So what's the new social norm?
More about tipping: A recent Freakonomics podcast focused on tipping -- and featured a Cornell professor who's studied the topic extensively. He argued that tipping might be illegal because it could be considered discriminatory.
That observation -- and many others -- have prompted arguments that a better, fairer way to compensate restaurant employees would be to eliminate tipping and raise the prices on food (say, 15-20 percent) in order to pay employees higher wages not dependent on tips.
Earlier on AOA: New York's highest court on who can share tips at Starbucks
Tips for tracking spending?
Chrisck emails:
Can anyone recommend software for tracking expenses? I've never in my life made a budget for myself because I always innately lived within my means, whether as a poor student or working stiff. Now I'm a "pensioner" on a fixed/reduced income and I think I should track my spending for a year just to (hopefully) affirm that I'm solvent. I'm looking for simple, free software, maybe something where I can customize the categories to track some of my quirkier spending habits.
This might not be a local question, per se. But we're guessing a bunch of people here have some good insights on this topic.
Got a suggestion for Chris? Please share!
Earlier on AOA:
+ Ask AOA: A good accountant for small businesses?
+ Ask AOA: A good accountant?
+ Ask AOA: A good financial adviser?
photo: Flickr user edinburghcityofprint (Edinburgh City of Print) (cc)
Where to get a "check engine" light read?
A. asks via Twitter:
Where can I find out what my check engine light is about, without paying through the nose?
This is a good thing to know because:
1) The check engine light can indicate a whole range of problems, some of them serious.
2) Sometimes the problem is a simple as the gas cap not being on tight enough. So if you can get someone to read the problem for a few bucks, you can fix the problem without spending a bunch of money.
Got a suggestion for A.? Please share!
Earlier on AOA: Capital Region Recommended Mechanics
photo: Flickr user @RunRockPrincess (cc)
Plans for severe weather?
Erin emails:
After hearing about the 2 tornadoes that touched down this week and of course Irene, I was wondering if there were any local storm shelters available for use in a bad situation, especially an underground one for tornadoes? I live in 2nd floor apartment in a building with no basement, so if really bad storm were to come through my area I'd be in a bit of a dangerous situation.
With the storms getting worse each year (or so it would seem) I like having a plan in place even if I never need to use it!
Erin is on the right path here in being proactive about planning. With some types of storms -- like a hurricane/tropical storm -- there's usually some advance notice, often days. Other types -- like a tornado -- the notice could be just a few minutes. So knowing what to do ahead of time is important.
Here are a few guides on making a plan/emergency kit: ready.gov | New York State | Red Cross. And here are National Weather Service guides to thunderstorms, tornadoes, and lightning and how to take shelter in various types of buildings during a tornado. (In a building without a basement, it's get to the lowest floor and find a room in the middle of the building, preferably without windows.) Also: a NWS tornado FAQ.
Another resource: NY-Alert, where you can sign up for text alerts for stuff like tornado warnings.
Got local suggestions? Please share.
Earlier on AOA: Watch vs. warning
archive photo: NOAA Photo Library, NOAA Central Library; OAR/ERL/National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL)
Last chance Albany post office tax day 2013
On the cemetery side of the mall.
Hello, tax day procrastinators. Hello, people desperately searching Google. Hello, people who just decided they would get to when they got to it -- and that time is now. The last chance post office for mailing your taxes in the Capital Region is...
The Colonie Center post office, at 1425 Central Ave. It closes at 8 pm tonight, its usual time.
Yep, the Capital Region has a new last-chance mail drop. For years the post office of last resort was at the mail processing center at 30 Karner Road. But that location has been rolling back its tax day closing time. In 2010, it was midnight. In 2011, it was 10 pm. In 2012, it was 8:30 pm. And this year: 7 pm -- just an hour later than its usual closing time.
As the post office has been rolling back the tax day closing time, the number of people who file electronically has boomed. As of early April, 89 percent of returns for this tax season had been filed electronically. [IRS]
Bonus bits: Last-minute filing tips from the IRS and USPS.
New York State and credit card "checkout fees"
Financial services regulation fact of the day: starting this week merchants around the country are allowed to charge customers a "checkout fee" for using a credit card (even if many won't necessarily do so), as a result of a multi-billion dollar anti-trust settlement with Visa and Mastercard. But there won't be fees in New York State. [CNN] [NYT] [Consumerist]
Why? Because New York is one of 10 states that prohibit such fees. From the state code:
No seller in any sales transaction may impose a surcharge on a holder who elects to use a credit card in lieu of payment by cash, check, or similar means. Any seller who violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars or a term of imprisonment up to one year, or both.
What New York doesn't prohibit: offering customers a discount for using cash, as some gas stations do*. It also doesn't prohibit minimums for using a credit card, though retailers have to notify customers of the minimums. And the minimums -- typical upper limit is $10 -- have to apply to all types of credit cards. The allowance of minimums is relatively recent -- a 2010 federal law opened the way for them. [Consumerist]
The structure of the transaction fees that businesses pay credit card companies is... complicated, and there's an argument that it results in a "reverse Robin Hood" effect, with people who use credit cards -- especially rewards cards -- being subsidized by people not using the cards. [NYT]
* There's a bill in the legislature that would prohibit this price difference at gas stations -- but it would also allow the stations to pass along the credit card transaction fee to consumers. (It's aimed at cutting down on large gaps between credit and cash prices -- like a $1 gap in Long Island last year.) [Newsday]
[via MeFi]
How to replace a lost/damaged/stolen New York license plate
Updated 2014-02-28
There is no "peg" for this post. And it isn't interesting. It's just that we recently had to replace a license plate and the New York DMV website is... well, there are (somewhat hard-to-find) instructions, but we figured they could be a bit clearer. (Less than helpful: the help line, which apparently had too many calling for help.)
So, good drivers of the Empire State -- mostly those in the future via Google -- here is how you do it...
A good doctor, preferably female?
Jen asks via email:
I'm a fairly new transplant to the Albany area and am looking for a primary care doctor. Can your readers recommend a smart, compassionate, preferably female doctor in the Albany or Troy area?
We've had a similar question before, but it came up more than 2.5 years ago. Things change. And Jen's preference narrows the field a bit. (Also: we heard from Jen that she called a few of the doctors from that old post and they weren't taking new patients.)
So, have a suggestion for Jen? Please share! And, as always, bonus points for explaining why you like that doctor.
Where to buy tires?
B emails:
I usually get my tires online but picking them up at the UPS facility in Latham is a pain and I'm happy to spend a few extra dollars to support local businesses. Any suggestions for good local tire shops? Selection and customer service are a plus, but evening/weekend hours are the dealbreaker since I have a 9-5 and dropoff/pickup is extremely inconvenient. Proximity to Albany proper a plus.
Got a suggestion for B? Please share! And, as always, bonus points for a little bit of explanation for why you're suggesting the place.
While we're on the subject: A lot of people are probably thinking about snow tires right now, so if you have a suggestion about where to buy them / get them put back on -- this is a good thread for it.
A good general contractor?
Valerie asks via Twitter:
I have a few projects I need help with. Removal/replacement of deck, shoring up a porch, basement windows, kitchen counters. Also maybe wood window restoration and an indoor painter who can deal with removing lots and lots of nightmarish wallpaper.
If anyone is or knows a good general contractor please share. PLEASE.
This is a question that comes up all the time. And it's definitely worth asking around for referrals and talking with people about their experiences. A lot of contractors do a good job, but there are definitely some out there to avoid.
So, anyone have suggestions for Valerie? Please share!
What's an appropriate gift for a bar mitzvah?
Jennifer asks via Twitter:
Help! What gift does one get for a bar mitzvah?
Sometimes the gifts for celebrations like this -- weddings, graduations, confirmations -- can vary by what part of the country you're in. For example: at a lot of weddings in the Midwest, people show up with presents (blenders, toasters, and so on). On the East Coast, the go-to gift is usually money. (And at Midwest/East Coast weddings, worlds collide! Thank goodness there's cake.)
So, what's an appropriate gift for a bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah in the Capital Region? Please share! And if money is a typical gift, please include a range. (It can be hard to guess these things.)
Shampoodle
Otto generally tolerates the bath, in part because we bribe him with treats. Also we think he secretly kind of likes having the dryer used on him.
After a few walks in the rain and mud had left Otto looking (and more importantly, smelling) not so fresh, we knew what it was time for: a good Shampoodling.
Shampoodle is a do-it-yourself dog bath/grooming place with locations in Delmar and Clifton Park. It's come up once or twice before, but we figured it's worth its own standalone mention. Because it's the best way we've found to give Otto a bath.
Milk cartons: recyclable or not?
Left behind.
When we retrieved our recycling bin from the curb last week, we noticed that a milk carton had been left behind -- with not a can or bottle to keep him company. Hmm, we thought -- aren't those recyclable?
We mentioned the question on Twitter -- and the consensus was: yes... no... maybe. Other people had the same question.
So we did a little research.
Tips and advice for contesting a property tax assessment?
Sean emails:
As a new homeowner, I've been hearing rumors about a certain day / week in May where folks can go downtown and challenge their property tax amount. Would the editors or other AOA readers have any knowledge about this upcoming event, any tips for when to go (I imagine it's a zoo...) and what to come prepared with for the best possible outcome (i.e. lower taxes!)?
We're guessing the day Sean is referring to is Grievance Day, typically the fourth Tuesday of May in cities and towns in New York State (May 22 this year). You can submit the forms necessary to "grieve" the assessment of your home before that day (probably the best course). The day in question is when it's possible to make an oral argument before the board of assessment review, if you decide to do so.
OK, so let's use the city of Albany as an example. It recently posted the official notice that's it's completed its tentative assessment roll for property tax purposes. The assessment information is online -- it's as simple to look up as plugging in your address. From the city's website:
Complaint forms and a publication containing procedures for contesting an assessment are available at the Office of Assessment & Taxation Room 302 in City Hall. It is a prerequisite to review an assessment that the official complaint forms be used and that said forms be filed with the undersigned or the Board of Assessment Review on or before May 22nd, 2012.
The board of assessment review will be hearing grievances May 22 from 9 am-1 pm and 6-8 pm in city hall.
Of course, some details will vary from one municipality to another. Here's a NYS website with info on how to contest your assessment.
So... Have you ever contested an assessment? If so, got any tips or advice for Sean? Please share!
photo: Flickr user woodleywonderworks
Aside from Craigslist, where to find a roommate?
Laura asks via Twitter:
Any ideas on where to search for a roommate other than Craigslist? Coming up blank for 1st time.
We can understand understand not wanting to dip into the Craigslist pool (really). But it's pretty much become the place for this sort of thing.
So, other ideas for Laura? Please share!
Earlier on AOA: Short term housing rentals?
photo: Flickr user Menage a Moi
Last chance post office tax day 2012
Enabling procrastination less this year.
2013 update: This is no longer the last-chance post office. It's now at Colonie Center.
Hello, tax day procrastinators desperately searching Google for the last post office open in the Capital Region.
The answer, as usual: the post office at 30 Karner Road in Colonie, which is attached to a mail processing facility. But the deadline has been rolled back yet again this year. That location will only be open until 8:30 pm this year.
As late as 2010, the Karner Road location was open until midnight on tax day. And then last year its closing time was rolled back to 10 pm. And it's been rolled back another 1.5 hours this year.
Why? Electronic filing. The e-filing rate is now 77 percent for individuals -- up from 16 percent in the mid-1990s. (And with good reason -- it's way easier than printing all the forms out and mailing them.) [IRS]
Bonus last chance spot: The Colonie Center post office is open until 8 pm, its usual closing time.
Bonus bit: Last-minute filing tips from the IRS.
A good taxi service?
A Loyal Reader emails:
I need to have a medical procedure done and can't drive myself so I want to take a cab. Every single cab company in Albany has terrible reviews. Any idea which one will show up on time? I'm going from downtown Albany to Latham.
We hope there's an answer for LR -- but we have to admit we've never heard a "I had a great cab experience" story in the Capital Region. Usually, it's just the opposite.
Got a suggestion? Please share!
photo: Flickr user Ben Fredericson (xjrlokix)
A good auto body shop?
Kaitlin asks via Twitter:
I am in need of good auto body places in Albany. ... I just need to get my bumper repaired/replaced, rather than something mechanical, I suppose?
Got a suggestion for Kaitlin? Please share!
By the way: Here's our Capital Region Recommended Auto Mechanics list, if you haven't seen it before.
... said KGB about Drawing: What's something that brought you joy this year?