Insomniac's Lounge

Anyone have experience getting their kid into magnet school? My daughter starts sixth grade next year and I'm debating applying. How competitive is it? What sorts of things do they look for? Is the Ann Richards school just for low-income folks or for all girls in general?

Hi guys,

I am selling away my entire anime collection. Many items are going fast and I still have many rare items and plushies available for sale. Many items are priced at $10 and above and small plushies are for sale at $10 while DX plushies are for sale from $25 to $30. There are also many other anime items available for sale as well. Please feel free to pm me your offers.

You can view the pics at the following link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30896841@N05/sets/

Just to name a few items for your info:

Anime UFO Catchers from many series such as Naruto, Ah my goddness, Chobits, Magic Knight Rayearth, Prince of Tennis, Inuyasha, Princess Princess. etc.

Anime Phonecards mainly from Fushigi Yuugi and Fruits Basket.

Arina Tanemura zen-in bags and other collectables.

Rare items from Vampire Knight, Fushigi and Fruits Basket.

Also selling Fruits Basket, Fushigi Yuugi, Full Moon Sagashite chinese comics at $3 each. Still in good condition.

I am also selling away my cels as I am also closing down my galley. Please check out the cels at
http://fruits.rubberslug.com .

Thanks!

Sadly I am not able to take this one, but hopefully one of you can...thanks for reading!

http://community.livejournal.com/driveforlife/1309608.html#cutid1

ETA: I am just passing this info on and not directly involved with these groups, so please contact them directly for more information or to sign up. :)

i posted about this fella a few days ago. he has come out from under the deck and we are taking good care of him, but he needs a better home. i dont think anyone is looking for him at this point. hes a beautiful and sweet dog and would make a great addition to anyone who is a responsible pet owner.
here is the CL ad and please forward around to anyone who may be interested:
http://austin.craigslist.org/pet/1539917222.html

I just had some work done on my car by a mechanic I found through Craigslist and he did great work and was very reasonably priced. He is an independent mechanic, is ASE certified, and has experience working on many different types of vehicles/issues.

He provided me with 5 references, all of whom had him work on many issues with their vehicles and were very, very happy with his work and prices.

He comes to your home (or other location you specify) and does the work there. You have to purchase the parts, and he will tell you where to go to get the best price.

The work he did on my car was pretty specialized (replacing the clock spring inside the steering column, which caused me not to have a functioning horn or airbag), and which was quoted by mechanics in town at around $500 and up. The part was $100 (it was only available through the dealer as opposed to somewhere cheaper like AutoZone), and his labor for 2 hours work was $100. Everything works now, so I can honk my horn again (a very necessary requirement for driving in Austin) and of course an airbag is pretty important, too.

It's so awesome to FINALLY find an honest, competent, and reasonably priced mechanic in this town! Sorry all you JC AutoSpec fans. I know they do great work, but a) they're in Round Rock, and I'm in Central Austin, and b) the price quotes I have always gotten from them are the highest quotes I have received by far compared to other shops.

The mechanic's name is Alex Aquino and his # is 483-1506 and his email address is Sennaf1fan@aol.com.

I am looking for a sleek, modern table lamp. Preferably something geometric in shape. Nothing with a lampshade and body, and nothing over $60. I don't really feel like driving over an hour just for a lamp, so any of these hip furniture stores have something that won't make me feel like vomiting when I see the price tag?

Is it possible to buy JUST a scanner anywhere? I already have a printer, so I don't really need one of those all-in-one doohickies (printer/scanner/copier). But I fear a regular ol' scanner is a bit obsolete. Any suggestions? (Already been by Wal-mart & Fry's, and the latter had just one for about $60, but I'd like other options).

Are there any restaurants on the north end of town that have tamales? If not, where should I go for some?

I looked (and even posted) on last year's King Cake recommendation thread, but to no avail, couldn't find any answers for local shops.  Since tomorrow's King's Day, I am looking for a decent King Cake to take to work.   I'm open to filled or not filled, pecans or no pecans, doesn't matter at this point.  The ones HEB had for the last few years aren't really what I'm looking for; they're more like coffee cake to me.  LA used to have giant towers of them at Wal-Mart that were pretty darn good,but I haven't been in a Wal-Mart in 8 years (and counting).  I'd prefer not to order one from LA because they're soooo expensive.  I can make one, but I don't have a lot of time today to allow the bread to rise and all.

Anyone seen any out yet?  Know of any local restraunts or bakeries that can make them?  I've heard it is a Mexican tradition as well to have King Cake.  Any Mexican bakeries you've seen them at?   I'd prefer South - Central Austin as I'm as likely to drive to Round Rock as to drive to LaFayette, LA  for one.  TIA.

I'm about ready to do another round of group training classes with my pup.

He's an 8 month old boxer, a very smart and friendly guy.  We did the "puppy training class" at the PetSmart in Cedar Park (Whitestone) a couple of months back, and it was very good.  I'd like to do some more - he's good with most issues, though he likes to jump up on people and we're still working on the loose leash walk.  He knows lots of commands and tricks, as well.  I'd like to pass the Canine Good Citizenship test at some point, though, and I think it's good to spend some time once or twice a week or so making him work on obedience while in an exciting environment and surrounded by other dogs.

I might just go back and do the intermediate course at that PetSmart at some point, but they don't have any times that work for me right now, and the next couple of months would be a great time with my schedule to commit to regular training sessions.

Have any of you guys had good experience elsewhere?  I've heard good things about Taurus, but I don't see any group sessions on their website, and it looks awfully expensive.  I suppose it doesn't have to be group sessions, though, although I do like that.

I'm not unwilling to drive around, though I live near the Arboretum (183 @ Mopac).

I'd be interested in hearing about any experiences with trainers/training courses in Austin and the surrounding areas.

Does anyone have some advice on getting a good deal on security systems for an apartment in central/northish Austin? This is the first place I'm moving to that has the option for it, but it sounds like not many people there take advantage of it, so I don't know where to start. I probably wouldn't bother, either, but my father is... enthusiastic... about safety.

Any ideas? Brinks? ADT? Their websites are all so vague and it seems like every price is undercut by an asterisk. As long as I'm going to do this, I might as well make sure I don't end up with a glorified car alarm that will be more pain and hassle than it's worth.

Many thanks in advance!

nipponsells 

nipponsells 

since a job-finding post seems to come up with some regularity here, i wanted to let peeps know that several non-profits are hiring and have recently posted new jobs.

TANO (texas assc. for nonprofits organization) will post jobs from numerous NPOs across central texas and beyond, and it looks like there is finally some funding coming in. ergo, more jobs. i got a solid lead from this board several years ago, so i wanted to pass it along.

i saw everything from grants directors, to admins to internships...hope this helps someone on the prowl!

http://www.tano.org/en/jobs/search.asp

My boyfriend and I are in the market for some new friends. We don't really have any now because all we do is work and study. Our thought is we can hopefully find some activity that will bring us in contact with like minded people. What kinds of things should we try? This would be a good opportunity for us to branch out activity wise because what we do right now is generally the same thing we do every night (try to take over the world, and watch movies). Ideally we'd be looking for north Austin but something on campus that would allow non-students also would be great (he's at UT, I'm not). We've been meaning to do some of the continuing education classes through UT so those are already on our list.

Interests: Movies, studying, UFC, occasional dinner & drinks with coworkers, sporting events, bike riding (casually on the street), maybe one concert a year. We really are pretty boring, hence the vague post since we can get suggestions that way.

I'm expecting at least two people to mention swinger's clubs or craiglist casual encounters. :-/

Edit: We like the board game night idea. If others would be interested, we'd need ideas for a place to host it. Preferably with food and some form of drink, up north. I'm cursed and any events i try to coordinate end up bombing.. possibly because no one likes me.

Another edit: It would be awesome to meet new people, even if only in internets land, that are gluten-free cause I am and I could use someone to toss around suggestions and recipes with, or check out GF menus around town.

So there is a dog that is hiding under my deck. He/She has been there since Saturday. Its a beautiful German Shepherd. It won't come out to me, but it has come out when I'm not around. I don't know what to do, if its sick, if its just scared, if its a stray if its not, girl/boy... because I can't get him/her to come out. Anyone got any advice here? Also, anyone know of a good rescue group or person to call that will help find the doggie a home?

Here is the craigslist ad: http://austin.craigslist.org/laf/1534529719.html

Update:
I got the dog out finally last night. He is safe in my neighbor's garage. I got one hit from a lost ad someone on LJ sent me, but the guy sounds shady. I don't want this fella to end up in the wrong hands. Anyways, its possible I may need to find this guy a home if anyone is interested. Thanks for all the great advice, it worked! I lured the dog out with a burger, doggie biscuits and a lot of "chillin" :)

Hello everyone,

I'll be moving in several months (July or August) but I wanted to get a head start on searching for an apartment. The issue is my dog -- he's a wonderful little critter but he is more likely not to have accidents if he gets to run around in an enclosed outdoor space a few times a day. Right now I live at Mesa Verde at MoPac and Duval and they have a little fenced-in dog park where I can let Henry run around to his heart's content. However, when my lease is up, my rent will go up, and that's no bueno.

Does anyone know of any other apartment complexes around town that have dog parks? Really any small, fenced area where my dog can run around and do his business. Bonus points for price ranges for a one-bedroom. Also I just realized there may be houses or duplexes or condos that meet that requirement, so suggestions there are great, too. I'm hoping not to go above $650.

Thanks, everyone! Much appreciated.

I'm interested in renting an awesome vintage car for something, but I'm looking for some recommendations. Do any of you have any experience with any local companies? (Specifically Vintage Rides of Austin because I'm lusting hardcore over that Cadillac on their site.) I've done my share of googling but I'd like some personal experiences if possible.

Which are the best animal shelters in Austin to adopt a rabbit from?

Especially looking for one that has consultation about introducing a rabbit in a household with other pets.

Where in Austin can I get some really good chicken soup to go for a friend of mine who is sick?

TIA

I'm looking to join a bootcamp like program within the next couple of weeks. No, this isn't a new years resolution, I just finally have the time and money to do it.

What are your experiences with the different programs around town? Was it worth the time or money? Did you get the results you were looking for? If money and time weren't a factor, would you sign up to do it again?

I'm not one of those people looking to lose just 10 pounds so if anyone has lost some major weight while using a bootcamp program, please let me know! Thanks.