When I went back tonight he took the time to give me the $5.00 tour of the entire house.he does have a wine cellar of sorts with about 500 bottles in a room in his basement.he has a fully equipped wet bar(with two taps and an air system!!!!) in his smoke room that he is trying to reuse.I ALWAYS sell battery back-up with any type of specialty install.That comes from my days of wiring sump pumps.He offered me a smoke but I don't, so I kindly declined.I guess his dream is to have his room featured in one of the smoke magazines.

He's a nice guy but talks much garbage about how great of a driver he is and how much better Porche's are than Vettes.I laid two nice, long strips of rubber in front of his house to remind him who the man is and who builds the world's best sports car .He has lots of cool stuff but is a really humble guy and knows that he can't take any of that stuff with him.I think he is trying to enjoy his time on earth and I envy him in some ways.He really misses his wife and has pictures of her in every room.He has two adult children who both live overseas and he says they don't need any money from him.as far as I'm concerned I think he has every right.his work is done.


BTW,I live in the North Kenwood area which borders Hyde Park.this whole area has become yuppified and the housing prices and property taxes have gone through the roof.I hate it.

Hi Tuberoller--

I lived in Hyde Park during high school and college and the property prices back then (early 80's) were DIRT cheap. I had friends who lived in these mansions in Hyde Park-Kenwood that would cost millions here in NYC but only $100,000 in Chicago. I guess times have changed

BTW, I really miss the old neighborhood

if i had the money, i'd probably do the same thing. there are few things nicer than sitting in a comfortable room of your house and being able to smoke a cigar.

the problem with that is, it can smell up the house. this guy has the right idea, full filtration system for the one room? he can now play cards weekly, and have all friends smoking cigars, and the house will never suffer the slightest bit of smell because of it. i think it's awesome.

and spending $100 on cones to set underneath your audio equipment isn't totally insane?

kerely: i think that's part of the allure. it's tough to find a box of pre-castro cuban cigars, let alone one that costs under $30k, but on the up side, there is nothing like it in the world and they are *extremely* hard to find, let alone appreciate. any moron can spend $500k on audio equipment, but it takes an audiophile to enjoy it properly. just my opinion.

p.s. if i had the money, i probably wouldn't pay $30k for a box of cigars, no matter who grew them.

Quote:



You would'nt recognize it now.It has changed dramatically.The house across the street from me is on the market for a little less than a million dollars.They built six new homes on Kimbark near the university and each sold for more than 3 million.the new big thing here is teardowns,where some jerk comes and buys the house and demolishes it for new contruction.The City is trying to prevent this but is helpless because the lots are sometimes more valuable than the vintage homes on them.

BTW,I checked out the other humidor job and it is the kind I could do for myself if I were a smoker.This lady is just adding filtration and HVAC systems to a room and is adding two large, free-standing humidors to a closet in that room.This house is also located near me in the Kenwood area.The total cost of my work here is $14,000 and the cost of the entire job including the humidors and other work in the room is still less than $40,000.I talked to this woman and she said her husband has cigars that cost thousands of doallars per box,She showed my one cigar and I just was not moved.I don't even remember what kind it was.This house also has a very nice wine cellar that was built by a previous owner.

I was headed down that path. I had a closet designated for the humidor, and was researching the humidity and temperature controls. It is just another hobby, and when you are in the middle of it, it all makes perfect sense. I finaly decided that I should get back to enjoying my ears while they are still (relatively) acute, and the cigar thing subsided. Besides, I still prefer a pipe, and pipe tobacco isn't priced like it has a significant platinum content.

I still want to build that observatory in the back yard...


gerG

high-end hobbits? i would have to say bilbo baggins, frodo, maybe sam, marry & pippin too. don't know that many hobbits, actually.

oh sorry, misread it.

i am a budding videophile, i have a decent wega tv and a good entry level denon rec and dipole surround speakers--about as good as i can fit into an apartment living room. my co-worker here at microsoft owns a digital light projector (same technology that theaters used to show "attack of the clones") and an 8 foot movie screen at home, with a 300 disc dvd changer.

when i was a finish contractor i sold carpet and wall treatment to this guy who had a home theater in his house. and when i say home theater, i mean he had a dlp projector, full thx style surround speakers, big screen, teired seating with lounge-chair style movie chairs, cupholders, and a built in bar. also, $150/sy wool carpet, thick enough so he could take his shoes off and curl his toes in it.