Search found 3021 matches

by Sclass
Fri Jul 11, 2025 12:49 pm
Forum: Miscellaneous
Topic: Contribute to society? Lazy?
Replies: 20
Views: 3479

Re: Contribute to society? Lazy?

When I first read the title of this topic I thought “wow, this sounds like something we’d discuss a decade ago on this forum.” Then I realized this is old.

I’m okay with being lazy. At least that is how I roll now. My parents are dead and they can no longer shame me about not working. They had ...
by Sclass
Wed Jul 09, 2025 12:49 pm
Forum: Money and Investment Questions
Topic: The continued viability of the 4% rule in the US in the 21st century
Replies: 301
Views: 59459

Re: The continued viability of the 4% rule in the US in the 21st century


- Hypothetically, the move for someone my age now is to sell a portion of my NVDA which has ballooned to 27% of my non-house net worth. But is that really a smart move? Let's say I live to 90 and I wake up in a moment of rare clarity in some white boxed hell hole and check the ticker and see it at ...
by Sclass
Fri Jul 04, 2025 11:46 am
Forum: Technical Skills & Tools Questions
Topic: Fixit Log
Replies: 1012
Views: 426702

Re: Fixit Log

I use a version of your princess jack for 99% of my lift needs. I love that thing. It’s just the right size for a small car and I can really throw it around compared to a 3 ton steel floor jack.

Yeah…I hate breaking out the money gun but sometimes you just have to bite the bullet. That was a lot ...
by Sclass
Mon Jun 30, 2025 5:02 pm
Forum: Money and Investment Questions
Topic: TSLA: Scenerios and Ranges
Replies: 11
Views: 2399

Re: TSLA: Scenerios and Ranges


Dreaming big is certainly better for raising money/stock price.


This reminded me of something. This is 100% correct. Uber did something like this pre ipo when their potential cab fare revenue couldn’t justify their volume of private investment in 2012. Fares weren’t a big enough market so they ...
by Sclass
Mon Jun 30, 2025 1:28 pm
Forum: Money and Investment Questions
Topic: TSLA: Scenerios and Ranges
Replies: 11
Views: 2399

Re: TSLA: Scenerios and Rang

I’m having trouble understanding how $4.20 cab rides can add up to significant profit. I estimate the car will take a year to pay for itself given energy cost, cleaning and tires. After that you’re making a hundred dollars a day after insurance, cab medallion, vehicle registration. Waymo charges 3x ...
by Sclass
Mon Jun 16, 2025 4:38 pm
Forum: Housing and Transportation Questions
Topic: What is a good learner car? (as in learning to fix and maintain yourself)
Replies: 48
Views: 16026

Re: What is a good learner car? (as in learning to fix and maintain yourself)

Hey that’s really cool. You nailed jobs that make up about 75% of modern car repair and maintenance. The timing belt on a Jetta is particularly unforgiving. I remember getting it one tooth off on my Rabbit and it wouldn’t run. So good going. I love the smell of saved money.

I was crawling under a ...
by Sclass
Fri Jun 13, 2025 8:22 pm
Forum: Technical Skills & Tools Questions
Topic: Fixit Log
Replies: 1012
Views: 426702

Re: Fixit Log

Huh. That’s a tough call.

You (of all people here) can weld that back together. You may have to flange it and add some extra tubing. It’s best to get it out of the car to see what you’re up against.

All the repair parts can be picked up at Canadian Tire. You can fit almost anything with some ...
by Sclass
Sat Jun 07, 2025 8:22 am
Forum: Technical Skills & Tools Questions
Topic: Fixit Log
Replies: 1012
Views: 426702

Re: Fixit Log

Diff plugs can be really stubborn on Mercedes cars. Additionally there is no way to get a long enough cheater bar on the plug without a lift. They use a hex socket head. One trick I have successfully used to get them out is to put a floor jack under the wrench and lift up the car against the arm of ...
by Sclass
Sat May 24, 2025 9:15 pm
Forum: Technical Skills & Tools Questions
Topic: Fixit Log
Replies: 1012
Views: 426702

Re: Fixit Log

Good tunes.

Used cars are expensive. This one is old and doesn’t get particularly good mpg but gas is still pretty cheap compared to vehicle depreciation on the average new car.

The car is actually a pretty nice vehicle. Some idiot paid $40,000 for it back in 1997. The seller’s late father. I ...
by Sclass
Fri May 23, 2025 9:35 pm
Forum: Technical Skills & Tools Questions
Topic: Fixit Log
Replies: 1012
Views: 426702

Re: Fixit Log

Changed the motor mounts in my Mercedes c280. I ordered two new motor mounts and a transmission mount for $150 on Amazon. The motor mounts were flattened down 1 cm compared to the new ones. The transmission crossmember mount was torn internally. Cracked. Thirty years and 148,000 miles wore out all ...
by Sclass
Mon May 19, 2025 7:48 am
Forum: Health and Food Questions
Topic: Tap water safety
Replies: 20
Views: 1275

Re: Tap water safety

I was shocked at how quickly municipal water killed my koi fish. I accidentally left the water running while refilling the pond and when I returned hours later the fish were half dead floating around on the water. The level was overflowing. Apparently the water can be added small amounts at a time ...
by Sclass
Sun May 18, 2025 8:47 pm
Forum: ERE Journals
Topic: SV Red Baron
Replies: 32
Views: 4449

Re: SV Red Baron

Yeah that’s a good point. I had a few chances to let pneumonia run its course on my mom. Maybe two years before her actual death.

As much as I wanted things to end I couldn’t take that action. I stretched things out till the last possible moment out of a kind of weakness that I mislabeled as love ...
by Sclass
Sun May 18, 2025 4:56 am
Forum: ERE Journals
Topic: SV Red Baron
Replies: 32
Views: 4449

Re: SV Red Baron

That’s a tough path for you. Sorry.

My mom was in late stage for two years. The path to death depends on whether she had events like falls, mini strokes, or respiratory disease. Each one was like a fall off a little cliff. She’d recover to some extent but never quite to where she was. Between the ...
by Sclass
Wed May 14, 2025 11:43 am
Forum: Money and Investment Questions
Topic: US long-term capital gains tax
Replies: 12
Views: 1673

Re: US long-term capital gains tax

FIRE is kind of over in the US as far as I can see. I like to see it alive and well here but for them most part average people have moved on to dream another dream in America. People have given up on the possibility of living on $48,000 a year. I don’t think it’s going to spread to the extent that ...
by Sclass
Sun May 04, 2025 5:18 pm
Forum: Technical Skills & Tools Questions
Topic: Fixit Log
Replies: 1012
Views: 426702

Re: Fixit Log

Fixed a cracked ball joint boot today. Caught it before the joint was too far gone.

I was down under the car looking for some unrelated issue that keeps dogging me. Suspension vibration. Turns out my idler arm bushing is very worn. The best way to find these worn steering parts is to get a partner ...
by Sclass
Wed Apr 23, 2025 1:04 pm
Forum: Friends, Family, Relationships, and Community Questions
Topic: Relationships and Guilt
Replies: 68
Views: 4319

Re: Relationships and Guilt

Remember our young forum mate, I think he went by TopHatFox, who was so successful while on historically female East Coast college campus, but then was gob-smacked by how much more difficult dating was once he was among the smaller fish in working world?


Yeah I do remember him. Forgot about his ...
by Sclass
Wed Apr 23, 2025 9:04 am
Forum: Friends, Family, Relationships, and Community Questions
Topic: Relationships and Guilt
Replies: 68
Views: 4319

Re: Relationships and Guilt

@7 I am not too sure you should be feeling responsible for this. Or maybe I’m misreading the OP?


Using values is a more nuanced lens than simple male/female imbalances due to e.g. one-child policies.


Yeah I’ve had discussions on both sides of this from Chinese women from china. There’s this ...
by Sclass
Sun Apr 20, 2025 7:30 am
Forum: Technical Skills & Tools Questions
Topic: Fixit Log
Replies: 1012
Views: 426702

Re: Fixit Log

No that’s cool. I’m sure everyone is curious how we are going to pay this stuff.

VAT is a good indicator of how that may all work. Automating with computers is likely the way forward. I think it hasn’t been implemented on Aliexpress because the rules keep changing.

There was a time prepandemic ...
by Sclass
Sat Apr 19, 2025 8:53 am
Forum: Technical Skills & Tools Questions
Topic: Fixit Log
Replies: 1012
Views: 426702

Re: Fixit Log

Yeah Aliexpress is a really fun shop for this kind of stuff. A lot of other stuff too. It is very cheap to have a “bag of tools” come in every two weeks. It’s less than a trip to the matinee and I get hours of fun. I’ve kind of become addicted to it. Fun for my brain but likely bad for the ...
by Sclass
Wed Apr 16, 2025 8:10 pm
Forum: Technical Skills & Tools Questions
Topic: Fixit Log
Replies: 1012
Views: 426702

Re: Fixit Log

https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/arduino/original/4X/3/a/f/3af885d37e95b6f0d5f8faf1e6d160e01e1cab9d.webp

The check engine light came on in my new (to me) Mercedes today. I was driving marveling at how well it ran. And boom the light comes on and I feel like the car is running on 5/6 cylinders ...