Topics

1

Politics / Impacts of the "S"word

« on: August 08, 2020, 10:31:16 AM »

I am 32 years away from collecting social security, at most of the frequent contributors to this thread one may be 15-17 years away. Sgt Dick 10-12 perhaps(sorry to call you out, old fart). Of this 15 year span, how comfortable are you that SS will be the same when you're of age? I think that specifically this span of people, "old" millennials and "young" gen x, are the last of a dying breed that don't want everything for free and actually pursue employment actively, which in turn keeps money flowing into SS.

If you combine that with our leaders in recent history "borrowing" from SS it doesn't look good. In trump's case I heard 54% of his spending came from the federal reserve(since yall were bringing up fucked up things trump has done that no one mentions, instead they just call him a racist), and the inflation that results from that will be worse than any tax. Gold/ silver have already skyrocketed so it's mostly too late to take that path. Jeez, early 2020 was the time for that......

Back to the topic: im lucky enough to have a pension. It's about 1/3 as good as a federal government one, but nothing compares to those. Ive put nearly 9 years into it, and it'll take 20 to be able to collect close to 1,000 a month at retirement age. That's the milestone I aim to achieve before changing employment to something where I don't travel as much. So, if I add SS on top of that that would be a  steady basis for a liveable income. There are a couple other things in the picture, but in a nutshell if I don't get SS then I'm not going to retire as comfortable as I planned.

Are any of you thinking about Roth IRAs? Who is thinking about self sufficiency and self preservation, and what are you doing?

2

Politics / Beirut Port Explosion

« on: August 04, 2020, 10:15:51 AM »

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1234533813555853&id=100009977371373

Holy shit.


https://youtu.be/vS1E5upLv0g

3

/dev/random / Isaias

« on: August 04, 2020, 08:59:21 AM »

Made landfall 50 minutes from my house. Power is out for 2-3 days. Neighbor is running my generator on my chest freezer for a couple hours each day, because I'm working in NJ and wife and kids are at my parents house(that's a first, evacuating to the hurricane Capitol of the world 🤣). Here in NJ it's hitting us. Power out, tornadoes, and fires. Sirens blaring every 5 minutes but all is good.

Here's where it made landfall:


https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1254940884837539&id=290340114630959&ref=content_filter

4

/dev/random / Honda Ridgeline

« on: April 22, 2020, 03:31:38 PM »

Has anyone owned one of these trucks or know someone who has? If so can you share any experience?

I am fairly informed about these vehicles. I know the downsides.... 1 crucial one is that they're not powerful. Literally poorly engineered which is why they get bad gas mileage (far worse than a Tacoma). It's a little bigger than a Tacoma with a smaller engine. People have bought them and use them for towing. If you hit the TINIEST hill then your tranny has to downshift 2 gears. The transmissions go out on them. If you don't tow then you're fine with that.

So I've been researching these things and shopping for 2 months straight, lol. I'll go into my thought process with how I kind of settled on this vehicle.

I'll start with saying that I own a 2004 Chevy Silverado, extended cab, 8ft long bed with the 5.3L v8, 4 wheel drive. That engine is wonderful and has an excellent reputation, I have 232,000 miles on it. I've kinda been a "Chevy guy" my whole life, although later I began to really like and respect Toyotas. My 97 Toyota Tacoma 17 years ago was a great truck. Toyotas and Hondas both have the big reputation for lasting forever overall, unless you have an exceptional engine like Chevy's 5.3.

That being said, this is my absolute dream truck:

https://www.carfax.com/vehicle/5TBBT58117S449827

To me that tundra is badass. Lasts forever everything I'm looking for. The problem is Toyota's reliability has caught on and the prices have inflated big time. That one is an ok deal though.

I travel a LOT. So I need something I can put miles on, but at the same time these are MUSTS for me:

1. Quad cab pick up
2. 4 wheel drive

I then stumbled upon the Honda Ridgeline. To me this is a similar concept to a Toyota truck, only they're not popular. A lot of people don't like how they look. In fact they didn't even make them in 2013-2015. So, the affordability is there, and the reliability is there IF they didn't use them for hauling loads. Like I said they're just not made for it, although advertised to do so. A local dealership was selling a 2007 Honda Ridgeline that had 183k miles for 6k, plus 500 in dealer costs. More miles than I wanted, 3 owners, but I test drove it and listened to the engine and was pleased. The dealer guy was a dick head to me and it ruined it for me. He was drunk and just had a divorce over Easter weekend, so I didn't have a good gut feeling. Had leather and navigation, read great but I said fuck you. KBB for one of those is 9.5k from a dealer with those miles. Anyway...

Another thing I noticed about these is space. Interior passenger volume is 112.5 cu ft, compared to 116 cu ft in an f150 super cab. So for a medium sized truck that's great. It also has this nifty space under the bed of the truck:



First thing I think of when I see that space is a nice spot to put one of my shotguns.

Also, this is what they look like:



A lot of people think they're ugly, but I think they're alright. So to overview: I'm a dad with 2 kids and a wife. Space is crucial, racking up miles is crucial, 4wd is crucial, and affordability is crucial. After an insanely tedious 2 months of shopping and research, I found a 2007 Ridgeline with 90,000 miles, 4 wheel drive, 1 owner, zero rust, and documented servicing on carfax every 3-4 thousand miles on the dot. No leather, no navigation, no moon roof. I'll buy leather seat covers so that's fine. It's 8,900 dollars. If you've been shopping around as much as I have this is a great deal with an already affordable truck. I've seen 285,000+ miles 20 times just today, but here's the norm for pricing on one of these things:

https://www.carfax.com/vehicle/2HJYK165X8H513233

And here's one with similar miles to the one I found:

https://www.carfax.com/vehicle/5FPYK1F50EB004359

I figure I'd share my thought process and see if anyone around here has any experience with them. Lesser informed opinions are welcome.

5

Outdoor Activities / Outdoor projects while self-isolating due to covid-19

« on: April 05, 2020, 07:55:17 PM »

I've been feeling pretty bad for my 4 year old not being able to do much so I built him this slide out of scrap wood and pallets. I added a balance beam the next day to it.

6

Outdoor Activities / Alternatives to grocery stores

« on: March 25, 2020, 06:16:04 AM »

With covid-19 spreading around we decided to go with online food delivery services. I've ordered Omaha steaks before but was disappointed. It's pricey, meat from grocery store tastes better most of the time, and worst of all the meat is SMALL. They say it's 6 or 8 oz when really it's half that and the size of a hockey puck. SO, this time I did my homework a little better. We ordered from these places:

Meat: https://www.butcherbox.com/

Produce: https://theproducebox.com/

Produce box is specific to North Carolina, but there's probably something similar in your area as well. Packages start at 29$ bi-weekly so it's pretty darn good of you ask me.

My expectations are pretty high for butcher box. Beef, chicken, and pork that is grass fed, vegetarian fed, free range, never indoors, no hormones/antibiotics, most humane conditions possible, etc. Things like wild caught Alaskan sockeye salmon are available as well. Butcher box is a subscription, but it's very easy to alter your subscription with your online account once you join. You can delay future deliveries indefinitely or just cancel for free anytime you want.

Here is thorough review that compares prices to popular grocery stores, taste, etc:

https://thecleaneatingcouple.com/is-butcherbox-worth-it/

And this is an "unboxing" video, where you see what the meat looks like upon delivery on dry ice:


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lWoRyqwL0yU

Mine should be arriving in a couple of days. I can tell y'all my own review when it does, BUT, keep in mind that these meat delivery services are getting SLAMMED right now and orders are starting to take longer than normal.

I didn't have any discounts or coupons when I bought mine, but now that I'm a member if I refer someone we both get $30 off. Boxes range from 135 to $270, so that 30 off isn't bad.

7

/dev/random / The Official 2019-2020 Season Football Thread

« on: August 24, 2019, 07:30:17 AM »

It's that time, and I actually get to watch some games today. Downtime at work for the first time on this rotation so I'll leave here at about lunch time.

Florida is better, but Miami has great athleticism as usual. Combine that with it being a semi-rivalry game, everyone's fresh, and first game jitters it'll probably be a close one. Rooting for Miami to help the ACC's strength of schedule.

Only other game today is Arizona Hawaii.

Oh damn. I just saw the game is at 7pm. Now I'll be pretty bored this afternoon.

A big thanks to Rivera for taking the preseason game against the pats seriously playing every starter and Cam Newton walking out of the stadium in a boot.

8

/dev/random / 2019 NCAA basketball tournament thread

« on: March 27, 2019, 08:27:24 PM »

The sweet 16 starts tomorrow. Tar Heels are taking it all. I'll post my bracket tomorrow morning need some sleep.

9

/dev/random / Omaha Steaks

« on: February 12, 2019, 07:35:03 PM »

There's a shit ton of omaha-steak-like companies now. After browsing around it appears this one is the best:

http://www.snakeriverfarms.com

But damn are they expensive. APPARENTLY Omaha has improved over the years also. They also don't break the bank. The last time I thought about them it was just "omaha" everything. Now there's grass fed, prime, private select, wagyu, whatever. Do any of y'all have any experience with the quality of the newer stuff from them? I already know about the stupid prices. 50% off is actually the normal price, so really you need it to be close to 80% off + free shipping to get any kind of deal from them. But does it taste any good? February is when you can get the biggest discount.

10

/dev/random / Is SNL getting worse?

« on: October 22, 2018, 07:40:55 AM »

The Chris Farley and Adam Sandler era was silly and hilarious. I recall the skits showing George W and Gore debate, and Biden and Palin. I remember those being funny as heck. The bill Clinton impersonations were funny. But their Trump skits just suck. Is it just me? I actually laugh at him all the time. How and the hell is it funnier to watch HIM than a comedic skit of him!? 

Maybe it is just me. I just feel that if the script was a tad more clever and funny they could roast Trump big time. Instead it's like they're trying to goad him into tweeting something stupid. Maybe it's because alec Baldwin sucks too.

11

Politics / Kavanaugh

« on: September 28, 2018, 07:22:42 PM »

 I am so sick of this being in our news headlines. Damn it.

The right portrays him as a saint that has done no wrong ever, and the left portrays him as a no good rapist.

Since you think this guy is such a scum bag do you feel all of his decisions as an appeals court judge should be revoked? If he's not fit to be on the supreme court he's not fit for the appeals court.. Right?

12

/dev/random / Hurricane Florence

« on: September 10, 2018, 06:42:19 PM »

Doesn't look good. Eye is still set to go over my house at cat 4. Literally dead center on the track. 

13

Outdoor Activities / Fire ants

« on: May 11, 2018, 08:25:26 PM »

I don't even know where to begin.... They suck. I've had some bad luck with them recently. I got eaten alive in Florida. Two months ago and I still have purple scars. I took a leak on their mound and they took it the wrong way. All over my feet and ankles. For those of you unfamiliar with fire ants there's different kinds but a common theme is dark red inflammation and a puss filled white head. With lots of initial pain then itching afterward.

Then I come home to southern NC(I grew up on an island where we DONT HAVE FUCKING FIRE ANTS) and I see these fucking mounds around these oak logs I cut up a few months ago. I see ants but think nothing of it. Ants are all little pricks, but only fire ants are massive cunts. I had only experienced fire ants in Florida and Georgia. Georgia they're HUGE, but these are the worst I've seen. I'm taking a chain saw to 2-3 ft diameter logs then I suddenly realize that this shit is so ant infested that the chain rewinding is literally flinging ants at me. I look down and I'm covered. Apparently fire ants don't like getting chainsawed, I got bit 50 times or so. The dozen bites on my ankle made it swell up so much it looked like I broke it. And speaking of broke, I can broke my toe the other day. Can't get a fucking break with my feet.

I'm really mad at this point. I set large portions of my yard on fire with gasoline. After saturating areas with gas, I walked around with a blow torch in one hand and a beer in the other delivering justice on these bastards.

14

/dev/random / Fast food

« on: May 07, 2018, 07:09:50 PM »

I don't like fast food in general. But, what is your favorite? For me its Publix subs, jersey mikes, chick fil A, and cookout.

15

/dev/random / Mind bending test

« on: April 07, 2018, 07:38:03 PM »

I see these so much and somehow everyone seems to get them wrong. What's your answer?