Toshi's thread
- Thread starter Toshi
- Start date
1) Mariko may have issues with ski/boot sizing this year. Last year I got her 70 cm skis since they work with the 194 mm (iirc) BSL of her Mondo 14.5 sized ski boots, which are literally the smallest made.
This upcoming season she should be on something like 100 cm skis. (The 70s were already too short in terms of gliding by the end of the season.) It looks like the smallest BSL accommodated by the bindings on the 100 cm ski/binding setups that I have found corresponds to something like a 17.5 boot. I'm not sure she'll fit that.
Hmm. Perhaps her feet will grow posthaste.
2) TIL that Bank of America's phone tree is infuriating. Took many a minute to navigate, and "sure" is not recognized as "yes." I had to call them because their automatic payment system that I'm enrolled in (one of many), PayPlan, can only be managed by calling them up. No web service, and no clear indication of this except for in one fee description:
https://www.bankofamerica.com/home-loans/mortgage-servicing-fees.go
Anyway, I took your collective advice and altered my mortgage payment withdrawal date to the 8th of the month. Late enough to not have any issues with slightly late monthly direct deposits clearing, but not so late that a screwup on their end would be too late to catch and pay manually.
3) I already had set up the withdrawal from my taxable investment account for the amount of next month's mortgage payment. Rather than punting it right back into the taxable account after this month's payday comes (along with balancing the books for the month itself) I think I'm going to do something a bit rash with this money: invest in cryptocurrency.
I'm thinking 1/3rd each in Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ether: https://cointelegraph.com/news/investors-who-missed-bitcoin-rally-go-for-ether-monero-litecoin
The rationale for this rash move is that I'm fine with the value of the investment going to 0, yet there's good upside potential as well. Certainly better expected value than $Nk in Powerball tickets...
4) This cryptocurrency business (another account with another password--definitely using a unique one for this along with strong 2-factor authentication!) reminds me that I need to go and update my Get Your Shit Together document that lists bank accounts, online passwords, life insurance policies, etc. Not that I'm planning to die anytime soon but I'd hate to see assets lost sight of in a period of chaos.
https://www.gyst.com/ for those who haven't made their own will and the like
This upcoming season she should be on something like 100 cm skis. (The 70s were already too short in terms of gliding by the end of the season.) It looks like the smallest BSL accommodated by the bindings on the 100 cm ski/binding setups that I have found corresponds to something like a 17.5 boot. I'm not sure she'll fit that.
Hmm. Perhaps her feet will grow posthaste.
2) TIL that Bank of America's phone tree is infuriating. Took many a minute to navigate, and "sure" is not recognized as "yes." I had to call them because their automatic payment system that I'm enrolled in (one of many), PayPlan, can only be managed by calling them up. No web service, and no clear indication of this except for in one fee description:
https://www.bankofamerica.com/home-loans/mortgage-servicing-fees.go
Anyway, I took your collective advice and altered my mortgage payment withdrawal date to the 8th of the month. Late enough to not have any issues with slightly late monthly direct deposits clearing, but not so late that a screwup on their end would be too late to catch and pay manually.
3) I already had set up the withdrawal from my taxable investment account for the amount of next month's mortgage payment. Rather than punting it right back into the taxable account after this month's payday comes (along with balancing the books for the month itself) I think I'm going to do something a bit rash with this money: invest in cryptocurrency.
I'm thinking 1/3rd each in Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ether: https://cointelegraph.com/news/investors-who-missed-bitcoin-rally-go-for-ether-monero-litecoin
The rationale for this rash move is that I'm fine with the value of the investment going to 0, yet there's good upside potential as well. Certainly better expected value than $Nk in Powerball tickets...
4) This cryptocurrency business (another account with another password--definitely using a unique one for this along with strong 2-factor authentication!) reminds me that I need to go and update my Get Your Shit Together document that lists bank accounts, online passwords, life insurance policies, etc. Not that I'm planning to die anytime soon but I'd hate to see assets lost sight of in a period of chaos.
https://www.gyst.com/ for those who haven't made their own will and the like
binding can be re-mounted to fit almost any boot. at her size/age, you should do the annual rental (Larson's) where you pay a flat fee and they take care of everything, and replace small stuff with new larger stuff as she grows.
With 2 kids and a possible 3rd kid in the mix I'd rather buy and the resell when done.
Good to know re remounting. Wasn't sure if that was always an option.
Pettiness quantified, provoked by the wife headed out to a comedy show with her friends tonight. Did I mention she'll be gone Friday-Monday in Vegas by herself? I asked if she knew about the Vegas timing before she scheduled this, and she saw nothing odd in her actions, then griped at me for being gone riding and at rehearsals.
To take up JK's facetious suggestion to make a spreadsheet I'm going to see how things have played out on our calendar from January 1 through the end of June. Elective absences, as opposed to medical visits and scheduled rehearsals for groups:
Jessica: 18 evenings + 17 short weekday or vacation day mornings + 4 full weekend days
Toshi: 8 evenings working volunteer evening shifts for pay + 2.5 days of a conference where I admittedly just goofed around in the Everglades and Keys + 5 half day weekend rides + 2 work dinners
I think my grievances are valid, especially since my evening shifts are me working. I don't think she realizes how often she has been gone for her spin and Barre classes...
To take up JK's facetious suggestion to make a spreadsheet I'm going to see how things have played out on our calendar from January 1 through the end of June. Elective absences, as opposed to medical visits and scheduled rehearsals for groups:
Jessica: 18 evenings + 17 short weekday or vacation day mornings + 4 full weekend days
Toshi: 8 evenings working volunteer evening shifts for pay + 2.5 days of a conference where I admittedly just goofed around in the Everglades and Keys + 5 half day weekend rides + 2 work dinners
I think my grievances are valid, especially since my evening shifts are me working. I don't think she realizes how often she has been gone for her spin and Barre classes...
Happily married men never keep score because they have already accepted their fate. Resistance is futile, you cannot win.
This is probably true. Still better to get gripes out in the open instead of letting them simmer. She was apparently thinking of last summer, where I did average one weekend ride per week. This year thus far I've only ridden on the weekend for 4 mornings + 1 holiday morning, since I've been riding on weekdays more...
We still haven't gone down that third kid road yet, but I felt like doing something since Jessica clearly dislikes driving the Land Cruiser. (I took the Land Cruiser biking today despite having the hitch on the RAV4 EV as well since she wanted the smaller vehicle to cart the kids to the pool. No one propositioned me or offered to buy it--weird.
)Anyway, what I did today was send out email inquiries to the ~20 dealers between Cañon City and Cheyenne to see who will deal... on a Pacifica (plug-in) Hybrid. Why?
1) Won't ship for a long while. Recall just announced for a diode in a hybrid powertrain module and thus there is a stop-sale.
2) Having such a thing in service this tax year would be nice.
3) Wife probably would like driving it better than the Land Cruiser, what with the around-view 360 degree camera setup and the electricness-for-33-miles.
4) Steering wheel cruise controls are identical to Honda's (i.e., different from Toyota's), plus said cruise control works in stop and go traffic unlike Honda's.
5) With $12.5k in Federal and State tax incentives it's about $12.5k less than a top of the line Odyssey, which is not chump change.
The problem with asking dealers to play ball on this particular vehicle is that invoice and MSRP are separated by all of $100. I've gotten an offer for invoice thus far, but $100 isn't worth traveling 83 miles each way out to Limon...
Update: Also got a invoice/$100 under MSRP offer up in Thornton.
Update 2: Invoice - $1000 down in Colorado Springs at Perkins. I challenged the Thornton dealer to match this, apparently to no avail.
Update 3: Perkins is a 15 minute walk from a Bustang South Line station. I could ride from home to the local A Line station, take the train to Union Station, then the Bustang to Colorado Springs. The question is of whether this is worth my time but I like trains and buses (and whiling away time on the tethered iPad along the way). I'd rather do this than Uber, not to mention it'd cost $14.60, a solid order of magnitude cheaper than an Uber Select ride. I could even take the bike the whole way as Bustang buses have bike racks as do the A Line train cars: http://www.ridebustang.com/faq#n83
Last edited:
I saw my first Tesla outside of Sam's Club today, it was the big 4 door. I couldn't even hear it roll. You should get one of those.
I've test driven it. Swoopy sedans and my big head do not agree. Also it's eligible for exactly the same amount of incentives while being twice or more as much to start. Nope nope nope.
Jessica's in Vegas from tonight through Monday afternoon.
I think I'm going to drive through Rocky Mountain National Park (counterclockwise, coming back down through Georgetown, etc.) tomorrow with the kids in the Land Cruiser. Trail Ridge Rd is open, even if Old Fall River Rd isn't.
Sunday... Mt Evans? Guanella Pass?
As long as I keep them fed and hydrated (and have a portable tiny potty in the car for when Yuna inevitably calls out that she wants to pee imminently) they will tolerate it, and I'd like to see such things. I'm not terribly excited about hiking in the snow but perhaps they can trek around in it a bit at RMNP. In any case it beats lounging around a crowded community pool here in Stapleton.
I think I'm going to drive through Rocky Mountain National Park (counterclockwise, coming back down through Georgetown, etc.) tomorrow with the kids in the Land Cruiser. Trail Ridge Rd is open, even if Old Fall River Rd isn't.
Sunday... Mt Evans? Guanella Pass?
As long as I keep them fed and hydrated (and have a portable tiny potty in the car for when Yuna inevitably calls out that she wants to pee imminently) they will tolerate it, and I'd like to see such things. I'm not terribly excited about hiking in the snow but perhaps they can trek around in it a bit at RMNP. In any case it beats lounging around a crowded community pool here in Stapleton.
Who will do the dishes?
That reminds me that I should go up to feed the kitten lest he chew everything up.
Same deal today, only she wanted the RAV4 EV for carting Mariko off to camp instead. This reinforces to me that my crazy plan to replace perhaps the most reliable vehicle on the road with one of the least is sane.
The timing of this recall and stop-sale might actually work out in that 2018 ordering may open up shortly. I'd like a 2018 if possible as it has Apple CarPlay support.
In other news, I had a good ride: https://www.strava.com/activities/1058512979 . Whilst navel-gazing on the push up from the creek after Longhorn I took a look at my tires instead, and found that while the front indeed is a Wide Trail type as queried by @6thElement (27.5 x 2.5" EXO maxx grip) the rear is not (27.5 x 2.4" EXO 3C). Go figure.
Other fun facts from the Strava stats: I am in the 97.4th percentile for my speed up Round Up uphill. Higher would be slower.
My Road Jump time still has me tied for 3rd place overall (with mtg, no less!) but this is less impressive since it is downhill and 0.1 mile long (and probably lots of GPS margin of error in the stop/start time calculation!). Even though I felt fast on the Maverick and Longhorn descents I was still a few seconds off of my PRs and quite a bit off of @Full Trucker's times. I think I'll move on from White Ranch (and Mountain Lion) for a bit. Chimpex doesn't appeal to me much since I don't live in Golden and would rather not waste a third of the miles on roads and paved bike paths. Dakota Ridge is honestly a bit too rocky. Maybe Deer Creek a few weeks in a row...
Let me know when/if you're Deer Creeking. I could stand to ride my bike more...
This is a pretty damn fun lap at "Just Apex"...
https://www.strava.com/activities/1058968146/
https://www.strava.com/activities/1058968146/
@Toshi - Let me know when/if you're Bergen Peaking. I could stand to ride my bike more...
Ya, Bergen was fun when I tried it for the first time last week. Nice and cool at the 9600ft summit too.
Yes. Comment away! This is a thread for all comers, including those I never get to ride with.
(Actually, you probably wouldn't want to ride with me unless you really like taking a snooze waiting for me on the climbs!)
I think last time @Full Trucker, @Nick, and I rode together it was at Bergen Peak. And I don't remember Truck being too irritated by the nap he got at the top waiting for me.Yes. Comment away! This is a thread for all comers, including those I never get to ride with.
(Actually, you probably wouldn't want to ride with me unless you really like taking a snooze waiting for me on the climbs!)
At this hour Google Maps says 38 minutes from my house to the trailhead. Not too bad. White Ranch lower lot is 31 minutes and Mountain Lion/Nott Creek trailhead is 55, for comparison.
The next time I can ride is Sunday, July 9. Probably around 8:15 at the Elk Meadow trailhead. Anyone game? @stoney?
As soon as ordering opens up (in theory early next month) I'm going to order a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. Minivan life, here we come! (whether or not that third kid oft threatened materializes)
The prior musings what with the recall and stop sale were regarding the 2017. The 2018 has the same faulty diode problem pending fixing with the recall but gets some other things that I want (CarPlay support, better stereo) for just about the same price. Since both of them would be a wait at this point might as well hold out for a 2018 and hope that it is delivered this tax year.
After the various and sundry tax credits this will be a $35ish k + sales tax vehicle, and I'm comfortable with that, especially since I'm still holding out hope I can get over $20k for the Land Cruiser + its extra wheelset since it's so pretty.
I also made a deal with Jessica that I may or may not have already mentioned in this thread due to my senility, that if the FCA vehicle ever leaves her stranded I'll sell it and get her a Toyota or a Lexus without a question. She's not likely to venture past cell reception by herself and UberXL can always come and rescue her and the kids +/- some wrangling with the carseats if it came to that. Hell, maybe by that time Toyota will get off its corporate ass and start selling a PHEV Sienna...
The prior musings what with the recall and stop sale were regarding the 2017. The 2018 has the same faulty diode problem pending fixing with the recall but gets some other things that I want (CarPlay support, better stereo) for just about the same price. Since both of them would be a wait at this point might as well hold out for a 2018 and hope that it is delivered this tax year.
After the various and sundry tax credits this will be a $35ish k + sales tax vehicle, and I'm comfortable with that, especially since I'm still holding out hope I can get over $20k for the Land Cruiser + its extra wheelset since it's so pretty.
I also made a deal with Jessica that I may or may not have already mentioned in this thread due to my senility, that if the FCA vehicle ever leaves her stranded I'll sell it and get her a Toyota or a Lexus without a question. She's not likely to venture past cell reception by herself and UberXL can always come and rescue her and the kids +/- some wrangling with the carseats if it came to that. Hell, maybe by that time Toyota will get off its corporate ass and start selling a PHEV Sienna...
I returned the kitten.
No, really: it went back to the vet. He was overly fond of scratching and biting, and I had prior knowledge of how kittens should act since I had two growing up. My wife didn't believe me, but came around after she dropped the kitten off for a play date with his litter mates at the vet today during which the vet had to separate him since he was playing too rough with other cats (!).
So now we have one of his brothers instead. Much more of a chill cat, more my style and not driving the kids to tears as did the first one.
No, really: it went back to the vet. He was overly fond of scratching and biting, and I had prior knowledge of how kittens should act since I had two growing up. My wife didn't believe me, but came around after she dropped the kitten off for a play date with his litter mates at the vet today during which the vet had to separate him since he was playing too rough with other cats (!).
So now we have one of his brothers instead. Much more of a chill cat, more my style and not driving the kids to tears as did the first one.
Next two rides planned:
Wednesday July 12 Lair o' the Bear
Thursday July 20 Blue Grouse-Mule Deer loop at Golden Gate Canyon SP to copy the feuding stoney + GG crew's ride from today
Anyone who is randomly free during the day is free to join. This will probably be 9:45-10 AM at the trailhead since I'm dropping off the elder kid at camp both of those days.
No weekends: For better or worse given the ever-present hikers I am on call this weekend (as in actually at the hospital, working all day) and then it appears I'm babysitting on Saturday July 22 in the morning (and working that evening), and on the 23rd we fly out to Hawaii for a bit.
Edit: Not going to ride during the week for a bit. Instead I'll be a good boy and actually sit in my office for a while on those days, like I'm supposed to be doing.
Wednesday July 12 Lair o' the Bear
Thursday July 20 Blue Grouse-Mule Deer loop at Golden Gate Canyon SP to copy the feuding stoney + GG crew's ride from today
Anyone who is randomly free during the day is free to join. This will probably be 9:45-10 AM at the trailhead since I'm dropping off the elder kid at camp both of those days.
No weekends: For better or worse given the ever-present hikers I am on call this weekend (as in actually at the hospital, working all day) and then it appears I'm babysitting on Saturday July 22 in the morning (and working that evening), and on the 23rd we fly out to Hawaii for a bit.
Edit: Not going to ride during the week for a bit. Instead I'll be a good boy and actually sit in my office for a while on those days, like I'm supposed to be doing.
Last edited:
What's this story?
I don't know, but stoney mentioned it and Strava confirms the GG group ride and stoney (+ Dennis?) were on the same route yesterday morning. Drama!
I do not like Cherry Creek. Cars and people within them are all too similar to those on Long Island (S Classes, Range Rovers, etc.). I thought I escaped that!
I also do not like people (in my own neighborhood) who go out of turn at 4 way stops and then proceed to turn left into the wrong lane, almost hitting me.
I do not like many things, it is true.
On the upside, I did see a W220 (so 1998-2006) S Class in Cherry Creek with two bike racks on the roof, a post-refresh (so last three years or so) 200 series Land Cruiser, and a 2008-2013 Lexus LX 570 with an aftermarket front bumper and winch.
I also do not like people (in my own neighborhood) who go out of turn at 4 way stops and then proceed to turn left into the wrong lane, almost hitting me.
I do not like many things, it is true.
On the upside, I did see a W220 (so 1998-2006) S Class in Cherry Creek with two bike racks on the roof, a post-refresh (so last three years or so) 200 series Land Cruiser, and a 2008-2013 Lexus LX 570 with an aftermarket front bumper and winch.
I just completed refinancing my wife's student loans, again.
In 2016 I refinanced them via SoFi from horrible 6.8/7.9% Federal rates to 2.44% variable x 7 years. Since then LIBOR has gone up such that it was up to 3.24%.
Ain't nobody got time for that, so I refinanced the 6 years remaining with another outfit, ELFI, now 2.39% variable x 5 years. This is similarly tied to LIBOR but with 0.85% less float in their pocket.
In 2016 I refinanced them via SoFi from horrible 6.8/7.9% Federal rates to 2.44% variable x 7 years. Since then LIBOR has gone up such that it was up to 3.24%.
Ain't nobody got time for that, so I refinanced the 6 years remaining with another outfit, ELFI, now 2.39% variable x 5 years. This is similarly tied to LIBOR but with 0.85% less float in their pocket.
I just checked... I have less than 8-1/2 years left on my mortgage. It's the only debt I have.
Doin' it right. Unfortunately I'm still in the thick of it.I just checked... I have less than 8-1/2 years left on my mortgage. It's the only debt I have.
RAV4 EV car note should be done in 2021, I believe. (It's 1.24% so essentially free money.)
Wife's refinanced student loans will be done in 2022. She has another small, low fixed rate loan that I may drag out or pay off at that time.
I'll be up for Public Service Loan Forgiveness for my own student loans in January 2024--it's marked on my calendar. (The forgiven amount will make my effective rate something like 0.5% overall, iirc.)
Then there's the mortgage, which will be done in 2046 (30 year fixed)... except that I'll refinance it in the 2022-2024 range, maybe once in 2022 and again in 2024 post discharge of my loans. Have I mentioned that our student loan payments in total are larger than my mortgage payment? Gah.
Mortgage... Student debt...
