[Toshi]

I should have jumped on that Sage 2.375% and locked then... now I'm scrounging to try to lock today with them at 2.500% if that's possible, with slightly lower fees. Gah, volatility.

Meanwhile the PennyMac rate table is awful today in comparison (ZIP 80478, conforming limit, < 80% LTV, SFH, second house, 30 years fixed).

 

[SkaredShtles]

"Get a million dollars worth of mortgage debt," they said.

"It'll be fun," they said.

 

[Toshi]

"Get a million dollars worth of mortgage debt," they said.

"It'll be fun," they said.

Counterpoint is that the best available current valuations put both of my houses as worth near a cool million each…

 

[Westy]

Counterpoint is that the best available current valuations put both of my houses as worth near a cool million each…

*Morning market capitalization

 

[Toshi]

I should have jumped on that Sage 2.375% and locked then... now I'm scrounging to try to lock today with them at 2.500% if that's possible, with slightly lower fees. Gah, volatility.

So Sage has turned out to be scumbags.

Original quote through Bankrate was for 0 points and $1,579 in lender credits. On the phone the lender credits were even more by a few hundred.

Then the loan estimate hits today and all of a sudden it has $1,762 in points, a $3,500 broker compensation fee, and 0 in lender credits.

Yeah, nah, I won't be going forward with that transaction at those terms…





Overview for the peanut gallery:

Denver:

- refi in progress through Better, 1.750% x 15 years for $779 in points, reasonable other fees, no other fuckery that I can detect
- HELOC at 2.24% is open and will be subordinated to the new primary note

Tabernash:

- shall not be progressing with Sage at the above terms
- will check back in with PennyMac on Monday to see if rates have come down
- will subordinate the bad-rate Key HELOC if I refi but probably will do the HELOC to HELOC shell game in the meantime
- should be listed on the various STR sites by the end of the month! with deck work still to do in September

Tabernash update as of 8/13: going forward with the jumbo refinance after all, as that eliminates one headache, likely doesn't require paying down the current loans at all if the high estimated valuation holds up on appraisal, and the rate environment shifted slightly better. Locked at 2.990% fixed x 30 years, $869 lender credit against reasonable fees, appraisal not waived. I'm also taking cash out to the new conforming limit on the Denver 1.750% refinance, too, so might not even need to tap the Denver HELOC at all!

 

[Toshi]

GM Teases Two New Zero-Emission Commercial Vehicles, a Truck and a Van

Electric Chevy cargo van and hydrogen fuel-cell truck could replace or complement the current Express van and the Silverado 4500HD.

www.caranddriver.com

@rideit

600 cu ft cargo, 250 mile targeted range. This could be a #vanlife EV contender! Certainly better range than the e-Transit.

 

[Toshi]

attn @Changleen

For Many, Hydrogen Is the Fuel of the Future. New Research Raises Doubts. (Published 2021)

Industry has been promoting hydrogen as a reliable, next-generation fuel to power cars, heat homes and generate electricity. It may, in fact, be worse for the climate than previously thought.

www.nytimes.com

To arrive at their conclusion, Dr. Howarth and Mark Z. Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford and director of its Atmosphere/Energy program, examined the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of blue hydrogen. They accounted for both carbon dioxide emissions and the methane that leaks from wells and other equipment during natural gas production.

The researchers assumed that 3.5 percent of the gas drilled from the ground leaks into the atmosphere, an assumption that draws on mounting research that has found that drilling for natural gas emits far more methane than previously known.

They also took into account the natural gas required to power the carbon capture technology. In all, they found that the greenhouse gas footprint of blue hydrogen was more than 20 percent greater than burning natural gas or coal for heat.

 

[Changleen]

Yes, this article is all about ‘Blue’ hydrogen, that made with (normally) steam-reformed natural gas with carbon capture. It is indeed not very climate friendly in practice because big oil doesn’t give a shit. It could be better if they actually took care of leaking well-heads, crappy inefficient piping and modern proper CCS. Of course they don’t. IMO we shouldn’t use blue, only proper ‘green’ (no carbon involved) and actually this is what is happening.
This article is kinda ‘behind’ what is happening. Your DoE is spending buckets on green, as is most of the rest of the world.

 

[Westy]

Hydrogen is just energy storage. US production of electricity from non carbon sources is less than 40%. Until that number goes way up, energy storage isn't the issue.

 

[Changleen]

To me, green hydrogen is about decarbonising the sectors of the economy that battery doesn’t work for. That’s the useful and urgent part of this; steel making, concrete, trains, shipping. Just there you’ve knocked about 20% of worldwide carbon emissions out.
We need to make hydrogen cheaply and abundantly for these uses and it’s pretty close now. It needs scale, which is actively being built now, and a few improvements in electrolyser/fuel cell tech, which many people are working on, and we’re getting there.

 

[Changleen]

Westy is right, hydrogen is simply an energy carrier. In these cases we’re taking energy from the sun or wind and storing it as hydrogen. The use cases for this are complementary to battery, and do stuff battery can’t, like remove the need for coal in steel making, where we use hydrogen as the preferential oxidant rather than carbon.

 

[Toshi]

 

[Westy]

Get a second set of neighbors they said, it will be fun they said.

 

[SkaredShtles]

This is in relation to the migratory birds?

 

[Toshi]

This is in relation to the migratory birds?

uh huh

 

[SkaredShtles]

 

[Toshi]

Hopefully I can fill the house with a steady stream of renters so as to both enrage him more and enrich me

 

[SkaredShtles]

Hopefully I can fill the house with a steady stream of renters so as to both enrage him more and enrich me

Wait - did I miss some neighbor shenanigans??

 

[Toshi]

Wait - did I miss some neighbor shenanigans??

Oh, no, just him being a jerk about the swallows since about late May.

 

[Pesqueeb]

 

[SkaredShtles]

Oh, no, just him being a jerk about the swallows since about late May.

What did he want you to do? Kill 'em?

 

[6thElement]

I'd just ask them all to move to his house.

 

[Toshi]

What did he want you to do? Kill 'em?

Yup. And when I declined to do so then he immediately unleashed the invective about how I was so selfish and negligent, etc. etc. Went straight to asshole mode.

 

[Toshi]

I'd just ask them all to move to his house.

View attachment 163585

I was considering getting a nice canvas print of a bird photo to gift to him

 

[SkaredShtles]

Yup. And when I declined to do so then he immediately unleashed the invective about how I was so selfish and negligent, etc. etc. Went straight to asshole mode.

You did point out, I presume, that it is a federal crime?

Also:

 

[Toshi]

Popped on a new cassette to match the new chain from the other day, did a quick Di2 microadjust, and it still shifts like shit. Verified that I indeed had ordered an 11 speed chain, and that the OEM fitment was an 11-46 cassette.

Time to cry uncle and drop it off at Golden Bike Shop for a tune instead of riding on Thursday. Perhaps I've tweaked the hanger or the derailleur itself. I'll get them to wrangle on a new rear tire while they're at it.

 

[Toshi]

Swallow detritus has now officially been dealt with. The pest control guy agreed with me that the neighbor is an asshole. He was heckling the crew for the first two days, apparently.

 

[Westy]

Swallow detritus has now officially been dealt with. The pest control guy agreed with me that the neighbor is an asshole. He was heckling the crew for the first two days, apparently.

You should offer a discounted rental rates to Audubon Society members.

 

[SkaredShtles]

Swallow detritus has now officially been dealt with. The pest control guy agreed with me that the neighbor is an asshole. He was heckling the crew for the first two days, apparently.

Keep in mind - those swallows will be back in the spring, and you are *not* allowed to interfere with their nest-building activities, should they decide they like it there on your Mountain Mansion.

 

[Toshi]

Keep in mind - those swallows will be back in the spring, and you are *not* allowed to interfere with their nest-building activities, should they decide they like it there on your Mountain Mansion.

Apparently it's fair game to whack their nests until May 15. But hopefully won't be much at all of an issue with the new flashing and all along the roofline that they so favored.

 

[SkaredShtles]

Apparently it's fair game to whack their nests until May 15. But hopefully won't be much at all of an issue with the new flashing and all along the roofline that they so favored.

You should allow them to nest (if they're so inclined)... do it for the neighbor!

 

[Toshi]

Popped on a new cassette to match the new chain from the other day, did a quick Di2 microadjust, and it still shifts like shit. Verified that I indeed had ordered an 11 speed chain, and that the OEM fitment was an 11-46 cassette.

Time to cry uncle and drop it off at Golden Bike Shop for a tune instead of riding on Thursday. Perhaps I've tweaked the hanger or the derailleur itself. I'll get them to wrangle on a new rear tire while they're at it.

Turns out I’m just an idiot

Didn’t quite thread the lock ring on straight so the cassette had play relative to the freehub. Plus chain was a link too long: I’d not used the master link last time and it was good but with it this time too much.

All resolved without having to drop off the bike, which is good since they’re scheduling into September at this point.

 

[Westy]

Turns out I’m just an idiot

Didn’t quite thread the lock ring on straight so the cassette had play relative to the freehub. Plus chain was a link too long: I’d not used the master link last time and it was good but with it this time too much.

All resolved without having to drop off the bike, which is good since they’re scheduling into September at this point.

Just a link too long???

 

[Toshi]

Just a link too long???

I think the cassette wobbliness was 99% of the issue for sure.

 

[Westy]

I think the cassette wobbliness was 99% of the issue for sure.

I was being pedantic as chains always have an even number of links unless you are going with some weird single speed chain.

SRAM drivetrains however are extremely sensitive to chain length and B-Screw adjustment, if that is what you have one of these doohickeys is pretty important.

As is properly mounting the cassette.

 

[SkaredShtles]

I was being pedantic as chains always have an even number of links unless you are going with some weird single speed chain.

SRAM drivetrains however are extremely sensitive to chain length and B-Screw adjustment, if that is what you have one of these doohickeys is pretty important.

View attachment 163746

As is properly mounting the cassette.

Those b-screw adjustment doohickey's are really quite something... once I figured out how to use it.

 

[Toshi]

 

[Nick]

that appears to be Mountain Lion. Jes?

 

[6thElement]

Parking lot is. The trail appears to be the start of the single-track climb proper after going past the pond?

 

[Toshi]

Parking lot is. The trail appears to be the start of the single-track climb proper after going past the pond?

sí, was ML

photo was at the second switchback on the real climb after pond and road. The flat rock one, then this, then the shale steep one (made the turn but picked poorly in line choice 10 feet later), the extended steep climb, the last steep and rooty left hand one, then the last steep and loose climb before salvation in the trees