[Toshi]

thought of the moment:

- we are probably going to end up with a VW ID.Buzz (or other sliding door van body style BEV that comes after that) down the road

- car algorithm sites have already baked in future depreciation even in the EQB's just off the lots state, so although it'll depreciate that ship has already sailed, as it were

- having a Land Cruiser around to do winter Land Cruiser-y things (and maybe just running the Switzerland "Trail" with the kids in the summer for kicks or driving up on the forest roads above WP) is a nice thing

- the prospect of potentially getting $25k from an IH8Mud or BaT buyer but not having a Land Cruiser is not particularly attractive, and my two-house liquidity crunch isn't that bad, I forecast

therefore perhaps I should keep the Land Cruiser indefinitely and when the ID.Buzz comes to these shores (and after I and the wife test drive it and decide definitively it can replace her beloved PacHy-the-second) then I trade the (minimal equity at that point probably) EQB and the (100% equity, paid off) PacHy in against an ID.Buzz.

 

[Sandro]

I was close to ordering an ID Buzz, but decided to hold off until they come with a heat pump and a larger battery pack. AWD also wouldn't hurt for your location, but that's thankfully already taken care of with the GTX variant in Europe, which I would expect to be the standard configuration when it comes to the States.

 

[Atomic Dog]

Man, the mental gymnastics you go through just to keep that Land Cruiser. It's okay to just say "I really like it and I want to keep it."

 

[canadmos]

Man, the mental gymnastics you go through just to keep that Land Cruiser. It's okay to just say "I really like it and I want to keep it."

Maybe Stoney took over his account and is microanalysing it to death? When the decision is finally made to sell, the thing will have depreciated more and then the cycle will start again.

Its also a shame that these house builders/developers say that this is a two car garage.

I mean look at this, I give it a few months before that front bumper gets dinged. Or does it park itself?

 

[Toshi]

Man, the mental gymnastics you go through just to keep that Land Cruiser. It's okay to just say "I really like it and I want to keep it."

I also try to optimize my life iteratively. And having a whole-ass extra car is a lot to rationalize.



But yes, I think I will keep it, will accept the suboptimal nature of it all.

Maybe Stoney took over his account and is microanalysing it to death?

are you new here or what



anyway, I've been backing into this right hand spot and tucking the front end over since 2015 and haven't messed it up yet.

 

[canadmos]

I also try to optimize my life iteratively. And having a whole-ass extra car is a lot to rationalize.



But yes, I think I will keep it, will accept the suboptimal nature of it all.

are you new here or what



anyway, I've been backing into this right hand spot and tucking the front end over since 2015 and haven't messed it up yet.

I know you also like analyzing things, but you'd still bring your skis to the hills when there is incoming snow - reports due or not.

haven't messed it up yet.

 

[Toshi]

Americuh

 

[SkaredShtles]

Americuh

View attachment 194197

Bootstraps and no more avocado toast.

 

[Toshi]

white ranch is very green now

 

[6thElement]

Appears to be very full of pepper grass too, those small yellow flowered plants everywhere in shot.

 

[canadmos]

View attachment 194207

white ranch is very green now

MEH


That looks like a proper, dare I say, flow trail?

 

[6thElement]

MEH


That looks like a proper, dare I say, flow trail?

Very much not for the mile behind and in front out of that shot. Rocky chunk.

Longhorn Trail Mountain Bike Trail, Golden, Colorado

Steep, strenuous and sun exposed. Near Golden, Colorado.

www.mtbproject.com

 

[Toshi]

caught in hail. did not enjoy the experience (second time in my life). ouchies through my shell, on legs, on face when not covering it with gloved hand. “Light rain” my ass, weather aop



anyway, I lived. washing the shell with Tech Wash now as it’s clearly not doing it’s waterproof thing.

 

[Toshi]

This Removable Camper Pod Will Take The New Electric VW Bus To The Next Level

The Volkswagen ID. Buzz is coming to the United States. When? Well, we don't really know yet, but the US reveal is set to occur in 2023 and rumor has it

unofficialnetworks.com

 

[Toshi]

My wife chose to drive the EQB to her rehearsal on Monday (solo trip for her, no kids) and just elected to drive her and Mariko to the latter’s band concert.

I will join them in a few minutes in the minivan, ferrying the other two girls then bringing all kids home, while my wife will cruise in style from there to another rehearsal.

So she does prefer the EQB when it’s not a kid-shuttling affair, in which case the ease of kid-access wins out.

 

[canadmos]

Very much not for the mile behind and in front out of that shot. Rocky chunk.

Longhorn Trail Mountain Bike Trail, Golden, Colorado

Steep, strenuous and sun exposed. Near Golden, Colorado.

www.mtbproject.com

Berry nice

Rox can have flow too

 

[Toshi]

Narrower 19” (vs 22.5”) width front facing harness seat for Baby Aya in the EQB. With a slender booster for Mariko then we should be able to cram all 3 in there. Maybe. Or maybe take the Land Cruiser.

Got the second Deore lever in and the upgrades to the e-cargo bike are now complete for now. The Radius mechanical discs work much better with non-crap levers, and I like the sweep and width of the Soma Dream bar much better than the stock offering. Picked up Mariko-kun from a sleepover via it like a regular European, only with more helmets for me and her

 

[Toshi]

Popped this on

How ScaleBlaster Works, Stop Limescale Formation, Electronic Descaling

An oscillating electronic field changes the shape, size and charge of the calcium molecules (the cause of hard water and lime scale formation).

www.scaleblaster.com

If it doesn’t make an appreciable difference I shall yeet it back to Costco

 

[SkaredShtles]

Popped this on

View attachment 194339View attachment 194340View attachment 194341

How ScaleBlaster Works, Stop Limescale Formation, Electronic Descaling

An oscillating electronic field changes the shape, size and charge of the calcium molecules (the cause of hard water and lime scale formation).

www.scaleblaster.com

If it doesn’t make an appreciable difference I shall yeet it back to Costco

CRYSTALS, man!

 

[Toshi]

CRYSTALS, man!

yeah, like reiki for plumbing

worth a try given Costco’s no questions asked return policy though

 

[Pesqueeb]

Popped this on

View attachment 194339View attachment 194340View attachment 194341

How ScaleBlaster Works, Stop Limescale Formation, Electronic Descaling

An oscillating electronic field changes the shape, size and charge of the calcium molecules (the cause of hard water and lime scale formation).

www.scaleblaster.com

If it doesn’t make an appreciable difference I shall yeet it back to Costco

They make one of those for my IVC filter?

 

[Westy]

Sounds legit. I kind of feel like my water molecules are half full.

 

[Toshi]

waaaaay too much vertical motion of the rack with the Stealth Hitch. Due to its removable receiver design it attaches at one point fairly far back on the receiver. This plus the long lever arm is no bueno.

I shall stick to 1 and 2 bike racks only on the EQB thusly. 4 bike ok for minivan (real Curt hitch) or Land Cruiser (stout OEM hitch good for 650 lb tongue weight).

on the upside with the narrower harness seat for Baby Aya and the arm rest-less booster for Yuna Mariko is able to cram in the middle ok. Not ideal but workable for 20 min trips like this one/mountain house to WP with wintertime traffic through Fraser.

 

[Toshi]

House update:

Haven’t been up there myself since this started but demolition is going well per report. When they pulled up the carpet in the loft (to be master suite area, the one with the projector) they found a staple through a radiant hydronic line. I had them bypass that one section as pulling everything is cost prohibitive.

(Maybe widespread water damage from a future leak and an insurance payout is how this story ends 10 years down the line?! hmm)

The kitchen demo apparently is speeding along as well as they pulled some tiles to cover up now-uncovered areas under the old cabinet layout from the main floor powder room, which will get either LVP or cheap tile in turn.

Hopefully everything all wrapped up on their end by end of summer!

In other projects:

- hot tub building permit still not issued pending clarification on build details requested by the county guy from the slow to respond engineer
- hot tub itself is at the Denver area dealer, on hold there until I get the permit issue cleared
- construction company that did the deck that had some loose panels from the under-panel Trex connectors still hasn’t fixed their handiwork yet afaik

 

[Toshi]

Dakota Ridge and Red Rocks be all green and shit nowadays. rox remain rox. Went OTB at fairly low speed once with hikers as my witness, only casualty of this a 4 mm missing patch of skin on one finger.

BLAS

mah mug

 

[canadmos]

What are the wind muffs for?

 

[Toshi]

What are the wind muffs for?

for wind noise on e-commuter mainly

Cat-Ears.com | Cat-Ears, LLC | United States

Cat-Ears is the leading manufacturer of aero-acoustically designed passive wind noise reduction products for serious cyclists. Tested and recommended by respected publications and professionals, Cat-Ears / AirStreamz are 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed and Made in the USA.

www.cat-ears.com

 

[Toshi]

Several semi trucks annoyingly parked illegally in the bike lane along one of the non-protected sections of the route.

 

[Toshi]

new trickle charger for perma-parked Land Cruiser. Much nicer than the Battery Tender Jr I had before in the quality of the connector and alligator clips in particular. Will have to use an extension cord, though, due to geometry of outlet vs backed in LC: 7’ lead.

$60 gadget to convert wired to wireless CarPlay. “Goodbye to the shackles of data cable” indeed

 

[Toshi]

Updated my debt tab on my multi-spreadsheet-o'-things, and decided that rates are high enough on enough debt that it's time to make some changes and pay the high rate debt down and deleverage my situation a bit.

Right now I'm holding about $1.3mm in debt, and that's with neither of the HELOCs drawn upon, and the EQB loan not having materialized yet.

'

Debt update. Expected reductions in principal on the mortgages and existing loans. EQB loan now exists, repayment starting in July. Started to draw on the Third Federal HELOC as construction activities occur up in the mountains. Up to ~$1.5mm in debt and will be a solid $1.7mm once the HELOCs are drawn fully.

perhaps I should keep the Land Cruiser indefinitely and when the ID.Buzz comes to these shores (and after I and the wife test drive it and decide definitively it can replace her beloved PacHy-the-second) then I trade the (minimal equity at that point probably) EQB and the (100% equity, paid off) PacHy in against an ID.Buzz.

Which brings me to the above quoted post. Assuming I'm still underwriting worthy at that point (and I should be just fine by DTI still) I'm planning on the above: PacHy and EQB both get traded in against a VW ID.Buzz. Their combined paper value will nicely zero out the taxes on the VW.

Then I will drive the Land Cruiser and studiously pay down debts for a period. The EQB loan will be replaced by a PacHy-equity-amount-smaller VW loan, and hopefully the rate climate will be a touch better for that. The Earnest student loan should have run its course or nearly so by then. Not worrying about the 403(b) loan since that's interest paid to myself.

So assuming the prime rate-tied HELOCs are still above the fixed rate on the note for the windows then I'll pay down HELOCs first. (I'll also try to get PNC to rewrite the mountain house HELOC to the full $200k with a higher appraisal post-renovations, but that won't affect drawn amounts directly, clearly.) Then the window loan. Then the VW note.

This will take a few years to accomplish, I forecast.

Then and only then, when I'm at the point of only having the mortgages once again, I'll actually replace the Land Cruiser:

- BEV
- AWD/4WD
- 3 rows and at least Land Cruiser-sized cargo room behind the 3rd row (20.8 cu ft) so not all small like the EQB (10.7 cu ft behind that deployed 3rd row)
- something unique: bidirectional charging/V2H/V2G, off road ability, towing ability
- ventilated seats <-- got to insist on this at this future point
- real 2" hitch now that I know that Stealth Hitches are not functionally equivalent for my long-rack uses

Or maybe at that point I'll be tired of dealing with the Tabernash house and will be jonesing to trade it in on the future Mary Jane condos of which I haven't seen any news at all recently… Mariko will likely be learning how to drive if not driving already by this point. I'll be old, yo.

Anyway, this is how I foresee the next few years. I'll circle back to this as things evolve and get paid off. For those of you following along with the 403(b)/457(b) business I'll probably dial back in those contributions in 1-2 years as various cash flow constraints I've mentioned before drop off of the radar, Baby Aya's preschool tuition and the student loan being two of the biggest items.

 

[Toshi]

Assuming I'm still underwriting worthy at that point (and I should be just fine by DTI still)

re the above, I'm still peachy keen compared to a lot of house-poor people:

Cities With the Highest Debt-to-Income Ratios

Photo Credit: fizkes / Shutterstock For much of the COVID-19 pandemic, favorable financial conditions for many middle and upper-income households have brought a rush of new homebuyers into the real estate market. In 2020 and 2021, incr...

www.ksjbam.com

I back of napkined it just now and even with all these various debts to service I'm at ~18% front end DTI, ~30% back end DTI.

 

[Sandro]

Here is the extended Buzz:

Wouldn't have minded a 100kWh+ battery pack instead of the 82kWh it uses, but charging figures look pretty good.

 

[Westy]

re the above, I'm still peachy keen compared to a lot of house-poor people:

Cities With the Highest Debt-to-Income Ratios

Photo Credit: fizkes / Shutterstock For much of the COVID-19 pandemic, favorable financial conditions for many middle and upper-income households have brought a rush of new homebuyers into the real estate market. In 2020 and 2021, incr...

www.ksjbam.com

I back of napkined it just now and even with all these various debts to service I'm at ~18% front end DTI, ~26% back end DTI.

A lot of those cities are also popular for retirees which will throw those numbers off significantly.

 

[Toshi]

Here is the extended Buzz:

Wouldn't have minded a 100kWh+ battery pack instead of the 82kWh it uses, but charging figures look pretty good.

That looks really good. Too bad about the third row layout that sacrifices volume compared to the nice fold into the floor setup on our PacHy but it’d do.

 

[Toshi]

That looks really good. Too bad about the third row layout that sacrifices volume compared to the nice fold into the floor setup on our PacHy but it’d do.

With availability of the ID.Buzz slated for 3Q 2024 and no-markup availability probably thus 2025 I probably should just wait for Chrysler to get off their asses and formalize the BEV Pacifica that they've been talking about. The interior space utilization is so much better on the PacHy: the ID.Buzz is really set up like a tall SUV inside, only with sliding doors, like the little loved Nissan Quest.

When Chrysler's Minivan Goes Electric, It'll Keep Pacifica Name, Sliding Doors

The van isn't going anywhere, but it is going electric.

www.motortrend.com

 

[Toshi]

I saw a nice looking F-150 on the freeway today with July temp tags and a Schomp plate surround so I decided to configure out to see roughly what they paid. SuperCrew, 5.5’ bed, 4x4, Lariat, Powerboost (all akin to the one I passed), and adding in some options like BlueCruise…

that's not cheap

 

[Westy]

I saw a nice looking F-150 on the freeway today with July temp tags and a Schomp plate surround so I decided to configure out to see roughly what they paid. SuperCrew, 5.5’ bed, 4x4, Lariat, Powerboost (all akin to the one I passed), and adding in some options like BlueCruise…

that's not cheap

Ford makes 8 billion in profits on the F150 each year. Which is to say the F150 subsidizes the rest of their garbage.

 

[Toshi]

yikes

makes my 5.49% note on the EQB seem a bit more reasonable

 

[Toshi]

overheard across the house the other day as I worked from home:

Yuna: "Mariko, if you could get married to anyone in the world, including your own family, who would you marry?"

Mariko: "I dunno, probably no one"

Yuna:

Yuna: "I'd marry my daddy, because I love him very much"

 

[SkaredShtles]

You might want to have a talk with that kid.