Toshi's thread
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Two more days to enter the Secret Santa!
Entries must be in by midnight on November 29th. We're kicking off the 2024 Secret Santa! Exchange gifts with other monkeys - from beer and snacks, to bike gear, to custom machined holiday decorations and tools by our more talented members, there's something for everyone.
If only he'd done more analysis...Wait... so you accidentallied a $70K electric car??
yes, basicallyWait... so you accidentallied a $70K electric car??
I had a spreadsheet! but now I know what we truly want is a minivan. that's electric, but a minivan foremost.
If only someone could have told you this...
that would be my wife, true.If only someone could have told you this...
but on the other hand, I thought this might be a replacement for the Land Cruiser. but it really doesn't fit that role either--too small.
EQB: sold. prepped it for delivery: ExpressToll pass removed from windshield (that adhesive is tenacious), extra garage remote and work parking pass removed, sunglasses and sundry cables relocated, floor mats shaken out over the garbage, original carpet floormats and the cargo cover located and put in the back. removed my plates and the new tow hook mount and set him up with the good through September temp tag I had still in the garbage. tow hook cover located and reinstalled.
Guerilla Gravity order: canceled, as not even a tentative inquiry regarding the Commencal, and part of the rationale for the GG would be to be my park bike (not sure if lifties would balk at me loading up the Shuttle).
Time to withdraw some money and realize that loss on it.
edit: will do that tomorrow when I know how much I'm getting paid for this month, so as to balance out the math.
Guerilla Gravity order: canceled, as not even a tentative inquiry regarding the Commencal, and part of the rationale for the GG would be to be my park bike (not sure if lifties would balk at me loading up the Shuttle).
Time to withdraw some money and realize that loss on it.
edit: will do that tomorrow when I know how much I'm getting paid for this month, so as to balance out the math.
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EQB: sold. prepped it for delivery: ExpressToll pass removed from windshield (that adhesive is tenacious), extra garage remote and work parking pass removed, sunglasses and sundry cables relocated, floor mats shaken out over the garbage, original carpet floormats and the cargo cover located and put in the back. removed my plates and the new tow hook mount and set him up with the good through September temp tag I had still in the garbage. tow hook cover located and reinstalled.
Guerilla Gravity order: canceled, as not even a tentative inquiry regarding the Commencal, and part of the rationale for the GG would be to be my park bike (not sure if lifties would balk at me loading up the Shuttle).
Time to withdraw some money and realize that loss on it.
edit: will do that tomorrow when I know how much I'm getting paid for this month, so as to balance out the math.
You clearly need to analyze your purchases more. Perhaps a defining attributes in system level meta-model would be more fruitful.
at this point, the financial pain of this churning is far less of a concern than my sense of regret for having committed to the wrong thing. this holds for the ill-fated XC40 (the road noise!) and the EQB (its size and cargo capacity really being its only failing, because physics + packaging + normal length hood) alike.
so I don't really regret these last 4 years other than having made those choices initially. and now I know that much more about what makes me tick long term and what doesn't.
with that in mind, my plans now that the Land Cruiser can stay undriven and clean inside the garage (once the EQB buyers pick it up--it's parked, at 100% SOC for them now as they don't have a L2 EVSE in their house in Fort Collins yet!):
so I don't really regret these last 4 years other than having made those choices initially. and now I know that much more about what makes me tick long term and what doesn't.
with that in mind, my plans now that the Land Cruiser can stay undriven and clean inside the garage (once the EQB buyers pick it up--it's parked, at 100% SOC for them now as they don't have a L2 EVSE in their house in Fort Collins yet!):
electrical: done
hot tub power 30A circuit stub out within staked off area for the 12 x 9’ pad.
side of garage has a lot of crap on it now. new 14 slot 100A subpanel is the grey one top left.
old subpanel. note breaker for subpanel-from-subpanel.
Lots of room for future circuits now if the load can be borne.
concrete pad and walkway work happening today and tomorrow as planned. budget for month balanced given all these goings on, including paying down the HELOC for the money I over-withdrew not knowing how much I’d need for paying the currently due mountain house renovation bills.
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and admittedly this is because I make it so. but a hot tub is a worthy goal. and that's happening.Your life is too complicated for me.
all this heat pump business could be deferred until my current equipment fails. and probably will given the quotes--one heat pump water heater outfit came back somewhat reasonable but given how good my twin NG tankless ones are I probably shouldn't.
Forms laid for the concrete work. They stripped the grass going to the other gate as well due to a communication error. Just as well—got to reseed the whole lawn in the fall anyway.
In the top photo note the buried downspout in the middle of where the pad will be. He will extend it past this area so as to not get undermining/subsidence.
during the power outage that resolved as I was doing this I de-wall mounted the TV. looks like the bolt that pulled out was in a stud. Either way the wall mount is going back to Costco—don’t trust it at full extension as I was using it. TV was nominally in size/weight limits so this a legit gripe.
Now it’s on the LG stand.
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Re home values, a house across the street from us is on sale. 24 days listed, dropped from 1.3 to 1.199 already. Much smaller than ours but nicer finishes than our house currently stands (ours will be comparable in finishes after all this, and again much, much bigger).
92 GCR 5141 Circle, Tabernash, CO 80478 | Zillow
92 Gcr 5141 Circle, Tabernash CO, is a Single Family home that contains 2267 sq ft and was built in 2008.It contains 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.This home last sold for $1,025,000 in September 2023. The Zestimate for this Single Family is $1,030,500, which has increased by $6,890 in the last 30...www.zillow.com
Another bellwether. 2,336 sq ft, half duplex, in Tabernash across the creek from my house: I can see it from my porch.
501 Paintbrush Terrace, Tabernash, CO 80478 | Zillow
501 Paintbrush Terrace, Tabernash CO, is a Townhouse home that contains 2336 sq ft and was built in 2007.It contains 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.This home last sold for $825,000 in November 2023. The Zestimate for this Townhouse is $819,000, which has decreased by $6,533 in the last 30 days.The...
they’re asking $950k
first one still asking 1.1 but noticeably not sold yet
second now down to 899 vs a 949 Zestimate.
state of the quotes, 7/28 edition
net price on the smart heat pump water heater from Water Heater Experts is not bad, but as the UniColorado dude said this gen had not been entirely reliable I will refrain until the next gen comes through. I should get on an A.O. Smith promo mailing list
this is doubly true since they're replacing lovely dual tankless NG Navien water heaters and this doesn't have to be done.
the cold climate air source heat pump quotes are all clustering. similar good thoughts to go with Mitsubishi from many vendors. and with the Fed tax credit nominally 30% but capped at a sad $2k they're all just not price competitive to replace a working system. if mine were broken and I had to pick something then I'd be going with the oversized 4 ton Helio quote (Mitsubishi would have much better sub-zero Freedom heat pump performance than Bosch so I'd hit the resistive strips less--worth the small premium imo). but mine is not broken.
the net price for the Helio quote would be $6,260 if the Fed 30% credit amount weren't capped. still wouldn't do it. but much closer to that point of making it make sense. i want to de-carbonize my HVAC. but not that much.
All of the battery backup quotes are far too high net to make it worthwhile.
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Got myself a massage chair, since I have coveted one for a while and this one went on sale at Costco.com.
Came on a pallet.
Got it unpacked.
Got it upstairs with the help of a neighbor. This part weighs 185 lb and the footrest bit is another 60 or so.
It functions. It squeezes the crap out of me. Got to figure out how to adjust it and dial it down. Then again, I did pick "therapy".
Came on a pallet.
Got it unpacked.
Got it upstairs with the help of a neighbor. This part weighs 185 lb and the footrest bit is another 60 or so.
It functions. It squeezes the crap out of me. Got to figure out how to adjust it and dial it down. Then again, I did pick "therapy".
So the finances didn’t play out at all. Stupid capped Federal tax credit. But I did learn a thing or two:
- performance of a given compressor varies with which air handler and/or mini split heads one pairs it with, so specifics matter
- performance of my gas furnace (96% efficient nominally, two stage so has a ~60% capacity initial one then fires up to 100% if the thermostat is still calling for heat after a few minutes) is derated by altitude, which makes sense
- my current AC condenser is actually only a 2 ton, not a 2.5 as I thought. Furnace is 5 ton but derated to 46k BTU because of altitude.
- with that 46k at full tilt as context (and we never have days when we run at full load all day to keep up with the heating demand) the performance of the Mitsubishi cold climate heat pump is astounding. From a quote that actually had a 4 ton outside unit (sized for heating load, does 54k actually) with both an air handler and 3 mini split heads in upstairs bedrooms since the condenser can do that:
Full rated heating performance—and greater than my actual NG furnace performance at this altitude through 5 Freedoms and only marginal falloff at -17! Amazing.
Admittedly this includes windchill. But from this I can get away with not running any expensive + expensive to run + service upgrade likely required 10 kW backup resistive strips!
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Spotted next to us at the OTH airport (here to pick up my bag that took its own vacation to SFO): a Metris mini camper conversion. Pop top, awning, 30A 120V shore power hookup there on the side.
Badge below plate says it’s a Keystone Coachworks product.
Badge below plate says it’s a Keystone Coachworks product.
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Are your parents growing any weed? If not... they should be.
They actually used to grow a ton. Way more than they could smoke. So they used extra by making oils and other hippie crap with that. I think they’re not growing any more.Are your parents growing any weed? If not... they should be.
a hidden trove of exercise gear in a storage room down here. Might even do a few bench presses. That backpack blower to the right has been with my parents since I was in middle school. They’ve paid to have all this crap moved many times…
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those are by the Toto Washlet in the downstairs bathroom, natchI don't suppose those are classified documents in the boxes on the left there?
The "service upgrade likely required" bit came from the one most detailed contractor assuming the incoming service was 150A, not 200A. (The ambiguity is because my main panel doesn't have a main breaker. There's an external disconnect although I honestly don't know exactly where.)
Anyway, the main panel is 40 slots, which implies 200A, and the meters are all 200A meters. And I called Xcel's builder's line this morning and, voila, the service is indeed 200A.
So I wouldn't need a service upgrade were I to need resistive strips. But I also wouldn't need the backup resistive strips in the first place with a properly sized 4 ton Mitsubishi setup, either per the above post's math. And this is all not happening any time soon. At least I know I'm not stuck with 150A.
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saw some deer frens on morning walk
super foggy in morning, burnt off after walk
walking buddies
Baby Aya being snuggly
Natto is some weird shit. Didn’t dislike it, per se. Didn’t like it, either. Ate it since it’s supposed to have good nutrition benefits but won’t partake in future
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Izzat some sort of hippy-dippy shit?
"Nattō is often considered an acquired taste because of its powerful smell, strong flavor, and sticky, slimy texture."
At least it doesn't have olives.
Tickets acquired
not a 1570 1:43:1 true screen. But 1.80:1 will have a bit of the vertical expansiveness, IMAX with Laser is a step up from plain Digital (xenon), and Southcenter’s parking is easier to navigate than that at Pacific Science Center. (RapidRide and Link would both put us a mile away.)
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state of the Toshi strength work fitness these days:
145 lb x 3 reps bench felt moderately difficult. With the janky bench (25 lb curl bar there, width mismatched with rack) and my dad spotting didn’t feel like pushing it. Haven’t benched consistently since undergrad. And that was a long ass time ago
~2.5 pull-ups with either hand position from a full hang at the bottom of each rep.
stronger in leg extension exercises than hamstring curls. Which is probably physiologic.
I should get a home gym type setup when my wife clears out enough space in the basement mechanical room as this is likely complementary to my easy hours spinning and walking
Moss Landing: World’s biggest battery storage project is now 3GWh capacity
Owner Vistra Energy has announced the completion of work to expand its Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility in California.
www.energy-storage.news
and the site is big enough that they could end up at 1.5 GW/6 GWh total in the end.
Just imagine when they are able to start building these: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superconducting_magnetic_energy_storageMoss Landing: World’s biggest battery storage project is now 3GWh capacity
Owner Vistra Energy has announced the completion of work to expand its Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility in California.
and the site is big enough that they could end up at 1.5 GW/6 GWh total in the end.
for those of you following along:
- will decidedly not be at $60k in my slush fund come the end of this month since I recently funded some of the latest mountain house renovation invoices from the taxable account
- I am ok with this low taxable account balance, though, as that means I have that much more in headroom in the HELOC and, importantly, because month to month cash flow should be positive from here on out. ditching the EQB car note albeit with the one time charge to pay it down will help here.
- will be bigly positive for September as I ended up moonlighting for 129 nominal hours over July (paid out end of August). $28k+ gross just for the moonlighting alone, but at my marginal rate I'll see much less of that, hmph. plus expensive month (traveling now, massage chair, new fancy air filter, misting umbrella and replaced patio furniture since old ones super super sun faded, paid for repairs on one of my trumpets, 6 month auto insurance bill, paid for the very short lived plates on EQB, paid for December Nutcracker box reservation, etc.). still soundly positive even with all that.
- anyway, long and short is that I'm resuming my non-mandatory retirement contributions as of end of this month. won't try to catch up for lost months—not only for cash flow but because then I'd have to rejigger amounts later on. the astute reader will recall that I have a mandatory 401(a) that marched on as always, at least until I hit the IRS annual comp limit at which point both my 5% and my employer's 10% contributions goes away for the year. I actually exceeded that limit by a bit at the point of my end of July paycheck, for the sleuths out there.
Cliffs Notes: Toshi still has a metric shit ton of debt. but things now settling down enough that it's mentally time to dial the retirement contributions back in and save on some taxes.
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