AUTHOR: Mike Gaynes on 4/5/2026 FIRST: Doug C on 4/5 | RECENT: R Quinn on 4/13
Comments
My wife insists on driving the seven miles to Costco to save on gas fillups. I have given up on that battle. I'm a big popcorn guy, but it's gotta be hot and fresh. Never a bag already popped for me -- Costco has 44-bag boxes of microwave popcorn (pretty good) and huge 8-pound containers of Orville Redenbacher (really excellent) for popping up at home. Both fantastic deals for around $16.
I read some of this book while I was dealing with my own Emperor, and there were a number of memorable quotes like that, but I never finished it and eventually gave it away.
Stupidity. I had the West Coast franchise. Definitely should not have married her. Should have known she didn't love me. She wanted a house. I bought a big one just above a California beach, way more than I could afford. Stupid. Luck. She wasn't legally in the country, so the house was mine alone. And so when she walked out six days after getting her citizenship, she couldn't make me sell it. When I finally did so nine years later to move to an Oregon beach with my second wife, it had doubled in value. That's what truly launched us. Automation. When I got sick, I hastened to simplify our finances as much as possible. Never mind stocks, bonds, funds, she didn't know any of that stuff. I explain robo-funds to her, she got it, and I shoved our IRA's into Betterment and Wealthfront. Nobody talks about robos on this board, but they've been fantastic for us and comfortable for her. Inertia. When I got well, I just left most of what we have in the robos because I had no desire to go back to active investing, and because I know when I'm gone she'll be able to handle them with confidence.
The noise is thoroughly aggravating, Mark... but worth it when it's 25 degrees C at 2AM. A small price to pay for not waking up in a pool of sweat. Argh.
Mark, I strongly endorse the suggestions below of window air conditioners. Relatively inexpensive, fairly easy to install if you're handy, no plumbing, just plug 'em in. (You'll probably have to replace them every couple of years.) It does get hotter in Seattle than I expected. My wife, MIL and SIL don't like our central air... complain they are always cold. I consider sleeping in a cool room to be vital for my health, so I had a small AC installed in the bedroom window for about $400, labor included. Debate over and problem solved.
The Chicago and Northwestern was three blocks from my house. My grandfather took it to work every day in the Loop. And yes, the freights that lulled me to sleep in the 1960s still roll.
Albert Einstein said, "Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding." Sadly, human beings have been warring on each other for thousands of years, and it's not going to stop. I believe we are simply not motivated by our nature to understand each other.
Comments
My wife insists on driving the seven miles to Costco to save on gas fillups. I have given up on that battle. I'm a big popcorn guy, but it's gotta be hot and fresh. Never a bag already popped for me -- Costco has 44-bag boxes of microwave popcorn (pretty good) and huge 8-pound containers of Orville Redenbacher (really excellent) for popping up at home. Both fantastic deals for around $16.
Post: Frittering away Frugality
Link to comment from July 9, 2026
Mazel tov, Hung, and thank you for coming to America. You and your wife have made this a better country for all of us.
Post: Retirement, One Year On
Link to comment from July 2, 2026
I read some of this book while I was dealing with my own Emperor, and there were a number of memorable quotes like that, but I never finished it and eventually gave it away.
Post: Luck, Stupidity, Automation and Inertia
Link to comment from June 29, 2026
Stupidity. I had the West Coast franchise. Definitely should not have married her. Should have known she didn't love me. She wanted a house. I bought a big one just above a California beach, way more than I could afford. Stupid. Luck. She wasn't legally in the country, so the house was mine alone. And so when she walked out six days after getting her citizenship, she couldn't make me sell it. When I finally did so nine years later to move to an Oregon beach with my second wife, it had doubled in value. That's what truly launched us. Automation. When I got sick, I hastened to simplify our finances as much as possible. Never mind stocks, bonds, funds, she didn't know any of that stuff. I explain robo-funds to her, she got it, and I shoved our IRA's into Betterment and Wealthfront. Nobody talks about robos on this board, but they've been fantastic for us and comfortable for her. Inertia. When I got well, I just left most of what we have in the robos because I had no desire to go back to active investing, and because I know when I'm gone she'll be able to handle them with confidence.
Post: Luck, Stupidity, Automation and Inertia
Link to comment from June 29, 2026
The noise is thoroughly aggravating, Mark... but worth it when it's 25 degrees C at 2AM. A small price to pay for not waking up in a pool of sweat. Argh.
Post: The Price of a Cool Pillow
Link to comment from June 26, 2026
I would expect the current environmental warming trends to reverse in 4-5 thousand years. After mankind is gone.
Post: The Price of a Cool Pillow
Link to comment from June 26, 2026
Mark, I strongly endorse the suggestions below of window air conditioners. Relatively inexpensive, fairly easy to install if you're handy, no plumbing, just plug 'em in. (You'll probably have to replace them every couple of years.) It does get hotter in Seattle than I expected. My wife, MIL and SIL don't like our central air... complain they are always cold. I consider sleeping in a cool room to be vital for my health, so I had a small AC installed in the bedroom window for about $400, labor included. Debate over and problem solved.
Post: The Price of a Cool Pillow
Link to comment from June 26, 2026
The Chicago and Northwestern was three blocks from my house. My grandfather took it to work every day in the Loop. And yes, the freights that lulled me to sleep in the 1960s still roll.
Post: Billy’s Certificate – 1937
Link to comment from June 25, 2026
I have no recollection, Dick. Maybe it's an age thing.
Post: Remember the shopping cart fiasco Last November? Regular HD readers do I’m sure.
Link to comment from June 25, 2026
Albert Einstein said, "Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding." Sadly, human beings have been warring on each other for thousands of years, and it's not going to stop. I believe we are simply not motivated by our nature to understand each other.
Post: Four Walls
Link to comment from June 24, 2026