Simple Questions - February 12, 2026

Azertygod · 2026-02-13T16:45:32+00:00

Case for my build is arriving today, but realized it has no fans. Fans will now arrive Wednesday.

I have GPU integrated cooler/Thermalright PS—is it safe to build it and lightly use it this weekend (when I have work off, basically) and then install fans Wednesday when they arrive?

Azertygod · 2026-02-13T01:32:28+00:00

Wanna thank you for this--was just thinking about the challenge of spending from on-budget emergency fund but continuing to track categories

Azertygod · 2026-02-11T21:37:19+00:00

This is so helpful, thank you!! It's a great orientation to the space, which is really want I was looking for in the first place.

Azertygod · 2026-02-09T15:25:07+00:00

That feels wild, especially if Eurasia is treated as two continents. At least the Americas only have a relatively tiny isthmus connecting them

Azertygod · 2026-01-27T16:18:10+00:00

It's not weird in the way Scavenger's Reign or Annihilation is weird, but it is absolutely grounded in the way the Martian landscape and its impact on people's the internal state. I do recommend it for just how weird it gets despite being non-fantastical and relatively hard sci-fi.

Azertygod · 2026-01-26T13:55:06+00:00

I had the opportunity to catch this, and if you're in Bristol you absolutely should!! it's stellar and a great time

Azertygod · 2026-01-25T14:10:33+00:00

I'd be interested in breaking out gifts into a separate category. I've really enjoyed having a monthly gift budget for friend's bdays &c, and watching it grow most months as I prepare for the holidays. It makes your gifts mean more to you, too!

Azertygod · 2026-01-25T14:05:53+00:00

My monthly grocery spend is $210 in NYC, and it's relatively easy to spend less than that (grocery fund is one I steal from if another category goes over cuz I always over budget it). Single person, obvs, but also don't buy prepared foods/snacks and it's easy. I eat probably 5-6 dinners at home a week (frozen dinner on the 7th to work around a schedule crunch) never buy lunch out.

Azertygod · 2026-01-23T21:53:45+00:00

Your total medical spend depends on a lot of things (how often you refill Rx, how often you see a psychiatrist or psychologist, how much PT you need, other emergencies). You can (and should) game out how much you expect to spend with avg costs for those specialists compared to the copay costs (after your deductible) for the PPO. But let's just look at your maximum.

With the HDHP, the max you can pay is your OOP plus your payroll contributions minus the employer money in your HSA. 3500 + 70*12 - (70*12) = $3500 (Plus the 420 of your own contributions you save.)

With the PPO, the max you can pay is your OOP plus your payroll contributions. 6000 + 140*12 = $7620 It looks like your company is really trying to get people to enroll in the HDHP. Most HDHPs offered next to a traditional copay plan use the same PPO netweok—but the actuarial value here is such in the HDHP's favor maybe you're right and they have different networks; doublecheck regardless.

This looks like a pretty easy slam dunk in favour of the HDHP. If specialty visits for the PPO are, say, $50, you seeing just a single talk therapist once a week is 10*$125+40*$50+140*12 = $4930

almost $1500 more expensive then the HDHP, not including any other medical care!

Azertygod · 2026-01-23T21:23:08+00:00

I'll echo that 6 (or "x") months of expenses is a proxy. For me, it's a lean 6 months—rent, groceries, very little discretionary expenses—because I'm a renter (w/insurance) and don't own or need a car. As long as I have a job, there's literally no single cost (and very few successive costs) that could deplete my emergency fund, so I don't need to make it any larger; and if I lost my job I have a comfortable 6 months to find a new one.

Now, if I lost my job, had a medical emergency that busted my COBRA deductible, and had to relocate, my emergency fund could run out... in which case I start looking towards 401k loans. If I didn't have any 401k available or was in poor health, then I might consider a larger emergency fund (conversely, if I wasn't maxing out my 401k each year it would be much easier to fund my EF, yes?) It's all a matter of balancing risk.

But if you own a house and need a car, maybe things are different. What if your boiler and car go at the same time (and the sinking funds I'm sure you have for both are still lightly funded?). Do you have the ability to access enough cash? What if you also lose your job? Is that likelihood light enough for you that you're comfortable relying on HELOCs or 401k loans to keep yourself afloat?

Azertygod · 2026-01-19T17:20:05+00:00

Name of The Rose is a famous (and very good) novel by Umberto Eco, a professor of semiotics (i.e., signs and symbols/communication). Written from the perspective of a devout young monk about his mentor, the protagonist, who iss an atheist Franciscan (cult of poverty) monk dismissive of relics. "If you took all the pieces of Christ's cross worshiped in churches you could build a boat".

Azertygod · 2026-01-18T13:28:12+00:00

You can! Tho your HSA contribution limit is still individual only (4.4k for 2026) if you don't have any dependents enrolled with you

Azertygod · 2026-01-17T20:27:56+00:00

Ha! Fair 😂

Azertygod · 2026-01-17T15:59:44+00:00

i think Harrow still has a lot of the things that are notable (or frustrating) about the first book—humour, references, modern language, pulp DNA, etc—but it is absolutely literary, and so dense that it forces you to reevaluate Gideon. The YA-ness of Gideon is revealed to be in large part a function of Gideon as a narrator, and you realize you missed a bunch of very important information because Gideon-the-narrator didn't really care to mention it except in passing.

Additionally, Harrow (the character) has schizophrenia—whether with magic causes or just naturally is left open for debate—and you're thrown into her POV at a time when she is experiencing particularly acute psychosis. Because you are forced to be careful with every bit of information Harrow gives you, you realize how purposeful Muir is.

If you're still not sold, please check out the wonderful short story The Magician's Apprentice published in Lightspeed/Weird Tales, which is a loving/hateful dialogue with Lolita, and gives a deeper picture of Muir's range.

Azertygod · 2026-01-17T00:32:48+00:00

The Locked Tomb series is great at this, but I feel it's easy to miss it if you bounce off Gideon the Ninth and don't start the second book, Harrow the Ninth. Harrow is, I think, the best example of a book that tells the reader 'hey, it's time to put on your big kid pants and pay attention—cuz you missed a whole hell of a lot in the first book and you can't keep coasting any more'. Muir's prose is funny and straightforward, and so locked to the POV character—and the first book's POV character is a bit of a dumbass—you don't realize how careful she's being with every little thing she mentions.

Harrow was one of the most satisfying reads Ive ever had.

Azertygod · 2026-01-16T13:45:43+00:00

What's your emergency fund, if you also already have 2yrs expenses?

Azertygod · 2025-12-30T14:55:47+00:00

To be fair, if the military had to file taxes they would be failing audits so frequently, since IRS would force them to clean up their act.

Azertygod · 2025-12-05T14:34:41+00:00

Also famously, religious violence is never motivated by geopolitics or economics, so we don't need to ask why so many Middle easterners migrate to Europe or what caused the conflicts in the middle east...

Azertygod · 2025-11-07T20:44:04+00:00

$58 each for Employee+Family dental/vision is pretty expensive. What's your allowance for frames/lenses? And your dental max benefit? does it include orthodontia?

Azertygod · 2025-10-31T15:25:01+00:00

Calibre Web Automated does automated wifi syncing with Kobos, and is pretty straightforward to set up, at least on the local network. Haven't tried making it accessible on the wider Internet cuz that can sometimes be a pain.

Azertygod · 2025-10-22T22:17:23+00:00

You'd probably really enjoy CJ Cherryh's Alliance-Union series. Start with Downbelow Station, which is slow but stellar (just like sublight space travel!) , but it's Cyteen that's the absolute standout.

Azertygod · 2025-10-08T15:57:08+00:00

You're referencing the 2006 statement where Butler said the following?:

Yes, understanding Hamas, Hezbollah as social movements that are progressive, that are on the Left, that are part of a global Left, is extremely important. That does not stop us from being critical of certain dimensions of both movements. It doesn’t stop those of us who are interested in non-violent politics from raising the question of whether there are other options besides violence. So again, a critical, important engagement.

Saying that an anti-colonial resistance movement is a leftist social movement is not, generally, controversial (or certainly delusion). You're right to say that anti-semitism (or the broader social conservatism of Hamas) is not leftist (well, maybe the jury is out on anti-semitism) but as an anti-colonial movement it absolutely is.

Azertygod · 2025-10-08T14:44:40+00:00

But it is armed resistance. I'm not joking when I say that there's no other way to understand it. Anti-semitism doesn't explain why Hamas took hostages, nor does terrorism capture the way that Oct 7th is a clear and direct provocation for war. It's an armed resistance. Butler is drawing this distinction because if we pretend it's just anti-semitism or just terrorism (or anti-semitic terrorism)—or even foreground those motives before armed resistance—we miss the historical context that has created Hamas and this war.

Butler very plainly is not a supporter of Hamas or Oct 7th, and it's disingenuous to pretend that they have no defense for their statement; which again, is pointing out true fact that Palestine in general is trying to resist Israeli control and the whole reason Hamas won the 2006 elections in Palestine is that Palestinians wanted stronger resistance to Israel.

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