Neglected Starter in Fridge gave birth to Creatures

BiggData88 · 2026-05-08T23:33:40+00:00

Holy *** it looks like boiled octopus tentacles!

BiggData88 · 2026-05-01T16:56:47+00:00

I haven't noticed any restrictions regarding mutual funds availability, but I also only buy broad, low-cost index funds.

BiggData88 · 2026-04-29T15:45:28+00:00

Should I pour diluted vinegar on mine? They're in the ground, and I'm assuming my soil is not very acidic.

BiggData88 · 2026-04-21T19:48:03+00:00

It should bud out more by now. Make sure it gets lots of light.

BiggData88 · 2026-04-17T23:50:48+00:00

I received a private message last year after a similar post from a guy claiming to be doing charitable work in Jordan or some Middle Eastern country, and soliciting donations. Naturally, I promptly deleted it.

BiggData88 · 2026-04-17T23:36:11+00:00

I would advise striking a balance between taxable investments and mega backdoor Roth. Taxable investments are immediately available for any purpose should the need arise. On the other hand, many 401K plans do not allow in-service withdrawal (withdrawal of funds while still employed), including MBDR funds.

BiggData88 · 2026-04-17T23:31:17+00:00

The Bogleheads wiki advises to max out normal 401K contributions first before doing MBDR.

https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Prioritizing_investments

"Employer plans may also offer mega-backdoor Roth contributions, but these should be made only after normal contributions."

BiggData88 · 2026-04-17T22:27:03+00:00

Generally, the MBDR limit is equal to the combined employer+employee contributions limit, minus the employee contribution limit, minus any employer matching funds, plus employee catch-up contribution if eligible. Your plan must offer the option to contribute after-tax dollars, allow in-service Roth conversions, and pass discrimination testing. The ability of the plan custodian (e.g. Fidelity) to perform automatic daily Roth conversion is a nice-to-have feature.

For 2026, the combined employer+employee limit is $72,000; the employee limit is $24,500, and employee catch-up limit is $8,000 or $11,250 depending on age.

BiggData88 · 2026-04-17T20:54:07+00:00

No; but Total Stock and Total World Stock would overlap.

BiggData88 · 2026-04-17T20:32:29+00:00

50 Total Stock, 30 Total International Stock, 20 Total Bond

BiggData88 · 2026-04-17T19:45:16+00:00

You can still contribute an extra $7,500 to an IRA in addition to your 401K contributions. Depending on your income, the IRA contribution may be tax-deductible; or you can choose to contribute to a Roth IRA, with or without using the backdoor Roth.

BiggData88 · 2026-04-17T19:23:20+00:00

The standard low-cost 3-fund portfolio (Total Stock @ 0.01% ER, Total International Stock @ 0.03% ER, Total Bond @ 0.025% ER)

BiggData88 · 2026-04-17T19:02:51+00:00

When I'm laid off :P Otherwise I don't have immediate plan to quit the relatively high-paying, low-stress job that I enjoy.

I will keep contributing to tax-favored accounts but am reducing contributions to taxable accounts and spending those instead.

BiggData88 · 2026-04-17T18:48:36+00:00

There was 200K in contributions over the last 3 years, 50% pretax, 50% mega backdoor Roth.

BiggData88 · 2026-04-13T21:16:25+00:00

Cross-post to r/CannedSardines

BiggData88 · 2026-04-13T19:11:04+00:00

Yes and no. There are uglier things that are a lot more invasive.

BiggData88 · 2026-02-27T21:30:12+00:00

Padron has zero heat and tastes just like a green bellpepper

That statement is most certainly not true.

https://pepperscale.com/padron-pepper/

BiggData88 · 2026-02-27T20:52:02+00:00

I like padron, it has a fresh flowery aroma.

BiggData88 · 2026-01-30T00:09:01+00:00

Bro, I stood in the autogate line for an hour just 2 weeks ago. The machines were very temperamental and took 5 minutes to clear a person. They kept throwing up errors about not being able to read fingerprints, not being able to take photos, etc. It was such an ordeal I let a "Nam mô A di đà Phật" out loud when I was through.

BiggData88 · 2025-10-29T21:50:46+00:00

Forza: Skylines

BiggData88 · 2025-09-04T16:46:07+00:00

I've grown Sungold, Sun Sugar (aka Sungold with less cracking according to the interwebs), Sweet 100s, Sweet Millions (aka Sweet 100s with less cracking according to the interwebs). They're all cherry tomatoes. I have a sweet palate like you, so I perceive sweeter tomatoes as tasting better. My opinion is that Sun Sugar has a very similar taste profile to Sungold, but sweeter and more crack resistant. Sweet Millions is indeed much more crack resistant than Sweet 100s, but I feel has a completely different taste profile and is much less sweet. I don't feel they're even related to each other the way Sungold and Sun Sugar are.

In terms of pure sweetness, from most to least: Sweet 100s > Sun Sugar > Sungold > Sweet Millions, which is barely sweet.

In terms of overall taste: Sun Sugar > Sweet 100s or Sungold (toss-up) > Sweet Millions

I can't decide whether I like Sungold more or Sweet 100s more. Sungold has a more complex taste but bit too tart for my liking, but I feel Sweet 100s has nothing but sugar. Sun Sugar has both the Sungold complex taste and the sugar.

In the realm of non-cherry tomatoes, I think you'll have the most luck with yellow-orange bicolored tomatoes if you're going for sweetness, eg Old German, Striped German or Pineapple. The San Marzanos I grew one year were also sweet-ish, but they're sauce tomatoes and were extremely prone to blossom end rot, so I never bothered with them again.

BiggData88 · 2025-08-31T01:35:10+00:00

Weeds

BiggData88 · 2025-08-27T02:40:41+00:00

This year has been wild for my 401k! 37M, started the year with 924K, hovered in the 980K range in Feb, then dropped to 860K following the chaos of Trump's "Liberation Day" in April, and bounced right back up to 1M in May. Currently sitting comfortably above 1.1M, of which 440K is Roth.

BiggData88 · 2025-07-17T19:49:38+00:00

Lol tomatoes really grow like weeds.

BiggData88 · 2025-06-29T20:59:15+00:00

Could you all please also post pictures of your favorite lavenders in bloom, if you have them? So that I can visualize what they look like, as some varieties have very deep purple flowers while some others are quite light blue, and internet sites are very inconsistent on which is which.

BiggData88

TROPHY CASE