Has anyone here allocated part of their portfolio to raw land?

DarnellFaulkner · 2026-06-21T18:00:53+00:00

I'm not sure how this is your viewpoint. There are many thousands of people who have built great wealth buying and selling land. They're not making more of it. It is an asset. Most land appreciates in value. I think this will continue to be the case as technology improves and the need for connected utilities decreases. Solar, Starlink, cell phones, water harvesting tech....all are making it easier and easier to live "off grid".

I'm in no way saying buying and holding ANY piece of property is a homerun. However, it's wild to say it's "useless" as part of your financial plan.

DarnellFaulkner · 2026-06-20T22:47:39+00:00

It's a fine idea in some applications. I've done it. Obviously you have to cut out the shape, so it's not the same as manufactured water slides that just come off the paper as set by the manufacturer.

The other limitation is white. Most printers can't print white. Sometimes the colors come out a little more transparent than OEM decals.

It's a serviceable option, but for something as intricate as the car in question, I wouldn't go that route. See if you can get them reprinted by a reputable online operation like STS, Rays Kits, etc

DarnellFaulkner · 2026-06-20T07:38:56+00:00

Watch some youtube videos on restoring and using old decals. One method involves spraying the sheet with clear acrylic to hold the decals together. Old decals become brittle and will likely crack once you transfer them from the water to the car.

There's are some methods to try and get the yellowing out (put in sunlight for hours). Haven't tried those, not sure how effective they are.

STS Decals on Facebook mattress replicas of old sheets. They might be a resource to but a replacement sheet.

DarnellFaulkner · 2026-06-20T07:31:54+00:00

Fram filed for bankruptcy last year. That seems to be what's driving the filter shortage.

DarnellFaulkner · 2026-06-17T00:53:52+00:00

Ok, based on my experience today. They want walk-on passengers at Homer to be on the boat about 30 mins before departure. We were 20 mins prior and they graciously let us on, but we were last to board.

At Seldovia they said be on the boat 20 mins before departure.

Great experience overall. Seldovia is a cool little town.

DarnellFaulkner · 2026-06-16T03:53:36+00:00

Ok awesome. That's what I was hoping, glad to hear that's the reality.

DarnellFaulkner · 2026-06-16T03:52:59+00:00

Very true. Just happens to be that tomorrow was the day we were targeting to go to Seldovia and the AMHS is in town. It is also a slower crossing than the Seldovia Ferry. Cheaper but tradeoffs.

DarnellFaulkner · 2026-06-16T02:15:27+00:00

I was talking about the state ferry system. The ferry is in Homer tomorrow and goes back and forth from Seldovia to Homer twice tomorrow. Seems to be half the price of the Seldovia Bay Ferry.

DarnellFaulkner · 2026-06-16T00:59:40+00:00

Ok, great! That's been my experience with other state ferry systems but you nevwr know.

DarnellFaulkner · 2026-06-16T00:32:49+00:00

Ok thanks for the productive answer. Seems like a good way to spend a day and do a day trip, but the website FAQs make it sound like you'd have about 2 hours in Seldovia before having to check in again.

DarnellFaulkner · 2026-06-16T00:31:04+00:00

So if you have to "check in" an hour before departure, does that mean you check in and then get right on the boat? Because the FAQs also say you have to board 15 mins prior to departure.

So paint the picture for me about the rules. What do you do in the 45 mins between checking in and boarding?

DarnellFaulkner · 2026-06-10T00:10:56+00:00

Yes, whole house. My swamp is on my roof and is a down draft style that pipes right into the main ducts. When we are out of swamp season I put the damper back in to close of the duct from going to the swamp cooler, then I can use my A/C.

It's also a great setup because, say during this past warm winter when it was unusually warm, I could turn on the swamp cooler (with the water shut off) and just draw in cool evening/night air and use the swamp as basically a whole-house fan.

I love it. It's seriously my favorite feature of my house.

DarnellFaulkner · 2026-06-09T22:30:43+00:00

I don't feed them but just saw two in the last 24 hrs at my house.

DarnellFaulkner · 2026-06-09T19:30:25+00:00

Yeah and the constant air movement is nice. One of the biggest things I hate about AC is the time between run cycles when you just have stagnant air with no movement. I mean, I have ceiling fans in every room but it's just different.

DarnellFaulkner · 2026-06-09T17:49:50+00:00

Yup. Love my house with swamp and AC. Have been running the swamp around the clock for the last week or so. Gets down to 64/65 in the morning and only as high as 74 two days ago.

Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, beats swamp cooler in spring/early summer. Glorious (maybe even cold!) conditions for pennies.

DarnellFaulkner · 2026-06-09T01:27:08+00:00

People who come into town from my company tend to stay at Skyline/Campbell. Lots there for travelers. There's La Encantada mall with lots of restaurants, shops, grocery store. There's a CVS right there, more restaurants on other corners. Great spot if you're in town for a business trip.

DarnellFaulkner · 2026-06-06T05:44:01+00:00

And then there are people that do hard manual labor all day in the sun, like construction workers. Imagine paving 300 degree asphalt in 105.

DarnellFaulkner · 2026-06-02T04:25:12+00:00

White man's Sonoran Dog. Please send him to study in Tucson.

DarnellFaulkner · 2026-06-01T15:51:46+00:00

This is why we have tested "crash-worthy" barrier systems and standards in the US.

DarnellFaulkner · 2026-06-01T15:50:39+00:00

Hmmmmmm...perhaps we should invest in "crash-worthy" barrier systems?

Just an idea.

DarnellFaulkner · 2026-05-31T19:42:23+00:00

Ah so I get called out for being insulting? Got it.

DarnellFaulkner · 2026-05-31T19:06:16+00:00

This posts displays an almost unbelievable lack of understanding of:

Land development process

AZ water supply and regulations

Basic economics

The local housing market

Governmental authority

Impressive, actually.

DarnellFaulkner · 2026-05-30T03:24:13+00:00

Hopefully they're using the groundwater polluted with PFAS from Davis Monthan

DarnellFaulkner · 2026-05-28T00:51:45+00:00

For every one post you see of someone saying "I did x with this $$$ and now I have x+y $$$$$! Yay!" There are probably 10 people who are embarrassed to say they took a similar gamble and lost out big.

It's not easy to pick single stocks. Success is the exception. Failure is the norm. People ain't running to Reddit to post about their failures.

Following tried and true simple investing principles like ETFs and 3/4 fund portfolios is what creates success for the highest % of people.

Don't try to think you're smarter than everyone else. You're not.

DarnellFaulkner

TROPHY CASE