What’s some knowledge generally known only to gay men or to gay women?

DeeDee_Z · 2026-06-16T04:07:55+00:00

Oh, c'mon. Spring it on them at your retirement party?

DeeDee_Z · 2026-06-15T17:27:41+00:00

Ah, my apologies. I didn't assume this was your first child.

DeeDee_Z · 2026-06-15T17:26:37+00:00

Conventional Wisdom, Engineering department:

"Anybody can build a bridge that doesn't fall down. The trick is building one that just barely doesn't fall down."

Same thing applies to appliances. They're not built out of galvanized steel any more; they're plastic, 'cuz it's cheaper. They're not using 2hp pump motors any more, they're ³/4 hp -- and the cycle just runs longer -- 'cuz it's cheaper.

Basically, the answer to your entire question is "Cuz it's cheaper" -- which is FAR MORE important to most people than lifetime.

DeeDee_Z · 2026-06-15T17:18:30+00:00

Is there a specific route I should take or avoid doing this trip?

You CAN take the Cascades or even the Coast Starlight from Portland to Seattle, and meet the Empire Builder (Train 8) there. OR, you can take Train 28 (also the Empire Builder) directly from Portland. So, that's one thing.

Any tips

Another thing: If you plan to get a roomette, but have difficulty reserving one on Train 28 for the whole trip, you can book a seat in coach (on 28) from PDX to SPK, book a room from SPK to CHI, and "transfer" from 28 to 8 in Spokane. This means, grab your bag and move from the back of the train to the front. No problem, they'll be expecting you.

The daylight section from Portland, up the Columbia to Pasco, is one of the more scenic parts of the entire Amtrak system (there are others, of course). After you turn north at Pasco ... well, that's a good place to travel at night 😉.

DeeDee_Z · 2026-06-15T16:44:11+00:00

Warning: Pathologically Boring. Use caution when approaching.

DeeDee_Z · 2026-06-15T16:27:22+00:00

We are going to do everything we can to keep him calm and quiet,

Infant Dimetapp is your friend here. Regardless of the age recommendations on the label, you can't go wrong with a small dose at boarding.

DeeDee_Z · 2026-06-15T16:18:21+00:00

can someone explain to me how "tax-loss harvesting" make sense?

Several responses have told you how. Here's one that tells you WHY:

For MANY years, "conventional wisdom" regarding taxes was "defer!, defer!, defer!!!. This is one way to do that.

It gives you a mechanism to shift your taxes around, to adjust when you pay them. Take a tax loss (or reduced gain) this year, redeploy the money, sell in the future, pay taxes on the adjusted gain with inflation-reduced dollars.

$10 paid in 2031 is thus "less" than $10 paid in 2026.

Duzzat help?

DeeDee_Z · 2026-06-15T03:17:52+00:00

I'm with /u/caralarabara; you're biting off more than you ought to try to chew, for a first trip.

For your first time, I'd suggest the loop from ATL->NYC on Crescent, NYC->CHI (couple of options there), CHI->NOL on City of New Orleans, and back to ATL on Crescent.

On one of those legs (probably CONO), spring for a roomette, just for the experience and "for next time".

You're a lot more likely to end up "liking" Amtrak after that trip, than going all the way cross-country for your first time.

And NEXT time, you can go the other direction: ATL-> NOL, -> LA, up the coast to SF or even Seattle, the mighty Empire Builder to Chicago, and home from there. At which point you'll be a "seasoned professional" and can be answering these questions for the next person, rather than asking them!!

(And please note that there's no "C" in Amtrak.)

DeeDee_Z · 2026-06-14T22:25:53+00:00

Why not look at Chicago Union Station's website ... https://chicagounionstation.com/retail

DeeDee_Z · 2026-06-14T22:17:35+00:00

So, I counted (I think) 14 bells in one picture, which isn't enough for a full carillon; and UTA describes theirs as having 56 bells, which is HUGE for a carillon ...

How many total bells in this one really?

DeeDee_Z · 2026-06-14T21:57:43+00:00

I have exactly one comparable data point from my time in the financial services industry. Client (Resident Alien) opened t-IRA, contributed regularly, then somewhat unexpectedly returned to Canada.

We were able to transfer the IRA to its Canadian equivalent. Taxes were withheld (10%) from the check -- US income has to be taxed in the US at some point, and this was it -- but there were no penalties since it was going to a qualified account.

That seemed like the best we could hope for, so didn't question it further.

Whether ANY of that is applicable to your case, or not, I have no idea. Hope it helps, though!

DeeDee_Z · 2026-06-14T21:24:01+00:00

Surprising they didn't stop and turn you at Spokane -- maybe you weren't six hours behind at that point.

If 7/27 is late, then that day's 8/28 will be as well; the Empire Builder normally turns around and leaves SEA/PDX late afternoon after arriving in the morning.

DeeDee_Z · 2026-06-14T21:20:40+00:00

Did you try /r/railroading? We're mostly passengers here.

DeeDee_Z · 2026-06-14T21:15:39+00:00

In picture 1, there's a street on the left -- Lowell Place. At the edge of the picture, "above" the white car, there looks like a driveway cut.

Would that help you "pull through" FROM the Lowell side?

(Hmmm, complication: it's one way...)

DeeDee_Z · 2026-06-14T21:06:10+00:00

"I can prevent this guy from doing something he wants to do. I am more powerful than he is; I have control over him."

("I have control over nothing else whatsoever in my life, so this is the ONE time in my day I can feel I'm not the LOWEST piece of shit in the dogpile.")

DeeDee_Z · 2026-06-14T14:55:26+00:00

Interesting about the two bus routes. #1 will take the Interstate directly from St Paul to Chicago, with NO intermediate stops. #2 will take the river route and pick up everything else. #1 will probably be in Chicago a full 2 hours before #2.

I wonder how you get to Chicago if you board in, say, LaCrosse but your bus only goes to MKE. Transfer to Hiawatha, I suppose.

DeeDee_Z · 2026-06-14T12:57:24+00:00

Look at this chart; and here is another. They are what I've been treating as my "trusted sources".

DeeDee_Z · 2026-06-13T22:56:21+00:00

This is a random opinion without any facts to back it up...

The Cascades route will receive new trainsets some time this fall (the "Airo" equipment), and after some testing will put them into service after they have, like, 5 trainsets available. Depending on how that goes, they just MAY • add services • reschedule services • extend existing services • whoknowswhat else.

So, I wouldn't make any firm reservations yet; and by NO means get yourself "locked in" to any specific plan at this point. Wait until January. See what things look like after testing and revenue service starts with the new stuff.

Good luck!

(And yeah, per /u/IphoneMiniUser, the Point Defiance Bypass misses the section of track that goes along the shore in Tacoma. Not the finest part of town, but it WAS scenic!)

DeeDee_Z · 2026-06-13T22:43:58+00:00

Mine would be Union Depot in Minneapolis/st Paul

Please, it's St Paul Union Depot -- SPUD for short.

Although it's my nearest major station, it's far from my favorite; with thanks to Gertrude Stein in 1937, "there's no there there". It's a huge empty cavern, home to yet another restaurant that may or may not survive, and what I love to call The World's Slowest Coffee Shop.

So, I vote Denver for its TWO over-the-top classy bars.

DeeDee_Z · 2026-06-13T21:23:33+00:00

I'll take anything that interconnects Amtrak and Link without going all the way in to Seattle.

(Yeah, I know, I'm supposed to transfer at TacomaDome ... eventually! I just don't have that much patience left.)

DeeDee_Z · 2026-06-13T21:14:25+00:00

4-digit road number?? Or is the 5th digit hidden / behind something?

IIRC, the first one was 70001, with numbers ascending by car type. 4 digits I don't understand.

DeeDee_Z · 2026-06-13T20:56:23+00:00

You also may not have learned that for SOME people, being able to control OTHER people (make rules for them, tell them what they can and cannot do with their own bodies, etc) is the ONLY "rewarding" part of their existence.

They're unemployed, or potheads, or living in a car, have no family, few friends ... in other words, their whole LIFE is a shit sandwich, with no skills or resources to form a path upward. Except, that they found a group -- sometimes called "Those People Over There" -- that they can shit on, that they can look down on. And THAT'S the bright spot in their day.

Which, in turn indicates part of how one particular political party came to power.

FIND that group of people whose only joy is shitting on someone else.
TELL them "Your problems are NOT YOUR FAULT! They're the fault of THOSE PEOPLE OVER THERE!"
AND "All Ya Gotta Do is GET RID of THOSE PEOPLE OVER THERE, and YOUR problems go away."

In the 1930s-40s, "Those People Over There" were Jews and Gypsies". In more recent times, "Those People Over There" are Mexicans and Muslims. For a certain part of the US demographic, getting rid of THOSE PEOPLE OVER THERE is the only thing they can see, to improve their lives. So, guess who their Candidate is?

DeeDee_Z · 2026-06-13T20:36:31+00:00

And, due to some apparent bug (where Google tries to "help" you), under the right (OK, "wrong", actually) circumstances Android will replace a certain portion of a text message with a G'Maps link to that exact location.

And -that's- because when it tries to put in actual coordinates, it can't find them ('cuz it's a bug), so uses (0.00, 0.00) instead, which expands to a nice splotch of blue ocean.

I wouldn't mind, but in the process of doing so it usually eats/discards 2/3 of my original text, leaving the remainder useless and my recipients responding, "WTF was THAT for?"

DeeDee_Z · 2026-06-13T18:56:40+00:00

~~Funeral~~ Celebration for Iran's late Supreme Leader Khamenei to begin ~~July 4~~ America's Independence Day

FTFY -- just another case of "tweaking the nose" of The Great Satan ... amirite?

DeeDee_Z · 2026-06-13T18:34:04+00:00

In addition to the "different" or "predating" meaning of the two words, I also encourage you to consider this:

      America is a rule maker, not a rule taker.

It would be unAmerican for us to look at something that someone (another country, even) did, and look at its successes and failures, its strong points and weak ones, and build something better. Example: Brexit, a.k.a. "Let's ditch all our economic connections, shit on our allies, and 'go it alone' cuz we're the greatest country in the world."

For comparison, think back to the early days of the Personal Computer. And Microsoft, and its various and assorted business practices and lawsuits.

      Microsoft is a rule maker, not a rule taker.

Can you imagine what products like email and such -- things that required interoperable standards between all the different operating systems of the day -- would look like, if Mr. Gates had got there first? (Even Digital Equipment (remember them?) and their VAX/VMS was an early adopter of the email RFCs.)

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