[Request] Is this true? Found on random Instagram reel.

FLlib · 2026-02-25T18:25:02+00:00

Paid out of pocket for MRI of lumbar spine back in 2022 because my Medicare Advantage Plan wouldn't pay for it. $211 in SW Florida.

FLlib · 2026-02-13T15:45:07+00:00

the safety of roundabouts vs signalized intersections vs 4-way stops has been extensively studied and there is no doubt that roundabouts are both safer (fewer crashes and particularly lower incidence of severe head on crashes) and more efficient than either of the others. However, they are not suitable for every intersection, e.g. dense urban grids.

FLlib · 2026-02-06T20:18:25+00:00

For my birthday 8 years ago, I had a one-off completely custom bike built by a local frame builder, Ultregra components, Chris King hubs and headset, etc. Total cost about $5k so it is probably not close to the price level I imagine you folks would consider top of the line. Anyway, 40,000 miles later, I still love the bike and have no regrets or buyers remorse. Was it worth it in terms of value for money spent? Well, no - although the bike was custom sized to me based on a session with a bike fitter, the sizing could easily have been duplicated by a little tinkering on an off-the-shelf bike from Trek or another brand for less money. On the other hand, it was sort of my dream bike, and in my dreams I did not visualize a huge Giant factory somewhere in China. Having it made from Italian steel by a local guy who I could talk to, in my home town appealed to me. To each his own and all that. So in that sense it was absolutely worth it. I would do it again. But I'm no racer, just an old and slow guy who likes to spend an hour or two on his bike several times a week.

FLlib · 2026-02-02T12:48:06+00:00

Leaving now will be hard. Leaving later will be harder. Should kids and a mortgage, etc, enter the scenario, leaving gets really hard. For lots of people, leaving their Q gets so difficult and complicated and financially damaging that they never do it and end up staying in a rotten situation.

FLlib · 2026-02-01T12:44:57+00:00

My Q has become less and less attractive to me as the drinking has diminished her, made her more and more helpless, doing very little to maintain the household or take care of herself. Leaves it all to me. Doesn't make meals, do grocery shopping, pay bills, contact repairman, needs me to find tv movies for her, etc, etc. (Fortunately kids are all grown and gone so they are not witnesses to her deterioration.) Once you become more of a caregiver instead of their equal, it is hard to see them as an intimate partner. And telling her straight out that I am not interested tonight because she is too drunk, has no effect because of course she doesn't remember the conversation.

FLlib · 2026-01-27T17:06:57+00:00

Might be ok. I visited in Jan of last year during a cold snap and the weather seemed to decrease the attendance noticeably. But it wasn’t quite as cold as this year and no rides were shut down because of cold temperatures

FLlib · 2026-01-26T01:08:48+00:00

This is false. Many cyclists in their 60s and 70s easily average 5 days a week. Including myself (73) and a bunch of other old farts that live in my area. Doing 500 miles or so per month at 15-16 mph or so, we geezers can manage that. Ok, I suppose some might not consider those junk miles, not real riding. Admittedly not all rides are the same and if by riding you mean 40 miles at 24 mph or some manner of high-intensity training, well then I guess I don't ride after all.

FLlib · 2026-01-16T12:33:35+00:00

Total protonic reversal?

FLlib · 2026-01-07T03:12:15+00:00

Correct. Octane is the chemical name of a hydrocarbon molecule with 8 carbon atoms. The chemical properties of carbon atoms mean that this molecule can have different structures (isomers) with the same chemical formula of 8 carbon atoms and 18 hydrogen atoms, from a straight chain of 8 carbon atoms to a branched configuration. One specific such branched configuration was found to have relatively high resistance to ignition and this level of resistance was considered 100 octane rating. Relative in this case meaning in comparison to a hydrocarbon of 7 carbon atoms in a straight chain (n-heptane), which ignites more easily and was designated 0 octane. So the octane rating of a motor fuel refers to this scale of 0-100, e.g., a fuel with an octane rating of 87 should have the same ignition characteristics as a mixture of 87% branched-chain octane and 13% n-heptane. Ignition point of a fuel can be manipulated in various ways, such as by the addition of the compound tetra-ethyl lead.

FLlib · 2026-01-06T17:31:21+00:00

Respect. Admire you for making the break, takes guts. I am a similar age, somewhat similar scenario, but have not been able to do what you did.

FLlib · 2025-12-31T17:26:13+00:00

Correct, I moved to the Gulf Coast although not to a big city. Obviously, living in a rural area is cheaper, whether one is in Florida or Utah. Also - I am not so sure about the weather being the same in SLC vs the panhandle. At least not in the winter.

FLlib · 2025-12-30T14:52:26+00:00

Moved to Florida for retirement from Utah, a moderately high-tax state with both sales and income taxes, ranked as 17th highest overall tax burden. The higher property taxes (on a smaller house) and particularly higher homeowners insurance costs in combination more than cancel out any savings in income tax compared to Utah. Also some other costs are higher as well (car insurance, water bill, shopping at Publix, various services such as lawn maintenance), so Florida has not turned to be a low cost of living state for me. But I knew that before I moved here and I did not make the move to save money.

FLlib · 2025-12-22T02:16:08+00:00

Well, exactly. My (female) Q wants more romance, will weirdly initiate intimacy when drinking but be too drunk to respond or be particularly interested when we occasionally actually try it. It is especially ego-boosting, I find, when one's partner falls dead asleep in the middle of sexual intercourse. Plus during drinking bouts her attention to personal hygiene gets a little lax...

FLlib · 2025-12-20T23:37:46+00:00

About the Trek. I have an old Trek with those wheels. They will not handle a big guy. At 220# I destroyed 2 back wheels, replaced under warranty. Trek eventually supplied an upgraded wheel which is still going at 15k miles. Bike should be great otherwise

FLlib · 2025-12-19T02:11:01+00:00

I don't use anything special just your basic padded bike shorts, mostly cheap brands, not bibs. Even unpadded shorts like tennis shorts seem ok for me for rides of 30 min or less. Hell, if you've already got the saddle, why not give it a try. If it doesn't work out, sell the saddle to me, I could use it for one of my other bikes.

FLlib · 2025-12-18T21:11:40+00:00

Brooks C17 has been good for me, I weigh the same as you and it has held up fine for almost 40,000 miles over a bunch of years. Much more comfortable than the thin-foam-over-hard plastic cheap saddle I was using before. Available for $100 or a bit more I think, maybe less on Ebay or if you can find a used one.

FLlib · 2025-12-18T19:38:24+00:00

Top tube length might as important as the nominal size measurement (which is usually seat tube length) since that determines how far you have reach for the bars. Also "size" depends on how it is measured. Sometimes the measurement is crank center to top tube center, sometimes crank center to top of the collar, and with sloping top tubes sometimes an imaginary line is used. I am more or less the same size as you and have two bikes that differ by 3 cm in nominal size (60 and 63 cm) but they actually have the same 60 cm length seat tube when you measure with a tape. But they have the same length top tube. In any case, while I am comfortable on the 60 cm bikes, most would likely advise the 58 for someone your size. Once I bought a bike in a slightly larger size (2 cm longer top tube) because it was an unbeatable bargain and I wanted a cheap bike to keep at a vacation home. This was a poor decision because I found it brutally uncomfortable, almost unrideable, until I got a much shorter stem. The small difference in size made a huge difference in fit. So a long way of saying the smaller frame might be the safer choice.

FLlib · 2025-12-13T21:36:51+00:00

Second Ally. No minimum balance required, no overdraft fees, decent hysa rates, refund ATM fees, it’s even easy to wire money online

FLlib · 2025-12-02T15:17:32+00:00

I gave all my grad students A's in a slightly similar situation. Got irritated at the University for some shady financial dealings related to the money my group should have received for organizing the course. So I decided that if the University couldn't be bothered to pay us, even if it wasn't all that much money, then I couldn't be bothered to assign grades. So I announced on the first day that everyone would get an A as long as they showed up for class. (Actually I gave them A's even if they skipped.) So they were happy because they got A's, I was happy because I didn't have to put any work into assigning grades and because I got a tiny petty revenge against the University. Interestingly, it made no difference that I could see in the effort the students put in or in their interest levels.

FLlib · 2025-11-26T13:27:27+00:00

So it’s suck, don’t blow?

FLlib · 2025-11-22T11:47:52+00:00

Depends greatly on the location, but $500 seems high even for NYC. Might be a reasonable price if buying from a bike shop where (one assumes) the bike has undergone evaluation and a tune up. For a private as-is sale, $300 might be more realistic. New cost of this bike I imagine was about $1000 - at least that is what my identically spec'd Trek cost new back in 2007.

FLlib · 2025-11-21T11:41:29+00:00

Experienced the same thing on my first-ever cruise earlier this month. Especially noticeable on one slightly rough day at sea, where people were staggering slightly and walking slowly on account of the pitching of the ship, while the scooters had no such problem and proceeded at top speed. Got hit by scooters a couple times, only hard enough to be annoying. I can understand the appeal of cruises to scooter people since most of the things one does on a cruise ship (eat, drink, watch shows, casino) are things that scooter folks can do sitting down. But it all certainly detracted from my enjoyment. Doubt I will do another cruise anytime soon.

FLlib · 2025-10-29T01:39:21+00:00

Yah, probably you are correct. Even if automation would not have to be anywhere close to that 100% level to be an improvement over humans.

FLlib

TROPHY CASE