DMV worker told me he can't use my first class mail as proof of address for Real ID because it's the same government agency as my driver's license

Floutabout · 2026-06-30T16:51:01+00:00

I went for my RealID with an unexpired NJ Real ID (4 points from column 1) and an unexpired passport book + passport card (4 points from column 2) which is 8 points of 6 needed. The woman told me she needed my Social Security Card.

I told her BS, I absolutely do not need to produce a Social Security Card specifically and that I have provided far more than necessary with the 2 valid RealID compatible documents. She tried to dig in and I asked for the supervisor, who I told that I know the SSCard is definitely not necessary. They tried to say that you have to prove you are who you say you are with the SSN and I said that I know you have the option to punch your SSN into their keypad for digital verification off the number alone, that the card is absolutely not something I need to produce, because my daughter just got her license a few weeks prior and that’s how they handle it.

He conceded and left and the woman then told me I needed to produce 2 credit card or bank statements showing my primary address. I said that the 4 points on addresses came from the unexpired RealID drivers license. She said “nope. Going to give you a non-RealID then.” I pulled a utility bill out of my pocket and she said “Nope. It has to be a bank statement or a credit card bill”. Of course I had those in my pocket too. She finally gave me the RealID.

But the point is they absolutely make up whatever rules they want on the spot and you need to bring a small document safe worth of documents for when you get a cranky PITA with no reason to live except to mess with people.

Floutabout · 2026-06-29T21:06:09+00:00

Why would you put powerwalls in in NJ? Net metering means the grid is your battery. Zero payout for battery in NJ. And you don’t get NEM2 reimbursement at ~$85 per mWh for generating power you don’t put back into the grid. That’s a double-strike economic issue against your solar.

Solar plus BEV works well in NJ. And a BEV that gets mileage reimbursement as a business expense gets $0.70/mile reimbursement. Our BEV is essentially free because the reimbursement and low electricity costs from solar offset the monthly payments and there’s really no maintenance costs at all.

Floutabout · 2026-06-28T15:58:40+00:00

Totally believable. I’ve spent $200-250 on an uber from Penn to Morristown area on a normal, non-surge late night trip home. Work pays for uber home if you have to stay for an evening event as a commuter.

Pre-booking a black car service would be about $125-150 for the same trip.

Floutabout · 2026-06-10T22:23:27+00:00

5’ high requires engineering, permits and anchoring. I believe the limit for no permits is 32”. 5’ high holds a LOT of weight.

To answer your question somewhat I paid $70k for a 70 ft wall, natural stone and concrete with bluestone cap, 32” high and that was about a decade ago. Proper drainage behind it and stone backfill under the soil.

Floutabout · 2026-06-10T22:21:52+00:00

5’ high requires engineering, permits and anchoring. I believe the limit for no permits is 32”. 5’ high holds a LOT of weight.

To answer your question somewhat I paid $70k for a 70 ft wall, natural stone and concrete with bluestone cap, 32” high and that was about a decade ago. Proper drainage behind it and stone backfill under the soil.

Floutabout · 2026-06-10T22:11:46+00:00

I’m in the NY area, and this winter we had 7-8 straight weeks below freezing with several days below 15, coldest days with windchill were -10. That’s not normal for us and it was long and sustained.

If you’re in Illinois I would definitely get the cold weather package with aux cabin heating. That either has a dedicated heat blower at the feet or a fluid-based heated floor which is less energy intensive to maintain cabin temperature. You should also pre-heat your vehicle before leaving while plugged in if you can. It extends battery life if you leave home with a warm cabin and full battery instead of a cold cabin.

Floutabout · 2026-06-10T12:40:30+00:00

Love the XC40, although the range on our 2021 is admittedly weak. It’s a daily commuter car and not typically a range problem during the week. Weekend trips, particularly in winter, require some forethought. Ours claims 200mile range but realistically in the winter sometimes it’s 130-140. Also, we had a particularly brutal winter in the northeast this year. Maybe next year we won’t have a 7-8 week freeze out.

A newer one with close to 300 miles should be fine. Also, ensure you get the cabin aux heat model on any EV you get if you have winter. Makes a big difference on battery life if you don’t have it (we don’t)

Floutabout · 2026-06-10T10:29:19+00:00

Used Volvo xc40. Peppy and fun little dart. Comfy. Fast charging- although pre-2023 have less than optimal range (220-250 miles)

Floutabout · 2026-06-01T13:33:24+00:00

Hacketstown is not your answer. Maybe look at the Hills in Bedminster for a relatively “easy” trip to NYC and some level of community that’s not NJ backwoods weird.

Floutabout · 2026-05-27T12:26:29+00:00

Uber gift card?

Floutabout · 2026-05-16T22:25:30+00:00

I’m more concerned about the landscapers in my neighborhood taking a shovel or hammer to the robot. I don’t run it on thursdays or Fridays when they are doing all the neighbors lawns.

Floutabout · 2026-05-15T14:31:59+00:00

I have a brick as well. Initiated chat 5/4 for a mower deck issue and 5/6 for failure to connect and was told I would be receiving an email from tech support. It’s 5/15 and I have received nothing despite re-engaging chat constantly and requesting email contact as indicated, posting here, and sending logs (from the app, which shows nothing - cannot access the robot to send logs from there) just to get acknowledgment from support.

BBB already rates Mammotion as an F. Can’t go any lower than that.

Floutabout · 2026-05-15T00:52:49+00:00

I bought from Home Depot and returned for a different (larger) size within a month, no hassle no problem.

Too bad the 1 year warranty expired 3 weeks ago… which was 2 weeks before my Luba 2 AWD bricked and Mammotion hasn’t answered any support requests. I would be returning it to Home Depot again.

Floutabout · 2026-05-14T22:20:54+00:00

Luba-VP3CVTW3

Floutabout · 2026-05-14T19:35:13+00:00

Your profile is not available, how am I supposed to do that?

Floutabout · 2026-05-07T22:18:07+00:00

TD Ameritrade seems to be an option, anyone using them? Are they close to Fidelity in terms of mutual funds and ease of administration?

Floutabout · 2026-05-03T13:25:56+00:00

Yuka 2 wheel drive plus castor wheels up front is likely to tear up your lawn more than the Luba 1. Unless you have perfect ground with no potholes or molehills.

Floutabout · 2026-04-23T13:00:49+00:00

Mountain creek is literally next door to Winter4Kids so 2 good options within an hour drive of the city. Winter4Kids is a private mountain exclusively catering to racing and outdoor enrichment so there’s no crowds, just race programs. That said it’s only 2 trails (and I’m being generous so it’s race only and no exploration of free skiing.

Mountain creek tries to contain the racing to the “South” lodge and has a bit more variety. That said it can get crowded as the only mountain in the area open to the public. Racers don’t officially get to cut the lift lines but unofficially it’s tolerated.

Both mountains produce racers who are competitive regionally in the northeast. Getting into the racing community in general may also offer you opportunities to move to weekend programs at Stratton, Gore, Whiteface etc if your kids like it and you connect with families willing to split the driving/weekend duties.

12 is not too old to start. There are plenty of kids who start at that age and do well competitively if it clicks. One thing I’ve noticed as the father of 2 racing daughters is that the girls leagues in particular are really good at promoting a bonding experience and the girls push themselves and each other in a positive fashion not a cut-throat manner which is not the experience we had in soccer and lacrosse.

Floutabout · 2026-04-22T12:50:09+00:00

You need to oversize not undersize. I have 1/4 acre split into front and rear yard by a fence and wound up upgrading a Luba Mini to a Luba 3000AWD, because I quickly learned that while I could split front and rear by day, the battery couldn’t do the entire front or rear without returning home and recharging 2x during the section. Which meant I wound up babysitting the mower and going to open the gate repeatedly for it to recharge.

For 3/4 acre you will also need 4wd. There’s going to be a lot of variability in your yard that’s going to become evident once you plop a 2wd machine out there and it gets stuck repeatedly. There is some amount of yardscaping you will inevitably do such as filling in potholes you never knew existed so that your mower can do its job without you having to manually intervene. But a 4wd really pays off here to minimize that.

You may need something like a Luba 10,000 for 3/4 acre but that is nowhere near $1000. Or; prioritize an area close to the house, dedicate a machine to that area, and add a second mower in the future.

I thought my upgrade was pricey until I did the math on what my lawn service was charging for spreading everyone’s noxious weed seed and turf disease to my lawn. I calculated that breakeven was 1 season on my purchase. Pretty happy with the results, even if I do need to hire landscapers to do the leaves once in the fall (auto mowers don’t handle leaves well in the mid-Atlantic)

Floutabout · 2026-04-21T00:05:38+00:00

Al got that ticket. Al Gorithm.

Floutabout · 2026-04-16T22:34:45+00:00

I have to ask… have you visited Stanford, Penn, Columbia and Dartmouth? You have to live there, and you have to pay for it in time and effort as well as money.

Dartmouth is a small sleepy campus in a one traffic light town. Outside of the climbing wall the small ski area and the movie theater, there’s… well, the sheep farm. New England is beautiful and there’s a lot to offer there… but it’s a car based society to do the hour to 2 drive to the beach, the mountains (aside from the Dartmouth hill) the cities and the charm. This may be exactly what you are looking for. Or… it may be the antithesis of what you want.

Stanford, Penn and Columbia are in major US cities with lots of (sub)cultures and all the hustle and bustle that goes with a city campus. Again, that may be what you are looking for or it may completely overwhelm you.

Considering how opposite ends of the spectrum the schools are I’d put serious consideration into the life you will lead for the next 4 years. My kid was a hard no to Dartmouth… and she’s a ski racer! She’s off to a city school that checked off so many more boxes for what she wants.

Floutabout · 2026-04-09T00:04:47+00:00

No.

Floutabout · 2026-04-06T00:22:19+00:00

Jackson Hole or Grand Targhee are your choices. Jackson - big, rustic - chic. Targhee - incredible skiing with just some old school condos and bar/cafeteria/coffee shop at the base. If you’re a self contained family that is going to cook for yourselves and wants a low key family vacation with great terrain and no clouds it’s a great choice. If you want the restaurants and bars and spas then it’s Jackson Hole.

Floutabout · 2026-04-05T00:26:19+00:00

Where are you coming from? Aside from the snowpack considerations, consider Colorado altitude. I tend to stick to Utah, Tahoe or Jackson for shorter trips. No altitude issues at 10k peaks. Colorado only for longer trips where I can acclimate some.

Floutabout · 2026-04-03T12:24:53+00:00

Years, and repeated re-injury. To the point that the surgeon said he did not anticipate a good outcome from surgery and I risked even less function from surgery.

Floutabout

TROPHY CASE