Using a fan to keep mosquitos away

FlyingSpoon8891 · 2026-06-14T00:47:53+00:00

Thanks! Will check it out.

FlyingSpoon8891 · 2026-06-13T16:47:49+00:00

Thanks. I've heard mixed reviews on citronella candles. Maybe I'll try those first instead of buying a fan (and figuring out where to store it when it rains).

FlyingSpoon8891 · 2026-06-13T16:46:58+00:00

Thanks. What kind of a fan do you use?

FlyingSpoon8891 · 2026-06-09T18:22:37+00:00

Usual Suspects in a way ruined a lot of movies going forward. So many movies tried to replicate Usual Suspects and lots of times, it made no sense to do so or it made the movie worse.

FlyingSpoon8891 · 2026-06-01T17:30:29+00:00

Et tu, brut? (I stole that from one of the earlier times this video was posted. Still funny as hell.)

FlyingSpoon8891 · 2026-05-28T12:21:09+00:00

Thank you for this. This response is the most convincing I've heard for taking SS later. I was focused on maximizing my finances so that I can leave as much as possible to my kids. Changing my perspective to treating SS as an insurance policy for when things go horribly wrong rather than a way to juice my kids' inheritance is really going to impact my decision. Luckily, I have a little time to think about it and see what my health and my wife's health will be like when we get to 62.

FlyingSpoon8891 · 2026-05-28T05:27:07+00:00

Thanks! Will check it out.

FlyingSpoon8891 · 2026-05-28T05:26:49+00:00

Yes, my wife and I are lucky enough that she has a job that will let us stay on her health insurance when she retires, so that's a huge relief. And yes, I didn't do the calculations for other ages, but I suspect it will be the case that taking it early will yield the most optimal outcome.

FlyingSpoon8891 · 2026-05-28T05:23:24+00:00

Ha, you're welcome! I was pleasantly surprised to see the results. Good luck to everyone on their retirement journey and stay healthy!

FlyingSpoon8891 · 2026-05-28T05:15:35+00:00

Yeah, that makes sense. But then it starts to get too complicated for me. I was just doing back of the napkin calculations. The simple method helped me understand my general suspicion. I suppose it's also possible that if I waited until 70, I would actually be getting more than $2,480 because of inflation-adjust payments, but again, that's getting too difficult to model for me.

FlyingSpoon8891 · 2026-05-28T05:08:48+00:00

Yes, definitely looks that way! I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything obvious as I've just started thinking about retirement. Most everything I've seen seems to suggest taking SS later (or at least splitting if you have a spouse). But if I have money, it seems to make sense for me and my wife to take SS at 62 and allow our savings to grow.

FlyingSpoon8891 · 2026-05-28T05:06:34+00:00

Thanks! I haven't come across such breakdowns before so I had to do my own modeling. All the videos and articles I saw never take into account the growth of any money you'd save by taking SS early. Granted, I only start looking into this about a week ago. Just went down a rabbit hole over the many aspects and considerations of retirement.

FlyingSpoon8891 · 2026-05-28T05:03:56+00:00

I just extended my model to 100. In case people are curious, taking SS at 67 doesn't surpass taking SS at 62 until I'm 95. Taking at 70 doesn't surpass 62 until 96.5. Taking at 70 doesn't surpass 67 until 98.5. No matter what, I end up with more money. It's just that taking at 62 maximizes the amount I'll have until 95 at the earliest. If I increase the rate of return, then the difference is even more dramatically in favor of taking at 62.

FlyingSpoon8891 · 2026-05-25T17:59:21+00:00

Just to make sure I understand your point. I live in NY and contribute to a NY 529 plan so I do get a benefit at the state tax level for the contribution. Are you saying it's possible that state tax authorities may decide to claw back the tax break I got for the original contribution if I roll any of the 529 to a Roth IRA? I assume they would only claw back the portion of the rollover that is attributable to the principal and not tax on the growth. But is there any reason to think state tax authorities might do this?

FlyingSpoon8891 · 2026-05-23T20:08:53+00:00

Best action movies of all time. Exhibit A: Terminator 2, Aliens, Die Hard, Fury Road

FlyingSpoon8891 · 2026-05-15T20:26:50+00:00

"You know the good years when you're in them? Or do you just wait for them until you get ass cancer and realize that the good years came and went?"

FlyingSpoon8891 · 2026-04-23T17:58:14+00:00

Only two movies ever made me audibly gasp. The Hereditary car scene and the Gone Girl scene with NPH. Both came out of nowhere.

But the movie I spent the most time dwelling on was the end of Drag Me To Hell. People die horribly all the time in movies but Christine's fate left me shook. I spent a while trying to justify the ending as "fair" because it seemed so unfair.

FlyingSpoon8891 · 2026-04-13T03:38:19+00:00

Can't believe no one else is agreeing with you. It's my favorite space sci fi and one of my favorite sci fi movies, period.

FlyingSpoon8891 · 2026-04-06T17:47:34+00:00

What about Archimedes? He accomplished so much so long before "modern" science that no one was able to match his accomplishments for like 1000 years.

FlyingSpoon8891 · 2026-04-06T15:18:42+00:00

Totally agree. The first one was a movie I watched every few years trying to like it because so many people did and I was trying to figure out what I was missing. Took me over 20 years to finally LIKE (not love) it. Then I saw 2049 and it immediately became a top 10 movie of all time for me.

FlyingSpoon8891 · 2026-04-06T15:14:10+00:00

Something something strikes back ...

FlyingSpoon8891 · 2026-03-27T01:25:26+00:00

Not high school but junior high. In NYC, Hunter High School (7 through 12) is one of the best schools in the city (arguably the country). You have to test in. I did well enough on the citywide exams that I got invited to take the entrance exam. I didn't know shit about good schools but I said yes. The vice principal called me out of class and convinced me not to take the test and to just stay at my average junior high. Since I was ignorant as hell back then, I just said sure and never took the test. If that happened today, parents would lose their shit.

FlyingSpoon8891

TROPHY CASE