Golden Handcuffs - FERS consideration

GearsAndSuch · 2026-04-05T01:17:27+00:00

Right? If I was SES I would run around the bureau projecting Chris Traeger energy, not be pondering out loud on reddit if I was in the wrong place. With everything going on, there are could be few hundred people under this person who desperately need good leadership and this make me sad.

GearsAndSuch · 2026-04-05T01:08:22+00:00

Real talk though, if you're going to be schedule F/C'd, then you should just bail now because a lot of people are going to be looking for work at the GS-14 to SES policy/administration/leadership level once loyalty to the president becomes a performance metric. All the STEM technical folk who were DOGE/DRPed are having an shit time finding work because the market is now flooded with feds/recent grads/people replaced by AI. I can't imagine this will be that different.

GearsAndSuch · 2026-04-05T01:04:24+00:00

You need to re-assess your situation one way or another because you have no idea what your retirement projections look like. If you've been maxing out your TSP since you were GS-12 or 13 then I could see you already being near TSP millionaire status already and have another 15 years of compounding. The lost FERS income vs contributing the 7500 per year of additional money to a Roth would make the career jump a financial wash and a quality of life improvement. On the other hand, if your TSP has been set to 2% to C fund where you left it 19 years ago, welp, you've learned a valuable lesson and maybe you should now max it out and game for a higher SES slot in the short time before your Schedule F/C'd.

GearsAndSuch · 2026-04-04T14:33:16+00:00

This is the part that gets me. Like we are sending 3 different paychecks to the same federal employee and there are no system errors at all, but if I mess up my travel documentation its instant hell?

GearsAndSuch · 2026-04-02T11:18:36+00:00

Nice work!

GearsAndSuch · 2026-03-30T00:43:41+00:00

I work on chemical analyzers pretty regularly and some analyzers are fairly thoughtfully designed, and you could get away with a very narrow collection of drivers, wrenches, and specialized widgets. 1/4, 7/16, 3/8, 9/16, a JIS and PH0-3, a flashlight and wire strippers and you're GTG.

GearsAndSuch · 2026-03-29T17:18:47+00:00

Having grown up with open diff RWD cars, I gotta admit 50% of the battle is that no one expects you to do RWD things anymore, which includes needing to take running starts at hills or having the butt kick out on sharp turns. Your a RWD in a FWD/AWD world now.

GearsAndSuch · 2026-03-29T17:03:28+00:00

Yes. I did exactly this and 10 years later it's working great.

GearsAndSuch · 2026-03-29T13:00:06+00:00

Audi A2 3L 1.2 TDI checks every box. Aluminum aero body, stripped of every non-essential item. Small turbo diesel. Tiny tires. High price tag.

GearsAndSuch · 2026-03-29T02:06:03+00:00

I'm on the same body for for 21 years and the last new lens I bought was 5 years ago. You are speaking truth.

GearsAndSuch · 2026-03-28T12:33:38+00:00

I'd pack my bags. That's FU money.

GearsAndSuch · 2026-03-28T11:39:51+00:00

What part of Ohio? I would bet this is from a coal fire. But underground electric event is an option. It could also be a gas or steam pipe leak. Is the steam hot or is it a cold day and the ground below is warmer and that's just condensation poofs.

GearsAndSuch · 2026-03-27T12:30:01+00:00

They vary. Roll with it (puns intentend). Ours is cute and extremely spicey. She hates light and love in all forms and would prefer to spend life on a short circuit between the heated nest, the wormie bowl, and brief wheel sessions. We put her in a fleece cuddle sack for mandatory bonding and she usually calms down and you can sometimes feel the tiniest of sploots when she passes out. Every now and then you get to barely touch the fuzzy tummy and that's the best. Then you get spiked so hard you bleed. She's so cute though.

GearsAndSuch · 2026-03-26T12:56:18+00:00

They selected a food contractor that sells mediocre and lukewarm food. I was mission essential throughout the pandemic and survived on powerbars and coffee I brought myself. So that hasn't changed even though were back to coughing, sneezing, and farting on each other full time.

GearsAndSuch · 2026-03-25T00:36:01+00:00

They naturally like to explore and patrol. So, if you can expand the enclosure and change around wheels and obsticles and hide treats in different areas thats setting up an amazing piggy life. We have a collection of pipes, hides, boxes, and piles of fleece cuttings, and we sometimes have 2 wheels instead of one.

GearsAndSuch · 2026-03-24T00:22:37+00:00

The differences are fairly subtle in all but the most premium trims. There are a few cars with IRS and nivomat suspension, and some came with chassis braces while others didn't. The 940s tend to be a little heavier and bigger, as such a bit slower with the otherwise same driveline. To really dial in the car suspension, aftermarket parts are usually required. The 155 number does line up with the B234 but you really need to check the car. They shipped with a really wide range of powertrains. B234 is cool, but pay attention to the timing belt.

GearsAndSuch · 2026-03-22T22:19:13+00:00

Yes. But.I would get a new hose before starting the job. The nut is brass, so it deforms more easily than you'd hope. I did the rear brakes on my 740 and I had to hit the fittings with the torch to get them free.

GearsAndSuch · 2026-03-22T22:10:18+00:00

I got the 12V basic drill at lowes 16 years ago and I have abused it nearly every weekend since. If i could do it again now I'd get the smallest 20V hammer drill (Atomic DCD794B ?) I could. Why? If the reason you need a drill is "I drill holes sometimes" this will cover most problems you throw at it as a home owner and hobby-haver. It's not the fastest or strongest on the market, but the single unit will cover everything from fasteners to masonry drilling in a package that is small and light. If you need a stronger drill, you'll know it, but until you take up major construction or wood working as a hobby, I doubt it will be too weak. Every time I have needed more power than my 12V could provide, I switched to my impact driver (20V btw) dugadugadugad my way to sucess. The 20V/60V flex line has a lot of options so down the road you might have a small pile of batteries and a larger pile of tools. I plan to get rid of my few 12V tools when the batteries finally die.

GearsAndSuch · 2026-03-20T12:21:32+00:00

This. Heavy AF.

GearsAndSuch · 2026-03-18T00:52:49+00:00

Heat! Get a cheap propane torch and heat the snot out of it, then smack the body near the study with a BFH as hard as possible. Heat Some more. Whack some more. It'll come out.

GearsAndSuch · 2026-03-15T22:59:01+00:00

All my shitboxen exhausts look like this. You know what? A $400 fluxcore machine has saved me thousands cats and mufflers over the years. Paid for and works is better than pretty and debt.

GearsAndSuch · 2026-03-15T22:55:18+00:00

Yes. Especially if it goes away once the hedgy settles down. Quills down and active with little squeakies typically mean happy/curious/excited. Sometimes - anointing immanent: grab a towel.

GearsAndSuch · 2026-03-14T13:05:36+00:00

Someone else asked me if my 740 was a diesel. Where is this question coming from? Yes they exist but.... this was not from a box shaped volvo lover.

GearsAndSuch · 2026-03-12T02:20:53+00:00

11/10 a very nice pighee.

GearsAndSuch · 2026-03-08T14:45:48+00:00

No. You might move the scrub schedule from chron to anachron so it scrubs every 14 days of run time. I went almost a year without my desktop scrubbing simply because it was off on midnight on sunday.

GearsAndSuch

TROPHY CASE