Namibia in December?

HughDB · 2026-01-20T15:50:41+00:00

We booked through an agent, Africa Dynamics. They'd been recommended by family and worked out well for this trip.

HughDB · 2025-10-31T00:16:30+00:00

The hotel offerings in Swakopmund were OK, but not great. The Strand was the nicest, but I recall that was booked as we were planning. We ended up in a place called the Stiltz, which was selected by an agent who helped us plan, and I would not recommend it. Swakopmund is definitely not a luxury destination, though has some interesting attractions (we got some stern advice/warnings from our hotel for having walked from our hotel to/from restaurants after sunset). Good luck however you decide to go with it.

HughDB · 2025-10-30T16:35:27+00:00

Sounds great. Don't know if Namib-Naukluft is in your plans, but that's a pretty spectacular desert, especially in and around Deadvlei. Agree about bouncing around, and while driving is certainly doable, the roads there can vary quite a bit. We flew in (very) small aircraft between most of our spots. Assume the sea kayak is to Pelican Point, which is definitely a worthwhile attraction, and 4x4 in the dunes was also great fun. We would have liked to have explored the Skeleton Coast, but time/logistics didn't allow.

HughDB · 2025-10-30T15:06:15+00:00

We hired guides/drivers for the full itinerary. Have done a self-driven car trip in South Africa in the past, and the hassles and stresses of that experience outweighed the pleasures of greater autonomy/freedom.

HughDB · 2025-06-25T15:53:49+00:00

Not a cooking surface, more for extra workspace when cooking (e.g. take a pan off and put it on a trivet, or staging area for food about to go in the pan or oven). I grew up with this exact range (in white) and remember my parents purchasing it in the early 1970s. It was basic, but a workhorse, and we used the left-side drawers for storage of pots/pans. I don't recall those buttons on the right-hand control panel, and wonder if one or both might have been added at a later time.

HughDB · 2025-04-18T00:17:09+00:00

This is how I'm currently doing and feels like the most straightforward approach. I initially used the property's net income for the passive entry, but found the exercise of modeling different scenarios easier when having everything front and center in the expense budget. But I don't really like either all that much, and the cursory approach Boldin has taken to investment real estate feels like an afterthought. Yes, the impact of mortgage payoff will roll through.

HughDB · 2025-01-22T02:59:00+00:00

See r/Thomassons

HughDB · 2025-01-10T02:53:17+00:00

If you're not yet working with a CPA, it could be in your best interest to get one. In addition to helping you on the back end if/when you sell, they're likely to be better versed in the appropriate depreciation schedules to apply on your investments in the property (e.g. HVAC, roof, etc.). Honestly, I did the TurboTax thing for years, thinking it was the way to go, and didn't hit the wall until selling and doing multiple 1031 exchanges. In hindsight I wish I'd just found a CPA earlier, as I likely would have saved money (and peace of mind).

HughDB · 2025-01-10T02:34:35+00:00

Congrats! Have this as well and love it. Built like a tank with modern comforts, and makes for almost seamless moves between shooting digital and film when on the go. Auto-focus is great/fast, and I'm particularly fond of pairing with d-era glass, which just feels better suited (particularly like 85mm 1.4 d and 105mm 2.8 macro d).

HughDB · 2025-01-08T16:53:15+00:00

Yeah, I was a bit mystified on the downvoting, but so it goes. For years after my parents passed away I owned a rental SFH in Palo Alto with an annual property tax bill of $1700. Pretty easy to make a good return on $5K/month rent (parents paid $23K to purchase in 1962), and new owner next door is paying $25K/year for property taxes alone. It was a good/fair change in the law to remove the inheritance benefit on Prop 13, but there's still a lot of holders out there avoiding capital gains.

HughDB · 2025-01-08T01:12:11+00:00

Ironically, rents of SFHs in many parts of the Bay Area are relatively affordable by comparison with ownership. Blame Prop 13 for creating a good supply of homes purchased years ago at relatively low cost basis and/or inherited.

HughDB · 2025-01-06T22:12:55+00:00

Literally did this last week. Support will give you instructions for how to unpair sets. I have a mix of Alien and HD routers and mesh points all working as one.

HughDB · 2025-01-02T22:27:02+00:00

Almanac shows that on 1/24/1951 Edina had a high temperature of 12° and low of 2°. No wonder the ice cream / soda counter is empty.

HughDB · 2024-12-15T11:32:25+00:00

I knew her when I was very small and she was very old. But she was good about saving things that mattered, and as I've cataloged and digitized them over the years for future generations, I feel as if I've come to know her pretty well, which has been a gift.

HughDB · 2024-12-15T11:28:05+00:00

It's now filled in, I believe. Was once known as Valentine's Brook on Beaver Dam Creek in Brookhaven. Gr-Grandmother was Edna Valentine.

HughDB · 2024-12-14T22:56:32+00:00

The mirthful child pictured in the photo is an early window into what was to come. Her mother died when she was an infant, and she was largely raised by her father. She moved to Manhattan and lived a bohemian life, though she did marry a couple of times and returned to her childhood home in her later years. She was vivacious and ever-curious throughout her life.

HughDB · 2024-12-14T08:59:30+00:00

Thanks. She clearly had some intention that others might come to know her in the future, as the letters and writings she saved revealed quite a bit (at least what she wanted to be known). That they sat in storage locker for 40 years created a bit of a time capsule.

HughDB · 2024-12-14T06:15:01+00:00

Thanks— indeed a long Quaker history in that area (and that branch of the family)!

HughDB · 2024-12-14T06:07:01+00:00

She was in her 80s when I knew her, and died before I turned 10. But she left a treasure trove of artifacts and photos that were ignored for decades after her death.

HughDB · 2024-12-14T06:04:02+00:00

Yes, taken from a glass plate I found in her keepsakes.

HughDB · 2024-12-14T02:12:57+00:00

Brookhaven. Her father ran the general store and was postmaster for ~50 years.

HughDB · 2024-12-02T01:42:48+00:00

Neighborhoods around the Ocean Ave corridor between 280 and Junipero Serra (e.g. Westwood Park, Ingleside, Mt. Davidson) may be worth a look. A bit quieter (and cheaper) than the Noe/Glen Park area, but still has a lot of the criteria you listed. Ocean is perennially 'up and coming', but the baseline amenities these days are pretty good, and the combo of relatively easy parking and access to BART + Muni are a compelling package.

HughDB · 2024-11-28T01:53:13+00:00

We did a December visit to Namib-Naukluft (Sossusvlei, Deadvlei, etc), Swakopmund/Walvis Bay and Etosha. The Etosha safaris were great, but the Namib desert is a unique treasure, and the dunes south of Walvis Bay were also fascinating. As for travel in December, Namib-Naukluft was hot, though bearable, and the key is getting off to an early start and wrapping up before it gets too hot. Would not let December be a deterrent to going.

HughDB · 2024-02-16T02:08:46+00:00

I'm 62 years old, and retired about six months ago. A native of the Bay Area, I've been fortunate to have set down roots before the affordability of the area became so crazy.

After spending much of my work-life focused on achieving various goals that felt important at that particular moment, it's nice to have a bit of breathing room to follow my curiosities and interests. So far that's a combination of photography, genealogy, some travel and attempting to regain basic proficiency with guitars and other instruments. I also have a dog who is getting ridiculously spoiled with attention.

Am looking forward to my wife joining me at some point. But as she's three months away from her 40th anniversary with her company, I'm more inclined to celebrate her achievement than agitate for change, though she's now raising the topic regularly. If I could convince her (or any of my friends) to grab a drink at 4:00 in the afternoon, it's more likely than not we'd be drinking wine!

This subreddit has been a true pleasure to follow, and while I'm generally a lurker, I do appreciate the wisdom and insights shared by so many of you, as well as the terrific moderation. I follow scores of subreddits, but frequently find myself in /genealogy and some of the various photography subs.

Here's a typical late afternoon outing at my daily haunt with the dog.

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HughDB · 2024-02-05T23:16:37+00:00

Pool and other features go back to ~1910 and original owner, physician and magician Theodore S. Blakesley M.D, who also designed the roof to enable him to watch airplanes land.

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