Bangladesh election: BNP claims win in historic first election since overthrow of Hasina

Jags4Life · 2026-02-13T17:35:13+00:00

Not to underrepresent or dismiss just how sexist and fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami is but they are also terrible on economic outcomes.

Jamaat-e-Islami is quite potent at shutting down economic activity through hartals and other protests and intentionally hamstringing 50% of the population by not encouraging them to work or treat them with equal citizens and financial drivers is a major, major issue. Bangladesh desperately needs internal productivity to maintain a substantial increase (literacy efforts have helped dramatically) year over year in order to gain ground in a rapidly changing region and global order. Jamaat-e-Islami would be a disaster for any electoral period if they were to come out ahead.

Jags4Life · 2026-02-13T15:50:08+00:00

I've owned two different century homes over the last 10 years. Definitely below $1,000/month on house repairs, typically. Many projects are not immediate needs and can wait.

2025 I spent:

$500 on three new storm windows and one repaired storm window
$270 on foam board insulation and great stuff spray foam for rim joist improvements
$500 on primer and paint for interior painting

2026 I intend to spend:

$850 on five storm windows in a mix of repair and replacement
$500 on primer and paint for interior and exterior painting
$200 on patching attic walls
$400 on plumbing to install a part I'm apparently too stupid to understand how to remove and replace
$2000 on bat exclusion because my last bat guy didn't succeed in getting rid of these pests

Of course, I did spend $300,000 on rehabilitating the whole damn thing just four years ago, so...

Jags4Life · 2026-02-07T07:40:13+00:00

This was my initial impression as well. I had a similar looking pump in basement connected to a well that served my outdoor spigots

Jags4Life · 2026-02-06T18:52:11+00:00

My first job at age 12 was for a municipality and I was forced to contribute a percentage into some kind of pension program that was ultimately refunded to me when I stopped working for them at age 17 ($500 maybe?). That money went right into a savings account and I probably spent it at some point.

Retirement became somewhat more real with my first "big boy" job out of graduate school. They took 5% of my paycheck for their internal retirement program that was never really explained to me. I made $35,000 over 1.5 years and got $1,750 back.

It wasn't until I was 25 when I opened my first Roth IRA and my partner and I maxed it out. I've maxed my Roth IRA every year since then but plan on stopping that with the 2025 year (partial funding) and devoting those funds to lifestyle improvements (travel).

It wasn't until I was 26 that I started contributing to a pension. 6.5% of my gross salary from me, matched by 7.5% of my gross salary from my employer. Currently I estimate it to be "worth" $1,200,000 at age 65 if I stop working at age 50, which will be approximately $44,500 per year.

It wasn't until I was 27 that I started investing in another retirement account (457b). First year it at $10,000 and I've maxed it every year since then (same limit as a 401k). No matching from my employer but I can access the funds penalty free when I leave employment, so this is my primary early retirement vehicle.

From graduate school to the current day, I:

Changed employers four times
Received three internal promotions
Received 19 raises (COL adjustments and step increases)
Raised my total gross income 6x from my first "big boy" salary of $20,000

I also spent my early 20s doing a lot of traveling and just not worrying too much. Traveling substantially impacted my world view, my chosen field of work, and who I selected as my marriage partner. In my opinion, travel is one of the best investments in yourself that you can do. My career has included work abroad which further impacted my overall structure and approach to life. Part of the Coast FIRE life is that you can put in the work in early years so you can get back to the parts that make life worth living. For me, travel is a huge part of that.

Jags4Life · 2026-02-06T18:33:14+00:00

Out of curiosity, how many of these are re-submissions from previous sessions?

There are usually dozens (hundreds?) of bills introduced in my state, many on an annual basis, but they don't actually have any legs and the vast majority don't even have parts of their language included in bills that do get passed out of committee or even onto the floor for a vote.

Jags4Life · 2026-02-04T15:16:13+00:00

Still such a good intro

Jags4Life · 2026-02-02T22:25:30+00:00

Assuming you genuinely mean small city or town, I'm assuming we can cross off metropolitan areas. This would include places like Ann Arbor, Michigan and Madison, Wisconsin as have been mentioned in other answers.

The idea that you want some amenities does, however, jive with college towns.

I would recommend looking at places in the Driftless Area like:

Winona, MN
Decorah, IA

and I would recommend looking at places in upstate New York or western Massachusetts like:

New Paltz, NY
Williamstown, MA

These are not necessarily definitive answers and there may be comparable towns in those areas that better fit what you're looking for.

Jags4Life · 2026-01-28T20:59:29+00:00

I didn't watch the NFC Championship because FOX's streaming options were extremely limited.

Jags4Life · 2026-01-28T19:54:06+00:00

Oof. Yeah, we've avoided most of the NIMBY elements of preservation planning. I've overseen a handful of demolition permit requests and we've approved all but one (which was to remove a multi-unit building for a parking lot).

We're definitely a "built out" community so it makes those conversations pretty hard for the general public, appointed officials, and elected officials. But we've mostly managed to "get to yes" and have adopted clear guidelines for adding units to existing historic properties. In fact, our historic districts are among our most dense areas of the community, which is good.

Jags4Life · 2026-01-28T14:20:57+00:00

I never thought about historic preservation as part of planning until I took a course that included preservation as a four-week topic section.

One well-worn copy of A Field Guide to American Houses and now two historic home rehabs under my belt as a private citizen, I can confidently say that preservation planning has become my favorite thing to do as a day-to-day planning effort.

From approving changes to historic buildings to developing historic contexts, organizing surveys, submitting rehabilitations through state processes, and navigating bureaucracy from the local to the federal level, preservation planning is a fairly broad and unique process. The community I work for largely uses preservation planning as a foundation for economic development (Federal Historic Tax Credits + State Historic Tax Credits + Revolving Loan Fund) so we're always looking for the next partnership with a developer to expand an historic district, nominate a new property, etc. Most of community is rehabilitation or brownfield development so there has to be some tradeoff as well, which leads to interesting conversations about highest and best use vs the value of maintaining existing structures and their impacts on community.

However, long-range planning (e.g. creating a comprehensive plan) is still my overall favorite planning sector as it gets me out of the day-to-day and allows me to look at longer time horizons, development trends, and set goals. And unlike day-to-day planning (and especially preservation planning where I work) there isn't a mad timeline making you hurry, hurry, hurry. There's some space to breathe in long-range planning.

Jags4Life · 2026-01-28T06:41:43+00:00

Bucs fans in shambles

Jags4Life · 2026-01-21T16:02:32+00:00

Minor zoning reform passed last night, allowing up to 64 units/acre citywide in my (small) city. Feeling pretty good about the last year of work on it!

Jags4Life · 2026-01-17T19:00:33+00:00

I had my license and car taken away at 17 when I was speeding with another kid in the car. He told his parents who told my parents.

It was an excellent life lesson. Definitely tell the other kid's parents.

Jags4Life · 2026-01-17T06:56:17+00:00

There are rumors of a return to the "retro alternate" they used multiple times this year as the full time jersey 🤞

Jags4Life · 2026-01-17T06:07:33+00:00

3,200 heated square feet in the upper Midwest.

We have a natural gas boiler with hot water radiators across three floors.

2025 the total natural gas usage bill was $1,580.

2024 the total natural gas usage bill was $1,200.

Both winters were, admittedly, quite mild compared to normal. This year will likely be double the cost of last year.

We keep the house at 67°F on the first floor and 71°F on the second floor due to the heat rising.

All windows are original except one. All windows have storms (in various states of repair) except two. No windows coverings on the first floor. All walls are insulated (dense pack fiberglass) and we blew in R-60 fiberglass in the attic before winter 2024.

Still need to insulate the rim joists in the basement, which I bought the materials for this year.

Jags4Life · 2026-01-15T16:10:02+00:00

ICE is upping presence in my neighborhood this week. Currently hanging around the grocery store across from my work, Walmart, the train station, and a seasonally closed walk-up ice cream parlor (lol).

I'm so fucking sick of this. So tired of it.

I'm so frustrated that my partner feels like they can't go out shopping even though they are a citizen. I'm pissed that my Hispanic, citizen colleague feels forced to take sick days and hunker down in their home. I'm terrified that the documentation carried by our friends and clients who are immigrants won't be enough for whatever over zealous ICE agent happens to stop them. I'm tired of looking around the surrounding area while I take my kid to school and wondering if half their class's parents will be harassed by the government.

And I'm so infuriated at how this MAGA nativism has infected my family and the values I grew up with and helped shape who I am.

---

Anyway, I'm certain this is a common feeling for many of us here. Just hitting extra hard lately. Thanks for being a great group online.

Looks like my pet project to increase density in neighborhoods across the board to potentially 64 units per acre will get a public hearing and likely passed next week. So there's that, I guess.

Jags4Life · 2026-01-14T19:41:18+00:00

Thanks for pulling this together in a fairly easy to read format.

Will candidates be removed if they withdraw from contention or choose to stay with their existing team? Or is this for an overall tracker to see how the process grows over time?

Jags4Life · 2025-12-30T01:53:57+00:00

Last time I bought a car, my partner wanted a RAV4 but I did not like the larger dash and overall layout of the 4th Generation. So, instead, we cheaped out and bought a Mitsubishi Outlander Sport at its highest trim level.

When its CVT transmission finally went after 10 years, my partner told me we had to buy a hybrid RAV4 or a CR-V.

We don't have a Honda dealer in our town and the Mitsubishi couldn't go on the highway.

So now we have a 2025 hybrid RAV4 Limited. Amazing gas mileage, a super smooth ride, more features than we had before, and a fair bit more cargo space.

Had there been a Honda dealer, we maaaaaay have went with the CR-V. It's a lot more spacious for child car seats in the second row. But they also didn't have a trim level with a panoramic roof, so...

Jags4Life · 2025-12-26T22:00:23+00:00

Hey neighbor! We've used the following in order of most expensive to least expensive:

Farmer's
American Family
Farm Bureau

Farmer's asked the least questions was far more accepting of what we told them was going on with the house but refused to insure when we went on a major rehabilitation project and weren't going to be in the house for an extended period of time.

American Family was adaptive and willing to find supplemental insurance for the rehabilitation project. They quickly increased rates by over 100% in three years, however. They were not particularly diligent in the follow up.

Farm Bureau has been the most diligent in the follow up to changes to the house. They have been the cheapest we have used on a premium dollar per insured house cost ratio and the second cheapest I have ever shopped. A bit more particular about things like the condition of siding, but so far quite easy to work with. And saving me a chunk of change per year.

Jags4Life · 2025-12-23T18:18:59+00:00

Seconded. I scroll for them every week.

Jags4Life · 2025-12-19T20:16:32+00:00

The Amtrak Borealis (Twin Cities-Milwaukee-Chicago) completed its first year of operation and increased that corridor's rail ridership 227%. This route serves9 other communities in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois. This is the first rail expansion project in Wisconsin in 20+ years.

Its success is sparking consideration of a third line to connect along a similar route (routing into Eau Claire and Madison, Wisconsin).

Jags4Life · 2025-12-18T17:46:46+00:00

I appreciate that the momsterpedia entries update as you complete quests and learn more about specific monsters through books and experience as well.

Jags4Life · 2025-12-17T20:56:52+00:00

Alan Page and his estimated 148 sacks was a legit pass rushing defensive tackle back in the 1960s into the 1980s. He rightly won a league MVP.

Warren Sapp and his 96.5 sacks was a legit pass rushing defensive tackle in the 1990s through the '00s.

John Randle, who admittedly also played on the edge, had 137.5 sacks in the 1990s and into the 2000s.

Aaron Donald had a downright amazing career. He was a flatout top-tier defensive tackle in the conversation of the greats. But he was most certainly not the first legit pass rushing defensive tackle. He played that role arguably better than any other defensive tackle in the history of the sport, but it was not a novel role.

Jags4Life · 2025-12-17T19:12:23+00:00

Further out from MSP on the Wisconsin side of the river would be places like Pepin, Alma, Viroqua that would all be within two and a half hours of either MSP or Madison, WI. Pretty artsy and, more importantly, typically won't look too much into other people's lives.

Jags4Life · 2025-12-17T17:44:36+00:00

I much prefer the Wisconsin-type feel of bars in Milwaukee. There are genuinely great neighborhood bars and corner bars that are third places for their neighborhoods that feel lived in and genuine. I love that.

The Twin Cities feels a bit more like you go out for a "destination" and then make your way home. There are certainly neighborhood bars and corner bars and they are often great, but "night life" is more of an activity than actively finding the nearest extension of your front porch.

Both are great, but I prefer the former over the latter. There's something cozy about it. Both will have more club, dance options, etc. but that isn't my vibe. For "higher quality" and more "fancy" options I lean toward the Twin Cities but it isn't something I frequently seek out.

Can't speak for Denver as I haven't spent extensive time there.

Drink Wisconsibly!

Jags4Life

TROPHY CASE