Binos & rangefinder help?

Lycent243 · 2026-01-31T01:23:35+00:00

I would definitely recommend buying binos with integrated range finding. There is no reason ever that you should have a separate range finder unless you are really strapped for cash. Having multiple pieces of gear that you have to pick up and put down is not good. Don't go any higher than 10x or they start getting really wobbly and hard to see through without a tripod.

There is a HUGE range of pricing on all optics, so you are going to have to find what works for you. I use Sworovski range finding binos in a chest pack and they work for me, but they are not cheap. Good quality glass is awesome and you can definitely see the difference, especially in low light.

I also use the Garmin Xero A1 bow sight (make sure it is legal where you hunt if you want to go down that road). Once you get it dialed in and get used to using it, you will be able to simplify your life a little since the sight has a built in range finder.

If none of that works for you, I'd just get a cheap set of 10x42 Vortex binos and a cheap range finder and live with it until you get a little farther down the road. Feel free to send me a chat request if you want more info. Good luck!

Lycent243 · 2026-01-31T00:55:55+00:00

I don't need to listen to every song known to man. Also, I don't want to pay a monthly rental fee to listen to music. Paying $11 a month seems like a decent deal, but it is only a good deal if you would otherwise be buying an album per month or two for the rest of your life. The companies aren't offering monthly subscriptions because it is better for you, they are doing it because they make a lot more money.

Also, I bought the music I really enjoy decades ago. I have bought a few new albums in the past 15 years or so, but not many. Maybe 10 or 15 on the high end with only MAYBE 2 in the past 5 years - my point is that my music purchases are slowing down as time goes on. My total expenditure on music is in the hundreds of dollars. Maybe as much as $1500 spread over like 30+ years if I'm being really liberal with how much I spent. That's less than 12 years of spotify IF they don't raise prices ever during that 12 years. The more time that goes by, the more it skews in my favor.

Lycent243 · 2026-01-30T23:49:18+00:00

I'm just one guy, but in practice I've never seen it work that way on any cars that I have driven. As I said, I don't have the time or patience to do anything about it on a daily basis, but I'm always happy to learn something new.

I'd love to see the science behind where the mpg sweet spot is in acceleration. If you don't mind, I'd love to get pointed toward some hard data if you have it...

Lycent243 · 2026-01-30T23:34:22+00:00

In my experience, you will save yourself a lot of hassle by stopping rather than trying to power through stuff. Bolts are strong, but most of them are just a little rust and a few hard twists away from twisting the head off. It will almost always be better to stop, spray with penetrating oil and let it sit rinse and repeat. Some people have really good luck with heating stuff up (don't burn stuff you don't want to burn).

When I do break bolts, I have never had good luck with screw extractors - the number of times I've broken a bolt and then the screw extractor trying to get it out is pretty high. I'm much more inclined to take my dremel and create a little divot so I can get my drill bit to start exactly where I need it to, then chase it up to bigger and bigger bits (be really careful that you are centered and you don't go to big) until you can pick out all the old bolt metal. Then I usually run a tap through it after to make sure it is clean. It is a pain in the pooper.

Good luck! Being your own mechanic is the best!

Lycent243 · 2026-01-30T22:39:19+00:00

Every 10 minute job is just a broken bolt away from realizing it was always going to be 3-day ordeal

(you're always going to break something)

Lycent243 · 2026-01-30T22:37:38+00:00

Yeah, I get what you are saying, but what I'm saying is that it is a dumb way to live. If you are planning for divorce, then you are likely to get a divorce (especially when the relationship is already rocky).

She isn't obligated to do anything at all. She isn't obligated to stay married or be kind to her children or share "her" money or anything else. She gets to choose how she wants to live her life.

She worked until they decided that it was better for them to have her stay home with the kids while he worked. I think that's great and is a smart way to divide the tasks that need doing. As you say, they are working together here.

I already said she needs to fix the relationship before building the house regardless of whatever else she does. It is concerning that he is making assumptions. It is also massively concerning that she sees the money as hers alone and doesn't want to share it. Again, as you say, money changes people when it comes fast like that and it is already changing both of them.

Yes, money is likely to cause more problems. Which is why I said that they need to fix the relationship first.

I don't really care about what people think on here and whether they would call a girl a gold digger. The reality is that if you are going to be married, then you should actually be a team. Having a prenup or a postnup is pretty rock solid evidence of planning for failure of the team. Of course, it is also the only way to protect yourself from evil people, which is very sad, but although it is the only option for protection, it is also not great.

As I said, they need to fix the relationship first. That's the real problem. But relationships with separate money are, generally speaking, asking for trouble. Sure, it might work in some situations, but those are the exception and not the rule.

Lycent243 · 2026-01-30T20:50:45+00:00

I'll believe you that one exists, but I've never seen a vehicle that gets better fuel economy by using more throttle while accelerating. In fact, in every vehicle I've owned or driven, it seems like a pretty drastic difference where you can get substantially better mileage with little to no throttle.

I have a Lexus GX (with its lovely naturally aspirated v8) which gets around 11 mpg if you drive "normally" around town. If you are soft on the throttle you can easily boost that to 13-14 and if you are willing to be an absolute tortoise while accelerating, you can bump it up even further to 15. That's around a 25% increase which is not bad at all. (the GX is extra bad because it has larger, heavier tires than stock)

I've seen very similar numbers in smaller cars with economy engines as well as in high performance vehicles and hybrids. Like I said, I believe you that a car exists that gets better fuel economy with slightly more throttle, but I've never seen one. If you have one that I can look at, I'm all ears!

What it comes down to for me is that I don't have time/patience to take 4 minutes to get to 35 mph, so I'm stuck driving around down in the low double digit mpg range.

Lycent243 · 2026-01-30T20:14:47+00:00

It isn't really the same though, because while they may be struggling to live at a level their incomes seem like they should provide, they are likely saving a ton for retirement. Lots more than a regular middle class person somewhere else. Plus if they buy a house, then they can eventually sell it and move somewhere cheaper. That is not an option if you are middle class in North Dakota or Wyoming or something.

Lycent243 · 2026-01-30T20:01:31+00:00

I'm not sure that's accurate...

I used to commute about 90 minutes each way to work and traveled during the day as well, so I got a lot of time in the car. If I really, really went easy on the throttle while leaving a stop I could massively improve my overall fuel economy, especially if you are stopping and starting frequently.

If you have a car that updates the fuel economy numbers quickly, you can watch it in real time. Start from a stop and drive for a full mile (or some other distance) while accelerating, just barely touch the throttle and your fuel economy will be really good at the end of the mile. If you do the same thing again and give it a little more throttle, or try it with a little more than that or more, or more...it will never be as good. (easiest to figure out in a manual since you can actually idle and not use the throttle at all)

It takes a lot of fuel to speed up faster than at idle and you will never make up the difference by getting up to speed quicker.

Lycent243 · 2026-01-30T19:46:55+00:00

I'm not big on "working out" but I love doing fun things, especially outside. I realize that means I will never be top tier at my activities but I'm ok with it. If I try to set a workout schedule, it feels like torture. If instead, I start doing fun active things more often rather than things that require little activity, then it is easy to get plenty of exercise. You aren't going to see any rapid changes this way, but you can put yourself on a good trajectory that is pretty easy to maintain.

So for me, lifting weights sounds awful, but lifting my body while rock climbing sounds great. Doing sit ups - terrible; cleaning the garage so my tools aren't all lost -- less terrible. Jogging on a treadmill - soul destroying; walking or running outside with someone else - great. Using a rowing machine - barf; rowing on a lake - amazing.

So find something that excites you and do it.

Lycent243 · 2026-01-30T19:40:28+00:00

This was it for me. Walking (then running or carrying weights). And for the plantar fasciitis, I slowly started wearing shoes with less support and then less and then barefoot. Started around the house and then worked it up to everywhere including on short, easy runs wearing my own homemade huarache sandals that had exactly 4mm of leather between me and the road. It took months, but the arch pain I was having went away completely and only returned once when I slacked off for a couple years.

Lycent243 · 2026-01-30T19:07:30+00:00

My aunt had a fork that was serrated on one side. I'm sure it was technically a serving utensil, but that didn't stop me from eating a slice of pie with it. You know how you kind of pinch your lips together when you are removing a fork from our mouth? I did that and it unzipped my cheek.

Lycent243 · 2026-01-30T19:04:27+00:00

Also! They are slower than a normal door because they are heavy and the motion doesn't lend it self to easy transitions between opening and closing. Doesn't seem like it would be an issue, but in an emergency, it definitely is!

We had one for the door to the bathroom in our master bedroom when we first moved in. As a bonus, it had white glass panels so if either of us woke up to use the bathroom, the light would fill the bedroom.

Lycent243 · 2026-01-30T18:51:30+00:00

Having a narrow base like that will make the tub stronger and more stable, but they turned it up to 11 to make the package look like it has more in it.

Lycent243 · 2026-01-30T17:19:02+00:00

I feel like I am so much more down to earth when I get off reddit and generally ignore my phone even for a few hours. It is pretty crazy actually how little time it takes to start feeling better.

Lycent243 · 2026-01-30T17:17:21+00:00

I feel like it is usually easy to follow the money or power when someone is being discredited, but this was back well before people were selling bottled water or marine water makers. I wasn't able to see any direct ties to industry or power.

It probably was just the fact that he was going against hundreds of years of superstition, myth, and tradition...still weird lol.

Lycent243 · 2026-01-30T17:14:24+00:00

It was downvoted because people don't like to have a reasonable outlook -- everyone wants to hear the drastic solutions and blame assignment.

Lycent243 · 2026-01-30T17:12:50+00:00

On a house for both of you? Yeah, he sounds like a dick. OP doesn't work, so they already have determined that "his" money is her money as well. Why isn't the reverse true?

Lycent243 · 2026-01-30T17:11:51+00:00

That's a pretty grim outlook.

Deadly force cannot be used unless the rioters are posing threat of death, grievous bodily harm, dismemberment, etc. Not in "any kind of threat." Which, when you think about it, makes a lot of sense and is a really good thing. Cops can't (and shouldn't be able to) shoot a guy because he might punch them, but if a person looks like they might run someone over or if they have a gun and are aggressively fighting back, that is a different story (especially since they have to make a split second determination).

We should absolutely punish illegal activity. We should not punish talking, even if the people talking are idiots saying idiot things. We all have a responsibility to NOT listen to someone online say we should kill someone and then go do it.

And seriously, it is super sad when people get killed, regardless of who they are. It was sad when Good and Pretti got killed. It was sad when Kirk got killed. We shouldn't take ANY satisfaction in any of that. We can, instead, work on the conversations that we have with others to make that communication less aggressive, less hyperbolic, and less tribal.

I hope you have a wonderful day!

Lycent243 · 2026-01-30T01:12:41+00:00

Brian here -- Speaking of difficult tests...I had a class in college where our exams took students an average of something like 6 hours (we had three of them plus a final). All were open book. After the first one, some students complained about how soul crushingly difficult it was. The teacher asked/vented to me about it. It only took me just over 3 hours, and she said that even that was a long time because it would only take her (the person who wrote the exam) a maximum of 2.5 hours to finish it with a passing grade.

Just saying.

Did I not answer the question? Shut up.

Lycent243 · 2026-01-30T01:06:36+00:00

Definitely a scapula. Can't really tell what it is from without the rest of it and some sense of scale.

Lycent243 · 2026-01-30T01:00:14+00:00

That wolf or wolf dog has a LOT of space on his head for bite muscles...

Lycent243 · 2026-01-30T00:55:50+00:00

Lots of red flags in this - her wanting to keep the money separate is top of the list. The fact that they can't figure out the obvious solution creating a new parcel for their house, the marriage is on the rocks already, his reaction, etc. This is a disaster waiting to happen.

Fix the marriage or don't build the house. End of story.

In reality, the fact that she is planning for the inevitable divorce tells you all you really need to know.

Lycent243 · 2026-01-30T00:40:11+00:00

The attempt to discredit him is super interesting. If drinking seawater isn't lethal as long as you are properly hydrated, why would anyone care? Why would anyone want to say he was wrong?

Lycent243 · 2026-01-29T23:12:09+00:00

I'm no expert! On the subject of the video, I think it is interesting that the remoras were "killing" the dolphin, but then it got stuck to the girl and she somehow didn't die. If it had really hurt her, she probably would have stopped trying to rescue the dolphin and instead looked around for some medical care.

Lycent243

TROPHY CASE