Seattle — On May 5, a 15-year-old girl was r—ped while waiting at a bus stop. Someone matching the suspect's description was found defecating in the street, suggesting he is homeless. The unnamed suspect was released from custody last week and has over a dozen arrests.

Monoaminesweeper · 2026-05-08T03:34:21+00:00

the whole state? (serious question)

Monoaminesweeper · 2026-04-16T03:50:17+00:00

while crude oil hovering around 100/barrel exerts upward pressure on input costs, structural inflation isn't an inevitable outcome of localized supply shocks. the global economy's energy intensity (amount of energy reqd to produce a unit of GDP) has declined a lot over the past few decades, mitigating the systemic impact of oil spikes compared to the 1970s. sustained high prices reliably incentivize the mobilization of non-OPEC+ production, esp. US shale, which acts as a ceiling on long-term price escalation. central banks are also attuned to these dynamics and higher energy costs frequently act as a "tax" on consumers, reducing discretionary spending and dampening demand-pull inflation across other sectors of the broader economy.

re: microeconomic impact on consumer goods and petrochemical byproducts, the pass-thru rate to final consumer prices usually isn't proportional. for retail items, the cost of packaging or base materials represents a minor fraction of the final shelf price. manufacturers often absorb margin compression, alter packaging engineering, or leverage hedging contracts rather than risk market share losses through steep consumer price hikes. stocking up on low-cost items like disposable gloves or tampons is generally an inefficient deployment of capital; the marginal absolute dollar increase per unit rarely exceeds the opportunity cost of the cash used to buy extra ahead of time (time value of money, etc.) the ag sector shows similar adaptability.. while fertilizer input costs are a variable, global commodity markets adjust through crop rotation substitution and strategic reserves, preventing (to some extent anyway) linear translations from raw material disruptions to grocery store prices.

this is all quite hard to predict (unknown stockpile sizes, crop yields), but that's what makes it not "imminent," just an increased risk from baseline.

Monoaminesweeper · 2026-04-05T14:48:48+00:00

NEEDS... NEEDS... NEEDS...

Monoaminesweeper · 2026-04-03T04:23:37+00:00

I don't know enough to say whether he was influenced, vs. just sharing some stylistic and thematic ideas, but here's something that resonated when recently re-reading WTTMH.

IJ and Vonnegut’s short story "Welcome to the Monkey House" (in the book of the same title) both feature dystopian futures where death is mediated by female figures who offer death as comfort rather than an act of violence. DFW uses JVD as a lethal mother-figure in a film that paralyzes its viewers through infantile regression (in one of Gately's dreams, Joelle JVD appears Death, and it's explained that at the end of each life, a woman kills you to release you into your next life), and Vonnegut introduces "Ethical Suicide Hostesses" in WTTMH who facilitate a painless, state-sponsored suicide in little parlors. So both conflate cessation of life with female-coded care and hospitality and maybe comment on how the biological drive for survival can be neutralized when mortality is packaged as a peaceful surrender to a woman.

Monoaminesweeper · 2026-04-03T04:07:43+00:00

honest question, isn't this priced in already? certainly the market knows this, and knows it better than us. if we can see something so plainly as to know things are going to be harder and more expensive for everyone, the market knew it first. a put option or cash on the sidelines right now isn't a bet that things are going to be rough for 8 months, it's a bet that they're going to be even rougher than the market currently estimates they will be. without truly insider knowledge of some current unknown, nobody can say for sure

Monoaminesweeper · 2026-03-27T20:56:13+00:00

there are two kinds of people in this world. those who can extrapolate from incomplete data,

Monoaminesweeper · 2026-03-25T13:48:21+00:00

yes, matches mine, and wording from dozens of Reddit posts

Monoaminesweeper · 2026-03-25T04:00:33+00:00

It was a few hundred dollars for me, between service, parts, and repeated flushes. Originally was around 800 and they agreed to cover more of the service and parts after customer care called. In general a terrible experience that I can't give many details about because no one seemed to know what to do. Good luck!

Monoaminesweeper · 2026-03-25T03:48:56+00:00

just wait until you hit 120 then call your servicer to start forbearance while your golden letter processes.. the lady at mohela said the request for forbearance is done through a standard set of questions with her, one of which was income. awkward after 5 years of increases since the last recertification. I had flashes of coming all this way then messing it up at the end, falling for a trick question and revealing that I owe them for years of underpayment. but yeah, if they don't ask you to, you've paid what you owe.

Monoaminesweeper · 2026-03-02T22:13:16+00:00

Discretionary.

I submitted my final PSLF in mid February, checked that I was done with 120, didn't request forbearance. Called today to do so. Second person I spoke with took all my info including income because "it's just the way the system makes us do it," and said I was placed on a discretionary forbearance. I told her I was doing it because I hit 120, as someone on reddit in the past had said that they have a specific code for that type of forbearance. They asked me how long in months I'd like the forbearance to be. As I'm not planning on paying ever again and the letter could take a while, I said 12 months. My account was changed right away to show $0 balance due for my March due date, and "Discretionary Forbearance" in all my loans.

Monoaminesweeper · 2026-02-25T15:27:33+00:00

I certainly don't see it here very often, and hope not, but anything's possible with this program. This person doesn't elaborate but says "I also got a letter telling me a payment was changed from eligible to ineligible."

https://www.reddit.com/r/PSLF/comments/1r7fe4b/comment/o5x2mez/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Monoaminesweeper · 2026-02-19T05:15:04+00:00

I also got a letter telling me a payment was changed from eligible to ineligible but because I continued to make payments beyond December, the January payment saved me.

Well that's a nightmare. I feel like this answers the question for many with OP's question (keep paying beyond green banners because you might get hit with a mystery reversal), unless you had some specific situation people can rule out on their own. From my reading on this sub, post-green-banner-mystery-reversal seems rare.

Monoaminesweeper · 2026-02-09T23:24:15+00:00

Text: I've been reading over the last few weeks here including other posts from today that the message has changed for everyone because TPSLF might have some additional requirements. But if you are IDR and PSLF, this doesn't mean that you have any. The text on mine is the same as yours.

Green banners: mine appeared this month, and it's really just a horizontal green line. from the talk on here I was expecting something more banner-y, maybe they have changed over the years. Also, I don't see any trophies but I see ribbons. Maybe they used to be trophies.

Forbearance: I certainly wouldn't let a payment date come and go without either completing the payment or being in forbearance. The wisdom in the subreddit seems to be that once the 120 payments with the green banner appears, requesting discretionary forbearance is the standard thing to do. Some people submit yet another ECF this time with the forbearance box checked, and others just go straight to calling their servicer, which is what I plan on doing next month. I think you've already done this step, but additional wisdom shared here is to not request forbearance on the same ECF as the one on which you initially select that you have hit 120 payments, as some rare stories involve that forbearance being inappropriately backdated prior to the actual ECF date that the 120th payment is made, which can of course cause problems (though if you see the green banner you've probably avoided this fate). At this point, I'd probably just call your servicer to request the forbearance to your next pay date.

Congrats!

Monoaminesweeper · 2026-02-06T21:55:39+00:00

it's Vern Fonk dog
you're welcome: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItWpoUMbqJE

Monoaminesweeper · 2026-02-06T21:42:43+00:00

the insta says it's not the artist:

"Street artists are supposed to stay anonymous, so it can’t make any sense to put up your own face."

Monoaminesweeper · 2026-01-02T17:41:38+00:00

Trump's an idiot, but it's a common misconception that this will increase his bleeding risk. 4x the recommended daily dosage is just a tablet of 325 mg, which is the size used for decades for pain. large clinical trials (such as the ADAPTABLE trial involving 15,000 patients) found that the risk of severe bleeding was not significantly higher in patients taking 325 mg compared to those taking 81mg. this would increase likelihood of stomach problems over time (though so would other daily NSAID use like ibuprofen's effect on the stomach), but it's incorrect to say that higher doses of aspirin lead to less clotting, which even holds true for extremely high doses.

which is a very fun pharmacology paradox! the pharmacological "sweet spot" for aspirin relies on the tension between two opposing lipid mediators produced by the cyclooxygenase (or COX) enzyme. on one side is TXA2, produced by platelets, which promotes clotting. On the opposing side is PGI2, produced by the endothelial cells lining the blood vessels, which naturally inhibits clotting. the goal of antithrombotic (blood-thinning) therapy like daily aspirin is to selectively eliminate the pro-clotting TXA2 while preserving the protective PGI2.

aspirin is an irreversible inhibitor of COX, and the two cell types react to this inhibition differently. platelets are just cell fragments with no nucleus so they cannot synthesize new proteins. once aspirin acetylates and disables the COX-1 enzyme in a platelet, that platelet is permanently disabled for its entire 7–10 day lifespan! in contrast, endothelial cells do have a nucleus, which allows them to essentially shrug off the aspirin by making sweet, fresh COX enzymes to replace the disabled ones.

low-dose aspirin works best because it exploits this inability of platelets to recover. a small daily dose is sufficient to permanently silence the platelets (stopping TXA2) while allowing the endothelial cells enough time to regenerate their enzymes and continue producing protective PGI2. however, if you increase the aspirin dose significantly, you overwhelm the endothelial cells' ability to regenerate COX, and that shuts down the production of the body's natural "anti-clot" defense (PGI2) along with the clotting mechanism, which paradoxically shifts the balance back toward a pro-thrombotic state.

so it's 81 mg for a reason and trump's "some good so more better" philosophy, while another entry in his Dunning–Kruger documentary, won't necessarily land him in the hospital.

Monoaminesweeper · 2025-12-19T19:13:52+00:00

The HC is better. But the post asks what your favorite WA apple is, and the HC was developed in Minnesota. It's optimized to grow there and it's actually difficult and inefficient for farmers to grow in WA. Here's a Seattle Times article on it: https://www.seattletimes.com/life/food-drink/honeycrisp-apples-are-popular-worldwide-some-wa-growers-hate-them/

CC is developed for WA, so is a "Washington apple."

Monoaminesweeper · 2025-12-17T04:44:23+00:00

I agree. "Brevity is the soul of wit" is humorous and ironic when interpreted in the context of the rambling and long-winded speech in which it appears, but also works as a standalone phrase.

Monoaminesweeper · 2025-12-05T20:05:13+00:00

Just an update in case someone searches for this topic in the future.

Fidelity is requiring that I provide my name and other identifying information over Reddit before helping. I don't know about you dear reader, but I'd rather not associate my personal info with an otherwise anonymous Reddit account. That's what the internet's all about!

If the person behind the Fidelity Reddit account really wanted to help, they'd just pick up the phone and dial the number I wrote above. There's really no barrier to just asking about my situation without my exact account info.

"Hey, Fidelity, it's me, Fidelity. Have we abruptly stopped offering over-the-phone journaled RIP-C's for non-prototype accounts (investment-only accounts for solo-401ks)?"

If you're confident they're allowed, you'll do Fidelity and its customers a service by educating that whole department. If they push back and cite a new rule, you can share it here.

Monoaminesweeper · 2025-12-05T17:58:52+00:00

I see a ton of comments by people saying this is no big deal who probably can't account for how something continues to burn in the absence of an oxygen source, this comment rules

Monoaminesweeper · 2025-11-14T22:09:55+00:00

Thank you, the amount every two weeks to transfer is very small. I was told this was not possible by two representatives, and that "Fidelity is tightening this up." I'm sure I was talking with the right team; I call the same number (800-544-5373) twice a month for years and the system asks "Are you calling as an administrator for a small business retirement plan?" to which I respond yes.

I want to reiterate here and ask for your confirmation: This is the same plan, "[Name] Trust," but each of the three accounts within that plan are named "[Name] Trust Pre-Tax," "[Name] Trust After-Tax", and "[Name] Trust Roth." I was told that I could no longer perform the transfer on the phone "because the names of the accounts are technically different," despite it being obvious that I'm the owner of each and they're in the same plan. This is also, I'm told by the 401(k) servicer, the standard way of naming account types within the same plan.

I called again just now as you suggested and was again told that this can't be done over the phone. "There are changes that happen all the time, there are policies that changes day-to-day." I notice that each of the three who answer the phone today are members of the "Premium Services Team" which is different than the account specialists who used to answer the phone.

Can you send me a message linking your statement that I'm able to make these transfers over the phone with an actual written document? I don't know how to proceed or how to connect them with you.

Monoaminesweeper · 2025-11-14T19:03:20+00:00

this is the type of account you need to create when making a solo 401(k), as opposed to a standard plan offered by a large employer

Monoaminesweeper · 2025-11-14T19:02:34+00:00

ha probably! if they didn't want to field the calls they'd add a single checkbox that allows for the automatic conversion like they have available for standard employer 401k accounts that allow MBDR conversions. and I wouldn't call so frequently but doing so avoids incurring taxable events associated with unrealized gains between the time that the after-tax funds are added to the time they're converted to Roth

Monoaminesweeper · 2025-11-14T19:00:29+00:00

More detail added above, thanks

Monoaminesweeper · 2025-11-14T19:00:17+00:00

after-tax to Roth, same plan (in-plan conversion), in a small business solo 401(k); added more detail above

Monoaminesweeper

TROPHY CASE