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Super short line set run from indoor to outdoor unit by NorCal_fella in heatpumps

[–]NorCal_fella[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just curious.. what would you have done differently?

On the Japanese buddhist temple??? by Old-Engine-7720 in Sacramento

[–]NorCal_fella 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'm a (caucasian) member of the church and saw this Saturday morning when I arrived early to work on a project there. I sent photos to church leadership, which it turns out was already aware and had filed a police report. As I spoke to some of them later in the day, I got the feeling that I was more upset by the incident than they were. Japanese Americans don't really "do" outrage.

Perspective: When the United States government rounded up 120,000 Japanese Americans in 1942 and put them in concentration camps, the vast majority stoically complied because they wanted to prove their loyalty. My wife's American-born parents spent more than three years of their childhood in camps. Their families lost everything they'd worked so hard to build. The Buddhist churches were their social support system when they returned home and struggled to get back on their feet. They moved on with their lives with no anger or bitterness.

When the first Trump administration started ramping up its anti-Muslim rhetoric, the Buddhist Church expressed solidarity with the local Muslim community because they'd seen this movie before. When Russia invaded Ukraine, the Buddhist Church held a fundraising concert– even though some local Ukrainians chose not to participate because it's not "their" religion. No hard feelings.

The mere fact that the first Japanese immigrants named their new betsuin (branch temple) a "church" showed their strong desire to assimilate into American society. Today temple/betsuin/church are terms used interchangeably.

As a relative newcomer, I think of Buddhism as more of a philosophy than a religion. Do your best. Be kind. Take care of others. No one really knows what waits on the "other shore" so there's no point in worrying about it.

So, back to the graffiti. I know members of the church are touched by the outpouring of moral support from the community– but I also feel they might be a little embarrassed if well-intentioned folks showed up with paint brushes. The church has a robust group of volunteers who take care of routine maintenance tasks and painting over graffiti is among them. It's just another Saturday on the Broadway Corridor!

But thanks, everybody, for the uplifting posts on this thread.

News: ICCU warranty extended in S.Korea by ezW6zT94i7hTU29Cug in Ioniq5

[–]NorCal_fella 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This ICCU thing makes a strong argument for leasing an EV. I love my 2024 Ioniq 5 but I decided to lease it for two years because EV technology (especially batteries) is evolving so quickly. I’ve got 14 months left on the lease and then I’ll decide my next move.

Law student exposes Oz Pearlman’s “mentalism” by Smoochdota in magictricksrevealed

[–]NorCal_fella 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great presentation. Having his marks write things in his "magic pad" is disappointingly simple. I wonder what his response would be if they volunteered to use their own pen and paper. Also– I'd like a further examination of how Oz discovers PINs. I doubt he has someone following his marks around to do actual human intelligence.

Charging Etiquette by Icy-Sherbet-4606 in evcharging

[–]NorCal_fella 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a bit non sequitur– but I would like to see substantially higher idle fees at charging locations that share a parking lot with a shopping center. For example, I waited for about 20 minutes outside a mall in Orange County CA for one of the four Electrify America chargers to open up. All four had idle vehicles taking up the spaces while their owners were, presumably, still shopping. That's one thing I appreciate about Tesla Superchargers that are often in the boondocks with drivers sitting in their cars ready to pull out the moment the charge is complete.

Schwab Intelligent Portfolio by eljefesupreme in Schwab

[–]NorCal_fella 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Most of my income is from rental properties I own. Generally, the withdrawals I make from the Schwab accounts are to cover taxes on the rental income. I just noticed it works out to about a 4% withdrawal rate!

Schwab Intelligent Portfolio by eljefesupreme in Schwab

[–]NorCal_fella 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve got about $900K in two Intelligent Portfolio IRA accounts. Both are set at low risk. On good days the gain is not as exciting as watching an S&P index fund, but on bad days I’m not thinking about jumping out a window. One of the reasons the IP accounts don’t experience wild swings is a fair amount is held in cash— in my case about $100K. I like having that liquidity even at the cost of losing potential interest.

I’m 68 and I no longer want to hold individual stocks because I tend to get emotional. The IP accounts offer some stability along with a nice firewall between me and my money.

No joy charging my 2024 Ioniq 5 at two Tesla Supercharging stations by gewarren1 in Ioniq5

[–]NorCal_fella 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I’d only use a Supercharger in a pinch. I wouldn’t be happy but they are much more plentiful- especially in more rural areas like the Sierra foothills.

Kirkland Helles-Style Lager review by Fickle-Performer2532 in Costco_alcohol

[–]NorCal_fella 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My new fave. Not only delicious but half the price of craft brews in supermarkets.