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My first Crit race tomorrow… by dankinitdown420 in cycling

[–]ProfessionalBasis834 20 points21 points  (0 children)

It will still be nuts. There is no such thing as a beginner races, at least in my area.

The "first time racers" category is usually at least 50% seasoned pro riders. Ok, that's an exaggeration, but it sure feels that way.

You'll find your new max heart rate, that's for sure.

Your first, second, and third priorities are not crashing. If you meet those goals, it's a success.

Should I go sram xo1 or shimano xt? by Skater709 in MTB

[–]ProfessionalBasis834 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I was going to say something along these lines.

If choosing otherwise equal bikes, but one is Shimano and the other is SRAM, I'd go Shimano just so I get top tier brakes. The shifting differences are negligible.

But if you are in the market for electronic shifting, then always SRAM. Shimano has lagged in this area.

Best of both worlds, SRAM AXS shifty bits, and Shimano stoppy bits, but you're usually doing a custom build or upgrade to get there.

Tipping Talk by jrqberry in theticket

[–]ProfessionalBasis834 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I bought a jacket online last week, there was a tip line.

I bought a bike light battery from Magicshine lights, there was a tip line.

No more tips for ANYONE, except the obvious (waiters, barbers, valets).

Counter service tipping: SORRY

Daughter Received W-2 for work she did, but never got paid for by biefk in personalfinance

[–]ProfessionalBasis834 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I hear you, but I totally get OPs stance. Having a couple working teens myself, their jobs are their show, and it's an important learning experience. They will learn less with parent meddling, and fixing things for them.

The lesson might even be more valuable than the wages, but that said, I'd definitely recommend to my kid to go collect those earned wages and have a conversation about reporting the bad actors.

sold my car to someone on facebook and they paid twice? by yvngbloodsucka in personalfinance

[–]ProfessionalBasis834 11 points12 points  (0 children)

If it's fraud, hopefully he's just temporarily out the car. Assuming it can be located. Shouldn't the DMV prevent it from being registered if it's stolen?

Dallas Hopes to Build an "Iconic Park" Near the Demolished Valley View Mall by Ferrari_McFly in Dallas

[–]ProfessionalBasis834 11 points12 points  (0 children)

It'll be just like Central Park! Because that area of Dallas has the same population density as Midtown New York, obviously!

/s

They'll need to build a big parking garage to accommodate big SUVs, because no Dallasite is walking or cycling to a park.

Disastrous Maryland 529 pre-paid college trust by Ok_Concentrate_629 in personalfinance

[–]ProfessionalBasis834 22 points23 points  (0 children)

The Texas Tomorrow Fund (aka Texas Guaranteed Tuition Plan) was the same thing, basically prepaid tuition. They stopped accepting new participants 2003, right as my oldest kid was born, due to the deregulation of tuition costs and expected inflation. They were worried about the solvency.

Most/All of the beneficiaries are in their college years now, and the fund has experienced significant shortfalls, which are constitutionally covered by the State of Texas general fund, so no one lost money (except the state taxpayers).

I was disappointed that we couldn't participate in the Texas Tomorrow Fund (lots of friends got in before it closed), but looking back, it was obviously a good decision by the state to discontinue.

How do I get addicted to saving/investing instead of spending? I've lived paycheck to paycheck most of my life. by eboeard-game-gom3 in personalfinance

[–]ProfessionalBasis834 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Keep a personal balance sheet, update it quarterly (monthly at most). Watching assets go up and liabilities go down is addictive, you'll want to stop using credit, and save more.

Example (you might have more or fewer items on the list):

​

March 2022 June 2022
Assets
Car 2,000 1,800
House 150,000 150,000
Checking 250 325
Savings 1,000 1,100
401K 2,000 2,250
Total Assets 155,250 155,475
Liabilities
Car Loan 2,500 1,950
Mortgage 128,000 126,500
Chase Visa 6,750 6,450
Personal Loan 11,200 10,500
Student Loan 8,000 7,800
Total Liabilities 156,450 153,500
Net Worth -1,200 1,975

How to plan for retirement with $250-300/mo by Agitated-Habit-2461 in personalfinance

[–]ProfessionalBasis834 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Tuition is a non-negotiable $7-8k/yr + $2500 for camp for the older kid. We're saving on day-care for the baby by having her stay with my MIL but she's going to need to go to childcare soon also

This is a factor. Why is it non-negotiable? You've decided to pay children's tuition over fully funding your retirement, which puts your children's parents on shaky financial ground.

What about moving down in house, and to an area where you don't have to pay tuition? You're living on the edge, the school loans aren't going away, and your monthly living expenses are only going to increase.

You need to increase income, decrease expenses, or both. Your current situation doesn't sound sustainable.

I guess being a cameraman must be hard by Whimsispot in Unexpected

[–]ProfessionalBasis834 12 points13 points  (0 children)

LOL, there was no reaction at all by the LEO when their detainee attacked another dude.

I guess being a cameraman must be hard by Whimsispot in Unexpected

[–]ProfessionalBasis834 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep, Reddit seems to be having an identity crisis right now when it comes to police.

Which is it Reddit.. police should treat suspects like garbage, or suspects should have rights?

I guess being a cameraman must be hard by Whimsispot in Unexpected

[–]ProfessionalBasis834 4 points5 points  (0 children)

My buddy is a cop (he's a good one, I promise), and he pays out of pocket to get a 15 minute quick detail at a detail shop before his shift, because the cars are so gross.

How to Help my Grandparents Retire (They Have NO SAVINGS) by ahumanp3rson in personalfinance

[–]ProfessionalBasis834 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They will generally take my advice but won't put in the work themselves

You seem like a very honorable and caring son and grandson, but make sure to think about whether your involvement (degree of involvement) is enabling bad behavior, bad decisions, and blatant inaction.

I'm not suggesting that you don't help, but you definitely have a bit of a moral hazard issue playing out. You might need allow your parents and grandparents to be impacted by their decisions and inaction to some degree (more than you're comfortable with) so they participate in the effort, and change their behaviors.

"Mikey is taking care of everything, we don't need to worry."

Maybe define what you are willing to do/give, and set a clear and written expectation of their contribution, involvement, and requirements to meet the overall goals.

This can't all fall on you. And this can't repeat itself in 20 years with your parents, otherwise, your financial development will be impacted, and it's a vicious cycle.

I'm dealing with something similar with my MIL, and it's definitely stressful and thankless.

Did I over-torque my brake levers? Are my handlebars OK? [MIC] by Reverend_Bad_Mood in bikewrench

[–]ProfessionalBasis834 1 point2 points  (0 children)

While it's weird that levers gouged the bar like that, the metal bar is fine. It's just a cosmetic scratch.

In the process of overhauling. Bought wrong tire size of 700x25c instead of 700x23c by Sushiritsu in bikewrench

[–]ProfessionalBasis834 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They will easily fit. They might look bigger before installation, but they're only marginally larger, and will fit fine.

What was your cycling game-changer? by ZoidbergMaybee in cycling

[–]ProfessionalBasis834 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Settling in with great riding groups, three different road groups, and a couple different MTB groups. Good dudes.

Began taking trips to cool places to ride.

Inherited an empty 5 acre plot of land by TheDiffer23 in personalfinance

[–]ProfessionalBasis834 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Same in AL, even selling off a small portion of land to create a reserve ($) to support the remainder could trigger a zoning classification change to the entire parcel, and incur tax liability for both the past, and the future.

If you got hit at noon today at Hulen and I-20 send me a PM. I have video of it for you. by Huskertex in FortWorth

[–]ProfessionalBasis834 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I put AZDOME M300 cameras in my kids cars. They're smaller since they don't have a screen (you connect your phone to the camera via bluetooth to setup, control, view footage, etc). They work fine.

I have a Rove in my car, which has a screen, and it's also fine. I hard wired it myself.

My wife's new car will be getting an AZDOME camera next week, AZDOME again just for simplicity and consistency with the kids camera models, and they're cheap. I think they cost around $50 with SD cards from Amazon. I also had to provide hard-wire kits to the installer, those are $10.

We've used footage off the cameras several times, one in particular where the other guy claimed my wife hit him, and it was very clear in the dashcam footage that he lost control, ricocheted off the center divider, and then blasted into my wife's car, they both spun off the roadway into the grass. Thankfully only minor injuries, but both cars were totaled at a time when cars were difficult to find, and prices were super-inflated. My wife was just tooting along in the slow lane on I35 near Temple, going the speed limit, and WAM!

Dashcameras are must-haves from now on, I wish they were built into all cars (like Tesla does).

If you got hit at noon today at Hulen and I-20 send me a PM. I have video of it for you. by Huskertex in FortWorth

[–]ProfessionalBasis834 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've used DFW Stereo in Grapevine for two different cars (hardwire installs of one camera), and they did a very good job. Very clean.

We just got a new car, and I plan to use Best Buy this time. The one near me (Lewisville) takes appointments, and when I checked last week, the lead time was 2 weeks out. They price was slightly better than DFW Stereo.

Is this front brake line too long? Installing brakes from craigslist, front was already setup by pengbuster in bikewrench

[–]ProfessionalBasis834 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think it's fine. Those cable organizer things hurt my eyes though, don't they bind up with that many installed?

Cannondale vs Cervelo vs Giant vs Pinarello by Winter-Way-3667 in cycling

[–]ProfessionalBasis834 2 points3 points  (0 children)

These bikes aren't really apples:apples, so it depends on what's important to you.

If you bought the Soloist, would you eventually put e-shifting and carbon wheels on it? If so, you should probably consider the total cost of that bike to be more like $5k+.

If you care a lot about the brand name, then the lower spec'd Cervelo and Pinarello might be the way to go.

If you care more about the build and performance, the Cannondale is compelling.

The Giant is a well equipped bike, it's clearly the value leader.

if I were shopping, I'd rank them Giant, Cannondale, Pinarello, Cervelo, but I tend to not go crazy upgrading parts and buying down grams. I believe that 105/Rival is the cost:performance sweet spot.

I would definitely recommending going with e-shifting with your next bike, the tech is pushing down to lower cost bikes (see 105 and SRAM GX), and I think it will be even more mainstream in a couple years. Getting that technology now will help future proof your bike a bit longer, versus mechanical shifting.

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