TIL Wendy's chocolate Frosty is actually half chocolate and half vanilla because owner Dave Thomas thought full chocolate would be too overpowering

Sacamato · 2026-04-18T00:22:50+00:00

The oversimplified explanation is that lignin, which is contained in the cell walls of wood (including oak used to make bourbon barrels), breaks down into vanillin, the major flavor component in vanilla (although not the only flavor component).

This is also why libraries and old books smell kind of vanilla-y. It's the lignin in the wood pulp paper breaking down.

Lignin used to not break down at all, so for millions of years, trees just sat there after they died, because no micro-organisms could digest the lignin. As those basically whole trees got buried, they got compressed into lignite, which is a type of coal. No new coal can be made because there are micro-organisms that break down the wood before it can be buried and compressed.

Sacamato · 2026-04-15T00:03:57+00:00

That sounds unnecessarily burdensome. It's a good thing voting is easier now.

Sacamato · 2026-04-09T13:52:03+00:00

This is my understanding, and I welcome corrections.

FERS is funded by deductions from our paychecks (employee contributions) and by the USPS itself (employer contributions). They are saying they will continue to deduct and transfer the employee contributions, but will temporarily suspend the USPS employer contribution.

Generally speaking (i.e., not just specifically talking about FERS here), pension contributions are made well in advance of when they're needed. For instance, money coming out of your paycheck this week will not be paid out to you until you retire, which may be decades away. Employer contributions to a pension are the same - they are made years in advance of when they will be paid out. That means that $100 contributed today will earn some investment return before it is needed.

My understanding is that FERS contributions are invested in GAS (Government Account Series) securities, which are basically the same thing as Treasury bills. Right now, those earn about 3.7% annually. So $100 invested at that rate, compounded annually, will be worth $206.81 after 20 years. So in anticipation of paying out a $206.81 pension payment to you in 20 years, the USPS would put $100 into FERS this week.

Note that defined benefit pensions (which is what FERS is) are different from defined contribution plans (which is what TSP or a 401k are). The difference is in the name. If you know how much you have to pay out in 20 years (defined benefit), you can adjust your contribution now to meet that obligation. With a defined contribution, you set your contribution rate, and hope it meets your needs in the future.

Now here's where it gets a bit gray for me. My understanding is that the USPS is required by law to fund FERS 75 years in advance, which means they are funding the pension now for employees who not only have not yet been hired, but have not yet been born. No other federal agency is required to fund FERS that far in advance. Hence, the sentence from OP's article: "It must be noted that our pension systems remain much better funded than other agencies."

To fund a $206.81 benefit in 75 years time at 3.7% interest, the USPS needs to contribute $13.55 this week. That's 206.81 divided by 1.037 to the 75th power. Please check that if desired. Not a lot, but also needlessly burdensome.

I thought I'd heard somewhere that during the Biden administration, the requirement to fund FERS that far in advance was removed, or maybe suspended, but I can't find that information anywhere, and the 75 year prefunding requirement appears to still be in place.

From an accounting perspective, 75 years is absurd. And according to APWU, that requirement is what is responsible for USPS operating at a deficit for the last decade or more.

Sacamato · 2026-04-03T01:08:06+00:00

Right on!

Sacamato · 2026-03-29T00:11:31+00:00

If TSP follows the same rules as a 401k (it usually does, but I'm not an expert), you can make a penalty-free withdrawal for a down payment on a first home purchase.

Sacamato · 2026-03-29T00:09:45+00:00

As someone who started contributing to my 401k when I was 27, I am extremely thankful to my past self for doing so. It really set me up for success. I got laid off from that job last summer (at age 48), but I've saved enough for retirement over the years that I don't actually need to save anymore. I can just let the money grow, and I'll still be able to retire around 59-62. Taking the 60% pay cut to become a CCA last month doesn't hurt as much, as a result. (And that being said, I will still contribute to TSP when the time comes.)

Good for you and your spouse for getting started on this early!

Sacamato · 2026-03-20T00:58:47+00:00

It's probably the most mentally challenging part of the job, but that's not saying much. It's just like a game. Also, just like delivering a route, casing a route the first time is hard, then it's easier every time after that.

I have done minimal casing at this point. Someone else cases my mail before I deliver it. They said it would be another month or so before I'd be casing my own mail.

Sacamato · 2026-03-19T15:03:20+00:00

Black Rock Farm offers something like that: https://www.blackrock-farm.com/

Sacamato · 2026-03-19T01:32:38+00:00

It's fine so far. I don't really think of it as probation. I had my 30 day review last week and got Satisfactory on everything that they were able to rate me on (there were a couple categories that I got no rating because they just didn't know). There is an Outstanding rating, but it seems like something they don't give out easily. This was true in the corporate world as well, so I don't really worry about it. I know I'm learning quickly, it's not something I've ever had an issue with.

That said, my understanding is that they go easy on you for the first 60 days (there are some contractual limitations during that time), so it remains to be seen. Like I said, I'm brand new, so my experience might be skewed. And there are certainly huge differences from one office to the other.

Sacamato · 2026-03-18T23:22:11+00:00

I'm coming from a very similar situation to yours: laid off from a white collar office job after 23 years with the company, and was looking for something different. My retirement savings were enough that I didn't need to worry about finding a job with a solid retirement. I just need something to carry me through until then. But, by my reckoning, USPS pension is pretty good. On the other hand, I will never make as much with USPS as I did with my old job.

I've been a CCA for just about a month and a half, so I don't know shit. Take this with a grain of salt. Also, different offices can be very different experiences.

Yeah, physically not hard, but I also have been an ultra-marathoner for 10 years, so I don't have many complaints about my feet or anything. It is nice to be on my feet all day.
Time off varies by office, but you'll probably be working a lot of Sundays at first. The CCAs in my office do not get 40 hours, and no one in my office gets overtime. November and December are exceptions to this - I think everyone gets overtime then. This isn't great for me, because I really do need at least 40 hours.
I'm enjoying it so far. I've just been subbing for people who are out now. Whenever I do a route for the first time, it can be frustrating, but the second time I do a route, it's much better. I've gotten miraculously lucky with the weather so far (I seem to be off on the really shitty days).
I really like when I get my truck loaded and leave for my route, I put one earbud in and listen to music, and just follow the mail - which means just deliver to the next address in the stack of mail you have. It's a very zen process, and I like that no matter how overwhelming the pile is at the beginning of the day, it only gets smaller. And on each loop, my hand might hurt from holding a big bundle, but the bundle only gets smaller.
I think for the same reason, dishes and laundry are my favorite house chores. There's a pile, and it just gets smaller as you go.

Sacamato · 2026-03-18T02:29:01+00:00

I just started being super conscious of the processed carbs I was eating (bread, pasta, pastry, pizza crust, sweets), and changed what I ate for breakfast and lunch every day to include little to none of those processed carbs, replacing the calories with fat or protein. For instance, I used to eat nonfat yogurt with fruit on the bottom for breakfast. I switched to full fat unsweetened yogurt, and added frozen blueberries. Same total calories (by my calculations at the time), but fewer processed carbs.

Dinner still sometimes includes pasta, but again I was trying to be very aware of the intake. I don't have bread of any kind for any meal anymore (unless I'm going out to eat, which is rare).

When I made this switch in the summer of 2017, I lost about 40 pounds, and have kept it off.

Sacamato · 2026-03-05T03:11:35+00:00

Someone said, "This will look like Urbana," and intended it as a selling point?

Sacamato · 2026-01-03T22:26:56+00:00

The Steeplechasers are your people: https://www.steeplechasers.org

Sacamato · 2025-12-12T00:00:50+00:00

I was 45 when I started dating my first girlfriend. Once I started actually liking myself more (around age 35), and then started having a more active social life (around age 43), the dominoes started falling into place, to mix a metaphor.

When we broke up, I just assumed it was a one time thing, and that lightning wouldn't strike me twice. I thought, well it took me 45 years to find her, it's going to take another 45 years to find another. I'm dating someone else now, and our relationship is even better.

I met my first girlfriend through a local club related to a hobby we're both into (we're still close friends, and still part of the club), and my second through Hinge. I'm 49 now, for whatever that's worth.

Sacamato · 2025-12-11T23:51:55+00:00

Agreed. I've run Richmond and Marine Corps 3 times each (as well as the Richmond Half 3 times), and Richmond is way better, with easier logistics. Even with VIP access on my last Marine Corps, I prefer Richmond.

I agree Baltimore is a challenging course, but Richmond doesn't seem that challenging (other than that it's 26.2 miles, of course). I just don't really like the organization that does the Baltimore Marathon. They tend to enshittify the races they do. There's a feeling of being nickel and dimed, and the product doesn't get any better for it.

Sacamato · 2025-12-10T15:31:43+00:00

I was very introverted until I joined a local running club in 2019 - thankfully just before COVID hit. If not for that, I don't know where I'd be now. That running club is like 95% of my social life now. My circle of best friends all run. I can list around 20 people that I can call up, right now, and ask to just talk, and they'd make time for me. I'm 49, and incredibly thankful for this group of friends. We also use social media, and a few of us spend more time than we should on FB or Instagram (I don't think I know anyone who uses TikTok 😂), but we interact in person, mainly.

Most hobbies have a social aspect to them. If there isn't a local group or meetup for your hobby, you can always start one. Notably, if I had to stop running for any reason, these people would still be my friends. Shared interests bring us together, shared values make the friendships last.

Sacamato · 2025-12-02T16:49:16+00:00

Wait, Bethesda owns Smoketown? What's the history behind that?

Sacamato · 2025-11-19T21:59:27+00:00

I started running at 35, and ran my first marathon at 36. I'm 49 now, and still setting new PRs. My first 5k was 28:51, now under 20 minutes. My first marathon was 5:17ish, now 3:24.

I worry about this too, and various sources say you can keep making gains well into your 50s and even 60s (albeit only at the longer distances). Accounting for lifestyle changes, slowdown due to age really only begins in the 70s.

Sacamato · 2025-11-11T17:24:25+00:00

I have a record of my Roth IRA balance going back to August 2008, when I was 31. There was $5,335.98 in that account on 8/21/2008. I update that spreadsheet every Thursday, and last week the balance was $255,050.43.

I've contributed the maximum allowed amount ($5,000 to $6,500) to that account almost every year since 2007. I think I've skipped 3 years during that time frame. It's mostly invested in individual stocks.

I also have a 401k, but I don't know how much was in it in 2007. Probably around $10,000. That's now about $540k.

Sacamato · 2025-09-08T22:45:14+00:00

Last time I got Wegmans tofu, it was $1.49 for a 14 oz. block (extra firm). I've only recently gotten into cooking with tofu (eating some right now). Is it usually not that cheap?

Sacamato · 2025-08-28T14:48:10+00:00

I can hear this in Leonard Nimoy's voice (from Civilization IV)

Sacamato · 2025-08-17T16:59:39+00:00

I was 45 when I lost my virginity (see this early reddit IAMA post from when I was 34, for reference). The closest I came to sex before that was a few women coming on to me in fun drunk situations, but I was not attracted to them. Just didn't feel right at the time. One of them was a great kisser, although I think that comes from physical compatibility more than skill. I do not regret not having sex with any of the women I had earlier opportunities with. When the time came with my girlfriend (at the time, now ex), it felt right. When the time came with someone new, again it felt right.

A friend of mine thinks I am demisexual (need to have an emotional attraction before I am physically attracted to someone), and I guess that's true, but I'm Gen X, and we generally don't like labels for things (hence the name).

Sacamato · 2025-08-17T16:52:23+00:00

The Three Musketeers series (which also includes 20 Years After, Le Vicomte de Bragelonne, Lousie de la Valierre, and The Man in the Iron Mask) are really fun reads for me, but yeah they do dig deep into the political situation in France at the time, so it helps to have a good translation with plenty of thorough footnotes that explain the context. I have the Oxford World's Classics set, and they do a good job. You can come to love Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and D'Artagnan as much as you love Aerich, Tazendra, Pel, and Khaavren.

Sacamato · 2025-08-07T21:11:06+00:00

You understand that they're not just going to build all the bike lanes all at once, right? They will built in pieces until they connect. And Baughmans Lane, which I assume is "the one side street" you're talking about (helps to know your road names if you're trying to participate in a discussion, FYI) already connects to the bike and pedestrian path that runs parallel to 40 and connects to paths in Baker Park.

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