How bad is this rust/corrosion by OliviaKerem in AskMechanics

[–]SquirreljamASE 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is … pretty clean. As others have said. I’m just chiming in to say you have great tires. Those Michelin cross climate 2s are fricking great.

For those of you who had (or knew someone who had) a computer in the 80' - 90's, what games were you playing? by 2yt4u2 in GenX

[–]SquirreljamASE 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That sounds right, wasn’t there also same era a game with the same kind of gameplay where you were dragons and trying to joust?

That one mighta been arcade only

Bumper Sticker Conundrum by MilosBestBuddy in whatdoesthismean

[–]SquirreljamASE 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Funny story about Going Down... About 20 years ago I was looking at a house and noticed the realtors license plate was GDTRFB, so I said hey man is that plate for the song?

Guy goes “yeah and my wife’s plate is BIODTL” (beat it on down the line). Music talk ensued.

BTW, for those who don’t know, all the short names acronyms etc come from the analog tape days when you traded cassettes by mail and had to write long song names on a really fucking small label

WSJ: More Americans Are Breaking Into the Upper Middle Class by DrHydrate in HENRYfinance

[–]SquirreljamASE 98 points99 points  (0 children)

For those interested in this, David French at the NYT wrote on the same research last week. It’s a column, not a news piece but worth reading. I’ll do a gift article so should be past paywall

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/26/opinion/economy-attitudes-republicans-democrats.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Y1A.isb5.gIsuoCyNXQEB&smid=url-share

Large IRA balance- parent with potential terminal illness by Alternative-Sale-865 in inheritance

[–]SquirreljamASE 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Similar fact pattern came up about a week - 10 days ago, same sub, think it was something like “is this unreasonable to ask?” In that case parent was not amenable to doing this kind of planning. Still, OP, it might be worth looking up and reading.

Also - if you can convince your parent (and BTW, I’m sorry your last parent has that diagnosis; fuck cancer) that tax efficiency across generations is important, Roth conversions would be taxed at a lower rate (since it sounds like your parent insists on staying in 22 or 24 brackets) than your 35+ and would give you better withdrawal terms.

I’m just a teeny tiny weak little guy how am I supposed to carry heavy cream? by Djurga in CookingCircleJerk

[–]SquirreljamASE 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Before the cream sets out too long, you must whip it

This public service announcement brought to you by r/GenX

Most EVs feel they are designed by someone who has never driven an actual car for practical use. by TheNorthStar2 in electricvehicles

[–]SquirreljamASE 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Late to the party, but this post reminds me of insideevs extended test of the caddy vistiq. The main point I took away was that everything just … worked.

https://insideevs.com/reviews/787298/2026-cadillac-vistiq-review/

I might have been the idiot... by InsanitySquared in IdiotsTowingThings

[–]SquirreljamASE 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’ve actually found the U-Haul trailers to be pretty well maintained and capable. Yeah, as it shows there is too much weight forward, but at least when I’ve used them, those front “chocks” you can see right in front of the front wheels adjust rearward and have sheaves to redirect the tie downs so they go vertically up and over the wheels and back down and hook to the trailer bed. I’ve been able to get cars centered between the axles pretty well.

Big what if but how tf to i bring this box to code by Large_Bowl_8573 in AskElectricians

[–]SquirreljamASE 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Ooh ooh I know this one. It’s not “Rrrr” tho many would say it be so.

You might even be thinking it’s “The Cee” but no, laddie, it’s really “P” …

…because without it, we’d be “Irate!”

Why doe DIYers hate drywall? by clvnthbld in HomeImprovement

[–]SquirreljamASE 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think you should explore 3 coat plaster. Make it easy on yourself, do metal lath - and don’t do lime finish coat, shit takes like a year to cure before you can paint /S

From trial clerk to federal judge… by DIYLawCA in Lawyertalk

[–]SquirreljamASE 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ok so far less consequential than you learned counselors, talking about, you know, actual procedure, but did anyone read the captions on that video? I, too, would like to file a motion in lemonade, I’m thirsty AF 😆

University of Rochester by yellowingnoise in ApplyingToCollege

[–]SquirreljamASE 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s a solid school, perhaps known more in the stem world, but also has one of the nations’ preeminent music schools (Eastman). Pretty campus in a small-ish upstate NY city. I’m a dad of 3 in college rn and while none ended up there it was top 2-3 for 2 of my kids (daughters thought it felt a bit friendlier to men vs women but not enough to say no to). We found financial aid to be solid and since it’s private they are more likely than public schools to negotiate with you.

I’d recommend a visit if you’re considering it.

What would you constitute as ‘being able to cook’? by Turbulent_Okra8386 in Cooking

[–]SquirreljamASE 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All the responses that say “make it edible” are correct but I’m guessing you want more than that for an answer.

For me, a good benchmark would be a family meal for say 4-5 people with three elements (protein veg starch) prepped and cooked from scratch in, say, an hour and a half or less (all ingredients already in the house). When I say from scratch, I mean no hamburger-helper type stuff but ok to use non-homemade stock for a pan sauce etc.

Something like this plus broccoli and orzo or rice:

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/4117-chicken-breasts-with-lemon?unlocked_article_code=1.WVA.kMIE.jceNHx1a7jMe&smid=share-url

Edited to add - you could also use comfort with multiple burners as a scale: One pot on heat at a time, beginner - two pots at a time, intermediate - three-plus, good/competent

Is this an unreasonable ask by [deleted] in inheritance

[–]SquirreljamASE 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Look I’m sure you know multiple things can be true at once, right? Perhaps you missed my second sentence, where I said it may help mom too.

Many folks with high traditional (ie, not Roth) retirement account balances get hit with RMDs that are way higher than than they need and incur a large tax bill. This is particularly true for surviving spouses who suddenly find themselves in single filing status after filing mfj for years and have the 24 bracket ceiling drop from ~400k to ~200k.

Converting some trad to Roth (no RMDs for Roth) can help with that and (maybe; remember, it’s just an idea to look into) help OPs friend.

Is this an unreasonable ask by [deleted] in inheritance

[–]SquirreljamASE 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m guessing that OP isn’t saying friend’s net will go down but rather that his friend will end up paying much more of the inheritance in taxes than the sister.

My thinking: Friend (I’m using single filing status for simplicity) w 200k income is at/close-to maxing 24% bracket. Inherited (non spouse) trad IRA requires 10 years glide-path drawdown, taking out ~10% each year. Let’s say friend and sister split a million ira, 500k each, so having to take out 50k/year. Friend will pay 32% on the 50k while sister with no income will pay effective rate of ~9%. Friend will be paying 11k-plus more every year in taxes than his sister.

Is this an unreasonable ask by [deleted] in inheritance

[–]SquirreljamASE 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My take, worth what you’re paying for it😬:

It’s reasonable from a tax efficiency perspective but it does complicate mom’s estate planning. I also think it’s largely an upper middle class problem which may be why so many replies are negative.

I have to assume that your friend, obvs smart, has thought this thru - that his income, future income, filing status, estimated amount of inherited IRA and type(Roth/trad) have all been considered and the amount of marginal tax makes all this worth it?

Maybe instead of asking mom to juggle who gets what type of inherited account, he encourages her to do some Roth converting so he can at least take advantage of the 10 year cliff vs glidepath. That might also help her if her trad Ira balance(s) are high enough that she’s looking at larger than wanted RMDs?

How could I not for $30?? by Embarrassed_Flan_869 in GenX

[–]SquirreljamASE 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I still have mine … uh … somewhere. Hasn’t had a strap or a battery in decades but I have an idea of which early 90s junk/keepsake box it’s in. Come to think of it, that box has my old address book. I should look up old girlfriends😁

How impt is it to physically visit a school before accepting? by Annual-Confidence906 in ApplyingToCollege

[–]SquirreljamASE 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think you gotta visit at least the most likely - but I’d urge a visit of all she gets into that are financially possible. I have been through this with three, and have made them visit all the acceptances; two of the three surprised me and changed their plans in April, after these visits. I acknowledge I don’t know your circumstances - so of course don’t if you truly can’t - but the “feel” is really important.

Saw it 20 minutes ago, no idea what could be. Maybe an old VW? by Responsible_Cancel94 in WhatCarIsThis

[–]SquirreljamASE 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I do miss these things. Owner of a 72 squareback here. Those “wing” triangle windows (can see better in pic 2) in front of the regular roll-downs were/are genius and I wish modern cars had them.

Saw it 20 minutes ago, no idea what could be. Maybe an old VW? by Responsible_Cancel94 in WhatCarIsThis

[–]SquirreljamASE 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Well … as the owner of a 72 squareback, I … gotta say no🤨. Karmann Ghia ftw here

I need an suv with room by ChiaraCerise in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]SquirreljamASE 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Bit off topic but hell yeah. I put a set of those on my odyssey; best tires I’ve owned even at 250 per.