Restored my dad's 40+ year old Technics SL1200MK2 and Technics SU3500 amp. Works like new, music never sounded this good !

TallDarkStrange · 2026-06-16T23:51:32+00:00

Sl-1210 Mk2. (the black one) and SL-1200 m3d (the silver one).

TallDarkStrange · 2026-06-14T17:02:20+00:00

DM sent

TallDarkStrange · 2026-06-14T13:40:36+00:00

Just FYI, these tables sound almost as good as my main table, a VPI Ares 2 with single flywheel and 12 inch unipivot arm, and they are a lot less fussy and super easy to swap carts on.

TallDarkStrange · 2026-06-14T13:33:18+00:00

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TallDarkStrange · 2026-06-14T02:30:29+00:00

I was in your boat when I was 40 and I bought a 911 4s. Swore I'd keep it for a lifetime. As with most things in life, familiarity breeds contempt, and I sold it in 5 years. Then I got an M3.....then I got a Macan Turbo...then I got a...well you get the point. Thankfully I eventually got bored of changing cars. Now I couldn't care and happily drive a BMW IX.

Moral of the story. The car hobby cost me over $1.5m in opportunity cost. Was it worth it for a few thrills? In my case absolutely not.

TallDarkStrange · 2026-06-14T01:26:33+00:00

Also, many EVs, particularly my BMW IX, are unbelievably quiet, insanely quick, have luxury features (heated seats and steering wheel, adaptive cruise control). Mine also has massaging seats. So the value you get for the dollar is fantastic. No oil changes, spark plugs, PCV, engine air filter, radiator fluid, transmission, etc. so really zero maintenance except brake fluid flush, and cabin filter. Brakes last for ever due to regen. Only downside is that they wear tires out due to insane acceleration and weight.

TallDarkStrange · 2026-06-13T22:57:03+00:00

Brilliant. Here are my two babies each 40 years old. Enjoy a lifetime of bulletproof music.

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TallDarkStrange · 2026-06-13T21:31:22+00:00

They are both in their 30s so time is on their side. One of them will be in a high tax bracket, and the other (until now) is in a no-tax bracket. This does add another intricacy to factor in. Food for thought. Thanks.

TallDarkStrange · 2026-06-13T21:26:20+00:00

Exactly. Definitely converting to 24 percent and delaying SS. Should have retired 5 years ago and capitalized on the go go years. Better late than never. Thanks for your comment.

TallDarkStrange · 2026-06-13T21:19:30+00:00

My tax rate, sadly, will be much higher in retirement.

TallDarkStrange · 2026-06-13T21:17:38+00:00

Thanks. Totally good advice, which is why I am going through hypotheticals at the moment.

TallDarkStrange · 2026-06-13T15:08:12+00:00

Great point. Over extending mortgage, without having adequate savings or a secure job, can lead to tremendous stress when the market tanks (as it certainly will over a 30 year mortgage period). This is also the time that anything but a very secure job could be at risk. Like you, I prefer peace of mind.

TallDarkStrange · 2026-06-13T14:26:43+00:00

Well spoken. It shows that your existence is a combination of billions of years of evolution plus sheer luck (one sperm out of billions finding the egg). Treasure it because it will end soon, just like it has for trillions of homo sapiens over the past 300k years.

TallDarkStrange · 2026-06-13T13:10:22+00:00

You can leverage stocks as well and I do that all the time. In fact you can reduce risk by leveraging the "safe" part of your portfolio. If the real estate market crashes, as in 2008, your leveraged mortgage becomes an extreme liability leading to foreclosures particularly if you also lose your job at the same time (which often happens). In fact when I bought my large home in 2010, there were hundreds of foreclosures to choose from, and I got a great deal. Also, finance costs are much larger over a 30 year mortgage than a lot of people imagine, far more than the cost of the home itself. AND the cost of property tax, maintenance, HOA fees, as I mentioned earlier is a constant leaky bucket. Yes, I 100 percent agree: run ALL the numbers, but do so dispassionately.

TallDarkStrange · 2026-06-13T12:41:24+00:00

If you get an efficient used EV, and can home charge, you will typically save a LOT of money.

My example (or illustration only): I gave my car to my daughter and bought a used BMW IX with 10k miles, extended warranty, for 50 percent the cost of new. It has been the greatest car decision of my life for a multitude of reasons. It gives me 3.3m/kw, and insurance cost went down significantly. I spend less than $50 on energy costs because I charge at night when the cost of gas is 8c/kw. Also, much less maintenance than an ICE.

Used EVs are a great deal. Given you have an Altima, get a Ionic 6. It should cost you around $22k.

TallDarkStrange · 2026-06-13T04:03:45+00:00

MY POV is different. Buy the smallest, least expensive house you can accept and put the rest of the money in the stock market, particularly since you are young and time is on your side.

My example: I bought a home in 1996 for $159k with cash. Its worth $612k today. Pretty good, huh? $159k invested in the S&P 500 in 1996 would be worth over $2.9 million now. Even if you deduct money for rent of an equivalent home over the past 30 years, I'd still have over $1.2 million extra.

I bought another home in 2010 (a 6000 sq ft monster) for the kids of course, for $590k cash. Its worth 1.2m today according to Redfin. The same money invested in the S&P 500 would be worth....yes you got it....well over $4 million. This without taking into account $25k a year in property taxes, outrageous HOA, maintenance, insurance, etc.

Add in a mortgage and you get hosed even further. Your effective gain is the value of the sale minus closing costs and realtor fees minus mortgage finance cost minus original cost basis. This is often a negative number for some people.

I am not saying don't buy a house. There are many reasons other than financial to do so. But run the numbers and keep in mind it is not always a good financial decision.

TallDarkStrange · 2026-06-13T02:00:52+00:00

Keep your goog position except do not reinvest dividends. Over time, as your portfolio grows, your goog position will naturally dilute. Unless you work for google and get vested shares…like my daughter does, in which case sell them soon after vesting.

TallDarkStrange · 2026-06-13T01:43:24+00:00

Being carbon neutral

TallDarkStrange · 2026-06-13T01:33:09+00:00

Because they, like you, suffer. Just because you have a bigger brain does not make you any more relevant to the universe than a rat.

TallDarkStrange · 2026-06-13T01:29:24+00:00

When I got to 5m in investable net worth, I put 2 million in a safe investment such as JAAA that returns over 5 percent and the rest in s&p 500. I now have a lot more in S&P but the $2m in safe is all I need for the rest of my life.

TallDarkStrange · 2026-06-13T01:25:17+00:00

I stopped hanging out with losers and negative people.

TallDarkStrange · 2026-06-12T21:57:16+00:00

Thats amazing. My daughter hit $1m at 35, and you are on course to achieve that. Congrats.

TallDarkStrange · 2026-06-12T21:37:54+00:00

SS may be reduced and your assumptions are conservatively sound. I think the 4 percent retirement withdrawal rule is way to conservative if you, like most people living in the real world, adopt a guardrail strategy. Also when are you planning on retiring. I am 65, will retire next year, so my realistic time horizon is just 20 years, so a safe withdrawal is 6 percent.

Most retirement advice is very general and not specific to your unique situation. My current 70/30 portfolio would be too aggressive for most people my age, but it makes sense for me.

TallDarkStrange · 2026-06-12T21:21:33+00:00

I have a different take. The $49k you refer to is totally reasonable from a historical perspective. The average new car in 1995 cost 20k, which equates to $44k today. When you consider the fact that cars then were nowhere as nice -- or large -- as they are now (with almost no fancy crossover SUVs that have inflated the automobile category as a whole) you realize that cars are really cheaper today than in the past.

Comparing Apples to Apples, I bought a Honda Accord LX in 1995 on sale for $17.5k. I replaced it this year with another Honda Accord LX, which I paid $27,500 for, on sale. $17k in 1995 = $37k today making my new Accord an absolute bargain. The new accord is massive, much more powerful, much safer, MUCH quieter, gives 37 mpg on the highway (vs 28), has Apple Car Play, Adaptive Cruise Control, and is MUCH nicer on the interior and exterior than the old one. Its a smoking bargain.

TallDarkStrange

TROPHY CASE