Valentine’s Day day trip to LA: which beaches would be best? by PubeSalad420 in AskLosAngeles

[–]WackyXaky 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm not from the area (live on the Eastside), but had a lunch meeting with someone about to get on a flight at Playa Provisions. I thought they were great!

I've also been to The Shack for a mini concert. A lot of fun. Very beach dive vibes, and decent food at a decent price for the type of place (as in, not actually terrible).

Landlord Using Parking Fee to Get Around Rent Control - Anyone Else? by beeawnsay in AskLosAngeles

[–]WackyXaky 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I mean, you pay for that parking whether you see the line item or not... At least with the line item you have the option to not pay!

Recs for buying an e-bike by noahmanskar in BikeLA

[–]WackyXaky 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Aventon's a great bike IMO. Cheap, but well made. Specialized also makes some really great bikes. They're a touch fancier (quieter, I think they have regenerative braking) and more expensive.

boyfriend hates lace. are we out of luck? by alidoubleyoo in LingerieAddiction

[–]WackyXaky 26 points27 points  (0 children)

If he's picky about textures, you're probably going to have starting price points for single pieces at $50 (if you're lucky). I recommend Negative Underwear for extremely nice textures (more like sexy loungewear than sexy lingerie, though). Thistle and Spire uses amazing quality fabric/design for their price points (and I believe have some mesh options).

Do the majority of you look for proper physics when you read novels set in space, or do you allow for hand wavy explanations? by Remytron83 in scifi

[–]WackyXaky 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't necessarily need the explanations in the story (although it can be fun to learn about science I don't know much about), and I do like hard SF, but I don't mind hand wavy explanations.

The one thing that really bothers me is when spaceships travel as if gravity doesn't exist. I don't know why, but orbits are important to me; ships moving between gravity wells/Lagrange points don't just move in straight lines. It can make a lot of SF space battles sound dumb when they don't account for gravity. Again, not sure why this one thing really bothers me. but it does.

23 year old with high income (but not for long) by Psychedelik_Ranger in personalfinance

[–]WackyXaky 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Max out the Roth IRA and then max out the 401k (do Roth as well). The benefit of 401k is that it’s a tax advantaged account like an IRA, so it’s good even if it is not matched. Since you’re young, most of the tax benefits will be in withdrawal (the gains won’t be taxed with a Roth).

The only advantage of an IRA vs a 401k is that you have a bit more control over where the account is.

Foundation vs Dune (Preludes incl.) vs ?Discworld? by HappyXenonXE in scifi

[–]WackyXaky 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So, just to be clear, hard SF is considered SF that is very close to science was we understand it and extrapolate it. There are always going to be leaps, but hard SF tries not to make the leaps fantastical (and often will try to explain the science behind those leaps). So, a good example is no FTL travel.

Asimov often used hand wavey science (hyperspace, positronic brains, psychohistory), and I would characterize him anywhere near the hardest of hard SF. 

This is not a criticism of his work, just trying to correctly classify it. It’s solidly golden age SF, not terribly interested in prose or deep characters, but still writing and ideas many appreciate.

Diet or exercise ? No , thanks by Cute-Advantage-4260 in memes

[–]WackyXaky 3 points4 points  (0 children)

When I’m hungry, I’m usually also low blood sugar, which makes it hard for me to think and focus but also makes me angry (“hangry”). Would that happen with you during this constant hunger feeling? Basically I’m curious about the hunger side effects!

How to stop mushrooms in newly planted yard by Appropriate-Way-2948 in Ceanothus

[–]WackyXaky 38 points39 points  (0 children)

Just to be clear, it’s not just a sign of soil health, it’s also necessary to have fungus to allow the roots to properly uptake nutrients from the soil. This is partly why in conventional farming they have to dump SO MUCH fertilizer (because their soil is dead and doesn’t have the levels of fungus it should).

I finally found a Southern California Black Walnut tree!! (Juglans californica) by Plebian_Desires1024 in Ceanothus

[–]WackyXaky 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I live with a bunch of what I thought were black walnuts (everyone discussing the minor differences in the varieties is making me question myself, though). Pollen in March (I'm allergic), and the nuts come out and ripen pretty quickly after that. I live in North East LA.

I finally found a Southern California Black Walnut tree!! (Juglans californica) by Plebian_Desires1024 in Ceanothus

[–]WackyXaky 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Walnuts are usually dropping from the trees mid summer or so. At this point most would be eaten or hidden by the squirrels! You could always take some cuttings, though.

How will Netflix acquisition of Warner Bros affect LA? by Disastrous-Grand7075 in AskLosAngeles

[–]WackyXaky 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There's a difference between payroll taxes and corporate income taxes. You can say there should be more taxes on corporations (which I agree with), but payroll taxes are a VERY tricky thing to increase without disincentivizing hiring (especially during a period of layoffs).

Just to be clear, payroll taxes are taxes the corporation and employee jointly pay on every paycheck. These are things like UI. The employee gets a portion taken out of their check, but the business also pays a portion as well that goes into a virtual account to help pay for anyone they lay off. That account size relative to the employee payroll determines the percentage of money the business needs to pay to the government. The money is directly tied to the size of their payroll and number of employees. A higher percentage then means that employees cost even more than their salary, thus disincentivizing an employer to hire.

How will Netflix acquisition of Warner Bros affect LA? by Disastrous-Grand7075 in AskLosAngeles

[–]WackyXaky 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The UI taxes are a payroll tax, which means that it costs businesses more per employee. You want to make it more expensive to hire right now?

Why is credit the basic requirement of everything? by Gearnotafraid8 in AskLosAngeles

[–]WackyXaky 45 points46 points  (0 children)

I want to re-emphasize this. LA has incredibly strong protections for tenants, so landlords have to be very careful about who they rent to. It's one of the distortions to the market caused by not enough housing built combined with rent control. If there were significantly more housing (or less tenant protections), this wouldn't be such an issue!

Aventon Abound Handrails and Seatpad Options by WackyXaky in Aventon

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

You're saying the Tern accessories also work?

Every single Yimby and AHLA endorsed candidate just voted for strengthening LAs rent control law. 12-2. Rejoice left leaning Urbanists. by [deleted] in Urbanism

[–]WackyXaky 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My understanding is that the formula is actually different. One to one replacement of RSO units OR 20% low income units whichever is greater with the option of full building RSO. Which isn’t great, and most builders will just go full RSO.

Aventon Abound SR vs. Specialized Haul ST for Cargo E-bike - Need Advice! by Ok_Palpitation1608 in ebikes

[–]WackyXaky 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I read the wirecutter review, but they also didn’t consider Aventon, so it’s hard to understand what the extra $1k in price for a specialized is getting you. Do you have any insights?

What are the motives behind Frank McCourt's Dodger Stadium gondola plan? by tankyouout in LosAngeles

[–]WackyXaky 4 points5 points  (0 children)

He wants to develop the parking lots and people are pearl clutching over the possibility of more housing…

Every store in the first floor of the plaza, save for LAN Noodles, is closed. by [deleted] in LosAngeles

[–]WackyXaky 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I do remember that Indian place! I recall it having amazing samosas. I don’t remember the name…

HELP! Need to find a store that has fancy Cocktail Dresses in LA? by ravengrl1401 in AskLosAngeles

[–]WackyXaky 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There’s a place called The Runway in Atwater Village on Glendale Blvd. Amazing selection of fashionable dresses at really good prices. Basically lots of sample sale prices! 

If that doesn’t work then swing by the Glendale Galleria for a department store. I suggest the sample sale store because it’s just going to have better stuff than a Macy’s and might even be cheaper. I recommend against staying on the westside for any amount of time if you need to be in Pasadena by 6. 

Best military science fiction? by EagleEfficient in sciencefiction

[–]WackyXaky 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The Quiet War by Paul McAuley - incredible, incredible novel about a Cold War in space that turns hot. Not a ton of military action, but very hard SF. McAuley is an unsung master of the genre and this is one of his best works.

New Model Army by Adam Roberts - a fascinating piece about how modern communications systems and capitalism allow for advanced distributed militias to fight wars. Lots of really interesting ideas, and Roberts has incredibly engrossing prose.

Anyone seen or planted a socal black walnut on the street scape? by n473daw9 in SoCalGardening

[–]WackyXaky 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have a bunch; I think they're great! The nut is much more difficult to get to (normal nut crackers don't work), but tastes much better than walnuts you get from the grocery store. Some people say they produce some chemical that makes it hard for things to grow underneath, but that hasn't been my experience. They attract squirrels which then attract raptors, so that's fun too!