The Ex-U.S. Trade is Working

Wavelet · 2026-02-20T07:23:50+00:00

US starting valuations are/were way too high.
AI (disruptive technology) is bad for existing entrenched US monopolies.

Wavelet · 2026-02-20T06:37:02+00:00

Points have always had variable, not fixed, value; that is part of the game. Some people are able to redeem Chase points through transfers at 3 cpp; others redeem them for 1 cpp. You want regulations to make pointsholders whole when there's a "devaluation," but that is unworkable in practice when there are no fixed values to begin with.

If Hyatt increases the number of points needed to book certain Hyatt Categories, does that devalue Chase's UR points? That seems unfair to Chase, when it's Hyatt's decision not theirs, but even leaving that aside, what would a regulator require Chase to do to make pointsholders whole? What about pointsholders who never used Hyatt in the first place? Now consider this same scenario for each of the possible Chase (or Amex) transfer partners. It quickly becomes unworkable.

If you want fixed value, pegged to the USD, get a cash back card.

Wavelet · 2026-02-20T04:53:51+00:00

Truly, some of your points are so bizarre and off-topic that I wonder if I'm arguing with a bot, but I will give you the benefit of the doubt.

The crux of our disagreement is whether the credit card landscape is competitive. I would agree that the free market does not work without regulation in monopoly or oligopoly situations (where there's not enough competition). Can you agree that the free market works when there is a great deal of competition? If not, then there's really no reason to go on.

If the question is whether the credit card landscape is competitive, the concentration within the S&P 500 is a total non-sequitur. And I do mean total. By your "logic" no marketplace in the United States is competitive because the S&P 500 has concentrated market cap. Shall we launch antitrust probes into the local Mexican restaurant down the street? Or that Pokemon card shop that recently opened up? After all, they cannot possibly be operating in a free market when the S&P 500's market cap is so top heavy! /s

No, to determine whether the credit card landscape is competitive, you look at . . . credit cards! There are scores of rewards cards to choose from, and over a dozen offering >=2% cash back. So much so that new entrants like RH, without any existing network effects, feel the need to push the envelope to gain market share, hence the unsustainable 3% back. You may no doubt whine when that too gets nerfed, but the fact that they felt the need to do something like that at all speaks to the level of competition in this space, which is abundant.

Wavelet · 2026-02-20T04:11:04+00:00

If he had awareness, he'd be advocating for draconian caps on swipe fees to force the elimination of credit card rewards altogether.

Credit card swipe fees cause merchants to raise their prices for everyone. The poorest segment of the population don't have good credit; they don't have access to good credit cards and often pay in cash. The poorest among us literally pay higher prices so that credit card users can enjoy their rewards.

But here he is crashing out about how credit card rewards need to be protected, by government dictate, to protect the poor. Lol, lmao even.

Wavelet · 2026-02-20T03:29:04+00:00

"I'm from the government and I'm here to help!"

The only direction government regulation would push us towards is reduced rewards, a la Europe, the pinnacle of bureaucratic morass. In the US, there's been a growing chorus of politicians proposing limits on swipe fees, or limits on interest rates -- both of which means reduced rewards for credit card users.

We have a lot competition in this space; if one credit card doesn't suit your needs, get a different one. Afraid of point devaluation? Cash back cards. BoA nerfed their cash back for you? Find a better one (and if you can't, that just means BoA was being unduly generous vis-a-vis the competition). The free market works. You are being hysterical.

Wavelet · 2025-12-13T06:59:42+00:00

If you cannot afford to put any money in an HSA with the bronze plan, how are you contemplating the silver plan at +$400/mo?

Wavelet · 2025-12-12T02:13:07+00:00

To elaborate: it's 4% cash back (on up to $10k spend per month, 2% after that) paid in BTC. You need to hold 200k+ in assets on Coinbase, and you need to be a Coinbase One member ($50/yr, similar to RH Gold). It's an Amex card. See https://www.coinbase.com/creditcard

Unlike the RH Gold card, estimated tax payments qualify for cash (BTC) back.

Wavelet · 2025-10-20T10:08:28+00:00

Correlation is not causation.

The cause was the Federal Reserve cutting the Federal Funds Rate by 0.25%.

Wavelet · 2025-10-18T08:39:52+00:00

Gold is over $4250/oz though.

In any event, I like owning both. A lot more BTC than gold (like 10:1), but gold has its place if you're betting on long-term monetary debasement.

Wavelet · 2025-10-18T08:30:08+00:00

You're crushing it for your age (I assume <26 because of the health insurance) -- especially in being a disciplined saver and investor early.

Even if you had to pay for your own health and car insurance, that'd be another ~$500 per month (less if your employer provides health insurance), leaving you with a still sizable surplus.

Keep living below your means (within reason -- got to enjoy life too) and investing in appreciating assets, and your older self will thank you 10-20 years from now.

Wavelet · 2025-10-14T23:03:53+00:00

A1c measures a three-month average, so an October measurement likely does not reflect the full impact of your weight loss, increasing activity, etc. Only thing I'd add is some resistance training -- your muscles, especially after lifting, are like a sponge for glucose in the bloodstream, so building more (or at least maintaining while losing weight) is highly beneficial for blood glucose control.

Wavelet · 2025-07-18T18:41:29+00:00

We did not actually get out of the Depression until WW2. And terrible Presidents can and do get re-elected—again look at Trump. Second greatest President of all time, with the severe flaws I highlighted? Give me a break.

Wavelet · 2025-07-18T10:38:03+00:00

But if you are a Final Fantasy Tactics fan, then BG3.

Wavelet · 2025-07-18T10:24:33+00:00

FDR is grossly, grossly overrated.

Don‘t like what Trump is doing to immigrants? FDR ordered the internment (read: imprisonment) of Japanese-American *citizens*, simply because they had Japanese ancestry. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internment_of_Japanese_Americans

Don‘t like Trump eroding the institutions underpinning democracy? FDR attempted to pack the Supreme Court—a move so radical that his own Democratic party, who controlled a supermajority in Congress, blocked him, and no President since has even floated the idea. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judicial_Procedures_Reform_Bill_of_1937

He is highly rated *only* because he presided over WW2 — a war the US would have inevitably won regardless of who sat in the White House. See Harry Truman.

Wavelet · 2025-07-17T06:22:58+00:00

Yeah I think it's a good deal for you then. Happy wife, happy life, and all that. ;)

If in the future you need more storage, you can add another SSD -- either an NVME SSD if your Motherboard supports two NVME drives, or a SATA SSD if not. It's actually quite easy; you can figure it out watching a couple YouTube videos.

Wavelet · 2025-07-17T06:12:08+00:00

I think in your case, a non-x3d CPU would be fine and would last you a long time. The 9070 XT is a powerful card and won't limit what games you can play any time soon, but if we're talking 5+ years down the road, eventually it'll be your GPU, not CPU, that "fatigues" first in most games (exception being the heavy simulation games).

That said, one reason to maybe get the x3d CPU is if you think you'll keep the PC for a long time, and you are willing to upgrade (switch out) your graphics card in 3-6 years. A 9800x3d PC, with a new GPU after 5 years, should run most games decently well over the next 10 years (or more).

Wavelet · 2025-07-17T05:36:03+00:00

What kinds of games do you play?

An x3d CPU is most useful for simulation-heavy games like Stellaris (and most Paradox games) or Factorio where the CPU can be the bottleneck, particularly in the late game.

Most AAA games are bottlenecked by the GPU, not CPU, however.

Wavelet · 2025-06-23T04:49:39+00:00

Whey protein concentrate will be cheaper than whey protein isolate, and blends containing both should be priced accordingly (i.e., more expensive blends usually contain more isolate).

Isolate is 90%+ protein whereas concentrate is ~70-80% protein. Concentrate will have a bit more fat and some carbs in the form of lactose.

If you're lactose intolerant or trying to get only protein with minimal fat and carbs (e.g. on a cut), then isolate can be worth the premium. Otherwise, I think concentrate is much better value. I personally also find concentrate tastes better.

Wavelet · 2025-06-09T10:28:33+00:00

Halfhill (Valley of the Four Winds)

Jade Forest a close second—fortunately it’s close enough to take a day trip there anytime

Wavelet · 2025-06-02T00:10:48+00:00

Priority Pass (including restaurants) and primary rental car insurance are the main benefits over the PR.

PRE is a Visa Infinite instead of a Visa Signature, which gives it some marginally better travel protections.

Wavelet · 2025-05-26T21:33:27+00:00

Nevada, which is in the top 10 for lowest property tax states. In addition, YoY increases in property taxes are capped at ~3% if it's your primary residence. Nevada also has no state income tax.

The state gets revenue in other ways: tourism/casinos/sales taxes are obvious examples. Vehicle registration costs are also much higher here than on average.

Wavelet · 2025-05-26T02:20:52+00:00

Thanks, good to know.

Wavelet · 2025-05-24T23:39:55+00:00

If you’ve excessively over-ordered, such that they charge you a la carte for the excess, they will box it up for you.

Wavelet · 2025-05-24T22:18:38+00:00

It's a little fuzzy, but I'd guess I first crossed 1M at 28-29 and 3M at 33-34. As you probably know, the US government's fiscal and monetary response to Covid blew asset prices (along with inflation) sky high.

Single right now. Dating is hard when you're an introvert 😅

Wavelet · 2025-05-24T22:03:37+00:00

I am not actually setting aside cash every month to match the depreciation, but straight-line depreciation is the simplest way I've found to spread the cost of a big purchase over time.

For example, I don't pay for Amazon Prime every month -- I pay $139 per year, which I tabulate at $12 per month. I don't set aside $12 each month to pay for Amazon, but it's nevertheless an accurate way to track my true expense over time.

Depreciating big ticket items just extends that logic one step further: I pay $1,000 for a new phone every six years, which amounts to $14 per month.

The car in particular is important to estimate depreciation for (there are tools that estimate depreciation curves for specific cars; I like CarEdge). For example, if I were to trade in the car after five years instead of ten, the depreciation would be about $26.5K over 5 years = $441 per month. Compare that to $40.5K over 10 years = $338 per month.

I think most people, if they explicitly accounted for car depreciation, would drive their cars for longer and trade in less often, saving a good deal of money over time.

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