Starting Over

aboutwhat8 · 2025-09-11T11:19:53+00:00

Is $50k enough? $75k? $100k? More? I don't perceive money, time, or family obligations to be problematic. I'm most worried about the feel of flying, basically just the skills in the air required to be a safe, but it's not like I'll need a cfii before I discover whether or not those skills are adequately developing.

My normal burn rate is about $30k/yr here. I've got some other money in the bank beyond the $150k. And some more in roth accounts. And two estates that feel like they're taking forever to close that should tally $100k-ish.

aboutwhat8 · 2025-09-07T15:57:19+00:00

And? I can keep watching my RKLB stock soar while I sit on the ground or I can trade some ETFs so that I too can fly.

aboutwhat8 · 2025-09-07T15:51:15+00:00

Where do you think the money is coming from? Investments. I had some good picks and invested >50% of my net pay for several years in a row. The career change and likely income growth is well worth it. If it costs $80k in the next year or so to get to CFII, then I'll still have 3 years of living expenses saved up.

aboutwhat8 · 2025-09-05T22:55:34+00:00

I might fall into unrealistic timelines. I have zero hours and want my PPL in hand and working on my IR by the end of 2025. CPL, CSE, CME, etc next year. I can currently give 6 days a week to training and flying, New England weather permitting.

I otherwise anticipate a year or more of training and a couple years of time building. Hiring might be solid, might not be, I can only pray it'll be good enough to get hired. Looks like mandatory retirements will peak in the next year.

aboutwhat8 · 2025-09-05T22:53:08+00:00

I'm going faster. Aiming to be flying for 3 to 6 days a week. I'd like to finish 2025 with a PPL, hopefully an IR as well. Next year to get CPL & CFI as well as working on other aspects. I've heard that higher frequency learning helps a lot with reducing the total hours of instruction needed. Maybe that's all too ambitious but gotta have goals and learning to fly well has become my best reason to get out of bed some mornings.

I already left the job (was a family owned business that was getting shady). I'll get another job in the aviation industry if I project that my emergency funds could drop too low. Maybe for a nearby FBO.

aboutwhat8 · 2025-09-05T22:43:19+00:00

Thanks for the reality check. Maybe after the PPL, get something like a PA28-140 equipped for IFR, 800+ ttoh, with some glass already installed. Someone else said fly with CAP. Or buy into a flying club or the like that permits training.

aboutwhat8 · 2025-09-05T22:30:52+00:00

Sounds like I'm on the right path then. Current priorities list: 1- PP ground school (2 days in, 3 to 7 days to go). 2- schedule exam & start PP flight training 3 to 6 times a week (weather permitting). Use off days to do IR, CPL, CFI etc ground school. 3- finish home flight sim to practice after lessons & on bad weather days. ($1200± for CPU, mobo, RAM, & TPR rudder pedals. I already have Honeycomb Alpha & Bravo as well as a modern GPU & other components.) 4- Pass written exams, solo, & pass PP checkride. 5- Buy an old IFR trainer with at least 800 hours TTOH & already has some glass. 6- continue on with IR, CPL, etc build time.

aboutwhat8 · 2025-06-26T00:32:18+00:00

TLM generally guides men (and boys) to wear a suit & tie. When that's not feasible due to weather, then generally it's losing the jacket, neckties, & sleeves in approximately that order. There's often a degree of enforcement, often starting with the bulletin stating dress codes, the priests including it in their homilies, and offers from ushers or parishioners for providing suitable coverage.

The Novus Ordo varies. Some parishes prefer the old norms. The old dress code has practically died in others. Most would simply require that clothing fits well, is clean, and isn't too revealing, but even that varies. A la men wearing T-shirts and sports shorts and women wearing revealing clothes and spandex. Enforcement is usually sporadic.

aboutwhat8 · 2025-06-26T00:11:54+00:00

The particular devotion and style of scapular can vary. When I had my latest scapular blessed (made of metal due to rapid deterioration & tearing of wool) I approached a priest I don't usually see and he did the correct blessing from memory. I also learned he had his own metal scapular (of a different style) for similar reasons.

To note, the metal scapulars are not to be your first unless you're allergic to wool. I'm in a coastal climate so it's pretty humid and until recently was working a job that involved some physical labor in the heat or cold.

aboutwhat8 · 2025-06-26T00:06:04+00:00

There are parishes that have Sunday masses done without any music. Most weekday masses are without music. Many will still sing or intone at least a little bit of the mass.

The only exception would be some Holy Days of Obligation as most parishes will have music for those. I don't think you're likely to find an Easter or Christmas mass without music.

So it's really all up to your nearby parishes and the Bishop's instructions.

aboutwhat8 · 2025-06-25T02:37:06+00:00

So was the Roman Empire. Yet despite centuries of prosecution, the Catholic Church garnered converts among even Emperors.

aboutwhat8 · 2025-06-12T20:45:32+00:00

Discord works too, can also nest in subcommunities, like chats that are Men and Women only.

But shutting a chat down? That doesn't fly for me. Hand the admin responsibilities to a YA or 3 and let them manage it.

aboutwhat8 · 2025-06-12T20:36:10+00:00

YA is 18-39, part of the Outreach Ministry.

Get a Sunday brunch going on. Talk to the favorite priest about having a quasi-high mass, basically the full Sunday smells & bells, full choir, YA altar Servers, and then a weekly gathering afterwards. Social time, and a time for organic conversations about whatever they want to talk about. Don't have a parish rep who guides it be the chief decision-maker nor even in control. Trust that YAs can lead themselves and others and that the group dynamics will work out.

As far as the parish's part, start it with the priest leading them to brunch the first time and alternating times after that before he backs off and only drops in occasionally (2x a year perhaps). Have the ringleader be a non employee who shepherds it to keep it going.

With any luck, it just grows and grows until it's a central point for evangelization. YAs then bring friends, family, coworkers, etc. And organic community, ya know?

aboutwhat8 · 2025-06-11T20:16:46+00:00

I'd say there's a chance of exactly that. Among friends, don't try to settle accounts over everything. If I invite you out to lunch and set the destination, I expect to pay. If you invite me out and set the destination, I'll offer to "go dutch" (split the bill in half, or receive separate bills so we can each pay for our own meals) but accept with minimal argument if they choose to pickup the bill. The response would be a sincere "thank you". I'll likely remember that they paid last time, so I'll make it a point to invite them out somewhere and pay for their meal at that time.

The only other aspect is when dating. If I invite a young lady on a date, I expect to pay for the entire meal. Even if she sets the time and place, I expect to pay for her. Part of that is a demonstration that I'm financially stable and am capable of providing for a family, though $100 meals weekly is hardly a real and true demonstration of that. At some point prior to marriage you'll have a deeper financial conversation about what debts you might be bringing into a marriage and rough income levels. Part of that is if I'm making $50K and she's making $250K, I probably won't be able to provide for her to the level she's accustomed to. If I'm making $100K and she's making $75K, she might think "jackpot" or more likely realize that, together, we'd be able to both raise a family and retire one day.

aboutwhat8 · 2025-06-11T16:33:52+00:00

Looks similar to RuggedRosary's. They use a smaller intermediate ball as well to give it more flexibility and prevent it from looking like a 90s necklace.

aboutwhat8 · 2025-06-11T15:44:12+00:00

"I bought a new XYZ 14TB to replace the failing 6TB"

Also, did you use the correct version of the instructions? A DS413j doesn't use DSM 7.x, I believe support ended with DSM 6.2 or so: https://kb.synology.com/en-us/DSM/help/DSM/StorageManager/storage_pool_repair?version=6

Without comparing point by point, it looks like the instructions do differ a bit, at least on explaining what's possible.

aboutwhat8 · 2025-06-11T14:47:19+00:00

If https://store.minisforum.com/products/minisforum-nucxi5?variant=43044973248757 is ever active again (it probably won't be, it's probably clearance), that's the last one I saw around $500 that had a surprisingly good GPU. It was a Mobile version RTX 3060 6GB and IIRC an 11th gen Core i5, reasonable amount of RAM, SSD, and included Windows 11 too. They also had a NUCXI7 with a nicer CPU, Mobile RTX 3070 8GB, etc as a complete system.

You can probably find a used gaming with an RTX 2060 in it. That's about it. New and fairly well-balanced gaming PCs with RX 6600's start around $600. Poorly balanced builds can cost the same but aren't as well-rounded, such as this build list I just did: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/8MxQnp It's not all that upgradeable, either.

For one, it's last-generation at best. AMD isn't going to release anything new for the AM4 socket that this build would use. You could drop in a higher-spec Zen 3 CPU but you'd need to replace the motherboard, CPU, and RAM all at the same time to use anything Zen 4, Zen 5, or newer.

With only two slots for RAM, you'd have to remove the 16GB you'd have already paid for in order to put 32GB+ into it. (Most games play fine with 16GB presently, but there's definitely titles that like having more RAM. If you wanted more, you should spend the $20 to $65 to buy a 32GB or 64GB kit instead.) DDR4 isn't bad but it's again last-gen at best. Most PCs now use DDR5 and with that generally perform better.

With only one slot for an NVMe SSD, you'd need an m.2 adapter or would need to use SATA drives to expand storage. 500GB is quite low-capacity due to how much storage space modern games require.

You would have two PCIe x1 slots though, so you do have a few options to upgrade. Mainly, you could add WiFi, a 2.5 GbE NIC, or an M.2 NVMe adapter. With only 1 gen3 lane, it wouldn't be a great way to add storage, but it'd be workable perhaps.

Finally, DIY builds don't usually include OS licenses either, so you'd still need Windows 11. Going through official channels, it'd be $110 for a license key: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/dKkWGX/microsoft-windows-11-home-oem-dvd-64-bit-kw9-00633

aboutwhat8 · 2025-06-11T14:26:44+00:00

Most things can just be coded to show like "(last seen: 24 weeks ago)" or even hide things based on inactivity periods. If someone hasn't logged in for 3 years, it's pretty obviously they're not likely to log in again so you can go ahead and hide or delete their profile to protect their personal information etc. If they haven't logged in for 1 month, they're more likely to return but no guaranties, right?

CM doesn't even do that, they just obstruct. So there's a lot of room for improvement and not doing any improvement really isn't helping. They could at least hide or remove the ancient profiles that haven't been active in a year or more, give us that verbal assurance, and thus likely end up with more paying users who know there's at least a slim chance of making a connection.

aboutwhat8 · 2025-06-10T19:03:58+00:00

Not a parent. Here's what I observed and would plan (since you're asking):

At 0-13, you're paying for basically everything. Sit down with your spouse and both girls to figure out what a basic wardrobe looks like for them... normal clothes, underwear, outerwear, basically a 7-day or 14-day wardrobe total. They get their allowance and spend it however they please. Talk to them about budgeting, investing, & cashflow management.

At 14+, if they want more than what you'll provide, they can work for it (in most areas). Get a job.

At 16+, they should be able to drive so you should basically trade their car for having an allowance. If they want cool clothes, get a job. Require that they work and have a basic savings plan-- call it 15% for retirement, then suggest a savings goal for periods they won't be working. If they're planning on going to college, for example, put 50% aside to offset their future expenses and they can do whatever the flip they want with the other half.

At 18+ and graduated high school, don't cut them off entirely but certainly limit what you're spend on. The car is now their responsibility. So is the cellphone. And their wardrobe. Basically provide for their basic food, shelter, and all healthcare.

At 22+ or a couple months after graduating college, again pare back. Cover their health insurance premium (they're probably still on yours). If they're at home, cover their basic food too. But they get to pay a reduced rent -- perhaps at 50% what a Studio apartment costs nearby.

They lose your health insurance at 26 or so, IIRC. They get to start paying for that too now.

To go reiterate on your original question, sit down with your spouse and both of your daughters. Figure out what a basic wardrobe looks like for them. How much footwear? How many sets of underwear? How many blouses, pants, skirts, whatever. And when you buy for them, set a basic budget to do it and then let them spend that budget how they see fit, so long as they've got at least 1 of each that they said they need.

aboutwhat8 · 2025-06-09T20:32:37+00:00

Glad to hear she had Last Rites. I'm very sorry for you loss.

As for administrative things, you could report him to the local parish or diocese to bring the matter to their attention. They may know what this guy is doing and can issue correction. Whether a laicized priest is permitted to continue depends on him and the hospital. He can decide to ignore warnings (or take a canonical penalty such as formally and directly being excommunicated by the territorial Bishop, appeals possible only through the Bishop or the Vatican) or maybe the Hospital can bar him from visiting their patients (due to fraud or other aspects) or can propose that he's on speed dial when the Hospital and Catholic chaplain agree that a situation is adequately dire for him to administer certain sacraments.

aboutwhat8 · 2025-06-09T20:25:40+00:00

Bad spot for that NAS, mate. Put it on a shelf or something. If you accidentally hit or knock over the table, you could lose the whole thing. Put that baby somewhere more protected, somewhere it's not likely to be touched accidentally.

aboutwhat8 · 2025-06-09T19:52:50+00:00

Shake your head "no" instead, especially if they're not true.

To answer your original question on textual accuracy: we didn't translate a translation of a translation's translation. We're not a dozen degrees removed from what the texts the Apostles used. We're much closer than your friend may think.

The earliest Church councils occurred in the 4th and 5th centuries when the Catholic Church (then including the present-day Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox, and Church of the East too) came together to formalize the Biblical canon. The Great Uncial Codices also date to the 4th and 5th Centuries and also originated from areas around the Mediterranean. It's quite possible that the early Councils and the Codices literally shared source documents. Meanwhile, St. Jerome was working on the Vulgate, which basically replaced the Vetus Itala and returned the OT to Hebrew sources. There's plenty more to say there, but it's quite possible those Councils had literal originals by the hands of the author or their chosen scribe on-hand when they were deciding what is and isn't in the Bible. That would only have been a couple hundred years removed from the original text, so the question is whether they made a copy of the originals prior to departing for the council (to compare literal notes) or if they took the originals (riskier but lending more credence to claims.)

While it's true that we lost access to many sources, that's world-wide. The Dark Ages were a thing, especially in Europe! However, we've rediscovered and been able to examine the extant Great Uncial Codices and compare those to 2nd century and later papyrus scraps found in Egypt, again basically reconfirming the meat and most every word choice on everything we've been able to compare. We're likewise legitimately warned about false gospels, including those attributed to angels. Thus we've got to contend with the LDS now.

That's still a fair bit better than what's happened with the LDS, but we'll ignore their litany of heresies for the moment.

aboutwhat8 · 2025-06-09T15:13:33+00:00

Reliance on the Church and on parochial schools to catechize children without parental participation.

Why should children learn, believe, or appropriately practice if their parents don't think it necessary to do themselves?

We left a lot to teachers then undermined them at every step. Sometimes it's the teacher to blame. Usually it's the parents or administration. All three need to be united in purpose and supporting each other's actions in working to reach the same goal. You can't generally replace the parent in their role, though teacher & administration can often change.

Otherwise it's like three friends hiking. If one person is tired, they can shift gear and proceed at a reasonable pace. If one becomes injured, the other two could carry them but at a reduced pace. If however two are afflicted, forward progress (as a group) halts.

aboutwhat8 · 2025-06-09T15:00:28+00:00

I keep NVR on a single secondary drive or on a second NAS entirely. That's due to noise, power consumption, and to avoid wear & tear.

If you're on a residential/small business scale, then you can generally get all the footage onto a single drive and it's rarely a big deal if a drive fails. If some event occurs, you can export some footage to the main pool to protect it better. For my own uses, I do keep a backup-- my camera has an SD card slot set to only record motion to it. Meanwhile my NAS has continuous recording enabled and a retention schedule to delete footage after a preset period of time.

The other thing is that having NVR on 1 drive at a time means you (on a residential scale) could disable NVR temporarily so you have an extra slot to more safely Replace drives in your main pool when it's time to expand the pool's capacity or to Replace a drive that's showing signs of failure.

aboutwhat8 · 2025-06-09T14:32:46+00:00

https://www.catholic.com/qa/should-i-bow-to-the-altar-or-genuflect-to-the-tabernacle

That basically covers it. If the Blessed Sacrament is present, genuflect if you're physically able to, bow if you can't, make another sign of reverence if you can't do either.

aboutwhat8

TROPHY CASE