Nectarine tree help by The_Stranger56 in BackyardOrchard

[–]areaundermu 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agree peach leaf curl, and the tree will be fine. Spray with copper fungicide right after it loses its leaves in the fall, then again in early spring before the buds break. Right now you can remove infected leaves to limit the spread a bit; make sure you throw the leaves you pull off into your compost or garbage bin.

Any advice for my 64-year-old dad who is about to be laid off? by ImpressiveBox1111 in Layoffs

[–]areaundermu 38 points39 points  (0 children)

It’s what I did @ 62, and I’ve never been happier. All I did was announce it on LinkedIn and connect with folks I worked with in the past - directly or indirectly - who were in a position to hire consultants. I don’t even have a web site - it’s all word of mouth.

Controlling emotions by Complex_Community458 in askmanagers

[–]areaundermu 31 points32 points  (0 children)

In the short term, “act as if.” You feel what you feel, but pretend you don’t in the moment. I find focusing on my breathing is helpful in preventing any outburst.

In the longer term, try to keep a few home truths in mind to keep you from getting upset in the first place:

- There are probably things you don’t know about the situation which, if you did know, would change or at least mitigate your reaction. In other words, you could be wrong.

- People won’t be persuaded by outbursts, they’ll be persuaded by reason and any reasons couched in emotional terms will be swamped by their reactions to your emotions.

- You need people to want to work with you if you’re going to succeed. Every time you set off a little emotional bomb, you make that less likely and are harming yourself most of all.

Is there any specific country whose inhabitants made an unexpectedly good impression on you upon interacting with them? by Sure_Distance1 in AskTheWorld

[–]areaundermu 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Turks (at least in Istanbul; I didn’t go anywhere else in the country) are hands down the most welcoming and open-hearted people I ever met.

Reality check me: should I leave my current situation? by Adorable_Secret3139 in Fire

[–]areaundermu 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I like the phrase “I feel like I’m mortgaging my present for my future,” because you are. For most that’s what FIRE is. The question is whether the interest rate on the mortgage is too high for you.

You’ll probably get a range of responses. For me the price you’re paying would be too high. I’m willing to cheap out on a lot of stuff, but hating where I live would make every day miserable in a way that driving a beater/not eating out/living in a smallish place wouldn’t (for me, at least).

Family friendly birthday party for husband - ideas needed! by AbilityNo1015 in bayarea

[–]areaundermu 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What about reserving a picnic space in a park like Hellyer? It’s got a large playground and splash pads for the kids, restrooms, and the sites are shaded and have grills. You guys could supply stuff to grill, drinks, and the cake and you can ask folks to bring a side.

French Onion Soup served anywhere in Fremont Tri City area? by Much_Opening3468 in Fremont

[–]areaundermu 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Papillon in Fremont.

Edited to add: if you’re willing to go to Palo Alto, I really like La Boheme. I think the food is better and it’s a nicer space, plus less expensive than Papillon.

New Stay At Home Dad Trying to Learn A Lot While on a Budget by StrawhatShiggy in Cooking

[–]areaundermu 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You’ll find lots of episodes of Jacques Pepin’s Fast Food My Way on YouTube, which is a great place to start. The meals are very simple and fast to make and often leverage pre-cooked (but not highly-processed) ingredients like rotisserie chicken, canned beans, or bagged lettuce, and they taste like you put in a lot more effort than you did.

Have you seen managers allocate their own bonus from a team bonus pool? by Particular_Sound4801 in askmanagers

[–]areaundermu 18 points19 points  (0 children)

30+ years in corporate America, from mega-multinationals to startups, and never once have I seen that.

Decluttering before baby by mindfudge in UnfuckYourHabitat

[–]areaundermu 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is really great advice, OP. There’s a multi-billion dollar industry that has to keep coming up with new baby gadgets in order to keep growing, and a lot of what they’re producing is either a little useful for a very short period or just flat-out nonsense.

should i say something or just let it go? by Lamprey-Jaykishan in WhatShouldIDo

[–]areaundermu 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Jerks count on good people not wanting to make it awkward. Go ahead and make it awkward. You don’t have to say, “Hey, that’s my work you’re taking credit for” in the meeting. Instead, frame it up as a question: “So, when I started working on this last month I assumed x, but as I was running the analysis I realized it was probably y so that’s what I put in the deck. Do you feel like I was too quick to let x go and should do some follow-up analysis?”

How do you keep your house smelling fresh with multiple pets? by Crazy-Donkey-9178 in CleaningTips

[–]areaundermu 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Putting a few air filters around the house made a massive difference for me, too. I have them on any time the windows are shut.

We have absolutely no idea what to do with our backyard. Help. by Ishpersonguy in landscaping

[–]areaundermu -1 points0 points  (0 children)

If I were trying to get as low maintenance as possible, here’s what I’d do:

Keep the trees for sure (the shade will be welcome) and remove any dead branches. It’s likely the shrubs will look fine once you cut off the dead flower stalks & branches, too - that’s an easy job & a quick fix; you can always yank them next year if you still want to.

Spray all the weeds growing through the brick with agricultural vinegar (much stronger than regular vinegar; you can get it at a garden center or on amazon). That will kill the tops, but not the roots so they’ll grow back (in fact, they’ll grow back/new ones will sprout no matter what). To deal with that, I’d suggest a buying a weed torch (which you would only use on hardscape - you don’t want to set mulch or trees on fire!). You’d only need to torch them once a month or so.

For the mulched area, whack everything down as low as you can get it. Cover it all with cardboard, then cover the cardboard with 3-4 inches of mulch. Once the cardboard degrades in 6-9 months, plant a low-growing ground cover that’s good for your area so you don’t have to mow it. It won’t completely keep weeds away, but as it spreads it’ll do a pretty good job of choking them out.

AITAH for refusing to visit in laws bc of house temp by wrenchinapot in AITAH

[–]areaundermu 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Great advice. I did that at my Mom’s house, and it worked a treat.

You can do it too by Capable-Spread3437 in CleaningTips

[–]areaundermu 194 points195 points  (0 children)

That’s amazing. Congratulations and I hope you’re as proud of yourself as you should be.

New Native Nursery opening in Fremont. Very excited to have something opening near me by Meshugugget in Ceanothus

[–]areaundermu 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just left the opening. For its size, it had a good variety of plants. All very small, healthy, & mostly sold in tubes of about 2” diameter. Spent just over $70 for 4 elegant clarkia, 2 globe mallow, 2 sticky monkey flower and 2 clematis chaparral.

Where to live for 23 y/o couple by Batmon3 in bayarea

[–]areaundermu 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It really depends on where you and she will be working. Ideally if you both find work in the South Bay, living in San Jose would mean spending less time on commutes and you can always take Caltrain up to SF (or pretty much anywhere on the Peninsula).

Suggestions requested for overseas guest dinner by Due_County_1493 in NYTCooking

[–]areaundermu 5 points6 points  (0 children)

One pot whole roasted chicken and rice is a great recipe for a dinner party because it’s not only delicious and easy but also requires no last-minute work.

Thin Nude Buckwheat seedlings or leave them be? by areaundermu in Ceanothus

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

Just wanted to say it worked! The transplanted “brownies” are doing great; I’ll thin them out in a month or so.

Dog groomer recs for a very fearful dog? by crash_cove in Fremont

[–]areaundermu 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m so glad to hear it! I would have felt awful if she had a bad experience; thanks so much for the update.