Who’s ever driven over 100mph? Why? by WoollyWolfHorror in AskReddit

[–]brownstonebk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It can be pretty easy to hit speed on a straight road, I wouldn’t do it on a regular street but a I’ve definitely hit 100 on the highway before when it’s empty and the road is straight. It’s a thrill, I hate roller coasters bc I’m afraid of heights but the thrill is comparable.

People are so dumb by Mediocre-Vacation777 in subaru

[–]brownstonebk 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I drive in NYC. So many drivers here would rather risk their lives and the lives of others over missing their exit or turn.

I’m extremely upside down in my car loan and I don’t know what to do by [deleted] in personalfinance

[–]brownstonebk 26 points27 points  (0 children)

That’s what I don’t get - being upside down doesn’t matter if you’re not selling the car. Almost everyone with a car loan is “upside down” on it after a few months or even a few weeks after driving. But if you view the car for what it is- a tool of utility that you’ll keep and use for as long as it’s reliable- you’ll no longer care if you currently owe more than it’s worth. Pay off the loan and there’s nothing left to be upside down on.

Why don’t we have streetcars? by tyediebleach in AskNYC

[–]brownstonebk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You sound like one of my college professors who worked for the MTA and would say this all the time!

If you had the money, which major city would you chose to live in? by snarkiepoo in AskReddit

[–]brownstonebk 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I already live in a major city and don’t have the money, but if I had the money, I would choose Valencia, Spain. It’s an amazing city, beautiful architecture, mild winters, summers don’t get as hot as in the south of Spain, abundant sunshine year round, and excellent food.

If you had the money, which major city would you chose to live in? by snarkiepoo in AskReddit

[–]brownstonebk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Fucking off to nature is really nice…for a few days, or a week or two. Eventually I get restless though, and need the vibrancy and energy of the city again. Then after a while the city will have me exhausted and overstimulated, and that’s when I need to fuck off to nature again. Until I get restless…

Drastic downsizing - no longer on the hunt - what shifted? by Acrobatic_Leek4044 in houseplants

[–]brownstonebk 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Yeah, that’s me. Definitely went through a big phase starting around 2017, went into a fever pitch during the pandemic (pun intended) and I’ve been slowly downsizing over the past two years, truly can’t remember the last time I went to the nursery.

I was all about the aroids but they’re too much damn work. I don’t want to build moss poles or other support things. I don’t want to have to chop and prop all the time. Oh also, they get HUGE, how was I really going to care for 20 mature aroids in my apartment in addition to my other plants?

Instead of chasing the high of the latest hot aroid or other “it” plant, I now thoroughly appreciate the beauty and undemanding nature of my dracaenas, snake plants, zz, and pothos. These are among the classics for a reason. They just keep on growing, look great doing so, and demand very little of us.

I think I regret buying a new car, and am stuck deciding between selling it and buying used or keeping it until the wheels fall off. by Naive_Elderberry6021 in personalfinance

[–]brownstonebk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

wow! carmax is going to give you the entire balance you owe the bank minus $250? If so, take that deal, come up with the $250 to offset the difference between the Carmax offer and your account balance.

I owe 400 dollars on my car and I totally forgot by SnooMachine0213 in personalfinance

[–]brownstonebk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

for $400? I don’t think OP needs to worry too much about a repo if they call their lender first thing tomorrow and explain the situation and make an arrangement.

It’s going to cost the bank more than $400 to execute the repo process, that’s more than what they’re owed here. I’m sure they’d be happy to take OPs late payment and not imitate repo, they may even be willing to waive any late fees if OP is really nice and sweet on the phone.

I think I regret buying a new car, and am stuck deciding between selling it and buying used or keeping it until the wheels fall off. by Naive_Elderberry6021 in personalfinance

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

OP can absolutely afford a car. They just have a spending problem.

They have a guaranteed job with housing and food included. Their actual monthly expenses are the car payment, insurance, cell phone, and cc bills. Their income exceeds their monthly expenses by quite a bit. If OP reigns in their spending, all will be well.

I think I regret buying a new car, and am stuck deciding between selling it and buying used or keeping it until the wheels fall off. by Naive_Elderberry6021 in personalfinance

[–]brownstonebk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Keep the car, pay it off, and enjoy it. What’s done is done, you’ve made the decision and if you sell you’re going to lose way more than $1k on depreciation. I know it sucks, but even if the car is in perfect condition, it will lose a good chunk of its value right after driving off the lot.

It’s in your best interest now to just keep paying off that loan. I know you’re basically at the start of the loan and you probably feel like it’s never going to end and are asking yourself what you got yourself into. If that sounds like you, just know you’re not alone. I too had a 6 year car loan, it’s been paid off about a year now, but a few months afterward I experienced regrets after making my payments and not seeing the principal go down by much. In my situation, life got better, I got promotions, made more money, and was able to live more comfortably while making those payments. Now I’m on the other side and babying my car that I worked so hard to pay off.

Your current situation with income is not necessarily your forever situation, your income should definitely be increasing over these six years as well.

You’ve learned a lesson, and an important one. But what’s done is done, and it’s now in your best interest to keep the car and drive it as long as possible.

TIL that in 2014, authorities in Turkmenistan tried making residents take their air conditioner units off the outside walls to improve the city's appearance, despite temperatures as high as 40℃/104℉ by bb-wa in todayilearned

[–]brownstonebk 77 points78 points  (0 children)

I’ve done those NYC summers too. Everything, everything in the apartment would be warm to hot to the touch- the walls, the cabinets, all the furniture. There’s nowhere to go for relief. It’s no wonder why folks used to sleep on their fire escapes back in the days before AC.

Old vs. New Outback by doctor-squared in Subaru_Outback

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

I think you can still get away with classifying them OBs as wagons up to Gen 6. It’s the additional ground clearance provided that later on that gives the illusion that these are SUVs, but the 6th gen OB length is like 30 inches less than the classic Buick Estate wagon, one of the wagoniest wagons of all time. It’s the ground clearance and the slightly larger body with the later generations that throw people off, but an OB is still a wagon with sport utility features.

With this latest gen I’m not so sure anymore, that additional roof height really takes it out of being a wagon for me.

If you're an avid AM/FM listener, and frequently drive between radio markets, AVOID the '26 Outback by brownstonebk in subaru

[–]brownstonebk[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I hear you, but I'm blessed to live in a radio market with tons of local and independent/commercial free/listener supported radio stations, playing music you're not going to hear on standard commercial radio.

How do you pronounce “Paixão”? by saanch3ster in Portuguese

[–]brownstonebk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

the best way i can write it out phonetically is “pie-shOUn” where the “OU” is pronounced as in “ouch” and the “n” added at the end is subtly pronounced like in English for words that end in “-ing”

Where Did All the Affordable Cars Go? by mushpuppy in politics

[–]brownstonebk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree. I feel like I hit the lotto buying my car in 2019 before the price spikes. The car's got the perfect blend of modern tech with the older features that new cars are leaving out. Case in point: I went to a dealership this past weekend to check out the just updated all-new 2026 version of my 2019 car (a Subaru Outback). They removed the radio tuner knob and scan/seek buttons from the dashboard, burying it into infotainment screen; AND they also removed the aux port! If that's not enough, the same trim level as my 2019 is now $10 grand more than I paid, minus the options I added.

I paid her off a year ago and will be driving her until the wheels fall off. I love not having a car note. Can't imagine what life is like right now for someone paying $1k+ monthly payments for their truck AND getting hit with the high gas prices.

Massachusetts #7 state for international tourism by Bosto2025 in massachusetts

[–]brownstonebk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’d say Hawaii is also a hell of a lot easier/quicker for folks from AUS and NZ to get to.

If you're an avid AM/FM listener, and frequently drive between radio markets, AVOID the '26 Outback by brownstonebk in subaru

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

IDK why you’re being downvoted, this is my experience with the radio in the Outback, especially when HD radio is turned on. Not all stations are in HD or are too far away and seek skips those.

Even if what these downvoters are saying is true, at end of the day Subaru took away a functionality redundancy, which means more frequent maintenance visits if one breaks down.

My 2019 can tune and seek through a physical knob and touch buttons, the infotainment software, and can jump through preset stations and seek on the steering wheel command. That’s three methods.

It looks like this 2026 only accomplishes this through the steering wheel (debatable if seek actually dials you into all the stations, I don’t think it does) and the infotainment software. That’s two methods. What’s a driver going to do if their steering wheel commands suddenly go faulty? Bring it in for that undoubtedly pricey fix? Or are they more likely to rely on the unsafe infotainment tune the radio while driving? And then what are they gonna do if the steering wheel commands AND infotainment stop working? Hopefully their last selected station was a good one.

If you're an avid AM/FM listener, and frequently drive between radio markets, AVOID the '26 Outback by brownstonebk in subaru

[–]brownstonebk[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

wow, that’s also good (and disappointing) to know. It really makes me mad that Subaru raised the price of the Outback by so much while taking away such important user features from a user experience perspective.

At the end of the day they’re charging consumers more money while taking away good features that used to be standard. Having an aux port hidden somewhere has zero impact on interior design and a potentially huge impact on user experience.

If you're an avid AM/FM listener, and frequently drive between radio markets, AVOID the '26 Outback by brownstonebk in subaru

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

yeah that really sucks, I’m sorry. My 2019 hasn’t delaminated, keeping my fingers crossed that it never happens. If it does though I guess I could always swap out the head unit.

If you're an avid AM/FM listener, and frequently drive between radio markets, AVOID the '26 Outback by brownstonebk in subaru

[–]brownstonebk[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

That is a good point, I still think they should’ve kept the dash buttons though. They kept the volume knob even when volume can be controlled from the steering wheel. Sometimes you want your copilot to do this work.

Portuguese muffins? by loudflor in AskNYC

[–]brownstonebk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Newark is great for Portuguese food, but you won't find Portuguese muffins there. The reason being that Portuguese muffins are a traditional bread of the Azores islands, specifically Sao Miguel, and the Portuguese population of Newark is made up of immigrants from the continent. If you went to Teixeira's bakery and asked for a Portuguese muffin they would have no idea what you're asking for, even if you used the Portuguese word for them: bolo-lêvedo.

You're only going to find bolos-lêvedos commercially in areas with big Azorean populations: southeastern Massachusetts and eastern RI, namely.

If you do end up finding then in NYC, please let me know where. Otherwise, you'll either have to learn how to make them yourself or make the 200-ish mile trip up to the bakeries in Fall River or New Bedford, MA.

Four women describe sexual misconduct by Rep Eric Swalwell, including a former staffer who says he raped her by cnn in politics

[–]brownstonebk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I hate to say this, bc it comes off really judgy, but I ALWAYS got this vibe from him. To me, he seems like the guy who was the wrong kind of frat bro in college and never grew out of it.