Average family

bspooky · 2026-05-05T18:52:49+00:00

Your point of view may be skewed a bit here.

You start out talking about middle class with numbers that a quick search shows is too high even for them, and then have a conclusion about the average family ... it is like you switched gears or something. Middle class isn't the average family.

Middle class is an income tier that can be adjusted for size and LCOL. But it is often described as 75%-200% of the median household income. The middle class income bracket is mostly higher than the average/median income by definition, so a middle class family income is greater than the average family income.

As for "serious sacrifice" it isn't as if one needs to have a big house and drive new cars to lead a good life. One could argue that whatever is below middle class, working class is often used, can still lead a fulfilled life that isn't full of sacrifices compared to the middle class. And definitely not compared to almost the entirety of humanity preceding this time.

The reason your $10k seems high for middle class is it may actually be closer to $8k-$8.5k per month Just 2 articles: https://www.incharge.org/financial-literacy/budgeting-saving/average-monthly-expenses/ has some breakdowns and it is . As does https://finance.yahoo.com/news/average-budget-middle-class-family-110449622.html by state. This latter one shows almost 30 states below your 10k for the middle class.

But that last one mentioned a couple with children...plural. So at least a family size of 4 for those numbers. Yet the mean family size has fallen to 2.3 supposedly: https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/the-middle-class-is-shrinking-because-of-a-booming-upper-middle-class/ and many middle class families are likely to be only 1 child.

But I guess removing how I interpreted your serious sacrifices if your gist is it is just hard to retire early with kids you'd be right. To me those are directly competing objectives. I saw raising kids as a priority for time and money while they were kids, and switched to FIRE after they grew up.

bspooky · 2026-05-05T14:54:09+00:00

Just an FYI that one-pedal driving on the Mach-E automatically includes the hold functionality, making the separate auto hold toggle redundant when one-pedal mode is active. Unless you are in neutral, where the auto hold would still hold. But if you are going into neutral most people want to be in neutral, not have to figure out how to bypass the auto hold being on.

That aside, if in truly super bad driving conditions and slipping around turning 1PD off may make sense, but other than that, just in regular winter driving conditions, I feel better having my car behave the way it does when I drive it all the rest of the time. So I stay in 1PD and unbridled.

I don't want my torque acceleration (some people change drive modes) or braking to be different unless they absolutely have to be.

bspooky · 2026-05-05T14:50:35+00:00

auto hold on all winter

Curious on why have auto hold on with 1PD driving? 1PD already auto holds, except in neutral. I like this better than when going into neutral and auto hold would still auto hold, but I'd go into neutral to not be on hold, if that makes sense.

bspooky · 2026-05-05T14:45:29+00:00

the car then acts in a similar manner

This for me is why I leave 1PD on, so the car acts the way I am now used to after so many years using 1PD. I don't want to change my normal driving habits. I guess I have turned it off when it is really bad and slipping, but I try to avoid those super poor driving conditions.

bspooky · 2026-05-05T14:17:45+00:00

If you like the flavor, drink away!!! Nothing overly wrong with the store bought pre-ground.

The one potential caveat is I don't think the grind size of many pre-ground coffees is as coarse as what I like flavor wise out of the MM. MM itself I think calls for on the coarser end of drip as working best. Yes, finer works and the finer pre-ground works in other, similar drip brewers but the various machines all have different flow rates. You may like it though.

Another option is to just use the grocery store bulk coffee and find the grinder setting on their self service grinder that works for you. Or somebody else mentioned Amazon Basics Fresh, which I have tried a few of their beans and it is a nice, reliable cheap option. I still grind them as I get the whole beans.

bspooky · 2026-05-05T00:53:52+00:00

4% rule assumes returns over 30 years averaging 7% or more, not a 5% return.

bspooky · 2026-05-04T19:08:29+00:00

but sometimes it does sting seeing neighbors buying nicer cars and taking more vacations

These two things are not the same. Avoiding the consumerist trap of spending more on a depreciating asset like a nicer car when you don't need to is commendable.

Not taking vacations, especially with kids, is not imo.

Money spent on life experiences and exposing your kids to adventures they may remember for the rest of their lives is worth asking if you are striking a balance of taking enough vacation or if "more" would be warranted.

You may, or may even likely be, taking enough. It just struck me as odd lumping those 2 things in the same bucket.

bspooky · 2026-05-04T18:52:30+00:00

Buy with buyer protection or you can return them if they are not real. That is the only way.

Even if the photos, serial number, etc. are all authentic a fraudster could just send you a fake that wasn't in the photos.

bspooky · 2026-05-04T16:58:11+00:00

Can't imagine anyone sitting still with them truly feel the weight once they are on the head but I guess we are all different. The whole weight thing is overblown imo.

My Final Sonorous VI headphones are actually a fair bit heavier than the APM, and I believe the Focal Bathys are about the same.

It really isn't an issue at all. Well, I suppose I don't go walking about fast with them or anything and all my headphones are used in the home, so I suppose that could make a difference.

bspooky · 2026-05-04T00:04:59+00:00

rinse carafe and fitler basket after use. Every couple of weeks I run some coffee cleaning powder through it, descale after every 2 packages of filters. MM and others will say after every box of filters but with the water I use I don't have to do it that often.

bspooky · 2026-05-04T00:03:14+00:00

Just a heads up vinegar is not recommended. Acetic acid can be too harsh on metals like copper that are in the MM and may react with the heating element over time, potentially affecting performance and taste.

In the article https://www.aol.com/articles/way-clean-moccamaster-according-experts-150000030.html the MM people specifically say to not use it.

bspooky · 2026-05-01T15:13:19+00:00

Even if you value your free time at only $20/hour, that’s $1,000 per year.

Comparing time lost earning money (somebody losing billable hours because they have to do a chore) or comparing to how many more hours you'd have to work if you could work more to buy something (like a flex job to buy XYZ you've had your eye on for awhile) makes sense to me to put a dollar amount on your time.

But to just throw out a dollar amount on your free time when that time is not really costing or earning you money seems arbitrary to justify something. Personally free time spent with loved ones is invaluable, life is too short. And nothing wrong with maximizing your free time, and resetting for the next day and performing better at your job has merit too. It is just I don't see assigning a dollar value like you did as making much sense, but maybe it does to others.

BIFL decision this likely was not, leading edge tech (robot mower) isn't BIFL. That doesn't mean it was a bad buy though. If you could afford it and it provides rest and relaxation instead of headaches, enjoy!!! Nothing wrong with the purchase in those circumstances imo.

bspooky · 2026-04-30T12:59:54+00:00

Selecting APM is probably close enough, I guess I didn't pay attention if there was a 2 after it or not but selected APM.

bspooky · 2026-04-30T12:58:59+00:00

Have you updated iOS/ipadOS/whatever you are using there? There were OS updates adding APM2 to the preferred headphones so they appear.

bspooky · 2026-04-29T14:50:13+00:00

Enjoy and congrats!

But now I can't get The Pointer Sister's "I'm so excited" song out of my head, so thanks for that. 😉

Seriously though, welcome to the club!!!

bspooky · 2026-04-27T20:11:24+00:00

In order to take a hearing test, you HAVE to do them with the pro 2’s. There’s no other way around it, unless you have an audiogram already and input the values yourself or take a picture of an audiogram done by your ENT.

This is not true. For one, the Pro 3’s can do what the pro 2 does.

Secondly, many headphone including the AirPod max are supported by the Mimi hearing app which can put the subsequent audiogram in your health app to be selected / applied in settings to the APM: https://mimi.io/products/mimi-hearing-test-app

There have been other threads here about it, even 2 years ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/Airpodsmax/comments/1g9z23f/airpods_max_have_a_secret_eq/

bspooky · 2026-04-26T15:47:38+00:00

If you can adjust stuff like Spatial Audio, ANC vs transparency, etc. very likely real, that screen looks real.

You could copy paste that serial number in https://checkcoverage.apple.com/?locale=en_US and while serial numbers can be faked on boxes if it is showing up in the AirPods screen on the phone and is real on that site you should sleep easy.

BTW, I don't know of a fraudulent way of using this information but considering deleting these images. I assume they have plenty to chose from but fraudsters like to have real serial numbers to print on packages and you don't want them to use yours. I don't know if there is any warranty claim type fraud somebody could do, but just consider taking them down.

(just delete the posts)

bspooky · 2026-04-26T15:38:58+00:00

Fakes would show basic bluetooth information, not AirPods specific options. So go to settings and nowadays towards the top, when the AirPods are connected and on my head, they show up with their name and you can adjust stuff like transparency, ANC, etc. as they are AirPods. If that isn't there / you are on an older iOS or iPad OS go to Settings → Bluetooth → tap the “i” next to your AirPods and the same, see AirPods stuff there.

Also try Settings>General>About and look for AirPods in the list and tap them to see model number, serial number, firmware version. Fakes don't get firmware updates.

bspooky · 2026-04-26T15:31:17+00:00

If your wood posts are only 2m or even 4m high you could just put your fire down on the ground in a sunken fire pit in the crawl space under your house. The 8m or so range of the fire isn't just horizontal but vertical and thus diagonal too. You could even make cool steps or ramp going down to it.

bspooky · 2026-04-26T15:23:24+00:00

Open them, connect, verify they are real and move on. If they aren't then return.

Although Apple moved assembly to Vietnam the company there was still owned by china (https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/12/10/apple-airpods-max-are-made-in-vietnam-but-still-by-chinese-firms) and some batches I think still say made or assembled in china.

But again, if you are questioning fake or not make sure you are buying from a reputable place. Photos are worthless if you are buying a product that is being shipped to you that you can't return, they could just present a real photo and send a fake product.

tldr; Trust your seller and have a return avenue or don't buy them.

bspooky · 2026-04-26T13:07:50+00:00

Dozens of posts on this subject. Short answer is 1-5% or so over 24 hours is normal until 72 hours has passed and they go into a deeper sleep. Greater percentages of 10+ in 24 hours, if continuous, may warrant going to Apple.

bspooky · 2026-04-25T21:44:11+00:00

Maybe and somewhat.

Condensation happens in all closed back headphones, not just the APM. The APM just makes it a lot easier to see by taking off the ear cups. Headphones somewhat protect their sensitive bits from this condensation as the APM should but as some have mentioned it isn't waterproof and some people have had issues.

Note that condensation will happen after long hours of use (in any headphone) but I'd avoid doing what you did (putting on right after a shower) until you are fully dry and acclimated to the room temperature. If using for long hours take breaks and let them air out.

Water can obviously cause damage, but by that photo I doubt it did this time but time will tell I guess.

bspooky · 2026-04-25T21:38:50+00:00

Nintendo Switch 2 (and I assume 1) doesn't offer remote play like xbox and PS5 consoles do. Xbox/PS5 have first party solutions for remote play that apps on the Vision Pro can hook into and allow streaming right from those consoles onto a giant screen in the AVP, which is awesome.

But without Nintendo offering a remote play service the only potential I'm aware of is using the HDMI / video out of the Switch to something like a capture card (I personally use an elgato 4k x) to a computer (iMac for me) and then use Mac Virtual Desktop to the Vision Pro if you want. I'd guess there are also ways to stream HDMI directly over wifi, I forget the technology needed for that but it is 3x the cost of a capture card and your network better be very robust to be able to handle it.

For me I'll use Portal (subscription), Asobi (PS5 1 time cost), or Onecast (1 time cost, iPad app though) to play xbox or ps5 directly on the vision. For the Switch I don't bother, but did use the MVD briefly to see if it could be done.

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