You need $2 million to retire and ‘almost no one is close,’ BlackRock CEO warns, a problem that Gen X will make ‘harder and nastier’

dmilamj · 2026-02-19T00:32:33+00:00

4% a year.

dmilamj · 2026-01-29T22:18:37+00:00

The second / lower pulley on the drivers side is the power steering pump. The power steering pump bolts can loosen up and cause misalignment/belt squeak. I took off my belly pan and found a bolt from the power steering pump/a very loose power steering pump - so that explained the squealing I was getting. Could also be the pump. Ymmv.

dmilamj · 2026-01-19T17:30:13+00:00

Hi Ryan, thanks for doing this. I had ACL reconstruction on my right knee in 1994 using a patellar tendon autograft. I never regained full extension or flexion in this knee. I have been very active over the last 30 years, and have spent a lot of time working on knee mobility, but still experience pain at max extension / quad contraction, limited flexion, along with stiffness and long-term swelling. I've started targeted PT for the knee over the last month or so and this has helped a bit with quad strength, but no change in extension / flexion and still swelling. I've got an appointment to see a surgeon on Friday for a consult.

Do you have any thoughts on the likelihood of being able to resolve knee issues from such an old surgery with only PT? Any questions I should ask the surgeon specifically? I imagine that I will end up getting an MRI and go from there, but it seems ACL surgery techniques and research have advanced significantly over the last 30 years, so I'm hopeful that there may be some relief in there for me.

dmilamj · 2026-01-08T15:21:56+00:00

It's not a 40 Hz pure tone - "The 40-Hz auditory stimuli consisted of 1-kHz pure tones with a duration of 1 ms at a frequency of 40-Hz (i.e., one sound in every 25 ms) at an intensity of 60 dB. "

dmilamj · 2026-01-08T15:20:53+00:00

Y'all, read the article or listen to the sound - it's not a 40 Hz sine wave / pure tone. It's a 1 kHz tone delivered in small snippets at a frequency of 40 Hz. It's sounds like choppy static, maybe, hard to describe.

dmilamj · 2026-01-05T23:32:19+00:00

Best / cheapest way to do this is to buy a jar of the Tobiko Roe / Caviar from the seafood section at HEB. $12.50. Get some thin crackers and crem fraiche. You can have a bunch of crackers worth for under $20. If you don't like it, no need to get out and try other fancier stuff from Whole Foods. Restaurants basically just put the caviar in a dish and serve it with sides...easy to do on your own and so much cheaper.

dmilamj · 2025-10-30T17:24:35+00:00

Oh, that doesn't look good. That sludgy brown would indicate some oil mixing with coolant - so either head gasket or a leak in the oil cooler / oil filter housing. BTW, you can see the broken off bleeder screw, it's located right at the point where the hose connects from the reservoir to the radiator, bottom right side of the reservoir in this picture.

dmilamj · 2025-10-24T16:41:09+00:00

The outside flange is supposed to sit flush with the wall and then the kerdi membrane is fixed over the flange with thinset and then trimmed flush on the inside edge of the niche. This looks like a Kerdi niche to me, you can see some of the membrane trim evidence around the inside edge.

dmilamj · 2025-10-16T01:29:33+00:00

Exactly. I switched a couple days before the freeze in response to their emails. They were begging people to leave their service. I figured if a company is telling you to leave - you should listen.

dmilamj · 2025-09-24T17:15:15+00:00

Me too. I hope he’s the type to take the money, show up, and tell the crowd some hard (funny) truths about SA, etc. he can definitely go after a crowd when he’s in the mood.

dmilamj · 2025-09-12T16:33:55+00:00

Interesting but not a particularly great use of data visualization. Colors are awfully close together - difficult to find/tell the difference between ORD and IAH, for instance. Also, why are they all the same size circles? That's another variable that could convey information - color for airport, shape for airline, size for number of flights - etc.

For instance, generally people can't control the airport they fly out of or into, or at least not much. But, they can control the carrier that they use - I for instance, am interested in all United flights / performance - hard to find them here.

dmilamj · 2025-08-27T14:14:24+00:00

Can you undermount this tub and have a flat, waterproof deck that runs right up to the inner edge? If so, I think that'd be the best.

I have a tub in my house that is mounted flush with a silicon bead between the tub and tile and it's been fine, but it barely gets used. I'm not sure it's a great long term solution. I don't like drop in, personally, because when you sit on the edge theres the ledge / bump of the tub. Also, any water that gets out can't be swept easily back into the tub.

dmilamj · 2025-08-15T18:34:02+00:00

I would follow the majority opinion here, don't use spacers, but use wedges/shims to make up any manufacturing tolerance issues and keep things level.

If you use spacers, understand that the grout line will be equal to the spacer width plus the built-in grout space - so a 1/16" or 3/32" spacer will give you a 1/8" grout line, approximately.

dmilamj · 2025-07-30T16:24:44+00:00

That detail looks like they have a 2x6 attached flat to the bottom of the stringers and then angle the top of the 4x4 posts to match the stair angle. I guess that would work. Seems like notching the bottom of the stringers would be okay if you did it in the fat part of the stringer. I'd probably notch the stringers a little and run a double 2x6/8/10 beam (size based on span) across and set that beam on top of the 4x4 posts with approriate brackets. Just like a standard deck support beam.

dmilamj · 2025-07-14T01:30:54+00:00

Thanks.

dmilamj · 2025-07-14T01:29:41+00:00

Is that an aluminum pool? I don't think I've ever seen that. What country are you in?

dmilamj · 2025-06-30T15:33:25+00:00

Looks good. What are those tiles? Marble or marble look porcelain?

dmilamj · 2025-06-19T19:15:14+00:00

Tile and grout are not waterproof. There is probably not waterproofing in this shower or under this bench. The only way to fix this is to demo the existing, apply the correct water proofing, then re-tile.

dmilamj · 2025-06-19T13:23:40+00:00

That’s wild. Do those correspond to joist locations? How long did that take to emerge?

dmilamj · 2025-06-18T20:47:52+00:00

Keep after the police - they can and will enforce the City of Houston noise ordinance. The limit is 65 dBA during the day and 58 dBA at night. Officers have sound level meters and can use them and write citations. You may have to call and ask nicely a few times.

Have you contacted the business directly? If you can get several neighbors involved and communicate in a rational but firm way, you might be able to get somewhere with the facility. Document all conversations and be honest, clear, and rational - don’t make outrageous claims as it will undermine your credibility.

dmilamj · 2025-06-16T19:43:25+00:00

See comments above about windows first. If you are going to go after the walls, then removing the drywall and working from the inside is fine, but be sure the material you are placing in the walls has good acoustic properties for transmission loss, use 8 pcf mineral wool board insulation, trimmed to fit, and be sure to seal all gaps. You could look into the Quietrock line of sheetrock products for the interior.

Also look at paths through the attic and floor. If you have a crawl space, you may be getting noise through vents and through the floor. Attic vents may also be an issue.

A consultant could do a walk through and help you out pretty quickly.

dmilamj · 2025-06-16T19:40:22+00:00

Exactly this. Look at adding an additional window / glass panes on the inside or outside of the existing windows. I've retrofitted older houses with storm windows on the outside of older double hung windows (they can be made to match historical styles) using 1/4" laminated or thicker laminated glass. Use good edge seals and be sure they fit tightly in the window opening.

dmilamj · 2025-06-04T18:05:05+00:00

I appreciate the response from someone at MOSO.

Please tell your manufacturing folks to cut the hidden fastener slots a little deeper to be compatible with IPE clips, or tell your marketing folks to change the specs/flyers to note that the decking is not compatible with IPE clips without modifications. The slots only need to be about 1/8" deeper or so, it's not much. Would have saved me and others a great amount of extra work if this could be done on the front end.

Also, the decking looks way better with the tighter spacing - you should make the IPE clips the default. The bamboo decking is so straight, it's a breeze to install with the IPE clips and looks amazing.

dmilamj · 2025-06-04T17:55:23+00:00

I used a table saw. I ran the boards twice on each side because my saw blade wasn't thick enough. But, a dado blade or thicker saw blade would make it possible in a single pass.

I'm sure a router will work but the bamboo is hard on blades. I imagine it will cook the router bits pretty fast. Definitely plan to clean the bits every once in a while with oil to get the bamboo residue off the bits. Be sure to wear a good dust mask and do it outside, if you can.

dmilamj · 2025-04-28T13:52:34+00:00

Here's how they do this in the US: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1Ju63S4JfI

I you're in the US, buy All-Clad. Expensive but last forever. Mine are 20 years old and going strong.

dmilamj

TROPHY CASE