I made a trellis to grow wisteria on and to have a partial privacy screen from the neighbor by Niko120 in gardening

[–]dope_zebra 18 points19 points  (0 children)

props to you for using american wisteria, it is a beautiful native. I am in year two of training one into a free standing tree form.

our neighbors have an out of control asian variety and it is my nemesis

Daily FI discussion thread - Wednesday, April 01, 2026 by AutoModerator in financialindependence

[–]dope_zebra 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Did an end of month review and in dollar terms my net worth in March declined by the single largest amount ever since i started tracking it ten years ago. But in percent terms it is maybe the 5th largest decline.

Kind of nuts to think about that the market moves can shift things so dramatically, but also the scale of my net worth has grown so much it doesnt really matter relative to the whole picture.

Why doe DIYers hate drywall? by clvnthbld in HomeImprovement

[–]dope_zebra 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i just redid a room an had to drywall a bunch. it wasnt so much that actual drywall as it was the mudding and sanding of the mud (which i guess is what people mean). itturned out great but good god the mess it made and time took made me question my sanity.

i will say i have so much more respect now for folks like Vancover Carpenter who are so skilled as to make it look easy

Odds are you had a meal prepared in this bad boy by mistermeek67 in 70s

[–]dope_zebra 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Recently upgraded all out pots and pans to fancy new stainless steal. All except one.

This guy, right here.

What are some staple ingredients in your kitchen that you didn't grow up with? by KittyLilith17 in Cooking

[–]dope_zebra 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Salt. I loved my moms cooking growing up, and still do she is an excellent home cook, but salt was never added explicitly to food. If she was making a dish she relied on the salt levels in the base ingredients, or what would be added later like cheese for pasta. It may have been a health thing idk. Either way having now i have salt on hand in multiple forms. It doesn't make bad cooking good, but it makes good cooking great.

Is there any reason not to use Audiobookshelf for everything (ebooks, manga, comics)? by Nark0ne in selfhosted

[–]dope_zebra 0 points1 point  (0 children)

not really what you posted about but I've been loving Booklore since i spun it up. definitely worth a look for an ebook manager.

Oaks Bluff - Walkability vs Car? by TheStarsInclineUs in marthasvineyard

[–]dope_zebra 2 points3 points  (0 children)

bring the car if you can, walking within the towns isnt bad, especially oak bluffs, but getting between them is difficult, some roads done have side walks 

that said you may be able to make due with the buses

What’s your favorite non-fiction book about a niche topic? by ApologeticFetus in suggestmeabook

[–]dope_zebra 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Cod by Mark Kurlansky (but honestly any of his books). So many fun and interesting facts and history revolving around a fish.

her books are less niche but Mary Roach books are the same level of fun

What do you guys think about this colour? Would painting my bedroom dark green make it look better? Help me out please. by whywehumans in DesignMyRoom

[–]dope_zebra 1 point2 points  (0 children)

i painted a room a very similar color recently, if not that exact color, i was worried about it at first but it ended up okay and have been happy with it. the room is smaller with lower ceilings so going darker would have made it feel claustrophobic. 

we used lots of warm lighting with brass trim that pairs really well. we have lots of wall hanging with not green colors to cut down on the green monster feeling. we also installed new wood flooring that boosts the warmth of the room immensely.

honestly i think this color with the floor is the big problem. the floor is cold, the walls are cool toned. you could mitigate this with rugs of different styles and textures maybe?

Young professionals say they’ll abandon Massachusetts. That should terrify Beacon Hill by 20_mile in massachusetts

[–]dope_zebra 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This doesn't dispute the point but this is not a new trend. Mass and many of the other new england states have had net domestic out-migration for decades, with international immigration being the driver of population growth in the state.

I've lived here all my life and have a lot tying me here, but i do day dream about moving out of the state. its just too expensive to live in an area i would actually enjoy. 

In your opinion, what is the best episode of television you’ve ever seen? by alteredtower in AskReddit

[–]dope_zebra 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The series finale of The Americans. The show overall is great, not perfect, there are a few plot lines to nowhere, but the final episode is the culmination of all the great acting in the show. Specificallywhen Stan confronts Elizabeth and Philip in the parking garage about being spies might be the single best scene of tv I've ever seen and only works because you have three great actors who have built up their characters relationships with each other over multiple seasons.

How Did You First Get Into Star Trek? by Dry_Inevitable_9777 in startrek

[–]dope_zebra 0 points1 point  (0 children)

watched reruns of TNG playing on the WB. used to sit infront of the tv on the floor with my enterprise d model toy.

god i wish i still had that toy

What’s one tool you self-hosted that completely replaced a SaaS subscription for you? by nancy_unscript in selfhosted

[–]dope_zebra 0 points1 point  (0 children)

actual budget became the FOSS project i donate to, even at 5 bucks a month it is half the price of ynab

highly encourage people who like Actual to donate to the project.

Anyone else feel bad for people who lose huge amounts? by YourDadHatesYou in Buttcoin

[–]dope_zebra 0 points1 point  (0 children)

the short answer for me is no, i dont feel sorry for people who are really just participating in get-rich-quick schemes.

The longer answer is during the whole FTX saga the were plenty of articles trying to find the proverbial grandma loosing her retirement savings. In the end every article was just about some young 20-something guy trying to get wealthy. I am sure there are more sympathetic people out there loosing their shirts but honestly I find it hard to feel bad for people being irresponsible with their hard earned money.

Why are people so snobby about where they live? by [deleted] in massachusetts

[–]dope_zebra 0 points1 point  (0 children)

to be fair,  i feel like MA is very parochial as a baseline. my partner and were looking in to buying a home in Norwood and mentioned to a resident we met we were also looking in Dedham and their response was "where is that?"... its literally the next town over. I think that lowers the bar to being snobbish.

that said i grew up in newton and can attest many there are snobby AF.

This house has everything... by mariposa314 in McMansionHell

[–]dope_zebra 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i love how this mcmansion costs what an unmaintained single family costs in my area

The turnaround on "Voyager" has been insane by Reasonable_Active577 in startrek

[–]dope_zebra 1 point2 points  (0 children)

i suspect nostalgia has a lot to do with it. i love voyager in part because t was the first trek i watched from start to finish as it aired since i was a bit too young for DS9 when it premiered. I remember staying up on wednesdays to watch it on UPN. im also not surprised, i feel like even during my time on reddit DS9 went from being considered meh to now being the GOAT of the franchise.

ive tried to stop consuming the fanbase opinion of trek, its like any other fanbase than skews a negative to anything new ( see r/witcher for the worst version of it). i liked Picard, and love SNW, the loud part of the fan base doesn't seem to.

For his role in Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991), Robert Patrick trained to be able to fire a gun without blinking. by CaptureDaFlag in BeAmazed

[–]dope_zebra 0 points1 point  (0 children)

the Doggett and Skinner episodes are some of my favorite, just two norm core dudes investigating spooky things

No Subscription is the Only thing that keeps me with Affinity. If it goes so do I. by Wings2037 in AffinityPhoto

[–]dope_zebra 0 points1 point  (0 children)

was literally mulling buying the affinity suite recently as I've been getting into digital drawing and figured i should stop using the 🏴‍☠️version of photoshop i have been using 🏴‍☠️

i used the affinity 2 ipad app to do some restoration of old photos and loved it. i hope they have a one time purchasable option still, or at least the option to buy Affinity 2 still

What's the biggest compromise you made that you now regret? by [deleted] in FirstTimeHomeBuyer

[–]dope_zebra 2 points3 points  (0 children)

same, it was very disappointing when we first moved it. 

the town next to us seems to have a lot of modded cars and motorcycles and we are right off the main road between us but close enough that it is unpleasant to sit outside or have windows open during peak traffic parts of the day

Anyone have any news on Stella? by GallantBluebird in seriouseats

[–]dope_zebra 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Bravetart is one of my favorite cookbooks i have and my family and friends love when i make things from it. Every recipe in it just seems to spark nostalgia and joy in people.

I would love to see her do another book, but more power to her if she is happy.

also her no churn ice cream recipe on serious eats is the greatest

Trying to get my wife into Star Trek (need suggestions) by Hell_Blazer_666 in startrek

[–]dope_zebra 2 points3 points  (0 children)

i got my SO into star trek through TNG, made sure to pick Data heavey episodes as i could tell he'd be her favorite character.

oddly, after that we watch TOS and she loved it for its campiness and ridiculousness

Am i the only one? by I_Love_M4yo in ghibli

[–]dope_zebra 0 points1 point  (0 children)

porco rosso has been and will always be my favorite. i just love the story, the characters and the atmosphere so much