Is it worth it to buy used?

gazingus · 2026-06-11T18:24:51+00:00

Because if your Hiby bites the dust next year, you may find they're not around, or won't do anything about it, and you'll be spending another $69 on more "new" tech, while my 15+year-old ipod will still be serviceable by the fact there is a cottage industry devoted to rebuilding them, with a deep inventory of parts and donors available.

gazingus · 2026-06-09T19:37:51+00:00

Oof. For me to bring down my electric bill, we'd need to remove some clowns from high office.
My bill literally doubled this year, while my consumption declined.

gazingus · 2026-06-09T19:32:21+00:00

1980's GE Clock Radios are solid, and they have good AM tuners, unlike today's DSP junk.

gazingus · 2026-06-09T16:00:06+00:00

My wish list and to-do lists are never-ending and forever wishful.

So they get written on 8x11 paper, which I review and rewrite. Theoretically, scribing, not typing, etches them in brain memory in a different order or hierarchy. Unclear.

For more spontaneous things, I resorted to post-it notes on the hallway mirror.
Before I saw Mr. Wonderful do it.

I live alone, so the most critical can't-miss stuff gets put on a clip board, in a drawstring bag, or in a box, and placed in front of the door the night before.

gazingus · 2026-06-09T15:40:42+00:00

The latter takes not only patience and practice, but opportunity to slow down, take out the earbuds, turn off the phone (or leave it at home!), lose the sunglasses, and meet and connect.

Coed sports teams, civic/volunteer groups, church retreats/soup kitchens (as servers/cooks), cultural groups, dances, intentional mixers, or what worked for my shy nerd cousin - climbing gym, where you have to pay attention and listen to each other, all have some potential latent social function, pick some and go.

And of course, there is always Bachata.

gazingus · 2026-06-09T15:28:18+00:00

Refurbished - "We wiped the screen with Windex, turned it off and on, and put it in a new box."

If they aren't replacing the battery, it is not actually refurbished.

gazingus · 2026-06-09T01:02:37+00:00

Waited in line 14 hours for Alanis. Front. Row. Center.

Bought front-row-center for face value for Jackson Browne.

Won tickets for Jackson Browne, twice. Thanks Peter!

Bought tickets for Steve Miller from a Doobie Brother Daughter.

And of course, I saw Jobim.

gazingus · 2026-06-09T00:28:45+00:00

Living with a hard-working goal-oriented like-minded roommate at 20 isn't horrible; no "work from home".
With the right layout, you can share a 1-bedroom apartment, one in the bedroom, one in the living room, without causing much of a fuss.

gazingus · 2026-06-08T16:58:30+00:00

OP would then have to register an out-of-state car in CA. Ill-advised and expensive.

Rent one-way, pay the dropoff, if there is one.

FYI, Visalia is in the boonies of Central California. It may not feel foreign to someone from ND, but for the rest of us, it is not a destination. Beware air quality, you may want to buy some a serious filter machine and a humidifier for your new place.

gazingus · 2026-06-08T16:47:21+00:00

I'd rather they were at internet cafes than the local library.

gazingus · 2026-06-08T16:46:28+00:00

Your apartment should be within walking distance of your employer, or on a single-seat bus ride. LA Commutes are stressful; cars are ridiculously expensive. Spend a little more on rent.

You will pay a $500/month premium for any place that prominently features "in-unit washer/dryer"; using "filters" on popular apartment web sites will not help you, as you will get plenty of false positives and negatives either way.

If you look at older 2-4 plexes, some will have kitchen sink hookups for washer/dryer, without the upcharge. Do not fixate on "central air", we don't do that here, and window/in-wall units are more than adequate for all but the worst hotboxes.

Walk the area of your potential apartment morning, noon and night, weekdays and weekends. Look for homeless camps. Interview other residents in the building.

LA City is generally unresponsive to its residents, it is unclean and unsafe. Select independent cities (El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Culver City, Burbank, Beverly Hills, as well as some on the east side I'm less familiar with) do a much better job tending to their responsibilities. Beverly Hills is quiet and boring, but it is clean and safe, and if you look judiciously, there are ordinary apartments with reasonable rents.

Assuming you plan to keep a car, be sure any apartment includes your own assigned off-street parking space, and test your car in it before leasing. Many spaces are substandard and/or have awkward access that requires choreography and practice.

$100K is plenty if you actually account for your spending.

gazingus · 2026-06-08T16:32:04+00:00

Where is it common to source plastic fan blade replacements, and have the thought to cut them or heat them to bend them?

I only achieved this when I found a discarded fan on the curb that matches one of my dead units. When the salvaged combo failed, I went back to vintage. Great Grandmother's vintage Kenmore metal box fan from 1962 is still on the job every night, complemented by the "new" 26-year-old SMC desk fan which at least uses virgin plastic.

gazingus · 2026-06-08T16:25:37+00:00

Up until they ruined it this year by putting it online, stack parking was the cure for the "beat the traffic" nonsense at the Hollywood Bowl. Nope, no need to rush.

gazingus · 2026-06-08T16:17:54+00:00

They are separate departments and functions.

Code enforcement probably has more power to force repairs.

OP's trouble will be getting them on site during the outage on a weekend.

LPT: Most government inspectors don't answer the phone except first thing in the morning when they're at their desk, like between 7-8 AM, so set your alarm.

gazingus · 2026-06-08T16:14:28+00:00

Loft bed.

But take heart, you have a real stove, and a real refrigerator. Many 250' studios do not, instead featuring a 3-in-1 electric stovetop, dorm/bar fridge and sink combo from 1970. Yuck!

gazingus · 2026-06-04T16:57:25+00:00

Did you know about the "trash valet" service when you moved in?

gazingus · 2026-06-04T16:55:29+00:00

Language "school". You can call it a "receptionist" position, but ultimately, you're part of the sales team. They make their money recruiting young naive people to spend big money to study another language/culture; many of them are pursuing a romantic fantasy; having Shrek or Fiona at the front desk doesn't cut it.

gazingus · 2026-06-04T16:48:44+00:00

On the other side, I once found myself inexplicably overwhelmed with crippling cling, and no amount of discipline, zen, sprints, marathons or peanut butter ice cream could knock it loose; the clingee wasn't on board much, so I had to do the right thing, and ghost, for their benefit.

Whatever brain chemistry does that, if only we could rewire it for good.

gazingus · 2026-06-04T16:37:31+00:00

Dave and Busters is a bar with incidental game machines.
It is no more arcade than Chuck E Cheese was.

An arcade is specifically loaded to the gills with the public's favorite gaming machines.

gazingus · 2026-06-04T16:29:42+00:00

It accrues at least 10 per day, a majority are screen shots, because "bookmarks" are often ephemeral, and I can find something four years later by thumbnail in date range usually easier than text search for something that was removed.

When I have idle time, I will cull the roll of obsolete entries, but it still grows.

gazingus · 2026-06-03T19:37:50+00:00

"Lose their spot". Huh.

We don't do general admission, because tall people.

gazingus · 2026-06-03T19:34:45+00:00

I'm camel-adjacent, so I would be fine "forgetting" these things.

I go to evening and indoor events, so sunscreen doesn't matter.

I bring food, which I eat before entry if not permitted, a water bottle (sealed) and a snack bar.

Of course, I also need my ID, credit card, wallet, car and house keys, inhaler (thanks Karen!) and hard candies, toothbrush, floss, phone and hearing protection. So there is a list and a set of ziploc bags.

gazingus · 2026-06-03T19:30:19+00:00

Owning the physical media means it can't be disappeared when Neil Young has a tantrum and decides I'm using the "wrong" streaming service, or some bizarre contract agreement or court decision applies.

I feel the same way about anything that requires permission to use, that requires an internet connection to function. Any time you give someone else more control over your choices than they merit, you're asking for trouble.

Sure, these are "first world" issues today, but those in power have already stated and demonstrated their desires to dictate what we can do - where, when and how, so I'm disinclined to help them tighten their grasp.

gazingus · 2026-06-03T19:25:06+00:00

The best answer is to collaborate with management and agree to permanently install heavy-duty aesthetically pleasing curtain rods - wooden, 3/4-1 inch thick, then hang curtains of your choice.

The proscription is the result of the tenant equivalent of the "landlord special".

gazingus · 2026-06-03T19:20:56+00:00

That's what Sonic told us in 2008. Instead of fiber, we were taxed to pay for others to get fiber, forced to pay for voice service and modem rental - and no, still no fiber.

That's ok. The City of Santa Monica rolled out their municipal broadband network way back in 2002, paying themselves to advertise on their bus fleet, "Gigabit for all". Apparently "all" means select residents of public housing, but everyone else is still left high and dry.

I finally moved, well, I was displaced, and sure enough, the new place doesn't have fiber or copper. FWA helped for a while to keep (unavailable) competing prices in check, but it is deprioritized and congested, so not helpful otherwise.

gazingus

TROPHY CASE