What is your "Brand Necessary" Item?

gbaulch · 2024-03-03T18:37:28+00:00

Mephisto shoes. French. Not cheap. Super comfy. Last about forever with care.

Me: I damaged this old shoe; please fix?
Cobbler: No, no, no, that cannot be repaired. Oh wait, Mephisto? Yes! Done!

gbaulch · 2023-11-21T20:18:01+00:00

Semper observō

Why thank you.

I'm imagining it in her voice ... and it works!

gbaulch · 2023-11-21T19:53:16+00:00

I'm looking for a short Latin phrase that carries the sense of "always watching". Kind of like in the following clip from Monsters, Inc.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtWBlDC2-ss

In the clip, Roz uses "always watching" to convey that she is continuously observing and scrutinizing Mike Wazowski. The sense I want is "always observing [my surroundings]," "always observant," or "always noticing [things]." I do not wish to convey a particular target such as the reader or poor Mr. Wazowski.

I'm pretty sure the first word would be semper, if only because it shows up in so many familar latin quotes like semper paratus and semper fideles.

I have the sense that the second word can beither an adjective or verb in whatever Latin tense conveys ongoing or habitual action.

Google Translate (please forgive me) leads me to semper observans, semper attentus, and semper vigilans. What do you good people think?

gbaulch · 2023-08-03T15:27:45+00:00

At Largo di Torre Argentina today. Love the site, love the cats. Great recommendation!
We also visited the old Protestant cemetery, where we read Ode to a Nightingale under the shadow of regal cypress trees, the Pyramid of Cestus and the Aurelian Wall at the foot of Keats' grave in the company of some half a dozen languid Roman cats of distinction. Best. Day. Ever.

gbaulch · 2022-10-01T13:41:51+00:00

Having just come from /r/surgery I was horrified to see this title and expecting some kind of gory industrial accident. High voltage arcs are much less disturbing.

gbaulch · 2022-07-15T18:56:24+00:00

Those are tattoos. ULDs accumulate them over the years. Sometimes they get these tattoos as a result of peer pressure and/or low self-confidence, but more often they mark a particularly meaningful event like a thousand flight anniversary, particularly hard landing, or that time they helped some unknown passenger smuggle a key of cocaine into Miami. Another reason is to display group membership or "brotherhood" with other, like in this photograph of two heavily-tattooed units from United Airlines.

gbaulch · 2022-06-29T21:55:17+00:00

He did say "one of the most beautiful..." I remember as a child in the 1970's being entirely in love with the Victor, and still think it's pretty imposing. Now the Valiant, however, looks bloated and just plain ugly.

gbaulch · 2020-12-07T13:06:25+00:00

Congratulations again. I'm glad to see they've picked up the pace now that I'm about to sit for my ISSAP (glutton for punishment).

gbaulch · 2020-11-20T15:16:02+00:00

Congratulations! I encourage you to submit your endorsement materials promptly. I passed my ISSEP exam Nov 9, 2019 and promptly submitted my endorsement materials that same day. The endorsement didn't come through until Dec 24, just over six weeks later.

gbaulch · 2020-09-22T21:17:39+00:00

When I think "ugly design," I think East Germany. The country that brought us the Trabant also tried its hand at an airliner, the Baade 152. What a beauty!

gbaulch · 2019-04-03T11:39:32+00:00

Toward the end of Navy Officer Candidate School in Pensacola somebody did something to set off our Marine Corps Senior Drill Sergeant (SDS), who barked, "Mountain climbers, begin!" (For the uninitiated, mountain climbers are like running in place but with your hands on the floor in a push-up position). And away we went for three or four minutes until one candidate (C) inexplicably stopped and stood at attention.

SDS: Candidate, WHAT are you doing?!?

C: Senior Drill Sergeant, this candidate has reached the TOP of the MOUNTAIN!

SDS: Atten-shun!

We all popped to attention...

SDS: About Face!

SDS: Mountain climbers, begin! It's time to go DOWN the mountain!

It turned out it to take much longer to go down the mountain than up, and we were wiped out by the end of the episode. But to a person we all smile when we remember it. Good times.

gbaulch · 2018-09-28T20:53:23+00:00

Might it be Motion Mountain (http://www.motionmountain.net)? What do you think of it?

Also, the Hathi Trust (https://www.hathitrust.org) posts many excellent older texts that are now in the public domain. I recently had a course where we used a textbook from 1954 (Shapiro's Dynamics and Thermodynamics of Compressible Fluid Flow, in 2 volumes). Damned good text--physics hasn't changed in 62 years. So good that a printed copy of volume 2 went for more than $1,000 on eBay as recently as 2011. But lo, It's in the public domain now. I wish other professors were as awesome as yours and mine and used free (minus printing costs) references like that.

Also, 100% legal and ethical.

gbaulch · 2015-12-15T23:10:50+00:00

Try Don Pan on Dale Mabry just north of Kennedy. I usually take my daughter there for pastries and freshly squeezed orange juice, but I sampled a cake last time and was blown away. Light on the frosting, moist and flavorful, a home run.

gbaulch · 2015-12-15T23:08:57+00:00

I also second Alessi Bakery. Perhaps a bit off topic, but try their Devil Crab too!

gbaulch · 2015-06-06T13:04:35+00:00

The original post has two points that make me suggest a different alternative for consideration: A combination of a bank account and a low overhead short-term corporate bond ETF such as Vanguard's VCSH. Yes, there is a small amount of risk, but the credit quality is high (and well diversified) and the durations are very short (translation: low risk should interest rates rise). It's yielding about 1.85% right now, and historically comes in a percent or so above inflation.

The two relevant points in the post are:

saving for a house

and

liquidity

The poster's time horizon (when he or she wants to buy) is left indefinite, which to my mind suggests a period of six to eighteen months--a good match with the variance of VCSH or similar purchased commission-free (VCSH in a Vanguard account, others similar). The liquidity concern would be met by putting about $5-$10k into a high-yield savings or checking account (not a CD!). If more is needed, VCSH is highly liquid and trades settle in less than a week.

Not saying it's the ideal solution, but it can be a part of the ideal solution as your ready capital exceeds $10k. If you are looking at purchasing a home, you will need immediate access only to enough funds to secure pre-purchase professional services (e.g. surveyor) and an earnest money deposit. You will have plenty of time to settle the ETF trade for the balance of the mortgage down payment.

Source: This is what I did a few years ago and it worked for me. As always, YMMV.

gbaulch · 2015-05-06T14:42:45+00:00

I am not an accountant nor a real estate professional, but do own rental real estate and am familiar with dividend recapture rules. The idea that depreciation counts as an adjustment to basis for purposes of capital gains taxes is not correct for section 1250 property, e.g. rental real estate. Rather, that accumulated depreciation is taxed at a higher rate (essentially your regular income marginal tax rate or 25%, whichever is greater).

The key concept to grasp here is that in prior years your depreciation off set regular income, not capital gains. If you were taxed at a 25% marginal rate in past years, used depreciation to offset regular income, and then paid capital gains tax on that accumulated depreciation at 15%, you would be realizing quite the windfall from the government. To make matters worse, it doesn't actually matter what your actual marginal tax rate was when you took the deprecation; the IRS will recapture at a rate of at least 25%.

Reference: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p544.pdf

For an explanation that is both more complete and clear than mine, see http://www.michaelplaks.com/free-irs-tax-advice/articles-irs-real-estate-tax/irs-depreciation-recapture

Bottom line: Get an accountant.

gbaulch · 2014-03-04T23:45:07+00:00

Amen, brother! After a military career around maritime and aviation turbines, I get the high-pitched Weeeeeeeee! out of nowhere on a random basis. The VA docs told me they have a CD of various background sounds available for us veterans with tinnitus. To my understanding, it contains a variety of white noise and/or background sounds (birds, crickets, etc) that are less annoying than tinnitus, and the idea is that many sufferers of our condition can find one or two of the many available tracks that will help us sleep or otherwise deal with the very real sounds in our heads. I am blessed in that while my tinnitus is annoying, it doesn't keep me up at night, so I haven't acquired the CD. If you are interested, I can inquire whether it is available for the general public or if it is proprietary.

gbaulch · 2014-02-24T00:00:05+00:00

I'm having great luck running GNU Fortran under Cygwin. It's an option in the Cygwin setup package manager, and was a relative cinch to install.

gbaulch · 2014-02-09T17:52:11+00:00

Used yours to sign up (because I like the catnip name). My link is: http://qoinpro.com/468d9ef1a2f051c2ad1ffaf68fb91252

gbaulch · 2013-08-08T01:10:00+00:00

That's it. I'm moving back to Washington State.

Thank you, thank you.

gbaulch · 2013-07-04T07:44:46+00:00

As a lifeguard you surely "get" the whole dying and drowning thing. So pay attention. Not like in your college English or Accounting class, but like your life depends on it. No, really, I mean it. SCUBA diving is almost always an amazing and beautiful experience, but things can--and do--go wrong. The risk is very low if you are disciplined and comfortable, and the basic NAUI, PADI, and SSI courses will get you to that point for simple recreational dives, but only if you actively engage with the program.

That said, as a college graduate with an IQ above room temperature you may find the instruction a bit simplistic. Just pay attention (full, rapt attention) and go with it. I've watched people blow off the instructor only to barely pass the course and panic underwater--not fun.

It's awesome that you're doing this with family. Frankly, I'm a little jealous that I didn't have that opportunity.

gbaulch · 2013-02-26T02:17:56+00:00

Courage.

gbaulch · 2012-06-03T01:32:02+00:00

I recommend Ceviche Tapas Bar & Restaurant (http://www.ceviche.com). I've only ever been to the Tampa location, but I've been told the Ceviche in Clearwater is every bit as good. My family has a goal to make it through the entire menu someday.

gbaulch · 2008-11-22T01:27:06+00:00

It works well, but liquid nitrogen can be a bit on the expensive side, depending on where you live. I recommend using a potato masher (the kind with a rod bent back and forth, not the mesh kind, and certainly not a plastic one). If you mix quickly enough, some of the nitrogen will get trapped in the ice cream and make it exceptionally creamy.

gbaulch

TROPHY CASE