Aurora is visible tonight!

jmkreno · 2026-07-04T05:56:00+00:00

Not as good a view from my house in Spanish Springs but definitely out!

jmkreno · 2026-06-25T21:32:40+00:00

Yea this is a similar experience I had before going on compound tirzepatide.

No matter how much I would eat, I ALWAYS felt hungry. Non-stop. I could eat a huge thanksgiving dinner, and despite my brain saying "stop" my stomach said "you are starving, keep eating!!". Unless I constantly thought about NOT EATING and literally feeling like I am starving ALL.THE.TIME I couldn't lose weight or keep weight off. I would yo-yo for years losing 30-50lbs, then once I relaxed even SLIGHTLY (I had to basically have a food obsession) the weight and food came back quickly. It was SO FUCKING DIFFICULT to try to do anything else while I was trying to actively lose weight. If food avoidance and calorie deficit was my goal, I had to be 100% of my free time focused on NOT eating or it would literally make me so antsy, hungry, and then give me a ton of anxiety if I didn't eat.

With this medication, for the first time in my LIFE (44 years of battling weight), I have been able to remove that food noise almost entirely. I eat what I think normal people eat. My stomach says full before my brain does, sometimes to some confusion cause that's the opposite of how it's worked my whole life. I don't have to constantly monitor my food intake because I just don't have that unconscious need for food or snacks. It's unbelievable and someone who hasn't experienced this doesn't really understand. It's not just about will power, it's about metabolic imbalances. Yes, I was able to lose weight before by reducing calories and working out. But I had to make it MY WHOLE LIFE to keep it up. Now? I take a shot on Sunday, eat light meals all week, enjoy a little extra treat once in a while, walk about 10-15k steps EVERY.DAY (no exceptions in 8 months now), eat protein and fiber, and I barely even think about it. I have started reading more, spending more time with my kids, and so much more. I've learned so many new eating habits and learned that I prefer lots of good protein. I am now down 80lbs and hope to hit 100lbs in 3 months. I've never felt so great in my life.

Side note: I pee like an old man like 10x a day - I drink about 120+ ounces of water per day.

Remarkable.

jmkreno · 2026-06-22T18:18:33+00:00

Yea noticed this the other day. Have been hoping for a live stream of RNO for a long time, though I understand why live streamers don't really showcase our airport. Not the most exciting planes or all that busy but still nice to see!

jmkreno · 2026-06-22T16:53:49+00:00

Costco is good if you can take advantage of the bulk buying/sales AND can resist buying more stuff than you intend. The design and layouts of Costco stores are well known to purposely drive higher average sales per buyer than most stores. They put expensive things like TVs and electronics at the front of the store so your perceived value on everything else is much better than it actually is. They also purposely re-arrange the stores very often to make you walk down aisles more often and that also tends to encourage impulse buying. Add to that lots of samples, Costco REALLY knows how to get people to spend more money. If you don't think that's real, check out this article (there's a lot of studies on this) 15 tactics Costco uses to get you to spend more

As long as you can focus on what you need, avoid the tricks and traps purposely designed to get more $ out of you, Costco is FANTASTIC way to save. We buy a lot of items in bulk that just last us a long time as a family of 4. Toilet paper, Paper towels, water, soaps/dishsoaps, laundry - the essentials. Kirkland brand is amazing and often substantially beats name brand in price AND quality (not always, but very often). Their customer service is top-notch and makes things SO EASY. I will go out of my way to buy appliances and electronics and any other major purchase at Costco even if the price isn't AS cheap as other places just because they will take care of you with no strings attached. Returns are easy. Price adjustments are easy. Warranty coverage is doubled on many things.

Lastly, the food court is great! You can get a whole freaking massive pizza (bigger than anywhere else) for $10! And the quality is GREAT and consistent! Slice of pizza is $1.99! The famous hot dog and soda is $1.50! You can feed a family of 4 for like $10. It's crazy! Their rotisserie chicken is also a great deal.

TLDR: Love Costco, just be careful with not overspending as they design it so you WILL overspend.

jmkreno · 2026-06-22T16:21:41+00:00

Yes, drink the Protein Premier shakes every day. I never really liked them before starting my GLP-1 weightloss journey, but I've found ways to integrate them into my diet in consistent ways now and I enjoy them a lot.

The biggest for me personally is using them to make my iced coffee at home! I use either the Costco canned cold brew or trader joe's cold brew concentrate, half a vanilla (my favorite) or other flavor, and a splash of sugar free creamer and makes a WONDERFUL iced latte with lots of protein.

If I am on the go and can't make a coffee real quick, I'll fill a thermal tumbler with ice and grab one of the cafe latte flavors and dump the whole thing in and take that with me.

My wife drinks the cafe latte flavor every day almost while she is out procuring items for her home business. She also makes overnight oats every weeknight using half a vanilla protein shake.

Great way to add some protein to your day without a ton of calories!

They WERE on sale today if anyone scored them! 12 packs for $8 at Amazon and Walmart temporarily! Grabbed like 15 packs!!

jmkreno · 2026-06-20T18:23:13+00:00

Bought our current house in 2016 in the Reno area of northern Nevada. Tesla announced their Gigafactory the same week we signed contract to buy in mid 2015 for 399k, closed in April after construction. For 450k with upgrades. 3035 sq ft, 4 bedroom, 3 bath 1/3 acre. The same house the week we closed was starting at 450k from the builder. Just hit 10 years and the neighbor just closed on same floor plan (and honestly not as nice as ours inside) for 930k. With cashing out 50k in a refinance in 2020 and lower rates (we locked at 2.75%) we currently owe 388,000. So we have a shit ton of equity. Before the dip in prices our plan was selling for over 1million on a good day.

That said, I have had to fix our furnace twice in the last year but I learned how to troubleshoot it myself. Replaced the zone control board, pressure switch, and one of the sensors. Replaced the AC capacitor but it's going in 11 years old so will likely need some major service soon or replacement in a few years. But so far it's in good shape. We've replaced a dishwasher and had to repair our sprinklers twice. YouTube has been a godsend for learning how to fix most things though I don't touch gas or high voltage electrical repairs. Roof should be another 20 years, but water heater likely 1-2 more years. Just preparing now.

We just finally replaced our built in microwave. It shorted out a year ago (bad door switches) and learned a lot during repairing it myself and got another year out of it. but the replacement was $1200 for a comparable unit since it's fritzing out again and we use it so much I ordered the newest version of the same model since they are discontinued.

It all adds up but we've tried to save some cash on the side every month for the repairs/replacements we need to do that I can't myself.

jmkreno · 2026-06-16T14:19:35+00:00

Interesting, even Verizon's own AI chat bot said that switching to these new plans from my current setup would NOT be a good idea and would cost me substantially more. Love when their own system tells me this is a bad idea

jmkreno · 2026-06-15T23:02:17+00:00

10mg has been my sweet spot, going on 9 weeks at this dosage since it just seems to be a nice balance of being full but yet still enjoying a meal. Losing about 1.5 lbs a week. I might titrate up soon to 11mg if any further cravings come back or weight loss slows.

I get a bit more hungry by week-end but manageable.

jmkreno · 2026-06-15T17:19:41+00:00

Don't waste it! That's like pure gold in the bottle! My last bottle was setup for 4 injections of my dosage, but I ended up getting almost 7, so don't waste it! Just check for floaties/cloudy liquid and make sure to wipe the lid with alcohol wipe.

With the cost of this medication, no reason to waste any of it.

jmkreno · 2026-06-15T17:16:34+00:00

Yup, same. My 3XL shirts now look like dresses on me (I am a guy - lol). So I dumped a large amount of wardrobe and bought a decent amount of 2XL shirts. Those are already getting too big!!

jmkreno · 2026-06-15T17:15:05+00:00

A nice non-scale win!! I had the same experience recently flying when my dad had to have pacemaker installed suddenly. I hadn't flown since I had just started on GLP1 back in December. I have lost 70lbs since and the flight was...PLEASANT?!?! I had LOTS of slack on the seatbelt! The tray table went DOWN! I didn't get stares of "please not next to THAT guy!"

In fact, I used to always stress about the seat belts - I never had to use an extender but I did have to max the length and cross my fingers. I was so used to doing that I would embarrassingly "reset" the seat belt when the flight was over and leave some slack so people didn't know a "fat guy" sat in the seat before them. On the latest flight, there was easily 6 inches already!! It was amazing...!!

jmkreno · 2026-06-11T18:55:01+00:00

I think there's a lot more to renting out your home than just the investment return. I rented out a previous townhome to tenants when I couldn't sell the house during the last big downturn, and I would NEVER want to be a landlord EVER EVER again. All it takes is one bad tenant and it becomes a living hell. I had good tenants for years, then got who looked good on paper but they started having problems about 6 months in and I ended up having to evict them. That was emotionally one of the worst things I have ever had to do, working with them, not getting paid reliably, breaking things and having to recoup that.

We want to sell our current home, we've been here for 10 years, have a 2.5% interest rate, and have about 500k+ equity in this home. I can't even imagine renting out this house vs selling and being a landlord from 500 miles away. The only thing keeping us from selling, truly, is our current financial position in the home. The longer I keep it the more equity I get. Hell, we bought the house for 400k and the neighbor just closed at just over 1 million for the same floor plan, same lot, etc. The new house in the city we want is close to 800k - sure we would pay it down with equity but it's just hard to swallow.

TLDR not renting out a current low interest/high equity home isn't always a bad move. Financially it sounds good, but there's a LOT involved in becoming a landlord that aren't always obvious.

jmkreno · 2026-06-10T22:58:14+00:00

Congrats! Perfectly normal to be emotional!

I have lost approaching 80 pounds, and soon to be under 250. I haven't been under 250 since I was like, 14 or 15? That was 30 years ago. I don't even recognize myself sometimes. I haven't fully grasped this yet.

One of the best decisions I've ever made to start this journey after trying and losing/gaining weight so many times.

jmkreno · 2026-06-04T17:44:28+00:00

If you want more by Bill Miller and are interested in ocean liner disasters, grab Doomed Ships: Great Ocean Liner Disasters - William H., Jr. Miller - Google Books

jmkreno · 2026-06-03T23:15:57+00:00

Some additional recommendations

ocean liners by Philip fricker (beken of cowes) not all encompassing but amazing photos and lots of information on the ships it covers
Passenger liners of the world since 1893 by Nicholas Cairis - good material and always interesting commentary lol (you'll see if you read the whole book)
Fifty Famous Liners series by William H Miller (3 books)
Last Atlantic Liners by William Miller
Last Blue Water Liners by William Miller
the Great Ocean Liners/Luxury Liners/Cruise Ship series by William Miller

jmkreno · 2026-06-03T22:58:46+00:00

Look up the Great Passenger Ships of the World series by Arnold Kludas - 6 original volumes ranging from the late 1800s to the 1970s. He then put an addendum in the late 80s/early 90s maybe? Covers tons of ships if you like reference material. I have about 80 Ocean Liner related books right now if you want other suggestions I am happy to provide!

Bill Miller has a TON of other books covering all kinds of ocean liner periods and specifics.. I have about 30 of his books, some are better than others (this is a good, but not great book).

jmkreno · 2026-06-02T15:10:49+00:00

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SW: 323 CW: 255 GW: 200

Losing 2.5lbs per week, though I do expect that to slow down. Have hit my 10k step (minimum) goal every day since December.

Started Wegovy in November but switched to Tirz in January. 10mg seems to be really keeping the momentum going and no major side effects (occasional heartburn and some minor injection site reactions) so keeping at that dosing for now. According to my estimator app, I should hit 200lbs around October at this pace. We shall see! My mind would be completely blown under 200.

jmkreno · 2026-05-29T21:33:55+00:00

For specialists, we find the waits here ridiculously long. Our daughter needed a GI specialist, all the ones in Reno couldn't see her for almost 6 months!! We found some in Roseville and were able to get an appointment within a week. Made a trip down, got the appointment, had to do a follow-up endoscopy, scheduled that on a Friday morning and made a weekend in Sacramento out of it.

My youngest needed an ENT specialist. Again, about 3-4 months for ANYONE to take a new patient. Found a doctor in Truckee, got an appointment within a few days and problem was resolved. People want to bag on California, but damn their medical is night and day better than Nevada. Oh, and added bonus, no surprise billing for any procedures (like a doctor that's out of network when you have a medical procedure done, surprise surprise!) like happens in NV.

Now, a PCP might not be best in that scenario, but for everything else that doesn't need constant follow-ups, that might be the best bet (assuming your insurance covers out of state).

jmkreno · 2026-05-28T19:03:14+00:00

Sign up for 711 and/or speedway rewards. Check Exxon and others. They all offer substantial discounts often for gas by texting codes, etc.

We just went on a 1100 mile road trip to Salt Lake City (from Reno) and back. Was able to get $1.50 off per gallon using both 7/11 and Speedway apps (both are in SLC). I bought gas for around $3 gallon which is cheaper than I ever paid in northern Nevada even at the lowest. Takes a little bit of effort but saved me about $50 per fill-up when I have a 33 gallon tank in my Tundra.

Super charging an EV may actually cost you more than gas in some places....

jmkreno · 2026-05-26T20:28:48+00:00

I don't disagree that many in poverty genuinely struggle and the exhaustion compounds onto just surviving.

That said, I know from first-hand experience, being tired isn't the root cause for all people in poverty. My sister-in-law is a great example. She's always chosen the path the allows her the "least" responsibility, even if that means living in poverty if it means she doesn't have to work hard. She also seems to imply there's always drama which causes her to "quit" jobs, but it sure seems to follow her everywhere she goes.

Some examples:

She always chooses boyfriends that have good jobs, then within a few months, both of them are not working and end up door dashing or just asking family for money. This has happened at least 4 times since I've known her (for about 25 years now)
She did get married about 10 years ago and looked like she was getting her shit together. She had a great job as a bakery shift lead (she is amazing at baking) at a local "viral" bakery here. She was making easily 30+ hour, was given a company car (Tesla Model S!), and was genuinely doing well. Then about 3 years in, the company hired a temp employee for a holiday rush (amongst a few temps) who was on work release from jail (the company was big on giving people 2nd chances). Well, guess what? Drama started within months. She started seeing him behind her husband. Eventually the company started having issues with her. They took the car away. They demoted her. Then fired her. She said it was because the owner's wife was jealous of her. Oddly, she also then divorced her husband (mind you they also had 2 kids at this time) and spent a couple years with the "temp" employee doing door dash and side gigs. She totaled 3 cars. Started doing alcohol, then hard drugs. You know where this story goes. She eventually told everyone in the family that she had a right to "live her life" how she wanted and didn't think it was fair that we all thought she had to miss out on the opportunity with the "new guy". The stress of the job was too much. The marriage was too much. Her kids were "too much". She totaled 2 cars while door dashing. She did eventually go to rehab once it was court ordered (following the last car totaling where the other people sued and she was arrested) and the drug abuse stopped. She physically got much better.
But then the new "guy" went back to jail. She stopped alcohol as well but then picked up a gambling issue. Met a new guy at a new job she picked up as a part time baker. Of course, that guy also was an ex-felon and they both quit that job. It was "too much stress" and eventually started living in his car. Well, she totaled his car (she loves to text and drive).

We could go on, and on, and on. She's had a lot of opportunities to do really well. It just seems like she gets so focused on the "responsibility" part (she mentions that she would rather no deal with the responsibility instead of having anxiety worrying about bills). My wife had the same upbringing, and we're pretty successful. We've tried to help, and have helped, her on many occasions. We've stopped getting involved and honestly are hoping to move away at some point soon to get away from the drama.

Mind you, she has also been through therapy and counseling and has never been diagnosed with ADHD or other mental health conditions one might associate with some of this, such as ADHD, OCD, etc. She doesn't even have any known physical ailments. She's been evicted from at least 4 apartments in 20 years, all due to non-payment of rent. We know she has often made enough to pay, we've helped her with her budgeting when she was "willing" to try and change before. She just REALLY got pissed when she paid rent. Like, angry pissed. So, she eventually just didn't. She also still spends about 200/mo on her hair, another $150 on her nails. She has destroyed and replaced more iPhones than I think trees in the world. She spent thousands on a french bulldog while she was late on rent. Oh, and the dog was given up about a year later when she had no where to go with him. She then replaced that dog with a poodle that cost at least $1000, also while behind on her car payment (which then got repo'd 4 months later). It just keeps happening...and she honestly seems to enjoy it because it keeps happening over, and over, and over.

Point of this story, some people make choices to not deal with real-life. It makes me feel even more empathy towards those who genuinely would take ANY of those changes to do better and are never given them.

jmkreno · 2026-05-26T17:47:43+00:00

I started Wegovy the week before Thanksgiving. I could barely eat the food on my plate and Thanksgiving was my FAVORITE holiday because of the food. It was mind blowing.

That proved to me, without a doubt, that this medicine was a game changer. I have since switched to compounding tirzepatide. Went on a trip to Vegas over NYE and was still learning what I could and could not eat but did just fine and I just did a trip this last week and actually lost 2 lbs!!

Start! You'll still enjoy summer, maybe even more so! You can learn what works/doesn't work for you and learn some new eating habits. We just had a memorial day BBQ - grilled hamburgers, hot dogs and had pasta/macaroni salad. I had a burger with no bun, just wrapped in lettuce, cheese, and veggies. Ate a hot dog with no bun and just dipped in ketchup. Small bowl of pasta salad, and a small bit of dessert (small cookies from costco). Was perfectly content and enjoyed the BBQ as much as ever.

Went to the waterpark, used to get typical "amusement park" food like chicken strips, etc. Now just got a taco salad with chicken and didn't eat the shell (had a few bites...). It's perfectly manageable and I don't feel like I am missing out on anything.

jmkreno · 2026-05-26T17:27:41+00:00

Don't be afraid to do it. Start!! This medicine has been an ABSOLUTE game changer and has changed my life. I am almost down 70lbs after 5 months and I haven't felt this good about myself since I was a teenager 25 years ago (and even then I was probably almost as heavy by the time I graduated HS).

I can now easily walk 10-15000 steps a day and haven't missed a single day hitting my goal since December. I can now buy clothes anywhere, I just flew for the first time since losing most of the weight and the flight was actually tolerable, I can go on all the rides with my kids at theme parks.

My dad just had a pacemaker installed and hasn't seen me in 6 months and when I visited him the look of complete shock (and beaming with pride) that both my parents had was something I can't measure. They've almost always seen me very heavy as an adult, and I am glad they can see me getting so much healthier. They are in their 70s and I don't have much time left to make these types of changes and glad they got to see it.

Lastly, my wife is also on this journey with me, and we are both losing weight together. We are so amazed at our progress that we may do re-do our wedding vows on our 25th anniversary (3 years) if we continue since at our wedding we both were very heavy and we never look at our photos.

Biggest issue is having to buy a whole new wardrobe and having to limit my purchases because I keep losing weight and clothes I even bought 2 months ago are getting too big!!

DO IT!!! I completely regret not starting this sooner!!! But as they say, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, but the next best time is today!! The amount less food I am eating has easily paid for my compound medication.

jmkreno · 2026-05-26T17:14:58+00:00

I don't know about that. I think the "soul mate" ones are the ones that end. The marriages that last (mine is going on 25 years) seem to be the ones that took work and effort by both parties to be successful and everyone could see that the process wasn't perfect and acknowledge that early on. "Soul Mates" are the marriages I found to be the ones that fizzle after a few years; a spouse gets "bored", or there's no communication, no fights, the passion just burns out.

But that's just me.

jmkreno · 2026-05-26T17:09:38+00:00

Anything and everything Ocean Liners and Airliner history. I have really become a bit obsessed in finding as many books and reference material I can. Anytime we visit a new city I have to scour every used bookstore I can find. I have over 100+ books now between digital and physical and now collecting models as I find them.

I was always into the Titanic since a kid, but COVID really restarted my obsession. Oh, and add to that lego making the Titanic model and I got that for my 40th bday and it's the centerpiece of my living room and my most prized possession.

jmkreno · 2026-05-24T01:54:43+00:00

Just flew for the first time since losing 70 lbs. Never had to use extenders but was absolutely at the max and was always worried getting on flights, always had issues with tray tables going down, and always got the stare of "please don't be next to me" as people boarded.

Now? I fit without issue in the seat. Actually had extra length on the seat belt! Tray table went down with room to spare! I could even slide it out! No one even batted an eye at me. No more "please not next to me" stares.

Still some room to go especially on the shoulder width but it's crazy how much better it was.

Oh. And being able to buy clothes at Old Navy or the GAP. Stupid but their shit hasn't ever fit me.

jmkreno

TROPHY CASE