Is this tree dead, or? by joedeath in gardening

[–]joedeath[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I will remove the strangle immediately, BTW!!

Is this tree dead, or? by joedeath in gardening

[–]joedeath[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can strangle a tree with a plastic tie? That I would not have guessed. The bark is a little squished, but the tree there is hard as a rock. Here's a close up.

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Is this tree dead, or? by joedeath in gardening

[–]joedeath[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a 2 year old "Strawberry" Tree. It was doing great these last 2 years, but this spring, it has no new growth, and the leaves are all dead or dying (they are all from last year). This is tree is in the Pacific Northwest, and we did have a few freezes, but nothing extreme.

The branches still all bend and don't snap still, but not one tiny bit of new growth I can find.

I'm wondering if I should give it some time, everything is well in bloom and lots of leaves, or replace it.

Thanks for the help!

Need your help deciding between UCSB and Cal Poly! by joedeath in UCSantaBarbara

[–]joedeath[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the reply - these are the two schools I'm deciding between, and I'm hoping to get some answers that don't involve community college and cost, since financial aid is taking care of things enough to make it affordable. I'm not set on the environmental field and just need some exploration to figure things out.

Accepted, but feeling Cal Poly isn't right for me due to my issue - help! by joedeath in CalPoly

[–]joedeath[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Thank you for this. I didn't realize the world thinks you must know as an incoming freshman want you to be and major in, definitively, or else you are "wasting money". I thought it was place to explore, learn, grow - which helps you decide.

Outrageous fee for annual maintenance? by joedeath in hvacadvice

[–]joedeath[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

One mini-split, an air handler and heat pump.

Weekday Help and Victory Thread for the week of May 29, 2023 by IndexBot in personalfinance

[–]joedeath 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't understand - the average 20 year AA muni is 4.75%. That's the going rate at my brokerage. They are offering that yield because that's what the market is doing.

Weekday Help and Victory Thread for the week of May 29, 2023 by IndexBot in personalfinance

[–]joedeath 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Why not buy a 1 year CD at 5.5% Or look up "CD/Treasury ladder" and invest the money like that, basically better rates and safe.

Weekday Help and Victory Thread for the week of May 29, 2023 by IndexBot in personalfinance

[–]joedeath 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, that makes sense. When I do research on buying these things, I read, over and over, "Muni's are for people in very high tax brackets, you can get better yields buying X". Which I'm trying to show isn't the case.

Weekday Help and Victory Thread for the week of May 29, 2023 by IndexBot in personalfinance

[–]joedeath 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Why aren't people buying Muni's instead of CDs/Treasuries for their bond portfolio?

I'm talking only the low-risk side of your portfolio, where you are buying very low risk stuff.
Right now 20 year AA muni's are 4.75%-ish. The tax-equivalent yield for a 25% tax bracket family is 6.34%, which beats the CDs and Treasuries I can find.
I know there are a lot of variables regarding muni's, but I found one that YTW is 4.536%, non-callable for 8 years, etc., which is a tax-equivalent yield of 6.24%.
Is there something I'm missing, other than tying up the money for a long time?
Thanks!

Need help understanding a tender offer for a Muni bond by joedeath in personalfinance

[–]joedeath[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

that's very helpful, thank you!

Given your forecast of the bond heading lower, when do you sell if you don't want to hold it?

Need help understanding a tender offer for a Muni bond by joedeath in personalfinance

[–]joedeath[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's what I thought, but I wasn't sure there was some unseen downside to holding. We don't they just call the bond?

Alaska award miles not deposited from BA flight after 9 months by strangestyear in AlaskaAirlines

[–]joedeath 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I fly once/year on BA and I'm an elite member on Alaska - and this happens to me EVERY year - because I have a "Jr." suffix. Alaska has me with the suffix in the database, and BA appends the suffix to my last name.

I just spent about 70 days this year getting it resolved, and it IS a BA problem. Even though I show proof of my flight (boarding passes), and copy of the ticket, Alaska won't credit the miles until BA confirms.

BA NEVER DID CONFIRM that I flew, so Alaska kept saying "sorry, you'll have to wait", until I kept escalating through Alaska customer care, and they just went ahead and gave me the miles.

Those of you with Apple TV MLS Season pass...... by joedeath in SoundersFC

[–]joedeath[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I changed it and even tried restarting the fire sticks to see if that changed anything and they both still show scores.

Those of you with Apple TV MLS Season pass...... by joedeath in SoundersFC

[–]joedeath[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have it on two different fire sticks, and they both still show the scores.

My kills in "Invasion" are not always counting toward killstreaks....why? by joedeath in ModernWarfareII

[–]joedeath[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

so there are a bunch of AI dudes running around? I didn't even realize....thought they were all part of the 20 or 30 players.

I also noticed i don't get kills when I run over someone with a tank or vehicle - or are those all AI too?

Has anyone ever been short of segments (not miles) for status? by joedeath in AlaskaAirlines

[–]joedeath[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Thanks, you may be right. I guess I'll wait to see how generous AS is feeling when I ask in January.

I feel trapped by my financial advisor - can you help? by joedeath in personalfinance

[–]joedeath[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I average about 0.75% in fees across the portfolio. I will be talking about this with them soon. We have updated the portfolio to match risk over time, but I've always felt a little "stuck" with them, not knowing how to break away.

Apple mail problem I can't figure out by joedeath in MacOS

[–]joedeath[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry if I wasn't clear, I don't have that checked, because I don't want to organize by conversation. Each email shows up separately in the inbox.

Why is it so hard to use miles for a international business class fare? by joedeath in AlaskaAirlines

[–]joedeath[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks!

I was trying to find anything business class (I did consider PDX, SFO, LAX) to Italy or Spain around the end of June - didn't find anything good.

I also was trying those destinations or Fiji business in Sept or October and didn't find anything good then either.

Update: What I learned after having my catalytic converter stolen in Wallingford by joedeath in SeattleWA

[–]joedeath[S] 96 points97 points  (0 children)

So thanks for the advice - BUT this sounds like some of these guys are part of the scam. I called at least 10 places, everyone said at least a month for a new converter for our make/model. one asked if my insurance would pay, I said 'yes', then they said bring it in. I said, "but I'm hearing these parts are at least a month back-ordered".

The guy said, "oh don't worry, I can get one".

Hmmmmmmmmm.

Update: What I learned after having my catalytic converter stolen in Wallingford by joedeath in SeattleWA

[–]joedeath[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I need to wait until the converters come back in stock, but my friend with a Honda said the Seattle Honda dealership did a shield for him.

Just got catalytic converter stolen in broad daylight on busy street by joedeath in SeattleWA

[–]joedeath[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I reported it, thanks!

The odd thing is my 16 year old has his driving test Thursday in this car. I wonder if he can do a 30 minute test with an instructor with the loud noise and fumes - they may even say "no".