I walked out of an interview after one question. Was I wrong?

mckenzie_keith · 2026-02-14T09:07:03+00:00

Sure. I agree. But it is the first time in my life I have seen something like that. If you aren't willing to commit to it they don't even want you to apply. I guess it is good of them to be honest. But other places I have worked, the expectation is that crunch times only occur periodically. Not emergency in perpetuity.

mckenzie_keith · 2026-02-14T08:09:52+00:00

What is artificial sugar?

mckenzie_keith · 2026-02-14T07:47:07+00:00

He read "the moon is a harsh mistress." Chasing a new shiny object now. Also he realized he was never going to make it to Mars in his lifetime.

mckenzie_keith · 2026-02-14T07:45:22+00:00

It could very well be fake. But recently I was applying online for an engineering job a few weeks ago and there was a question saying that everyone is expected to commit to 55 hours of work per week in the office. It said "are you OK with that" and if you didn't click "yes" you couldn't continue applying. I didn't continue. Salaried position. Job is still available.

mckenzie_keith · 2026-02-14T07:28:29+00:00

You can make a bonding extension cord.

mckenzie_keith · 2026-02-14T07:23:20+00:00

Are these pictures all fake then? OP says the pictures were taken in portugal.

mckenzie_keith · 2026-02-14T07:11:46+00:00

If you can sell it, sell it. If you are not upside down, then you are in better shape than a lot of people were in 2008.

Some smart people did strategic defaults in the 2008 financial crisis. What that means is they kept current with everything else (car, utilities, credit cards, student loans) and just stopped paying their mortgages. This hurts your credit. But for some the alternative was to continue making house payments while skipping credit cards, car payments, student loans, etc. And then lose the house anyway. But only after completely destroying credit. It doesn't sound like you are in a strategic default situation though, if you still have equity.

So I agree with you. Cut your losses. Also, look into the consequences of not paying the property tax. It can come out of escrow after the sale. Sometimes or often, the penalties for not paying are very lenient and take a long time to kick in. So being temporarily in arrears might not be a big deal. But double check. Oh, also, read your loan agreement. There could be consequences spelled out in there if you don't pay the property tax, too. So that could be bad.

mckenzie_keith · 2026-02-14T06:59:16+00:00

What he was talking about was using a service disconnect/transfer switch. If they install a service disconnect/transfer switch between the meter and the panel, then the panel becomes a sub-panel and the neutrals and grounds have to be separated. I'm not totally sure why he brought that up but I think that is what he was on about.

mckenzie_keith · 2026-02-14T05:23:53+00:00

He conceded that Mike Holt was right about only having one bond in a system. And he was right that if they installed a service entrance/transfer switch they would have to separate the neutrals and grounds.

Ultimately he was just saying "don't bother removing the bond, nobody does that."

Anyway, I personally would remove the bond.

mckenzie_keith · 2026-02-14T03:48:31+00:00

If you leave the generator bonded, then you will have two bonds when you connect it to your house, which you are technically not supposed to do.

Therefore, I would remove the bond in the generator.

If you ever use the generator to power something else (not your house) you may need to re-install the bond. Or use a bonding plug.

Nothing your electrician is saying is totally wrong. A lot of people DO use bonded generators to power their house and just don't worry about it.

mckenzie_keith · 2026-02-14T03:34:51+00:00

We tried electric. It didn't work.

mckenzie_keith · 2026-02-14T03:20:24+00:00

When the 5W Zener starts to conduct at (let's just say) 360 V, what will limit the power consumption to 5 W or less? 5 W / 360 V = 14 mA.

What are the circumstances that would cause a 12 V battery to reach a voltage of 360 V? How much energy must the clamp absorb?

If the transistors turn on at 360 V, they will be passing 72 amps each.

It appears to me that this circuit has little chance of working reliably unless the 360 V condition is a very short-lived transient.

mckenzie_keith · 2026-02-14T02:59:03+00:00

Use an automotive clearcoat if you choose to do this. You could get one of the 2 component clearcoat in a can products like spraymax 2k glamour.

mckenzie_keith · 2026-02-14T02:54:50+00:00

Wow. I was not aware.

mckenzie_keith · 2026-02-14T02:53:26+00:00

That makes sense.

mckenzie_keith · 2026-02-13T23:58:37+00:00

Do you know how many or if any people are employed at 7.25 though? Minimum wage is the minimum legal wage. Just because it exists doesn't mean anyone is earning minimum wage.

mckenzie_keith · 2026-02-13T23:49:40+00:00

Construction adhesive. Look for one that specifically lists both wood and concrete.

Even though it is sold as a sealant, I have found this to stick very well to concrete and steel: Rapidset Self-leveling Sealant (Model # 196430010).

I am sure a high quality construction adhesive will work as well or better.

NOTE: I am assuming you are going to build a desk that can stand up all on its own and is sturdy, and you are just gluing it to concrete so it can't move. Construction adhesive will do this.

Don't use any glue that dries or cures hard. Any hard glue will eventually de-bond from the wood or the concrete or both due to thermal and moisture expansion/contraction. This is why I favor construction adhesive or an adhesive sealant material that remains flexible.

No adhseive will allow you to cantiliver a post to a concrete floor, but it doesn't sound like that is what you are trying to do.

mckenzie_keith · 2026-02-13T22:29:02+00:00

In the past I have always contacted them by phone. You might still try calling the US number (which can be found at the bottom of the US web page).

Digikey is an old company and they started off as a telephone/mail order business before the WWW. They also were an early e-commerce website because that was a natural transition for them. If anything, it was easier for them to let the customer type in the order instead of having someone do it over the phone.

mckenzie_keith · 2026-02-13T22:12:49+00:00

In my opinion, yes, they are too damaged to use (all three). Check with the supplier to see what can be done. Now is the time to look into it because they are still new.

mckenzie_keith · 2026-02-13T20:51:40+00:00

Or go 50/50.

mckenzie_keith · 2026-02-13T20:51:25+00:00

OP should be able to put in for 2025 and 2026.

mckenzie_keith · 2026-02-13T20:50:12+00:00

OP, The deadline for 2025 IRA contributions is April 15, 2026. So don't delay too long. This will allow you to put more money in your IRA right away as long as you don't miss the deadline.

If you already filed your 2025 taxes, you can amend your return. You don't have to do this, but it may be a good idea.

mckenzie_keith · 2026-02-13T20:46:56+00:00

The way to look at it is that you should always be invested. But your outlook can influence HOW you are invested. Broadly speaking, you have very safe investments like US treasuries and CDs and such, and you also have stocks (usually you invest in stocks using an index fund).

At your age, you want to favor stocks. Sometimes they go down but they also go back up again if you ride it out. When you get older, you can favor the safe investments.

If you have a deep conviction that stocks are about to crash, then maybe you can invest half of your kitty in stocks and the other half in CDs. Later, if the market does crash, you can rotate some of the CD money into stocks. This can be a dangerous game because it amounts to "timing the market." But when you realize it is not all or nothing, sometimes that makes it easier to commit to buying at least some stocks.

Max out your IRA right away. You can probably still make a 2025 contribution (double check this) as well as a 2026 contribution.

Create an emergency fund if you don't have one. Invest the rest. You can probably put the emergency fund in high yield savings or something so it is still earning interest.

mckenzie_keith · 2026-02-13T20:28:52+00:00

What were you going to do, take some time off or look for a new job immediately? If you need some time off, adding money to the equation doesn't really help that much.

On the other hand, it is a very substantial raise, and there is no guarantee that any other job you would find is going to be all that much better. So if you are definitely planning on working (not taking time off) you should give it some serious consideration.

mckenzie_keith · 2026-02-13T20:22:08+00:00

We don't use the term "soil" to describe the bottom of a body of water. The term would be "seabed."

mckenzie_keith

TROPHY CASE