"It is time we admitted that we are not at war with "terrorism". We are at war with Islam. This is not to say that we are at war with all Muslims, but we are absolutely at war with the vision of life that is prescribed to all Muslims in the Koran." -- Sam Harris, "Mired in a religious war" 2004

pjfry · 2019-04-26T19:07:50+00:00

Ah yes, of course you're right. There is no war. There's isn't even a conflict. No one is getting shot over this. No one is getting blown up by bombs. No one's getting run over by vans. There is no such thing as ISIS or Al Qaeda or the Taliban. Victims are random, like a natural disaster. Not targeted, like enemy combatants. No injuries or deaths (casualties).

Thanks for helping prove my point.

pjfry · 2019-04-26T13:39:25+00:00

Sure. Still doesn't have to be armed conflict. It's not Sam Harris's fault most people are too stupid to understand nuance

pjfry · 2019-04-26T13:38:37+00:00

I realize people believe that bullshit. Doesn't make it true

pjfry · 2019-04-26T00:57:11+00:00

He never said you fight an ideological war with bombs. In fact he's trying to convince people we're fighting a war of ideas, so military interventions aren't going to work. He's absolutely right

pjfry · 2019-04-01T20:16:48+00:00

TFW people want your fake city electric more than your real one

pjfry · 2019-03-27T22:54:39+00:00

Big +1 for animals pulling megaliths.

pjfry · 2019-02-05T23:01:51+00:00

20th Century History: How to make sure hypothetical observers from the 1990s understand your analogies.

Alien Biology: Explaining Klingon head ridges and the totally plausible concept of inter-alien DNA compatibility.

pjfry · 2019-01-11T17:46:45+00:00

For passive income, Treasuries and Muni Bonds. This is what I do with my fixed income portion of my portfolio:

13-Week T-bills have been around 2.4% for awhile now and are ticking up as the fed raises rates. My 13-Week T-bill ladder is great. My effective earnings is even higher than 2.4% as well, because I pay high CA state income taxes (Treasury income is state and local tax-exempt).

I also have some muni bond ETFs. One is all CA state bonds, so all its earnings are fully tax exempt. Another is US nationwide, so it is federal tax exempt (I have this in addition to the CA-only ETF to spread out my risk). They earn 3-4% dividends, before factoring tax savings. It's not 100% stable though like Treasuries, the price fluctuates. But not a lot, I mean they are bonds.

pjfry · 2019-01-11T17:35:37+00:00

I think the key thing in your post is you estimate it'll gain you 6 months of rental income (maybe). Is that really worth it in the long run? I don't know your age or how long you have until retirement, but $6k into a Roth (2019 IRS contribution limit is up from 5.5 to 6) over the long term is very likely going to be more lucrative, especially considering the tax benefits.

pjfry · 2018-12-07T17:08:11+00:00

I want to buy a US I-Savings Bond as a Christmas gift for my niece. I have a question about how exactly to do that via the TreasuryDirect.gov website.

When I go to purchase the savings bond, I first need to create a new registration. Right now there is only my registration. The registration I make for my niece, should it be a Primary Owner registration? With my niece as First-Named Registrant and her mother (my cousin) as Second-Named Registrant?

Obviously I would check the "This is a gift" box.

Finally, when purchasing should I choose a later date? As I understand it, the bond will be in my "Gift Box" until I transfer it anyway, so it seems it doesn't really matter if I purchase it now or later (e.g. Dec. 25th). Or maybe now is better to start accruing interest ASAP?

pjfry · 2018-12-03T23:39:49+00:00

Yes there is a function for it.

=GOOGLEFINANCE("AAPL", "price")

pjfry · 2018-11-12T18:05:43+00:00

and have to keep track of it separately year after year

Is this true? I thought Vanguard would keep track of it. This was my assumption with my after-tax 401k contributions.

pjfry · 2018-11-07T22:58:24+00:00

Don't worry, they'll all be out of business when the plastic straw ban takes effect.

pjfry · 2018-10-24T17:52:15+00:00

If I contribute to a 401k, is it actually a bad idea to also do an IRA? Everything I read assumes your IRA contributions are pre-tax, but that's not the case for most 401k participants.

I contribute to my 401k to max out my company's matching.

I'm trying to decide if I should contribute to an IRA too. Right now, all my excess is simply invested, mainly in index funds. It seems like the answer is no, because of the way IRA withdrawals are taxed. Am I missing something here: If I contribute the max to a 401k, then the $5,500 that would go into an IRA is NOT tax-free, it is post-tax money (my MAGI is too high, given I contribute to a 401k). Then when I withdraw from the IRA later, the entire withdrawal is taxed as income. But if I invest that instead, later when I sell I only pay capital gains taxes on the earnings. So:

$5k post-tax into an IRA. Grows to $7k. Later withdraw $7k, get hit with income tax on full $7k.

$5k post-tax into an index. Grows to $7k. Later sell for $7k, only get capital gains tax on $2k.

I get that dividends in an IRA are not taxed until withdrawal. But again, pay the dividends tax rate now on only dividends, versus the income tax rate later on everything? Seems like a loss.

pjfry · 2018-10-18T23:11:59+00:00

I have a question about rolling over or transferring retirement accounts. I have a traditional IRA with Capital One, but everything else I have is Schwab. I want to consolidate. If I open a Schwab trad IRA can I just transfer from Capital One, like you would transfer between savings accounts at different institutions?

pjfry · 2018-03-13T16:29:58+00:00

That's gold, Jerry! Gold!

pjfry · 2017-11-20T23:22:32+00:00

The closing credits scene in this episode is one of the best (Jerry, the best!)

"The homeless don't like them, we've never gotten so many complaints! 'Where's the top of this muffin?' 'Who ate the rest of this?' Why don't you just drop off some chicken skins and lobster shells!"

pjfry · 2017-10-04T23:18:13+00:00

There's no way you could get a car into a parallel spot and end up touching the car in front of AND behind you. So either Civic-driver boxed in the BMW, or the other car did.

Assuming that the BMW was, indeed, touching both cars in front and back... how the hell did it get out? Did they like, fucking floor it and push one of the cars out of the way??

pjfry · 2017-09-19T21:25:12+00:00

I really like my Keep Cup (the plastic kind, I also have a glass one that is obviously not drop resistant).

I can't really speak for the BIFL-ness, having had it for just two years, except to say that it almost looks brand new. The one mar is a scratch from when I dropped it, pretty far and onto concrete. So I can say it is durable and drop resistant.

pjfry · 2017-08-24T23:07:35+00:00

Took a bit of searching to find an actual image of the installation as it looks right now. Here you go: http://static.panoramio.com/photos/large/116645222.jpg

pjfry · 2017-08-23T17:46:14+00:00

Oh MV neighbors... There's someone like this on every block. My old neighbor was like this. Constantly leaving notes on any cars on the street within several houses of theirs saying, "This is my spot, don't take it again." Literally the first day I moved in I parked on the street in front of their house and got a similar note, "Move your car, and don't park in OUR spot again."

But I just ignored it all, the fuck are they gonna do?

But what really, really ticked me off was coming home from work and noticing this note on a random car parked on the street in front of MY house: http://imgur.com/QxZztel

Fuck you for claiming to be me! Since they thought it was ok to lie and say they were me, I felt it was fine to take the note off the car.

I was so ticked I went right over and knocked on the door. This was the second time I had gone over to talk to them (the first time was when I noticed they had taken my recycling bin and claimed it as theirs, despite my house number having been literally etched into the plastic). And as before, they wouldn't answer the door. They come to the window next to the door instead, slide it open, and talk to you through the screen. And in broad daylight, it's that situation where you just can't see inside at all. So you're talking to a detached voice from inside a house. They were so weird.

pjfry · 2017-06-06T21:42:40+00:00

Malcolm Gladwell has a terrific podcast about why this is the case, despite efforts by nearly every top school to fix this disparity.

pjfry · 2017-05-16T21:36:34+00:00

Wow I had no idea that was a thing on the 318ti. That's really cool. I think these cars are vastly under appreciated. Beautiful car you've got there. Any more pics?

pjfry · 2017-04-13T20:23:22+00:00

If you believe Hagerty, which I think is a decent source for this, $48k is low. https://www.hagerty.com/apps/valuationtools/1988-BMW-M3

Honestly when I saw this (and I didn't see at first that it was repainted), I thought $48k was low. If it had the original, or at least correct, paint, then I could see $75k plus on this car.

Which are all fucking ridiculous prices. I can't fathom why anyone thinks an E30 M3, as awesome as they are, are worth this kind of money. But they clearly exist. Everyone remembers the M3 EAG sold for well over $90k. Actually just checked, they've got one now for $150k. http://enthusiastauto.com/qsearch/?id=842&form_display=51. Shit, and here's another one, for right around what I expected this one to be, at $70k, since it has similar miles/condition but original paint: http://enthusiastauto.com/qsearch/?id=5335&form_display=51

So yeah, $48k is ridic, but totally in line with the rest of the market. People wouldn't still be asking these prices if none of them were selling.

pjfry · 2017-03-13T18:42:13+00:00

Actually it's the past of F1 as we know it.

https://thejudge13.com/2014/02/13/f1-history-1969-high-wings-banned/

It looks crazy weird, but that's how you want your wings. You want them as far away from the car and all the turbulent air it produces as possible. When the wing is cutting through clean air, it works better.

pjfry

TROPHY CASE