I’ve been enjoying listening to James McVinnie’s albums playing Glass. Counterpoint most recently and The Grid prior.Valuethinker wrote: ↑Tue Jan 03, 2012 4:14 am Philip Glass
Michael Nyman
(warning: extreme pretension alert!)
Search found 90 matches
- Tue Aug 29, 2023 9:00 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Who is your favorite classical composer?
- Replies: 156
- Views: 13472
Re: Who is your favorite classical composer?
- Tue Aug 29, 2023 7:28 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Who is your favorite classical composer?
- Replies: 156
- Views: 13472
Re: Who is your favorite classical composer?
Frank Zappa.
- Mon Aug 14, 2023 4:37 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Portable travel hotel room, and travel, coffee making ideas?
- Replies: 120
- Views: 11064
Re: Portable travel hotel room coffee making ideas?
I travel about 8 weeks a year for work, and I have also found the Aeropress and ziploc of Deans Beans to be the best lightweight option for me.quantAndHold wrote: ↑Thu Aug 10, 2023 9:27 am We bring an aeropress and a baggy full of coffee we ground at home. It’s a bit messy, but the coffee is good.
- Wed Oct 19, 2022 6:00 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Recommendations for Hearing Jazz in NYC
- Replies: 17
- Views: 1850
Re: Recommendations for Hearing Jazz in NYC
Second Village Vanguard.
- Tue Sep 27, 2022 4:49 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: New Bill in the Senate related to I Bonds
- Replies: 4
- Views: 1533
Re: New Bill in the Senate related to I Bonds
Lock it up.
- Thu Jun 23, 2022 4:49 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Any reason to NOT get the Apple Card?
- Replies: 80
- Views: 12869
Re: Any reason to NOT get the Apple Card?
This cracked me up, well played. I knew the Apple Card was slick, but not quite Bone with Silian Rail.
- Tue Jun 21, 2022 6:08 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Any Boglehead musicians out there?
- Replies: 284
- Views: 22076
Re: Any Boglehead musicians out there?
Amateur drummer. I started playing percussion in 7th grade concert band and quickly started taking private lessons rudimential snare, drum set, mallets. Our high school was the Highland Scots, so add pipe band to the mix and the marching band. And jazz. I was kind of obsessed. I played drum set through my early 20s in various bands, but slowly put in down in favor of backpacking, hiking, and other outdoor hobbies. About five years ago, my parents cleaned out their house and started informed me that my childhood Rogers drum set was gathering dust. I got it back at age 38 and did some restoration and repair. It was a pleasure to have it back and that old rhythm never leaves you, even if the chops do a bit. And those vintage Rogers kits, man, ...
- Mon Jun 13, 2022 12:37 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Suggestions for 3-Player Board Games?
- Replies: 89
- Views: 6359
Re: Suggestions for 3-Player Board Games?
Ditto on Azul. Good choice!pointyhairedboss wrote: ↑Mon Jun 13, 2022 12:21 pm Splendor
Azul
Hanabi (get the tiled version, not the card version... same game, but tiled version is a better 'board' to play on)
- Sun Jun 12, 2022 3:15 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: where to buy good quality bread and pastries i.e: similar to Europe?
- Replies: 181
- Views: 14443
Re: where to buy good quality bread and pastries i.e: similar to Europe?
My wife took the croissants class at King Arthur Flour and now makes them at home. They have online classes as well. As a gift, I bought her the Babka class. Lo and behold, now we get delicious babkas. To clarify, the class was a gift to myself, more than the wife. But seriously, she has taken numerous classes and has been cranking out some outstanding breads, pastries,etc. i was thinking about taking a croissant class, how did she like it? She has taken numerous classes from King Arthur; we used to live about thirty minutes away from Norwich, VT, so she took several in person pre-pandemic. Sourdoughs, croissant, and a few others. She enjoyed all of them and while she was already an excellent baker, it definitely kicked it up a couple of n...
- Sun Jun 12, 2022 2:10 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: where to buy good quality bread and pastries i.e: similar to Europe?
- Replies: 181
- Views: 14443
Re: where to buy good quality bread and pastries i.e: similar to Europe?
My wife took the croissants class at King Arthur Flour and now makes them at home. They have online classes as well. As a gift, I bought her the Babka class. Lo and behold, now we get delicious babkas. To clarify, the class was a gift to myself, more than the wife. But seriously, she has taken numerous classes and has been cranking out some outstanding breads, pastries,etc.
- Thu Jul 29, 2021 7:01 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: National Park Service Jobs
- Replies: 16
- Views: 2701
Re: National Park Service Jobs
Career NPS employee; 22 years in parks. Non-federal jobs with a non-profit cooperating association or concessionaire (Xanterra, etc.) much easier than any seasonal federal (NPS/BLM/USFS/ACE) or permanent federal position. If your goal is only adventure in a park, not a federal job, go this route. My advice (and it sounds like you are of this mindset already): if you are hoping for a certain job at a certain park (eg Roaming the backcountry trails of only Olympic National Park), you are in for a world of disappointment. But if you are willing to fling 40 applications out to a whole range of different parks, regions, and places, and take the most intriguing possibility, then my friend, you will likely be in for a grand adventure that only get...
- Wed Jul 28, 2021 5:45 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: What was your best quality of life improvement for $1000?
- Replies: 193
- Views: 30888
Re: What was your best quality of life improvement for $1000?
Pellet grill, Traeger Pro 575.
Fired up and chicken prepped on my lunch break. Smoked chicken ready for dinner with zero effort, aside from turning off the grill on my phone, after grill sent the notification, during my conference call.
Fired up and chicken prepped on my lunch break. Smoked chicken ready for dinner with zero effort, aside from turning off the grill on my phone, after grill sent the notification, during my conference call.
- Wed Mar 24, 2021 4:05 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Need a TV - What Brand
- Replies: 37
- Views: 2999
- Sat Feb 20, 2021 6:17 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Retiring to Vermont/New Hampshire area
- Replies: 91
- Views: 10274
Re: Retiring to Vermont/New Hampshire area
We lived in Woodstock, VT for four years and just left this past summer. We really enjoyed our time there with our young son. Great hiking, nearby skiing, good schools. We rented the entire time as housing was out of our price range. Also enjoyed being close to Hanover; lots of great cultural events at Dartmouth. I enjoyed the Upper Valley area immensely; had my wife not been offered a great promotion and relocation, I would have been quite content to live in that area.
- Fri Jan 22, 2021 5:50 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Best State and National Parks in the Southeast
- Replies: 54
- Views: 5434
Re: Best State and National Parks in the Southeast
Great Smoky Mountains.
- Fri Dec 25, 2020 8:47 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Does PenFed have hidden Fees?
- Replies: 28
- Views: 2426
Re: Does PenFed have hidden Fees?
Got a mortgage through PenFed in August at 2.625 with 1500 in lender credits. No origination or other fees. The underwriter was great and very responsive; the processor never responded to any of my emails or phone calls, and only emailed to ask for documents. We had about 45 days till close; on the morning of closing, my realtor called to tell me that the title company told her PenFed was not ready, so we had to push six hours for them to finish up. I was mildly annoyed, but it all worked out by late afternoon. Humorously, the processor emailed me for an additional document after we had closed. I was tempted to respond, or what, but I just sent the document. I got the sense they were crushed with business at the time. Great rate and fees, ...
- Thu Dec 24, 2020 8:19 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Does PenFed have hidden Fees?
- Replies: 28
- Views: 2426
Re: Does PenFed have hidden Fees?
Got a mortgage through PenFed in August at 2.625 with 1500 in lender credits. No origination or other fees. The underwriter was great and very responsive; the processor never responded to any of my emails or phone calls, and only emailed to ask for documents. We had about 45 days till close; on the morning of closing, my realtor called to tell me that the title company told her PenFed was not ready, so we had to push six hours for them to finish up. I was mildly annoyed, but it all worked out by late afternoon. Humorously, the processor emailed me for an additional document after we had closed. I was tempted to respond, or what, but I just sent the document. I got the sense they were crushed with business at the time. Great rate and fees, ...
- Thu Dec 24, 2020 4:37 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Does PenFed have hidden Fees?
- Replies: 28
- Views: 2426
Re: Does PenFed have hidden Fees?
Got a mortgage through PenFed in August at 2.625 with 1500 in lender credits. No origination or other fees. The underwriter was great and very responsive; the processor never responded to any of my emails or phone calls, and only emailed to ask for documents. We had about 45 days till close; on the morning of closing, my realtor called to tell me that the title company told her PenFed was not ready, so we had to push six hours for them to finish up. I was mildly annoyed, but it all worked out by late afternoon. Humorously, the processor emailed me for an additional document after we had closed. I was tempted to respond, or what, but I just sent the document. I got the sense they were crushed with business at the time. Great rate and fees, f...
- Sun Dec 06, 2020 9:13 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: What video games are you currently playing?
- Replies: 529
- Views: 88303
Re: What video games are you currently playing?
My seven year old found my little NES Classic when we were unpacking this fall, so we’ve been playing a lot of Super Mario Bros 1/2/3. It’s amazing how you remember where the 1ups and beanstalks are after 30 years! I’ve been enjoying Forza on the Xbox recently and even though it’s ridiculously old, I still love playing Battlefield 1943 on Xbox. And lots of Overcooked and Overcooked 2 with the whole family. Looking forward to starting Red Dead 2 once my new TV stand gets here.
- Sun Nov 08, 2020 4:23 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Favorite Holiday Food/Fruit/Treat Delivery web sites
- Replies: 11
- Views: 1834
Re: Favorite Holiday Food/Fruit/Treat Delivery web sites
Zingerman’s. Coffee cakes, bacon, canned fish, passion fruit curd, hot sauce, too many delights to list.
- Tue Oct 27, 2020 6:15 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Tour of New England- help me plan
- Replies: 58
- Views: 3933
Re: Tour of New England- help me plan
Really love the New England area. Fly into Boston for a day or two and enjoy the historic sites - as stated earlier Mike’s Pastries are near Italian District and Old North Church. Very good food at any of the Italian restaurants. Research some of the more famous lighthouses on the drive up the coast in Maine. We really liked Camden and especially the Hartstone Inn B&B. Fantastic dinners and breakfasts. After that we drove up to Bar Harbor area and toured Acadia NP. Highly suggest a day of driving south along the coast and finding a tiny lobster restaurant along the coast. Really nice to get off the main roads and see how folks really live there. New Hampshire is really nice to explore and as noted earlier Conway area is nice. Drive up ...
- Sat Oct 24, 2020 5:32 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Collected short stories by one author
- Replies: 21
- Views: 1600
Re: Collected short stories by one author
Welcome to the Monkey House - Kurt Vonnegut
The Stories of a Breece D’J Pancake - Breece D’J Pancake
The Pancake stories are outstanding and tragic considering he took his own life at 26. In her review, Joyce Carol Oates likened his literary debut to that of Hemingway.
The Stories of a Breece D’J Pancake - Breece D’J Pancake
The Pancake stories are outstanding and tragic considering he took his own life at 26. In her review, Joyce Carol Oates likened his literary debut to that of Hemingway.
- Fri Oct 23, 2020 6:57 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Where do you buy coffee beans?
- Replies: 200
- Views: 22426
Re: Where do you buy coffee beans?
I used to live down the street from PT Coffee in Topeka, KS. During the pandemic, I began reordering From them online. The beans arrive two days after they are roasted. Similar price point with Stumptown, which is also excellent.
- Sun Sep 06, 2020 7:29 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: National Parks in Winter
- Replies: 33
- Views: 3219
Re: National Parks in Winter
I second Death Valley, though the desert parks can still get chilly at night. The daytime temps will be great. You could also check out the southern Arizona parks: Saguaro, Organ Pipe.
- Wed Aug 26, 2020 4:04 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Thoughts on Tennessee
- Replies: 116
- Views: 16191
Re: Thoughts on Tennessee
Wife & I retired to Tn - We Like it... If you've ever lived outside the city limits and liked it, you'll probably like Tennessee. It's easy livin with a built in exercise plan! - a Beautiful Scenic part of the country. We live East Tn, bout 20 miles south a Knoxville, very close to Vonore mentioned by a previous poster, and on the Little Tennessee river, runnin outa the mountains into the Tennessee Valley and joining with the main Tennessee river, which runs on down to Chattanooga - and all the way out to either the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf! And all part of the the Navigable InterCoastal Waterway! We actually have a Lock & Dam bout 4 miles down the lake - And all part of the TVA system. It's a interesting area. We vacationed in T...
- Tue Aug 25, 2020 3:26 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Thoughts on Tennessee
- Replies: 116
- Views: 16191
Re: Thoughts on Tennessee
My family just relocated to Maryville, TN about two months ago from central Vermont. It was a work related move, so we were limited to looking within an hour radius of Gatlinburg. (We nixed Gatlinburg area pretty quick as an option, due to how touristy it is and the traffic congestion due to being the gateway to the most visited National Park in the country.) We settled on Maryville, largely due to the excellent school district. However, many of our new neighbors are retirees who settled in Maryville, due to its proximity to West Knoxville retail and medical services, and 30-60 minutes to most of the main areas of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. And as others have mentioned: day trip options to Asheville/Atlanta, etc. We opted for an o...
- Sat Aug 15, 2020 6:58 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Terrible experience with Ally bank- buyer beware
- Replies: 146
- Views: 18182
Re: Terrible experience with Ally bank- buyer beware
That is too bad. I have wired money from Ally multiple times (including large amounts for down payments). I have never had an issue getting to wire complete by at least the next business day (it does not always happen the same business day). That being said, a few times to avoid potential issues, I have transfered funds ahead of time from Ally to my local brick and mortar bank and physically gone in to get a certified check issue (I did this when I bought my car in cash from the dealer). Except they stipulate that the wire will occur the same day if you submit the order. This did not happen to me and to others on the thread. Very poor service from Ally. Deja Vu. I also closed on my house on August 7. I transferred funds from two banks for ...
- Fri Jul 10, 2020 6:29 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Who is your favorite fiction author and what is your favorite book of theirs?
- Replies: 284
- Views: 30518
- Fri Jul 10, 2020 4:50 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Who is your favorite fiction author and what is your favorite book of theirs?
- Replies: 284
- Views: 30518
Re: Who is your favorite fiction author and what is your favorite book of theirs?
The Collected Stories of Breece DJ Pancake - short stories and his only publication - or for a repeat writer -
Killing Commendatore - Haruki Murakami
Killing Commendatore - Haruki Murakami
- Tue Jul 07, 2020 5:53 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: 30 year mortgage under 3%
- Replies: 301
- Views: 54427
Re: 30 year mortgage under 3%
I just locked a 30 year with 20% down at 2.875% with a ~$3000 lender credit. (PenFed) My wife got that job offer and relocation orders at just the right time it seems.
- Sun May 17, 2020 6:59 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Mountain cabin?
- Replies: 24
- Views: 4395
Re: Mountain cabin?
I thought I'd answer some of the questions that have come up, to provide more info. A big thank you to those who have weighed in. I currently have 1.6 mm in retirement and taxable, and when I retire in 3 years (or more) will have choice of a pension, at 5.6K/month, no COLA, or about 800K to 1mm as lump sum. (I think I'll do the lump sum.) I'm not sure about SS, but I think I'll get about 2.5 k/month and will delay until its mandatory. My retirement would come with a strong health insurance benefit and I'm healthy now. My expenses will be roughly 4.5 k/month. I would like to not use capital, but live on interest, dividends, if possible. Why are the two houses - main house and cabin - a mess? My dad lived there until several years ago, and w...
- Thu Apr 02, 2020 4:02 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: So what are you cooking
- Replies: 972
- Views: 111110
Re: So what are you cooking
whaaat? recipe please Pressure cooker pork shoulder. Rub the meat with honey, garlic, calabrian peppers, paprika and red pepper flakes. Put in a pressure cooker with a cup of broth plus a generous amount of chopped onions and sliced oranges. Cook under pressure for however long is necessary. Once done, shred with forks. Pan-fry until crispy before serving. I just made a very similar stovetop version. Large chunks of pork shoulder, onion, orange, garlic, bay leaf, oregano, and a dollop of sweetened condensed milk. Simmer in water for about 90 minutes in a Dutch oven till water cooks off, remove bay leaf, and put into a screaming hot oven to fry in the remaining fat. Turns out amazing every time. More importantly, both my mother and father i...
- Tue Mar 24, 2020 4:53 am
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: What is the point of stocks?
- Replies: 101
- Views: 8140
Re: What is the point of stocks?
Base of most soup recipes. More flavorful substitute for water?
- Sun Mar 22, 2020 11:04 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: So what are you cooking
- Replies: 972
- Views: 111110
Re: So what are you cooking
Marcella Hazan’s Bolognese Sauce
- Sat Mar 21, 2020 2:52 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: So what are you cooking
- Replies: 972
- Views: 111110
Re: So what are you cooking
I just made a very similar stovetop version. Large chunks of pork shoulder, onion, orange, garlic, bay leaf, oregano, and a dollop of sweetened condensed milk. Simmer in water for about 90 minutes in a Dutch oven till water cooks off, remove bay leaf, and put into a screaming hot oven to fry in the remaining fat. Turns out amazing every time.HawkeyePierce wrote: ↑Sat Mar 21, 2020 2:46 pm Pressure cooker pork shoulder. Rub the meat with honey, garlic, calabrian peppers, paprika and red pepper flakes. Put in a pressure cooker with a cup of broth plus a generous amount of chopped onions and sliced oranges. Cook under pressure for however long is necessary. Once done, shred with forks. Pan-fry until crispy before serving.
- Mon Mar 02, 2020 2:48 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: 45, ~15 years left, wondering about best TSP allocation
- Replies: 8
- Views: 2268
Re: 45, ~15 years left, wondering about best TSP allocation
My wife and I are both FERS feds (41 and 38). Our ISP states between 80/20 and 85/15 across the board. We approximate Total US with C and S in TSP. Hold G as our sole bond fund. And approximate Total Intl. in Vanguard Roth IRAs, with Intl being about 15% of total stock holding. (At least until the new I fund appears, then we’ll shift to holding US and Intl stock in both TSP and the Roth IRAs. Ignored 2008 (when we were almost 100% stock) and the current downturn. With Two pensions/SS/and having saved regularly since our early 20s, we both sleep well being around 85/15.
I’d agree to either stick in one Lifecycle fund, or just choose your own allocation across the regular TSP funds.
I’d agree to either stick in one Lifecycle fund, or just choose your own allocation across the regular TSP funds.
- Sun Feb 09, 2020 7:40 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: What is the best concert you ever witnessed?
- Replies: 434
- Views: 39795
Re: What is the best concert you ever witnessed?
I am enjoying this thread. A few of my favorites.
Phish - 12/29/96 Philly, PA (Champagne Supernova, really?)
Moe. 7/11/98 - Pontiac, Michigan
Joshua Bell with Indianapolis Symphony ~2005 (American premiere of Ranjbaran concerto)
Roger Waters 2017 (Us and Them)
David Byrne 2018 (American Utopia)
Radiohead 2018 (A Moon Shaped Pool)
Christian McBride and Carl Allen at the Village Vanguard (date eludes me)
Saw Joel Ross (vibes player) last week in DC at Blues Alley; that dude is going places.
Phish - 12/29/96 Philly, PA (Champagne Supernova, really?)
Moe. 7/11/98 - Pontiac, Michigan
Joshua Bell with Indianapolis Symphony ~2005 (American premiere of Ranjbaran concerto)
Roger Waters 2017 (Us and Them)
David Byrne 2018 (American Utopia)
Radiohead 2018 (A Moon Shaped Pool)
Christian McBride and Carl Allen at the Village Vanguard (date eludes me)
Saw Joel Ross (vibes player) last week in DC at Blues Alley; that dude is going places.
- Sat Feb 08, 2020 6:09 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Maintain Credit Rating: Upcoming Auto/Home Loans
- Replies: 9
- Views: 936
Re: Maintain Credit Rating: Upcoming Auto/Home Loans
I don't think you need to worry. If you have no debt now, your car loan probably won't make much of a dent at all since the hit from the car loan will likely be slightly offset from the benefit of having more different types of credit than you currently have. If your score is 780, that's a very good score and you could afford whatever decrease would result from your car loan. If you really want to tweak things to the max... Even though you pay credit cards in full monthly, the balance on your statement is what will be reported for purposes of your credit utilization. So when mortgage time approaches, just use a single credit card and keep that balance down around 2-3% of your available credit. You can make a payment before the statement da...
- Sat Feb 08, 2020 9:17 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Maintain Credit Rating: Upcoming Auto/Home Loans
- Replies: 9
- Views: 936
Maintain Credit Rating: Upcoming Auto/Home Loans
Hello Bogleheads, I have a question about maintaining high credit rating for a home purchase. My family will very likely be moving out of state and buying a new home in ~1 year. It will be a PCS (permanent change of station, paid move). Therefore, we will not be able to significantly move up or delay the time frame. At our continued savings rate and timeline, we will have a 20% down payment. We take in around 150K per year and would be looking at a 250-300K home. We are very cognizant of not buying too much house. Our credit scores are around the 780-800 range. No debt. Always pay bills and do not carry any monthly balances on credit cards. Credit utilization is fairly low as we have high limits on multiple cards, but fairly low spending ea...
- Sat Jan 11, 2020 7:10 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: What are you listening to now
- Replies: 5832
- Views: 590790
Re: What are you listening to now
As a drummer, I did bust out the Rush albums last night.
Lots of Miles Davis responses; I’ve really been into Ambrose Akinmusire recently. He’s an outstanding trumpet player. I have tickets to see him with Jack DeJohnette in March down in NYC.
Lots of Miles Davis responses; I’ve really been into Ambrose Akinmusire recently. He’s an outstanding trumpet player. I have tickets to see him with Jack DeJohnette in March down in NYC.
- Tue Dec 24, 2019 6:03 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: New Mexico Camping in June with Kids
- Replies: 12
- Views: 1325
Re: New Mexico Camping in June with Kids
biscuits wrote: ↑Tue Dec 24, 2019 12:34 am Bandelier National Monument is a spectacular park, with Native American cliff dwellings that your kids would probably love to visit. I haven't camped there myself, but I have seen their campgrounds and they look very nice. The park is close to Los Alamos, with the Bradbury Museum, and about an hour's drive from Santa Fe. In Santa Fe, Meow Wolf and the Museum of International Folk are popular with the younger set, but I'm not sure if 4 and 6 would appreciate them.
https://www.nps.gov/band/index.htm
I second this recommendation. I camped about five nights in Bandelier. Outstanding night skies, good campground sites for tent camping, variety of hikes.
- Mon Nov 18, 2019 5:15 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Federal Blue Cross Standard versus Basic
- Replies: 66
- Views: 41371
Re: Federal Blue Cross Standard versus Basic
I’ve had BCBS Basic for the last 15 years: 7 years single, and eight years with a wife and child. (I’m 41.) We’ve never had any issues with coverage/doctors, having lived in Downeast Maine; Lawrence, Kansas; and now central Vermont. I have a chronic condition requiring regular visits and have six prescriptions or so. After crunching the numbers, it was and continues to be cheaper to stick with Basic. We’ve never had to go out of network (knock on wood).
- Sun Oct 13, 2019 3:03 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Deleted
- Replies: 14
- Views: 1812
Re: Deleted
Exactly, I was just trying to finish this cigar before replying.Teague wrote: ↑Sun Oct 13, 2019 2:59 pmIt looks like your question was only up for 3 hours and 10 minutes. It may often take longer than that to get an answer you find useful. Especially on a Sunday morning, many of us may not have even had our morning caviar and civet coffee, or the servants may be slow bringing breakfast to the master cabin of our yacht. In any event, we shall endeavor to do better. Please accept this coupon toward posting a free question of your choice in the future.
Sincerely,
Teague Boglehead
Customer Experience Specialist
- Fri Sep 13, 2019 6:15 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Subaru and the oil consumption problem
- Replies: 6
- Views: 1214
Re: Subaru and the oil consumption problem
My ‘13 Forester had the excessive oil consumption issues also and had the short block replaced. It took numerous oil consumption tests and some elevation beyond the dealer to corporate, but it finally happened. The dealer kept telling me it passed and I showed time stamp dated photos that it failed every single time it wasn’t a dealer test. SofA did nothing, then gave me $150 service credit. It failed on my watch again. I finally told SofA that I had no recourse but to contact a lawyer. They offered to pay for ‘one more’ dealer oil consumption test. And magically, it failed dramatically on the next dealer test. (3 times the amount dictated by the settlement, just like my own documentation.) Short block replaced: the oil consumption has decr...
- Thu Aug 15, 2019 3:25 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Ponder this, BH's... is Ben & Jerry's worth it?
- Replies: 142
- Views: 14844
Re: Ponder this, BH's... is Ben & Jerry's worth it?
Yes, it is. Especially when it’s on sale for $2.99 a pint. Freezer gets much more tightly packed.
- Tue Jun 11, 2019 7:19 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: 2015 subaru forester 96k, replace or run into the ground?
- Replies: 24
- Views: 3013
Re: 2015 subaru forester 96k, replace or run into the ground?
Hi, I have a 2015 subaru forester with 98k miles that I purchased in 2014, edmunds calls trade in value $10k, paid $24k. Typically we try for at least seven years for our cars but we didn't have a lot of luck with our last subaru and consumer reports gives it a 3 out of 5 for reliability. sell and purchase or new one or try to get another 2-3 years? best, We have a ‘13 Forester with 115K on it. We did have the short block replaced, at Subaru’s expense, due to excess oil consumption around 85K. Oil consumption is much better. Aside from brakes and other regular maintenance, we haven’t had any big maintenance surprises only just had to replace the rear struts. Given the beating they take on unpaved mountain roads here in Vermont, I’m surpris...
- Sat Jun 01, 2019 6:03 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Resources for Federal Employees
- Replies: 16
- Views: 2079
Re: Resources for Federal Employees
Check with your agency’s HR department or training/learning and development branch. My agency offers regular benefit/retirement seminars for employees. There are usually two versions: one for mid-career employees and one for employees looking to retire in the next couple years. Some are webinars, others are in-person. I have attended one in-person and one virtual. I thought they provided excellent overviews. The mid-career session would still be valuable for new employees, as it’s primarily an overview. The presenters were contractors who ran financial planning firms, but the information provided was pretty objective in my opinion. I recall one presenter was a retired federal HR manager with 30+ years of experience. There was no push for ou...
- Sun May 26, 2019 2:50 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Three days In Montreal
- Replies: 21
- Views: 2094
Re: Three days In Montreal
Contemporary Art Museum
Au Pied de Cochon (for foie gras everything)
Les Enfant Terribles (rooftop brunch/bar great views)
Jean Talon market (go hungry)
Au Pied de Cochon (for foie gras everything)
Les Enfant Terribles (rooftop brunch/bar great views)
Jean Talon market (go hungry)
- Wed May 08, 2019 2:52 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Backpacking/study abroad for young folks
- Replies: 31
- Views: 2929
Re: Backpacking/study abroad for young folks
I spent my senior year on exchange at a university in England, roughly 11.5 months total. I didn’t want to study with a cohort of American students embedded in a foreign university, and unfortunately I didn’t have the foreign language capability to study in a non-English speaking university. So, I opted to study in England where I was just another student. Being just another international student (not part of a study abroad group or cohort), I interacted, socialized and traveled with many other foreign students from Europe and Africa, which for me was incredibly eye-opening, as we shared our experience of living and studying abroad. (With the comfort of me being able to speak English.) Thankfully, it was a straight exchange program, so I pa...
- Wed Jan 09, 2019 6:53 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Weekend in “west” ... recommendations
- Replies: 17
- Views: 1543