SunSpotter's recent activity
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Comment on US Federal Trade Commission bans new noncompete agreements in ~life
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Comment on US Federal Trade Commission bans new noncompete agreements in ~life
SunSpotter Link ParentEven in California, 3/4 of my last jobs have all had some kind of NDA. Of the three, only one seemed reasonable since it was a really niche industry with a ton of competition and I had a position...Even in California, 3/4 of my last jobs have all had some kind of NDA. Of the three, only one seemed reasonable since it was a really niche industry with a ton of competition and I had a position that actually required me to understand how everything worked. The other two were complete jokes just meant to scare people.
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Comment on Where are you on the spectrum of vacation planning? Detailed to the hour or floating like a leaf in the wind? in ~talk
SunSpotter LinkEchoing the thoughts of many in this thread, I’d say somewhere in the middle. I like to plan out the general idea, like where we’re going and how we’re getting there. Then I try to get an idea of...Echoing the thoughts of many in this thread, I’d say somewhere in the middle. I like to plan out the general idea, like where we’re going and how we’re getting there. Then I try to get an idea of who or what we want to visit while we’re there. If there’s a LOT of interesting things to see we’re both interested in, I might even make a list and try to keep track of when things are available. But ultimately, it’s all non-committal and nothing is planned down to the hour. It’s more like “hey it would be really cool if we have the time to see this”.
I prefer this, because I feel like it motivates us to actually get off our butts and do something, rather than sit around in the hotel room. Both of our families plan their vacations very differently, but I’ve noticed both of them suffer from this problem. My parents plan out their departure to the dot but never know what to do once they actually arrive. My SOs parents are more leaf on the wind, but still suffer from the problem of not knowing what to do if say the weather turns or someone cancels on them. So for us, having a vague action plan has kind of worked as the best of both worlds because it gives us an idea of what to do, but also flexibility.
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Comment on I grew up in Michigan but currently live in Georgia. My GF and I are looking at buying a house, and both states have first time home buyer incentives, but they're income based. in ~finance
SunSpotter LinkIt’s really only fraud if she’s your wife or domestic partner who you’ve been filing taxes jointly with and you lie about that. Otherwise…it’s a grey area. I’ve looked into doing exactly this, but...It’s really only fraud if she’s your wife or domestic partner who you’ve been filing taxes jointly with and you lie about that.
Otherwise…it’s a grey area. I’ve looked into doing exactly this, but with a USDA direct loan rather than with a cash incentive program (because there aren’t many available in my area right now). So a lot of what I have to say will be based on that. However, I believe it’s a similar situation because USDA loans are also income restricted and have limited funding much like many of these first time buyer incentive programs.
The short answer is, if you don’t have any shared finances like a car, personal loan, credit card etc, then go for it. Be prepared for them to scour your financial history either way though. They may even ask about her directly, and why you aren’t signing together. Ultimately, it’s up to you how you want to handle that. I’ve heard several people say they chose to live separately while the paperwork was going through because they didn’t want to lie or complicate the situation further.
I heard it said by someone who pulled this off, that the bank, the underwriter and everyone involved in approving you, can’t predict the future, especially not when it comes to relationships. People do all kinds of irrational things when it comes to their relationships, and it’s not worth someone’s time to prove that you didn’t really break up and decide to get get back together later or something along those lines.
If you do have a long history of shared finances, it might be more complicated. I would probably caution you to look more deeply into the specific programs you’re thinking of going with and ask around to see if anyone has experience with them. At worst, they should just deny you though. Again, it’s probably not worth anyone’s time to go after some person and their girlfriend who for personal reasons didn’t sign the paperwork together.
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Comment on 5.25-inch floppy disks expected to help run San Francisco trains until 2030 in ~transport
SunSpotter Link ParentActually IDE is a 40 pin header that post-dates and is not compatible with the 32 pin floppy header. Would be great if that weren’t true though, could just pop a compact flash card in the system...Actually IDE is a 40 pin header that post-dates and is not compatible with the 32 pin floppy header. Would be great if that weren’t true though, could just pop a compact flash card in the system with nothing but a little adapter and you would be good to go.
There really isn’t a good commercially viable way to implement a physical adapter for a floppy drive to something more modern like a flash drive unfortunately. They’re out there, but usually only sold in low quantities to collectors and small businesses.
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Comment on Trying to get a better idea of what goes into having a house built in ~life.home_improvement
SunSpotter Link ParentUpdate: Spoke with another dealer today and asked them about this, and yes your contractor will be expected to actually get the house on whatever foundation you plan to build. The shipper will get...Update:
Spoke with another dealer today and asked them about this, and yes your contractor will be expected to actually get the house on whatever foundation you plan to build. The shipper will get each section as close as they can when dropping off your home, but that's it. At that point, it will be up to your contractor to scoot each section into place and join them together. The sales rep I spoke with today indicated this is probably the most important part of your build, in the sense that if you had to hire one person who really knows what they're doing, it's the person who joins the house together. -
Comment on EV bargains to be found as Hertz sells off some of its US electric cars in ~transport
SunSpotter Link ParentThis is kind of the problem with all EVs right now, and even the car market at large. At least where I live new $20k cars are few and far between. With EVs typically costing $5-10k more than their...This is kind of the problem with all EVs right now, and even the car market at large. At least where I live new $20k cars are few and far between. With EVs typically costing $5-10k more than their ICE equivalent, it becomes even rarer to see something in that price range. I think the bottom end Nissan Leaf is the only thing I’m aware of, barring something on a huge sale. I love EVs, but I do worry about how young families will afford cars in the future as states like California move towards ending ICE sales in the next 10-15 years.
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Comment on X4: Foundations 7.00 trailer in ~games
SunSpotter Link ParentFYI, since you mentioned you have a Steam Deck, it’s definitely playable on the Steam Deck, but it’s going to be a little rough. I recommend enabling some sort of AI upscaling to improve frame...FYI, since you mentioned you have a Steam Deck, it’s definitely playable on the Steam Deck, but it’s going to be a little rough. I recommend enabling some sort of AI upscaling to improve frame rate without cranking the resolution to complete potato quality. Even still there will probably be some fuzziness to distant objects and text because FSR and XeSS are not perfect.
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Comment on Trying to get a better idea of what goes into having a house built in ~life.home_improvement
SunSpotter Link ParentIt's a good question, and to be honest I'm not sure how much your contractor would be required to assist with actually getting the house on the foundation vs how much the shipper and their team...It's a good question, and to be honest I'm not sure how much your contractor would be required to assist with actually getting the house on the foundation vs how much the shipper and their team would handle it. Regardless, installing the home is still going to be an additional cost beyond the purchase price of the house.
The cost you pay for a manufactured home, is really just for the home. If a dealer says you can buy home model XXX for $200,000 they really just mean you have permission to take it off the lot for $200,000. They will work with you to have your home shipped, but you will pay for the shipping yourself. Which is also why you shouldn't need to cover shipping damage, because it's covered by the overall shipping cost.
As far as I'm aware, everything else will be arranged by you and a general contractor. You will need to pay to have the site cleared and graded, assuming it's not just plain, flat dirt. You will need to pay for utilities to be brought to your site, assuming you aren't going off the grid, and lastly you will need to pay to have the foundation built. All that needs to happen before the house arrives. If your city/county is lax on permitting, you might be able to get the house installed without a traditional concrete foundation? But I haven't looked into that much because I know I couldn't get away with that where I live.
Assuming you can find cheap enough land large enough to accommodate the manufactured home you want, it's still not a bad option compared to the cost of houses in a high cost of living area.
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Comment on Trying to get a better idea of what goes into having a house built in ~life.home_improvement
SunSpotter Link ParentJust wanted to clarify a few terms here because I've been looking into the same idea as OP as a first time home buyer. There's three main types of pre-fabricated homes, at least here in the US:...- Exemplary
Just wanted to clarify a few terms here because I've been looking into the same idea as OP as a first time home buyer.
There's three main types of pre-fabricated homes, at least here in the US:
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Mobile homes. True mobile homes are not made in the US anymore, meaning you can only buy something classified as a mobile home if it was built before the 1970's. These are also exactly what most people picture when they hear the word 'mobile home'. They're almost always single-wide structures that sit on top of a skirt to hide the trailer they sit on. If your intention is to buy one used and ship it out to a vacant lot, you should be prepared to pay cash as financing will be difficult. A lot of low-income or first time buyer programs also straight up disqualify mobile homes from financing. This is probably the option with the least customization, since it will be an existing structure and permitting extensions will be tricky.
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Manufactured homes. These are usually two-section (double-wide) homes that are 'married' together on site, though they can be up to three or four sections. They can also be single-wide, but these often come with similar financing restrictions to traditional mobile homes. Your state also may or may not allow you to buy directly from the manufacturer, instead forcing you to buy from a local dealer instead. I still recommend talking directly with the manufacturer anyways though, just to get an idea of what they're like and what an ideal home from them with no travel damage looks like. I also recommend asking if they use standard parts and door frames for their homes. A common complaint on mobile homes and older manufactured homes is that you can't just go down to home depot to replace a broken door or window because it's not a standard size. I know my local manufacturers stopped doing this, but I would check to be sure with your local companies. On the topic of shipping damage, note that there WILL be travel damage in your home, I've been assured it's all covered in the buying process and will be repaired on-site but I would double check with whoever you buy from. You will have some amount of customization options, but they will be limited. I know when I talked to a local manufacturer they said they were able to customize the floor plan of the home if desired, like take out a corner to accommodate a nearby tree, add a porch or tweak interior walls, but for the most part you are restricted to customizing the existing floor space. You can't add more unless you want to move up to a model with another section. They also like to advertise the more expensive models with an attached garage, but you'll need to be aware this is not a structure or service they provide, you will need to arrange something with the contractor you hire to install the home. When you start building, you can build an in-set into the foundation, allowing the home to sit more or less flush which reduces the mobile home-ness of the appearance, but it's all about preference.
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Modular homes. The name is a little confusing since it's similar to a manufactured home, but the 'modules' of these houses are pre-made wall segments, sections of the roof etc that are shipped to the site and installed on a foundation. I've had a hard time finding a company that specializes in these homes in my area so I have less knowledge of them, but my understanding is that these are essentially just normal houses. If you can find a company building these in your area, they will probably have a catalogue of existing floor plans, but they have the greatest flexibility in customization because again they're really not too different from a normal home. You can also get them built as a single story, two story, have an attached garage, all the things available in a normal home. Note that this is also the most expensive option though. It's going to be less than a traditional stick-built home but not by as much as a manufactured home.
Honorable mention to Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) homes, which are made of blocks of polystyrene foam with space in between to pour a concrete wall. Like a modular home, the polystyrene blocks ship from a factory and are installed on a foundation. They're also fairly customizable like a modular home, but it can be pretty hard to find a company experienced with building a home this way. Overall, this building method seems to be more expensive than traditional stick built homes, with the trade-off of being more weather/fire resistant and having better energy efficiency.
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Comment on Fisker's EV prices slashed by up to $24,000, Tesla freezes them as trades in ~transport
SunSpotter Link ParentAt a certain price point I suppose a car is a car. Even if some of the bells and whistles don't work, $37k for what's supposed to be high-end EV is a fantastic deal. Even $25k for a low-end EV is...At a certain price point I suppose a car is a car. Even if some of the bells and whistles don't work, $37k for what's supposed to be high-end EV is a fantastic deal. Even $25k for a low-end EV is almost unheard of outside of compact EVs like the Leaf. These prices would also explain why I've suddenly seen a Fisker EV in my area for the first time. I could easily see the logic stopping here for a lot of people, making them think it's a good deal.
The lack of future updates and dealer service is definitely...concerning from a safety and security standpoint. But what makes this a complete non-starter to me is really just the upcoming lack of parts. Tesla's and other smaller EV makers are already notoriously expensive to fix, even for minor fender benders. If Fisker were to go full chapter 7, whatever parts inventory they maintain now is probably going to become even more fractious and hard to source. People might just be stuck with any minor damage caused in traffic, and end up with a totaled car if it requires actual repairs. I have to guess that this will also go into the risk assessment for an auto-insurer, though it's hard to say how much it would affect the total insurance cost.
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Comment on Nobody warned electric vehicle owners how quickly they would burn through tires in ~transport
SunSpotter Link ParentI drive an EV6, and I know most EVs handle regenerative breaking differently, but you can completely turn it off in my car and I don’t believe it’s unique in that way? You can also crank it up to...I drive an EV6, and I know most EVs handle regenerative breaking differently, but you can completely turn it off in my car and I don’t believe it’s unique in that way?
You can also crank it up to maximum while say driving down a mountain road to help charge your battery. It’s up to the user how much or how little they want.
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Comment on State Farm shedding 72,000 home insurance policies in California in ~finance
SunSpotter Link ParentWow that’s…insane. I can’t say I’m surprised rates went up, my insurance guy basically said they would and AAA wouldn’t stay competitive forever. But $800/mo is crazy, it’s about what I pay for...Wow that’s…insane.
I can’t say I’m surprised rates went up, my insurance guy basically said they would and AAA wouldn’t stay competitive forever. But $800/mo is crazy, it’s about what I pay for car + insurance combined. Did you happen to ask why it was so much? Because if that’s really just the state of the market, it makes me a little fearful of having to renew this year…
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Comment on State Farm shedding 72,000 home insurance policies in California in ~finance
SunSpotter Link ParentI just got a new car last year in California and everyone told me to stay away from AAA because they’re “too expensive”. Lo and behold, they were actually cheaper than anyone else who wanted to...I just got a new car last year in California and everyone told me to stay away from AAA because they’re “too expensive”. Lo and behold, they were actually cheaper than anyone else who wanted to give me a quote.
I asked the guy who did my paperwork if he knew why and he said AAA actually did pretty well during the pandemic. However, most other auto insurance companies lost huge amounts and had to jack up their rates to compensate.
It kind of makes sense that a company which requires a membership fee is doing well for itself I guess, but it was interesting nonetheless. Definitely recommend them to anyone looking at a new car in California right now.
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Comment on 'If anything happens, it's not suicide': Boeing whistleblower's prediction before death in ~transport
SunSpotter Link ParentOn that note, possibly the only reason I’m willing to believe this was a hired hit is because of the recent eBay stalking scandal. Getting internally labeled as trolls got the victims death...But hey, anyone who has seen a great true crime documentary knows that crazier things have happened than hired hits.
On that note, possibly the only reason I’m willing to believe this was a hired hit is because of the recent eBay stalking scandal. Getting internally labeled as trolls got the victims death threats, public humiliation, (planned) property damage and apparently a shipment of spiders. Which is so far beyond the line even if they were trolls that it needs no explanation.
My point being, if people like that are in charge of Boeing, and actual monetary damages and criminal investigations are involved, I could see them considering a hired hit.
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Comment on Single dose of clinical-grade LSD provides immediate and lasting relief from anxiety, wins approval for phase III trials in ~health.mental
SunSpotter Link ParentCannot imagine feeling responsible for something like that. Have to imagine it ate the poor person up thinking about what they did wrong/could have done differently. Plus you now have to deal with...He had a tripsitter but his action was too quick to stop. Very shocking for the family.
Cannot imagine feeling responsible for something like that. Have to imagine it ate the poor person up thinking about what they did wrong/could have done differently. Plus you now have to deal with a police investigation into the death and worry about all that…
It’s nightmare fuel.
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Comment on Creation of a European Environment Authority -- Thoughts / Opinions? in ~enviro
SunSpotter LinkThis is probably off-topic, but how do environmental protections in the EU work currently? I personally have no horse in this race as I am not an EU citizen, but I do work for an environmental...This is probably off-topic, but how do environmental protections in the EU work currently? I personally have no horse in this race as I am not an EU citizen, but I do work for an environmental agency in another part of the world, and so I’m kind of curious.
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Comment on What irrational video game requirements do you have? in ~games
SunSpotter Link ParentYeah, it’s the difference between crafting and grinding. If you have to grind for hours to gather the ingredients to craft a simple upgrade that’s required to unlock the next stage of gameplay,...Yeah, it’s the difference between crafting and grinding. If you have to grind for hours to gather the ingredients to craft a simple upgrade that’s required to unlock the next stage of gameplay, it’s not fun. I stopped playing Valheim for a while for that exact reason.
Crafting on its own can be a great mechanic (for me anyways) if it’s done right though. It’s one of the reasons I always go back to Minecraft modpacks every now and then. They offer so many interesting and alternate pathways to craft better gear/machines/materials etc, and it can be fun trying to find shortcuts or wacky ways to achieve your goals, especially since the game doesn’t pressure you to do anything else.
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Comment on What makes you chew fire? in ~talk
SunSpotter Link ParentAh yes, Planetary Annhilation. The game that tried to normalize paying extra for the privilege of playing a broken and buggy public alpha. I know they phrased it differently, something about how...Ah yes, Planetary Annhilation. The game that tried to normalize paying extra for the privilege of playing a broken and buggy public alpha. I know they phrased it differently, something about how you should really think about it as donating to the team to help the game succeed. But that’s what it felt like, and other games tried the same thing later without any attempt to paint their pricing as noble.
Prior to that, every early access game I was familiar with, was cheaper than its release price. It feels like it’s kind of gone away now, but at the time it was pretty upsetting to me. Just felt like a needlessly manipulative way to extract even more money out of early access games, when they already had a dodgy reputation at that point.
I think in the end I somehow got the game ridiculously cheap (like $5-10) because my friends and I bought a 4-pack while the game was already on a steep sale. Which just made the earlier pricing even more ironic.
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Comment on German man deliberately receives 217 Covid vaccinations over twenty-nine months, with no adverse events or strong effect on immune system in ~science
SunSpotter Link ParentI think there’s multiple ways to interpret his behavior. He could be severely mentally unwell and have irrational reasons that only make sense to him. He could be in the early stages of dementia...I think there’s multiple ways to interpret his behavior. He could be severely mentally unwell and have irrational reasons that only make sense to him. He could be in the early stages of dementia and be unaware of just how many shots he’s received.
It could be a political statement and he’s trying to prove the vaccines don’t actually do anything. But I was wondering if the opposite is true: that he was trying to prove the vaccines are effective and don’t cause any harm by taking an amount that would surely kill him otherwise.
Yeah, I confused myself on that one, sorry about that it was quite the long day for me. Two of those jobs had both an NDA and a non-compete, and one was just a non-compete. I stand by my statement that all those except for the one design job I had were not justified though.