Search found 5766 matches

by psteinx
Mon Mar 18, 2024 12:20 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Getting rid of fractional (non-Vanguard) shares at Vanguard brokerage
Replies: 16
Views: 1581

Re: Getting rid of fractional (non-Vanguard) shares at Vanguard brokerage

FWIW, I was successful in getting rid of the fraction. When I sold the last whole share, leaving only a fraction, I think the fraction auto-sold, end of day. Not sure if the settlement days all lined up perfectly, but I *think* they did.
by psteinx
Mon Mar 18, 2024 9:55 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Oak kitchen/bath cabinet solutions?
Replies: 11
Views: 813

Re: Oak kitchen/bath cabinet solutions?

We have a lot of medium-toned oak throughout our house (not the kitchen though).

I repainted (DIY) the cabinet in one bathroom (basically, the kids' bathroom) and added nickel-plated hardware (previously it had none). It significantly brightened/modernized the look, and wasn't too hard to do.

Now DW is requesting the same treatment for our main floor 1/2 bath - I'm not as sold on doing it there was we'd still have the oak hardwood flooring in that space (as opposed to the vinyl we have in the first bathroom I mentioned), but I'll probably go along with it eventually.

I'd be a bit more skeptical about repainting kitchen cabinetry - would need to see what's there and the overall vibe, but, maybe the whitewash or just a good paint job?
by psteinx
Wed Mar 13, 2024 3:00 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Electric wiring along/through basement floor slab?
Replies: 23
Views: 1714

Re: Electric wiring along/through basement floor slab?

FWIW, I found a soft vinyl floor raceway system at HD and installed that.

It looks... OK. Not great, but not bad, and a lot cheaper/faster than jackhammering the floor or whatever.
by psteinx
Wed Mar 13, 2024 12:13 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Getting rid of fractional (non-Vanguard) shares at Vanguard brokerage
Replies: 16
Views: 1581

Re: Getting rid of fractional (non-Vanguard) shares at Vanguard brokerage

exodusNH wrote: Wed Mar 13, 2024 12:03 pm Their devs clearly never tested this with a realistic distribution of shares.
Yeah, surprise, surprise, Vanguard's systems work/web interface is bad. Who woulda thunk it?

I was just annoyed that it DRIP'ed shares to begin with. I'd bought lots of closed-end funds (CEFs) in taxable without that ever happening by default. My IRA had, prior to this, always been mutual funds of one sort or another, where fractional is not a real issue. I DID have my mutual funds in the IRA on auto-reinvest, maybe that carried over somehow.

Anyways, if it shakes out as discussed above, it should be little more than a minor annoyance in the end.
by psteinx
Wed Mar 13, 2024 12:09 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Furniture prices... is this normal?
Replies: 60
Views: 9468

Re: Furniture prices... is this normal?

Costco sectional Qs: 1) Are any of these available in-store for testing? I'd really not like to buy something like this without seeing and sitting in it. 2) Are the sectional groups customizable? On-line, it looks like they have some pre-configured groups, but you can't easily switch from right to left, adding/removing sections, etc. Would also like a matching chair to the sectional and am not sure if those are available. 3) On-line, I'm seeing a lot of "sold out/not deliverable" messages. Is this a short term thing, that I could order something now and instead of being shipped in a week it's shipped in 6-8 weeks? Or is it some weird thing where they've ~discontinued something but left it on the website, or just only deliver to ce...
by psteinx
Wed Mar 13, 2024 10:50 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Getting rid of fractional (non-Vanguard) shares at Vanguard brokerage
Replies: 16
Views: 1581

Re: Getting rid of fractional (non-Vanguard) shares at Vanguard brokerage

For better or worse, I had left a whole share in there, plus the fraction (thought there might be some issue with <1 share).

I sold the last whole share - the interface seems to suggest that the fraction will also be liquidated, with the proceeds from the fraction perhaps taking an extra day to hit the settlement account. I'll try to remember to post back here to confirm that it worked.
by psteinx
Wed Mar 13, 2024 10:02 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Getting rid of fractional (non-Vanguard) shares at Vanguard brokerage
Replies: 16
Views: 1581

Getting rid of fractional (non-Vanguard) shares at Vanguard brokerage

I contacted my rep about this, but may get a faster/better answer here.

I had a position, at Vanguard, in an IRA, in a closed-end fund. These trade like ETFs and regular stocks - normally in whole shares.

Inadvertantly, I had the position on "reinvest distributions", so Vanguard reinvested a distribution and I ended up with a partial share (a fraction).

I'm trying to sell out the full position, and am down to slightly less than 2 shares. Vanguard's interface doesn't seem to let me enter a fractional amount to sell, and also lacks a "sell all" type button (so far as I can see). How can I sell off this last bit, including the fractional amount?
by psteinx
Mon Mar 11, 2024 7:23 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Bedroom air circulation - jumper duct?
Replies: 38
Views: 3713

Re: Bedroom air circulation - jumper duct?

Final note/thought: Most return air registers are just a straight sort of grate-cover, as opposed to the registers where air flows IN to a room that usually have a lever/dial to shut them off (either for upstairs/downstairs balancing in summer/winter, or for less used rooms.

If I do this, one BR will be in use, door closed, for ~6 months a year for the next ~3 years (college kid), the other maybe 2-4 weeks a year, long-term (guest bedroom). So I presume that if I'm jump-ducting into unconditioned attic space, I might want a register that can be shut off for the times the BRs are not in use? Less heat loss/gain into the unconditioned attic. Seem reasonable?
by psteinx
Mon Mar 11, 2024 7:20 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Bedroom air circulation - jumper duct?
Replies: 38
Views: 3713

Re: Bedroom air circulation - jumper duct?

FWIW, I'm fairly against cutting the bottom of the door off (aesthetics, noise, light, hard to reverse if I don't like). Minisplit seems like big-time overkill for this case. And for those complaining about jumper ducts transmitting hot air into the bedroom (as the air passes through the flexible duct in the attic): * The air is flowing IN to the bedrooms from registers in the floor, this air should be properly conditioned (cool in summer, warm in winter). The purpose of the jump duct is to allow air to pass OUT through the jump duct, into the hallway (or conceivably directly to a return air vent). Yes, that's a little bad in terms of A/C/heating bills, but not so bad for the comfort of anybody sleeping in a BR with a closed door. * And, fo...
by psteinx
Mon Mar 11, 2024 7:15 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Bedroom air circulation - jumper duct?
Replies: 38
Views: 3713

Re: Bedroom air circulation - jumper duct?

Revisiting this topic (and thread) as I think about the best approach for our house: Basically, we have 2 BRs that really need some kind of solution to improve airflow (and maybe one other BR/office, but I'm gonna leave that one out of the mix for now. 1) Tamarack: The Tamarack solution seems easy to implement and not particularly expensive: https://www.tamtech.com/product/return-air-pathways-existing-construction/ But it's basically just a little ~4" straight shot ducted pathway from one side of the wall to the other, with basically a cardboard filter thingie to reduce light and noise some (noise is a bigger concern for me than light), but I'm a bit skeptical of how well the noise reduction would work in practice. The second concern I...
by psteinx
Mon Mar 11, 2024 11:53 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Want to leave the California bay area. Where to live?
Replies: 63
Views: 5613

Re: Want to leave the California bay area. Where to live?

This is the ultimate vague question - like what kind of food tastes good, what movie is great, what kind of car should I get?

Depends so much on personal taste and constraints. OP has provided very little information.

Among other things, family concerns can be a dominant consideration, as can job stuff.

There are a lot of very nice places to live in the USA - almost any big city has nice areas, and people are attracted to those cities for varying reasons. The biggest city in the USA has ~6% of it's population, the biggest state has ~11% (and I think both are experiencing net domestic out-migration). If there were a clean, universal answer for everyone, then that answer would have a lot more people in it.
by psteinx
Mon Mar 11, 2024 11:11 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Electric wiring along/through basement floor slab?
Replies: 23
Views: 1714

Re: Electric wiring along/through basement floor slab?

Crimsonandclover wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2024 11:02 am Recommend #3.
Do a search for “floor mounted electrical raceway”.
Yeah, "raceway" seems to be the right term for this.

I could presumably order over the internet, but if I wanted to see/buy it in person, is it typically available at an electric supply specialty store, or what?

Ideally, I'd have the ability to put a 90 degree bend in it at one point (corner piece).
by psteinx
Mon Mar 11, 2024 11:09 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Electric wiring along/through basement floor slab?
Replies: 23
Views: 1714

Re: Electric wiring along/through basement floor slab?

Forgot to mention that there is a transition between carpet and the vinyl flooring, with one of those brassy-metal strips covering the transition. *IF* I could redo that strip such that I could run wire under it, *THEN* I'd cut down on the uncovered distance (across the vinyl floor) from ~5' to ~2'. Not sure if this is realistic, if there are transition strips made for this, and if I could realistically DIY it. Call it option #3b.
by psteinx
Mon Mar 11, 2024 11:05 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Electric wiring along/through basement floor slab?
Replies: 23
Views: 1714

Re: Electric wiring along/through basement floor slab?

hand wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2024 10:59 am #5 Suspended outlet (with or without a retractable reel)? (industrial look, but cheaper with no tripping risk)
#6 install a slightly raised flooring system that allows power underneath? (saves the concrete work)

To me this is a cost vs risk vs duration question - for six weeks I'd use the extension cord, six months a hard cover and six years I'd do it right if I had the money and could find the contractors.
#5 would look much worse, IMO (and would still involve bringing an electrician out to do this, cutting into finished ceiling, etc.)
#6 not realistic - probably pricier than #4, and ceiling height is already a little low since this is a (finished) basement.
by psteinx
Mon Mar 11, 2024 10:51 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Electric wiring along/through basement floor slab?
Replies: 23
Views: 1714

Re: Electric wiring along/through basement floor slab?

Dottie57 wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2024 10:48 am What are the chances of tripping on each of these solutions?
Roughly reverse the order of cost/difficulty. Most tripping hazard with #1, least with #4. Not a huge trip hazard in general, but not zero. Also, kinda unsightly.
by psteinx
Mon Mar 11, 2024 10:44 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Electric wiring along/through basement floor slab?
Replies: 23
Views: 1714

Electric wiring along/through basement floor slab?

Minor Q, but maybe others have experience/opinions to offer: We have a nicely finished basement (on/over concrete foundation). In one part of the basement, we have a table (used for sewing and computer stuff) that "free floats" - it's not up against any wall, and would not work up against any wall for reasons I won't detail. It sits on inexpensive rolled vinyl flooring. The nearest wall, with electrical outlet(s), is ~5 feet from the edge of the table, but that passage sees some foot traffic, as do all the other sides of the table. For years, we've just run an extension cord/power strip cable to a wall outlet, and the stuff that's on the table plugs into that power strip. But I'd like to improve the cosmetics and decrease, at leas...
by psteinx
Mon Mar 11, 2024 10:32 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Dual majors and non big 50 colleges
Replies: 111
Views: 7177

Re: Dual majors and non big 50 colleges

Engineering programs at good colleges, including many flagship publics, are challenging to get into. Keep in mind that posted stats for typical accepted students (25th/75th ranges, etc.) tend to be university-wide. But degree of difficulty of admission can be MUCH harder if your kid is * out-of-state and/or * applying to a desireable, technical major (typically Comp Sci and Engineering, among others) My son was rejected/waitlisted at Ga Tech and UMich (OOS & engineering at both) with a much higher GPA, near perfect ACT, and lots of APs with good scores. === In contrast to some other posters, I think it's fine for you and your oldest to be researching and considering options during HS Sophomore year. We did our first big college tour tri...
by psteinx
Mon Mar 11, 2024 9:32 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Looking for upright piano in northern / central NJ
Replies: 17
Views: 1240

Re: Looking for upright piano in northern / central NJ

The (overall) sound of a digital does NOT replicate a full upright (or (baby) grand) - it can't, because digital pianos have a limited number of speakers, whereas with a piano the sound sort of rattles around the wooden box that the strings are in. A well played (good) acoustic definitely sounds better than even a good digital. That said, cost and practical issues likely drive most folks (including us) towards digital. We got a nice (new) Roland digital for ~$1200 when my youngest D was about 6 or 7. Older sis stuck with it (lessons) for ~4 years. Youngest D stuck with it for ~8-9 years, stopping when COVID made lessons impractical. But youngest D has resisted nudging from us that we could move it to a less accessible storage location or si...
by psteinx
Thu Feb 29, 2024 10:06 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: "Extra" Vanguard Money Market Account?
Replies: 4
Views: 1038

Re: "Extra" Vanguard Money Market Account?

OK, so I switched things around - added a 2nd MM fund within our Vang. accounts, set it as our alternative redemption fund.

Is there any real downside/risk to *ROUTINELY* relying on this 2nd fund?

i.e. What if (example-only) our primary settlement fund carried only $100 or so, but the 2nd MM fund carried much more, and I frequently wrote larger checks depending on the 2nd MM fund.

I've previously considered the alternative redemption fund sort of an emergency backup, but, assuming I always had enough in it to cover checks, is Vanguard going to be mad at me or mess things up or whatever if I relied on it multiple times a year instead of ~once every five years that has been the case in the past for us?
by psteinx
Wed Feb 14, 2024 3:23 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Can you do better than BND?
Replies: 278
Views: 35055

Re: Can you do better than BND?

I like and appreciate the analysis. Some thoughts: 1) Because corporates are callable, they'll likely underperform non-callable treasuries in a falling-yield market. We've had falling yields more or less throughout the studied period, but there have been rising yields in other periods (i.e. 1960s and 1970s, in particular). Even if we confine our analysis to 1991 fwd, a more granular time scale (i.e. monthly) might give more insight on some rising rate sub-periods. 2) There's an enormous factor in bonds - taxation, that is much less of an issue in stocks. (i.e. various classes/divisions of US stocks are mostly taxed in similar fashion, but obviously that's not the case for bonds). Hopefully McQ will get around to considering tax questions. T...
by psteinx
Sat Feb 03, 2024 6:21 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Summer employment/internship for first year college kid
Replies: 12
Views: 1242

Re: Summer employment/internship for first year college kid

First off, this isn't the most important thing in the world to get right. You can thrive in the job market without having had internships, and you can fail in the job market having had good internships. [Snipped stuff on the importance/value of a good internship] Sure, career-related internships are, ceterus parabis, better than sandwich-shop jobs. The key questions are: 1) If I nudge/push kid to put a lot of effort into finding a non-food-service job, is that time going to well rewarded? 20 hours of outreach for a 10% chance at a weak research job internship isn't a good risk/return profile, IMO. (And not every job helping a professor research, or being a gofer in an internship, will be all that fulfilling. Middle kid got, through a conne...
by psteinx
Sat Feb 03, 2024 5:14 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Summer employment/internship for first year college kid
Replies: 12
Views: 1242

Summer employment/internship for first year college kid

Youngest D is in her first year at WUSTL (a very good, but not MIT-level) college, as a Mech E. But she hasn't taken a lot of Mech E classes yet (lotta math, physics, etc - the discipline specific stuff picks up in year 2). Ultimately, she's (mostly) in charge of what she does this coming summer, and she/we don't need the money. This past summer (last summer pre-college), she worked at a nearby sandwich shop, making $18/hour with tips. IMO, good money for a convenient, relatively easy job at a place and with people who were good. She could probably get that job back this summer, or something similar. Of course, I (and she) would prefer a job that lines up a bit more with her future plans, but I'm not sure how realistic that is, or how much ...
by psteinx
Sat Feb 03, 2024 4:55 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Calculating a "true" SAT average admissions score
Replies: 67
Views: 5697

Re: Calculating a "true" SAT average admissions score

Bit of eyeballing/guesstimating plus maybe look at the 2019-2020 CDS (last admissions cycle before COVID)?
by psteinx
Fri Feb 02, 2024 4:23 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: college decision: UIUC or UF for ECE?
Replies: 339
Views: 31715

Re: college decision: $63k UIUC ECE or full-ride UF ECE?

Know that there are additional academic hurdles to jump through like a confirming SAT score, before a NMSF becomes a NMS. About half of NMSF will obtain National Merit Scholar status. (https://www.nationalmerit.org/s/1758/blog.aspx?sid=1758&gid=2&pgid=1910&cid=2896&ecid=2896&crid=0&calpgid=567&calcid=1366) Per the link, "About 95 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and about half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar® title." I don't know about the UF scholarship in particular, but I suspect the key hurdle is the first (the one that 95% of NMSF achieve), and that the difference between a "National Merit Scholar" an...
by psteinx
Fri Feb 02, 2024 3:02 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: basement storage techniques
Replies: 29
Views: 2652

Re: basement storage techniques

Most of what we have is pure plastic and SUPER easy to assemble, with the downside that the flat (horizontal) part of the shelves themselves are in sort of a grid pattern, so small stuff can fall through. Depending on your handiness with wood, screws, and the ability to cut wood, some of the wooden approaches can be fine. But, the plastic stuff can be assembled with zero tools, with one standard shelf (~36" wide, ~12-16" deep, ~72-80" high) assembled in maybe 5 minutes or less. They're the shelves themselves, with ~12" plastic rods that go in them. For the lowest shelf, I think there are ~2-4" rods below to keep them off the ground (water risk, etc.). Put bottom pegs in shelf #1, flip it over, stick 4 rods in (1 in...
by psteinx
Fri Feb 02, 2024 2:29 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Grass seed methods, timing, etc.
Replies: 35
Views: 2697

Re: Grass seed methods, timing, etc.

Glockenspiel wrote: Wed Jan 31, 2024 12:01 pm Seeding can work anytime the soil temperatures are above 50 degrees F, as long as the seed contacts soil and does not dry out.
swr wrote: Thu Feb 01, 2024 9:29 am Being in the lawn business in the north east there are a few things that might help in your area; you usually need around 50 degrees soil temperature for germination.
achillesheel wrote: Fri Feb 02, 2024 2:22 pm Look for soil temps between 50 and 65 for your germination window. Throw the seed down as soon as you are in that window.
Assuming (primarily) fescue:

Daily highs, lows, or averages above 50? If it's average lows in the 50s and warming, but you get hit with a cold snap near or below freezing, does that kill things off?
by psteinx
Fri Feb 02, 2024 2:23 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Selling Scrap Silver
Replies: 21
Views: 2901

Re: Selling Scrap Silver

I'm pretty sure 90% silver sells a little better than the average "old scap silver tea set".

I would reach out to some coin dealers in your area. Even though your coins are not numismatic, you might get better pricing from the coin dealers than from a standard scrap place. Or you could go to a coin show or explore other methods of direct sales to private parties (i.e. Craigslist and the like, but of course keep safety in mind).

Here is the pricing for one coin dealer (in St. Louis), FWIW:
https://www.scoins.com/pricelist/tradingsheet.aspx
by psteinx
Fri Feb 02, 2024 2:12 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: basement storage techniques
Replies: 29
Views: 2652

Re: basement storage techniques

Over the garage is another useful storage spot, for us. Depends on your garage, of course.
by psteinx
Fri Feb 02, 2024 2:11 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: basement storage techniques
Replies: 29
Views: 2652

Re: basement storage techniques

familythriftmd wrote: Fri Feb 02, 2024 2:05 pm
sport wrote: Fri Feb 02, 2024 2:05 pm You can build some wooden shelving that stands next to the wall. Since it is in the basement, it does not have to be fancy. There is no need to attach the shelving to the wall.
Do you fasten your wooden shelving to the nearest joists?
We don't, because:

1) The base of these shelves is generally fairly broad, and I mostly avoid putting super heavy stuff up high.
2) The rooms where this stuff is are utility/storage rooms, so there's little hazard of something tipping over onto a human unless the human is actively in that space for some reason.

(FWIW, I *do* generally secure shelving/dresser uppers in bedrooms and other main spaces of the house.)
by psteinx
Fri Feb 02, 2024 2:08 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: basement storage techniques
Replies: 29
Views: 2652

Re: basement storage techniques

Lots of inexpensive, easy-to-assemble storage options from big box HW stores (and probably other locations): https://www.homedepot.com/b/Storage-Organization-Shelving/N-5yc1vZc89k Most of what we have is pure plastic and SUPER easy to assemble, with the downside that the flat (horizontal) part of the shelves themselves are in sort of a grid pattern, so small stuff can fall through. We also have some metal shelving, that's fundamentally similar but the horizontal shelves are solid. Trade-off is the latter are a bit harder to assemble, a bit pricier, IIRC, and the thin metal can be bent with heavy enough stuff on it. Plus some wooden, shallow-depth, unfinished quick-n-dirty bookshelves. All of this cheap stuff is in the unfinished part of our...
by psteinx
Fri Feb 02, 2024 11:58 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: college decision: UIUC or UF for ECE?
Replies: 339
Views: 31715

Re: college decision: $63k UIUC ECE or full-ride UF ECE?

Page 38 has a list of schools and the number of freshman national merit scholars at each school. These are the top 1/2 of 1 percent of test takers in the country, so they are academically qualified for any school. The number of NMF's at some notable public schools are as follows: Alabama - 323 Florida - 297 Purdue - 260 UT Dallas - 232 Texas A&M - 219 In contrast, here are the NMF's for HYPSM. Harvard - 160 Yale - 127 Princeton - 116 Stanford - 129 MIT - 154 Minor(-ish) quibble: NMF is top ~1/2 percent for each STATE. Some states, such as, I think, NJ, NY, MA, CA have significantly higher state thresholds than others (presumably including AL, FL, maybe TX, and much of the midwest/south). So, the median NMSF at the first group of 5 scho...
by psteinx
Fri Feb 02, 2024 11:47 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: National Merit Semi-Finalist/Finalist - universities giving the most $
Replies: 50
Views: 3793

Re: National Merit Semi-Finalist/Finalist - universities giving the most $

The following link is to the National Merit annual report. Page 38 has a list of colleges and the number of national merit scholars at each. Generally, the schools with a lot of NMF prioritize the award either through merit aid awards or through preferential admissions. https://www.nationalmerit.org/s/1758/images/gid2/editor_documents/annual_report.pdf?gid=2&pgid=61&sessionid=b9899633-d6c3-4976-ad6f-5e5f759a9fdf&cc=1 Note that the list does change over time. When our kids were going through, the University of Chicago regularly had over 200 NMF's so they clearly wanted to attract that type of student. Now they have less than 48 so interest has dropped off significantly. Note that it *IS* possible to get a National Merit scholars...
by psteinx
Fri Feb 02, 2024 11:45 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: National Merit Semi-Finalist/Finalist - universities giving the most $
Replies: 50
Views: 3793

Re: National Merit Semi-Finalist/Finalist - universities giving the most $

cashheavy18 wrote: Fri Feb 02, 2024 10:56 am Thank you for taking the time to share all of these resources. Of the above list, we've only explored Univ. of Virginia's Jefferson Scholarship (which is also highly competitive).
Years ago, Jefferson Scholars at UVA were location-based. There were a lot out of Virginia, unsurprisingly (maybe there was a pool of available scholarships), but if you were OOS, you *HAD* to be from an area where such a scholarship was endowed (say NYC or Philly or whatever), presumably because some rich alum had endowed it. If your home area had no such endowed scholarship, you were, I think, fully ineligible to be a Jefferson Scholar.

Maybe it's changed since...
by psteinx
Thu Feb 01, 2024 3:18 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Irrigation systems (home, underground)
Replies: 17
Views: 989

Re: Irrigation systems (home, underground)

The shutdown is apparently blowing out the lines, and I saw in an old BH thread that it's possible to DIY this with an air compressor.

What's involved in the spring turn-on?
by psteinx
Thu Feb 01, 2024 2:52 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Bedroom air circulation - jumper duct?
Replies: 38
Views: 3713

Re: Bedroom air circulation - jumper duct?

This is another possible solution:

https://www.tamtech.com/product/return- ... struction/

Straight through the wall vent, but with baffling to reduce sound transmission.
by psteinx
Thu Feb 01, 2024 2:21 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: college decision: UIUC or UF for ECE?
Replies: 339
Views: 31715

Re: college decision: $63k UIUC ECE or full-ride UF ECE?

Northern Flicker wrote: Thu Feb 01, 2024 2:18 pm UF BSEE degree + $252K in combination is much more valuable than a UIUC or GaTech BSEE. Can go for a MSEE and still not be behind the BSEE + after-tax earnings from working in lieu of the MSEE. That she wants to do an MSEE makes UF a slam dunk over the other options, including GATech, unless it offers a scholarship as well.
Most engineering Masters take ~1 year, if done full time. One year of tuition, plus foregone earnings (after tax), is still likely to be only a fraction of the $252K difference. i.e. She could "upgrade" her degree with a Masters from a ~top ten school and likely still come out well ahead.
by psteinx
Thu Feb 01, 2024 2:16 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Irrigation systems (home, underground)
Replies: 17
Views: 989

Re: Irrigation systems (home, underground)

jebmke wrote: Thu Feb 01, 2024 2:11 pm my neighbor has two large dogs - but lots here are 2-3 acres. The dogs tear it up. Short of getting a drop-kick dog, it may be a losing battle if a dog is involved.
Tear up the lawn, the sprinkler heads, or the lines underneath the sprinkler? (Or all 3?)
by psteinx
Thu Feb 01, 2024 2:09 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Irrigation systems (home, underground)
Replies: 17
Views: 989

Irrigation systems (home, underground)

OK, in a different thread asking about re-seeding our yard, recommendations for better, consistent watering are near-universal. I don't like to use the manual sprinklers, because they're time consuming to turn on/off, rotate, etc., and I often manage to get myself or my feet wet as I do it. We're in St. Louis area, have a medium sized yard (a bit over 5000 s.f. of grass, plus maybe 1000 s.f. more of garden/shrubs), and our soil is not good. 2-6" of decent topsoil (mostly added at various times), then serious clay+rock. So, trenching can be done but is not easy. Furthermore, the areas needing watering are separated into two parts, without a very good path between them to connect a system, underground (i.e. the house itself/driveway/back...
by psteinx
Thu Feb 01, 2024 1:53 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: college decision: UIUC or UF for ECE?
Replies: 339
Views: 31715

Re: college decision: $63k UIUC ECE or full-ride UF ECE?

We toured the campus over our spring break, and it was a night and day difference from UIUC. Kids were really happy to be there, the campus was gorgeous with lots of new buildings, and she arraigned a sit down with a couple of professors in the business school who gave her a strong pitch for their combined BA/MS masters program that could be completed in four years (we figured if she got this sort of attention as a high school senior, she would get attention as an undergraduate). The best part was going to the football stadium at the end of the day, and seeing it filled with accepted HS seniors happily taking family photos in the end zones. This was a complete 180 degree difference from the UIUC experience. Good post. Yes, kids should be h...
by psteinx
Thu Feb 01, 2024 1:28 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Grass seed methods, timing, etc.
Replies: 35
Views: 2697

Re: Grass seed methods, timing, etc.

achillesheel wrote: Thu Feb 01, 2024 11:13 am Is the problem: the grass seed germinates but withers, or that it never "takes"?
Generally, it doesn't germinate at all.

Part of my issue is that I don't have an irrigation system and am rather lazy about using manually operated sprinklers. I do try to do it some with new seed down, but probably not enough. Maybe 3-5x/week (for 2-3 weeks) rather than 2x/day that some are advocating. We *do* tend to get a lot of spring rain from ~mid-March to ~mid-May, so that helps. Maybe I need a combination of more aggressively raking the soil, more watering, and maybe using something to keep things moist (straw and/or coated seed and/or peat and/or the hydro-soil stuff some are advocating.
by psteinx
Thu Feb 01, 2024 1:04 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Bedroom air circulation - jumper duct?
Replies: 38
Views: 3713

Re: Bedroom air circulation - jumper duct?

I'm kind of excited about this idea because it would also help address a possible issue that a ceiling fan would be of little help with : CO2 buildup. One of the BRs in question is small (~11' x 11' with 8' ceilings), and we are converting it to a guest BR for 2 adults. 2 adults in that room with bad air circulation would likely cause CO2 buildup and perhaps not so restful sleep. Ceiling fans have ~3 issues in this application - low ceiling heights, inferior lighting (brightness/flexibility) compared to a standard light fixture, and a bit more cost/time/complexity to select and install, I think. Installing a true return air vent from these BRs to the HVAC might be possible, but would be challenging. They're 2nd story BRs, the HVAC is in the...
by psteinx
Thu Feb 01, 2024 12:57 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Bedroom air circulation - jumper duct?
Replies: 38
Views: 3713

Re: Bedroom air circulation - jumper duct?

psteinx wrote: Thu Feb 01, 2024 12:49 pm Our upstairs is carpeted, and there is only a thin gap under a closed door for the air to move through.
FWIW, I measure the gap at ~3/8" for one of the affected rooms, ~1/2" for the other, times 29" of breadth for the door, equals about 11-14 square inches for the air to flow out under the doors. The open area of the incoming vent grill is about 9.5" x 3.5", or ~33 square inches. Knock a bit off the input for the obstruction of the grill itself, and you're still about 2x inflow versus outflow. And maybe the long skinny nature of the outflow reduces the effectiveness of that, as well?
by psteinx
Thu Feb 01, 2024 12:49 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Bedroom air circulation - jumper duct?
Replies: 38
Views: 3713

Bedroom air circulation - jumper duct?

Our 4BR house has registers putting air *IN* to each of the 4 BRs, but only has a return air vent in the master. The kids have complained about airflow for years. They generally keep BR doors closed. Our upstairs is carpeted, and there is only a thin gap under a closed door for the air to move through. I had been thinking of trying to address this with ceiling fans* (not in the relevant BRs at present), but in looking at another old thread , saw mention of jumper ducts. * Realizing that ceiling fans won't help TOO much on getting air in/out of the rooms, but the circulation itself might be helpful for temperature, at least. This appears to potentially be a rather straightforward solution. Here's a government page with information: https://b...
by psteinx
Thu Feb 01, 2024 9:12 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Grass seed methods, timing, etc.
Replies: 35
Views: 2697

Re: Grass seed methods, timing, etc.

lthenderson wrote: Thu Feb 01, 2024 5:19 am I think the first order of business is to improve drainage so that you don't have a sloppy muddy mess for a yard.
Drainage is reasonable, for the most part. But we get extended rainy stretches here, more commonly in April/May, but throughout the year to some extent including last week.
by psteinx
Thu Feb 01, 2024 9:11 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Grass seed methods, timing, etc.
Replies: 35
Views: 2697

Re: Grass seed methods, timing, etc.

4nursebee wrote: Thu Feb 01, 2024 4:55 am You also do not discuss why you have lots of mud. Perhaps there is more going on.
We had about a week of rain/drizzle without much sun.

Patchy grass + mud + dog = not great for keeping the house floors clean.
by psteinx
Wed Jan 31, 2024 11:44 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Suggestions on where to move?
Replies: 135
Views: 10688

Re: Suggestions on where to move?

Given that husband's team is in Chicago (even though he's remote), have you thought about Chicago-land or maybe even Milwaukee? Would proximity to his team, even if only for sporadic in-office time, be helpful? Cold, yes. But Chicago is a great city. Big city amenities, reasonable real estate prices, and various suburban options let you avoid some of the downsides of the city. Love to visit Chicago but the taxes and the weather make it a no. Taxes? I think IL income taxes are ~on par with a lot of other states. (Yes, maybe you're spoiled coming from WA, but most other locations on your list *do* have a state tax). Not sure about property taxes, but remember that property tax $bill = property tax % times property value. If the % in location...
by psteinx
Wed Jan 31, 2024 11:39 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Suggestions on where to move?
Replies: 135
Views: 10688

Re: Suggestions on where to move?

Given that husband's team is in Chicago (even though he's remote), have you thought about Chicago-land or maybe even Milwaukee? Would proximity to his team, even if only for sporadic in-office time, be helpful?

Cold, yes. But Chicago is a great city. Big city amenities, reasonable real estate prices, and various suburban options let you avoid some of the downsides of the city.
by psteinx
Wed Jan 31, 2024 10:49 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: college decision: UIUC or UF for ECE?
Replies: 339
Views: 31715

Re: college decision: $63k UIUC ECE or full-ride UF ECE?

According to US News and world report University of Florida is ranked the #6 public university in the nation (28th overall). A far cry from “podunk.” By comparison UIUC is #35 nationally. So if you want to drop a quarter mill on a lower ranked university, by all means. But don’t delude yourself into thinking that’ll be the difference between a successfully career and an unsuccessfully career https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities I wouldn't give much weight to the overall ranking of the school. I would want to know the ranking of the ECE departments instead. In fact, if there was a small tech college with just tech majors offered, I would even consider that. And I feel the opposite. More specifically, I would t...
by psteinx
Wed Jan 31, 2024 10:41 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Grass seed methods, timing, etc.
Replies: 35
Views: 2697

Grass seed methods, timing, etc.

Once again, a chunk of our backyard (St. Louis area) is a bit of a sloppy mess. ~40% grass coverage, lots of mud. Typically, the grass (fescue and maybe some bluegrass, I think), starts greening up late Feb/early Mar, and really growing about a month later. I *think* I've got the soil chemistry (nitrogen/pH) fairly good (had it checked twice last year, added various stuff). Seeding to thicken the yard has always been a challenge. It seems things only really germinate if they make substantial contact with the soil - just spreading seed over the top does little. I've tried some light raking (metal rake) before/after seed, but doing that enough to really get the seed into the soil is hard. Best luck in the past has been seeding after heavy aer...
by psteinx
Mon Jan 29, 2024 3:26 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: California Real Estate Qs
Replies: 27
Views: 1820

Re: California Real Estate Qs

For all those saying beware of longer commutes: The ironic thing is the commute from this place would be longer than her current commute (his would stay about the same). She would probably go from mostly in-office to part-time tele-commuting, and suck up the commute the rest of the time (FWIW, the place they looked at is ~south-central S.F., so not as bad as commuting from the Marina or whatever). She is eager to live in the city, versus what she feels is a bit stale mid/south peninsula location. They're also dissatisfied with their current apartment, for various reasons, but of course they could rent a better one (on the peninsula, in S.F., or whatever). And maybe she wants to nest a little. Anyways, some good information in this thread. T...