Wait, Tesla Is a Value Stock? Welcome to the Wacky World of Factor ETFs – WSJ
A 20-year old Honda Civic 🚘
I realize that’s the term I use for a toaster on wheels – a vehicle that has four wheels and gets you places – at least on snow and ice free asphalt reliably, but maybe boringly. And every day car, something you drive to work the 250 or work days every year, to the mall and shopping center, the gas station, the community rec center, out to visit family and friends. Just “a car.” An appliance.
Some people might be okay with just “a car”. I realize when I name check the 20-year old Honda Civic, I’m probably referring to 80% of all cars on the road, driven by people who don’t really care about their vehicle except that it gets them to their destination, is relatively safe, and doesn’t use much gas.
Some people say a car – it’s beats riding the bus or your bicycle everywhere. You can go a lot farther, quicker on a car at least outside of the city compared to a bike or bus. But truth is I never found much enjoyment in driving, and certainly not in the city. Indeed, one of the first things I wanted when I started working was the ability to park outside of the city and take a bus downtown. I much prefer working downtown the in any suburban office complex. I wasn’t happy when I moved out to suburban office with acres of parking, I continued to take the bus and shuttle any day I didn’t ride my bike to work. I remember the meeting when I was told my work was being shipped to suburban office, I bit my lip, and the meeting ended with being told, I thought you were going to tell us no on the relocation.
Since moving to the city, it’s rare I drive at all during the weekdays, and only really on the weekends to maybe to Walmart and my parents house for Sunday dinner with a quick side trip to hike Bennett Hill or somewhere else. Really what I use my truck for is camping and traveling, visiting places recreationally. And nowadays, I’m much more inclined to get to camp, set up camp, park my rig and spend the full weekend hiking and riding my mountain bike from camp. In recent years, it’s uncommon for me to drive more then 5,000-7,000 miles and that includes a trip to West VIrigina and the Finger Lakes and many weekends in Adirondacks. Indeed, camping is the primary use of my truck.
People say a SuperDuty truck is rather impractical truck if you’re not planning to haul a heavy load regularly. But I like having a big truck for all my camping gear and supplies, I like riding up high, I like the big truck feel and drive. I’d much rather spend my money on a heavy-duty truck then get a half ton and butcher it up with an lift kit. Sure, gas is expensive compared to those little just an appliance cars, but it’s not for commuting. Indeed, I’m not sure I’d ever want to commute. Yes, I do want my off-grid cabin and live rural eventually, but only after I’m done with my career working in he in city, making and saving money.
I really hate how people keep thinking it’s really sad how I don’t own a car. Remember, it was my choice to take Big Red off the road and not get him repaired. Oh, but the local bus is so slow and dirty people tell me. To me, the boy who plans to have pigs and goats at his off-grid homestead in not that many years from now. But I don’t want to own a car, I want to own a real truck for camping and traveling. And not just traveling to Walmart. If I need something at Walmart, I’ll ride my bike there. Or the other two grocery stores around. Big Red was occasionally used for such utilitarian purposes, “as a car” but rarely. It annoys me how everybody keeps asking me – well how are you going to do __________ without a car? I don’t know. Ride my bike? Catch a bus? Or just find something else to do or not do it!
I’ve never really liked driving, certainly not that kind of driving through stop lights, speed zones and traffic, with cops up your ass every five minutes. I’ve known too many people killed and seriously injured by cars. It’s not to say I’m against travel on the weekends, camping, or nights spent up in wilderness, but not the kind of driving that maybe the 20-year old Honda Civic is perfect for.
You know I’m kind of enjoying learning about the auto dealing business 🚘️
People don’t like the scammy tactics of automobile dealers, but I don’t know in some ways its kind of fun to get insight on the techniques they use to close the sale and maximize profits. It’s a world I’ve never taken a deep dive in before, but in many ways it’s not a dishonest as people think it, but there is a lot of trickery and deceit involved too. Kind of reminds me of my years working in politics. Certain things you can get away. Other things, not so much. But if you know the game, and can level with dealers, you can get a fair deal and leave with respect. I really think the key is knowing you’ll never have the experience the salesman has, and you can’t match their inner-knowledge of industry but you can be informed, know the red flags and when something doesn’t seem right, pause and investigate before proceeding.
Pinto beans are cooking down on the stove 🫘
Of course they are. And yeah, I’m watching some dumb Facebook video about dairymen scraping and slinging cow shit, because you know the internet and that’s the first suggested video and it’s winter so nobody’s grazing at this point. That and some random videos about boys with their Ford SuperDuty trucks. Insert some random comment about us rednecks burning garbage in the stinky old burn barrel, horney buck goats, and smoking weed while riding my mountain bike in the wilderness, and I have a blog post with a good pungent taste to it. What can I say, I am such hillbilly want-a-bee.
Happy Winter once again, though it’s going to be another mild and rainy ☔ afternoon, which means I won’t be riding my mountain bike to work today. But it won’t be that long until I can ride both ways to work as Valentines’ Day approaches and the days get longer. 🚂 Got fucking blocked by the train loading at the propane distribution yard last night, and ended up having to catch the later local bus 🚍 home by the time I rode downtown. Those propane tanker trains are so goddamn loud when your standing next to them and their banging their way along the siding, as you’re waiting.
So yeah, taking the yokel local bus (it’s so local and stops every six feet to pick up all the colored and poor people on -my favorite new word – the pogey! ) both ways, because you know it won’t rain today, 👣 and hell I’ll probably have downtown meetings this afternoon, so maybe I’ll get home earlier so I can eat more pinto beans and call it night earlier. 🫘 Maybe I’m just lazy and don’t feel like riding in, but I don’t love doing Corning’s Hill in the morning, having to ride across those slip ramps at rush hour and fight traffic at the US 9W and NY 32 Delmar Bypass Interchange on my mountain bike. But you could be like a normal suburbanite and own a 20-year old Honda Civic and sit in traffic both ways. And buy one of those plastic houses, a grown up version of those kid ones that are often tossed on brush piles to get them burning well when kids grow up. 🔥 How exciting, so much black smoke!
It’s funny how when I don’t abuse drugs, ☕ I mean don’t go for that extra cup or two or three of the extra strong and teeth staining free coffee in the office after having like 3 cups of coffee how much better you sleep at night, 🛏️ and don’t have to listen to podcasts at 1 AM with ads every 5 minutes telling you SEE WHAT YOU REALLY NEED is BETTER HELP and a SO-FAT MATTERESS. I mean I’m not opposed to getting a new mattress if I can burn the old one out back and still have money for a SuperDuty truck and a cabin that smells like wood smoke horney buck goat and burn barrel. 🐐 My office still smelled a bit like wood smoke, as my Carhartt still has that wonderful smell from Christmas Day camping. 🎅 Not only did I sleep good last night, 😴 just like those piles of heritage breed hogs in barn in cold as shown in the social media 🐖 I also slept in a bit but I think I should have enough time to boil down those kidney beans before I have to run out to the local yokel bus. 🚏 And I’ve totally cut out those caffeine pills, 💊 because while I enjoyed the boost and not having to piss every five minutes, they were making me so jittery and making my heart 🫀 feel like it was failing. Probably because it was, and I keep refusing to go to Clifton Park at rush hour and paying $50 to find out I’m one step away from cardiac arrest. 😍
Truth is while I’m made excited about the kidney beans, 🫘 for eating over the balance of the weekend, I am really excited about that after the warm and rain this weekend, ☔ I should be able to ride in most of next week based on the forecast. 🚴 And in a little over a month, be able to ride both ways to work, assuming the bike path is mostly free of snow. Days are better when you don’t have to take the bus to work, or even drive your big-ass Ford SuperDuty truck work in those days when I get it. ⛽ With the fuel economy, even with the destroked Godzilla, yeah, I’ll be doing a lot of riding of the bike to work. I’m actually opening up to paying a little extra for a SuperDuty with the extended cab, as I could live with the 6 3/4′ bed, and those trucks are more avaliable. Honestly, it makes no sense to cheap out when you are taking SuperDuty money, 💵 but I still want to keep to the low trim, simpler configuration that won’t be a big deal if it I get muddy inside and has at least a few less sensors and electronics to break, even though I know it’s 2026 and three-on-the-tree and mechanical everything is on it’s way out. I know it’s going to look crazy living in my dumpy apartment, 🪟 and being without a vehicle for several months, when I come home with big-assed SuperDuty. But honestly, I don’t want a plastic house, and I don’t spend money on a lot of things, but I do like my big trucks. I won’t lift the SuperDuty I tell myself. Well besides maybe a leveling kit and bigger tires. Or maybe not, how big do you really need such a big truck? I have other money invested for that cabin some point the future, and in the mean time once I get the SuperDuty, I can take that up to the woods and have fires 🔥 and enjoy the wilderness while I stay in New York for now for the money. 💰 I like my job as Data Services director, it’s fun, I get paid to write shell scripts and SQL commands, and come up with creative ways of linking and pulling data. 💾
As far as the weekend goes, 🚴 I am thinking of possibly riding out to Walmart on Saturday for some groceries, 🛒 and and maybe out to Five Rivers later in he day. 🐦 Sunday hit up Hannaford for anything remaining on my list. 📜 If my parents don’t give me a ride out to their house this weekend, I’ll go to the laundromat at 6 AM on Monday, taking the bus down there with my laundry soap powder, which should be a learning experience on many levels. 👖 But you could own a plastic house with a 20-year old Honda Civic and a washing machine in basement which works for two weeks before breaking down, and needing hauling off to the landfill and buying a new one. It’s fine, I bet though the big-assed SuperDuty would not be fun to park in the tiny laundromat lot. 🏡 I’m sure once I have it my rent will go up beyond what the welfare office rate, but whatever. Still beats having to commute to work, and I like my big trucks even if I do really want that cabin with the burn barrel, goats and hogs out back. 🛻 I also got Andrew Sorkin’s 1929 audio book out of the library after being on reserve for a few weeks now and I’m quite excited to listen to it this weekend.
“The Lost Mondore Village of Prattsville” Presented by Richard Sears
Learn about Negro/Nigger Hill in Prattsville.
A little more then a month before I can ride both ways to work 🚴♂️🌇
You know that makes me as a happy as a pig in shit.
But seriously, a day when can ride both ways to work sure beats taking the bus. Usually on a clear day if the bike trail is free snow, by around Valentines Day, I can eek my home on the bike path with enough daylight to make it to the town roads for riding before dusk. Sometimes this is pushing it, obviously this depends on the trail conditions and how cloudy it is. By Presidents Day, if the trail is snow free and the weather is good for riding, then I’m golden.
Not only do I get home feeling all pumped from riding up that hill and enjoying the scenic beauty, I’ll get home 15-20 minutes earlier then if I took the bus. All without the inconvenience and cost of riding the bus. Then I get home, have dinner, and retire to bed. Already it’s great – it’s not pitch black when I leave the office on my bike at 5:15 PM in the evening.