I can see the desire to own equal weighted funds, especially as they get you more small caps when thee magnificent seven are dominating the market and over weighting index funds, but I think a lower fee small cap index fund is a better way to correct for such imbalance with less turnover than a true equal weighted fund. That said, a lot of small caps are that way because they have slow growth, are in dying industries and have limited prospects for growth. But I do have some investments in small cap funds just like I do some investments in energy sector stocks as a hedge against energy inflation pulling down the market as a whole. But they are not a large part of my portfolio as they're risky and kind of side bets.
Apparently the dire emergency snowstorm pulled off earlier then they expected, despite all the homeland extreme security warnings without the word ICE, lest it confuse people that the federal government is invading their communities while I continue to explore options for the Ford F-350 trucks. I am actually not minding not owning a vehicle currently.
After all the warnings of the Dire Emergency Homeland Extreme Snowstorm, ☃️ we ended up getting like two inches of very light fluffy snow in Delmar and already the roads are mostly clear. It stopped snowing like six hours ago. Yes, if you have had more then 5 beers in the past hour, please stay off the roads, they’re dangerous when you’re that intoxicated. But other then that, I’m just shrugging. I guess I’m just spoiled living in the city without a car. I’m glad at least I didn’t need to run to laundromat at 6 AM this morning, though if I hadn’t done my wash over the weekend I’ll probably just waited until tomorrow.
I am not minding not having to clean the snow off my truck, 🌨️ or for that matter driving into the office. Neighbor took my parking spot last night, 🅿️ which was fine, it’s not like I’m going to be parking there until spring time. He moved his truck this morning after shoveling out his spot. Lot of snow of snow, but it’s light and fluffy, although far less snow then the warnings of the Dire Emergency 🚨 on the news media yesterday. I bet there is some big snow banks in the city, but the thing about living in the city, they never get much snow. Buses are few minutes late, but not that bad. 🚍 If my office wasn’t closed today, I wouldn’t have hesitated to catch the bus in after watching the Real Time Bus Info on my phone.
Working from home today, as the office is closed down. 🏢 I actually did not bring my laptop home, so if I need VPN access I’ll just end up riding my bike or catching a bus to the office, 🚌 honestly the snow has wound down, and I could go to the office, though the buses may be backed up in the city and running late with all the abandoned and poorly parked cars in the city before the snow emergency starts. Honestly, the biggest annoyance for me is the delayed buses after the snow. I’m hoping they declare the snow emergency quickly so traffic moves quickly again on city streets. 🚲 I am probably going to bike in tomorrow via Corning’s Hill, so avoid the delays of Delaware Avenue if there are still cars abandoned on the road. It will be cold, and I’m not sure if the paths through Corning Preserve will be plowed but if necessary I can ride city streets in.
I mean I know people in out laying areas got a lot more snow, ☃️ but in the city, it’s usually more alarmist then otherwise unless of course you park on the street. But the snow appears to be done, and if not for delayed buses or the bike path being blocked, there is very little impact on my life – working from home seems to almost be a bonus as I don’t have to shower or put on clean clothes – and I save on the evening bus fare. 🚍 Of course, I do want the snow to be gone so I can start using the Rail Trail over Corning’s Hill, especially come later in February when daylight will permit riding in both directions. 🚲
I am sure I’d feel differently about the snow 🧑🏻🌾 if I had livestock to feed 🐐, water throughs to break the ice on, a driveway to plow, a path to clear back to the barns, compost pile and burning barrel. At least no fire risk! Solar panels to clean off, generators to start, woodstove to restock, water lines to worry about freezing. 🤷♂️ I do like those timber-frame houses and that barnyard smell a bit too much. Or having to drive on icy, slippery roads to work. But I live in he city and are working remote today. Someday when I have the homestead, I’ll be able to curl up next to woodstove after getting done with chores, I really want to avoid living away from city while I still have to work there. 🚍 People mock riding the bus or your mountain bike as a unit director, and living in a very dumpy apartment, but it sure is convenient after a snow storm. And the hell of it is the city never gets that much snow, and in the more spread out suburban areas, the snow is easily pushed out of way, 🚘 traffic flows restored quickly with few issues. I get, it’s different when you live some place like Westerlo, but if I lived in a place like that, I’d not want to have to go to city on days like this or be dependent on things like the power grid which often fails in bad weather. 🔌
People are shocked 🤯 I rode my mountain bike to Walmart 4½ miles in yesterday’s bitterly cold weather, but I really enjoyed the apples 🍏 I got among other things. Made a really good apple bread in my cast iron skillet in the oven yesterday for dinner. And while my fingers were cold and numb at first riding out to Walmart, 🧤 by the way back they weren’t as bothered by the cold and indeed I took the longer route back home. Honestly, it’s just nice not having to clean off my truck or deal with snow at all, though maybe later I’ll dig out the bus stop assuming CDTA doesn’t have it cleaned up by tomorrow. Eggs this morning with onions and shredded broccoli, 🥦🥚 it had been a while since I did that. I think I overdone the pinto beans thing, though I did have onions and beans for lunch yesterday. Tonight I’ll probably break out some of the leftovers I’ve been taking home from mom and dad’s house, they’ve been accumulating again in the freezer.
I keep studying inventory at local dealerships 🔎 🛻, noting the specific models available and listed prices, not that those are real prices as there is always a bit of flexibility and doesn’t include dealer fees or taxes. Not that I’m planning to buy tomorrow, but it’s good to know what configurations are available. I was all about getting the 6.8L over the 7.3L but I’m now leaning towards the bigger engine, as it supposedly tougher and more reliable and 10L140 is a heavier duty tranny, though that does seem to be weak spot on the Fords. Also started to consider Dodge Ram HDs, I’ve heard good things about them, and while I would not necessarily consider any Chrysler products which are infamous for their defects especially their Jeeps, they’re supposedly quite good. Fuel economy doesn’t seem much different between the Ford 6.8L and the 7.3L but the later has a better reputation, though like any engine, there are people who have issues. Definately want to get the FX4 package, just for the skid plates. They aren’t perfect but they do offer protection especially against snow. And having the locker in the rear will help with traction. All HD trucks have front straight axles, which avoid so many of problems I’ve had with independent front suspension with the rough roads I drive, straight axles don’t have control arms or ball joints to break. And naturally asipriated engines require much less repairs. I know, it’s just mental masturbation over buying a big truck that I don’t really need. But I make good money and live in city where I ride my bike or bus it to work, like any greenie who burns his trash would. Sigh!
I get so annoyed when I am riding the bus to work after a big snow storm and traffic is severely delayed by cars parked and abandoned in the middle of the street due to the enormous snow banks curbside along Delaware Avenue.
But it’s kind of nice after this snow storm to know I won’t have to dig out my truck or do any shoveling, as the landlord will plow the driveway and CDTA will plow out the bus stop. I don’t have to think about icy roads or the cold, I can just stumble out to the bus stop on Tuesday, keeping an eye on the real-time bus info, and just get to work with no real issues, except maybe where the bus lets you on or off in snow.
4½ miles each way, five degrees. Snowing fairly hard by the time I got home. With the cold and because I had no reason to go to Walmart, I was going to go to Price Chopper in Slingerlands but my electric toothbrush stopped working and I wanted to get are replacement as I think it does a better job then a manual toothbrush.
Truth is Market32 aka Price Chopper in Slingerlands really annoys me, both the store itself and the rich people who shop there. It has a nice produce section but I really don’t need 394 different brands of Organic Woke Brand Choco Puffs with Added Protein for $15.99. One thing I like is how they have oatmeal packaged in a lightweight plastic bag rather then the big cardboard tube it comes in at Walmart. Easier to carry and less trash, which I’m so careful about these days without having a truck or regular fires.
My fingers were so numb when I got there but the way back didn’t seem that cold. I could barely move my fingers when I got to Walmart until they warmed up. And they hurt for a while. The roads were fine both ways, though on the way home they were starting to get a bit greasy and snow covered. Took Bender Lane to Walmart, and while you’re not supposed to make a left turn there with a car, I did sneak around the median with my bike. I do like the one stop shopping and low prices of Walmart, but I do always end up spending more then I should there because of the psychological tricks they use there. Price Chopper just seem really over priced so I normally are loathe to buy that “one extra” thing, you know how that goes.
Going shopping wasn’t essential today, but I mostly wanted carrots to use in my pancakes and other meals, like bread, soups,
That and they are promising a dire emergency winter snowstorm super homeland disaster emergency. Or whatever the colored television is calling it these days. Mom got another remote for her television, and I pushed more buttons and it changed the channel on her SmartyPaints television and got to the next channel about ICE burning immigrant babies in Minnesota and how to lard up your dinner menu with more fat, salt and sugar. Or whatever they’re trashing your mind and stomach with these days.
Even with the two plus feet of snow coming, ☃️ it’s actually a nice calm morning. Still cold and in the single digits, but without the breeze it feels much warmer. 🚲 I want to get some carrots 🥕, bananas 🍌 and oatmeal so I might ride out to Price Chopper this morning, mostly because I want the exercise. I doubt I’ll be doing much riding on Monday, and probably Tuesday will be difficult to ride to work. I was looking at my credit card bill, and noticing how much I’m saving not having a vehicle, as I tend to buy less groceries due to needing to haul on bike and not having an easy way to take trash to transfer station. 🗑️ It’s so much easier in the summer when you have a fire every few days or weeks. 🔥 I haven’t bought any Greek yogurt or fake sugar-free syrup since I retired Red, in part because of the problem of getting rid of containers, as we all know especially No 5 plastic doesn’t get recycled even if you toss it in the designated bin. ⛽ And while I don’t drive much in the winter, haven’t had any gas bills since I fueled Red up at the end of year. And got $275 back from my insurance, which brought my bank emergency savings account back up to balance. 💳
Yesterday, Dad picked me up and I went out to visit the folks. 👨👨👦 It was nice to visit for a while, they made up riggis and had a little party for my 43rd birthday. 🎂 It seems like only yesterday, I was doing some camping and skiing up at Rensselearville State Forest for my birthday. How fast time comes and goes. It feels good though at this point, being in much better shape, 🫃🏻 eating healthy food 🍏, riding my bike to work much of the year, 🚲 and watching as my savings and investment grow, as I inch closer – year by year – towards retirement and owning that off-grid homestead. Going past the house next door that I toured a few years ago, the people who moved in had a rip-roaring bonfire 🔥 going yesterday before the snow. It could have been mind, but it was a werid parcel with only 5 acres, no wood stove and limited wood lot, right on the main road with another residential in holding, so not only would I have been careful what I burnt, there would be the road noise, risk of livestock getting on the road, though it did have a nice barn for pigs and goats and outdoor sink for butchering. 🐐 🗡️ But it looks like the new owners are enjoying it, and I still have the cash that would have gone into it. And honestly, I like living in city, especially now without a vehicle. ☃️ No snow to shovel or cars to clean off for me.
This morning, I am heading out to Price Chopper in a bit. 🚴 Not because I have any essentials to pick up, but I want the ride for the exercise before the snow starts to pick up. It’s cold but I want the exercise as once snow comes, it’s going to be deep and likely stick around for a while based on the forecast. 🌨️ Going to be Corning Hill for the bike ride in, and probably delayed buses on Tuesday and maybe Wednesday until the snow emergency and they get Delaware Avenue cleaned to the point where the buses aren’t blocked by cars parked way out in the middle of the road. 📚 Then I need to get some books out of the Libby or Hoopla to read, and most studying up on car buying strageties and Ford SuperDuty trucks. I don’t want to call the truck I’m buying an F-250 or F-350, as for my purposes the difference doesn’t matter much as I’m not planning to buy such a heavy trailer that I need a one-ton truck axle but if that’s what’s available in the package and price I want over the 3/4-ton truck axle, there is no difference besides a stiffer ride, as all other equipment is generally the same.
One of the areas I’ve been watching a lot of is videos of real people negogating 📺 car buys with hidden recorders, and what makes an effective deal 🤝 literally saving thousands of dollars 💵 while getting the vehicle you want. And now I’ve started to study window stickers more, and under what the various trim and features packages really mean. With those HD trucks so you have so many different configurations as people use them for everything from hauling cattle to plowing and towing trailers to the oil fields. What do I really need and want? How much do I care about appearance? How do the various features work on the modern Fords? All questions I am trying to answer. 🙋 Like while I had heard the the hill descent feature is fantastic on extremely icy roads, I had no idea how it worked. The manual lockers and hubs are great, and while I had some idea how they worked on Ford I learned a lot more watching YouTube. What tires do I want? While they’re a consumable item and OEM tires are crap even if they are AT, it’s something to consider as they’ll likely be what I’m driving on for the first four or five years of the truck’s life.
