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Joined 11 months ago
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Cake day: August 21st, 2023

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  • I’ll layer on to the other replies which are spot on…

    One reason I’ve soured on hydrogen is that it’s overall much less efficient than battery as an energy storage mechanism.

    This is a really in depth article about a study that found that “well to wheel” efficiency of battery EVs was 70-80% and with hydrogen it’s 25-30%.

    I was initially excited about hydrogen as energy storage for renewable sources, but battery tech has improved and is improving.

    Also, one of the major advantages of a BEV for me is the ability to charge at home, possibly from energy generated by my own panels. Even if there were solutions for me to generate my own hydrogen, I’d rather lose 20-30% of that energy with a BEV than lose 70-75% with a FCEV.


  • I’m not sure it’s true that the Israeli government doesn’t care about American public opinion, since they do benefit from American military support, but let’s assume what you said is true.

    Even if Americans protesting won’t stop the genocide, won’t end apartheid, I’d prefer that those atrocities are not committed with my tax dollars, with support from my government, in my name. The lesson learned from 9/11 shouldn’t have been “we need to enact regime change anywhere in the world where American interest are opposed”. It should have been “Americans better make sure they are OK with the things that their government is doing abroad”.

    I’m not OK with it, I’m not willing to risk dying in a terrorist attack so that Gaza can be levelled with “made in America” munitions. I’m not willing to risk dying in a terrorist attack so that oil companies and other big business interests have friendly regimes to collude with in the region as they scam the people out of their resources and freedoms.



  • Replayed the Prime series a bunch, most recently the switch remake of Prime.

    Great series, I didn’t like some of the dialog/cinematics of the third one but the gameplay was great.

    Dread was really good, exceeded expectations. Final boss was hard I’m not sure I ever beat it.

    Super Metroid was great but I’m not sure whether I ever beat Ridley.

    I think I completed the remake though. Really hoping to see Prime 4 at some point, maybe on a new console.




  • The best I ever had was a 6% full match, and the company contributed another 3% that I didn’t have to match. The result was company contributing 9% and me contributing 3%. So I agree with other comments saying you should probably be contributing about 15% total. That extra 3% doesn’t have to be in the same account though, you could open your own if you get better investment options with lower fees.

    12% contribution that you don’t have to match is amazing and just make sure you’re fully vested before you take a new job. Sometimes there is a rule that those contributions are not truly yours until you’ve been at the company for a number of year.


  • The best I ever had was a 6% full match, and the company contributed another 3% that I didn’t have to match. The result was company contributing 9% and me contributing 3%. So I agree with other comments saying you should probably be contributing about 15% total. That extra 3% doesn’t have to be in the same account though, you could open your own if you get better investment options with lower fees.

    12% contribution that you don’t have to match is amazing and just make sure you’re fully vested before you take a new job. Sometimes there is a rule that those contributions are not truly yours until you’ve been at the company for a number of year.



  • I second the recommendations here about finding an activity that you like. For me it was rec sports. Gets me out of the house a few days a week, and for me it was an activity to help me stay active but also a reason TO get fit. I wanted to feel less beat up after playing, so I started working out and stretching regularly.

    I also had trouble with getting to the gym, and had trouble with focus and picking workouts, so I had success with P90x. It’s all workouts you can do at home with some adjustable dumbbells. I think I got a deal on the streaming subscription to Beachbody for 100$ for the year. Then I just followed the program and the workout calendar. They have a number of different programs on there, if you want to get ripped I recommend P90x, if you just want to do some sort of workout for 30 minutes a day I’d recommend p90x3 because it’s easier to stick to.

    That was a good start for me, but I ultimately settled on just picking my favorite moves from the program and I switch between upper and lower body workouts every day because I found I was consistently skipping certain days of the programs.



  • Public opinion was very much in favor of the war in Afghanistan after 9/11. Maybe not so much Iraq, but it’s hard to blame Bush squarely for those wars when they had bipartisan support.

    Bush is done doing damage to our country, and might actually be considered a voice of reason compared to today’s Republicans.

    It’s definitely already Trump, and he’s not even done doing damage yet.

    Even if Republicans elect someone who is identical to Trump in his words, views, and actions, that person would still be better for the country than Trump. It’s critically important for the justice department to hold him accountable for the insurrection and trying to overthrow our democracy, or it WILL happen again.


  • OpenPassageways@lemmy.ziptoPersonal Finance@lemmy.mlOn Retirement Savings
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    9 months ago

    I think this depends on your lifestyle. These calculations contain an assumption that your lifestyle lines up with your income and that you will want to continue spending at the same rates when you retire.

    Many people (especially in the US) will get a raise and buy bigger houses, cars, etc. If you’re disciplined about living beneath your means then a raise just means you can save more.

    I bought a house at 23 and paid it off in 10years. (Maybe not the best financial decision given what happened in the stock market over that same period). When I retire I plan to have another paid off property and rental income from the first. I won’t have a mortgage, and should have rental income instead. Things like that change the picture in ways that these targets likely don’t account for.



  • I’m at the same time horrified and fascinated by them. I saw a comment that accused NATO of causing he war to “drag on”. When I brought up that Russia could just leave, I got people unironically replying that Ukraine was the aggressor in the war and that it was Ukraine committing genocide and attacks on civilians. I understand that I could be trapped in a western bubble… but really? I didn’t bother asking for a source because I’m sure the only source for that misinformation is the Kremlin. What’s crazy is that you would think the Russian shills would be spread out trying to infect other communities with disinformation, instead they all flock to this echo chamber apparently, so it seems likely that they genuinely believe this stuff.