Pawn shops

there are used furniture stores sprinkled here & there. . . there are also pawn shops but that seemed a bit too close to the yazuka world to mess with . . .

keywords you'll need:

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Good Day Books in Ebisu has got the best selection & prices, plus you can exchange old books for credit with them.

As for cheap... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 3:10 AM on March 6, 2008

Mark Frauenfelder's serialized chronicles of bringing his family to Rarotonga was an interesting read.
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 5:24 PM on March 5, 2008

Studio 8 was the main reason I shelled out $6000+ for my first Mac [IIcx] back in 1989. Better pixel-pusher than PS CS.
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 10:41 PM on March 4, 2008

FXC & FXE are good because they also pay interest!

cough, some coinflp . . .
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 10:36 PM on March 4, 2008

Numbers please.

Loan amount, down payment, location, points you can pay.

FWIW I use eloan.com's "Search Rates" feature almost exclusively now to track the market. I don't know how reliable this source is but it certainly appears legit.

Also, there can be no net inflation[1] without wage inflation, and I just have a hard time seeing wages rise like they did in the 1970s, and without wage inflation there won't be... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 12:48 AM on March 4, 2008

Paying down the principal is an option, but again wouldn't that money be better spent on a CD with its higher interest rates?

Good luck in finding one of those! CD interest is taxable, at your marginal rate (which for many people here in Cali is ~40%) too!

Esp. knowing that the interest we pay on the mortgage is tax-deductable?

getting rid of debt, and the interest it is creating,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 12:40 PM on March 4, 2008

I flew to Vegas last summer and the TSA thing wasn't as bad as it was in 2002.

As for Amtrak, just imagine a train service run by the USPS.
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 2:07 AM on March 4, 2008

God I hope you're a false-flag liberal here trying to make fundies look bad.
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 1:20 AM on March 4, 2008

^ pacifist.

ANYhoo, my best bud joined the (US) Army Reserve at age 33 in the aftermath of 9/11 for some reason. Did well at intelligence school. Challenging & rewarding work involved with integrating and working with the Korean counterparts. E-6 already, E-7 after he gets back from Iraq.

The Army needs sharp people and if you get on the accelerated "Intel" course you'll be able to bypass the shittier lower-grade make-work BS... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 9:31 PM on March 3, 2008

ム！
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 9:09 PM on March 2, 2008

The way I see it, we've got 3 possible courses of events up ahead:

1) The Great Depression course: economic implosion over 10+ years leading to global dislocations, double-dip recessions amidst weak domestic economic vitality, massive credit defaults, capping off with a major war, eg. China and Russia mixing it up over Korea and/or Taiwan.

2) The milder course: Japan's "Lost Decade" . . . speculative excess leads to credit destruction... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 11:10 AM on March 2, 2008 marked best answer

^ addedum, make sure the tech you do master isn't something a tech grad can pull out of an O'Reilly book in a week or two. To thrive in tech with two billion asians wanting your job, you've got to be the guy able to WRITE the O'Reilly book, and/or be the professional, front-office "face" of the enterprise.
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 11:15 AM on March 2, 2008

historically speaking, we live in a very peaceful, safe, non-eventful time.

which sees us charging our standard of living on the national credit cards while outsourcing our wealth-creation human capital to Mexico and China, plus being on the wrong side of Hubbert's peak domestically, requiring us to send huge chunks of our GDP to the OPEC nations, while facing demographic stresses in health care that WILL require us to adapt to a new status quo... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 1:26 PM on March 2, 2008 marked best answer

Extra points going to things which can increase my self-reliance (tools and equipment for example), and even more points to acquiring infrastructure that can enable me to do things people will pay for

harlequin's above is important, too. In economics terms he is biasing his purchasing more towards capital goods rather than consumer goods.

My first above, 45moore's follow on about savings, and harlequin are all talking about the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 1:31 PM on March 2, 2008

If you're in California and in good hiking shape then the back side of the Sierras is an excellent & cheap getaway for a week or 3.

I went with a friend's group back in 2002 and discovered a part of the world I didn't even know existed, kinda like a secret level in SMB.

There are no services and no motor vehicles once you're past the trailhead. Just you, your group (if you have one), your supplies, your wilderness survival skills, and fellow... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 12:53 PM on March 2, 2008

anybody have any experience with CarMax? I like their approach, but dunno if they're any better.
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 8:35 PM on February 29, 2008

Rock of Ages, Def Leppard
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 7:35 PM on February 26, 2008

or a warm jacket and sneakers?

Dude, that's not enough in August. And climbing from "the bottom" adds about 10x the effort, and time, required, since the popular trailheads are only 2~3 miles from the summit (as the crow flies, the triails themselves wind about quite a lot).

But March through April is an excellent time to be in Japan. The weather will change quickly from Winter to Spring. The daytime chill will leave.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 11:06 PM on February 24, 2008

The Battle of Algiers for a depiction of the post-Vietnam crackerjack French Army Paratroops taking control of the situation in French Algeria.
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 10:51 PM on February 24, 2008

I did this in 2007, with $10,000 from BofA & later Discover at 0%.

I just put in in HSBC's 5% online account since I don't think it's wise to speculate with borrowed money. I netted about $200 from the exercise. Frankly, I found it really wasn't worth the admin time, but I guess $100,000 might have been.

Leave room for interest gains when looking at the $100K FDIC caps, they'll return up to $100,000, but not a penny more !
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 3:04 PM on February 21, 2008

Simple answer: nobody knows.
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 12:06 AM on February 21, 2008

I got a Zojirushi breadmaker last month.

1/4 cup water
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
2 1/4 cups bread flour
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 1/3 tbsp butter
1 tsp yeast.

Push button
Wait 3 hours

Crunchy on the outside, moist on the inside
;)
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 12:56 AM on February 20, 2008

but it hurts my feelings

you need to grow up and start making allowances for people being people, ie. idiots.
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 9:01 PM on February 12, 2008

license plates, eg. where in the current sequence numbers are being assigned.

phases of the moon, how its lit hemisphere faces where the sun is relative to the horizon, and its differing location in the sky each day/night.

birds, especially falcons soaring high up in the sky.
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 12:57 PM on February 12, 2008 marked best answer

social security is paid from the first dollar of income so I would say no.

But I am not an IRS agent.
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 12:10 PM on February 11, 2008

newegg is my favorite for the one-stop DIY store.

You can learn a lot from the reviews they have.

But really, it's pretty basic . . .

1. Motherboard (ATX flavor, BTX got rejected by the Taiwanese alas)
2. Graphics card(s)
3. Power supply (make sure it can power your graphics card(s) as required)
4. Case to match your motherboard type
5. Hard disk(s)
6. Optical... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 10:27 PM on February 10, 2008

shit . . .0. CPU (AMD or Intel)
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 10:27 PM on February 10, 2008

Welcome to my life! I could have written every f'in word, other than being 24, sigh.

[I'm here on the green due to some procrastination issues with my in-progress iphone shareware project :( ]

What I am in the process of doing is your #4: Saving capital.

I call it "fueling the tank", banking the rocket fuel that will propel the enterprise forward before it either becomes self-supporting or falls back to Earth.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 6:58 PM on February 9, 2008

Phrases:

"ICHIRO DAISUKI" [dai-ski] -- I love Ichiro (?)

"ICHIRO KAKKO II" [kako ee] -- Ichiro is cool

"ICHIRO SAIN KUDASAI!" [sign ku-dah-sigh] -- please sign

"ICHIRO DAI FAN DESU!" [die fan dess] -- I'm a big fan

"ICHIRO SORE-SHIKA SHIRAN" -- [so-ray shka shee-rahn] -- That's all I know!
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 2:49 PM on February 9, 2008

I was going to say Maui but it -- the island itself -- is not the most "natural" place unless you hang out in Hana, which doesn't have tourist support at all.

Kauai is the better bet for nature and "me" time.

If you like driving you could just get in a car and head north on Highway 101/1 until half of your time runs out, then head back. Totally the off season so lodging won't be a problem. Just don't try to explore into the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 12:30 PM on February 9, 2008

A: No.

Get a MacBook, or black MacBook if you don't mind spending $100 on a color.
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 5:04 PM on February 8, 2008

2nding exploring the energy/military sector. That was my plan in the late 80s until that bus blew up.

My backup plan, going to Japan right out of college, worked pretty damn well tho. There's an interesting dynamic there where companies -- big companies like Sony, NEC, etc -- that need specialist staff will look at tech people who have already made the transition to Japan a little more favorably than the same person still stateside. Plus there is something of a big-fish... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 8:54 PM on February 7, 2008

just take him to the library, let him find his own taste is MHO.
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 8:44 PM on February 7, 2008

We Don't Die, We Multiply: The Robin Harris Story has the Robin Harris standup bit ("[if ya] Gotta go, [ya] Gotta Go!") that totally slayed me when I first saw it on TV in the late 80s.
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 12:45 AM on February 7, 2008

world-changing to me would be reliable auto-translation. Popjisho is the prototypical, first baby-step example. I suspect/hope Google Research will be the first to market with the initial actualization of this.
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 6:15 PM on February 6, 2008

btw, here's a guy who saw the whole f'in enchilada back in 1989. . .
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 11:19 PM on February 6, 2008

milestogo: the web was layered over the pre-existing internet?
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 11:25 PM on February 6, 2008

that it generally takes a larger family to make up for the up-front cost in savings.

That really doesn't make any sense to me since the whole point of tankless is that you're not heating water you're not using, so you should save more the less you run the hot.

But perhaps I'm missing something.

I had 2 years of tanked and 6 of tankless in Japan, and the tankless was pretty good, except when the goddamn... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 11:08 PM on February 6, 2008

Su's Mongolian BBQ. Crappy decor but oh-so-good old-school make-your-own "mongolian" bowls. If I were leaving the area that's the last place I'd eat here.

Lawrence Hall of Science above the UCB campus. Fun attractions inside for kids & the view of the bay from there is beyond fantastic.

After that, drive over the Bay Bridge and head into the city! My favorite city places are Japan Town, Golden Gate Park & the bridge itself.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 10:40 PM on February 4, 2008

btw, if you're interested in optimal use of your short time here DO NOT attempt to use the public transit. It sucks in so many ways [having lived in Tokyo for 8 years I know what proper public transit is supposed to be like].
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 10:41 PM on February 4, 2008

$5000 is nothing, $50 to $100 in minimum monthly payments in a normal situation.

Credit counseling with the angle of establishing payment plans is the best.

The approach of targetting to pay off the smallest and/or highest-rate first, and then after that's paid off roll the payment into the next balance, is the way to go.

$50000, that's a problem.

with the loan-agency on a buy-out option... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 12:26 PM on February 4, 2008

Loans are still available but equity requirements are going up.

HFC would be more than happy to take an equity position in your house, up to ~50% of its estimated value.

Also, are you sure you're subprime (credit score in the low 600s)?
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 9:09 AM on February 4, 2008

A Line of Credit linked to your checking account might be cheaper than overdraft protection.

It cost me $14 to borrow $2500 for two weeks late last year.
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 9:26 PM on February 3, 2008

This is the same organization that frames its business news programming as "The Cost of Freedom".

You have to allow them these little weirdnesses.
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 9:17 PM on February 3, 2008

The purpose of a date is to go out & have some fun with someone else.

Not that hard. Just remember the other person is a person too and has the same fears, hopes, and desires as you do.
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 9:12 PM on February 3, 2008

osmosis is perfect.

osmosis is the passive transport of water through microscopic channels from an area of higher concentration to lower concentration, essentially the environment one is in pushing into you over time.

It implies an indirect exposure -- ah, indirect knowledge might also work for you.
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 8:44 PM on February 2, 2008

Sounds like a great degree for working at a Starbucks should the tenure track fail.

"What I want to do to make money" is generally a question you should have answered in school, and I guess it's not too late for you given the Masters programs that are still available.

FWIW I "minored" in International Relations. It was just 3 UD courses, but with the rise of the internet and amazon.com, not to mention blogs, I kinda feel stuff... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 7:44 PM on February 2, 2008

So America became the world's dominant superpower because Henry Ford made cars cheaply? That absolutely doesn't follow.

Actually if you knew your military history you'd might have a different opinion. The US of the first half of the 20th century became a highly mechanically-competent nation, largely thanks to the affordability and economy surrounding the mass-produced automobile.

When WW2 rolled around we had the human capital... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 12:36 PM on February 2, 2008

Mike's Hardware goes back to 1999.

Rage 128 was the hottest from ATi.

Pentium III 500Mhz just came out in Feb.

Voodoo3 was out in April.

TNT2 was out in May, and it was the killer card of that generation.

Good memories indeed.
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 9:23 PM on February 1, 2008

if your act is any good then joi ito might be able to provide some leads on the gig front. Tell 'em your from metafilter!
posted to Ask Metafilter by panamax at 1:03 AM on February 1, 2008