u/Glueyfeathers

They went from outfitting WWII pilots to renting kiosk space between Auntie Anne’s and Claires Accessories.

Feels like you can’t just go somewhere and do a thing for free or $5-10 any more. Parking your car costs money. Entry fees all start at $25 a head, you’re lead towards the coffee, lunch, ice cream everywhere you go even somewhere rural. Even libraries have stores attached to them now. I get how the economy works and money needs to spent and circulated and I’m happy to support businesses big and (especially) small, but man, you can’t leave your house without coming back $40-50 lighter these days? I know you’re not obligated to buy anything but life seems to be designed around the notion that it’s made far, far more comfortable by removing $40-50 from your pocket each day. Didn’t it used to be $5-10?

If a model from 2023 is never coming back, move it to an archive. Leaving a catalog 95% "Sold Out" just to look hyped makes your brand feel like a graveyard. Nobody is buying the 5% remaining when it’s the weird one with ugly lugs and the cheapest quartz movement you could find that you launched the brand with 6 years ago.

If a brand refuses to adjust and prefers playing luxury hype games over actually selling watches to people with money in hand, they deserve to be forgotten.

I'm looking for various models of SRPE like the 57, 53... I'm also looking at a couple of presage models and supply seems to be extremely thin on the ground at ADs around me and online. Watch shopping in Canada can be a bit of a run around at the best of times, but particularly these last couple of months Seiko seems to be extremely difficult to find. Any insights in to distribution issues appreciated.

My Orient Bambino on its leather strap fits like a glove after having it for 6 months, it's just the right weight and fit for my wrist. I love it.

Looking for places to hang out that don't feel like you're "in Montreal" if you know what I mean. I love this city but it's nice to walk around parc Jean drapeau and feel like you're out the city for a couple of hours.

She said: > Be kinder to yourself. You never ask: "What would be fun to get (or do)?" You always ask: "What's the best one?"...not everything has to be optimized you know?

(and later on...)

> I just wish you'd become as interested in enjoying your life as you are in trying to improve it...I think you'd actually be quite good at it.

That last comment especially hit me like a truck and quite honestly I've thought of little else for the last 48 hours.

I think I've spent my whole life optimizing for "becoming" rather than "being" if that makes any sense? Which is the best watch/game/shirt to buy, which is the best restaurant to go to, which car gives me the most miles per gallon, which vacation or hotel is the best value, how can I optimize my day to get the most done...when I should just be enjoying life more rather than planning what the perfect life could be. Not every restaurant choice or purchasing decision needs an hour reading reviews and searching for the best deals. Not every restaurant will be great, not every day will be perfect, just go with it.

Soon I'll be staying in Hollywood for work and busy from Monday-Friday, but I have Saturday available ahead of a flight out of LAX on Sunday. I'm staying around Vine/Sunset somewhere (which I know is not a great area to hang around for long) and I dont have a car, but I have easy Uber/Metro access.

I've never been to LA before and only have one day which I know isn't much so I'm realistic about what I can achieve - maybe just hang out around downtown LA? I'd like to get a casual lunch and maybe a slightly more fancy dinner. I like shopping, I like museums... any good ideas for a solo person to fill a Saturday in July?

I reached level 9 and recieved another $2 off internet but I'm already using my 3 slots for $2 x 3 off anyway. When do we get a 4th slot?

So, you stroll into Boston Common, see a lovely little pond with some floating garbage and think "Ah a scenic historic landmark! Let me take a look around". Next thing you know you're dead in 1.4 seconds. For me it was a memorable fight and we needed more mini bosses in FO4. Swan shouldn't have been a one-off, they should have been peppering the Commonwealth with like ten more unique, named mini-bosses guarding specific zones and powerful loot or bobbleheads.

I think there are a few locations that might have had similar encounters that would have made exploration more worthwhile:

The Glowing Sea/Children of Atom's crater could have had a "Kraken" as some super mutated Mirelurk Queen guarding her nest, she's worshiped as some kind of manifestation of Atom's light but her blood contains a serum the Institute need or something.

Dunwich Borers could have had a legendary named ghoul that isn't just tough but forces hallucinations/flashbacks of the Pre-War Boston you knew, perhaps could have been a story point for jumping you back in to the past for a side quest or two to learn more about your wife/husband or recall a conversation with a person who's now a ghoul that you knew pre-war - you know, role-playing.

Instead, most bosses in the game are just a randomly spawning encounter at set locations with a Legendary Albino Radroach or something (it makes sense but it kind of lacks some pizazz, no?). Swan gave Boston a bit more texture and a place you actively avoided until you had enough jet and a missile launcher to flatten the area. I wish we had a few more unique monsters connected with side quests or urban legend backstories built up from nearby terminal entries. Maybe the diamond city guards tell stories of a mysterious animal "far to the south near a lighthouse" rather than just the idle chatter....

I get why Peanuts would be a fun concept to put on a kids watch or novelty gift-shop watch for $50, but does it really have the cultural impact to put on a watch costing high-hundreds or even thousands of dollars?

I dont get why Peanuts is the fascination over say The Flintstones or The Simpsons or Garfield or something. Maybe they just have a great marketing team who know how to get their product lifted up to the ranks of Omega.

PS - I understand the NASA/'Snoopy' award/Omega connection in way but I still see waaaay more Snoopy watches than I'd expect to see for a quite culturally niche cartoon.

I love the game, I just can't really be bothered to play it any more after going through it a few a times. But I watch loads of settlement builders, big Fallout streamers like Oxhorn and ManyATrueNerd and video essays on the game etc. Anyone else like that?

I'm just about there! I'm down to the last few thousand and rather than renew in November I'd rather just write a cheque for the last ~25K or so and be done with it. What fees/processes should I be aware of and prepare for? I'm vaguely aware I need a notary to wrap everything up which could be about ~$1000 - is this true? I think lenders also charge $200 here, $150 there for things like supplying documents, engaging with notaries, vague "admin fees" etc. How can I keep the fees as low as possible at the end? I'm with Nesto currently. Advice appreciated.

TFSA is maxed, RRSP is about 80% maxed and contributing automatically. I'm pretty confident I'm on a CoastFIRE path at this point if I leave everything alone. So now what?

I'm less interested in rehashing the basics and more curious what people at this stage/age actually did that made a difference next. Specifically:

• Non-registered accounts: I've been lazy here. Wealthsimple managed portfolios to set and forget? or is there a reason to think harder about tax efficiency at this point and income level?
• The Smith Manoeuvre: I keep seeing it come up. Is it worth the hassle of actually running it?
• CPP deferral to 70: I know the breakeven math (~83 depending on assumptions), but curious how FIRE people are actually strategizing/managing between 40 and 70 in practice.
• GIC ladders?: I think a bit of guaranteed income as part of the mix might be wise to set up about now (maybe say $1000 a month to cover life basics until death?). Does anyone hold a meaningful chunk in guaranteed stuff pre-retirement, or is that considered too conservative for early/mid-40s?
• Real estate: I own my place (apartment) but have no investment properties and no real interest in becoming a landlord and managing tenants. Am I missing out on an important opportunity or is the math just not there in most Canadian markets any more (saturated with rentals, house prices stagnant)?

I'm obviously not looking to swing for the fences. Just want to make sure I'm not leaving obvious plays on the table now that the registered stuff is handled.

FYI: homeowner (no mortgage), no pension (beyond my own RRSP and Investments). Planning to retire/mostly-retire within 10 years I think.