u/Too_reflective

I have a 42x16” basement window that is useless (it is under an overhanging bay window, so it provides minimal light) and in poor condition. I am having the other basement windows replaced and will be insulating the basement walls. I would like to just take this out, brick it up, and then insulate over it. The window won’t be visible from outside unless you crawl under the overhang, and it faces the back yard, so I am not focused on exterior aesthetics. The above grade basement wall is brick. The rim joist is continuous above the window.

Can I just use brick and mortar without worrying about toothing out the half bricks? What brick type and mortar should I use? The house was built circa 1915 in New England.

The set Thing’s Apartment (76785-1) is 40% off on Lego.com. It looks like a good value as a parts pack for buildings and furniture. Or for anyone who likes reddish brown.

https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/things-apartment-76785

One of my few quibbles with the car is that the brake pedal is too far forward of the accelerator pedal, which hurts ergonomics. I was thinking of putting a pedal cover just on the accelerator pedal, to somewhat reduce the difference. Has anyone tried this? Are the pedal covers thick enough to make any meaningful difference? Any brand or fit recommendations?

My 27 Bolt has a rattle somewhere in the front passenger dash area. I wandered if it was maybe the cabin air filter housing. Is the cabin air filter behind the glove box? If so, how do you detach the glove box? The manual doesn’t say.

Has anyone else had a similar rattle? It sounds like a loose piece of trim or something. The passenger side air vent closest to the door does seem slightly loose.

If you have installed an ERV or HRV in your old home, can you share your experience?

Our century home is now sealed enough (thanks to multiple renovations) that when we close it up to avoid bad air quality from fires, the CO2 levels spike. I would like to put in an ERV but space is tight (no ducts, few accessible internal walls for routing pipes) and would love to see how others have addressed this.

You may have bought my old car. I found the spare keys for it if you want them. Send me a message.

I got the official cargo net for my 27 Bolt and screwed the hooks in; I think I over tightened one, and now it won’t stay in. Has anyone had this issue? Is there a captive nut or something that maybe fell down inside the body? Any suggestions for a fix? My thought was to use steel reinforced epoxy in the hole, then screw the hook into that. The hook itself ends in a screw so I think that approach should work.

I am about 1/3 of the way through the build and wondered about the apparent altar on the top floor (with flowers and candle). Is this a kamidama or butsidan? What does the headlight brick on a post represent?

I got a 2027 LT and now want the following accessories but don’t want to pay the official Chevy prices - are there options from older Boot models or third parties that would work?

1. cargo net
2. cargo area cover
3. sunshade for windshield

My family (including kids 8-12) are mostly vegetarian and don’t eat shellfish. Can you recommend any places to eat near Wells, Boothbay, and Acadia? Thanks!

Has anyone had luck negotiating the price down? I haven’t bought a car in 12 years, or a new one in 15, so I am a little out of the loop on the modern new-car buying process. All the dealers in my half of the state (and I have to buy in state to get the state incentives) have basically the same prices listed, which makes me think there isn’t much room for bargaining.

I am looking at getting a Bolt to replace my 2008 Toyota Matrix, and would appreciate your input on whether to go with a 2027 LT or a used Bolt.

This will be a commuter car (40-50 miles per day), I can charge at work and will get a Level 2 charger for home
Located in MA so cold winters are a factor.
We have an ICE vehicle for road trips.

2027 pros:
$4,500 state incentives (MA) for a new EV with trade in, only $1000 for used
New battery tech and charging standard
No concerns about prior owners, battery replacement, etc.
Available locally now

2027 cons
New model year means possible bugs
Single year run means parts and support may be less available
$29k listing price (minus $4500) vs 15-20k for used Bolts

I test drove a 2027 LT and mostly liked it but had two concerns.

One, I found the brake pedal uncomfortable to use - it seems far forward of the accelerator pedal compared to some vehicles. Will one pedal mode make this moot? The accelerator pedal position was comfortable for me.

Two, in tight turns I felt like there was a little more body roll than I was hoping for, compared to my current vehicle (Toyota Matrix) - has anyone had any concerns about the body roll? Is this just a fact of life with cars of this size and shape? The Bolt is a little taller than the Matrix but I thought the battery weight would more than cancel that out as a factor for roll.

After seeing many recommendations for the book, I tried to read it, and couldn’t get through the first chapter. To me it reads like the worst of the 1940s pulp stories, full of clunky neologisms, breathless exposition, and cartoon-heroic imagery.

Does the writing get any better?

My company is in the utilities space, so we are highly regulated and conservative. We have been doing waterfall forever but are trying to be more flexible on less mission-critical items like UIs. Some of our development teams are trying to do Agile but we haven’t yet figured out how that fits with the rest of the organization and with our current processes.

Does anyone have experiences to share about this kind of transition in a highly regulated environment?

Married couple in our 40s, maxing Roth IRAs and 401ks, maxing HSA, no debt except sub 3% mortgage which will be paid off in 10 years. We are targeting a mid 60s retirement age; depending on the market we could adjust that as we get closer.

Our kids are 8 and 12 and we expect both to at least get bachelor’s degrees.

We have a lot of cash on hand and have not put much in the 529s ($20k per kid). My thought is to aim for covering in state tuition plus other costs (roughly $40k per year now) by putting in the max this year ($38k per kid) then topping up more (how much?) next year.

How should I account for inflation in college costs? How should I allocate between the kids given that we only have 6 years before the oldest goes to college? Should we be considering other investment vehicles for school savings?

Can anyone point me to weird literature that isn’t primarily horror? I loved the Southern Reach series. Karin Tidbeck is great too but has too much horror in it for me to re-read. I like some of Mieville’s work, especially Kraken. I couldn’t get into Gormenghast or Gideon the Ninth. Several People Are Typing was fun (until the end).

Thanks!