u/steve_gorak

I am currently in the process of doing DNA tests from Embark for my two dogs. I got a surprise yesterday when I tried to put it into a mailbox. Apparently mailboxes now only take envelopes less than 1/2 inch in width and the sample tube must be a little bigger than that. When I couldn't drop it in a mailbox in front of a supermarket I went to the post office and same issue. This was yesterday, 4th of July, so post office closed. Today is Sunday. I don't trust my mailman to pick it up from my home mailbox so I think I will have to go the post office tomorrow when they are open and hand it directly. Just annoying. I really want to see my dogs' DNA and see if thy are full blooded sisters.

One of my girls pees almost like a boy. That is she doesn't pee all at once but just a little bit several times during a walk. I can't figure out if she is marking her territory or she is just so excited to walk she can't be bothered to stop for more than a second. Any idea what is going on? Note she is spayed, 1 1/2 years old. I am used to boys doing this but never saw it by a girl.

I have 2 sisters from the same little. I bought Embark Breed Identification kits (with relative finder and family tree) for them. These dogs live in Asia and I tried to give them both the test. I had planned to bring the samples back to the US to send to Embark. Unfortunately, one of the kits was defective (no stabilizing fluid). They say they will send me a replacement but unfortunately I won't be able to do the test again until October.

My question is, when I am finally able to test both dogs, will the results be able to tell me if they are full sisters or only half-sister?

I don't think they have a strong resemblance. Will post results here when I get them.

https://preview.redd.it/d13ij22xyqah1.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=61b72bd12d1912e1e183a256ce30b461819c37c4

I did an Embark swab of my dog in Asia. I am taking it home to the US to mail it in? Is it better to put it in carry-on or checked luggage? According to the site, -60 to -80C is ok as is room temperature but they don't recommend 4C. I would carry it but I don't want to have an issue if they see the little bit of liquid.

Will update here when I get the results!

It was old when I saw it in the 1970s and the murders were played as comedy. I remember he killed one of the wives by electrifying a harp that she liked to play. I think at the end his last wife ended up killing him.

I seem to remember the movie starting with him as a kid saying something like "I always hate women" and then killing his babysitter.

When I was a kid "Please count your change" signs were common. Now when you pay cash there is a presumption of "I'll just keep your change". Happened to me the other day at a counter restaurant. When I asked for my change the cashier was visibly shocked.

Just realized that, if the guideline is still $2.5M, I am on the cusp of ChubbyFIRE! With the jump in the market today my total retirement accounts are at $2.45M as of today:

401(k): $1.11M

457(b): $0.71M

Roth: $0.10M

Brokerage: $0.21M

Savings: $0.13M

Pensions: $0.19M

No real point here. I just had to tell someone. I only heard about the concept of FIRE about 6 years ago. Before that I imagined I would work until 63-67, and then try to survive somehow on Social Security and my small savings and pensions. Now it looks like retirement is not only possible, but I shouldn't see any drop in my lifestyle at all, minus having to go to work. Running the numbers I could probably retire today and have about $30k after-tax more than I spent last year. My girlfriend really wants me to retire. I told her today I will stop working in 2 years as I want to get a little more cushion for our retirement (just in case a kid or 2 shows up; girlfriend is a lot younger than me). I am 57 and earn $200-250k per year in a civil service job (lots of OT).

This was probably a show, not a movie, that I watched Saturday mornings in the early 70s. It was a young guy and a girl getting into various adventures. They were live-action actors, Everything else was a cartoon.

I have been going down a rabbit hole recently watching a lot of youtube talking about financial planning for retirement. A common theme I see is these gurus saying, because of my financial positions (north of $2M), I should be retired already. A lot of these gurus appear to be in their late 40s to 60s themselves. Why aren't they retired?

Movie, probably from the 90s, where every time mom wants a cigarette she expects her teenage son to put it in his mouth, light it, and then pass the lit cigarette to mom.

From the scene I remember I think they cigarette lighting was in a car. They may have been homeless.

When I was a kid my grandmother called her grandsons something like "hoyaks", which I assume meant something like "rascals" but google translate is not giving me anything. Is this a Slovak word? Her mother was Slovak.

Many years ago I was on a jury. It was a civil case. A motorcyclist tried to pass another motorcycle in his same lane and rear-ended the other motorcycle. The motorcyclist that did the rear-ending then sued the one he hit, claiming he swerved in front of him on purpose. For me, the rear-ender was obviously at fault and I was wondering why he wasn't being counter-sued.

The plaintiff was on the stand making statements that really hurt his case but rather than letting him hang himself, the defense kept objecting. For example, he stated he was going about 10MPH during the collision and then stated that he flipped over the handlebars, clearly impossible if he wasn't only going 10MPH, but then the defense objected and had that struck from the record. Why would he do that?

Note I could give some more examples as to why I thought this lawyer was screwing up this slam-dunk case and how incompetent he was along with the other side. For example, when the plaintiff asked his client what the speed limit was, he didn't know. Why ask then? Why not find out? But you know who DID know the speed limit there? ME, as I drove the road where the accident occurred often.

In any event they dismissed us after half a day of testimony so I don't know how it turned out.

My grandmother used to call us kids something that sounded like "hoyaks". It probably meant something like "rascals". I can't find anything in google translate. She spoke both Hungarian and Slovak. Any idea what the word could be?