[Coronita]

I don’t see the point of trying to predict the future besides trying to prove or disprove you are right to the point of missing opportunities. Not my thought process , so not my problem, lol.

[Coronita]

Meh. The only thing really that matters is how you’re doing personally.

[img_assist|nid=26916|title=|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=600]

I’d say even being in 60% cash and bonds now, things are looking pretty swell as this year closes, lol.

401k looks like it’s going to finish ok, not great, but not bad. 19%

Locally, with Qualcomm’s lock on 5G and Apple’s arm race to staff up here in San Diego, things will look great here too, in terms of employment and more importantly demand for housing.

In fact, I had a tenant that moved out a week before thanksgiving. Long time tenant that started at QC as a bachelor, and over the years, he got married, and now with a kid needs a bigger place. He provided a nice steady rent for the past 4 years roughly 8% ROI, and now he’s a first time homeowner. Normally I would have required 30 days notice, but I just let him move out the week before Thanksgiving figuring it was going to be slow. He offered to post a “for rent” add in the internal Qualcomm classifieds, and the same week I got a few folks contacting me about the condo, and found a replacement tenant, in less than 3 days, also with a higher rent price. New guy is also starting out, just got married, and wants to save for a few years to buy a house. Not too long after the guy moves in, previous tenant contacts me and asks if the rental is still available. I guess there’s pent up demand near Sorrento Valley.
[img_assist|nid=26915|title=m|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=250]

Lol, wish I had more rentals. Anyway, side effect of being on good terms with the former tenant…I’ve gotsomeone to post inside Qualcomm any time there’s a vacancy. No longer need to deal with Craigslist or even Zillow, and since he’ll be waiting for sometime before he gets his greencard, he’ll probably be there for some time.

[Coronita]

[quote=njtosd]Flu – I get where you’re coming from with CV. But I’m in the market for a used Wii (ours “broke” ) and I know a lot of people around here who love Walmart – for certain things. Cereal. Soup. Synthetic motor oil. Bacon! I got an early Christmas gift there last weekend – Eschwinn bike marked *way* down (a little less than 40%).
Hoping it will pay for itself over time (avoiding car trips to local places) while also giving me some exercise.
I think there is a big confirmation bias when it comes to places like CV.[/quote]

I would agree not everyone is a spoiled entitled brat here. Some, not all. But the way some of the stores are setup, they are delusional thinking it’s like Rodeo Drive.

Searsucker closed down. Good riddance.

But not only that, a lot of places are closing down because the rent is too high.

[Coronita]

Sort of related…AMD Ryzen 3950x just launched and sold out in japan even at $900.

Can’t find them anywhere in US too.

https://wccftech.com/amd-ryzen-9-3950x-entire-inventory-outsold-japan-worldwide/

If I can get one, I can probably fle-ebay it for around $1300

[Coronita]

$7.4 billion record

https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/30/business/black-friday-sales-record/index.html

[Coronita]

What I like about the Escondido mall is that unlike many other malls, they didn’t go upscale.

UTC, One Paseo, etc all filled their malls up with these high end stores that might be interesting to window shop but rarely buy. Maybe that’s why Tiffany’s is looking for a buyer. I think about 1/2 of the stores in the UTC mall will end up closing by next year.

Meanwhile, stores like Hot Topic , Game Stop had pretty decent lines wrapped outside the store in the Escondido mall. I don’t understand how really young people have the money to be carrying around $1200 iPhone 11s, and spending spending spending, but hey that’s not my problem. I am just observing.

Dollar stores make a shitload of money. Boutique stores you find in One Paseo, Highland Village in Carmel Valley go under all the time. And yet you won’t ever find a dollar store in Carmel Valley. So there you go.

Game Stop closed in Carmel Valley but looks to be kicking in Escondido, and the reason is pretty clear. Carmel Valley retail rent is ridiculously expensive and is filled with rich spoiled brats, and so they always have/want the latest and greatest games, consoles,etc. So kids in Carmel Valley probably don’t buy second hand games, gaming consoles , etc, because they are spoiled brats… kids in Escondido have no problem buying games second hand in Escondido and if Game Stop can sell a 2017 game at $9.99 buy one get one free, you’ll have a long line….

[img_assist|nid=26909|title=gamestopescondido|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=500]

I bought Just Dance 2018 and 2017 for $9.99 buy one get one free for my Wii, lol. Great entertainment when your friends are buzzed.

Another store that seems to be doing well… Miniso. For those that don’t know, it’s basically an asian dollar store chain. The name sounds Japanese and they sell a lot of cutsie Japanese looking items like plushies and household items really cheap…But there’s nothing japanese about this store… The chinese have figured out if you brand a store to make it look japanese, and sell things cheap, american consumers will spend a shitload of money, more so than if you tried to create a store with a clearly chinese name.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miniso

[img_assist|nid=26910|title=miniso1|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=1000]

[img_assist|nid=26912|title=miniso3|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=1000]

[img_assist|nid=26911|title=miniso2|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=1000]

It’s a straight up playbook taken from why many chinese people rather open a sushi restaurant these days than a chinese food restaurant. Americans expect chinese food to be cheap, but pay an arm and a leg for sushi. Even if the sushi is really made by the same chinese chefs that would have made the cheap chinese food. Most sushi places in San Diego are either Chinese or Korean owned, so there you go. And it’s funny that some Japanese retailers are ripping at Miniso because they are “copying Japanese”. Well shit, when the japanese started out, they were copying and ripping off of American companies. Karma’s certainly a bitch.

That’s where Huawei failed. They should have entered the US market under a japanese sounding brand name.

Retailers like Macy’s are fvcked. Because they haven’t figured out how to sell to this new younger buyer group. Have you stepped inside a Macy’s lately? Merchandise just looks like crap, imho.

[Coronita]

[quote=barnaby33]You live in the classy part of town, but you shop in Escondido. Something ain’t right about that.
Josh[/quote]

I am an equal opportunity shopper. You can find me at Walmart, Costco, harbor freight. Got myself a nice 29piece drill bit for $10 . Yeah they’ll break, so did my more expensive ones.

Relatives are retail researchers. They mall hop day after.

[Coronita]

What rain out? I think retail will probably be ok… 3pm Escondido mall. Lots of young shoppers waiting in line. (my usual mall walk with retail biz)

[Coronita]

Gonna go see Ford versus Ferarri now with people with some discounted passes. Theater probably empty, lol

Love that car.

[Coronita]

Black Friday doesnt mean much anymore because most brick and mortar retailers already started their deals right after Halloween. If you notice most retailers already had all their Christmas holiday sales and items out since November too. Most online deals will start on cyber-Monday. Once upon a time you could buy all your Christmas ornaments and lights the week after Christmas because of all the excess oversupply of inventory at 10-25% original cost. But retailers have gotten smarter and started their discounting mid November and do about 50%-60% off the week of christmas so by the time after Christmas comes around, most of the good inventory is already gone and does not need to be further discounted. And really oversupplied crap ends up at places like Marshals or TjMax or those dollar stores. They got this from Costco which starts their Xmas holiday sales in October. I have a friend that buys excess inventory and returns from retailers and eBay’s the items at a steep discount. he makes a fortune, and he’s also noticed the discounting has started a lot earlier and what’s left isn’t as great as it use to be

[Coronita]

[quote=burghMan]I don’t think cameras can replace tow mirrors because you need something that has an angle that can see behind the length of the trailer. Cameras would still to have to stick out the side of the vehicle. I don’t believe that tow mirrors are required by law, but anybody that does any significant amount of towing will want them. It would be a dealbreaker for me if it did not have them. Mirrors are an example of something where style and function don’t always align. We are used to seeing big mirrors sticking out the side of standard, boxy trucks but they might not look good at all on the Tesla. Other functional accessories like running boards may also be a challenge.

The bed size is comparable to short bed F-150, slightly larger if I recall the details. Overall it seems to be able to do the same jobs that the big three “1/2 ton” models can do, and likely better.[/quote]

have you checked out the camera system in the Chevy Bolt? It’s pretty remarkable

[Coronita]

I’m guessing the lack of mirrors is because it will be replaced with cameras, which will be very interesting when it comes to regulations.

A decent vinyl wrap will cost $2000-4000 for a car like this. Not worth it because vinyl wraps aren’t as durable as people think they are. Same with PPF.

I think with bare metal look that doesn’t leave dent, leave it as is. Maybe get spray on plasti-dip, or go for that camouflage look…

It’s not meant to look nice. It already isn’t. I wonder if you can fit a miata in that bed ,lol…

[Coronita]

This truck is so obnoxiously ugly….I like it and put a deposit for it.

When I first saw the video with the millennial coworkers, I was like WTF. but after talking to them about it, they convinced me, that it’s a great vehicle.

it’s big, it’s ugly, it has great acceleration, and it gets get mileage. it’s a cross over between a Delorean and the Warthog from the video game Halo.

It looks like a vehicle you would drive at the end of the world, like Mad Max..It’s the perfect vehicle for a lot of doomsayers here on Piggington that think the world is ending, I’m surprised more people here dont like it.

But back to the virtues of this vehicle. Dent resistant steel panels unpainted. You never need to buy collision insurance again. It’s going to be difficult to dent the panels, and there’s no paint to repaint
You probably need to increase liability coverage for the damage to do to other cars, lol. There’s also Nno need to worry about people smashing your windows to steal stuff out of the car (they will fix that bulletproof glass that shattered). and this is the perfect vehicle to drive on la freeways because now you can safely cut people off and cut into lines without worrying about road rage and someone pulling out a gun to shoot you. People will notice you and won’t run into you. It can haul a bunch of crap, you can put a solar panel on the rear and let it be self charging. And given how straight lines the body is (no curves) it’s probably going to be fairly cheap to manufacture. Unlike these fancy Tesla model S and model 3 with rounded curve body lines.

This is basically a barebone truck that has the utility of a minivan and truck and has the mileage of a good EV.

sold!

[Coronita]

Brian,

Ok, Boomer. If you say so.

[Coronita]

[quote=ltsdd]When it comes home appliances, I stick with the traditional “American” brands – Kenmore, Whirlpool, Maytag, GE, Fridgidaire, etc…My purchase decision is pretty simple, buy the least expensive model with the style that I want and so far I have pretty good luck with them.

Maytag refrigerator: Still going after 12+ years
Kenmore Dryer: 17+ years (replaced the belt once)
GE Washing Machine: 12+ years (getting noisy during the spin cycle)

All those were bought for around $550-$600.

The Whirlpool dishwasher and stove/micrwave that came with the house are still going strong after almost 20 years.

Would like hear from others about the brands of your appliances and their lifespan.[/quote]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Home_appliance_manufacturers_of_the_United_States

Whirpool/Maytag is the only low/mid-tier company that is still Made in the USA.

Amana is owned by Whirpool, but they are heavily foreign sourced with cheaper parts.
KitchenAid is also owned by Whirpool, but I haven’t heard many good or bad things about them, and they aren’t cheap and aren’t cheap to repair.

GE technically still makes appliances in the US, but they are now owned by Haier and more of their products have the cheaper parts.

Frigidaire is now owned by the same European company that owns Electrolux. Not that great anymore too.

Dacor is now owned by Samsung. I have ovens made by them in the current house, and I dread the repair costs when it breaks.

For garbage disposals, stick with ISE and get one with a larger motor, like a 3/4 hp. It costs a lot more, but they do last a lot longer, especially in a rental.. I had one replaced by by a home warranty, I forget what brand, and it was completely junk and broke after 1 year of use.

[Author]

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