03-16-2018, 08:16 AM | #309 | |
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Wow...
The realtor called. "I need your offer in writing by the end of the day" Okay then, I offered 50 below asking on a house that will be worth three times the asking in six months and it's going to go through. I'm seriously questioning the mental capacity of my peers right now again.
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03-16-2018, 08:59 AM | #310 | |
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You moved the party!
Labels are tricky, and nowadays 'conservative' and 'liberal' are almost meaningless terms. Was planning my own rant, then read this opinion piece this morning which does a much better job: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-polit...e-conservatism Quote:
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03-16-2018, 09:28 AM | #311 | ||
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Yeah, we bloated the last one up to like 40k posts and then we had to move. Welcome to the new party! I couldn't pick from the two labels. I like fiscal responsibility and I demand that the politicians I vote for invest my tax euros in the way where they'll turn a hefty profit. For example I want kids in schools and I want all schools to be competitive. I don't mind that the rich get the great education too for free since I really want the lowest 1/3 of families to move up to the next bracket and for them to pay more taxes instead of being at risk of being a part of our social security system. I want preventive healthcare for all since treating anything that's not on early stages costs a ton more. So those I see as smart investments, just like I love the way you can walk everywhere here because that makes especially the elderly move around, which again either kills them fast (ice) or keeps them healthier. In my view, that makes me a conservative, since liberals only want stuff without calculating the profit too often. This all becomes more tricky when we talk about values you guys do much more than we here. I haven't heard even one serious debate about restricting abortion laws here though ours are stricter than yours. Up to 12 weeks for social reasons, from there on for medical reasons and for life threatening reasons one can be had if a panel of doctors approve it. We just attempt to prevent them by shoving condom to our kids and by walking around half naked all the time to make them disgusted with the human form. Lbgt rights are a matter of human rights, and here we really don't get why you're so weird about bathrooms. Run around naked more or pee under a tree to reduce the stress. That makes me a total hippie in your books where as here it makes me as conservative as my great aunt is and she is pushing 80 now (she inherited the title great aunt, her mom was really my great aunt). So who knows what being either is these days. If god and country are the only measuring criteria, I'd fail miserably everywhere. I see my country as a group of people who work for a mutual goal with an unfortunate location. I'm happy that we have immigrants and it is a joy to watch them adopting our weird grunting culture and teaching us theirs where smiling is at times allowed. Edit. I should sleep more.
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03-16-2018, 10:42 AM | #312 | ||
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03-16-2018, 10:53 AM | #313 | |
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Nope, the guy who resigned was the guy you're talking about. These two raced to take his seat.
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03-16-2018, 02:01 PM | #315 | |
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I've never been interviewed for a position of a buyer before. That was kind of funny.
Our laws for liability for the seller are insane. Basically they can be raped for years for anything that is wrong with the house and that is not detected before the sale. I shit you not, we here have a market that breeds idiots. So apparently they have turned down 100k more money because they're afraid to sell the house to anyone who is looking to sue them later on. I kindly wrote down that I will buying it "as is", as a house to be torn down. I think I'm going to save 80-100k compared to the other bidders and I got a confirmation today in writing I can split the lot, sell 500m2 of it for 200k. But anyway, I've fucked around with condos for so long I've forgotten just how pathetic of a process buying a house is here these days.
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03-16-2018, 04:28 PM | #316 | |
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Consider, oh, David Brooks. His conservatism, of Sam’s Club affectation, fiscal conservatism, tepid social liberalism, and genial trolling of center-leftists at Davos — whom does it speak for in today’s politics, beyond Brooks?I'd rather state this as there are very few real conservatives, most just lie and call themselves that in an attempt to absorb the legitimacy that people like WFBjr created. And certainly no Trumpers are conservatives ... truthfully Trump is simply a media prima donna in a constant state of using whatever he's doing that day to generate press ... and he's excellent at that: generating media attention. Unfortunately that's the only thing Trump is good at and he does it at the expense of every other thing including his family, friends, and many times himself. He's the king of wing. Trump's policy ideas do, however, have a historical basis, just one that's been discredited for 300 years, Mercantilism: put up a wall around your castle (which Trump literally wants to do), hoard gold (again, he literally wants to do this), and screw your trade partners because it's a zero sum game. (again, Trump's actual policy idea) This was basically the 1600s economy: win, while others lose. This mentality led to horrible wars, genocide, and ultimately the holocaust. The change in thinking began with Adam Smith in the mid 1700s (and the "invisible hand") which basically posited that open trade created a win-win rising tide that lifted all boats. The labor and capital didn't have to fight because a country could create a "virtuous circle" of wealth creation based on trade that would enrich everyone (instead of one person's win at cost of another's loss). That's why Adam Smith's revolutionary book was called "Wealth of Nations", not "My Nation's Wealth is Your Nation's Loss" Conservatism is literally founded on Adam Smith's notion of a rising tide of wealth. Trump is a neo-mercantilist, literally the opposite of a conservative, and a throwback to the 1700s mining economy. |
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03-16-2018, 04:55 PM | #317 | ||
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What the fuck is a neo-mercantilist? I'm cool with the basic vocabulary on this area, but a definition is needed for this one.
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03-16-2018, 04:58 PM | #318 | |
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Mercantilism is a national economic policy designed to maximize the trade of a nation and, historically, to maximize the accumulation of gold and silver.[citation needed] Mercantilism was dominant in modernized parts of Europe from the 16th to the 18th centuries[1] before falling into decline, although some commentators argue [2] that it is still practised in the economies of industrializing countries, in the form of neomercantilism. |
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03-16-2018, 05:33 PM | #319 | |
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I clearly need to sleep more. J has a round of doctors again coming and my brain has frozen over.
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03-16-2018, 07:04 PM | #320 |
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So how big are you office pools for the NCAA tournament?
When I was in college, there was one at school where I worked and the pot was about $800 to the winner I believe ($2 per bracket). My office pot is around $100 ($5 per bracket)...not near as many people |
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03-17-2018, 02:03 PM | #321 | ||
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Trump and the Republican Congress and Senate (but especially Congress) are acting like they’ve been elected for life! In the meantime they are systematically alienating voter block after voter block - I believe for generations to come. I describe the GOP right now as being tactically brilliant (Gerrymandering, Identity Politics, etc) but Strategically gobsmackingly idiotic (alienating women, Black people, Muslims, moderate liberals, gays and lesbians, immigrants, the media, people with advanced degrees, trade partners, moderate conservatives, millennials, etc). By and large these are all growing demographics. If you’ve pissed off these groups for a generation... how do you win once your enigmatic personality leaves? The answer is, you can’t. The GOP is sewing the seeds for years and years of Democrat rule - and as a conservative it drives me nuts because it’s as predictable as the sun coming up.
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03-17-2018, 02:10 PM | #322 | |
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03-17-2018, 04:06 PM | #323 |
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Random photo dump time! This is my photoblog, so nobody quote this post : )
What The Fuck is Happening Around Me Today? Hey, a 'vette ... doesn't look too bad. I could see getting one of these ... but not in White ... so fucking BOOOORRRRIIIINNNGGGGG. Seriously look at that: it's a BMW, Ford, Kia, and Audi S3. They all look the same. That said, here's my car on US delivery day ... I mean nice, but I like moonstone way better I also saw an M2 ... ... an Alpina ... and on a different day I saw this M5. kinda snoozer for me I think this 380 is in Madrid - this shitty picture doesn't do it justice, it's fucking huge Also in Madrid, there was this family bathroom with a big person and little person toitty and colorful sink set up The other day at the trailhead I saw a cool horse - later on the trail I almost stepped in his hay poop! This is in a church parking lot less than a mile from the Apple Campus. I'm pretty sure it's a threat. This is a coffee place just off HWY 1 - it's a bonanza of stuff scavenger hunt of a picture ... see if you can spot all the cool stuff FYI, if you don't know, the $550 Amex Platinum card is 1/4 inch thick metal and come shipped in a wood block ... if that's not a W.T.F? I don't know what is |
03-17-2018, 04:33 PM | #324 | |
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And here's the kind of stuff that is so strategically stupid: Source: McCabe gave memos, interview to MuellerSo the Republican House releases a "investigation over, no collusion" obviously bullshit response, they fire McCabe days (hours really) before he retires, etc etc. I even wonder if Sessions fired McCabe specifically to go after Trump ... otherwise he's epically stupid. Trump is at 37%. Like historically low. And this is the BEST he's ever going to get. The best. The peak. The high. If Democrats win in December: * they will re-open the Russia investigation, * they will destroy every policy, * they will demolish Trump's cabinet with ethics investigations, * they will look into money laundering, * they will go after anything Stormy that isn't already in flight, * they hog-tie Trump to post Trump will be completely immobile, and any thing he says will be investigated or called out as a lie. There'll be one long on-going Congressional press briefing about all of Trump's lying. The get-shit-done guy is going to be the immobile do-nothing guy. And that assumes they don't impeach him. How is nobody seeing this? It's like watching a 15 year old given free rein at a mexican whore house ... which I suppose is more/less Trump's life to date.
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03-17-2018, 06:13 PM | #325 | |
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03-17-2018, 07:33 PM | #326 |
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That's a super hard question to answer ...
For us the signup bonus, the hotel status, the lounge access, and delta transfer points (which I think is the only one except the Starwood Card) and the overall option-value it's definitely worth it. For better / worse my my wife is basically locking in to traveling well if we have to fly 2 hours or more, and since we take a few trips / year that gets us into the points game, thus it's worth it. Here are a few articles that detail it so you can decide if it works for you: https://thepointsguy.com/guide/is-amex-platinum-worth-fee/ https://thepointsguy.com/guide/5-reasons-to-get-the-amex-platinum/ https://thepointsguy.com/guide/maximizing-amex-platinum/ |
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03-17-2018, 07:46 PM | #327 | |
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We usually use the Venture Card by Capital One. 2 pts/1$ spent. Then you set your travel up however you like through wherever (orbitz, Travelocity, travel agent etc) and pay with card. $500 airline ticket cost $500 x 100= 50,000 pts= $25,000 in cc spending. About every other year I can take entire family of 5 paid for with points to places like Roatan, Hawaii, skiing etc. annual fee is $50 I believe. |
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03-18-2018, 02:40 AM | #328 | |
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I knew this was coming!!
I'm feeling so guilty for offering so little. Wtf is wrong with me? Can't I for once be a real fucking adult?
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03-18-2018, 08:54 AM | #329 |
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03-18-2018, 08:59 AM | #330 |
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During a break in my trial right now I screwed off to Geneva for a conference for a few days.
While there I popped over to the Geneva auto show. I saw the Z4 and M8 concept cars. You should all buy one of each. That is all. (oh, also saw a pimped out Brabus'd up smart car for 52k CHF so there was that too...)
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