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fuggled

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Posts posted by fuggled

  1. Let's talk about Putin's options, as it is becoming increasingly clear he has badly miscalculated:
    1) Withdraw --> Epic humiliation
    2) Escalate the aggression -> More isolation from the world; we already have the Baltic States and Hungary publicly supporting Ukraine
    3) Stay the course -> Russia bleeds out slowly and Putin's enemies come out of the woodwork and want a piece of him
    Actions have consequences.
    There's probably an option where he just claims victory. Maybe they secure the eastern regions and say, "attacking kyiv was a diversion and it worked perfectly, we've successfully stopped the atrocities in Donbas."
  2. Fuck. Just had a really hard conversation with the boy. Mom had to lay down the law, and forbid him from going to the Poland Ukraine border.

    I followed with a text telling him I understand what he wants to do, but he needs to stay safe. His reply:

    “I’m not playing solider, it’s not right to sit on my ass and live a fun cushy care free life in Berlin when there are people just like me a couple hundred miles away who need something to eat or a place to stay. I understand the worry but there are also moms in Ukraine who want their kids out of harms way. I won’t go near the border, but I’ve sent in an application to the Polish government. I added special instructions not to be near the border, but there are potatoes to be peeled, sacks to be unloaded from trucks, tents to be pitched and shit to be done in other places. If I need to go to Warsaw and plunge toilets in a refugee center, I will.”

    I don’t know how to feel about this.
    You should feel a little proud. You've obviously raised a decent human. And I suppose you haven't told him about the ledge yet.
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  3. And more examples of how fucked as a nation. Here is one of the posts by someone on my Facebook feed
    I do not believe Putin would have made this move with Trump in office.
    I really want to respond with, then you're a fucking idiot, but don't want to engage. 
    Actually I think there's some truth to this perspective. But it's not because Putin would be scared of Trump. It would be because Trump would be helping to further weaken NATO, the UN and other institutions along with the USA's reputation as a trustworthy ally. Putin would happily wait while those targets get softened. When your enemy is shooting himself in the foot, don't interrupt.
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  4. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/02/24/world/russia-attacks-ukraine/eu-sanctions-russia-putin

    As the E.U. weighs new sanctions on Russia, it’s considering omitting Putin for now.

    BRUSSELS — European Union ambassadors in Brussels moved closer to consensus on a significant package of sanctions targeting broad sectors of the Russian economy and individuals on Thursday, but were debating whether to keep President Vladimir V. Putin off their list for now, diplomats who participated in or were briefed on the talks said.

    The ambassadors met on Thursday morning, just hours after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and were due to meet again in the afternoon to prepare for negotiations that E.U. leaders will hold in Brussels on Thursday evening about an overall response to the invasion.

    Diplomats said that earlier resistance by some countries over specific sectors — for example, by Italy over luxury goods and Belgium over diamonds — had evaporated in the face of the invasion and that there was now broad consensus across the 27 member states.

    The E.U.’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell Fontelles, described the proposed measures on Thursday morning as the “the harshest package of sanctions we have ever implemented.”

    But a new rift emerged: A handful of member states led by Germany were advocating that the package exclude Mr. Putin for now.

    Asked for comment, a German diplomat did not deny that Germany wanted to keep Mr. Putin off the latest sanctions.

    The rationale for omitting him is a desire to keep channels open for dialogue with the top Russian leadership. They were considering exempting Foreign Minister Sergei V. Lavrov for the same reason.

    But other member states argued that the bloc should immediately inflict the maximum possible pain on Russia rather than hold back in hopes of renewed diplomatic dialogue.

    E.U. leaders were due to convene in Brussels on Thursday evening and were expected to meet through the night. The sanctions they are expected to agree on will come into effect when the legal language is published, on Friday or Saturday, diplomats said.

    Bolding is mine.
    I can see the logic in omitting Putin. Punishing him and all the oligarchs equally could ramp up the "we're all in this together mindset" and lead to increased solidarity. Omitting him is a way of isolating him and stoking resentment. Plus, I doubt Putin is really motivated by his personal financial gains or losses in this situation.
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  5. On 2/11/2022 at 10:44 PM, UT_OB1 said:

    I’m not buying new, but I need a bit of a beater that can haul some shit around. I’d like a truck, but shit trucks with 200k miles seem to be going to 20k or more.

    How do y’all go about vetting a used car you know has had issues?  For instance, I found a Ford Expedition for $10k( lin). I have a car that needs more work than it is worth, I don’t want a second. Should I ask if I can take it to a mechanic?  Or a Ford dealer?  I look forward to all the “ask your husband” replies.  

    Sorry if this is a late reply, but there are a number of mobile mechanic services out there and a bunch probably offer a "used vehicle inspection".  When I bought a used car ~5 years ago I could schedule someone to come meet me at the dealership and look over the car.  I think he even had a mobile jack to get under the car. I can't remember which service I used, but it might have been yourmechanic.com.

  6. Rule of thumb in early retirement circles is you need to have saved 25x your spending. So if you spend 100k per year, you need 2.5MM saved. Retirement planners talk about replacing your income, but ignore that. It's really about replacing your spending. That 25x would theoretically allow you to safely withdraw 4% annually forever basically. But keep in mind that the math evolves, so read up on "safe withdrawal rates." If you're just starting to read up on this, Mr. Money Mustache is a good blog to get a bunch of the basic concepts.

    Regardless, the first step will be to figure out how much you'll need to spend annually. If you don't already know what you spend annually today, start there.

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  7. This advice seems like it works but it has never really worked for me. I did walk away from a car/dealer before because i apparently pissed them off by negotiating and talking about the price their competitor has for the same model. They offered me a shittier deal and I laughed at them and walked out. They never bothered to try to reach out to me.

    I found I just do better by talking to people online. I say what i want, ask if their inventory is up to date. Many ignore me or want to play games. I’ll keep checking in later to see if they are still interested in a sale. I had some react badly when I said I was paying cash and not interested in financing, and they start upping the price. Some guys tried to get me to finance the car then pay it off after a month or two. I just kept searching and biding my time. I did ultimately get most of what I wanted for the price, but I missed out on the color. Cause apparently anything not gray/silver (mine), white, or black is too exotic for most people. Last 3 times I have done this have been a better experience for me. Process was quick, stress level low.

    Also spending time searching and driving the cars separate from buying seems to work for me as well. So I tend to settle on the car before I open up.

    At the same time I was looking for one last spring I found that the Italian suvs (alfa) were not overcharging and seemed well stocked.

    But of course my mileage may have varied. Its a pain in the ass.
    Just curious, why the aversion to financing? I was prepared to pay cash on my last car a couple years ago but told the dealer "I'm open to financing with you if you get me a good price on the car." I did end up financing with them and just paid the loan off in full before any interest hit. It just seems useful to keep that in your back pocket as something you can throw at the dealer to sweeten the offer.
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  8. 56 minutes ago, WBT said:

    The Whataburger near me apparently can't get the orange and white striped bags.  One visit they were using plain brown bags.  Now they have the orange stripes and text but still printed on a brown bag instead of white.  I'm really shook to my core.

    That reminds me, I picked up pizza at a local place in Richardson a couple days ago.  They brought the pizzas out in red and green themed Christmas boxes.  I know we've ordered pizza from them over the past couple months and they never used holiday boxes.  Pretty sure they had ordered them but didn't get them in until ~Jan 15th.

  9. So wife re-ended someone on the freeway (totally her fault) in her Merc and a claim has been submitted by the person she hit so I'll be taking a hit on my policy and premium... 
    On our end, it was mostly plastic damage but the hood is buckled and will probably need to be replaced.  Insurance company gave me a list of "preferred" repair shops.  Is there any reason I shouldn't just take it to the dealer to get it fixed as opposed to one of these shops?  Most of the repairs will require new parts (bumper, grill) from the dealer anyways and I'm going to have to pay the deductible regardless of where I take it... (The damage shouldn't be enough to get it totaled...) 
    (Pissed the car my wife hit had 8 people in it including a bunch of kids with no car seats yet the cop said he wouldn't give them a ticket for no seats so I'm sure my insurance will be paying out a bunch of on injury claims...)
    You should take it to the place you trust, regardless of what insurance recommends. If you're taking it to a reputable place, they should be used to negotiating with insurance on prices and additional damage they may uncover, so you shouldn't ever get pulled into the middle of that. If you're unsure, check with the repair shop beforehand that they're going to handle all that for you.

    You could also go get your own estimate for the repair work before you do anything. That would give you a sense of whether you're about to step into an argument with insurance. The problem is, at least last summer, most places are so busy they may not give you a quote unless you're ready to hand over insurance up front.
  10. 1 hour ago, fattyflattie said:

    Why would that be.  We are the greatest country on earth.  You really have to fuck up to not make it here. 

    Uh, yeah.  Maybe you can explain to me which other taxes get refunded to some, but not others, depending ironically enough, on your lack of input?

    I'm not ignoring it.  It's the most discriminatory one.  I don't pay less sales tax than the guy next to me because he worth 20x as much.  We pay in the same, for the same service, otherwise known as "fair". 

     

    Cary Elwes Disney Plus GIF by Disney+

  11. 2 hours ago, fattyflattie said:

    Yes.  We all pay sales tax.  We all pay govt. fees.  I get to write a monthly property tax check larger than the entire months rent in the apartments zoned to the same fucking school.  And then a surprisingly low sect of our population get HEAVILY taxed even further.  For the same or in many times considerably less take?  Nahfuckthat.gif 

     

    Out of curiosity, have you ever looked at what the actual aggregate tax rates are?  Everyone is paying more than 20% towards taxes of some kind.  We clearly have a progressive tax policy, but the range really isn't that dramatic.  And I doubt the guy making $16K per year but paying $3200 in taxes feels like he's freeloading.

    image.png.6c47e485065b8dbfb8d17afd1dc173ba.png

  12. 5 hours ago, TurkeyChew said:

    Okay but that’s only part of it, keep playing the song out to the end of the tape, if you will.

    Now that person who benefitted has the ability to put $50k down to buy the starter house you wanted or to start the business that you had an idea for, but you’ve put your finite resource (money via income) into something that nobody else will have to so you don’t have the savings. Now they will have an exponential advantage on wealth building than you could ever have.

    I guess you can argue the experience and discomfort and struggling and pain of being young and paying off a massive amount of student loans has its own intrinsic reward of character (e.g what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, learned that sacrifices are hard, learned how to struggle with grace or stoicism, etc.), but it would be hard to not see how resentment and bitterness would have to exist in a normal, average human condition. That is why I think there should be some program or rebate or enablement for those in the last 20 or 30 years who can prove by documentation that they paid off student loans that would otherwise have been forgiven. And if you are in default or not current on student loans you aren’t eligible for forgiveness.

    Can you find yourself in this picture?  Reach out for help if you're stuck.

    Dan Roy on Twitter: "Careful mate... that foreigner wants your cookie!  #StandUpToRacism https://t.co/lM8dWIUMTl" / Twitter

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  13. Oh, there are many levels of wrong in that picture. Forget the concept of “bacon scraps” and how that’s a thing, or why anyone would put hardboiled eggs back in the carton let alone egg shells. And let’s forget the question of whether or not the egg shells were placed in the carton at the same time as the hardboiled eggs and why eggs might have been prepared two different ways at the same time, some not to be consumed. I want to know about the egg shells. Were two eggs cracked and only 3/4 of the shells saved? Or were three eggs cracked and only 1/2 of each shell saved?
    Okay, I can’t forget the whole “bacon scraps” thing. Go buy a package of bacon and fry the whole damn thing. I snack on more bacon than what is shown while I’m frying bacon and eat more with my eggs when it’s all done. Whatever’s left I keep in a plastic bag in the fridge and it can be heated up in the microwave in about 40 seconds. 
    Lots of questions here...I appreciate the curiosity.

    Per your request, I reexamined the eggshells. There are shells for 3 eggs, or 6 half shells. The shells are all nested so it just looks like 3 in the picture. I hope we can put that controversy to rest.

    Regarding the bacon, I can't recall what I was making a week or so back but it was some dish that needed chopped or crumbled bacon. Because I didn't need slices, I had grabbed a big pack of bacon odds and ends at the store. If you haven't looked, they sell all the bits that don't make nice slices in separate packages. Since most of our bacon is consumed chopped up in tacos, this works well and is cheaper.
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  14. The wife took the kids out of town this morning. I was looking forward to a quiet morning by myself. Made a pot of coffee and figured I'd fry up some bacon scraps with eggs. I get the bacon going in the pan and pull out the eggs to scramble... every egg had been hard boiled. Damnit. This may not seem egregious, but hard boiled eggs are not an every day occurrence in our house. When we do have them, they get labeled and put in the deli drawer. Not to mention that the wife wasn't going to be here this weekend and she's the boiled egg eater. And not to mention the nasty egg shells she had just left in the carton and put back in the fridge. I sent her this text this morning:
    Screenshot_20220122-092312.jpg

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