Jump to content

bernorange

Legacy Members
  • Posts

    5347
  • Joined

Everything posted by bernorange

  1. Just watched. A few good fights, a few cripple fights, a miscarriage of justice, a judge's decision that could have gone the other way and some laughs. Fun episode over all.
  2. The Duke. Based on a true story about an elderly Englishman with a fight the power spirit who steals a Goya painting of Duke Ferdinand from the National Museum in London. The dialogue can be hard to follow with their accents, but it was very enjoyable with heart and humor. Good movie.
  3. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-arabia-open-trading-currencies-besides-us-dollar This is older news, but I'm including it here for context: https://gulfnews.com/business/analysis/uae-and-saudi-arabia-joining-in-brics-will-be-game-changing-1.1669211706316 https://www.aa.com.tr/en/economy/russian-fm-says-brics-group-to-consider-common-currency/2797085 ~~~ https://finance.yahoo.com/news/world-top-economists-weighed-argentina-183755900.html Argentina has also applied for membership with the BRICS.
  4. This "breaking news" seems germane to this discussion: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/these-healthy-diets-were-associated-with-lower-risk-of-death-according-to-a-study-of-119-000-people-across-four-decades-11674325772 Link to study (abstract): https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2800411 ~~~ Healthy Eating Index: https://epi.grants.cancer.gov/hei/developing.html (see also: https://www.fns.usda.gov/healthy-eating-index-hei ) Mediterranean Diet*: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/a-practical-guide-to-the-mediterranean-diet-2019032116194 * Not sure what the study means by "Alternative" Med Diet. Would likely need to read the actual study to see how it differs from the Med Diet Healthful Plant-Based Diet Index: https://plantbasedhealthprofessionals.com/plant-based-diet-index Alternate Healthy Eating Index: https://www.timesnownews.com/health/article/what-is-harvards-alternative-healthy-eating-index-ahei-where-does-your-meal-rank/857745
  5. Wordle 587 4/6 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 3 guesses, 1 letter... Fantastic... Daily Quordle 368 6️⃣7️⃣ 4️⃣5️⃣ quordle.com ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ 🟨⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨🟨⬜🟩 ⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩 🟨⬜🟨🟩⬜ 🟨🟨⬜🟨⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟨⬜⬜🟩🟩 ⬜🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Had to think about Quordle a good bit today. The answers didn't come easy.
  6. Great. Maybe don't jinx it again? Your command of the dark arts is scary.
  7. I came to that conclusion a long time ago (never read anything to confirm it). When I see a 's' in yellow, I always assume it's not in the last position unless there is a 5 letter word ending in 's' that isn't the plural of a 4 letter word that fits (like guess).
  8. * bump * We had a nat gas tankless installed roughly 5 years ago in the attic (Houston area). It's worked great so far. Really got us through the years where my oldest son took 1 hour showers 2-3 times a day (morning and then [pre and] post gym workouts). We also have a whole house water filtration system on the main water inlet. I did a big goof and never did any maintenance on the unit. The filtration cartridge had to be replaced recently and we had the system flushed as well. I'll be doing an annual flush/maintenance from now on. Our system developed a strange and loud knocking noise. Plumbing company misdiagnosed the problem as a inlet pressure valve which they replaced. That didn't solve the problem so they came back and spent some time doing a proper diagnosis. Turns out the heat exchanger inside is the issue. Heat exchanger is still under warranty (15 years), but labor to replace it isn't. Plumbing company gave me an outrageous quote for the replacement claiming it would take 8 hours. Manufacturer says it should take about 3 hours. I've already got competitive quotes from 2 other plumbers to do the job, but the manufacturer already shipped the warranty replacement part(s) to the first plumber. What a headache this is turning out to be.
  9. Uhh... When I think of exciting cuisine, British food isn't anywhere near the top. I'll still watch, but my expectations for amazing food will be low.
  10. If you say so. I'll do you the courtesy of not assuming intent in your words (especially to impugn or discredit your motivation). Can you do the same? Because as I read your posts, this is what you are doing. I'd rather have honest discussion of the topic. For the record, I've been stating and restating the same thing. I'm not "all over the place" or moving any goalposts. I think you are just not understanding me (perhaps because you understand certain words and phrases to mean things slightly differently than I do). I apologize if the thread title threw you off. I borrowed from the title of the legislation. While my focus in this discussion has been narrow, I understand that the title refers to a more open ended idea. So to clarify (don't really wish to get into the weeds with back and forth quoting and nitpicking), my understanding of the legislation (and the idea that I'm advocating) is that it removes taxes on gold and silver coin (whether minted by the US Mint, foreign mints or possibly private domestic mints) and removes legal tender monopoly from the FRN. It allows Joe Public to freely convert gold and silver coin with FRNs at market rates (sans sales or capital gains taxes) for the weight and purity of the coin(s). It gives Joe Public and Joe Vendor the option to conduct transactions in FRNs or gold/silver coin. It doesn't impose any obligations on Joe Public or Joe Vendor - they have free choice. As I've already stated several times, I believe that the practical effect of enactment of the above would be that people would generally save (some) wealth in gold/silver coin and continue transacting commerce with FRNs (ie. status quo) unless and/or until there was a massive devaluation or loss of confidence in the FRN. That's an important caveat and the crux of the issue (from my perspective). I believe that we are approaching an inevitable event horizon where the petrodollar system will break down and the FRN dollar will lose it's world reserve privilege. I believe the wheels are already turning (slowly). America will face a currency and sovereign debt crisis. It might 10 years out. It might be 50 years out. It might be longer than that. But it is coming. Aside from that, I also believe that there is massive systemic risk in the credit markets. The Fed is doing it's best applying pressure to the rails in the grand Shoot the Moon game. Whether they can maintain the see saw action without something breaking is still an open question. I see the freely convertible gold/silver coin idea as an option that would allow Joe Public and Joe Vendor to survive and thrive in a future where the fat lady sings, but only if it's enacted early enough for Joe Public to actually accumulate gold/silver coin capital and payment systems/infrastructure to develop/mature.
  11. Wordle 586 4/6 ⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟩🟨⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 My feelings match the green pattern on that one. Daily Quordle 367 7️⃣6️⃣ 5️⃣4️⃣ quordle.com ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨 ⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜ ⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜⬜🟨⬜🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨🟨⬜🟨 ⬜🟨⬜⬜🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ Nice.
  12. Triton has asymmetrical horizontal blade. The bot I was thinking of had a vertical spinner that was off center. It had a flywheel in the back to counter gyroscopic procession.
  13. They went upstairs in the first building to try and get a vantage point to see if the road was clear/safe for travel.
  14. Monsoon v Black Dragon - I don't remember Monsoon. I remember Black Dragon as mediocre (not terrible, not great), but capable of working while on fire for 2 minutes. Malice v Emulsifier - Malice sucks. Is Emulsifier the unbalanced flywheel (off center vertical spinner) bot? Starchild v Overhaul - Who? Starchild looks like a Huge clone. Can it perform better than Huge has? Gruff v Quantum - This could actually be an interesting fight. Gruff's strong armor vs. Quantum's industrial press piercing tooth. I wonder if either bot damages the other or if one just pulls a Pain Train to lose. Kraken v Beta - Not sure why either bot is still in the field. Both should have retired ala Rusty, Pain Train, Smeeee, etc. Horizon v Shreddit Bro - Not sure I've ever seen either bot before Whiplash v Hypershock - Whiplash's weapon looked really weak in their last match. Hypershock has a real weapon.
  15. I think Microsoft is asking @FirstTimeCallerto hold it's beer.
  16. https://www.kitco.com/news/2023-01-24/Ethereum-devs-prepare-for-the-Shanghai-upgrade-with-the-launch-of-a-shadow-fork-for-testing.html So if the Shanghai update is successful, there will likely be some short term pressure on ETH as folks liquidate ETH assets that have been locked for the last two years. However, I'm pretty sure that the price of ETH was way higher when folks locked their coins on ETH2, so I don't think there will be a lot of "profit taking". Longer term, I expect more investment into ETH staking as rewards can be realized, so it should be help drive more investment into ETH.
  17. Yes, my 15+ year campaign of awareness and advocacy on the monetary issue has always been motivated just by the desire to sell all my shiny and save a thousand or so dollars in capital gains taxes. Why bother discussing an issue directly when it's so easy to just impugn the motivations of the kooky "ilk" that thinks differently from the crowd? I didn't realize that character assassination was an arrow in your quiver for good faith discussion these days. ~~~ If you actually want to discuss the issue at hand, I would suggest you spend ~5 minutes reading the material linked in post #5 instead of getting hung up on key/buzz words that I have used when discussing the issue. I have really tried to be clear with my thoughts here, but since folks seem to be super confused about the issue, I'm probably not coming across clearly and I suspect it is because we do not have the same understanding of the base material (the actual legislation). Are you suggesting that the gold and silver markets are not regulated? Are you suggesting that dollar credit markets are immune to dislocations from speculators/ponzi/fraud? I do not believe that would be a likely outcome of the legislation as any speculations into foreign (or private issue) currencies would be subject to capital gains (and possibly sales) taxes. The legislation really only puts the FRN, gold and silver on the same free convertibility footing. Don't get hung up on the "Competing Currencies" title and start thinking about an open ended econ 101/Hayek theory/etc idea. The legislation proposed (referenced in post #5 above) was specific and narrow in focus. Sound money is simply commodity money (and gold/silver just happen to be the best commodities suited to the purpose). A gold standard implies a value peg. That is not what is on the table here. My expectation included a very important qualifier. The qualifier is the whole point. 42. In order to formulate the answer to a question, one must first really define and understand the question. To me, your question is (still) very vague. What precipitated a comprehensive collapse (what conditions lead to it)? What was/were the mechanism(s) in play (ie. how did it occur)? I'm not being flippant here. I'm happy to explore how a world where FRNs, gold and silver have free convertibility might work in different scenarios. But to have a constructive conversation on it, we need to have a common understanding of the issue.
  18. Wordle 585 4/6 ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩 🟨🟨⬜🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Tough one today. I'm satisfied with getting it in 4. Daily Quordle 366 7️⃣8️⃣ 4️⃣5️⃣ quordle.com 🟨🟩🟨🟨⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟨🟨🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜ ⬜⬜🟨⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 🟩🟩⬜⬜⬜ 🟨🟨🟨🟨🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩 ⬜🟨🟩⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬜🟨🟩🟩⬜ ⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Guess #6 (for top right) got all the letters, just in the wrong order. Rats. ~~~ Looks like @Rudy Rutabaga and @Craftywidget used the same starter word.
  19. Naughty Dog's Uncharted and Last of Us games seemlessly blended first person shooter, platforming and puzzle solving with cinematics (and tons of character dialogue). Playing Last of Us or the Uncharted games felt like you were experiencing a movie (largely because there was great depth to the characters and story and it wasn't just a thin framework for pew pew pew).
  20. Nicely done! Wordle 584 3/6 ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩 🟩⬜⬜⬜🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Lol! I used the "enter the first word that comes to mind that fits" method and got it on 3. I spent less than 20 seconds total on it today. Daily Quordle 365 4️⃣5️⃣ 6️⃣7️⃣ quordle.com ⬜🟨⬜⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ 🟩🟨⬜⬜⬜ 🟨⬜⬜⬜🟨 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨🟩⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟨🟩⬜⬜⬜ 🟨⬜⬜🟩⬜ ⬜🟨⬜🟩⬜ ⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Quordle was quite wicked today. I'm still not sure that bottom right is actually a word, but it's the only word that I could enter by the time I got to guess #7.
  21. Interceptor. B grade action movie streaming on Netflix starring a roided out female body builder. Bad guys steal Russian nukes (ICBMs) and try to destroy America. Good guys (mostly good gal actually) defends off shore missile defense platform to save America. At one point in the movie, they list the 16 cities that are being targeted. I laughed at seeing Dallas as the only Texas city on the list.
×
×
  • Create New...