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closetojumping

Burnt Ends
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Posts posted by closetojumping

  1. 1 hour ago, tokamak said:

    I always wondered what happens if/when these REPs fail. For the past couple years we've been using one that seems like it's basically just run by a dude with a PO box (Discount Power, very creative company name). So far so good but I've always kinda expected them to blink out of business some day.

     

    Lots of shadiness in this business, it seems. PowerToChoose is a good idea in theory, and can be very useful if you're smart and educate yourself on what you're actually looking at, but most of the headline numbers on there are manipulated, misleading bullshit. Just typed in my ZIP code and I get a big ol' "2.6 cents!!!" in my face. Lulz, right.

    We always used to ignore PowerToChoose as a distraction to our business when I worked in the space, but many REPs have no clue about doing anything well online, so they view PowerToChoose as their only online "strategy" and now the site is a total clusterfuck, overrun by a bunch of bullshit offers from REPs who are playing a "buyers buy on price only" mindset, which is incorrect but for about 15-20% of any aggregated group of buyers.

  2. 59 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

     

    FYI, while the deregulated markets look to be a great deal for consumers, consumers have made bad choices in Texas and actually pay more in the deregulated areas as opposed to the regulated markets.  Strange how that worked out.

    Yeah, that's factually incorrect, and has been since 2007. It's been over a decade with the lowest rates in the country and, to some degree, the world. You're not even close with that take. 

  3. So, if you were on the "Can You Help Me With This?" board on shaggy, you might remember the Energy Ogre thread. Here's the link: http://www.shaggytexas.com/board/showthread.php/159079-Anyone-have-experience-with-Energy-Ogre

    EnergyOgre for the past year+ has participated in routing customers to what amounts to a "too good to be true" offer for a small Retail Electricity Provider (REP) called Breeze Energy. It appears to have been a pretty cozy deal, as I can't find another place in which Breeze was acquiring customers other than PowerToChoose. Breeze claims to have not been paying EO for the customer flow, but within the industry, the EO is believed to be that they're getting paid coming and going, via the REP and the customer. I don't know if that is true or not, so maybe they just love Breeze and have been funneling people their way due solely to the pricing from that REP.

    Anyway, Bernard poured it on pretty hard and went so far as to call the TexasElectricityRatings poster an incompetent on the second page of the linked thread above. Full disclosure, I know the TER poster and I know the business, but I do not work there. I have extensive background in the space but do not currently work in it directly. 

    Well, fast forward to today, when it is announced that Breeze Energy has gone belly up. It's the largest REP failure in the Texas market in almost a decade, even if it is just less than 10,000 customers. Having been in the space, it's no joke and a big boy/big girl game, but failing in this way, ahead of the summer, is a shocking show of incompetence, frankly.

    All of the customers who are with Breeze, will be rolled to a Provider Of Last Resort (POLR), where they'll be put on a variable plan and charged as significantly higher rate than what they were previously on. Because of high pricing in the market, even switching over to a new fixed rate with someone will be costly. That all said, the Texas competitive market has kicked ass for years with the lowest rates in the country. Due to the summer weather expectations this year, current prices are high but in line with CPS and Austin Energy and will fall off again after August. 

    I'm sure if you run over to Energy Ogre, they'll hook you up with another offer of something too good to be true.

    Anyway, it's news, and I am amused by the history within this posting community. Here's the link to the news of Breeze failing: http://www.energychoicematters.com/stories/20180530zzz.html

  4. It really depends upon what you view your audience to be. If you're a B2B business in a niche, a couple hundred likes with regular activity is fine and more than that is great. If you're a consumer facing business, the stronger your follow base and the steadier the regular engagement, the better, irrespective of whether you're serving a niche. 1,000 is a good threshold to hit from that perspective, if you're really small, but keep going if the growth is earned and not paid. 

    This all presumes you're thinking about this stuff for the right reasons. This kind of conversation is always couched in the "building credibility" department, rather than the "I want to grow my business directly through my FB following" department, which is folly generally. 

    Anyone telling you it doesn't matter, whether internally or externally, is either clueless or flatly wrong. Consumers and B2B decision makers look for validation that the company they're dealing with is legitimate and respected. Having a sound presence on FB these days is table stakes in that regard and don't let some engineer, lawyer, trader, or CEO who thinks they know everything and yet knows dick about brand and marketing tell you different. 

  5. 47 minutes ago, BigHorn'13 said:

    I kinda like the idea of every couple months CDC comes out and discusses current affairs of UT athletics and then throw out aggy still doesn't want to play. Something like, "... have had excellent capital contributions and expect to start breaking ground soon. aggy is still refusing to play us. Next month we'll be looking at..." Just to keep the truth in light that we've never said no. 

    I would prefer to see him start getting passive aggressive and dismissive about it. Something to the effect of "Our goal is to schedule other titans across the CFB landscape. As such, we haven't spent much time thinking about doormats in any conference, the SEC or otherwise. Next question?"

    • Like 3
  6. 19 minutes ago, Lhorn said:

    Damn, Shack looking like a proper grown ass Offensivelineman.  I remember him looking like a baby face and people wringing their hands about how he was going to hold up against whatever ND DT he was going to have to block. 

    Time for his game to take the next step too 

    I'd like to see his game take a bunch of steps, preferably in direct conflict with the direction of various defenders. It's time for that, I think. Then maybe I won't explode in laughter at the concept that he's on the Rimington Watch list. I'm looking for the little things in life, really.

  7. 1 hour ago, Fud said:

    They'll obviously try for Dabo and Smart, but I bet both stay put. I think Saban is around for at least another six or seven years, there will probably be more options we're not even away of by that time. 

    Saban is coaching until he's 70 and then he's out, as of right now. He's not outright saying as much, but he's showing some legitimate tells for those around him/who deal with him. Without going into details, this is from two independent sources who would be unquestioned on this subject if you heard the names. His thoughts may change, and probably will, and that's been caveating to hell and back for me on this, but that's the case as of right now. 

    1 hour ago, tokamak said:

    Dunno about Smart, but I'd be willing to bet that Dabo already has bags packed with shipping labels for Tuscaloosa on them. No way he says no if (when) they call him home.

     

    1 hour ago, Fud said:

    Dabo has a great thing going on at Clemson, and yes I'm aware of his connections. Why try and follow the GOAT with more pressure in a tougher situation? 

    I agree with these two sentiments. Swinney has a machine built in his own image at Death Valley. Alabama can offer nostalgia and nothing else that Clemson can't. Following the fucking GOAT of CFB coaches would be pure folly. 

  8. 1 hour ago, golfclap said:

    He's going to Tech and he's going to throw for 3 trillion yards. 

    I think those dumb shits are going to complete their transition from their pinnacle with Leach back down to the Dykes plateau with a non-dynamic offensive mind or an outright defensive-oriented mind after the Coach Bro era ends. The ol'full circle where they're back to looking for tough west Texas cowboy types and jucos/grade issues in a more traditional offensive/defensive approach. Maybe that's just my nefarious hope. Who knows?

  9. I expect ATM to find some sort of mysterious big win at the QB spot in this class, not unlike Foster in the last class. They're not going to be shutout at QB in this cycle. Now that Gunnell is making it clear that he's gone, they're going to have to find someone whose language they can speak. Circumstances don't seem favorable for that in-state this cycle, so I wonder who in the southeast is going to be the target?

  10. 35 minutes ago, NorLa Horns said:

    Yeah. Heard thats the word on Ellis. Hes been waitingnon this offer for months. And the worry was, hed get pissy for being kept waiting. 

    Looking like that might not be a problem. 

    But it might be a problem for our other targets. It looks like the staff has told these guys ro piss or getnoff the pot. They want to fill their WR list now. And anybody who wants to wait, wont have a spot. 

    I’ll be surprised if they close the door on Tongue, Wright or anyone else like a Wilson-type if they came back knocking. I’ve said all along they’re taking 27-29 guys and that means they’ll take 4+ wrs without a blink and if flex players like Tongue and/or McCoy come on board, fine as well. No one is projecting Tongue permanently at WR, but him playing there for a bit is in our interest if it leads to landing him. I assume they’d take an Ellis now, Smith in a week, wait until January for Wright, and cross their fingers on other fantasies through signing day. 

    • Like 1
  11. 35 minutes ago, satyanash said:

    A&M + 4 schools that routinely beat A&M's ass up and down the field. Probably a deliberate selection, unfortunately.

    It will be easier for Kenyon Green to walk through the eye of a needle than it will be for him to commit and sign with Texas. 

    • Like 2
  12. 50 minutes ago, Dbeasy said:


    Your response demonstrates you are a very angry old man who takes questioning of your viewpoint as a personal attack on you as an individual. I hope you find some peace in your life. Good luck.

    So poster X offers a position of their own. Poster Y shows up and dismisses position with false argument. Poster X responds back with exhaustive support for his position. Poster X also says that poster Y is lazy as fuck and if he's going to show up spouting bullshit, he should try harder in the future. Poster Y counters with "you're an old man and your life must suck". Solid work. You didn't try any harder to get on my level, but hey, your projection as to who I am did make me laugh. 

     

  13. 10 minutes ago, Dbeasy said:


    The big issue on a coach hiring mistake is the timing of the fix. If he’s really not the right guy, now would be the right time to fix it. You can’t do it during the season, and you don’t want to do it right before the early signing period or during the period before the late signing period. If he’s not the right guy, jettison him now.

    Yet that's never the way it happens. Coaching carousels stop in February/early March. Get a fucking clue. That's precisely when Herman demoted Mehringer, which you're either willfully ignoring or incompetently missing.

    • Like 1
  14. 52 minutes ago, Dbeasy said:

    I'm not saying Mehringer is good or bad. Maybe he is bad. But CTJ has provided no evidence that he sucks. He's just whined and complained about him for the last year. Pretty hard to prove your point with no evidence. About the closest thing out there are vague rumors of WR team room unhappiness, Duvernay almost transferring and whiffing on Wilson, not really enough yet to pin on Mehringer.  Personally, after seeing his Rutgers performance I was skeptical of the guy, but I figured Herman wouldn't make such a big hiring mistake (of course as I typed that I just thought of Beck. Oh gawd, we're effed).

    What you're saying is that you're oblivious to college football and how the game is played, both the game on the field and the one off of it, when you throw out lines like: "But CTJ has provided no evidence that he sucks. He's just whined and complained about him for the last year. Pretty hard to prove your point with no evidence."

    You need evidence beyond the stats and experiences of last season, plus Mehringer's resume prior to that, to understand that he chugs more asshole than a commercial grade rectal bulb?

    The WRs didn't improve last year over the course of the season. In fact, they regressed. Statistically this is true and schematically it was evident. Show me one guy, year over year or game over game who improved in route running or blocking results on the WR corps.

    The personnel packages were discombobulated and erratic, leading to further offensive mayhem.

    There were public complaints from some players and parents (who were shitheads, admittedly, nonetheless that was a new development and problem).

    There were behind the scenes issues that I've been generously transparent on, that the $9.95ers have also touched on, and that others who have some insights into the org have done their best to pass on. Choose willingly to dismiss that if it suits you, but then you're dismissing data points with track records behind them in some form. 

    On top of all that, the fucking guy was demoted and had his responsibilities pared down immediately after the season - by Tom Herman!

    Nevermind the swings and misses on several key targets in this cycle already who would otherwise be coming to Texas. 

    In the end, you're one of these guys who needs some form of certainty directly from a HC in order to believe anything other than what he says to you through a microphone. Mehringer will be fired after this year and Herman will set it up as him getting a promotion when Sam Houston State gives him the OC role, and you'll be on here parroting the premise that the guy got a promotion after successful performance on this staff.

    You are lazy as fuck as a poster. You perpetually presume you're owed some burden of meeting your expectations of what constitutes proof, yet you show us nothing in terms of your own understanding of what in the fuck is actually going on. 

    • Like 2
    • Haha 1
  15. 4 minutes ago, Vertigo said:

    If Herman shuffles the offensive staff this year and cuts the weak links, then we could expect to have some combo of new OC, WR, and TE/whatever the fuck Warehime is now. 

    My dream picks would be something like:

    Kingsbury or Holgerson (both likely to be fired)- OC

    Beatty (likely to be fired) - WR

    TE/utility coach - Recruiting up and comer from TX HS ranks a la Traylor or keep an open spot for new DC to bring in one of his guys if Orlando gets a new gig and move Meekins back to TE.

     

    I know there were steps taken to feel Kingsbury out before he then showed up and beat Texas. He doesn't view himself as a good personality fit with Herman and thinks he'd have interest elsewhere.

    Holgerson is running a top 20 team if he gets help on the DL.

    I'd be interested in understanding what people think about up and coming TXHSFB coaches that might be a productive fit at Texas. 

  16. Just now, MuellerHorn said:

    Yeah. They were all based on previous UofH-based relationships. Mehringer walked right into good fortune. 

    I guess what needs to be more clear is that anyone at Texas should have a minimum expectation of landing some recruiting talent. In a year in which there's a new car smell on the program and the state is loaded at WR, the WR coach, no matter who he is, should be expected to land a few blue chip recruits no matter what. Hence the "above replacement coach" comment. Anyone specifically assigning Mehringer credit in recruiting good WRs to Texas during a big WR year in-state is shoving their head up their ass and living in oblivion.

  17. 3 hours ago, Dbeasy said:


    Our WR pull last year was solid. This seems a little over the top.

    The premise that Drew Mehringer made a difference above replacement coach in any instance with successfully landing a WR in last year's class is laughable and uninformed. 

  18.  

    The reality is that Johnson is an entitled shit off of the field and a loafer in practice. That said, those things shouldn't be license for Mehringer and Herman to so thoroughly fuck with him that he loses an understanding of up from down. There are ways to coach star talents into star performers, and there are ways to fuck those types up along the way.

    Drew Mehringer is putting on a clinic right now when it comes to coaching ineptitude. His players despise him, he's making an ass of himself in recruiting, and he's oblivious and full of shit as he does it all.

    Darrell Wyatt with Collin Johnson would have him going over 1,000 yards per season and we would not be asking why CJ isn't starting and playing most snaps. But Darrell Wyatt fucked up his situation when Tom Herman was working on getting the job at Texas, and Herman told him to fuck off on his way out the door in Houston as a result. And now we have a complete fucking rube teabagging the WR position for Texas as the position coach. 

  19. 47 minutes ago, Spawn of Cthulhu said:

    They don't always have an accent. Mine was born in Switzerland and lived in Holland until she was 18. Speaks American.

    Sadly, this is what I deal with too. She sounds American until she starts drinking with family over there. That’s about my only complaint. I’m very pleased with myself to have sent this thread careening sideways towards cliff for the day, too. What else are we supposed to do?

  20. Just now, texifornia said:

    You're going to Europe in mid-summer? Enjoy the tour groups and small American children everywhere.

    I will unapologetically have 4 American children with me everywhere, sir. And my wife is from there so we’re not going to be in the big cities constantly. I’ll PM you all of pics of our various travels. You’ll love it. 

  21. 37 minutes ago, Machinator said:

    If you think this is fun, wait until the month-long dead period from June 25 to July 24.

    It’s almost uncanny but I’ll be in Europe for almost these exact days. It’s a real shame that you hillbillies will have be here sorting EJ’s frappuccino choices and Bryan Carrington’s 🤫 counts without me. 

    • Haha 1
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