Jump to content

Dbeasy

Certifiably Surly
  • Posts

    9788
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Dbeasy

  1. This is pretty unusual. I know some folks don’t like Consumer Reports but it’s still one of the best resources out there for measuring car reliability. I’ve been an owner of Toyota and Lexus vehicles for over 40 years. We’ve owned 8 Toyota or Lexus vehicles, and a few other brands along the way. Without question, the Toyotas and Lexuses were of substantially higher quality for a long period. We try to hold cars for 8-10 years. Some of the non-Toyotas were real crap. There was about a 7 year period a few years ago where Toyota quality dipped, and there were problems with some vehicles. In the last few years the Toyota leader reemphasized quality and they’ve improved again. But the most important factor for us was that we had several Toyota/Lexus vehicles that went 8-10 years without requiring a single repair. It was amazing. Others required a specific repair that was a common issue for that model/year, but always affordable. There were two repairs required (across all those vehicles) out of warranty that were expensive and every one ended up getting covered by Toyota because they said that wasn’t right for the owner to pay. My brother has been a mechanic for 40 years and said there is no question whatsoever that Lexus’ were the best quality of any brand. Interestingly Consumer Reports doesn’t value the brand as highly as in the past. I think they have a few models these days that are of slightly lower quality, pulling down the overall quality rating You will get several recalls typically, always paid by Toyota, because they are more likely to do them than the American car companies. I am an unabashed Lexus fan. The only thing I didn’t like is that some models had weak designs but the stuff coming out right now is great
  2. Starting to firm up our activities in June in and around Winter Park. One day we want to go to Rocky Mountain National Park, entering from the West side near Grand Lake City. We will have a pretty big group, with a range of hiking skills, from none to hard core, and everything in between. So, I'm kicking around the idea of finding a place where we could all congregate and hang out in the park, and then have groups of similar hikers branch off and do hikes that match their hiking skill. Non hikers could either hang at the meeting point, or maybe find a nice area to drive through, or go to a site that doesn't require hiking. Any thoughts about an area that might be convenient for this that is accessible from the West side of the park?
  3. According to the Dbeasy Name-Based Recruiting Ranking System (NBRRS), we have a problem here. The name John Mills had an outstanding chance of being a great interior lineman name. The problem is that face and hair does not match the name. I’ve thus lowered his projected success (PSF) factor accordingly. In other news, Kelshaun Johnson has a sky high rating and projected success factor, with the only concern the slight similarity to Keyshawn Johnson. However his hair is perfect. Get him asap.
  4. The other truth of the matter is that insurance company stocks are at all time highs. If the struggle for them was really that bad, their earnings and stock prices would be under a lot more pressure than they are. This industry is pulling some sort of pseudo price fixing under the guise of Covid inflation.
  5. Yes. By the way, watched a Netflix or Prime documentary on the history of the National Inquirer and it was a mob-owned early precursor to propaganda and was partially responsible for blowing up Gary Hart and elevating Trump. Trump used to even call in his own stories about himself.
  6. That’s what I thought. Your percentages for 5 stars seemed too low. So has Saban had a higher hit rate on 5 stars, or just basically average?
  7. I already posted this same point above, so I don't know if your post is directed at my post or someone else's. It seems to be at mine, so I'll respond. Also, I've spent many years working in China and running a large organization there, so I have a pretty good understanding of what's going on there. Everything you've posted is obvious. I don't disagree with any of it. Frankly, the banning won't "reveal" anything. Everyone already knows this is the situation that is happning. But, this is not the real issue. If we ban Tik Tok, it's just like banning Chinese semiconductor chips. Probably warranted. As I said above, the real issue is the creep of these types of government actions against products and services that affect in some way free speech, and the rules of comerce for those products and services. Because if there is one thing US citizens have learned over the last 200 years is that unchecked government power tends to abuse. There absolutely is a first amendment and commerce question/issue. There's no need to run some thought experiment. We already have countless examples right now where, because of national security concerns, China and the US are banning or requiring alterations to products: semiconductor chips, software, etc. The point with Tik Tok is where is the line drawn? Is this the line? Is there another line? Because theoretically every single software product produced by both countries could get banned in the future because of national security threats. And that gives the US government the ability to control free speech of any software product that they deem being used as a weapon to influence the minds of citizens, or collect personal data, or spy, etc., or unfairly ban any product for any reason under the guise of national security. So as my post pointed out above, right now we are either on a path to potentially banning everything in the future...or maybe there can be ways to establish rules, requirements, and laws that hit at the heart of the security and free speech issues. One could argue that the banning of Tik Tok is essentially the beginning of a ban on any Chinese software product ever. Maybe that's the right decision. But it will have significant consequences for US companies operating in China that are having some level of success. And oh by the way, because I've been a pretty strong anti-China advocate on this board since the beginning who has seen the worst of China's behavior over and over in the past 20+ years, my personal inclination is to absolutely believe the US government when they say this is all about national security. BUT, given our government's track record for being nothing but bought politicians, I would not be surprised at all that a big part of all of this is also because some powerful tech interests are damn scared of Tik Tok's potential to take control of billions and billions of dollars at stake via social media applications. Facebook sucks, YouTube has matured, SnapChat has plateaued, and Tik Tok is it right now. It's naive to believe it's all about just national security. Just seeing Trump flip to supporting the app because of his relationship with a Tik Tok minority owner tells us everything.
  8. Awesome video 4th. This was a great tournament to watch. What a Sunday comeback.
  9. I’m really excited about this draw. Terry could end up playing one or two games against high quality coaches. If he beats them, then maybe it’s a statement about Terry’s long term potential. If he loses, maybe it’s a statement about Terry’s long term potential.
  10. What’s the neg rep number for destroying a user? Reality Check has to be close and his relentless idiocy has been enough to where I’m ready to join a good ol’ fatwa if someone wants to declare it.
  11. This is probably the beginning of the end for Pierce, imo. It’s coming 3 years later than I thought it would happen. As I posted earlier, the cracks in the program have been there for awhile, but to Pierce’s credit, a few times he managed to turn the team around and get to the CWS. I hope CDC’s patience does not extend past the end of next year.
  12. Awesome. He gets to go down as one of the biggest recruiting busts in history. I like the sound of that.
  13. This issue is very complicated. On one hand just randomly banning an app, or forcing its sale, either because of foreign data collection or them trying to warp public views is a fairly random decision fraught with inconsistencies. On the other hand, fuck China. They ban or force modifications to US apps operating in China. But it’s really the bigger issue that needs to get addressed. This country must do something soon about the conflict between free speech and disinformation. That’s the real legislation that is needed. Because right now we have government forces suppressing free speech AND peddling disinformation to silence and/or mislead the public for their own benefit, either personally or government. We need a set of rules that individuals and companies must follow when creating and delivering information. These rules must cover all environments: online, over the air, news, entertainment, opinion, etc. and these rules do need to be based upon some basic values.
  14. The area has a lot of rattlers.
  15. Any idea what this is from the skin?
  16. Yes you are quite the master baiter.
  17. Why do fans have high expectations? Because for a brief moment the program was almost a perennial top ten. Until it wasn’t. The journey as a Texas basketball fan: Abe Lemons - This is a fun guy. He wins some. Hey wow, we just won the NIT, awesome! He’s old Boot him. Kaiser Bob - Bobby Knight disciple? He’ll be great. Oh good lord what the hell was that? That’s the worst basketball I’ve ever seen on this planet. Boot him. Tom Penders - we are so up tempo! This is great! We made the tournament! Holy cow this team never plays defense. Boot him. Rick Barnes - so that’s what defense looks like. Wow we look like a real basketball team. TJ! Final four! Durant! We are becoming a bball powerhouse. Woah, what’s wrong with Rick? Whisper whisper. Boot him. Shaka - Well he is one of the up and coming coaches. I’m sure Patterson knows what he’s doing. Plus he’s bringing Havoc with him so that should cement our standing as a perennial top ten program which is where Texas should be in all major sports. Woah, no havoc? Why is Shaka getting so weird? Nice recruiting but these teams are up and down like a yo yo. It’s all 3 point shooting live or die. Missed the tournament? Early exit again? Boot him. Chris Beard - Thank you lord! This man can coach. Wow these teams look different. Wait, he slapped who? Dammit. Boot him. Rodney Terry - Nice guy, decent recruitor but….
  18. Wasn’t able to watch the game but the loss is no surprise. It’s an average team in the Big 12. I guess we are supposed to be excited about that because the Big 12 is a strong conference. Yay.
  19. This post is correct. It’s called an ONT.
  20. By the way, I’ve become a huge convert for buying more expensive quieter tires. It makes the driving experience so much nicer.
  21. This is the best theory I’ve heard. He was getting ready to head out in a few hours and needed bait fish.
  22. I use Consumer Reports which led to Michelins. Been buying them for years and they are very quiet. TireRack also rates them highly. Not sure what the truck tires are like.
  23. It was great watching him win. But that t shot where he steps out of the swing could be trouble down the line. He used it all week and it was awesome, until it isn’t.
  24. First concert ever was Boston in Feb 1979. Went with eight other guys and all wore matching football jerseys. What a bunch of dorks. But more interestingly, I sold tshirts and cokes there for years. Saw every concert in the late 70’s to the mid 80’s. U2, Van Halen, Neil Diamnond, etc. I sold you dweebs tshirts and you probably stole one from me you little basterds.
×
×
  • Create New...