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956 Worldwide

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Everything posted by 956 Worldwide

  1. The grift is endless.
  2. Not at all good. Some PRC spooky fellas are gonna be pulling out all the stops to talk to the Houthis and Iranians doing this.
  3. Less than two weeks ago, Marco Rubio closed the office at the State Department that focused on combatting foreign propaganda. He fired over 50 people that worked there, and went on a media blitz beginning with Bari Weiss accusing them of “censoring Americans” because they warned social media companies that lots of accounts were fake Russian or Chinese operations spreading COVID lies. The next week the DOJ wrote to Wikipedia threatening their 501c3 status and accusing them of letting foreigners edit pages on Israel and Palestine. https://www.theverge.com/news/656720/ed-martin-dc-attorney-wikipedia-nonprofit-threat
  4. Third kid in this video should be right at the age to make his dreams happen.
  5. We are losing democracy because 33 percent of the country make decisions based on completely false premises. Voting for someone who stands up for the little guy and isn’t a rapist is entirely rational; it’s just that he believes it about a person who is the opposite of both those things.
  6. White House Comms Director having a normal Sunday on government accounts.
  7. There are not qualified people willing to serve in this admin. Most people understand it will be a stain on their legacy and so only the dumbest and most politically craven will sign up.
  8. Warfighters. It’s all about the warfighters. Like those who died when the Nazis bombed Pearl Harbor on June 7, 1941. A date that shall live in esteem.
  9. You should be making al pastor on your grill. Your life will improve significantly. Tons of meat left so breakfast tacos Al pastor are a thing that’s coming.
  10. Also off topic but if you are looking for a used truck to do truck stuff, a lower trim Frontier is a better bargain than a Taco. (I know that’s a hot take but use Tacos are crazy expensive and the Frontier V6 is bullet proof).
  11. A massively under-appreciated consequence of this presidency is how much time is wasted on things that aren’t even close to real.
  12. Pakistan is the most cursed country around, maybe worse than Central African nightmare states. They are trying to replace Cold War and post-9/11 American interest at patronage with Chinese and finding out that China truly sucks as a semi-friend. I am honestly surprised they haven’t tried to do a 9/11 false flag to try and make us interested in them again.
  13. Sanders’ potential floor is a lot lower than just his measurables and production points to, because if he does struggle at all it is almost a guaranteed media shitshow led by his father. That is scaring teams off and his ceiling is not near high enough to justify the role of the dice. Going in later rounds to a place like Pittsburg with a strong FO that can weather storms and criticism is a best case for him as opposed to being anointed off the bat. But even that likely won’t be enough. He’d need to commit to STFU and work the process and he won’t.
  14. DJT begins to ask if it’s possible that Putin has been less than truthful and earnest.
  15. Poles love that. They add apples to it as well. Not my favorite Slavic snack
  16. Under appreciated is that with all the required features, it’s not that much different in price to build an “entry” car versus more upmarket and the margins are just much better even taking into account volume. Manufacturers also used to always want an entry point to build loyalty under the theory you get a young buyer in a Nova then you get a family man in a Impala or a Buick and then a retiree in a Caddy. That guy and buyer doesn’t exist anymore. No one just goes down to the same lot they always go to when they need a car and pick from what’s there. Truck guys are the last bastion of brand loyalty and that’s dying. This was a big part of the stated reason Toyota killed Scion, Scion buyers were not particularly inclined to graduate to Toyota or Lexus over any other brand in that range— and that’s why Toyota created Scion.
  17. You can honestly tell Trump likes this stuff more than being president. He really liked giving Robert Pattinson dating advice. His heart is really in it. We need to keep him occupied with celebrity beefs and sports takes.
  18. I would also say that the used car market is also stupid right now. Incredibly stupid. Cars hold value, high-miles are not depreciating as fast. And money is about to get more expensive. I do think we are primed for a return to small, affordable cars. There is value in being a first mover.
  19. Erroneous on the last bit. They are the same cars, not shittier. Rolled off the same lines, same parts aside from minor stuff (Geo/Chevy actually had better radios). The Prizm and Corolla from those eras are the same car and the Prizm is a sweetheart deal even now if looking for a beater. The Storm is an Isuzu built in Japan on the same line as Isuzu’s sport coupe. The Tracker and Suzuki Sidekick were the same car built in Ontario in the same factory with the same parts. They failed because they were too close in perception to the era of shit American small cars and also the bottom fell out of the small budget marker across the board. You’ll notice Suzuki and Isuzu are also not here, Mitsubishi is a ghost, and the 3 Japanese giants shrank their budget lines and expanded their SUVs in both lineup and size. Even the Koreans began abandoning the econobox ship. A Geo of the era and a proper Pontiac or Chevy (Lumina, Grand Am, etc) are no comparison in quality. Geo is better in every way. Also remember the econoboxes were always meant to be bought cheap, flogged by new or poor drivers, then offloaded to some person with even less money for maintenance and care. They got harder miles. But if you can find a Prizm in decent shape it’s a steal for a beater ride compared to the Toyota and it is the same car.
  20. One thing I immediately thought is that this would be ideal for delivery/trades in European cities and getting congestion charge discounts. Tariffs throw a wrench in that and I wonder if the initial idea had that as part of a strategy.
  21. I think some of ya’ll are overestimating the amount of miles pool guys, handymen, window cleaners, plumbers, etc drive per day especially in big metro areas and around suburbs, tooling down stop and go roads and cul-de-sacs. Its really hard to get to 150 or even 120 in between service calls, etc. If I drove l”my 12 mile commute right now that takes me 40 minutes, and if I’m a tradesman I don’t schedule 12 of those segments in a day. 5-6 miles between jobs is far more reasonable. Same if I am in a mid-site city, I don’t do 150 per day around town and if I drive 25 miles to a work site I will stay half the day and charge a service fee. 150 miles averaged across work days is 37k per year, and that’s a big number for anyone who doesn’t have a long commute. I agree that I’d rather own or drive a kei truck or a used Ranger. But if wanted a car I can drop off for service without ordering parts from Japan or a junkyard and get on the road, and in warranty till I decide to off-load it, this looks very attractive. I looked it up and the aging Nissan Leaf, which is more expensive, similar range, and less utility than this has gone up in sales by 187 percent compared to the same quarter in 2023. I see them wrapped all the time for maid services, delivery, etc. This doesn’t have to be the new Beetle. Just has to sell enough reliably to justify. I look at it and see tons of places where its what is needed, especially if the conversion is as easy as they say. Lada Niva 4X4.
  22. I can see a significant market for these, especially if you can customize a covered bed panel-van style, for tradesmen, delivery, fleets, etc. Customers that want the service and warranty and who can’t one-off shop on the used market. Probably much more limited for a family car. I do dig it though. Not much different than a two door S-10 or Ranger that used to litter highways. The range would stop me, would love to see an ICE version but the incentives wouldn’t apply. The truck and car market got stupid and is crashing into the reality of no one can afford a car. The manufacturers don’t want to play in the low-margin budget zone but that zone is getting bigger and will continue to.
  23. Following this with much interest as its been mostly polite and less strident, maybe all are getting old? I see a lot of discussion around the idea of pursuing spiritual and ethical enlightenment inside the framework of organized religion or as part of a personal journey. I find this usually boils down to personal temperament and acculturation. The benefits of a traditional framework are the stress-tests and practices, the accumulated wisdom to know when something has been tried and found wanting or harmful, the guideposts and signs that help to keep us on track. The drawbacks are veering into hide-bound inflexibility, the unwillingness to discard what is no longer needed (and maybe was), the danger of collective judgment and harshness. The benefits of going it alone are the freedom to start from first questions, the courage to look for and find better and safer paths, the boldness discard the harmful and unnecessary. The dangers are in wasting time on solved problems, getting lost when a path is available, and in missing the correction that every person needs. And I think both preferences are legitimate and hubris starts when you begin to insist that one way is the only legitimate way and gets worse when you ascribe bad intentions to those who find another way more enlightening and helpful. Its sort of like what architecture inspires you. Are you drawn to the ancient Romanesque edifice, with worn foot paths and centuries of soot, icons, and smells— even if we don’t need walls that thick, even if it will need constant repairs, maybe if we need to wall off some rooms and pull down some walls. Or do you open up in a pristine, airy space filled with light and the supporting elements exposed and visible? Even if it may be less cozy, may be missing some of the familiar and comforting, and maybe if all that glass and metal does need way more care and attention unless it falls into ugly dinginess rather than lived-in and homey. This is indeed a preference and not a moral judgment. And more than that, both paths compromise to each other even if we don’t care to recognize it. No Romanesque cathedral looks as it did upon consecration, every century has made its repairs and renovations and modernizations and it is chauvinism to think the current generation finally got it just right. And the most spartan and glistening modern showpiece will begin to accrue the detritus of human existence— the sops to comfort, kitsch, sentiment, and utility— that would offend the architect’s eye if living and breathing people are ever allowed to actually move in and use it.
  24. I get the buttermilk and saltines and how it could be a nostalgic thing that hits the spot like a fried baloney sandwich or slice hotdogs on wonderbread and cheese under a broiler. The pears and mayo are sending me, I don't know how you get there unless the AI in your brain glitches and just calculates the optimal calorie/nutrient mix based on what it scans.
  25. I like cornbread and sweetmilk for breakfast. I can’t do buttermilk except in baking and I don’t feel the need to pretend I’m country enough to like that. Canned pear and mayo is so deranged its not even psychopathic. Its more like a coding bug or some garble the aliens picked up and taught in human school. Start doing little tests like mentioning that dreams appear at a 90 degree angle when people sleep on their sides. See if she mirrors the behavior and if so, robot.
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