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LCHorn

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Everything posted by LCHorn

  1. I’ve opined earlier in the thread what a local DJ told me but will repeat it; terrestrial radio in general has had a catastrophic loss in ad revenue due to a graying consumer base. Austin’s market, in particular, suffers for having a very strong NPR station that by itself grabs 60% of the listening audience. Essentially the Horn sucks because it doesn’t make any money. It’s not content, shitty hosts, etc., they are just a symptom of it. This isn’t informed by the person who shared the details above, but I also wonder about sports consumerism in general beginning a descent. The digital generation just has far more niche interests about which they can indulge and as they don’t begin the next generation of patronage the sports content production machine (teams, schools, broadcasters) look to make up the difference by increasing costs on the existing consumer base (thereby resulting in further fracturing as lower income fans shrink their consumption).
  2. Ouch--they did that to us, too, but just by 25 bps. After promising full transparency into raw pricing when we were recruited, the discovery of the upcharge is partly what sped up many of the branch departures. They probably could have sold it if they hadn't lied by omission about it first.
  3. Thanks; everything is all perspective, though. I'll share a story about a former colleague that's had it even rougher. So I'm a mortgage banker and the bank for whom I worked built itself up in 2019-2021 by recruiting some of the best producers in the country and letting them be fairly independent compared to how branches are usually managed (basically, run your branch how you want, run your own P&L, use your dba, we won't be have any overlays on conforming, etc.). The rapid market deterioration, coupled with letting branches run losses too long meant they faced solvency issues at the beginning of the year and they took a bail-out offer from another bank after a large number of the branches left to start their own mortgage bank. For our part, we had read the tea leaves and left late last year before things got really bad. One of our colleagues, however, couldn't leave because he had a $250K or higher (I'm misremembering just how much it was, it might have been $400K) branch surplus on his P&L that he would lose if he left (he basically was a one man shop and had zero expenses; I'm told you can bonus yourself some of that surplus but it can't be more than 10% of your gross compensation annually because the CFPB doesn't want it used to shift compensation around). When the bank was sold he was promised some small fraction of this and I don't think he's received any of it (as you might expect, the original bank didn't have it to pay and the bank's buyer doesn't feel any obligation but will use it as a carrot to retain his branch).
  4. I don’t think those of us in the industry are feeling like market deterioration from the best couple of years most of ever had is unfair; frankly it’s welcome to the extent that I’m not working until midnight seven days a week. What’s cause for our discomfort is just how fast the door slammed shut; we had a team of ten and I took a big pay cut to minimize layoffs last year but it didn’t help; that includes four loan officers I trained personally and was invested heavily in their success, both in terms of time and head hunter fees. Our super sharp admin was a loss; all our biz dev team we had to let go. Maybe it’s better to have the band aid ripped away fast but all of that infrastructure built to handle better times isn’t there now for when rates come down, as they will. Anyway, I can’t speak to anyone else’s experience, but that makes for a pretty shitty part of the business cycle.
  5. I’m not very concerned but it’s a choice-Luhnow was quoted as being bullish on creating a culture of winning in the minors. Tampa, who we presumably want to emulate, has winning records with most of their affiliates. That said, I don’t know how you make THESE teams better besides to slow promotions or sign more minor league free agents (maybe including some AAAA lifers). Playing devil’s advocate, not having a GM early in free agency might have been where signing that additional depth was felt most keenly.
  6. I don’t think the tandem pitching is putting much of a cap on innings pitched. The days of Chris Holt pitching 180 innings in Triple A just don’t happen anymore for anyone. Blame maximum effort pitch coaching to increase velocity.
  7. I think it’s way early to throw in the towel but I’m not optimistic that this year’s team can over-perform in a short series. We need at least two reliable starters at a minimum and absent that, I really would prefer not to potentially rob from next years team or waste trading chips that could be used later. I’ve been withholding judgement but I’m now agreeing with @Wulaw Horn-resigning Brantley at $12m was dumb. That money should have been spent on a starter.
  8. Ya’ll are actually making me feel sorry for her. I know she’s an attention whore and quite possibly a psychopath but jeez…
  9. I thought she was my secret crush but I’m glad she has a greater fan club. I also like her taste in projects.
  10. Have you been to Bergstrom? It might take 20 minutes to get through security, it might take two hours and that’s with Precheck.
  11. Thanks for the update-I figured after getting blasted yesterday there was a better than 50-50 chance of improvement today but the last year has broken my crystal ball.
  12. We’re about to depart but a quick update on few destinations: 1. We ate at Leon’s for dinner and it was probably my favorite experience even if the food was a little underwhelming. Great ambiance, not terribly expensive, interesting cocktail menu and soft serve ice cream. 2. Dap’s for breakfast made all of the lists and it was Omelettry quality, which is fine but nothing I’d tell out of towners they need to hit. We didn’t have any better than average breakfast brunch experiences but will leave without trying Miller’s All Day (we hoped to squeeze it in this morning but couldn’t get the kids mobilized). 3. Obstinate daughter on Sullivan’s Island was great, neat menu. 4. We did dinner at Basic Kitchen last night and it was a nice change of pace from local cuisine. Lots of vegetables, kids ate for $8 a plate and it wasn’t hot dogs and French fries, cocktails were all gin or vodka based but decent. Beet crudite was a highlight. 3. Traveling with little kids totally changes what you can do, where you can go, and how fast you can do it. We canceled a Husk reservation in part because it looked like a bad place to take the kids (although we saw plenty of older kids dining when we stopped in for a drink). Their cocktail menu was terrific, however-I’d give it a strong recommend on that alone. The locals we met or just passed in the street were exceedingly polite; somewhat weird, however, was how ambivalent many retail folks were when we walked in their stores, like they didn’t want to be there or acknowledge a possible customer.
  13. I have a loan I need to lock, looks like my decision to hold off yesterday afternoon will be well rewarded…
  14. I’m pretty sure MarathonAg12 is a @SydneyCarton pseudonym.
  15. I took the week off but I’ve been been keeping up with the thread because I’m addicted to bad news.
  16. Even more offensive than the message is using three different fonts. The horror!
  17. What do you buy there that’s a good deal? Shock is more expensive by $1/lb or more than CalHypo at Costco and Walmart has the cheapest liquid Chlorine I’ve been able to find.
  18. Also, they apparently hate open table here-everything is on Resy and their shit UI.
  19. We’re here now-yesterday was 98 degrees with 95% humidity most of the day, just ruthless when our favorite activity to explore the city on foot. So far Raw 167 delivered, we canceled a Husk reserve because the daily menu looked unremarkable, and we’re about to eat at Obstinate daughter after a morning at the beach. I will say, I’m too old and too married to really care about the young 20’s talent but I’m a little surprised how many good looking young women abound. If I was 20-30’s I think this would be an awesome place to work remotely or come work in tourism over a summer break, far better than New Orleans in that respect.
  20. You can get a courtesy bag of Doritos if that feels like a good value for you. They also have a salad vending machine. The best part was people watching other patrons as they stationed themselves on the patio and tried to pretend the lounge exclusivity was something they should value enough to endure the growing discomfort.
  21. Has anyone commented on the Chase Sapphire lounge at ABIA yet? It’s about 40 sq ft of air conditioned space and 2000 sq ft of rooftop patio overlooking the tarmac. We lasted about 10 minutes before the dry sauna heat and jet engine noise drove us back inside.
  22. This and Olive Garden were considered fine dining by those of us nearby. First time I went to that Pappas Seafood on I-10 my mind was blown.
  23. That was in fishes, I think he was talking to Ritchie‘s ex and Ritchie was just kind of eavesdropping.
  24. He also had a two ep run on Person of Interest in which they introduced fellow Texas Sarah Shahi.
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