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Vegas64

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Everything posted by Vegas64

  1. All this. are the first few posts here conspiracy theorizing that the MAGATs funded and managed Pro-Palestine protests? But now that MAGATs are elected, they don’t need to anymore? beyond it being a brain worms thing to think, much less say outloud, if one were to really believe this, what would be the underlying motivation? MAGATs are racist and antisemitic and nazis and so they hate the Jews and would secretly support anything that erodes Israel’s power?
  2. I need midstream was a crappy business and midstream companies were crappy to work with, but this was an interesting view (h/t Visual Capitalist):
  3. Akshully, the buy backs were in part to buoy the technicals for the stock price/shareholders so that they could better compete with benchmarking peers (like the aforementioned IOCs), but there was STILL too much fat and redundancy in the organization. If you've ever worked in and around Chevron, you would understand. Either way, this was McKinsey coming in and providing a blueprint to better compete with their peers for capital.
  4. My read is that this isn't an industry-driven thing as much as it is a corporate-specific ting. IMO this has been a long time coming. There was a re-org last year that predated this and this was a corporate move to catch up to the other big integrated's on stock price, e/ps, valuations, margins, etc.
  5. Looks like we both either work for or know folks who work for Chevron. The worst kept secret went public today: Chevron to lay off 15% to 20% of global workforce https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/12/business/chevron-global-layoffs/index.html
  6. Just watched this movie. Not sure if this goes in unpopular opinion thread, but I thought it was really good. It's a suspense/psychological thriller with a legal drama vehicle. I thought Phoenix played the dissociated mentally ill person remarkably realistic and thought the raw cuts of song (and dance) served really well Joker's reawakening, and further dissent into fantasy. I appreciated that Arthur wasn't fully Joker-- he is mentally ill, but not a pscyopath. The Gary Puddles questioning highlighted Arthur's humanity and showed that Arthur is what you CAN get if you sexually and physically a human as a child and then abuse and bully the malformed and maladaptive human adult until something or some things break. Arthur is a survivor of horrible trauma who then goes on to inflict services inkind. I think the Gary scene was the climax of the movie. I thought the end was actually super satisfying-- the real Joker is a (self-diagnosed, it would also appear) pscyhopath. He merely stole the origin, something Arthur accidentally began but couldn't live up to be. Standing on the shoulders of giants, as they say. The last two take-aways that stuck with me. 1) Lady Gaga was so good. She was scary good as an insane, antisocial person and 2) I couldn't help but draw some loose lines between Arthur Fleck/Joker and the admiration and surge of social support for doing the heinous and Luigi the guy who killed the UHC CEO. It felt real and it left me feeling dirty.
  7. A couple of disjointed comments @F250 on that verse: "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." I have heard it said that the "rock" that Jesus says he will build his church on, is the rock of confession-- that we confess Jesus is the Messiah (which is what Peter had just done and 16:18 was in response to that confession/posture). Matthew 16:16-17 Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. That said, I have also heard it said that Jesus was one for nicknames. He nicknamed James and John "Sons of Thunder" and more famously Simon was renamed as Peter (Greek Petros means Rock) in what I have heard would be a modern day equivilent of giving your buddy the nickname "Rocky" or someone bull-headed, strong, stubbon but also heart of gold, underdog and loveable....like the eponymously named boxing movie. Lastly I've heard that verse used as an invitation for Christians to take up their cross and not be fearful, but be on the attack-- be on the offensive. For Gates are a defensive barriers. A lot of folks get it backwards in their minds that the Christianity and faith (and evangelism) is something to hide behind like gates, as the forces of evil push against it. But it's quite the opposite. We are called to push against the wicked and sinful and storm those gates with the righteousness and steadfastness of faith, etc. etc. Or so that's how I've heard it said.
  8. The Roma people are the correct term for the group, and "Gypsy" is a derogatory term that should be avoided. The word "Roma" is the ethnonym used by the Roma people to describe themselves. "Gypsy" is an exonym that is considered insulting and offensive by many Roma. Google told me this: In America, "Travellers" are generally considered to refer to "Irish Travellers," and based on available estimates, there are significantly fewer Irish Travellers than "Gypsies" (Romani people) in the United States, meaning there are more "Gypsies" than "Travellers" in America.
  9. not supposed to say Gypsy. It's Roma. Not to be confused with Gypsy Rose.
  10. I'm a certified hater. Wasn't happy that Kendrick was the performer and I think Drake sucks. New Orleans is Little Wayne's city and the only good and right answer for the headliner. I was holding out hope K.Dot would do the right thing and bring him on stage, but alas, the world is dark and justice is spare.
  11. Kinda same. Felt like a more “serious” take on the “only murderers in the building” / “knives out” genre of murder mystery except there is no physical murder, just ambition and title murder. At first I couldn’t unsee “The Menu” Ralph Fiennes but that faded quickly enough. All in all 5.5/10
  12. One time in my 30's I got drunk and was like, "you weak wimps, let's do push ups right now. I'll knock out 50!" I did like 25 and thought dang, I'm a wuss. If you haven't attempted 25 push ups in a row in a decade and drop down and crank out 25 it's not as easy as you will remember. That story was like 25 years ago now though, dang.
  13. Refund? I'm scared to death of how much I will owe this year and delaying the inevitable. The one positive outcome from this goat rodeo is if the IRS was somehow neutered and fell apart, but I'm just not that lucky. I expect to be charged double by mistake and have zero recourse.
  14. I'm actually looking at this from the other perspective, as a private sector worker. I see this as (admittedly, selfishly) a good opportunity for those like me who would love to get in on a federal job in the next 5-10 years: 1) The best case for that would be Trump coming in and flushing everyone down the toilet as he seems intent on doing. 2) Destroying the federal agencies and causing chaos and insanity for 4 years. 3) And then the D's starting in 2028 putting out a 10 year roadmap plan on how to rebuild (and rehire en masse). 4) And by then hopefully I can get in, do another 20 years and retire with that federal pension money. ???? Profit.
  15. Thanks for sharing this, this is amazing and good for you for the insight and analysis (lessons learned) to share.
  16. Exactly this. I think probably everyone (probably zero opposed) would be fine with a fine tooth auditing and cutting of 10% of the fat which undoubtedly, over the years as the human capital and redundancy debt has built up in agencies, there is. But that's being prescriptive and taking a scalpal to the patient. What DOGE is doing is doing surgery with a machete and just hacking away at 75% of the body and hoping that all you need is a brain, one eye, one nostril and half an ear is good enough.
  17. Conversely I polled two of my coworkers (both in Ontario/Toronto if that matters) and they say they aren't bothered by it and in fact want Trudeau to continue to be bullied because they hate Trudeau so much. Good question. I'm reminded of Bill Burr mentioning how the "Gucci-booted white women" hijacked the BLM and MeToo movements and made it about them, while being historically complicit. The question you pose (and the answer, ultimately) is a tough knot to untangle.
  18. 364% is unreal. Have fun in Hawaii or Paris or [Insert Club Trip Locale HERE].
  19. I'd argue that the field is leveling here, at least what I saw with the Vance has sex with couches and the "weird" trend. Dems are fighting back and using the LBJ "get them to deny it".
  20. I was thinking about this earlier today and mentally mulling it over, but you articulate it much better. Boiling it down, in my mind, it felt like this: Politics were always what smart, driven, nerds did. There was a lot of opportunity cost and sweat equity and paying your dues and it sucked for 90% of it and it took some serious political junkies/wonks who were passionate about government to want to do it. But in the modern era, it's almost "too democratic" in that anyone with any money, following, cult of personality can get into politics and even be succesful. So you get reality television brains into the machine and the vast majority of Americans are trash in mind, body and spirit. And here we are.
  21. I spit my drink out. + rep
  22. “Apparently we’re running a surplus now as a country right? I mean no sane country would raise taxes or borrow money just to speculate on stuff right?” - Cliff Asness, a founder of AQR Capital Management, on President Trump’s executive order directing his administration to explore the creation of a sovereign wealth fund.
  23. Had a week headstart: Waffle House has imposed a temporary surcharge of 50 cents per egg due to rising prices from a nationwide shortage caused by bird flu. The chain, which serves 272 million eggs annually, says the surcharge will remain until market conditions improve. Meanwhile, Biscuit Belly, with over a dozen locations in the South, has switched to cheaper eggs to manage costs. Prices have increased sevenfold in two years and are expected to jump another 20% in 2025, per the USDA. https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/04/food/waffle-house-egg-surcharge/index.html
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