Bad w/ Money: I just paid for a fat bitches Electric Cock Zapping Sex Toy in Kentucky

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MAKE NO BABBYS: Jan 28, 2010

Maybe it's a California thing, but I literally know 25+ practicing attorneys with non-ABA accredited degrees who are all totally successful and most own their own practices? My father was making 700k a year before his heart gave out (the third time) and he had to retire. It's not the worst thing if you're generally a smart person.

# ? Mar 25, 2016 08:23

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# ? Apr 27, 2024 10:35

pig slut lisa: Mar 5, 2012; irl is good

Here's a funny story about a vaporware airline, of all things:

quote:

Okay, this is actually amazing. The story of America�s oldest startup airline keeps getting better and better.

Last week I wrote about how the SEC is investigating an executive from Baltia Air Lines, which is an airline I first wrote about in 2014. They�ve been in �business� (which is to say they�ve been ~~stealing~~ investing other peoples� money) for 27 years, though they�ve still yet to operate a commercial flight, despite owning a plane for over 20 years.

Their business plan all along has been to fly 40 year old Boeing 747-200s between New York and St. Petersburg, Russia, with plans to later expand to other European capitals. But for the past 27 years they�ve intentionally been delaying operations, because they clearly don�t have the intent of actually ever flying.

And I can�t blame them for never actually wanting to fly � the airline is publicly traded under ticker code BLTA, and amazingly enough in 2014 had a market cap of nearly $70 million. Who wouldn�t want that much capital for a business model which could best be summed up as a joke?

Several weeks ago they finally decided to get rid of their 747-200 that they�ve had for over 20 years, after consulting a former FAA senior policy level executive. Who would have thought that a 40 year old 747-200 isn�t the perfect airplane with which to start flights between New York and St. Petersburg in the year 2016?

As if an airline without a plane wasn�t bad enough news, last week the SEC went after the airline�s vice president of finance, Barry Clare, alleging the following:
-Clare actively solicited investors by phone, by email, and in person, and received up to 20% of the proceeds of the Baltia investments he obtained.
-Clare wrote emails to investors describing the Baltia investment opportunity as �attractive,� �prudent,� and capable of generating �tremendous gains.�
-Clare solicited potential investors on a New York-area Russian language radio station through paid advertisements.
-During those advertisements, Clare described Baltia as a �great investment opportunity� with a share price that was �undervalued.�
-Clare maintained detailed ledgers of the Baltia investments he obtained and the compensation he received. Those ledgers show that Clare sold Baltia stock on a near-daily basis, participated in at least 820 sales of Baltia stock, and received commissions totaling $1.7 million for approximately 605 of these sales.

So now we have an �airline� without a plane and with a senior manager who is being investigated. Can Baltia Air Lines still fool investors, or was this the last straw for them? I figured that was the end for them, though I guess they�re more creative than I thought.

Wandering Aramean posted about an email he received, regarding Baltia�s (supposedly) revised business plan. Instead of flying 747s between the US and Russia, Baltia�s new business plan is to fly regional jets within the Northeast. The logical progression of any business plan! Here�s what Wandering Aramean shared:

quote:
One reason why Barry has been so enthusiastically communicating to prospective investors about the merits of Baltia is due to the new business plan. Yes, it was somewhat eclipsed by the CEO�s untimely passing, but the reason for scrapping the �big bird� as Barry calls it, has to do with the new route structure as well as the bid to lease and deploy Avro Liner aircraft which is a perfect fit for the carrier. With Baltimore as the new �hub� of the carrier, and the trio of high yield, high frequency destinations: Trenton, Islip, and Albany, we all believe that Baltia � essentially �BAL� + �T� / �I� / �A� (Trenton, Islip, Albany) is going to be a fast success. We don�t need to waste more rubles doing proving runs from Willow Run, and can quickly get hourly service in place between BWI and these three important markets. What is more brilliant about the plan, though, is the opportunity for connecting traffic. A businessman in Albany could fly to Islip (one-stop via BWI,) to conduct important meetings, and then fly onward to Trenton (one-stop via BWI) in time for some rest and next-day meetings.

So 27 years after being founded the airline has decided they want to offer hourly regional service between America�s four financial capitals � Baltimore, Trenton, Islip, and Albany. The logic for that route network is in the airline�s name � BALtimore, Trenton, Islip, and Albany.

I don�t know which part of this story is the best, though this part has to be a contender:

quote:
What is more brilliant about the plan, though, is the opportunity for connecting traffic. A businessman in Albany could fly to Islip (one-stop via BWI,) to conduct important meetings, and then fly onward to Trenton (one-stop via BWI) in time for some rest and next-day meetings.

What is more brilliant about the plan, though, is the opportunity for connecting traffic. A businessman in Albany could fly to Islip (one-stop via BWI,) to conduct important meetings, and then fly onward to Trenton (one-stop via BWI) in time for some rest and next-day meetings.

When the most brilliant part of your business plan is that one can fly from Albany to Baltimore to Islip to Baltimore to Trenton in a day, you know you�re in trouble.

What the actual f#*&?!

I hate to say it, but anyone who invests a dime in this company deserves to lose their money�

pig slut lisa fucked around with this message at 13:49 on Mar 25, 2016

# ? Mar 25, 2016 13:47

Hot Dog Day #91: Jun 19, 2003

Subjunctive posted:

I'm almost 25 years into my cybernerd career and occasionally lecture at colleges, so I'm not especially interested in doing a bachelors (except maybe classics), but auditing could be good. I think that I probably would not apply myself as well without a grade/credit on the line, but it might be a worthwhile experiment.

Apologies to all for derailing this thread into subjunctive-hobby-law, but it's been super informative!

I literally have a ba in classics and a law degree and can tell you the hobby aspect of what you're describing is an idealized academic version of the manic pixie dream girl.

# ? Mar 25, 2016 13:55

Nail Rat: Dec 29, 2000; You maniacs! You blew it up! God damn you! God damn you all to hell!!

MAKE NO BABBYS posted:

Maybe it's a California thing, but I literally know 25+ practicing attorneys with non-ABA accredited degrees who are all totally successful and most own their own practices? My father was making 700k a year before his heart gave out (the third time) and he had to retire. It's not the worst thing if you're generally a smart person.

That also sounds like it could potentially be due to it being a different era, though, before the lawyer job market was so crowded.

edit:

pig slut lisa posted:

Here's a funny story about a vaporware airline, of all things:

They have a flight status page and it's literally just an image instead of actual controls on the page. This is beautiful. http://www.baltia.com/flights.html

Nail Rat fucked around with this message at 15:55 on Mar 25, 2016

# ? Mar 25, 2016 14:15

Sundae: Dec 1, 2005

Jeffrey of YOSPOS posted:

It would be cool if this worked for me. I wonder what address/phone number they have...

Yeah, I'm not sure where it's hiding me in their database, either. The country I was born in no longer exists (and is not selectable on the list), the closest equivalent doesn't work, and it just can't find me in general despite the name and SS# being right.

The paper records I get every year or so look right, at least!

# ? Mar 25, 2016 14:52

El Mero Mero: Oct 13, 2001

Nail Rat posted:

That also sounds like it could potentially be due to it being a different era, though, before the lawyer job market was so crowded.

edit:

They have a flight status page and it's literally just an image instead of actual controls on the page. This is beautiful. http://www.baltia.com/flights.html

That's hilarious. Here's their "phase two update!"video. This is like a one of those worthless kickstarters, except with millions of dollars instead of tens of thousands

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOUjHsJKGm8

# ? Mar 25, 2016 16:40

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

Nail Rat posted:

That also sounds like it could potentially be due to it being a different era, though, before the lawyer job market was so crowded.

edit:

They have a flight status page and it's literally just an image instead of actual controls on the page. This is beautiful. http://www.baltia.com/flights.html

Hahaha. Wow. And that image's filename:

column_flight_status_mock01.gif

# ? Mar 25, 2016 16:53

Nail Rat: Dec 29, 2000; You maniacs! You blew it up! God damn you! God damn you all to hell!!

I think we can all agree that the late Baltia CEO was GWM and his investors were BWM.

# ? Mar 25, 2016 17:03

OBAMNA PHONE: Aug 7, 2002

I don't even think you're allowed by the FAA to fly an airframe that's as old as that 747-200.

how the hell has this company stayed open for 27 years?

# ? Mar 25, 2016 17:45

Leviathan Song: Sep 8, 2010

BraveUlysses posted:

I don't even think you're allowed by the FAA to fly an airframe that's as old as that 747-200.

how the hell has this company stayed open for 27 years?

You're definitely allowed to fly aircraft that old, even for passenger service. They still approve cargo craft and helicopters that were designed in the 50s. The main hurdle would be retrofitting for post 9/11 cabin security requirements.

# ? Mar 25, 2016 18:49

sparkmaster: Apr 1, 2010

The mainstays of the US air tanker (water bomber) fleet were designed in the 40s and built in the 50s. Up until a few years ago it was common to see B-17, B-24, and B-25 tankers in use. Then a B-24 lost its wings.

# ? Mar 26, 2016 03:50

Moneyball: Jul 11, 2005; It's a problem you think we need to explain ourselves.

You know those predatory facebook realtor pages saying that just because you don't have any credit, any income, or any down payment, that should still be able to buy a house? And then you read some of the comments and laugh because people are so sad and dumb, and what kind of moron falls for it?

Then you see that your part time-Uber driving, single mom sister is the top comment, and

# ? Mar 26, 2016 03:53

RC and Moon Pie: May 5, 2011

Scanning through television listings, I just found a series called My Lottery Dream Home. It's airing on GAC (Great American Country?). This may have potential.

In the first three minutes, a horse barn has been mentioned. Something about training German Shepherds too.

Another episode description mentions a boat.

# ? Mar 27, 2016 01:36

Nail Rat: Dec 29, 2000; You maniacs! You blew it up! God damn you! God damn you all to hell!!

I'd probably buy a boat if I won the lottery, assuming it represented less than 1% of my winnings, because why not. I'd be responsible with 95% of it though.

# ? Mar 27, 2016 02:33

Haifisch: Nov 13, 2010; Objection! I object! That was... objectionable!; Taco Defender

Since ancient times, horses have been acknowledged as BWM.

quote:

The play begins with Strepsiades suddenly sitting up in bed while his son, Pheidippides, remains blissfully asleep in the bed next to him. Strepsiades complains to the audience that he is too worried about household debts to get any sleep � his wife (the pampered product of an aristocratic clan) has encouraged their son's expensive interest in horses.

# ? Mar 27, 2016 07:43

Renegret: May 26, 2007; THANK YOU FOR CALLING HELP DOG, INC.

YOUR POSITION IN THE QUEUE IS *pbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbt*

Cat Army Sworn Enemy

pig slut lisa posted:

Here's a funny story about a vaporware airline, of all things:

So 27 years after being founded the airline has decided they want to offer hourly regional service between America�s four financial capitals � Baltimore, Trenton, Islip, and Albany. The logic for that route network is in the airline�s name � BALtimore, Trenton, Islip, and Albany.

I don�t know which part of this story is the best, though this part has to be a contender:

What is more brilliant about the plan, though, is the opportunity for connecting traffic. A businessman in Albany could fly to Islip (one-stop via BWI,) to conduct important meetings, and then fly onward to Trenton (one-stop via BWI) in time for some rest and next-day meetings.

When the most brilliant part of your business plan is that one can fly from Albany to Baltimore to Islip to Baltimore to Trenton in a day, you know you�re in trouble.

What the actual f#*&?!

I hate to say it, but anyone who invests a dime in this company deserves to lose their money�

As someone who lives about 10 minutes away from Islip, I'm amused how anybody could call it a financial capital of America with a straight face.

e: Their entire website is incredible though.

Renegret fucked around with this message at 12:09 on Mar 27, 2016

# ? Mar 27, 2016 12:04

Zero One: Dec 30, 2004; HAIL TO THE VICTORS!

Leviathan Song posted:

You're definitely allowed to fly aircraft that old, even for passenger service. They still approve cargo craft and helicopters that were designed in the 50s. The main hurdle would be retrofitting for post 9/11 cabin security requirements.

Air Force One is a 747-200. If its good enough for the President then its good enough for Islip.

# ? Mar 27, 2016 15:56

daggerdragon: Jan 22, 2006; My titan engine can kick your titan engine's ass.

Zero One posted:

Air Force One is a 747-200. If its good enough for the President then its good enough for Islip.

I have a feeling that Air Force One is slightly upgraded and maintained a little bit better than a civilian-grade aircraft... is this GWTaxpayerM?

# ? Mar 27, 2016 23:44

My PIN is 4826: Aug 30, 2003

Nail Rat posted:

They have a flight status page and it's literally just an image instead of actual controls on the page. This is beautiful. http://www.baltia.com/flights.html

I think that drop down box is from OS X Snow Leopard, so the site has been unfinished for about 7-8 years.

# ? Mar 28, 2016 00:10

OBAMNA PHONE: Aug 7, 2002

daggerdragon posted:

I have a feeling that Air Force One is slightly upgraded and maintained a little bit better than a civilian-grade aircraft... is this GWTaxpayerM?

it's going to be replaced with a 747-8 in a few years anyway.

after my previous comment, i looked up when planes are retired (outside of 1st world countries) and it's based more or less on how many pressurization cycles it has been through. AF1 probably doesn't get used that often.

# ? Mar 28, 2016 01:39

Youth Decay: Aug 18, 2015

Unamuno posted:

Probably shouldn't go even if you can get into a top-14 school, unless you get something like a full ride. Unless you really know for a fact you want to be a lawyer (and you have good knowledge of what that means), a JD is an albatross. Best not to make it an albatross that costs you 6-figs.

Counterpoint: my dad got his JD "for fun"...fully paid for with the money he earned from the $texas job he got after his bachelor's in petroleum engineering. Now he works as a programmer analyst for a big-time economics consulting firm.

He is extremely BWM in other ways (didn't pay the mortgage on my parents' home for ~5 years and played cat-and-mouse with Fannie Mae until it got foreclosed on and he filed for bankruptcy) and he and my mom are currently living paycheck-to-paycheck (as in, running out of groceries a week before payday) despite his six-figure salary. Classic case of extremely smart but no common sense.

# ? Mar 28, 2016 01:41

Pureauthor: Jul 8, 2010; ASK ME ABOUT KISSING A GHOST

Youth Decay posted:

He is extremely BWM in other ways (didn't pay the mortgage on my parents' home for ~5 years and played cat-and-mouse with Fannie Mae until it got foreclosed on and he filed for bankruptcy) and he and my mom are currently living paycheck-to-paycheck (as in, running out of groceries a week before payday) despite his six-figure salary. Classic case of extremely smart but no common sense.

What on earth can you spend monthly that hits six figures? Does he go to casinos to blow all of that cash or what?

# ? Mar 28, 2016 12:54

Nail Rat: Dec 29, 2000; You maniacs! You blew it up! God damn you! God damn you all to hell!!

I think he means his annual salary is six figures, not his monthly. I don't think there exists someone who's just a programmer who makes seven figures.

# ? Mar 28, 2016 13:14

mastershakeman: Oct 28, 2008; by vyelkin

Youth Decay posted:

Counterpoint: my dad got his JD "for fun"...fully paid for with the money he earned from the $texas job he got after his bachelor's in petroleum engineering. Now he works as a programmer analyst for a big-time economics consulting firm.

He is extremely BWM in other ways (didn't pay the mortgage on my parents' home for ~5 years and played cat-and-mouse with Fannie Mae until it got foreclosed on and he filed for bankruptcy) and he and my mom are currently living paycheck-to-paycheck (as in, running out of groceries a week before payday) despite his six-figure salary. Classic case of extremely smart but no common sense.

Living for free for 5+ years in a house doesn't sound BWM at all.

# ? Mar 28, 2016 15:37

Xenoborg: Mar 10, 2007

daggerdragon posted:

I have a feeling that Air Force One is slightly upgraded and maintained a little bit better than a civilian-grade aircraft... is this GWTaxpayerM?

Having worked on VC-25 I can tell you that absolutely nothing about it is GWM unless you count for the contractors.

# ? Mar 28, 2016 15:44

Unamuno: May 31, 2003; Cry me a fuckin' river, Fauntleroy.

Youth Decay posted:

Counterpoint: my dad got his JD "for fun"...fully paid for with the money he earned from the $texas job he got after his bachelor's in petroleum engineering. Now he works as a programmer analyst for a big-time economics consulting firm.

Counter-counterpoint: your dad probably got his JD before 2007. Also, he's probably the kind of savant who can get a programming gig no matter how many strikes he has against him. Some people can outshine their albatrosses.

# ? Mar 28, 2016 17:34

Hot Dog Day #91: Jun 19, 2003

BWM: your kid being sick so often that you use all your sick leave taking care of the child, so that there's none left when I want to stay home and play Civ V all day.

# ? Mar 28, 2016 17:54

canyoneer: Sep 13, 2005; I only have canyoneyes for you

Hot Dog Day #91 posted:

BWM: your kid being sick so often that you use all your sick leave taking care of the child, so that there's none left when I want to stay home and play Civ V all day.

That's why you play in the evening for an hour after the kids go to bed. Ehh OK I can skip showering tomorrow and wake up a little later to just play one more turn and whoops it's already 3 AM and I have to leave for work in 4 hours how did this happen to me again

# ? Mar 28, 2016 19:26

Sundae: Dec 1, 2005

canyoneer posted:

That's why you play in the evening for an hour after the kids go to bed. Ehh OK I can skip showering tomorrow and wake up a little later to just play one more turn and whoops it's already 3 AM and I have to leave for work in 4 hours how did this happen to me again

Real professional slackers play video games with their pri-care doctors so that they can get easy doctor notes to bring to work after they sleep in too late. :v:

# ? Mar 28, 2016 19:28

Hyrax Attack!: Jan 13, 2009; We demand to be taken seriously

From an article about older workers seeking employment:

quote:

Allen Bauer, 72, of Shoreline also attended a recent AARP Foundation program information session. He would like to work around 25 hours per week until he turns 80.

�I need more money,� he said. �I didn�t put anything away for retirement � It definitely wasn�t the priority it should have been.�

Many people, like Bauer, didn�t have access to pensions or 401k plans and have little in savings. The National Institute on Retirement Security, a nonprofit research institution, reports that among working households, those near retirement have an average of $14,500 saved.

http://www.seattletimes.com/business/economy/older-workers-left-out-of-regions-hiring-boom/

# ? Mar 28, 2016 20:36

Moneyball: Jul 11, 2005; It's a problem you think we need to explain ourselves.

Parents poor. Can confirm.

# ? Mar 28, 2016 20:38

potatoducks: Jan 26, 2006

We live in a country of fools with no executive function.

Poor because of lovely parents leading to a lack of education? Understandable.
Poor because all your savings and pension plan were in Enron? Bad planning but understandable.
Poor because you neglected to save anything throughout your 30 years of gainful employment and moved to Seattle without a plan? Idiot.

# ? Mar 28, 2016 20:52

Fuzzy Mammal: Aug 15, 2001; Lipstick Apathy

Yeah people like that deserve to starve to death like nature intended.

# ? Mar 28, 2016 23:15

Blinkman987: Jul 10, 2008; Gender roles guilt me into being fat.

Freedom technically is allowing large swaths of the population to end up destitute at the time they're least capable of bettering their situation. It would be commufacism to force people to save a little bit so we didn't have to deal with such horrible social ills that will drag down our society in every possible way.

Edit: The most GWM thing you can buy is sunscreen. I would say "one-and-only-one Asian parent," but you can't buy that. Look 29 until you're 80.

Blinkman987 fucked around with this message at 23:20 on Mar 28, 2016

# ? Mar 28, 2016 23:18

potatoducks: Jan 26, 2006

They're BWM in a thread where we make fun of people who are BWM.

Nobody is saying that they should starve. Nobody is saying that horse lady or car guy should starve either. But they're all BWM and in the BWM thread.

Don't start growing a conscience now because they remind you of your grandma or whatever.

# ? Mar 28, 2016 23:27

Fuzzy Mammal: Aug 15, 2001; Lipstick Apathy

potatoducks posted:

They're BWM in a thread where we make fun of people who are BWM.

Nobody is saying that they should starve. Nobody is saying that horse lady or car guy should starve either. But they're all BWM and in the BWM thread.

Don't start growing a conscience now because they remind you of your grandma or whatever.

Yeah I was being facetious. Or was I??!?

To contribute, here is a BWM story related to me by a coworker who used to work at AOL. As you can imagine about the time of the Time Warner merger basically all AOL staff got a giant windfall in the value of their equity. Some sold and diversified away in to other tech bubble 1.0 stocks and lost out. Some held AOL and lost out. Some diversified into totally unrelated things and probably did ok. This person, however did none of those things. This person bought himself a personal submarine. It worked out about as well as you expect. That is, he lost the thing, his house, his car, and he lives with his parents now.

# ? Mar 29, 2016 00:59

Moneyball: Jul 11, 2005; It's a problem you think we need to explain ourselves.

Fuzzy Mammal posted:

Yeah I was being facetious. Or was I??!?

To contribute, here is a BWM story related to me by a coworker who used to work at AOL. As you can imagine about the time of the Time Warner merger basically all AOL staff got a giant windfall in the value of their equity. Some sold and diversified away in to other tech bubble 1.0 stocks and lost out. Some held AOL and lost out. Some diversified into totally unrelated things and probably did ok. This person, however did none of those things. This person bought himself a personal submarine. It worked out about as well as you expect. That is, he lost the thing, his house, his car, and he lives with his parents now.

In the submarine?

"Hey guys, check it out. Boom. Periscope. Scopin' for babes. Alright :c00lbert:

Moneyball fucked around with this message at 02:05 on Mar 29, 2016

# ? Mar 29, 2016 02:03

Byzantine: Sep 1, 2007

How do you get your submarine repossessed? Can't you just run silent, run deep?

# ? Mar 29, 2016 02:13

Sic Semper Goon: Mar 1, 2015; Eu tu?; Switchblade Switcharoo

Byzantine posted:

How do you get your submarine repossessed? Can't you just run silent, run deep?

Gotta come up for supplies at some point of time.

# ? Mar 29, 2016 02:45

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# ? Apr 27, 2024 10:35

pig slut lisa: Mar 5, 2012; irl is good

"Personal submarine purchased with AOL merger funds" is my new favorite BWM thing

# ? Mar 29, 2016 02:53

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > Bad w/ Money: I just paid for a fat bitches Electric Cock Zapping Sex Toy in Kentucky

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