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Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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Youth Decay posted:

Just want to point out that all of the big time rebbes have said to follow social distancing rules and that someone who organizes a minyan is equivalent to a murderer.

I remember seeing one of the more prominent ultraorthodox rabbinical counsels said that trying to form a minyan right now is a "mitzvah (commandment) fulfilled by sin" or something to that effect. Point being "commandment of sin" would be a great band name.

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Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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spwrozek posted:

Strap it down and then the wood doesn't rub on the top of the truck.

I thought rubbing your wood was the point of having a big truck.

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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OctaMurk posted:

I'm mad because 150k as a single person sounds like a ludicrous amount of money already, how the gently caress could you end up in debt and not know how to pay it back with that income. Jesus.

If you're my parents it's a new TV every year, new computer every year, buying a new car as soon as you finish paying off the old one, and of course, drugs and prostitutes are apparently very expensive.

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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Cacafuego posted:

Do your parents share the drugs and prostitutes, or is that something they do separately?

Presumably separately considering how often they cheated on each other? But before this gets too e/n my parents had a combined income of almost $300K growing up. Yet my sis and I legit thought we were poor because they were always talking about not having money and credit card debt and stretching the paycheck to last until payday and complaining about the rich people in the nearby country clubs. Filling out financial aid for collage was a shock.

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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PurpleXVI posted:

At this point you're unlikely to ever be more than a few feet from something that can tell time, whether that's a computer screen, a TV or your cell phone, so watches are entirely for conspicious consumption, unless you're somewhere far afield like in the Antarctic or an impenetrable jungle, or somewhere out in the sticks enough for a reliable electricity supply to not be guaranteed.

A niche case, but the majority of people I know who've had a security clearance are in the habit of wearing watches.

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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Cyrano4747 posted:

Kind of low hanging fruit but man I do not understand people who think car payments are just a permanent thing.

I can tell you exactly when mine ends and I can’t loving wait.

This was my parents. As soon as the car was paid off it was time to sell and upgrade to a nicer one. They taught us that this was perfectly normal and everyone did it.

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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pentyne posted:

Buying new must have a lot of advantages, but a solid used car for $10k or less could last a decade no problem with regular care and maintenance. You have early 00s corollas and accords on the road now that are probably going to last well into this decade and not break down until the frame itself just suffers enough from age wear & tear.

Driving a ~15 year old Honda with less than 140K miles on it. I literally expect it to fall apart around me before the yearly maintenance gets more expensive than a new car payment.

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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threelemmings posted:

Do you have a source for this? I'm finishing up a book on the silk road which talks about trade, military expansion for resources, influencing or controlling the barbarians, and the indirect economic relationships between Rome and China. This book is nice because it's more on the scholarly side instead of pop science but not totally textbook dry.

Can you name the book? Silk road is super interesting to me and I've also been thinking for a while that it would make an amazing setting for my D&D table.

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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Just grabbed it, thanks!

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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Back in undergrad I talked my way into an upper level business school course on leadership because I needed to fill some credit hours. The professor split us into small groups and for the first six weeks, every week we would take different personality tests and discuss the results. We had to answer questions like, "choose two team members who have different results. Given $problem in the work place how would you adapt your strategies for communicating with each of them." Then the next week questions would include "is there anyone in your group where the communication strategies recommended by the this assessment and the previous assessment contradict? How would you address this?"

As an anti-social goon it actually really helped me understand and communicate with other people. The vast majority of the class hated it and constantly complained that they couldn't understand what any of this had to do with being a leader.

Ultimately my biggest takeaway from that class is that business students are gigantic loving morons whongroe up to be bad with management.

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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Oh I absolutely agree these tests are terrible, that companies horribly misuse them, and that assholes use them to justify being assholes. I shared that story to shown my professor using them the right way and a class full of business students completely failing to get it.

"These tools will help you think through your communications." "BUT I DONT WANT TO THINK JUST TELL ME WHAT TO DO"

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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Phanatic posted:

But at the same time, Bed Bath and Beyond is in deep financial trouble and one of the reasons cited for it is the loving coupons.

Wait, how are coupons a factor?

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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Found this for the r/relationships thread but also on point over here

AITA for Not Co-signing for my BF?

quote:

My boyfriend and I have been together on and off for almost 4 years. Within the first few months of me knowing him, he traded in his truck for a newer model with a higher payment. He never talked to me about it. He just showed up at my place one evening with a new car. The relationship was new, and he was in a much better place than me financially at the time. I kept my mouth shut. Fast Foward to about 1.5 years later, our relationship is getting more serious and we’re actively discussing a future. He shows up one evening with a brand new truck that he definitely can’t afford. I was annoyed that he had made such a stupid financial decision without even bringing it up with me especially when I knew he couldn’t afford it. At this point our finances are completely separate. The truck payment added to his financial burden, and he began to really struggle financially. He was spending more money each month than he was taking in. He ended up drowning in credit card debt just trying keep up. I’m pretty good at budgeting and saving, so I offered multiple times to go over his finances with him and make a budget. He was stressed and defensive. He didn’t want my help. At this time, I bought my own car. I have good credit, so I could have gotten a brand new car. But, I decided on a 2010 Corolla with a low monthly payment that I could easily payoff early. Our relationship started to decline and he broke up with me. After 3 months of him actively trying to get me back, we begin to reconcile. I found out that while we were apart, he had traded his unaffordable truck for an even newer, nicer more unaffordable one. He claimed that it was his way of comforting himself after our breakup. A few months after we were back together, he asked me to co-sign on another auto loan for him. He needed my good credit score to help him get out of his unaffordable car loan and into a more affordable one.The “more affordable” options he was looking at were all way more expensive than the humble car I had bought for myself. I didn’t feel like it was my responsibility to bail him out. I’ve worked really hard for my finances and credit to be where they are right now. The subject was dropped, and it wasn’t brought up again until today (9 months later). He thinks that I didn’t trust him or believe in him enough to co-sign for him. He’s still upset about it, and he’s holding a grudge. I tried to explain my perspective, but he just accused me of not being “all in”. I don’t think he gets it. I told him I would be more willing to help him if he would have consulted me or considered me on any of these purchases. His finances have began to improve over the last few months, so things aren’t as dire at the moment. But, like I said, he’s still holding a grudge. AITA?

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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My grandma has a story from the Korean War where grandad's commanding officer threatened to send granddad to the front if grandma didn't sleep with him. Grandad was friends with a colonel from temple who requested granddad for his staff to get them out of that situation.

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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Alan Smithee posted:

is poly military a thing

It is. Though those doing it are either recognize how prevalent cheating is in the military world and keep it way on the down low, or are exactly the drama filled shitshow you expect when you combine poly + enlisted.

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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BonerGhost posted:

Being a security risk for a clearance is a separate thing from adultery in the UCMJ. Regardless, it's pretty tough to blackmail someone by threatening to tell their spouse when their spouse knows about it and is cool with it.

The blackmail fetishist is just waiting for the day the Chinese get compromising pictures of him.

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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StormDrain posted:

I like it but it feels too good to be true.

I've seen other instances where guys think they can write a prenup that forfeits all their partners rights. Really the surprising bit is the social pushback Dan received. But I'm sure Dan is getting the validation he needs from the MRA subreddits to make up for it.

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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Ghost Leviathan posted:

Non-white sovcits are a weird and sad thing especially given the basic foundation of sovcit nonsense is a fundamental misunderstanding of the dynamics of law and power. (Hence why even anarchists will laugh at a sovcit getting tased by the cops as they scream about creating joinder) Such a misunderstanding is something a black American absolutely cannot afford to do given the potentially fatal outcomes even when complying with authorities.

Also a lot of the underlying sovcit ideology is the idea of being screwed by the system and the power fantasy of learning the secret ways to fight back against the peole and systems screwing them and ruining their life. In that sense I have maybe the most sympathy for African American sovcits as they've been legitimately screwed by the system.

When I practiced foreclosure defense I saw a ton of blue-collar rural whites go sovcit because in the process of losing their house they ideologically couldn't make the leap from "I'm getting hosed by late stage capitalism" to "capitalism bad". Instead they were seduced by the promise that no, the market is good, it's the government is bad and bad things are only happening to you because you don't know the secret words to keep the government out of your freedom.

So there are people with legitimate grievences who get seduced into the ideology, but then again a lot of those greviences come when a sense of entitlement rooted in privilege hits reality. Like divorce is another case where usually dudes go sovcit and the grievence there is "what do you mean my wife has rights in divorce?"

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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And then they don't understand how the magic words could fail unless the system is hopelessly corrupt. And that's how you get them setting their own house on fire just so they can murder the firefighters in an act of 2nd amendment defiance.

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:

There's a certain intersection of mental illness/stupidity with conspiracy theories like SovCits. There are people who are obviously not totally mentally there, but aren't mentally ill or dumb enough to be completely unable to live an independent life.

When you reach the level of "I was legally a corporation at birth, a trillion dollar loan was taken out in my name, my social security number is a secret offshore bank account, the cabal that runs the world is sending me signals with the fringe on their flags, and I actually own part of the corporation that controls the government," then you're well outside the range of someone who just wants to "beat the system" and have to have something that is seriously wrong with you beyond just being dumb and feeling screwed.

That's how it starts, someone's just desperate or scared enough to not think critically, and then some grifter or true believer pulls them into a batshit cult. Not saying all of them are that way, and I'm not saying they have no responsibility for putting themselves in that situation. I lost a battle with my libertarian doctor uncle who was convinced some sovcit guru's "land patent" scheme would protect uncle's house from eminent domain. No matter how much I told him he was wrong, my uncle argued with me, the licensed attorney doing real estate litigation in the jurisdiction, that I didn't want to understand how the law really worked cuz I'm a socialist addicted to big government.

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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Knowing nothing about stonks, is there a reason that purchaser is stupid beyond "lol, Tesla"?

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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With streamers some actually do believe their $$$ are literal nice guy coins that will eventually grant them the chance to try and woo the target of their obsession.

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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Thanatosian posted:

There are dudes who get super upset when it is revealed that their favorite streamers are married or have partners.

We just had a big discussion of that in the Dumb Marketing thread I believe.

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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Midjack posted:

This is like when those guys were putting guns to their dicks. Capsizing to own the libs.

As a liberal soyboy I get super triggered when manly MAGAs point loaded guns at their own genitals and I hope they never find out how easily they can own me by doing this enthusiastically and often.

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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Cacafuego posted:

This is how we get Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Camacho as president
President Camacho was a legit excellent president. When confronted with a serious problem he displayed decisive leadership, identified the most qualified expert he could find, and empowered and resourcesd them to address the problem.

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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Also some conservatives want taxes to be as miserable an experience as possible.

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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Moneyball posted:

That's the opposite of what is true

No? Making tax filing a huge burden to justify tax cuts is part and parcel of the break government to prove government doesn't work strategy.

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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Normally I post these to the r/relationships thread but this feels more appropriate here.

AITA for belittling my friends "business idea" for to offer subscriptions to an avocado tree?

quote:

My friend Floppso (fake name) has been bothering me and my other friends for 2 weeks over his "business idea", and really it is quite ridiculous in my opinion.

Floppso wants to plant an avocado tree on his balcony. He wants to design a website where people can buy subscription memberships to this tree, and when it bears fruits (avocados) the members will have a chance to purchase an avocado. I told him that it can take like 5 years for an avocado tree to bear fruit, and he told me he knows and that's his idea for profit. He wants people to pay $20 a year to be a "member" of the avocado tree, and membership entitles them (in 5 years....at least) to purchase one avocado for $15, and then in subsequent years can do the same if their membership is still active.

I pointed out to Floppso that this means a subscriber would essentially be paying $115 for their first avocado, but he says people will do it because it is an "exclusive avocado".

He keeps asking me to invest in his "side hustle" and claims if it works out he is going to buy "20 to 30 avocado trees to expand my subscriber base".

I think this is a crazy business plan and that there are not going to be many people willing to invest into subscription plan that doesn't pay off for half a decade and that will net them one avocado per year.

Finally this weekend he was going off again to me and my friends about this drat idea. So finally I snapped and I said something like "For god's sake Floppso, nobody is stupid enough to waste their money on an avocado subscription, buzz off with this nonsense." My friends concurred with me but were more mannered in their response. Floppso did not take this well and denounced us all as a "pack of traitors" and stormed away.

Now he has been blasting me on social media telling everyone I am belittling his dreams of being a businessman, and some people are actually siding with Floppso.

AITA?

TL;DR - My friend thinks subscribing to an avocado tree is a viable business plan and I disagree strongly.

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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Ixian posted:

Sure you wait until 3:31.

Pouring themself a drink doesn't mean pouring themself their first drink.

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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I posted this in the relationships thread but y'all will also appreciate it.

AITA for telling my wife that I’m not giving up my therapy sport and she should stop shopping or get a job?

quote:

I admit it, my wife and I screwed up.

When I was first hired by my advertising firm, I assumed that I would make more each year than I ended up making.

I’m currently an executive but bonuses are not what they used to be nor are salaries.

My wife said that we needed to keep up the lifestyle to make it in the corporate world so she would spend a lot of money buying me the best suits and her the best clothes.

We live near Madison Avenue and she’s there almost every single day.

When bonuses fell even more and they started cutting salaries we started taking money from my then 7 year old son’s college fund.

Our son is now 14 almost 15 and what seemed like little expenses here and there have added up. We were in denial.

Now the state of his college fund is such that he would be tens of thousands short for state schools who would give him good scholarships, and he can’t attend the higher ranked schools that he wants to attend at all.

My wife and I are mad at each other over how this depletion happened.

She came home from shopping very late yesterday and this started a fight. I ask her why she had so many bags. I opened one of the bags and saw what looked like the same type of shirt in about six colors. I also saw two pants that looked and felt exactly the same, and I suspect she circled back to the habit of buying two pairs of the same thing again.

She then started asking how much my polo horses and equipment upkeep cost. I happened to have played polo since I was 12. It was my outlet and therapy for not getting along with my parents or friends. It still is my therapy activity.

You cannot get a suitable horse for less than $20,000 but these horses are an investment. And for the $5,000+ per month during the season when I’m actively playing, my wife spends more than that cumulatively over the year.

My wife told me to sell my thoroughbreds and just rent ponies for occasional recreational play. I told her that I was not going to do that and that if she wanted to refill the college fund, she could stop going shopping and we could just sell her clothes. And that she could get a job along the way.

AITA? One of us is just spending money for the heck of it while I actually spend money to invest in my mental well being.

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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"I raised the kids to 18 so they're responsible for taking care of me in old age, but gently caress them all my money gets spent on me" is some powerful boomer energy.

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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The Apollo astronauts had to clear customs after returning. https://www.space.com/7044-moon-apollo-astronauts-customs.html

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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Chin Strap posted:

Married couples with separate finances still baffle me.

When your parents divorce because dad is spending all the money on drugs and candles or you see your dad kick your stay at home mom with $0 to her name out to replace her with the mistress you feel the need to have something set aside that's strictly yours.

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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AreWeDrunkYet posted:

Did not know that, I assumed there was a minimum payment since homeless seniors are unsightly in a developed country.

But we're talking about America.

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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FateFree posted:

Omg this dropping Trump lead in PA is like a slow motion new years for us and a countdown of doom for Trump it's great and terrible

Someone in the GIP election thread compared it to watching Goku power up for a week or something like that.

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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My dream car is a reliable midsize hybrid hatchback because I'm a giant loving goon who only occasionally ever drives in an urban environment to get groceries or to visit friends with kids out in the suburbs. In the meantime I'm gonna keep driving my 15 year old <130K mile Accord.

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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When I did real estate law it amazed me how often people dropping 6-7 figgies on what is likely the major capital investment of their lives start becoming penny wise and pound foolish on protecting that investment. Title insurance being another one of those things people object to paying when the cost is negligible compared to the purchase price.

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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At least when I practiced banks would go along with it so long as all or part of the sale went to paying down the mortgage so that the remaining parcel adequately secured their interest. Fun times if the seller takes the money and runs though!

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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Bad with fingats: the knife and cutlery thread.

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Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

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Bad with markets: investing based on month old announcements. Worse with markets, seeing the price rise as confirmation you're right.

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2020/11/nikola-stock-soars-after-confused-investors-think-gm-deal-has-closed/

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