OlDawg

Off topic for stock market discussion. But, since I’ve happened to find an area where at least two posters with diametrically opposed views agree, I’ll go ahead & drop this right here. Can we agree this may be a good area for the technical wizards with DOGE to investigate and advise? It doesn’t mean cutting benefits—as some are claiming. [Hidden Content] @UT alum @LumRaiderFan

No problem. I should clarify I wouldn’t attack a CEO either. That’s not allowable to me at all. But, if DOGE wants to do a deep dive into Medicare spending, this (Medicare Advantage) is an area that could expose a LOT of fraud.

Actually, it was United Health Care. Heavily weighted on the Dow & posted lower earnings & bad forecast for remainder of the year. I actually don’t mind them losing money a bit. They are one of the major players in the rip-off of Medicare. All the Medicare Advantage sellers up charge the government (our tax $$$) for their policies, deny a lot of coverage, cover it up with health club membership bullcrap & such, then drop folks when they actually get really sick or elderly & dump them back on Medicare. Then, it’s almost impossible for people to get supplemental coverage & they’re left with OOP costs many can’t afford, and Medicare winds up paying for the really expensive medical treatment that might have been prevented if the Advantage plan had allowed treatment earlier. (Always makes me furious just thinking about it.) Beware Medicare Advantage plans. They ARE too good to be true.

Looks like Northwestern State also? Seems to have some good credentials. Really late in the year for the upcoming season. But, wish him the best. (Unless he’s playing LP. 😉)

Yes & no. Our neighbors helped teach him as we all shared the lease of the plane when dusting was needed. Old Piper Cub retrofit with dusting equipment. Not that difficult. Would only go about 60 & there isn’t much to run into in Dalhart. LOL Later, he flew helos for Uncle S, and became a flight instructor. Taught private flight lessons for decades here in La Porte. Started as a hobby. Became a second job.

I was raised on the farm (Dalhart, TX) in the early 60's. Dad just went to his next great adventure in 2023 at 87. As a leased family farm of 600 acres of maize & onions, dad, mom & my brother worked our butts off from sun up to sun down with school in between. I was driving a combine and helping with irrigation piping at 7. We would trade future crops for groceries & other needs at the COOP, and the big trip/adventure was to the S&H Green Stamp store. Trade in those stamps! Dad learned to fly crop dusting, taught me, & I learned how to drive just about anything there is to drive & work on them early. Nowadays, I'd have to be a plumber with an IT degree to work on my truck. But, I can still work on my motorcycle at least. Although, sometimes my back doesn't always cooperate. 😀

I didn't know all that about the new builds. Be interesting to see the final hire. Berneathy currently makes more than either of those, and his nephew plays OL for La Porte as well. I think he's a soph. The LP freshman class has some studs--even with Simon moving up last year--so LP is looking good for the foreseeable future if the kids stay. (So far, not only are they staying, but others are enrolling.) I know LP frosh won district in track as well, and are undefeated in baseball. Hard to leave when you know the talent coming up--and wanting to transfer in--can help make you very successful. I thought I saw somewhere where Ball was expected to drop to D2? Was that you that mentioned? I assume that will have an impact on the coaching hire.

I was wondering if Oliphant would leave his alma mater for the step up.

LOL I’m sure they’ve talked to him. Be foolish not to. But—and I don’t know him personally, nor have I ever spoken to him—I think he’s where he wants to be, has fantastic support, a steady good talent pool, entire control of the program, and new digs. He can build his own legacy at La Porte, and follow in previous coach’s steps to the HOF. He might think it would be kind of neat to follow Lundin, and LaReau. Especially since LaReau hired him for his first coaching job in Texas. To be in the HOF along with the first guy to take a chance on you in Texas, and do it from the same school would be very cool I would think.

Once a statist, always a statist. As a conservative libertarian (little ‘L’), both sides hate me. But, I still go by my CIC’s ‘9 scariest words in the English language’ philosophy. He wasn’t perfect. But, his policies were very similar to Trump in some ways.

We don’t need a Dept. of Education. We need an effective incentive break for specific industries to partner with local community colleges—or training schools—to offer job specific training in the way the company wants their employees trained. During training, the student is paid a certain wage, and is hired full time at normal starting wage/benefits after completion. Somewhat similar to old school apprenticeships when companies actually used to train their employees. Just do the basics beforehand, and use it as an ‘interview’ process. Very little bureaucracy necessary. Industry knows what they need. Give them & the trainees what they need as far as incentives, and get outta the way. They’ll find the training partners like they do now.

The Big news of the day wasn’t the Market. It was the slim passage of the budget framework—which sets up for ‘permanent’ tax reductions. I also say again: For Trump’s big plan to bring manufacturing back to the U.S., we need an emphasis on building/training a skilled workforce. We don’t have the people anymore. Crafts, skills, & trades. Let’s have some thought about incentives for people to go to trade schools like the $$$ the Ivy League schools get from the taxpayers. Redirect some of the funds going to the colleges now to some form of ‘accredited’ vocational training schools. Numbers I read are we’re already about a million skilled workers short.

Secure your online accounts. Xi will not be happy.

This. Around 40% of the country isn’t affected by market volatility investments. They don’t participate because they are barely getting by as it is. Fixed income folks—or those living on their own savings right now—are getting hit. Those on medication (typically older, but I’ve read reports that state 70% of Americans of all ages are on at least one prescription) will get an unexpected hit, and insurance costs will drastically rise if this continues very long. As a free trader, that would be my preference. I’ll settle for fair trade. I understand what is being attempted. But, I wish the tax cuts had come first. The blame between D’s, R’s, MAGA’s, Progessives is really silly. We’ve had bad policies from all sides for a long time. The U.S. began its own problem when we moved away from making stuff to simply making money from money. As a big Mike Rowe fan (and a retired engineering person), I wish we would again put more emphasis on crafts, skills, & trades vs. many of the worthless degrees kids are being suckered into now. This emphasis would help our security, economy, and individual balance sheets all the way around. We need doers. Offshoring nor AI can take away jobs that require technical support at location. JMHO

May want to read up on GLBA 1999. Heck…you can even go back to 1977, CRA & Carter to get the full story since apparently you aren’t old enough to really know how another well intentioned idea came back to bite us in the butt.

The deregulation you speak of occurred during the Clinton Administration. Fannie & Freddie were forced to make risky loans & Glass-Steagall was repealed in 1999. Clinton said it was dead and useless anyway. The Fed had to start raising interest rates to combat inflation in 2006ish, and the poop hit the fan. Then, we first heard the wonderful acronym QED. So yes. The policy changes allowed the banking industry to create predatory loans, and no one was watching the hen house any more because “it was everyone’s right to own their own home” mantra time created by new policy, and repealing safeguards. My original statement stands. This isn’t the first self-inflicted recession. (If it even becomes one. Won’t know for a few quarters per definition.) And, we know the outcome of a recession. No one wins. You should get off the idea that when I say ‘liberal policies’ it necessarily means Dems. A policy is a policy. Reps have liberal policies sometimes as well. I should’ve given you a clue what I think about political parties & the role of government in our lives with my earlier post.

This is actually untrue on both counts. Liberal policies that attempted to allow everyone to buy a house were the major contributing factor to the global meltdown & global recession in 2008. I’m not a D or R as they’re opposite sides of the same coin. Government rarely does anything well when it meddles with the economy. Regardless of elephant or ass.

Have you ever been to a game at La Porte before? If not, just be aware the LP crowd can get kinda feisty! LOL

As a retiree living on my own savings without a retirement pension, the recent volatility is concerning. But, all is not lost. Your mandatory distributions can be reinvested--if you choose/can--and many dividend aristocrat stocks are now on the cheap. You can also pick up some very solid REIT’s at good rates right now. Interest rates are coming down. Gas is getting cheaper. There are some trade-offs. No one likes to see their investments lose ground. But, people who scream for major pay raises and jobs always forget that higher wages and better jobs create higher costs. Many have gotten used to having basically 'slave labor' producers with safety issues and living conditions they would never work or live under producing our cheap goods. I would rather pay less and make more also. But, we're on an unsustainable path. Something has to change. As a conservative libertarian--for lack of a better description--I'm not a fan of tariffs or currency manipulation. But, it will never stop. It can only be minimized. We'll have to wait a little to see if any of these actions help. For perspective sake, my investments are still up almost 8% even with the recent sell-offs over the last 10 years. If you have a fairly balanced portfolio, yours should be somewhat similar. Remember, the Dow closed above 16,000 for the first time ever November 21, 2013. Barely 10 years ago. At close Friday, even after the large losses, it closed at 38,314. Roughly 2.5x growth. Perspective. Don't let the fear-mongers get you. You say you've been investing for 40 years. The market was around 5,000. You're still way ahead of the game.

One thing about 9-5A. Whoever makes the PO’s gets a pretty much free ride to the Area Rd. Has to be the easiest first round matchup besides Pasadena schools in the Region.

Any tidbits? It's getting really late...

LP would have to win a coin flip for Area Round or Regional Semi's. We play 12-5A Bi-District. Next realignment may make some changes for a possible district game again though. Doubtful if predistrict is possible since PO's are a distinct possibility.

In a district with this many new staffs, after the top 2, it's really all a guessing game to me. This district is kind of wide open. I'm giving BH the benefit of the doubt because of the young talent I saw in the PO game last year. But, it may even be rough for them in the beginning. Should be interesting.

Tried to look up some numbers for capacity. Of course, there are usually some design changes as the project progresses. But, I saw where there were supposed to be 500 more seats than old Bulldog. Numbers for seating (without Press Box, Viewing Deck, and possible allowable overflow by Fire Marshall using Concourse viewing) seem to range from 9,000-10,000. Not sure if any viewing will be allowed from Development Center deck during sold out games or not. Should be enough seating for most events, but not feel empty because of oversizing. Spring game is May 14. So, I'll try to go and get some pics. Being told the bands/drill teams will sit on the horseshoe sections where the direct field viewing is all for paying fans. Also being told all the technology is set up for broadcasting even better than LPSportsnet now, and the video screen is definitely jumbo sized. There's a rumor that LPSportsnet may partner with Texan Live--but still provide all the camera work, commentary & audio/visuals. Don't know truth of the rumor right now. The cameras now don't do the size and scope of everything justice when seen in real life. If you've been to the Bulldog Centre for volleyball, basketball just due east of the stadium, you can kind of see the size difference, and Bulldog Centre isn't small at all. It's like a college arena complex. The Board and Administration said they--as always--try to have the best facilities possible since they know many will not move on to college facilities, and they want the experience to be as good as it can be at LPHS for those that don't participate in activities at a higher level. Now all we need is approval for DQ delivery via drone. Or, just have a DQ pickup counter in the stadium since it would still be fresh from the 5 minute walk. 😁

Been told seating is the same (10,000) because it had to fit in the same footprint. District didn’t want to buy more land. Prudent move. The horseshoe allows for the bigger/UIL regulation track setups and press box while keeping the seating the same. I think it’s a pretty unique setup for a high school stadium. I really like it as well.