btq96r

"Everybody wants to be a gangster until it's time to do gangster ####." I knew there were Shaq sized clown shoes on everyone the first time I heard "key" and "breach" in the same sentence. If they want to have equipment and training like soldiers, they need to be ready to move out like soldiers. Three Privates and a Specialist for a team leader could have handled this situation. It's pretty clear they had all the tools in hand to deal with the situation. Maybe there is some allowance for confusion over the active shooter vs. hostage belief...but even then with kids the rules change as I understand it. This is an abject failure all around, and if there is no accountability, that will make it all the worse.

So, you're not going all in on the ARK funds anymore?

Me watching the market news today...

Not knowing you as well as Daniel apparently I'll just offer this. Being constantly alert and aware does take a toll, even if it's not upfront and easy to tell like fear is. At the minimum, you're engaging a portion of your brain to process threat detection in a deliberate manner, which shuts it off to at least some other things. It's incremental, but you're denying yourself some measure of relaxation while taking on the stress that comes with vigilance. That adds up over time. You also are changing (or have changed) the way your brain maps out a situation, going in with suspicion as the default as it becomes a habit. That turns any activity into an assessment of danger before you do anything else. This can even happen on a subconscious level, so you might not fully recognize it all the time. Now, to be sure, that's the kind of thing that evolution has historically rewarded in matters of survival. But it doesn't do you any favors in modern life. I know this because I have the same mental roadblocks. Anytime I'm out shopping, or at a concert, or even on a drive, my first thought is to see what could be wrong with what I encounter. It's made things harder to embrace and enjoy, especially in areas with a lot of people. I don't particularly like that part of myself, I just don't know how to change it at this point in my life. So, ask yourself whenever you preemptively look for exits to know where they are, or check out someone's hip to see if there is a bulge from a concealed weapon, or even alter your path of movement in response to a group that isn't all about letting you pass by with respectful distance...is this truly healthy in the long term for your mind and body from the mini stress it keeps turned on? Not trying to psychoanalyze you...just sharing some thoughts for consideration from my experiences.

I'm not worried about a registry. I'm also not volunteering for one either. But if it was on the table in trade for a repeal of the NFA to allow SBRs and suppressors the same status as any other FFL item...I'd probably want to make that trade. It could allow responsibility for guns to be traced if part of a crime, which is a good thing for cracking down on the straw purchases. It could also help shift civil liability to the individual level for a misused firearm, which would go a ways towards keeping the manufacturers out of the debate like we're seeing come back to the debate. Plus, I think there are so many guns out there, that the fear of confiscation that comes with a registry isn't practical as a government action. I sometimes joke, let them get a registry...that'll show them how bad an idea confiscation actually is when they see what they'd be up against beyond some academic estimate. That's if the government can actually do it. Setting up, integrating, and maintaining a database like that is easier said than done.

I agree with you that the chances of prevention in this are low...but I'd support it anyway for consistencies sake if nothing else. Just helps tighten things up a bit without infringing. But I admit, I may be the rare one on here that doesn't see a background check in it's current state as an infringement as the 2nd Amendment protects from. The voting and military comparisons are a bit hard for me to equate. I think 18 for voting is fair since that's when (or used to be) when most folks went into the workforce in full or part time after high school was finished. The age may be off for the current era, but the basic principle of having a say in how your tax dollars are allocated through elected representation is important. The military is a different story. Firearm usage in the military is hella controlled. Anyone who was in can laugh at how much "Army fun" came with anything involving a weapon. There is plenty of training, all kinds of supervision, plus the easy and instant option to remove a weapon from someone unstable by simple order and not due process (happens more often than you think). Those conditions are different in deployed environment, but still present to a large degree. It's just a different concept than letting someone walk out of a store with a long gun at 18 because they passed a background check. For kids today, 18-21 is still very much an emotional development period. It always was, but it's just worse lately given how things are structured. So, acknowledging mine is likely a minority opinion here, I'm fine with raising the age for rifle purchases to 21 as well. You can stop struggling, you have it spot on. We're just not willing to say out loud what we're willing to endure as a risk/consequence to keep the liberty the 2A protects. Don't get me wrong, I've been shaken to the core at the thought of kids being shot at close distance in a school. It's as vile a thing as I can imagine, and I don't blame anyone for asking the question of "is it worth it?" when it comes to the 2A compared to that. We shouldn't be afraid, or shut down the debate when this happens, because I think it's never a bad thing to reaffirm our commitment to the Bill of Rights. My default will always be to have citizens capable of owning weapons that match our potential oppressors at an individual level. That doesn't mean I have to castigate someone who thinks the risk we're seeing come to pass is too high.

There are shootings in the news at about the time it's primary season for all of the House, and a 1/3rds chunk of the Senate. Democrats are going to make sure they aren't giving room on their left flank. As such, we're going to see stupider than usual things get proposed, introduced to committees, and they'll maybe spend a few months actually arguing over expanded background checks up to, but of course not interpreting the summer recess...just like always.

This is a big point. It's not the instant explanation to high gas prices, but it's something that won't shake off anytime soon. The gas companies are going to keep trying to make up for the hit they took two years ago. And then they're going to build a pad for capital expenses or dividends. After that, well...when was the last time you saw a market rate just drop after it's been established enough people will pay it? The only hope for less cost at the pump will be for the companies to try and shiv each other with price drops to pick up market share. But even that would be gradual. Also...while it's early, the EV trend is probably starting to creep into their operating model. Right now, every Tesla that hits the road is a lost customer for them, but the losses aren't big enough for them to scale back operations. So, the gas drivers are going to be absorbing the pass thru cost on that. Right now it's minor, but it's only trending one direction. At some point over the next 10-20 years (my estimation), EVs will be common enough, gas stations will stop growing in locations, or start closing some.

Plenty of kids are struggling with mental issues, get bullied, feel ostracized, and would at first glance be considered discontents. I certainly went through all that as kid throughout a lot of my time in school. I acted out a lot, got into plenty of fights (which wasn't a red flag event back then as long as it wasn't done with a weapon), and had a disregard for authority at times. I like to think I turned out okay in spite of, and in some small ways, through it. One individual, out of the thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) in a similar situation acted out with tragic and horrific results this week. The singular event is almost too much to deep think into the results on, but it's also not enough of an occurrence to think we need some kind of mass religious doctrine put back into society for behavior control. That's not too far different from wanting to ban a certain type of guns every time someone uses them for evil or criminal purposes. I'm honestly more likely to say access to firearms was the biggest enabling cause of this event, not a lack of religious backed morality. If all this person had was a blade, or baseball bat...I doubt he has the determination or ability to kill like he did. But I'll not for a moment think that taking away my right to own an *assault rifle* is the appropriate response for the morally reprehensible actions of another. Just as I would hope the lack of moral center in that individual wouldn't inspire a religious imprint that society feels necessary to impose. Some folks are going to take this as a religion bashing post...it's not. It's an expression that I see forcing religion through society as incongruent with personal liberty. I may be agnostic, but I respect the individual right of religious liberty to an enormous degree. I just don't want a majority's religious choices seeping into my right to embrace agnosticism and be left out of it.

Field of Dreams and Goodfellas are two of my favorite films, so I was of course a fan of his work. Great actor who will be missed.

Sobering view of the expectations that were not met. Worth reading the thread, even if the sources used aren't your usual ones.

It's a real letdown knowing tax dollars are being used to digitally store a pic of every AT&T fiber offer I've gotten in the mail.

You're injecting logic when I'm talking about time travel? You're right though, on the whole, it's no less onerous in one period or another. I just wish I could skip around the rules of special relativity to enjoy a few things.

Very cool. Thanks for sharing. If anyone needs me, I'm gonna time travel and go pick up some of that 9mm at $0.09 per round.

So, less product needing to be moved because the cost of transport has busted the margins (presumably). That's a sign for sure.

What lead to the huge drop in declined loads, was it the supply (more drivers and trucks available) or demand (loads being requested is also way down)?

I'm set....and have a great story to share. https://nashvillemobilemechanic.co/ The guy who runs this service (one man shop) was able to come directly to my location, get in my garage, because his service vehicle is a Ford Ranger kitted out as a mobile toolbox. Where AAA and Firestone couldn't meet the clearance of my garage, this guy saved the day (or at least kept me from pushing the vehicle with someone steering it in neutral out into the street). Super friendly, and was able to swap in a new battery for me no problem. I 'm happy to put money from my pocket into his business account for the services rendered, and glad I found him. I love this kind of entrepreneurial spirit in striking out solo and putting in the work with his own two hands. Says he's staying pretty busy, which I can see in a booming Nashville Metro Area. Despite all my feelings of woe about the economy at large, I think this guy will stay in good shape come what may. Truck is humming along. He said the alternator and everything else he looked at while changing the battery are good to go. Time to get back to work. Thanks again to all for the knowledge you shared.

Starting to have my gut get some confirmation about a recession, even if economists still need to put 2 and 2 together. It's one thing when big tech stocks take a body blow. They have wide swings up and down that aren't abnormal, and they were insanely overvalued these last few years as safe places turned into tar pits for good returns. Seeing them fall is a painful but natural result of the current monetary policy. And aside from Amazon, they don't give a good picture of the economy that's centered around moving product. Walmart, Target, Dollar Tree, Dollar General, Tractor Supply Company...they all got pasted after posting their earnings for Q1. Easy to Google half a hundred articles offering analysis. But I simplify things and look at these companies (and others like them) to think about the spending and consumption habits of everyday people. When these companies have issues, we're not circulating product from producer, to retailer, to consumer as we should be. Like your vascular system, a healthy flow is needed for the body to function. These companies should be able to post steady income over time in normal conditions if the business is being run properly. But normal was so 2019. Their quarterly postings show that the supply chain crunch is still around, the labor market continues to be out of whack, and inflation has become the walls closing in on both companies and consumers alike. When consumers are squeezed and the price elasticity of supply gets funky, recessions happen while companies figure out how to adjust. Economists and government tend to lag in recognizing this while pouring over data. I still continue to think we're in the unrealized/unannounced phase of a recession. Maybe sooner or later someone in a suit at a podium on TV will tell us what truckers, warehouse workers, and regional managers are seeing in real time now.

Not yet. Still trying to peg down a mobile battery replacement service (Firestone's vehicle is too large to clear the entry for the garage. If I can't find one, I'll ask a friend to give me a lift to AutoZone, get what I need, and figure out how to swap it myself. No critters in play. I'm in a pretty urban area where my apartment building is literally the block. Never seen anything with four legs aside from a dog on a leash in the garage.

Thanks for the input everyone. Since I can't even remember when the current battery was put in, I'm going to get it changed out. Have a mobile appointment coming tomorrow for that. I'm about due for an oil change and an AC recharge, so I'll also ask them to check out the terminal clamps as well. Appreciate everyone helping out a guy who's an idiot when it comes to all things under the hood.

Went the weekend without driving it. Tried to head to the office Monday afternoon and realized it wasn't starting. Guessing Advance or Auto Zone need me to get the truck to them for the test?

@10-Ring& @Erik88fixed the video.

Gents, I know squat about vehicles except how to drive them and that gas is required. Can anyone tell me what this problem likely is? I tried jumping the battery from a portable pack and from a friend's vehicle with cables. No dice. It's currently in my apartment garage so if I need to get it to the shop, that's gonna be fun.

Are you tracking that Instagram has women, guns, food, and things actually worth looking at/watching being posted on there?

I always advise folks to get in when they can, and not try to time things. If nothing else, it's just simpler and really doesn't show much difference over long periods (like decades worth). But that chart is really great for reminding us there isn't much that's new, just shades of repeating themes. Think of how bad it looked in each of those years, and what would have happened for someone who panicked.