Castanza

"Math is racist" No budgetary changes will fix that. If you want to fix education in the US get rid of the teachers union and tenure. Increase the pay and make it competitive. Bring in skill focused learning at the High School level. If you're good at math or coding increase the elective count for those types of classes. It's completely absurd to me that Typing "keyboarding" is still taught at a high school level (or in general). I thought it was ridiculous I had to take it over a decade ago. The US got complacent and comfortable with education while other countries adopted new methods. US allowed the teachers Union to run the show and it has rotted the public school sector. Teachers who are good teachers are hamstrung by dumb ass curriculums. The system has a lot of rot. I had an AP Anatomy teacher in HS who took the curriculum and threw it out the window. He put his own time and money into the course and worked with a friend who was a Bio prof at Penn State. He got us as high schoolers access to human cadavers, more labs, etc. We even had a local brain surgeon come into class and walk us through a surgery he did with a video. One of my favorite classes by far and it wasn't even an area of interest career wise. When my wife took Anatomy in university for BSN she was way ahead of her peers. But the school board put an end to that type of teaching. So back to 20 year old textbooks with doodles.

Yeah I agree with this. Private schooling is the way forward. Public sector has become too political with the Unions involved and it's hurting the education quality. Even private school in inner cities with lottery admittance far out perform public schools in "well to do areas".

Biggest thing is mindset. Most people get bored with typical body building type stuff (can't blame them). What Cubs is doing is a good program but if you want something more variable, try implementing some dynamic stuff in a circuit with no rest between. Most people won't get results doing simple body building type stuff (standing in front of a mirror doing bicep curls). Do something that gets your adrenaline pumping, makes you sweat your balls off and your lungs feel like they're on fire. Mix it up and keep it fresh. The other day it was raining and 52 degrees so I decided to go trail running instead. Came back soaking wet, muddy and freezing my ass off. Wife told me I was F&*%ing crazy. Felt great. I am by no means a Gym Rat and have no desire to spend hours there every day, evening or weekend. I want to get in, get it done, and get out. Embrace the suck. Example (doable with an hour lunch break). Tue & Thur Warmup 100 Assault Bike (quick pace but not exhausting) Muscle Endurance (no rest between) A) (3-5 sets) Kettle Bell Swings (60lbs) x 10 Dumbell Squats (80lbs) x 10 Burpees x 10 Dips x 15 Pull-ups x 10 B) Incline Situps (45lb) x 25 (4 sets) Flutter kicks 30 sec x 5 Plank 60 seconds x 5 Jump Rope 10min (1x at end) Strength A) (2-5 sets) Bench (225) x 5 Clean and Snatches (135lb) x 5 Deadlift (275) x 5 Split Squat (135) x 5 B) (2-5 sets) Bench (85 %max) x 1 Dead (85% max) x 2 Squat (85% max) x 2 Cardio (mix up as you please) M - 5 mile road running (8:30 pace fastest) W - 1 mile flat ground running (As fast as you can) F - Trail run 3-5 mile (9:30 pace) Sometimes I just walk for an hour at a 19min pace Sat/Sun rest Over the last few years I've learned I really like to be regimented/consistent (within reason) and I'm happier when I am. So I eat the same exact thing for breakfast and lunch every day M-F. Most people go overboard on supplements and protein powder. Shit will make you fat if you really aren't exerting yourself. Just eat good whole foods imo. Breakfast 6 - whole eggs with mushrooms 1 Slice Ezekiel toast (with real butter) 1 glass OJ 2 Cup Coffee Omega 3 vitamin Multi vitamin Lunch (post workout) Two Cucumbers 1 Cup cherry tomatoes 2 Hot Italian Sausage Links 3/4 cup Crumbled Feta Chick Fil-A Sauce (don't knock it till you try it) Dinner Whatever

The misconception is that they (Blackwater) are just ruthless mercenaries. Both President Obama and Biden used them for FID and personal protection many times. A lot of the standards in the organization are even higher than what the US military has. Blackwater became an easy scapegoat for the US government over seas. Media jumped on specific instances without context and well that's pretty much how they got labeled. The last one though about Pineapple Express is something I think you'd like since you seem to enjoy Middle Eastern History etc. Also shows the complete lack of competence of the US govt (Kamala Harris asking unpaid volunteers footing the bill to get their friends out of Afghanistan to help get her people of interest out). Anyways sorry that's off topic from the thread.

A lot of misconceptions about Black Water out there. US government used them and then threw them under the bus many times. A few interviews I think you would enjoy. Long but it’s unfiltered info from actual sources. https://youtu.be/nwK_XLFOm_I https://youtu.be/DUvO0yO7N5I And a bonus one with insiders about the Afghan pullout. https://youtu.be/nwK_XLFOm_I

Communism is a hell of a suppressant. Story used to be “Russia probably has some crazy technology!”. Turns out they didn’t either. There is some good discussion on this in the Intel thread on this. Idk if it’s they can’t, vs the barrier to entry and accumulated knowledge base on process makes it extremely difficult to catch-up.

Thanks for laying that out. Have to admit you make a compelling argument with an easy to justify thesis. Beyond iSavings bonds (which I own) I haven’t done much work after seeing the real returns. Perhaps I didn’t dig enough. What can I say, I like what looks easy when it comes to investing. At the very least you’ve given me a new way to think about it.

My thinking as well. I honestly don't see the attraction to bonds. I mean what are you getting in real terms with them? 1-2%? Who tf wants that? I'll either reach for better yields over the long term with fairly priced companies or I'll put my money in some other investment area (real estate). Maybe I don't understand the logic behind it?

If it ain't broke don't fix it! Sounds like a solid setup with a good group of members and a simple no nonsense investment strategy. Win some lose some, long term it sounds like you've done well. thanks for sharing

Added to BRKb, GOOG Starter in COST

How did you guys go about picking stocks to buy in? Members present their thesis individually then you put it to a vote?

Similar to that Gas Station Attendant/Janitor who ended up leaving the local school 5m and was worth 8m. @dealrakerthanks for the insights and stories

SMH (still not comfortable INTC), BRKb, GOOG

Added to PCYO, BRKB, MSGE, MSGS, JOE, ALCO, GOOG in the Roth

Yup I think you're right. Was contemplating hanging around and seeing if the deal gets sweetened with a special divy but with the market down again today their I'd rather not have the cash tied up. Cutting this one lose.

NTDOY, GOOG, PCYO

https://youtu.be/nbt-CsSRJl8?t=6900 Bloomberg scrambling after the dude states simple logical conclusions To the US this war is about regime change. We will cut of the heads of any snakes we find and seize opportunities. Destroying a 20b asset of Russia's while also brining EU further under our wing is a no-brainer. @UK Ukraine seems to be going into overdrive prior to winter.

I tend to have a slightly different approach when it comes to position sizing. For me it’s determined by the length of time the opportunity presents itself. I’m young so I’m not investing with a large stack of cash I’ve accumulated over decades. I’m more of a monthly budget investor. So when I see something I like, I will prioritize adding to that equity until the opportunity has reached its fruition or surpassed what I find to be a reasonable deal. I don’t stick to any certain percentages, rebalance or anything. My positions are what they are based on the opportunity that presented themselves. Some examples would have been ATCO. I added to that consistently for the better part of a year. Yes I added to core positions if I felt they were cheap. But 90% of what I would be contributing went to what I thought was the best deal. This lead to me having something like 30+% of my portfolio in ATCO. Another example was back in 2018 when I was getting my feet wet. MSFT took a big nose dive. I piled into that as well. Still holding it today. I think back then it was something like 50% of my portfolio (which wasn’t much at the time lol) One area I think a lot of investors fail in is not adding to their holdings on the way up given it’s still reasonable priced and you don’t have any other big ideas. People buy XYZ at $10 say it’s worth $16 but never buy between on the way up. One area I’m bad in is buying starter positions, then abandoning them never taking a serious position and just letting small amount flounder instead of adding to things in much more confident in that are still cheap. Diversification is nonsense if all it means to you is owning a shit ton of positions in small amounts. I like Mungers comments on that. I also try to avoid anything complex. I’ve gotten burned before when starting out and it’s just a waste of time. I’m almost never interested in some obscure company that some egg head wrote a 50 page thesis explaining how management will turn it around and it’s “deep value” because of xyz. 1. I’m not smart enough to understand that shit. 2. I don’t have the time, energy or patience to try to. 3. If you’ve gone that far you’re probably working against yourself and not being honest. Buying a stock should be EASY to justify. Something I really need to do better at is ignoring those companies/pitches more. So to sum up my ramblings. Position sizes for me are constrained/determined by the window of opportunity.

No offense but you guys saying Russia blew up its own 20 billion dollar asset to “cause a diversion” or something are crazy. The overwhelming evidence is that the US did it. Plenty of Washington insiders and even the President said they would. Either that or a pipe failure dude to something like James was saying. If you want to know who committed a crime/act then look to see who benefits. There are no longterm benefits for Russia to blow up that pipeline. But for the US they are immense. Truth will never come out.

I usually end up going all ground except for the tenderloins with venison. I haven't tried the jarred meat yet but I have heard it's good. Maybe I'll consider it this year if I have time. Nothing more tender than a first year doe fed on alfalfa. Free range 100% organic right there. I'm to the point where I'm taking kill orders nowhere to put them currently so unless I see a wall hanger I don't think I'll be taking anymore this year.

Just got a side of beef processed. Came out to 2.65/lb Hunting licenses are $20 General + $17 Archery + Doe tag $7. Got a doe this past Saturday for Archery. Price of meat goes down the more you game harvest. If you process it yourself you're looking at $.30-.50 cents per pound. If you pay to get it done you're right around $1-1.50/lb. I don't think I'll have to buy meat for at least two years at this point.

@Spekulatius You might find this interesting. I think you said you liked Karp in another thread.

From what I’ve seen with lawncare is the cottage industry really taking off. If you look on Forums, Reddit, YouTube etc. There is a big moving away from the big brands and more into specialized products/stuff promoted by individuals. Probably doesn’t capture the whole market though and tbh I’m not even sure the breakdown for SMG between consummer/commercial. I didn’t get past the balance sheet and outlook

What's the thesis on this? Balance sheet doesn't look good, Sales down 60% Cashflow going negative? Is the divy sustainable? Seems like it could drop a lot more.