• 2 Posts
  • 64 Comments
Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: August 21st, 2023

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  • I lived in a neighborhood that some would consider a bad neighborhood but actually it was pretty nice. Saw a drug raid across the street from me but never had any issues with theft, violence. There was a nice path behind the house that went to a local park. The only issues we had there were with the police ticketing us for parking cars on the lawn, when there was nowhere else to park them.








  • I agree. I’d like to see some separation between the car manufacturer and the software. Any computers in the car should support whatever operating system you want to put on it. Things like controlling the car’s functions would just be device drivers. If the car company also wants to get into the SaaS business, fine, but you shouldn’t be required to pay for that software to operate the vehicle.


  • I’m on board with it if people want to change the terminology around these things, but it seems like the core of what the author is discussing is the valuation of these companies and potential bubbles.

    I think it makes sense that Disney and Amazon and Netflix who are able to make money through more of a SaaS-like model would have a higher valuation than a car company that has to produce a new car for every unit sold. Maybe there’s a recent example of an over-valued car company we can think of?

    Consider that an auto mechanic and a software engineer can have a similar problem-solving skill set, and could both be very intelligent. Why then does an auto mechanic make so much less money? It’s partly because of the economies of scale involved with software. The owner of the software company can sell the software to thousands of clients without having to pay the software engineer to build the software thousands of times. The owner of the auto shop still has to pay the mechanic to perform every job every time and get paid for it.

    So while I agree that Disney and Netflix maybe aren’t “Tech” companies, it seems to me the real problem the author is grappling with is whether they should be valued similar to tech companies. So I guess the question becomes, are “tech” companies highly valued because they are expected to make some huge technological leap that shakes up industries, or is it because of the economies of scale inherent in the SaaS-like business model?













  • The Republicans will never reduce the debt because the only cuts that would make a difference are the ones that are the most popular with their voters. Couple that with tax cuts and the math just doesn’t work for deficit and debt reduction with a Republican government.

    Are they going to cut Social Security? No, too many older voters that depend on that income. Medicare? Nope, same thing.

    Will they cut the military? Of course not, they wouldn’t be able to virtue signal about how patriotic they are.

    They’ll surely cut the education and IRS budgets, but the education cuts wouldn’t make a significant difference and the IRS cuts actually increase deficits because then the IRS can’t go after the rich.

    The Democrats wouldn’t cut any of those things either, but if the Democrats increased taxes for top earners and top-earning corporations, and implemented a wealth tax, the increased revenue actually could reduce the deficit.


  • My Subaru needed head gasket twice, transmission failed, and needed a catalytic converter, among other things that don’t even exist on an electric car. Maybe if ICE companies and dealerships didn’t screw people over so hard, I’d consider buying one again. I’m going to try something different this time.

    Dealer lied to me to get the sale in multiple ways, saying that the head gasket issue was fixed (it was, but not for the car they were selling me) and told me that the transmission fluid was not supposed to ever be changed (it was, and not changing it is probably why the transmission failed). Bunch of scammer scumbags, my next car will NOT be purchased from a dealer. If their business model requires a state law forcing them into the middle of a transaction, they’re parasites.

    I’d donate to Trump by buying a Tesla before I’d purchase a car from a dealership again.