Random Thoughts Thread

[oldshurst442]

 

[oldshurst442]

 

[oldshurst442]

It turns out that the  the CEO at Jack Daniels might be thinking differently about Canadian sales of his whiskey... 

I do not know how much money this equates to for Jack Daniels.  Might be as insignificant as that CEO first suggested.  2% in over Jack Daniel sales he said...  Sales to Canada did drop 62% though.    Hey, might not be enough for him to cry.  But as the rest of the world stands with Canada and they too boycott Jack Daniels,  sales  declined in Europe as well. Not by much, but the trade war effects with Europe are just now going to have an affect. ...  Give this some more time though, like when people drink with a purpose...like Christmas, and we will probably see those tears come out from that CEO and corporate owner of Jack Daniels.  Sales of Jack will probably decline in the US at this time \as people wont be able to afford luxuries such as alcohol  Christmas in the US wont be so merry Im afraid.   Remember, Trump did say that you might be able to afford just one doll.  

Millennials and Gen Zers do not drink alcohol because of crazy Tik Tok trends and healthier lifestyles will soften the blow from reality I guess... 

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/company-behind-jack-daniels-says-080000061.html

 

Phoque him

Phoque Jack Daniels

Phoque American distillers

Phoque the US

ELBOWS UP!!!

 

 

Edited Saturday at 07:31 PM by oldshurst442

[trinacriabob]

On 8/27/2025 at 3:27 PM, G. David Felt said:

The 3 major airports in NY are all terrible and should be bull dozed, then rebuild modern. The remodels are a joke that they have done, especially at Newark.

The problem is that all 3 big NYC airports are complicated and expensive to get to.  I don't like Chicago all that much (blame that on experiencing Champaign-Urbana and its connectedness to Chicago), but both O'Hare and Midway are accessible by regular CTA subway car rides from the city.

[oldshurst442]

complaining and whining

whining and complaining

At 00:30 eastern time.  23:30 cst time for those in middle America. 

 

[G. David Felt]

On 8/29/2025 at 7:43 AM, A Horse With No Name said:

More Canadian boycott stuff, but not just Canada. Our economy is so going to tank. 

 

Due to the lose of Canadian Tourism, many restaurants have closed and many tourist businesses have stated on local news that this year could be their last as owners have paid employees but not themselves and they will have to think about going in debt to stay open next year or close at the end of the season.

I suspect many businesses will close as the PNW is already in recession due to tech job lay offs.

[oldshurst442]

Dear diary. He dropped a couple love bombs and complaints 14:30 eastern, 13:30 central. And that is that.   He left and as fast as he came.  

[A Horse With No Name]

On 9/1/2025 at 1:40 PM, G. David Felt said:

Due to the lose of Canadian Tourism, many restaurants have closed and many tourist businesses have stated on local news that this year could be their last as owners have paid employees but not themselves and they will have to think about going in debt to stay open next year or close at the end of the season.

I suspect many businesses will close as the PNW is already in recession due to tech job lay offs.

Lots of tech jobs going overseas, friends and family in tech are nervous. Not a good time to be an American. 

On 8/30/2025 at 11:20 PM, trinacriabob said:

The problem is that all 3 big NYC airports are complicated and expensive to get to.  I don't like Chicago all that much (blame that on experiencing Champaign-Urbana and its connectedness to Chicago), but both O'Hare and Midway are accessible by regular CTA subway car rides from the city.

I would much rather fly through Chicago, which I have done a bunch of times with zero issues. Last time i flew through JFK I engineered a 5 hour layover just because the airport is such a PITA to deal with. 

On 8/30/2025 at 1:03 PM, oldshurst442 said:

 

AS I have said a million times, I just want to leave the USA on an Embraer or Airbus, not a Boeing. Forever. 

On 8/30/2025 at 10:11 AM, Drew Dowdell said:

When it happens, you won't hear about it directly. You'll feel an electricity in the air. You'll hear car horns honking, maybe some fireworks going off, you'll have 47 unread text messages. Entire nations will be celebrating.

 

and you don't even have to ask what it is I'm talking about.

His father lived to 92 senile AF and nuts off his rocker. 12 years to go, mark my words. 

[A Horse With No Name]

We post while America burns, but burn to the ground she does. 

Will not be good for legacy car makers. 

[A Horse With No Name]

Interesting video on vinyl record technology. We might be literally unable to make Vinyl records without Japanese help. 

Interesting on Lucid Air. 

 

[G. David Felt]

WOW, Hyundai is sure selling well.

Hyundai Motor America Reports Record-Breaking August 2025 Sales - Hyundai Newsroom

Very excited by ChargePoint Press release on their 600 kW V2G charging station.
ChargePoint and Eaton launch breakthrough ultrafast DC V2G chargers and power infrastructure to accelerate the future of EV charging | ChargePoint

[A Horse With No Name]

50 minutes ago, G. David Felt said:

WOW, Hyundai is sure selling well.

Hyundai Motor America Reports Record-Breaking August 2025 Sales - Hyundai Newsroom

Very excited by ChargePoint Press release on their 600 kW V2G charging station.
ChargePoint and Eaton launch breakthrough ultrafast DC V2G chargers and power infrastructure to accelerate the future of EV charging | ChargePoint

Would love to see Nissan fall on its ass though. 

[A Horse With No Name]

Thoughtful from a strategy standpoint. 

 

[A Horse With No Name]

Wheels coming off of the economy. 

 

[oldshurst442]

Economy's wheels are coming off you say?   

Maybe its just a squeaky wheel. Or two. Or three.

And for the second time farmers during a Trump administration are bankrupt.

https://katv.com/news/local/hundreds-of-struggling-arkansas-farmers-ask-federal-government-to-save-them-agriculture-ag-economy-farm-bill-commodity-prices-safety-net-big-beautiful-bill-derek-haigwood-brookland-farming-delta-farm-bankruptcy-closure-sale-trump-boozman-crawford

 

A month ago...Fox news tells their sheep followers that farmers are entering a golden age of prosperity...

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6376661804112

 

Phoque US farmers

Phoque Trump

Phoque Fox news 

Phoque the US in general

 

[G. David Felt]

7 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Wheels coming off of the economy. 

 

Shell just announced major layoffs as other countries are not willing to buy from the U.S. any longer so Shell is laying off Americans and moving production of various oil based products over seas to meet the need of global customers.

So much for the promise of cheap gas as OIL companies lay off in the 10's of thousands and raise prices for gas, oil, etc. to increase profits for the 1%.

Global oil and gas company layoffs in 2024 and 2025 | Reuters

This list is a pretty clear indication imho that a major recession will hit the U.S. this fall.

2025 layoffs: List of companies cutting jobs worldwide and why it’s happening

The sad part is the upper middle-income group will stop buying auto's and other big-ticket items as things get tight.

6 months of declining jobs, 6 months of declining growth in the U.S. Yet gotta give $3.5 Trillion to the wealthy 1% and saddle the rest of us with debt.

Auto Industry is screwed. ICE just invaded Hyundai plants in Georgia arresting people with no clear legal warrants for the arrests.

[oldshurst442]

2 hours ago, G. David Felt said:

Shell just announced major layoffs as other countries are not willing to buy from the U.S. any longer so Shell is laying off Americans and moving production of various oil based products over seas to meet the need of global customers.

So much for the promise of cheap gas as OIL companies lay off in the 10's of thousands and raise prices for gas, oil, etc. to increase profits for the 1%.

Global oil and gas company layoffs in 2024 and 2025 | Reuters

This list is a pretty clear indication imho that a major recession will hit the U.S. this fall.

2025 layoffs: List of companies cutting jobs worldwide and why it’s happening

The sad part is the upper middle-income group will stop buying auto's and other big-ticket items as things get tight.

6 months of declining jobs, 6 months of declining growth in the U.S. Yet gotta give $3.5 Trillion to the wealthy 1% and saddle the rest of us with debt.

Auto Industry is screwed. ICE just invaded Hyundai plants in Georgia arresting people with no clear legal warrants for the arrests.

 

NFL season  just started.  This will ease the pain I reckon.  

[G. David Felt]

1 hour ago, oldshurst442 said:

 

NFL season  just started.  This will ease the pain I reckon.  

NFL = National Felons League

I refuse to support any pro sport as the 1% took take payers money for their palaces when they could have afforded it themselves. To hell with Pro Sports.

[G. David Felt]

We'll this is pretty much going as I expected.

Tesla Has a Problem — and It’s Not Just the Elon Musk Backlash

[oldshurst442]

10 hours ago, G. David Felt said:

NFL = National Felons League

I refuse to support any pro sport as the 1% took take payers money for their palaces when they could have afforded it themselves. To hell with Pro Sports.

You know...rich people taking other people's money, mostly from poor people's money, and hoarding it for themselves is a very American thing to do...  Why should pro sports be any different?

You know, this very thing you and  I just mentioned about rich people taking money from the poor, is exactly what is happening to your country right now in a very very massive scale...

I, myself, also dont condone rich millionaire and billionaire sports team owners who do as you accuse them of doing what they are doing. And yes, a whole lot of them do as you say.  But I also recognize that a very small minority of pro sports team owners actually DO contribute financially AND positively socially to their respective city/state/provincial markets.   

Pro Sports teams, whether the owners are rotten pieces of shyte for their players and their respective markets, or are angels in disguise, pro sports teams are a financial necessity for MOST Western cities. Whether in North America or Europe.  Even in Asia, South America and Africa...    It could also be a fabric of that society. Become a cultural thing. Which is also important. 

Montreal Canadiens, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Dallas Cowboys, the Olympics.. 

Also, playing sports at a young age and well into your middle ages as a way to stay healthy, is just as important in getting an education, a higher education. Along with playing a musical instrument or indulging in arts.  A pro team sport is just a career path for the best of the best for those athletic peoples. 

I aint trying to convince you to change your opinion, just making sure that you understand there is a difference between shytty ownerships and pro team sports.  Because of greed, pro team sports are not necessarily the same thing as shytty owners... 

We see the shyttyness of the modern Olympics and how toxic and greedy they are for the very few. The advertisers and the organizers. They alone bankrupt whole cities. 

But... Its a cultural thing since the ancient times. 

 

And in modern times

 

For many countries, not only Greece.  For men, women and of different races and colours and backrounds.

 

Best showcased by this country.   Once upon a time ago... 

 

 

[ccap41]

11 hours ago, G. David Felt said:

NFL = National Felons League

I refuse to support any pro sport as the 1% took take payers money for their palaces when they could have afforded it themselves. To hell with Pro Sports.

I agree that billionaire owners should never get public money for their stadiums/arenas/fields. 

With that said, I love sports. I follow the NFL, MLB, NHL, NASCAR, and F1 very closely. 

However, not every stadium is funded by public money and certainly not 100% of the bill is public money. Three NFL stadiums were paid for by private money.

[G. David Felt]

@oldshurst442 @ccap41

Good to know that some stadiums were paid for with private money.

Old's I understand the Olympics and the money trap the countries / cities get caught up in, but I do appreciate the global competition in sports as my son was part of the U.S. Gymnastics boys team from the JO program all the way up to the full Olympic program in Colorado Springs before he retired as it did wear on his body.

My disgust for Pro Sports comes from the NFL strike and the players complaining about how expensive it is to insure rare auto's and wanting more money, fancier places, etc.

In Seattle, Nintendo, owners of the Mariners baseball team as well as the Seahawks got the taxpayers to not only pay for their stadiums, but for the maintenance and the proof is that pro sports DO NOT bring in greater money than the costs of these stadiums.

While in some regards, I respected Paul Allen for his donations to various causes, as a billionaire I felt he should have paid for his own stadium. His sister who inherited his wealth and the ownership of the Seahawks had the nerve to tell Seattle they needed to continue to pay for maintenance of the stadium or she would look to move the team elsewhere.

Greed like this is what has turned me off of pro sports, I enjoy College sports, but even there at the push to allow private money in with what I see as manipulation, this next season will be interesting to see how it goes as I might end up not bothering to watch or support College either.

Interesting to see the latest info on this:

 

In the U.S., sports stadiums have been primarily financed through public funding, with many being built or renovated using taxpayer dollars. Notable examples include:
Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, which received $380 million in public funding. 

Milwaukee Brewers' ballpark, which is expected to receive over $400 million in public support. 

Tennessee Titans' new stadium, which will have more than $1 billion in public bonds. 

SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, are among the few NFL stadiums fully funded by private money. 

The public funding of sports stadiums is terrible imho. Washington state funded the stadiums with a never ending 1/2% sales tax. So no matter how one feels, everyone that comes to this state funds the sports stadiums.

Very cool
Mark Carney Takes Subtle Jab at Trump Opening Toronto Film Fest: "Don't Push a Canadian Too Far"

[ccap41]

15 minutes ago, G. David Felt said:

In Seattle, Nintendo, owners of the Mariners baseball team as well as the Seahawks got the taxpayers to not only pay for their stadiums, but for the maintenance and the proof is that pro sports DO NOT bring in greater money than the costs of these stadiums.

It isn't nearly as cut and dry as you're making it out to be. Below is a much better breakdown of how it was actually funded (Lumen Field, at least).

A breakdown of the funding package:

• $130 million private investment led by Paul G. Allen
• $127 million from new, sports related lottery games, similar to the Mariners’ baseball-themed scratch games
• $101 million in sales taxes collected in King County attributable to events in the stadium/event center
• $1 million per year of in-kind advertising for the new lottery games will be provided by Paul G. Allen
• $56 million from facility admission and parking taxes
• $15 million from extending King County’s share of the existing hotel-motel tax
• Paul G. Allen agreed to pay for any construction cost overruns
• All excess stadium revenues will fund youth athletic facilities throughout Washington State in addition to a $10 million contribution from Paul G. Allen
• $14 million of the public contribution will come from interest earned on the $50 million private contribution from Paul Allen
• As an added measure, the debt on the Kingdome was retired, freeing property taxes for other purposes

The way that reads, to me, is the sales tax is only for those who are attending events at the stadium. If that is correct, it seems like a fair way to publicly fund the stadium, by its users. 

[G. David Felt]

16 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

It isn't nearly as cut and dry as you're making it out to be. Below is a much better breakdown of how it was actually funded (Lumen Field, at least).

A breakdown of the funding package:

• $130 million private investment led by Paul G. Allen
• $127 million from new, sports related lottery games, similar to the Mariners’ baseball-themed scratch games
• $101 million in sales taxes collected in King County attributable to events in the stadium/event center
• $1 million per year of in-kind advertising for the new lottery games will be provided by Paul G. Allen
• $56 million from facility admission and parking taxes
• $15 million from extending King County’s share of the existing hotel-motel tax
• Paul G. Allen agreed to pay for any construction cost overruns
• All excess stadium revenues will fund youth athletic facilities throughout Washington State in addition to a $10 million contribution from Paul G. Allen
• $14 million of the public contribution will come from interest earned on the $50 million private contribution from Paul Allen
• As an added measure, the debt on the Kingdome was retired, freeing property taxes for other purposes

The way that reads, to me, is the sales tax is only for those who are attending events at the stadium. If that is correct, it seems like a fair way to publicly fund the stadium, by its users. 

The sales tax is applied to all businesses in Washington state excluding grocery stores. As such, no matter if you support or not the pro teams, but you go eat at McDonalds, sit down dinner at Anthony's seafood, etc. there is a 1/2% sales tax that you pay that is dedicated to go to the stadiums. 

As such everyone pays it. I have gone down this rabbit hole when it first quietly hit our sales tax and plenty of others here have complained about that it originally was supposed to only hit select businesses that support the stadiums, but the politicians here made it a blanket tax that everyone pays.

[oldshurst442]

6 minutes ago, G. David Felt said:

My disgust for Pro Sports comes from the NFL strike and the players complaining about how expensive it is to insure rare auto's and wanting more money, fancier places, etc.

In Seattle, Nintendo, owners of the Mariners baseball team as well as the Seahawks got the taxpayers to not only pay for their stadiums, but for the maintenance and the proof is that pro sports DO NOT bring in greater money than the costs of these stadiums.

While in some regards, I respected Paul Allen for his donations to various causes, as a billionaire I felt he should have paid for his own stadium. His sister who inherited his wealth and the ownership of the Seahawks had the nerve to tell Seattle they needed to continue to pay for maintenance of the stadium or she would look to move the team elsewhere.

Greed like this is what has turned me off of pro sports, I enjoy College sports, but even there at the push to allow private money in with what I see as manipulation, this next season will be interesting to see how it goes as I might end up not bothering to watch or support College either.

Interesting to see the latest info on this:

 

In the U.S., sports stadiums have been primarily financed through public funding, with many being built or renovated using taxpayer dollars. Notable examples include:
Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, which received $380 million in public funding. 

Milwaukee Brewers' ballpark, which is expected to receive over $400 million in public support. 

Tennessee Titans' new stadium, which will have more than $1 billion in public bonds. 

 Yup. Disgusting!!!  But...no different than anything else involving big money and profits and greed in North American politics and economics.  Yes. Even in Canada. Although the Molson Center, now Bell Center, where the Montreal Canadiens play hockey was entirely funded by private monies.  The Molson center now the Bell center, was funded ENTIRELY by the Molson family. The beer company who owns the Montreal Canadiens. Who have owned the Montreal Canadiens for a very long time on two occasions.   Including all the training faculties for the Montreal Canadiens. 

The Montreal Expos, if they were to come back, WILL be funded by private monies. The purchase AND the construction of a baseball field.  Contrary to what news is out there saying otherwise. The city of Montreal and the Province of Quebec, all political leaders that have been elected to those positions have ALL stated that NO public monies will be given for a possible return of an MLB franchise in Montreal.  And ALL Montrealers all agree. And the possible ownership groups and owners involved for a possible return of an MLB team all agree to NOT accept public funds.  But...they do require the government to allow the return of an MLB team.  Example.  Allow government owned land to be bought or leased or even given for a stadium to be built. The city of Montreal to allow pubic transportation to be available and have access points at the stadium etc... 

One reason why the Expos left Montreal in the first place was BECAUSE the government of Quebec REFUSED to bail out the Montreal Expos and allow public funds to be used for a new stadium downtown.   Good decision in my opinion.  But that does not mean that Montreal lost some tourist dollars because the Expos were not in town anymore. But that does not mean that billionaires should be asking for tax payer money to fund their projects either.  That just means at the very least, billionaire  sport team projects should be a PARTNERSHIP  between the city/state/province, the citizens of the area and the ownership groups.  

But in MOST cases, I agree, it does not exist.  Greed...a terrible thing. 

27 minutes ago, G. David Felt said:

Old's I understand the Olympics and the money trap the countries / cities get caught up in, but I do appreciate the global competition in sports as my son was part of the U.S. Gymnastics boys team from the JO program all the way up to the full Olympic program in Colorado Springs before he retired as it did wear on his body.

Awesome that your son went as far as he did!!! 

 

The Olympics are the WORST for what we are talking about.  Pure greed.  And yes, its not JUST an American thing. Its a GLOBAL thing.  But pro sport teams are more prevalent in the US with billionaire values of pro sports teams in MLB, NHL, NBA, NFL, MLS, girls teams in hockey and basketball, university and college football, baseball, basketball and now even hockey.  In Europe, while soccer leagues and teams have just as much worth as American/Canadian ones, there is simply not as many pro sport leagues and teams in Europe. But it happens there too. 

[trinacriabob]

On 8/27/2025 at 3:27 PM, G. David Felt said:

NY

20250903_172749.heic

Greetings from a few days ago ... a few minutes after clearing the Verrazzano Br. and now out of the harbor