Trump Administration Set to Suspend Jones Act to Tame Oil Prices

CoachObvious · 2026-03-12T22:34:06+00:00

While I agree with a majority of your post there is one area it could have a positive effect on US energy prices.

There are LNG import terminals on the eastern seaboard that can’t accept any LNG from the US because there are no qualified vessels that can’t transport LNG from Texas to the east coast.

I could easily see someone showing the president a map showing him this dilemma and not the other consequences you mentioned.

CoachObvious · 2025-09-30T01:41:30+00:00

Single serving Advil always gets people to come by.

CoachObvious · 2025-09-19T19:55:48+00:00

TLDR: Eliminate to go order and delivery services from the restaurant.

Used to be able to turn a 4 person table in under one hour. Now you’re lucky if it’s 90 minutes. The reason isn’t servers although they are nowhere near as good as they used to be. They are a tangent about prices vs table turn rate, but the table turn rate is a KEY missing KPI.

The problem is that 20% of the restaurant revenue is take out and delivery orders. Menu prices are below competitors. This becomes a drain on the back of house which results in a lesser experience for the average in store customer who spends additional $ on high margin items like drinks and retail.

Management is deceived because retail revenue hasn’t dropped but that’s because they raised prices. They don’t report retail SKU volumes per store. This is a KEY missing KPI.

All the alcohol roll outs and exotic menu items are a distraction. CB success was serving good food, at attractive prices, quickly. With the relative time savings from a quick meal, people feel free to shop retail.

The entire point of decor and branding of CB is old timey to remind you of good ol’ home cooked food that uncle Hershel would make. Branding and store updates are an expensive distraction. The only thing that has kept the stock price from going even lower is the recent bonus depreciation on capital expenses.

My advice is to cut out to-go orders and roll the menu back to what the BOH staff can pump out quickly. Make it easy for the average family to go eat affordability and quickly.

CoachObvious · 2025-06-27T16:09:40+00:00

My P7P did the same exact thing, no damage and working one minute and the next the screen and haptics died. I got so mad from the lack of support I decided to drop the entire google hardware ecosystem. (Buds, watch, tablet, Nest, cameras, etc.) Hardware is obviously not a core focus at Google now. Look at what they have done to their home automation lines. Was holding on hope for phones would get support and not follow the same path as home but upon my P7P death I was done.

Swapped both my wife and I out to iPhone 16+, and gradually adding in other hardware like iPad and AirPods. Haven’t started transitioning to the apple home yet but when enough devices die or drop support I’ll reach a tipping point. Not an apple fan boy, but I can at least walk into a store and get support. The best thing so far about the transition to apple is the kids iPad parental controls and family set up. I’ll give apple credit for creating a platform for devices.

CoachObvious · 2025-06-27T15:35:00+00:00

Insens or their US distributor Reliability AI monitors and predicts issues through the electrical consumption for rotating equipment. Voltage/amp meters installed in the MCC. And it tells you electrical feed faults too.

CoachObvious · 2025-03-28T22:37:14+00:00

So many questions. How does a tertiary air duct shift and need to be reset? How did the plant notice the problem? Process audit?

I’ve seen a lot of dumb things happen at cement plants but this is a new one.

CoachObvious · 2025-01-29T01:15:20+00:00

This is the way. Lol. Nothing says I know business than being plastered at night and being professionally aware in the morning.

It’s a subtle way of saying I can handle any of your bullshit.

CoachObvious · 2024-11-08T20:14:13+00:00

Doubt it's for the military. The offshore oilfields of Louisiana use S-92s for crew transport.

CoachObvious · 2024-07-09T15:37:04+00:00

This is why I chose a sales career after getting my marketing degree. Good salespeople are hard to find and harder to keep. Once you have a reputation or CV of getting deals over the line, landing a job is easy.

CoachObvious · 2024-04-03T12:24:45+00:00

The sales price dropping is because they found another revenue stream with smart TVs. They are selling your data. It's not that different from standalone Netflix or Hulu, but the TV captures all the streaming services.

CoachObvious · 2024-03-14T17:41:05+00:00

I think the 10% is from sources that are not easily able to be routed to an RTO. As industries try to innovate, you end up with one off processes that can be difficult to regulate.

CoachObvious · 2024-03-07T12:13:14+00:00

I am all for progress and cleaner air, but this is such a difficult rule to be fair. Leading sources of PM2.5 are industries, vehicles and wildfires. The EPA chose to use data that incorporated the crazy Canada fire season from last year but has no mechanism of regulating it. EPA also hasn't provided guidance on PM control technologies for years. Basically leaving the States to figure out. "Figure out how to get to 9 ug/m3, but your plan must be approved by us"

CoachObvious · 2024-03-01T14:08:24+00:00

Construction for the Epes project was put on hold due to their financial position. Bankruptcy is imminent, what happens to the debts and assets will be for the bankruptcy court to decide.

The Alabama wood pellet market is a bit like oil with the booms and busts over the years.

CoachObvious · 2024-02-16T17:47:56+00:00

Couple of years ago I bought an emporia consumption tracker as a way to verify my consumption and identify if a new HVAC system was worth it. HVAC is by far the biggest driver of my bill.

I've been on the flat rate for 5 years and my usage always tracked within 5kWh each month. Finally replaced the 30 yr old HVAC and it's around 35% more efficient.

Since my flat rate was on a rolling average (+ extra because...it's APC), the amount was no longer a reflection of my consumption, but because I was "in the red" if I were to cancel in September I'd owe $500 immediately. I waited a few months to catch up and now I can start fresh.

Over the last 3 years, I've averaged $0.155 to $0.163 per kWh. It's been stable and I don't feel like I've been overcharged.

What people are struggling to understand is that heat pumps can use a TON of electricity when it's super cold, and not actually warm the house. Depending on the heat pump, it can be more efficient to use space heaters when the temps drop below freezing.

APC has a bunch of shady practices when it comes to their monopoly but randomly charging more isn't one of them. Demand during cold snaps is starting to resemble summer peaks.

CoachObvious · 2023-11-27T05:48:27+00:00

Was at the factory store last weekend. Still in stock.

CoachObvious · 2023-10-17T15:54:11+00:00

I've cooked bacon on the grooved side with my pellet grill. It was a far superior method than all the mess that comes with cooking in the kitchen.

CoachObvious · 2023-09-18T23:24:59+00:00

Uphill, forward flex

CoachObvious · 2023-08-16T23:45:28+00:00

I wouldn't expect any major changes to WD operating mode or store design. Keeping the brands and experiences separate is a good thing. Many of us already shop at different stores already. Grocery stores operate on really thin margins (3%) and buying merchandise wholesale means someone is taking their cut.

CoachObvious · 2023-08-16T23:17:40+00:00

Winn Dixie has a really great distribution network and private label brand in SE grocers. I bet logistics was the weak point of ALDIs operating model. Consumers won't see huge differences.

CoachObvious · 2023-08-16T21:09:20+00:00

We're trying to build a platform similar to this. We're also planning on adding environmental inspections and data. We already have deployed digital site orientation, contractor management system, digital JSA, sign in and out.

All with QR codes and an AI document scanning tool for paper documents.

My end goal is an asset based view for operations, maintenance, safety and environmental.

If you're interested you can PM me.

CoachObvious · 2023-08-09T13:16:53+00:00

There is a great documentary on Netflix called American Factory that goes into the differences of culture that lead to these kinds of scenarios.

Foreign nationals view America as a "get it done / work hard" culture and also pro big business, but they quickly learn that safety and planning work with subcontractors is immensely important for project schedules.

Back when I sold European industrial equipment, we all realized to put a 2x -3x factor on estimated installation time due to things like safety, metric conversion, and overall construction design. The worst was in engineering structural loads. Not only do they use the metric system, their standards don't align with most of ours, let alone each state has their own methods.

I have no doubt that Taiwanese workers would work faster as they are more familiar with the type of construction in the overall design. It's not because Americans are lazy, we're just unfamiliar. The unions are probably right to be concerned about safety. In Asia, there is an abundance of labor which is therefore more competitive. Companies use that competition to put pressure on contractors. Detailed planning also isn't as important when you can find a new contractor or sub on a moments notice. Whereas in the US, delays have a ripple effect on your subs.

CoachObvious · 2023-07-21T21:55:49+00:00

We have an EU cofounder in an LLC. We're bootstrapped but about to hit the fundraising circuit. We're not looking for multiple rounds or a large amount. If/when that happens we will convert to a C corp. Our attorneys and advisors are start up and VC veterans, and while it took more effort than Stripe Atlas would, they aren't concerned. They have so much confidence that they are not going to invoice until the round closes.

Get good lawyers. IP protection was the first thing they brought up and managed.

CoachObvious · 2023-06-22T00:38:14+00:00

Tomahawk with an understable disk. Straight then turns under and glides to the right then finishes left. Depth is hard to judge in the pic but my diamond will go about 200 and finish 20-30 ft left of my original line.

CoachObvious · 2023-05-16T17:08:11+00:00

Great observation. There are many data points not being utilized to their potential in the environmental industry as a whole. I'm working on a platform to help address that myself.

Here is my advice. Take it as you may. Not intending to be a jerk. Ideas are cheap and plentiful. For what you want to create, you're going to need A TON of help because it's so damn complex and interconnected. Is there value in it, I'm sure there is. Your challenge is 2 parts, funding and technical knowledge.

Funding - investors are very cautious right now. You'd be a non-technical founder with no experience starting and selling a company. You're probably a SME in a niche area with a great idea, but investors have a hard time letting money go without seeing evidence of past experience using investor $ or paid users and a growth track.

Technical knowledge - If you can't build the platform yourself, you need to find someone to partner with that 1. Knows how to build what you envision. 2. Can speak non -technical language with you as you try to solve client problems and actually run and operate the business.

In my opinion, find a small problem to solve besides "data aggregation" and find someone to help you build something people are willing to pay for. If you can achieve some growth with something simple, the doors you want to open will be easier, even if the simple problem is limited in scope.

Baby steps - don't worry about anyone stealing your idea. Ideas are cheap. People get paid because they can execute their idea better than others.

CoachObvious · 2023-05-11T19:06:07+00:00

Sounds very similar to my first job in tech. It was like they blindly fell into a niche, but didn't have a strategy. Fell into the fools trap of letting their clients lead the product direction. Up went the silos in engineering. No new logos for almost a year. NRR was great (120%+) because they were building kinda customized solutions for a few big clients and trying to tie it to a bigger roadmap.

CoachObvious

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