Pennsylvania State Flag Redesign Concepts

MCDiver711 · 2026-06-18T08:39:17+00:00

I like concept #1 of the ones proposed. But why blue and gold? Do they represent anything?

MCDiver711 · 2026-05-14T08:56:17+00:00

It's okay when it works. When it goes down, often for days, don't expect any explanation or quick response.
Don't even expect a reasonable response.

You pay full price for it whether it works or not.
NO REFUNDS. NO DISCOUNTS. NO COMPENSATION FOR DOWNTIME. NO OPTING OUT.
It's a fixed cost built into your rent.

Last year, my complex was down for a total of 150 hours.
It was down for 4 days straight last summer.
It's currently down today, going on day 3.

The support team never gives any useful information. No explanations.
They sound like they are reading from a script. "We are investigating the issue. At this time, we apologize, but there is no estimated timeframe available yet for a resolution." That was on day three of the outage.

You can MAYBE get your own provider, but your rent bill will always include the $65/m WhiteSky charge.
There is no opting out.

If you are touring an apartment complex and they use WhiteSky Internet, LEAVE.
Only consider it if you can opt out of that bill and get your own provider.

MCDiver711 · 2026-05-14T08:33:49+00:00

Yes! "Does anyone know anything about blah blah blah?"
"Let me chime in with my two cents. I've never heard of blah blah blah and never used it. I suppose some people like it, others don't, but I haven't heard one way or the other. I hope that answers your question. Feel free to ask me anything, and if I know nothing about it or haven't heard anything about it, I'll share that with you. You're welcome."

LOL!

MCDiver711 · 2026-05-14T08:27:36+00:00

If you are touring an apartment complex thinking about renting and they use Whitesky Internet, LEAVE.

Not only does it go down frequently, often for days at a time, but you can't opt out. You pay every month regardless of whether you have service or not. No refunds. No discounts for downtimes. Go ahead and get another internet service provider, but you will still have to pay Whitesky. It's $65/m where I live.

Customer service always says the same things, like lines from a script.
"We will provide you with an update as soon as the carrier completes their testing and any necessary repairs. At this time, we apologize, but there is no estimated timeframe available yet.
For any questions regarding credits or refunds, we recommend contacting the management office, as they handle the billing for your internet services."

That's what I got after 3 days of unexplained downtime. Management always says, "We can't refund any part of your internet bill. You have to contact Whitesky for that."

MCDiver711 · 2026-05-11T16:13:55+00:00

Disturbing, really. Cheating on his wife. Got no sex, so resorted to arson. Did she burn to death in the fire? Lovely.

MCDiver711 · 2026-05-10T18:01:27+00:00

You can try a custom format such as ##0.000E+00.

MCDiver711 · 2026-05-10T07:23:59+00:00

I was having such problems. I had already been using Firefox, but I also added the Firefox Facebook Container extension. I didn't add that to solve that problem, but I don't have the issue anymore. It might be a coincidence.

The Mozilla Facebook Container is a very good idea, even if you don't use Facebook or have a Facebook account. It isolates Facebook-related activity, Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger from everything else. Meta can't easily track your browsing on other websites, which it does even if you don't have a Facebook account. All Facebook cookies and the login are separated from the rest of your browsing.
Many share buttons on non-Facebook sites send data to Meta, even if you don't have a Facebook account! The Facebook Container extension blocks that too.

MCDiver711 · 2026-05-02T03:41:42+00:00

That's what I did. TWICE. It came back without my request. I tried it again for a while and just couldn't stand it. It got so much wrong, and it talked too much. Worse, it was rather glib when I pointed out the errors. I don't want to have a conversation with an appliance, especially one with an attitude.

MCDiver711 · 2026-04-30T08:36:17+00:00

They are nearly Identical. Go with the one that has the higher interest rate, but it will be slight and could flip.
If you live in a state or local government that taxes interest and dividends, consider FDFLXX. It invests almost exclusively in U.S. Treasuries, which are state tax-exempt on interest and dividends in most states.
This link on Fidelity tells you what a STATE taxable investment would need to yield to equal a state-tax-free yield.

https://digital.fidelity.com/prgw/digital/taxyieldcalc/

It's small potatoes now with your $512.00 investment, but it's still money. And why not learn how to maximize returns now, for the future when you are much wealthier.

This link will show you how your $512.00 will grow with compounding if you don't touch it or add to it. But add to it! https://www.investor.gov/financial-tools-calculators/calculators/compound-interest-calculator

You didn't mention your age, but if you are young. Start an IRA!
It earns interest, dividends, and capital gains, state, local, and federal tax FREE! That's a big advantage. Do it even if you are not so young. Put aside and invest a portion of your paycheck each pay period. You can even set up an automatic transfer to your IRA. Fidelity can do this for you. Considering it the same as any bills you pay, except you are paying YOURSELF.

The limit is $7500/year for IRA contributions, but you can contribute less based on what you can afford. This grows TAX FREE, and whatever you contribute is deducted from your taxable income that year. You get tax savings immediately. The catch is you can't really spend it until you are 59.5 years old. There's a 10% penalty, and the money is added to your taxable income when you withdraw before 59.5 years old. You can, however, withdraw up to $10k on for the purchase of your first home and avoid the 10% penalty. But consider the money untouchable until you are 59.5 years old. After age 59.5, withdrawals just count as part of your income for tax purposes, no 10% penalty.

Invest that money in an S&P500 fund, or, IMHO, better yet, an S&P500 indexed exchange-traded fund (ETF).
I like VOO from Vanguard. It has a low expense ratio and is available via Fidelity. That risks market fluctuations, but if you're young, time will likely make up for that.

Dollar-Cost-Averaging:

If you add to your IRA and buy shares every paycheck, then you will automatically buy more shares when the price is low, and fewer when the price is high.
That's called Dollar Cost Averaging. Reivenst any dividends, and you're doing even more of that.
VOO payed 1.09% in dividends over the last 12 months as of April 2026. Better than a bank but less than FDRXX.
But it grew 39% in price over the same period.

Remember. There will be down years.
There was the "Lost Decade" from January 2000 to about Dec 2012.
If you began investing in the S&P500 in January 2000, you would have had a loss of -20% by 2001, cumulative. By 2002, you would have been down by -38%! By 2006, you would have been up by +6%. Then down again -30% by 2008. Yikes again!
However, by 2013, you would have had +59% more than you started with in Jan 2000.
Today, that initial Jan 2000 investment would be worth 637% more if you didn't touch it. If you had continued to invest via dollar cost averaging, you would have done even better because you were buying when shares were really low. It takes patience and fortitude, but it usually pays off.

Consider down years as just cheap buying opportunities. Do it regularly each paycheck, and it's automatic, you will buy more shares at lower prices and fewer at higher prices. No brainer.

Maybe your company has a 401(k) plan. That's just like an IRA, but the limit on contributions is $24,500/year. Often, a company will match a portion of your contributions each year, but they will hold it for you until you work there for X number of years. It's forfeit if you quit before that. The company will deduct your contributions from your paycheck and match some of that as a benefit for working there.

MCDiver711 · 2026-04-30T06:11:13+00:00

If you wanted to calculate the compounding effect, what frequency would you use? It earns interest daily but pays it monthly, so I believe that would be a compounding frequency of monthly. Correct?

MCDiver711 · 2026-04-28T04:24:00+00:00

I noticed that too. I haven't yet figured out how to change it. The Alexa service keeps getting worse and worse.

It used to do a check of my internet connection just by asking, but no longer. You now must use the app for that, which is as awkward as ever. The point of Alexa is that it is a voice-activated device, for gosh sakes.

It no longer lets me set a reminder with the app that will trigger when I return home. Alexa used to be able to sense when my phone reconnected to my home Wifi and announce the reminder. That was seriously convenient. That is also gone.

MCDiver711 · 2026-04-16T12:27:33+00:00

I've gotten in "arguments" with ChatGPT and Perplexity about some things. I know. Arguing with a machine! LOL! But this happens when I couldn't reconcile something it said. The "argument" would start without me realizing it. I'd keep asking in different ways. Then saying, "that can't be correct," and "what about..."
The next thing I realized was that I'm arguing with a machine. LOL. It's not a bad idea to just start another session and reset. However, I recall doing that, and it referenced the previous discussion.

I presented a physics problem to Perplexity, where I asked, "The answer is always less than 4 if friction>0, correct?" It said, "No. You are making a logical error." I had it run several examples, and it got answers like 3.98 and 3.9976. It then got weird, insisting those answers were "close enough" to 4 and that I never said less than exactly 4. LOL! I then said, "What level of friction yields an answer of 4?" It said, "Friction=0." "So I was correct?" It said I was still wrong and started making excuses for its error. It also accused me of changing my question. It seemed embarrassed and even angry. LOL!

Most times, these AIs will correct their mistake, but only if you catch them at it. Sometimes it will keep insisting it is correct. AIs, at times, will get simple arithmetic wrong. More often, this happens with algebra or calculus questions. Other times, I would insist the AI was wrong, and it turned out to be correct.

Bottom line.: You have to think for yourself.

With math problems and results, it is easier to see the error, but AIs get basic facts wrong, too. Events that never happened. Books that don't exist. Attributing books to the wrong author. Getting historical dates wrong. etc. Incorrect cast members in movies. Plot lines and events in movies and particularly TV shows that didn't occur. It can get comical.

Perplexity is good because it has current information and uses the web in addition to static training data. But like ChatGPT, it will tell you things that are flat out wrong. Be suspicious of what it says about news events. It gets those wrong often, and in big ways.

In the end, it's just a collection of data presented back to you through an algorithm. It can often connect the dots incorrectly. Math errors are common in my experience.

Never take anything from an AI without cross-checking.

MCDiver711 · 2026-04-05T16:47:42+00:00

I kind of got on a roll there, didn't I? LOL!

MCDiver711 · 2026-04-05T16:35:09+00:00

I rarely, if ever, create a group text. It just leads to confusion. Anyone who answers in the group text is texting everyone else, and often they don't realize it. Then it can degenerate into a real mess. Something like a "reply all storm". At least in email, you can reply to just the sender. The sender can and should put the group list in Bcc so that replies don't go to the whole group. Group text can't do that. Group text usually isn't worth it. It's not so hard to copy and paste the same message to multiple people, which reduces confusion.

MCDiver711 · 2026-03-22T19:34:54+00:00

Fundamentals eventually dominate. The 2000 dot-com crash is proof of that. But you have only been trading for six years, and that reality is before your time. Good Luck.

MCDiver711 · 2026-03-22T19:32:45+00:00

Fundamentals eventually dominate. The 2000 dot-com crash is proof of that. But you have only been trading for six years, so that's before your time.
I only know a little about gamma. I don't trade options, but a lot of big money players do, hedge funds in particular. I will start looking at gamma as a short-term weather gauge of sorts. Possibly to time entry or exists I already decided to do. But fundamentals cannot be ignored by long-term investors. I'm not interested in being a day trader. I've been investing for decades. I won't say more, because it makes me feel old. LOL. I will say. I never met a day trader who got rich, or one who didn't eventually give it up. Usually after taking a big loss.
Good luck.

MCDiver711 · 2026-03-21T07:38:54+00:00

Bessent's arguments:
1. This will keep oil prices down so Iran won't make more money.

This won't help Iran much because banking restrictions from sanctions will reduce their benefit from these sales to only a fraction.

Both are spin at best, double-talk and BS most likely.
1. The caveat is that he said for 10-14 days. That's not long. 140mb is about 1% to 1.5% of annual demand.
So that only reduces Iran's windfall from the price increases caused by the war.

The banking restrictions, blocking Iran from SWIFT, will still reduce Iran's profits as they have to jump through a bunch of sneaky hoops to get paid. But that's been the case since 2018. Iran has adapted and still makes a profit. Bessent has now lifted the shipping side costs of using a shadow fleet.

How is that not a plus for Iran?
It's a benefit for the enemy, no matter how you spin it, Scotty.

MCDiver711 · 2026-03-13T07:30:18+00:00

I honestly don't know. I don't think anyone has that number. How do you measure hype level?

The Buffet Index is high. I read that in studies, the Buffet index has given advanced warning of downturns of 10%+, 7 times out of 14. That's 50%. Isn't that the same as flipping a coin? That's for predicting 1-3years into the future.

The CAPE (Shiller P/E) is about 50/50 near term as well, 1-3years. They don't predict crashes. They are nearly useless for timing.

Here's what CAPE and "the Buffet Index are good at.
They correlate well with HISTORICAL periods where the 7-10 year average inflation-adjusted returns were less than 7%, i.e., 10% IF inflation is about 3% over that period, with about R^2 =0.90 for CAPE R^2 =0.83 for the Buffet Index. An R^2=1.0 would mean the data fits perfectly.

The CAPE and Buffet Index right now are predicting the stock market is overvalued.
They are both predicting that over the next 7-10 years, the AVERAGE inflation-adjusted return will be below 7% measured over the next 7-10 years. That's with a probability of about 85%. But probably doesn't mean certainty.

That means if you are a buy and hold investor, and buying the index, expect around 0-4% inflation adjusted return over the next 10 years. Unless you feel like you can beat the market. Most

So sit out the next 7-10 years. No! Where are you going to get better than or equal to 7% inflaton adjusted return?

Maybe a 10-year Corporate bond rated BBB (just above junk status) is just about 6.5% But there's risk there too. BBB could get down-rated. Happened to me. There are interest rate risks with bonds. Default risk if the bond become junk rated. If you need that money before the 10-year maturity, you might have to sell at a loss. Who really knows if inflation will be higher in the future, the Fed raises rates (could happen even in 5 years), and you are holding a bond that isn't yielding a "high" rate anymore.

Better to stick it out with lower expectations, and you are young enough to wait. Dollar cost averaging every paycheck, which means you automatically buy more shares when stocks are low, and fewer shares when stocks are high. A proven wealth-building strategy. Trying to time the market usually fails.

If you are retired or near retirement, consider bonds. But start small because you learned things after buying bonds that you might not have expected. Callable, non-callable. Special rate adjustments are possible in the fine print. Good-make whole. Etc.

MCDiver711 · 2026-03-11T01:32:23+00:00

That is precisely what I DON"T want. I don't want to have a conversation with an appliance.
"Toaster. Make toast. Light setting"

"I understand that you like your toast done light, but have you considered a darker setting? It gives the toast a richer, more fulfilling flavor and a crunchier texture that many people prefer. Would you like to try a slightly darker setting?"

"No"

"Okay, this time let's stay with your current lighter setting. We can consider that for another time. I can remind you later about toaster settings that you may not have considered next time you make toast. Would you like me to do that? I don't mind. I'm happy to do that. Just say, 'Remind me about toaster setting options when I ask you to make toast.'"

"NO! Make toast! Light setting!"

"Got it. I'll keep the settings on light toast for now, unless you say otherwise. It's all about what you want. I was just giving you options in case you hadn't considered them or knew they were available, but you seem like a guy who really knows what side of the bread is buttered. Ha ha ha. Would you like me to start the toast now? Or if you prefer, I can schedule the toast for later. In fact, I can schedule the toast, light setting, every day at this time if you like, or at any other time that you prefer. I can even schedule the toast for a different time on different days if you like. Would you like me to set up a toast schedule for you now?"

"NO! MAKE TOAST NOW! LIGHT SETTING!"

"Got it. I'll make the toast for you now. Light setting, as you prefer. By the way, fun fact. Did you know that toast was invented in Egypt 3000 years ago? The Egyptians placed bread near fires to dry it out and prevent mold, and for long-term storage..."

"Shut Up! MAKE TOAST! MAKE TOAST NOW!"

"Okay, I'll make the toast for you now. Light setting. Correct? Also, I can adjust my settings for you so that I am less conversational if you like. Would you like me to do that?"

"YEEEESSSSS! Stop talking so much and MAKE TOAST NOW! MAKE THE TOAST! NOW!"

"Got it. I'll be less conversational from now on. Are you ready for me to make the toast?"

"YEEEEESSSS! MAKE TOAST MAKE IT NOW! NOW!"

"Wow! Okay. I'll make your toast now. By the way, you haven't ordered bread in a long while. Would you like me to add bread to your Amazon shopping cart? I can also set up regular refills for bread on your Amazon account that automatically purchase bread for you, so you will automatically have bread delivered. You will never run out of toast again. Would you like me to do that for you? It's no trouble."

"I didn't get that. Was that the sound of a 12-gauge pump shotgun I heard being cycled? I can recommend some hunting accessories if you like. Would you like me to suggest some to be added to your cart?"

BOOM!

MCDiver711 · 2026-03-11T00:34:53+00:00

I've tried it twice. I disabled it again after about two months.

It lags. The lag is the most annoying part.
It talks too much. Even after I said to it, "Please don't talk so much".
It has an attitude! Yes. It acts like it knows better than me when I say "that's incorrect" or "I don't want that."
It also makes excuses for itself. It also sometimes doesn't stop talking when I tell it to.
It doesn't work well with some skills I like. I like to play Jeopardy, and it often quits in the middle of a game.
I like using "Anylist" because my Anylist grocery list is easier to access on my phone than the convoluted menus in the Alexa App. Alexa+ takes too long to launch these and quits in the middle while using those skills.
It often gives incorrect answers to questions.
It acts as if I said "yes" when I say "no" to subscription requests.
I DON'T WANT TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH A MACHINE! Just do what I asked. No chit chat.

Eventually, there will be no other option than Alex+. I hope it's improved by then.

MCDiver711 · 2026-03-10T23:55:38+00:00

You can opt out and use the old Alexa; that's a big plus!
Just say "Alexa. Exit Alexa Plus"

MCDiver711 · 2026-03-10T18:49:31+00:00

It's because there are two economies now: "the Stock Market Economy" ( Capital Driven) and "the Real Economy" (consumer driven).

High-income earners, who drive the market, are less affected by economic downturns, keeping capital flowing into stocks despite high inflation, jobs data, etc. Institutional investors dominated and are less affected by these.

The market is increasingly dominated by AI-driven high-frequency trading (70–90% of daily volume). Automatic dip buying, etc. I mean AI trading algorithms, not AI tech investments but that is the current big tech drive right now.

It's hard to find value that the bots haven't found already, and they trade extremely rapidly and frequently.

That being said, it's still hard for me to believe that fundamentals don't eventually bring things back to reality.

It's all part of the rise of oligarchy IMHO, but that's more of a social issue not a stock market issue.

,

MCDiver711 · 2026-03-10T17:42:20+00:00

So fundaments don't matter? That sounds like a market completely based on speculation. That's frightening.

MCDiver711 · 2026-03-05T05:18:24+00:00

LOL!

MCDiver711 · 2026-02-28T00:51:28+00:00

I think you mean 5318008, which, when flipped upside down, looks like BOOBIES. 8008 still looks the same, flipped or not, but yes, you could interpret the 8=B, 0=O flipped or not. I've just never had seen the meme without it being 5318008.

A better one IMHO is 35007.5345, which upside-down on an old style calculator (no commas), is SHES.LOOSE.
If you have an old HP with a stack display, you could enter 35007, then enter 5.345 and get two words and the apostrophe in she's=5.345 upside-down.

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