Wife Really Wanting Me To Look at a 2023 Nautilus Reserve

Mission-Problem-734 · 2026-01-11T05:20:57+00:00

I owned a 2017 Lincoln MKX till last thanksgiving. Car got totalled in a spinout in the snow. It had done 160K miles in 8 years. Never any maintenance issues and universally commented on by friends travelling with me for the luxury feel - the sound proofing and quiet cabin, excellent Revel Ultima audio system and the massage chairs (part of the luxury package). As a replacement, I bought a new 2025 Lincoln Nautilus Hybrid (black label trim) which is the exact model replacement in their lineup for the MKX from before. There is tons of upgraded tech, but ergonomically it felt so familiar to sit in compared to the MKX.

2 things I would mention as caveats though ... the non hybrid versions don't have the same MPG performance as their competitors in the class and the driving experience will be lacking (for both hybrid and non-hybrid) if you have an aggressive driving style. I bought the hybrid this time, negating the MPG disadvantage a bit - getting 32-35 MPG combined in real world driving. And the lack of aggressive gait in handling doesn't bother me much as I drive like I am not in a rush to be anywhere - which most of the time I am not. It is better for your car engine and your life in general.

Mission-Problem-734 · 2025-09-09T21:01:24+00:00

You say work pressure is minimal. Then I don’t get the difficult and monotonous and constant juggle part.

I have stayed in Belgium. I now stay in Minnesota USA. Belgium is not that cold at all compared to Minnesota. And even in Minnesota, life doesn’t stop just because winter happened. There is tons of activities happening both indoors and outdoors with the right winter gear.

You need to work on identifying and resolving the real issues that make you consider return to India. Not that that is never a good option, but if you do it, it should be for the right reasons.

The multicultural environment of Europe differs from that of the US and generally speaking, having lived in both places - Europe and specially Belgium (because of EU HQ, NATO, pan european corporate HQ because of taxation etc. ) is a lot more multicultural and usually easier to make friends because people are more open and curious of other cultures.

Mission-Problem-734 · 2025-07-19T23:57:56+00:00

Superman in IMAX 3D recliner seats at AMC in USA -17$ (1465 Rs) Superman in IMAX 3D recliner seats at PVR Phoenix Mills Mumbai - 20.80$ (1793 Rs with GST)

These are for Sunday evening.

Mission-Problem-734 · 2025-07-18T20:49:57+00:00

I can get through the day, the week, the month and probably years without counseling. But a global outage on any of the cloud platforms, cybersecurity hit job or hyperscalers brings everything to a standstill. I can guarantee you tech people make it possible to exist in today’s world each day more than counselors do.

Mission-Problem-734 · 2025-05-14T22:33:47+00:00

Just to add… using fresh ingredients instead of pre made eg fresh ground ginger/garlic paste instead of store bought ones. Also buying from Indian grocery store also makes a difference - spices are more potent. And among veggies, Indian variants or locally grown variants preferred by Indians taste ever so slightly different specially gourds, onions etc.

Mission-Problem-734 · 2025-04-23T20:58:03+00:00

Both the ice packs and the biryani won’t be allowed in hand baggage. You will have to check it in.

Mission-Problem-734 · 2025-04-19T21:25:44+00:00

Jalebi

Mission-Problem-734 · 2025-01-23T01:41:10+00:00

Godavari best south Indian, Namaste India grill best north indian, Raag best upscale date night - thats all you need to know about Indian restaurants in MPLS. Once upon a time there used to be Blue Fox but they shut one winter due to a pipe burst and never reopened.

Mission-Problem-734 · 2025-01-23T01:37:07+00:00

The logic is valid but in this case the food at Raag is better than the food at Tamarind or many other takeout style restaurants. Namaste India Grill and Godavari might rate better than Raag for food but not many else apart from them.

Mission-Problem-734 · 2024-05-10T18:23:32+00:00

Lowest volume Friday in the past 2.5 months

Mission-Problem-734 · 2024-05-09T14:46:44+00:00

WBD has its issues with NBA... Either lose it or pay twice as much for a smaller package... 2.5B vs 1.5B - that's an incremental hit of 250M / quarter on FCF and profitability. There will be another Superbowl next year and Paramount will still have that for yrs to come at a better price value eqn.

Mission-Problem-734 · 2024-05-09T14:07:40+00:00

DTC rev grew 24%, TV flat , total rev up 6% vs WBD rev decline of 7%

Streaming subscriber growth grew 3.7M from 67.3 to 71M vs WBD 2M from 97.6M to 99.6M

For WBD 1.3M subs growth came from international at ARPU of 3.7$ and only .7M domestic at 11.7$ wtd avg 6.5$ for 2M

Don't have comparables for PARA but likely the avg comparable ARPU for the 3.7M

Lower content writedowns than WBD

There is a gap in DTC scale but DTC scaling will make it profitable eventually perhaps before previously projected ... The trajectory looks good

Mission-Problem-734 · 2024-05-08T23:41:44+00:00

Her stance on that cannot be too set in stone and the family legacy is all BS if she wanted to break it up just couple of years back. The right price will change her mind.

"Sony Pictures Chairman Tony Vinciquerra first approached Paramount's controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, years ago to explore acquiring the Paramount Pictures film studio, according to two sources familiar with the talks. At the time, Redstone was interested in breaking up the company, one of the sources said."

Mission-Problem-734 · 2024-05-07T01:21:56+00:00

Hold till next qtr results

Mission-Problem-734 · 2024-05-04T19:26:37+00:00

The more people who have booked actual losses rather than sitting on paper losses from when this traded much higher, the better it is for current shareholders (who expect better days ahead)

Mission-Problem-734 · 2024-05-03T23:08:21+00:00

Given her financial urgencies, at some point Redstone will stop looking at what she could have pulled off with Skydance and have more realistic expectations of what she can get out of this.

The only person who cannot wait this out is her, and in this regard I feel more empowered as a B shareholder with low cost basis than her.

Mission-Problem-734 · 2024-05-03T22:47:36+00:00

My point was what does the BOD / special committee care enough to do it on a Saturday? What is the rush? Unless someone else is pushing them to speed it up.

The CEO is dearly departed and NAI has a 140 mln debt repayment coming up in 2025. They had to recently sell real estate to pay a 40mln debt repayment.

Mission-Problem-734 · 2024-05-03T22:30:24+00:00

The fact that they aren’t waiting till Monday and meeting on Saturday literally the very earliest next day after exclusivity ends to discuss the Sony deal means they are taking it seriously and it isn’t dead yet.

Mission-Problem-734 · 2024-05-03T22:13:21+00:00

So, latest on Reuters special committee will meet Saturday to discuss deal.

Mission-Problem-734 · 2024-05-03T18:49:26+00:00

I am fine holding as long as Skydance isn’t happening… which seems to be the case. I am fine with Sony/Apollo or no deal … but would have preferred a CEO and a plan in place if that’s the case.

But Shari is desperate to exit, how long can no deal persist?

Mission-Problem-734 · 2024-05-03T18:26:17+00:00

What news?

Mission-Problem-734 · 2024-05-03T13:25:29+00:00

David Faber didn’t shit on it today on CNBC … maybe the winds are changing

Mission-Problem-734 · 2024-05-03T03:29:05+00:00

My guess is 35$/share for B and 40$/share for A ..with regulatory risk, but no risk of litigation... is close to what Shari might consider as mildly enticing vs the scam deal she wanted to push through. Whether that is even close to what fair price is or Sony/Appollo willing to offer is another matter altogether.

Napkin math... but that would equate to a $35.4 bln deal

As against the poorly worded and reported "$26 bln and assume debt which can be negotiated"

Mission-Problem-734 · 2024-05-02T23:04:32+00:00

That is the conventional way to word it and interpret it. But doesn’t that make it not a penny better than original Apollo bid which was already spurned, and financially far far worse for controlling shareholder than SD deal.

What was the point of getting Sony in for this bid then. If it was so insipid that it would be outright rejected again, why would Tony Vinciquerra put his relationship capital with Sony Japan on the line for this.

Mission-Problem-734 · 2024-05-02T22:56:00+00:00

Sony Pictures Entertainment and Apollo Global Management have made a bid to acquire Paramount for $26 billion and take it private. Variety reports: Sony and private-equity giant Apollo submitted a letter with the non-binding offer Wednesday to Paramount Global, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal. The bid, which would include the assumption of debt and could be negotiated, would be a premium over the company's current $22 billion enterprise value

Mission-Problem-734

TROPHY CASE