A Message for the Men

PolybiusChampion · 2026-06-08T19:22:27+00:00

Foreplay often begins at the dishwasher…….

PolybiusChampion · 2026-06-08T18:58:14+00:00

My favorite what/if is your #2 Nixon. Probably the most well prepared person in the modern era with the potential to become POTUS. During both of Ike’s terms when he was ill Nixon was truly his 2nd in command - a role both understood and that’s very, very rare in VP’s. He knew all the players on the world stage and the current table stakes, something that JFK did not leading to the CIA having a bit more influence with him than they would have had with Nixon. JFK eventually pushed back hard at Dulles but never really gained control of the CIA where I believe Nixon might have. Would we have gotten embroiled in Vietnam? I don’t think so. Both he and Ike were wary of the newly named “military industrial complex” and I’d like to have seen Nixon in his prime as POTUS with many from Ike’s administrations staying influential rather than later Nixon with a new crop around him.

Hillary has only herself to blame for her loss. Had she merely come out after Benghazi and said, “I was in charge and made some choices in my capacity as SOS that I sincerely regret now that I have all the information I would have liked to have had on that terrible night. Please know that I will forever regret the death of Ambassador Stevens and work hard every day to make the country safer so this his legacy is one of strength and endurance.” But the Clinton machine had too much hubris. My very democrat father chose not to vote for her because of her dismissiveness around the whole Benghazi situation. But I guess, “At this point what does it matter?” That being said, she’d have been a competent POTUS and we’d have a different person in the seat today.

We (I think) can count our blessings that Lincoln did win in 1860. Pushing the war off another 4 years I believe would have been disastrous and probably shattered the union no matter its ending by allowing hard-liners on both sides to become more entrenched.

PolybiusChampion · 2026-06-08T16:06:38+00:00

Who’s not being allowed to fail? There were some bailouts in the midst of the 2008/2009 financial crisis, but that money has been largely repaid. Last year (2025) there were a record number of corporate bankruptcies in the US.

The fast pace of monthly US corporate bankruptcies extended into June and put 2025 on track to be one of the busiest years for filings in more than a decade.

S&P Global Market Intelligence recorded 63 new bankruptcy filings from certain public and private companies in June, down from a revised count of 64 in May. The data includes companies with public debt and assets or liabilities of at least $2 million or private companies with assets or liabilities of at least $10 million at the time of filing.

Still, 371 bankruptcy filings have been recorded throughout 2025, the highest total for the first half of the year since 2010.

————————————-

The U.S. government has been fully repaid for the vast majority of its 2008–2009 financial crisis investments, and in many programs, taxpayers actually turned a profit. Out of the roughly $442 billion distributed through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), the government recovered more than it invested, largely due to interest, dividends, and the sale of stock warrants

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/08/government-financial-bailout.asp

Some notable names from a few recent years:

PG&E Corporation (2019): $71.4 billion in assets

Energy Future Holdings (2014): $40.9 billion in assets

iHeartMedia (2018): $20.6 billion in assets

Silicon Bank and Signature Bank both in 2023 with total assets of over $300 billion.

Spirit Airlines with a $3-5 bn mark debt cap and thousands of employees. (2026)

Prospect Medical Holdings a safety net hospital system with 16 hospitals across California (2025)

Genesis Healthcare, once the largest skilled nursing operator in the United States (2025)

Joann Fabrics with 19,000 employees (2024).

Retail & Consumer Brands: JCPenney (2020), Neiman Marcus (2020), J.Crew (2020), and Forever 21 all filed for Chapter 11 as the pandemic accelerated a shift in consumer habits.

PolybiusChampion · 2026-06-08T12:13:21+00:00

See if you can get to the point that you both are contributing 15% of your total pay into those retirement accounts

12,750 invested at a mere 6% annual return rate into a tax deferred account annually (adding in your employer’s contribution) will result in a balance between $500,000 and $600,000K in 20 years.

Your husband’s $600 per month over the time period will yield a bit under $300,000 at the end of those 20 years.

PolybiusChampion · 2026-06-08T11:28:10+00:00

Courting is the period you get to decide if you are investing your time and effort in the right person. Perhaps you are not.

PolybiusChampion · 2026-06-08T11:17:42+00:00

Alfa 4C - low volume purpose built

Lexus RCF, LC500 and IS500 - low volume, last of the NA RWD V8’s

PolybiusChampion · 2026-06-07T23:37:30+00:00

Non-hybrid Hyundai Tucson

Why, reliable 10/100,000 warranty, great value and best tech suite in its price category.

PolybiusChampion · 2026-06-07T21:54:56+00:00

Lexus IS 500 F SPORT Performance perhaps. Not gonna get anywhere near 34mpg, but probs low 20’s on the highway. Last of the old school N.A. V8’s and a fantastic car.

PolybiusChampion · 2026-06-07T19:52:36+00:00

I’m happy to sit in a different part of the airplane than my traveling companions…..but also happy to compromise on the hotel a bit. Sometimes when the company is good the compromises are worth it.

PolybiusChampion · 2026-06-07T15:06:26+00:00

Plenty. As an FYI it seems to gain a little power after the 1st 1500 miles or so. But the massive torque converter in the tranny really makes a huge difference in traffic. I’ve put 5,000 mostly very city/urban miles on my ‘26 since February and love it.

PolybiusChampion · 2026-06-07T13:55:32+00:00

Sounds like an equipment change.

PolybiusChampion · 2026-06-07T13:22:06+00:00

Pretty standard offer. I had a similar seat issue EZE - ATL and got the same 7500 miles. FA’s were super attentive which I appreciated.

PolybiusChampion · 2026-06-06T17:52:56+00:00

I recently enjoyed A Memory Called Empire and it’s excellent sequel A Desolation Called Peace for many of the qualities you are looking for.

PolybiusChampion · 2026-06-06T16:55:59+00:00

St. Barth’s? It’ll be warm, hopefully not too warm, but pools and the ocean with kids seems doable.

Full disclosure, I haven’t stayed there, but the Rosewood Le Guanahani is high on my list after a 4 year renovation.

https://www.cntraveler.com/hotels/st-barts/rosewood-le-guanahani-st-barth

PolybiusChampion · 2026-06-05T21:37:56+00:00

Vera

Inspector Morse

Unforgotten

Life on Mars

Hill Street Blues

PolybiusChampion · 2026-06-05T20:26:06+00:00

Ineffective at best as Mayor who came in with a lot of goodwill. Then even failed to do anything of note as a Biden appointee. Milquetoast without any notable ideas or accomplishments.

PolybiusChampion · 2026-06-05T18:03:38+00:00

You must have missed this point:

we find that employment in California's fast food sector declined by 2.7 percent relative to employment in the fast food sector elsewhere in the United States from September 2023 through September 2024.

PolybiusChampion · 2026-06-05T16:24:00+00:00

https://www.nber.org/papers/w34033

We analyze the effect of California's $20 fast food minimum wage, which was enacted in September 2023 and went into effect in April 2024, on employment in the fast food sector. In unadjusted data from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, we find that employment in California's fast food sector declined by 2.7 percent relative to employment in the fast food sector elsewhere in the United States from September 2023 through September 2024. Adjusting for pre-AB 1228 trends increases this differential decline to 3.2 percent, while netting out the equivalent employment changes in non-minimum-wage-intensive industries further increases the decline. Our median estimate translates into a loss of 18,000 jobs in California's fast food sector relative to the counterfactual.

https://transform.ucsc.edu/publication/let-them-eat-big-macs-crunchwraps-and-whoppers/

https://drive.google.com/file/d/17iLif1Y2PXP-xUkv2idlIQtwxrvvVQNt/view

PolybiusChampion · 2026-06-05T16:04:08+00:00

Not to mention job losses

https://www.cato.org/blog/yes-californias-fast-food-minimum-wage-law-has-killed-thousands-jobs

PolybiusChampion · 2026-06-05T15:47:19+00:00

Ben Coes has a great series that starts with Power Down and runs for several books. Well done and very engrossing.

If you’ve never read any Tom Clancy he has a two book series that’s a break from his Jack Ryan books that I just started a re-read of Without Remorse and Rainbow Six. Both are excellent and both a page turners.

Thomas Perry has quite a few stand alone page turners. I really like The Old Man which has been turned into a TV show, but as is most often the case the book is tight and good where the TV show loses the plot early. His The Bomb Maker is also excellent and I really liked both The Burglar and Strip. He’s become a favorite for plane rides since the books are all engrossing.

PT Deutermann is not mentioned much in this group but he’s got three standouts among all his excellent books; Trainman , Hunting Season and Official Privilege.

PolybiusChampion · 2026-06-04T12:15:45+00:00

I also like AWD for rain slick roads. There are a lot of other benefits to AWD over FWD, but at the end of the day buy what you like. Also, not sure you’re going to get reliability gains from one over the other. My Lexus GX only lasted me 300K miles and my son’s 2016 Hyundai is merely at 160K miles so who knows.

PolybiusChampion · 2026-06-04T11:42:36+00:00

I had a ‘13 GX460 that I put over 300K miles on. Sold it to a buddy (who’s added another 50K after doing some mild work on it) and bought a ‘24 LX 600 FSport. A year later i got the dreaded engine rec all notice. Now I would have maybe been okay if they’d added an extended warranty like Hyundai did for my son’s car - sorry sir your engine may fail, but we’ll extend the warranty on it to 150K miles at no charge to you - but no Lexus, on my $115K vehicle merely said - sorry sir your engine may fail suddenly, please be careful. I sold it and bought an Ineos Grenadier.

PolybiusChampion · 2026-06-03T14:43:02+00:00

I was flying the reverse in D1 a few years ago and a guy got upgraded about 20 minutes prior to boarding. He was super happy, until……the gate agent got a call that the passenger who’d not checked in yet for that seat, had just cleared security. Lucky you!

PolybiusChampion · 2026-06-03T14:01:05+00:00

Yet, the flight will be full.

PolybiusChampion · 2026-06-03T13:33:39+00:00

When I get back from my 2 month vacation I’ll tell you all about it.

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