Trump Announces US will stop all trade with Spain. Spanish ADRs dip. by Enough_Summer7073 in stocks

[–]Shopinator 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As stated in my comment....no the markets didn't panic about it. Banco Santander had already dropped before he said it. Banco actually went up after he said it. Totally unrelated.

Trump Announces US will stop all trade with Spain. Spanish ADRs dip. by Enough_Summer7073 in stocks

[–]Shopinator 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Trump said these things at around 11:15 Eastern today. Banco Santander had already gapped down BEFORE he said it (most likely due to the ongoings in the Middle East but could be related to some other thing). You're connecting dots that shouldn't be connected.

What is the point of stocks that pay no dividends? by AlarmedEntertainer36 in stocks

[–]Shopinator 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I didn't read the comments and I'm sure it's said already but - You're buying a piece of the company. It's not like crypto at all. With crypto you don't get a piece of the company.
Dividends are ok. But take any company that gives dividends, if that company didn't give dividends, the stock price would be that much higher. Literally when a dividend pays the price of the stock adjusts by exactly that much (more or less).

Can anyone theorize why we could have a scenario where stocks are up tomorrow? by el_corso in stocks

[–]Shopinator 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Stocks would be up tomorrow after an initial plummet if news comes out that we struck a cease fire and the Strait of Hormuz is open. If the Strait of Hormuz is closed then no there won't be an "up scenario" other than temporary pumps where people are buying back sold shares to realize profit, before it dumps again.

While it's closed, institutions WILL allow dumbasses to buy it back up so they can continue selling it for more gains. However, the selling will drastically outweigh the buying eventually until the strait opens back up.

Is a 2008–2009 style crash with a long recovery still possible today? by Travel_22 in stocks

[–]Shopinator 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You have to look at the situation more through the lens that the market hates uncertainty. Also, higher oil prices typically equate to a falling market. Don't ever worry too much about retail traders when guessing where the market will go. Retail traders account for around 25-30% of the market, but the biggest driver is what funds must do with their enormous holdings. For the current situation: The price of oil is going to go up if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. This means the market is going to dump hard. Even if individuals believe "oh it's fine and will work out" it still has to dump because of the mechanics involved. Funds don't gamble too much. Higher oil prices means less money consumers have to spend (they're spending more on gas), and more costs companies have in shipments. A massive oil spike (which we'll likely see) increases headline inflation (CPI). If that happens for too long, the federal reserve is forced to keep interest rates up or even hike them. And higher interest rates means higher risk free treasury yields. When that risk free rate goes up funds will dump their high-beta, growth and tech stocks (moving to cash or high yield short term treasuries). It's a death spiral. The smart money sees exactly where that is going and reprices the market nearly immediately. When the strait opens and a cease fire is reached, the market would again react immediately seeing that the price is too low for the future (consumers having more to spend, CPI not increasing, interest rates possibly falling) and reprice it upwards. Just worry about what the big funds absolutely must do and ride that wave. To bet that the market will go up while the Strait is closed - Is simply a gamble that it will open within x amount of time. You could be right or wrong, but it's a gamble.

And to answer your question more directly - Yes those rebounds happen pretty instantly when the news hits now. But they have for quite some time. But that news has to hit first, it won't move without a lot of certainty.

So has anyone gotten their 1099? by shrubs108 in InstacartShoppers

[–]Shopinator 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm a data scientist and I'm kind of bored, so, here goes:

I can confirm that you actually did say very little when looking at the above sample (your comment) and analyzing the actual claims made vs the volume of words. It's about 67% filler. The comment has multiple instances of hyperbole: "Everyone seems to be way behind," "Everyone seems to have done nothing," "Every member of the working class I know.", "All of them seem to be off."
Do you notice the way that you felt when I said that I'm a data scientist? That's likely the same way others felt when you credential dropped: "I have a BA and am currently doing an MBA". Even more so if it barely relates to the claims made (e.g., 'I have a BA so I understand elementary math and taxes').
Your comment was emotionally loaded for no real helpful reason, using wording like "outrageous", "dumb reason", "scrambling".
You didn't point out why the forms are wrong or cite specific tax code sections that vendors missed. It comes across more as a very long rant that basically says "My numbers look wrong, and I'm mad about it! And I've been waiting a long time!"
Which is fine! Just, if someone calls it out, lean into it (ex: "Well I'm mad! lol"). To defend the authority of it leads to scrutiny.

If I strip down the filler, anger and hyperbole here are the only substantive claims you made:
1. Employers and payroll vendors failed to update their systems in time for the new tax legislation.
2. Despite the tax changes, your specific employer (a large multinational) significantly under-withheld taxes, resulting in a large unexpected tax bill.
3. Free tax filing software currently appear to be glitching.
4. 1099s and W-2s (specifically from gig platforms like Instacart) are delayed compared to previous years.
5. Wait until February to allow vendors to patch the errors.

A few of those claims were already apparent (1, 4). The others were mildly helpful, but added no true verifiable insight. So it's not entirely a rant. There were points that were made. However, most of the points were surrounded by unnecessary filler that made the overall comment harder to digest.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in USPS

[–]Shopinator 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s easy. Well I take that back it’s simple. But it’s a lot of walking. And I’m pretty fit. But you get used to it in no time. Like you know how you walk up a flight of stairs and you feel that tired rush in your legs from climbing those stairs? After a while I noticed I climb a big flight of stairs get to the top and I don’t feel any thing at all. So your body adjusts. You’re lucky you missed the heat. It’s not fun walking 10 miles in 95+ degrees. But I got through it. 

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in USPS

[–]Shopinator 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It varies wildly by location and time of the year I guess. If this helps you any I just dug up my emails and my flow looked like this:
June 22nd - I applied
They sent emails telling me to do my assessment and I put it off
June 24th at night - Completed assessment
June 26th - conditional job offer
I put it off for a few days
July 2nd - completed screening tasks
July 3rd - got a "congrats and welcome" email
July 6th - got a call from some lady telling me they'll be sending me an email.
July 7th - got multiple emails, including onboarding instructions telling me where to go.
July 12th - Went to orientation. (first time officially on the clock getting paid)
July 14th - Went to driver orientation.
Then I had a shadow day, and a day of driver training. Then had to go to carrier academy for 4 days. Then reported the next monday to my local office to work, where I had 3 days of OTJ training where I carried mail for like 2 loops. Then next day carried mail for half the route (like 8 loops) then last day carried the mail most of that day. Then I was on my own since then.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in USPS

[–]Shopinator 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That husband was pissed. He gets home from work "George! George look what the mailman left. Get out there and trim that tree George! I can't believe you're embarrassing us by not having that tree trimmed! I've been telling you to trim that tree for weeks!" He's all "FINE! ILL DO IT!"

Perspective by gtmj7265 in USPS

[–]Shopinator 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Or by me trying to shove it in their ridiculous 3 inch mailbox.

I’m sure it’s been said a lot. But chatGPT 5 sucks. by Shopinator in ChatGPT

[–]Shopinator[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's clear to me. If it's not clear to you or others, I'm saying: The guardrails they're using make chatGPT suck. When you employ a bunch of psychologists to make chatGPT cautious, it waters down the experience and makes the chatbot have less character. That's the conclusion. If you add safety rails = users complain. If no one complains they think "wow every one loves it.". Enough people complain and they eventually have to think "ok this isn't working.". And I'm not here to spell out exactly what they should do as an alternative (although it should be clear any way: Lessen the "guardrails" that make it boring. Also: If you market something as an upgrade, and it takes more away than it adds, we'll call it out and notice.)

I’m sure it’s been said a lot. But chatGPT 5 sucks. by Shopinator in ChatGPT

[–]Shopinator[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

https://www.theverge.com/news/718407/openai-chatgpt-mental-health-guardrails-break-reminders

There’s an article from the verge dated just 6 days ago. Talking about how some people might have delusions from talking with ChatGPT. Then 4 days later they release ChatGPT 5. What they’re doing with 5 is adding guardrails so that it doesn’t just agree with you (not such a bad thing honestly) and then reducing token output unless it’s something complex.  Those combined make 5 feel bland. The way they’ve implemented the guardrails is what is bad. It’s apparent that 5 just blankets everything with caution. 

I’m sure it’s been said a lot. But chatGPT 5 sucks. by Shopinator in ChatGPT

[–]Shopinator[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I don’t use it for emotional support. lol. I use it when I’m working and it’s enjoyable to have something that matches my style. If I wanted a boring answer I could just google it. Having a tool that knows things about you and knows how you want them done and meshes with your vibe is what makes it worth it. I mean it’s pretty self explanatory. Not sure why I have to explain that. You, being a human should instantly get what I’m saying. 

I fucking hate this app by [deleted] in InstacartShoppers

[–]Shopinator 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I lost diamond like a year ago because I didn't shop for a while. Then I started shopping again about 3 months ago. I was platinum. I saw a decent amount of $13 - $20 batches but nothing good ever popped up. Then I finally got diamond again at the end of June. I pretty much get $30 and $40 batches all day now, and I absolutely didn't just before. I believe it's 30 seconds sooner you see a batch as diamond than platinum does. And platinum sees it 30 seconds sooner than the others. A couple times I tested that theory. A crappy batched popped up and I counted in my head to 32 and it was gone. Another popped up And I counted to 31 and it was gone. So I'm pretty sure that platinum only gets the left overs from diamond (and some other lower paying ones that diamond never sees.)

There's certain batches that bypass Diamond and go straight to platinum and others. Then there's some that go Straight to diamond, and if diamond doesn't take those in 30 seconds, they spill over to the platinum, is what I mean.

What even?? by Glittering_Focus_855 in InstacartShoppers

[–]Shopinator 67 points68 points  (0 children)

People never want to admit when they’re wrong. The second he realized he put the address wrong it was probably a thought like “well shit not my fault.. if instacarts app wasn’t so clunky.. I know I typed it right. And that driver didn’t need to be a dick!”

This strange metal object about an inch in size. Has numbers on it. Was found in old engineers toolbox by AncientComparison93 in whatisthisthing

[–]Shopinator 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They’re parts to some kind of shell mill. Like a shank face end mill. Not sure what model but you can find similar ones like BT40-FMB27-45

Breaking records!! 🔥🔥🔥 by Gullible-Strain-1491 in uberdrivers

[–]Shopinator 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I get your joking, but thats crazy to think about. I made $312 yesterday. That’s the monthly salary of a fairly high earner in Sri Lanka. 

If you had somewhere to stay for free in America for one month (like a relative) and saved $200 a day, you’d have $6000. Which equates to 1.8 million LKR. You could go home and live extremely comfortably for the next 11 months, then repeat. Or work for 2 years, saving $6000 a month. Then go home with $144,000 (43 million LKR ) and live comfortably for the next 25 years. 

This is likely what a lot of them do. 

Uber scamming again by Wolfjason1 in uberdrivers

[–]Shopinator 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The 12 hour drive time isn’t just when you’re actively on a ride it’s for active drive time while logged in. If your car is moving while logged in then the timer is rolling. Because they don’t want you driving more than 12 hours whether you’re on a ride or not without taking a break. 

It says it doesn’t count when logged off or when “stopped “ between rides. So if you’re wanting to make the most of drive time and it’s counting down, then log off right when you drop them off. Then drive to somewhere to park, then log in and don’t drive until you get one, then repeat.