GrapevineTigah

Compared to the market BRK is also a much more defensive/safe investment. With all the questions about whether the S&P is currently overpriced, BRK is in position to ride out any potential storm. This comparison always happens to Warren Buffett. When the inevitable storm hits, he becomes a huge winner. I sleep better owning BRK over VOO at the moment. There will be folks saying BRK is wasted money. The market will decide waste vs value, and when "there is blood in the streets" as WB has famously said, his cash pile will prop us his stock value and will be extremely useful.

Good people get good opportunities. Have a great organization that keeps promoting good people. Their attitudes and ideas will rub off on others. Hopefully they'll be training potential replacements while the organization as a whole is succeeding. That also makes great people want to join the organization because they know it will likely result in both organizational success and career success.

Hard to tell:
Mulkey will play those that earn it. She's said so in the past.
So, her tendency to play 8 or 9 may be offset if 10 or more earn playing time.
The cool thing is they can play small ball with anyone.
They can now play big if Mulkey and company choose to do that.
Koval and Knox really improved during the year last year. I enjoyed watching that. It will be interesting to see how Z plays at guard, which is what they're saying will happen. I thought she was great playing forward. Last year's team hustled, shared the ball, and generally made great decisions. Heck, even when they were on the bench they supported each other. Fun team to watch. I'm eager for more! :bow:

I had a sore throat, then for about a week felt lethargic. Things seemed to improve, then suddenly I couldn't walk. Wife and neighbor loaded me up and drove to ER. My Blood pressure was really low, like 80/20. They sent me straight to ICU as organs were shutting down. Next 5 weeks in the hospital with 3 knee surgeries and dialysis for a month. They sent me home then I had a clot break loose from the knee and lodge in a lung. Good thing I guess.
I was really lucky all around. Got a staph infection from the second knee surgery but they figured that out too and managed to clean up the knee on the third surgery. Had a team of specialists and didn't pay a nickel due to insurance from 23 years ago. Wouldn't have been that lucky insurance-wise today. Wouldn't have been that lucky if it happened in an area with fewer specialists.

Depends on what you think Alphabet's future might be. I sold it at 280 because the PE was climbing and they are a significant piece of the SP500. Then I shortly started having regrets. Sure, search is still big and will be powered by AI. However, they are making 20 billion a quarter on cloud revenue. They own waymo. They have 6% of SpaceX. YouTube and other sources may grow too. Berkshire Hathaway recently bet on them. Seems like search might be an easy way to monetize AI rather than be consumed by it.

Without a doubt it absolutely has to be the median age of a tRant poster. We have the most miserable, whining, complaining, kvetching, bitching group, especially if we're expected to win and don't. As Saban said, it's catastrophe syndrome. So whatever age these "Wendy Whiner" types are, that's the age. I just imagine most of them kicking the dog, the wife, or complaining about the sports that their daughters, sisters, etc are playing. It's really unbelievable. You'd think they were all from New Jersey. :banghead:
Passion is great when we win, but when we don't, look out below.

How 'bout "highly political"? The cost of living in New York is nearly twice the cost of living in Tokyo, so the numbers in this chart correlate. I also assume that NYC government isn't "the most efficient" but these numbers don't by themselves tell us that.

re: The economy is figuring the tariff situation out.

One of the commentators on CNBC yesterday pointed out that the relative success of the economy despite the tariffs seems to make the democrats' tax/spend case for them.

Seems like the s and the a in your name might be reversed.

I try to pay cash, or pay off the loan asap. I've had 2 Toyota Camry vehicles that each lasted 17 years. My current fake truck is 9+ years old. I use the term fake truck because it's a Honda Ridgeline. That works for me but if I needed to drive off-road it probably wouldn't work. I have avoided the high dollar purchases because I had to drive a bit to work, and I value being able to get my kids through college, afford to retire, etc. I've kept a good emergency fund that I've used to buy a vehicle when needed. I've seen others get rid of vehicles at 100k miles but 200k + has been the norm recently without significant repair bills. The only exception was a Chrysler Van when the kids were little. I also value the vehicles that have high resale value over time, on consumer reports.

I bought in October of 2025 also. I'm up 15% plus dividends. The reason I bought it was as a defensive stock, with the market in what I considered overbought territory. Worst case I get the solid dividend and wait for the high fliers to drop. It's outperforming the QQQ. It's clear we have lots of traders on this board. I'm retired so the goal is to not lose. I also bought CHV and ABBV around that time and have seen similar results. :cheers: