Favorite team:LSU 
Location:Chicago
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Number of Posts:26627
Registered on:8/4/2006
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quote:

My husband has a Rivian and the storage is awesome because there is a frunk and a trunk. But it’s useless for roadtrips.


Cybertruck is technically badass and stupid fast.....if only it looked totally different. Then I'd like it.

The new Tesla Y-L is a fantastic product.
quote:

Aside from the charging issue on road trips, what’s the worst part of owning a Tesla?



Like every other driver.....they have to share the road with squatted trucks and lifted F-250s that weave in and out of lanes. Pretty bad deal.

re: 401K millionaire check-in

Posted by dewster on 8/10/26 at 11:18 am to
Not quite there with retirement savings alone, but probably will be within a couple of years.

With RE equity and other assets (counting 529 plan for kids), I'm right under 1.1 million This milestone doesn't feel like I thought it would when I was 10 or 11 years old.
quote:

I just got out of a 2024 Trax 1RS (the first edition of the refresh), and I put almost 90,000 miles on it before trading it in.


Freakishly good little car. I was irritated when GM got out of the small car business. But they landed back into that segment with the Trax.....and it's impressive.

It has a 6 speed and not a stupid CVT, which is a huge plus.

The slightly larger version, called the Trailblazer, can be had with AWD if that's important.

re: SPCX IPO

Posted by dewster on 8/4/26 at 1:54 pm to
WTF was hoping I'd have a chance to buy a few more....it's back up to 125 now?
Rule about most women. If you love them at their lowest, they'll return the favor by abandoning you at yours.

If you find one that doesn't fit that mold.....buy her a ring immediately.

I have awesome wife. And she surrounds herself by good people too. Her social group are also nice, well meaning folks. That makes a huge difference.
quote:

Passengers complaining how hard it is to climb into my lifted truck. I was thinking a Mazda CX3 or a Ford Focus.



Rented a Chevy Trax once. It's small, and I wouldn't want to drive across country in it. But it was a lot better and nicer than it had to be for a commuter. Chevy has quietly built a very good affordable car that undercuts the Corolla or Civic in price.

I hear similar things about the Ford Maverick too - It's no Cadillac, but it's much better than it has to be.

Model 3 is the GOAT but it's more expensive than the smaller ICE cars like the Sentra, Trax, or even a Corolla or Prius.

re: SPCX IPO

Posted by dewster on 8/3/26 at 7:48 pm to
144 shares, cost basis around 129.

I’m not planning to buy more. If it slips a lot (like to 80) I will pick some more up.
I think Meta has proven that Louisiana can land big investments that aren't related to Oil and Gas. That's valuable. That's important, and it's good for the state - especially if we can stand up enough natural gas generators to power these things.

But now that it's here.....I wouldn't go out of my way to encourage these to show up into the remaining premium industrial sites now that we have a few big ones already coming. They consume a massive amount of energy, and aren't particularly "jobs dense" like other industries are. That's not to say it isn't incredible for Richland Parish to land the largest data center of its type in the world.

To me.....Meta isn't a major game changer. But it is a hood ornament that is getting attention from the investors we REALLY need.

My logic: If SpaceX really is coming here, and we adjusted our liability laws around A&D.....I'd market those sites to a broad range of suppliers and fabricators within the A&D ecosystem. There's a lot of overlap with space and aero along with durable goods like automobiles, energy, helicopters, electrical component, semiconductors, or specialized equipment manufacturing.

If we play our cards right, we can use these data centers to land SpaceX, Space X to land the type of suppliers that overlap with other industries that normally pass Louisiana over for the midwest, Texas, or Florida.

I think this nuclear research initiative could be a game changer for whoever gets it - but even if that passes Louisiana over, I think Boeing, Raytheon, Lockheed, etc are also going to be looking at the state that landed the largest SpaceX site in existence. Not to mention Hyundai, General Motors, Caterpillar, John Deere, Sikorsky, Micron, Intel, etc. that need the high grade, specialized components from suppliers that don't yet exist here - but may likely set up some operations here to partner with SpaceX.

The "big wins" are great. But what we need are the support industries that overlap with and draw in other "big wins". We have a lot of great options for manufacturers of all sizes all over the state.

re: Memphis restaurant 30+ only

Posted by dewster on 8/3/26 at 7:52 am to
Back when I lived in Memphis 15 years ago, I'd go to the Chick Fil A near there pretty often. FedEx world Headquarters is less than 2 miles away, and Lennox Center (nicer office buildings - which maybe empty now) is pretty close. There was a Huey's and a Costco pretty close by and I think there was a Lenny's around there somewhere.

That neighborhood was getting sketchy even 15 years ago, but it wasn't too bad during the day. Not as bad as Covington Pike or deeper into Hickory Hill where it can be legit WTF after like 8PM. But still sketchy and lots of traffic by Memphis standards.

Something I never understood about that part of Memphis....The Lennox Park office building development was at Kirby and Mt Moriah. That was at least 5-6 very nice, spacious office buildings and a decent hotel there back in the day. But even then I couldn't figure out why someone put the cash into all of that on the edge of what was already becoming a sketchy neighborhood. I guess it was built by FedEx or International Paper as overflow offices that they didn't need anymore? The quality of those buildings were pretty high 15 years ago, but they had to have very tight security after dark. I imagine it was better than commuting to the airport area or downtown, but not by much.
quote:

Shreveport with loop 3 before BR has loop 1

Theres are reason LA ranks 50th in everything


Shreveport metro GDP $27 Billion

Baton Rouge metro GDP $69 Billion

I'm not saying Shreveport shouldn't have good infrastructure. But Baton Rouge being this neglected when it comes to highway investment shows me how fricked our state's priorities are.
Mississippi's GDP per capita is slightly higher than Germany's.

And this isn't a "Germans" post. That's an actual fact.

Germany $65,303

Mississippi $66,000


Canada's GDP per capita is only $60,305. Canada used to be on par with the USA, but now America's worst performing state is surpassing them.

England is about $61,000 - only slightly higher than Canada and below Mississippi.
Serious question since that seems to be where we are headed. That thing looks like it plucks only certain voters from New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Donaldsonville, and runs along the center of the river to do it.

This is clearly illegal.
Most of the ones you listed are gorgeous. Salma Hayek in her prime and Scarlette Johansen are beautiful.

But if I said Anna Kendrick does it for me and I have no idea why.....half of y'all would give me shite, and the other half would nod in agreement. And I readily admit that there are better looking women that I encounter on a daily basis.
quote:

MIATA is an acronym, you know.


Midlife
Is
Always
The
Answer

?
quote:

Do you have access to fun roads where you can actually get what you want out of the car.


Depends on the car. We have quiet roads here with some curves and even light elevation.

But using all of a 500 horsepower Camaro SS or 911’s capability: not around here. At least not on public roads.

MX-5 or used base level Boxter? Nissan Z or Audi TT? Yeah. Probably could get a lot out of those.
quote:

Get an old British car. If you're somewhat mechanical, they are way more fun to drive than a newer Jap car


Would love to.

We want accessible fun. Not ready for a project car yet to be honest.

I really like the Nissan Z but it doesn’t have a convertible model. The stylist for the new one definitely understood the mission though.

We keep coming back to the MX-5.
This would be a third vehicle for us.

I’ve always wanted a sports car but never actually bought one. Never thought I would get one.

I’m 41 now…. my wife (no pics) and I are thinking about getting a simple analog roadster as a “just for us” car — something like an MX-5 or maybe a used Boxster. Minimal creature comforts, manual, top down, fun on back roads. Impossible to fit kids inside it. Just a weekend machine that makes us smile.

We test drove one already and honestly both loved it.

It feels a little irrational for me… but at the same time, making memories with my wife while we’re still young enough to really enjoy it also feels pretty rational.

Curious what y’all think. I struggle with decisions like this, and I am definitely the kind of guy that doesn’t know how to vacation or have fun.

I can’t decide if I would regret this or not. I rented a convertible Mustang for a work trip recently and loved it….except for the softer body/suspension and automatic transmission.
Looks awesome. This is what I would buy in a hypothetical scenario where I won the lottery and the Corvette ZR1X didn’t exist.
quote:

That's what I said. Do you read?



You said this:

quote:

Every other city would either pussyfoot around or couldn't provide a tract with decent infrastructure or were unwilling to.


Cities don't typically broker deals like this. They don't provide land and they rarely own large plots typically desirable to private retail operations.