@KSargent@mastodon.social avatar

KSargent

@KSargent@mastodon.social

Former American. Former web developer. Now living the good life as a rural GP in Aotearoa New Zealand. Formative years for my doctorin' were in Alaska. Fan of logic and game theory. Wish I were a better musician. Hopeless political lefty.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

pluralistic, to random
@pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

The crash of 2008 imparted many lessons to people who were only dimly aware of finance, especially how complexity was a way of disguising fraud and recklessness. That was really the first lesson of 2008: "financial engineering" is mostly a way of obscuring crime behind a screen of technical jargon.

--

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/22/koteswar-jay-gajavelli/#if-you-ever-go-to-houston

1/

KSargent,
@KSargent@mastodon.social avatar

@pluralistic Cory, this is fantastic as always. I do appreciate the morning top-up of righteous fury your pieces tend to provide.

The their/they're typo in this one dropped me out of the story like a cellphone in a Merchant-Ivory film, but once I white-knuckled back in, all was well. ;-)

GottaLaff, to random
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

Many of us have been sounding the alarm on this for years.

Welp.

Via Kyle Griffin:

In an interview with KDKA-TV, says he's "looking at" policies that would restrict access to

KSargent,
@KSargent@mastodon.social avatar

@GottaLaff It kills me that there are people who truly think he's "looking at" any policy position. Like, talking to experts, reading opinions, thinking. He's not capable of any of that.

Will he propose such a restriction sometime when some bootlicker tells him it's a good idea? Sure! Would he disclaim his support a week later and tell everyone he never supported that? Of course!

He's not "looking at" anything. He has zero intellectual capacity. He's pure random chaos and spite.

dangillmor, to random
@dangillmor@mastodon.social avatar

Meet the "private equity" people who did so much to drive Red Lobster into the ground -- the top executives at Golden Gate Capital.

https://goldengatecap.com/team/?_sft_function=operating-executives

They sold off the restaurant real estate to help pay for the buyout, and leased it back at what the bankruptcy filing describes as "priced above market rates."

KSargent,
@KSargent@mastodon.social avatar

@dangillmor It's almost literally piracy. Pirates of the past captured ships, sold off whatever was valuable, "fired" the employees, and if the remaining husk wasn't worth enough, they scuttled it. If it was, they rolled it into their fleet.

Other than the literal survival of the employees, how is any of this different than what PE firms do to companies in America?

agiletortoise, to random
@agiletortoise@mastodon.social avatar

AI voice assistant with the Peanut’s adult voice

KSargent,
@KSargent@mastodon.social avatar

@agiletortoise No loss in value or information quality. Sounds perfect.

seachanger, (edited ) to random
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

For every $1000 you purchase at a small business...

pay by credit card: about $30 to credit card corporation, $970 to small biz

pay by cash or paper check: $1000 to small biz

pay by e-check: about $10 to banks, $990 to small biz

most small businesses have 10-30% profit margin, so a 3% credit card fee may actually be 1/10 -1/3 of their profit on your transaction

KSargent,
@KSargent@mastodon.social avatar

@seachanger Here in NZ virtually everything is just EFTPOS (direct debit). The EFTPOS terminals at every retailer automatically pass along the CC surcharge to the customer if you pick the CC option ("This will include a surcharge of $28.71. Do you want to continue?").

There are no paper checks anymore in this country. But EFTPOS is funded by the government and free and everyone uses it. That or free wire transfers. I've seen buskers with bank #s on the sign to wire them money.

GottaLaff, to random
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

This had to be said? 🤦🏻‍♀️

FBI director rejects 's vow to investigate political rivals

In a wide-ranging interview with NBC News, Christopher Wray also broke with Trump over the former president’s characterization of Jan. 6 defendants as “hostages.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/fbi-director-rejects-trumps-vow-investigate-political-rivals-rcna149056

KSargent,
@KSargent@mastodon.social avatar

@GottaLaff Ugh. "Breaking News: The FBI Director believes in the rule of law!"

No shit.

ElleGray, to random
@ElleGray@mstdn.social avatar

in my mind every one of these cows is a muppet. and they sing

KSargent,
@KSargent@mastodon.social avatar

@ElleGray your mind is a glorious place

big improvement over this world all around us

A+

GrimmReality, to random
@GrimmReality@beige.party avatar

There is a Chumbawumba song that gets played a lot in movies or tv shows to indicate festive things happening but I have never actually heard it all the way through or outside that specific context and don't know the lyrics so in my head the opening lyrics to that song are now and forever will be "I get knocked out/by a lava lamp/because the lava lamp knocked me out."

KSargent,
@KSargent@mastodon.social avatar

@GrimmReality Your version is absolutely "close enough" for any purpose.

GottaLaff, to Israel
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

's military chief warns ’s missile strike over the weekend "will be met with a response." -AP

KSargent,
@KSargent@mastodon.social avatar

@GottaLaff Shall we assume they're going to massacre more Palestinian civilians as a "response" to Iran's attack?

dangillmor, to random
@dangillmor@mastodon.social avatar

There is almost infinite hypocrisy in this letter to investors by the CEO of one of the most rapacious corporate giants on the planet.

His fundamental point -- that an aging population has almost no way of paying for longevity -- is true.

But the pious lecture from a financial engineer whose operation's holdings have plundered so much from so many to enrich so few is sickening.

https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/investor-relations/larry-fink-annual-chairmans-letter

KSargent,
@KSargent@mastodon.social avatar

@dangillmor Some people really stick to that Anglo-Saxon concept of "surname reflects one's occupation".

MissingThePt, to random
@MissingThePt@mastodon.social avatar

Breaking: Donald Trump spotted at New York ATM frantically trying to make a $464 million withdrawal.

KSargent,
@KSargent@mastodon.social avatar

@MissingThePt The trick is to make 464,000 $1,000 withdrawals...

GottaLaff, to random
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

To clarify. Via Rupar:

Ian, you're wrong. I watched the speech. Eric unpacks the relevant context here. It's a very odd look to be spinning for #Trump like this.

Eric Columbus:

Wise conway thread below about Trump's "bloodbath" remarks. And per @metzgov transcription Trump said the effect on the car industry would be "the least of" the effects of the "bloodbath for the country." This is the opposite of just talking about cars.

Me: Here's the thread:

KSargent,
@KSargent@mastodon.social avatar

@GottaLaff I love when people start trying to bring their spin back to Trump, and ask "Of course when you say 'bloodbath' sir, you're talking about the auto industry, right...?"

And Trump usually just plows on with "No, I mean my followers will murder people until they make me President out of fear".

Yet his cultists always carry on with new spin.

sundogplanets, to random
@sundogplanets@mastodon.social avatar

There are currently 5,591 Starlink satellites in orbit, launched in the last 5 years https://planet4589.org/space/con/conlist.html

There are 5,595 known exoplanets https://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/ discovered in the last 30 years

Starlink is about to have more sats in orbit than known exoplanets, and with each launch, make it harder to do astronomy research

Imagine what astronomy (or any part of science) could do with the shittons of money that have been spent on occupying (and likely soon destroying) low earth orbit?

KSargent,
@KSargent@mastodon.social avatar

@sundogplanets Are all the bits of exploded rocket from last week going to burn up or are some of them contributing to Musk Detritus as well?

effinbirds, to random
@effinbirds@mastodon.social avatar
KSargent,
@KSargent@mastodon.social avatar

@effinbirds Essential internet image right there. The uses are endless.

flexghost, to random
@flexghost@mastodon.social avatar

What the hell is this?

I made it 3 minutes into Katie Britt’s astonishingly bad SotU rebuttal

Drop on the comments how far you can make it into this clip before turning it off

Video of Katie Britt turning in her audition for Mr. Johnson’s junior class presentation of Our Town

KSargent,
@KSargent@mastodon.social avatar

@flexghost Haven't gone past the still photos. I'm OK with reading the summaries; these people are just too damned ridiculous.

TonyStark, to random
@TonyStark@progressivecafe.social avatar

Something I truly do not get is the Republican anti-immigrant stance. I mean, I get it as far as what they’re going for, but it’s wrong morally, historically, and economically if you want to be practical. They have so many bizarre stances but the demonization of immigrants is really fucked up.

KSargent,
@KSargent@mastodon.social avatar

@TonyStark I think a big part of Trump(ism)'s appeal is the simple gratification of their Id. He made it okay to just be an asshole in public, supposedly without consequences. None of this involves "being practical"; it's just permission to have a spittle-flecked racist rant and have occasional people reply "hell yeah!"

"Making shitty people feel good about themselves" could be the campaign vision.

The truly evil people behind the scenes (Bannon, Miller) just know that it's the key to fascism

TonyStark, to random
@TonyStark@progressivecafe.social avatar

Heckler!

video/mp4

KSargent,
@KSargent@mastodon.social avatar

@ClintBarton @TonyStark they voted for her; kinda limits my sympathy for them

design_law, to random
@design_law@mastodon.social avatar

deleted_by_author

    •
    KSargent,
    @KSargent@mastodon.social avatar

    @design_law Glad to hear you're through to the other side.

    MissingThePt, to random
    @MissingThePt@mastodon.social avatar

    I love to hear stories from back in the olden days. Tell me what it was like in the 1990s.

    KSargent,
    @KSargent@mastodon.social avatar

    @MissingThePt Ideally described as "the late 1900s"

    emptywheel, to random
    @emptywheel@mastodon.social avatar

    You know who has been vindicated by the Alexander Smirnov indictment? Lesley Wolf.

    https://www.emptywheel.net/2024/02/26/lesley-wolf-vindicated-by-alexander-smirnov-indictment/

    KSargent,
    @KSargent@mastodon.social avatar

    @emptywheel You seem to have dropped Leo Wise's title in your common use.

    Although it was always petty, it was magnificently so. I rather miss it.

    flexghost, to random
    @flexghost@mastodon.social avatar

    I will never understand the inner workings of a narcissist's mind. Making everything about them

    But this is next level

    Is this boy geeked on Adderall or suffering from dementia?

    KSargent,
    @KSargent@mastodon.social avatar

    @flexghost "Is this boy geeked on Adderall or suffering from dementia?"

    These are not mutually exclusive.

    GottaLaff, to Colorado
    @GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

    “The lord told us to do so.”🙄🤦🏻‍♀️

    A pastor says God told him to launch a venture. He’s now accused of pocketing $1.3 million from his followers

    https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/24/us/colorado-pastor-crypto-fraud-cec?cid=ios_app

    KSargent,
    @KSargent@mastodon.social avatar

    @GottaLaff Importantly, the home renovation was also divinely ordained. He had no choice, really.

    https://web3isgoinggreat.com/?id=indxcoin

    molly0xfff, to Wikipedia
    @molly0xfff@hachyderm.io avatar

    something gives me the sneaking suspicion there's been some controversy over spelling at the article on Beetlejuice

    KSargent,
    @KSargent@mastodon.social avatar

    @molly0xfff This is for the film, right? Isn't there, like, a lot of movie posters and such with the canonical spelling on them?

    lowd, to random

    I just had to email my 16-year-old's teacher to explain that he did not use AI for an assignment. (I watched him complete it!)

    I also included multiple references for why no one should be using AI detectors in education.

    TurnItIn is making $$$$ by lying to schools.

    KSargent,
    @KSargent@mastodon.social avatar

    @lowd @docfleetwood Another for the pile: Vanderbilt University's well-thought-out (and documented) rationale for disabling TurnItIn specifically:
    https://www.vanderbilt.edu/brightspace/2023/08/16/guidance-on-ai-detection-and-why-were-disabling-turnitins-ai-detector/

    flexghost, to random
    @flexghost@mastodon.social avatar

    The only shocking thing is I thought DeSantis already dropped out

    Banning books.
    Attacking trans rights.
    Forcibly removing trans kids from their families.
    Banning the free press from events.
    Going to war with the state’s biggest employer.
    Human trafficking.
    Manlet stature with a napoleon complex.

    You can have it all and still not be fascist enough for republicans

    KSargent,
    @KSargent@mastodon.social avatar

    @flexghost Try to run "to the right" of a fascist is a skinny lane indeed.

    ...as he was repeatedly warned. Good riddance.

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