joonix

Thanks. What about all the elevated freeways in LA? Looking at the helicopter reports from the Northridge quake, the collapses are pretty terrifying.

The government should be able to sue to get an easement to the beach. Easements are not a new or exotic thing by any meabs.

It's because he knows he can turn around and sell it to a rich international buyer for double if he can market it as having an effectively private California beach. That's all there is to it.

Very similar to tall poppy syndrome in Australia. As an American it's always bewildering to see these attitudes play out.

Nonsense. New York is not nearly as bad as SF for rent. I know someone who just rented a studio in the heart of lower Manhattan for $1500 and that includes heat and water. On top of that you don't need a car or Uber or any of that. Unlimited subway pass and/or a bike or CitiBike membership and you're set. That is absolutely manageable for a tech professional and well worth it for all the benefits of living here and access to opportunities. If you're doing a startup you're probably not that concerned with income taxes in the first few years. The one real downside is that office space is pretty expensive.

And I've lived here almost a year now and have never had a cockroach in my apartment, or even so much as a silverfish in the bath tub.

Coinbase is not a bank. Or a financial institution. If it were, it'd have a charter and licenses. It's a merchant just like any other. You give them money in exchange for goods. No different than iTunes.

Whatever the "mission" of Dell might be, it's hilarious and sad that some people think that's a cause that deserves sacrifice.

I would prefer they get rid of waiters entirely and just have runners for the food. Then I can stop stressing about tips and grumpy waiters. In NYC, the waiter actually improves rather than detracts from my dining experience less than 5% of the time.

Literally discussed this idea with a friend this morning. Surreal.

Perhaps they should have hired someone who knew anything about food production. Instead they hired a frat buddy to be a Chief of Customer Success. Hope he has experience handling foodborne illnesses.

Yes. I actually got into confrontations with the leaf blowers once (the manager, and the property owner). I also called the police because they are clearly violating the city's own noise ordinance. Nobody cares, the owner called me and told me that it doesn't matter because the work day starts at X a.m. What about people who work odd shifts, or students?

Resistance is futile. I just started using wax earplugs and find they make a huge difference and actually drown out a lot of noise.

What's the value of reading books like this? Seems like a gossip rag. We look down at people who read celebrity tabloids but this is no different just because the drama happens inside an office.

And we don't hear about the flip-side, which is the fact that hundreds of thousands, if not millions, overstay their visitor visas every year. It's not fair to citizens nor is it fair to those going through the legal process of immigration. I work in immigration and was shocked myself at just how prevalent this is. Many work professional jobs without issue, even though they have no authorization to do so, living here for decades on an expired visitor visa. It's a much bigger problem than people crossing the border without inspection.

Okay. I am born and raised in the US and have lived here all my life. Not only have I never seen anything you described, I can't really think of a time I've even witnessed anything particularly bad happen or even had "bad things" happen to me. Not a car broken into, not a home, not luggage, no murders, not even a scream! And I'm dark and look Middle Eastern but have never faced racism (grew up in the whitest parts of the south/southwest) or even a police officer who was anything but polite. For a few months, I lived in one of the adored "utopian paradises" frequently praised on the internet, and was "randomly selected" for a bag search every single time I flew domestically.

Yes, I guess I'm fortunate, and I'm sorry bad things happened to you, and there are plenty of problems here, but, there are 330 million people in this country, most were either born abroad or their parents or grandparents were, and we all get along pretty fucking well.

Doesn't matter for me. I hardly get much deep sleep due to anatomical issues essentially blocking my airways. I can't afford the surgery (even though I have insurance) nor will my government contribute to it (even though it would increase my productivity multiple times over, meanwhile they throw trillions at universities offering useless degrees).

But yes, we have a culture that doesn't value sleep. I know of people who schedule emails to be sent in the middle of the night just so they appear to be working all the time. Construction can begin at 7AM in NYC, waking up hundreds of people in surrounding buildings. Gas leaf blowers emit one of the most stressful drone sounds out in the suburbs, causing stress to dozens of neighbors, so one man can clear a pavement of dead leaves quicker.

And just this morning over Manhattan, a helicopter hovered at 6AM for at least an hour. An hour, sitting there, hovering, for God knows what reason, awaking possibly thousands of people early, causing possibly millions in lost productivity today.

Eh, not really. They are "working with" a real estate developer. Sounds like they just made a deal, mostly for the marketing aspect, to promote it as "connected to the Facebook campus." Facebook is not building it, and all but 15 units will be available to the general public, not just FB employees.

Sure, they are the only ones, but does that mean it's morally or logically wrong? Theoretically a government spends a certain amount of money on each individual as they live, become educated, and work in the US. If they decide to leave the US to work abroad, they shouldn't get any tax revenue back from you? They do allow you to deduct taxes paid to your residence country.

Yeah, that doesn't mean a thing.

Are you kidding me? I don't even see a price for the subscription fee anywhere on that page. When you buy something, you expect to see a price when you checkout your shopping cart. Do you buy groceries and pay for things that don't show up on the register too?

People are conditioned to get enrolled in things like loyalty/rewards clubs that give points for purchases. No big deal. That's what this looks like if you happen to notice the block in the upper right corner. Most people ignore what's in that area anyways. You're full of shit.

You should lose your job for being unable to find a better investment for your clients' funds than a scam website.

See my post in the other thread about living in Qatar.

The exit visa is a system that legally enables indentured servitude. Any country that has this system (pretty much just Islamic mideast countries) should be shunned by the US and the UN (won't happen of course given the US has a couple of bases in Qatar and BP has a huge investment there).

I lived and worked in Qatar and none of this is new to me. These people are treated in horrible conditions and I don't think Qataris have a second thought about it. They genuinely believe they are superior people and are permitted to do this to those lower than them (I am generalizing, yes, there are some good people there, but this is the most pervasive mindset. Just look up horror stories of how Filipina maids are treated in Qatari households. Rape victimes are at the Philippines embassy there every day trying to get help).

It was a really terrible place, don't be seduced by the media coverage gushing about their wealth. It's very easy to be

This is a government that charges fines from their red light cameras in excess of a year of a laborer's salary. They then require an "exit visa" to depart the country, and you can't get the exit visa until all your debts are paid, and your employer gives you one. I knew of Sri Lankan cab drivers who were trapped for years in Qatar trying to pay off their fines so they could leave.

Even as a professional American your employer can abuse you if they feel like it thanks to the "exit visa" requirement. Oh, you're quitting? Fine, I'll keep your last paycheck, here's your exit visa. Nobody should take a country that has an "exit visa" requirement seriously! I could not deal with the pressure of my freedom literally being in my employers hands. I did not last there very long in this environment, I am never going back to that hellhole.

It's a government subsidy just like any other. It's a huge one, and many carriers are complaining about it. They argue Emirates should be charged extra fees for their US service because of unfair competition. I think that argument has merit given US carriers have to pay market price plus taxes on their jet fuel.

Emirates gets huge subsidies because its a goal of Dubai to become a world air hub. It certainly makes sense for them given their geographical position but I don't see how US carriers are supposed to compete with that.

Well, Delta did buy a refinery last year. It was a crazy move but I haven't heard much about how it's going since then.

Pretty much every airline offers exit row seats for something like $25 more or an "Economy Plus" that's a step up from economy but far from first class.

What he/she really means is that it's not profitable. Wet leases are used to fill in gaps for airlines, you don't build an entire airline out of wet leases. If you did you're not doing much other than being a middle man doing bookings for other airlines, and you probably won't be able to compete on price.

Major commercial air travel is a commodity business. Where opportunity lies is perhaps in offering air travel solutions that bypass the hassle of airports. Shuttles between SF, LA or Houston and Dallas for example. These are heavily trafficked routes with mostly business travelers who would love to avoid long security lines and drive right up to a plane at a small airport.

As someone who grew up in Texas, now lives in NY, just from my observations, I think the lower-middle classes live far better and seem to be less marginalized than they are in the NY area. Home ownership is very much a possibility even on a $30k income near the population centers of Texas.

Of course, this is just a personal observation.

IP and buildings are already counted in assets so I'm not sure where you are getting that from.

That's your own blog, I feel you should disclose that because the tone of your post makes it appear as if you're just a reader.

And reading that blog doesn't equal 1.25 million miles. I'd like to know what strategies you used.

I find #14 odd, as shiny luxury brands, especially fashion brands, are some of the oldest in the marketplace.

Wow, really. Charging money for a product is a crime now? We must shun this practice? Ridiculous.