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I guess since I let the cat slip out of the bag in the VA Loans post, y’all are due for an update. For those who care read on... For those of you who don’t know my story, the short version is came back from a deployment to find out my wife of over 10 years and high school sweetheart had been cheating on me. Once she got caught in the 2nd affair (I know now that there were more than just the two I caught her in) she filed for divorce but let me take the kids and move out of state. I swore then that I would never get married ever again. I did the single parent thing for a while and then randomly her and the boyfriend decide they are going to move to the city I and the kids are living. Then they start coming to my church, then the ex tries to sign up for the same bible study I had been going to. (Crazy, I know). I start dating a girl and the ex starts texting me news articles about her, that she had found online (nothing serious, just some school awards and pictures of her with her old boyfriend). I ended up breaking up with that girl and doing the tinder and bumble thing (for the eagle drivers out there, it’s like grinder but for guys looking for girls). I was on a trip at my airline and the captain saw me doing the whole swipe right thing and he challenged me to hang up the internet dating thing. His wife had left him and his son years ago. He had been in the same situation I was when a widow and her two daughters moved into the house next door. They ended up falling in love and getting married. He told me to trust that God had a plan for my life and he would bring someone into my life when the time was right. I ended up logging off tinder after being tired of dates with crazy nurses and girls looking to tie down any man who would take them. It was just around this time when I decided to sign up for a bible study at my church (the same bible study my ex tried to sign up for before the leader told her that it wasn’t a good idea for us both to be in the same class). On the first day of the Bible study I met the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Total smoke show. She had a very similar story to mine (married to a narcissist, serial cheater/liar, etc). I asked her out for coffee and we started casually dating after realizing we had so much in common. The best part was that both of us swore that we were never getting married to anyone ever, so there was no pressure at all. After a couple months, COVID hit and both our jobs became telecommuting and all of a sudden we were spending almost every minute of every day together. I prayed about where our relationship was going and it became very obvious that I didn’t want to live without her. Maybe it wasn’t fair to judge every female just because I made a mistake 15 years ago and married a crazy narcissist with serious mental illnesses. So I asked her to marry me and she said yes. I’ve never been happier. My parents love her, my kids love her and call her mom. She is just all around amazing. So I haven’t been around here lately because I’ve been pretty busy merging our lives together. Thank you all who supported me and encouraged me through a rather dark time in my life. I am always an open book so if anyone has any questions, feel free to send them here or PM me and I’ll be glad to answer them. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

Yep...and all of the failing banks and investment houses that were bailed out with taxpayer money in 2008 were also not based on anything fundamental. Still gets back to manipulation being okay for a certain group of people, but not okay for others.

I am happy for you but I also want to know more about the crazy nurses

My violence is "principled", and your violence is "terrorism". Protest should make people uncomfortable....unless those people are elected representatives of the people, in which case it is illegal.

Makes me think of Chapelle’s bit about why the hell people care what celebrities think. “Somebody get Ja Rule on the phone so he can make sense of all this!” But, in reality, seeing the sheer number of people talking about this makes me think more of one of my favorite books: Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, by Charles Mackay. It’s a nearly 200 year old book that talks about Tulip Mania, the South Seas Company, and the Mississippi Company and how average folks get swept up in get rich quick/can’t lose investments, as well as the aftermaths. Because the book was written in the 1840s, it doesn’t include the 1920s, the dot com, the housing bubble, and whatever we’re gonna call this next one, but it sure as hell seems to rhyme. It’s a good and quick read, for those that are interested. There’s a famous (if possibly made up) story of Joe Kennedy getting stock tips from the shoe shine boy on his way to work in 1929 and knowing the markets were toast. But, it does kinda hold true. When people you’d never consider talking about investments with are proffering investment advice, shit might be getting outta hand. Gamestop/AMC/Blackberry business models, financial pictures, and/or operating environments didn’t drastically change in the last month, so the absolutely astounding increases aren’t based on anything fundamental. Doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the ride or make money, but it’s not much more than going to Vegas and gambling. There will be losers. Just be careful out there. Caveat emptor.

The average investor is at such a disadvantage...especially when the ruling class is all in on it. Don't want to read the article...summary - The Pelosis bought Tesla call options right before Biden announced the entire government fleet was going to switch to EV. https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2021/01/10280347/nancy-pelosi-tesla-stock-investment-politicians-ethics

Ha. I knew that would come up. Here was the craziest one... Meet this girl on bumble, cute girl, she’s a nurse practitioner for a burn unit. We talk for a while and then I ask her to meet for lunch. All in all she seems pretty normal. We just didn’t really click over lunch in my opinion. I was pretty bored and I felt like I was having to carry the conversation. I tell her nice to meet her and get on with my life. A week goes by and she texts me asking how I was doing etc. Eventually it turns to relationships and she mentions how she can’t wait to get married and have kids, all guys are pigs, all they want is sex, etc, etc... How it was so refreshing that I didn’t try to sleep with her during our lunch date. I tell her that I think we may want different things, I can’t have anymore kids and I am never getting married but I am more than happy to be her friend but it would never be more than that. She says that’s totally fine, that is all she wants too. (Hmmm... okay, not what you just finished saying but that’s fine.) Maybe two weeks or so later I’m sitting on my couch on a Tuesday night watching Netflix. My kids are with their mom for the week, and Nurse girl texts me asking me what I am up to. We haven’t texted at all since the last conversation. I tell her I just ordered a pizza and am watching some opioid documentary on Netflix (my sister is a doctor and she told me it was good... it wasn’t). She asks if she can come over because she had been wanting to watch it. So I know that I am super naive about all this dating stuff. I met my ex in high school and was with her almost 20 years. So I say sure, I have nothing else going on. I give her my address. She shows up, we eat pizza, watch the documentary and it’s late and time for her to leave. (She says she has to be up at 4am for the hospital and it’s 10pm). The chick won’t leave my house and now she won’t shut up. She keeps going on about how cool it is that I am in the military and an airline pilot, how respectful I am, that I haven’t tried to kiss her (I’m just not into her at all, she’s really annoying). I ask her why would I try to kiss her, we had decided just to be friends and that there was no romantic chemistry. The most annoying thing she kept doing was after she would talk for a while she would go “hmmm” as if she was thinking about something and then look at me. I kept saying, well it’s late, you probably need to get some sleep, but it was like she didn’t even hear me. Finally after one of her “hmm” moments she starts leaning over to me. The tv is still on and the remote is by me on the couch so I think she’s reaching for the remote, nope! She leans over on me and starts kissing me. Because I was sitting facing her on the couch she pushes me backwards and basically crawls on top of me. I seriously didn’t know what to do. I freaked out and immediately thought to myself. “If I don’t let her down easy, this chick is going to say I assaulted her or something” (this happened to a guy in my guard unit). She slides her hand down to my jeans and starts to try to unlatch my belt. I tell her, “wow this is awesome, but I have to go pee”. She gets off of me and I run to the bathroom. She tells me when I get back she’s going to give me the best sex of my life (paraphrased and edited to keep this PG) Normally that would be awesome, but this chick is crazy and not in a good way. I take a couple mins to figure out how I am going to get her to leave without her destroying my life. I walk out of the bathroom and I go: “Sarah, I think your awesome and I would love to have sex with you tonight, but I feel like I haven’t healed from my divorce and I still love my ex-wife (barf). You kissing me made me think of her and how much history we had together. If you still want to date me, we definitely can try, but I think we are going to need to go really slow so I can get over my ex” I guess talking about your ex wife is the key because she is like “oh I wasn’t going to have sex with you” Then I deal with her crying and complaining about how all the bad guys want to bang her and how all the good, decent ones keep telling her they aren’t over their ex or that they aren’t ready for anything serious. Finally she leaves and although she texted me a couple other times asking me to come to her house or do stuff, I always had something else planned. I know some of you are probably thinking that sounds awesome and want her number... others think I am crazy for turning her down. I’m serious though, she was crazy-crazy. So that’s the story of how I almost got raped in my own house... Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

Your comment made me think of this tribalism cartoon from way back. Which applies to basically all facets of life.

It's a short squeeze, it is fundamental. Happened in 2008 to VW as well. Will GME be worth 326 (current price) in a month, almost certainly not. But it's not going to be $4 either. The fact it was shorted 140% is ridiculous, and when you get the chance to beat someone betting hard with a bad hand...I guess if they're a billionaire we're just supposed to walk away. Fuck that.

I like the part where she called for government funding to reprogram people. Nothing like a good old Pol Pot style communist reeducation camp.

Insert (sts), soft porn music while reading.

I once dated a nurse as well. Her name was Sarah....... hmmmm

Thanks brother! I saw the writing on the wall with my airline and jumped to a semi-full time guard job which quickly went to telecommuting. It was awesome. For almost 8 months I could work from home and date my future wife! Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

I don't have a problem with AOC's reaction. Seems like she's willing to work with the GOP in this issue, just not with the handful of Republicans that supported the rioters/insurrectionists and undermining our democracy. The fact that the GOP hasn't taken any action against those handful of Republicans points to a lack of principle on the GOP's part.

One question: which airline has gone to the telecommuting option? I'm beginning to think I may have fucked up with my choice of companies. Congrats, brother! Glad to hear things have smoothed out post-AD.

💎✊

Mark your calendar: Ted Cruz just agreed with an AOC tweet.

Supposedly the SEC is already investigating and they are looking at the Reddit folks as possible manipulators...I don't know the answer here but I do know the hedge funds have been acting as market movers for years, driving prices up or down based on their deep pockets...when they finally get a taste of their own medicine that has made them billions and billions of dollars, they scream bloody murder.

Yes. No, they won't hate us any less. Take a look at EU (and Britain) for an example of this. Am I being to obvious here (likely)?

Turns out none of that mattered, I was selected by AFRC to go to UPT from this month's board. Go figure! I was told extra slots opened up from what they originally predicted. Timeline Hired: Oct 2019 MEPS: January 2020 FC1: June 2020 AFRC Board: Jan 2021 OTS/UPT: Maybe Jan 2022?

If Republican and Democratic reps didn’t blacklist each other for crossing the aisle and actually legislating we wouldn’t have this problem. They stopped actually doing their jobs a long time ago, so Bush, then Obama, then Trump, and now Biden have way too much authority to act via EO. Honestly, why not use the tools provided? That’s not a statement of support for Biden, just a simple observation. If one part of the government isn’t going to do anything, why not get as much of it done on your own as you can? Also, If he maintains the pace, ok, something to be worried about, otherwise, he has a long way to go before it’s problematic. Back to the legislature not doing its job, I don’t predict much will change... Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I feel like this nurse story needs an alternate ending like... “So I walk out of the bathroom and say, “Best Sex eh? Prove it, because you don’t look like you’re good at it”. And that’s the story of how I died having sex in my own house.” Or something like that. Congrats Duck! I’ve walked a similar path and can appreciate where you are at now. 🍻

The mighty Gator! I remember it well. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

I have always said that everything happens for a reason, we just have to figure out what that reason may be. Congratulations on a happy and fulfilling life!! Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

That's not a known right now and I'd expect to see a few of them hiring next year, possibly later this year, though I'm skeptical on that. Either way, here's hoping they keep the shorter bonuses for the ARC, as many can not commit 5+ year bonuses.

Hate to say it, but if you want to talk about "fundamentals", just about all the major passenger airline stocks that have been artificially kept aloft for the last 10 months are kind of short on "fundamentals" as well. Trying to play that card to somehow make the Gamestop and AMC price increases invalid is thoroughly intellectually dishonest.

Dear Penthouse Forum (insert Duck nurse story here) Glad it all worked out bud Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’ve seen a pretty decent amount of AF people getting picked up by UPS/FedEx/Atlas. I think that while people are staying in for now, they seem to want to keep their options open, so I don’t see them taking 5 years at a significantly higher rate than before.

40 and counting...

AOC is simply a horrible human being... On the comedic relief front I found this too funny not to post.

I still prefer the Strutter Bubble!

Duck, probably some of the best news I've heard in a long time! I wish you all the happiness you deserve!

I followed your original divorce saga with empathy. Life works in mysterious ways. Sometimes for worse or if you can wait long enough without making a more dumber mistake, sometimes for better. Glad it worked out for you. There are many, many men out there who've gone through or are going through the same thing who may never be as fortunate. It is nice that both of you had similar experiences as it will enable you to appreciate the normalcy you never had with your ex. +1 for crazy nurses.

Heartfelt congratulations to you and your family!

So...Gamestop's been a fun ride.

Doesn’t seem that long ago! I actually still have my nav school charts somewhere. I’m a pack-rat apparently. Lol Saw a FB post from Davis-Monthan that showed the T-43s...the only plane that could be 13 places at once. Where each of the 12 studs thought they were...and the aircraft’s actual location.

Shit, typo...559th indeed. Small world my friend!

The only thing Ja Rule is outraged about is he didn’t buy low.

Wow. Makes Ja Rule’s Fyre festival disaster look like nothing.

Elizabeth Warren, AOC, Ben Shapiro, Trump, all on the same side. Robin Hood is about to get FUCKED.

Not sure what you listen to, because Shapiro was all over the riots at the Capitol. I suspect what you're really looking for is someone on the right to criticize the right in the same way that someone on the left would, but that's a silly expectation. Conservatives can only be compared to other conservatives, in this case, and when you compare someone like Shapiro or Weinstein to, say, Fox news, the difference is obvious. It's not like Trump has some sort of endless laundry list of problems. He's immoral in his personal life, uneducated on the issues, bad with his hiring decisions in many cases, and a terrible communicator to most of the electorate. I listen to Shapiro go off on those regularly. And there's zero comparison between the right and left insofar as defending their extremists. Democratic politicians tied themselves in knots doing everything in their power to minimize criticism of antifa and rioters over the summer. I've seen no such reluctance on the right to criticize white supremacists and rioters on the 6th. But part of this is that if you think government is the solution to many of our problems (leftist), you're going to find fault in any conservative message, and conservatives are going to seem very similar to you. Same goes for the right.

In many countries in Europe you are required to wear a purchased, disposable, medical grade mask at the moment. In some parts, it must be an FFP2.

Ted Cruz is on Twitter agreeing with AOC. Who would have thought that GameStop would have been the force that finally brings unity to politics?

Well, CNN blames this whole thing on Trump, yet AOC and Elizabeth Warren are on the side of retail buyers so this whole event has flipped lots of people onto sides we never thought they would be on.

I think that's the new administration's plan.

Free market! We don't need government oversight! /s Probably not a politician that (directly) entrusted it to that company. More likely is whatever office is managing the COVID response for bad risk management and (possibly) poor oversight, though they did terminate the contract within a day of concerns being raised. Hopefully their contracting official wrote a good contract (adequately defending government interests and defining breach penalties, though), though I'd bet not. Though we'll see how all that shakes out in court. The unfortunate thing is any leftover vaccine doses that company has are likely wasted (should the government trust that they maintained the vaccine appropriately with so much other signs pointing to general incompetence?) That company rightfully owns at least half the blame for over promising if not out right lying. The city does own the other half for not managing risk appropriately in their contracting process and their decision to do business with them. Sure, a politician might be ultimately blamed/have to own the responsibility, but there's still likely several layers of problems to fix.

Wow Bergman, that was many moons ago, but yeah I remember that. Guy Neddo, Sluggo Wilken was the guy I flew with a bunch and I also got to sim with him at Vance years later. The Billygoats, that old condemned building we were in, meticulously plotting hundreds of little red towers out of the Chart Update Manual and then accidentally spilling bleach on said towers and watching them disappear...good times. Easily the most fun phase of nav school back then. Way more fun than wandering around the western US at FL270.

Truly sorry for your loss.

Uhhhh.... This isn't just the Republicans. Democrats literally lied to everyone for 3 years that a Russian spy was running the nation's executive.

Yeah, way better than MEPS. Everyone at Wright Patt is there to help you succeed, not fail like at MEPS. Just be curteous and you'll receive the same back.