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Clark Griswold

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Everything posted by Clark Griswold

  1. Restless natives.
  2. On the subject of looking for greater rates of return on cash savings, I've thought about trying foreign currency CDs with Everbank Higher rates of return and diversification beyond the dollar but haven't pulled the trigger yet. Some currencies like the Indian Rupee can yield 6.25% for a 3 month CD but that yield come with a just a bit of risk.
  3. Another couple of critiques of the JSF / F-35 program https://medium.com/war-is-boring/ddccb57f0e43 https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monographs/MG1200/MG1225/RAND_MG1225.pdf
  4. Yep, saw that and was that at one time (except as an Lt), had car loans, boat loans, all the things I despise now... about 10 years ago I read one of Dave's books and was hooked... what really got me thinking about my own finances was when i was asked by a SrA to sign a car note letter for him his bank and it was for a new Corvette, it was so ridiculous that I started realizing that I was doing the same thing he wanted to do (I wouldn't sign it for him) and that was when I started to plug the holes in the boat and bail the water out...
  5. Cool, sorry to be preachy about it and I try to keep it in perspective, there are plenty of people who have their shit together but it pisses me off that there is no sense of shame with some people that have an education and should have a shred of decency not to encourage financial stupidity out the sea of mouth breathers, they just take advantage of all the future guests on the Maury Povich Show by getting them to take out pay day loans, roll from one car loan to the next and keep pumping out that bullshit that lotteries are good because they fund eduction.. ok, rant complete...
  6. Yep, built in margin for error and Murphy's Law... Not a fanatic but a fan of Dave so I'll just have to disagree with you... listen to his show and you'll see how uncommon common financial sense is... We used to encourage savings and taught basic personal finance in this country but somewhere about the time we decided that "greed was good" we said f it as a culture and just went pedal to the metal with credit cards, car loans, lotteries and all the other shit we use to keep at the margins and to a minimum... so, someone has to say the obvious now and teach basic financial skills In reference to Dave Ramsey and Primerica, he worked for them for 3 months when he was 22 years old and before he began doing and teaching his current financial strategy, he does not recommend them now for financial or insurance products That's a whole lot of pro-Dave Ramsey pixels but I can see how he may not appeal to everyone, but his method is simple, clear, low risk, appropriate for the average person in that it encourages no leverage or speculation that would require a good deal of financial speculation and sophistication and keeps nutbergers from thinking they are smarter than the casino... Not that I have a strong opinion or anything...
  7. Your prerogative and no judgement from me but others depend on me for food, shelter and cable tv... all the essentials of life, so you balance things out to live for today, plan for tomorrow and not leave chaos in your wake if you ride one in... The Baby Steps (Dave's plan) doesn't mean you'll always be on a financial diet but only for a period of time till your debts are gone, you've got two nickels to rub together and have figured out how to control your money... after that, within reason, live your life well...
  8. I'm in Home equity: 100K Cash on hand: 100K ( job instability right now so keeping a large emergency fund ) General investments: 10K Retirement investments: 200K 529s: 12K Property: 250K I put investing (retirement, college, etc..) at idle to help some family members get out of the hole but looking to start investing more heavily this year. Dave Ramsey is my co-pilot: Live on less than you make, don't buy stuff on credit (home is the 1 exception), save/invest a bit, give a bit to charity... rinse, lather, repeat...
  9. The political officer approves the new policy of "commitment" to EOT... The jobs program aspect of the AF is growing like cancer and getting to the point of overwhelming the actual military aspect of the organization.
  10. The MC-27J at the Paris Air Show
  11. No way, it's all good...
  12. Thread Revival https://www.janes.com/article/29948/cad-images-suggest-strike-version-of-shenyang-j-31 Strike version of the J-31.
  13. Drunk POS vs wife, the results are awesome...
  14. Yep, the odds are somewhere between not in a million years and not ever ever going to happen.. but interesting none the less... My two $0.02, the LAAR would be a good mission for the Guard/Reserve. Keep the planes and aircrew qual'd and current, break the glass and spin up when needed.
  15. Yep, it does not have the longest legs but that could be fixed, Conformal Fuel Tank. More money, but fixable. The Scorpion lists 150 NM to station - 5 hours on station - 150 NM home with a reserve so it may be the answer. LAAR Requirements: Rough field operations. Defensive package. Armored cockpit and engine. Long loiter time. The aircraft must be able to fly 5 hour sorties (with 30 minute fuel reserves). Range. The aircraft must have a 900 nautical mile (1600 km) ferry range. Data link capability. Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities. Weaponry. Looking at all of them and considering the financially austere future, I think it makes more sense to look at light jets for LAAR. The turboprops are good in uncontested airspace but once there is a significant threat they may need to be pulled back from the FEBA / AOR. If we decide to purchase more than a few for Partner Capacity Building training mission, we'll need an asset that can take part (realistically) in a conventional campaign also. Light combat jets like the L-159, Scorpion, M-346, etc.. seem to be a better overall investment than the pure COIN aircraft like a A-29 or AT-6. Be good at several missions rather perfect in only one.
  16. L-159 Advanced Light Combat Aircraft CAS, COIN, Light Strike and more survivable than the turboprops.
  17. More escalation... https://www.cnn.com/2013/12/13/politics/us-china-confrontation/index.html?hpt=hp_t2 https://freebeacon.com/chinese-naval-vessel-tries-to-force-u-s-warship-to-stop-in-international-waters/
  18. Yes it is suspect or bat shit crazy, take your pick, but the article only references an article in the China Times reporting on comments from the former Chinese UN ambassador, a lot of bluster and hyperbole but is indicative of how seriously the regime sees this, if it goes to a point that they can't back down because of losing face we better maneuver to either bloody their noses or let them have a show of force without changing anything in reality. This official, Zukang, is known for speaking his mind and not being very diplomatic (irony), proceed with caution. More suspect fodder... https://theaviationist.com/2013/08/12/future-japan-air-war/
  19. https://www.infowars.com/china-japan-conflict-could-lead-to-world-war-iii-warns-former-un-ambassador/ Not the most authoritative source but the drumbeat gets louder and louder...
  20. Interesting scenario but like Majestik Møøse I thought the little advanced capability given to the AN/APG-77 radar was unsat, it's designed for LPI operation so for at least the beginning of the BVR fight the 22's will have the advantage, not saying the Chinese couldn't detect them, specifically with their OEPS-27 EO system but it's better than the sim gives it credit for... More quibbling: All 6 AMRAAMs miss? Really? Still interesting
  21. Good read and read the Col Gerber's FP article that drove the critique... not sure if the Army is just going to continue to criticize Air-Sea Battle or co-opting is the new line https://breakingdefense.com/2013/10/army-shows-cheek-elbows-its-way-into-airsea-battle-hearing/
  22. Probably about 12k per hour when heavy... reference seems reasonable as the -46 is roughly equivalent to the 767-300ER in max takeoff weight but a bit smaller Some more numbers from another forum, seems pretty close to the -135
  23. Posted in another thread but relevant here also, Chinese Sharp Sword UAV makes first flight Drumbeat keeps going... From a good article referenced here on how and why China launches wars occasionally "Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai explained that the 1962 war was meant to “teach India a lesson.” Paramount leader Deng Xiaoping used the same formulation in 1979 when he became the first Chinese Communist leader to visit Washington and told America’s then-president Jimmy Carter that “Vietnam must be taught a lesson, like India.” I guess Japan is going to be "taught a lesson"
  24. First flight today of the Sharp Sward UAV... Drumbeat continues... which country will they use as a punching bag for a show of force demonstration?
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