Know What You're Doing

2021-01-31 19:01:39UTC

The majority of people who have been pumping up GameStop's stock are going to take a wash when the price crashes. I believe this is a pump-and-dump scheme and the worst part is how devious it is.

The schemers have, in my opinion, taken advantage of the current social climate to mobilize retail investors against hedge funds (and, I suppose, short sellers) They've convince folks that they're part of a social event to take money from the rich and give it to the poor. This is made worse by public figures and politicians adding fuel to the fire for political and social gain.

Yes, hedge funds heavily shorting GameStop will lose. However, the fact of the matter is that GameStop is simply not worth the price it's trading at. Nobody actually wants to own GameStop. So, when the schemers inevitably dump their stock, they will make out like bandits. Yes, some others will get out while they can but everyone else is going to find themselves holding worthless stock and losing everything they invested in to it.

The brilliant part is that I'm not even sure it's illegal. The schemers may have convinced people to buy without deception, avoiding claims of fraud. They may have convinced people that GameStop is genuinely worth buying into, thus avoiding claims of market manipulation.

Personally, I strongly believe this is manipulation at best and fraud at worst. There are a number of highly dubious unsubstantiated claims on /r/wallstreetbets, a few of which have already turned out to be untrue. But otherwise, if you can convince a bunch of shmucks to literally throw away their money to make a social statement, man...that's a pretty brilliant scheme.

Utterly contemptable. But brilliant.

Power and Responsibility

2021-01-16 01:39:50UTC

One trick of the powerful is to give their subordinates more responsibility without also giving them a commensurate amount of power. That power is often dangled as a carrot for taking on the responsibility before hand.

Responsibility cannot be maintained without the power and agency to perform the required tasks. What this trick enables is the excusal of responsibility from those who actually have it. It passes the buck to subordinates.

Never feel obligated to take on more responsibility prior to climbing some sort of social ladder. Responsibility comes with climbing that ladder, not as a prerequisite to doing so.

Liberal Arts

2021-01-13 14:35:08UTC

Don't let people bully you in to specialization. If you would rather have a broad knowledge base instead of a specialized deep one, then do so. It's just as important.

Hoops

2021-01-11 13:15:27UTC

Man, people will jump through all sorts of elaborate, ornate, bedazzled hoops in order to justify their version of, "rules for thee, not for me."

Tacos

2021-01-07 09:07:55UTC

Today I learned shrimp have no business being in tacos.

Console Shapes

2021-01-05 19:30:31UTC

I think the PS5 is the silliest looking console since the PS3. I don't like the dimensions of the Xbox Series X, either.

What ever happened to flat rectangles? Just make a rectangle. I don't need the WinXP of console aesthetics.

My First Post

2021-01-03 23:14:46UTC

The older I get, the more I worry about shit. I need to find an acceptable middle ground between worrying for the future and contentment with the present. I think added worry just comes with the territory of getting older. As you live, you gain more to lose and therefore, have more to worry about.