VP

Here for the comments and occasional learning.

[VP @LushThinking]

Over the weekend I was at a yoga workshop with a fairly well known yoga master (in the US). Saturday he told us that he has the Bitcoin price widget on the computer screen and Sunday he told us bitcoin reached $80K (visibly happy).

Make of that what you will!

[VP @LushThinking]

@viceroyresearch "Regulators are looking 👀"! Brotha, they're looking at the complaint YOU filed last week. Citing that as proof is like calling 911 on yourself and reporting it as breaking news. More reports tomorrow, I'm sure.

[VP @LushThinking]

@michaeljmcnair @real_MikeBarnes great read!

[VP @LushThinking]

@Frugal_Saver @John_Stepek So I could no longer find the Wild Planet Sardines at my local Costco. They have another brand on display where the Wild Planet ones used to be.

[VP @LushThinking]

@Frugal_Saver @John_Stepek In the Costco app, a 6 pack of Wild Planet Sardines in olive oil (not lightly smoked) goes for $10.99, but stock is low. I should go to Costco tomorrow, and I will confirm store availability and price. I remember seeing the product last week, but I can’t recall the price.

[VP @LushThinking]

@Frugal_Saver @John_Stepek You’re correct, all variables must stay constant! Checkout the find below. I added 20 cans to the cart to make sure it’s not a spoof. Pricing stays the same wether I add 1 or 20 cans to cart: $2.47/ item.

[VP @LushThinking]

@Frugal_Saver @John_Stepek Heres a snapshot of my amazon account on 5/2 at 5:17pm central.

Do you think there are price differences based on location in US?

I was also at Costco, and the price of wild planet tuna (in water) was about $17 for 6 tins. That price has held steady for a number of years now..

[VP @LushThinking]

@jrcabral @pythonrocksnake @Empty_America We have a baby living in about 650 sqft. I know the couple above me will have a baby sometime this year, and they leave in a similar unit like mine.

[VP @LushThinking]

@TMTLongShort Are you familiar with @DeepThroatIPO articles? He’s written some very compelling arguments about Chinas stealth accumulation of US assets and how will they be weaponized.
If you’ve read his work, how does that impact your thesis?
PS. brilliant acumen in this admin actions so far

[VP @LushThinking]

@darenpa72 Excellent gif choice !

[VP @LushThinking]

@nnzp1730 Due to the frostbite he suffered there, he had blood circulation issues, and ended up having both legs amputated above the knee.

[VP @LushThinking]

@nnzp1730 Thanks. My grandfather was in one of the gulags as a POW; he spent about a year in camp. Died when I was 10, and I think he didn’t share much info about his time there.
My mom told me they were fed sawdust with water on the good days…

[VP @LushThinking]

@nnzp1730 What title do you suggest next?

[VP @LushThinking]

@nnzp1730 What title do you suggest next?

[VP @LushThinking]

@datarade Yep, would like to read it

[VP @LushThinking]

@thewoolshire Congrats on the milestones! I had ordered one pillow initially, and after a couple of weeks I ordered another 2 (toddler + regular) and got a hand written note with my delivery. A nice finishing touch!

[VP @LushThinking]

Beautiful story, made my eyes tear!

[Mr PitBull Stories @MrPitbull07]

"My name's Hank. I'm 66. I deliver propane to homes. Rural routes, farms, folks off the grid. I fill their tanks, check connections, drive to the next house. Most customers just sign the slip, barely look up. I'm just the propane guy.

But last February, during that brutal cold snap, I noticed something at the Miller place.
Pulled up to fill their tank, gauge showed empty. Completely dry. In 15-degree weather.
I knocked on the door. Mrs. Miller answered, three kids bundled behind her in coats. Inside the house.

"Ma'am, your tank's bone dry. How long you been without heat?"
"Four days." Her voice was steady, but her hands shook. "Bill's due Friday. We're waiting on my husband's paycheck."
Four days. Three kids. Fifteen degrees.
"Ma'am, I'm filling it now."
"I can't pay until"
"I'll mark it as a delivery error. Computer glitch. Nobody'll know."
She started crying. "Why would you do this?"
"Because those kids are wearing coats inside."

I filled their tank. Checked the furnace. Made sure heat kicked on before I left.
Drove away thinking about what I'd seen. Kids doing homework in winter jackets. A mom choosing between heat and food.

Started paying attention different after that. The elderly veteran whose tank was at 10%, he was rationing, keeping one room warm. The single dad whose payment was two weeks late, he'd been burning firewood he couldn't really afford.

I started doing something I shouldn't. When I saw someone struggling, someone who'd run out, someone rationing heat—I'd add 50 gallons. Mark it as "meter calibration" or "pressure test residual."
Small amounts. Enough to get them through.

Did it eleven times that winter. My boss noticed the discrepancies. Called me in.
"Hank, we're showing extra gallons delivered but not billed."
I told him the truth. Everything.

He stared at me for a long time. Then said, "My daughter was a single mom once. Chose between heat and groceries every winter. I wished someone had helped her."

He didn't fire me. Instead, he created something, "Warm Hearts Emergency Fund." Customers could donate. We'd match it. Use it for families in crisis who couldn't afford propane.

But here's what broke me, Mrs. Miller came to our office in May. She'd gotten a better job, caught up on bills.
She handed me an envelope. Inside, $200.

"For the next family. The one you'll find in February, four days without heat, trying to be brave for their kids."
She grabbed my hands. "Hank, my youngest has asthma. Four more days in that cold... I don't know if..." She couldn't finish.

Last winter, the Warm Hearts Fund helped 23 families. Not with handouts, with heat when they had none. With dignity when they felt broken.

And here's the thing, other propane companies heard about it. Started their own programs. Now there are "emergency heat funds" in six states.

But the moment that destroyed me happened last month. Got a call to deliver to an address I recognized, the Miller place.

Mrs. Miller answered. "Hank! Come in, please."
Inside, warm, kids doing homework at the table, laughing. She handed me a check. Full payment, plus extra.
"For the fund. But also..." She pulled out a drawing her youngest had made. Stick figure man with a propane truck. Caption in crayon: "Mr. Hank, my hero."

"She asks about you every winter. 'Is Mr. Hank making sure people are warm?'"
I'm 66. I deliver propane to houses nobody notices.

But I learned this- Cold doesn't wait for paychecks. And no child should do homework in a winter coat inside their own home.
So if you deliver anything, oil, propane, firewood, and you see someone struggling, someone empty, someone rationing,
Find a way. Mark it wrong. Call your boss. Start a fund. Do something.
Because heat isn't a luxury. It's survival.
And the difference between freezing and living shouldn't be whether your paycheck arrived on time.
Be the reason someone stays warm."
.
Let this story reach more hearts....
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Ai image is for Demonstration purpose only
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Credit: Mary Nelson

[MuddyWatersResearch @muddywatersre]

Mike Green is out with a follow up on last week’s banger. @ProfPlum99 last focused on Americans’ “income statement”-the income deficit of households. This week he addresses critics & attacks the “balance sheet” counterargument that HHs are wealthy 1/ https://t.co/AU1mwLvPY7