Mark

Partner in Vantage Point Realty Ltd. Commercial Beekeeper. Builder of Things. Occasional Developer of Lands. Toe Dipper in STR.

[ADONIS @adonispara]

It will never not be funny to me that when Napoleon got stripped of his empire and exiled to Elba he responded by paving the roads, draining marshes, rebuilding the iron mines & ordered every house to install a toilet in just 2 months. "energy is a choice" he said.

[Mark @markthompsoner]

@rossiadam I don’t need to be rich, but I’d like to be able to stare off into the distance while I pump my gas.

[Mark @markthompsoner]

@landlawyerbrian I’m more of a fluorescent yellow guy myself

[Mark @markthompsoner]

@ThinkAppraiser More likely to rise than fall

[JT @jiratickets]

this might be the best tweet ever written

[Mark @markthompsoner]

@Jason A22

[Mark @markthompsoner]

@themaddierune Should have been a holdback of some closing funds to cover costs then have them towed.

[Mark @markthompsoner]

@japan_nobunaga Something tells me your English is a lot better than my Japanese. Makes it hard to criticize.

[Mark @markthompsoner]

@LandlordRescue FYI if you’re pulling in a lot of sediment etc these will last a fair while longer.

https://t.co/x0mFklHbnI

If you’re pulling in a LOT of sediment then something like this is your answer:

https://t.co/uqNxgQKyYi

Also don’t forget those UV bulbs only work for a year each.

[Mark @markthompsoner]

@rossiadam Next problem would be the hit to the ego when you’re not good enough for her

[Mark @markthompsoner]

@ronmortgageguy In our crazy high inflationary/money printing environment even running flat is actually a fairly significant decrease. Might be 5-10 years of that.

Doesn’t matter much if you’re going to live in it though

[Mark @markthompsoner]

@ThinkAppraiser It smells like cat piss but there’s no cat…

[NOBUNAGA🇯🇵🏯_夏樹蒼依 @japan_nobunaga]

I needed to move a sofa.

I mentioned this to an American. He said, "You know anybody with a truck?"

I did not know anybody with a truck.

He looked at me with real concern. Not pity. Concern. The way you look at a man who has told you he does not have a name.

"You gotta know somebody with a truck."

I asked how one acquires such a person.

He said, "You just do."

This is the third time I have received that answer in this country. It is the answer to everything here. You just do. There is no process. There is only the eventual fact of having.

He said, "Ask Kevin."

I do not know a Kevin. He said Kevin like I should. He said it the way you say a shared uncle.

I met Kevin four days later. Kevin owns a truck. Kevin does not own a truck for himself. Nobody owns a truck for themselves. Kevin owns a truck for a fifteen mile radius.

Inside I said: THIS MAN HAS TAKEN A VOW. HE DID NOT ANNOUNCE IT. HE SIMPLY PURCHASED A BED AND ACCEPTED THE CONSEQUENCES.

Kevin arrived on Saturday. He brought the truck. He also brought a second man.

I had not asked for a second man.

The second man's name is Tony. Tony came because Kevin came. Tony did not know me. Tony did not ask what we were moving. Tony brought gloves.

They moved the sofa in eleven minutes.

I offered them money. Both of them laughed at the same time, which felt rehearsed and was not.

I asked what I owed them.

Kevin said, "Buy the pizza."

That is the price. That is the entire economy. The truck costs one pizza and the pizza is not negotiable and the pizza is also not expensive and everyone knows what size.

Inside I said: THE FEE IS FIXED ACROSS THE ENTIRE NATION AND WAS SET BY NO ONE.

We ate on the floor because the sofa was against the wall and none of us wanted to be the first to sit on it.

Tony told me his daughter plays soccer. I asked if she is good. He said, "She's aggressive."

I still think about that.

Three weeks later, Kevin texted me.

"You free Sunday? Helping Tony move a fridge."

He did not ask if I wanted to. He informed me of a fridge.

Inside I said: I HAVE BEEN CALLED UP. I DID NOT ENLIST. THE PAPERS WERE FILED ON MY BEHALF.

I went. I moved the fridge. I have no truck. I contributed only arms.

Afterward, a man I had never met asked me if I knew anybody with a truck.

I said, "Yeah, I got a guy."

I have a guy.

I am somebody's guy now, too. Tony has told two people about me.

He describes me as "the guy who's strong for his size."

I have never been prouder of a sentence in my life.

[Mark @markthompsoner]

@CuriosityonX The

[Mark @markthompsoner]

@dig_deeper1 For All Mankind is another good one. The US lost the Space Race and then an alternate history resulted

[Mark @markthompsoner]

Gotta watch it. With mine stocks under $2/share don’t count as collateral and a few other rules. ETFs can be funny too. Can’t trade options either so no selling Covered Calls or buying short puts even though that’s totally safe and just a buying/profit taking strategy.

Still as a portion of a portfolio as a whole can be pretty handy.

[Kris Schnee @KrisSchnee]

@zillowgonewild That's not a property listing, it's a quest. "Adventurers, if you can wrest control of the Goblins' Den we will award it and its surrounding land to you! Beware, for the goblins are violent and lawless and I know not what traps await."

[Mark @markthompsoner]

@joeytee_ At least she’s good enough to give you a heads up and not just wait out the 3 months and surprise you… I’d pay her if it was me. It’s good karma.