Irish Taxi Forum

Public Area => Taxi Talk => Topic started by: Rat Catcher on January 06, 2021, 06:46:29 pm

Title: Free Stuff
Post by: Rat Catcher on January 06, 2021, 06:46:29 pm
Booked my LRA this morning - took 6 minutes from start to finish - and there's no charge either for the licence or the inspection. Happy days.
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Justin Time on January 06, 2021, 07:55:39 pm
LRA??
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Rat Catcher on January 06, 2021, 10:13:02 pm
Licence Renewal Assessment.
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Belker on January 07, 2021, 07:25:13 am
Taxi 'Suitability' test in layman's terms.
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Rat Catcher on January 10, 2021, 09:43:32 pm
I think you're confusing the LRA with the ISI, Ken.
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Shallowhal on January 10, 2021, 09:55:27 pm
I think you're confusing the LRA with the ISI, Ken.

If ye fail, is the retest free?
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Rat Catcher on January 10, 2021, 10:08:11 pm
No. There was a time when only immigrants failed but I believe they're failing men who are white and Irish by accident of birth as well now. Where will it all end... next the Gardai will be stopping us at checkpoints as well as the blacks, I guess... maybe judges will even start dishing out comparable sentences across racial divides?
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Shallowhal on January 10, 2021, 10:15:12 pm
So everyone will be failed so!! lol
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Rat Catcher on January 10, 2021, 10:18:16 pm
I doubt everyone will fail. I'd say they just have to fail one white Irish by accident of birth for every 10 blacks they fail or something like that. It's just that being white and Irish by accident of birth isn't a guarantee that you'll pass as it seemed to be up to a year or two ago.
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Belker on January 10, 2021, 10:36:44 pm
I think you're confusing the LRA with the ISI, Ken.
LRA is the correct term fer what used to be known as the SGS test as the company doing the testing at the time was SGS since moved to Applus. I still refer to it as Suitability.

What is the ISI ?
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Rat Catcher on January 10, 2021, 10:38:17 pm
Initial Suitability Inspection.
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Belker on January 10, 2021, 10:40:03 pm
ok, Thanks.

Did you pass LRA ?
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Rat Catcher on January 10, 2021, 10:42:37 pm
It's tomorrow. Only a couple of dents on the motor and they were there last year so I don't see why it'd fail. If it does (fail) I'll probably leave it for a few months at least given that there's no late renewal penalties. If it passes I might consider going back to work for a day or two a week to cover some of the expenses.
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Wingnut on January 11, 2021, 12:55:52 am
It's tomorrow. Only a couple of dents on the motor and they were there last year so I don't see why it'd fail. If it does (fail) I'll probably leave it for a few months at least given that there's no late renewal penalties. If it passes I might consider going back to work for a day or two a week to cover some of the expenses.

If the cases weren't so high at the moment I'd consider the same before I become a full blown alcoholic, need to get out to some sort of routine before I crack up. What a feckin year..
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: john m on January 11, 2021, 06:54:54 am
I WOULDNT BE IN ANY HURRY BACK TO WORK .WITH NO FARES AND Ireland announces a massive surge in coronavirus cases and breaks the infection record of the US and the UK in recent weeks.

Ireland records the worst coronavirus infection rate in Europe, recording more than 45,000 new cases at the start of the New Year.

According to the new statistics compiled by Johns Hopkins University and online scientific publication of Oxford University, Ireland has noticed a significant increase in infection rates than other European Nations and the United States, reported by The Irish Times.

Ireland documented 1267 cases per million, based on the recorded cases during the seven days of January.

In early December, the country had the least infection rate in Europe, an average of 50 cases per million.

However, the US recorded 734.9 cases per million and the United Kingdom documented 881.3 cases per million dealing with the contagious strain of the virus. 

Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Rat Catcher on January 11, 2021, 11:35:18 am
It'll be grand once the weather improves, Wingnut. Enjoy the time off and enjoy not "having" to fork out for foreign holidays!
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Rat Catcher on January 11, 2021, 11:39:54 am
Ireland records the worst coronavirus infection rate in Europe, recording more than 45,000 new cases at the start of the New Year.

...

Ireland documented 1267 cases per million, based on the recorded cases during the seven days of January.

However, the US recorded 734.9 cases per million and the United Kingdom documented 881.3 cases per million dealing with the contagious strain of the virus. 



Let me get this srt8. You're saying that Mehaul cunt has done a worse job than Donald Trump and Boris Johnson... in fact not far off being as bad as that pair of morons combined?

Bring back Dr. Leo. Dr. Leo was great so he was...
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Rat Catcher on January 11, 2021, 04:11:04 pm
My vehicle passed the assessment so that's that for another year.
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Shallowhal on January 11, 2021, 04:15:02 pm
My vehicle passed the assessment so that's that for another year.

Are ye still payin full whack for insurance?
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Rat Catcher on January 11, 2021, 04:24:03 pm
I am at the moment but I guess another 3 month suspension will be an option - assuming the allowance is 3 months per annual licence.
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Shallowhal on January 11, 2021, 04:44:24 pm
I don't know why ye don't go out and do a few hours a day....like ye used to....and become a super spreader...and i don't mean your waistline!!
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Rat Catcher on January 11, 2021, 04:46:35 pm
I am tempted but just to earn enough to cover expenses and the money that Mehaul cunt took off my puppy dole... if only to teach that Mehaul cunt a lesson - although looking at the latest numbers even the slowest of slow learners woulda learnt that lesson by now. I guess that's what happens when we appoint someone who might have been good - not in a Kilkenny County way, in the context of some backward parish in the arsehole of Cork - with a hurly stick a couple of decades ago to guide us through a medical pandemic.

Bring back Dr. Leo. Dr. Leo was great so he was...
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: mercenary for hire on January 11, 2021, 05:05:06 pm
Bad advice..deleted.
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Rat Catcher on January 11, 2021, 05:14:34 pm
Grrrr... I was happy to turn €30 into €191 by cashing out half of my bet on Gary Anderson when he got to the final of the darts world championship. Admittedly, I woulda been a lot happier had he won. However, what you deleted would be right up my street if I could motivate myself. Since lockdown I've substantially reduced screen time in favour of more real world activities like DIY and appreciating one's surroundings. I did have a nice little gambling scheme going a few years back where I wrote an app to pick horses for me to back. I didn't make a whole lot but enough to prompt practically every licensed bookmaker in Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to close or severely restrict my accounts... the "scheme" was dependent on the ability to shop around so accounts with a relatively large number of firms was a necessity. Ah well... better to have tried and failed, I guess.
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Rat Catcher on January 11, 2021, 05:26:07 pm
I would offer one word of advice though, MfH - Discipline.

If you can stick to what logic dictates you're more than half way there. Logically you're going to lose on some "investments" - in the case of sports/horse betting you're going to lose more frequently than you win. That's why gamblers make the worst gamblers, the dreaded instinctive chasing of losses.
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Octavia1 on January 11, 2021, 05:27:52 pm
Grrrr... I was happy to turn €30 into €191 by cashing out half of my bet on Gary Anderson when he got to the final of the darts world championship. Admittedly, I woulda been a lot happier had he won. However, what you deleted would be right up my street if I could motivate myself. Since lockdown I've substantially reduced screen time in favour of more real world activities like DIY and appreciating one's surroundings. I did have a nice little gambling scheme going a few years back where I wrote an app to pick horses for me to back. I didn't make a whole lot but enough to prompt practically every licensed bookmaker in Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to close or severely restrict my accounts... the "scheme" was dependent on the ability to shop around so accounts with a relatively large number of firms was a necessity. Ah well... better to have tried and failed, I guess.

I found this guy surfing one day an I had a go ....he used to put all the horses in order of statistics likely to win ....
For example if a trainer at a local course had a habit of winning at a huge price in December say wit a particular jockey ....that  fact aud be picked up by the computer .....all info was typed into a computer program.....
The results wer unbelievable...his only stipulation was that yu consider donating some of yur profit to a hospital in england that he ran marathons for ....wen he stopped a few yers ago i never had a bet after cause the bookies had the advantage of ther computers/ info etc....

Ther is still some great info ther if yu are prepared to study statistics...
http://www.adrianmassey.com/web1/index.php (http://www.adrianmassey.com/web1/index.php)
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: mercenary for hire on January 11, 2021, 05:28:20 pm
Ah glad you read it RC I wouldn't recommend to everyone but there's a bit to be made on the stocks if you're careful and don't mind a bit of risk.

I started it to get myself money for my next taxi but it's addictive after a steep enough learning curve.Somoene like yerself could be very successful.
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: mercenary for hire on January 11, 2021, 05:35:18 pm
I would offer one word of advice though, MfH - Discipline.

If you can stick to what logic dictates you're more than half way there. Logically you're going to lose on some "investments" - in the case of sports/horse betting you're going to lose more frequently than you win. That's why gamblers make the worst gamblers, the dreaded instinctive chasing of losses.
Yes I need to be more decisive and learn to take profits instead of going to bed and walking up down a few grand.I've a lot to learn but the computers have the edge all the time.
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Rat Catcher on January 11, 2021, 07:19:22 pm
It's when you feel you have to recoup the few grand because you made a "mistake" - with no rational regard for any cumulative profits - that you're in trouble! If you can take the hit, maybe learn something from it and move on you're laughing.
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: mercenary for hire on January 11, 2021, 08:15:34 pm
Yeah that makes sense RC.I'm not liking what's happening right now in the states.Gonna keep the cash on standby tonight and see what happens next.Probably nothing but still I'll sleep better.
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: john m on January 11, 2021, 08:15:45 pm
Simplest way to make a few notes is to lay every odds on Favourite in Ireland .But its Disiplin when your a few notes up you lose interest and start looking for your kicks forgeting that what you are trying to do is run a business for profit .DISIPLIN is the secret and 99% of punters dont have it .
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: john m on January 11, 2021, 08:17:02 pm
You Day trading Merch?
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: mercenary for hire on January 11, 2021, 08:23:38 pm
Kinda John..sometimes I keep something for minutes.More like swing trading. I'm determined not to lose my winnings.Need it to buy a car!

Occasionally I've made more from buying thousands of volatile penny stocks than from the likes of Tesla/apple etc..I'm losing me bottle lately so might wait to see if things get cheaper.Been lucky so far.
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: john m on January 11, 2021, 08:29:24 pm
IF you knew how to time it the Techs will crash like a new Boeing 737 Max if Trump repeals section 230 and makes the likes of Face book .Twitter .all responsible for what they post .Europe and Austrailia are looking at legislation the Democrats are anti free speech so might egg trump on to land a Bollock Kick to Social media .Unfortunatly he will probably do it after the markets close .If he takes them on the whole market will crash .Like you say its probably time to pocket your coin
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: mercenary for hire on January 11, 2021, 08:38:09 pm
Yes without access to after hours and premarket in the US I'm at a disadvantage.Everything has gone up so much since March that a huge 30% correction would still only bring us back pre-pandemicic prices.See how tomorrow goes.

Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: john m on January 11, 2021, 08:58:57 pm
He goes for one of them sheets of paper with his big signiture and Presidential orders Social media the bubble could burst and 30% correction might be a blessing .If I was shorting Two they would be Tesla 800 billion for a company that has the Market for EV almost all to itself but still cant make a profit .Its a Ponzy like Enron you have to be in it although you know its going to implode .As soon a Mercedes and Ford and GM get their EVs developed they dont have the same tooling costs as Tesla as they have the Production facilities and more importantly STAFF .Elon is depending on China for to many of his parts .

The other is IBM still valued as if it is still the world leader but has long been overtaken by Google and Apple .

Look at some of the big Ponzys Enron .Maydoff Sanford or the biggest fuck up The Bunker Hunts trying to corner the Silver Market in the 80s .If trump wants to make billions all he needs to do is short the market get all his mates to play then he attacks it .You can make money if the markets go up or down just depends on what side you are on .

P.S.Trump has made most of his coin by failing and failing to pay .His art of the deal is based on failure so why not make the stock market fail ?
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Octavia1 on January 11, 2021, 09:06:12 pm
Simplest way to make a few notes is to lay every odds on Favourite in Ireland .But its Disiplin when your a few notes up you lose interest and start looking for your kicks forgeting that what you are trying to do is run a business for profit .DISIPLIN is the secret and 99% of punters dont have it .
Johnny....if that wer true ..
..thered be thousands millionaires in  track suits all over the country .....I've bein in bookies wer most them just back favourites .......
Nobody gets away from the bookies alive ......that's why paddy power hires the brightest to run his shops from
Clonskeagh an the like ....hes more blokes working behind closed doors watchin everything an the only way to beat the bookies at horse racin.....
.is to be a trainer wit an intravenous needle  up his sleeve that he  use to inject the horse up the arse wer it's less detectable
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: john m on January 11, 2021, 09:17:04 pm
Occi I worked for most of Irelands Best bookies .You cannot underestimate Loyalty .Passion .and Stupidity but the biggest earner for the bookie is Loyalty You price horses trained by the best trainers and owners shorter than others because people will back them anyway .I had a touch one time for fun just to prove a point .Kildare were 2/5 to win the all Ireland Galway were 3/1 in Dublin bookies .I had 200 on Galway @3/1 then bought a Kildare jersey on O Neills on the Longmile and we went to Galway for the weekend .Went into a pub got slagged for me Kildare Jersey told lads my great grandfather on me mothers side won an all Ireland with Kildare and had a load of 20 pound bets with the locals that Kildare would win .Galway won the Game I lose about 240 on the day to the Galway Men paid up they bought me drink for 3 days .I then came home and collected my 800 from the bookies all I did was cover my stake and used Loyalty to get the best odds .Thats what the Bookies Do Aiden O Briens first Two year old runner will be odds on It usually loses .
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Octavia1 on January 11, 2021, 09:30:19 pm
Occi I worked for most of Irelands Best bookies .You cannot underestimate Loyalty .Passion .and Stupidity but the biggest earner for the bookie is Loyalty You price horses trained by the best trainers and owners shorter than others because people will back them anyway .I had a touch one time for fun just to prove a point .Kildare were 2/5 to win the all Ireland Galway were 3/1 in Dublin bookies .I had 200 on Galway @3/1 then bought a Kildare jersey on O Neills on the Longmile and we went to Galway for the weekend .Went into a pub got slagged for me Kildare Jersey told lads my great grandfather on me mothers side won an all Ireland with Kildare and had a load of 20 pound bets with the locals that Kildare would win .Galway won the Game I lose about 240 on the day to the Galway Men paid up they bought me drink for 3 days .I then came home and collected my 800 from the bookies all I did was cover my stake and used Loyalty to get the best odds .Thats what the Bookies Do Aiden O Briens first Two year old runner will be odds on It usually loses .
Do yu know wats up wit us johnny ?
Wer lazy cnuts .....
I sold a paintin today for 500 euro .....
I could get up in the morning and paint from 9 in the morning
Till 6 at night an ide start making a wage ....ide start treating it like a job an I cud stop worrying bout the car parked outside full of cobwebs costing me money .....but I'm just too lazy
The only difference between me an van goch is .....he was a obsessive hard working nut job .....an I'm a lazy cnut nut job ...talent has sweet fuk all to do wit it ....its hard work ....in his case drivin by mental illness ....but you as a fellow taxi drivers mensa member scientific mind sort of person tingy know that energy cannot be destroyed nor created .....
If you put yur time into any pursuit you'll get results .....
If merco studies them stocks and shares obsessively .....he can make a very good living at it ......
But thinkin yull make money out o horses is for the birds
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: john m on January 11, 2021, 09:42:36 pm
Occi its Procrastination Syndrome Two main causes We never competed in any sport as a kid so never learned to win or we are under the impression that we are smarter than the average Joe .Most successfull people are fairly mediocre .You look at most musicians none of them would get a second seat in an Orchestra but they are driven same with most successfull business people wouldnt answer a few general knowledge questions on University Challenge but know or invented their own business .Its not laziness its something deeper than that .
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Punter on January 11, 2021, 09:56:18 pm
Tesla--This is NOT a punt on EVs as some on here think--its a punt on Musk and his brain --how many know that he has a factory producing cars that's carbon neutral and totally self sufficient virtual costs nothing to run, bar staff --the cars are heaps, spoke to a wide mush last week a 5/6 y/o Tesla is worth zero no self respecting dealer would take it in /sell it ! 

Now I have been a Punter for over 50 years lost and won fortunes, had 15k on a loser in the Park in 80s and left meeting winning 2k,and I can tell you its no claim to fame but I could still have a couple on grand on one I fancy but seldom do --long-term you don't win  ,maybe monetary you survive but the effect on your mindset leads to major disruption in relationships and your ability to connect with others !
Been on both sides of the counter regarding Bookmaking --there is a saying --"how to make a million being a Bookie --start with two !"
Check with Ken --Cashman's biggest cash Joes in Cork for years and now like me he is driving a Joe and works to keep his head half right--no millions there either but great stories ,regrettably they are not cashable   !

One of my kids got paid off a few quid early last year and he gave it to me to manage --I bought Applegreen @2.08,Aryzta @34 and ICL @3.10 ,made him sell ILC @level after 8 MThs, sold the bakery @72 and rebought @51--now 68 and Applegreen taken out @5.75 ,coped about 9k for year for 5 k investment !
I couldn't but a share for myself  as twice I did it for big dough and lost 6 figures so never tried since !

I have seen certainties beaten and I have learned that the taxi industry when it was flying was the best time of my life to make cash--time is gone regrettably so I am retraining @65 y/o to join my Son in his business of Training others as there are  a lot of Punters out there who business is fucked and to keep their PUP /Welfare they will have to retrain !

I have two shares in my mind for this year but havent bought them yet--will post with reasoning when I do !

Now for all who think I am Bananas, I don't really care  I only post here if I think I can be of assistance so here is my last piece of information, buy FT on a Sat --4 Euro and you get the fairest most concise reporting across the world and its not all financial--The Sundays lift a lot with the Red Tops rehashing it on Mon Tues  --I got 4 hours out of it yesterday ! 
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: john m on January 11, 2021, 10:31:32 pm
80s beaten in the Park .Was it Babba Karam ?I left the park that day crying Asmussen was muck .

I bought BOI and AIB a few years back trebled me money and cashed out .I wouldnt invest a cent in the stock Market until Trump is dead .Seriously I think he will knock the USA back into the 1950 where men were men and women did what they were told and Blacks knew their place .Think most Americans have woken up to the fact they will never use their nukes if they do the Chinaman or Russia will take them out So now they have to look at their second rate multi losing Army and they realize they have never won a war unless you count the Spanish American War when they won California or the Civil war when half the country lost to the other half .So thats what Donny T wants to refight the Spanish/Mexican wars and the Civil war so Bubba and Cletus can chaw tobacca and drink burbon on the veranda while Ellie May cooks Grits .Remember America is a Bastard State of ununited States the Attack on the Capitol was reminiscent of the Attack on the Cremlin when Gorbichof was in power .The reason the Attack on the Capitol was ALLOWED go ahead was the establishment did not want TANKS rolling through the streets of Washington like Tieanamin Square .Remember what happened after the attack on the Kremlin the USSR fell appart .I posted up here a long time ago American troops will shoot American Citizens and British Troops will be out on the Streets of Britain to shoot and kill british Citizens just like they did in Belfast which is a British City .
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Belker on January 12, 2021, 06:27:46 am
Tesla--This is NOT a punt on EVs as some on here think--its a punt on Musk and his brain --how many know that he has a factory producing cars that's carbon neutral and totally self sufficient virtual costs nothing to run, bar staff --the cars are heaps, spoke to a wide mush last week a 5/6 y/o Tesla is worth zero no self respecting dealer would take it in /sell it ! 

Now I have been a Punter for over 50 years lost and won fortunes, had 15k on a loser in the Park in 80s and left meeting winning 2k,and I can tell you its no claim to fame but I could still have a couple on grand on one I fancy but seldom do --long-term you don't win  ,maybe monetary you survive but the effect on your mindset leads to major disruption in relationships and your ability to connect with others !
Been on both sides of the counter regarding Bookmaking --there is a saying --"how to make a million being a Bookie --start with two !"
Check with Ken --Cashman's biggest cash Joes in Cork for years and now like me he is driving a Joe and works to keep his head half right--no millions there either but great stories ,regrettably they are not cashable   !

One of my kids got paid off a few quid early last year and he gave it to me to manage --I bought Applegreen @2.08,Aryzta @34 and ICL @3.10 ,made him sell ILC @level after 8 MThs, sold the bakery @72 and rebought @51--now 68 and Applegreen taken out @5.75 ,coped about 9k for year for 5 k investment !
I couldn't but a share for myself  as twice I did it for big dough and lost 6 figures so never tried since !

I have seen certainties beaten and I have learned that the taxi industry when it was flying was the best time of my life to make cash--time is gone regrettably so I am retraining @65 y/o to join my Son in his business of Training others as there are  a lot of Punters out there who business is fucked and to keep their PUP /Welfare they will have to retrain !

I have two shares in my mind for this year but havent bought them yet--will post with reasoning when I do !

Now for all who think I am Bananas, I don't really care  I only post here if I think I can be of assistance so here is my last piece of information, buy FT on a Sat --4 Euro and you get the fairest most concise reporting across the world and its not all financial--The Sundays lift a lot with the Red Tops rehashing it on Mon Tues  --I got 4 hours out of it yesterday !
Good post 'Punter', delighted that I got a personal mention !
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Belker on January 12, 2021, 06:37:17 am
Simplest way to make a few notes is to lay every odds on Favourite in Ireland .But its Disiplin when your a few notes up you lose interest and start looking for your kicks forgeting that what you are trying to do is run a business for profit .DISIPLIN is the secret and 99% of punters dont have it .
The three main reason's fer successful gambling are; "Discipline", "Discipline" and "DISCIPLINE" !
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: silverbullet on January 12, 2021, 12:41:13 pm
I think Bob posted regarding Bitcoin:

Fortune
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FINANCE BITCOIN
Bitcoin tumbles 20% in worst crash since March
Bitcoin crashed from its recent all-time high of $42,000 as investors took cover.
BY JEFF JOHN ROBERTS
January 11, 2021 10:01 AM EST

The week is off to a bearish start for cryptocurrency as the price of Bitcoin fell nearly $10,000 from its Friday high of nearly $42,000, temporarily ending an unprecedented rally.

On Monday morning, Bitcoin was trading under $33,000—a more than 20% drop from its recent high—while some other cryptocurrencies fell still further.

The fall in crypto value comes amid a broader retreat on Monday for stocks, and a resurgence in the U.S. dollar.

While Bitcoin’s latest price tumble is dramatic in percentage terms, it is well shy of the wipeout that occurred last spring at the outset of the pandemic. In March, the digital currency fell nearly 60% to a low of around $3,800.

This week’s price collapse is also just the latest in Bitcoin’s long history of crashes, which have defined the currency since it launched in 2009. Other notable setbacks include a fall from $29 to $2 in 2011, and the popping of the 2017 bubble, which saw Bitcoin bottom out near $3,000 after hitting a then-record high of nearly $20,000.

The current price retreat does not appear to be tied to a specific event but seems instead the result of a combination of profit-taking and simple financial gravity. Bitcoin first broke $20,000 in December and has since been on a dizzying run that saw it eclipse $40,000 last week.

All of this led Bank of America to speculate that the current Bitcoin run is “the mother of all bubbles.” Other voices of caution include the U.K. financial regulator, FCA, which issued an unusual warning on crypto investments that noted, “If consumers invest in these types of product, they should be prepared to lose all their money.”

The FCA warning did not appear to be directed at Bitcoin but rather at the broader cryptocurrency environment, which has long been marred by fly-by-night companies and outright scams.

This week’s price collapse also seems to have had a knock-on effect on public companies with exposure to crypto prices. These include Riot Blockchain, which builds software for crypto firms, and security firm MicroStrategy, which has bought hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Bitcoin for its corporate treasury. Shares of the two firms were down over 20% and 10%, respectively, on Monday.

The news is not all bad for crypto fans. Last week, J.P. Morgan predicted the price of Bitcoin could hit $146,000 as more big firms embrace it as an alternative to gold. Meanwhile, longtime bulls—some of whom have likened Bitcoin to the indestructible honey badger—are likely to regard the current price swoon as an inevitable correction rather than an existential.


Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: silverbullet on January 12, 2021, 12:50:17 pm
WHEN THE SHOESHINE BOYS TALK STOCKS IT WAS A GREAT SELL SIGNAL IN 1929. SO WHAT ARE THE SHOESHINE BOYS TALKING ABOUT NOW?
(FORTUNE Magazine)
By JOHN ROTHCHILD
April 15, 1996
(FORTUNE Magazine) – JOE KENNEDY, a famous rich guy in his day, exited the stock market in timely fashion after a shoeshine boy gave him some stock tips. He figured that when the shoeshine boys have tips, the market is too popular for its own good, a theory also advanced by Bernard Baruch, another vested interest who described the scene before the big Crash:

"Taxi drivers told you what to buy. The shoeshine boy could give you af the day's financial news as he worked with rag and polish. An old beggar who regularly patrolled the street in front of my office now gave me tips and, I suppose, spent the money I and others gave him in the market. My cook had a brokerage account and followed the ticker closely. Her paper profits were quickly blown away in the gale of 1929."

Are we at the same fatal stage in the market today, when people who aren't expected to have stock tips have stock tips, including hot dog vendors, shoeshine boys, the homeless, pedicurists, barroom dancers, toll takers, and the trumpet player at the racetrack? Will stock prices fall off the cliff under the weight of enormous popularity?

A team of journalists (myself and reporter Melanie Warner) did an informal survey, with her in Manhattan and me at the other end of the East Coast, in Key West. She stopped the first cop she saw in Midtown and asked him for a stock tip. He said he owned Argentinian Telephone but couldn't recommend it, because in two years Evita Bell was off 35% and he was waiting for a rally so he could sell it. Otherwise, he's wary of stocks, but he did have a tip: Planet Hollywood, soon to be taken public. "I see all the people in there," he says, parroting a Peter Lynchism to buy where the crowd is thick. At this point we ask, Is it bad for equities when a cop who owns a stock he doesn't like recommends a stock he's afraid to buy?

At 51st and Broadway, Melanie encountered a Starbucks frothmeister in a dull moment between tall skinny decaf cappuccinos. She expected him to tip her off to Starbucks, but he didn't mention it. The last stock he owned was Amgen, which he got scared out of after two stock splits, although what was scary about a stock split he never explained. At the moment, his only exposure to equities is the Dreyfus Global Growth fund, so she was two for two with people invested abroad. Does this mean the end for the foreign markets?

The Starbucks guy finally did give a tip of sorts: a stock he wouldn't name. "It's a housewares company, but it isn't on the market yet, so I can't really talk about it," he said, sounding like a chastened Jeff Vinik.

A carpenter on a billboard crew dropped what he was doing to give a rundown on his portfolio: Pfizer, Intel, Disney, Morton International, GE, Olin Chemical, EuroDisney, and a few mutual funds. His one regret in the group is EuroDisney, down from $18 to $3. "My 8-year-old daughter might see a profit in that one, but I won't," he lamented.

The ID checker at a fitness club had sunk $5,200 in a Fidelity blue-chip fund with mediocre results. He also owns a little IBM, Coke, and U.S. Steel on the side, and he's looking at AT&T, Citicorp, and pharmaceuticals as potential buys. He thinks of the stock market as "almost like an ATM machine," which ought to ring Baruch's alarm bell, except that at the moment the ID checker is less than 100% bullish. He's bearish on high-tech stocks and Internet fads.

Finding a shoeshine boy on a corner proved impossible. Along with the paperboys, the shoeshine boys have been replaced by grownups who have moved the business indoors. Melanie tracked down a group of them who work the stirrups in a shoe repair shop. They had no stock tips. Even their agents who stand at the counter and handle the money had no stock tips. "We've got socks, not stocks," they told her. Only one man admitted to owning a mutual fund, and he said he sold out several years ago, just before the fund took off.

On the Key West pier, where vendors of all stripes assemble at sundown, stock tips were scarce. The biker with an iguana on his shoulder had no stock tip, nor did the juggler, the clown, the magician, the guy with three house cats, the earring vendor, or the snow cone salesman. The tarot card reader shook her head in bewilderment at the mention of Wall Street. The guy selling velvet sunset scenes had this advice: "Stay as far away from brokers as possible." I got a positive response from the proprietor of the Mail a Coconut booth, who said he was long technology stocks and got out with a big profit last December, about the same time the Fidelity Magellan fund was doing the same.

Based on our informal poll, the market has a way to go before everybody has a stock tip, although in New York City only the shoeshine people seem to lack one. The fact that Wall Street hasn't taken a shoeshine operation public is itself a sign that speculation is not as rampant as it could be. Still, we're a long way from 1982, when the Dow was below 1,000 and even the brokerage firms didn't have a stock tip.

Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Punter on January 12, 2021, 12:54:13 pm
John M ---80s beaten in the Park .Was it Babba Karam ?I left the park that day crying Asmussen was muck .

No it was a unraced 2 y/o --Heavens Nook trained by JSB, who raced the following weeks in Leopardstown and Curragh @ 8/1 and 12/1 cleared over 20K !

Park Express won the Park Stakes that day in the Park 7/1--my get out of jail card !

I was on some roll at the time !
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: john m on January 12, 2021, 01:39:51 pm
My worst best day .Leopardstown the first Sunday Racing televised  Backed the first 6 winners 7th race was a Pro Am Sweepstakes race it was a set up down to two contestants .All White of Welds and Rising of Prendergasts .It was a job Rising was owned by the fella who owns the hotel on the Curragh .I went out with £40 up just under 2000 when I met a rep I knew From Conatys who supplied the Pubs he told me it was a job .I was going to lump on All White @ 11/10  Rising was 5/4 so I lumped on Rising he won by half a length but got disqualified for interference inside the last furlong .I went home with my £40 notes as I had separated my stake from my winnings I still do that .That was about 1980 .£2000 then was a fortune but when your on a roll you get carried away .
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: mercenary for hire on January 12, 2021, 01:56:10 pm
^About the stock market everything is being driven up by negative interest rates and access to trading apps by everyone with a smartphone. Especially in the US where many are commission free.Everytime they give stimulus money it ends up traded on apps.

Everything is still going up for now but the hardest part is to get out before the plane smashes into the ground.Could be tomorrow...could be next year.

Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: john m on January 12, 2021, 02:02:05 pm
^About the stock market everything is being driven up by negative interest rates and access to trading apps by everyone with a smartphone. Especially in the US where many are commission free.Everytime they give stimulus money it ends up traded on apps.

Everything is still going up for now but the hardest part is to get out before the plane smashes into the ground.Could be tomorrow...could be next year.


You can see that Merch in Metals .Gold ,Silver and Platinum all up .I posted earlier Silver is where to hide a few notes two reasons its a semi precious metal but it will be needed to strengthen Solders that will be used in some of the new EVs traditional tin based Solders wont withstand the heat generated by certain parts .You can buy and hold Silver ingots or certs .I have been buying old cutlery in car boot and charity shops for years you can buy a spoon or a fork for 50c might have 6 or 7 euro worth of silver in it .
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: mercenary for hire on January 12, 2021, 02:11:27 pm
John the youngsters won't buy the metals like the old farts.They have no value for them.Gold went down during the capital riots and Bitcoin and Tesla went up.I'll wait an see what happens.I don't pretend to know the future.Things could go either way until Biden gets in office.
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: john m on January 12, 2021, 02:18:22 pm
John the youngsters won't buy the metals like the old farts.They have no value for them.Gold went down during the capital riots and Bitcoin and Tesla went up.I'll wait an see what happens.I don't pretend to know the future.Things could go either way until Biden gets in office.


Thats the Gamble Merch if you can guess right .Its just expensive to hold stocks and betting on margin or CFD are lethal if it goes wrong Ask Mr Quinn.
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Belker on January 13, 2021, 01:51:51 am
Back in circa 1985 someone somewhere decided that it would be a good idea to place a 'Twenty year old' in to manage Cork's busiest betting shop. It was just the 2nd of my 4 'Baptismal's of Fire' and I accepted the job.
It was a 'Nutjob' shop, they were queing at the door at 9am and banging on the door after we closed.

I'm standing behind the counter one morning and this fella walks in through the side door of the counter, I walk over to him with every intention of 'Bopping him' and he introduces himself as 'John' and saying that he wanted to have this bet in private, I had a look at the dockets he had written out and basically it was a £300Ir punt Patent on 3 horses, and he lobs up 2K in sealed bank notes and pays the remainder from his wallet.
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Belker on January 13, 2021, 02:18:34 am
The 3 horses he bet on were all trained by Nigel Tinkler. And over the course of the day most every scrote in the northside of Cork had plunged on the same 3 horses.
I remember the day well, I had my new assistant manager 'Prodigy' Bart beside me as the First horse won @ 7/2, then the 2nd won @ 9/2 and everything running on to the last horse at about 4/1, with still the hoards lumping on to the last horse.
No SIS back then, all we had was the Excel commentary on the blower. I don't remember the horses name but I remember his number, he was number 6. It was a photo-finish between numbers 6 and 8 and back in the Excel days the horse called First in the photo won 99% of the time.
The result was called; "Number 8 the winner", but still it cleaned us out on the day.

Many years later at a drunken Christmas party my ex assistant manager Bart said to me: "I remember that Fookin day, how you kept a straight face and never flinched when the result was called, Total Respect !".
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Belker on January 13, 2021, 02:49:21 am
As it turned out the 3 horses he bet on were part of a new syndicate/tipping line called 'Full Circle Throughbreds' and 'John' was a paid up member along with about 2,500 others who got seemingly First dibs on the information.

'John' was back a week later with his customarily walk in behind the counter, this time laying out about 5K again in sealed bank notes to have about a monkee patent on 3 Full Circle Nigel Tinkler trained horses, but this time EVERY single scrote in the northside of Cork was on too. The First horse lost but the other 2 won at about 2/1 each, making it an unprofitable day fer us.

Then the whole 'Full Circle' thing went pear-shaped, as I'm guessing the Tinkler family pulled the plug on it. But 'John' kept coming back as did some of his legion of loyal followers fer a while, but you can only back so many losers before throwing in the towel !
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Octavia1 on January 13, 2021, 02:52:56 am
The 3 horses he bet on were all trained by Nigel Tinkler. And over the course of the day most every scrote in the northside of Cork had plunged on the same 3 horses.
I remember the day well, I had my new assistant manager 'Prodigy' Bart beside me as the First horse won @ 7/2, then the 2nd won @ 9/2 and everything running on to the last horse at about 4/1, with still the hoards lumping on to the last horse.
No SIS back then, all we had was the Excel commentary on the blower. I don't remember the horses name but I remember his number, he was number 6. It was a photo-finish between numbers 6 and 8 and back in the Excel days the horse called First in the photo won 99% of the time.
The result was called; "Number 8 the winner", but still it cleaned us out on the day.

Many years later at a drunken Christmas party my ex assistant manager Bart said to me: "I remember that Fookin day, how you kept a straight face and never flinched when the result was called, Total Respect !".
As I said to johnny m ken .....only way to win in the bookies is if yur a trainer.....
Bout ten or more yers ago wen I backed an odd horse ....I used to look at the bettin on the internet.....anyway one day I seen this yoke being backed in a 6 horse race it was 100 / 1 an it was lit up backed to 80/1 ....I looked up its form an
It's only ran twice .....first race it was pulled up ...second race it collapsed and was removed from the race track by horse ambulance ......anyway I backed the thing wit a tenner win at
66 /1    ...it won by 25 lengths.......
I said to johnny that he was wrong in his assertion that if yu bet every odds on favourite in irish racing yull be quids in .......lot them Irish races have 20 - 30 horses in them an odds on favourite is a ludicrous bet an yu cannot beat the bookies cause the trainers are fiddlin all the time ......
The only way yu can make money at horses is if yu are a trainer or a jockey wit inside information......
Paddy power is backing on 29 horses an yur backing 1 ....
The maths adds up to the bookies is just smarter maths an why paddy is worth billions an everyone else is living in a delusional expensive harmful hobby ....
If I had me way bookies wud be illegal....
They are robbin cnuts of the ignorant workin class who cant afford it an deprive ther kids of nessesity for ther stupid
Ignorant expensive hobby .....
Poor cnuts
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: john m on January 13, 2021, 03:33:08 am
Occi I never said Back every Favourite in Ireland .What I said was Lay every odds on favourite in Ireland .
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Belker on January 13, 2021, 03:36:15 am
Totally agreed Octy.
Ladbroke/William Hill (Grand Metropolitan), Etc trade on the stock exchange in Billions.
'We' however trade in Tenners and Scores in 'Lidl' and 'Carry-out' !

There was an elected chungwan made a great speech in the dail one day which really impressed me about the addiction of gambling.
I was so impressed that I emailed her telling her of my experience in the gambling world and that if she really wanted to know, then I could 'Blow the lid off'. She did email me back thanking me but never followed up.

I sent a similar email to another elected chungwan after her dail speech about Hare coursing and 'Blooding'. Of which (to my shame) I know way too much about. No reply from her.

Most likely they both just got their few quid fer saying something 'Kinda important to the Pink N' Fluffie brigade' in the dail with no intention of ever following it up.
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Dr. Martin Gooter Bling on January 13, 2021, 05:16:45 am
I was definitely born in the wrong country.
shudda been born in saudi arabia.
try and open a gargler or a gambling shop over there and you'll get your mickey chopped off and stuffed up your hole.
appear in public buckled or with a betting stub in your hand and you'll be sent down for fuckin 20 years.
Title: Re: Free Stuff
Post by: Rat Catcher on January 13, 2021, 10:47:25 am
You'd probably have ended up doctoring here and taking our women anall regardless, Doc.