NWHoustonTiger

Interesting GQ article on the making of Brad Pitt's F1 movie. Hamilton became involved in the project after auditioning for a role in Top Gun: Maverick. Also some spoilers (beware) on why Pitt's character originally left F1 in the 90s.

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Red Squadron had just got back from a deployment to Afghanistan and was stateside. It was available for the workups and rehearsals needed for a successful op. There was another squadron already deployed in Afghanistan which could be used as a QRF to support the Red Squadron raid. Also, Devgru operated primarily in Afghanistan, D-Boys in Iraq. Regional knowledge played a part.

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This (and other posts) conform with my understanding. I read the "Mark Owen" and Mark Bowden books as well as some of the contemporary reports. It was a combination of (a) availability (DevGru Red Squadron was stateside) and (b) a high-level of confidence in both Red Squadron and their commanding officer. The same Red Squadron guys pulled off the Capt Phillips operation so the White House and JSOC had a high comfort level.

Also, keep in mind that the compound assault itself was pretty straightforward. The biggest issue was infil/exfil. Those stealth blackhawks had reportedly never been used in combat. Per "Owen," the aircrew was basically a 160th SOAR Hall of Fame. Also, there were reports that Air Force / CIA utilized some new radar-spoofing technology mounted on a RQ-170 Sentinel (which was still unacknowledged at the time) to trick the Paki's. In my mind, that was the real moonshot here.

For the Astros game you might be able to take the Metro Rail. The Red Line runs from Museum District / Med Center up into downtown. You’d get off somewhere on Main St downtown and walk a few blocks to the stadium. Just check the schedule and beware of the hobos who like to hop on and off the trains.

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This kind of news rolls off the back of Tesla bulls. They can’t think of it as a car company or the valuation is indefensible.

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At this point, Tesla is a meme stock for investors - individuals, professionals and institutions - who should know better. Shares are up 2.34% as of 11a CST today.

Concerned about a 25% miss on sales and rapidly declining deliveries in key markets? Don't worry - I'm sure we'll have Robotaxis and fully-functioning humanoid robots...next quarter? Maybe by year-end? Whatever - Wall Street will keep guzzling down Musk's BS while he gets gacked out of his mind on ketamine, collects a few more baby mamas, and argues with randos on X at 3am.

"Markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent" - John Maynard Keynes.

No one has been able to make WB work. It's been a perpetual dumpster fire ever since the AOL Time Warner deal. At what point to do you just "sell it for parts"? Spin off HBO & CNN, sell Harry Potter & DC IP, and keep the legacy WB cable networks (Turner) with the Discovery network assets.

It is said that Chuck Norris' tears hold the cure for AIDS.

Too bad he's never cried.

No. It's pretty clear the only constant here is Donald Trump's religious fervor for tariffs. He truly believes that tariffs are the "more cowbell" economic solution. Need more manufacturing jobs? Raise tariffs! Want to expand housing supply? Raise tariffs! Daycare getting too expensive? Raise tariffs! Higher tariffs and trade barriers are the only public policy position on which he's been consistent for his entire adult life.

In his first term, his tariff enthusiasm was largely buffered by "normies" like Gary Cohn, Steve Mnuchin and, to a lesser extent, Jared Kushner. Trump also had to pay closer attention to the markets since he'd be facing the voters again in 2020.

This time, there are no Gary Cohn's around. Additionally, because Trump can't stick to a plan and operates exclusively on guy instinct and vibes (in fact, if you read The Art of the Deal, Trump expresses mockery and contempt for strategic planning), his advisors cannot get on the same page. Hence the mixed messages from Lutnick and Bessent.

Was Jack Bauer really tortured that much on screen? Usually he was the guy with the jumper cables and/or water bucket.

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Has Kentucky demanded a re-do for a loose end cap on the beam?

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Probably the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen in women's gymnastics.

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Nicolas Galitzine as He-Man

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Needs to get on "Chicken, brown rice and broccoli" (aka Tren) ASAP if he wants to play He-Man.