"If something cannot go on forever, it will stop" - Herb Stein (father of Ben Stein) . Pure evil, and shame on Sheryl Sandberg: In 2017, Wynn-Williams explains, “a confidential document is leaked that reveals Facebook is offering advertisers the opportunity to target 13-to-17-year-olds across its platforms, including Instagram, during moments of psychological vulnerability when... Continue Reading →
Updated Fire Risk Maps – California
https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2025/cal-fire-risk-map/ "The new data shows that Cal Fire considers far more of the state to be at risk of fire than when the maps were last published in 2011. This is largely due to improved scientific modeling. The state also expanded the categories to include moderate and high fire hazard severity zones. In 2011 the... Continue Reading →
Zelle Fraud, Facebook, and Insta
From the 5/18 WSJ Technology newsletter: Unfortunately, Meta’s platform has been overtaken by fraudsters to the point that the interbank consortium behind Zelle and payments regulators worldwide say it’s become the prime source of online fraud. Meta alone constituted nearly half of all Zelle fraud between the summer of 2023 and 2024. Meta says it’s... Continue Reading →
Harvard Youth Poll 2025
Young adults are skeptical of the current administration's priorities, skeptical of both parties and the ability of government to help them, and don't buy into the demonization of DEI and immigration. All they know is their ability to succeed is at risk. https://iop.harvard.edu/youth-poll/50th-edition-spring-2025 . .
The Difficulty of Bringing Manufacturing Back
America Underestimates the Difficulty of Bringing Manufacturing Back - Molson Hart https://www.molsonhart.com/blog/america-underestimates-the-difficulty-of-bringing-manufacturing-back Extremely interesting article, here's just a few tidbits - In short, manufacturing in the United States is so expensive and our supply chain (we’ll explain that next) is so bad that making that iPhone in the United States without that 54% tariff, would... Continue Reading →
Misc April 2025
I am not of the flock, but these are beautiful words from Pope Francis https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2025/documents/20250420-omelia-pasqua.html . https://www.fastcompany.com/91311019/home-depot-charging-parking-fees-april-fools-joke-social-media-ire-tariffs-inflation-economy "On April 1, Pro Tool Reviews, an online product review site, published a fake news article under the headline, “Home Depot to Charge for Parking to Combat Inflation.” The article stated that the company intended to “offset increasing operational costs... Continue Reading →
Misc March 2025
European Commission to recommend emergency preparedness against a growing list of threats to daily life https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/03/26/brussels-ask-eu-citizens-to-put-together-a-72-hour-emergency-kit-to-face-crises The 21st century has turned a corner and is rapidly accelerating... . NIH to cut grants for COVID research https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00954-y I am part of the NIH Long COVID "RECOVER" study. I just sent them an email a few weeks... Continue Reading →
Misc Feb 2025
The shell game that is investing in SpaceX ETFs: https://www.wsj.com/finance/investing/spacex-etf-invest-4cb93783?st=YysD6V . Risk management in an inflated market: https://www.wsj.com/finance/investing/what-you-should-do-about-the-stock-markets-giant-problem-f4ca338e?st=wup55E Their recommendation is TIPS (bought directly, not via ETFs) Be wary of private/alternative investments, especially because you cannot sell at will - only when they allow it - which is generally at times when the returns... Continue Reading →
Where not to live, So Cal edition
https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/5065c998b4b0462f9ec3c6c226c610a9/page/Compare-old-and-new-LRA-FHSZ Go to the link, zoom in, and look at the new hazard zones for your place of interest. Then you will understand why virtually all insurance companies have left SoCal.
Sicily Divide
How about a 430 km bike ride across Sicily? https://www.cianwrites.com/ https://sellesanmarco.com/magazine/bikepacking-sicily-divide/ https://www.lifeintravel.it/en/cycling-sicily-our-adventure-crossing-the-island.html https://wobblyride.com/2022/05/13/cycling-in-sicily-practical-bike-touring-guide-2/ https://bameurope.it/en/sicily-divide-from-trapani-to-catania-by-bike/ From https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/travel/places-to-travel-destinations-2025.html
With batteries, solar can grow more cheaply and quickly than gas
"Solar was the fastest-growing source of electricity in 2024, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration. It accounted for 81 percent of added annual capacity. Solar energy reached historically low costs in 2020, becoming the cheapest source of electricity in most parts of the world. ...While solar supply chains are still concentrated in China, manufacturing capacity for... Continue Reading →
New observations regarding Covid’s long-term effects
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/10/well/covid-long-term-health-damage.html "Small studies have suggested that over 10 percent of people hospitalized with a Covid infection had lung scarring and other issues two years later. Covid can lead to chronic gastrointestinal problems, like reflux, constipation, diarrhea and abdominal pain. These issues can last for months or even years. In a 2024 study, researchers estimated that... Continue Reading →
Uber adding FTF (Foreign Transaction Fee)
"The rideshare giant sent an email to users late Thursday announcing its new “Preferred Currency Pricing,” a feature set to launch on Feb. 27 that will automatically convert the local price to U.S. dollars (or your home currency). But this is Uber, so it's not free: The company will add an automatic 1.5% “currency conversion fee”... Continue Reading →
Back Up Everything
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/14/business/personal-data-backup-musk.html?unlocked_article_code=1.x04.kCgC.PqauR-a8U2Dz "But don’t just download your history of paying into Social Security or freeze access to your credit files because of the politics of now. Back up everything important, everywhere you can. Do this at least once a year or so. It’s just good hygiene. Having multiple copies of all of the things that help... Continue Reading →
CA Fair Plan gets 1B bailout; insurance and climate discussion “misleading” (not)
Insurers continue to "not renew" (drop) customers. Homeowners increasingly choose self insurance (no insurance) over paying huge premiums, which are set to increase even more as California Fair Plan will receive $1B from California insurers, half of which can by law be passed onto customers. Warnings of housing price impacts due to rising insurance costs... Continue Reading →
Perspective on continuing the TCJA (Tax Cuts and Jobs Act)
Lest we forget, "Major elements ... include reducing tax rates for corporations and individuals, increasing the standard deduction and family tax credits, eliminating personal exemptions and making it less beneficial to itemize deductions, limiting deductions for state and local income taxes and property taxes, further limiting the mortgage interest deduction, reducing the alternative minimum tax... Continue Reading →
Holy Guacamole
Prepare for Guacamole to Be a Luxury Item https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/11/opinion/trump-tariffs-immigration-inflation.html?smid=nytcore-android-share "The United States, astonishingly, is no longer a net agricultural exporter. Since 2019, it has imported more food than it exported in four of six years, and 2024 is expected to have a record food deficit. Labor shortages and their subsequent costs have contributed to the... Continue Reading →
For Photo (Sweet Potatoes) – (Egypt Jan 2025)
After being squeezed and birthed out of the very crowded Khan el-Khalili market, we crossed the street via the underground tunnel. On the other side, our guide Mr A helped Mr J find his camel bone prayer beads and I got my stone beads down from 400 EGP to 250 by just smiling sheepishly at... Continue Reading →
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