Saturday, December 20, 2025

How Long Does $2.5 Million Last In Retirement? First Data Points That Fisher Investments Needs To Know -- December 20, 2025

Locator: 49746INVESTING.

If your financial advisor does not know the answers to these questions, you need a new financial advisor.

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Trip Planner


 

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Eleven Best Non-Apple Laptops Of 2025 -- December 20, 2025

Locator: 49745LAPTOPS.

Link here.  

Remember, these are laptops.

The best:  

At present, [Haley Henschel] thinks the best Windows laptop for most people is the 13.8-inch Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 powered by the Snapdragon X Elite chip (Qualcomm).  [At twice the price of a brand-new shiny state-of-the-art-must-have M4 Apple. LOL.] [See blog's disclaimer: Qualcomm is a major holding in my Mag-13 stable.]
It's a stylish workhorse with enough power to handle demanding workloads and has a premium build as well as an amazing all-day battery life (outdone by just two other models). 
Even the M4 MacBooks can't keep up. Beyond that, I have other picks for users with different budgets, use cases, and design preferences.

Cost of that Microsoft Surface Laptop 7? Link here. $1,999, list. Looks like $1,459 (limited time deal) over at Amazon. 

Amazon's Apple M4 overall pick: list, $1,199. Over at Amazon, $949.  Plug and play. No addition add-on costs or subscriptions necessary. M4. M4. 

This is the new meme (from the link above). Winner? Micron. Whoo-hoo!
 

AI prompt: micron dram is sold out for 2025 and 2025 according to Micron. What is the source for Apple's DRAM?

Reply: Apple is not affected by Micron DRAM shortage.

Do you know where there is a lot of Micron DRAM available? In a gazillion laptop computers sitting in landfills from as far back as 2015. 

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Saturday Morning -- A Bit Of The Past Week -- December 20, 2025

Locator: 49744ARCHIVES.

Update: this will have to be Part 1. I just noticed my in-box. LOL.  

Note: there will be a shift in political notes on the blog;

  • officially begins in 2026 but starting to see shift now.  

Lovebites: link here. Link here. The best piece of classical music written by a heavy metal guitarist: “Dystopia Symphony,” piano version by Miyako Watanabe. — Charles Hsu, San Francisco.

Epstein files: 

  • Bondi blew it. 
  • She lost control of the narrative. 
  • She had the files. 
  • She was charged iwth releasing them. 
  • She controlled the release. 
  • She blew it. 
  • "There was no there there" but she could have staged the photos very, very nicely.
  • She could have enhanced photos on a case by case basis.
  • She could have selectively provided context.  
  • She ould have been much more precise with redactions. 

Travel: if I could be anywhere today, it would be on the road, somewhere between Nebraska and South Dakota. And if I didn't have Sophia, that's where I would be. 

Biffle crash: of the seven on board, three were licensed pilots, including Greg Biffle; as of early Saturday morning, "they" still did not know who was actually piloting the plane. Incredibly sad. 

We should know in thirty days but final report won't be out for 12 to 18 months. Work and a/c mishap investigations expand to fill the time allotted. 
Reminder: the thirty or so primary investigators involved get upwards of $200 / day in per diem. Just a wag. Needs to be fact-checked. 
[I wasn't too far off: AI -- a core of 16 primary investigators and per diem for GS-15 federal employee -- room and board = $110 + $68. I have trouble believing these guys and gals can find a room for $110/night these days. $68 for meals and incidental expenses? I have my doubts. I come close to $15 + $25 + $35 + $30 = $105 for meals and incidental expenses.]

College football playoff: schedule, scores, link here. 

  • Texas A&M today, among others. 
  • yesterday (last night) #9 Alabama defeats #8 Oklahoma; Alabama advances to the Granddaddy of them all -- the Rose Bowl. I used to live within walking distance of the Rose Bowl. Pasadena. Small stadium. 
  • the current playoff system: okay, I guess? I'm old school: I still remember fondly the four big bowl games on New Year's Day -- quick! Name the four -- Cotton, Orange, Peach, and Rose.  
  • then: iconic; now: business. 


This is not a bubble: SoftBank races to fulfill $22.5 billion funding commitment to OpenAI by year-end (year-end is .... less than two weeks away ... if this happens ... do we have "lift off"? 

  • IYKYK / FOMO / MOJO / YOLO
  • is this the nod / eye-wink / thumbs up to investors that the Santa Claus rally can commence Monday, December 22, 2025? 

AI prompt: can SoftBank fulfill its $25-billion funding commitment to OpenAI by the end of the year? Reply: yes! 

AI prompt: is Oracle involved in any part of this deal?

Tickled pink: Musk's pay package restored by court. 

Movies: Wes Anderson's The Phoenician Scheme is now streaming free. I forget where. I watched the movie two nights ago and the started watching it again last night;

  • saw it on the big screen when it first opened 

DAPL: US Army Corps of Engineers -- keep the pipeline operating. Link here. 

  • US seal of approval. Just waiting for NPR and the Sierra Club to weigh in.
  • we are so lucky that Trump is president; so lucky. 
  • thank you Mr Wright and Mr Burgum  
  • assessment included feedback from "the tribes." 
    • thank you; now sit down. 

Market, investing, without links:

  • Santa Claus rally still within reach;
  • Nvidia-Intel deal cleared by US antitrust agencies;
  • TikTok -- wow -- huge story -- Oracle part of the story;
    • how old is Mr Ellison, senior?  
    • he and I share a birthday; he's 81; I'm not 
  • home sales ticked up again;
  • Nike sinks as China sales plunges;
  • this is not a bubble: AI boom drives data-center dealmaking to record highs;
  • we are so lucky that Trump is president; so lucky.
  • Starbucks taps Amazon's Anand Varadarajan as new CTO. 

Mr Ellison and Mr Trump are huge friends:

Shaun Maquire: wiki. 

  • take some time on this one;
  • explore the entire link. 

Brown University:

This must have been exciting for those involved: American forces strike ISIS in Syria. Link here. 

  • the attack was conducted using F-15 Eagle jets, A-10 Thunderbolt ground attack aircraft and AH-64 Apache helicopters. F-16 fighter jets from Jordan and HIMARS rocket artillery also were used.
    • US strikes in Syria, involving F-15s, A-10s, and Apaches, typically launch from regional bases in the Middle East (like Jordan, Kuwait, UAE) or from aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean/Persian Gulf, using Operation Inherent Resolve as the framework, with recent strikes in late 2025 targeting ISIS in Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa provinces, often involving At Tanq Garrison in Syria as a forward operating base for ground troops supporting these air operations.
    • let's just give the enemy the full order of battle. 
  • must have been like a typical training day for the US military;
  • lots of medals; lots of "atta-boys." 

Meacham Airport 

  • Fort Worth approves Sky Harbour lease for hangar campus; link here. 
  • to build two 32,000 ft-square hangars; corporate business a/c.

Oil, world's proven reserves, link here. 

  • we'll never run out of affordable, available oil.
  • stunning graphic.

New link: information is beautiful. Link here.

Astrophysics: link here. 

  • simply bizarre; defies explanation.
  • the most amazing thing: the fact "they" even found this planet.

Germany: self-immolation. Link here. 

  • Volkswagen halts exports of its electric mini-bus to US next year
  • exports of the ID.Buzz to the US will be paused. Does "tariffs" have two r's or one?
  • sharp decline in EV sales nationwide (US).
  • Dan Tsubouchi on EVs: the day the music died. 

Breakfast of champions:

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Friday, December 19, 2025

It's Gonna Be A Great Night -- December 19, 2025

Locator: 49743MUSK.

Link here. 

A musical interlude: link here. This was posted only four months ago.


Now, the crazy guy.
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X-Files -- December 19, 2025

Locator: 49742ARCHIVES.

AI prompt: Friday night. Time for some music. 

Is it just me or is there a lot of similarity between "I'd Rather Go Blind" (Etta James) and "Tennessee Whiskey" (Chris Stapleton)? When you know the history, this was pure genius.

Trump:

  • last week the opposition tried to stick the "sleepy Joe" moniker on Trump -- that did not age well.
    • the "would-be" meme lasted five days at best. 
  • Hegseth didn't wait around to take out Isis in Syria; Obama would have been drawing lines in the sand. 
    • after all, Syria was the 57th state.
  • Venezuela all of a sudden, we've gone from shooting boats out of the water, to keeping boats out of the water. 
    • I wonder what Maduro would prefer; an occasional lost boat or complete isolation? 
  • marijuana: finally. Period. Dot. Why didn't Biden get this done?
    • young adults living in their parents' basements wondering why it took so long? 
  • Epstein files. Finally. Why didn't Biden get this done? 
  • Medicare drug prices = European drug prices. Why didn't Biden get this done?
  • a penny for your thoughts. That's what Biden's were worth. With change back.
  • border security: haven't heard much about this lately.
  • removed taxes on social security. Why didn't Biden get this done?
  • inflation: drops unexpectedly. NYT says it's an anomaly. 9% under Biden; 3% under Trump. 
    • all of a sudden the opposition has changed the jargon; it's no longer inflation; it's affordability.
    • Starbucks and $9 lattes seem affordable to teenagers if not their parents.
  • Brown University: investigation "saved" by Trump's FBI. Period. Dot.  

A musical interlude -- link here. 

Copper: 

Reiner double-murder: son needs to make a plea deal -- crime of passion. In exchange, the Reiner son should be offered no further prison time; no restitution; no inheritance from parents; and, probation for twenty years. 

Brown University / MIT shooter: relieved that killer was trapped; killed himself. By the end of the month, this story will be forgotten. 

Oracle: owns a piece of TikTok. Oracle up $12 today; up almost 7%. See blog's disclaimer.  

MMFs: another big week for money market funds. Link here. 

Flu: 2025 - 2026 season is tracked last season's flu season exactly.  

Syria / ISIS: US strikes back -- link here.


Hope springs eternal: the Dems keeping hoping the Epstein files will be incriminating ... in fact, there's no there there. Most relieved? Bill Clinton. 

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