It has the same computer chip in it as the iPhone has. Amazing. The other day we were in a Greek restaurant. Overhead was a song we really like but could not identify it. May pulled out her iPhone and asked Siri, "What song is this?" I did not think Siri could hear the overhead music, it was so noisy in the restaurant. Siri replied, "Talking Heads, Life During Wartime."
Lifetime During Wartime, Talking Heads
My wife loves her AirPods. Really, really loves her AirPods.
We love our UE Boom, but for $350, the HomePod seems like a no-brainer. Like AirPods, the HomePod will fly off the shelves, and my hunch: there will be a shortage from day 1.
It was supposed to ship in December. It was delayed. But now, just around the corner.
Great question. Wow, doesn't this just about change everything. If you can't see a huge red object in the middle of your pathway, what does that say about seeing a child that darts into the middle of a street -- link here.
A Tesla Model S reportedly on “Autopilot” smashed into the back of a
fire truck parked at a freeway accident scene Monday morning,
authorities said.
The union representing Culver City firefighters whose truck was hit
around 8:30 a.m. on Interstate 405 in Culver City tweeted that the Tesla
driver said he had been using Tesla’s Autopilot system, which performs
automated driving tasks.
The California Highway Patrol and Culver City Fire Department
confirmed the southbound Tesla had struck the fire truck, but could not
immediately confirm whether the vehicle had been on Autopilot.
My hunch: somebody's lying.
What was the blood alcohol level of the Tesla?
Somebody Is Lying, Dixie Hummingbirds
By the way, this is why pilots/co-pilots go through a checklist before takeoff and before landing. It's easy to forget to do something. If this guy is not lying, it's possible he "thought" he put it on autopilot.
After "Blade Runner 2049" I told my wife I was never going to go to
another movie. LOL. But then I saw the trailer for "Three Billboards
Outside Ebbing, Missouri." After seeing the trailer, I told my wife
that, depending on the reviews, I really want to see this movie.
Well, I've seen my first review and it looks like a winner. Can't wait to see it. In the WSJ: humor and sadness in the Ozarks.
About 20 minutes into
Martin McDonagh’s
new film, Mildred, played by
Frances McDormand,
delivers a tongue-lashing soliloquy to the local priest. He has
come by her house to warn her against taking on the powers-that-be in
their small town. Her sudden rant, invoking the history of the Crips and
the Bloods (don’t ask), tears the clergyman limb from limb—and leaves
the audience in delight, if slightly uneasy.
For an Anglo-Irish
playwright like Mr. McDonagh, it is no big stretch to take a swing at
the Catholic Church. “That’s what it’s there for,” he says. “They’ve
been doing it to us for years.”
That’s just one scene in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing,
Missouri,” however, and soon he’s moved on to something different. Like
the movie’s marketing-unfriendly title—“I like its clunkiness”—he’s the
opposite of pandering: This writer/director does what he wants.
When I first saw the trailer, I thought it was a Coen Bros production,
but apparently not. But with Frances McDormand in it, one wonders.
Or how much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? But I digress.
As noted earlier, the Schumer Shutdown lasted less than three days. The snowflakes are livid:
snowflakes on the far left are upset that the shutdown caused anxiety among the military, but blamed Trump -- not knowing, of course, with Trump in charge, the military had nothing to worry about
I do have to agree that this is the shortest government shutdown in history, although some Italian governments have probably lasted less long. They're making it too easy. If a government shutdown results in a government shutdown over the weekend, can it be classified as a government shutdown? The government shuts down every weekend; every holiday; every calendar break.
Already, Sellout Schumer is threatening another government shutdown.
So, shut it down again, already.
By the way, there is a wiki entry for the Obama shutdown in 2013.
If there is no wiki entry for the Schumer shutdown in 2018 -- well, I guess it didn't happen.
Other thoughts:
for Schumer to have caved so quickly, the polling clearly showed that Trump and the GOP were not being blamed
Heidi broke ranks on the first vote (Sunday); that vote failed to end the filibuster, but Heidi showed her hand; speaks volumes about how NoDaks feel about this subject, considering 99% of NoDaks can trace their heritage to legal immigrants that came through Ellis Island or Missouri/Iowa/Illinois via the mouth of the Mississippi River; NoDaks know the difference between legal immigrants and illegal immigrants (Castle Garden)
military being paid vs Dreamers being fast tracked? military wins every time
Dreamers thrown under the bus; strengthens Stephen Miller's hand; he had a full house; now he has a straight flush
other than Schumer, I can't think of anyone really fighting for the Dreamers; can you? Pocahonota? she has own problems
Schumer picked the wrong fight
Obama: "Schumer forgot to bring a gun to the knife fight"
Start at 3:30 for the gun fight:
Mexican Stand-Off, The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
But as much as I like that one, I like this one better. The music is better, and the Jack Palance-Donald Trump metaphor is priceless:
But, first, the disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment, financial, travel, job, or relationship-related decisions based on what you read here or what you think you may have read here.
Okay, eight more reasons why the stock market is surging:
the two parties in Congress are singing "Kumbaya"
NOKO and SOKO are singing "Kumbaya"; risk of nuclear confrontation lowered for several more years
IMF publicly admits that the Trump tax will boost global growth to 3.9%; privately, the forecast is for much greater
there really is a Trump infrastructure plan (it was "leaked" today); the $1 trillion plan will be centerpiece of his SOTU address
still no talk of a recession
still no talk of a bear market (the only thing that ends a bull market is a bull market, they say)
it looks like Trump is serious about tariffs on China where appropriate (First Solar surged today)
France is crying "uncle"; wants to link arms with Germany on banking; France-Germany knows they can't compete with the US' lower corporate tax rate; EU will have to become more tax-friendly if it wants to compete with the US; enhances the "synchronized global economy"
Germany walks away from the Paris accords; others will follow; frees up a lot of money for reinvestment
the "snowball" effect
It's about time: do not bother going to the linked video, but "energy stocks are setting up to outperform this year."
Netflix: huge earnings report. Results even better than already-high expectations. Shares surge over 8%. Wow. It looks like Kevin Spacey cost Netflix as much as $39 million. Netflix was the reason I started "The Next Big Thing" post many years ago.
Dow: could close up nearly 150 points today.
The road to California: California utilities issue draft solicitation for dairy biomethane pilot projects -- controlling cow farts. President Ronald Reagan, "Here we go again." I first learned about dairy cattle and methane during the Reagan years. Same ol', same ol'.
Trump tariffs: First Solar pops after hours. Trump apparently has put tariffs on "solar cells" and "large residential washing machines." Now, we can see how China retaliates. LOL. If, in fact, China is "dumping" products on the US, I have no problem with this. But if China is playing free market politics, that's something else. We should see price increases on these products by this summer. Will be fascinating to watch. But if at the end of the day, solar cells, regardless of where they come from, cost more, does that help the renewable energy issue? As far as I know, Enbridge should benefit from this.
Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment, financial, job, relationship, or travel-related decisions based on anything you read here or think you may have read here.
February 28, 2018, T+38: court refuses to stop Trump's wall. On guns: Obama, the most ineffective president we have ever had. NRA: tone-deaf. Trump: not tone-deaf. Wants to take guns first, due process later. Exactly right.
February 27, 2018, T+37: quiet. February 26, 2018, T+36: quiet.
February 25, 2018, T+35: Obama's DACA implementation was clearly unconstitutional, but an appellate court upheld it on appeal. The Supreme Court refuses to get involved; won't take the appeal.
In the big scheme of things, the Dreamers (the ones currently here)
are the least of many of our problems in the US. The worst thing about
moving them to the head of the line for citizenship, it screws all those
who are legally here and going through the process, and it encourages
more to come over.
But Congress won't pass any legislation on this -- or gun control -- because it's a huge fundraiser for both parties.
February 21, 2018, T+31: not being reported by the mainstream media --
February 20, 2018, T+30: say what?
"There is not serious person out there who would suggest somehow that you could even rig America's elections, in part because they're so decentralized and the numbers of votes involved." -- Obama, 2016
"The Russians rigged the elections." -- to paraphrase the special prosecutor handing down indictments against 13 Russians for meddling in US elections, 2018
February 19, 2018, T+29: Others agree that FBI director, Christopher Wray, and several of his deputies need to be fired. By the way, on another note: has anyone heard any blowback from Trump's decision to release the Democratic memo rebutting the GOP memo documenting DNC collusion with the Russians? Trump wants to release the Democratic memo but the FBI needs to redact certain names and methods before it can be released. Haven't heard a thing -- the memo must have been on the president's desk about ten days ago. Haven't heard a thing. I'm sure Rachel Mad Cow is all over it. February 18, 2018, T+28:A second passenger plane in about as many has crashed: the first, a Russian plane; the second, an Iranian plane.
February 17, 2018, T+27: World's fastest skier, Lindsey Vonn, said she would decline an invitation to the White House following the Korean Olympics. Not to worry; she won't be invited. Trump generally doesn't invite losers to the White House. Yes, color me "troll."
February 16, 2018, T+26: Mueller indicts 13 Russian nationalists (and more) for interfering with 2016 election, saying they were hurting Hillary in order to help Trump. Of course, Hillary will say she is completely vindicated: that she did not run a bad campaign; she was undermined by the Russians. More fake news, of course.
February 15, 2018, T+25:if FBI director Christopher Wray doesn't have the
"right" answers for President Trump regarding the Florida shooter,
someone needs to resign. Later (February 16, 2018), we learn that the FBI was tipped off, but the "information was not sent to / received by the Miami field office.
February 14, 2018, T+24: it's become abundantly clear --
the Watergate scandal began with an attempt to bug the DNC headquarters
the Russian dossier scandal began with the successful attempt to bug RNC (Trump) headquarters through a fraudulently-obtained FISA warrant
February 13, 2018, T+23: Tuesday, the Mueller-Russian collusion continues to fall apart. Now, it's Susan Rice who got caught with very interesting e-mail.
February 12, 2018, T+22: Monday. Last week, a correction of sorts in the market. Lots of hand wringing. Last Friday it finally had a good day, gaining 300 points by the close. Today, if it holds, the Dow will close up 550 points.
February 11, 2018, T+21: Sunday, quiet. Olympics in South Korea with very, very low television ratings.
February 10, 2018, T+20; Saturday, quiet. Anyone following the Mueller investigation from an unbiased view, can see that the Trump investigation is falling part. It is now clear that the fake Russian dossier began within the DNC. The #3 person at the DOJ announced she was leaving the DOJ to take her dream job at Walmsrt. She was clearly caught up in the "Deep State" shenanigans and is now getting out (of Washington, DC).
February 9, 2018, T+19: Rand Paul was able, single-handedly, able to shut down the government for the second time in less than a month. Rand Paul's shutdown lasted ... six hours? The good news: although Paul Ryan (GOP; House leader) said it was a "good bill; a good compromise", in fact, Trump got everything he wanted except funding for the wall. The Dreamers can again see where the real obstacle lies. They could care less about funding for a wall -- even the movers and shakers know that funding the wall doesn't mean it's going to happen (think lawsuits) but if a piddly amount was earmarked for the wall, President Trump would fight for fast-tracking the Dreamers. But now, it's over. March 5th is no longer a budget deadline; the new budget agreement extends for almost two years, well past the 2018 mid-term elections.Friday, government back up and running. Quiet.
February 8, 2018, T+18: because it's political, it could still end badly for President Trump, but now that the facts are trickling out, it is clear to say that Robert Mueller, himself, was duped by the dossier. He's been at this for a full year and has been focused on the wrong individuals. An honest broker would start over and focus on how the dossier story all began -- with Hillary and the DNC.
February 7, 2018, T+17: it's now clear how the Obama administration -- from Obama to Hillary to the DOJ to the FBI were all involved in illegal activities during the Hillary-Trump presidential campaign. Not much will come of this though. We might see a book come out in 2025, but that's about it.
February 6, 2018, T+16: see Vic Hanson; if no action is taken on the memo, by default it is now
"legal" for a sitting president to "weaponize" the FBI and the DOJ.
February 5, 2018, T+15: largest point drop in Dow's history, down 1,100 points; down 700 points the previous day; some see "conspiracy" against Trump; whether conspiracy or not, the Dems love this market crash; Americans' pain is Dems gain.
February 4, 2018, T+14: Trump's instincts were correct - we're not going to win in Afghanistan. Time to pull out. But his generals convinced him otherwise. Huffingtonton Post, et al, and Trump are on same page: get "troops on the ground" out of Afghanistan. Blood on his hands: why Trump has not issued an executive order of "GPS - positive control" on AMTRAK by now is beyond me. The industry has stonewalled for years.
February 3, 2018, T+13: James Wood won "Twitter gold" for this one sentence tweet -- "So Obama’s government, the DNC, and members of the MSM all conspired to fix a presidential election by deceiving a secret court allowed to spy on American citizens? Russians couldn’t have done a better job destroying sacred American institutions than Democrats have." And the disgraced former FBI director who was part of the conspiracy tweets in response: "That's it?" Another Obama "guarantee":
February 2, 2018, T+12: Dems waiting breathlessly for FISA memo. Big question: does FBI director fall on his sword? My hunch: no. On another note, now that the FISA memo has been released and the implications thereof, it is incredibly how concerned Hillary, the Deep State, the Swamp, the DOJ, the FBI, and the outgoing Obama administration were about Trump getting elected. And finally, someone needs a better speech writer: after the FISA memo was released, Jeff Sessions' response: "No department is perfect." Was he a Hillary appointee? Or a carryover from the Obama administration? A "never-Trumper"?
February 1, 2018, T+11: January stock market surge -- best run since 1959. Even with the pullback yesterday.
January 31, 2018, T+10: Trump speaks, market soars. Psychiatrists are now suggesting that Pesky Pelosi was catatonic during the SOTU address. Some suggest she has an underlying dissociative disorder. More likely she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). She has previously been diagnosed with MSNBC personality disorder (DSM-V -- falling into three of the five major personality disorders: Antisocial/Psychopathic, Avoidant, Borderline.
January 30, 2018, T+9: there's no doubt now that the FBI colluded with Hillary in the 2016 presidential elections -- at every level. Everyone knows that. That's history. The more important question is whether this was simply a one-off or whether we now have an incestuous, corrupt FBI that is firmly planted within the deep state. I think the answer is obvious but the Hollywood elite and the alt-left should be very, very concerned. Although I think they can think that deeply. The swiftness in which McCabe was fired after his boss saw the memo suggests the memo was a very, very serious issue. Also, considering that McCabe had only more month before he could retire and not leave under this cloud suggests the memo was worse than boss imagined.
January 29, 2018, T+8: FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe resigning -- LOL. That's the official story. In fact, he was fired. Summarily told to take "vacation" immediately after director read an incriminating memo -- will retire a month from now. Apparently stayed on long enough to max out his pension. The spin will come out later, but the tea leaves certainly suggest that the FBI's credibility is imploding. However, it turns out, it is clear that McCabe's resignation speaks volumes about how corrupt the FBI was under Obama.
January 28, 2018, T+7: President Trump has clearly been the "man of the week," and yet, on CBS Sunday Morning, the bulk of the program was given over to Bernie Sanders and commercials.
January 27, 2018, T+6: from yesterday --
January 26, 2018, T+5:
January 25, 2018, T+4: Trump in Davos; first president since Bill Clinton to attend. He has already met with some leaders whom he could not meet in their home country. This must drive the Brits nuts; they were so hoping for mass demonstrations when Trump came to England. LOL. On another note, apparently, Schumer has taken DACA completely off the table for next round of budget talks -- not sure if that's accurate. That's how Rush interprets Schumer's recent statements.
January 24, 2018, T+3: at least we know where they stand:
one says, "No wall. Period."
the other says, "No wall, no DACA"
January 23, 2018, T+2: Davos -- US corporate tax cut is a game changer. Everything changes.
January 22, 2018, T+1: Dow up 60 points as government funding is re-instated. Trump's "infrastructure plan" has been leaked.
All in a day's work. Literally in one-day's work for President Trump.
In less than one business day (the day is not yet over) President Trump has gotten rid of:
the Bobsey twins: Shutodwn Schumer and Pesky Pelosi
man-made global warming
Davos
This is the screen shot from Bloomberg in which so much snow has hit Davos, the institute has apparently shut down for the day. I can't make this stuff up:
I have to give a reader credit for alerting me to "Trump's Trifecta." I would have missed it.
I do not know if this is something new, if it's a glitch, or if it's a policy decision, but it appears that the blogger app is blocking all links to FoxNews.com. I posted links to three FoxNews stories and tested them several times. They are all good links. But when trying to link from the blog, I get an "access denied from this server" alert. You can still get to the news story with a standard browser search, including Google.
A google search failed to confirm this was a policy decision, but there were enough "signals" revealed by the search to suggest that this is going on.
Rick Newman, senior columnist, Yahoo!Finance: gives the Trump economy a B -- after the Trump economy breaks almost every US economy record on jobs, wages, satisfaction, GDP, etc.
Analyst / investment advisor Bernsteinraises AAPL target from $100 to $190 on day that Apple surges 5%, up $10, hitting all-time high, trading at over $200/share.
WSJ reported Rebecca Elliott: on July 30, 2018, noted that drillers in west Texas are pumping so much oil and gas that pipeline considered more than adequate just a few years ago now are overwhelmed. Anyone paying attention were aware of this a year ago?
IMF managing director Christine Lagarde. Link here. MF revises up global growth forecast helped by Trump tax cuts.
Did hell just freeze over? With regard to taxes and growth, one wonders
if IMF managing director Christine Lagarde needs to be nominated for the
2018 Geico Rock Award. By the way, it appears the IMF is doing what it can to keep revised growth forecast below 4%.
The estimates depend on input/data and analysts can put whatever they
want into the formula; clearly it's in the IMF's interests to keep
estimates below 4%. January 22, 2018. [Later: US GDP surged 4.1% in first estimate of 2Q18 GDP growth.]
Well, that didn't take long. Radio reports that the government will be back to work at noon today. I don't know the details but if true, it sounds as if it came down to "active duty military or Dreamers."
It was also noted that the families of two active duty helicopter pilots killed over the weekend would not receive the government's $100,000 death gratuity due to the government shutdown. Meanwhile, the dreamers were not inconvenienced by the government shutdown.
*************************
Green Energy/"Global Warming" Scam Will Cost 1,100 Folks Their Jobs
Philadelphia Energy Solutions, owner of the largest U.S. East Coast
refinery, said on Monday its plan to emerge from bankruptcy hinges on
whether it can shed existing biofuel obligations under the country’s
renewable fuel laws.
The company’s bankruptcy plan sets up the latest debate between U.S.
refiners and ethanol producers over renewables policy. The Trump
administration could also wade deeper into the fray should the
Pennsylvania refinery, which has some 1,100 workers, face closure.
PES
does not have enough cash to comply with the nation’s renewable fuel
laws in 2016 and 2017, according to its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing on
Monday.
Regulatory
liabilities are given high priority in bankruptcy proceedings, but the
government has provided relief in past cases, particularly when there is
a political dimension, experts have said.
The U.S. Renewable
Fuel Standard (RFS) is a Bush-era law that requires refiners to blend
biofuels like ethanol into their fuels or buy credits from those who do.
PES is short some 267 million credits to comply with the
program, the company said its Monday filing. It also plans to sell $150
million worth of credits to help emerge from bankruptcy.
***************************
And People Wonder Why "We" Have A Drug Problem
Dealing Heroin in Boomtown: Sentenced To 14 Days Already Served
What a great country: Woman pleads guilty to possession of heroin with intent to deliver and
was sentenced to 366 days in prison, with 352 days suspended. Northwest
District Judge Benjamen Johnson gave Tompkins, 36, credit for 14 days
she’s spent in jail, so she was released Friday. As part of a plea deal,
multiple drug charges Tompkins was facing were dismissed.
Link here. Something tells me if the word got out that she had been sentenced to ten years a lot of heroin dealers in North Dakota would have left the state. But the word on the street: dealing heroin in North Dakota, big rewards, little risk.
Frozen: along with buying into "peak oil" under the Obama adminstration, it appears the US Navy also bought into global warming, reading all those stories that the Arctic would be forever open water by now. It is being reported that a "brand-new" US Navy warship is trapped in Canada amid cold and ice. According to the US Navy,
“The temperatures in Montreal and throughout the transit area have been
colder than normal, and included near-record low temperatures, which
created significant and historical conditions in the late December,
early January time frame.”
Note: this is the most bizarre thing. The link to the US Navy warship is a good link. I've tested it several times. But when I try to link to it from the blog, I get a dialogue box that says access to that story "on this server is denied." Curious if anyone else is having that same problem. If access is denied, simply google US Navy warship trapped in Canada.
forecast: earnings to soar to 46 cents vs 4 cents a year ago
in fact: earnings soared to 53 cents, excluding various items
T+2: I don't think I posted it on the blog, but in an e-mail note to a reader, I suggested that states could keep open any national parks, monuments, and museums if they wished. Trump would be very supportive of such action and would, most likely, reimburse the states for costs once the government is back in business. It turns out that Chuck Schumer is doing exactly that: NY state will keep the Statue of Liberty open. I assume we will see a photo op of the senator and some dreamers on Ellis Island, through which thousands of legal immigrants made their way to the US. This is a lot different from the Obama-weaponized shutdown when the president ordered armed guards to keep military veterans from visiting government monuments out in the open with no fences around them. He came across as a very AYM.
Prelude: Angry Young Man, Billy Joel
T+2: after Dow futures being negative overnight and the Dow opening down (slightly), it has now turned the corner, up 23 points. I guess mom-and-pop investors have read Goldman Sachs advice to its millionaire clients.
T+2: IMF revises up global growth forecast helped by Trump tax cuts. Did hell just freeze over? With regard to taxes and growth, one wonders if IMF managing director Christine Lagarde needs to be nominated for the 2018 Geico Rock Award. By the way, it appears the IMF is doing what it can to keep revised growth forecast below 4%. The estimates depend on input/data and analysts can put whatever they want into the formula; clearly it's in the IMF's interests to keep estimates below 4%.
T+3: I did not turn on television / tune into CNBC until just now (10:08 a.m. CT). I see that CNBC continues to try to talk the market down. Good luck with that. I see the Dow is slightly negative. Turning off television now (10:09 a.m. CT).
T+3: radio reports that government may re-open. It came down to this: active duty military or Dreamers? [Update: link here.] If that link doesn't work, try this link. Both are Fox links: the first is a "news" link; the second is a "business" link. Nope, both links are blocked. A Reuters link should work.
