NASCAR Today -- June 7, 2020

I thought I was the only one that noted the challenges of finding the start-times and the network televising NASCAR races. From SportingNews:

The TV channel for a NASCAR race is elusive enough in a normal season when Fox and FS1 trade broadcasts of Cup Series events through the first half of the schedule.

The challenges associated with the coronavirus pandemic make the "what channel is today's NASCAR race on" question even more understandable.

Today, for the third time since NASCAR returned to live racing last month, the race will broadcast live on Fox. The Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, which was the first Cup Series race postponed when the outbreak reached the United States, will proceed on its new date with a start time of 3 p.m. ET.

Speaking of which, this past week, our two older granddaughters wanted to visit some antique shops. It's amazing how easy it is to find vintage Hot Wheels NASCAR models. I found a vintage Jeff Gordon, #24, model priced at $10, but marked down 50%. Pretty special. LOL. Over at eBay, $10 - $25 range.

The proprietor: an emigre from Persia. A delightful individual. Must have been in his late 50's. Came to the US via Frankfurt, Germany, and NYC, when he was about seventeen. That works about right:

Iranian immigration to the United States is a recent phenomenon and has taken place primarily since 1975. The Islamic fundamentalist revolution of the late 1970’s that transformed Iran into a theocratic state was a major world event that increased Iranian migration to the United States ...

...  In the 1970’s through the 1990’s, Iranian immigration shot up dramatically. Between 1970 and 1979, 33,763 Iranians immigrated legally to the United States. During the 1980’s, this figure went up to 98,141 and decreased only slightly, to 76,899, during 1990’s. Between 2000 and 2008, 67,915 new residents came from Iran.

I have a special spot in my heart for Persian-US immigrants. Two of my closest colleagues decades ago, back in 1984, were a Persian physician couple -- yes, both physicians; trained in Iran, and emigrated from Tehran to the US, and finding themselves in northwest Minnesota. Wow, what a wonderful couple.

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The Money Page

The word "fiat" seems to be appearing more frequently in social media comments when it comes to the economy. I had not seen that word used in a long, long time.

From Investopedia, the definition of fiat:

What Is Fiat Money? Fiat money is government-issued currency that is not backed by a physical commodity, such as gold or silver, but rather by the government that issued it.

The value of fiat money is derived from the relationship between supply and demand and the stability of the issuing government, rather than the worth of a commodity backing it as is the case for commodity money. Most modern paper currencies are fiat currencies, including the U.S. dollar, the euro, and other major global currencies.

I get a kick out of how words are used. "Fiat," as used in these social media comments, generally have a derogatory tone when used to describe US currency, but in fact, well ... I'm repeating myself.