Notes From All Over -- The Summertime Sadness Edition -- July 28, 2021

$1 trillion infrastructure bill: will be signed before "summer recess." Trust me on this one.

Summertime sadness: back to masks. Imagine. The winter months are the severe months for "colds" and "seasonal flu." Imagine. If we're going back to masks now -- in the middle of summer -- imagine, what this winter is going to be like. I can only imagine. Do government agencies shut down again. Vote by mail only.

Back to masks: government agencies now requiring all employees mask, regardless of vaccination status.  

New narrative: young people will now die from delta variant. Hunch: teachers already preparing for more remote learning this fall.

$100: that's what NYC will pay for any New Yorker who gets the vaccine.

Brazil: earlier this morning I pointed out that Brazil was soon to go from being an energy exporter to an energy importer. Now this, Brazil's June oil production was 2.903 million bopd, down 1% m/m; and get this: down 3.6% y/y.

False narrative: US crude stocks at Cushing fell last week to lowest since January 2020.

US crude oil imports, in 1,000's bpd

• Canada: from -135 to 3,476
• Mexico: from -176 to 621
• Russia: from +143 to 449
• Saudi Arabia: from +4 to 363
• Brazil: from +71 to 139

Kremlin says Biden is wrong, to say that Russia only has nuclear weapons and oil. I agree with Putin. Russia also has vodka.

UK road use (all motor vehicles): now exceeds that of 2019 -- that would be pre-Covid.

Looking for that needle in a haystack:

YouTube. Need I say more?

Re-posting, from June 4, 2021:

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Streaming: It's All About Content, Cost, and Ease of Use

Content, cost and east of use: but of the three, only content really matters. Ease of use is pretty much a non-issue any more, and, same with cost.

Hulu: until recently I did not understand Roku. Last night I spent a bit of time reading about Roku (a hardware business) and streaming businesses, like Hulu, Amazon, etc. I'm about the last person one wants to listen to when it comes to technology but, wow, I can see where the world is headed. 

Facetime: about a year ago I bought Apple's largest desktop iMac. Our dining area is configured in such a way that the iMac sits perfectly for Facetime calls with family. In addition, it is absolutely perfectly placed for watching television. I use the word "television" loosely because, yes, it's "television" as most of us understand it, but it's not my dad's "television." It's all streaming. I will have to ask our high school granddaughters if they and their peers watch "television" any more, or if they watch Hulu, Roku, Disney+, etc. 

Apple TV+: I've talked about Apple TV+ many, many times. It's a huge disappointment. So, what's better, Hulu or Roku? You can't ask that question: the former is a software / streaming / content entity; the latter is a hardware company that streams "things" like Hulu. So, what's better, Hulu or something else? Quick, name a direct competitor with Hulu. 

Google: what is best streaming tv service hulu roku. Link here for a CNET answer to that question that was posted just two days ago: best live TV streaming service for cord-cutters. Only five make the cut: AT&T TV, FuboTV, Hulu Plus Live TV, Sling TV, and YouTube TV.

What's missing: Disney+, Apple TV+, Netflix. HBO Max. Pluto TV, Amazon. Yes, I know many of these are a bit like comparing apples and oranges, but unlike Roku none of these are hardware companies (except possibly Apple to some extent, and maybe even Amazon, to a very small extent, if you want to be a purist.)

The five: AT&T TV, FuboTV, Hulu Plus Live TV, Sling TV, and YouTube TV. How did CNET rate them. It appears the panel did not want to upset any of the companies. Depending on which metric was being compared, each of the five won out in one category or another.

• I was not surprised to see YouTube TV come out on top overall. I don't subscribe to YouTube TV but I've always had a hunch that You Tube TV would be the best.
  
• Hulu, which I do use, is either as good as YouTube TV or a close second; long term, Hulu will have a huge challenge fending off YouTube TV
• FuboTV? I bet it's gone or absorbed by another streaming company within five years
• AT&T TV: I have no idea. CNET says AT&T TV is best for channel flippers and sports fans. It also also allows up to 20 devices to stream simultaneously where the others allow only three (or two in come cases) devices to stream simultaneously on one account; think about that -- on one account, twenty devices can be used simultaneously.
• Sling TV: it will have to change drastically (and when it does, it will have to double its subscription price) to survive.