Locator: 45423MMF.
Locator: 45423ECON.
Updates
August 23, 2023: The WSJ now reporting the same story. LOL.
Original Post
Clearly, in uncharted waters.
My favorite chart, link here.
Locator: 45422RETAIL.
*************************
The Map Page
The Maghreb
Northern Africa.
The Maghreb: Mauritania. Morocco. Algeria. Tunisia. Libya.
But not Egypt.
Etymology of "maghreb": Arabic for "west, where the sun sets."
When will TCM show Casablanca again?
So, the "Maghreb" -- the Arabic west.
The Arabic east: "Mashriq."
Sort of in between the two, the Levant. From "to rise," as the sun rising, and before that, "the east."
The Levant consisted of those Mediterranean lands east of Italy. The Levant: Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Palestine, and Jordan.
Egypt: on its own. Not Maghreb. Not Mashriq. Not Levant (though the Sinai Peninsula is in the Levant).
Egypt: a Nile / Mediterranean culture unlike the countries to the west and the east.
****************************
The Bowling Page
Locator: 45421MEDIA.
I don't always agree with Mark Zuckerberg but when I do, it looks like this.
It appears Mark Zuckerberg's proposed cage fight with Elon Musk wasn't big enough, so Mark took on the entire Canadian media sector. This explains why we haven't seen any "news" stories about Trudeau lately.
From Reuters today:
The "key" word in that headline? "Demands." LOL.
And more, from newser:
I think Mr Rob Quinn forgets how this all started.
I can guarantee "you," that Mark Zuckerberg has done his homework and knows "canceling" Canadian news won't affect his site's number of hits; in fact, the number of hits may increase. Regardless, imagine META's financial savings eliminating a whole "division" of folks tackling Canadian news integration with Facebook.
Earlier:
Folks visiting Facebook to get the news? That's like folks subscribing to Playboy for the stories.
The sites that could be in trouble? Google. Wikipedia.
The lede:
Facebook is shunning the news business in the US.
The Meta-owned company has quietly made changes in recent months that have dramatically reduced referral traffic to media outlets. The move has put considerable dents in the daily traffic publishers see, with the damage appearing to be more pronounced among those who publish more hard news-oriented content.
“If you’re a major publisher, you’ve gotten nicked,” an executive at a major media company, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to frankly assess the situation.
One publisher said they’ve witnessed a more than 30% drop in year-over-year referral traffic. Another said they’ve seen a roughly 40% drop. But both of those publishers produce a healthy volume of lifestyle content. Those who publish more hard news-focused content have seen far steeper drop-offs.
“Facebook nuked everyone’s traffic,” said a news-focused publisher, adding that the platform had since tweaked its all-mighty algorithm to provide a fix, but that the adjustment “hadn’t fixed” the problem much and that referral traffic was still far below what it was a year ago.
The issue is notable, given how much traffic the social media platform once sent to digital publishers. In the heyday of Facebook, news outlets were treated to a firehose of clicks, with articles regularly going viral on the platform.
The amount of traffic, however, has waned considerably in recent years, taking a toll on outlets that built business models reliant on the company. The recent changes reduce the already lackluster levels of referral traffic even more.
Now, if Facebook would just reduce the number of their annoying ads.
Next: sites like Google and Wiki will use AI to re-write their own stories and provide no links, if those links cost them money.
*************************
The Music Page
Connecting the dots.
Locator: 45420COVID.
The rest of the US will have to wait until September.
In Texas, unlike the rest of the US, the new Covid-19 vaccine is a two-dose series.
First shot:
************************
Hurricane Hillary Update
Locator: 45419ARCHIVES.
Speaks volumes about investing -- link here:
Retailers: the most interesting company right now? Amazon. Observation. Not a recommendation.
Backpacks: The WSJ -- posted their top ten -- price range -- $125 - $850, or something like that. I recently bought top-of-the-line backpack -- for $23. At Amazon. Best backpack for computer commuter.
Question: after pharmaceuticals, which sector does Amazon disrupt next?
Apple: by the way, did everyone note that Apple's VP for EVs has moved over to Ford. I'm curious if folks can connect the dots. What this means? Huge story and incredibly good news for AAPL investors. Observation for the blog. Not a recommendation.
Route 66: Ford F-150 Lightning. Grueling trip. Wouldn't recommend it. According to Ford CEO.
*****************************
Hot Summer Night
Grapevine, TX, outside best biker's bar on Main Street.
*************************
Best City Ever
Locator: 45418TECH.
Observations. Not recommendations.
Nvidia: Also, link here:
************************
Apple iPhone Sales
Investopedia.
Apple might have some new bragging rights this next quarter.
Link here. And this is in Investopedia!
Everything suggests that Tim Cook knew that 2023 would be a "transition year."
Just getting started.
I used to think that Apple was always late -- announcing new hardware in September, after college students had already bought their "back-to-college" stuff.
Nope, now I get it. Best timing. New hardware announcements in September.
Locator: 45417INV.
Ticker:
I don't invest in DDS. Observation only for the website. No recommendation.
Locator: 45416TECH.
Folks visiting Facebook to get the news? That's like folks subscribing to Playboy for the stories.
The sites that could be in trouble? Google. Wikipedia.
The lede:
Facebook is shunning the news business in the US.
The Meta-owned company has quietly made changes in recent months that have dramatically reduced referral traffic to media outlets. The move has put considerable dents in the daily traffic publishers see, with the damage appearing to be more pronounced among those who publish more hard news-oriented content.
“If you’re a major publisher, you’ve gotten nicked,” an executive at a major media company, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to frankly assess the situation.
One publisher said they’ve witnessed a more than 30% drop in year-over-year referral traffic. Another said they’ve seen a roughly 40% drop. But both of those publishers produce a healthy volume of lifestyle content. Those who publish more hard news-focused content have seen far steeper drop-offs.
“Facebook nuked everyone’s traffic,” said a news-focused publisher, adding that the platform had since tweaked its all-mighty algorithm to provide a fix, but that the adjustment “hadn’t fixed” the problem much and that referral traffic was still far below what it was a year ago.
The issue is notable, given how much traffic the social media platform once sent to digital publishers. In the heyday of Facebook, news outlets were treated to a firehose of clicks, with articles regularly going viral on the platform.
The amount of traffic, however, has waned considerably in recent years, taking a toll on outlets that built business models reliant on the company. The recent changes reduce the already lackluster levels of referral traffic even more.
Now, if Facebook would just reduce the number of their annoying ads.
Next: sites like Google and Wiki will use AI to re-write their own stories and provide no links, if those links cost them money.
Locator: 45516USAF.
I flew with the 525 Bulldogs, Bitburg Air Base, Germany back in the 80s.
The 525th at the time was one of three fighter squadrons assigned to the 36th Tactical Fighter Wing.
After Bitburg Air Base was closed, the 525th moved from Germany to Alaska.
In Bitburg, it flew the F-15C/D Eagle.
In Alaska, it's flying the F-22 Raptor.
