Pages

Saturday, August 19, 2023

My Favorite Chart -- Monthly MMF Update -- August 19, 2023

Locator: 45423MMF.
Locator: 45423ECON.

Updates

August 23, 2023: The WSJ now reporting the same story. LOL.

Original Post

Clearly, in uncharted waters.

  • by the way, money in savings accounts / checking accounts --> "zero" federal income taxes.
  • upwards of 5% interest on $6 trillion in MMFs --> not a trivial amount for the US Treasury (?).

My favorite chart, link here.

Who Sells The Most Sushi In The World -- August 19, 2023

Locator: 45422RETAIL.

Link here



*************************
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? 

Augustine of Hippo.

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





I Just Love This -- An Oxymoron: Canadian News? August 19, 2023

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.

Link here.

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.

  • The Collins Kids.
  • Larry Collins.
  • Glen Campbell.
  • "Delta Dawn."
  • Tanya Tucker.
  • Glen Campbell. 

Link here.

Speaking Of Covid-19 -- August 19, 2023

Locator: 45420COVID.


 The "new" vaccine has been released in Texas. 

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

Link here.

Speaking Of Covid-19 Studies -- August 19, 2023

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

Link here.

Barron's Talks Chips -- August 19, 2023

Locator: 45418TECH.

Observations. Not recommendations.

From Barron's.


A huge thank you to a reader that alerted me to these chip companies many, many months ago.

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."

  • China --> India
  • A16 --> A17 (link here)
  • M1 --> M3
  • best iPhone ever --> just got better
  • 13-inch MacBook Air --> 15-inch MacBook Air
  • whatever computing --> spatial computing

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.

Laser-Focused On Dividends -- August 19, 2023

Locator: 45417INV.

Ticker:  

Dividend history:

I don't invest in DDS. Observation only for the website. No recommendation.


Does Anyone Honestly Think Folks Visit Facebook To Get Their News? LOL -- August 19, 2023

Locator: 45416TECH.  

Folks visiting Facebook to get the news? That's like folks subscribing to Playboy for the stories.

Link here.

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 525 Bulldogs -- An Update -- August 19, 2023

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.

Over at wiki.


Texas Football Stadium -- Melissa, TX -- August 19, 2023

Locator: 45515TX.

Melissa, TX: population -- 13,901. Wiki link.


Finishing touches. Should be ready for the 2023 season.

Small town in north Texas. $35 million stadium.