Saturday, August 23, 2025

Rambling -- August 23, 2025

Locator: 48945ARCHIVES.

Wow, I'm in a good mood.

The Intel story is fascinating

I think the Intel-government stake is the most mis-read investment story of the year. The New York Times has a good piece on this story today. Hope springs eternal. I have no dog in this fight. I will have nothing to do with Intel with regard to personal investing. See disclaimer for the blog. But I will certainly follow the story closely. Working with ChatGPT the fog is beginning to clear. Once I have the scaffolding in place, the rest gets easier. Much more to write -- more to come, but not tonight.

Charlie Crockett: the Lana Del Rey of traditional country / western music.

Investing. Lots of stuff -- in terms of lessons learned -- to pass down to the grandchildren. I've never been happier with regard to my portfolio.

Books: this past year, I finally got back to reading. Still not as much I would like but more organized. 

Bat Cave: major changes. 

Hot summer: lots of swimming, and due to the heat, less time in the Bat Cave, but now we're starting to see the weather turn. I will start to spend more time in the Bat Cave.

Road trip: first week in September. 

Politics: I doubt we will ever see another president like Trump in my lifetime. Doesn't waste time. Has a rogue gallery for his cabinet. And they're learning. Among his twenty or thirty lieutenants, there are tier 1 lieutenants, tier 2 lieutenants, etc. 

  • Tier 1: Scott Bessent, Marco Rubio, Doug Burgum, Karoline Leavitt, Howard Lutnik, Pam Bondi, Tom Homan, Susie Wiles, Kevin Hassett. 
    • first among equals: Doug Burgum
  • Tier 2: RFK, Jr.
  • Not ready for prime time: Pete Hegseth, JD Vance (?).
  • Jury is still out: Chris Wright, Tulsi Gabbard, Kristi Noem.
  • Wall flowers: most of the rest.

Visas: truck drivers. Rubio getting a lot of kudos for acting fast. In fact, it was an easy decision to make, once he was presented with the facts. Never let an opportunity go to waste.

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Paddle Boarding In Norway

Our older daughter arrived in Bergen, Norway, this past week, where she will enjoy a ten-day paddle-boarding experience in the fjords around Bergen, west coast, southern Norway. Upon her arrival, meeting a troll to bring her good luck: