Brands Owned By Amazon -- December 19, 2025

Locator: 49739AMZN.

Link here. 

From The X-Files -- Genesis Mission -- December 19, 2025

Locator: 49738AI.

This is a huge story.

Incredibly interesting.

Biden administration: spent huge amounts of money and fought progress at every stage. Much of the money spent simply evaporated after distribution.

Trump administration: spending even larger amounts of money but being invested. Think DOD and DOE. 

DOE.

Genesis Mission. 

Link here. Previously mentioned. First mentioned, November 29, 2025. I'm still amazed how I picked up on that back in November. Now an update at this link.

Is this the Manhattan Project on steroids?

The United States Department of Energy announced a bunch of companies that are a part of the Genesis Mission "National Mission to Accelerate Science Through Artificial Intelligence.” 

The initiative includes: 


• NVIDIA 
• xAI 
• Google 
• OpenAI 
• Amazon Web Services 
• Microsoft 
• Palantir 
• AMD 
• Oracle 
• Intel 
• Anthropic 
• IBM 
• Accenture 
• Armada 
• Cerebras 
• CoreWeave 
• Dell 
• DrivenData 
• Groq 
• Hewlett Packard Enterprise 
• Periodic Labs 
• Project Prometheus 
• Radical AI 
• XPRIZE 

Goal: "Genesis Mission will develop an integrated platform that connects the world's best supercomputers, experimental facilities, AI systems, and unique datasets across every major scientific domain to double the productivity and impact of American research and innovation within a decade." 

1969 Moon Shot. Within a decade. JFK.

How will it be "managed"?

By DOE Under Secretary for Science, currently Dr Dario Gil.

In the early 1990s, Darío Gil spent his last high school year at Los Altos High near Palo Alto, California. He never returned to Spain.

Gil went on to get a PhD in electrical engineering and nanostructures at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). After graduating in 2003 he joined IBM and now, at the age of 43, he has been appointed director of the company’s vast research division, IBM Research, where he has 3,000 scientists working for him in 21 locations.

Again, Palo Alto. I am absolutely fascinated by the story of Palo Alto (Stanford, Silicon Valley). I'm currently reading the history of Palo Alto by Malcolm Harris, c. 2023. 

Across the nation's 17 national laboratories. There is a very, very close association between the national laboratories and the US Navy. The US Navy's DNA is inside the national laboratories and vice versa.

I'm blocking on it now but I first came across the evolution of the national laboratories talking to my son-in-law and then picking up the subject coincidentally when talking with AI about the similarity between AI, the Manhattan Project, and the Apollo program. 

If one had to come up with one concept that changed the US after WWII: the national-laboratory concept. 

 Dr Dario Gil: previously IBM's senior VP and Director of Research, leading their quantum and AI efforts, including making quantum computers cloud-accessible. 
 

********************
AI Wrong Again 

Direct quote from Jim Cramer, 8:43 a.m. CT, December 19, 2025, on CNBC:

"Pat Davis lost China."

From AI:  

 

As fast as AI is, it is not tracking live media in real time. I find this quite amazing. Low-hanging fruit. 

 

I have no idea about whom Jim Cramer was talking but it had/has to do with Nike shares plummeting due to Chinese sales plummeting. Nike is also struggling in the US. Nike HQ in Portland, OR. 

 

*************************
CMCSA

NASDAQ leader of the week.

 

************************
Micron

NDIC's Director's Cut To Be Released Later This Morning -- December 19, 2025

Locator: 49737CUT.

Christmas Gifts Idea -- For Extended Family Members -- December 19, 2025

Locator: 49736GIFTS.

Best stores for shopping:

• Home Goods
• Belk
• Walmart 

Subscriptions: 

• Readers Digest, WSJ, NYT
• Amazon Prime -- for young adults -- only $69 / year and all the benefits of Amazon Prime; 
• regular Amazon Prime: $139 and an incredible bargain!
• college students:  $69 (50% off) -- only requirement is an ".edu" in one's e-mail address

Apple AirTags:

• down to about $16 / AirTag -- incredible offer

Specialty jams: small little jars for a couple of bucks. 

Lego: every price range; every age group.  

 

Backpacks -- December 19, 2025

Locator: 49735TRAVEL.

Backpacks.

The WSJ must have a fetish for backpacks. It sure seems like the WSJ has a lot of articles on backpacks.

Today was no exception. This article was seen in today's on-line edition (December 19, 2025). I just noticed that the article was last updated July 1, 2025. Say what? Phoning in "new" articles, Nick Guy?

Link here. The Mother Lode.

Price: from the linked article, suggested retail, an astounding $220, discounted to $113.

Today, over at Amazon: many, many versions with same name, but this appears to be the one: listed at $219.00 but discounted 11% to $195.95.

This is a huge backpack. Any backpack that will hold a pair of shoes is huge. Having said that, I don't know any true backpacker that would carry a pair of shoes in one's backpack. Maybe more on that later.

Whatever.

I've been backpacking since 1973. My first -- very first backpacking trip with literally no experience, no preparation and no map was in 1973, cross country from Williston, ND, to New York City, and then to Europe for three months, with a budget of $1,000 borrowed from my mom, and I brought back $400. That included air fare, train fare in Europe and the US; room and board, three months in Europe; and, all the museum fees.

My first backpack: pretty basic, not particularly comfortable but did the trick and lasted many, many years after that.

Since then, maybe a dozen different backpacks. 

The one I've been using for the past couple of years and my only travel "case," a Matein, purchased in 2023:

One of the nice things about Amazon and backpacks: making comparisons very, very easy. Look at this -- weight:

• the Mother Lode recommended at the WSJ: 2.54 kg = 5.6 pounds
• the Matein above: 708 grams --> 0.7 kg = 1.56 pounds

Holy mackerel! Almost 6 pounds. 

Will it fit under the seat in front of you (row 35)? 

• Mother Lode: no; not even close; only in overhead -- which is then unreachable why flying;
• Matein: yes; easily accessible even when flying

Best underseat backpack, reviewed over at Travel+Leisure, December 11, 2025, link here. I've not look at this list yet -- let's see if there are any under $50. This is an incredibly good list! Only because I see Matein listed in the #4 position!

But then this, the top backpack looked absolutely hideous, and it's price? $250. The Cotopaxi Travel Pack. 

The Matein: "best value." Today's price at Amazon for version highlighted -- $29.99, at 33% off. Wow. 

The one ranked #2 was $220 -- wow. Amazing. The price. 

By the way, the other interesting measurement -- volume:

• my Matein: 30 liters
• the huge Mother Lode: 56 liters -- it's not a backpack; it's a suitcase with two shoulder straps
• the Cotopaxi: 42 liters

Chart Of The Day -- December 19, 2025

Locator: 49734COTD.

Link here. 

Energy Dominance -- December 19, 2025

Locator: 49733ENERGY.

The wrong question is being asked. 

The definition of "energy dominance" is poorly defined.

TDS. 

Those are just two of many problems with the article by the MIT professor. Link to Energy Intelligence.

Link here. 

TGIF -- December 19, 2025

Locator: 49732B.

TNF: I vividly remember a note I got from a reader after the Amazon - Thursday Night Football deal -- the reader suggested this was the dumbest deal ever; TNF was historically the lowest-rated NFL game of the week -- vs the Sunday ticket, SNF, and MNF. I suggested that Amazon would take control once they had control. LOL. Did they ever. Last night? Best NFL game ever?

******************************
Back to the Bakken

WTI: $56.42.

New wells reporting (I found no less than three typographical errors in the list below -- they've been corrected; it may be time for me to stop blogging -- LOL -- three typographical errors in one short list!

• Sunday, December 21, 2025: 50 for the month, 173 for the quarter, 757 for the year,
• 40968, conf, Devon Energy, Costanza 24-13 4H, 
• 40935, conf, BL-Herfindahl-156-95-3031H-9,
• Saturday, December 20, 2025: 48 for the month, 171 for the quarter, 755 for the year,
• 41690, conf, CLR, Sibbern Federal 4-22H, 
• 41279, conf, Hess, BB-Rice-LW-150-95-0718H-4,
• 41014, conf, Devon Energy, L And E 9-4 2H, 
• Friday, December 19, 2025: 45 for the month, 168 for the quarter, 752 for the year,
• 41691, conf, CLR, Sibbern Federal 5-22H1, 
• 41278, conf, Hess, BB-Rice-LW-150-95-07H-1, 

RBN Energy: will there be a new oil pipeline from Alberta to Canada's west coast? Link here. Archived.

A framework agreement signed in November between Canada’s federal government and the province of Alberta, the source of most of the nation’s crude oil production, aims to kickstart a process to construct a new oil pipeline from Alberta to the country’s west coast. The goal would be to expand direct crude oil exports to Asia and further reduce Canada’s reliance on the U.S. as an export customer. In today’s RBN blog, we examine the agreement, what pitfalls might be in store, and what can be learned from prior pipeline proposals.

Western Canada’s crude oil production has been in near-steady ascension since 2010, when major oil sands projects that produce bitumen in the energy powerhouse of Alberta began to really ramp up. The result has been a literal doubling of oil production in Alberta from just under 2 MMb/d in 2010 to just north of 4 MMb/d to date in 2025 (rightmost stacked bar in Figure 1 below), with more increases expected in 2026 and beyond. With Alberta’s 2025 share of Western Canadian crude oil production averaging 88% (and 82% of all Canadian crude output, don’t forget about East Coast oil!), the real growth focus has been on Alberta and ways to expand the customer footprint for all those barrels.