Anticipation -- Early Wednesday Morning -- June 17, 2026

 l

I'm back to watching a lot of CNBC again. A lot. 

I don't think many analysts and almost none of the CNBC anchors "see" what I'm seeing. 

The fourth (sixth) industrial revolution is huge. I've not heard anyone refer to this as a revolution in a long, long time, but it's huge. There is no sign of slowing down. 

AI.

Stories abound. 

Now this one: link here.

Anticipation: 

Apple literally can't keep up with demand. Looks like it may partner with Intel with chips for Apple's new iPhone, out next year.

Mideast: link here. Folks are going to be amazed how fast things return to normal if IRGC and Israel abide by "the deal." 

Inflation: this "2% target" set by the FOMC ("the Fed") -- amazing how something so manmade / so trivial causes so much angst.  

CNBC anchors will talk about this day in / day out for the next eighteen months. Spoiler alert: at most the Fed will move interest rates up or down 75 basis points, and right now it appears they won't be moving overnight interest rates at all for the next 18 months. Meanwhile, nations around the world are hiking interest rates. Let's see, if we raise interest rates that will slow the rate of inflation. Okay. How does that work? Have things changed? And really, raising the interest rates 25 basis points will affect anyone? 

Bonds: wow, I'm glad I'm not in bonds. I don't understand bonds at all. I remain fully invested. Horizon: 30 years + one day, rolling horizon. 

The Book Page: The Big Goodbye, Chinatown, Sam Wasson, c. 2020.

Locator: 50994CHINATOWN.

The Big Goodbye, Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood, Sam Wasson, c. 2020.

I have finished this book. Notes are kept here but need to be updated. I have written much more but the notes need to be transcribed into the blog. 

The story of the movie, Chinatown. Not much discussion of the "last years of Hollywood" except as noted in the filming of the movie itself. 

This is a very difficult book to read, on several levels, but it's a book that will stick with me for quite some time. I do not recommend it except for real cinephiles, and even then, for a very select audience. 

I'm using Gemini (chatbot built on Google architecture) to augment what I've read and am now reading The Man Who Made The Movies: The Meteoric Rise and Tragic Fall of William Fox, Vanda Krefft, c. 2017; 927 pages. I picked his book up several years ago during my "Hollywood" phase but never finished it.  

Roger Ebert, link here. A typical review. 

Maybe my favorite movie of this genre.  

Family News -- June 17, 2026

Locator: 50993ARCHIVES.

Note: this is meant for the extended familly; not for general readership.  

Family news regarding #2 grandchild of the blog's author.  

Olivia is attending Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, studying electrical engineering, on an AF-ROTC scholarship.

This summer she was selected for a highly-sought-after three-week tour of Edwards Air Force Base, California, a test site for the Air Force.

She drove down from Palo Alto, California, on Sunday, June 14, 2026.

On Monday, while being fitted for a helmet and g-suit to fly in a jet fighter -- probably an F-16 or F15, the ROTC students were hustled out of the building, change in plans. 

Because the runway was closed and due to other requirements following the mishap, the planned jet fighter flight was postponed. However the students got to "fly" in a jet fighter simulator.

Olivia's grandfather was a crewmember of a B-52 back in 1982 or thereabouts when he was stationed at Grand Forks AFB, ND, as a flight surgeon / pediatrician. 

He had only flight in the B-52. It was a night mission, eight hours long, flying low-level (500 feet off the ground) through the Rocky Mountains. Terrain-folllowing, night flight.  

YouTube report: link here. 

Olivia has previously soloed and has 20 hours of flight time in the Cessna 172 Skyhawk, also at a site associated with Edwards AFB. I forget how many times Olivia has soloed but it's probably about four.

Intel -- Apple -- Partnership -- Update -- This Is A Huge Deal -- June 17, 2026

Locator: 50992APPLE.
Locator: 50992INTEL. 

Link here. 

From the linked article:

Intel has begun production of its most-advanced chip node, bringing the company one step closer to a possible deal to make some chips for Apple devices.

Intel announced it’s making the new chip node, 18A-P, at the VLSI Symposium in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Tuesday, June 16, 2026.

“This is a journey, and while we have more work ahead, we appreciate the opportunity to share the progress we are making,” Intel foundry head Naga Chandrasekaran said in a statement. Chandrasekaran called the development a “signal to Intel Foundry customers and partners that we are fully committed to leading edge process innovation over the long term.”

First announced last year, 18A-P is now in what’s known as “risk production,” an early production stage with data indicating it will meet customer requirements upon final qualification. After years of missteps and low yields, Intel touted 18A as key to a turnaround that would finally convert the company into a competitive chip manufacturer for non-Intel products.

Intel brought 18A to PC chips in January, but the company has yet to secure a major outside customer. Analysts say 18A-P may be a more likely proving point.

Intel said 18A-P can deliver 9% higher performance or use 18% less power than 18A, which the company has been making at volume at its chip plant in Arizona since December. The chip is at least 20% more heat resistant and is fully compatible with existing 18A buildouts, the company said.