Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.
- VDH on Silicon Valley's moral bankruptcy. Long but worthwhile read. (HT Execupundit)
- The Daily Coach on the brilliance of Jason Kelce's retirement speech.
- Didn't realize the Tom Cotton Op-Ed was a "how-to" article. The NYT is garbage.
- VDH on the Ukrainian Verdun. A VDH two-for today.
Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.
- Was not aware of her before.
- 80% of Americans test positive for chemicals found in Cheerios, Quaker Oats, and other products that may cause infertility and other problems. Good rule is to avoid any processed foods whenever possible. You don't know what's in them.
- Morgan Housel on a Few Laws of Getting Rich. He wrote this about six months ago and I think I posted it at the time, But since he felt compelled to send it out again - I read it again (and posted it here).
More stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.
- Glenn Reynolds: Democrats throwing blacks under the bus in favor of progressive policies. Blacks or Jews who vote Democrat are really doing so against their own interests.
- The Tablet on Silicon Valley's Civil War. Put me firmly in the Andreessen/Musk/Thiel camp.
- Reminder that Donald Trump still has a $475 million defamation suit pending against CNN. Based upon the recent Durham report I wouldn't be surprised if CNN is now anxious to settle the case out of court.
- Nuclear is humanity's greenest energy option. Thanks for stating the obvious.
Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) has collapsed and many people are asking why and what are the ramifications.
I have a new post up on Substack with my thoughts and observations on the situation.
VDH with a scathing critique on what has ruined California.
In truth, the implosion of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and California more broadly is no accident. Destroying all the bounty that was inherited from far better and far-seeing generations was the logical result of deliberate policies—reflecting the self-interest of a few million rich, educated professionals. They apparently decided that their genius and superior morality had transcended worries over ancient challenges of food, water, shelter, transportation, and received law and custom.
Hard to argue against his reasoning. And those who run California want the rest of America to follow their lead!
"Hubristic and stupid" indeed!
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"For some of us, good books and beautiful writing are the ultimate solace, even more comforting than exquisite food." - Anne Lamott
"My true religion is kindness." - the Dalai Lama
"A gen cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials." - Seneca
"Overheard in Silicon Valley, 'Resting moral superiority face.'" - Marc Andreessen
Peter Yared discusses how San Francisco and the Bay Area in general have become similar to a large declining tech company. He documents five categories of similarities between San Fran and Yahoo!:
1. The monoculture and the shunning of heretics
2. The declining brand and the power of buzz
3. The empty campus and petty crime
4. The people who leave and the people who stay
5. The shenanigans with finances and metrics
Very insightful and accurate comparisons. And the conclusion is spot on; "The Bay Area needs the equivalent: people who know how to grow a metropolitan area, build housing and infrastructure, and attract new business. The problem is that the voters have to vote for a change agent, and the change agents are all moving to Miami."
My how Silicon Valley has changed.
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
I think in the next few years professional sports leagues and teams will go to subscription services where subscribers get live feeds of the games without commercials - like being at the games. There will be discounted subscription packages that include commercials. Subscribers could also have the option of choosing their own announcing teams with the announcers and teams splitting the proceeds. This could be the future of sports on TV... Goats yelling like humans... The Canadian Odyssey could be a cool story of a hockey player who goes overseas to play for Canada in the Olympics but then gets in a series of adventures that complicates his return home... If I could learn to play one "instrument" - it would be this one... Reminder on the show Silicon Valley the douchebag billionaire character Russ Hanneman was modeled after real-life billionaire douchebag Mark Cuban... If the NFL MVP voting took place after the Super Bowl instead of at the end of the regular season - is there any doubt that Tom Brady not Aaron Rodgers would be the winner?...
Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.
- Agree 100% - President Trump should formally recognize Taiwan before he leaves office.
- Slashing big tech's Gordian Knot. Also agree 100% that we must eliminate Section 230 as it pertains to big tech. (HT American Digest)
- How women play the kazoo (you'll never hear the song America the Beautiful quite the same again).
- A Game Designer's Analysis of QAnon. Interesting but long read. I would not be surprised that QAnon is an elaborate prank that got out of hand.
Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of Theranos, comes off as a pure sociopath who was aided in evil by her second in command and boyfriend Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani. But it wasn't just those two - company counsel and Board of Directors member David Boies also comes off like a cartoon villain. Boies was knee-deep in crushing anyone who was unfavorable in their word or deed when it came to the company - no matter how correct that person was - that you can only assume he had to know the company was an out-and-out fraud. He had to know.
Boies you may recall was the lead attorney for Al Gore in his lawsuit over the 2000 Presidential election.
Perhaps it was reading this book at the same time the 2020 Presidential election is being contested that added to my anger. If you wanted proof that some in Silicon Valley would do absolutely anything to get what they wanted - this book is Exhibit A.
Another character in this tale that really took a beating, in my estimation, was General James Mattis who was also on the Theranos Board of Directors. "She [Elizabeth Holmes] has probably one of the most mature and well-honed sense of ethics - personal ethics, managerial ethics, business ethics, medical ethics that I ever heard articulated." Really General? You are either a fool or a fraud if you actually believed what you said.
Elizabeth Holmes' trial in federal court is set for March 2021. She faces up to 20-years in prison. I hope she serves every single day.
