Starlink and Broadband as a Utility

SpaceX's Starlink service is now available in 32 countries. And the list of countries continues to grow.

What strikes me is if you believe, as I do, that broadband is a modern necessary utility - like water or electricity - people now can have two providers so that they have little chance of ever being "out of service." You can't do that with water or electricity. Sure you could have a back-up generator but you can't have a back-up electric company.

Starlink was meant as a service for remote areas where people don't have broadband access but I have a hunch that just as many in developed countries such as the US will be buying Starlink as "Internet Insurance" because the monthly $110 service price is nothing to high net worth folks who rely on the Internet and for the peace of mind a second provider would bring. (Map via)

Fortune Favors the Broke?

Goofus and Gallant shared a Super Bowl Square at last year's Rams vs Bengals game and they won! Each got $1,000 in winnings. Goofus decided to spend half his winnings on cocaine and a hooker and use the other half to catch up on some bills. Gallant was very impressed with Matt Damon's Crypto.com commercial during the Super Bowl and decided to invest his $1,000 in Bitcoin. 

Now due to this week's "crypto crash" Gallant has lost more than half the value of his investment. And he still has some outstanding bills to pay. Is this the rare example of when hookers and cocaine are the better use of one's money? Or is the real lesson here not to take financial advice from Hollywood actors?

Note - I still believe in crypto currency and block chain technology. The above situation just occurred to me and I wanted to share.

Norm Macdonald Shot Secret Stand-Up Special

Norm Macdonald recorded a final hour of new material to be released in the event of his death. The special was shot in Macdonald's living room which seems so - well Norm.

Netflix will be releasing Norm's last gift to us all on May 30th. The special is called Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special.

His fans will disagree with the title because Norm was VERY special. A unique human being till the very end.

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds." - Shakespeare

"The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings. The inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries." - Winston Churchill

"You aren't going to get rich renting out your time. You must own equity - a piece of the business - to gain your financial freedom." - Naval Ravikant

 "When you want to help people, you tell them the truth. When you want to help yourself, you tell them what they want to hear." - Thomas Sowell

Truth

Why Did Christian Monks Have Such Strange Haircuts?

 

Interesting bit of history.

Yeah that's Tim Tebow's rookie haircut not a Christian monk's - but close enough (and it's funny).
 

Richard Feynman on Love, Life and Science

Good remembrance of Feynman and timely since yesterday would have been his 104th birthday. 

I'm a big fan of the great Richard Feynman.

Thursday Flotsam and Jetsam

Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.

Tennessee Tuxedo will not fail! And neither will you if you click the link, subscribe, hit the Like button, or share with others!

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"Seek wealth, not money or status. Wealth is having assets that earn while you sleep. Money is how we transfer time and wealth. Status is your place in the social hierarchy." - Naval Ravikant

"Education is greatest blessing if of best sorts. Otherwise no earthly use." - Rudyard Kipling

"Life punishes the vague wish and rewards the specific ask." - Tim Ferris

"I got some new underwear today. Well new to me." - Emo Phillips

Find Something Beautiful Today

The library at Trinity College (via). Headline stolen borrowed from Execupundit.

Pfizer was a Bad Choice

 Via

Is the Woke Bubble Bursting?

The tide is turning. People with real world problems are finally refusing to play the games of woke people with invented ones. About time!

Much time and effort was put into this essay. If you could share it with others it would be appreciated. 

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"Making money is not a thing you do - it's a skill you learn." - Naval Ravikant

"When things happen too fast, nobody can be certain about anything at all, not even about himself." - Milan Kundera

"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinion, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation." - Oscar Wilde

"I was in darkness, but I took three steps and found myself in paradise. The first step was a good thought, the second, a good word; and the third, a good deed." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Farnam Street Knowledge

What Do They Know That I Don't?

Mike Lombardi on how if we went through life asking this one simple question, we would improve our decision-making. He uses The Godfather and Bill Belichick drafting Cole Strange as his examples.

For the record - Charlie Bluhdorn didn't sell the rights to The Godfather and Belichick drafting Cole Strange immediately made me think of Belichick drafting Logan Mankins in 2005. The Godfather is considered by some the greatest movie ever made and Logan Mankins is up for election in the Patriots Hall of Fame this year.

Find Something Beautiful Today

Statue of King Arthur by Rubin Eynon, Tintagel Castle England. (Photo via) Headline stolen borrowed from Execupundit.

China ‘Deeply Alarmed’ By SpaceX’s Starlink Military Capabilities

"Chinese military observers have been increasingly concerned about the potential of SpaceX's Starlink satellite network in helping US military dominate space, especially so, in the wake of the Ukraine war, where Elon Musk activated Starlink satellites to restore communications that had stopped because of shelling by the Russian troops."

Let the above sink in. Russia invaded Ukraine but has been unable to destroy the Ukrainian command and control network (normally the first thing targeted in a war) despite brutal shelling because of Starlink and Elon Musk's great humanitarian gesture. 

China doesn't like that. Communist China is threatened by that.

Elon Musk should have more protection than the President at this point. Not joking about that. He's probably more important to the US's economy and national security at this point than either Joe Biden or Kamala Harris. 

HT Marginal Revolution

A Few Beliefs

Morgan Housel with some morsels of advice. Most of these are repurposed bits of knowledge from elsewhere but hearing good advice is always - well - good. 

This one really hit the mark; "When reading the news, you can increase your productivity 100x by asking, 'Will I still care about this a year from now?'" Not just your productivity but also your mental health.

This one also rings true, "Tell people what they want to hear and you can be wrong indefinitely without penalty." It also brings to mind the Thomas Sowell quote, "When you want to help people, tell them the truth. When you want to help yourself, you tell them what they want to hear."

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts." - Richard Feynman

"We are often more frightened than hurt; and we suffer more from imagination than from reality." - Seneca

"Before you speak, let your words pass through three gates: Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it kind?" - Rumi

"You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending." - C.S. Lewis

I'm Sure This was Just a Coincidence