Just in Case it Matters to You
Weekly Report 22-61
- ‘AMBIENT COMPUTING’ IS COMING – “interaction with the world through gadgets & sensors physically embedded in our environments, tracking every action via voices & gestures’ – from morning wake-up, tracking breathing, setting temperature, lighting, displaying calendar, selecting clothing, having breakfast ready and car ready to drive you automatically to wherever. Today’s Smart Assistants will automatically connect and interact with each other via a new standard , called Matter, which Apple/ Google/ Amazon have all signed up to and should start arriving by end of this year… The challenges include issues of customer frustration when the system guesses wrong, Privacy protection from surveillance cameras everywhere, and likelihood of (Murphy’s law) failure like getting locked out or misidentified as an intruder in your own home.” [AMERICAN MIND & PRICKLY PEAR – 10/21/22]
- THE LEGACY MEDIA IS IN PANIC OVER THE TWITTER TAKEOVER, BECAUSE ITS OLIGOPOLY is now under threat “of both market share and control of the narrative, so all-out war has been declared against Elon Trump… Once technology allowed social media to decentralize the mechanisms for information distribution (from three TV networks and a few big-city newspapers), usurping media monopoly on news traffic and effective political control, pressure was put on the websites – by some government agencies including DHS, as well as legacy media – to stop acting as free platforms for dissemination of broad views, to instead restrict the flow of public information so that left-wing media oligopoly could be re-established… ‘Misinformation’ was the tactic promoted, with people ‘banned’ for saying the obvious (and contrary ‘positions’) – like men not being women/ mass masking being an ineffective solution to Covid transmission/ law enforcement systematically targeting based on race/ insecure or manipulated election systems/ etc.” First week Executive decisions look positive. [TOWNHALL – 11/2/22]
- DESPITE THE 2022 ‘INFLATION REDUCTION’ ACT INCLUDING A ‘STOCK BUYBACK’ TAX to increase tax revenue on public corporations (excluding Investment companies and Real Estate Investment Trusts), over $500 billion in repurchases have happened so far this year. Buybacks take corporate cash for return to existing shareholders which also typically increase subsequent earnings per (then-fewer) outstanding shares, resulting in higher share price. Concern has justifiably increased: (1) “Since capital allocation is the most fundamental fiduciary responsibility of a public corporation Senior Management team; (2) When such purchase or redemption would cause impairment (Delaware law), including key financial relationships like debt-to-equity risk ratios; (3) When such redemption funding is used for excessive senior executive pay, low employee pay or major layoffs – particularly when human capital is a stated value; and (4) While stakeholders would probably do better if companies put their cash to work rather than distributing it… Defying critics and curbs, Buybacks persist.” [DIRECTORS & BOARDS – Q3, 2022]
- THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK:
While nearly three-in-four Americans today are either obese or overweight, the national conversation around health and weight has transformed to woke wording about nutrition and physical fitness, adopting sensitive phrases like ‘fat acceptance.’ Meanwhile, the 2008 government ‘Let’s Move’ program to reverse a ‘childhood obesity epidemic’ (led by Michelle Obama, teaming up with everyone from Beyonce to Big Bird to promote exercise and better eating habits) was evidently a flop.
Snow Waltz – a beautiful post-Halloween violin performance by Lindsey Sterling: https://biggeekdad.com/2022/10/lindsey-stirling-snow-waltz/
REFRAMING HISTORY: Reality of today’s new ‘Racist’ Landscape. 10 minute brilliant & funny video from Babylon Bee: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Yf7fX4m-9c