Bitchin Dave's Newsletter - March 18


First, let me say that I find crypto to be, well, confusing.  Sure, it's decentralized money.  But when you talk to someone who supposedly knows about it, you get a confusing bit of jargon, coupled with a sense of it being important and you wouldn't want to miss out on it!

Along comes T-rump and he says he wants to create a "strategic crypto reserve" which is weird for two reasons: it's a decentralized non-government type of thing, so a government having invested in it makes little sense.  

But the second reason is maybe a little more disturbing.  He picked several types of crypto currencies to be included.  Some are the bigger ones that you might expect.  But a few are smaller and don't make any sense.  Until you take a look behind the curtain and see that there are people involved with these currencies, who are allied with him or are donors to him.  So he's including them as a favor in a way.

And here's the reality of creating a strategic reserve: the government will be transferring OUR tax dollars to the owners of these crypto companies.  People who support him will be taking our money, because T-rump said so.  I got issues with that.

And then there's this rare "moment of honesty" from someone high up in one of crypto companies.  In an interview, he was calling crypto a form of gambling.  An investor is hoping for something good to happen.  

Meanwhile, there are several crypto companies that advertise themselves in a way that is adjacent to gambling - though they are careful never to call themselves that for fear of running afoul of the law.  But make no mistake they are offering the same allure as putting money on a sporting event.  It's wild.

And then there are the sports leagues that see an opportunity to get into the crypto game.  They see an opportunity to "engage with fans" and have them be able to purchase something affiliated with the team AND to be able to use that currency to make in-game wagers.  

So.... maybe I do actually understand crypto.  It's a way for some unknown entity, or perhaps one that is known - like your favorite team - to put their hand in your pocket and take some of your money.  Under the guise of "you wouldn't want to miss out!"


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Peoples choice for wildlife photograph of the year (UK)


There were some great photos in the competition but this one was actually pretty amusing





Two great stories about plastic waste.


Story #1 is about a Mexican startup that wants to turn plastic waste into fuels.

[It] uses pyrolysis, a thermodynamic process that heats plastics in the absence of oxygen, breaking it down to produce gasoline, diesel, kerosene, paraffin and coke.

Meanwhile story #2 is about a group of researchers at Texas A&M who want to break down the plastic into hydrogen.

By utilizing minimal amounts of solvents, they break down these persistent polymers into aromatic compounds, which can then be transformed into green hydrogen.


Maybe, just maybe, we'll see some progress in dealing with the mass of plastics we have generated in society


Color me intrigued


Russia has told the press they've created a plasma engine (something that has been theorized for many decades) to increase the speed to get us off toward other planets.

Is it an honest report?  Maybe.  But since it is theoretically possible, if they have uncovered a means to make it happen, then I am officially intrigued.

I would also note that there is a new-ish space race between Russian scientists and Elon Musk.  They specifically said Mars in this article to "tweak him"



And the hits just keep on coming (health edition)


Last week, the uninformed idiot in charge of Health and Human Services (who banks on nothing but his name, and whose brain was apparently totally consumed by the brain eating amoeba), decided to tell us that some things are bad for us and we need to get healthy again.

Now I'll grant you that in general, he's right.  We have too much processed food, artificial dyes are bad, and generally we need to combat chronic illnesses.

But its the details that are at issue here,  He's telling everyone - from his position of power - that vaccines are bad (with nothing to back that up other than the voices in his head), and he wants to change how they are approved and distributed.

He's already given some hair-brained theory that the measles outbreak can be thwarted by making sure children have enough Vitamin A.  Which is dangerous, reckless, and stupid.  If only there was a very long-tested, effective, and safe alternative that essentially previously eradicated measles (but which some celebrity types decided to be vocal against) that we could use.... 

And then there was this week's photo op, and plea for a free meal.  He went on about how seed oils are bad, and some nut and vegetable oils, too.  And the science suggests that maybe he's right, so, please, do go on... 

He then proceeded to say that animal fats are good, and better than these other types of plant-based things.   Which the science does not support, but why does that matter?  The amoeba told him so!  

If you are moving away from animal products for personal health reasons, or you don't trust that the animal products we consume are safe, or perhaps you just care about animal welfare. then this is perhaps a little more egregious.  It feels like a nod to the cattle industry to a large degree.  

Anyway, the company Steak N Shake proudly announced that they would "make their fries RFKd"  and that prompted a visit from the man who sat down and had a burger and fries while being interviewed by faux news.  (his plea for a free meal paid off!)

The other side of this story is that Steak N Shake grew during the 90s and had many stores east of the Mississippi.   They touted themselves as serving "steakburgers"  and I would argue that they had a quality product.  But then, recessions hit, and they changed their model to be a more affordable chain to compete with the likes of McDonalds.  Their quality suffered, and they shuttered a large number of stores.  And recently they've been on the verge of bankruptcy.

But opportunity struck.  All they had to do was say they'd go along with what the guy said, and they'd get a ton of free advertising.  Sure, it might alienate some diners, but when you're looking for any hope, you take that risk.

Opportunistic company meet amoeba man!

The company may have bought themselves a little time, but their trajectory still isn't good.

No one actually wins here.  But yet, we all lose.

At least the memes were epic.  For example:


 



Wow. Talk about turning an effort to end discrimination into something else


The Missouri Attorney General is accusing Starbucks of discriminating against white men.  The irony of it all...

https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/missouri-ag-accuses-starbucks-of-violating-anti-discrimination-laws/


Even Disney realizes they are pricing people out of visits


The Wall Street journal recently ran a piece about the high cost of making a visit to Disney world. 

Disney seemingly responded by talking about value, the experience, and the "once in a lifetime" schtick. They also calculated their own cost for a stay, and essentially disputed the WSJ proposing a cost around $3800, by saying their own figures were closer to $3100. Which is still a lot. 

Anyway, the article is behind a paywall. But you can find it excerpted here:


And if you're so inclined, fellow Disney enthusiast and acquaintance of mine Len Testa, breaks this down for us in a lot of detail. 

The one thing I'd add is that while this is all true, the cost of *everything* is going up to a point where most people can't afford much more than a staycation. 




Bitchin' Dave's newsletter is published weekly.  Please feel free to forward it around. If you want to subscribe or unsubscribe, send an email to geezergamer92@gmail.com

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