Bitchin Dave's Newsletter - February 17th
On the surface, its kind of bizarre that just after they won the SuperBowl, the Seahawks will be sold.
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But there's way more to this story. Paul Allen bought the team (along with some other sports franchises) many years ago. More recently, he moved those assets (along with others) into a trust. His explicit directions via his will and that trust were that his sister, Jody, would serve as the trustee, and these teams would be sold, and all proceeds would be directed to charity.
The NFL has a rule that there must be a single, majority owner. Trusts, and other ownership arrangements are not allowed. So it makes sense ... sort of ...
Except that Paul Allen died in 2018, you know, like 8 years ago, and the sale still hasn't happened. And you might ask why? And the answer is in the team's relationship to the city and state.
When funding was approved for the new stadium for the Seahawks, a clause was written in, that if he sold or moved the team within 25 years, he would owe 10% of the value of the team as a penalty. That agreement was signed in 1999, which means that it literally just expired.
So now that there is no more penalty hanging over the team, the NFL is "encouraging" the sale.
And in case you wondered, he bought the team in 1997 for just under $200 million. Its current value is at its peak, after a SuperBowl win, and is estimated to be around $8 billion. That's around a 400% increase in value in 30 years.
Mind blown. Dang. It must be good to be wealthy. (I'm half kidding)
More importantly, that money is going to charity, where hopefully it will do some tremendous good. Hats off to him for thinking about making the world a little better through his investment. And I'm glad the Seahawks won, in that case, to maximize that benefit.
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I find curling oddly fascinating. It's a sport that literally anyone can play, and it has some very intriguing physics properties that no one can quite explain. And, hey, this year the "gentleman's game" has a little controversy with a few teams breaking the rules and then arguing about it. That just kind of adds to the fun of it. Anyway, this YouTube video is a fun summary of all of it. |
Here's an article about how PhDs are leaving government jobs - mostly because T-rump is cutting jobs, and undercutting scientific research. I remain hopeful that either the government reverses course, or that private business takes up some of the slack. Or else, we'll be turning to Canada for more scientific answers. |
This article underscores the larger problem of having so many satellites in orbit. Anyone could have an incident, a malfunction, or a collision that could have catastrophic consequences. |
Researchers in Western Australia are using a living algae as a carbon capture method - with the added benefit that it can be attached onto a building to help with keeping the building from heating up. That, in turn, reduces the need for air conditioning. This article goes into some detail by a Brazilian journalist, which appears to have been translated into English. It's readable, but I'm looking for additional stories about the subject, because I'd like to learn more. |
There's a movie about how Disneyland got built in a year (you can watch it on the YouTube link). But there is also a review of the film and some additional thoughts about what went into making it. |
What I take away from this is: 1. Waymo's automation is mostly smoke and mirrors and is not ready for the real world. 2. These "autonomous vehicles" are being driven remotely by people who are not in the US and who do not possess a valid drivers license. 3. The company rightly should be shut down; they committed fraud against the government and its own investors - and they essentially endangered their passengers. I stand by that, amidst the wishy-washy comments from the company. |
Bonus: There was a recent article about how Miami has the United States' worst drivers. When I saw the headline, I was reminded about a quote from humorist Dave Barry from years ago, about these Miami drivers … "People are saying Miami drivers don't follow the rules. They're all following the rules of driving…. From the country they came from" |
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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