Ford, the stock, has done well this year. My own Ford shares are up 42.1% YTD. (Sadly, I don’t own enough. But I will.)
At 9;30 EST, this evening Ford will unveil the new iteration of America’s biggest-selling vehicle — the F-150. Sign up for the streaming TV show here.
Once you’ve signed up, watch the first half of last night’s Rachel Maddow Show.
Rachel is a car person. She waxes enthusiastically about the new F-150 and what it means for the future of the car industry and climate change. It’s an engrossing half-hour. Ask yourself, “Is it not too late to short Tesla? “
Here’s Tesla’s price this year. It’s down a lot. I think it could fall further.
Now, watch Rachel enthuse on the F-150 Lightning. Click on this photo:
Israel’s firefighters need your contribution
Here’s a picture of them doing their thing — putting out fires.
Firefighters are my favorite Israeli charity. I’ve supported them for over 20 years. To donate, click here.
If you’d like to speak to someone who’ll tell you more about where your money will go, send Michael Feinman an email — MFeinman at JNF.org.
How profitable is ransomware?
In a blog post yesterday, Elliptic said DarkSide and its affiliates bagged at least $90 million in bitcoin ransom payments over the past nine months from 47 victims. The average payment from organizations was $1.9 million.
Please take ransomware at your company seriously. Passwords and email attachments. That’s where your vulnerability is.
I get hoisted on my own petard.
I bought a new ThinkPad X1 Carbon laptop. I didn’t need it. I already had two. But it was faster, better, etc. I buy laptops the way some people buy sportscars. Only my madness is cheaper.
Just as I got the laptop set up the battery wouldn’t hold a charge. I tried for days to re-set it. No such luck. I bundled it up to Jose Lopez, my genius repair man in New York. I sent it by USPS, which was dumb. It took so long I panicked. My lovely new laptop is gone!! I go on Lenovo’s web site. I’m so excited. I find an even faster, better one. I snag it. I pay for it. The next day, my busted laptop appears at Jose’s – after visiting every post office in New York. In five minutes, Jose replaces the battery and we’re set to go. Jose is a genius.
But now, I’m crazy. I’m floating in laptops. I figure I’ll sell the repaired one and keep the new one.
But, the best laid plans… I check. I won’t get my fancy new one until mid-November. That’s six months from now. Is there a shortage of semi-conductors, or what?
Bitcoin gets crazier and crazier
Cramer boasts he bought a farm and paid off his house’s mortgage with crypto.
I figure I need a farm. (I don’t have a mortgage.) So I’m going to try crypto.
But how?
I Google “How to buy bitcoin.” I get a zillion hits from currency exchanges, etc.. Ads for their services.
I find a piece on Investopedia. I try to read it. I give up. You try. Click here.
It’s called a Luna Moth.
Gerry wrote: They only live one week as a winged adult and they are mostly nocturnal. You are very lucky to see one.
Gary wrote: “You are fortunate to see one so pristine. most are not. I see a handful a year in the mountains of northern PA now; most are pretty “beat up” comparatively speaking. They generally come out at night also. That one is beautiful. “
It gets better. A reader sent this:
Maybe I’ll win at tennis today?
How do court recorders keep a straight face?
These are from a book called Disorder in the American Courts (Click here) and are what people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and published by court reporters. Read them all. They get better and better. You won’t be able to stop laughing.
ATTORNEY: What was the first thing your husband said to you that morning?
WITNESS: He said, ‘Where am I, Cathy?’
ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you?
WITNESS: My name is Susan!
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ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
WITNESS: I forget..
ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you forgot?
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ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn’t it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn’t know about it until the next morning?
WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam?
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ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the 20-year-old, how old is he?
WITNESS: He’s 20, much like your IQ.
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ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken?
WITNESS: Are you shitting me?
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ATTORNEY: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And what were you doing at that time?
WITNESS: Getting laid.
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ATTORNEY: She had three children , right?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: How many were boys?
WITNESS: None.
ATTORNEY: Were there any girls?
WITNESS: Your Honor, I think I need a different attorney.
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ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated?
WITNESS: By death..
ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated?
WITNESS: Take a guess.
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ATTORNEY: Can you describe the individual?
WITNESS: He was about medium height and had a beard.
ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female?
WITNESS: Unless the Circus was in town I’m going with male.
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ATTORNEY: Doctor , how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead people?
WITNESS: All of them. The live ones put up too much of a fight.
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ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
WITNESS: Oral…
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ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time you examined the body?
WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 PM
ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time?
WITNESS: If not, he was by the time I finished.
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ATTORNEY: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
WITNESS: Are you qualified to ask that question?
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ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?
WITNESS: No..
ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
ATTORNEY: I see, but could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law.
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I don’t like the way tech stocks are increasingly falling out of favor.
See you tomorrow. – Harry Newton
