I wish those people with a stick up their ass would lay off AI.
One day they think everyone in the U.S. will lose their jobs. The next day they think all the investment in AI will go bust. The third day they think everybody and their uncle will fall in love with the wrong bot, be disappointed and commit ritual hara-kari in their local town square.
The latest Atlantic points out (and I agree with them):
Capitalism is resilient. The arrival of the ATM famously led to the employment of more bank tellers, just as the introduction of Excel swelled the ranks of accountants and Photoshop spiked demand for graphic designers. In each case, new tech automated old tasks, increased productivity, and created jobs with higher wages than anyone could have conceived of before.
At one stage there were thousands of telephone operators, zillions of highway toll takers, many farmers, Linotype operators, ice delivery men, video store clerks, stenographers, draftsmen. You can think of some also. We’ve progressed. We now have influencers. (Yuch. Bad joke.)
I’m not in love with the AI services I use. But I feel a huge gratitude to whichever (whoever?) solves my latest, stupid, aggravating problem. I’m unfair. I only ask for solutions to difficult problems – like my cranky calf, or my Blue Screen of Death (BSOD). or their suggestions on my dumb portfolio (which are actually working).
I am generally a happy compulsive, obsessive camper. I won’t let go until I’ve solved my problem – no matter how small. And these services, Perplexity, Gemini, ChatGPT and others are unbelievably useful to make me smarter and healthier…
You’ve heard all that before… The list of Useful Tips below has taken weeks to put together. So savor it. Send me a “thank you” email.
More Useful Tips
+ I bought this darling Lexmark printer. It worked on and off. Until Perplexity told me to connect it via Ethernet, not USB. It now works perfectly. USB cables and connection are not always reliable, especially for printers. In short, always use Ethernet. This way you can print Wi-Fi also. Simple.
+ Jessica in Chatham, NY is my darling hygienist. She says my mouth is significantly healthier now that I’m manic with my water dental flosser. My key: I use it in the shower. My Coslus is far cheaper than a Waterpik.
Only $20. Get yours here.
+ It’s now cheaper to get a high-speed Internet line than a dial-up phone line. Better to use the Internet and Wi-Fi calling on your phone.
+ Most restaurants have Wi-FI. But for those without, turning on your phone’s Personal Hotspot often works fine.
+ YouTubeTV now lets you watch four screens at once. You can easily choose which one you want to hear.
+ You don’t need Windows 11 (few people do), if your Windows 10 works fine (mine does), stay with 10. Remember the old adage, if it works don’t mess with it.
+ You can watch CNBC live using your browser. You can watch Bloomberg Finance on YouTube (for free no less and no ads).
+ Starlink is ultra-reliable and cheap Internet access. Far faster than coaxial cable, though not as fast as fiber. My friends love it. Some also have portable Starlink antennas which they use when they travel. They can also put the monthly charge on hold. Starlink is amazing, in spite of Elon.
+ Best advice to give to your kids or grandkids. Starts with your most important financial decision — who you marry. Buffett believes this also. Click here. Second best advice from the Rabbi: Click here.
+ Strip out Windows 11 bloatware, ads, irritants. Run Winhance. Click here. For an explanation, click here. Winhance works also on Windows 10, though there’s less bloatware.
+ All modern cellphones will let you text through a satellite if you have no local celltower signal and you can see the sky. Some of the Lake Tahoe avalanche surviors used the satellite feature on their cellphones to save their lives. This is truly amazing technoloogy. Here’s the New York Times story. Click here.
+ You can show two tabs side-by-side in your Google Chrome browser — which is enormously useful. Right click a tab and choose “Add tab to new split view.”
+ Knee replacement surgeries are serious surgeries. I have reports of one month recovery to bad outcomes still after a year of extesnive rehab. Joel Ross of The Ross Rant reports “I know of two who died from infections due to (knee) surgery at second rate hospitals.” The operations work best apparently if the surgeon uses a laser. In short, do your own serious research before get such an operation.
+ Fraud by email is exploding. Here are some of the subject lines on today’s fraudulent inbound emails: “Dear: Your Activation shipment is in progress,” “[Action Required] Your Upcoming Payments: 78 Watchung Ave.” “Dear, your Purchase has been fully vetted.” “Dear, your Order is ready to ship.” “Hey: Fulfillment started for Package,” “Extend your cloud storage to avoid issues,” and many more. You can tell they’re all fraudulent by looking at their originating email addresses. Places you never heard of.
The Wimpy Kid series
I bet your kids and grand kids already know about the Wimpy Kid and have one of the 20 books in the series.
To my brain, this is the ultimate serendipity: I love reading the Wimpy Kid books and I’m admiring of Kinney’s $20 million+ annual income he earns from them. This is the one I’m currently savoring.
Buy it here.
This is a good interview from the man who wrote 1929
We are about to bomb Iran
Maybe stock markets will crater. Maybe they won’t. Good idea not to be too much on on margin, and have some cash around for buying the dip.
Final thoughts
Latest Hartmann Report: History Shows How the Transition to Tyranny Begins: By Punishing the Weak and Defying the Courts. Click here.
I have one bitcoin that I’m losing my shirt on. I suspect there will come a time when bitcoin becomes fashionable again. Then I’ll dump it. Stupid “investment.” Dumb Harry.
If you’re spending more on your dog’s health than on your own, join the party.
They arrrested Andrew on “suspicion of misconduct.” He doesn’t look a happy camper.
From the New Yorker:
Thank you to Google’s Gemini for spellchecking today’s blog.
See you soon. Harry Newton
