“Go to sleep. It’s 3 AM.”
Susan hollers at me . My iPhone is keeping her awake.
“You’re down the AI Rabbit Hole, again.”
She’s right.
I am engrossed. Gemini and I are doing our thing.
My friends were going nuts on VCX. Gemini tells me:
“VCX is the ticker for Fundrise Innovation Fund, a NYSE-listed public venture fund launched in July 2022. It gives retail investors exposure to private tech companies such as AI, data infrastructure, software, and other growth areas, with a 1.85% annual management fee….
The main caution is valuation risk. VCX is a closed-end fund, so its share price can trade far above or below the value of its underlying assets, and one source described it trading at a very large premium to NAV at one point. 5 9 That means you can be right about the portfolio and still overpay for the wrapper.”
This AI stuff is really useful, not only for explanations and summaries of stocks.
It told me how to fix the dishwasher. Much better than the incomprehensible dishwasher manual.
It helped me find the “picks and shovels” of the AI biz. And it answered my questions on Astera Labs (buy), STMicroelectronics (buy) and VCX (overpriced and volatile).
I sat withDavid my programmer friend this morning, who showed me how he used Microsoft’s CoPplot to help him code faster. He was paying Microsoft the grand sum of $8 a month, but agreed he would pay $50, maybe more. Copilot saved him major time.
I asked Perplexity to summarize Jensen’s interview on CNBC. Jensen told me how AI was moving to agentic AI, when it will actually do things for me. Agentic AI has “supercharged reasoning and execution capabilities” which promise to transform many aspects of human-machine collarboration.
I asked it for info on President Trump’s 3500-3700 individual trades he made in the first quarter of 2026:
-
The filings and media analyses highlight heavy activity in large‑cap tech and AI‑related names: Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Adobe, ServiceNow, Workday, Oracle, Broadcom, Dell, Texas Instruments, Synopsys and others.
-
One disclosed pattern: on February 10, 2026, the account sold 5–25 million dollars each of Microsoft, Amazon and Meta, while buying various software and AI‑infrastructure stocks.
It didn’t know if Trump was making any money on trading stocks. I can’t imagine anyone could. I had this thought that the only people making money on these were the people making the trades — doing the buying and selling — on Trump’s behalf. A percentage or two would make someone a nice chunk of change. I wonder how much Trump was overseeing the trades? Doesn’t he also have a day job — like running the country?
I notice that his Administration just invested $375 million in GlobalFoundries (GFS). which the administration did before the bounce.
I wish I had known.
I’ve asked Perplexity medical stuff. Like finding me nearby endodontists, or how to live longer. (More about that tomorrow.) When I got stricken with allergies (or something else) I wanted someone to talk to at 3:00 AM. Perplexity and Gemini are perfect.
I asked Perplexity for the five biggest societal benefits from AI:
The five biggest societal benefits from AI, in my view, are: dramatically better healthcare, big gains in productivity and economic growth, accelerated scientific discovery, stronger tools for tackling climate and resource challenges, and expanded access to education and services worldwide.
To find her/his complete answer, click here.
Here’s a little I’ve learned on using the AI services
+ They all make mistakes. You’re the boss. You gotta think, gotta check, gotta logic it out. Perplexity got my “allgery” ailment wrong. My doctor, Jerry Clements, go it right.
+ For listing sheer facts, events, numbers, etc. they can’t be beat.
+ Their opinions on stocks are useful. They will summarize stuff better (and much faster) than a paid researcher. And much better and faster than Wall Street analysts.
+ You can read about AI — Amazon is selling at least 34 books with AI or Artificial Intelligence in the title — but there’s nothing like playing with them inthe wee hours of the morning.
I found this hype on Amazon peddling a $37 paperback book (that’s two years old).
Useful stuff
+ Zillions of hearing aids later… these ones work best for me:
I play tennis with these things now. I play better tennis. And they’re cheaper than when I bought them. Now only $159. Click here.
+ Jessica my great dental hygienist loves I”m using this. My teeth and gums look better.
Only $20. Click here.
+ Amazon’s clothes and shoes are remarkably good and cheap.
+ Always buy cancelable tickets from the airline or from Amtrak. Cost more, but so much easier to get your money back if you have to cancel.
+ Mint Mobile is $15 a month for three months if you’re new, but then $45 a month. But still a lot cheaper than AT&T and Verizon. And I think better.
+ Flite is the greatest, most useful, simplest, cheapest (free) software for your iPhone. It lets me remember random thoughts. I type or speak some to it and hit the up button. It emails me my brlliances.
+ I count over 40 attempts to steal money from me via email. The Geek Squad. Norton Lifelock. McAfee. Cloud storage. Auto insurance. Virus Guard Elite. Auto Insurance. etc. To know if it’s fraud, check the originating email address. If it looks crooked, it is.
+ Banking checks by iPhone’s camera is wonderful.
Don’t do stupid (again and again)
+ Don’t lift your suitcase into an overhead bin. Beg help from a younger passenger,
+ Don’t carry heavy things. Your back is precious.
+ Don’t go up and down stairs without holding the railing.
+ Don’t play crippleball. (Also called pickleball).
+ Look both ways twice. Motorized bicycles are heavy and will put you in the hospital for months.
I know I am a cracked record. But my friends keep falling and fracturing their hips and their shoulders.
When you’re old (over 25), everything takes longer to heal. And sometimes never does.
Tells it all
Favorite New Yorker cartoons, this week
Nobody but me thinks this is funny
Two men enter a fancy French restaurant, each with a dog – one a German shepherd the other a chihuahua.
Told that dogs aren’t allowed, the man with the shepherd says, “But this is my seeing-eye dog.“
The maitre d’ apologizes and the man is seated with his dog.
When the man with the chihuahua is told no dogs allowed, he says, “But this is my seeing-eye dog.“
The maitre d’ says, “Monsieur, in my 30 years on this job, I have never seen a seeing-eye dog that is a chihuahua.
The man exclaims, “THEY GAVE ME A CHIHUAHUA?”
Warning
This is a harsh Australian criticism of President Trump
Short. Just words.Click here.
I’ll back tomorrow. — Harry Newton
