Your Survival Guy survived a weeklong liver cleanse, and I’m here to write about it. OK, it was a five-day deal. I made it four and three-quarters. I can’t say I recommend it, but here I am, wondering how this week will go. So far, so good. Now I’m thinking about every little bite and sip I take. But hey, a little bit of self-reflection goes a long way. That’s the beauty of a reset. If you want to make time stand still, dear reader, and not let life pass you by, then do a liver cleanse. Talk about watching paint dry. Five days will feel like an eternity. All in the name of prolonging … [Read more...]
Archives for February 2023
Is Commercial Real Estate About to Crash?
One chief executive of a large office building company says the market for commercial real estate is already in recession. Is the commercial real estate market about to suffer a crash? Peter Grant reports in The Wall Street Journal: The number of big office landlords defaulting on their loans is on the rise, fresh evidence that more developers believe that remote and hybrid work habits have permanently impaired the office market. The giant investment manager Brookfield Asset Management recently defaulted on a total of over $750 million in debt for a pair of 52-story towers in Los Angeles, … [Read more...]
Happy Presidents’ Day!
Warning: Overnight Law-Abiding Citizens are now Felons and More…
As I wrote to you yesterday, big government is coming after you. Today, law abiding Rhode Islanders who own a gun with a magazine that can hold more than ten rounds are felons. Wait a second. What just happened? Last June, RI’s General Assembly passed a law banning all magazines holding more than ten rounds. The governor signed it into law. There was a six month grace period to turn in the “illegal” mags to local law enforcement (which, by the way, also makes you a target because they’re keeping records of those who turn them in, in case the law is overturned and you want them back). The … [Read more...]
Mild Weather Pushes Gas Prices Down in Europe
Mild weather has stunted demand for natural gas in Europe this winter, keeping prices low in what could have been a volatile market in light of wartime sanctions and supply constraints. David Sheppard reports in the Financial Times: The price of European natural gas has fallen to its lowest level since the build-up to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, boosting the EU and UK economies and delivering a blow to President Vladimir Putin’s war effort. The benchmark gas price on Friday fell below €50 per megawatt hour for the first time in almost 18 months, down to €48.90/MWh, as traders … [Read more...]
Road Rage: Your 2A Freedoms Under Assault in Rhode Island
Your freedom is under assault in Rhode Island. Last year the state passed three anti-gun laws, including the ban on large capacity magazines—ones holding more than ten rounds. The law will not reduce gun violence, nor will it prevent mass shootings. Bad guys, deranged guys, looking to do harm, will break the law and get their high-capacity mags. Law abiding citizens who own these magazines have become felons overnight because the grace period expired in December. Now they can face up to five years in prison or a fine of up to $5,000—for doing nothing. Your government at work for you. … [Read more...]
Is the Metaverse Dead Already? Here’s Its Most Serious Problem
At the Financial Times, Jemima Kelly analyzes what has gone wrong with the "metaverse," and enthusiasm for the concept has drained away. She asks, "Where did it all go wrong?" Here is the answer she supplies, including identifying the metaverse's most serious problem: The metaverse has a couple of major problems. The first is that nobody seems to be able to agree on what it is — even the people setting themselves up as the leaders of our new fantastical future can’t seem to come up with a common definition. The likes of Zuckerberg appear to think it’s basically a VR world, offering the thrill … [Read more...]
“Do We Have Anything to Watch Tonight?”
Your Survival Guy and Girl are watching The Last of Us, streaming on HBO Max, an apocalyptic thriller drama based on a popular video game I never played. Then, one of its lead actors, Pedro Pascal (from Mandalorian and Game of Thrones), hosted Saturday Night Live the other weekend, and that caught my attention. How Your Survival Guy got into the show is in a manner that’s become all too frequent—in a panic. Listening to Alison Krauss while getting dinner ready, she asked: “Do we have anything to watch tonight?” I quickly pulled up Rotten Tomatoes and said this show gets a 97% and … [Read more...]
Are Too Many People Betting on China?
Long positions on Chinese equities have become the "most crowded trade" amongst fund managers, according to a Bank of America survey. Chris Flood reports on the survey's findings in the Financial Times, writing: Global fund managers are becoming increasingly nervous about the durability of the rally in Chinese equities, with one in five of the view that it has become the market’s “most crowded trade”. Allocations by global fund managers to emerging market equities, including China, increased for a third straight month in February, according to a widely watched monthly Bank of America … [Read more...]
Happy Valentine’s Day: How A Legend was Born at Per Se, NYC
Happy Valentine’s Day from Your Survival Guy. When Thomas Keller decided to bring his culinary expertise to New York City, he was asked if it would be like The French Laundry, his world-famous restaurant in Napa Valley. He responded, “per se.” Today, a signature dish at Keller’s Per Se is Oysters and Pearls sourced from Skip Bennett’s Island Creek Oysters in Duxbury, Massachusetts. Located about 40 minutes northeast of Newport, Rhode Island, Duxbury is where we’ve spent many an afternoon with close family friends cruising the harbor, wakeboarding, fishing, sailing, and, after one … [Read more...]