Vesuvius Is Ready To Blow |
Named after its volcanic shape, Vesuvius is a goat's cheese from Australia with an ash-coated, white bloomy rind. It is mild and balanced when young, with a creamy blue flavor that imparts a slight acidity and a lively, fresh, lactic nature. As it matures, the cheese starts turning firmer. Presumably at that point it also changes the way it votes. Speaking of which… Speak to your cheesemonger! —Matt Davis, Need2Know Chedditor P.S. We've got a robot playing chess on our 'gram. |
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"Two years ago I was laid off and raised $5 million in pre-seed funding. Then I had the number one social app on the app store, and today we're on the cover of Inc. magazine." — Phonz Terrell. |
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Last time Donald Trump won the presidential election, my wife and I got together in Los Angeles. So, every Nov. 7, we have a nice memory to look back on, as well as that rather less nice memory of the colleague of mine who got committed to a psychiatric institution the next morning because she couldn't take the news of Trump's victory.
Early voting has reached record highs in swing states. Women are secretly voting for Kamala Harris while telling their husbands they're voting for Donald Trump. Men are secretly voting for Donald Trump while telling their wives they're voting for Kamala Harris. Elon Musk's attorney has admitted that his $1 million giveaway for registered voters in swing states "was not random." Kamala is suddenly ahead in Iowa, which nobody expected, but what do polls know? They're showing the race is neck and neck, after all.
Here's my final prediction: I think Kamala's going to squeak it. Donald Trump has, by some odd twist, started suggesting over recent days that there's a chance he could lose. My feeling — and it's veered all over the place over the last few weeks — is that independent women are breaking for Harris. It's going to be close but not that close, and I expect we'll know the outcome by the time I finally get over the salmonella that's been plaguing me since last Thursday, or perhaps it's not salmonella. Perhaps I'm just sick to the stomach with all the anxiety.
Check back tomorrow by which time I'm sure everything will be fully resolved. Read More |
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2. Nvidia Replaces Intel on Dow Jones Industrial Average |
Pity the poor folks at Intel. They've gone from having a recognizable jingle and being the chips that powered your computers for years to having a recognizable jingle and seeing their stock price crater after failing to capitalize on the AI boom. The firm had 25 years on the Dow, but now it's Nvidia's turn thanks to its significant presence in the tech industry, particularly in AI chip manufacturing.
The move reflects Nvidia stock's rising demand and market value, with a capitalization of $3.32 trillion. Nvidia's shares have risen more than 173% this year to a price of $135.40. Meanwhile, Intel's share price has dropped more than 50% so far this year to $23.20. Not exactly something you'd want to bring up at Thanksgiving round at the Intel family's, eh?
Also can we please talk about how that leather jacket is an absolutely criminal fashion choice for the Nvidia CEO? Read More |
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| Ameca is back—this time, she's taking on a game of chess.
Known for her modular design and expressive abilities, Ameca, developed by Engineered Arts, is powered by GPT technology and equipped with 32 actuators (27 for facial expressions and 5 for neck movement). Watch as she strategizes and plays in real time, demonstrating an impressive blend of robotics and |
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3. Warren Buffet's Cash Pile Exceeds $325B |
Berkshire Hathaway's record cash pile has reached $325.2 billion. Warren Buffett, the fabled chairman and CEO, has refrained from major acquisitions while reducing some of the company's significant equity stakes, including its stake in Apple by about 25%.
The company has faced challenges in finding attractive deals to deploy its cash pile, with Buffett emphasizing that they are not in a rush to spend unless they perceive a low-risk, high-return opportunity. The market also looks a little expensive, and there's a good chance Buffett will spend more cash when it looks a bit cheaper. In other words: he's positioned well to weather a crash. The firm's market value has also reached $974.3 billion, with its market capitalization surpassing $1 trillion for the first time on August 28.
Buffett announced in June that he would donate his fortune, now valued at nearly $144 billion, to a charitable trust managed by his three children when he dies, instead of giving it to the Gates Foundation as he indicated 18 years ago. The kids will have just a decade to give the entire fortune away, which sounds a lot like the plot of Brewster's Millions, albeit with slightly higher stakes. Read More |
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4. Can your Layoff Lead to Your Next Big Thing? |
Have you ever been fired or laid off? Those things have never happened to me, ever, because I'm a good person. But they do happen to bad people who deserve our harshest judgements, right? Wrong. Also, I've been fired multiple times for being too direct, cheeky, or just plain rude (and it's soon to happen yet again, Matt—ed).
The good news? Being laid off, quit-fired, or plain fired is often the best thing that can happen to a person. I'm yet to send a thank-you letter to the PR firm that fired me in 2012 and forced me to get excited about writing marketing copy for truck tires. That's only because I think the managing director would be terrified to hear from me after what I told him when he suggested that my heart wasn't really in it, and I want to spare his feelings. He really did do me a favor even if I didn't entirely see it that way at the time (and nor did the SWAT team, but I digress).
Issie Lapowsky just wrote a great story for Inc. Magazine about "rebounder founders," who go on to found successful companies after getting a pink slip. She joined us along with Alphonzo "Phonz" Terrell, co-founder and CEO of Spill, who got laid off from Twitter in 2022 and has since attracted $5 million in investment in his social media platform.
"It's pretty remarkable to be able to say about two years ago I was laid off and raised $5 million in pre-seed funding. Then I had the number one social app on the app store, and today we're on the cover of Inc. magazine, and it's surreal," Phonz said.
"There were layoffs across the tech industry, so it's not like there were a lot of other jobs available," Issie said. "You're talking about a community of workers who have been very well treated. They've been well paid. They've had a lot of benefits. They've never really had to go out and look for jobs. Jobs have come to them, and suddenly you have a situation where they're not seeing anything. And if they are seeing anything, it's not so appealing. And so for some of the people I talked to, it was a matter of 'let me do this, let me try this out until I see something new come along.'"
Remember if you don't win the election today, candidates, it could be the best thing that ever happened to you! So, why threaten violence? Donald, you might come up with the best company idea from prison! Read More |
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5. Many Retailers Offer 'Returnless Refunds' Without Talking About Them |
Here's a nice little story for an otherwise stressful day. It's one of the most under-publicized policies of some of the biggest U.S. retailers: sometimes they give customers full refunds and let them keep unwanted items too.
Returnless refunds are a tool that more retailers are using to keep online shoppers and to reduce shipping fees, processing time, and other ballooning costs from returned products.
While the retail practice of letting customers keep merchandise and get their money back is not exactly a trade secret, the way it works is shrouded in mystery. Even if brands don't provide details about such policies on their websites, returnless refunds are expanding in at least some retail corners.
If only we could do this with presidential candidates, eh? Read More |
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