We bring you more on the Gamestop speculation, travel utopia, short selling, street photographers, the best Covid-19 coverage, an awesome SNL cold open, an even more awesome podcast on trying to inject some sense into many investing “geniuses”, climb the tallest chimney in Europe, some expiring juicy travel rewards credit card offers, we talk about personal philosophies and our feelings so it is okay to let it all out in the comments, we learn about the death penalty history, science fiction, most visited websites (not mine LOL) and lots more and I think I will go down to posting twice a week because obviously posting three times is not doing much to make minimum wage blogging here…You all have a great week and month!
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TOP PICKS
Top picks are not excerpted at all. I recommend you find time to read every word!
Just click it!
I am trying to inject some reason and act as a greed disabler amidst a truly historically bizarre phenomenon. I am talking about the Gamestop stock action and all the Robinhood and reddit investors gamblers. I have seen worse back in the internet dot com era by the way. Anyway, this is the best podcast I listened to recently. Maybe it is because it is an interview of one of the best writers out there: Jason Zweig, a Wall Street Journal writer of the fantastic The Intelligent Investor column. And a deep thinker of a subject dear in my heart, how the human brain affects us and why we make so many mistakes investing and stuff like that. Maybe some of you not addicted to this crack can learn something. Be careful out there!
Jason Zweig – Psychology, History & Writing
One of the best Cold Opens at SNL (Saturday Night Live):
I almost did not check this one out. I am so glad I did. This just looks AMAZING!
Climbing Up Europe’s Tallest Chimney in Slovenia
MILES & POINTS
HOT CREDIT CARD OFFERS: 75k CHASE Ink Cash, 75k CHASE Ink Unlimited, 100k CHASE Ink Business Preferred, 60k CHASE Sapphire Preferred, 80k for all three personal Southwest cards (ENDS February 8), 60k CITI Premier, 65k CITI Business AA Platinum Select, 50k CITI AA Platinum Select, 20k CHASE Freedom Flex & CHASE Freedom Unlimited, 75k AMEX Platinum, 85k AMEX Business Platinum, 50k CHASE World of Hyatt, 150k AMEX Hilton Aspire, 150k AMEX Hilton Business & Hilton Surpass (and $150 credit!), 100k AMEX Hilton Card (and $100 credit!), $250 AMEX Blue Cash Preferred, $300 AMEX Blue Cash Everyday, 140k CHASE IHG Rewards Club Premier, and many more! Please use my Affiliate links.
If you do not see a credit card with my affiliate links, perhaps I could refer you? Contact me please, thank you!
My REFERRAL links for the three 80k Southwest cards (ENDS February 8!)
Newbies: I have been playing this miles game for almost 30 years now, way before The Points Guy was in elementary school! So maybe you should listen to me, just saying. Look, banks are willing to give you thousands of miles/points every year hoping to hook you for a very long time and fleece you along the way. But it is up to YOU to not fall into their trap! So, let me get something straight yet again. The Points Guy Inc. company is out there to SELL travel rewards credit cards to EVERYONE who breathes, they can’t care less about your financial well being after you get that travel rewards credit card earning them yet another sales commission. I really care more about YOU and want to educate you to play this game smarter! I also believe an educated consumer makes for a healthy society and improves the overall well being of it. Soooo, do NOT play this game if you are carrying consumer debt! Do not play this game if you have a spending control “issue”. Do not play this game if you think using more than one or two credit cards is just “too much” to handle. Do not play this game if your organizational skills are lacking. Do not play this game if you do not have a decent size cash emergency fund! Definitely do not play this game if you are living paycheck to paycheck. If you meet all these requirements, promise me NOW you will ALWAYS pay your monthly credit card balance EVERY month!
Well, I hope you were not burning any miles on trips to Canada soon: Canada Mandates Supervised Quarantine, Suspends Flights to Warm Winter Destinations. These still do not compare to the measures in countries like Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand, etc. The point is…stop traveling and taking the chance to spread the virus, do it for the medical professionals putting their ass on the line for more than a year now!
The affiliate World of Hyatt Visa credit card offer has changed for the worse. But the REFERRAL offer so far has not changed and it is so much better! For more details: Why You Should Avoid The New World of Hyatt Card Offer & Stick With The Old One. Not sure for how long though, so hurry! 🙂
I like the new look! The first new-look Sheraton hotels are open …. and look good!
American Express came out with another bunch of enticements to keep its cardholders:
And keeps adding spending bonuses:
And here is an easy Southwest online shopping portal promo too: Southwest Shopping Portal: Spend $100 & Earn 500 Bonus Points Or Spend $300 & Earn 1,000 Bonus Points
TRAVEL
These look soooo good right now with a snowstorm raging outside as I am typing this! 13 Places Where You Can See the Bluest Water in the World. I always wanted to visit Crater Lake in Oregon, maybe this is the year, post vaccine era that is.
This is really good: The new utopia. For a certain jet-setting sect, wide-open spaces with views, few Covid-19 cases, and the freedom to go maskless are all the rage. But who pays the price? This will hit a nerve with some of you travel addicts… I am not making any judgments…I just think that American in Cayman Islands should have been locked up for the original sentence!
COVID-19
The post about these variants: The Most Worrying Mutations in Five Emerging Coronavirus Variants.
I learned so much about the human body antibodies with this: May I Borrow Your Covid Immunity? Whenever a new virus emerges—be it HIV or SARS-CoV-2—a few lucky people put up a potent natural defense. Monoclonal antibody drugs let them share the health.
This ability, of course, is also what makes our immune system so amazing. According to the work of Dennis Burton, the Scripps researcher, and his collaborators, humans have the potential to generate 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 different kinds of antibodies, which means that we all, theoretically, possess the ability to neutralize a vast number of pathogens. The immune system is a randomizer, evolution’s way of preparing for uncertainty. We can’t predict exactly what terrible new virus will emerge, but we know one will. And by harnessing the most effective antibodies—like the antibodies from Donor 45—we might be able to find solutions for humanity.
This may work but…we are not there yet, more studies are needed. The Dogs Trained to Sniff Out COVID-19.
I think I posted this last March. Still, it is so epic! Family’s lockdown adaptation of Les Misérables song goes viral.
PERSONAL FINANCE
Before we dive into talking about THE topic of the day, how about injecting some common sense instead? Another short and excellent post by Morgan Housel. Sorry, I don’t do shocking video clickbait here! Personal Finance Philosophies
It can happen to you
Save like a pessimist and invest like an optimist
No one is impressed with your possessions as much as you are
Managing lifestyle can have the same impact on your net worth as increasing returns
Extreme adherence to an investment strategy is dangerous in a world that changes all the time
I value independence more more than anything else in finance
Most financial mistakes when you try to force things to happen faster than it is required
Embrace and accept your flaws and build a financial plan around them
The best way to teach your kids about money is to make them feel the power of its scarcity
Investing ability is unproven until it’s survived a disaster
There are few universally right answers
I again agree, not all short sellers are bad as some politicians are screaming now trying to score political points. Capitalism needs short sellers, I hope they can come back after this. I think they will #developing. My View On: Short Selling.
So, a lot of this debate seems to put the cart before the horse. Or, as Warren Buffett might say, the market is a voting machine in the short-term and a weighing machine in the long-run. If you run a good business in the long-term there is no amount of short-term short selling that can alter the intrinsic facts around the underlying business
This guy. Roaring Kitty. Or DeepF_ingValue in Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum. I mean, only in America. I hope he does not blow it now and does not get a big head. Sometimes, you get lucky…What I fear is so many trying to get rich quick like him and get eaten alive…As always, be careful out there! Keith Gill Drove the GameStop Reddit Mania. He Talked to the Journal.
Best video parodying the movie Chernobyl, this is brilliant! GME Squeeze and the Demise of Melvin Capital. Look, no tears at all about what happened to Melvin Capital. But are you sure this is all guys like Roaring Kitty behind it all?
If you really want to learn what happens at Robinhood, this is an excellent Twitter thread explaining it all. This is NOT simple stuff you guys, perhaps you should stay away by trying to control your emotions before you get hurt? Just a suggestion…
CURRENT EVENTS/POLITICS
LOVED this vicious beating of Trump. From National Review of all places, they are not very liberal lol: Witless Ape Rides Helicopter. Again, in case you missed it. Loved.Every.Word!
And so, goodbye, Donald J. Trump, the man who wanted to be Conrad Hilton but turned out to be Paris Hilton. Au revoir, Ivanka and Jared, Uday and Qusay — there’s a table for four reserved for you at Dorsia. So long, Melania — it’s still not entirely clear what you got out of this, but I hope it was worth it. A fond farewell to Ted Cruz’s reputation and Mike Pence’s self-respect, Lindsey Graham’s manhood and Fox News’s business model. In with “Dr.” Jill Biden, out with “Dr.” Sebastian Gorka. Good night, ladies, good night, sweet ladies, good night, good night. I’m sure we’ll all meet again. But I’d really rather we didn’t.
Matthew Stafford has been the quarterback for the Detroit Lions for ever. Not even one playoff win, good riddance! I like the new aggressive management and coaches, we shall see what happens! Detroit Lions do right by Matthew Stafford, and themselves, in trade with Rams.
ODDZ & ENDZ
I did not know how the death penalty came to be in the US: The Case That Made Texas the Death Penalty Capital.
Very interesting: Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction.
Maybe if my running days are done I pick up street photography as my new hobby? Must click, wow! 30 Most Influential Street Photographers To Follow in 2021.
I am on a roll with interesting links: The 50 Most Visited Websites in the World.
BLOG BUZZ
We are now entering BLOG BUZZ, a section for advanced hobbyists and veterans of this fast imploding hobby and also a section where I go on and on about some stuff that happens in my life because it helps me feel better about myself.
Good catch in the Chase website: Chase Saved Account Manager: Track Where your Credit Cards are Stored Online & in Mobile Wallets. Grant is appreciated because he could really mail it in copying content every other blogger keeps repeating but he really tries to come up with original content.
I do not have an Mlife Rewards account. As a Hyatt Globalist I can somehow match my status with Mlife, is there a specific way to do this, a separate webpage or something?
I was so happy to see this article in the Wall Street Journal: The NBA’s Best Young Stars Loved the Same Player. He Hated the NBA. Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo grew up watching Vassilis Spanoulis. He played one season in the NBA. He’s also responsible for the future of the league. This guy is from my hometown in Greece. LEGEND! We were so proud when he came to the NBA! But, sadly, Jeff Van Gundy was his coach with the Houston Rockets, a coach notoriously tough with rookies. Well, he did not get any playing time and after a year he left to become THE premier player in all of Europe. I remember going to see him when the Rockets played the Detroit Pistons with my son. I kept yelling at Van Gundy “Play Bill” 🙂 At the end of the game, we got closer to the Rockets bench and called him up with his Greek name and he graciously smiled and acknowledged us. My son still remembers this…maybe that is a reason he is a huge NBA fan. Here is a pic of my son with the Greek national jersey at that game. Detroit won by the way. Yeah, Yao Ming was really tall lol.
I keep hearing how people can get vaccinated if only they would go to sites and hang around near the end of the day hoping for no shows, etc. If anyone in Southeast Michigan has any tips please let me know!
Enjoy my blog while it lasts…
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Thanks for the link to Jason Z. As good as there is.
The new chase rules on what is a cash equivalent look interesting.
Good morning George, thanks for linking to my Chase Saved Account Manager post. One of my blogging philosophies is to “write what I would want to read”, so I only write about things that interest me, regardless of what is trending in the travel blogosphere. Have a great day 🙂
@Grant — certain “thought leaders” claim they also write about what interests them. Call me a cynic, but being the National Enquirer of the travel/points space is really ALL about the clicks. SHOCKING video to follow! :/
@Buzz — sign into your Hyatt account then click this link (you won’t believe what happens next!): https://world.hyatt.com/content/gp/en/rewards/other-partnerships/tier-match.html
@ DML: We ‘ll see what happens with the new Chase rules…That was the best podcast I heard in a very long time.
@ Grant: I had to lol on what GringoLoco said below your comment 🙂 If only I had a back link for every 10 I give out…
@ GringoLoco: Thank you for not providing yet another shocking video LOL.
I now remember my Mlife ordeal. I had never gotten the damn account to work. So when I went back to do this, it told me there was an account, did the ‘forgot password” thingie, and after getting the code to change it…it ALWAYS gave me an error message, something my account did not activate or something! I even set up another account using a different email address and STILL the same error loop. I called the number, voice tree hell and hanged up on me. I emailed the address listed, came back undeliverable… So, I say:
Up yours Mlife, I am done, not going to waste another minute on this. I am not going to Las Vegas for a while anyway…
George, do you have a Sofi Money referral link?
(And if not, does anybody else have one?)
No I do not and thanks for asking!
Will you allow one in the comments . . . https://www.sofi.com/invite/money?gcp=e317f290-41f1-4ce9-a261-3cf2c632442d
The ultimate in award travel – a seat on a SpaceX flight
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/01/science/spacex-jared-isaacman.html
https://www.prizeo.com/campaigns/l/inspiration4/inspiration4
Added it to the queue, thanks!
Looks very relevant 🙂
Pfizer will sell $15B worth of vaccine this year. And the stock is up 0% in the last year.
20% margins (revenue) should make it clear to everyone why we, as a society, have not spent more in this space. We could have eliminated several cancers if we more willing to spend more on prevention. You make money by treating patients, not on preventative care.
Meanwhile many EU countries won’t treat their 65+ population with AZ’s vaccine, because there is no evidence it provides any benefit to the most important segment of our population. Well done Oxford!
GME down 80%, still holding the line, to the moon!
For clarity, the Oxford vaccine wasn’t tested on enough 65+ people to provide statistically valid results. That is absolutely not the same as ‘it doesn’t work’. We’ll find out soon enough anyway.
My Mum got the Pfizer, at 77, got the Pfizer one anyway.
Who said “ it doesn’t work”?
All vaccines work! If you get vaccinated you will not die. And you likely won’t require hospitalization. The world needs to go ALL OUT on this!
Thanks for letting me know the GME price. To this day, I never checked the price on my own, I keep learning online about it. I did my part here to warn people and I feel good about it. Now, excuse me, I go back to watching paint dry 🙂
Next post developing, no idea when it will drop…
Hey Buzz-
Game Stop is down to low 3 digits. When it gets down below $100, I’m going all in. Easy money-it was over $300 late last week. Johnny Threadbare over on Reddit is in with me.
Full disclosure: This is a joke. Do not buy this stock or any other asset which is the object of rank specualtion. Instead, figure out how much you can afford to lose, take it down to the nearest casino and put it on red.
Hot tip: the TrampCo corporation out of Springfield is about to introduce a new kind of Robot Butcher…
My wife made me buy lottery tickets when Mega Millions was 1 billion dollars. And you know what? I won!
4 dollars
woohoo!
And then I did the unthinkable…I cashed it in for two more tickets a few days later…oh wait, the draw is today….Maybe I win like the “early” pumpers 🙂
To this day, I have never searched to check out the gamestop stock price. But I see it online everywhere. The amount of silence today compared to the unbelievable pump is…deafening 🙂
What I don’t get is…Robinhood can still bring in the money….wow. So much cash floating everywhere. Maybe I spring for a 55 inch TV this year to replace my old trust Panasonic 40 inch TV I bought before the 2006 World Cup and was going to keep around for at least two World Cups 🙂
There’s Robinhood and there’s Google cloud:
2020 $5.6B loss on $13B revenue.
2019 $4.7B loss on $8.9B revenue
2018 $3.4 B loss on $5.8B revenue.
This does not look like a scalable AND profitable business. In a normal market, a BIG company would be punished when you lose $40+ to generate $100 in revenue. I’m surprised Google AI hasn’t figured that out yet. As I’ve mentioned before Google only knows one thing well, how to sell ads.
The current deal they announced with Ford will save them! 🙂
LOL, now your car will be full of ads!
Can’t get worse than the Microsoft code shit they had!
True, I didn’t know that car assembly lines around the world have stalled because a lack of semiconductors!
No post today, sorry.
I think I am going to do a post when I have enough to meet my quality standards.
So, I expect to post one tomorrow then. Going forward, there will not be any pattern in posting so I can trick you all to come back here to increase my page views so I can make more money off ads…oh wait, what ads>
Buzz-
Good movie: Hostiles.
On Netflix thru Feb 14.
Only reported on TBB Culture.
My son has a Netflix account, he gave me the logins but I never have time 🙂
Will look for it in Amazon Video instead.
Blog post coming tomorrow. You are all going to like it.
Still looking for conversion #1 this month while One Mile at a Time is on the mother of all plastic pumping sprees…when “one man” gives TPG a run for the pumping king you know it is surreal!
If any reader owns a mypillow…you will be banned! #thatguy
Apple +KIA = failure?
I bought an iphone to signal my status to the ladies. Tim Apple, there is nothing sexy about KIA. Tim understands supply chain, but not design and sexual appeal.