I bring you the best content online about underwater hotels, pandemic enormity, dangerous NFTs, my own Pfizer vaccine experience, watch The Lost Pianos of Siberia, travel to Alaska and Fukushima, Bolsonaro in Brazil is in a killing spree, learn how many ultra high net worth individuals are around and where, how to invest with your head and not your heart, enjoy windowswap, photography riding Chinese trains, devaluations have already started amid a global pandemic and on yet another wave and lots more!
TBB Blog Mission: To Educate. Entertain. Inspire. In That Order!
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BREAKING NEWS: Amazon Affiliates closed my account last night! I need to delete all the Amazon links next. Decision is final. Help another blog with your shopping!
TOP PICKS
Top picks are for truly exceptional content.
Loved her writing, it reminds me of me as yet another immigrant to the US full of idealism…
The edge of our existence: A particle physicist examines the architecture of society
You may have noticed that whatever I post here is the complete opposite of moronic clickbait shit that attracts clicks. I do not even have any ads, I care for your eyes. And mine. And you come here to see some stuff you will likely never see anywhere else. And this video totally captures what my blog stands for. Eclectic to the core! One day I am going to take that train to Siberia…
TRAVEL
I never had an interest in staying in one of these hotels. Perhaps because I am paranoid the glass will break and drown me! 5 Underwater Hotels We Love. I think this phobia has to do with the fact that I almost drowned twice in my life and I really don’t want to go…there!
Delta is going big on flights to Alaska! Delta Just Added Tons of Alaska Flights From Across the U.S.
What a drone shot! 13km from Ballinrobe or 20km from Castlebar in Co Mayo is the ruin of Moorehall. It was burned out in 1923 and nature has been reclaiming it since.
You may have noticed I have an affection towards desolate landscapes: ‘There’s No Town Left’: Fukushima’s Eerie Landscapes.
COVID-19
This probably should have been a Top Pick. It is a long article that touches on several areas, I really felt it: Will We Ever Grasp the Enormity of the Pandemic? As long as we focus on deaths and statistics, the bigger story of Covid-19 will go untold.
Is there a world leader who is dumber and more deadly than Trump? Yes! Who is it then? Brazil’s Bolsonaro. ‘Covid is taking over’: Brazil plunges into deadliest chapter of its epidemic. Corrupt Lula or dotard Bolsonaro? I say…get ready for Lula soon and I see Bolsonaro escaping with a helicopter from the roof of one of his mansions soon.
Living with long Covid Twitter thread.
In the meantime, cases are going up in Michigan where that variant from Great Britain is wreaking havoc…
PERSONAL FINANCE
You know, when even Seth Godin blogs about them: NFTs are a dangerous trap.
The short version is that for the foreseeable future, the method that’s used to verify the blockchain and to create new digital coins is deliberately energy-intensive and inefficient. That’s on purpose. And as they get more valuable, the energy used will go up, not down. It’s an ongoing waste that creates little in ongoing value and gets less efficient and more expensive as time goes on. For most technological innovations the opposite is true. The trap, then, is that creators can get hooked on creating these. Buyers with a sunk cost get hooked on making the prices go up, unable to walk away. And so creators and buyers are then hooked in a cycle, with all of us up paying the lifetime of costs associated with an unregulated system that consumes vast amounts of precious energy for no other purpose than to create some scarce digital tokens.
Jason Zweig gets some readers to respond with their own ideas about Investing With Your Head, Not Your Heart. Let me tell you what I do: I look at my portfolio very few times (the less, the better!) and when I do look at it…I cut 1/3 and pretend what I have left over IS this lower number. I avoid individual stocks and other stuff that fluctuates a lot, the stress of looking at them and the loss of focus in what I do best and value more is not worth it imho. Of course, having no debt and plenty of cash to account for emergencies and then some sure helps a lot not to panic. I rebalance every six months and stick with broad based low cost index based ETFs/funds. I don’t do stupid tax moves, hey I am a CPA afterall lol. I find other things for excitement. I prioritize health. Come to my TedTalk next woohoo.
Here is a graph with The Top 20 Countries for Ultra High Net Worth Individuals. First, what qualifies you to be an UHNW individual? It is a net worth of over $30 Million. Second, look at the shocking increase of them in China, WOW!
ODDZ & ENDZ
I think I may have posted this before: WindowSwap. Click to see the view from a window somewhere in the world. Warning: It can be a little addictive!
Writer Carl Hiaasen has been writing an opinion column for Miami Herald since 1985. This is his final column: With or without me, Florida will always be wonderfully, unrelentingly weird. When I do this, I hope I go out with a bang like he did, wow!
The internet has made it easier to wage war on the truth. Yet, as shown by the Capitol uprising of selfie-snapping Trump rioters, social media also serves to lure the dumb, deluded and dangerous into the open. Seeing them all offers important, if unsettling, clarity.
As you read these words, some scrofulous tunnel rat in public office is busy selling your best interests down the road. It might be happening at your town council, zoning board, water district, or county commission — but it is happening. Certainly there are those with guts and unshakeable integrity in both political parties, but theirs is an uphill slog — and often they don’t last long.
Rest in peace Wang Fuchun: The Long, Winding Journey of China’s Train-Riding Photographer. Wang Fuchun spent over 40 years capturing life on China’s railways. Now, the renowned photographer’s epic ride has come to an end.
MILES & POINTS
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If you do not see a credit card with my affiliate links, perhaps I could refer you? Contact me!
This section is about my hobby addiction of collecting frequent flyer miles and hotel points since the early 1990’s! Feel free to skip this section and parts of the next one if this is not for you.
Newbies: ALWAYS be mindful of what bloggers are blogging about because most do not have YOUR best interest in mind! They pound readers with “travel for free” numerous posts littered with direct credit card affiliate links earning them millions. Then, to diversify their revenue sources, pound you with “buy miles and points” with their affiliate links earning them thousands. Look, do NOT buy miles and points UNLESS in VERY rare situations where you can immediately burn them for a trip you had in mind for a while. Then again, with the ongoing pandemic, this is NOT the time to even think about SPENDING money to buy these deflating currencies! I could be pumping you these buy miles or points affiliate links but I don’t. THINK and vote with your clicks.
Register now before you forget! Q2 2021 5% Quarterly Categories: Activate, Offers & Suggestions (Freedom/Flex, Discover, Dividend, Cash+ & more).
Is it just me or is this hobby boring lately or what? Zzzzzz….
Let’s get a bit deeper into the hobby big business. The Wall Street Journal posted recently: “Are Frequent-Flier Programs Really Worth More Than Airlines?“. Just the fact that this headline exists shows you this industry is doing fine. Here is a LINK that bypasses the WSJ paywall (it appears that it does not work with the iphone, fyi). Here is an interesting excerpt from the article:
The data vindicate estimates by Stifel analyst Joseph DeNardi, who has long championed the thesis that markets are undervaluing these programs. His valuations suggest AAdvantage, SkyMiles and MileagePlus have equity of $31 billion, $29 billion and $18 billion, respectively. That theoretically implies that the airline business is worth less than $2 billion for Delta, a negative $5 billion for United and a whopping minus $19 billion for American.
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.
Imagine devaluing in the middle of a pandemic and in the middle of another wave in Europe smh: Uh oh: British Airways increases short-haul Avios redemption prices with no notice.
How I see my blog? As a personal escape and, this is important, as a Public Service Announcement. Stop laughing. People still think I am angry at bloggers who make millions in this space. I am not but I see blogging as a higher calling to warn readers of shady practices. A better informed person is contributing to a better world. I could be doing other way more profitable things with my time but I don’t. Whatever, here is a time-lapse video of a salamander growing from a single cell. I hope it blows you away too. TBBon!
So, I got the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine shot yesterday. In Ionia, Michigan. Never been there, it is Trump country, I saw just three fading Trump 2020 signs lol. I must admit the whole experience with Rite Aid has been great so far. No side effects, just a sore arm. I think I had more of a sore arm from the flu shot. I return April 6 for the second dose. On the drive there I listened to this amazing story on Public Radio about this 61 year old tax professional in Fresno, California who died of Covid, so full of life providing for his wife and six kids who had to say goodbye via Zoom, how cruel is that. So when I had to sit for about 15 minutes after my shot so many thoughts went through my mind but one feeling overpowered everything else: Gratitude. I felt gratitude for sitting on that chair thinking of so many who never made it to that spot and who knows how many out there still suffering. Gratitude for everybody and everything. I hope we can beat this virus soon so do your part. And thank you scientists!
As I was finishing this post I learned of some loser who killed several Asians in the Atlanta area…so much hate…I can’t think right now…
And I leave you with this…
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Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
Update: Losing a reliable small source of income using the Amazon Affiliates program this morning IS devastating. Not financially but just the fact that you are trying to blog responsibly and bang! I guess they did not like me posting about it on Twitter, something I have been doing for YEARS! And just like that, they kicked me out and kept what they owed to me, which was at least a few hundred dollars. Talk about a robbery, this should be illegal! My personal Prime account appears intact, any ideas how to get my gift card balance out? I need to cut these thieves out of my life. So, other than a few credit cards (which will likely be taken away from me as it has been months I hit ten per month they asked for) and a few Paypal donations…is it any wonder why so many bloggers quit? I need to rethink everything…Constructive ideas welcome. Mile Nerd was right to step away…
Dang!! This sucks. My top bar has a link to your main page so I have to go through you to get to Amazon. Gonna have to change that I guess. Sorry to read of this. As far as Gift Card balance, I have no idea but if you can buy something you like with it now, then that might be easiest? No idea. I have read of folks who were owed $$ and it was a fight, but eventually they got their $$ from Amazon. Hope you do not have to fight too hard.
Sad news and sorry to read this. I am supposed to get my shot later this morning. Hope they give it to me as I have a bit of a cold. Fingers crossed!
I am not going to fight them for a few hundred dollars, just need to move on. What pisses me off is that…it was just, BANG, you are out and we are keeping your money for something I had been doing for YEARS linking to a product and not just to my affiliate link. I mean, this is some absurd shit…Same with the cc vendors. It is what it is, find another Amazon link from a worthy blog to support with your shopping. Or, just shop locally 🙂
Seen more “I am vaccinated” posts online in the past few than ever before, good sign.
I’ve never come close to drowning yet I, too, have no desire to stay in an underwater hotel room for the same reason as you. I don’t think I’d sleep very well down there.
Yeah, even if I got a suite for free I will pass 🙂
Re the hobby being zzz I’d expect once things start reopening for airlines+ hotels+ banks to fiercely compete for consumers and some amazing promotions
I agree, as we get to use points/miles for experiences this summer demand will greatly increase. However, international 1st class is dead. We’ll be suffering in excellent business class seats!
It’s been a long time since I last attended a concert. Why are Rammstein concert tickets >$100 this fall? Isn’t this the starting price for more popular performances?
I sure hope so…
Looks like my Dead Can Dance concert that was moved back one year to now April 27, 2021…is not going to happen but…it has not been officially canceled yet. Lifegoal was to see them live once, been a fan since the 80s 🙂
Oh man. Screw Amazon. I’m sorry to hear that they kept all your commissions. I guess I’ll shop through smiles for now then.
I am sorry too, thanks for carrying the blog for a while, much appreciated.
Glad to hear you got vaccinated. That will take a lot of worry out of your life.
I have been promoted to the Outside Person in the house because I’m the least at risk.
“Promoted to the Outside Person”…kind of funny. Does it come with a bonus or stock options too? 🙂
Hey, Buzz-
Great links-another hour or more of informative reading. Thank you. Again.
Looking for Amazon to validate responsible blogging? Well, as they say in Nashville:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIuryZ8JUJM
Seriously, sorry about losing the Amazon links. Maybe not for good.
So FF programs are profitable? Oh yeah-for airlines. But not for me-I’m all cash. Can’t understand why everyone chases that wampum.
BTW, what credit card did you use to get that shot? Isn’t Citi 3x for drugstores this month?
I pop in here to can Ramsey’s vitriolic trolling. That guy has a bad day every day it appears. Must be tough to think he supported a loser!
Thanks for the kind words. If I was not getting some of these this blog would not have lasted all these years. You know the earnings here are immaterial in the grand picture but they do help to carry on, sorry, blog on.
I am just relieved right now that it appears we have an extra month from the IRS which is so needed. And they still have 7 million returns to process..WTF!
I am thinking to do a “69 reasons I love the Chase Sapphire Preferred card” post and repeat it numerous times while the “BEST OFFER” of 80k points lasts…just to mess with the libs, wait, what do we call them now? The pumpers, the Trumpers, etc 🙂
Actually, thinking of it, do you think I can come up with 69 things woohoo… I mean, Gary Leff has gone up to 17 I believe…
One thing for sure after the Amazon shock is…I let go some articles that come my way…so it has been good for me to cut down on borderline material and…focus even more on eclectic stuff.
Drove to two clients today to deliver/pick up tax returns/data…Had nice chat in the front yard, been so long. They commented on my hippie look. Going for a haircut tomorrow, I will pay double the normal price because…my hair deserve it lol.
Love your gratitude about getting the vaccine. That was my experience, too–I cried on the drive to get it–such a sense of relief; now life is finally going to get better. How fortunate we are compared to so many.
All of Brasil is corrupt–everything/everyone greases each other. So, it may be slimy, but Lula is 100% better than Bolsonaro. Lula’s focus has been on helping the people, while Bolsonaro is oblivious to that. Just as trump was the worst possible person to have in charge during the pandemic, Brasil has had an incompetent equivalent as well. Here’s hoping they get their own empathic replacement soon.
So sorry to learn you lost your Amazon link. Damn.
Thank you, I agree with 100% of your comment 🙂
I’m surprised the EU bet the farm on AZ’s vaccine. May make for a miserable summer in the EU. US took the right approach by being very aggressive and diversifying. And the Biden admin improved that further. The EU had plenty of time to diversify in Nov, Dec and January.
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/03/it-s-very-special-picture-why-vaccine-safety-experts-put-brakes-astrazeneca-s-covid-19
More info about AZ’s vaccine. Not taking that one.
Greece had 28,000 vaccinations today. The Govt is more concerned on how to open for tourism than saving lives and stabbing people with the vaccines. My mother, who is 80, is still not vaccinated. Organizational discipline and speed were NEVER a Greek thing…Sad.
Last night I wiped away 31 blogs in my Feedly list. I then deleted another five bookmarked sites. Among them were my now dead Amazon link and the Amazon Affiliates login site, good riddance to all. We all evolve…Keep evolving!
Another wave in Michigan with over 3,000 Covid cases. But no deaths. I think this trend will stick while the race to vaccinate is on…
I feel gratitude for being alive, for being healthy, for my family, for this blog that allows me to still have a voice helping to add value to people’s lives educating, entertaining and inspiring for more than 8 years, which is an eternity in blog life! I can take the criticism but one thing you need to all admit the mission of the blog has never wavered.
I walked six miles yesterday, working on building tolerance, been a LONG road back to eventually running again.
The blog is alive. I am going to finish by pounding another theme we can never repeat enough:
Support anything you want to keep around!
Time to make another donation to my public radio station. They need a new transmitter 🙂
You all have a great day.
Spread gratitude!
Update1: Make that 37 blogs deleted. And some more websites. Including Flyertalk, so sad!
Update2: I will limit to no more than three links in each section. Posts will finally be smaller but a lot of stuff that used to make it into a post no longer won’t. Will de emphasize miles and points even more, the writing is on the wall now, the vast majority of people would be much better off with a 2% cash back card and then be a free agent while enjoying the much simpler life not having to bother with trying to keep up with these programs. Feedly was a lot more manageable today, it is GREAT. I cut out so much crap I can not believe I bothered with for so many years. Starting next week expect each TBB post to be a gift. Until the credit card links go too (it is the only thing that pays some of the bills here now and the two Paypal monthly donors). Have had two cc conversions this month, why don’t they just take them away from me to get it over with lol.
Update3: Still no ads here. Still no sponsored posts. Every time I think about going to Boarding Area (which could definitely replace the Amazon revenue) I see yet another clickbait shit post by someone there and I lose interest. I am really enjoying spending less time on Feedly and cutting down on some reading that was not as eclectic. I am not seeing posting more than twice a week. When my credit card links are taken away maybe then I will quit like so many before me. Each cc click, each Paypal donation, each comment is like oxygen for a lonely blogger doing this that makes no sense to anyone alive except…me. But I have always done things differently. Oh, and I quit Whole Foods too, good riddance!
This comment was merged into the comment right above it.
Indeed, Middle Age Miles was rookie of the year a couple of years ago, and I thought his eye for detail and lawyer’s logic showed real potential.
Going to make the longer comment above a rolling comment updating my evolution and will link to it in the next TBB post…whenever that comes.
Just clearing a lot of things out of my life right now to focus even more on important stuff…
Deleted FlyerTalk bookmark, so sad!
I’ve found milesearnandburn to be the only decent addition in the last 6 months. Succinct summary of daily deals in the miles&point space. Unlike DoC
where there are too many tiny deals “Get a free 8 pack of Dave’s killer bread burger buns “. Seriously, find your niche.
I agree and it being highly considered to be the next blog to be added to the world famous TBB Blogs I Like! I just want to see…if they are still around a little bit longer…
free bread —-> more page views, more ad revenue, more profit
If profit was a factor here, this blog would not have lasted so long posting REGULARLY since 2012!
Paris is going back into virtual complete shutdown. One hour a day out of the house, documented and enforced.
In Greece cases are going way up, ICUs are almost full again and the govt is spending time how to open tourism. At the present vaccination rate, the country will be fully vaccinated sometime around 2060.
That sucks huge about Carl Hiaasen. He was a singularly talented writer that I enjoyed for many years when I lived in Miami. The guy could make you laugh so hard that you’d cry.
Genuine condolences on Amazon.
Thank you for your support.
Yeah, I am sorry too. That was easy just left there for readers to show some support taking some money away from Bezos. But I guess it got too much and the asshole closed my account and kept what he owed me. I am going to get him back thought, I will no longer set food in a Whole Foods. Buy Local everyone 🙂