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Showing posts from July, 2023
  “The world we see that seems so insane is the result of a belief system that is not working. To perceive the world differently, we must be willing to change our belief system, let the past slip away, expand our sense of now, and dissolve the fear in our minds.” -William James “All experience has shown mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.” - Thomas Jefferson
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  Mostly summarized from Gregory Mankiw’s Principles of Economics, 5th Ed. PART 10 Money and Prices in the Long Run Chapter 30 of 36 Money Growth and Inflation Section 7 of 31 … Figure 2 here … Figure 2 – An Increase in the Money Supply When the Fed increases the supply of money, the money supply curve shifts right from MS1 to MS2 · the value of money, on the left axis · the price level, on the right axis · adjust to bring supply and demand back into balance · the equilibrium moves from point A to point B When an increase in the money supply makes dollars more plentiful · the value of each dollar decreases · the price level increases Lower value of the dollar increases the price of goods and services = inflation. … At first the economy is at equilibrium, Figure 2 point A. Then, the Fed doubles the money supply by buying government bonds from the public (open-market operations). Per Figure 2 · the money supply curve moves to the right from MS1 to MS2 · the equilibrium moves from point A
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  Happy hour, Polish sausage with shiso and nuts, and a couple ounces of Hendrick’s gin... 1: “Not in many years had Communist China encountered the kind of domestic and international difficulties that it faced after the Tiananmen Square crackdown. The leadership, according to Chen Youwei, a former political counselor at the Chinese embassy in Washington, was thrown “into a state of near panic, hesitant and indecisive.” In memoirs published in Taiwan, Chen wrote the party’s first move was to blame the United States for both the unrest and the collapse of socialism across the globe. As Communist Party elder Li Xiannian told a meeting of high-ranking Communists two days before the crackdown, the United States was waging “a smokeless world war” against China. “We had better watch out,” he said. “Capitalism still wants to beat socialism in the end.” Geopolitically, China responded to the rise of what it perceived to be a revamped threat from America by turning to an old enemy for help. In
  Botany ChatGPT: Botany is the scientific study of plants, encompassing a wide range of topics related to their structure, growth, reproduction, evolution, classification, physiology, ecology, and interactions with the environment and other organisms. Botanists are scientists who specialize in this field and explore various aspects of plant life. … Key areas of study in botany include: Plant Anatomy: This focuses on the internal structure of plants, including tissues, cells, and organs. Plant Morphology: Examines the external form and physical characteristics of plants, such as the shape and arrangement of leaves, stems, and roots. Plant Taxonomy: Involves the classification and naming of plants, organizing them into hierarchical categories based on their evolutionary relationships. Plant Physiology: Studies the functions and processes within plants, such as photosynthesis, respiration, and water transport. Plant Ecology: Investigates the interactions between plants and their environm
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  Investing Your Money From time to time someone asks for my thoughts on investing. Personally invest all savings in the stock market. Current holdings from largest to smallest amount, all ETFs (exchange traded funds) except Apple and Amazon: VTI AAPL – Apple SDY AMZN – Amazon QQQ SPY HDV DIA VIG IVV IWM … Investing in individual stocks like Apple and Amazon adds some “gambling” excitement, their value varies daily much more than ETFs. ETFs contain a group of stocks. They’re similar to mutual funds but have lower service fees because they’re not actively traded by fund managers, they are mostly “buy and hold.” … The stock market is risky with many ups and downs, sometimes there are big downturns including during the 2008 “Great Recession,” and the recent Covid-19 pandemic. The attached VTI chart shows the history of the price of a VTI share since its inception in June 2001. On October 19, 2007 VTI per share price peaked at $77.50 On March 6, 2009 it bottomed at $34.11 A $100,000 invest
  From article The end of the Washington Post. Mark Judge. July 25, 2023. The Washington Post is collapsing. Once one of America’s great media institutions, THE PAPER LOST $100 MILLION LAST YEAR AND HAS SHED 500,000 SUBSCRIBERS. Recent reports reveal that Post owner Jeff Bezos is going to be more hands-on to try and save the paper. … Yet trying to get employees of the Post to do their jobs is like trying to get dogs to play baseball. Dogs just aren’t interested in baseball, and the breed of journalist now at the Post is just not interested in journalism. ALWAYS A LIBERAL PAPER, THE POST IS NOW PURE PROPAGANDA. … Earlier this year, veteran Post reporter Bob Woodward, who of course became famous for his Watergate coverage, blasted the media and THE YOUNG REPORTERS AT HIS OWN PAPER FOR THEIR FALLING FOR “RUSSIAGATE,” THE HOAX that President Donald Trump was working with the Russians. Woodward called the Steele dossier, the basis for that story, garbage, and told the Columbia Journalism Re
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  Mostly summarized from Gregory Mankiw’s Principles of Economics, 5th Ed. PART 10 Money and Prices in the Long Run Chapter 30 of 36 Money Growth and Inflation Section 6 of 31 … Figure 1 here … Figure 1 - How the Supply and Demand for Money Determine the Equilibrium Price Level The horizontal axis shows the quantity of money. The left vertical axis shows the value of money. The right vertical axis shows the price level. High money value = low price level. Low money value = high price level. The supply curve for money is vertical because the quantity of money supplied is fixed by the Fed. The demand curve for money is downward sloping because people want to hold a larger quantity of money when each dollar buys less. At the equilibrium, point A · the value of money, left vertical axis · and the price level, right vertical axis · have adjusted to bring into balance · the quantity of money supplied and the quantity of money demanded … What ensures the quantity of money the Fed supplies and
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  夕食 - 焼肉
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  Today's happy hour book with snack and Mozart liqueur martini... “On Saturday, April 15, 1989, Hu Yaobang, the former party general secretary who had been purged for being too soft on student protests in 1986–87, died of a heart attack. Through that weekend, wall posters commemorating his life went up on college campuses around Beijing. Student groups carried commemorative wreaths to the Monument for Revolutionary Martyrs in the center of Tiananmen Square. Within days, hundreds of thousands of people mobbed the square in the largest outpouring of dissatisfaction with the regime since the rally following Zhou Enlai’s death in 1976. Demonstrations spread to hundreds of Chinese cities. The student-led demonstrations took their inspiration from many sources, but the United States played a leading role. From the movement’s sound track, a rollicking rock and roll ballad from a Chinese guitarist named Cui Jian, to its symbol, a thirty-three-foot-tall statue called Goddess of Democracy—a
  Mostly summarized from Gregory Mankiw’s Principles of Economics, 5th Ed. PART 10 Money and Prices in the Long Run Chapter 30 of 36 Money Growth and Inflation Section 5 of 31 … Secondly we consider money demand. Fundamentally, the demand for money depends on how much wealth people want to hold in liquid form, as money rather than invested. … The quantity of money demanded mainly depends on the interest rate a person could earn, such as from buying an interest-bearing CD, rather than holding more cash or more in a checking account. Another variable affecting the demand for money is the economy’s price level. People hold money because it is the medium of exchange. Unlike other assets, people can use money to buy goods and services. … How much money people hold for purchases also depends on the prices of those goods. The higher prices are · the more money the average transaction requires · the more money people will hold in their wallets and checking accounts So, a higher price level ( =
  What was The Enlightenment? ChatGPT: The Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Enlightenment, was a significant intellectual and cultural movement that emerged in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. It was characterized by an emphasis on reason, science, individualism, and skepticism towards traditional authority and dogma. The movement laid the foundations for the modern world and profoundly influenced Western society, politics, and philosophy. … Key Characteristics of the Enlightenment: Reason and Rationality: -Enlightenment thinkers championed reason and believed through the application of human intellect, individuals could understand and improve the world. They sought to challenge superstition, religious orthodoxy, and blind acceptance of authority. -Empiricism and Scientific Inquiry: The Enlightenment celebrated scientific discoveries and advocated for the use of empirical evidence to understand natural phenomena. Thinkers like Isaac Newton, Galileo Galilei, and Francis
  From article UFO legislation to usher in new age of transparency: 'Long past time.' Chris Eberhart. July 14, 2023. 'For decades, many Americans have been fascinated by objects mysterious and unexplained, and it’s long past time they get some answers,' Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said. NEW LEGISLATION TO DECLASSIFY AND RELEASE UFO-RELATED RECORDS COULD START NEW AGE OF TRANSPARENCY ABOUT EXTRATERRESTRIAL MATTERS. The Senate approved the Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) Disclosure Act, which says, "All federal government records concerning Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (government-derived word for UFO) should carry a presumption of immediate disclosure." … IT'S UNKNOWN HOW MANY OF THESE RECORDS EXIST, BUT THE LEGISLATION SAYS "CREDIBLE EVIDENCE AND TESTIMONY" indicates documents "have not been declassified or subject to mandatory declassification review" under the Freedom of Information Act. The bipartisan legislation,