Boone

Far too soon, and I applaud you

Now it's time to panic.

What’s a technology that you think is overhyped? I’m going to give a sideways answer to this, which is that the venture capital business model needs to be understood as requiring hype. You can go back to the Netscape IPO, and that was the proof point that made venture capital the financial lifeblood of the tech industry. Venture capital looks at valuations and growth, not necessarily at profit or revenue. So you don’t actually have to invest in technology that works, or that even makes a profit, you simply have to have a narrative that is compelling enough to float those valuations. So you see this repetitive and exhausting hype cycle as a feature in this industry. A couple of years ago, you would have been asking me about the metaverse, then last year, you would have asked me about Web3 and crypto, and for each of these inflection points there’s an Andreessen Horowitz manifesto. It’s not simply that one piece of technology is overhyped, it’s that hype is a necessary ingredient of the current business ecosystem of the tech industry. We should examine how often the financial incentive for hype is rewarded without any real social returns, without any meaningful progress in technology, without these tools and services and worlds ever actually manifesting. That’s key to understanding the growing chasm between the narrative of techno-optimists and the reality of our tech-encumbered world.

Stand by this: www.politico.com/newsletters/...

Whether it's Barack Obama asking for Dijon mustard from a hotdog vendor or Donald Trump asking for a happy ending from an underage sex slave masseuse, both presidents made some provocative requests.

Scientists at Loughborough University create 'world's smallest violin' The violin is smaller than a human hair and has "laid the groundwork" for future research.

Well this couldn’t have come at a better time www.bbc.com/news/article...

Thanks

amen

You don't say?

Karthik

Truth

You can totally see how this mf bankrupted a casino.

Top work, no notes

The past 18 months have seen the most rapid change in human written communication ever

By. September 2024, 18% of financial consumer complaints, 24% of press releases, 15% of job postings & 14% of UN press releases showed signs of LLM writing. And the method undercounts true use.

RENMAC: “.. The average workweek for private education and health services remains at a cycle low. Little need to boost bodies. Yet, this sector has been responsible for half the private jobs growth in the last couple of months. What happens when education & health payroll growth slows?” 🇺🇸

Evergreen

can’t get bullish again until LTM comes back into vogue over NTM

The underlying problem with whatever Hogsbreath thinks he can now get away with: this isn't the 1930s. This isn't some plan sprung up from the ether in a vacuum without historical context.

Time isn't on his side. The moral implications aren't on his side. The sheer demographics are not on his side.

CN Subscribe Trump officials fired nuclear staff not realizing what they do The administration officials didn't seem to know the agency oversees the country's nuclear weapons, sources say • CNN Exclusive: FEMA firings reveal roiling tension and confusion within the Department of Homeland Security

Roses are red
Violets are blue

Holy hell this

New from @budgetlab.bsky.social: short-run distributional impacts of the 10% China tariffs.

As we previously found, the tariffs raise prices by 0.14% in the short-run, assuming no Fed reaction and the retaliatory tariffs already announced. That's an average loss of $223 per household in 2024$.
1/4

Good morning.

The United States of Corn, 1994 v 2024

* produced in 41 continental states
* 50% increase in production
* Megakota in red text. Significant growth, primarily due to ethanol and climate change.

USDA data. Previous calculation of Top 10 production was wrong and corrected. (Floating point error 😜)

a graph of Texas' monthly solar generation, which is up 64% between November 2023 and November 2024.

a graph of Texas' solar power as a share of California, which shows the state's utility-scale solar resources exceeding California's in late 2024.

The big powerhouse grower in the US solar industry has been Texas—the state's solar output is up 64% compared to this time last year, and for the first time it produces more utility-scale solar than California (though CA still produces more in total because of its rooftop solar resources)

I’m no sociologist but I have to think there will be some knock-on effects on American society by the full-throttled, top down, embrace of fraud and grift.

krugman is absolutely cookin of late

amen

Thanks for this

On Dec 31, 1995, the final Calvin & Hobbes strip was published. Yet, its magic endures—reminding us to embrace curiosity, wonder, and the joy of imagination. Bill Watterson’s masterpiece continues to inspire, proving great art is timeless. #CalvinandHobbes