Afternoon Tea 10.20.21 - Dongletown

Haiti continues to deteriorate, a pig kidney was successfully transplanted into a human, almost 12% of Americans plan to spend zero dollars on gifts this holiday season, the Mac world is abuzz with talk of ports, David Roth explains the departure of Washington State Football Coach Nick Rolovich, and Vikings were in Canada way back in 1020. It’s Wednesday, October 20th, 2021, and this is your Spooky Tea. Today’s vibe features a voice that is so distinctive, you could convince us Tom Waits was reborn as a skinny kid proximal to the German Black Forest.

Haitian prime minister forced to flee official ceremony after armed gangs appear (Guardian) & Haiti gang seeks $1 million per person for kidnapped missionaries (Reuters) Haiti seems to be getting better every day. It’s so great that we are owning our sphere and pulling out all the stops to help the country after its leader was murdered by a former DEA informant. We’re so great. (Editor’s Note: this particular writer was scolded for this level of sarcasm. He’s at a 10 and we need him at about a 2.) 

Ban the Use of Drones as Weapons (Foreign Policy in Focus) Given that we don’t act less militantly or kill fewer civilians using drones vs. when we use on the ground soldiers, this thought-provoking post deserves a moment of consideration. Incidentally, here’s some footage of a private drone company attempting to rescue dogs from a volcanic eruption off the Canary Islands. Choppers can’t get close enough due to the damage super heated air can do to Helo blades & rotors.

U.S. surgeons successfully test pig kidney transplant in human patient (Reuters) No organ rejection like the last 3 trillion times this was attempted. Progress happens slowly, then all at once.

Lower-Income Americans Starting to Opt Out of Holiday Spending (Bloomberg) 11.5% of Americans are skipping holiday gifts, voiding their contribution to the annual ritual celebrating our economy being tied to Santa’s ass.

Tech Salaries Are on the Rise, Just Not in New York or San Francisco (Bloomberg) & The Great Resignation is Accelerating (The Atlantic) Meanwhile, on the other side of the API-based economic divide, the proliferation of wealth from remote pandemic work will soon make non-NYC/SF/Seattle cities as attractive to tech people.

Most Housing Units Under Construction Since 1974 (CalculatedRisk) & Ignore the Price, Remember the Dividends (Of Dollars and Data) The builders are following the money. As an investor, follow the dividend.

Elaborate ‘CryptoEats’ Food Delivery Scam Steals $500,000 in Minutes (Motherboard) Honestly, they should be allowed to keep this. This is the apex of how stupid enthusiastic investors and customers should be.

In tree rings and radioactive carbon, signs of the Vikings in North America (NBC News) Vikings made it to Canada in 1020. We’re realizing essentially all of the history we were taught in elementary school was either wrong, agenda-based propaganda, or just incomplete history.

Exile from Dongletown (Six Colors) Apple computers have holes again! We love that this is a major point of discussion.

Nick Rolovich Is Marching Towards The Abyss (Defector) David Roth put the correct take out in the universe, as the guy was shown the door, and is now suing. This paragraph alone is worth the read:

Poem of the Tea: Is there something that’s the opposite of poetry? A false idol in the sign of Harambe showed up down in the Capital of the money changer hive to stare down their false idol. There’s something to the WallStreetBets & #GME people and Harambe, but we don’t have the stomach to go understand it.

If any of you say it or do it, you’re getting sprayed with a water bottle. Pants on for Harambe or get out.

Yours,