Newmark's Door

When you tell me that FEMA and the federal government are not helping the victims of Helene I'm not surprised: I don't expect much from federal government disaster relief. (One could reasonably question why the federal--as opposed to state and local governments--should be involved in disaster relief at all.)

But when there are many reports that federal "assistance" is actively blocking relief efforts and further hurting the victims that sets a record-breaking new low. Here's one report. Here's a report that this is a problem that has some history. Here's a speculation about why (other usual government incompetence). And another speculation.

No need for Ivy League PhDs anymore, this young woman has a key insight:

OnlyFans model Amelia Lynne, who calls herself the 'bimbo in business,' told DailyMail.com that she believes the US is headed for another recession because of how much the sex work industry has slowed down.

One reason macroeconomic forecasting is so difficult these days: what China does affects a lot and what China does is darn difficult to predict.

As the author notes this was a good idea at one time. But that time may well have passed: it's still a cut in real benefits and if you don't think that will raise an unholy stink you've got another guess coming.

Like the author I hope these are "innocent errors". 

Here may be one reason for the problem: "Response Rates Declining".

"Despite spending millions of dollars on hundreds of miles of bikeways, American cities are seeing a big drop in the number of people who pedal their way to work."

A nice story.

I watch some British soccer and I'm impressed with how much the British announcers add to the games. But heaven it must have been to hear Scottish announcers calling games for the Scottish national team.

Another bit.

A full ten-minute dose.

Grade-schooler belts out one of Re-Re's signature songs.

Argument for the things that made Star Trek work.

The Marshall Tucker Band.

"The memory of John Bonham, fueled by fact and fantasy, has since grown to become legend. But the reality is, Bonham was every bit as good as they say. He was the man with the golden groove, the sensational chops, and that great, big sound."

Prince.

I expect the Big Apple will demand a recount.

Good on the Hoosiers. But not that this is simply correcting a previous mistake.

The look on the granddaughter's face is one for the scrapbook.

North Carolina is on the list. (As always I say y'all come, but pay for your roads and schools.)

"Why Insulin Resistance Is The Biggest Silent Risk Factor For Heart Disease."

"Why Measuring ApoB Is The Key To Preventing Heart Disease".

I hope we don't need this information, but we might: "By age 80 over half of all Americans have cataracts."

"For the past few years, a series of controversies have rocked the well-established field of cosmology. In a nutshell, the predictions of the standard model of the universe appear to be at odds with some recent observations."

"If it was concentrated just on the state of North Carolina that much water would be 3.5 feet deep (more than 1 meter). It's enough to fill more than 60 million Olympic-size swimming pools."

Hard to believe or par for the course in 2024: you decide.

When Google paid $62 million to settle that lawsuit, the class action lawyers gave themselves $18 million — and then gave $43 million to their favorite nonprofits.

The crisis du jour.

Generative AI as a technology exists in this lineage. That it can create adequate texts and images is an astonishing leap forward in machine learning, but the texts and images are still only adequate, “good enough” and cheap enough for people to thumb past on their phones. Slop is the most appropriate word for what it produces because, as disgusting and unappetizing as it may seem, we still eat it. It’s what’s right there in the trough.

Noted economist Jason Furman notes "Public Opinion on Corporate Profits": what people think is a "reasonable" profit as a percentage of sales, what people estimate corporate profits are, and what they actually are.

I don't know--is half a trillion a lot?

Related: "New Report Details Lessons from Massive Pandemic Unemployment Fraud" and "'Mind-boggling': Billions gone and little to show for it years after rampant COVID fraud".

You might remember reading about a study which concluded black newborns attended by a white physician suffer a “mortality penalty” and are twice as likely to die. It was covered by, among others, the Washington Post, USA Today, and Science News. It was cited by Supreme Court Justice Jackson in the 2023 affirmative action case. 

Adding one variable to the analysis seems to overturn the conclusion.