Author: Jim Wang

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Now That I Am Old Enough to Enroll in Medicare, I Am Against Socialized Medicine [McSweeney’s] – “Now that I have reached the age of 65, I cannot more vehemently express my great relief for no longer having to shop around for expensive health insurance that barely covers my healthcare costs. I also want to unironically affirm my total opposition to the radical political push to ensure healthcare coverage for everyone in the US.”

A fun little read before the weekend!

The Bookie At The Center Of The Ohtani Betting Scandal Is Ready To Talk [Rolling Stone] – “Mathew Bowyer received more than $16 million in wires directly from MLB superstar Shohei Ohtani’s account, then became involved in an investigation that threatened to bring down Vegas. This is his story.”

By now, we all logically understand that we can’t time the market, even though we will try.

But Nick Maggiulli goes through a fun thought experiment – what if you knew the future during the pandemic? Would you be able to time the market knowing full well what would happen and when? When would you choose to enter the market?

Why You Can’t Time the Market (Even When You Know the Future) [Of Dollars and Data] – “I would’ve picked November 15, 2020. That was the day before the 95% effectiveness of the initial Moderna trial was announced. That’s the first overwhelmingly positive information among these headlines. Was that the ideal choice?”

LOL no. My choice was worse. It was even later.

Aaaaaand that’s why I don’t bother timing the market.

#1 is really good – Don’t be a schmuck. Don’t take stupid risks.

And it gets better.

Especially #5!

6 Scoops of Wellness Advice That Say Yes to Better Health—and Ice Cream [Next Big Idea Club] – “Most wellness advice misses the point. Live longer and better by avoiding dumb risks, staying connected to people, keeping your mind and body engaged, and ignoring the fads that promise miracles while stealing your time.”

Waymos are safer than human drivers, which doesn’t sound that far-fetched given my experience as a driver myself.

I’ve seen some insane things on the road, whether it’s someone weaving through traffic or putting on eye makeup while driving 80 MPH on the highway.

It might not surprise you to learn that autonomous vehicles are safer…

We absolutely do know that Waymos are safer than human drivers [The Argument] – “This obvious question went unasked because the answer would make the rest of Bloomberg’s piece pointless. As I’ll explain below, Waymo’s self-driving cars put people in harm’s way something like 80% to 90% less often than humans for a wide range of possible ways of measuring “harm’s way.””

The Nothingness of Money [More to That] “When I was in junior high school, I heard a riddle that blew my mind.

It went something like this:

Rich people need it. Poor people have it. If you eat it, you die. And when you die, you take it with you. What is it?

Feel free to sit with the question for a moment.

Okay.

Ready?

The answer is…”

#1 is a banger and it keeps on going.

8 Lessons for Investors From Market Turbulence in 2025 [Morningstar] – “Uncertainty loomed large at the beginning of 2025. Many forecasters were expecting a slowdown in economic growth during the year. The prospect of major changes in US tariff policy only added to the uncertainty, especially when President Donald Trump announced a long list of proposed tariffs that were much higher than previously expected. Market pessimism came to a head in early April, when US equities sold off by more than 10% over a two-day period. Trump’s tariff announcement touched off concerns that tariffs would increase costs for companies and consumers, reduce demand, slow gross domestic product growth, and lead to retaliation by major trading partners.”

This video talks about why some people love sports and others don’t, but breaks it down in a way that applies to so many aspects of our lives – including areas that affect our money.

Psychology of People Who Don’t Obsess Over Sports [Psychology Simplified]

The Three-Step Guide to Fixing Affordability [The Atlantic] – “Affordability is voters’ No. 1 issue by far. It propelled Trump back into office last year, as it propelled Zohran Mamdani, Mikie Sherrill, and Abigail Spanberger into office this year. Trump might be callous, but his comments—it’s not real, so buy less; it is real, but it’s getting better—point to the profound dilemma all politicians face when trying to address the cost-of-living crisis.”

One of the most infamous pickpockets of the Midwest was known as Fainting Bertha!

It’s a sad story but it’s fascinating how much they know about her.

Mugshots of Bertha Liebbeke aka Fainting Bertha, One of the Midwest’s Most Infamous Pickpockets – “Bertha would locate a prosperous-looking gentleman in a crowd and smile demurely at him. Intrigued, he would come closer. When he got next to her, she would be suddenly overcome by a dizzy spell. The gallant gentleman would catch the lovely lady just in time to keep her from hitting the ground. She heaved a sigh, came to and thanked him, but not before she’d picked her rescuer’s pockets so skillfully that he didn’t notice the theft until she was long gone. When they reported their losses to the police, none of Bertha’s victims suspected her as the culprit.”

Happy New Year!