A review of the responses from yesterday’s blog entry suggests that the “Each State’s Favorite Fast Food” map I posted was…well…grossly inaccurate. OR commissioned by the suspiciously popular Mod Pizza to drum up sales. So, I’d love to know what YOU consider your state’s favorite fast food. Here in Ontario, I think it’s the rather staid Tim Hortons. Coffee. Donuts. Run of the mill wraps. I would, of course, cast my vote for Toronto’s very own Burger’s Priest.
Thanks for the feedback to yesterday’s digital currency-related post. As most of you have pointed out, it does feel like a pyramid scheme in which the early buyers are the ones to profit. And the further research I did would seem to bear that out. The prices are incredibly volatile because the scale of transactions in these coins is highly manipulable. Turns out the actual volume of buying and selling is somewhat lower than the stated volume. How much somewhat lower? Well, in the case of bitcoin, it was 95%! The lionshare of these transactions are what’s referred to as wash trading which is designed to create artificial market activity.
Guess I’ll just stick to nice conservative investments I can actually understand. Like comic books.
Today’s film-related question…
What's a fantastic underappreciated horror movie?
Answer with a gif. pic.twitter.com/y1sUIWeXQt— Joseph Mallozzi (@BaronDestructo) May 30, 2020
My favourite fast food spot in TO is probably.. also Burger’s Priest. 🙂 For big chains around here, it’s probably A&W, though.
Yeah, Bitcoin has always seemed to me to be the “next big thing” – for the last 10 years or so. Somebody’s getting rich, but as you say, it’s highly doubtful it’s the latecomers.
I can’t really think of an under appreciated horror movie, though I could name a few nightmares I’ve had lately that are probably up there. Yikes.
What? I thought you recently are into Rudy’s burger. LOL
Cryptocurrencies? Ya, I’m still confused on that.
Here in Victoria (Australia) the favourite fast food brand would probably be McDonald’s followed by KFC. While we have some local franchises like Grill’d and Red Rooster they can’t compete with the international chains. Australia also has a lot of independent restaurants and fast food outlets. I get the impression North America is dominated by franchises but Australians are more likely to go and eat at the local fish and chip shop so I think a lot of the stats are skewed.
Mod Pizza specializes in being less boring in places that are otherwise bland food-wise. If you’re eating Mod Pizza, you are already in culinary hell and just a glimpse of mushrooms and banana peppers seems exotic compared to potatoes, potatoes, and potatoes.
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As I once stated in a comment to a blog entry in which you asked, “how is monopoly money doing?”, cryptocurrencies are not the best currency. That is gold, but countries heavily into central banking will not let a currency arise that shows gold is better. Countries that host a backed currency or are considering it tend to be invaded or otherwise pressed into wars that force them to lean on the easy loans available in central banking. Leaders who announce it tend to be assassinated. Ever wonder why Libya still had to go down even though they complied with nuclear weapons inspections? The answer may well be that their gold-backed currency was giving rise to a middle class that could catapult Libya’s gold-backed currency across Africa.
Private entities that attempt to form a backed, competing currency are just as doomed as their safes can simply be confiscated and of course their administrators jailed.
This suppression of competing currencies made cryptocurrency necessary. The whole concept was originally a currency that had some kind of required digital work to expand its supply in a way that the supply could not be confiscated, and, most importantly, had no central administrator who can be made an example of, and thus was born the blockchain, which decentralized the location where the currency is “stored”. It has no country to invade and no safe to confiscate.
I don’t know about the entire state of Missouri, but the Eastern side I would say is a 2-way tie:
FRESH White Castle burgers or Imo’s Pizza
As far as investment opportunities go,
I’m relieved to hear you dug a bit deeper, rather than poising
to pounce on a hunch.
Yep. Smart move steering clear of currently unstable things
like crypto currency.
Maybe, start with 3-4 smaller, but stable, tech or retail, safer bet, technologies
without making any initial huge investments in any?
Example: VR and AR has a small, stable, (gradually growing), audience right now.
Albeit, it is, without doubt, the next big ticket item
and will soon be as common as laptops, microwave ovens and old school nintendo gaming devices.
It is simply where the tech industry has already decided to progress to next.
Thus, the term ‘safer bet’ applies.
A handful of the larger tech companies, such as Microsoft, have already begun seriously investing in it.
Thus, there is an opportunity to start small and make larger investments and profits from it down the road a bit.
(after we get this global virus beast and economic downturn under control.)
Oculus has established itself as a current leader brand in VR.
It will likely break off from its parent company, Facebook, and go public sometime in the next 36 months
if it hasnt already.
Companies such as Ultra Haptics,
which has recently made the very smart move of merging with Magic Leap technologies,
are also now gradually becomming household names.
Established, but smaller, A.I brands are also a good, stable, ‘safer bet’.
The various Machine learning and Autonomous learning technologies are continually becomming better and better
and the market for innovative Artificial intelligence end products are becoming wider and wider each year.
A market along the AI product lines, that is a steadily rising bet,
is Semi and Fully Autonomous vehicles.
While early investing in any of the newer car or drone making companies is higher risk,
you can initially cut your baby teeth
via investing in manufacturers of certain electronic parts and ML components
the majority of the currently leading AV car or drone manufacturers, such as DJI, contract with.
It could be something as seemingly minor as sensors? or a software program utilized on board
that they obtain from a smaller, but established, contracted/outside source?.
Consider these AV parts and component supplier companies as your gateway drug.
While you are not likely to ever become too richly high from dabbling in them
you are not likley to fatally crash and burn either.
Or
You can invest in autonomous non human cargo delivery vehicle companies.
That market is already proving itself
so there is a bit less risk.
An excellent place to begin learning is via reading all you can about subsidiaries,
such as Googles Alphabet and its, Autonomous Vehicle, division company, Waymo,
which is now preparing to cut its parental umbilical cord from Alphabet
and go public.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waymo.
https://www.marketwatch.com/press-release/is-alphabets-waymo-preparing-for-an-ipo-2020-03-03?mod=mw_quote_news
Many small new innovative tech brands that have grown into currently large market leaders,
began in a university lab, with a small handful of post doc candidates educated in various diciplines.
Eventually those university lab start ups are recruited to become a division of
Google, Facebook, and others.
12-24 months later, after being nurtured and supported to adulthood,
the offspring cut the cord and go on to soar high in the air on their own.
Obviously, there is always some risk ‘any’ start up will fold.
Albeit, if you are going to be in the stock market game,
these gradual build, small companies, initially backed by a large, Parent corp,
tend to be the most stable when they break off and go public.
They are a much safer bet than gambling on a company that began in someones garage
with a group of young dreamers
with no business experience
and no initial large backers
that help make their brand
famous and trusted
long before they flee the nest
and go public.
In other words, to initially get your feet wet in the market,
stick with some safer bets in established, small, sensible, companies,
with steadily growing profits, that have now broken off from their larger parent,
but are still young enough to get in at ground floor prices.
This way, it will at least offer you some steady return for a couple years to come
even if that particular company never grows large enough to acheive corporate giant status
resembling the Microsofts or Googles of our pale blue dot.
Its an excellent way to gain experience and gradually build your confidence
in risk taking.
In 2012 Felix Baumgartner made history for the highest successful free fall jump from the edge of space.
But Felix didnt simply wake up one day and decide to do it on a hunch that he could survive it.
It began many years before with him initially taking smaller risks.
such as diving off the roof of his one story house onto a nice thick comfy mattress.
Makes sense, no?
Krystal burgers, which just emerged from bankruptcy for the 2nd time, began in my hometown and are a Tennessee institution. Sadly, my aging digestive system no longer tolerates them. They are definitely for the young!
Kryspey Creme donuts are alocal dessert of fame, although they can now be found nationally.
And don’t forget that Tennessee, Memphis in particular, is home to some of the best smoked barbecue in the entire world. Now that I can eat (along with the donuts)!
I share your opinion, Joe, that the map was commissioned by a fast-food vendor, but I’m guessing (and may have read a while back) that the commissioner was Texas’ Whataburger.
What is REALLY the favorite fast food of TX? Barbecue, no matter the meat, with vendors ranging from tiny food trucks to huge sit-down restaurants, with small diners and state-wide chains in between.
BTW, did you know that fellow foodie Lou Diamond Phillips worked at a Whataburger in his youth?
Disregard first paragraph of last comment. Instead, see my comment to the May 29th blog entry.