Saturday, February 29, 2020

Wa wa.

No one got off the ground today. It was too windy. It was probably blowing 15mph.  I have a little video and pictures that I might upload later. I'm sort of bummed. But it's early days. These were not your Uber or Ehangs. I would have called it a victory if any of them got a few feet off the ground in zero wind.

This was a competition, not a finished product. Think early days driverless.

Friday, February 28, 2020

In the world of Next Tuesday...



We will be landing these in our driveways.

We might even get video of this one flying tomorrow. Don't get your hopes up too high. It's an experimental. I.E. Demo.











First I have to get my geek on.



Being on Moffett Field is almost as fun as the stuff I went to see. As a kid it was always a no go zone because it was military. Although I did manage to get on base once when I was a kid. But only to the commissary.









OH! And the McDonalds on base is still alive. I almost stopped to get fries. Maybe tomorrow. Interestingly - it has no signage. Because why bother. They don't need to draw people in.









Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Monday, February 24, 2020

This is BEFORE the virus.

As the startup boom deflates, a reckoning is coming for Silicon Valley.

"SAN FRANCISCO — Over the past decade, technology startups grew so quickly that they couldn’t hire people fast enough. Now the layoffs have started coming in droves. 

Last month, robot pizza startup Zume and car-sharing company Getaround slashed more than 500 jobs. Then DNA testing company 23andMe, logistics startup Flexport, Firefox maker Mozilla and question-and-answer website Quora did their own cuts. “It feels like a reckoning is here,” said Josh Wolfe, a venture capitalist at Lux Capital in New York.

It’s a humbling shift for an industry that long saw itself as an engine of job creation and innovation, producing ride-hailing giant Uber, hospitality company Airbnb and other now well-known brands that often disrupted entrenched industries." 

The article goes on to say...

"There are now “frantic mini-moments of panic, as one thing after another happens,” said Roy Bahat, an investor at Bloomberg’s venture arm in San Francisco. “At some point, one rock after another will fall away from the cliff and we’ll realize we’re not standing on anything in many, many companies.”"

The economy was extremely weak before the holidays, but no one wants to spoil a party or complain that the party might be fake. I was skeptical it would last past the holidays. And now it is certain that it will not.

I have been complaining about these money losing companies forever. And a lot of them will not survive this.

Sunday, February 23, 2020

I think this is the new Aston Martin.





I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I do love these intakes.





Lotus and Alfa Rameo side by side.



I guess I never realized just how similar they were until you parked them next to each other. Now I will never be unable to unsee the Lotus in them. They must be using the same frame. Honestly besides the hood ....they are the same car.

Saturday, February 22, 2020

THIS is what keeps you putting coins in the slot.



It's been a minute since I have turned up anything that truly delighted me. At Chez Snarkolepsy you can put in a lot of effort for very little return. Hence the title. But, every once in a while you get that payoff..... and that is why you keep rolling the dice.

Which is how we found a BMW wrapped in SUEDE. I will wait for you to stop laughing. I don't care what you think. Some things are so stupid they are great.

I don't know how you wash it. Maybe dry-clean only. But I just love it to death.

When I walked up to it I thought it was a new kind of distressed paint. Until the guy said - FEEEL IT.



Same shot with a different camera with exposure turned up.





Friday, February 21, 2020

It's never going to rain again......



Normally I would wait a little longer to start this up, but we haven't gotten any rain since the 16th of last month. No rain at all scheduled in February. Everything is already drying out.

Gosh it seems like just yesterday....

The media was saying this - America’s manufacturing recession looks like it could be over.

Literally yesterday.

Today? Treasury Yields Plunge To Record Lows As US PMI Collapses Into Contraction.

And suddenly I want to punch people who say we tried to talk ourselves into contraction last year.

Our PMI reading was actually a touch weaker starting in May of last year. I blogged about the numbers. I will have to see what is was over the summer when I have a minute. Then the fed stepped in, in September with REPO.

So, to see people acting like we all were wrong is sort of annoying. Helicopter money is bullshit. None of this is real.

Thursday, February 20, 2020

The newest virus rumor.



If true - this has been in the wild in Iran for three weeks.

I think the whole market is being delusional. We all just hit the biggest effing ice berg imaginable. And not one single person I've talked to this week has listed the virus as a concern. I think people are really going to be caught short footed. Especially right after the holidays when they ran their credit cards  up. And all that Fed printing made the party seem awesome. The Fed really beat people into submission I have to say.

I think we get inflation and deflation all at the same time. That is a headwind that most of us have never experienced. And recessions never act the same. The market wasn't that strong before this hit. Despite stock market prices.

They aren't even counting the people on voluntary quarantine.

Coronavirus live updates: California has thousands in home quarantine, recession risk to U.S.

I'm going to go on record to say that we don't even know what the real number is in California because tech companies that have exposure are voluntarily having people self quarantine for two weeks.

I know this because this happened at Mr S's office. One person was in technical quarantine, the other person had just returned from Wuhan and the office had him voluntarily quarantine.

Mr S. found out about this about a week ago. That is when I realized I should take this whole thing a bit more seriously. I'm not even sure what the status of the person is who was NOT on voluntary quarantine. The other one came back this week. There is zero percent chance that all tech companies are not doing this too. They just are never going to be counted in the numbers.

It does give you a certain attitude though. While you limit crowds- what difference does it make now?

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

This is spiraling out of control.



I'm starting see a bunch of people saying that Iran in now locking down cities. It will be interesting to see how that works out.

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

It will be interesting to see what happens with my new ghost lot.



I think I just started talking about this thing two weeks ago. It is a VERY hard place to get shots. When I get a minute I am going to have to go out there and walk it. It's at the end of a runway, and there aren't many good places to pull off.

Anyway.... it's a multi lot. It has Audi's, Subaru, and suddenly a lot of Land Rovers. The lot has doubled in size since the first time I saw it. But since car production is pretty much is shut down right now,  so maybe these will get pulled out. Who knows how bad this gets? Maybe they have to part them out. Just kidding! Or am I?



This.



It's fun to pretend we don't need the rest of the world, but it just isn't true. I would start looking for chairs.

Monday, February 17, 2020

Imma try to catch you up.



So.... it basically feels like summer here. This means I'm doing Spring stuff now. Like prepping the garden and thatching the lawn. I'm also trying out the new supply chain. The post China supply chain.

Luckily I'd already had most of this in motion before China went crazy. I ordered flooring made in Europe! I guess now since there are tariffs on Chinese goods - other countries have come out to play. And honestly.... just aside from the politics - it's just nice to have a product in the market that doesn't come from China. We are bored of Chinese Floors. Give us something new.

I guess these are their daily drivers now.



I've known they've had them for a while, but I just find it ridiculous that the popo are driving them.

Thursday, February 13, 2020

I think the market hits 30,000. before it falls off a cliff. Everyone needs a hat right? You know they have them printed up.

Crash test Teslas.



Spotted these yesterday.







Wednesday, February 12, 2020