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Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: July 3rd, 2023

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  • The CPI is a key economic indicator. It’s unlikely that banks and markets would tolerate that kind of meddling.

    But, if the CPI was changed for political reasons, there are other similar stats.

    In plain language: Wall Street can make or lose billions of dollars based on correctly/incorrectly forecasting this stat, so you can bet your ass they have accurate data. Some of it is private; some is available to paying customers. Even if the data is not public, it is often publicly characterized, for example, in economic forecasts and in publications like The Economist.

    Some examples of alternative CPI sources are: PriceStats and The Economist’s Intelligence Unit. Both require paid access.

    Be aware that freely-available stats may be published with political agendas, by Fox News conspiracy theorists, etc.










  • You live in a city, but most of the store chain’s customers live in the suburbs where gas is a major expense and fuel perks are a big incentive to shop at a particular store.

    The store isn’t trying to promote fossil fuels. They only care about customer loyalty. Besides (they might rationalize), their customers have to buy gas somewhere so why not from us?



  • The Fisker Ocean has solar panels on its roof. It can add 4 or 5 miles a day if fully exposed to the sun.

    Not enough to matter. It’s a gimmick.

    If you don’t have an EV, you may think that EV owners are worried about range, and they’d welcome any increase. I have not found this to be true.

    It’s more like having a car that starts every day with a full tank. You’re never going to burn through that in a single day. Pretty soon you don’t care about range, efficiency, or pay much attention to the battery meter. It only matters if you’re on a road trip, which for me is a couple times a year.

    I would not want to give up a nice full-roof sunroof for a few extra miles a day.




  • Ad-based apps on your phone.

    It’s been done already, you say? Not like this: the front-facing camera is used to detect eye gaze. A counter on the screen starts at 30 seconds and only counts down while you are looking at the screen. If you look away, the counter, and the ad, pauses. The app doesn’t continue until you’ve watched the entire ad.