Category: Entertainment

44 Panda Express meals – three duplicate fortune cookies

I like Panda Express; particularly their “Super Greens” instead of the carbohydrates of rice or noodles. I also like fortune cookies.

I suppose when I say 44 Panda Express meals, that is incorrect: I know that at least once, perhaps twice, I’ve gotten two fortune cookies for my one meal. Whatever: it’s close enough.

Anyway, for some time now, I’ve been throwing the fortune cookies in a pile, and today I was cleaning up. Time to throw them all away … but why not read them again, first?

The three duplicates are:

  • An Admirer Is Concealing Affection For You
  • You Can Always Trust Your Friends
  • Avoid Unchallenging Occupations – They Waste Your Talents

My reaction to that first one is: “Nice!”

That second one simply says that I’m reasonably good at judging character and don’t make friends with people who aren’t trustworthy.

That third one is a problem for me. Ever since my job changed, I definitely feel unchallenged. I used to be the sole email administrator for a 5,000 person organization. We farmed that out to Microsoft, so all that is left for me to do is e-discovery. This is rarely interesting. I am so looking forward to retiring from work so I can take up exercise, programming, and community service. June 2026, I hope.

As far as the rest of the fortune cookies go, my favorites are:

  • Seek Out A Service Project That Uplifts Your Community
  • Only Your Expectations Can Slow You Down
  • Work Hard – Be Nice

The year 2022: Late stage 2021 but with new, higher prices

h/t to one of Scott Adams Twitter followers, responding to a challenge to summarize 2022 in the snarkiest way possible.

The whole thing is a psy op run by incompetents at behest of elites inflicted upon the aimless. It came about through sixty years of indoctrination: “Buy this shit from our advertiser; that will make you happy.”

Stock purchases

A little while ago, I bought two stocks: Costco and Micron

I bought Costco (symbol is COST) on 2022-06-28 at $473 per share. Today it is at $520, although it has dropped 3.5% from yesterday. At the beginning of the week, it was $540. Still, I think it is a fundamentally great company.

I bought Micron (symbol is MU) on 2022-07-27 at $60 per share. Today it is at $54.37, so I’m down 10%. Today it is down 6%, although it had a jump up to $58 on Monday.

I thought that the Optane / 3D Crosspoint technology that Micron developed with Intel could be a game changer. Plus, the world’s need for solid state storage is not likely to decrease. My grandfather did very well in the stock market, buying energy companies from the 1960’s on. The world’s need for energy was not going to go down – and it didn’t. Those stocks grew well.

I still think that Micron is a good company. I also like that it is a USA based company.

Today the whole market is down due to an official government report of inflation numbers. The Obama administration didn’t mind lying through their teeth about those numbers, and the Rump administration didn’t change that, so I don’t know that the Biden administration can be considered any better. I do know that a local drive through restaurant had a 6 taco special for $6 before the pandemic; today it is $11. I’ll pass.

I’m not sure if the inflation numbers are going to start a downward trend, or will be a momentary blip.

One of the investing people I listen to thought at the beginning of the year that it was time to add to his small cap positions. Let’s see how that worked out.

And off-topic, he included $300 Billion companies in his list. I’m sorry – $300 Billion is not small capitalization.

SymbolCompany namePrice at the beginning of the yearPrice today
EBEventbrite (SAAS event booking)$17.75$7.68
EBIXEbix (software for insurance agents, and runs an exchange for agents)$31$23.22
HTLDHeartland Express (trucking)$16.75$14.67
HYHyster-Yale Materials Handling Inc (Hyster brand lifts and trucks)$42.50$30.21
INGNInogen (home medical oxygen)$34$27.49
MHHMastech Digital (outsourced analytics and IT staffing)$17.50$15.06
PLABPhotronics (photomasks for semiconductors)$18.50$15.85
SLQTSelectQuote (online insurance marketing)$9.25$1.21
TSETrinseo (plastics and latex binders)$52$26
VPGVishay Precision Group (sensors)$36.50$33

Okay, so everything lower, some by a lot. Looks like the best pick in the list is Vishay Precision Group sensors, at only 10% down. The next three are Heartland Express trucking (down 12%), Mastech Digital outsourcing (down 14%), and Photronics photomasks for high tech (down 14%).

Glad I didn’t buy SelectQuote – down 87% since the beginning of January 2022.

I’m not finding Rimworld to be very fun

It got an “Overwhelmingly Positive” score on the Steam store, and I bet for younger players it is great. But I’m old, so my brain does not move as fast as young peoples’ do.

This means I lose a lot. Half of the time I have two of my four man crew in the hospital (the room I set up to be my hospital). Pretty much as soon as people are healthy, the AI throws another rabid schnauser / deer / antelope at my crew.

The AI in this game is supposed to be really good (by reputation I have read). But for me, it never lets up and there aren’t any easier / lower settings I can set. It is simply unrelenting and oppressive.

I want to like this game; I’ve never played The Sims but I imagine this is like The Spacefaring Sims On Another Planet. It has goals and objectives – and it applies pressure to get there. So it’s not bad at all. I also really like that it has a Linux native version. The soundtrack is really good.

There are supposed to be quests in this game, where I send off people to accomplish whatever goal. I lose (or nearly lose) so many rabid animal fights (or malevolent humans) that I cannot afford to send people on the quest. So then I’m told I failed yet another quest.

But if the only thing that ever happens in this game is that my pawns* die often, then I’m going to be sad I spent the money on it.

I’ll try some more; but I hope fun shows up soon.

*that’s what the game calls them.