Nearly 50% of U.S. consumers use TikTok as a search engine

https://www.thekeyword.co/news/nearly-50-of-u-s-consumers-use-tiktok-as-a-search-engine

TikTok is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ByteDance Ltd., a private multinational technology company. While ByteDance's corporate structure includes global institutional investors and founders, a domestic Chinese subsidiary of ByteDance includes a "golden share" held by Chinese state-affiliated entities.

Surveillance Pricing

I recommend watching the first 2 minutes...

Why Drive In movie theaters failed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FBELpCXyIU

Is Fusion power going to connect to grid soon after next year's demonstration?

On Tue, May 5, 2026 at 3:07 PM Larry wrote:

This company says nuclear fusion could finally power the grid — and soon | CNN

Fusion is still pie-in-the-sky and a long way from being practical. Radiation damage to reactors is likely to make it very expensive.

If only we had an enormous ball of hydrogen to generate fusion power.

Solar power is reportedly borderline cost-effective. As fossil fuel reserves decline and likely become more expensive, solar power should become more economical. However, I’m not sure how long this rise in cost will take; it could be decades.

Installing solar panels on your roof can make roof replacement twice as expensive. Panels can also damage or overheat your roof, and storms could damage them as well. I would rather leave that to the power company.

The solar roof tile idea is interesting, but only if there is a shortage of land for solar installations. There is a great deal of surface area on roofs that we could utilize.

--

Best wishes,

John Coffey

http://www.entertainmentjourney.com

You are being misled about renewable energy technology

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtQ9nt2ZeGM

@john2001plus
0 seconds ago

I am almost convinced, but...

Reportedly, China has massively subsidized solar panel construction in order to dominate the world market, leading to an oversupply, driving solar panel cost down by 90%.   Is this a sustainable economic situation?

Given that, I think that the free market will use the most economic source of energy, which could change depending upon a combination of economics and politics.

There is much concern about the reliability of renewable energy.  The counter argument is that you need massive backup sources of energy, but it seems to me that we already have that.

Announcing Layoffs Over Time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI2Danuc8Ao

Legal Extortion in LA Real Estate

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rr_M7ZI4cZ0

Why the Economy Hasn't Crashed Yet

P.S.  I have recently discovered Windows Reading Mode.  You can highlight text and then select reading mode.  Then hit play to have the text read aloud.

This is a different take on economics and Trump.

@john2001plus
0 seconds ago
This "economist" has written only one book that reportedly blames inflation on everything except the government printing money.  Some of the reviewers on Amazon called it "Liberal BS."

The anti-Trump people tend to spin facts in the worst possible way for Trump.  I'm sure the same thing was true for Biden and Obama.

This video has ideas that ring true, but might be half truths and don't necessarily see the whole picture.

I understand why people hate Trump.  He is a troll, a narcissist, and a bully.  But he can also be a kind man that cares passionately about helping the country..  He came along at a time when Americans wanted someone strong to stand for them.  Despite his personality flaws, he uses his influence to get things done.  The country is going broke and has many problems, so Trump is the strong man that people need to fix things.  Despite his flaws, I see Trump as a net positive.

If you privately own a business, you may think that you are your own boss, but you really work for your customers.  If you don't provide the customers with what they need for a price that they are willing to pay, you won't have a business.  In some businesses, you need to innovate or die.   Corporations are no different.  You may say that corporations work for the shareholders, but the companies are really working for their customers.  The shareholders are just the investors.

Having people employed by the government and government regulations aren't necessarily a good thing unless they are doing positive work and not hindering the free market or just wasting resources, in which case getting rid of those things frees up resources that can be put to more productive use.

The fact the corporations curry favor from the government is a sign of a government that is too powerful with too much control.  I don't doubt that there is corruption, since all major companies have lobbyists, but big government is the problem.  The countries that are closer to socialism are always more corrupt because their governments have too much power.

Private individuals donate to politicians that they politically agree with. Companies are the same way. Some companies do benefit massively from government spending, but many private individuals are also dependent upon government spending, so they vote and donate accordingly.

Because of political influence, I have long thought that only private citizens should be allowed to donate to campaigns.

New Rule: Super Bet Sunday | Real Time with Bill Maher

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVj2yVVHUdo

I couldn't agree more.

Saudi Arabia Has Oil, America Has This

Very interesting!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9V4jNTLGus

How Socialist Policies Built the Middle Class (And Why We’re Told to Forget It)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPgDUkBelIM

@john2001plus
0 seconds ago
Delusional.

Money Stories You Won’t Believe Are True

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIBSRSRVXVE

Progressive Utopias: Why Communes Collapse

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duWIlJd-LRI

Why Most Cars Are White

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqYXzLZQi4g

Why Do Americans Call it a Pink Slip?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN0lVKiZyAY

Crypto Is a Brilliant Scam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbsYaLaN_F8

America Will Be the Last Superpower, Here’s Why

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O2EolPa2NM

How James Bond Sold More Vodka Than Any Ad Campaign

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs6YpbZcfiE

The Economy Is About To Turn...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KlH_mK4aEY

If Cruises Were Honest | Honest Ads

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjaHaivkQVM

If Wine Ads Were Honest

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baxY3ICYHf4

15 Things That Are No Longer Worth Your Money

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofsbonvwxj0

As someone who is already frugal, this seems like common sense.

Ryan Gosling explains how to turn debt into money | The Big Short

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_DQtUK-FXg

This is a good movie, but its one failing is that it does not explain the government's role in the 2008 financial crisis.  Instead it blames greedy capitalists.

I am sure that there were greedy capitalists, but banks do not want to make bad loans.  It is a terrible business strategy.  Major corporations do not want to make bad investments.  I assume, rightly or wrongly, that investment banks do not want to sell bad and fraudulent securities to their customers.

The government created two Government Sponsored Enterprises to create and sell mortgage back securities to create liquidity in the housing loan market.  Then the government passed the Community Reinvestment Act that set goals for GSE's to pressure banks to create mortgages for people who would otherwise not be qualified   Also, there was no incentive for banks to make good loans when the GSE's would buy the loans regardless at a profit for the bank.  This is the cause of the subprime mortgage crisis.  

When the government interferes with the free market, usually worse results happen.

I remember a commercial on TV in the 2000's, probably created by a GSE, showing a black family being able to afford their first home.  This was the motivation of the government.

Why You Shouldn’t Trust Confident People

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M_QK4stCJU&t=828s

The Economy

The reason oil is so cheap right now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xzyYPJEbVU

Why Voters Didn’t Buy the ‘Biden Boom’

Google Maps Lawsuit

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/p_PGbz9jdtA

Guess how much this safety net cost?

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7dfsjM7xd-w

Top 10 Worst Cheats to Have Ever Lived