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Listen to the latest episode of the Emerald Wit & Wisdom Podcast (12/07/23)

 

Good morning.

Well … here we go … another day where the S&P … little changed at the moment … will try oh so mightily to reach the 5000 level.  What is interesting is how close it came during yesterday’s session when it hit 4999.89 … but then reversed course and settled back down.  But today is another day … and people like me can waste time staring at their screen rooting for this to be achieved … giving it the same treatment as we might to a sporting event.

I don’t know how many of you have a printer at home, but one thing that really gets me angry is when I find a cartridge is dry … even if I haven’t used it much … forcing me to run to Staples and pay a ridiculous sum for ink so I can print.

I couldn’t take it anymore.

A friend told me about “eco tank printers” … which use ink tanks instead of cartridges … and his claim was in 3 years of fairly high use he has yet to have the need to refill the ink tank.  You might hear me complain about my new machine in the future … but I doubt it.  The cost for the machine (with ink tanks included) was less than I typically spend on cartridge replacements in a year on my now “old” and soon-to-be-donated printer.

Another interesting thing happened yesterday … and it provided a bit of education (leading to caution) for me and others.

I received another note from a friend chatting about one of those GPT sites (“Perplexity”) and asking me if I tried it … so I put it to a test.

Look … I was a pretty crazy kid … but loved baseball … and the one trivia point I knew like the back of my hand was that my favorite player … Ron Swoboda … had the most hits in the famed 1969 World Series.  So I asked this site who had the most hits … and it got it wrong.  Yes, I went back to the box score and checked … just in case I was in error.  Al Weis?  What?  This site failed my test.  But then I went a bit further and went to ChatGPT 3.5 which a lot of people use.  Yep, the answer here was also Al Weis.  Then I went to ChatGPT4.0 and it told me Donn Clendenon.

Moral of the story is if anyone is using AI to shortcut research to make sure to double check the result. Well-written?  Extremely?  Accurate?  Sometimes.

But I wouldn’t want to put my firm’s reputation on it.

My final note today … and the last article below … has to do with wine … and is kind of a dictionary of sorts.

I’ve always had a bit of a minor issue with wine … I mean … I know what I like (reds) and I still have my taste buds … but, for the life of me, I have never had a Chardonnay that I could describe … like other people I have dined with … as “oaky.”  Frankly, I don’t even know what that is … but that doesn’t stop me from swirling my glass … taking a sip as I look up to the sky … and announce in a sexy whisper the word “oaky” … as if I was some sort of capable judge.  I plan to look at this dictionary … and study descriptions more … so I can more easily impress those within earshot the next time I go out.

That about wraps it up for today.

I stayed up late last night watching the show, “Carousel” … one of my favorite musicals.  I don’t know why, but I thought Yul Brynner was in it.  He was, of course, completely bald … having shaved his head … and never used aftershave.

I considered this while watching Carousel as I realized …

Yul never wore cologne.

Have a great day,

 

 

Joseph G. Witthohn, CFA
Vice President
Emerald Asset Management PA, LLC
610 Freedom Business Center Drive
King of Prussia, PA 19406
Direct: (610) 285-9905
cell: (856) 625-7915
wit@teamemerald.com
 #vaccinatetosave

 

A Look At The News | February 8, 2024

As of 11:51 AM today

Is it the economy … or watching others appearing having fun on social media?  I don’t know the answer but having a majority of Americans not satisfied with their lives is troubling (Gallup)

https://news.gallup.com/poll/610133/less-half-americans-satisfied-own-lives.aspx

 

… and a few that thought they would rest during their “golden years” are returning to the workforce … some due to finances … and others to defeat the boredom (Fool)

https://www.fool.com/retirement/2024/02/08/1-in-3-retirees-are-returning-to-work-data-shows-h/

 

Finding your first job is not easy … but if you have any understanding of AI it is possible to find a company very much in need (Tech)

https://tech.co/news/entry-level-ai-jobs-no-qualifications

 

… for AI has started to move far beyond letter writing and content discovery … as there are uses for which we are only scratching the surface (OddityCentral)

https://www.odditycentral.com/news/chinese-scientists-create-worlds-first-ai-child.html

 

It is unknown if many will someday have health problems as a result of this … but there is quite a bit of plastic we seem to be ingesting on a daily basis (NYMag)

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/how-much-plastic-are-you-drinking.html

 

When the wine list arrives at your table, do you feel a bit lost?  It is easy to brush up on important terms to know … but utter them wisely (Refinery29)

https://www.refinery29.com/en-au/wine-terms-tasting-words-dictionary

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The statements above are supplied for educational purposes only. The statements depict the viewpoints and opinion of the author and are not necessarily the views of Emerald Asset Management or its affiliates. The information described herein is taken from sources which are believed to be reliable, but the accuracy and completeness of such information is not guaranteed by us.