On Wordle #315...

You can't win them all, can you now...

Wordle 315 X/6

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On Wordle #314...

Logical progression would look like this...

Wordle 314 5/6

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On Wordle #313...

This was close...

Wordle 313 6/6

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On Wordle #312...

Luck'ed out on the second guess...

Wordle 312 3/6

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On Wordle #311...

It's a fun game...

Wordle 311 4/6

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On Wordle #310...

There's a lesson to learn from Wordle #310, which is that when my brain isn't functioning very well, I really shouldn't be playing...

Wordle 310 6/6

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I'm just so keen to play it, that I wait until clock strikes midnight, and a new game begins the day. But my brain has been trying to tell me, while my eyes are half-closed, I really should be in bed...

On Wordle #309

Wasting a couple of attempts to test the locations of the letters...

Wordle 309 5/6

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On Wordle #308...

I'm definitely over-thinking it...

Wordle 308 6/6

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On Wordle #307...

A bit of luck today...

Wordle 307 3/6

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On the lingo commonality of Bank Robbers, DJ's, Preachers, and Mom...

What do bank robbers, DJ's, preachers, and mom have in common in their lingo? This overlapping pie chart, courtesy of Bloomberg News, is the answer:

On Wordle #306...

Don't you just hate it when there are too many choices and possibilities?

Wordle 306 6/6

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On Wordle #305, and the Russian offensive on Ukraine's eastern front...

Just another day on Wordle-land...

Wordle 305 4/6

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After failing to take Kyiv in quick succession, Putin has regrouped to focus the offensive on the eastern front in Ukraine, with more focus assault on the cities like Mariupol and Donbas, going into Day 55 of the attack.

My thoughts and prayers are for Ukraine, to hold fast, and strong. Bullies must be defeated.

Meantime, China is quietly waging war of a different kind, buying up strategically located islands like Solomon Islands, all without much fuss. ("Security Pact," my ass.) Imagine, just spending peanuts to buy those islands with just 700k population. In less than ten years, CCP could transform its population to become all ethnic mainland chinese, effectively gaining complete control of those sovereign states. And these islanders won't even know what's hitting them. This is far cheaper and quicker to establish a base for its military and way-station for its logistics, piping all the extracted minerals from Australia back to China, than to create a man-made island from scratch in the middle of South China Sea, in the midst of rising sea level that would almost certainly wash it away at some point. Buying up small Pacific Islands can also bypass the much stronger reactions from Canberra, in canceling its One-Belt-One-Road initiative with Victoria, or the attempt to void the lease of Northern Territory port (which would surely create a direct route from northern shore by CCP all the way into the heartland into Australia interior) for just A$506M which is an incredibly cheap deal for CCP.

You do have to give the CCP credits for strategic thinking. As CCP (much like Putin) doesn't have to worry about election cycles, and Xi now rules for life, it can afford to play the long game, and do the salami-slicing. While Western governments (eg. UK, US) are retreating from the various flavors of colonization and soft-power dominance, CCP is actively working to fill that void. 

All those "neighbors" of China are going get squeezed, and their increasing trade with China is going to be a deal with the devil that will come back to bite them, big time, sooner rather than later.

The parallel of our present days with WWII is plainly and painfully clear for all to see. Back then, it was Germany/Italy divvying up the world with Japan, with the battle theaters in Europe and Asia. It's undeniable that Russia and China now have the same understanding, for China to support Russia attacking Europe while China engulfs on Asia.  This is all while the two covering each other's backs in UN.  

The UN will likely be as ineffective as The League of Nations (the predecessor of UN) in stopping WWII.  To the world at large, the question remains:  How do we unite to stop naked aggression?

On Wordle #304...

A close shave, but fun...

Wordle 304 6/6

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On Wordle #303...

This is fun...

Wordle 303 5/6

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On Wordle #302...

Too bad...

Wordle 302 X/6

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On Wordle #301, and Day 51 of Russian Attack on Ukraine...

Another fun game...

Wordle 301 5/6

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It is indeed satisfying to see Ukraine the underdog going on the offensive, taking down the flagship of Russia's naval fleet. And what does the Emperor-Who-Has-No-Clothes-On do? He whines with "strong words of protests."  That's why the world knows that Russia can do squat to stop US (and UK) from helping the bullied to fight the bully. Meantime, where is Macron (who aspires to be the new leader of the "Free World" and who aspires to talk Putin to death with his "diplomacy")? He fights for his own survival in the French election. While Macron is mired in the runoff in his election cycles, all while US and UK are supplying desperately needed weaponry to Ukraine to fight for life-and-death survival. THAT's why the world still sees US (and UK too) as the true leader because when push comes to shove, they are the ones who provide the true-north and meaningful action to back up words. 

China has so desperately wanted to be the world leader and global respect. Well, Xi has totally squandered away one chance (Covid) after another. By suppressing the truth, throwing all opposition to jail, and siding with the bully on a courtyard fight, China has shown the world that it is nothing but another bully in disguise. Some people might cower to bullies, but bullies never gain respect. 

And if anyone should wonder how to gain respect from others, they should look to Ukraine, more specifically, Zelenskyy and his military command (like General Valeriy Zaluzhnyy) and soldiers who stand the ground and fight for their own homeland. Leaders don't shrink from a task, even if it seems insurmountable, but it's deemed the right path for its people. 

On Wordle #300...

Almost fell off the chair...

Wordle 300 6/6

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On Wordle #299...

It's one of those days with numerous possibilities...

Wordle 299 5/6

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On Wordle #298...

It's another easy day...

Wordle 298 4/6

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On Wordle #297...

Here's a bit of luck looks like...

Wordle 297 3/6

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On Wordle #296...

My brain isn't working very well today.  I can't believe I didn't figure this out sooner, wasting at least three attempts, just for elimination...

Wordle 296 6/6

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On Wordle #295...

Is New York Times making the word choice easier by choosing more commonly used words, I have to wonder...

Wordle 295 5/6

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On Wordle #294...

Yes!!!

Wordle 294 3/6

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On Wordle #293, and UN showing some backbone...

Wordle #293 is fun...

Wordle 293 4/6

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It feels good to see UN finally doing something that's meaningful, at least morally speaking, by booting Russia off of the UN Human Rights Body which is morally insupportable.

How fun it would be too, to see Sweden and Finland hurrying to join NATO which is no doubt something Putin hates to see. The two Nordic countries are interesting, since Finland shares the longest border with Russia, and Sweden is rearming itself, given its already superior technology.  All these moves must be making Putin barking mad.

All in a day's work. It's not a bad day today.

On Wordle #292...

It's a fairly easy day today...

Wordle 292 5/6

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On Wordle #291, and Day 41 of Russian Attack on Ukraine...

Wordle #291 is a good game...

Wordle 291 5/6

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As Day 41 continues, the tide looks to be turning against Russia. Putin is trying to backpedal, retreating to eastern Ukraine, in the attempt to save faces by calling it a "success" to hold onto the eastern provinces of Ukraine, since Russian armies can't hold onto some of the cities that it has supposedly claimed from Ukraine. 

As the Russians retreat, it can no longer cover up the war crimes that they have committed against Ukrainian civilians. Even India is backing away from its previous lax stance against the Russian attack. More sanctions are coming, with EU starting to ban coal imports from Russia. Propaganda no longer works, empty words no longer carries weight, with everyone standing up to call out empty words and false pretense.

China remains the notable ally that remains with Russia. For all the respect and soft-power that Xi Jinping seeks for China, he literally throws all that down the drain. Who can possibly respect Xi or China as a world power when it's so visibly corrupt morally? Even weaklings in the former Eastern Bloc, like Poland and Moldova, are standing up and speaking out. Yet China bends over backwards to Russia. That really says a lot.

More interestingly, even the formerly neutral states of Sweden and Finland are clamoring to join NATO now. As Zelenskyy rightly points out, no one is safe anymore from the Russian aggression. The world march toward peace and open borders since the end of WWII no longer rings true. Zelenskyy is absolutely right in calling for the removal of Russia from the UN Security Council. How could the world's number-one aggressor sit on the UN Security Council or be an adjudicator of human rights issues when it actively commits war crime? 

One thing is clear: Zelenskyy has become the voice of conscience for the world. The words that he has spoken aren't just for Ukraine, it's become beacon on top of the hill for all other countries to follow.

On Wordle #290...

How many close calls can I sustain, I have to wonder...

Wordle 290 6/6

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Admittedly my brain isn't working that well. It's another late night when I wait up till the clock ticks past midnight for a new Wordle game. I should modify my routines...

On the close shave of Wordle #289...

This was close (phew)...

Wordle 289 6/6

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On my very excellent Prius...

Covid is still raging in some parts of the world, the pandemic label still sticks, and the supply chain snare is still ongoing.

And then, Russia attacks Ukraine.

The inflation ensued has scared the shit out of most everyone. It's hard to overestimate that impact, both perceived and real. Afterall for more than a few generations, they have never experienced the hyperinflation in the 1970s, and they are the same folks who have so taken for granted that inflation should stay low. And why shouldn't they? Since the Alan Greenspan days when he's pushed interest rate to effective zero. GOP and fiscal hawks have tried to talk up the prospect of returning inflation coming to bite our arse, but it never happened. 

The usual economic theories seem to have stopped working, Supposedly when interest rate is low, it would stimulate the economy, the overheating of which should bring about inflation. But that didn't pan out for the past thirty years. US economy still keeps humming along. Wages level never climb, yet people can still maintain the consumption level. What gives?

Economists try so hard to cover their arse. But on a macro level, the few converging facts simply cannot be ignored:

• Since US helped championing the WTO entry of China in 2001, China has become the sweatshop of the world.
• That combines with the huge slack in labor force that China could call upon to produce everything cheaply, often with dirt-cheap loan from state-owned banks and government subsidies. That allows China to keep producing, sometimes even at below-costs, then dump the excess inventory to western markets. Case in point: solar panels.
• That works well for multinational conglomerates who packed up the manufacturing shops in the west (not just in US, but in other western countries too), and migrated them to China so as to arbitrage with the cheap labor.
• Cheap chinese imports are like fentanyl. They produce a sugar-rush high, allowing those whose wages never keep up with even the low inflation to continue maintaining a façade of living standard. But, sooner or later, addicts will have to come down from that high.  
• Adding insult to the injury, US Treasury is gladly accepting the fentanyl from China too, issuing Treasury bonds at dirt-cheap interest rate that the chinese buy up with abundance, using the proceeds that China earns from the exports to - alas! - US consumers. It's, like, perfecting the whole supply chain of fentanyl production, shipping them to US, and then producing Narcan so that addicts can live for another day and - alas! - consume more fentanyl.

And then, Covid hits everyone and everything, all at once. Suddenly the cheap imports are not arriving, and when they arrive, they don't look so cheap anymore (due to rising transportation and materials and even labor costs in China). US government did its part by printing more money (effectively, like magically creating more Narcan) to throw lifeline to these addicts. But, that is never sustainable.

And then, suddenly inflation goes from below 2% to more than 7%. Such is the WTF moment.

When you have wage gain of 5%, yet inflation is 7%, you're not even treading water, you're swimming backwards.

The energy crisis was already here prior to the Russian attack, but the sudden surge in energy crisis in EU brings everything in sharp focus. Suddenly it's not just China, but it's the energy markets too (which is something US has much less say on).

Far-left progressives like Bernie Sanders would have us believe that US government should simply keep printing money, and give free money away, so that people can maintain the same lifestyle (even if it's a lifestyle on low-income). But this will never work either, since it's simply adding more fentanyl to the mix.  

The silver lining is, finally, economic theories seem to be "working" again, in explaining why inflation is (or should be) rising. The Fed changes its tune on inflation, from transitory, to alarm.  After a couple of quarters of inflation where inflation stays elevated in the 5%-7% range, the Fed is finally hiking interest rate. And there'll be more to come in 2022/23.

None of these should be surprises to anyone born before 1970s. 

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Why was I rambling on about the economy, and inflation, and interest rate?

For the longest time, I held onto my Toyota Corolla. I doubt if there are that many people who would hold onto a car for twenty years. It's highly logical:

• My Corolla was reliable, with low maintenance needs.
• I don't drive that often, so the mileage is low for its 20-year track record.
• Vehicles, as anyone would know, start depreciating the moment the rubber hits the road. Hence the longer you hang onto to it, it becomes a sunk cost that, after just a few years, it's effective free (saved for the insurance costs, license fees and annual inspection costs).  
• The only variable, is the gas mileage.

The overarching requirements are, high gas mileage, low maintenance, and AWD. 

For that reason, I don't want an SUV. Subaru seems like a logical choice, but gas mileage has been low.

In 2019, Toyota finally came out with the Prius that offers AWD. It finally meets all three requirements, plus the hybrid technology (having been on the road for 20+ years) has matured dramatically.

So, after some 20 years, I finally swapped my Corolla (which has at best 26-28mpg highway driving, and just 22mpg city driving) with a Prius that has AWD (with gas mileage between 50-70mpg). This is so awesome. The Prius is practically seeping gas that I can pump just once a month instead of every week.

Three years on, I'm loving my Prius even more. And now, with the high gas price, I suddenly look like a genius.

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There's a lot of talks about EV. Tesla is of course one reason for it. But I haven't even considered it (when I was weighing hybrids, among other options).

For one, infrastructure is still not quite up to it. Sure, there are more charging stations these days. But it still has a very long way to go toward the coast-to-coast coverage, urban or rural, of gas stations that one can use, which effectively clip the wings of an EV due to the limited range. 

Hybrids offer the best of both world. And it has everything that I need. (No, I don't want auto-pilots like those that Tesla might proposition, I like to in be in the driver's seat, literally and metaphorically, thank you very much.) It has high gas mileage, allowing me to use less gas (and spend less as a result) which is great for the environment, while offering me AWD for better control in wintry weather. 

I love my Prius. Having waited for 20 years, it honestly worth the while, and worth every penny of it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On hindsight, Toyota is looking very smart, having bet big on hybrids, rather than jumping onto the bandwagon of EV.

On a fun game of Wordle #288, and the stalled Russian attack on Ukraine...

This is what a fun game should look like...

Wordle 288 6/6

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It looks like too that the Russian attack on Ukraine is stalling out which is decidedly a good thing, with news that Ukrainian army has been retaking cities from Russian force.  There's also news that the Russians are pulling back from the siege on Kyiv. I sure hope this is the beginning of the end of the Russians. 

No matter what words EU mouths, about principles, about human rights, about international rules, yada yada, EU is going down the same damn path with China on expanding trade, beholding EU to China (arguably an even bigger threat than Russia since China is far bigger in size and power than Russia), and that really makes my blood boil. This is the kind same-old-same-old as Germany and EU were doing with Russia, hoping that everything is business as usual, that trade should not be mixed up with politics, that everyone should go on making money, and leave politics to the politicians. That's the same fucking line that China is spoon-feeding EU or any other country who's doing the deal with the devil, preferring to ignore the Faustian bargain that they knew full well of the consequences. 

For crying out loud, at least EU (like Germany) is finally waking up to Russia. When will they learn with China?!?!?

On a game of luck in Wordle #287...

Somehow I don't feel so good, making a game more with luck...

Wordle 287 3/6

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On another close call in Wordle #286, and Day 36 of Russian Attack on Ukraine...

Yet another close call, fun but definitely cutting it close...

Wordle 286 6/6

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I'm sure no one - least of all, Putin - has expected Ukraine could have withstood the military attack from Russia. Yet, it is Day 36, more than a month now, and Ukraine is still standing. Way to go.

No one is buying the empty words from Putin, no matter how many times Russia says it's open to "negotiation."  To most people, it's simply another euphemism to tell Ukraine to roll over and surrender.  It is thus such a breath of fresh air, for Zelenskyy and his officials to have the guts to call out all those who advocate continued "negotiation" with Putin who is simply buying time to regroup and for the allies in the West to break.  

No doubt that China will continue to prop up the propaganda machine for Russia. What is surprising - perhaps not totally unexpected - is the fact that India is keeping the lifeline open for Russia too, no doubt India is clamoring for the cheap oil/gas, and continued weaponry supply from Russia.  India might pride itself as the "biggest democracy in the world," but it is really nothing more than another autocratic regime in disguise.

As to why some EU countries are showing more backbone than others, this chart shows us what a deal with the devil is like:

The world should be ashamed of itself, to allow Putin taking whatever he wants from another sovereign state:

As some have aptly pointed out, the era of globalization is over. The Covid pandemics has made it painfully clear to everyone, and now the Russian Attack is driving home that point. If any country should think that they can continue the Business As Usual with autocratic regimes, thinking that there's no consequences, they are totally delusional.