| Hello: Here’s the seventh edition of MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-up. We’ll kick off every week with this quick collection of tips, recommendations, observations and other interesting, valuable stuff. – Tom |
| Monday, February 19, 2018 MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up What I’m Watching: Blockchain 101 My ears have been ringing for months with all the buzz about cryptocurrencies (i.e. Bitcoin) and their underlying “blockchain” technology. What’s all the buzz about? I realized I didn’t have a clue. So I looked for some resources to help me figure it out. Here are three videos that helped: Wired Magazine Video: The Blockchain Explained (2+ minutes) TED Talks Video: The Blockchain Explained Simply (15+ minutes) c|net Article and Video: Blockchain Explained Interesting Presidential Reading Happy President’s Day. The federal government established this holiday in 1885 to recognize George Washington’s birthday (2/22). We now celebrate “Presidents,” in general, on the third Monday in February. But the federal government still officially refers to the holiday as “Washington’s Birthday.” Here are more weird and fun facts about our chief executives. I’m Listening To The Big Chill Today (2/19) is Smokey Robinson’s 78th birthday. So I’m listening to the soundtrack from the 1983 film The Big Chill, which features hits from the ’60s, including Smokey’s The Tracks of My Tears and I Second That Emotion. It’s my favorite movie soundtrack, and it helped change advertising. Prior to 1983, companies rarely used original rock music in advertisements, but the movie changed this: “(Before the Big Chill), rock musicians sang company jingles, or advertisers used copied versions of their songs, performed by imitators and studio groups. But after The Big Chill, there was a decided turn by Madison Avenue to use original rock ‘n roll songs, or portions of them, in all kinds of advertising,” according to this article. Better Than a Mattress Commercial Why do mattress sales occur around President’s Day? Forbes offers this answer. Not into presidential mattress ads? (Me neither). But I love this Geico ad about Washington Crossing the Delaware Turnpike. Quotes We’re PonderingGeorge Washington said many wise things. Here are a few: We should not look back unless it is to derive useful lessons from past errors, and for the purpose of profiting by dearly bought experience. True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity, before it is entitled to the appellation. It is far better to be alone, than to be in bad company. Reason we’re grateful… All of us who work at MarketVolt (and most of you reading this) work and live in the USA. On President’s Day, it seems appropriate to express gratitude for the freedoms and liberties we cherish. We face many challenges, and there is much to fix and change. Despite that, we can still be grateful for the liberties that George Washington helped to establish and that Abraham Lincoln helped to expand and preserve. *** Any reading, listening, quoting, resourcing that you think we should share? Send us a tip. Until next time, enjoy the rest of this week and the weekend. Tom |
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