Paying $115B for Stripe or $77B for Coinbase might be quite rational | TechCrunch

February 18, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

CoinDesk reported yesterday that crypto trading startup Coinbase is being valued at $77 billion on private exchanges. And Forbes reported that Stripe is being valued at $115 billion on secondary markets, where private shares can be bought and sold, albeit in a limited fashion.

I instantly wanted to write a piece headlined “Beware those super hot secondary market valuations,“ but after a little digging, I cannot. It turns out that the public markets are so hot, there is historical precedent for seemingly aggressive secondary market transactions being conservative compared to later IPO valuations. And there is further precedent for private market transactions that are more conservative in price terms than venture-determined valuations also working out.

The Best Home Emergency Kit Gear (2021): Flashlights, Stoves, Chargers, and More | WIRED

February 18, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

THE THING ABOUT emergency gear is that once you need it, you won’t be able to get it. Even if you resign yourself to a soul-sucking panic run to Walmart with the rest of the hordes, you’ll be in stiff competition for the limited remaining stock. So plan ahead so you have everything on hand in advance. We’ve rounded up a few essentials for your emergency kit.

The Fenix E20 V2 is my top pick for an affordable emergency flashlight, but the ThruNite Archer 2A V3 ($30) is another solid choice. At 350 and 500 lumens, respectively, they’re bright enough while remaining compact, and last long on lower-light settings—200 hours at 5 lumens for the Fenix and 51 hours at 17 lumens for the ThruNite. Both use two AA batteries, and in an emergency, your main concern is to have a steady supply of replacement batteries.

Apple Wants To Roll Out VR Experience For Businesses | Getentrepreneurial.com

February 17, 2021February 15, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Apple may leap into the VR headset space with a “mostly virtual reality device” as early as next year, per Bloomberg. The news comes amid a period of renewed interest in VR from companies tinkering with the tech for remote work applications. When released, the headset—which will be similar in size to the Oculus Quest—could reportedly feature a 3D environment for gaming, video, and communication, along with some limited AR functionality, an internal fan, support for prescription lenses, and a hefty price tag typical of Apple gadgets.

Apple’s VR push marks its first major hardware endeavor since the 2015 release of the Apple Watch, breaking from its recent focus on services. For years, Apple’s soaring profits were tied to its crowning jewel—the iPhone. While iPhones still made up a majority (54.7%) of Apple’s sales in 2019, that figure has steadily decreased over time. In Apple’s fiscal Q4 2020 (ended September 26, 2020), for example, iPhone’s sales brought in $26.44 billion, which was down from $33.36 billion a year prior. With fewer people purchasing iPhones and other hardware, Apple made a strategic decision to pivot heavily toward its Services segment, starting first with its 2015 rollout of Apple Music and followed by TV+ and News+ subscriptions in 2019, all of which complement its already established Apple Pay and iCloud services. By the end of 2019, Services reportedly made up around 17.7% of Apple’s revenues. That continued last year as Apple announced Q4 revenues of $64 billion, propelled mainly by “all-time records” for Services, according to CEO Tim Cook.

Romrod Portable Fitness Device | CoolBusinessIdeas.com

February 17, 2021February 15, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Maintaining your regular workout routine isn’t easy due to a lack of access to your usual gear. That extends to warm up gear, which is often a makeshift piece of equipment such as a PVC pipe or dowel rod, which are very simple yet extremely versatile. Unfortunately, versatility doesn’t equal portability – until now. The RomRod is a portable rod mobility fitness device perfect for a wide variety of warm up exercises that is easy to ensure is always at hand.

Frustrated by being unable to find a simple PVC pipe at a gym while on the road, the creators of the RomRod came up with a device that, like many great inventions, is stunning in its simplicity, yet offers so much more than is apparent at first glance. Made from heavy-duty, rust-resistant aluminum and stainless steel to ensure a longer life, and with a standard checkered knurl and other markings, the RomRod gives users a real metal feeling and grip in the hand.

Mastercard will support cryptocurrency payments this year | Mashable

February 16, 2021February 14, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Financial services company Mastercard has given fresh credibility to cryptocurrencies this week by announcing it intends to start supporting payments using them on its network this year.

Many people remain very skeptical of crypto, and who can blame them? The price of Bitcoin is far from stable, and then there’s the threat of someone stealing it. Mastercard looks to be taking a cautious approach, however, and being very selective in what it chooses to support.

“We are preparing right now for the future of crypto and payments, announcing that this year Mastercard will start supporting select cryptocurrencies directly on our network. This is a big change that will require a lot of work. We will be very thoughtful about which assets we support based on our principles for digital currencies, which focus on consumer protections and compliance,” explained Raj Dhamodharan, executive vice president of Blockchain / Digital Asset Products & Digital Partnerships at Mastercard.

If you use this emoji, Gen Z will call you old | CNN

February 16, 2021February 14, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Bad news for people who frequently use the 😂 emoji: It is no longer cool.

In recent weeks, two internet-savvy generations have been clashing in videos and comments on TikTok over the hallmarks of millennial culture that are now deemed uncool by Gen Z. The list includes skinny jeans (Gen Z verdict: set them on fire), side parts (Gen Z verdict: middle part or bust) and perhaps most painful of all, the popular laughing crying emoji that some millennials, myself included, use hundreds of times a day, or more.

“What’s wrong with the laughing emoji[?],” one user asked in a TikTok comment. Another responded: “it’s so off.” On a different video of a woman saying she’s cut back on using it after learning kids don’t, one teen commented: “As a 15 year old I say you should use that emoji bc [because] we sure aren’t going to.”

COVID-19 vaccines: What does 95% efficacy actually mean? | Live Science

February 15, 2021February 14, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

You have likely heard that Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine efficacy is 95%, Moderna’s is 94% and Johnson & Johnson’s is 66%. But what do these numbers actually mean?

It’s not just an academic question. How people understand these numbers affects how they think about the vaccine, whether they get it and how they behave after getting it, all of which have implications for the pandemic on a larger scale.

So how should people interpret these numbers?

Pros and Cons of Borrowing From Your 401(k) | businessnewsdaily.com

February 15, 2021February 14, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

If you’re thinking about borrowing from your 401(k), consider the pros and cons first.

Borrowing against your 401(k) is generally frowned upon, but in some circumstances, it can make sense.
When you take out a loan from your 401(k), you don’t have to fill out a lengthy application, the interest rate is typically lower than it is for a personal loan or business loan, and there aren’t any penalties.
A big downside of borrowing against your 401(k) is that it harms your retirement saving potential. During the repayment period, you are barred from contributing to your 401(k).
This article is for business owners and professionals who are thinking about borrowing money from their 401(k) retirement fund.

How To Bounce Back From a Failure At Work | Life Hack

February 12, 2021February 9, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Let’s be honest and get this out of the way right from the beginning: failing sucks but failure at work can be even worse because it’s in front of people you typically see almost every day. Yet, it is inevitable for all of us to experience failure at work. And as more problems arise that greatly affect our lifestyle, many of us have been facing failure more than expected.

We’re continually making more and more mistakes—way more than any of us I’m sure would like to admit. These situations are worsened even further when the people we work with call attention to our failures at work. It can be very challenging to cope with these mistakes and failures, but doing so is an important part of growth. So, I’m going to give you ways on how you can bounce back from a failure at work.