Your Survival Guy

Preparing your investments and family for when disaster strikes.

Compensation was paid to utilize rankings. Click here to read full disclosure.

Your Survival Guy in Paris: Your Prior Planning

By

Your Survival Guy learned long ago from his mother: you need to prior plan. This is how I want you to think about your next visit to Paris. Prior planning. The other night, we had dinner at Allard, as mentioned to you here, which is also in the 6th, and we walked by Le Relais de l’Entrecôte with a line that looked like it went on forever. And not far from there was a café that had barely any diners, which is why I want you to plan ahead. Focus on an area where you’d like to go and drill down to the exact café or restaurant and make reservations. We have found the concierge to be helpful, … [Read more...]

America’s Aging Power Grid Could Stunt AI Growth

By

According to Microsoft's Azure CTI Mark Russinovich, the aging American power grid could stunt the growth of artificial intelligence by limiting the size of data centers. Reed Albergotti reports in Semafor: The data centers that make generative AI products like ChatGPT possible will soon reach size limits, according to Microsoft Azure Chief Technology Officer Mark Russinovich, necessitating a new method of connecting multiple data centers together for future generations of the technology. The most advanced AI models today need to be trained inside a single building where tens (and soon … [Read more...]

California’s Gas Pump Price Controls

By

California's legislature and Governor Gavin Newsom have enacted a law aimed at preventing price spikes for gasoline. That's rich from a state charging residents $0.676/gallon in taxes. That doesn't include local gasoline taxes. That's more than double the rate from 2016. In addition, heavy regulations on importers and refiners of gasoline in California were enacted by the California Energy Commission in May of 2024. It's not the oil companies driving up prices for gasoline in California. They're delivering the same gasoline to all the other states. It's California's politicians who drive the … [Read more...]

Your Survival Guy in Paris: The Greatest Cafés

By

Your Survival Guy and Gal went for a late lunch recently at Café de Flore on the Left Bank, in the 6th, in the heart of Saint Germain des Prés. This is where you want to be. It’s a favorite because you have Café Bonaparte, Les Deux Magots, and Brasserie Lipp—just to name a few—right there. This is the greatest literary location of cafés in all of Paris explains the website for Relais de l’Entrecôte. Walking home from dinner last night at Allard (duck and olives) there was a huge line for l’Entrecôte. Which is a good reminder to try to make reservations well ahead of time. And if you ever … [Read more...]

ROGUE BUREAUCRATS: Trump Declares War on the Deep State

By

You know the federal government has a bureaucracy problem. In his first term, Donald Trump declared war on the Deep State, and created a path forward for removing "rogue bureaucrats" from the system. The Biden administration has sought to reverse Trump's plans to protect the bureaucrats from accountability, but Trump has promised to move forward once he is reelected. In The American Conservative, Peter Van Buren explains: Earlier formats of government were all appointees, leading to massive corruption in the hiring process and incompetent partisans being appointed to what should have been key … [Read more...]

Kamala Harris’s Latest Big Mistake

By

UPDATE 10.14.24: Things just keep getting worse for Kamala Harris. Her lead in national polls is disappearing, and Donald Trump is ahead in nearly every swing state, according to the RealClearPolitics averages of polls. In the New York Post, Miranda Devine discusses the different effects the two major party presidential candidates' picks for VP have had, writing: As the latest polls Sunday showed Donald Trump and Kamala Harris neck and neck with just 23 days to go until the presidential election, Democratic spinmeisters are trying to calm the bedwetters, and Barack Obama has been dispatched … [Read more...]

Your Survival Guy in Paris: Pot of Gold

By

 Action Line: Click here to subscribe to my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter. P.S. Read all about my latest adventure in Paris. Your Survival Guy in Paris: Go Big, Not Broke: You don’t go to Paris to save money. You do that before you arrive. You save ‘til it hurts and live within your means. Paris is for spending. With a little prior planning, you don’t have to break the bank. You can have your cake and eat it too. Literally. Your Survival Guy in Paris: 14,000 Steps: Your Survival Guy and Gal walked 14,000 steps for lunch yesterday from Le Bristol Hotel to Breizh … [Read more...]

Harris’s Record of Radicalism

By

Kamala Harris has had a sheltered existence as a candidate so far. She didn't need to compete in a primary, and she hasn't done many interviews. The American people don't know much about her without doing some digging. In The American Conservative, Rep. Jim Banks digs in and exposes Kamala Harris's record of "radicalism." Banks writes: Kamala Harris became a presidential nominee without winning a single vote. Because she was handpicked by the Democrat Party establishment, not its voters, we now know her core beliefs are the Democrat Party’s core beliefs: Kamalism. Just two months away from … [Read more...]

Inflation Flare Up Frightens Fed

By

You have probably been watching the Fed's actions with suspicion as it lowers rates despite continued above "target" inflation numbers. Jerome Powell and other Fed officials have explained that the momentum of disinflation is strong enough to continue to bring prices down even with rate cuts. Despite Powell's assurances, inflation remains stubbornly high. In the latest release, core inflation, which excludes food and fuel, even accelerated in September. The Wall Street Journal's editorial board explains: The September price data released Thursday put a statistical gloss on what voters already … [Read more...]

Your Survival Guy in Paris: Go Big, Not Broke

By

You don’t go to Paris to save money. You do that before you arrive. You save ‘til it hurts and live within your means. Paris is for spending. With a little prior planning, you don’t have to break the bank. You can have your cake and eat it too. Literally. There are plenty of Michelin-star establishments in Paris. A three Michelin star and a one are inside Le Bristol, and another, a two-star, is around the corner: Epicure, 114 Faubourg, and La Scene, respectively. Dinners at all three can be over-the-top pricey, but lunches are a bit lighter on the wallet and maybe just as satisfying. Go big … [Read more...]