What made you go WTF today?

[wiggin]

Twitter Link

Source: De Beers

You do realize that De Beers has gone in relatively aggressively on lab grown diamonds, in contrast to some other producers. This is more market research for them than trying to protect a dying business - their lab grown diamond brand is focusing on cheaper 'costume' jewelry rather than engagement rings, the big driver of traditional diamond sales. And this decision is partly a business one (they want to keep the cachet of an expensive and hard to source diamond ring and all of the commitment this implies) but also a realistic one - consumers couldn't care less about getting a 'fake' diamond for lots of costume jewelry, but haven't yet been convinced that it's as impressive to get it for something important.

I looked hard for lab grown gem quality diamond engagement rings when I shopped for my wife back in ~'08, but they didn't really exist in any substantial number/size (nor were they all that cheap). But I'm an exception because I attach no sentimentality to a 'natural' or 'unique' ring, I just wanted some shiny bling to make my girlfriend happy. Others take longer to be convinced, and De Beers isn't being stupid by doing their research.

I suspect that long term they will become a dominant player in the lab grown market and try to control the price of stones in such a way that the luxury premium of a 'real' diamond will still give their traditional mining business some revenue. But they are no longer shunning the space entirely; they're just trying to coopt it.

[ar81]

In a social media group there was this American guy who started to chat in a group. He complained about losing his family in the middle east. Then he tells the story of how he met this man who he considered like a son, but the guy was a bad guy who killed his family and he did something that made this guy die painfully, and he feels like a monster after that. My guess is this guy belongs to some US intel. It does not seem safe to talk to this guy.

[Steely Glint]

I actually did realize that. I also realize they're still heavily invested in marketing natural diamonds as intrinsically superior. Which is a point you made yourself... so what's the objection?

[wiggin]

My point is that the source certainly has an incentive to portray 'real' diamond as more emotionally relevant as it helps to underpin their core business. But they don't have an incentive to just make stuff up to trash the market for a successor product they're investing hundreds of millions of dollars in and positioning themselves as a future power player.

I assumed that your quoting this heavily tweeted graph was to doubt the veracity of famous diamond mining company trying to show how consumers view their product vs a successor. I find it more likely that the data are real (though likely selective) and part of their research on how to position their new product to make the most money. Why DID you post it?

[Steely Glint]

I posted it because it's funny that Bloomberg are using De Beers, a company with as you put it, "an incentive to portray 'real' diamond as more emotionally relevant as it helps to underpin their core business" as a source for their 'article' on whether or not people think a real diamond is more emotionally relevant than a synthetic one. Then they just leave the attribution right there in the twitter image for the whole internet to see. Gotta make those advertorials a bit less on the nose, guys.

[wiggin]

The article was talking about how much lab grown diamonds are rapidly gaining market share while dropping in price as more retailers and consumers get on the bandwagon (including Pandora, which precipitated the article). Big advertorial for mined diamonds there.

[Steely Glint]

But they just don't conjure up the same emotions as natural diamonds, alas.

[Aimless]

Nessie-bait:

Twitter Link

[Flixy]

https://www.goal.com/en-in/news/craz...c8770f3e0f5a3f

Lol. I mean, I can understand one mistake, but twice in a row? Plus some apparently questionable decisions regarding penalties and red cards.

[Aimless]

Nightmare fuel:

https://www.aljazeera.com/videos/201...-yungas-valley

[Aimless]

more nightmare fuel:

Twitter Link

[Aimless]

Twitter Link

[Hazir]

Twitter Link

Horrible things can be hilarious, but sometimes just laughing at the wrong thing is plain horrible.

[GGT]

Crypto currency, wtf? The US now has the crypto.com stadium ($700 million for a twenty year contract), and Matt Damon is doing paid commercials for crypto.com. New York's new mayor took his first salary in bitcoin, and even my grocery store has a bitcoin currency kiosk! But a couple was recently arrested for stealing $4.5 BILLION in crypto currency, because the bitcoin blockchain technology isn't so great for privacy after all?

What is the fuck is happening?

[Steely Glint]

What is the fuck is happening?

MFers trying to create exit liquidity is what's happening.

[Loki]

People like money. People are stupid. You combine the two and you get the modern crypto craze.

[GGT]

Is this an extension of the Gambling mentality (which also doesn't make sense) or something more pernicious (reluctance to regulate)?

[Loki]

A bunch of predominantly young people who are not at all financially savvy but seeing their friends make a ton of money. So jealousy, fear of missing out, convincing (to impressionable young people) advertising, etc.

[GGT]

Elon Musk wannabes? That doesn't explain why large financial institutes are buying into bitcoin/crypto currency craze. Or does it?

[Loki]

They're not. At least not in any significant amount. Some are trying to profit from it. Because they also realize the points I made above.

[GGT]

My cell phone stopped working. Couldn't take or make calls. Didn't know it until my son texted me saying his calls went straight to voicemail. My voicemail box was empty and the phone log didn't show any of his calls.

Long story short, my phone was using 3G, which is obsolete now, but I didn't get any notification from ATT. Mea Culpa? Soooo I went to an ATT store to get help, and they told me I could get a FREE replacement phone, but I'd have to use another phone that used ATT to ask for it. (I don't know anyone else using ATT, and they wouldn't do it for me there) Sooo I went home and tried to use the internet for customer service, but they told me to CALL them because the chatbot couldn't solve my problem. But my phone can't make calls. What a clusterfuck.

[wiggin]

This is the first year that my daughter has received a more complete discussion in school about the Holocaust. You want to guess what the class's main question was? They didn't know how they'd be able to sleep standing up in a cattle car. So after what sounds like some spirited back and forth discussion, the first graders determined that they could probably just lean on their neighbors to get a solid night's rest.

Glad to hear they have a plan.

[Aimless]

Twitter Link

[wiggin]

https://www.science.org/content/arti...ademic-careers

*Sigh*

[Loki]

Sadly, this is going to get worse before it gets better. And there are huge implications for entire graduate programs where Chinese nationals make up something close to a majority of the grad students.

[Being]

2nd Amendment just handed out more Darwin Awards. What were these people thinking? I mean going to school while being human, in America?


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/wh...5eb6d6d5c&ei=8

[AmericanWoman]

Many of you are still here, but so many are gone. I hope my post finds you all well.

[Wraith]

Many of you are still here, but so many are gone. I hope my post finds you all well.

Hi again and welcome back!

[Aimless]

wow, welcome back! More activity* on the discord server these days, I think

*weird

[GGT]

Hi, American Woman.


I consider myself fairly well educated, especially when it comes to healthcare and insurance. But I was shocked to learn that if you don't apply for Medicare within +/- 3 months of your 65th birthday, you have to pay a penalty fee when you do apply (added to your monthly premium) for the rest of your life.

And those 'Advantage Plans' are incentivized by getting thousands of dollars for every person they sign up, and each time a patient gets a "well check", even tho they are basically an HMO/PPO that will deny any claims outside their Network.

The US is not serious about healthcare in any way. But it sure does enrich a bunch of investors/shareholders! Go go USA #1