I “retired” in November 2024 after being laid off by a startup that shall remain unnamed. The severance package carried me through the end of the year, but I needed a new income stream. Thankfully, my wife works full-time, but I wanted to contribute and at least partially offset my lost income. So, what did I do to backstop my financial loss? I turned to selling option premiums—lots of them. My journey began in April when I started buying premiums, and I made a tidy profit. Then hubris struck. I tried to replicate my success, only to lose my gains—and then some. Lesson learned. ...

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, recently announced crucial changes for his social media company. The updates include ending Meta’s third-party fact-checking program in the U.S., lifting restrictions on some commonly discussed topics, and introducing a personalized approach to political content. Prominent conservatives Joel Kaplan and Dana White have been appointed as the new Chief Global Affairs Officer and Meta board member, respectively. The changes are intended to refocus on reducing mistakes and restoring the free expression of speech, according to Zuckerberg. ...

Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, is making significant changes to its content moderation policies including the elimination of its fact-checking program, as announced by CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The move towards enhancing free expression will see fact-checkers replaced with community notes, a practice currently used in tech billionaire Elon Musk’s platform. The policy alterations follow a series of changes that Meta has made in recent weeks as it aligns with President-elect Trump. Zuckerberg stated the recent election was a catalyst for these modifications, pointing out that governments and traditional media are influencing the company to censor increasingly more content. ...

This website presents an interactive map that illustrates the rates of excessive drinking across various U.S. counties, using definitions set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The map utilizes the most recent annual datasets from the CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps (CHR&R) program. The platform aims to provide insight into alcohol consumption patterns at a granular, county level. This, in turn, can assist in the formulation of public health strategies tailored to each county’s individual needs. The data leveraged for this purpose comes from reliable sources including the latest datasets from the CDC and the CHR&R program. ...

The Texan Santa Fe Expedition in 1841 was a failed commercial and military initiative by the Republic of Texas to compete with the Santa Fe Trail trade and possibly annex the eastern half of New Mexico. President Mirabeau B. Lamar started the expedition, which was a part of his plan to swiftly build a robust continental power and prevent the impending annexation of Texas to the United States. However, the approximately 320 Texan expedition members were overcome by the superior forces of New Mexican governor Manuel Armijo. The captured Texans were marched 2,000 miles to Veracruz, Mexico, where they were released in 1842 and returned to Texas and the United States. ...

The passage provides a step-by-step guide on how to procure a URL link on X (Twitter) App. The author encourages readers to stay current with their postings and to get in touch, promising notifications when new content is available. The text alerts readers that Twitter reserves the right to remove content at any time and suggests saving important threads as PDFs. ...

As the year 2024 comes to an end, the KDnuggets writing team was asked to select and share their favorite article from the year. This novel approach aimed to showcase the array of articles produced during the year and delve into the motivations behind them. Some of the favorite articles included “5 Common Python Gotchas (And How To Avoid Them)” by Bala, who loves working on Python tutorials and providing helpful insights for developers. Nisha’s choice was “The Surge in Tech Layoffs 2024: Who’s to Blame?”, through which she provided some insight and hope for the numerous tech workers affected by layoffs during the year. ...

President-elect Donald Trump has demanded that the House of Representatives vote on the debt ceiling extension as soon as possible so that any resulting issue falls within President Joe Biden’s term and not his own. He criticized the 2023 debt ceiling extension agreed upon by ex-House speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Biden, labelling it as one of the dumbest political decisions. The deal had suspended the debt ceiling until January 1, 2025, but Trump insists it should be addressed by June to prevent the US from defaulting on its obligations. ...

🌱 The Importance of the Gut Microbiome: The gut microbiome is a complex community of trillions of microorganisms influencing hormonal health, brain function, and immune system performance. Understanding its spatial organization and unique “niches” provides insights into its essential functions. 🧪 Role of Fermented Foods and Fiber: Fermented foods (e.g., yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut) and fiber-rich diets were highlighted as critical for a thriving microbiome. Fermented foods introduce live probiotics, while dietary fiber sustains these microbes. ...