Catch It. Any Answers? Plumbers and Electricians Reap the Rewards. Boston Strong.
- Quote of the Week: Do we really need these big, gigantic, heavy rockets? What if we launch a rocket that’s empty, and its sole purpose is to act as a source of fuel on the Moon? Who should build that? Well, I think the U.S. should build that. – Buzz Aldrin
Buzz Aldrin’s foresight into space exploration has come full circle. The privatization of space vehicle manufacturing and deployment has propelled (no pun intended) advancements in rocket propulsion as well as reusable rockets. To date, SpaceX is by far the leader amongst private space companies, with their ability to recover and reuse their Starship rocket. We have seen their rocket return to earth and land on a barge – mind-blowing to say the least. Last week, SpaceX topped their level of remarkable engineering by building a tower with ‘chopsticks’ to catch a rocket’s first stage.
The booster slowed down from four times the speed of sound, hovered, and steered itself to a precise point between the chopstick arms, and was caught in midair. In the future, when it is past the current test phase, SpaceX’s goal will be to then put the rocket back on its launch mount, fuel it up, and launch it again, possibly within hours. The technology and engineering shown in this video is mind-blowing. Richie: Please explain the aerodynamics that provided command and control of this first stage to be collected. Thank you.
Random Things I Think
- Is there an implosion on the horizon with the amount of money professional athletes earn on and off the field/court? For example, as reported by Forbes: Combined, the world’s ten highest-paid soccer players are projected to earn $983 million this season. Amazing, eye-opening, and problematic all at the same time.
- Amazon’s data centers are massive and require immense amounts of power. Solution: Amazon will fund and build small nuclear reactors. Tracy A: Thoughts on the continued privatization of nuclear power?
- Gold broke through the $2,700 barrier last week. Is it time for the gold-for-cash pop-up stores to spread across our country once again?
- After a very tough three weeks for people in Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas, a couple of other storms have popped up in the Caribbean. No, and no.
- This should be a Harvard Business Case Study titled: How to Batter Your Balance Sheet by Boeing Co. Poor commercial jet production, defense contracts that are sideways, and a strike by half of its Washington state workforce. No bueno.
- This quote from the late Colin Powell made me think about the upcoming Presidential election. Yes, I stay away from politics. Yes, I have already voted. “You can’t make good decisions unless you have good information and can separate facts from opinion and speculation.”
- Just when we thought interest rates and mortgage rates would continue to trend downward after the Fed slashed its lending rate by half a point…well, I am not going to get into the correlation of the bond market and the 10-year Treasury yield…but mortgage rates have been rising since reaching its lowest level in two years — 6.08% — three weeks ago. You can blame the encouraging reports on the U.S. economy, including the better-than-expected September jobs report. So much for the expected recession?
Comedian Kurt Metzger, many years ago, explains the economy in terms I definitely understand:
- I received many responses from last week’s take on formal education versus technical training. While certain professions must have levels of formal education, other careers align well with technical training. Last week, the Wall Street Journal published an article titled: “Plumbers and Electricians are the New Millionaires:”
Private equity firms are scooping up small town HVAC, plumbing and electrical companies, and turning some of their owners into instant millionaires. The equity firms are hoping to profit by running larger, more lucrative operations with branch operations in small towns across the country.
According to data from PitchBook, private-equity investors have purchased roughly 800 HVAC, plumbing and electrical companies since 2022. The strategy: Roll up businesses to create larger players and improve their margins. The P.E. firms add back-office efficiency, managerial know-how, increase marketing efforts and recruiting budgets.
There is no doubt that private equity’s roll-up strategy with different types of businesses will provide many owner-operators the opportunity of wealth and prosperity. I am interested to see if this trend will continue. Chris A: Do you have thoughts on private equity firms and their interest in this contractor, roll-up model?
- Pure Talent. Years ago, as a tribute to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing, Steven Tyler enlisted the help of a choir to help him with “Dream On.” An iconic song by a rock legend. This is Pure Talent for a great cause – Boston Strong!