STIMULUS

Still depressed because of yesterday. But I have to finish the project. How to motivate, stimulate myself?

Claude, the empathetic Artificial Intelligence, tried to motivate me: 

I'm sorry to hear about the difficult meeting yesterday. Those experiences can really weigh on us and make it hard to find motivation. It's completely understandable to feel down after something like that.

Here are some strategies that might help you get back on track:

Start small and build momentum. Instead of trying to tackle the whole project at once, pick one small, manageable task you can complete in the next hour. Completing something - anything - will give you a sense of accomplishment and help break the cycle of feeling stuck.

Change your environment. Sometimes a change of scenery can shift your mental state. Try working from a different room, a coffee shop, or even just rearranging your workspace.

Practice self-compassion. Be kind to yourself about having an off day. Everyone has meetings that don't go well - it doesn't reflect your worth or abilities.

I took a day off and here I am. 

We need space

 Yesterday I had a meeting in Yavne. The return drive of 60 km took me 3 hours. It is summer and hot (35 Celsius). I have a feeling that we need more space and more roads. HaAretz was reporting that people were leaving the country for more peaceful places. It seems to me that it is not so.

The meeting was horrible. One fat Russian with a baritone transformed it into a drama, with himself the primo uomo of the opera. He had planned to cause my dismissal and take over the Client. He failed, but killed my will to excel.  

Argentina loses again

 (Bloomberg) – Argentina must give up its controlling stake in signature energy company YPF SA within two weeks after a New York judge sided with litigators in a $16 billion judgment. 

Judge Loretta Preska gave Milei’s government 14 days to surrender 51% of the company’s shares to a global custody account, from which they’ll be transferred to plaintiffs, former shareholders suing Argentina over its 2012 nationalization of YPF. 

Argentina’s sovereign bonds and YPF shares both dropped after Monday’s ruling. Shares for Burford Capital, which is leading the litigation, saw their New York-traded shares soar more than 20% before paring gains.

Pic.: A drilling rig shown in the Vaca Muerta shale region of Argentina. Image: YPF

I was in high school in Buenos Aires when I had an idea for a special oil additive and decided to sell it to YPF. In the main office - a monumental building in El Centro - nobody deigned to talk to me, and I was asked to submit a written proposal. Which I did, and they never answered me. Still, 63 years later, I retain the impression of that enormous organization, Argentina's largest company. 

Jews moving to Israel

 The Jewish Agency reports: 

In 2024, 32,281 immigrants came to Israel from 94 different countries. We stand at about 4 million immigrants since the founding of the state, and 45 thousand immigrants since the beginning of the war, even amid the days of 'Iron Swords'. We are seeing in recent days a sharp increase in the opening of immigration files: 92% in France, 45% in England, 34% in Canada, and 22% from the USA.

LA PLAGA

The Twelve Days War

 
This war was not good for me.  The alarm was waking me at 4 AM and ruining the rest of the day. I did not feel it during the war, but I am still not back to my regular self.

Exhausted.

Luttwak's Take

 "The Ayatollah Has a Plan" NYT June 26, 2025

Vali Nasr who lives in Washington but follows Tehran explains that Khamenei is not the boastful buffooon who wasted 100$B+ on Assad's Syria, Hezbollah & Hamas all now dead dogs but a strategic genius

Pic. Khamenei visits Khumeiny.

He is married to a Sistani woman. Sistani, I discovered, are the Saka aka Scythian. It appears that the historical Saka still exist as a minority in Northern Iran.