Author: openjargon

• JPMorgan reported first-quarter earnings on Friday that were ahead of Wall Street's expectations.
• The banking giant grew revenue by 9% and net income by 6%.
• CEO Jamie Dimon, however, rang the alarm on a troubled global geopolitical environment.

JPMorgan reported first-quarter earnings on Friday that surpassed Wall Street's expectations, as CEO Jamie Dimon rang the alarm once again on a deeply worrying geopolitical backdrop.

America's biggest bank posted a 9% year-on-year rise in revenue to $41.9 billion, which helped to drive its net income up 6% to $13.4 billion. Earnings per share were $4.44, ahead of AlphaSense's consensus estimate of $4.14.

"We remain alert to a number of significant uncertain forces," Dimon said in the earnings release. First, the global landscape is unsettling – terrible wars and violence continue to cause suffering, and geopolitical tensions are growing."

"Second, there seems to be a large number of persistent inflationary pressures, which may likely continue. And finally, we have never truly experienced the full effect of quantitative tightening on this scale."

In his annual letter to JPMorgan shareholders, Dimon voiced similar concerns, published earlier this week. In it, he warned about wars raging and international tensions rising, and cautioned investors may be too complacent about the threats posed by inflation, interest rates, and recession.

from All Content from Business Insider https://ift.tt/xaFMghK
via IFTTT

• BlackRock reported first-quarter earnings on Friday.
• Assets under management grew by 15% in 12 months to a record $10.5 trillion.
• The world's largest asset manager cited big net inflows of client cash and a strong market.

BlackRock's assets under management surged 15% year-on-year to a record $10.5 trillion in the first quarter, as more people trusted the company to put their cash to work and markets performed well.

The Wall Street titan grew its AUM by $1.4 trillion in 12 months, its first-quarter earnings revealed on Friday. The increase reflected a big net inflow of client funds and a positive market backdrop.

BlackRock's revenue increased 11% to $4.7 billion, which helped boost its operating income by 18% to $1.7 billion. Its management also bought back $375 million worth of stock and hiked the quarterly dividend by 2% to $5.10 a share.

Investors celebrated the strong showing by pushing BlackRock shares up as much as 3% in premarket trading to around $807. The stock was virtually flat for the year at Thursday's close.

"BlackRock's momentum continues to build," CEO Larry Fink said in the earnings release. 

"Organic asset and base fee growth accelerated into the end of the quarter, and first quarter long-term net inflows of $76 billion already represent nearly 40% of full year 2023 levels." 

Indeed, BlackRock's net inflows were $76 billion in the first quarter versus $183 billion in all of 2023. The large inflow isn't too surprising as market sentiment has been largely solid this year, which has helped to push stocks and other assets to record highs.

from All Content from Business Insider https://ift.tt/r3nFb2N
via IFTTT

• After graduating from Stanford, Jaime Muñoz moved to Chicago for a dream fintech job.
• He worried about leaving the Silicon Valley startup hub behind, but felt the risk could pay off. 
• He said the hardest part was losing proximity to his close-knit family in California.

This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Jaime Muñoz, 30, about moving to Chicago for a dream job after finishing his MBA at Stanford. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I arrived in Chicago in July 2022, feeling optimistic.

I'd never lived outside California before and saw this as an opportunity to venture out on my own — a fresh start.

I'd accepted a new job opportunity as a strategy and operations lead for a financial technology company. I interned for a company called Bridge Money during my MBA at Stanford. They mentioned they had a potential role for me, but it would be in Chicago.

I was already considering other options in California, where I would be close to my family. I wanted to work at a fintech company, and this opportunity with Bridge Money was the exact type of role I wanted.

I thought, "This is what I was looking for, so what's stopping me?" I saw it as a high-risk but high-reward opportunity. After some hard conversations with family and friends, I made the move.

I worried I'd isolate myself from my network and Silicon Valley by moving

I initially questioned whether Chicago was the right city for me.

I didn't know anyone there. Most of my Stanford classmates were staying in the Bay Area after graduation. Part of the value of getting an MBA is the network you form, and I wondered if moving would be detrimental to that because I was isolating myself.

I'd heard that Chicago was becoming more of a startup hub but not on the same level as Silicon Valley.

I'd always played it safe and thought about security when it came to jobs. I wanted to be the first in my family to be well-off. I don't want to worry about retirement, and I want to provide for my future kids and pass down the wealth that I accumulate.

I did some research on how some of the richest people built their wealth. Many of them mentioned getting in early at a company, being one of the first employees, and having equity.

I was offered another role as a senior strategy consultant with Accenture, based out of the San Francisco office. The offer included the option to buy shares of their stock, but I preferred the idea of having shares allocated to me at an early-stage startup. Bridge Money offered me the possibility of an equity grant — if all went well at the company, my equity would increase in value.

I felt I would be a speck of dust in a huge company at Accenture. I'd already worked there from 2015 to 2020 as a strategy analyst and senior strategy consultant. There were multiple levels of seniority above me. At Bridge Money, I was one of the first 10 full-time hires. Only the CMO and CEO are above me, so I'm making more decisions by myself. I think I made the right choice because I've learned so much about myself.

Moving to Chicago was lonely, even though I was on my A-game at the office

Since I'd interned with Bridge Money for two years before starting the job, I felt prepared for the role. Most days in the office, I was on my A-game, making big decisions and collaborating with teammates.

However, I wasn't prepared for the mental challenges of relocating, such as dealing with loneliness.

I have a very close-knit family in California. We lived in an eight-person household — myself, my three siblings, my parents, and two grandparents. I also have 15 first cousins on my mom's side there.

I was always around family members, but in Chicago, I was shopping and sightseeing by myself.

Eating alone was one of the most crushing experiences for me. At restaurants, I'd sometimes make reservations for one because I wanted to leave my apartment. The tables around me would have at least two people sitting on them, and it felt isolating.

I tried hanging out with coworkers. They tried to integrate me into their friendship group, and I was grateful, but it felt a bit like I was intruding.

I also dated to meet people, but those relationships often wouldn't progress, and it made me feel even lonelier.

I eventually started making friends through social media. I'd been building a following on TikTok, and when I announced that I'd moved to Chicago on the app, my inbox was flooded with people welcoming me. I started grabbing coffee with people, and now, all of my friends here are creators.

I'm further from family, but I'm working toward my goal of building generational wealth

I prefer Chicago as a place to San Francisco. Everyone's a tech bro in San Francisco, but I meet people from diverse professions here. It's also more affordable.

The biggest cost has been losing the proximity to my family. I've felt guilty that I'm being selfish and only thinking of my career instead of them.

But I also think I'm building generational wealth and making decisions that can help my current and future family. I'm working hard to save money, and I hope I can retire my parents and buy them a house.

Moving to Chicago is probably the biggest risk I've ever taken. There wasn't an immediate payoff, but we're getting there.

It's been liberating and has allowed me to focus on and prioritize myself.

from All Content from Business Insider https://ift.tt/grnQN6l
via IFTTT

• Humane's Ai Pin received some harsh reviews, sparking a response from its designer on X. 
• Head of product engineering, Ken Kocienda, said people are jumping on the "skepticism bandwagon."
• The device has been described by some critics as "unfinished" and "not that useful." 

Humane's Ai Pin designer quickly defended the device after it was hit with several savage reviews.

The tiny machine is essentially a wearable smart device that lacks a screen. It already had some rough critiques after Humane started shipping the product this week.

Ken Kocienda, head of product engineering at Humane, fought back against critics in a lengthy X post on Thursday.

He said, "I feel that today's social media landscape encourages hot takes… and the spicier the better! Indeed, it's so easy to find people online who are willing to jump on the skepticism bandwagon to gape at the same things you're pointing at and poke holes in every little detail."

Kocienda said he uses the product "all the time" to ask questions and conduct web searches, but admitted that it can be "frustrating sometimes," just like his laptop and smartphone.

In what appeared to be an attempt to manage user expectations, he added, "There is no perfect product. The Ai Pin form factor is wonderful, and our new Ai operating system is a wonderful new landscape to explore, but it's not magic. Expect the same kind of ups and downs as your other tech."

The company has touted the device as a way for consumers to reduce their dependence on smartphones and an alternative to "typing away at a keyboard or scrolling away on a screen."

The idea of reducing screen time has attracted much attention recently, so there could certainly be a market for compact wearables that keep people connected without the need for a physical screen.

But a lot of techies don't seem convinced by this particular device.

The Verge was left unimpressed and described the product as "thoroughly unfinished" and "totally broken" in its review. It added that it wouldn't recommend anyone to spend $699 on it and pay $24 for its monthly subscription.

MrMobile, a YouTuber and tech reviewer, said it just "doesn't do enough yet."

Wired slammed it as "not that useful," while Engadget likened it to "giving someone a spork when they asked for a knife and fork: good enough to get by, but not a perfect replacement."

But Ray Wong, the deputy editor of tech reviews and guides at Inverse, thinks the hot takes are wrong. In an X post, he said, "The narrative of a new product needing to 'kill' or 'replace' another product with similar functionality is tired."

He added, "That's not how reality works. Laptops didn't kill desktops. Foldables haven't killed bar phones. Smartwatches haven't killed phones. Headsets aren't gonna kill laptops, desktops, smartphones, tablets, or w/e."

A New York Times reviewer also said he liked the "chic aesthetic" and concept of the pin, although he was critical about other aspects.

Humane didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

from All Content from Business Insider https://ift.tt/SBNXb17
via IFTTT

• Some restaurants are connecting callers to an AI voice service to place DoorDash and Uber Eats orders.
• Voice AI company Kea takes customers' orders in phone calls and sends them to delivery aggregators.
• Many people now place delivery orders online, but Kea's founder says restaurants sometimes struggle to handle phone orders.

A new voice AI service means diners can place delivery orders with services like DoorDash and Uber Eats via phone call.

Rather than having to order on an app or website, customers calling restaurants that use a product developed by Kea, a voice AI company, can simply say what they want to order. Kea then sends their order to a delivery aggregator.

"It's so much better and easier to just say something and have it done versus let me download an app, let me add everything to the cart, let me customize it, let me add my credit card to it, and then press all those buttons," Adam Ahmad, Kea's CEO and founder, told Business Insider.

Before the app revolution, restaurants relied on phone calls for delivery orders. In 2023, more than 85% of Domino's US sales were made digitally. But there are still use cases for ordering by phone rather than using a website or app, Ahmad said.

"They're maybe driving the kids back from school and it just makes sense to hit that call button," he said, describing it as a "30-second interaction."

When customers call to order delivery from a restaurant that uses Kea's service, they'll be linked to the voice AI, which restaurants can choose from a variety of accents. The AI guides them through the transactions, including suggesting add-ons and recommending items they got in previous orders, Ahmad said.

You can hear an example of how the software works on Kea's website.

"It's not like Siri or Alexa where it's kind of stopping you and making you repeat yourself," he said. "It's very fluid in its interaction."

And if the AI has problems understanding the customer – or vice versa – they can be transferred to a Kea human agent who'll complete the order, Ahmad said. About a quarter of calls made to Kea are transferred to its human agents, Ahmad said.

Kea told BI that it had agents in nine countries but that the majority were based in the US.

Kea uses an algorithm developed by Olo to determine which delivery services are available nearby and choose the best one for each customer based on the cost and estimated time of arrival, Ahmad said. The delivery platforms that Kea can refer orders to are DoorDash, Uber Eats, Postmates, Grubhub, and Favor, Ahmad said.

"We'll upsell them throughout the call and then at the very end of the call, they have the option to leave a tip for the driver," Ahmad said. "And at that time, an ETA is provided to them and the order gets placed directly into the system."

Customers don't need to have the delivery provider's app to use Kea's service, Ahmad said. They'd still be sent a link to track their driver, he said.

"We're not, of course, the delivery provider – we're sort of just processing the voice order," Ahmad said.

Ahmad incorporated Kea back in 2018, "before this whole large language model craze," he said. The new delivery-service tie-in aside, Kea has operated a so-called "cashier in the cloud" service for years, which takes pickup orders and answers basic questions like opening hours when customers ring restaurants, Ahmad said.

Kea said that the pizza chains it worked with — which it said it couldn't name due to NDAs — were already using the AI delivery function. It plans to offer the service to its other restaurants later this month, it said. Kea takes a percentage of the orders it takes for restaurants.

Chains that Kea works with include Wayback Burger, Newk's Eatery, and California Fish Grill. Kea declined to say how many restaurants it operated in, but said it was "in the hundreds."

"A lot of them are high volume takeout places, pizza places," Ahmad said. "These are folks that have three to five phone lines at their restaurants and they simply cannot answer all the calls at once. It's just way too cumbersome. And so we're really focusing on those brands first, the ones that just have a lot of incoming phone traffic and ultimately helping them with answering every single phone call versus putting people on hold."

from All Content from Business Insider https://ift.tt/14wWDm9
via IFTTT

• Russian soldiers want to get injured as they see it as the only way to go home, Ukraine said.
• It said Russia's death toll has convinced soldiers they have no chance of surviving.
• "Therefore, the invaders dream of being injured," Ukraine's National Resistance Center said.

Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine now see getting injured as their only chance to leave the front lines and go home to see their families, according to Ukraine.

Ukraine's National Resistance Center said that many Russian soldiers have lost hope that they will be given time away from the front, as Russia doesn't have enough soldiers there.

"Therefore, the invaders dream of being injured," it said.

"In this way, there is a chance to start work in a place of permanent dislocation, and then, if you are lucky, to escape. There are simply no other options to get a 'vacation' and see relatives," it added.

The National Resistance Center, part of Ukraine's military dedicated to teaching civilians how to fight back, said Russia's high death toll had convinced soldiers that they had no hope of surviving and going home.

"The invaders are convinced that injury is an option not only to rest, but also to simply survive," it said. "After all, they lost countless soldiers on the battlefield."

Ukraine is also experiencing its own issues with allowing soldiers to leave the front lines.

Ukraine's parliament this week scrapped demobilization plans that would have given soldiers who spent long periods on the front the opportunity to go home on rotation.

Ukraine, which has a much smaller population than Russia, has struggled with manpower shortages, and some soldiers said their units have only become smaller, as people leave with injuries or are killed, and few fresh recruits arrive.

Earlier this year, Oleksandr, a battalion commander, told the Washington Post that Ukrainian infantry were being kept in their posts for too long.

"They need to be replaced by someone," he said.

Reports from earlier in the fighting have pointed to Russian soldiers deliberately injuring themselves.

A Russian paratrooper who fought in Ukraine said in August 2022 that some troops shot themselves in the leg to try to get away and also to get a $50,000 payout.

Audio published by Ukraine in 2022 supposedly showed a Russian soldier in Ukraine telling his mother in a phone call that his superior had shot himself to get out of fighting.

The wives of some Russian soldiers have also accused the country of keeping their men at the front lines indefinitely.

Many Russian soldiers have been sent to Ukraine with little training.

Captured soldiers and Western intelligence also point to Russia using tactics that don't prioritize keeping soldiers alive, including using "meat wave" tactics to try to overwhelm Ukrainian forces.

from All Content from Business Insider https://ift.tt/guvydYF
via IFTTT

• The NFL will play two nationally televised games on Christmas this year.
• Previously, the NFL avoided games on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but the TV ratings were huge.
• This move could lead to more mid-week games, potentially increasing revenue for the NFL.

The NFL is already deeply entwined with Thanksgiving, and now it wants to be a bigger part of Christmas.

The NFL announced in March that it will play two nationally televised games on Christmas this year.

While the league has played games on December 25 before, this year is unusual because the holiday falls on a Wednesday, a day the league typically avoids. And, after 2024, the NFL will have had the same number of games on Christmas in the last two years as it did between 1973 and 2003. If that trajectory continues, NFL games on Christmas could be an annual tradition moving forward, and the move could have a huge impact on how millions of Americans spend the holiday.

Previously, the NFL only played on Christmas when it fell on one of the traditional days for NFL games — Sunday, Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. The NFL typically avoids games on Tuesdays and Wednesdays to avoid short-week scenarios where teams don't have enough rest between games and might be at a higher risk of injury.

But the TV ratings for past Christmas games were huge.

The NFL put up massive TV numbers on Christmas

The NFL's three Christmas games in 2023 averaged 29.2 million viewers, according to CBS, which broadcasts the game. Those featured some of the most popular teams in the league — and Taylor Swift — including the San Francisco 49ers, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Las Vegas Raiders, and the eventual Super Bowl champions, Kansas City Chiefs.

The 2023 Christmas games were three of the 19 most-watched programs on TV last year, according to Nielsen. However, they still trailed the Turkey Day games as those averaged 33 million viewers and had two of the top seven TV programs of the year.

Without knowing yet which teams will be playing in the games and their time slots, it is difficult to predict how big they will compare to last Christmas' and Thanksgiving games, said Jon Lewis, founder of the sports media news and information site Sports Media Watch.

"I do think viewership should remain elevated, but last year was a particularly good stroke of luck with the matchups," Lewis told Business Insider.

If the NFL is the big winner on Christmas, it will come at the expense of the NBA, which has long been the main annual sports draw on the holiday, with games featuring the best teams and many of the most popular players.

However, the NBA games are not nearly as popular in US households on the holidays compared to the NFL, and the gap is widening. In 2023, the five NBA games played on Christmas averaged 2.9 million viewers, according to The Hollywood Reporter. That was down 30% from 2022.

The NFL won't stop at Christmas

With the NFL breaking from the tradition of avoiding Tuesday and Wednesday games, it not only could mean games on Christmas every year, but it could also be the first step in leading to more mid-week games.

More mid-week national TV games were an idea the league seemed to start warming up to last year.

In March 2023, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told the media that short-week games do not lead to more injuries. He referenced the league's success in moving games to non-traditional days due to COVID-19 outbreaks on teams in 2020, including one game that was moved to a Wednesday.

"My instinct meshes with what Roger Goodell said when he invoked what happened during the pandemic," Mike Florio, NBC's NFL analyst, said on "Pro Football Talk" following Goodell's comments in 2023. "In five to 10 years, they are going to be playing games on Tuesday night and Wednesday night every week."

If the NFL schedules more games, it could lead to more income for the league.

ESPN, which will air 21 national games in 2024, pays the league $2.7 billion annually. On the other hand, CBS aired 107 games in 2023, but only six were national TV games. That network pays the NFL $2.1 billion a year.

In total, the NFL is paid about $10 billion a year for TV deals with CBS, NBC, Fox, ESPN, and Amazon.

While additional games could lead to more revenue, Lewis is skeptical that the Christmas games will draw bigger audiences than the Thanksgiving matches.

"I don't see Christmas overtaking Thanksgiving anytime soon, as the latter remains a comfortably bigger draw," Lewis said.

from All Content from Business Insider https://ift.tt/xhrL3QE
via IFTTT

• For many, retirement is synonymous with bad health, loneliness, and the end of life.
• The switch from a career to retirement can be a psychological hurdle for many, boomers admit.
• But these five retirees told Business Insider about why people's perceptions of retirement are wrong.

Helen Brown had worked hard for her career.

She worked in computer science — a notoriously difficult industry for women in the 90s — while battling chronic fatigue and migraines. Last year, Brown's illnesses meant the 60-year-old had to step back from work.

"Trying to be a woman in the computing world was not easy," Brown told Business Insider. At 60, she still felt at the top of her game and enjoyed her work, "I wanted to feel valued because it had been such a struggle. And then to have to give it up…"

For many, retirement is still synonymous with loneliness, boredom, and, to put it frankly, death.

Five boomers who spoke to Business Insider about their retirement say those stereotypes are far from the truth for most older people. Though the change in routine can be challenging and health concerns are never far, they say retirement is pretty great.

Getting over the psychological hurdle

The retired boomers told BI that transitioning from working to retirement can be difficult.

Feeling a loss of identity is common among new retirees as their daily lives and responsibilities change. Around 28% of retired people have depression, according to a review of eleven recent medical studies on the topic. Compared to 5% of adults globally who suffer from depression, per a report by the WHO.

Retirees adjusting to a new way of life have the added concern that their savings may not suffice as the economy changes or if unforeseen health problems arise.

Brown said she initially felt lost when she entered retirement. But she applied the same lessons she learned while battling her illness: "You can either give up or say, 'Right, I'll show you.'"

Brown created a timetable so that she didn't slide into her feelings. Her day starts with a few hours of studying through the Open University, then watercolors, yoga, gardening, or walking the dog, and finally, playing computer games with her husband in the evening.

Clive Hook, 65, also experienced an initial shock when he retired in late 2019.

He'd spent his career traveling for work, leading a "quasi-rockstar existence" running leadership courses for major companies. Slowing down in retirement meant losing the personal driver and luxurious trips and returning to domesticity.

Hook told BI that the complete loss of structure was the toughest change. It left him and his wife feeling purposeless.

"Not having a real reason to do anything. It was really hard," Hook said. "We got to a point where we didn't know what day of the week it was. It made us feel useless."

He decided to explore things that brought him joy. Hook joined a choir and, within the year, found himself busy with choir committees, charitable causes, and learning three languages. He also teaches leadership to NHS nurses rather than CEOs.

There's a misconception that life becomes boring in retirement, Hook told BI. In fact, life is so busy that it feels like a full-time job.

Retirement is for reveling

For Jackie Harrison, retirement has lived up to her high expectations: "I thought it was going to be a holiday and it has."

Harrison had worked as a librarian until she was 65 and happily retired in 2018. Now, she goes on holiday three times a year, visits family, practices tai chi and yoga, walks for around two hours daily, and goes to the gym.

"It's just the freedom of being able to do what we want and not having to do things we don't want," Harrison said of people in retirement.

Sandra Falconer, a retired teacher in her mid-70s, agrees.

"It's the freedom. The freedom of not having to go to meetings, not having to do the rush hour dash."

Falconer told BI she revels in saying no to anything she no longer wants to do. She retired from teaching at 63 but continued part-time work for five years. The former teacher was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2014 but still practices tai chi and has joined several local projects.

Falconer, who never had much time for writing as a teacher, is now a member of a poetry collective highlighting poverty and injustice and has been shortlisted for a literary prize.

Others told BI that retirement has given them the space to discover themselves in a way they hadn't had time to while working.

"It's almost like going back into childhood again with that sort of discovery," said Helen Brown. "There's a weight off your shoulders, not having to be at work and to go through that sort of stress."

Boomers have to battle ageism and stereotypes

Though they're enjoying life, the boomers who spoke to BI said misconceptions and stereotypes about retirement can be damaging.

"In other cultures, as you get older, you get wiser. In our culture, as you get older, you get more stupid," Clive Hook lamented.

Some have been shouted at in the street by teenagers; others said their skills are constantly underestimated, or they feel like they're sidelined by health services.

"Kick that into touch, mate, because that view that you have in your head is outdated," snaps back Kathy Feest, a boomer with an advocatory spirit and no time for stereotypes.

Sandra Falconer believes the media and people's own fears of growing old are to blame for negative stereotypes. The danger is that some will just accept the label; Falconer added, "If you treat somebody as if they're invisible, they begin to feel as if they are."

"I have never accepted stereotypes. In fact, underneath this jumper, I'm wearing a T-shirt that one of my daughters bought me that says, assuming that I'm just a little old lady was your first mistake."

Attitude is key to a successful retirement

Kathy Feest was forced into retirement at a younger age than expected after a boat accident left her spine shattered. She was 54.

"I wasn't ready to quit. I was too young," Feest told BI. After rebuilding her life, Feest has run courses to help others find their way through retirement.

People often claim there's nothing they want to do, but Feest said finding a purpose and pursuing it in retirement is crucial."You really do know. You're just covering it up in one way or another. And you don't get off the hook just because you have osteoarthritis." She said people must actively search for what they want out of life.

"It's a misconception that it's the end of life. It's the beginning of a new phase of life."

from All Content from Business Insider https://ift.tt/glntu1p
via IFTTT

• Ben Lang, 30, is a Notion super fan.
• He was roasted online after he revealed that he was using Notion to manage his marriage.
• Lang told BI that while he does enjoy the memes, Notion definitely isn't controlling his life. 

Ben Lang, 30, is a huge fan of the note-taking software Notion.

Lang was one of the startup's first employees, and he spent around five years leading Notion's community efforts.

But while most users use Notion to track their finances or plan their projects, Lang uses the software to manage something a little closer to the heart: His marriage.

"My wife and I use Notion religiously to manage our day-to-day life. Here's a screenshot of our set-up," Lang wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on April 6.

The template includes a section for budgeting and holiday planning. There's also a repository of "life"-related planning items, including tabs to create a repository of "our principles" and "learnings."

Lang told BI in an interview on Friday that he and his wife are indeed using the template, which he says more than 2,300 people have downloaded as of press time.

Lang said he first introduced his wife to Notion when they were planning their wedding, and they've used it together ever since.

"I would say I'm definitely the one who drives the structure of the page and how we use Notion," Lang said.

"There are times where I'll ask her to add something in the Notion, and there are also times where she'll ask me to add something in the Notion," he added.

While some online commenters were interested in using the template to manage their relationships, others made fun of Lang's page. They likened the Notion-based planning of one's married life to OKRs and high-stakes performance reviews.

"My friend's husband is currently on a PIP I think this will help him a lot," another user joked, referencing the performance-improvement plans tech workers are placed on when their performance is deemed lackluster.

The roasting also found its way to Lang, who told BI that he was "entertained" by all the memes and jokes that people were coming up with about his work.

"I think people who saw what we were doing either thought it was ridiculous, or it was so wholesome and amazing that we were investing in our relationship," Lang told BI. "So people either loved it or hated it."

That was when Lang decided to embrace the humor.

"I was entertained by the people hating it and all their memes. So I figured what I would do is, I would just make a parody of their responses," Lang told BI.

On April 9, Lang posted a screenshot of what he said was an updated copy of his Notion template. This joke template had new elements — like a section that tracks "Quarterly OKRs" and another tab for "360 performance reviews."

Jokes aside, Lang told BI some of his haters have the wrong idea about his Notion use and presume that the page dictates and controls all aspects of his marriage.

"They could be thinking, 'Oh, there's this couple who are controlled by this Notion page and it's how they live their life every moment.' In reality, that's not how it is," Lang said.

"The way we see it, this is just a very useful home base for us to track things, to log and remember things, and to plan things," he said. "It by no means is controlling our lives or is taking away the spontaneity and joy of life that some might think."

from All Content from Business Insider https://ift.tt/m3gEITc
via IFTTT

• Trump struck out 0-3 during three visits this week to a Manhattan appellate courthouse.
• Three judges rejected all three of his bids for an immediate delay of his hush money trial.
• Barring an unforseen, nonlegal emergency, jury selection will begin Monday, experts predict.

Someone is out of Trump cards.

Former President Donald Trump has run out of legal options to delay Monday's start of his Manhattan hush-money trial, legal experts predict.

Trump's lawyers struck out 0-3 this week, when three Manhattan appellate judges rejected three separate emergency delay bids during arguments on Monday, on Tuesday, and Wednesday.

Barring an unforeseen, nonlegal emergency, jury selection in Trump's first of four criminal cases will begin as scheduled on Monday morning in Supreme Court in lower Manhattan, experts said.

"I think they've run out of steam here," as far as pretrial delay bids go, Barry Kamins, a retired New York Supreme Court justice, said with a laugh on Thursday.

"I think the only thing that would stop the trial now would be a question of health — meaning if Mr. Trump came down with some condition or there's some health reason," he told Business Insider.

"But that would be looked at very carefully," said Kamins, a former chief of policy and planning for the state court system, and now a partner at Aidala Bertuna & Kamins.

"I don't see any other legal options for delaying the trial other than a health issue" on the part of the defendant, he added. "And that would only delay the trial a few days or weeks at most."

Mid-trial legal delays are also unlikely

Trump still has three appellate efforts underway, challenging state Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan's gag order, his ability to preside impartially over the hush money trial, and his recent efforts to rein in 11th-hour pretrial motions.

The defense and Manhattan prosecutors will file paper arguments on these three efforts over the next two weeks. The cases are proceeding on an expedited schedule, so three full panels of appellate judges could issue three decisions by month's end, maybe even by opening statements.

But even if Trump wins — and that's a long shot — it's highly unlikely any of these three appellate decisions would stop or even pause the trial, experts also said.

And if he loses the three decisions, the state's highest court, the New York Court of Appeals, would be highly unlikely to interrupt an ongoing trial, should its judges even agree to hear the cases.

"They don't have to take it at all, and I'd be surprised if they took it in the middle of a trial," said Paul Shechtman, a former federal prosecutor in Manhattan, where he served as chief of appeals.

Ditto the US Supreme Court, where Trump could ultimately end up, given that all three appellate efforts raise Constitutional issues, Schechtman said.

These challenges would all be matters for after the trial, not during, agreed Kamins and attorney Michel Paradis, who teaches national security and Constitutional law at Columbia Law School.

"It's very, very unusual to stay a criminal trial," when it's already in progress, Paradis said.

But though Trump's lawyers failed to stop the trial, their efforts may not be wasted down the road.

Trump's lawyers have complained, so far unsuccessfully, that his First Amendment right to campaign for office and his Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial have been denied.

By raising constitutional issues now, in these failed delay bids, Trump's attorneys are laying the groundwork to challenge his conviction in the state's and the nation's highest courts, Paradis said.

"One way or another, by dropping the word 'Constitution' in all their pleadings, Trump's legal team is hitting the wickets they need to take this to either the New York Court of Appeals or the US Supreme Court," he said.

from All Content from Business Insider https://ift.tt/06LkPZj
via IFTTT