<center>
![B98CA961-5839-4BB2-B05B-8613FEC43574.jpeg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/preparedwombat/EokdZWMWxZopHvvxTPHszrCtrqKPG9jKaEoegddZfkXPgL19PW7PzfjUHuE7i4p5ySh.jpeg)
</center>

I made shrimp scampi last night. First time I’d ever done so. I checked out seven or eight recipes online, all quite different from the others. Basically the only thing they had in common was shrimp. One recipe didn’t even mention garlic — *that’s just wrong*. Another had a photo of the end result, but the recipe didn’t mention the pasta in the pic.

In the end, I winged it, sometimes disastrous the first time with a dish, but it worked out okay. I started a pot with a pound of linguini after partway through sautéing a diced red pepper in olive oil in a large, deep pan. Cooked the pasta until just before *al dente*, turned the heat off, but didn’t drain until adding it to the pan later. After the red pepper was looking good, put in a heaping tablespoon of finely chopped garlic and a couple pinches of crushed hot pepper. Another minute or two of sautéing, then two pounds of uncooked tail-off shrimp and a diced tomato. Stir, stir, stir for about five minutes until the shrimp was nice and pink. A couple of tablespoons of butter, a few ounces of white wine, or chicken stock if you want to skip alcohol, a few ounces of lemon juice, and stir another minute. Drain the pasta and stir it in. Garnish with a bit of parsley and Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately, still in the pan. Yum.

<h1>Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, and Debt:</h1>

When in doubt, roll out the FUD: <a href="https://jacobinmag.com/2022/01/cryptocurrency-scam-blockchain-bitcoin-economy-decentralization">Cryptocurrency Is a Giant Ponzi Scheme</a>
>The only real solution is to ban the trade of private cryptocurrencies entirely.

Um, no thanks.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">In 2016 I bought my first <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bitcoin?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#bitcoin</a> at $400<br><br>March 2019 I published S2F model, at $4000 btc<br><br>Now, Jan 2022 btc dropped below $40,000 (within 2sd band)<br><br>Some are worried about current dip, but I am quite sure that btc will add another zero next couple of years. Embrace volatility! <a href="https://t.co/QvzsQwPBaJ">pic.twitter.com/QvzsQwPBaJ</a></p>&mdash; PlanB (@100trillionUSD) <a href="https://twitter.com/100trillionUSD/status/1484654762045984778?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<a href="https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/01/21/el-salvador-purchases-410-more-bitcoins-amid-market-drop/">El Salvador Purchases 410 More Bitcoins Amid Market Drop</a>


<h1>Coronavirus News, Analysis, and Opinion:</h1>

An opinion piece in *The Lancet* is optimistic: <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)00100-3/fulltext">COVID-19 will continue but the end of the pandemic is near</a>

<a href="https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jan/22/virginia-mother-charged-school-mask-rule">Virginia woman charged for threats to ‘bring every gun’ over school mask rule</a>

<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/22/health/us-coronavirus-saturday/index.html">Covid-19 hospitalizations are dropping in the Northeast. In other parts of the country, they're rising.</a>

So there’s a good chance the U.S. is nearing the Omicron peak, which some other countries have already passed.


<h1>Politics:</h1>

<a href="https://www.salon.com/2022/01/22/with-new-subpoenas-jan-6-committee-closes-in-on-its-ultimate-target-donald/">With new subpoenas, Jan. 6 committee closes in on its ultimate target: Donald Trump</a>
>If I were Epshteyn or Giuliani or any of the others, I would be very worried right now. Let me assure you, as a longtime observer of these kinds of investigations, including Watergate, it is never a good sign if you are among the *last* of the witnesses to be subpoenaed by an investigative committee or a prosecutor. That means that they have already talked to everybody under, across and around you *under oath*, and you can count on the fact that they have already assembled volumes of information on your activities. 

<a href="https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/590935-donald-trump-slams-jan-6-panel-after-ivanka-trump-interview-request">Donald Trump slams Jan. 6 panel after Ivanka Trump interview request: ‘They’ll go after children’</a>

Um, she’s 40 years old.

<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/judge-trump-spokesman-cant-retrieve-docs-back-jan-6-committee-2022-1">Judge rejects Trump spokesman’s effort to retrieve hundreds of financial documents back from Jan. 6 committee</a>

<a href="https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/muckraker/trump-final-days-jan-6-committee">’No More Crazies’: Trump’s Final Days In Office, As Documented By The Jan. 6 Committee</a>

<a href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/ukraine/2022-01-21/day-after-russia-attacks">Putin Has Three Options on Ukraine</a>
>…the third and most likely outcome is a full-scale Russian offensive employing land, air, and sea power on all axes of attack. 

<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/german-government-distances-itself-navy-chiefs-comments-putin-2022-01-22/">Germany distances itself from navy chief’s comments on Putin</a>
>The German government on Saturday distanced itself from comments made by its navy chief after video footage emerged in which the vice-admiral said Russian President Vladimir Putin deserved respect and that Kyiv would never win back annexed Crimea from Moscow.

And, not long after, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60099924">German navy chief resigns over Ukraine comments</a>.

<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-60095459">UK warns of plot to install pro-Moscow ally</a>
>The UK has accused President Putin of plotting to install a pro-Moscow figure to lead Ukraine's government.
>The Foreign Office took the unusual step of naming former Ukrainian MP Yevhen Murayev as a potential Kremlin candidate.


<h1>Serendipity:</h1>

<a href="https://theconversation.com/thich-nhat-hanh-who-worked-for-decades-to-teach-mindfulness-approached-death-in-that-same-spirit-175495">Thich Nhat Hanh, who worked for decades to teach mindfulness, approached death in that same spirit</a>

<a href="https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/43980/space-force-just-launched-satellites-capable-of-inspecting-adversarys-satellites">Space Force Just Launched Satellites Capable Of ‘Inspecting’ Enemy Satellites</a>

<a href="https://www.science20.com/hank_campbell/environmental_health_trust_now_claims_5g_cell_phones_kill_trees-255882">Environmental Health Trust Now Claims 5G Cell Phones Kill Trees</a>

<center>![BF94AEF6EE1F4649A8CCC739E7C43C7A.jpeg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/preparedwombat/NUPF97Wa-BF94AEF6-EE1F-4649-A8CC-C739E7C43C7A.jpeg)</center>

<center>![BA732FFB39EA460E871A5F7EE2773E11.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/preparedwombat/kIbR7aSh-BA732FFB-39EA-460E-871A-5F7EE2773E11.png)</center><center><sup>Badge thanks to @arcange</sup></center>

<sup><a href="https://peakd.com/register?ref=preparedwombat">Join Hive using my referral link</a></sup>