==== 2024-11-25 ====
Notes from https://www.wsj.com/business/7-eleven-acquisition-japan-high-quality-food-437e1534?st=7g5io9&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink - Talk of a 7-Eleven Takeover Has Japan Worried About the Rice Balls
  * 7-Eleven convenience stores in Japan
    * its parent is called Seven & i Holdings (7 & i)
    * Chief Executive Ryuichi Isaka
    * 21,000 stores in Japan
    * FamilyMart and Lawson are its main competitors in Japan
    * Much of the food and drinks in 7-Eleven stores in Japan is made exclusively for 7-Eleven at 172 factories across Japan and delivered up to three times daily

  * Alimentation Couche
    * based in Quebec
    * owner of Circle K convenience stores in the U.S.

  * bid
    * Alimentation Couche wants to by 7-Eleven convenience stores for \$47 billion

  * French retailer Carrefour
  * baumkuchen, a cake of German origin that is popular in Japan
  * children like the rice balls at 7-Eleven because the rice is fluffy
  * the varietal blend that fits best for rice balls
  * the tastiest part of the potato is right under the skin
  * Meatpacker NH Foods

  * the more delicious it is, the more you get tired of it

  * the U.S. and many countries require rice balls to be kept cool for food-safety reasons, but in Japan 7-Eleven can keep them at 68 degrees Fahrenheit from the factory to the store shelves to ensure the rice doesn’t harden and lose its taste.

Notes from https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/microsoft-cfo-amy-hood-ai-f0bfde36?st=1YuKZQ&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink - The Budget Hawk Atop a Tech Giant’s $64 Billion Spending Spree
  * Mustafa Suleyman
    * a big name in AI
    * was hired by Microsoft in early 2024

  * Amy Hood
    * Microsoft’s CFO of 11 years
    * from a small town in Kentucky
    * age: 53
    * earned a degree in economics from Duke University

  * Microsoft
    * capital expenditures in the last four quarters = \$64.5 billion, up from \$36.5 billion in the period a year earlier
    * Chief Technology Officer - Kevin Scott
    * Microsoft was in a bidding war with Salesforce to acquire LinkedIn. It bought the company for \$26.2 billion.
    * acquired github for \$7.5 billion in 2018
    * acquired Activision Blizzard last year for \$69 billion

  * the “Finding Mastery” podcast
  * the Seattle Sounders, the city’s Major League Soccer team
  * fire-and-brimstone strict
  * rapper Cardi B
  * Panos Panay was a chief product officer at Microsoft