Hard Pulls, Soft Pulls, & No Pulls Oh My!
Hard Pulls, Soft Pulls, & No Pulls Oh My!
Winning and losing at governing. The next great candy!
Curious Minds… What’s the deal with Credit Scores
Working in fintech I am exposed to a rainbow of credit scores and credit models available to financial institutions.
This might surprise some people. Many credit scores and credit models? Most think Experian, Equifax, & TransUnion… aren’t there just the three?
Well, strap in to Mr Credit Score’s Wild Ride!
Let’s take Experian as our example. Experian has a credit report. This is different from your credit score. Your credit report with Experian is your credit report. Your credit score…not so much.
Experian, like Equifax and TransUnion, works with FICO. FICO has their FICO Score 8, which is a credit score. However many lenders might say that they don’t feel FICO Score 8 is optimal for their lending. So there is FICO Score 2… and Score 4, and Score 5 and Score 9.
Then again lenders in the auto industry might say, “Well… those don’t really capture the essence of auto.” So there is FICO Auto Score 2…
And 3, 4, 5, 8, 9
But wait! Credit card companies apparently felt left out, so there is also FICO Bankcard Score 2. And 4, 5, 8, 9.
Very exciting for FICO. Many scores equals many dollars.
Well, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion aren’t dummies… at least when they aren’t getting millions of consumer’s data breached anyway. So the three partnered up to create the VantageScore. The idea was to create a single score that was more predictable across the three bureaus. Thus was birthed VantageScore 1.0.
And then VantageScore 2.0 came along. Then 3.0. And then 4.0.
Whew, I am tired just thinking about all of the scores. But wait! There’s more.
Some financial institutions got their hands on a bunch of data from their consumers over the years and decided, we will create our own proprietary scores and house those with the bureaus!
Being proprietary, hard to say how many institutions are doing something on their own but it does happen.
So the next time you are trying to figure out why in the hell your credit score is different, basically everywhere, now you know why. You likely won’t be any less frustrated, but you will be informed!
Lies, Damned Lies & Statistics
If the last year has shown us anything its that there are certain things that the U.S. government is good at and a whole host of things they suck at.
As a numbers and data guy, I am about at my wits end with the CDC and their “guidance” to the American public. There is pretty strong consensus that the CDC dropped a giant dookie when it came to the pandemic response.
Now the CDC has issued a halt on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine due to irregular/unusual side effects. A rare blood clotting disorder has cropped up in 6 patients. Before I tell you the amount of people who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, let’s play a game of What Are My Chances!
Numbers are for the U.S. but we are using The Royal Society paper on Covid 19 to understand some Covid-19 data and estimate true infection rates. Numbers are also relative over a year time period.
Odds of dying from a drug poisoning: 1 in 5,554
Odds of dying in a assault by firearm: 1 in 23,439
Odds of having had Covid-19 in the US (est): 1 in 1.76
Odds of dying from Covid-19 in the US IF you have Covid (est): 1 in 319
Odds of developing a clotting disorder from the J & J vaccine: 1 in 1133333
Odds of a shark attack (even just attacked): 1 in 11500000
Risk, it is a tricky business. At some point though people have to understand that there is risk in living. If the CDC is working its way up, we are about a year out from beaches being permanently closed due to the “dire” risk of shark attacks.
Sharks! A public health crisis!
Other thoughts?
Let’s Get Visual
This visual is just awesome. I think it shows the sheer willpower and triumph of the human condition. Furthermore, seeing success like this excites me knowing we have many problems that face the human race and our ability to achieve is limitless.
Compare this to a year ago. Dr Fauci, hallowed be his name, was noted…
Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, said that the earliest the US could possibly get a vaccine would be in 12 or even 18 months — "at least."
Swing and a miss… The government and their governing…sometimes the struggle is real.
Also frustrated?
PSA
Well, it’s riot season again. For those of you who still have their Christmas, Easter or Covid decorations up, get a move on.
Minneapolis, gunning for its 1995 title of Murder-apolis, has shot out the gate early this year, determined to hold its crown from last year. As if the Chauvin trial wasn’t going badly enough for the prosecution, a police officer Sunday had an accidental discharge during a traffic stop and killed a young man. Video seems pretty clear and she should face an involuntary manslaughter charge at the very least.
As we all know though the mob is not so easily satiated. Foot Lockers and Verizon stores best board up, their coming for you.
If you are located in areas that saw 2020 riots, please be careful and safe because this looks to be coming back through.
The World of AI
Are you a believer yet? The world is changing at an ever quickening pace. Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Robotics, and more. Drones on Mars and robots in the kitchen.
That’s right, today’s World of AI is proud to discuss Flippy! Transparency up front, I am an early investor but that should not stop you from checking out Flippy. Seriously cool technology.
Sadly, their flagship restaurant, White Castle, is out of my reach currently but this not so little robot is working to revolutionize the fryer station in the kitchen. The ability to deliver consistent results over thousands of fry jobs all while protecting the human element, eliminating slips and falls, hot oil splashes, and more!
Would love to hear if anyone has seen this baby in action or if they have experienced another robot in the field. Let me know!
TwitterPool
What will the TwitterPool bring us today?!
Preparing the roulette table of topics….
AND..
Olive Garden… WTH.
So Olive Garden is trending as this newsletter is being crafted. Olive Garden is trending because… apparently Twitter cancel culture came after restaurants and by all accounts Olive Garden was THE line. OG is trending as many in the twitterverse are posting their love of OG bread sticks, the little chocolates, visits with grandma, and more.
I’ve seen clips from Avengers supporting OG, excitement over their liberal sprinkling of cheese, and even this excellent idea..
Honestly, there were were some other big trending topics on twitter that had the usual cesspool of twitter goers. But come on… Olive Garden! If you’re there, you’re family!
Quote of the Week
“Capital as such is not evil; it is its wrong use that is evil. Capital in some form or other will always be needed.”
Gandhi
Apologies for the hiatus, selling a house, buying a house, leaving some great people at my previous job, joining some great people at my new job. Busy times. But as I settle in and find some stability I am reminded how much this publication and your support means. Thanks for being here!
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