In yesterday’s post I explored the ramifications of valuation allowances on deferred income tax assets in the context of shifting market demands as pertains to Merida’s $105 million income impairment with regard to its ownership stake in Specialized (tldr; they bought up a bunch of bike shops and took a bath), and in more financial news a big tech firm is now acquiring map app thingy Komoot, which is a map app thingy for mapping routes or whatever that lots of bikey people use:
This was very surprising to me, because I had no idea there was such a thing as an Italian tech firm:
“Italian tech firm” sounds highly oxymoronic, as when you think of Italian technology you tend to think of overly loud machines like espresso makers and two-stroke Vespas, though they did figure out how to make an electronic shifter so I guess anything’s possible:
Even more surprising to me is that Komoot has 150 employees (at least for now):
While I certainly don’t like the idea of people losing their jobs, how does Komoot have 150 employees? Isn’t this something three or four people with laptops could run out of a Starbucks? The world has been mapped like a million times over already! Do they have their own aerospace division for launching satellites? Or maybe they hired a bunch of old-timey explorers and cartographers and sent them out on expeditions:
[Magellan: worked remotely]
Either way, now that the Italians have come to the rescue, Komoot can fire everybody and somehow get smaller and bigger at the same time:
I look forward to a few years from now when he writes a self-righteous editorial about how venture capitalism and the relentless push for endless unsustainable growth is destroying the outdoor industry.
As for me, I’m getting out of bicycles altogether, because clearly there’s no future in it. Instead, I’m getting a Power Tug. And no, a Power Tug isn’t a hand-held masturbation device for men, it’s…well, it’s this:
Hey, it beats getting tugged by a sibling:
Sorry.
Anyway, this exciting new device will finally allow me to combine my two greatest passions: roller skating, and vacuuming.
Though maybe I should hold out for the gravel version…
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