Music Machine...............................................Talk Talk
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Lessons learned....................
Scott Dinsmore offers twenty "uncommon lessons" learned while spending a weekend listening to Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger - here. Lessons #2 and #19 here:
2. Don’t expect people to change. Berkshire Hathaway owns over 70 businesses. They buy a few more every year. But they only buy ones they won’t have to improve (contrary to what happens in acquisitions elsewhere). They’ve realized how futile is to try to changes others’ behavior. We love to paint a rosy picture that things will be better after some special event happens (an acquisition, a marriage, kids, a move, a new job, whatever), but for the most part, how people act is out of our control. Make sure the people you surround yourself with are the right fit from the beginning.
19. Stop saving up sex for old age. This is my all-time favorite analogy. Working a job you hate, just to build up a resume to hopefully do something you enjoy later on, is just like saving up sex for old age. There is no sense in waiting. If you’re going to build your resume, then build it with things you enjoy, or better yet, take the steps to start doing things you are excited about, with people you admire, right now. There is no waiting. Happiness not spent today does not equal more happiness tomorrow.
2. Don’t expect people to change. Berkshire Hathaway owns over 70 businesses. They buy a few more every year. But they only buy ones they won’t have to improve (contrary to what happens in acquisitions elsewhere). They’ve realized how futile is to try to changes others’ behavior. We love to paint a rosy picture that things will be better after some special event happens (an acquisition, a marriage, kids, a move, a new job, whatever), but for the most part, how people act is out of our control. Make sure the people you surround yourself with are the right fit from the beginning.
19. Stop saving up sex for old age. This is my all-time favorite analogy. Working a job you hate, just to build up a resume to hopefully do something you enjoy later on, is just like saving up sex for old age. There is no sense in waiting. If you’re going to build your resume, then build it with things you enjoy, or better yet, take the steps to start doing things you are excited about, with people you admire, right now. There is no waiting. Happiness not spent today does not equal more happiness tomorrow.
Amendments..................
Amendment III
No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
The Aleph Blog...............
Some interesting quotes from interesting posts from David Merkel's interesting blog:
On systematic dangers:
"When an economic system is overleveraged, with leverage that is layered, such that a domino effect can occur, small failures can have disproportionate results. It is almost like the economic system during the bull phase self-organizes for the largest possible failure. (Note: self-organizing systems do not always optimize for the long term. Think: what other ideas could that invalidate?)"
On thinking harder:
"Now, I am not a disciple of Dr. Shiller, I disagree with him on many issues, Trills for an example. When Shiller talks, odds are 50-50 that I agree, which makes him interesting to me, unlike Bernanke and Krugman who I almost always disagree with, and James Grant and Caroline Baum, who I almost always agree with. Someone who agrees with me and disagrees with me equally is interesting, because he makes me think harder."
On genuine expertise:
"A large part of what makes hedge fund managers successful is their willingness to limit their activity to areas where they have genuine expertise. They gain insight beyond most into areas where they are experts in discerning value."
On rules:
On systematic dangers:
"When an economic system is overleveraged, with leverage that is layered, such that a domino effect can occur, small failures can have disproportionate results. It is almost like the economic system during the bull phase self-organizes for the largest possible failure. (Note: self-organizing systems do not always optimize for the long term. Think: what other ideas could that invalidate?)"
On thinking harder:
"Now, I am not a disciple of Dr. Shiller, I disagree with him on many issues, Trills for an example. When Shiller talks, odds are 50-50 that I agree, which makes him interesting to me, unlike Bernanke and Krugman who I almost always disagree with, and James Grant and Caroline Baum, who I almost always agree with. Someone who agrees with me and disagrees with me equally is interesting, because he makes me think harder."
On genuine expertise:
"A large part of what makes hedge fund managers successful is their willingness to limit their activity to areas where they have genuine expertise. They gain insight beyond most into areas where they are experts in discerning value."
On rules:
The trouble is this: during boom times, it is virtually impossible to get regulators to oppose politicians who are being lobbied by financial services organizations when they are making gobs of money, and it all seems riskless, as the bubble expands. This is endemic to human nature; it is politically impossible to oppose booms. I for one wrote extensively about the coming housing bust, but all I received was derision. I wrote about the blowup coming in subprime residential mortgage bonds, but all I got was a yawn.
So, unless we get a new set of regulators that are willing to be junkyard dogs, I don’t care what laws we put in place. Laws are only as good as those that are willing to enforce them.
Abe...................
"In the Lincoln-Douglas debates, Stephen A. Douglas accused
Abraham Lincoln of being two-faced.
'I leave it to you, my friends,' Lincoln retorted, turning
toward his audience. 'If I had two faces, would I be wearing
this one?'"
-James C. Humes, The Wit & Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln
image courtesy of
Friday, May 25, 2012
And the B-side was Gentleman Joe's Sidewalk Cafe
Status Quo..................Pictures of Matchstick Men
Happy Birthday Kate.............
My sister. At various times my playmate, my guide, my teacher,
my traveling companion, my mentor, my inspiration. Always
there. Always available. Always my friend. Thanks Kate.
Happy Birthday!
Those pesky "markets"...............
The Aleph Blog offers a cautionary post for all those really-too-big-to-
fail financial institutions. Two excerpts:
"The problem with becoming large relative to the market, is that you begin distorting the price signals of the market. If you have a large long position and the price starts to fall, it is easy to justify purchases, because your internal model indicates that it is cheap. But every model has weaknesses, consider the examples listed above. Anytime you get a large fraction of the market’s volume, you should stop, and re-evaluate. You’re probably doing something wrong.
fail financial institutions. Two excerpts:
"The problem with becoming large relative to the market, is that you begin distorting the price signals of the market. If you have a large long position and the price starts to fall, it is easy to justify purchases, because your internal model indicates that it is cheap. But every model has weaknesses, consider the examples listed above. Anytime you get a large fraction of the market’s volume, you should stop, and re-evaluate. You’re probably doing something wrong.
"Markets by their nature invite diversity, and do not admit anyone to dominate them except under abnormal circumstances.
"What’s my point here? Twofold: one, rapid growth in financial institutions is rarely a good thing; it usually means that an error has been made. Two, there is a barrier in many financial decisions, where responsible parties are loath to cry foul until it is way past obvious, because the cost of being wrong is high."
Amendments.........................
Amendment II
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed..
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed..
Recognizing truth when I read it............
"Perhaps recovery - when it comes - will be the result of people just doing stuff. Creating new businesses, innovating or just adapting to changed circumstances without much reference to the Big Leaders who will continue to pretend to know everything when they know nothing."
-Richard Fernandez
thanks maggie's
-Richard Fernandez
thanks maggie's
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Nothing to hide........................
Syndicate of Sound............................................Little Girl
Don't mess with Abe................
"At one of the Lincoln-Douglas debates, Senator Stephen Douglas sarcastically referred to Lincoln's lowly beginnings. He allowed that his first meeting with Lincoln had been across the counter of a general store where liquor was sold. Douglas finally ended his remarks by saying, 'And Mr. Lincoln was a very good bartender too.'
"A roar of laughter erupted at this, but it quieted down considerably when Mr. Lincoln answered, 'What Mr. Douglas has said, gentlemen, is true enough; I did keep a grocery, and I did sell cotton, candles, and cigars, and sometimes whiskey; but I remember those days that Mr. Douglas was one of my best customers. Many a time have I stood on one side of the counter and sold whiskey to Mr. Douglas on the other side, but the difference between us now is that I have left my side of the counter, but Mr. Douglas still sticks to his as tenaciously as ever.'"
-James C. Humes, The Wit & Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln
"A roar of laughter erupted at this, but it quieted down considerably when Mr. Lincoln answered, 'What Mr. Douglas has said, gentlemen, is true enough; I did keep a grocery, and I did sell cotton, candles, and cigars, and sometimes whiskey; but I remember those days that Mr. Douglas was one of my best customers. Many a time have I stood on one side of the counter and sold whiskey to Mr. Douglas on the other side, but the difference between us now is that I have left my side of the counter, but Mr. Douglas still sticks to his as tenaciously as ever.'"
-James C. Humes, The Wit & Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln
Disliking Facebook..............
From Spengler:
"To the extent that social media become a substitute for unpredictable interaction with real human beings with something real at stake, Facebook and its imitators diminish us."
full post is here
Amendments.................
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; of abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; of abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
From the mind of Sippican Cottage.........
Greg sets us straight about economics, price inelasticity, and the real world - here. Excerpt here:
"I'm not educated in economics, so I know a little about it. If I was educated, I'd know about an economics education. Not the same thing. I learned what I know about economics by getting the treatment a baby gives a diaper every day out in the economic landscape. You're not allowed to indulge in fantasy very long out here. You can do it for a lifetime in a college..."
"I'm not educated in economics, so I know a little about it. If I was educated, I'd know about an economics education. Not the same thing. I learned what I know about economics by getting the treatment a baby gives a diaper every day out in the economic landscape. You're not allowed to indulge in fantasy very long out here. You can do it for a lifetime in a college..."
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Disney on Creativity............
"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."
-Walt Disney
Cleese on Creativity.................
-John Cleese
Bradbury on Creativity...................
"Don't think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It's self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can't try to do things. You simply must do things."
-Ray Bradbury
image courtesy of
-Ray Bradbury
image courtesy of
Koestler on Creativity.....................
-Arthur Koestler
Kettering on Creativity...................
-Charles Kettering
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Stand together....................
Canned Heat.....................................Let's Work Together
Gratitude..............................
Thirty years ago David Anderson convinced me that, as a team, we could be successful selling investment and commercial real estate in Newark, Ohio. At the time we were both selling houses for different brokerage companies, and, while doing passably well, we were both unable to see ourselves doing that sort of work for an entire career. And so, on this date in 1982, after some modest haggling about the shape and nature of our venture, Anderson Layman Company came into being.
As business partnerships go, this one would have to be considered a success. We are still friends. We are still partners. We are still showing up (most days) for interesting and challenging work. Our business has evolved over the years, partially due to personal quirks, but more often as a reflection of market conditions and responses to opportunities.
In many ways, business partnerships are like marriages. The richer and poorer and in sickness and in health parts certainly come into play. As do lessons learned about teamwork, trust, acceptance, forgiveness, humility, commitment, patience, perseverance, loyalty, and respect.
So David, Happy Anniversary and Thanks.......................
As business partnerships go, this one would have to be considered a success. We are still friends. We are still partners. We are still showing up (most days) for interesting and challenging work. Our business has evolved over the years, partially due to personal quirks, but more often as a reflection of market conditions and responses to opportunities.
In many ways, business partnerships are like marriages. The richer and poorer and in sickness and in health parts certainly come into play. As do lessons learned about teamwork, trust, acceptance, forgiveness, humility, commitment, patience, perseverance, loyalty, and respect.
So David, Happy Anniversary and Thanks.......................
In the queue....................
Due Diligence: An Impertinent Inquiry into Microfinance:
"You’ve heard how microcredit was born. In a nation long shackled by British rule and wracked by famine, a brilliant man was seized with a desire to strike a blow against the poverty all about him. Defying common sense and the skepticism of his colleagues, he began lending tiny sums out of his own pocket to poor people, which they were to invest in tiny businesses. He demanded no collateral, only the vouchsafe of the borrowers’ peers. The borrowers rewarded his faith with punctual repayment. In time, his experiment spawned a national movement that delivered millions of loans to poor men and women and broke the power of money lenders."
"You’ve heard how microcredit was born. In a nation long shackled by British rule and wracked by famine, a brilliant man was seized with a desire to strike a blow against the poverty all about him. Defying common sense and the skepticism of his colleagues, he began lending tiny sums out of his own pocket to poor people, which they were to invest in tiny businesses. He demanded no collateral, only the vouchsafe of the borrowers’ peers. The borrowers rewarded his faith with punctual repayment. In time, his experiment spawned a national movement that delivered millions of loans to poor men and women and broke the power of money lenders."
'The hero of this story is…Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver’s Travels."
Opening paragraphs.................
In the ancient city of London, on a certain autumn day in the second quarter of the sixteenth century, a boy was born to a poor family of the name of Canty, who did not want him. On the same day another English child was born to a rich family of the name of Tudor, who did want him. All England wanted him too. England has so longed for him, and hoped for him, and prayed God for him, that, now that we was really come the people went nearly mad for joy. Mere acquaintances hugged and kissed each other and cried. Everybody took a holiday, and high and low, rich and poor, feasted and dance and sang, and got very mellow; and they kept this up for days and nights together. By day, London was a sight to see, with gay banners waving from every balcony and housetop, with splendid pageants marching along. By night, it was again a sight to see, with its great bonfires at every corner, and its troops of revellers making merry around them. There was no talk in all England but of the new baby, Edward Tudor, Prince of Wales, who lay lapped in silks and satins, unconscious of all this fuss, and not knowing that great lords and ladies were tending him and watching over him - and not caring, either. But there was no talk about the other baby, Tom Canty, lapped in his poor rags, except among the family of paupers whom he had just come to trouble with his presence.
-Mark Twain, The Prince and the Pauper
-Mark Twain, The Prince and the Pauper
The Secret.......................
From WRM.....................
"....the secret to American prosperity is for us individually and collectively to learn how to surf the wave of change rather than letting it break over us and pull us out to sea."
Full post is here.
"....the secret to American prosperity is for us individually and collectively to learn how to surf the wave of change rather than letting it break over us and pull us out to sea."
Full post is here.
Monday, May 21, 2012
On books........................
"There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island."
-Walt Disney
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Acceptable, respectable, presentable......
Supertramp.........................................................The Logical Song
At night when all the world's asleepThe questions run so deep for such a simple manWon't you please, please tell me what we've learned?
At night when all the world's asleepThe questions run so deep for such a simple manWon't you please, please tell me what we've learned?
It's complicated...................
Reid Hastie suggests that simple answers don't serve us very well, even though we may be "hard-wired" to seek them. Resist the programming. Study and reflect a bit. It's good for you.
"So the next time you hear a good story about why the financial recession, or any other economically significant event, was caused by a single collection of bad actors -- or how a simple linear narrative 'explains' an important event -- remember this: Just as we are wired to like a diet rich in fats and sugars, we have an appetite for simple, coherent narratives. Neither habit is good for our long-term health."
thanks will
"So the next time you hear a good story about why the financial recession, or any other economically significant event, was caused by a single collection of bad actors -- or how a simple linear narrative 'explains' an important event -- remember this: Just as we are wired to like a diet rich in fats and sugars, we have an appetite for simple, coherent narratives. Neither habit is good for our long-term health."
thanks will
A prayer....................
Help me, O God,
To listen to what it is that makes my heart glad
And to follow where it leads.
May joy, not guilt,
Your voice, not the voice of others,
Your will, not my willfulness,
Be the guides that lead me to my vocation.
Help me to unearth the passions of my heart
That lay buried in my youth.
And help me to go over that ground again and again
Until I can hold in my hands,
Hold and treasure,
Your calling on my life.
-Ken Gire, "A Prayer for Joy" from
Windows of the Soul
To listen to what it is that makes my heart glad
And to follow where it leads.
May joy, not guilt,
Your voice, not the voice of others,
Your will, not my willfulness,
Be the guides that lead me to my vocation.
Help me to unearth the passions of my heart
That lay buried in my youth.
And help me to go over that ground again and again
Until I can hold in my hands,
Hold and treasure,
Your calling on my life.
-Ken Gire, "A Prayer for Joy" from
Windows of the Soul
Remember: Always bet on the optimist....
From Hot Air comes this post:
"The end is nigh! Or so our esteemed environmental prophets are telling us… yet again."
"Here’s the real deal: The earth has never been a better place in which to live. Yes, I said it. Worldwide, people live longer, consume more calories, earn more money, bury fewer children, and enjoy more modern conveniences than ever before — even though the world population has more than doubled in less than half a century. And thanks to ever-improving efficiency, innovation, and new technologies, life can continue to get better, and our demand for oil may even flatten out eventually. What’s with all the gloom and doom? If catastrophe really is on it’s way, it’ll be because nobody seems to be able to lock it up and get their fiscal house in order, not because we need a second planet earth."
thanks maggie's
"The end is nigh! Or so our esteemed environmental prophets are telling us… yet again."
"Here’s the real deal: The earth has never been a better place in which to live. Yes, I said it. Worldwide, people live longer, consume more calories, earn more money, bury fewer children, and enjoy more modern conveniences than ever before — even though the world population has more than doubled in less than half a century. And thanks to ever-improving efficiency, innovation, and new technologies, life can continue to get better, and our demand for oil may even flatten out eventually. What’s with all the gloom and doom? If catastrophe really is on it’s way, it’ll be because nobody seems to be able to lock it up and get their fiscal house in order, not because we need a second planet earth."
thanks maggie's
Sunday's verse.........................
4. There is a light in you which cannot die; whose presence is so holy that the world is sanctified because of you. All things that live bring gifts to you, and offer them in gratitude and gladness at your feet. The scent of flowers is their gift to you. The waves bow down before you, and the trees extend their arms to shield you from the heat, and lay their leaves before you on the ground that you may walk in softness, while the wind sinks to a whisper round your holy head.
5. The light in you is what the universe longs to behold. All living things are still before you, for they recognize Who walks with you. The light you carry is their own. And thus they see in you their holiness, saluting you as savior and as God. Accept their reverence, for it is due to Holiness Itself, which walks with you, transforming in Its gentle light all things unto Its likeness and Its purity.
6. This is the way salvation works. As you step back, the light in you steps forward and encompasses the world. It heralds not the end of sin in punishment and death. In lightness and in laughter is sin gone, because its quaint absurdity is seen. It is a foolish thought, a silly dream, not frightening, ridiculous perhaps, but who would waste an instant in approach to God Himself for such a senseless whim?
7. Yet you have wasted many, many years on just this foolish thought. The past is gone, with all its fantasies. They keep you bound no longer. The approach to God is near. And in the little interval of doubt that still remains, you may perhaps lose sight of your Companion, and mistake Him for the senseless, ancient dream that now is past.
8. "Who walks with me?" This question should be asked a thousand times a day, till certainty has ended doubting and established peace. Today let doubting cease. God speaks for you in answering your question with these words:
5. The light in you is what the universe longs to behold. All living things are still before you, for they recognize Who walks with you. The light you carry is their own. And thus they see in you their holiness, saluting you as savior and as God. Accept their reverence, for it is due to Holiness Itself, which walks with you, transforming in Its gentle light all things unto Its likeness and Its purity.
6. This is the way salvation works. As you step back, the light in you steps forward and encompasses the world. It heralds not the end of sin in punishment and death. In lightness and in laughter is sin gone, because its quaint absurdity is seen. It is a foolish thought, a silly dream, not frightening, ridiculous perhaps, but who would waste an instant in approach to God Himself for such a senseless whim?
7. Yet you have wasted many, many years on just this foolish thought. The past is gone, with all its fantasies. They keep you bound no longer. The approach to God is near. And in the little interval of doubt that still remains, you may perhaps lose sight of your Companion, and mistake Him for the senseless, ancient dream that now is past.
8. "Who walks with me?" This question should be asked a thousand times a day, till certainty has ended doubting and established peace. Today let doubting cease. God speaks for you in answering your question with these words:
- I walk with God in perfect holiness. I light the world, I light my mind and all the minds which God created one with me.
Lesson 156:4-8
A diet of good writing............
Conor Friedersdorf points out 101 essays in his "annual collection of the very best that journalism has to offer" - here
thanks craig
thanks craig
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