A Funny From the Archives

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"California: where you can walk into a store and steal $800 worth of stuff but only if you're vaccinated." - Bridget Phetasy

"Reappraise the past, re-evaluate where we've been, clarify where we are, and predict or anticipate where we are headed." - Toni Cade Bambara

"Be a free thinker and don't accept everything you hear as truth. Be critical and evaluate what you believe in." - Aristotle

"Beware of his false knowledge: it is more dangerous than ignorance." - George Bernard Shaw

Reminder

Nature Shows How This All Works

Morgan Housel with two little stories from nature and how they relate to investing.

You can quibble with some of the details of his stories but the overall lessons are spot on.

Tesla Moves HQ from California to Texas

Tesla moves headquarters from California to Texas. One of the least surprising announcements from Elon Musk you could have expected.

Saying Texas is more business and employer friendly than California is the understatement of the year. 

King of Spades

Did you know that the King of Spades on a playing card was originally supposedly designed to represent King David from the Bible? The sword he holds was supposed to be the sword used to cut off Goliath's head after young David killed him with a rock from his his sling.

During the early parts of the Civil War - Robert E Lee was given the nickname "King of Spades" because of his propensity to dig trenches as part of his strategy. At first the nickname was derisive because soldiers hate to dig. Later when the effectiveness of his tactics saved the lives of many of these same soldiers - the nickname became affectionate. Reportedly Lee always loathed the nickname.

And Robert E Lee didn't play cards.

I'm Writing on Substack

"One day or day one. You decide." - Unknown

Today is Day One of me publishing on Substack. I believe in what they are trying to do and decided not to be a bystander to their success but to instead try to use their platform to stretch my own writing and reach. 

The first post is up!

I will continue to also publish here at A Large Regular but with some minor changes. The plan is to post a Friday Flotsam and Jetsam column on Substack every Friday (the name of the post should have indicated that) and have one or more longer essays during the week. That obviously means no more Flotsam and Jetsam posts here at A Large Regular but other than that little will change. You will actually probably see more posts here than less. For some time I've noticed that I no longer tend to write longer pieces here but let those ideas whither and die in my Draft Posts graveyard. Committing to at least one longer piece on Substack hopefully will change that.

Not sure how it really works at Substack but my understanding is that all my posts are FREE but if the traffic gets to a certain point that may change. If they do ask you to subscribe - I hope my efforts may be worth $5 a month to you. I've never made a dime here on Blogspot and that's not why I do this. However, if I'm able to make enough writing on Substack to take my girlfriend out for a nice dinner once a month that would be nice.

I've named my "Newsletter" at Substack - Hypnotized Fish simply because I'm greatly amused by the phrase (which would also be a great name for a band). Thanks in advance for your support.

Quotes for Today

 Some quotes that I hope may resonate with you.

"Only the guy who isn't rowing has time to rock the boat." - Jean Paul Sartre

"The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom." - John Locke

"With Great Pumpkin comes great responsibility." - Linus

"Sir, there is nothing which has yet been contrived by man, by which so much happiness is produced as by a good tavern." - Samuel Johnson

Dr. Seuss

Is The Rock a James Bond Movie?

 

Actually a pretty convincing argument.

If by Rudyard Kipling - Read by Michael Caine

Vax Mandates and Government Employees

Biden Administration outlines process for disciplining, removing unvaccinated federal employees.

November 9th is D-Day for employees who don't comply. However, if you read the guidance closely there seems to be a number of loopholes that could delay or stop many dismissals. Wonder if private companies could put those same loopholes into effect?

(HT Meanderthal)

Perspective

A Tale of Two Sundays: The Outsized Impact of Experience.

Interesting look at boom and bust and the relationship to risk and safety.

The Force of Habit

Jim Harrison's last poems as final words.

Memento mori.

(HT The Happy Curmudgeon)

Stephon Gilmore

First and foremost - thank you Stephon Gilmore! He was the 2019 NFL Defensive Player of the Year and a key contributor to the Patriots Super Bowl victory over the Los Angeles Rams that year.. 

Cynics will say all the Patriots got (and being generous) in return for Stephon Gilmore was Jamie Collins, a 6th round pick in 2023, and salary cap relief (you could call this a player to be named later). Not much return for a guy most arm chair quarterbacks thought would get back at least a 1st round pick. 

I can recall when Bill Belichick signed Gilmore as a free agent, many of those same arm chair quarterbacks thought Belichick was overpaying for a cornerback. That big contract ended up being a bargain in hindsight but will Belichick ever get credit for the signing? Nope.

My guess is because of the contract impasse Gilmore was not going to contribute to the Patriots this season. Belichick then moved in the best interest of the team to do what was done today. One aspect that doesn't seem to be getting attention is that the trade removed a sure distraction from the team. Distractions are not helpful to winning football in New England.

The Deep State and the Two Americas

VDH: The dangerous, diminishing power of the independent American citizen.

More formally, our professional legal, academic, and politically active elitists have lost faith in the ancient customs and the Constitution itself. They loath the fact that our traditions have privileged individual liberty over government-coerced equality of result.

Not long ago the idea of a "Deep State" usurping power from the duly elected was scoffed at as fringe conspiracy theory stuff. With example after example made public seemingly every day (many examples are laid out by VDH in this piece) the question has changed from; "Does the Deep State exist? to "What do we do about it?"

I may be more optimistic than Dr. Hanson because I feel the pendulum has swung too far and a course correction is on the way. I have faith that the "independent American citizen" has had enough. 

Quotes for Today

 Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"The three big ones in life are wealth, health and happiness. We pursue them in that order, but their importance is reverse." - Naval Ravikant

"The more I study religions the more I am convinced that man never worshiped anything but himself." - Richard Francis Burton

"Why are people calling me Brandon?" - Joe Biden

"Kites rise highest against the wind, not with it." - Winston Churchill

Analysis - True!

When Panic Strikes

More fighter pilot wisdom from Steven Pressfield.

Really enjoy these writing Wednesday posts. And unlike most things on the Internet - the comment section on these posts is always worth your time as well. 

Crypto Miners and Electric Co-Ops

Crypto miners create problems and opportunities for electric cooperatives.

Peak and off-peak pricing plus security deposits seem to be a workable solution for both sides. Sufficient broadband bandwidth also is a missing ingredient not mentioned in the article.