Libraries that look like books. Very cool.
Monday, May 09, 2022
Sunday, May 08, 2022
Douglas Adams
"Anything that is in the world when you're born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works. Anything that is invented between when you're fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it. Anything invented after you're thirty-five is against the natural order of things." - Douglas Adams
Mother's Day Flotsam and Jetsam
Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.
Farewell and adieu to you fair Spanish ladies. Farewell and adieu to you ladies of Spain. Please click the link, subscribe (if you haven't already, hit the Like button and share with others.
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough." - Meister Eckhart
"Life is short, break the rules. Forgive quickly, kiss slowly. Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably and never regret anything that makes you smile." - Mark Twain
"Write your goals on a sheet of paper. Circle the three most important. Avoid doing any work on anything that's not circled." - Shane Parrish
"First and above all else, you must secure life, liberty, and the right to pursue your own happiness. That's politics done right, hard earned, often by war." - Charles Krauthammer
Saturday, May 07, 2022
Happy Kentucky Derby Day
Beers will be drunk, money will be bet, and fun will be had! Also go Celtics!
Abortion and Responsibility
Glenn Greenwald on the Supreme Court Roe v Wade controversy. "The Court, like the US Constitution, was designed to be a limit on the excesses of democracy. Roe denied, not upheld, the rights of citizens to decide democratically." Amen!
The key bit to me:
Alito's decision, if it becomes the Court's ruling, would not itself ban abortions. It would instead lift the judicial prohibition on the ability of states to enact laws restricting or banning abortions. In other words, it would take this highly controversial question of abortion and remove it from the Court's purview and restore it to federal and state legislatures to decide it.
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"You have to be odd to be number one." - Dr. Seuss
"The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature." - Joseph Campbell
"You know what the issue is with this world? Everyone wants a magical solution for their problems, and everyone refuses to believe in magic." - Lewis Carroll
"If you want to be wealthy, spend your time earning, learning, or relaxing. Outsource or ignore everything else." - Naval Ravikant
Friday, May 06, 2022
Friday Flotsam and Jetsam
Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.
Hulk smash! Chris write! Please click the link, subscribe, hit the Like button and share with others - is that too much to ask?
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"If you don't know what your top three priorities are, you don't have priorities." - Donald Rumsfeld
"Everything that happens once can never happen again. But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time." - Paulo Coelho
"You cannot truly listen to anyone and do anything else at the same time." - M. Scott Peck
"The things I'm surrounded by are going to change and disappear, so let me enjoy their beauty as they are right now." - Bernie Glassman
Thursday, May 05, 2022
That Doesn't Feel Like $150 Worth of Groceries
Why inflation is worse than you think. Good article worth your time.
Quantitative easing not corporate greed or Vladimir Putin is at the heart of the matter. But as long as politicians try to fix the blame but not the problem we will continue to have inflation and higher prices.
Do think that if we got back to energy independence and lower gas prices that would be a good place to start.
15 Words and Phrases to Avoid Using
Avoid these 15 words and phrases in conversation to be less annoying (like how they assume you're annoying but this tip will make you less so).
In New England #6 will be a tough one to drop because of the influence of Bill Belichick.
Farnam Street Knowledge
In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed.
Slow down. Read more books and watch less TV and for God's sake stop multi-tasking!
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterword." - Vernon Law
"I started telling myself that if you want to know how God feels about money, look at whom she gives it to." - Anne Lamott
"It's the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary, only the wise men are able to understand them." - Paulo Coelho
"Facing the press is more difficult than bathing a leper." - Mother Teresa
Wednesday, May 04, 2022
Do You Feel You've Been Rehabilitated?
The Daily Coach on one of my favorite scenes from The Shawshank Redemption.
I'm reminded of my friend Jim who always responds to the job interview question of "why do you want to work here?" by saying "I'm not sure if I do - why should I feel this new position would be better for me than my current job?" He has a way of putting it so it turns the tables and the interviewer tries to sell him on the job instead of him selling himself as a candidate.
Not an approach I'd recommend to everyone. You have to have a certain visible self-confidence.
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"Whatever you do, always give 100%. Unless you're donating blood." - Bill Murray
"Live a quiet life. Mind your own business. Work with your hands." - The Apostle Paul
"Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you sit down quietly, may alight upon you." - Nathaniel Hawthorne
"Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own." - Paulo Coelho
Tuesday, May 03, 2022
Student Debt
"Student debt is mostly held by the richer half of the US population. Serious question: would it do more good if instead of giving money to people with student debt, you gave money to people without it?" - Paul Graham
Excellent question from Paul Graham - especially in light of the fact that 56% of all outstanding student debt is for graduate degrees.
Mask Mandates vs No Mandates
Through February 2022, States with no mask mandates had lower cumulative deaths from COVID than States with mask mandates. In other words - masks were useless all along. (Via)
Life Advice
"A learning experience is one of those things that say, 'You know that thing you just did? Don't do that." - Douglas Adams
I think living a good life can be boiled down to three simple rules.
1. First simply try to live life by the Golden Rule - treat others as you'd want them to treat you.
2. Try to make good decisions in life. For the most part you know instinctively a good choice from a bad choice. Try to make good choices.
3. You will make some bad choices - it's unavoidable. However when you do - treat your bad choice as a learning experience and take the words of Douglas Adams to heart and try not to make the same mistake twice.
Rinse, lather, repeat. A good life doesn't need to be complicated.
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"Do not be so open-minded that your brain falls out." - G.K. Chesterton
"When it comes to your family, your faith, your finances, or your health, only you can make the critical decisions. Because in the end, you must live with the results that your decisions create." - Tony Robbins
"We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves, otherwise, we harden." - Goethe
"When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be." - Lao Tzu
The Dollar Tree Misery Index
The "misery" started in 2008 with the financial crisis and has never gone back down. (Via)
Monday, May 02, 2022
Monday Flotsam and Jetsam
Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.
"I give in to sin because I like to practice what I preach" and what I'm preaching is subscribe (it's FREE - what are you waiting for?), hit the Like button, and share with others.
Five Superpowers
Five superpowers in business and in life:
It's not enough to merely posses Restraint, Curiosity, Creativity, Patience and Courage - you must actively put these qualities to use, on a regular basis, in order for them to truly become your superpowers. If you do, you will someday look back at the transformative moments of your career and realize that these superpowers had been there all along, even before you knew that they were truly at your command.
Kyrie Irving Clown Nose
Also prominent was the classic "LeBron James is a Douche" t-shirts. That's always a big seller.
Stay classy Boston!
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"Your success in life depends on your ability to make good decisions. Your happiness depends on your ability to not care about the outcomes." - Naval Ravikant
"Human beings are born with different capacities. If they are free, they are not equal. And if they are equal, they are not free." - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
"If a person has sustained success in any long-term ambition - whether it was losing weight, growing a business, sustaining an extraordinary relationship - then luck has nothing to do with it. They're doing something different than you are." - Tony Robbins
"We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that's waiting for us. The old skin has to be shed before the new one can come." - Joseph Campbell
Sunday, May 01, 2022
Sunday Flotsam and Jetsam
Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.
Let's go Celtics! Please subscribe, hit the Like button, and share with others. It's what Larry Bird would want you to do!
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"For some of us, good books and beautiful writing are the ultimate solace, even more comforting than exquisite food." - Anne Lamott
"My true religion is kindness." - the Dalai Lama
"A gen cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials." - Seneca
"Overheard in Silicon Valley, 'Resting moral superiority face.'" - Marc Andreessen
Saturday, April 30, 2022
Electric Vehicles About to Become Much More Expensive
Surging price of battery materials complicates car makers' electric plans. Ya think?
The price of these three metals [nickel, lithium, and cobalt] required in a 60KWh battery, enough for a large family sport utility vehicle, has risen from $1,395 a year ago to more than $7,400 in early March, according to battery group Farasis Energy.
The war in Ukraine, supply chain issues, inflation, the kitchen sink - all going to make EV's more expensive. Strangely Tesla is not even mentioned in the article.
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"There are few cheerier things than buying a bunch of used books and taking them to a cafe to read." - Paul Graham
"Of course, there will always be more that you could do, but you have to remind yourself that perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor." - Anne Lamott
"The most luxurious possession, the richest treasure anybody has, is his personal dignity." - Jackie Robinson
"The people with the weakest opinions need the most censorship to keep their worldview intact. Social media protects the weakest opinions until that's the only kind there are." - Scott Adams
Friday, April 29, 2022
We're Having a Party - Southside Johnny
Before there was a Springsteen - there was a Southside Johnny. We don't hear enough Southside Johnny anymore
Savor the Great Musk Panic
You have to hand it to Taibbi - he was one of the few voices against the deplatforming of Alex Jones as if Taibbi knew full well it was a censorship slippery slope.
If the truth does come out about the depths of sanctioned censorship at Twitter I'm sure we'll hear the defense that they were only doing it for "the Greater Good."
Bill Burr
Interesting Bill Burr interview.
There's two types of people in the world - people who think Bill Burr is awesome and people who don't have a sense of humor.
Excellent Point from Marc Andreessen
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"The significant problems cannot be solved by the same thinking that created them." - Albert Einstein
"Let us read, and let us dance; these two amusements will never do any harm to the world." - Voltaire
"You can see the underlying essence only when you strip away the busyness, and then some surprising connections appear." - Anne Lamott
"I don't know who needs to hear this, but buying books and reading books are two separate hobbies." - Tommy Collison
The Alchemist
"My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer," the boy told the alchemist one night as they looked up at the moonless sky.
"Tell you heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity."
Paulo Coelho The Alchemist
Thursday, April 28, 2022
Thursday Flotsam and Jetsam
Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.
Big hitter the lama, flowing robes, the grace, striking. Looked a lot like Peter O'Toole. As always please subscribe, hit the Like button, and share with others. If you like my miscellaneous thoughts maybe your friends will too.
The Rich and the Wealthy
Morgan Housel uses the Vanderbilt's as examples to explain his difference between being rich and being wealthy. Personally, I've always liked this definition of being rich from the author of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire:
"I am indeed rich, since my income is superior to my expenses, and my expense is equal to my wishes." - Edward Gibbon
NFL Chickens Coming Home to Roost
Have long said that the NFL's "handling" of the Jon Gruden's emails was going to come back to bite them in the ass. Between sending the clear message to the Raiders that the league won't tolerate racist coaches and the NFL's sham racial fairness process of hiring those same coaches we're going to have the NFL front office under Roger Goodell exposed as hypocrites for all to see.
Why the need for the two orders Colonel Commissioner?
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"Schools are quick to blame everyone and everything but themselves for the failures of American education. To them, every bad teacher is the exception and every bad parent is the rule." - Thomas Sowell
"Misinformation (noun): Anything I don't like. Conspiracy theorist (noun): Anyone who disagrees with me." - Marc Andreessen
"Learn how to learn from those you disagree with, or even offend you. See if you can find the truth in what they believe." - Kevin Kelly
"The future is already here, it's just not evenly distributed." - William Gibson
Wednesday, April 27, 2022
The Alchemist
"Hunches," his mother used to call them. The boy was beginning to understand that intuition is really a sudden immersion of the soul into the universal current of life, where the histories of all people are connected, and we are able to know everything, because it's all written there.
Paulo Coelho The Alchemist
Farnam Street Knowledge
Active Listening: The Master Key to Effective Communications.
"Listening is difficult because it involves suppressing your ego long enough to consider what is being said before you respond." Listening is a superpower but perhaps the only one that needs to be practiced.
Twitter on Tuesday
The funny thing was that Elon Musk is not in charge yet which would mean that people seeing their follower count increase by thousands and other changes were not due to anything Elon was doing. It was Twitter employees changing things and covering their tracks. There were many things they were doing they knew to be wrong and they are trying to fix them before the new school principal takes over.
When a close inspection is made it will turn out that Twitter was a bigger cesspool of woke vigilantism than anyone thought.
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech." - Benjamin Franklin
"I do not think it is an exaggeration to say history is largely a history of inflation, usually inflations engineered by governments for the gain of governments." - Friedrich Hayek
"There is no limit on better. Talent is distributed unfairly, but there is no limit on how much we can improve what we start with." - Kevin Kelly
"Hope is the power of being cheerful in circumstances that we know to be desperate." - G.K. Chesterton
Tuesday, April 26, 2022
Tuesday Flotsam and Jetsam
Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.
I'm hooked on a feeling and I'm high on believing (that Elon Musk buying Twitter is good for free speech). As always please click the link, subscribe, hit the Like button and share with others.
The Alchemist
"Because I don't live in either my past or my future. I'm interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you'll be a happy man. You'll see that there is life in the desert, that there are stars in the heavens, and that tribesmen fight because they are part of the human race. Life will be a party for you, a grand festival, because life is the moment we're living right now."
Paulo Coelho The Alchemist
Elon Buys Twitter - Now What?
Peter Kafka looks at different ways Elon Musk could make Twitter a profitable business.
I think the question is mostly moot. Musk could run the company at a loss and simply take the write-off. Nobody asks how Jeff Bezos can turn a profit with the Washington Post (hint - he can't). Having a free speech haven would be reward enough for Musk.
Having said the above, here's three suggestions for improving Twitter's bottom line:
1. Get into the web hosting business. Twitter requires a tremendous number of servers and cloud services to stay up and running. Beef up those data centers and start charging the other Musk companies for hosting services. This would be a bit of the left hand paying the right but it could also open up Twitter hosting to other major clients and create a new revenue stream for Twitter.
2. Make creating and posting short videos on Twitter easier. Maybe eat into some of TikTok's business. The tech should be easy enough and the selling point would be better security and privacy. Does anyone really want the Chinese having access to their private data and phones?
3. Make creating and posting pictures on Twitter easier. Same premise as above but this time it would be an attack on Instagram's bottom line. Same selling points would apply - do you really want Mark Zuckerberg having access to all your data?
Basically Musk can make Twitter a financial success by making Twitter the social media platform that adheres to Net Neutrality. Twitter won't favor one political party over another, won't sell your private data to third parties, and respects your privacy and right to free speech. Doesn't have to be any more complicated than that.
Our Spanish Civil War?
VDH with the history lesson for the day. "Deep and brutal strife in 1930's Spain was a prelude to the barbarity of World War II. Now with the war in Ukraine, we're reminded that the veneer of civilization is very thin."
Human nature is constant, despite radical changes in technology, social systems, and physical landscapes. That bleak reality should remind us that the veneer of civilization is always very thin, while the innate barbarity of humankind is forever very deep.
Professor Hanson also draws the parallel of how impotent the League of Nations was to the Spanish Civil War just as the United Nations is completely impotent today regarding the war in Ukraine.
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"In fairness to Jesus, 'One of you will betray me' is a great dinner party conversation opener." - Richy Craven
"Two kinds of fools - those that take religion literally, and those who think it has no value." - Naval Ravikant
"If you deconstruct what people mean when they say they want to be happy, they really mean they don't want to be miserable. - Jordan Peterson
"The act of writing turns out to be its own reward." - Anne Lamott
Monday, April 25, 2022
Jay Wright's Culture
Wright's sudden retirement last week after 21-years at Villanova and at just 61-years of age - took many by surprise. I wish him nothing but the best. Have my fingers crossed that no story emerges that may sully his retirement announcement and accomplishments.
How America Became La La Land
The bottom line; "Biden knows that he inherited a stable, prosperous America and has nearly ruined it.... And he knows the American people know that too."
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"Start by doing what's necessary, then do what's possible, and suddenly you're doing the impossible." - St. Francis of Assisi
"The tranquility that comes when you stop caring what they say. Or think, or do. Only what YOU do." - Marcus Aurelius
"In the short term, you are as good as your intensity. In the long term, you are only as good as your consistency." - Shane Parrish
"Karma is just you, repeating your patterns, virtues, and flaws until you finally get what you deserve." - Naval Ravikant
Sunday, April 24, 2022
Sunday Flotsam and Jetsam
Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.
Welcome to Flotsam and Jetsam. Welcome. The only limit is yourself. Remember to subscribe, hit the like button and share with others. Welcome to Flotsam and Jetsam. This is Flotsam and Jetsam. Welcome to you who have come to Flotsam and Jetsam.
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"Leave other people's mistakes where they lie." - Marcus Aurelius
"Happiness, as it's said, is just results minus expectations. The hardest financial skill is getting the goalposts to stop moving. Social comparison is the battle that can never be won." - Morgan Housel
"The secret of happiness is freedom, and the secret of freedom is courage." - Thucydides
"Governments create nothing and have nothing to give but what they have first taken away." - Winston Churchill
Saturday, April 23, 2022
The Alchemist
"What's the world's greatest lie?" the boy asked, completely surprised.
"It's this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That's the world's greatest lie."
Paulo Coelho The Alchemist
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"The truth - that love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which a man can aspire." - Viktor Frankl
"Hard choices, easy life. Easy choices, hard life." - Jerzy Gregorek
"Humankind cannot bear very much reality." - TS Eliot
"Risk comes from not knowing what your doing." - Warren Buffett
Friday, April 22, 2022
Guy LaFleur RIP
Even though I'm a Bruins fan - growing up Guy LaFleur was one of my favorite players. Damn - only 70-years old. RIP.
Tesla's Amazing Advertising Strategy
Friday Flotsam and Jetsam
Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.
A fool and their money are soon parted (of course I'm talking about CNN+ subscribers). Please subscribe (its FREE), hit the Like button (also FREE), and share with others. Thanks in advance.
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"Treat yourself like someone you're responsible for helping." - Jordan Peterson
"But if someone has a gun and is trying to kill you... it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun." - Tenzin Gyatso, The 14th Dalai Lama
"Those who have a 'why' to live, can bear with almost any 'how.'" - Viktor Frankl
"My only measure of success is how much time you have to kill." - Nassim Taleb
Thursday, April 21, 2022
Top 5 - Underrated Movies of the 1980's
1. Hopscotch (1980) - Walter Matthau as a CIA agent forced to retire by incompetent bosses. He gets his revenge by writing a tell-all book that the CIA and the KGB want to stop from getting published. The very definition of underrated.
2. Excalibur (1981) - stylized retelling of the story of King Arthur and Merlin.
3. Witness (1985) - Harrison Ford as Philadelphia detective forced to go undercover and on the run in Amish country.
4. Silverado (1985) - A Western loaded with actors who turned into stars (Kevin Costner, Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, Danny Glover plus a brief role by John Cleese). No idea why this movie hasn't gotten more attention over the years.
5. A Fish Called Wanda (1988) - A star studded comedy (Michael Palin, John Cleese, Kevin Kline and Jamie Lee Curtis). This movie did eventually spawn a sequel but I still think the original doesn't get the love it deserves.
As an aside the reason for this list came from two things; one I saw a list of the Top 20 movies of the 1980's and 90% of them were movies I wouldn't watch a second time and I was also thinking of the underrated Steve Martin movie LA Story (which I thought came out in the 80's but actually was released in 1991).
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"Life, like architecture, is a verb. If designed well, it works, its beautiful, and it needs no directions. It needs maintenance." - Matthew McConaughey
"You want to be free, but accountable." - Naval Ravikant
"That which is against communism is for humanity." - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
"There are just two rules of governance in a free society. Mind your own business. Keep your hands to yourself." - P.J. O'Rourke
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
In Defense of Elon Musk's Managerial Excellence
Not just a maximizer of shareholder value but a "pre-eminent maximizer of shareholder value." Reading between the lines I'd say Bloomberg is very much in favor of Musk's purchase of Twitter.
Find Something Beautiful Today
Milky Way over Devil's Tower (photo via). Headline stolen borrowed from Execupundit.
Wednesday Flotsam and Jetsam
Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.
I love the smell of napalm Substack in the morning. Please subscribe, hit the Like button and share with friends.
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"The closer you are to the truth, the more silent you become inside." - Naval Ravikant
"These people don't see that if you encourage totalitarian methods, the time may come when they will be used against you and not for you." - George Orwell
"When someone emphatically claims 'I bear the sole responsibility for...' a fiasco, she or he are hinting that someone else is the true responsible." - Nassim Taleb
"If at first you don't succeed, try and try again. Then quit. No use being a damn fool about it." - W.C. Fields
Tuesday, April 19, 2022
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." - Benjamin Franklin
"The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion." - Albert Camus
"The greatest productivity hack is the willingness to turn people down." - Mark Manson
"Common sense is like money and health, once you have it, you have to work to keep it." - Matthew McConaughey
The Day the American Revolution Began
On this day in 1775, the American Revolution began with "the shot heard round the world." Sadly the Battle of Lexington and Concord is barely taught in school anymore and only Massachusetts celebrates the event as a holiday. However, even in Massachusetts Patriots Day is known more as Marathon Monday than the celebration of one of the most consequential days in world history.
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