Monday, July 21, 2008

Bongs and Water

Are bigger bongs better because of the higher volume of water. Perhaps the more water the cleaner the smoke. Worth considering further.

A Whole New Game

It would be an interesting game if you could do the following:
Set up timing computer to:
Establish length of game
Establish number of "round" (or equivalent) during that time period
the timing of the rounds would be random. and the duration of each round (given a LOT of time) would be such that people would relax again between rounds. Thus it would test reaction-to-readiness as another factor of skill. It could be applied to anything from board games to team sports.

It might be difficult to keep the audience engaged though. But it's worth further consideration.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Interior Design

In its highest form Interior Design at its best is installation art in which people live.

America on Sale

"Anheuser-Busch Takes InBev Offer." Urgh. Difficult to even type that. I sat down with a highly successful money/headge-fund manager today. His perspective was that the US economy has a fundamental problem--the savings rate (-20%...so people spend 120% of what they earn).

And the savings rate comes from the attitude towards consumption in the US. Consumerism is the most popular past-time in America. And if nobody is saving eventually things will end up hitting a wall. The current global macro-environment is accelerating the pace of the American economy hitting a wall. In his words, "It's invigorating. It's the end of an empire."

I suppose to be a fantastic macro investor (where you bet on countries and economies) you have to be a "world investor." Some people have to know the health care market works, but a true macro-investor has to basically be able to have a mental understanding of how the world works. Odd...as understanding how the world works is basically the mission of many eastern religions.

Weed

I smoke too much weed. There are subtle effects like I stay up a bit later and get to work later. I'm not quite as intense...which is detrimental because i'm not intense that often. if i don't have weed around it's not a problem. i just can't have it around and not avail myself of the nightly toke.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Vintage Electronics

I bet old electronics will one day become "vintage electronics" and really old ones will gain in value just as old cars do. They old cars don't function as well as the new ones do, but they have artistic and or camp appeal.

Rock Stars

When was the last organically formed great rock band? The ones like U2 or Aerosmith. There aren't many great American bands anymore.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

VP of Marketing

I had a discussion with the head of my brand about me taking over the marketing department. A prospect that makes sense from the perspective of competence and the need for change within the organization. But there are some HR/political issues since it is a family owned company and it would be an unnaturally rapid ascent through the ranks.

A tough prospect since I would like to begin business school within the next two years.

But the company desperately needs the help so I have to stay. And it will still be hard to leave in 2010.

We will know if the company is going to survive within the next 6-9 months. If we don't have sales that are trending upwards it's going to be extremely difficult for us to secure a new loan agreement since we have no tangible collateral for the bank to seize.

Too bad things move like molasses at work. And the company is losing money.

But that is a whole other story. Like I said. It's a family company. My family's.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Capital Markets and The Future

Our stock markets do a fairly good job of predicting outcomes a few months away. Perhaps it is through a form of capital markets that we will one day be able to predict a broader scope of the future. Imagine if you could buy shares of a person and have some oversight of their development.