Monday, October 27, 2008

Better Memory

When someone dies do we mourn for two reasons: we're not going to create new memories with that person and we're going to slowly forget existing memories of that person. And the sum is that they will slowly fade out of our consciousness.

I would do almost anything for a better memory.

Let me know if you have any tips!

Saturday, October 18, 2008

The brand and trust

Great design I trust. I know the design team. I know they put out absolutely amazing products at margins lower than our competitors. There's no branding in their minds. We might be the only remaining fabric house like that. That is what I would miss from a product side. A brand I could trust for timeless luxury design.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Survey

You know, if my dad had sent out a survey I would have filled it out and had it back to him in 60 minutes. Because I love him and I love the company.

It's such a slap in the face that that is not mutual.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

My Brands

They need to become champions of education in our field. CHAMPIONS.

Monday, October 13, 2008

The Moat

My company's brand is its moat. The authority of the brand as a purvey or taste is the moat. And that was ignored for a long time. Over a decade. I need to widen the moat.

Stocks I would like to buy

Stocks I would like to buy when the market drops down again...

-Google
-Proctor & Gamble
-Coke
-General Electric
-Goldman Sachs
-Apple (more) [even though I think they have a real issue on their hands. A haptic response on the touch screen was definitely the logical place to go. But now that RIM has done that it will be very difficult for apple to introduce that feature in such a way that Apple doesn't look like a "me too" type thing. It has to be new better or different--perhaps haptic response on a screen that feels more substantive than the blackberry's. It will be tough.
-RIM (smart phones are a fast growing category. even if RIM loses market share it will be growing. Just want to make sure it's cheap. This may not be a long term hold.
-L'Oreal (company dominates industry. having worked there it's easy to see why)
-United Technologies

and I need to keep thinking.


These are all stocks I could see myself owning for life. Except I'm disappointed that Goldman is even accepting FED money--I thought they were better than that.

I want to buy companies with strong brands and large and clear competitive advantages.

All the companies are the best at what they do, have profitable products, secure talent pipelines, work in industries that grow at or above the rate of any given population (and there are plenty of new populations around the world), and have put relevant infrastructures (intellectual, technological, physical, etc) in place to ensure continued success in those areas. All of the companies conduct themselves as if attracting and retaining the best people possible was a core value in the company.

They are long term holds. 5-100 years.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Media and the financial crisis

I wonder if the government has made an effort to suppress some of the media coverage of the financial crisis to help control it. If it has indeed moved to the point of becoming a crisis of confidence, then at this point a psychological and economic solution would be necessary.

The media is inspiring a lot of panic and mob benavior.

"Be scared when others of greedy and be greedy while others are scared.

kids and marriage...

I worry that my wife would change when we had kids. Such that it was no longer about us. I can see how our attention might be taken from each other and given to the kids it would ruin the marriage.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Yikes

"...With credit markets still frozen and stock markets around the world in a deep swoon, there is a growing consensus that the crisis is now so fast-moving and harmful to the global economy that it demands an unprecedented degree of worldwide coordination."

-New York Times, October 9, 2008

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Math and Design, Human Race and the Internet

What are two things I find amazing?

One is this: count 1-10, count 0-100 in tens, count 0-100 in hundreds. Our mathematical system. I wonder a) how someone came up with it and b) if there is a mathematical system that is even better. Right now our numbers could all be displayed on a single axis. But what if all numbers were displayed on a three dimensional axis? Our entire basis for math would change. I mean there are x, y, z axis--but I'm thinking using that as the basis of the math we teach off the bat.

The other is the fact that mathematicians are doing a better and better job of quantifying the beauty and creation of design. I am just blown away by the fact that design has consistently been so ahead of mathematicians. 300 years ago mathematicians could explain any design. The celebrated design and art of that era is still beautiful today. And 300 years from now it will be the same. The celebrated artists of today will be celebrated again 300 years from now.

But that isn't too many more than a couple artists per century. What happened to all the others? And now in the digital age will that change? How will digital art or literature (photo blogs, written blogs, search terms, youube, yahoo personalls) be documented? We need to make it illegal to delete that stuff. We will have a nearly perfect history of the human race after the advent of the internet. The storefronts of the 1500's rotten away a long time ago. But what if we could preserve the internet of today 500 years from now.

What if

What if an anti-depressant medication malfunctioned on a couple people in a thousand? And of those two one became so depressed she committed suicide? It would be pretty easy for a drug company to pay PR people to spin that so the public heard it as "Joe Doe was taking anti depressants and killed himself." That has implied-cause effect relationship. Makes sense though---99.98% of people react one way...and that is get happier. And .02% react another way...which is to get sadder. Well what if 50% of those sadder ones (.01%) of the whole kill themselves?

Can't wait for tonight's debate!

Brilliant.