Steve Jobs: How to live before you die

The Greater Good.

The greater good…anybody seen it?  Anybody heard of it?  Anybody still care?

 

A look to either the right or the left gives the same feeling…and ultimately, the same outlook for the future of this country.  The self-serving nature of any significant views seem to gravitate to one’s own lot in life instead of the greater good.  Nobody wants to hear facts and address complicated challenges head on.  Furthermore, anyone with the stones to even suggest that they’re going to address these challenges doesn’t stand a chance of ever being elected.  It doesn’t take Nostradamus or the Mayan long count calendar to figure out how this story ends.

 

This country was founded through the use of open minds, the desire to be free and ultimately…sacrifice.  Yet today, we are so quick to label and therefore limit ourselves and each other:  conservative, liberal, fat cat, tree hugger, and really the list could become quite ugly, albeit entertaining.  We’ve become hyperpartisan and we seem very comfortable with that fact.  Voting your wallet is just the way it is.  I’m union; I vote democrat.  I’m a business owner; I vote republican.  I don’t know…I just find it almost surreal.

 

Making matters worse, it seems like the loudest voices limit themselves to one issue thereby turning a cold shoulder to much of what ails this country. I will not suggest that the second amendment or abortion aren’t important divides in this country.  I am comfortable suggesting that this country won’t be a shadow of its‘ former self if we don’t address our fiscal situation, the reliance on welfare by much of our population and the appalling entitlement I see every day around me.  Aside from our inalienable rights and ultimately our freedom to work toward whatever goals we so choose, we DESERVE nothing.  You work toward your aspirations and maybe things will work out.  Newsflash:  when a person can sit on their couch, play xbox everyday AND receive a paycheck for what seems an eternity…we have a problem.  Yes, shocking, I know.

 

I haven’t touched on those who find themselves somehow detached from the world around them.  You know these people, they can detail every episode of Jersey Shore, but have no idea of what’s going on in the Middle East or North Africa….frog on a slow boil.  Hey dude, you might want to put the remote down, pull your pants up and start paying attention.

 

Think for yourself. Do not follow.  Self reliance is cool.  And please start to factor the greater good into your thought process.

TD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parable of the Pheasant

The following excerpt is from the Vanity Fair article to which I posted a link a few days back (entitled:  When California Goes Bust).  A friend of mine mentioned this parable in particular while discussing the article and I thought it worthy of a quote today:

Last spring, on sabbatical from the University of Oxford, he was surprised to discover that he (Peter Whybrow) was able to rent an apartment inside Blenheim Palace, the Churchill family home. The previous winter at Blenheim had been harsh, and the pheasant hunters had been efficient; as a result, just a single pheasant had survived in the palace gardens. This bird had gained total control of a newly seeded field. Its intake of food, normally regulated by its environment, was now entirely unregulated: it could eat all it wanted, and it did. The pheasant grew so large that, when other birds challenged it for seed, it would simply frighten them away. The fat pheasant became a tourist attraction and even acquired a name: Henry. “Henry was the biggest pheasant anyone had ever seen,” says Whybrow. “Even after he got fat, he just ate and ate.” It didn’t take long before Henry was obese. He could still eat as much as he wanted, but he could no longer fly. Then one day he was gone: a fox ate him.

Sound familiar?

TD

Tuesday Morning Reads

Another thought-provoking article by Paul Farrell:

A new Lost Decade is leading to revolution

Surprising Forbes article:

Best Countries For Business: Canada Shoots To The Top

Morgan Stanley’s Looming Crisis Of Confidence?

Morgan Stanley, Goldman Credit Risk Soar as Europe Debt Concern Increases

Seven Currencies Since 1914 Is Enough for Germans Rescuing Euro

China Says U.S. Risks Trade War as Senate Considers Measure Targeting Yuan

MY BIG FAT GREEK IMPLOSION SPECIAL SECTION

If the 500 pound man can’t drop a few pounds, perhaps we should shift the goals toward his teeth.  Seriously, let’s call a spade a spade.  It was a great effort Mr. Akakios, but what if we just ask that you start brushing your teeth every day…can we agree to give that a try?

Eurozone ministers reset Greece’s goals

Remember this one.  I’m not sure how they make it to Thursday without aid, but that’s just me.  I’m probably not as accustomed to moving coconut shells around as our world leaders are.

Greek haircut under review, no new euro zone aid until November

Not So Serious Weekend Reads

Nerdy, but interesting…to me (and maybe a few of you):

The 13 Most Important Numbers in the Universe

Commonsense take on these unusual shoes:

Well Blog: Are Barefoot Shoes Really Better?

Definitely want to catch (sorry) this 30 for 30 special:

Television Review | ‘Catching Hell’: A Chicago Cautionary Tale: Fan Is Still Short for Fanatic

Sort of an interesting follow up on Anna Chapman (Russian Bond Girl)…if nothing else, not a horrible picture:

How Anna Chapman Became the Face of Kremlin Capitalism

Pretty crazy story of survival after a California man plunged off a 200′ cliff last week:

Man Found Alive Days After Car Crash

While he may be a slight lunatic, Alex Honnold is one of those characters that adds a little color to the world:

No Strings Attached

To quote Taibbi:  2012 will be a vote of who sucks less:

Taibbi: Dislike of Tea Party Is Key to 2012 Vote

Interesting article on the head of Galleon:  Raj Rajaratnam

Raj and the Tigers

Serious Weekend Reads

Spin this in whatever way allows you to sleep at night; it’s not cool (see Federal Reserve Wants link below).  How about employing a straightforward approach which involves simply doing the right thing for the American people as a whole and being completely transparent in the process?  Complicate this if you want, but I am getting very tired of hearing why we can’t tackle things head on…common sense does not have to sound like a freaking nursery rhyme.

If Helicopter and the gang had any character at all (and they don’t), they would stick to a clean path of action and social media would become background noise.  Fed action regarding Facebook and Twitter should be a huge red flag to anyone with an open mind.

Federal Reserve Wants to Monitor Facebook, Twitter

Nice look back at a Craaaaazzzzy 3rd Quarter

Q3: An Action-Packed Thriller With A Tearful Ending

Coal companies have been whacked enough due to economic concerns, this is just insult to injury here:

Arch Coal cuts outlook on WV mine troubles

Michael Lewis Vanity Fair article:

California and Bust

Think back about 2 weeks to news of China’s white horse status with respect to Italy (and possibly the entire Eurozone by the end of the day)…ridiculous.  China will be lucky to save themselves.  A joke of a banking system, serious real estate concerns, and what appears to be a complete lack of oversight on their financial markets doesn’t bode well given the global backdrop.

China stocks dive on fraud fears

These article are a dime a dozen, but I’ll keep peppering you with them:

Sharp rise in eurozone inflation

Sort of a light article (see Has gold been trumped link below) on gold, but I love Goolgasian’s use of the term “observables”.  It’s not that pouring over metrics isn’t a blast…it’s fun stuff.  But I lean on the same sort of common sense approach to assessing whether or not an investment makes sense.  Quick quote regarding how State Street looks at gold (for example):

“We think valuing gold is probably not the best use of time,” Goolgasian says. “A better use of time is observing items that you think actually matter and impact the price. We call these, for lack of a better term, ‘observables.’ ”

What does his team consider? Macroeconomics, money supply, central bank interest rates, inflation expectations, economic growth and political instability are weighed.

Has gold been trumped?

This is exactly what I’m talking about with the coming cold shoulder toward the green energy movement.  There will be exceptions, but the trend makes sense given the global march toward insolvency.  The exceptions will make sense in terms of dollars and cents and won’t rely solely on fairy tales and unicorns.

U.S. doles out last of loan aid to solar projects

Although I’ve read about some limitations of their Silk technology, I’m fascinated by Amazon’s coming entry in the tablet market.  I own both a MAC and an IPAD2 (and love them), but wonder about recent reports out of China (immediately disputed..Bloomberg, JP Morgan and Apple) of a potential Apple slowdown…worth a close eye for both owners of APPL and those considering a contra play (yeah, yeah, yeah…I’m aware of the 10 gazillion dollar war chest they have…just open your eyes to the possibility):

On fire

Short article from the Economist on currency gyrations with an emerging market perspective:

Currency wars, cont’d

This comment comes fresh on the heels on Helicopter’s message yesterday (Friday)…the table is being nicely set for QEIV…or QE3.1

Fed’s Bullard Says Central Bank Could Ease Further If U.S. Economy Weakens

Variety of plays here, but watch this play out:

ECRI predicts recession. expects more volatility