Always thought a Lord of the Rings spoof about the "Mood Rings of Power" would be amusing. One mood ring to control them all! It would have the power to make people happy, sad, etc.
If you wanted to make it an R rating you could also make the One Ring also have the power to make people horny.
Michael Wade has 12 excellent questions that should be asked during any meeting of consequence.
For sales situations I'd add these three key questions:
1. How did you come to have what you have now?
2. What do you like about what you have now?
3. What would you like to change about what you have now?
If someone is wanting to make a change the answers to those three questions will let you know how to approach your proposed solution in most cases (if you listen carefully enough). And of course you should always ask, "Do you have budget for this?" no matter what the situation.
This time Tyler Cowen is being interviewed (by Noah Smith) and not doing the questions. Cowen is an interesting guy - don't always agree with his opinions or conclusions - but he's an interesting guy nonetheless.
Speaking of Cowen - here are his 12 rules for life. Again - I don't agree with everything on the list but they make you think.
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"If you have ten thousand regulations you destroy all respect for the law." - Winston Churchill
"In war there is no substitute for victory." - Douglas MacArthur
"Distrust all men in whom the impulse to punish is powerful." - Friedrich Nietzsche
"The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion." - Paul Coelho
Just something to keep in mind when you hear the Republicans are the "racist" party.
Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.
Show your support for the Canadian truckers' convoy by clicking the link, subscribing (it's FREE), hitting the Like button, or sharing with others.
VDH on all the complex issues about the relationships between the US, Russia, Ukraine, and NATO.
As always Professor Hanson is worth a read.
From Dan Jones Powers and Thrones. Many echoes from that period and today.
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"The measure of wisdom is how calm you are when facing any given situation." - Naval Ravikant
"A man always has two reasons for doing anything: a good reason and the real reason."- J.P.Morgan
"Amateurs think disagreements are threats. Professionals see them as an opportunity to learn." - Shane Parrish
"I figured Daredevil must be Catholic because only a Catholic could be both an attorney and a vigilante."- Frank Miller
Cool story about Richard Feynman and what the exclamation "Impossible" meant to him.
I've posted this story before (and will do so again). Love Richard Feynman stories.
Major League Baseball has backed off on its reported requirement that all minor league baseball players be vaccinated. "Minor-league coaches and staff who have close access to the players are required to get vaccinated, unless granted an exemption." This policy is based upon the advice of "expert consultants."
Here's hoping the MLB lockout lasts all season and the Minor League baseball players win their lawsuit about being paid less than minimum wage and any coaches who get fired for being unvaccinated sue the pants off MLB.
Some quotes that I hope may resonate with you.
"Intentions don't matter. Actions do. That's why being ethical is hard." - Naval Ravikant
"If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present." - Lao Tzu
"There is no grievance that is a fit object of redress by mob law." - Abraham Lincoln
"Joe Biden should threaten to resign unless Joe Rogan is removed from Spotify." - Frank J. Fleming
Another Steven Pressfield post worth you time. And also one of the rare sites where the comments are also worthwhile.
The post brought to mind the comedy bit (think it was Seinfeld) about how people have a bigger fear of public speaking than they do of death.
HT Instapundit
Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.
Old man take a look at yourself - serious take a look at yourself - you've become the crazy uncle. Please subscribe, hit the Like button, or share with others. Hell - it's Friday - do all three!
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"Then you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day." - 1 Samuel 8:18
"An economist is a fellow who knows 101 ways to make love but doesn't have a girl."- Dr. William C. Freund
"...one of the falsest of the proverbs is that you must lie on the bed that you have made. The experience of life shows that people are constantly doing things which must lead to disaster, and yet by some chance manage to evade the result of their folly." - W. Somerset Maugham
"Put politicians and journalists on unemployment and the lockdowns would be over within a week." - Naval Ravikant
To paraphrase Ray Bradbury: you don't have to burn books to destroy a culture - just stop people from having access to those who disagree with the "official" narrative.
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"Wise men speak because they have something to say. Fools because they have to say something." - Plato
"The more you repeat a behavior, the more you reinforce the identity associated with that behavior." - James Clear
"Crazy plants the seeds of calm, because wild times incentivize people to solve problems and stay alert, like a healthy dose of paranoia." - Morgan Housel
"Show me a man who thinks he's objective and I'll show you a man who's deceiving himself." - Henry Luce
Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day and today I'd like to remember a hero you might not know - or not know was both a Holocaust victim (his father died at Auschwitz) and a hero.
Marcel Marceau was renown as perhaps the foremost mime in the world. But during World War II he also led hundreds of Jewish children to safety in Switzerland as a member of the French Resistance. He also almost single-handedly got 30 Germans to surrender by pretending to be the advance guard of a much bigger French force.
You can read about his heroic exploits here.
This was some eye-opening data. A child aged 5-14 years old is 6.5 times more likely to die from suicide than from COVID. And a person 15-24 years old is 9.8 times more likely to die from a drug overdose. We are addressing the wrong problems and making the real problems worse.
The CDC finally admits that cloth masks were always political theater.
Disagree with the author in thinking this will just be a move to mandate N95 masks - I think the Democrats are quietly admitting defeat and hoping people forget in time for the 2022 midterms.
Never forget!
Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.
Is it more proof that Asians are the most discriminated against in this country by the fact Neil Young was never "cancelled" for his song Cinnamon Girl? As always please subscribe (it's FREE), hit the Like button or share with others. Thanks in advance.
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"Life is not always a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes, playing a poor hand well." - Jack London
"Thought precedes action as lightning precedes thunder."- Heinrich Heine
"Outcomes are about what you get. Processes are about what you do. Identity is about what you believe." - James Clear
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them." -John Wayne in The Shootist
Time lapse photo of the Temple of Apollo in Greece. Headline stolen borrowed from Execupundit.
Are investors worried the streaming wars are about to get ugly?
"Netflix Inc. shares dropped as much as 25% Friday after the company reported its slowest growth since 2015, and forecasted its worst start to the year in at least a decade. Netflix shares have now dropped 43% over the last few months, wiping out almost $130 billion in market value."
It's a variation of the old "200 channels and nothings on" issue cable faced just before cord cutting became a real problem for the cable companies. Except now subscribers can do their own version of a la carte. Netflix was the darling of cord cutters at first but now people have many options - Amazon Prime, Disney+, Hulu, YouTubeTV, Paramount+, and HBO Max to name a few.
The problem was summed up in one sentence in the article, "They [Netflix] need to give customers a new reason to pay every month, and that is both hard and expensive." Netflix's competition faces the same problem but to a much lesser degree. I have Amazon Prime because I signed up for the free shipping - the video service is a bonus. Disney+ can release a new Marvel or Star Wars series on a regular basis and add in the newest Marvel or Pixar movie while they're at it.
People don't need all of the services - they don't have time to watch them. So they can drop a service and MAYBE come back if there's a compelling reason. Netflix may be number one right now but their foundations may also be built on sand.
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"Professional athletes are not paid to play, they're paid to WIN." - Bill Russell
"Wisdom is foreseeing the consequences." - Shane Parrish
"Sin that pays its way can travel freely, and without passport; whereas Virtue, if a pauper, is stopped at all frontiers." - Herman Melville
"One of the greatest delusions in the world is the hope that the evils in this world are to be cured by legislation." - Thomas Brackett Reed
Has pharmacology worked to change the evolutionary direction of humankind? Not a new theory as I have been hearing variations of this for decades.
Should also note that the birthplace of "the pill" is normally credited to Worcester, Mass (but it was actually in neighboring Shrewsbury).
Dr. Peter Attia on why he's for COVID vaccines but against vaccine mandates.
The best argument I've read with the most complete scientific and medical evidence. Also the most level-headed argument I've seen. Well worth your time.
Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.
This one's for all the Tostitos! Please subscribe (its FREE), hit the Like button or share with others.
Some quotes that I hope may resonate with you.
"Government's first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives." - Ronald Reagan
"Republic... it means people can live free, talk free, go or come, buy or sell, be drunk or sober, however they choose." - John Wayne
"This [preparing my tax return] is too difficult for a mathematician. It takes a philosopher." - Albert Einstein
"All free men remember that in the final choice a soldier's pack is not so heavy a burden as a prisoner's chains." - Dwight D. Eisenhower
The Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs Company (MCCPDC) is a registered pharmaceutical wholesaler and purchases drugs directly from manufacturers, bypassing middlemen to lower the the price of more than 100 medications, it said in a statement.
Interesting announcement. Guessing publicity will be the biggest challenge. Announcing that MCCPDC was going to carry Ivermectin could solve that. Will also be interesting if the Big Pharma companies boycott advertising on Shark Tank in response.
Fantastic fictional (or is it?) short story from Scott Alexander. Couldn't help but compare Shiri's Scissors to a modern day Ice Nine from Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle.
Story was written a couple of years ago but it was new to me and I wanted to share.
HT Tim Ferris
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"It's impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows." - Epictetus
"The man at the top of the mountain didn't fall there." - Vince Lombardi
"You rarely see snakes on a winter's day. They all wait for a sunny day to make their presence known." - Chris Lynch
"Are you now or have you ever been a dog-faced pony soldier?" - Christopher Hitchens (maybe)
A B2 Stealth bomber, a giant American flag and a packed Rose Bowl in a 2018 photo taken by Mark Holtzman. Headline stolen borrowed from Execupundit,
Glenn Greenwald is correct as he lays out how the Congressional 1/6 Committee is trampling civil liberties. He is also right to compare them to to Joe McCarthy and to HUAC. Problem is, due to the poor education these past few decades, how many people understand what HUAC was and why it was such a threat to civil liberties?
I also couldn't help but wonder if after the 2022 elections if such a committee could be turned on its head and be used to investigate Antifa and any who gave support or comfort to Antifa (like donating to bail funds). Of course this would require finding a Judas goat or two from the Democrats to give the veneer of bipartisanship - the way Liz Cheney has done for the 1/6 committee. If that was to happen can you imagine the outrage in the media about how such an investigation was blatantly un-Constitutional?
Evil - pure evil.
Brings to mind the Sun Tzu quote - "Every battle is won before it is ever fought."
The lack of an industrial base doomed the Confederacy from the start.
EDIT: I should note that I'm not somehow making the case for how the Confederacy blew it. What came to mind after reading that nugget is how America is at a similar disadvantage today due to our lack of chip manufacturing plants.
VDH with 10 proposed "commandments" for the GOP to run on in 2022.
I would agree with all 10 but it bothers me as an American that many of these are even necessary. Energy independence, for example, is a no-brainer but these days we have to explain why this is important.
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal." - Albert Camus
"The fans are standing up to them! The security guards are standing up to them! The peanut vendors are standing up to them! And by golly, if I could get down there, I'd be standing up to them!" - Hyannisport broadcaster in Slap Shot
"Mental health and health are the same things." - Andrew Yang
"What ever crushes individuality is despotism, no matter what name it is called." - John Stuart Mill
Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.
When you find yourself in times of trouble ask yourself "What would Cary Grant do?" Well I think he'd click the link then subscribe (it's free), he'd hit the Like button, and he'd share with others. Try to be like Cary Grant.
Fauci is an evil narcissist but it looks like people are afraid of going after him because that could drag China through the mud too. And the people getting money from the Chinese certainly wouldn't want that.
Some quotes that I hope may resonate with you.
"Writing is like prostitution. First you do it for love, and then for a few close friends, and then for money." - Moliere
"Limit yourself to the present." - Marcus Aurelius
"Subordinating your ego is the ultimate form of self-confidence." - Jocko Willink
"Nothing says, 'This was a perfectly normal election, and now it's time to come together as a united nation,' like having your swearing-in behind 12-foot-high razor wire surrounded by 25,000 troops whose loyalty you doubt." - Glenn Reynolds
Other ways to put this:
"It doesn't count if you don't do it." - Doug Stanhope
"Vision without execution is hallucination." - Walter Isaacson author Leonardo Da Vinci
Interesting analysis of some issues facing SpaceX's Starlink satellite broadband platform.
Based on the 30,000-satellite number, with the new rockets and future-generation satellites, SpaceX would have to do a launch once every six days for at least nine years - or essentially forever, according to MoffettNathanson analysis.
Add to this Elon Musk's penchant for missing deadlines and this is pretty dire analysis. However, the analysis seems geared toward the prospect of Starlink meeting the FCC's RDOF funding requirements (12,000 satellites in service by 2027) which may not be necessary for the viability of the service (especially outside the US).
Comparing blockchains, Ethereum, and other platforms to cities. Interesting way to think of and grasp the differences.
Of course the comparisons work just on a surface level. When delving deeper into the real-world issues between cities the analogy falls apart a bit.
The appalling ideology of diversity, inclusion and equity (DIE) is demolishing education and business. Things are BAD up in Canada. And getting worse.
Hope our next President offers the Western Provinces of Canada the option of joining the United States. That could go a long way in helping to fix the problem in the US and Canada. Of course that solution is a long shot.
"Let me give you a wonderful Zen practice. Wake up in the morning, go to the bathroom, pee, brush your teeth, look in the mirror, and laugh at yourself. Do it every morning to start off the day, as a practice." - Bernie Glassman
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"Your habits are modern-day solutions to ancient desires." - James Clear
"I feel a great comfort and relief knowing that there were others who lived and died and thought and fought so long ago; I feel less tyrannized by the present day." - Iggy Pop
"Authority has always attracted the lowest elements in the human race. All through history mankind has been bullied by scum." - P.J. O'Rourke
"The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously." - Hubert Humphrey
Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.
If you subscribe, hit the Like button or share with others on your deathbed you will receive total consciousness. So you'll have that going for you - which is nice!
New peer-reviewed study shows Ivermectin significantly reduces COVID infections, hospitalization, and mortality rates. You would think this would be big news.
Have to wonder if potentially Ivermectin could also be a therapeutic for the common cold and flu?
Also would highly recommend Walter Isaacson's Ben Franklin: An American Life.
This article makes some good points.
That said - I'd still prefer to be a millionaire spending my day the way I'd like to with no obligations.
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"I am indeed rich, since my income is superior to my expenses, and my expense equal to my wishes." - Edward Gibbon
"Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated." - Confucius
"A man always has two reasons for doing anything: a good reason and the real reason." - J.P. Morgan
"Live steady. Don't fuck around. Give anything weird a wide berth - including people. It's not worth it. I learned the hard way, through brutal overindulgence." - Hunter S. Thompson
No - seriously!
Kenneth Branagh has a new movie Death on the Nile coming out where he reprises his role as "world famous detective" Hercule Poirot. I will not be seeing this movie as I rate his 2017 remake of Murder on the Orient Express as THE worst movie I ever bought a ticket to. How bad was it? This is what I wrote after seeing it:
So last night I finally saw Murder on the Orient Express and it was awful! How awful? This was an actual conversation with my girlfriend:
Me: This movie is awful compared to the original.
Her: This movie is awful compared to anything.
Your taste in movies may differ.
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices." - William James
"Socialism is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance and the gospel of envy." - Winston Churchill
"Weak people revenge. Strong people forgive. Intelligent people ignore." - Albert Einstein
"Knowledge is either from direct experience or from verifiable, falsifiable science. There is knowledge that is transmitted but not verifiable / falsifiable, and this knowledge is indistinguishable from that which is false." - Naval Ravikant
Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.
Don't click if you're easily offended!
Interesting announcement from Andreessen-Horowitz:
The American Dynamism practice invests in founders and companies that support the national interest, including but not limited to aerospace, defense, education, housing, transportation, public safety, supply chain, industrials, and manufacturing. We believe these areas represent tremendous venture-scale opportunities. More importantly, these categories serve as a critical foundation to making America the country people want to be from, immigrate to, and build a life and career or company in.
Some quotes that I hope may resonate with you.
"I have as much authority as the Pope. I just don't have as many people who believe it." - George Carlin
"Do one thing today that makes tomorrow easier. Repeat." - Shane Parrish
"But I will accept any rules you feel necessary for your freedom. I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them, if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do." - Robert Heinlein
"Gratitude is the wine of the soul. Go on. Get drunk!" - Rumi
Some really good insights into our supply chain issues. As we were locked down we bought more imported goods because Americans had the money they were saving from going out to restaurants. Historic demand overwhelmed a fragile system. Meanwhile lockdowns reduced manufacturing and our exports were correspondingly down.
So many issues. It's like Season two of The Wire. Long but interesting interview.
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"But when we repeat 1 percent errors, day after day, by replicating poor decisions, duplicating tiny mistakes, and rationalizing little excuses, our small choices compound into toxic results." - James Clear
"The future is here. It's just not widely distributed yet." - William Gibson
"I went to the doctor and told him 'my penis was burning.' He said, 'that just means someone is talking about it.'" - Gary Shandling
"Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist." - Pablo Picasso
Just as the title explains - 100 tips for a better life.
Some good advice in there. One of those articles you should bookmark and return to from time to time.
"From the moment COVID-19 appeared, the pandemic became inseparable from politics." VDH spitting some truth.
I'd vote for the candidate in 2024 who proposes a DOJ that will prosecute the maleficence listed in the article.
"The people with the best self-control are typically the ones who need to use it the least. It's easier to practice self-restraint when you don't have to use it very often. So, yes, perseverance, grit, and willpower are essential to success, but the way to improve these qualities is not by wishing you were a more disciplined person, but by creating a more disciplined environment." - James Clear
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement." - James Clear
"If you have everything under control, you're not moving fast enough." - Mario Andretti
"Ever since we discovered that Earth is round and turns like a mad spinning-top, we have understood that reality is not as it appears to us; every time we glance a new aspect of it, it is a deeply emotional experience. Another veil has fallen." - Carlo Rovelli
"If you feel pain you're alive, if you feel other peoples pain, you are a human being." - Leo Tolstoy
I've been meaning to watch the F1 series on Netflix (but outside of live sports - I don't watch a lot of TV) but I would definitely watch the PGA series. Especially an episode that gave a behind the scenes look at what it's like playing the Masters. Surprised the folks at Augusta agreed to open the kimono for the show.
Some historical vignettes from Morgan Housel.
The one about Kingsford Charcoal was perhaps my favorite.
Glenn Reynolds on how to regain trust in science. "So how do you promote scientific integrity? To start with: by not lying." I'm afraid that's asking too much.
Turns out those who supported the Great Barrington Declaration were right. How about we start by banning any doctor or scientist who opposed that from any federally funded scientific position? Harsh - yes. But much less harsh than heads on spikes which is what they might deserve.
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the loser." - Socrates
"I don't think parents should be telling schools what to teach." - Terry McAuliffe
"I really believe that normal people are only capable of accomplishing normal things. I don't know that I ever had a great player that was normal." - John Madden
"You can get to about the 90th percentile in your field by working either smart or hard, which is still a great accomplishment. But getting to the 99th percentile requires both - you will be competing with other very talented people who will have great ideas and be willing to work a lot." - Sam Altman
Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.
Hakuna Matata! Subscribe, hit the Like button, or share with others!
People are making the argument for Lester because of his postseason heroics. He was a stud on three World Series Championship teams (two in Boston and one in Chicago). He was a cancer survivor and all-around good guy. Hard not to root for him.
I love Jon Lester and the way the Red Sox treated him as they parted ways was when I started to get disenchanted with the organization. If the organization didn't lowball Lester (initial offer of $70 million 4-years when he ended up signing for $155 million over six) and had offered him a fair deal he'd have never left Boston. But in 2014 owner John Henry didn't want to invest long term in a 31-year old pitcher.
He pitched another 7 seasons after leaving Boston and now people are making arguments about if he's a Hall of Famer. If he does get in - I hope he wears a Cubs hat.
While we don't want to get overexcited, we think it's clear what the Biden administration should do next: legalize pot so that this research can look into all avenues including THC-A, fill America's breadbasket with cannabis plants, and send every person in America all the pot extracts they need to finally end this thing.
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"It is capitalism that pulled billions out of poverty. Not vapid virtue signaling." - Nassim Nicholas Taleb
"Love me when I least deserve it, because that's when I really need it." - Swedish proverb
"Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love." - Lao Tzu
"By all means, marry. If you get a good wife, you'll become happy. If you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher." - Socrates
"I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened." - Mark Twain
The flood of pandemic related evictions predicted by the "experts" and their models never happened. The question is asked "why?"
Occam's razor says maybe because it was a prediction by experts and their models? And was compounded by the media and click-bait journalism?
Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.
Please subscribe, hit the Like button or share with others - hell why not do all three?
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"Living deliberately is about awareness and purposeful action. If we take the necessary steps to craft each day deliberately, when our final day arrives we'll be able to look back at a life brimming with joy, fulfillment and satisfaction." - Shane Parrish
"And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, they somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary." - Steve Jobs
"The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself." - Benjamin Franklin
"It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow." - Robert Godard
Senator Jon Ossoff to introduce a bill barring members of Congress from trading individual stocks.
Agree 100% but don't think this would ever happen. You'll see a lot of posturing but when push comes to shove there'll never be a vote.
Pfizer CEO: "Two doses of the vaccine offers very limited protection, if any. Three doses with a booster offer reasonable protection against hospitalization and deaths. Less protection against infection."
Does it seem like Donald Trump is no longer loudly claiming responsibility for Operation Warp Speed? How ironic would it be if Trump lost the 2024 nomination because Democrats started blaming him for the rushed, ineffective vaccines?
Just saying.
Are you now - or have you ever been a heterosexual white male?
When ideology trumps good content you get trash people won't watch or pay to see. Every year it seems, a woke movie bombs at the box office yet every year another woke movie gets greenlit. That can't go on forever.
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"There is much discussion of the haves and have-nots, but very little discussion of the doers and the do-nots, those that contribute and those who merely take." - Thomas Sowell
"If you end up with a boring miserable life because you listened to your mom, your dad, your teacher, your priest, or some guy on the television telling you how to do your shit, then you deserve it." - Frank Zappa
"All big things come from small beginnings. The seed of every habit is a single, tiny decision. But as that decision is repeated, a habit sprouts and grows stronger." - James Clear
"Alcohol may be man's worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy." - Frank Sinatra