How to think (Farnam Street) Antibiotic breakthrough could end 25 year drought (Bloomberg) What we give up when we become entrepreneurs (NY Mag) How the craft-beer movement abandoned Jim Koch (Boston Mag) Thoughts on Stock Market Benchmarks (Joshua Kennon) Why poor schools can’t win at testing (The Atlantic) How Innovators exceed expectations (Inc) Screw the open office, cube nation trend …
This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
I just finished This is Where I Leave You by Jonathon Tropper. It was a fantastic combination of hilarious and heartbreaking with a lot of insight in to minds of men and brothers. While I don’t have a host of siblings, I found myself reminded of the dysfunction in my own family. The movie was a lot of fun too. …
I’m in the liquor business
I recently opened a position in one of my favorite companies, Diageo (NYSE:DEO) at a price of roughly $112. Most Americans have probably never heard of Diageo, but they (along with Brown-Forman and Pernod Ricard) control the bulk of the major liquor brands that we regularly purchase. Diageo owns Smirnoff and Johnnie Walker, the world’s best selling vodka and whiskey. They also …
Energy Links
Saudia Arabia’s Oil Strategy (Business Insider) Finding Value in the Oil Sector (Valuewalk) Why US output continues to rise as prices fall (Bloomberg) Conventional Wisdom on Oil is Always Wrong (538) Oil Investor bet wrong on bottom (Bloomberg) Great Primer on NGL Frac Spread (Energy Harbinger) Rig Count Drops, Oil Companies Employment to decline and here (Calculated Risk) This time is different …
Car Buyers have short memories
NPR recently did an interesting article on the relationship between gas prices and the sale of various types of vehicles. That relationship between gas prices and sales is “rather remarkable,” says John Krafcik, president of the website TrueCar. “During months when gas prices are low, less fuel-efficient cars tend to take a greater share of the market and vice versa. …
The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin – Book Review and Notes
Tim Ferris recently recommended The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin. After their podcast I decided to read the book and really enjoyed it. If you don’t know Josh Waitzkin, he was the child chess prodigy and inspiration for the movie, Searching for Bobby Fisher. He won the U.S. Junior Chess championship in 1993 and 1994. He is the only person …
Home Improvement – Kitchen Makeover
I had New Years off and Caitlin had that and Friday to relax at home, so of course I decided we needed to spend all our waking hours on a DIY home improvement project. When we first bought this house, the bulk of the downstairs was an unpleasant terracotta color (one hallway was a light green that matched nothing) and the …
What I’m Reading
How to build an email list (Ryan Holiday) – I need to take this advice 2014 was better than you remember (Ramez Naam) The benefits of being cold (The Atlantic) Unschooling (Outdoor Magazine) 20 Book Rec’s from Charlie Munger (Farnam Street) Successful Investors leave their money alone (BI) What I learned in 2014 (Josh Brown) Business Books of 2014 (Valuewalk) …
2015 Goals
Financial Goals Max out my 401k with $18,000. I’ve never done this before, but we’re shooting for the full $18,000 this year. There was no real reason not to accomplish this in 2014. It’s not like I wasn’t saving, we hit somewhere around 50%, but some of that was in company stock, some in savings account, some to an IRA. …
What I’m Reading
The Rise of Extreme Daycare (PSmag) Giving Stephen Hawking a Voice (Wired) When Marissa Mayer tried to be Steve Jobs (NYT) (a tale of gross incompetence and hubris) We Have a Prison Industrial Complex and We Should be Ashamed (National Review) The Professional Opinion on Serial (The Marshall Project) Beijing has an air problem How do we fix it? (Guardian) Amazon …