September 2019

Uber's Promise Versus The Reality Of Ride-Sharing

“You ain’t got to wait on a cab no more; just call your Uber, and it pulls up.” – Trip Lee Uber: A Great Idea, a Bad Strategy, a Cheapskate Market For as long as I can remember, taxi service in the Big Apple…

Uber Drivers Earn Less Than Minimum Wage

How much do Uber drivers make? A report published by the Economic Policy Institute in 2018 found that it’s far less than you might think: an average of $9.21 an hour.

halcyon days (noun)

In Greek mythology, the halcyon (HAL-see-un) bird was said to calm the wind and the waves. The phrase “halcyon days” refers to a tranquil period of happiness, success, and prosperity, especially in the past…

All Is True” on Amazon Prime

An intriguingly imagined look at the final days of Shakespeare, directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also plays Shakespeare. With Judi Dench as his wife and Ian McKellen, who is superb as the Earl of Southampton…

An email from TP

“Changing the Channel” IS my Marketing Bible!!! This book has not only helped me excel in my career in marketing, but has also helped me with my personal business ventures. I have personally used many of the…

Gary Gulman's Surprisingly Charming Comedy Bit

I've never seen Gary Gulman. This bit is pretty cute...

Principles of Wealth #30

If you have realistic expectations, you can do very well with stocks. I’m what you might call a chicken-shit investor. But there have been a few times when I’ve taken a risk – invested good money in a…

magnanimity (noun)

Magnanimity (mag-nuh-NIM-ih-tee) is a display of generosity. As I used it today: “The idea [of investing in start-up businesses brought to me by friends] was to roll the dice out of magnanimity, but not to end…

Benjamin Franklin On The Cost Of Ignorance

“The only thing more expensive than education is ignorance.” – Benjamin Franklin

Why Chewing Gum Is Dusted With Marble Powder

The powder on chewing gum is finely ground marble.

Who Cut the Balls Off San Francisco” in Taki's Magazine

Sports Promotion Reaches Peak Entertainment Value

A nicely edited review of an exciting sports promotion...

Why Listening to Sad Music Makes You Feel Better

“One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.” -Bob Marley I like sad music. Sometimes I love it. Many of my favorite tunes are melancholy. I’m listening to one of those now: Bach’s Prelude…

tautology (noun)

Tautology (taw-TAH-luh-jee) is saying the same thing in different ways; the needless repetition of an idea. As I used it today: “I have no doubt that listening to sad music moves people in positive ways. But……

Meteorites Delivered Earth's Gold Billions Of Years Ago

Nearly all of the gold on earth came from meteorites that bombarded the planet more than 200 million years after it formed.

Writing as the Cat Purrs: Ten Tips” on BREVITY’s Nonfiction Blog

Brevity publishes mostly banal stuff, but this essay is worth a read if writing is part of your game. Smart and funny.

A good one!

A good one!

Sad Stories in an Age of Pity Porn

“The only thing that’s the end of the world is the end of the world.” – Barack Obama An acquaintance of mine, a bright guy, has created a large Internet following by what I think of as failure porn – telling…

sagacity (noun)

Sagacity (suh-GAS-ih-tee) is the quality of being discerning, having the ability to make good judgments. As I used it today: “He’s a good writer. His stories are compelling. But I’ve always wondered if he…

McDonald's Serves 68 Million Customers Daily Worldwide — September 22, 2019

In 2018, McDonald’s generated almost $6 billion of net income serving around 68 million customers per day.

Cathay

Ezra Pound was one of my favorite poets in college and even in graduate school. I loved his imagist poems and “Hugh Selwyn Mauberley” and was awed by “The Cantos.” But the poems that broke my heart were the 15…

An email from NA

I’ve been reading your [essays] for a good while now. Not all of it applies to me, but I read it all nonetheless. I’ve always been confident in my capabilities and those of my fabulous husband,… 18 months ago…

Why The Dvorak Keyboard Never Replaced QWERTY

The Dvorak keyboard is much faster than the QWERTY keyboard, but never caught on. This videoexplains why.

Kill Your Inner John Bolton” by Caitlin Johnstone

“We each have a miniature John Bolton,” Caitlin Johnstone says, writing in Taki’s Magazine. And he’s “living rent-free inside our heads, ruining our peace and promoting world domination at every opportunity.”…

purview (noun)

Purview (PUR-vyoo) is the range or limit of authority, competence, responsibility, concern, or intentions. As used by Uzodinma Iweala: “Around the world, our cities are not the idealized open, accessible, and…

Good News from Abundance Insider: Scientists Reverse Aging in Rat Stem Cells

A team of researchers at the University of Cambridge… has uncovered a potential mechanism for reversing a loss of function in brain stem cells. The discovery centers on oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs)…

Vince Lombardi On Football's Violent Nature

“Football isn’t a contact sport. It’s a collision sport. Dancing is a contact sport.” – Vince Lombardi

Michael Chabon

Pops: Fatherhood in Pieces by Michael Chabon Most of these essays were published elsewhere. They are reminiscences of Chabon’s experiences with his children and about his efforts to navigate the uncharted…

Iceland's Strongest Men Train With Minnesota Vikings — September 20, 2019

Iceland is a small country with a small population, but among them are some of the strongest men in the world. Here's a little clip of these big guys with the Minnesota Vikings.

Decades Of Anti-Poverty Efforts Have Failed

Every politician, college professor, social warrior, and NYT columnist today is concerned about wealth and income disparity. The general view is that there is a lot of it. Globally, but also within the good…

Michael Masterson On Human Hierarchy And Inequality

“Homo sapiens instinctively abhor equality and create hierarchies in every possible way at every possible opportunity.” – Michael Masterson

redoubtable (adjective)

Redoubtable (rih-DOW-tuh-bul) means formidable, fearsome. As used by James Gleick: “Encyclopedias are finished. All encyclopedias combined, including the redoubtable Britannica, have already been surpassed by…

Dolphins Sleep With Half Their Brain Awake

Dolphins can put one side of their brain to sleep while the other side does the thinking.

Kurt Vonnegut

Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut This is one of two novels by Kurt Vonnegut that I read recently for my book club (The Mules). It would probably be indexed under “science fiction,” but it reads as a somewhat…

Panama Canal: Engineering Marvel Behind Global Trade

A fascinating short documentary on how the Panama Canal works and how critical it is to the global economy...

Twenty Years Of Jiu Jitsu, Basic Mistakes Overlooked

Even when I’m traveling, I try to get in some sort of Jiu Jitsu practice. When I was in New York a few weeks ago, I took two lessons from Paul Schreiner, one of Marcelo Garcia’s instructors and a great student…

Michael Masterson On Expert Overconfidence

“The biggest mistake experts make are beginner mistakes.” – Michael Masterson

denigrate (verb)

To denigrate (DEN-ih-grate) is to belittle, disparage; criticize in a derogatory way. As I used it today: “Looking back on conversations that went south, I can usually spot a freshman communications error…

Stephen King's Lifelong Fear Of The Dark

Stephen King is afraid of the dark. He sleeps with a nightlight.

An email from KP

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all your writings, and as I’ve told you in person, I KNOW (stronger than “believe”) that Ready, Fire, Aim is the best business book there is on small/medium-sized business and marketing…

Flash Fiction from The New Yorker: “The Weight” by Anne Enright

Flash Fiction from The New Yorker: “The Weight” by Anne Enright

Learning To Speak Across The Aisle — September 15, 2019

We do need to learn how to speak across the aisle. I thought this was a refreshing and hopeful idea from a media person...

Looking Back on Robert Mugabe’s Career

Last week, Robert Mugabe, the long-time leader of Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) died. He was 95. Looking Back on Robert Mugabe’s Career: How to Bankrupt a Country and Keep It Poor for 40 Years In 1975, I was…

laudable (adjective)

Laudable (LAW-duh-bul), usually applied to an action, idea, or goal, means deserving of praise and commendation. As I used it today: “I remember thinking that Mugabe’s vision for Zimbabwe was laudable. Along…

Germaine de Staël on the Nature of Wit

“Wit consists in seeing the resemblance of things that differ and the difference in things that are alike.” – Germaine de Staël

Solar Energy Could Power The Entire World

Every five days, the sun provides the Earth with as much energy as all proven supplies of fossil fuels. We need to capture only one 6,000th of that to meet the energy needs of the entire planet.

Fare Warning” in Taki’s Magazine

The Human Brain's Intricate Animated Architecture

An amazingly detailed animation of the human brain...

The Charity Tax Deduction Myth Explained

My brother-in-law is an experienced businessman. Intelligent guy, college-educated, etc. We were talking about Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, and he said something like: “Well, those guys give money to charity…

Word of the Day: Sixty

Sixty-five percent of America’s millionaires have at least three income streams.