Thursday, January 22, 2009

Yesterday

A song that means so much to so many and a quote that blows it all away.


"I never went to high school reunions. My thing is, Out of sight, out of mind. That's my attitude toward life. I don't believe in yesterday, by the way. I'm only interested in what I'm doing now. You can never go home. It doesn't exist."

- John Lennon (January 1981)

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Complacency

Complacency is a luxury for which no man can afford. If you think you can, you'll probably wake up a year later overweight, over-leveraged and unhappy. Of course it's only human to become complacent, as logic doesn't reach it's natural conclusion immediately, and lot of dumb people can look real smart for a long time.

In the course of a recession / depression the first wave of trauma will naturally hit the population that was most complacent. Or as Warren Buffett might say, when the tide goes out, you see who's been swimming naked. And indeed there has been a lot of skinny dipping lately.

The "men of mind" around the world, have become the "men of money." CEO's ranging from the top investment banks to automobile manufacturers shifted their focus from long-term innovation to short-term performance bonuses while maintaining a blinds eye for the inevitable near-term failure.

But the high and mighty corporate executive and investment banker aren't the only classes to fall from grace. Many homeowners we're equally complacent. At the peak of the housing bubble in 2006/2007 it is said that at least 30%+ of all home purchases were for speculation. Predatory lending my ass. Unfortunately the home price elevator hit a ceiling and we must all now bear the consequences. It will not be as, Ayn Rand might suggest, a Great Atlas, or a group of society's most industrious that will save us. In time, as logic works its way, we as a society face many risks including trillion dollar deficits, currency debasement, a potentially rapid inflation, higher taxes and ultimately civil unrest.

That said, I'm optimistic in spots. As Keanu Reeve's discovers in The Day the Earth Stood Still, we humans change at the precipice of disaster. While our society will not go unscathed from the excess and complaceny of the last few years, we will survive, and we will prosper until ultimately, we do it all again.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Relgious Truths

I read something today that helped me understand the different religions around the world:

Religious Truths:

Taoism: Shit Happens.

Confucianism: Confucius say, "Shit Happens"

Buddhism: If shit happens, it is not really shit.

Zen-Buddhism: What is the sound of shit happening?

Hinduism: This shit has happened before.

Islam: If shit happen it is the Will of Allah.

Protestantism: Let shit happen to someone else.

Catholicism: If shit happens, you deserved it.

Judaism: Why does shit always happen to us?