Capitalogix

The Internet in 1973

Here's a map of the entire "Internet" in 1973:

 

Reddit via @WorkerGnome.

Wonder what that map would look like today?

Oftentimes, a small breakthrough has awesome and immense consequences.

Onwards!

You Just Dodged a Bullet: The Holidays And Cardiac Mortality

On Christmas, I saw Rogue One with my family, and was impressed at what Disney had done to bring back the likenesses of Peter Cushing and Carrie Fisher. 

Peter Cushing played Grand Moff Tarkin, a character who they couldn't just cut from a movie featuring the Death Star so heavily (despite Cushing being dead since 1994).  In addition, the likeness of Carrie Fisher was brought back to play a young Leia.

At the time, I didn't know Carrie Fisher would be dead 2 days later, from heart attack complications.  Only a few days later, her mother, Debbie Reynolds died as well (presumably due to a broken heart).

Here is a chart showing cardiac mortality around the holidays.

  

via the American Heart Association.

Good news – if you are reading this, you are on the right side of the daisies.

Let's keep it that way!

Here Are Some Links For Your Weekend Reading -- December 31st, 2016

Any bold predictions for 2017?

 

 

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye recently.

Hope you find something interesting.

 

Lighter Links:

• The Top 10 TED Talks of 2016. (YouTube)
• The Year in Pictures 2016. (Nyti)
• The 12 Key Science Moments of 2016. (TheGuardian)
• How I Process a Massive Amount Of Content. (Medium)
• The Top Jerry Jones Quotes of 2016: Ugly Babies, Jumping off Buildings and Circumcising Mosquitos. (SportsDay)

 

Trading Links:

• Who Benefits from Market Speed Bumps? The Exchanges. (New York Times)
• Where are They Now? the 12 Members of the 1896 Dow Jones Industrial Average. (BizInsider)
• It's So Hard to Get Cash in India that Some People are Ordering It Online. (Money)
• Percentage of Young Americans Living with Parents Rises to 75-Year High. (WSJ)
• Contrarian Views for 2017, Seven Dos and Don’ts for Your Portfolio, and Trump's Market Mirage (Globe and Mail)

Here Are Some Links For Your Weekend Reading - December 25th, 2016

Even Santa was hacked this year.

 

 

So, were you naughty or nice?

  

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting.

 

Lighter Links:

• The 10X Mindset – Life At an Exponentially Higher Level. (Medium)
• 21 Business Books Worth Reading At Least Once a Year. (Inc)
• Artificial Intelligence and Life in 2030 - Stanford's 100-Year Study on AI. (AI100)
• The Magic and Power of Placebo. (FourHourWorkWeek)
• How to Create a Happy Life with Hacks from Stanford’s Famous ‘Design Your Life’ Class. (Medium)

Trading Links:

• America's next Great Metropolis is Taking Shape in Texas. (Forbes)
• “Moneyball” in Commercial Lending: from Art to Science in Pricing. (BCGPerspectives)
• The Paradox of Quant. (TheReformedBroker)
• Bill Gross Says You Should Start Buying Land and Gold. (Fortune)
• UK ‘Sailing Blindly’ into Financial Meltdown Bigger Than 2008, Think Tank Warns. (RT)

Adam Sandler Plays a New Version of His ‘The Chanukah Song’ [Video]

It is Holiday Season again ... Wow, how time flies.

To my Jewish friends, Happy Chanukah.

And, as a 'gift' to all of you, here is a new version of "The Chanukah Song," performed by comedian Adam Sandler.  It became an instant classic, in 1994, when Sandler performed it on Saturday Night Live.

   

 

via YouTube.

 

Here is the Wikipedia post about the Chanukah Song.

Here are links to the Original Video,  Version 2, and, Version 3.  

Hope you enjoy them ... and best wishes for a happy holiday season.

 

Where Does America Get It's Oil?

When people think oil, they think Middle East.  But, in reality, our biggest importer is Canada (with 3,169,ooo barrels a day imported in 2015).

The chart is a little old, but is interesting nonetheless.

 

see U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Perhaps more surprising is that America gets most of our oil internally ... with 8,796,000 barrels produced last week. 

Meanwhile, we are using approximately 19,400,000 a day.

Crazy numbers. Do you think they'll go up, or down, in 2017?

 

Here Are Some Links For Your Weekend Reading - December 18th, 2016

It was cold in Dallas this weekend ... below freezing.

In contrast, it's officially colder than Mars in Canada

Don't stick your tongue on any flag poles. 

 

 

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting.

 

Lighter Links:

• Clinton Campaign to Participate in the Wisconsin Recount — Plus Michigan and Pennsylvania If They Happen. (TW)
• America’s Top Spy Talks Snowden Leaks and Our Ominous Future. (Pocket)
• The Strange Psychology of Stress and Burnout. (Pocket)
• A New Program Judges If You’re a Criminal from Your Facial Features. (MotherBoard)
• 3 New, Must-Read Quotes from Tesla Motors, Inc. CEO Elon Musk. (FoxBusiness)

 

Trading Links:

• How Apple Lost China to Two Unknown Local Smartphone Makers. (Bloomberg)
• ‘A Rude Shock’: Indians Describe Life after Narendra Modi’s Currency Ban. (New York Times)
• NASA's New 'Intruder Alert' System Spots an Incoming Asteroid. (NPR)
• Is the Age of Asset Management Over? (FinanceMagnates)
• Immigration, World Poverty and Gumballs. (YouTube)

What My Dogs Can Teach Us About Markets

 Some dogs run fast; other dogs do tricks … my 100 pound lab, Duke's best talent is his ability to remain immobile in almost any situation (some call it "laziness" … I prefer "calm" or "even-tempered").

At the other end of the spectrum is Boo, our 20 pound mix between a Beagle and a Boston terrier. Let's just say that he has higher metabolism than Duke. 

When Boo hears a noise, he lets out an involuntary, barely audible, sound.  His body becomes rigid and his head cocks.  He becomes alert and carefully tunes his ears to their most sensitive setting, seeking any information that will help identify the "danger." And now he's waiting for the next intrusion.

Usually there are no other disturbances to follow, and the noise is cataloged and soon forgotten. His alertness level slowly subsides over the next 10-15 minutes or so.  He'll go back to napping, a little more fitfully this time … and just a little bit on edge.

Things get a little more interesting when another noise surfaces shortly after the first one.  What could once be dismissed now must be treated as a threat - and just to be safe, a threat of the highest order.  Now the appropriate response is a series of barks, nervous glances, pacing, rushing off in the direction of the noise to investigate, and a barrage of barks meant to sound more menacing than the source of the noise.  Who or what is it? How much harm can they cause? How grave is the threat?

Duke is a different story.  Nothing upsets Duke more than Boo.  The same noise that prompted Boo to become alert does nothing to Duke.  However the first time that Boo makes noise, that makes Duke alert. And the second time Boo makes noise, Duke starts vocalizing, and the third time, well now both of them start yapping and when they both start yapping, then other dogs in the neighborhood start yapping.

I realized that the same thing happens in the market with people.

In the market, it is the second noise - and subsequent noises - that creates the equivalent of the Homeland Security "Red Alert." Once an elevated level of alertness has been established, it takes a long period of relative calm for it to subside.  And when on "Red Alert" … any additional noises (for example, the responses of the other market participants) - big or small - will highlight, magnify and further validate the issue.

But, like in the story "The Boy Who Cried Wolf," even legitimate threats are ignored after too many false alarms (or prolonged periods of constant alert).  So, bad news about the economy isn't as likely to get people excited after the past few weeks.

Feeling Thankful is a Weak Substitute for Being Thankful

Thanksgiving is a holiday where we're encouraged to feel thankful for all the bounties in our life – and to appreciate those around us. 

I enjoyed spending time with my kids, watching the Cowboys win, and eating too much.

  

 

That's a great start; but, feeling thankful is different that being thankful.

Think of it as the difference between passive voice and active living.  

It reminds me of an idea called "Tikkun Olam" (or – healing the world).

Even if you're not Jewish, I think we can all agree the world needs a little of that. 

For example, instead of just feeling thankful, what could you do to make the life of someone around you better?  Likewise, how can you let others know that you're thankful for them?

Transformational change is often easier than incremental change (because you don't have to drag the past forward).

So, what can you do that would trigger 10X results?   Will you?

My Son Is Disgusting ...

This Thanksgiving, my son Zach made a stupid bet with himself – that he could gain 10 pounds in one day.

His mom and I both tried to tell him not to do it;  but we forgot a golden rule: Never tell a Getson they can't do something. 

The image speaks for itself.

  

 

He gained over 13 pounds.

Even considering the weight normally gained on a Thanksgiving, that's "disgusticating" (worthy of a made-up word).

Hope you enjoyed your holiday too!