I thought this blog post by Ted Kluck, one of the writers of Why We're Not Emergent, was hilarious.
…Four years later in the midst of his Great Sadness, Shaq receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, but actually from Pat Riley, inviting him back to that shack, actually a 14,000 square foot Miami mansion, for a weekend. Against his better judgment he arrives at a gated community, in a Cadillac Escalade, and walks back into his darkest nightmare. A nightmare which includes the movies Blue Chips and Kazaam! as well as recordings of all of his many ill-fated rap albums including Shaq Diesel and You Can’t Stop the Reign. What he finds there will change Shaq’s world forever.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
More Surfing
The weather has been making a turn for the better, so I surfed yesterday and today. Yesterday on the south side of the Huntington pier, and today on the north side.
Yesterday turned out to be fun, and sunny. The tide was high, but there was some northwest windswell, and some nicely shaped rights were coming through. There was a pack of guys on it, but I just moved a couple hundred yards down the beach and got a few by myself.
There were some really good young surfers out (getting ready for a contest on the south side that started today, I think). Some had really clean bottom turns (to setup their airs and reverses). It's interesting to me that a proper bottom turn (at speed, especially) is probably the most notable skill that separates the top 30% of surfers from the bottom 70%. Deep thoughts.
Another thing I saw were volleyball players getting ready to practice below the pier. I was jealous of the fact that it was 9am on a clear, warm Tuesday and they were just starting to loosen up for a few matches of volleyball. Don't they work?
Yesterday turned out to be fun, and sunny. The tide was high, but there was some northwest windswell, and some nicely shaped rights were coming through. There was a pack of guys on it, but I just moved a couple hundred yards down the beach and got a few by myself.
There were some really good young surfers out (getting ready for a contest on the south side that started today, I think). Some had really clean bottom turns (to setup their airs and reverses). It's interesting to me that a proper bottom turn (at speed, especially) is probably the most notable skill that separates the top 30% of surfers from the bottom 70%. Deep thoughts.
Another thing I saw were volleyball players getting ready to practice below the pier. I was jealous of the fact that it was 9am on a clear, warm Tuesday and they were just starting to loosen up for a few matches of volleyball. Don't they work?
Friday, March 13, 2009
Huntington Cliffs
I surfed this morning at Huntington. The waves were smallish, but it was nice out. I've been surfing at Cliffs quite a bit since we moved to Long Beach. It's the closest spot to my house (~20 minutes) that consistently has waves.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letter
Warren Buffett has some interesting nuggets of wisdom in his latest shareholder letter. I pulled out of few of these that I enjoyed:
“We’re certain, for example, that the economy will be in shambles throughout 2009 – and, for that matter, probably well beyond – but that conclusion does not tell us whether the stock market will rise or fall.”
“Amid this bad news, however, never forget that our country has faced far worse travails in the past. In the 20th Century alone, we dealt with two great wars (one of which we initially appeared to be losing); a dozen or so panics and recessions; virulent inflation that led to a 211⁄2% prime rate in 1980; and the Great Depression of the 1930s, when unemployment ranged between 15% and 25% for many years. America has had no shortage of challenges.
Without fail, however, we’ve overcome them. In the face of those obstacles – and many others – the real standard of living for Americans improved nearly seven-fold during the 1900s, while the Dow Jones Industrials rose from 66 to 11,497. Compare the record of this period with the dozens of centuries during which humans secured only tiny gains, if any, in how they lived. Though the path has not been smooth, our economic system has worked extraordinarily well over time. It has unleashed human potential as no other system has, and it will continue to do so. America’s best days lie ahead.”
“As predicted in last year’s report, the exceptional underwriting profits that our insurance businesses realized in 2007 were not repeated in 2008. Nevertheless, the insurance group delivered an underwriting gain for the sixth consecutive year. This means that our $58.5 billion of insurance 'float' – money that doesn’t belong to us but that we hold and invest for our own benefit – cost us less than zero. In fact, we were paid $2.8 billion to hold our float during 2008. Charlie and I find this enjoyable.”
“We’re certain, for example, that the economy will be in shambles throughout 2009 – and, for that matter, probably well beyond – but that conclusion does not tell us whether the stock market will rise or fall.”
“Amid this bad news, however, never forget that our country has faced far worse travails in the past. In the 20th Century alone, we dealt with two great wars (one of which we initially appeared to be losing); a dozen or so panics and recessions; virulent inflation that led to a 211⁄2% prime rate in 1980; and the Great Depression of the 1930s, when unemployment ranged between 15% and 25% for many years. America has had no shortage of challenges.
Without fail, however, we’ve overcome them. In the face of those obstacles – and many others – the real standard of living for Americans improved nearly seven-fold during the 1900s, while the Dow Jones Industrials rose from 66 to 11,497. Compare the record of this period with the dozens of centuries during which humans secured only tiny gains, if any, in how they lived. Though the path has not been smooth, our economic system has worked extraordinarily well over time. It has unleashed human potential as no other system has, and it will continue to do so. America’s best days lie ahead.”
“As predicted in last year’s report, the exceptional underwriting profits that our insurance businesses realized in 2007 were not repeated in 2008. Nevertheless, the insurance group delivered an underwriting gain for the sixth consecutive year. This means that our $58.5 billion of insurance 'float' – money that doesn’t belong to us but that we hold and invest for our own benefit – cost us less than zero. In fact, we were paid $2.8 billion to hold our float during 2008. Charlie and I find this enjoyable.”
Friday, March 6, 2009
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