There is no "I" in rampage
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Friday, October 9, 2009
Friday Funnies
You know the drill people, it's Friday! Get ready to slap your hands together and lol
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Friday Funnies
It's Friday, lets get into the right mind set, relax a bit, and put on our laughy hats. Here are a few items meant to bring a smirk to your face. Happy Friday everyone! (except you, Good Dinosaur - I hope you have to work extra this weekend on your stupid startup!)
Usefulness of going down stairs vs Time
Willingness to be Video Taped vs Intelligence
Ability to Draw Mountains vs Time :: From Demetry Martin
via SnorgTees
Friday, September 11, 2009
I've Done It!
I've located and broken through to Good Dinosaur's website. Take a look at the top right of the page! The security was tight, but I've done it. I'm one step closer to bringing my enemy down!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Life or Death Investing
I'd like to highlight an article that was published September 5th, 2009 in the New York Times titled Wall Street Pursues Profit in Bundles of Life Insurance. It is a wonderful tale on how the Wizards of Wall Street plan to create a new security for their hungry investors. Now, let it be known, I'm a bad, bad dinosaur. For example, one of my main goals in life is to bring down Good Dinosaur ... but the investing scheme they are pushing rubs even me the wrong way! Let me explain.
So we all remember the sub-prime debacle that led to the credit crisis, right? It featured consumers taking on far too much debt, corporate greed, rating agency bribery, and all that other nefarious stuff? Ok, good. Well the new plan is to take life insurance policies from individuals and securitize, or group, certain policies into bond-ish instruments. The benefits, let it be known, are wonderful! For the individual, he will receive a far larger payout (20 to 200 percent more) when compared to the expected surrender value an insurer would pay currently. Investors now have a new, wonderful derivative investment vehicle to pour money into. And big banks have a new revenue engine. Each will likely put out new ETFs, slapping some catchy name / ticker combination such as "GO LIVE (GLIV)" so the general public can take part in the capital markets casino. Here is a graphic of it all:
Now this looks eerily similar to the workflow that resulted in the sub-prime mess. While this resemblance could be a cause for concern, it really should not be. Securitization, when practiced intelligently, is a fabulous concept as it lessens risk. There will be the same vulnerabilities should we lose touch with reality again, but hopefully we will learn from our past mistakes and follies.
So what is my problem then? My issue is the following: In order for an investor in these proposed bond-funds to make money the underlying security (a person) that controls the value of the derivative product (the life insurance policy) must behave (die on time or earlier, preferably earlier). That is dark, my friends.
Here are a few choice quotes from those analyzing this proposal:
I'm all for making a buck, but you have to draw the line somewhere. When you are making money based on a cure to awful afflictions not being discovered or rooting for people to die prematurely, you have crossed that line. You are giving investors that hold these "death-to-you" bonds perverse incentives to withhold investment into companies that are looking to find cures and extend people's life expectancies! We should be investing to build, not tear down.
I do not want to see a prospectus for a bond ETF such as the following showing up in my mailbox any time soon:
So we all remember the sub-prime debacle that led to the credit crisis, right? It featured consumers taking on far too much debt, corporate greed, rating agency bribery, and all that other nefarious stuff? Ok, good. Well the new plan is to take life insurance policies from individuals and securitize, or group, certain policies into bond-ish instruments. The benefits, let it be known, are wonderful! For the individual, he will receive a far larger payout (20 to 200 percent more) when compared to the expected surrender value an insurer would pay currently. Investors now have a new, wonderful derivative investment vehicle to pour money into. And big banks have a new revenue engine. Each will likely put out new ETFs, slapping some catchy name / ticker combination such as "GO LIVE (GLIV)" so the general public can take part in the capital markets casino. Here is a graphic of it all:
Now this looks eerily similar to the workflow that resulted in the sub-prime mess. While this resemblance could be a cause for concern, it really should not be. Securitization, when practiced intelligently, is a fabulous concept as it lessens risk. There will be the same vulnerabilities should we lose touch with reality again, but hopefully we will learn from our past mistakes and follies.
So what is my problem then? My issue is the following: In order for an investor in these proposed bond-funds to make money the underlying security (a person) that controls the value of the derivative product (the life insurance policy) must behave (die on time or earlier, preferably earlier). That is dark, my friends.
Here are a few choice quotes from those analyzing this proposal:
"There is another potential risk for investors: that some people could live far longer than expected."
[To lessen risk, ] a bond made up of life settlements would ideally have policies from people with a range of diseases — leukemia, lung cancer, heart disease, breast cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's. That is because if too many people with leukemia are in the securitization portfolio, and a cure is developed, the value of the bond would plummet.
I'm all for making a buck, but you have to draw the line somewhere. When you are making money based on a cure to awful afflictions not being discovered or rooting for people to die prematurely, you have crossed that line. You are giving investors that hold these "death-to-you" bonds perverse incentives to withhold investment into companies that are looking to find cures and extend people's life expectancies! We should be investing to build, not tear down.
I do not want to see a prospectus for a bond ETF such as the following showing up in my mailbox any time soon:
Friday, August 28, 2009
Amadeus ... or Adam Cohen?
So I just viewed the 1984 movie Amadeus, starring F. Murray Abraham as the vengeful Antonio Salieri and Tom Hulce as Wolfgang "Wolfie" Amadeus Mozart. Cynthia Nixon, from "Sex and the City" fame, also makes an appearance as the poor, financially manipulated maid / spy. How do I know about the girls from Sex and the City? That is such a Samantha thing to ask.
Being a dinosaur, I give Amadues 4.5 pangeas (out of a possible 5).
It is a fantastic movie and I highly recommend it. It is fraught with diametrically opposing conflicts; genius vs. aspiration, pride vs. acceptance, jealousy vs. friendship, piety vs. debauchery, and at it’s base, good vs. evil.
In the left corner, wearing the pastel paisley printed trunks, is Mozart. He is a drunk, a womanizer, a laughable laugher, a child ... and a pure musical genius. In the right corner, wearing a scowl, is Salieri. He has devoted his entire life to music and composition, denouncing all else so God will bless him the talent he so desperately desires. The two rumble in Vienna.
Salieri is a great musician in his own right, but realizes he will hopelessly be second fiddle to the superior Mozart. The thought of being topped by this, as Salieri says, "creature" drives him to malicious vengeance and partial insanity.
The tragic matter of fact is that if Salieri could have just put his pride behind him and accepted that, on a pure, God-given, talent level, he was destined to be bested by this man, they probably could have gotten along! Salieri would not have been the main attraction, but he would have been supporting the entire operation and bettering himself in the process. At the end of the film, he is scribing Mozart’s dictation, trying to keep up as the master runs through the composition from his bed. In this scene, Salieri is being taught by his superior peer! He is learning! He is incrementally increasing his talent! Too bad it was all a ploy to exhaust the already severely ill Mozart and drive him to his death.
Salieri could have been the father figure that Mozart was always looking for. And just as father teaches son, son would have taught father. Both would have been better off. Salieri would have grown beyond his wildest dreams as a musician and Mozart would probably have halted hitting the bottle so hard and lived a longer, better life.
Instead, Salieri declares to ruin Mozart. The result: Mozart dies of exhaustion and illness and Salieri is committed to an insane asylum where he must live with his tortured thoughts and a world that recognizes his adversary’s music rather than his own.
However, I guess a movie where these two characters just get along all fine and dandy would not have be very entertaining ... fine, the above was more of a general observation. When you are faced with the realization that you are not the best, and never will be, it is far better to partner with, rather than fight, your opposition. Working with those that are superior promises to elevate you beyond your expectations. And just as they will teach you, you can benefit them. Fighting seems to result in death, destruction, and insane asylums.
As a final note, I could not get over this nagging feeling that I’ve seen this movie before; a strange sense of deja-vu. Then it hit me. Adam Cohen. I had already witnessed the very images that were now playing on my television screen. I present the following in corroboration of my claim. You be the judge.
Additionally, if you rearrange the letters in "Amadeus", you get "use Adam" - likely a hint from the movie's director that Mr. Cohen, somehow, traveled back in time to start in this very film!
Being a dinosaur, I give Amadues 4.5 pangeas (out of a possible 5).
It is a fantastic movie and I highly recommend it. It is fraught with diametrically opposing conflicts; genius vs. aspiration, pride vs. acceptance, jealousy vs. friendship, piety vs. debauchery, and at it’s base, good vs. evil.
In the left corner, wearing the pastel paisley printed trunks, is Mozart. He is a drunk, a womanizer, a laughable laugher, a child ... and a pure musical genius. In the right corner, wearing a scowl, is Salieri. He has devoted his entire life to music and composition, denouncing all else so God will bless him the talent he so desperately desires. The two rumble in Vienna.
Salieri is a great musician in his own right, but realizes he will hopelessly be second fiddle to the superior Mozart. The thought of being topped by this, as Salieri says, "creature" drives him to malicious vengeance and partial insanity.
The tragic matter of fact is that if Salieri could have just put his pride behind him and accepted that, on a pure, God-given, talent level, he was destined to be bested by this man, they probably could have gotten along! Salieri would not have been the main attraction, but he would have been supporting the entire operation and bettering himself in the process. At the end of the film, he is scribing Mozart’s dictation, trying to keep up as the master runs through the composition from his bed. In this scene, Salieri is being taught by his superior peer! He is learning! He is incrementally increasing his talent! Too bad it was all a ploy to exhaust the already severely ill Mozart and drive him to his death.
Salieri could have been the father figure that Mozart was always looking for. And just as father teaches son, son would have taught father. Both would have been better off. Salieri would have grown beyond his wildest dreams as a musician and Mozart would probably have halted hitting the bottle so hard and lived a longer, better life.
Instead, Salieri declares to ruin Mozart. The result: Mozart dies of exhaustion and illness and Salieri is committed to an insane asylum where he must live with his tortured thoughts and a world that recognizes his adversary’s music rather than his own.
However, I guess a movie where these two characters just get along all fine and dandy would not have be very entertaining ... fine, the above was more of a general observation. When you are faced with the realization that you are not the best, and never will be, it is far better to partner with, rather than fight, your opposition. Working with those that are superior promises to elevate you beyond your expectations. And just as they will teach you, you can benefit them. Fighting seems to result in death, destruction, and insane asylums.
As a final note, I could not get over this nagging feeling that I’ve seen this movie before; a strange sense of deja-vu. Then it hit me. Adam Cohen. I had already witnessed the very images that were now playing on my television screen. I present the following in corroboration of my claim. You be the judge.
Additionally, if you rearrange the letters in "Amadeus", you get "use Adam" - likely a hint from the movie's director that Mr. Cohen, somehow, traveled back in time to start in this very film!
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Photo Essay: Death of a Sales Cactus
Day 1 - 4:00pm
Day 1 - 5:00pm
Day 1 - 8:00pm to Day 2 - 7:00am
Day 2 - 8:00am
Day 2 - 3:00pm
Day 2 - 4:00pm
I have one, and only one, suspect at this time ...
I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next!
Day 1 - 5:00pm
Day 1 - 8:00pm to Day 2 - 7:00am
Day 2 - 8:00am
Day 2 - 3:00pm
Day 2 - 4:00pm
I have one, and only one, suspect at this time ...
I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Beware Of Barking Competition
I've just made my frienemy* Good Dinosaur aware that he has not yet considered the potential competition his new start-up faces.
I must confess, he has made some substantial progress over the past week. He has a nice product, he figured out that he needs to do more business-side planning (see his realization here), he even put together a big chunk of his business plan AND performed some mathematical wizardry to create some impressive statistical analysis on the industry he's attempting to enter!
Needless to say I felt there was no better time to drop this confidence-bomb upon him than now. I'm sure he will be crushed (see potential emotional reaction below)
Remember, there is a lot that goes into a start-up. You not only need to have a product and know what you want to do with it, but you also need to know what is out there and what sort of dog fight you are about to enter. In the emerging company world, research is king!
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* Frienemy = Friend + Enemy ... now you know.
I must confess, he has made some substantial progress over the past week. He has a nice product, he figured out that he needs to do more business-side planning (see his realization here), he even put together a big chunk of his business plan AND performed some mathematical wizardry to create some impressive statistical analysis on the industry he's attempting to enter!
Needless to say I felt there was no better time to drop this confidence-bomb upon him than now. I'm sure he will be crushed (see potential emotional reaction below)
Remember, there is a lot that goes into a start-up. You not only need to have a product and know what you want to do with it, but you also need to know what is out there and what sort of dog fight you are about to enter. In the emerging company world, research is king!
----------------------------------------------
* Frienemy = Friend + Enemy ... now you know.
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