Category
books
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02.20.09The Wallstrip Edge [Book Terser]Trends come and go, and if you learn to spot them, they can be wildly profitable. In The Wallstrip Edge, Howard Lindzon shares his techniques on making money from seemingly routine trips to the mall, drives around town and travels through airports. A great read for any observant and active market participant.
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01.05.09The Definitive Book of Body Language [Book Terser]The Definitive Book of Body Language will prepare you to listen to what someone's body is shouting, while their mouth is talking. If you interact with people, it's worth a few hours to speak their entire language. Body Language was the second of book I've read by the Pease duo and it was as effortless read as the first. The couple writes in bathroom-visit sized chunks which makes reading approachable for anyone.
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01.05.09Terse ReviewsBooks are like wine -- best enjoyed when shared -- so I'm going to offer brief reviews of any books I find worthy of perusal. I hope you will find them humorous, worthwhile, and just maybe, tempting. Enjoy.
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08.25.08The Dip: In BriefI just finished Seth Godin's The Dip. It resonated with me. I would write more but I don't need to. Tom Felker is cogent in his summary that is hidden in the absurdly interesting documentary Hands on a Hard Body. Fast forward to 15:56 for his explanation, then rewind and watch the whole thing. Trust me.
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05.16.08I saw a Black Swan todayPaul Kedrosky was talking about this today as well so I'm going to blame him for what happened... I needed to sweat tonight. My legs were sore but felt like they had more to give. I set out to make up for the poor workout I had yesterday. So I biked to the track and ended up punishing my legs. Realized I was in the zone when I pulled myself away after 50 sprints up 42 stairs (no walking). Easily the best workout I've had in a year. Never heard no in my head, all ...
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12.11.07Rant: Why I read non-fictionOne of the things that has changed while living alone is the abundance of time I spend alone. Sometimes it's creepy because of all the time I spend talking into the mirror. Although the majority of the conversations I have with myself I enjoy because I tend to learn something. Tonight is the first night I've been home recently and I got to talking. I was pursing for a book when my ego decided to be inquisitive and question why I primarily read non-fiction. I have always pegged it as a preference for real world knowledge. It ...
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12.07.07Two surprising facts in one quoteSix of the seven presidential tickets between 1980 and 2004 have included a Bush, and five of those six [have] won. American Theocracy Striking not only for illustrating one family's dominance of modern American leadership, but also because it shows (disappointingly) the fixed national mindset on one thing: oil.
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09.27.07Why companies change product packagingThe obvious reason is to increase sales. The surprising thing is how large the sales jump is for goods such as groceries. Jim Donald, CEO of Starbucks, explains why the company changed the packaging (read: as in printed a different design on the bag) of their whole bean offerings after stagnant sales in 2005: "It just creates awareness that wasn't there before," he said. "we used to say when you changed packaging, particularly private-label packaging, that you'd see a 10 to 15 percent spike just off the packaging change," and the bump would last for about six months. p186, Grande Expectations That ...
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09.26.07Winnie-the-Pooh bearish?I found this metaphor unexpected -- given the book -- but apt none-the-less: By nature, short sellers are an odd lot. Given their investment bent, they tend to see the world as permanently out of whack and in need of adjustment. In a stock market full of Winni-the-Pooh optimists, they are the Eeyores. p112, Grande Expectations
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09.09.07Why we have those American Idol audition outtakesFrom The Black Swan: We humans are the victims of an asymmetry in the perception of random events. We attribute our successes to our skills, and our failures to external events outside of our control, namely to randomness. We feel responsible for the good stuff, but not for the bad. This causes us to think that we are better than others at whatever we do for a living. Ninety-four percent of Swedes believe their driving skills put them in the top 50 percent of Swedish drivers; 84 percent of Frenchmen feel that their lovemaking abilities put them in the ...
recent posts
- The Wallstrip Edge [Book Terser]
- How to name your own price
- Keep your worthless predictions
- The Definitive Book of Body Language [Book Terser]
- Terse Reviews
- Flatten; because users are lazy.
- P(recession) = 1, P(American is shopper) = 1
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