Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Digital Textbooks
Response to Bloomberg article http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-30/why-ipads-won-t-make-students-textbooks-more-affordable-view.html
You fail to see the underlining piracy implications that break any encryptions on copying never mind the lack of morality in the cyber world. Having digital copies on the internet makes textbook price points drop as piracy will force retailers and publishers alike to compete with lowering demand for the same textbooks they sell for 180 bucks that students are burning for their friends on CDs they received from rapidshare.com. Look at the Napster, Kaza example of how people eventually abandoned the piracy of music for premium virus free content for 1 dollar a song with 14 songs being the equivalent price of a CD. With textbooks, movies etc the same situation will occur and digital databases with unlimited material will be available for subscription fees you pay per month. Like your cable, if you want education, digital books etc thats one price, so are movies music etc, those things you don't desire you don't pay for. Distributors are well aware people will be copying their content but their goal is a reverse pyramid scheme based on the low cost of the product, be fair to the client and they will be fair to you. I don't ask my friend to burn me his 1.99 cent apple songs rather i buy them myself because the price point is fair. To your articles point, at face value you are correct, and the school system will lose money as the students get money in their pocket. Isn't this free market capitalism at its finest though? Having been blessed to avoid the corrupt beauracracy of the DC public school system, a multimillion dollar conglomerate of idiots liars thieves and money, I don't think the school systems need the money. Rather, put the power in the hands of the students to determine what needs to be changed.
P.S.
Newt is right about the unions in janitorial positions of power at public schools feeding off government financing. You could offer light janitorial work to the students who are struggling financially for a lot less and they would learn the value of time, money, and hard work while simultaneously getting an education. You think we could have offered the same students, perhaps high schoolers to work at the assembly lines at GM and Ford plants prior to 2008?
You fail to see the underlining piracy implications that break any encryptions on copying never mind the lack of morality in the cyber world. Having digital copies on the internet makes textbook price points drop as piracy will force retailers and publishers alike to compete with lowering demand for the same textbooks they sell for 180 bucks that students are burning for their friends on CDs they received from rapidshare.com. Look at the Napster, Kaza example of how people eventually abandoned the piracy of music for premium virus free content for 1 dollar a song with 14 songs being the equivalent price of a CD. With textbooks, movies etc the same situation will occur and digital databases with unlimited material will be available for subscription fees you pay per month. Like your cable, if you want education, digital books etc thats one price, so are movies music etc, those things you don't desire you don't pay for. Distributors are well aware people will be copying their content but their goal is a reverse pyramid scheme based on the low cost of the product, be fair to the client and they will be fair to you. I don't ask my friend to burn me his 1.99 cent apple songs rather i buy them myself because the price point is fair. To your articles point, at face value you are correct, and the school system will lose money as the students get money in their pocket. Isn't this free market capitalism at its finest though? Having been blessed to avoid the corrupt beauracracy of the DC public school system, a multimillion dollar conglomerate of idiots liars thieves and money, I don't think the school systems need the money. Rather, put the power in the hands of the students to determine what needs to be changed.
P.S.
Newt is right about the unions in janitorial positions of power at public schools feeding off government financing. You could offer light janitorial work to the students who are struggling financially for a lot less and they would learn the value of time, money, and hard work while simultaneously getting an education. You think we could have offered the same students, perhaps high schoolers to work at the assembly lines at GM and Ford plants prior to 2008?
gordonsgekko.blogspot.com
Friday, January 27, 2012
Gingrich sinking to Romney's level
Newt,
I implore you to use January 26th's GOP debate as an example of how even the most sound minded and most articulate can tire and slip with fatigue. You appeared tired at times and perhaps satisfied with what occurred in South Carolina whereas Mr. Santorum and Mitt Romney elevated their diction and talking points with succinct verifiable facts for the first time to the point where dare I say it, they spoke as fluidly as you Mr. Speaker.
Where I saw true grit and due diligence, was in Romney's attack on your investment portfolio that is NOT in a blind trust. The weakest argument given by a former CEO of consulting firm that dealt with mergers and acquisitions was that he was unaware of any of the positions in his blind trust including Goldman Sachs and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. However, your public razing of Romney to this end backfired when you failed to state your own investments before attacking Romney for the very investment positions you have interest in whether directly or through mutual funds. Moreover, your assertion that your contract with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac prohibited lobbying is but a halve truth. In your second contract it did not have any clauses prohibiting lobbying and Mr. Romney criticized you for this in rapid succession and your rebuttal was off topic and generic.
I thought Rick Santorum's critic of Romney's state run health care system was precise and well posed and while Romney was quick to try and extricate himself from Obama Care, he forgot his sneakers. In truth Mr. Santorum was factual accurate, the health care in Massachusetts mandates payment by 100 percent of the population in the state not just those who wish to seek public sponsored health care. Romney see -sawed from an 8 percent population pool that paid into the state run health care system to a 4 percent pool and his numbers on the quality of care were derided with accurate facts by Mr. Santorum. Kudos
The running hyperbole that is Ron Paul's libertarian idealism at times was more honest and respectable than anything any of the candidates could muster from their bowels of their patriotic hearts. However, his age, asserted once again by Wolf Blitzer and his knack for stammering give little credence to his honest words, honest in their fervor and soul. Mr. Speaker, going back to you, please once again, I implore you, read Sun Tzu's Art of War and refrain from attacking an enemy with hundreds of millions of dollars more in compaign financing in laborious media wars. You are smarter, have more experience in Washington, and your ability to walk the bi-partisan line is something that will achieve far more productive facets of legislature than what I would think would come from Mitt Romney.
Finally, I don't think repealing all of Dodd Frank and Sarbanes Oxley is required to improve lending and increase or GDP/economy. I think disclosure controls are incredibly important, but in term of say the Vockler Rule, I don't know why you wouldn't just reinstate Glass Steagall if you are going to thwart proprietary trading. Goldman Sachs has already issued 4 year CDs tied to Nasdaq equities that themselves control which already bypasses this rule. Lets keep our government's hands off free market capitalism as you say but maintain the beginnings of mercantilism particularly in the use of domestic resources to control inflation and GDP. The Saudis who buy our Treasury bills don't want the Keystone Pipeline nor offshore oil drilling with direct injection into the U.S. unless its for our reserves..... I will leave this argument for another letter.
Good Day,
Brendan
I implore you to use January 26th's GOP debate as an example of how even the most sound minded and most articulate can tire and slip with fatigue. You appeared tired at times and perhaps satisfied with what occurred in South Carolina whereas Mr. Santorum and Mitt Romney elevated their diction and talking points with succinct verifiable facts for the first time to the point where dare I say it, they spoke as fluidly as you Mr. Speaker.
Where I saw true grit and due diligence, was in Romney's attack on your investment portfolio that is NOT in a blind trust. The weakest argument given by a former CEO of consulting firm that dealt with mergers and acquisitions was that he was unaware of any of the positions in his blind trust including Goldman Sachs and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. However, your public razing of Romney to this end backfired when you failed to state your own investments before attacking Romney for the very investment positions you have interest in whether directly or through mutual funds. Moreover, your assertion that your contract with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac prohibited lobbying is but a halve truth. In your second contract it did not have any clauses prohibiting lobbying and Mr. Romney criticized you for this in rapid succession and your rebuttal was off topic and generic.
I thought Rick Santorum's critic of Romney's state run health care system was precise and well posed and while Romney was quick to try and extricate himself from Obama Care, he forgot his sneakers. In truth Mr. Santorum was factual accurate, the health care in Massachusetts mandates payment by 100 percent of the population in the state not just those who wish to seek public sponsored health care. Romney see -sawed from an 8 percent population pool that paid into the state run health care system to a 4 percent pool and his numbers on the quality of care were derided with accurate facts by Mr. Santorum. Kudos
The running hyperbole that is Ron Paul's libertarian idealism at times was more honest and respectable than anything any of the candidates could muster from their bowels of their patriotic hearts. However, his age, asserted once again by Wolf Blitzer and his knack for stammering give little credence to his honest words, honest in their fervor and soul. Mr. Speaker, going back to you, please once again, I implore you, read Sun Tzu's Art of War and refrain from attacking an enemy with hundreds of millions of dollars more in compaign financing in laborious media wars. You are smarter, have more experience in Washington, and your ability to walk the bi-partisan line is something that will achieve far more productive facets of legislature than what I would think would come from Mitt Romney.
Finally, I don't think repealing all of Dodd Frank and Sarbanes Oxley is required to improve lending and increase or GDP/economy. I think disclosure controls are incredibly important, but in term of say the Vockler Rule, I don't know why you wouldn't just reinstate Glass Steagall if you are going to thwart proprietary trading. Goldman Sachs has already issued 4 year CDs tied to Nasdaq equities that themselves control which already bypasses this rule. Lets keep our government's hands off free market capitalism as you say but maintain the beginnings of mercantilism particularly in the use of domestic resources to control inflation and GDP. The Saudis who buy our Treasury bills don't want the Keystone Pipeline nor offshore oil drilling with direct injection into the U.S. unless its for our reserves..... I will leave this argument for another letter.
Good Day,
Brendan
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Gingrich and Romney
The articulation and sheer wit of Gingrich is the most formidable weapon a politician can have. Romney's aesthetics and All -American persona emphasizing the 'American Dream' is inundated with mainstreet's distaste for corporate America. Nevermind the fact that he is not a straight shooter in terms of innate principals over abortion, and much desired civil liberties such as free healthcare, his success spurs jealously over those who wish for greater economic equality amongst the middle class. These Americans are not aware that they are fighting a war amongst themselves for greater welfare benefits not looking at the Romney example of hard work as a motivator to go back to school learn new skills and become more competitive in this global economy. Ulltimately, given that Romney lost so much headway amongst South Carolinian voters after his mundane and unmoving arguments in the past two GOP debates, there appears to be a general consensus among southern voters that this race, at least for southern conservatives is not a popularity contest. The Jewish 'electorate' population in Florida should take kindly to Gingrich's stern warnings over muslim extremists and fervent belief "over the hold that Israel has over the American heart" . The questions about his personal life are irrelevant but not necessarily those regarding which organizations he has received compensation from. It will be interesting to see what comes of these investigations but I believe whole heartedly Gingrich will prevail in the GOP race and the Presidential race overall-
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Snowing in NY
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Plato's Republic
In Plato's republic we are met with a glimpse of understanding humans emotional response and how that effectuates rational deductive logic. Plato states that there are three parts to the human soul (or three souls) that impress upon human behavior: Rational, spirited, and appetitive. For Plato, the rational soul is the logical decision-making part of human beings, equated to the mind or intellect. The appetitive soul on the other hand supposes emotions or desires as infectious and take action by them or through them. Plato sees these forces as constantly in conflict with the rational soul. This confrontation often incites irrational behavior whether it be in the form of self-entitlement, avarice, manipulation such as projection, even an attempt at mass manipulation.
In terms of Irrationality, woman are often scape-goats for non-linear thinking and complete apathy when it comes to deduction. The truth is both men and women are creatures of impulsion and self-absorption. We dedicate more time to our public persona perceived by those we deem important than we do to the pure altruism our archetypal image insists is most important. In addition, there is no self-less act as Kant would say without a subversion of self-fulfillment. This is not necessarily nefarious in nature as helping others genuinely is rewarding via endorphin and oxytocin levels. However, when the means do not justify the apparent end rather, act as a farce for some alternative agenda such as image building we are left with avarice as the motivator......
In terms of Irrationality, woman are often scape-goats for non-linear thinking and complete apathy when it comes to deduction. The truth is both men and women are creatures of impulsion and self-absorption. We dedicate more time to our public persona perceived by those we deem important than we do to the pure altruism our archetypal image insists is most important. In addition, there is no self-less act as Kant would say without a subversion of self-fulfillment. This is not necessarily nefarious in nature as helping others genuinely is rewarding via endorphin and oxytocin levels. However, when the means do not justify the apparent end rather, act as a farce for some alternative agenda such as image building we are left with avarice as the motivator......
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Benjamin Graham and Yahoo Finance
Benjamin Graham, my mentor's mentor, the great Oracle of Omaha's mentor to be exact, and the founder of value investing back in 1928 devised a formula for equity evaluation that to this day is not outdated in the slightest.EPS *(8.5 +2g)*4.4/y. That is to say, Earnings Per Share times the non-growth rate of 8.5 plus 2 times the 5 year PEG growth rate times 4.4 the yield on high grade corporate bonds back in 1962 divided by the current yield on aaa 20 corporate bonds. What I would like to know is if the current aaa corporate bond of 2.89 is appropriate for the denominator or whether I should implement the aa 20 year rate with the higher yield, roughly 4.6 as it is more congruent with the numerator's top rated corporate yield back in 1962.
In addition, I would like to note in my journey to collect the most up to date financial data online that I have found that I can receive information comparable to that of my fidelity investment account for free from yahoo finance. Scott Thompson, now the new ceo of Yahoo, pioneered paypal's receivership and raised contracts with online suppliers to use paypal exclusively in his tenure, as of the third quarter of 2011 its total payment volume was 29.3 billion. I very much like the ability of paypal to raise its revenue via symbiotic relationships with already successful online merchants. I hope Scott Thompson sees this because I like Yahoo; as onomatopoeia in the vernacular of Howard Dean, not as a search engine. Conversely, I feel the format for Yahoo Finance is as in depth and easy to use as any financial information website on the internet and their for should be advertised as an application. Yahoo's intrinsic value for the future may be intangible in terms of current cash flows and net margins however such applications like yahoo messenger are infinitely more popular than say google chat. As they say in literature when devising the most dynamic of archetypal characters via synecdoche, sometimes the parts are greater than the whole.
These broader strokes at personalization were the beginnings of a positive user interface on the internet long before profile data was collected and search algorithms became infinitely more advanced. As long as the product was easy to use thats all anyone cared about, now Itunes, amazon, googe etc want to guess what they're consumers are thinking and I fear they could potential delve into more than just our purchase history to draw these conclusions. For example, LinkedIn recommends friends or potential connections on a level facebook should be shameful of. The other day LinkedIn suggested I be friends with the psychiatrist I saw when my mother died 5 years ago; what? Their proprietary social algorithm I feel is connected with google and the people who search for your on multiple search engines, in any event, It was strange, surreal, and well yes the unsettling nostalgia set in; the 300 hundred dollars an hour not my mother's death.
P.S. I realize Zynga's IPO did not go as smoothly into the upper stratosphere as Groupon's did and other analysts might have expected. However, again referring back to this symbiotic relationship of piggybacking other successful online websites with high visitor volume and adspace, how much of facebook's annual revenues are a result of Zynga's presence on the site? Mark Pincus believes in the personalization of the internet and platforming to achieve total personalization of media via tv, internet etc. There is a cult following in Mafia Wars like that of second life, people who wish to connect with other people who want a break from themselves and their real life. On facebook this idea is expressed mildly in white lies on profiles regarding their schools, relationship status, and what they did Saturday night vs what they actually did not do. Pincus understands this ability to enhance public perception of one's self a renovatio of one's imperfections or social standing..........
In addition, I would like to note in my journey to collect the most up to date financial data online that I have found that I can receive information comparable to that of my fidelity investment account for free from yahoo finance. Scott Thompson, now the new ceo of Yahoo, pioneered paypal's receivership and raised contracts with online suppliers to use paypal exclusively in his tenure, as of the third quarter of 2011 its total payment volume was 29.3 billion. I very much like the ability of paypal to raise its revenue via symbiotic relationships with already successful online merchants. I hope Scott Thompson sees this because I like Yahoo; as onomatopoeia in the vernacular of Howard Dean, not as a search engine. Conversely, I feel the format for Yahoo Finance is as in depth and easy to use as any financial information website on the internet and their for should be advertised as an application. Yahoo's intrinsic value for the future may be intangible in terms of current cash flows and net margins however such applications like yahoo messenger are infinitely more popular than say google chat. As they say in literature when devising the most dynamic of archetypal characters via synecdoche, sometimes the parts are greater than the whole.
These broader strokes at personalization were the beginnings of a positive user interface on the internet long before profile data was collected and search algorithms became infinitely more advanced. As long as the product was easy to use thats all anyone cared about, now Itunes, amazon, googe etc want to guess what they're consumers are thinking and I fear they could potential delve into more than just our purchase history to draw these conclusions. For example, LinkedIn recommends friends or potential connections on a level facebook should be shameful of. The other day LinkedIn suggested I be friends with the psychiatrist I saw when my mother died 5 years ago; what? Their proprietary social algorithm I feel is connected with google and the people who search for your on multiple search engines, in any event, It was strange, surreal, and well yes the unsettling nostalgia set in; the 300 hundred dollars an hour not my mother's death.
P.S. I realize Zynga's IPO did not go as smoothly into the upper stratosphere as Groupon's did and other analysts might have expected. However, again referring back to this symbiotic relationship of piggybacking other successful online websites with high visitor volume and adspace, how much of facebook's annual revenues are a result of Zynga's presence on the site? Mark Pincus believes in the personalization of the internet and platforming to achieve total personalization of media via tv, internet etc. There is a cult following in Mafia Wars like that of second life, people who wish to connect with other people who want a break from themselves and their real life. On facebook this idea is expressed mildly in white lies on profiles regarding their schools, relationship status, and what they did Saturday night vs what they actually did not do. Pincus understands this ability to enhance public perception of one's self a renovatio of one's imperfections or social standing..........
Friday, January 6, 2012
Neuro Opthamology...psuedoscience
I saw a Neuro Ophthalmologist today at Georgetown University and as I suspected something may seriously be wrong with my vision. It is difficult to explain to someone when according to Amsler grid tests and the Ishihara color vision test my vision is perfect that my world has become hazy and not as sharp virtually overnight. In this sudden mild myopic trance, I recall one of the scarce few metaphors bestowed upon me by my father: Nobody cares about your money as much as you. I can derive from this ephemeral fable that my wife who has worn glasses her whole life and whose spherical OD and Horizontal OS prescriptions are in the positive 6-8 range will not empathize. Being that I can still read a license plate off a car at night 50 feet in front of me, I can understand her lack of concern, however, this is my world my life. At a basketball game no one with court side tickets voluntarily moves to the nose bleed section. I dont want my view of the second half of the game to be from the cheap seats.
Thomas Aquinas believed in the existence of God and outlined a series of axioms to support his epistemology in his Summa Theologica (1265-1274). The most noted and often used is his conjecture that because of the complexities of the human eye, a supreme being beyond nature must exist, ie intelligent design. What makes his theory so special is that his ad priori postulate predates modern scientific dissection of the human eye. Juxtaposing higher primates corneal, retinal specificity as well as lens refractions it is clear that more than speech, and complex deduction, our eyes set homo sapiens apart from Chimps, Orangutangs etc. It is with this understanding and the relatively new field of topical lense refraction or photorefractive keratectomy, PRK where our depth of knowledge becomes hypothetical and the scientific method can no longer be applied. This is where I am, in this place of pseudo intellectual experts their co-pays and a hemorrhoid, you might know them by their technical acronym, HMO.
Ill let you know if the haze subsides if you promise to tell me if this blog is being read by someone other than me, myself, and I.
Thomas Aquinas believed in the existence of God and outlined a series of axioms to support his epistemology in his Summa Theologica (1265-1274). The most noted and often used is his conjecture that because of the complexities of the human eye, a supreme being beyond nature must exist, ie intelligent design. What makes his theory so special is that his ad priori postulate predates modern scientific dissection of the human eye. Juxtaposing higher primates corneal, retinal specificity as well as lens refractions it is clear that more than speech, and complex deduction, our eyes set homo sapiens apart from Chimps, Orangutangs etc. It is with this understanding and the relatively new field of topical lense refraction or photorefractive keratectomy, PRK where our depth of knowledge becomes hypothetical and the scientific method can no longer be applied. This is where I am, in this place of pseudo intellectual experts their co-pays and a hemorrhoid, you might know them by their technical acronym, HMO.
Ill let you know if the haze subsides if you promise to tell me if this blog is being read by someone other than me, myself, and I.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
...In the dead of night
...In the dead of night it comes to play
How I refrain its' avid glean
My preference I wish to lay
on faded thoughts and mildewed means
Sudden Brush and harsh air
my cerebellum dances in despair
what ill-fated thoughts I must bear
or ignore my conscience's grand scheme
Pounding hearts be aware
topsy turvy yellow bellies need not apply
the split-infinitive in its cowardice appeases the notion
my longfellow Wordsworth shall not lie
It is in the dead of night where cowards live and heros lie.
How I refrain its' avid glean
My preference I wish to lay
on faded thoughts and mildewed means
Sudden Brush and harsh air
my cerebellum dances in despair
what ill-fated thoughts I must bear
or ignore my conscience's grand scheme
Pounding hearts be aware
topsy turvy yellow bellies need not apply
the split-infinitive in its cowardice appeases the notion
my longfellow Wordsworth shall not lie
It is in the dead of night where cowards live and heros lie.
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