So Far, So Good December 2, 2009March 16, 2017 BASKET UPDATE A few weeks ago I suggested “a basket of mini-drug-stock speculations that might double a year or two from now – to be bought only with money you can truly afford to lose.” They were: INCY – first suggested June 11 at $3.40 or so, then at $5.62 as part of this “basket,” closed $8.40 last night. I am holding most of mine. . . . DEPO – first suggested October 1 at $4.50, then $3.02 a few weeks ago as part of this “basket,” closed $3.41. I am holding on. . . . DYAX, suggested at $3.17 as part of this basket, closed $3.50 before this good news was announced – “transformative” news for the company, my guru calls it – that sent the stock to $5.10 in after-hours trading. I am holding this one, too. So far so good. (Thanks, Guru.) CAVE COMPUTING David D’Antonio: “In case you didn’t know, what with working in the cave and all, you can turn OFF the auto-rebooting thing; it’s one of the first things I do when I get a new machine. I don’t really want Microsoft dictating when my computer should restart. Look under ‘Automatic Updates’ on the Control Panel and change it to ‘download but don’t install.’ You’ll have to do the installs yourself, of course, but you can at least do them on your schedule, not Bill Gates’.” Bob Stromberg: “‘Patch Tuesday’ is the second Tuesday of the month (next: December 8) . . . and ‘virus Wednesday’ is the day after, because hackers study the patches and release exploits so that they can nail unpatched machines. I highly recommend three steps for Windows users: 1. Make sure you switch from ‘Windows Update’ to ‘Microsoft Update.’ Microsoft Update covers products beyond Windows, such as Office or Works. 2. Install Secunia PSI. The ‘PSI’ means ‘personal software inspector’ and this product vigorously compares what you have installed with a data base of current versions. 3. Check for Windows Updates manually, every month or so. Select ‘Custom.’ Some of the optional patches make sense. Don’t put them all on. The ‘live’ stuff and the Windows Search update might burden your already-burdened system. ☞ As if I’d be able to figure out which patches make sense and which don’t. I live in a cave.
Now They Tell Me December 1, 2009March 16, 2017 In case you missed the Nick Kristof column linked to yesterday, I commend it again. We need health insurance reform – and are likely to get a decent, albeit imperfect, start on it signed into law early next year. REAL HAMSTERS Kathi Derevan: “The difference between hamsters and gerbils? Roy Blount Jr. says, ‘hamsters have more dark meat.’” DICE AND DIES The die has been cast. As in a die thrown out onto the gaming table OR a die cast in molten steel – what a language is this English. MICROSOFT TUESDAY Now they tell me! I really have to spend more time around people. People seem to know these things, because they work together (I work alone, in a cave) and the tech guy tells somebody and within minutes everybody in the company knows. But not me, because I work in a cave. You know those random and maddening overnight crashes that occur when – for my safety – Microsoft has gone in and updated and restarted my computer, so I lose all the files I had open and was working on? (Yes, some of them automatically restore; and I have backups. But how do I remember which 18 emails were open, waiting to be answered in the morning?) This week I learned that they’re not random at all, they generally happen every second Tuesday. So tonight (or is it next Tuesday night?), it could be a good idea to “mark unread” any emails you have open, and close other files, before you hit the hay. (And yes, I know: the Macintosh never crashes, even when the power goes out or it’s drowned or stolen. It just keeps running problem-free. No one has ever had a problem with a Mac.)
Hamsters -> Scanner -> Torts -> Sawmill Foreman It's All Connected November 30, 2009March 16, 2017 Press reports peg the most popular items this past shopping weekend as HD TVs, laptops, coats, and the low-cost Zhu Zhu Pet robotic hamsters. My feeling is that [Sarcasm ON] if we can just keep consumption of these things up – especially the hamsters, which, like the TVs and coats, are surely made in America – we’ll be out of the economic woods. [Sarcasm OFF] Come on folks. What we need to be buying is caulk. And insulation. And third generation LEDs. Why can’t the President tell us what our national household energy consumption has been in 2009 and challenge us to reduce that 10% a year for the next three years? (If only I knew someone who knows someone who knows the President. Oh, wait!) And, as taxpayers – acting collectively through our government – why can’t we put out contracts to bid for the construction/installation of 100,000 windmills, specifying that no more than 20% (say) can be foreign content? Wouldn’t Lockheed and Boeing and GM, et al, rise to the challenge? And wouldn’t that be a terrific holiday gift to ourselves? Though robotic pets are actually a lot better for the environment than real ones. I’ll give you that much. MY SCANNER That said, it is a little embarrassing to admit that that I just bought this Fujitsu scanner. (Christmas comes early at the Tobias/Nolan household, because I feel it is my responsibility to buy stuff for myself and test it out for you in time for the holidays.) It is phenomenal. And folds up to be sleek and small. And can scan both sides of a document simultaneously. And lets you feed in a stack of, say, 30 color photographs and – zip, zip, zip – just bangs right through them faster than you would believe. If you’re young, you have no photographs – you took them all digitally and downloaded them straight to your computer in the first place. They’re on virtual albums in interspace and twitter through the leaves of your Facebook like starlings. (At least I think that’s how it works.) But if you’re me, you have 1,000 photos you always wanted to scan in – and now, in just a few very fun hours, you have! Only the Polaroids needed a little extra care, but even they took just a second or so each. And for regular stuff? Like correspondence or forms or creating PDF files? Amazing. Not cheap, to be sure, but really well designed (the Mac version, too) and, so far at least, it’s been great. Buy one, and after doing your own initial mega-scan, set up one of your kids in the business of digitizing all the neighbors’ photographs at a dime each. Zip, zip, zip . . . And when relatives come for the holidays, have them bring all their family photos and charge them. But be CAREFUL. This thing is DANGEROUS and comes with numerous warnings, in nine languages. For example: “Do not use the Scansnap while covered with a blanket. Doing so may raise the temperature inside and cause a fire.” . . . “Do not use the Scansnap while driving a car. Doing so may prevent you from driving carefully which can cause an accident.” Worst of all would be driving while operating the scanner with your head under a blanket. There is also a warning about not getting your hair, tie, or sleeve caught up into the document feeder, which does sound painful. But all this product-safety liability talk leads me to: THE APPEAL The scanning was so easy, I could multi-task. So I listened to the The Appeal, by John Grisham (unabridged), as I fed my life through the scanner. It’s a novel about innocent people killed by a reckless, uncaring corporation – and the caring trial lawyers who are bankrupted trying to help them, even as guns and gays are used to dupe the public into voting out a moderate Mississippi State Supreme Court Justice (Mississippi being one of 39 states where judges are elected, not appointed) to be replaced by one who would consistently throw out jury awards on appeal. All of which matters, because, well, how should a society deal with the injuries, accidents, and illnesses that befall it? Certainly not this way: COME BACK WHEN YOU HAVE INSURANCE You won’t believe the story of this 23-year-old sawmill foreman denied care because he lost his job. Nick Kristof nails it. I urge you to give this one a quick read and then, perhaps, pass it on.
The Frugal Heiress November 27, 2009March 16, 2017 THANKFULNESS Steve Clemons, Director, American Strategy Program, New America Foundation: “Arianna Huffington asked a number of us to think about what we were most thankful for this weekend. What I am most thankful for is that President Obama and his team have made debate and policy challenges patriotic again. I remember when Chuck Hagel’s patriotism was rudely challenged by the Vice President for asking fundamental questions about the White House’s strategy in Iraq. I don’t agree with everything the Obama administration has done — but I do respect the embrace of divergent views and heterodoxy. All the best to you and your family this Thanksgiving — and may you have a great and civil debate on something you care about in the next year.” Mark Willcox: “My nephew and his wife spent two years in Senegal with the Peace Corp. The first year, they lived in a small village. The second year, they moved to a large town. In front of their new digs, only a short walk away, was a pipe coming up from the ground which, with the turn of a handle, dispensed WATER. Any time of the year. They were in heaven! So, I am thankful for having running water RIGHT IN MY HOUSE.” STORIES OF HOPE Click on any of these faces and hear a quick story. Like the story of Rwandan cassava farmer Celestine Nzamurambaho or Harlem restaurateur Karl Williams. THE FRUGRAL HEIRESS: A NEW YORK HOTEL VALUE I’m not saying it’s cheap, exactly – I would try naming my own price at priceline.com first, if I were you – but an heiress I know, who has a healthy respect for a dollar, turned me on to Dream, a remarkable hotel value in the heart of Manhattan. On the same nights in January where a room could be had for less than $250, the Four Seasons was quoting $850. (All this before the various taxes and surcharges.) Headed East? Eager to preserve your inheritance? Check it out. (Cheaper still, as noted here before, but in no way swank: Leo House.)
The Frugal Heiress November 26, 2009March 16, 2017 THANKFULNESS Steve Clemons, Director, American Strategy Program, New America Foundation: “Arianna Huffington asked a number of us to think about what we were most thankful for this weekend. What I am most thankful for is that President Obama and his team have made debate and policy challenges patriotic again. I remember when Chuck Hagel’s patriotism was rudely challenged by the Vice President for asking fundamental questions about the White House’s strategy in Iraq. I don’t agree with everything the Obama administration has done — but I do respect the embrace of divergent views and heterodoxy. All the best to you and your family this Thanksgiving — and may you have a great and civil debate on something you care about in the next year.” Mark Willcox: “My nephew and his wife spent two years in Senegal with the Peace Corp. The first year, they lived in a small village. The second year, they moved to a large town. In front of their new digs, only a short walk away, was a pipe coming up from the ground which, with the turn of a handle, dispensed WATER. Any time of the year. They were in heaven! So, I am thankful for having running water RIGHT IN MY HOUSE.” STORIES OF HOPE Click on any of these faces and hear a quick story. Like the story of Rwandan cassava farmer Celestine Nzamurambaho or Harlem restaurateur Karl Williams. THE FRUGRAL HEIRESS: A NEW YORK HOTEL VALUE I’m not saying it’s cheap, exactly – I would try naming my own price at priceline.com first, if I were you – but an heiress I know, who has a healthy respect for a dollar, turned me on to Dream, a remarkable hotel value in the heart of Manhattan. On the same nights in January where a room could be had for less than $250, the Four Seasons was quoting $850. (All this before the various taxes and surcharges.) Headed East? Eager to preserve your inheritance? Check it out. (Cheaper still, as noted here before, but in no way swank: Leo House.)
We Have Hot Water! November 25, 2009March 16, 2017 The reason I get so little done, I’ve come to suspect, is that I spend so much time counting my blessings. But how can I not? I have Charles, I have you, I have hot water. Any time I want. All but instantly. As I have often said in this space, most of us live better than even the richest kings, let alone cave dwellers, in the hundreds of generations that preceded us. TV? Cell phones? Air conditioning? Aspirin? Antibiotics? Anesthesia? Air travel? Google? Are you kidding me? As perilous as our current circumstances are . . . both economically, over the next decade, in the U.S. and elsewhere, as we deleverage and regroup, and species-wide over the decades beyond that as the population peaks around 9 billion and we try to live together on a small planet without rendering it uninhabitable . . . indeed, because we face such a challenging future, how can the majority of us who still can make ends meet not count today’s blessings? We . . . have . . . electricity! Being an optimist, I think we will rise to the challenges. Happy Thanksgiving!
Goats November 24, 2009March 16, 2017 60 MINUTES ON END-OF-LIFE CARE If you missed this Sunday, try to find the time to watch. It certainly animates aspects of the health care discussion. And if you love anyone who is aging, or if you may yourself die someday, it should be of interest. (Warning: It touches on the topic of end-of-life counseling. If you feel it’s important not to have a sense of your options – or to allow insurance reimbursement for such counseling – it might be best not to watch.) TAX CUTS Sam Pizzigati asks: “What Ever Happened to the Good Times the Tax-Cutters Promised?” Here. THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS You know what? This movie is a hoot. Funny, novel, absorbing, well acted, and – the best part – “more of it is true than you would believe.” Here’s some of the back story.
Give It Up for Chaz November 23, 2009March 16, 2017 INDIA DOES OPEN HEART SURGERY FOR $2,000 – WELL A private mega-hospital “has transformed health care in India through a simple premise that works in other industries,” reports the Wall Street Journal: “economies of scale. By driving huge volumes, even of procedures as sophisticated, delicate and dangerous as heart surgery, Dr. Shetty offers cutting-edge medical care in India at a fraction of what it costs elsewhere in the world. His flagship heart hospital charges $2,000, on average, for open-heart surgery, compared with hospitals in the U.S. that are paid between $20,000 and $100,000 . . . ” And his results seem to be even better than ours. This former care-giver to Mother Teresa is now planning to build a 2000-bed general hospital just an hour’s flight from Miami, in the Cayman Islands. Everyone seems to focus on the way Canadians allegedly flock to the U.S. for care. Well, some do – but not nearly as many as Americans who are expected to flock elsewhere. . . . By next year, six million Americans are expected to travel to other countries in search of affordable medical care, up from the 750,000 who did so in 2007, according to a report by Deloitte LLP. A handful of U.S. insurance plans now give people the choice to be treated in other countries. CHAZ Have you got seven minutes? This GMA interview might make me a little uncomfortable at first. It is, after all, about an adorable little girl who is now a man. But minutes later, I think, you will be at ease – and feeling better about yourself for having an even broader understanding of the human comedy. I remember almost nothing of William Saroyan’s novel by that name, except its wonderful title. Where possible, can’t we just smile, rather than snarl, at life’s perplexities? Can’t you just see God, if you believe in Her, making little boys in little girls’ bodies and smiling to Herself, “Well, this should be amusing.”
Citizens for Apple Pie and Motherhood Except That They Are So Not November 20, 2009March 16, 2017 ALN So here‘s a company with actual sales and profits (I know! What’s come over me?!) – and growing, no less (or at least so they report) – selling at barely 5 times earnings. A way to own a little piece of the Chinese economy, on the cheap? With money I can truly afford to lose, I do. TOUGH NEWS FOR THE PLUTOCRACY The latest Stribling & Associates newsletter (‘an insider’s view of the latest trends in luxury residential real estate’) gives you a sense of just how rough it is in New York right now. Madonna snagged an asking-price $45 million double-width townhouse for just $32 million; a Russian billionaire snagged an asking-price $65 million 8,400-foot penthouse for just $37 million (barely $4,400 per square foot); and ex-Lehman chief Dick Fuld had to take a $6 million haircut on the $32 million asking price for his 16-room Park Avenue apartment. It’s truly bargain time. A 5,276-foot four bedroom penthouse at 15 Central Park West, was pegged at $80 million but went for (again) only $37 million. (Is there something about $37 million that just sounds ‘right’ to penthouse bargain hunters?) It’s a good thing the Republicans lowered taxes at the top, and stand ready to fight not to see them raised – things are tough at the top. HEALTH CARE Serious health care discussion: here. Twenty leading economists say the Senate Finance Committee’s health legislation ‘will reduce long-term deficits, improve the quality of care, and put the nation on a firm fiscal footing.’ Affront group bizarro opposition: here. The ‘Center for Medicine in the Public Interest,’ which advocates against the public interest; ‘Americans for Quality and Affordable Health Care,’ which opposes affordable health care; and the ‘Association for American Physicians and Surgeons,’ who hold that it’s ‘evil’ for physicians to participate in Medicare and Medicaid. Don’t miss this one.
A Gibbon and Two Tigers Walk Into a Barcode November 19, 2009March 16, 2017 CUE THE GIBBON Ralph Sierra: “If I’d known that yesterday was ‘Cute Animal Story Wednesday,’ I’d have nominated this one, in which a gibbon takes on two tigers (OK, they’re teenage tigers).” ☞ Later, I’m guessing, the tigers came back and ate the gibbon. And the camera man. SHOP SAVVY You aim your iPhone camera at any barcode, and this free app will “give you information about the product, as well as where you can find it online or at nearby stores and for how much.” Oh, my. It took me a little while to get the hang of it, because I didn’t really know what to expect. Here’s what to expect: After you load the app onto your phone and open it, touch the “scan” icon at lower left. You’ll see a flickering red line across the screen. Point that to the middle of a bar code from a few inches away and just hold it there for what might be 10 or 20 seconds – no need to move it up and down, but no worries if you’re not perfectly steady – until you hear a beep. (If you never hear a beep, it may be too smudged, or maybe your iPhone is too old.) At that point, a screen will appear that, in my case, told me I had been pointing to the bar code on the back of Al Gore’s new book, Our Choice: How We Can Solve the Climate Crisis (Young Readers Edition), priced at $24.99. It offered me 11 web alternatives for buying it, starting at $13.54 and 8 local bookstores (based on my GPS, it knew where I was), starting at $17.99. It offers reviews, price alerts, and retains a history of your searches. HEALTH REFORM As you’ve doubtless seen, we are making progress. The Senate will shortly begin debate on a bill that does much of what the President wants (among other things, reducing the deficit), and that includes the “opt out” provision for states whose leaders decide it’s important to deny their citizens a public option.