All Talk No Action, What's the Big Attraction

Two quotes --

'Thought, expression and sensibility are given through communication'

and

'The clearest way of seeing through a culture is to attend to their tools of conversation'

It's never been about the mechanics of the tools, rather a state of mine. There's always been a quote that surrounds on of my favorite cities, 'people are open minded and accepting of everyone, except people who AREN'T open minded and accepting of everyone. When you're a hammer, you look for nails, you find them. Social networking arises, two examples --

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1 -- The Walled Garden
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A utility where you invite you sisters, punk rock friends, hipsters, preachers, republicans / democrats, Buddhists / Christians, etc to the table for an extended conversation. / -- a vast variety and diversity of individuals.

Perception suggests someone that has 1,000 people in their walled garden is well respected. I argue a more affluent person can have 10 friends, all of differing ideologies, and bring them to the table for relevant conversation.

1 person with 1,000 'cool friends' that are all nails is a commodity, ten friends with a different perspective is balance.

There is a psychology to what you project here --

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2 -- The Open Prairie
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A lawless land of despots, warriors, wizards, peasants, and jokers yet very few 'common people'. Unfiltered, unadulterated, communication, simple, opt in style -- A brave new world in the area of communication which yields great power but has potential for great blow back.

Huxley was different from Orwell in that he suggested there wasn't a need to ban books, knowledge would become passee in the land of distraction.

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Always garbage in garbage out, a tool is only as good as what is aggregated. You can play the games and figure out what you think you want people to see and hear, or you can be yourself, and you don't have to remember anything.

Usefulness, legibility, and sensitivity is what I'm looking for --

The harbors that they built for the ships to set me free And sometimes when it's all too much I know they'll come for me

Once someone told Thoreau, there's a new invention, the telegraph, and it allows someone in Maine to talk to someone in Texas almost in real time. Thoreau's response, 'what would they have to say to each other.'

Fast forward a short time and you have a society faced with a new psychology. A quote that recently rang true, "Society works precisely because conversation is ephemeral."

Today is a life of curiosity, we learn simply because it's there, we use and abuse accordingly. The life and times today allow you opportunity, and with this opportunity comes tearing down emotional walls only to build others higher, what emerges are emotionally stern individuals on one side, and drones on the other.

We have institutions that work to tear down walls, and we have institutions that practice mind control, the yin and the yang all work together.

What is the blow back of a hyper connected age? Does it take the thrill out of the situation, and constantly feed an empty yearn to be someone or somewhere else?

I have ideas. Through the summer I'm going to take a deep dive into the Greek culture, an integrated society that yielded a phenomenal amount of intellect, brawn, and standard of living.

Time will tell if a blackberry in hand 16 hours a day will make a man healthy, wealthy and wise. In the meantime I'm going back to meditation.

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“Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back.”
- The Buddha

I lit the match, I lit the match, I saw another monster turn to ash, felt the burdon lifted from my back

Two things that have gotten me in a major down and out mood --

1. Slaves to the almighty dollar -- The more and more I read about the stock market, the nastier and nastier it gets. Index funds, fine, but ETF's, hedge funds, leverage a buck at times 33 to 1. Hence, a fund looses 3.1 cents on a dollar, they're sunk. I can understand 5 to 1, maybe even 10 to 1, but any more than that, you're building something that truly don't exists. You extract more value than there is true value, its blatent exploitation of our money. When times are good, so be it, when times are bad, we are in what you get. I can't understand any ideology that condones this behavior. How about a consistent 5% growth, that way society can scale with the wealth created? These institutions that create wealth have becoming self serving, and people not on top of this will become victims. Just ask the folks in iceland
2. Information overload -- I feel as if I've become a slave to the system. Neil Postman argues with great success that in the 'age of information' we are lost more than ever. Feudalism, theocracy, etc, etc at least gave someone a consistent look at a deck of cards. It's hard for people to find consistency when any and all special interest load the dice. We live in an age where information is prevelant, wisdom is lacking. 95% of the people out there have learned the mechanics of spatting out content, but don't have much to say.

trust

i've been hung up on this important word for some time now -- just picked up a book that will hope to shed some light on .......

why do you trust?
why do you trust them?
who trusts you?
why do they trust you?
how do you gain trust?
how do you become trusted?
how do you lose trust?
why do you lose it?
can you regain lost trust?
how important is trust in your business relationships?
how important is trust in your personal relationships?

i look for hereos in my search for identity but none of them seem to be quite what they want me to think

Tonight a good buddy of mine gave sage comments, 'You seem to live life for life's sake, to seek knowlege for the joy of self improvement' -- and yet another comparison to Charlie Brown, the THIRD so far in my life --

Could that mean that I always try to kick the football, could it mean that I'm a nice chap that has a lot of friends, I guess that's all up to me.

I always try to find a silver lining, and tend to sway to the positive, even though I've also been told I spew venom.

There are a lot of people that I admire in life, the ones I admire most are the ones that have a plan. It's the best way to leave the white noise of the world behind.

I'm not Easily Scared, By Things that Go Bump in the Night

Signs you're getting old, and why there isn't anything wrong with it --

1. When you have 16 nieces and nephews, 2 great nephews, one great niece. It's great hanging out with the family, listening to the stories by these youngin's, even though I'm a socially awkward and lack of attention span mess around them. I find the psychology of parenthood fascinating.
2. All your facebook friends are having babies, and you're proud of them. Seems like every other day baby photos are posted, and you think, wow, I'm glad they passed on their genetic code, they are good people.

All in due time, meanwhile, I do my part the keep the population in control --

I brought him to the dream. He had the coolest sandals that I have ever seen

As the battle rages on about who and what needs to be done to fix the economy, the root cause has yet again been neglected from the conversation. We've lived in a world with too much credit, its been brewing for a long time.

My opinion, the two things I look at the see when the economy will 'rebound,' or at least rightsize.

1 -- The Price of Oil -- There's no coincidence the price of oil falls with the economy. Which came first? While most people complain about the greedy oil people, their 401k's are stuffed with oil stock, go take a gander, I'm sure most are still, by default. Currently there is a stockpile of oil in ports all over the world, you can't just 'turn the spigot 'off', hence a hedge on the price. When this lowers, oil will settle between 75 - 90 bucks a barrel, rightsizing this toxin, which will aid in bringing things 'back to normal.'

2 -- Home Depot Stock -- Watching the ups and downs, these folks are reading the charts that will answer the ultimate question, 'when will people begin investing in their homes again?'

I Bring the House Down I Hardly Know, Which Way is Up or Which Way Down

These days this is the only taking head I listen to.  History repeats itself, and people get caught up in sensationalism.  I've always found it easy to hide behind 'the sky is falling' stories.  Many don't have the attention span to see past tactical day to day manuvers.

'One upping' everyone else is so rampent, I seldom engage in conversation at cocktail parties, working lunches or what have you.   Fabricated extra parts can potentially be capitalized, but volitility of the message and human nature tends these artifical growth mechanisms crumble. The truth is in the fine print, which no one reads.

A few nights ago, while painting a broad general picture of what I do and why I do it got me a rebuttal of, 'I think you're full of sh*t.'  What I've learned in life is to keep things simple and abstract until people earn more than that.  Intimacy is a sacred thing people just throw around at a whim these days.

Mechanics of a job are one thing, intuition, judgement and vision are another thing.  Some jobs require a high degree of intelligence to master the mechanics, while the latter is a different set of mastery that all starts with knowing yourself.

The more BS I hear on a typical night out on the town, I've found these differing forms of intelligence are like oil and water.  People who have mastered the mechanics of 'widget A' also assume they are experts in soft and intuitive skills, and they often condescend on people like myself, who speaks in abstracts attempting to get a feel of what's really going on.

Conceptual thinkers on the other hand, feel the mechanical thinker is engaged in a boring finite game, one whos outcome is necessary, yet predictable.

A fundamental complaint about society and its ability to 'troubleshoot', is the lack of its ability to question the status quo, or question things in themselves.  I've found that many people, once they get a decent job, a little money in the bank, are able to go to Cancun, etc, now have achieved a sucessful life, now its sustainment time, a time to dig in and fortify boundaries and dig a huge moat around my intellectual capital.

Individual responsibility is lost to the way of arrogance and it spirals up.  My car is better than yours, my house is better than yours, my political and financial ideology is better, my god is better than your god, and soon you are wedged between yes and no, right or wrong, and the holes individuals have dug, and the knots they have tied make it necessary to chose one of these poles, and shy away from the grey area like cryptonite.

The media and entertainment outlets solidify this by making stories out of boring news, by taking the doom and gloom approach, and do it in a candy coated way so people don't feel bad.  

Choke the medicine down.

seems so at ease A strange inner peace Is all that he's feeling somehow

The city of Brotherly love, perfect backdrop for an M Ward concert.  Love the time there. 

The city center, filled with thrasher guys filming their moves -- Nice to sit here and soak up the scenery.

Aparments near the city center, lots of really old / neat looking habitations.  Didn't see any suburban living on the trip.

A nice painting on the wall in the museum --

An 'asian' habitat, Toshi, can you confirm?

The evilution of the killing machines, guns, which use gunpowder to project a piece of metal at a tremendous velocity, which easily pierces skin.

The legend of Zelda fairy, which gives you back life.  When my back started hurting, I sat by her, and I magically felt better :)

Wow, one of the older versions of 'bling,'  what a room!

Back in the day, this was your baseball hat.  I would have picked the one in the middle to the far right, and try to pass myself as an explorer.

Spears, Spears Spears, my favorite room in the museum.

The city skyline from a major museum, a nice walk.

Rocky with the museum.

The thinker, below the statue.

The original thinker -- Mike P had recorded a satirical video of what he was thinking that got major chuckles from the locals watching on., unfortunately the vid didn't turn out well.

I think this is 'south town' or the bohemian area, they had burn barrels -- 

Geno's, threw my diet out of the window for the week to experience, cheesesteak, 

after cheesesteak

After M Ward at the Trocadero, a bordello back in the day, one of the most unique venues I've ever seen.

View, great one, lots of elbows thrown to get here :)

The view from the outside --

Jamacian Blue coffee brewing, or whatever this scientific contraption was  doing.  Supposedly the best and rarest in the world, from the Blue Mountains, 8 bucks a cup, but worth it.  Got it off the list.

Chinatown -- lots of fresh produce on the stinky roads

after cheesesteak, Jim's, I would say was my favorite --- in all objectivity, I think Texadelphia is better :)

Mohon at the love sign --

Independence Hall, I wonder what kind of whig  I would have wore back in the day -- 

And I Should Be Scared, But I Feel No Fear

Lots of great talk with Mike P this weekend, two heaviest things I can recall, two toxic elements in modern day society, politics and religion.  If you don't frame the question or challange around these two necessary but dying ideologies, a whole new world becomes visible.

Keep your beliefs, spirituality and ideologies, abandon the proxies.

In another life I was a holy roller in another lifetime I flew I have always kept a distance this is what I do

Watching a thunderstorm from my porch thinking, life is good. All I can think about is Steve Martin in 'Leap of Faith.' When asked by many in his 'congregation,' 'When's it gonna rain?' His rebuttal is 'When's it gonna stop?'

A very cynical man stumbles onto a few miracles, a very nice thought.

1. Second day of Nutrisystem, my belly is going, 'why me' but I do feel much better than normal, and of course 'nothing tastes as good as skinny feels'
2. A quick trip to New Orleans this weekend, seeing Andrew Bird at the HOB New Orleans was therapeutic
   

That's it, nothing much, just happy that it kinda rained.

I saw another monster turn to ash Felt the burden lifted from my back Do you recognize the nervous twitch That exposes the weakness of the myth

It's good to skim massive amounts of information, I would argue that its better to follow the few that are trendsetters in the field.

Similarly in stocks, diversification is for the weak at heart, and those who lack confidence in their ability to interpret the writing on the wall.

Find a winner, stick with the winner, have a plan, simple.

Trains roll... like gamblers in slow mo Tryin' to find good luck When they couldn't find love

I've always spoke of integration and its importance, my thought tonight drifts towards what it all means in context of social networking.

finding voice, in terms of self enrichment, and self integration with friends, family, co-workers, potential clients, employees, bosses, political rivals, people of differing opinion, you can figure out what you think you want people to hear, or you can just speak what's on your mind. it's freedom --- it integrates your past, present and future, if you would like it to do so, and it helps fill the 'white space' in your life.

what you aggregate, I know there is great defense of social networking, that which calls for using the tool for more than for vanity and congregation. if you posts pictures of the beer party, or the big chicken friend steak, that's one thing, but seasoned 'social networkers' can still keep there integrity, yet provide concrete or abstract meaning to followers. one day i believe I'll be able to be one of these people, integrating life with work in a way that attracts both people who are interested what you say, how it can benefit them, and also take a genuine interest in you as a person.

walls the quote from the sorrows of young werther 'we amuse ourselves painting our prison-walls with bright figures and brilliant landscapes.' this certainly is the case. currently people find false 'digital shelter' in the utility of choice, some cowarding behind login and password. my thoughts are hell, if you're going to do it, you might as well do it right, one voice, many facets, no walls.

People 'get it' (social networking) at varying levels. The world revolves around the individual, while we're a part of a collective. advance social networking says to me, the collective is fickle, the individual is true. harness the right apples from the right trees, then you have something.

So, sure, I could just close my eyes. Yeah, sure, trace and memorize

25 Random Things about me

With a preface by Richard Russo: "In all my books the unhappy people are the ones w/o the wisdom to love the life they've been given."

1. behind the melodramatic exterior, there's an Everest of sentimentality
2. Wants to see all the world wonders in civilization, twice
3. thought I'd marry the first chick I fell in love with
4. brings integrity to the ballgame
5. reads a book or two a week
6. big fan of objectivity theory
7. I clump all religion into the 'mystic' category -- Rush (the band) says it best, A planet of playthings we dance on a string, of powers we cannot perceive. I don't believe in cards, I don't believe in signs
   
8. Would love to have some beers with Neil Hannon, a man who's words changed my life.
9. Feels immortal in spirit, like an 80 year old in body
10. thinks achievement is based what you produce
11. love conquers all, even time
12. cherishes aesthetic over convenience
13. lives simple while carrying the weight
14. life in the fringes is the only way to roll, you can find the fringes no matter where your stand and what your view is
15. thinks politics is what kills any society, issues should seldom be framed in political context
16. likes to walk, probably would like walking on the beach too
17. earth wind fire water, i like fire the most
18. for the friends who i've done the psych test with, for what its worth its kinda correct, 'i walk alone, i see bears, snakes, vultures as i walk, my reaction is to mark them and deal with appropriately, a big house with no fence, and ocean in the back of the house, i get across via the minnow (Gilligan's island boat) --its been refined over the years
19. have come to love my balanced life portfolio and open-ness and objectivity to most viewpoints.
20. is very happy to have a lot of unique people around me and in my life
21. really care about my family, and the love they give to each other, etc really wears down my selfishness (in a good way)
22. need to go the the australian open so i can get that off the list of grand slams in tennis (this travel tidbit really bugs me) nyc, paris, london -- check
23. communication is key is the subliminal message i send myself every 6 minutes
    
24. hates people, loves people, hates people, loves people -- the older i get, the less i want to be around a big crowd
    
25. mom and the gang provided me with a firm foundation, and i like to think i've done a lot with a little, and i'm positive the best is yet to come
    

White light, strange city, mad music all around

6 finance / personal investing / stock books since the time 'I have money,' I've found most blogs on how to become rich are terrible.

My approach, Peter Lynch meets Warren Buffet with a heavy hand of geopolitics. Find value stocks in things that you know, wherever they may be. I will stay away from mutual funds, and the financial service sector at large (except for my 6.99 per trade e-trade account.)

First draft of Framework --

Energy -- Till we're green, we need oil, Obama says no more from Middle East, Russia, or Venezuela in ten years, that leaves Canada and Brazil, Petro Brazil is choice, for at least 5 years.

Until a true leader emerges in the green energy crusade, Its hard to find a good performer.

Tech -- Next time (and hopefully last) time we test the bottom of the market, I'm going to buy Google, I use religiously, they're ahead with the cloud, etc. (buy and forget)

Retail -- Roll with Amazon, they svcs run twitter, and will corner the small B2B market in cloud services, not to mention a steady payroll for being the 'wal mart' of the web, but cooler and more informative. (buy and forget)

Defense -- Paying close attention to how, who and what is going to guard our ports.

Infrastructure -- Primarily in China, and those who partner with Chinese companies.

More to come....still thinking

Ten years from now, I have to have some 3 to 4 baggers (where 1 dollar turns to 4), etc, etc -- While at the top, I'll slowly funnel some money to commodities (probably in Australia). When I'm 50, I may roll more with bonds, but I'm still not sure on how the flow will work, but it'll be either one of the two below strategies, depending on life circumstances.

1 -- Invest in common stock till the bitter end, and have the 'the shit hits the fan plan' when and if it happens.

2 -- Stocks for the big wins, commodities for a decent gain, skimmed from the top of stock wins, bonds, from both, as I get older.

Call me crazy, but I don't see the need for mutual funds after my -37 percent return for 2008. I think I can do better than that with my eyes closed 15 minutes a week. As a personal investor, you have much more leverage than institutional money.

The journey begins soon, I plan on being couragous, moderately risky, and never putting the money on just red (guessing, hitting and hoping) --

When the cash its the market, it'll be the most thought out stuff I've ever done, and it'll have a plan I stick with, i.e., thresholds, etc, etc.

Dizzy, Lizzy, Major Tom

Here's what I've learned from Twitter thus far --

• The 'permission marketing' aspect is great. It's like I have these cool smart people 'forwarding' me email, it's me going to, not receiving from.
• From a 'real life' friend perspective, it's very impersonal
• Someone who is 'following' more than a couple hundred people really isn't following anyone
• Someone who is 'being followed' by more than a couple thousand people, the idea / message isn't really that unique, which is a pro and con.

My twitter strategy still remains the same, tweet about keywords / interests personal to me, and grab like minded people who find you via search words, and the slow diffuse your thoughts / mind through the lenses of like minded people and their interest.

Do open windows keep the rain away? Do open eyes keep the ghosts at bay?

Like a Martin guitar, the experience will only get better with age. The logistics of getting to DC were a nightmare. Left Fredericksburg VA (approx 30 miles from DC), at 3.30 am, rolled up to 'the area' where everyone was at 9.10. About 3.5 hours in the car to the metro, 30 minutes in line at metro, 1 hour on metro (and the smell of a girls puke) later we made it to DC.

It was about 20 degrees, BRUTAL cold, and of course, ill prepared for the realities of that man people around.

Here's where we landed.

Here was looking the other way.

You're not going to find a hot dog dealer in this mess, nothing could survive the mass, surprisingly few capitalists cashing in on pimped out Obama swag.

Maybe because these guys were perched on every building, the Powershot G9 could find em' all.

This was as close as us 'common folk' could get to the event while it was going on. Mr Army Man made sure there was no civil unrest.

A GQ shot in from of the Washington Monument, I even dipped a toe in to the frozen water, en route to the Arlington Cemetery metro, for a more reasonable exit.

Finally Bob and Rob, the Texas boys who were there, to prove that we were there, that we heard of him first, now, relatively speaking :)

You can take a trip through your juke joint smoke-filled paradise You can give it your all, cause you are walking a fine, fine line

My lack of understanding economics is killing me, for it's crucial in truly understanding what's going on. I don't trust media outlets and blogs that say the sky is falling, its human nature to think that way, and its a sure fire way to increase ratings.

Our collateralized debt obligation will lead to us as a nation not being in control of our own destiny. From what I've read, and throwing in that I'm not an expert, most of our collateralized debt is in the form government bonds, 60% of which China 'owns,' with a slow and steady rate of 6% return. Ayn Rand would be rolling in her grave at the quick / greedy schemes conjured up these days to undermine hard work. Prosperity and hard work go hand in hand.

The free market will live on, and like an optimist says, a phoenix will rise from the ashes, but that phoenix will be soaring with the bald eagle, and that's indeed how it should be. The global economy will find new markets, and find its way to societies in which people are begging for and deserve a better standard of living.

The creatives in China and India are working for a sort of 'grass roots' capitalism, one that doesn't manifest itself in the rich. The new hotness is by cheap goods by volume for the volume.

People say its the 'perfect storm,' blah blah, and its been hard to not repeat this doom and gloom. The contrary suggests the connected world market is more of a blessing than curse, it keeps institutions in check, and it has mechanisms to punish bad behavior. Whoever you want to blame it on, the USA will have a nice black eye and broken leg when the dust settles.

In a nutshell, my thoughts are, to fix this, globally, the governments of India and China will allow more expansion to keep the global economic ship afloat, funded by a consistent 6% return on investment of our debt collateral for the unforeseeable future. At some point, western civilization (this side of the Atlantic) will have to take the hit, could be now, could be later.

The old line, payback is a b*tch. The last 2 years I've made SERIOUS compromises on my life to enjoy a debt free living, the law of averages says America as a collective has to do the same. Cultural humility and awareness should be baked into the solution too.

there was no bed, there were no chairs, there was no roof, there was no stairs

Great conversation today with co-worker who had similar experience in his youth as I recommended Wild Man's Journey.

Rites of passage, especially into manhood seem to have taken a back seat in modern times, especially for ones who've lost a dad. It's a very fascinating human element the more you explore it, and also exhilarating.

I can recall several life incidents in which I'm standing in circumstance, and there's a gap between when it began and I ended, all subtle but very apparent when taken a closer look. Family relations, girls, sports, jobs, emotions, the way you frame yourself in the universe,.....all things considered.

I'm getting close to being talked into the New Warrior Program, to perhaps fill in some of these gaps.

our lives are better left to chance, i could have missed the pain, but i'd of had to miss the dance

That's right, Garth Brooks for the evenin', I publicly admin to liking his tunes, ironic or not, a part of my past, and still a reservoir for life metaphor.

• I recall our high school history teacher, not only having the 'we didn't start the fire poster' up, but also talking about the pros and cons of life through the lyrics of GB. Something I'll never forget, conventional wisdom coming from someone I truly respect.
• I recall my niece Krysi getting married, and her husband Alex singing GB's version of 'To Make you Feel My Love', very heart warming and genuine.
• I recall a massive rain delay at Baltimore's Camden Yards field, they played rain tune after rain tune, one being, 'the thunder rolls'
• I recall my buddy Brad in high school, coming to school in boots, wranglers, and a shirt bearing the lyrics 'choose to chance the rapids, dare to dance the tide'
  

Growing up I was 80% convention, 6% progressive, 14% the rest.

If I had to take a gander at my life the last couple years, and acknowledge where my sleep zone (the way I stack my physical and emotional equity) is, I'd have to say rooted in 40% convention, 40% progressive ideology, 1% radical, 19% the rest. I really want to think this one through one day and break out those number even more.

• Passion was a big thing for me back in the early days, I'd often stay up all night worry about things to come, things left undone
  
• Emotional Balanced scorecarding and hedging are things I've only come to identify with recently, it's my version of Prozac

When I was 22, Emotion Scorecard = (and i think i was better than a lot)

1. hey man, where's the party?
2. do you got the booze?
3. let me borrow a good shirt
4. that cologne smells good, let me have some!
5. dude, that chick is hot
6. (long interlude of frivolous flirtations), and poking out ass in hopes to get noticed
   
7. insert junk food of choice before bedtime
8. man, i'm so hungover, i must have had 15 last night
9. BIRP
   
10. i'm so cool, lets do it again, tonight, and next week
    

Now at 32, Emotional Scorecard =

1. Seizing opportunities when they arise
2. Communicating what needs to be said
3. loving, listening and understanding your family
4. developing a firm level of trust with your good friends
5. a healthy exercise routine
6. while still being able to enjoy a big flat plate of whatever the host is serving
7. a career that challenges and rewards, taking pleasure in doing the hard things
   
8. a snapshot in time (for me is shiner) that doesn't change much, so i can see how much i change
9. ambition, a dedicated hike to the fountain of youth atop of tall mountain
10. understanding the beauty of a simple plan