My $650,100 Lunch with Warren Buffett
June 30, 2008
My $650,100 Lunch with Warren Buffett – TIME
What would you pay to have lunch with the richest man in the world? For me and Mohnish Pabrai — a friend who, like me, runs a U.S.-based investment fund — the answer is $650,100. That’s how much we forked over for the privilege of dining with Warren Buffett on June 25.
It was worth every dime. Buffett is the most successful investor in history, yet he has reached that pinnacle while also being supremely ethical. As remarkable for his philanthropy as for his stock picking, he announced in 2006 that he’d give the bulk of his billions to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and typically the fee for our lunch went to the Glide Foundation, a charity that helps the poor and homeless. Lunch with Buffett, we figured, would be a good way to give to charity, but it would also be the ultimate capitalist master class — a unique chance to see up close what makes the Sage of Omaha tick and to learn from his wisdom.
Warren Buffett is my hero.
Half of US Gun Deaths are Suicides
June 30, 2008
Half of US Gun Deaths are Suicides – TIME
(ATLANTA) — The Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on gun ownership last week focused on citizens’ ability to defend themselves from intruders in their homes. But research shows that surprisingly often, gun owners use the weapons on themselves.
Suicides accounted for 55% of the nation’s nearly 31,000 firearm deaths in 2005, the most recent year for which statistics are available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There was nothing unique about that year — gun-related suicides have outnumbered firearm homicides and accidents for 20 of the last 25 years. In 2005, homicides accounted for 40% of gun deaths. Accidents accounted for 3 percent. The remaining 2% included legal killings, such as when police do the shooting, and cases that involve undetermined intent.
Though let’s not blame guns here. I’m sure these people would have found another way if guns were otherwise unavailable.
Gene Editing Could Make Anyone Immune to AIDS
June 30, 2008
Gene Editing Could Make Anyone Immune to AIDS | Wired Science from Wired.com
Some people have a mutation that makes them amazingly resistant to HIV — and now, scientists may have found a way to give that immunity to anyone.
Viruses enter cells and take them over, but to get inside, they need a handhold. HIV pulls itself in by grabbing onto a protein called CCR5, which decorates the surface of T-cells, which are one of the two major types of white blood cells and play an important role in helping the body fight infections. Back in the 1990’s, researchers took interest in a handful of promiscuous gay men who were able to engage in sexual relations with their HIV-positive partners with impunity. Most of them had a mutation that kept their cells from producing normal CCR5 protein.
Armed with that knowledge, scientists have developed several tactics to block the production of CCR5 or perturb its shape so that the HIV virus can’t grab onto it during the first step of its hijacking attempt. The strategy is much akin to cutting your hair before a wrestling match: It gives your opponent one less thing to grab onto.
Stocks: Beware the Sucker’s Rally
June 30, 2008
I originally posted this back in March when things were starting to look good again. Oil and gold prices were down and stocks were rebounding. Too bad it didn’t last very long. Oil is now at an all time high at $143 and gold prices are in the $900+ level once more. That brief uptrend was just a bear market rally after all. Be careful out there.
Stocks: Beware the Sucker’s Rally
After a tough winter for the stock market, some signs of spring are appearing.
The broad Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index jumped 5.12% from Mar. 18 to Mar. 25, while the battered financial sector has done even better. The Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) exchange-traded fund has surged 11% in the past five days.
Both measures are down almost 8% since the New Year, with the Financial SPDR down a whopping 21.7% in the past six months and the S&P 500 off 10.8%. But that just points to how welcome this recent rally is for depressed and anxious investors.
The U.S. economy’s slowdown and the financial crisis have battered stocks for months, but some market observers are now wondering if an end is in sight.Perhaps, with the recent collapse and bargain-basement buyout of Bear Stearns (BSC), stocks have hit bottom and investors can begin to put the bear market of 2008 behind them.
Not so fast, market experts say. Yes, there’s a chance the worst is behind us, but there’s an equal or better possibility the stock market is experiencing a classic “bear market rally,” they say.
Some Monday morning entertainment
June 30, 2008
Here’s what happens when you ask Future Shop’s experts if they are gay
Here’s another funny one. These guys have too much time… lol.
and from Craigslist:
Stupid clock with day, month and date read out
Protected: Bad idea.
June 30, 2008
The Mini-Laptop Changing the Game
June 29, 2008
The Mini-Laptop Changing the Game
Taiwan’s Asustek has produced a global hit by shrinking the size, horsepower, and price tag—down to $300
While computer makers have pushed to build faster, more powerful laptops in recent years, the executives at Taiwan’s Asustek Computer decided to try something different. They thought some people wanted a simpler computer. And they were right. Since its introduction last October, Asustek’s Eee PC—a mini-laptop that retails for as little as $300—has become a huge hit around the world. The company expects to sell 5 million units this year. “We changed the concept,” says Chief Executive Officer Jerry Shen.
He’s changing the public’s perception of Asustek, too. The Taipei-based company has long operated in the obscurity that characterizes the manufacturers of computer components for Western tech vendors. Asustek has never built a brand name that could approach those of such Asian rivals as Lenovo (LNVGY) or Acer. Now, thanks to the success of the little Eee PC and some other innovative designs, Asustek has a chance to break into tech’s big leagues. The company, which sells the mini-laptop in the U.S. through retailers such as Amazon.com (AMZN) and Best Buy (BBY), is already the world’s No. 6 producer of notebook computers and aims to crack the top three by 2013. Those spots are currently held by Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Dell (DELL), and Acer.
These new mini-laptops/netbooks are great. They’re small, cheap and have great battery life, which make them perfect for lugging around. I know a few people who have the 7″ model and find those too small (that’s what she said..) but they’ve hit it spot on with the 9″ and 10″ – with more typing friendly keyboard too.
The big players right now: Asus Eee PC, HP Mini-note, MSI Wind, Acer One, Dell E.
I would recommend the Wind, Eee PC or Dell E depending on your preference of HDD or SSD – shocking how I’m not suggesting an Apple product! I pre-ordered the Wind myself, because it’s probably the only one that will arrive before I leave for Europe.
10,000 Canadians petition for iPhone rate relief
June 29, 2008
FORTUNE: Apple 2.0 10,000 Canadians petition for iPhone rate relief «
It’s taken more than a year for the iPhone to make its way across the world’s longest undefended border, which may help explain why so many Canadians are upset this weekend.
On Friday, Rogers Communications (RCI) — Canada’s largest mobile carrier and the only one with a contract to sell Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone north of that border — announced the details of its voice and data plans. They struck some would-be customers as unreasonably high and unnecessarily restrictive, especially when compared with those in the U.S. and the U.K., and thousands of angry Canadians have made their feelings known in various homegrown websites, including eh Mac,GeekCulture, and blog.r4nt,.
But the largest and most pungent protest is a petition whose original name was unprintable, but which can now be found at ruinediphone.com. Its stated goal is to gather 10,000 names — accompanied by to a letter to Steve Jobs — by July 11, the date when the iPhone 3G goes on sale in Canada. By Sunday morning it had already gathered more than 10,400.
Rogers totally mucked it up. The best part is how they include voicemail but force you to add the $15 value pack filled with useless crap just to get caller ID. What’s also great is the unlimited access to Rogers/Fido wifi hotspots… that is until you realize there are only two hotspots in Vancouver.
BTW, the Fido iPhone plans are a tad better because evenings start at 7pm and they bill by the second.
Update:
Globe and Mail article – 16,000+ names and growing fast
Update x2:
Think Rogers iPhone plans are unfair? Try living in Sweden
Just my luck! Though I should point out that they actually have an unlimited data plan for $33 in Sweden, which is what the big fuss is about. If you consistently go over your alloted data on Rogers (not very hard on 3G), it will easily cost much more than Telia’s plan. Oh, and Telia allows you to use their cheaper non-iPhone plans as well, unlike Rogers.
Nuclear explosions could be key to spotting fake paintings
A Russian curator says she’s developed a foolproof method of determining whether a piece of art was made before or after 1945 as a way of sniffing out fake paintings.
Elena Basner told The Art Newspaper that she has developed a method in collaboration with Russian scientists based on the idea that man-made nuclear explosions from the 1940s to 1960s released isotopes into the environment.
These isotopes, Caesium-137 and Strontium-90, permeated the earth’s oil and plant life and ended up in works of art made in the post-war era because natural oils, usually flax/linseed, were used as binding agents for paints.
“I wanted to find something ironclad … that couldn’t be disputed, and this led me to approach scientists for ideas,” said Basner.
Frequent Fliers Use Markets to Trade Miles
June 29, 2008
Practical Traveler – Frequent Fliers – Practical Traveler – Frequent Fliers Use Markets to Trade Miles – NYTimes.com
ANY traveler who has tried to redeem frequent flier miles for an award seat, only to be thwarted by blackout dates or limited availability, knows that attractive alternatives are hard to come by. You could spend miles for magazine subscriptions, donate them to charity or, in a few cases, purchase merchandise in an exchange that often doesn’t quite add up (17,000 miles for a coffee maker?).
Now imagine a virtual stock market for the eBay generation where the miles and points are currency, and the free market — rather than the airlines — determines the exchange rates. That’s the general idea behind some new online services that have quietly begun testing ways for travelers to leverage unused miles. Such mileage matchmaking services have popped up as airlines, including American, Continental, Delta and United, have been announcing significant capacity cutbacks — reductions that are expected to make frequent flier awards even harder to use when the cuts begin to take effect this fall.
One of the sites, Points.com, has introduced a service called Global Points Exchange that allows travelers to barter miles with one another and set their own exchange ratios (I’ll give you 8,000 American miles for 10,000 of your Delta miles).
Cool idea.
Barack Obama Reveals His iPod Playlist
June 29, 2008
VH1.com : Bruce Springsteen : Barack Obama Reveals His iPod Playlist: Jay-Z, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen … And Sheryl Crow? – Rhapsody Music Downloads
We’ve already learned that President Bush’s “iPod One” is loaded with songs from Van Morrison, George Jones, Joni Mitchell and the Knack. And we’re not sure what is on Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain’s MP3 player (if he has one), but a revealing peek at Democratic candidate Senator Barack Obama’s iPod reveals a playlist that ranges from jazz to hip-hop, pop and roots rock.
For a candidate who has already shown that he knows how to brush the dirt off his shoulder, it’s no surprise that Obama’s playlist includes some Jay-Z tracks, but according to an interview in the new issue of Rolling Stone that hits stands on Friday, Obama is also a big fan of Bob Dylan, Sheryl Crow and the Rolling Stones.
“I am troubled sometimes by the misogyny and materialism of a lot of rap lyrics,” he said, praising Jay-Z, Ludacris and hip-hop impresario Russell Simmons for being “great talents and great businessmen.” “But I think the genius of the art form has shifted the culture and helped to desegregate music. … It would be nice if I could have my daughters listen to their music without me worrying that they were getting bad images of themselves.”
Jay-Z is one of my favourite hip hop artists. +1 Obama!
Though to be honest, I really wouldn’t be surprised if “his playlist” actually comprised of songs carefully selected by his campaign manager to appeal to various demographics. Politics is dirty.
Tour de Stanley Park (Critical Mass Vancouver)
June 28, 2008
I’d hate to be one of those people stuck in their car in the 30 degree heat!
This video was taken at the intersection of Denman and West Georgia.
Critical Mass is a grassroots reclamation of public space — a bike ride and skate — held the last Friday of every month. You are invited to enjoy the safety and comfort in the car-free space that we create by simply riding together! Bicycles, skateboards, rollerskates, self propelled couches, and any other form of human powered locomotion are all welcomed!
North Pole may have no ice this summer: scientist
June 28, 2008
North Pole may have no ice this summer: scientist
WASHINGTON – There could briefly be no ice at the North Pole this summer, a US scientist said Friday, an event that would mark a new stage in the melting of the Arctic ice sheets due to global warming.
“We could have no ice at the North Pole at the end of this summer,” Mark Serreze, a scientist with the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado, told AFP in an interview.
“And the reason here is that the North Pole area right now is covered with very thin ice and this ice we call first-year ice, the ice that tends to melt out in the summer.”
If the ice, albeit briefly, were to break up completely this summer it would be the first time this had happened in human history.
Al Gore will not be happy.
San Francisco to vote on naming sewer after George Bush
June 28, 2008
San Francisco to vote on naming sewer after George Bush – Americas, World – The Independent
Some presidents get carved into Mt Rushmore; others have airports, motorways, and even entire cities named in their honour. But when George Bush leaves office, his most visible memorial may be a mouldering patch of human effluent.
In November, alongside casting their ballot for the next president, the people of San Francisco will also vote on a measure to rename one of the city’s largest sewage works the George W Bush Sewage Plant, to provide a “fitting monument” to the outgoing commander-in-chief’s achievements.
Activists from the Presidential Memorial Commission of San Francisco, a mischievously-named group behind the move, will ask supporters to participate in a “synchronised flush”.
It may sound like a student prank, but the proposal is almost certain to be passed. Democrats usually secure between 70 and 80 per cent of the vote in San Francisco – and in 2006 passed a proposition to impeach Mr Bush and his Vice-President Dick Cheney by a majority of almost two to one.
