Not A Mystery
Rant
Guess What, ATT Is The New Material Girl
Last week we noted ATT’s whining about a $1 billion [non-cash] charge they were being forced to take because of Obamacare. In fact the new law just eliminated a 7-year old scam allowing them to ‘double-dip’ by taking a tax deduction on healthcare premiums that were actually being paid (for them) by the government. A … Continue reading
Respect For The US Senate, Now An Oxymoron
As we approach April 15th., otherwise known as Tax Day, it’s time once again to mention the staggering corruption of the US Senate, the world’s ‘greatest deliberative body’. For well over three years (!) there has been an attempt to get rid of a loophole in the tax code granting hedge fund managers a lower … Continue reading
There Should Be A Term For Corporate Schadenfreude
Schadenfreude is a kind of personal term. It’s what you feel when someone like Eliot Spitzer stumbles. But how do I feel when an entire industry gets what it deserves? Today the UK Guardian reported that, Vodafone boss Vittorio Colao has warned mobile phone executives about Google’s growing power in the online advertising and search market, … Continue reading
Room With A View, And Then Some
Whenever I check into a hotel I play “Pretend”. I imagine that the hotel’s owners and employees are all on my team, and we are working together to ensure that I experience a great room and a wonderful ‘stay’ experience. Of course this fits the common definition of insanity, where you do the same thing over and … Continue reading
Betting Against The House Is Never Smart
Just when it looked like the financial system is coming back under control I discover that the term “Large Sophisticated Investor” is an oxymoron. When you gamble with the Big Dogs, normal practice is that you have to show your stake and throw some money into the pot before each hand. It’s exactly the same thing … Continue reading
Is That A Pistol In Your Pocket, Or Are You Just Glad To See Me?
Mae West was known for her bawdy quips, such as that famous Pocket Pistol quote. She made this remark in February 1936, at the railway station in Los Angeles upon her return from Chicago, when a Los Angeles police officer was assigned to escort her home. She first delivered the line on film in She … Continue reading
Doesn’t Take Instruction Well
Things have gotten so bad in the world of written instructions, that when I first saw it I thought this book was for real. That was my bad. Of course we all know that nobody writes technical manuals anymore. Every gadget you buy comes with a ‘Quick Start’ guide, written in pictures. Otherwise known as … Continue reading
Watt About The Plugs And Wires?
It’s really not about the power. But everyone thinks it is. From the NY Times we have hand-wringing over the population of electricity gobbling gadgets. The proliferation of personal computers, iPods, cellphones, game consoles and all the rest amounts to the fastest-growing source of power demand in the world. Americans now have about 25 consumer electronic … Continue reading
We Scooped The NY Times, Now It’s Death Bonds V2.0
I’m really proud that we scooped the NY Times by 3 months on a story they published today. And while we called them Death Bonds, the Times’ headline beats around the bush: Wall Street Pursues Profit in Bundles of Life Insurance On the other hand the Times article is very in-depth and up-to-date. When we wrote … Continue reading
Separated At Birth, And Now Reunited!
Turns out I’m glad I didn’t buy an iPhone. Because if I had, Nuvi and Tilt would never have been reunited. Those are funny names for a Sister and Brother combo, but in the world of electronics it’s not at all that freakish. You see, Nuvi (on the left) is the GPS device I purchased … Continue reading
You Book Publishers Think You Are Sooo Intellectual
In a previous post we brought you up to speed on what passes for strategic thinking in the book publishing world regarding electronic editions. Instead of working with distributors like Amazon (Kindle) to develop new business models, the publishers have been screwing their partners by forcing them to sell e-books at a loss, while they increase … Continue reading
