Business

Bidding & the Fifties

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The years after World War II were dynamic.   Dams and libraries, art and  state histories came out  of the depression era alphabet projects; these  were followed by the fifties’ interstate system.   Bridges, highways, infrastructure projects of broad scope connected the fast paced growth of suburbs. The first homes of many baby boomers were strange and temporary. One of my friends lived in a train depot.   We lived in a housing project that had grown up quickly during the war to house the workers for a nearby ammunition depot.   These remain, a half century later housing my aunt and other retirees in cinder block, connected homes.

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Do You Have Any Cheese At All?

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During a recent conversation with a csr from a vendor of mine, things began to get a bit heated.   I had several promises broken to me by the vendor.   They had not sent the stuff to me, and as a result my customer was getting pissed.   I was in danger of losing the entire job, and a customer to boot.   Bad.

I started to try to come up with solutions for the company, since they had none.   Here is an abbreviated version of the conversation.

Me:   Can you sub the item?

CSR:   No.

Me:   When are they expected to be in?

CSR:   Hopefully within a week.

Me:   Unacceptable.   How about looking at other distributors to see if they have some?

CSR:   Can’t do it.

Me:   Come on!   How about giving me a better model for the same price?

CSR:   No can do.

Me:   I need a solution to this problem – pass me up the chain of command.

CSR Manager:   Can I help you?

Me:   Does your company have any cheese at all?


Wise Words on Troubled Times

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Like many, the current events in the financial markets have me a bit dazzled.   I understand a lot more than I did a few weeks ago from reading blog posts, newspaper articles and a small book or two.   I also have been watching CNBC and Fox Business which have had a lot of interesting information on them as well.   But I have a reservation.   Whenever I see a report on CNBC or  soak in a few pixels of  information on a  website I get a certain empty feeling.   I feel as though  I am being played.   These information outlets feed on advertising for their lives, after all.   Blood always leads, even on the financial pages.

The very best thing I have read on the current situation was in the WSJ weekend edition a week ago.   It wasn’t “world ending” stuff, and it was easy to understand and concise.   Several articles in the same edition were excellent.

That said, here is an excellent quote from Blogging Stocks:

In these tough times, the media does it best to convey the impression that it’s really looking out for the best interest of the humble investor.
 
In its September 28, 1998 issue, Fortune’s cover screamed: “The Crash of ’98. Can the U.S. Economy Hold up?” The Managing Editor explained that Fortune was “dedicated” to making sense of the “scary” financial situation.
 
How helpful!
 
I am not trivializing the current financial crisis. I have no idea what the direction of the markets will take in the future. What I do know is the financial media have a vested interest in hyping extreme conditions because it is in their economic interest to do so.
 
Investors can learn from the terrible track record of the media in predicting the future of the markets. They are not a reliable source of information.
 
What are your alternatives?
 
Consider the 80-year history of the markets, which have experienced ten bear markets. Look at long-term risk and reward data. Read books that have peer review, academically tested data supporting intelligent investing principles. There has been a trend by authors of these books to write them in way that is easily understood by everyone…
 
…Ignore the financial media, unless you find it entertaining.
 
The big wooden horse the Greeks gave the Trojans was not a gift. Neither is the information provided with such confidence by most of the financial media.

The article is appropriately named Kissing Cousins:   The Wall Street Collapse and Media Hype.

The Recent Financial Meltdown Explained

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You can find a very good FAQ on the subject here.

TJIC wrote an even pithier explanation that is also worth your time.

A Strange Conversation

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I received a confirming email from a hotel in Atlanta. I am staying there next week on business. It mentioned the amenities of the hotel, including “in-room workouts”. Being the fitness freak that I am I went to the hotel’s website to figure out what exactly that was – but no dice, nothing there on the subject.

Why not workout in my room instead of the workout room, right? My other thought was that I could hire a personal trainer for a short period of time that may come right to the room for some strength training. I figured it would be good to get another person’s opinion of my workouts and to possibly show me some pointers. So lets call the hotel to see what it is about.

Me: Good afternoon. I am calling to  find out  what the in-room workout is. I saw it mentioned  on my confirmation and couldn’t find anything about it on your website.

Hired Help: Oh, that means that you have a treadmill in your room.

Me: Is it extra money?

HH: Yes sir, and we have only two of these rooms in the entire hotel.

Me: Doesn’t sound like it would be worth it, I guess I can walk down to the workout room.

HH: Yea, most people do. Only extremely obese people usually request the treadmill in the room.

Me: OK, thanks for the info.

Cross posted at LITGM.