Skip to main content

Before you jump out of your window, have a donut

Dear Members and Constituents,

It seems one would have to go to a desert island to altogether avoid the stories circulating the financial news media. While I have intentionally tried to tune some of it out, I have noticed a few things.
  • Our stock price has been sliced in half, despite being in one of the industries that should be considered the most shielded from current events. I think this is yet another case-in-point to indicate the stock market is driven more by irrational mood swings (fears at times, exuberance at others) than by efficiency. I consider myself a long-term investor, so I have vowed not to look at my next 401k statement and hope once the panic has settled, people will realize the fundamentals are strong.
  • The government is trying to spend money in hopes it will help. Someone forwarded me an article that looks at the $700 Billion stimulus package as a "cost per homes passed" (which I think is a particularly useful way of thinking of it). If you look at it this way, according to Light Reading, the government is planning to invest $6,250 per Home Passed -- enough to bring fiber optic broadband to every home ($600/HHP) plus solar power to 50% of U.S. homes. Any way you slice it, that's a lot of money (and it better not end-up in the pockets of banking executives collecting "performance bonuses")
  • Gas prices are down. Lowered expectations on economic growth have lowered upwards price pressures on oil. Something good had to come out of all of this.
  • Life goes on. Still eating 3 times a day. Still driving for 25 minutes to get to and from work. Still happy to get home at night and see the wife and kids.

At the end of the day, these are all things I cannot control. Whether I worry and fret about housing prices or enjoy and am grateful for the good things I have. Whether I stress or relax. Whether I glue myself to the TV and watch the blow-by-blow action or tune it out and spend time with my kids. I cannot change the economy or make it better. I can only live my life, do the right things, contribute my grain of sand and hope that in the long-run things will work themselves out.

And so it is with this attitude I go to my first meeting of the day without grabbing my first donut of the morning (Shaun Andrews hired TimeWise --he is off today-- and they are a little late). I expect any minute now there will be 60 beautifully laid-out treats at my desk. Give them a few more minutes and then come on down and do those things you can control. Grab a donut, and don't worry that there will only be 59 donuts (or less) left by the time you get here.

Happy Friday!

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bring your own Geiger counter!

Friends, This week’s news were literally radioactive -and I’m not talking about the fallout from the Trump-Putin summit. I’m talking mutate your DNA-exciting news. I’m talking Marie Curie-worthy news. I’m talking Geiger-counter-tilting news. I’m talking… well, you get the (glow in the dark) picture. A study about a lone wolf collared near Chernobyl and tracked on a long trek spawned the headline “ Could Chernobyl Wolves Be Spreading Mutations? ” While one can be forgiven for envisioning a flying wolf with laser eyes and a green aura about it, the disappointing story basically says most mutations are harmful to an animal’s health -and unhealthy animals are unlikely to travel 250 miles and mate with other wolves, contaminating the gene pool. So, much ado about nothing. The desire to open Rocky Flats (a nuclear weapons facility turned wildlife refuge) to the public has triggered some litigation from an environmentalist group. At st...
Post a Comment
Read more

Donut Doodle Dandy

Dear Members and Constituents, In trying to figure-out Wednesday’s cool-looking Google Doodle ( Jorge Luis Borges’ 112 th birthday ), I stumbled across a list of Google Doodles you’ll never see. This, and a Rockies game later that day, were sufficient inspiration to get my head spinning around what other doodles Google might never noodle? I’m sure you’ll probably have a few ideas of your own, but I was able to come-up with a couple. How about a former Colorado Rockies player whose unfortunate encounter with a moth put him in the news this week? The Matt Holliday doodle might look something like this… Another item which, surprisingly enough, has not been made into a doodle are donuts. Although I was slightly taken aback to find this delicious pastry has not been featured, after the initial disappointment, I decided to take matters into my own hands and take a stab at one (perhaps Google can use it next year for national donut day )… or to celebrate Greek police having “ blown a ho...
Post a Comment
Read more

Gilding the Donut

Friends, Despite writing about donuts (sort of) for over 20 years, I don’t believe in sugar coating, after all, honesty is the best policy. Gilding, on the other hand I’m good with. Take the church of the Society of Jesus in Quito, (AKA La Compañía). Built in fits and starts between 1597 and 1765, the volcanic rock baroque facade conceals a spectacular interior. I had the chance to go inside this week and although I had heard about the gold leaf work inside, the descriptions had not done it justice. The details from floor to ceiling transport you to another world, perhaps that’s the point. If you’re ever there, be sure to visit. And while you’re there stop by one of the many panaderías … if you’re lucky they might even have a donut. Happy Friday!
Post a Comment
Read more