Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Getting Things Done

Most of the books about productivity I have read recently have treated the symptoms of the wandering mind, rather than the cause. For example, meditation is said to give you better focus. But why is your mind so pre-occupied to begin with? Because you have a lot of shit to do! Getting Things Done treats the cause of your lack of focus, by organizing you so that your mind is relaxed because it realizes it doesn't have to pump you with reminders all the time.

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Automated Scuttlebutt

In addition to receiving alerts when companies in your portfolio issue filings or have transcripts, you can now receive alerts whenever a webpage related to your company is updated. There is now a 3rd category of notifications available in your company portfolio on conferencecalltranscripts.org. It's called "Other", and you can use it to track anything from company presentations to 3rd party data about the company, or even to see if there have been changes to a company's job board. For this reason, I call it "automated scuttlebutt".

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

The Making Of The Atomic Bomb

The weapon that can destroy humanity had a rather innocent beginning, with James Rutherford's genius experiments which demonstrated the existence of the atom, which no microscope is strong enough to allow us to see. In The Making Of The Atomic Bomb, Richard Rhodes takes the reader on a journey from the beginning of the identification of the atom to the massive destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Friday, July 10, 2015

The Critical Chain

As a huge fan of EM Goldratt's The Goal, I thought I'd give another book of his, The Critical Chain, a go. I was not disappointed.

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Confidence Game

Several years before the credit crisis, Bill Ackman warned investors that the large bond insurers, MBIA in particular, were taking on too much risk. He started shorting the stock and talking about the company's problems to anyone who would listen. He was attacked by many, including MBIA management, regulators who don't appreciate the role of short-sellers, and the media. He was eventually vindicated as his predictions turned out right and he generated an incredible profit as a result. In Confidence Game, Christine Richard tells this story.

Friday, July 3, 2015

Karsan Value Funds: 2015 Q2 Results

Karsan Value Funds (KVF) is a value-oriented fund, as described here. Due to securities regulations, the fund is not open to the public at this time. Should that change in the future, there will be an announcement on this site.