Digital Revolution Video of the Day

During a recent show, Steven Colbert of Comedy Central's Colbert Report taped himself fighting with a lightsaber in front of a green screen background.  He then challanged his fans to edit the background and upload the video to YouTube.com.

Today's video is one of those entries, inspired no doubt by a certain tech company's advertising.  I hope you enjoy it.

Digital Revolution Video of the Day

Here is today's video, how many have you read?

Digital Revolution Video of the Day

Here is today's video, it's called "Slo-Mo Home Depot". I hope you enjoy it.

Cody in FT: Inside curve: Waiting for the noise pollution to die down

Digital Revolution Video of the Day

Hello readers, my name is Jonathan. While Cody is on vacation this week, I will be posting a "Digital Revolution Video of the Day". I hope you enjoy them.

Today's video shows a man solving a Rubik cube ... in 26 seconds ... using one hand!

CW on RM: The Wisdom Found in 'What if'

The Wisdom Found in 'What if'
08/25/2006 1:19 PM

What if I go fly fishing and camping in the mountains of southern Colorado next week and never come back to New York City? What if I could just let go of all the stress and pressures that come with running a fund in public to boot?

I'd have thought going to cash and subsequently being pleasantly surprised by a market collapse would alleviate some of the constant stress that comes with running other people's money. I'd have thought catching a big move in my Microsoft calls and further distancing myself from the market would help that omnipresent stomach knot that I whine about sometimes in these pages. I'd have thought that taking a break from being mostly aggressive in the market for the last 3 1/2 years of running this fund would have made this summer less stressful than last summer was.

And you know, I suppose that's all true to some extent. As I've outlined before, the pain that comes with persevering through the drawdowns -- especially big ones like I had last summer -- is brutal and horrifying. And I'm not brutalized (well, by some of my readers I am, but what's new there?) or horrified this summer.

But it's still stressful, isn't it? What if the market takes off while I'm still mostly in cash and Mister Softee? What if Mister Softee blows up? What if I start putting some money to work and immediately get crushed?

It reminds me of that ol' Marvel Comics series that I loved as a kid, What If, although it explored past events for characters, such as Captain America winning the 1980 presidential election.

I often think of that series when I write my "What's on My Mind" pieces on Friday afternoons, such as when I recently wondered what the setup would look like if Greenspan were still Fed chairman instead of Ben Bernanke.

We as investors always need to ask ourselves "what if." That analysis helps us determine our own risk/reward and can give perspective, such as the differences between Greenie and Ben.

It's an important tool, and while I wish that asking "what if" didn't stress me out like it does, I will, unfortunately, be asking myself that question constantly next week. I hope to have some new answers when I get back.

See you Sept 5.

The West Coast Blog Mafia

I'm gonna have to do more work on this idea, but is anybody else about as sick of what I call the "West Coast Blog Mafia" as I am?   If you're a blogger, you know what I'm talking about. 

Maybe I'm paranoid, as it's true that I like my independence and I certainly like to strive to rail against whatever I perceive to be "the system" (meaning pretty much any of "the system"s that exclude outsiders, free-thinking, etc).  The West Coast Blog Mafia all link to each other and high-five each other and affirm each other's brilliance, you know?   And, like all mobsters -- you're either in their mafia or you're not.

It's sorta' heartbreaking to see a "system", a "clique" or as I call it here, a "mafia" developing in what's supposed to be a wild west, meritocratic blogosphere.  But it is what it is.  And it's a shame.

That Addictive HD

I often write about how we'll eventually be able to "pull" whatever content we want off the net rather than having to let the centrally-controlled powers-that-be "push" that content to us.   Most of that video content that we "pull" off the net at Youtube.com and what not is not exactly HD. 

That will change over time, but in the meantime, I don't know if you guys realize it, but HD really is pretty awesome.  We've got a 102" DLP HD projector from InFocus in my office and I've got a 42" Plasma Panasonic at my apartment.  One thing I've noticed is that I can't hardly watch non-HD on my cable systems now.  Might as well watch YouTube. 

I think I've seen 10x more Discovery Channel in the last couple months than I'd seen in the rest of my life combined.   Sharks, tigers, even just clips of the Grand Canyon, which my father and I almost died in once in a bad idea camping trip back in college -- it doesn't matter, you just can't take your eyes off it.

A New, Improved MetroCard

For a while when I lived in Harlem, it was a good thing I had a bicycle, because there were a few periods of time when I ran out of money for even a subway until I got my next paycheck.   Since 9/11, I rarely ride the subway.  It seems that when people were running around in panic after the planes hit and I was surrounded these masses, one of my primary fears was to lose control of where I was headed.   Crowds in a panic are scary things, and it terrifies me to picture being underground when the next attack hits NYC (which hopefully will be many years from now, but who knows.)   

But anyway, here's an idea that came to me when I was with my pop going to meet my mom and an ex-girlfriend a while ago.   I suppose I could try to monetize the idea, but what the hell, Andrew Lanyi taught me long ago that pro bono (while cynically never really pro bono) is good thing.

Why don't they print the subway map on the back of each MetroCard?  Even if just the subway map of Manhattan, it'd still be great to have right there on the back of the Metro Card.   It'd fit pretty nicely. 

And on the front?   How about selling advertisement space instead of that stupid yellow MetroCard and MTA logo?   Create more revenues and help lower prices for the taxpayers who get screwed by having to subsidize the MTA and then pay $2 to use the subway or bus.

I think it'd work.  Too bad bureaucrats never try to help the people they purportedly help.

Best Damn Rehash Ever

Tonight's question:  Who's dominated by group think more -- TV producers or hedge fund managers?

Don't these sports shows always drive you crazy with how conservative these guys always are with their picks.  Tonight I happened to flip to the Best Damn Sports Show Ever and for the first time damn time ever, I actually made it through more than like 30 seconds of the pointless banter since they were doing a Top 50 Best Finishes Countdown.   After they got to the top five, I could pretty much name each of what was going come up.

And #1?  Yeah, REAL shocker that "The Play" kickoff return from Cal v Stanford was.   Not that it's not an absolutely thrilling play, but come on.  It's not like there was some championship on the line or something.  If you're going to put a show together like this, how about shaking it up a little bit?   To copy the same list as every other greatest finishes ever is pretty much pointless.   

PS.  How bad are these "Who's #1" shows on ESPN Classic?  The concept is great, but those stupid jazzy raps are so cheesy it's insulting.  And the only footage they ever show is of interviewed people and photographs of whatever they're talking about.  Hey, producer -- you do realize we watch TV to see video footage?   Thank goodness the content revolution will put these incompetent producers out to pasture once and for all.  Too bad that's still years away.