I bought a Flip Video Ultra
Stumped
Risk mismanagement
I believe the researchers in question work at the Institute of No Shit, Sherlock:
What It Is: 3/31/08
What I’m reading: Desolation Road
What I’m listening to: Odd Couple
What I’m watching: NCAA hoops
What I’m drinking: nothing, after reaching double-digits in Hendrick’s & tonics last week in Philadelphia
Where I’m going: no traveling this week!
What I’m happy about: Amy & Rufus didn’t kill each other while I was away last week.
What I’m sad about: Davidson fell 3 points short of reaching the Final Four. But this post about the sheer joy on display in Western Kentucky’s first-round buzzer-beater win helps me get over the sadness.
What I’m pondering: How to write a convincing evocation of a place I’ve never been.
Cajun style!
I was going to post this column by James Carville just so you could read his defense of his “Judas” reference to Bill Richardson’s endorsement of Obama. I mean, it’s a pretty entertaining read:
Heck, I give myself some credit for managing to get the Clinton and Obama campaigns to agree on something — that neither wanted to be associated with my remarks.
But then I got to the end and was struck by this phrase:
Most of the stuff I’ve ever said is pretty insignificant and by in large has been said off the cuff and without much thought to the potential consequences.
“By in large”? I always thought it was “by and large.” This conversation would seem to confirm that (well, since it’s derived from nautical terminology, they propose “by and larrrrrrrge,” but still), but since my just deserts mistake a few months ago, I’m gunshy. Maybe this is just how you say “by and large” . . . Cajun style!
Any insight on this?
Unrequired Reading: Mar. 28, 2008
Even my conference travels can’t keep me from serving up some Unrequired Reading links to while away your Fridays, dear readers! Enjoy!
Continue reading “Unrequired Reading: Mar. 28, 2008”
Upset Special
Was the Giants’ Super Bowl win over the Patriots as big an upset as Buster Douglas over Mike Tyson? I remember getting the news about Douglas’ win the morning after, and it was as if the earth had started rotating in the other direction.
Outerphex
Sorry for the postlessness, dear readers! I’m down in Philadelphia for the Interphex conference and been busy getting things set up.
I’ve been attending this annual event since 2000 and this is the second time it’s been in Philly; all the other years have been in NYC. Not sure why it got bumped this time around, but hey.
The “fun” thing about these conferences is finding out what state our booth is in. Every company has horror stories about their booth materials (their stand, handouts, etc.) being lost. In this case, all of our things arrived, but the conference administrators forgot to tell the decorating company that we were supposed to have carpeting, two tables, and four chairs. Which is to say, I arrived yesterday to find our stuff — a pop-up booth in its crate and 24 boxes of magazines — sitting in the middle of a 10′ x 10′ concrete square.
So that took a little time to get resolved.
I always marvel at the scene on an exhibit hall floor 12-15 hours before an event begins. It’s absolute chaos, but somehow it all gets put together in time for a 10am opening.
What it is: 3/24/08
What I’m reading:Little Nothings: The Curse of the Umbrella
What I’m listening to: Drunk with Passion
What I’m watching: Blades of Glory, unfortunately
What I’m drinking: Not a durned thing
Where I’m going: Philadelphia, for a pharma conference
What I’m happy about: Getting to see some of my pals down in Philly (both locals and work-friends who I tend to see only at conferences, but would hang out with in non-work scenarios)
What I’m sad about: Being away from my wife and my doggie for a few days.
What I’m pondering: How to describe the multiple levels of messed-up-edness in Sunday’s visit with my uncle, who had bypass surgery a few weeks ago. On the plus side, he seems to be recuperating pretty well. On the minus side, it appears that, in addition to my having to worry about hereditary cardiovascular issues, I’ll also have to be on the lookout for the mental instability that my dad and his brother share.
Mondo Condo
There’s a neat article in the weekend Wall Street Journal about the impending flood in the condo market. It looks like one of those “perfect storm” problems: developers got financing to build a bazillion dream-condos in hip locales a few years ago, but they’re all nearing completion just as the mortgage market is collapsing, real estate prices are dropping and no one knows how much these properties are really “worth.”
The article describes some interesting aspects of the economics of condo-developers, where the money comes from, how much is self-financed, and why it makes little sense for them to convert the units into apartments. But most importantly, it explains why the condo boom couldn’t be stopped:
The rising supply is a reflection of the picture in 2004 through 2006 — a time of huge demand for condos. Speculation was rampant as investors believed empty nesters and young professionals seeking an urban experience akin to what they watched on “Friends” would prop up the condo market for years.
And you wonder why I read all these business and finance articles.