How 2,393 Subprime Loans Become a High-Grade Investment
Roger Lowenstein walks through the credit ratings process back in the mortgage heyday.
April 23rd, 2008
Feet good. Shoes bad.
From New York Magazine, an eye-opening account of why most shoes are bad for you.
Just fascinating. Makes me want to run out and buy a pair of Vivo Barefoots.
April 21st, 2008
Smashing two pigs together
The last quote is priceless:
“Our view of the change that’s occurring in consumer electronics and the movie-rental business is one of convergence,” Mr. Keyes said. He sees Apple Inc.’s stores as an example of “a user-friendly one-stop shop with solutions for the consumers” that could be a model for Blockbuster-Circuit City combination.
Yeah, Apple stores! There’s the future of the big box and corner store synergy! Do it like Apple does! With lower-paid employees…and technology they don’t own…and a horrible balance sheet…but other than that, looking good!
April 14th, 2008
Go Georgetown
Fortune says that Georgetown, Texas is great for entrepreneurs. And who am I to argue? Even though the commute into Austin is not the best part of anyone’s week, Georgetown is still a place where you can live comfortably on a lower income. Housing is cheap, and property tax rates are a full point lower than Austin or Round Rock. (The latter is entirely due to the the abundance of seniors in Sun City that pay into the school system, but whose kids are all grown up.)
The two things I’d love to see in Georgetown:
- A mass transit system to get into Austin, a la Leander’s commuter line to the city. Supposedly that’s an option down the road.
- A buildout of downtown Georgetown residential living. Georgetown’s downtown is experiencing a revitalization, with new shops and restaurants dotting the city square, all surrounding the newly-refurbed County Courthouse. Yet, living “downtown” means buying a $400K Victorian about 12 blocks away. Considering the condo / mixed-use explosion in downtown Austin, you’d think G-town might want to explore some type of residential tie-in with the commercial growth.
March 28th, 2008
When a Movie Theater is not a Movie Theater
Live events are a growing segment of movie theater shows (NYT).
Wonder what took them so long. You mean empty parking lots isn’t a good thing?
March 23rd, 2008
Open Excel 2003 files in a new window
If you’ve ever wanted to compare workbooks side-by-side in Excel 2003, but realized that Windows won’t let you do that easily, there is a workaround to allow that functionality. You basically tell the computer to open a new Excel instance instead of reusing the current one.
Here’s how:
My Computer --> Tools --> File types --> Go to ".xls"
Click "Advanced..."
Select "Open"
Click "Edit"
Add "%1" to the end of the command like so:
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Outlook\OFFICE11\EXCEL.EXE" /e "%1"
Check "Use DDE"
That’s it. Now, when you double click on a file on your computer, you’ll get a new window and a wholly-contained Excel workbook you can drag anywhere. (You may have noticed that there are other commands to change besides the “Open” option. I haven’t messed with these, but that’ll give you something to try.)
One of the disadvantages of this hack is that the Excel instances don’t recognize each other. That’s apparent for things like when you want to copy or move tabs between two workbooks. For them to recognize each other you have to open them in the same Excel instance, which you can do by going to File –> Open within Excel.
February 24th, 2008
Suburbia sucks
This Atlantic article paints a gloomy forecast for the future of suburbs. I think there is some merit to the push into urban living. The article talks about lively streets and constant stimulation in a downtown setting. I also happen to think the idea of living with less space can be seen as a welcome challenge — it forces you to look at all the stuff you’re collected and think, “what do I really need?” We’re a nation of packrats; the new living style just forces the hand.
February 23rd, 2008
Why muni bond insurance sucks
Portfolio Magazine has a thorough and lucid article on what makes municipal bond insurance a complete scam. Too bad I didn’t own Ambac in 2004.
February 13th, 2008
Bernanke profiled in NYT
Check out “The Education of Ben Bernanke” on the New York Times website when you have a chance. It dives into the history of the central bank leaders and concludes that Ben may be in over his head. A fascinating read from Roger Lowenstein.
(Mr. Lowenstein, incidentally, also gave us When Genius Failed, the story of Long Term Capital Managment hedge fund. As far as brainy books go, it’s one of my all-time favorites.)
January 17th, 2008
