Another Blog Recommendation

Interesting post on Iran here, with some pictures. Good stuff, no? The entire blog is worth a look-see.

Warren Buffett on Sex

Warren Buffett on sex...yup, you read that right. See here for more.

On selling your business to Berkshire vs. private equity: You can sell it to Berkshire, and we'll put it in the Metropolitan Museum; it'll have a wing all by itself; it'll be there forever. Or you can sell it to some porn shop operator, and he'll take the painting and he'll make the boobs a little bigger and he'll stick it up in the window, and some other guy will come along in a raincoat, and he'll buy it.

A Puritan, he's not.

Quote of the Day: Cesar Chavez

Cesar Chavez: "I am convinced that the truest act of courage, the strongest act of manliness is to sacrifice ourselves for others in a totally non-violent struggle for justice. To be a man is to suffer for others. God help us to be men."

A Great Day

I am having a really good day today. I don't know about other people, but here's my idea of a great day:

1. Slept in. Woke up at 9:00AM. Turned off alarm, slept till 10:00AM.

2. Family contact. Spoke with grandparents in another country using Skype.

3. Body massage. The masseuse was late, so they gave me a foot soaking for free. Total cost, with tip: only fifty dollars.

4. Good food. Went to Red Mango frozen yogurt and had their original and pomegranate flavors. Then, went to this new Belgian Chocolate Cafe and had a three flavor hot chocolate--white, dark, and milk--made from melted chocolate.

5. Consumption. Enticed by a free sample sign from Aveda, went in, tried a bunch of stuff, and bought a great mint-scented shampoo for 28 dollars (large size). Got two free samples. Was offered a shoulder rub as part of the consultation, but declined. Left thinking that Aveda knows how to run a good business.

6. Satisfying work. Returned some phone calls pro bono, helped out two people over the phone, including one really interesting person from Santa Monica, CA.

7. Sports. Looking forward to coaching my 4th grade Campbell Community Center team tomorrow morning.

8. Movies. Have a Netflix movie at home, looking forward to watching it.

One sort of bummer moment: lots of NBA games going on tonight, but none of them on networks I have access to--except for Golden State v. Charlotte. Stephen Jackson returns tonight to the Bay Area. Can't wait to see how the fans treat him.

Next week, I have tons of stuff to do, but today is a good day. If I really wanted to make the day perfect, I'd get a steak, but I don't want to overdo it. Perhaps another time.

Facts of the Day: Saudia Arabia

Saudi Arabia's influence: in mid-2009, Saudi Arabia held 395 billion American dollars. Saudi Arabia also has oil reserves of 267 billion barrels.

Taxation and Defense Spending

I really enjoyed Donna G's comment on The Economist's message board:

The American people are insane when it comes to the subject of taxation, and that is why our deficit is so huge. Kind of hard to reason with crazy people who generally don't understand math or money either. All you have to do is plant the seed in people's minds that their hard-earned money is going for some lazy, no-good shiftless person and they go nuts when their money is really going to defense contractors. But wait, that might be the same thing.

John McCain voted against the most recent defense spending bill, as did Russ Feingold. At least we have two honest Senators. Now we just have to work on the rest of them. Sigh.

Interesting Article on Muslims in America

H. D. S. GREENWAY has an excellent article on Muslims in America. See here for more.

The worst we could do as a society is to overreact, to make American Muslims feel they are a not one with the rest of us; in effect, to take the American flags off their front lawns.

Common sense? From an American journalist? Shocking, my lad.