Bonus Bananas Feb 24, 2012
1) The Mystery Monk Making Billions With 5-Hour Energy (Forbes) - Judging by how many WSO members survive all-nighters by using 5-Hour Energy, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the founder's a billionaire. But if you thought Steve Jobs was a hippy, Manoj Bhargava is gonna take it to whole new level for you. That the whole company was essentially an afterthought only adds to the mystique of this billionaire monk.
2) Goldman Sachs P.R. Chief’s Accidental Exit Interview (NY Times) - It's hard for a hack like me to imagine Goldman Sachs without the inimitable Lucas van Praag (or LvP, as he's come to be known) at the helm of their public relations department. At least he's going out with his signature snark and wit intact.
3) For the startup generation, Wall Street loses its luster (USA Today) - It seems Wall Street is no longer the hip place to work for today's kids weaned on tales of Internet billionaires. Even more to the point, folks are walking away from Wall Street gigs to play Start-Up Roulette. Could this be the re-alignment of priorities the country has been looking for?
4) Silicon Valley's dirty little secret: The 'Startup Boom' is a disguised jobs fair for big corporations (ZDNet) - Probably not. According to this ZDNet article, start-ups are being acquired by large corporations not because the corporations are interested in the next big thing. They're being acquired just to put the talented founders to work in the software engineering salt mines of the parent company. Sigh.
5) Stanford had secret fund for bribes, yacht: witness (Reuters) - It scares me how much Allen Stanford and I have in common (aside from the private jets, massive yachts, and the world class cricket pitch on an island paradise, of course). As often happens, a trusted confidant is selling the Texas billionaire Ponzi schemer down the river by revealing the SocGen slush fund Stanford used to pay bribes, keep fuel in his jet, and maintain his yacht. Oh well, Al. We'll always have Antigua.
6) “Never Follow Your Dreams”: Mark Cuban Answers Your Questions (Freakonomics) - The Q&A posts have become such a hit on WSO that I knew you guys would want to see this one. Mark Cuban spends a lot of time answering all kinds of questions in this article, and he has some interesting things to say about Wall Street, taxation, and returning the stock market to its roots.
7) The Internet is a Major Driver of the Growth of Cognitive Inequality (Mother Jones) - This piece is worth reading just for the conclusion: the Internet makes dumb people dumber and smart people smarter. I'm fascinated by what this simple fact will mean to the evolution of our species. Could we be moving towards a race of smart lazy people? (fingers crossed)
8) We, the Web Kids (The Atlantic) - I consider most manifestos a low form of navel gazing, and this one is mostly no different, but it at least brings up some important points. To wit: the Internet is something that happened to my generation, but it is your generation's whole life. And this is what brings a smile to the face of my inner anarchist: this generational gulf could spell the end of all central government everywhere in the next century.
9) Infographic Of The Day: America’s Strange Attitudes Toward Food (Co.Design) - Anyone interested in diet and nutrition will find this worthwhile. It's not going to surprise anyone that Americans on average consume the greatest number of calories on a daily basis (3,770). What might surprise you is that the rest of the Western world isn't far behind (Europe averages about 3,600). But Americans spend less than half as much per calorie as the rest of the world, and that's why we're so fat.
10) BREAKING: Lohse '12 Reports on Hazing, Kim Inaction, D Leaks to Administration (Dartblog) - Okay, Dartmouth, what the fuck? I threw this one in here just for the shock value alone. How many of you Frat Rats had to swim through vomit, urine, feces, and semen and drink beer from another dude's ass crack just to pledge? Horrifying stuff. Thank you, sir, may I have another?
Which brings us to the Video of the Week. If you haven't seen any of The Gentlemen's Rant, go check 'em all out when you get a chance. But that last bit about Dartmouth frats instantly made me think of this video. Enjoy:
That's it for this week, guys. Have a great weekend and let me know what you think about this week's Bananas in the comments. Especially if you're an ass crack sippin' Dartmouth mo.
Comments
Thought this was
Thought this was interesting...
I agree with you. It is a huge problem. We have too many bright grads concentrating on “financial engineering” rather than actually making something and contributing to society. I think we will see tax and regulatory policy that will reduce the incentives and increase the friction for those who “hack” the stock market and focus on financial engineering. Which, in turn, hopefully will incentivize you and others to enter other disciplines.
I am in favor of a “Tobin Tax” which taxes many financial transactions with the goal of returning the stock market to its original purpose of being a market designed to raise capital for growing businesses of any size.
I also think we should increase taxes on carried income earned by funds.
If we can get the stock market back to its roots, then there will be far more capital available to companies of all sizes. That will increase the number of IPOs and secondaries by making it easier for companies to access markets directly, not only creating funding for those companies, but also creating incentives for early stage investors to take risks knowing there is a better chance they can create liquidity through an IPO.
Going public has become an opportunity available to the “1%” of companies with great pedigrees and huge investment funds already in place. We need to open it up to the other 99 percent of companies who need capital to grow.
Some good bonus bananas this week.
"Social cohesion and puritanical morality place roughly on my list of concerns between whether I'll pick up jock itch at the gym this week (not likely, since I don't go the gym) and whether it'll rain in Christchurch, New Zealand next Tuesday."
-Eddie
LOL, Eddie. I just realized
LOL, Eddie. I just realized that you edit the time of your post. I always pictured you staring intently at a stop-watch, making sure that your blog is posted at 8:00am sharp.
Calling Ron Paul an isolationist is like calling your neighbor a hermit because he doesn't come over to your property and break your windows.
Leonidas wrote: LOL, Eddie. I
LOL, Eddie. I just realized that you edit the time of your post. I always pictured you staring intently at a stop-watch, making sure that your blog is posted at 8:00am sharp.
This made me LOL, mostly because that's exactly how we did it for the first couple years before we installed the scheduling module. This post was actually finished on Wednesday.
Holy shit. I have a newfound
Holy shit. I have a newfound respect for Dartmouth.
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Edmundo Braverman wrote: 1)
1) 6) “Never Follow Your Dreams”: Mark Cuban Answers Your Questions (Freakonomics) - The Q&A posts have become such a hit on WSO that I knew you guys would want to see this one. Mark Cuban spends a lot of time answering all kinds of questions in this article, and he has some interesting things to say about Wall Street, taxation, and returning the stock market to its roots.
I stopped reading after "I am in favor of a 'Tobin Tax'".
Cuban wrote: The return on
The return on education investment at a school is becoming less about the quality of education and more about the quality of networking available from that university’s alumni base.
Truer words are seldom spoken.
Dude is incredibly intelligent and much more 'in touch' than I expected.
If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses - Henry Ford
Edmundo Braverman wrote: 1)
1) The Mystery Monk Making Billions With 5-Hour Energy (Forbes) - Judging by how many WSO members survive all-nighters by using 5-Hour Energy, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the founder's a billionaire. But if you thought Steve Jobs was a hippy, Manoj Bhargava is gonna take it to whole new level for you. That the whole company was essentially an afterthought only adds to the mystique of this billionaire monk.
Holy shit this guy nets 300 million on a billion in sales, nice little business.
happypantsmcgee wrote: Cuban
The return on education investment at a school is becoming less about the quality of education and more about the quality of networking available from that university’s alumni base.
Truer words are seldom spoken.
Dude is incredibly intelligent and much more 'in touch' than I expected.
He's right. I assume he has a venn diagram of targets, semitargets, and nontargets with which to reference while debating NPV of an MBA on messageboards
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prospie
The return on education investment at a school is becoming less about the quality of education and more about the quality of networking available from that university’s alumni base.
Truer words are seldom spoken.
Dude is incredibly intelligent and much more 'in touch' than I expected.
He's right. I assume he has a venn diagram of targets, semitargets, and nontargets with which to reference while debating NPV of an MBA on messageboards
Yea...I know he's right that's why I said 'Truer words are seldom spoken'...
If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses - Henry Ford
Nice post EB really enjoyed
Nice post EB really enjoyed these Bonus Bananas Edition
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happypantsmcgee
He's right. I assume he has a venn diagram of targets, semitargets, and nontargets with which to reference while debating NPV of an MBA on messageboards
Yea...I know he's right that's why I said 'Truer words are seldom spoken'...
Yes, I agree. That's why I said he's right.
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Nice bonus. Thumbs up.
Nice bonus. Thumbs up.
Edmundo Braverman wrote: 9)
9) Infographic Of The Day: America’s Strange Attitudes Toward Food (Co.Design) - Anyone interested in diet and nutrition will find this worthwhile. It's not going to surprise anyone that Americans on average consume the greatest number of calories on a daily basis (3,770). What might surprise you is that the rest of the Western world isn't far behind (Europe averages about 3,600). But Americans spend less than half as much per calorie as the rest of the world, and that's why we're so fat.
3770 Calories!? When I was trying to add some more mass, I was averaging 2500 calories. I then realized that the extra fat was ruining my face so I started dieting to shed of the excess fat (at 2000 calories). I looked like shit at 2500 calories; I can't imaging how people who eat 3770 calories every day look.
edit: Oh man, that also means that there are people who eat more than 3770 calories every day. What. The. F**k.
"Have you ever tried to use a chain with 3 weak links? I have, and now I no longer own an arctic wolf."
-Dwight Schrute
Hamilton wrote: Edmundo
9) Infographic Of The Day: America’s Strange Attitudes Toward Food (Co.Design) - Anyone interested in diet and nutrition will find this worthwhile. It's not going to surprise anyone that Americans on average consume the greatest number of calories on a daily basis (3,770). What might surprise you is that the rest of the Western world isn't far behind (Europe averages about 3,600). But Americans spend less than half as much per calorie as the rest of the world, and that's why we're so fat.
3770 Calories!? When I was trying to add some more mass, I was averaging 2500 calories. I then realized that the extra fat was ruining my face so I started dieting to shed of the excess fat (at 2000 calories). I looked like shit at 2500 calories; I can't imaging how people who eat 3770 calories every day look.
edit: Oh man, that also means that there are people who eat more than 3770 calories every day. What. The. F**k.
MInddddddddddd trippppp.
Fuck, I could eat 3500 calories.. no problems.
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@Hamilton The number was
@Hamilton The number was pretty shocking to me too, and I'm a fat fuck. When I was doing the Slow Carb Diet, you're encouraged to have one "cheat day" a week where you can eat anything you want and the more the better. I made it my mission to really knock it out of the park on cheat day, but despite my best efforts I was never able to make it to 6,000 calories for the day, and I started feeling really sick around 4,800.
Now think about that - for the average to be 3,700 a bunch of people have to be consuming ~5,000+ per day. I am a seriously fat fuck but couldn't do it one day a week without feeling sick. That just staggers my mind.
An 'Angus Chipotle BBQ Bacon
If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses - Henry Ford
As a skinny guy 3,500 sounds
Jesus fuck, I'm 5'10", 19
"I'm the luckiest guy in the world, and when I die I want to come back as me."
-Mark Cuban
this has been said elsewhere,
Edmundo Braverman wrote: 9)
Ed, thanks for posting number
I am not cocky, I am confident, and when you tell me I am the best it is a compliment.
-Styles P
eokpar02 wrote: Ed, thanks
labanker wrote: Edmundo
prospie
john2 wrote: You could only
Gentlemen's Rants are some of
"Now watch this drive." -W.
labanker wrote: john2
labanker wrote: Edmundo
"Social cohesion and puritanical morality place roughly on my list of concerns between whether I'll pick up jock itch at the gym this week (not likely, since I don't go the gym) and whether it'll rain in Christchurch, New Zealand next Tuesday."
-Eddie
duffmt6 wrote: This logic
labanker wrote: duffmt6
labanker wrote: duffmt6
"Social cohesion and puritanical morality place roughly on my list of concerns between whether I'll pick up jock itch at the gym this week (not likely, since I don't go the gym) and whether it'll rain in Christchurch, New Zealand next Tuesday."
-Eddie