Peak Disclosure For Your Review
https://improvingfutures.ning.com/blog/peak-dealership-representative-disclosure?context=featured
Looking like a snow day after the storm. While you wait to get back out there click on the link and watch this excellent documentary on Johnny Cash
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Came across this advice this morning, as my mentor said no need to reinvent, one could stay up all night and not say it better, so borrow.... enjoy .. thanks PJF for the inspiration
“What a fascinating modern age we live in…
It is so easy to “learn” or to “know” something. We have the Internet. Wikipedia, Google, YouTube. Want to know something? Just look it up and read. Presto.
Except that, having thus perused an information source does not grant knowledge. In most cases, one does not really learn much either. Certainly not as much as they think they do. Speaking of information sources – look up “Dunning-Kruger effect”. Fascinating.
I touched on people not knowing what they think they know in today’s video. Another way of putting that is that people are blissfully (and to a degree, willfully ) ignorant on a wide range of topics which they have no problem at all spouting off all manner of “truths”. Someone commented today about the family that perished without a fire – although they had obviously tried hard to start one. They evidently had a bunch of used lighters and ferro/magnesium bars about. I know nothing about this incident but it sure seems to me that they may have mistaken gear for knowledge. People do that. They also over compensate with stuff to make up for a perceived lack of ability but then they forget about their ineptitude and reckon the stuff is good enough.
People are also quick to recommend something, or worse, try to correct someone else, based solely upon what they have read or watched on a video. Just because that is their sole source of information does not mean they are wrong in what they say – but it certainly does not make them right. Or knowledgeable. One example that just bugs me is when people watch my videos, see all the trees, and recommend I put together some type of gasifier engine. Yeah, right…
Or like the visitor to Shofar Mountain who went on and on and ON about this perpetual motion machine that would meet all of our power needs and IN FACT, we could build and sell them to others and GET RICH! Some kind of “Tesla machine” that THEY wanted hidden. We could buy the plans for only $2,000 and build one for a couple hundred bucks. We could sell just ONE and be ahead! The guy wouldn’t shut up. So I told him, “Great, since it is a no-brainer money maker – YOU invest the money and build it. If it works, I will buy it from you.”
People do that with the Bible as well. I get comments all the time that go something like, “I heard the Bible says” or, “I’m pretty sure it is written in the Bible”, or worse, “It says in the Bible that…”. When what they think is absolutely not true. My typical response to those is, “Oh, yeah? Where does it say that?”…………………….crickets…………………….
You know who’s advice I value? Someone who is actually doing it. Actually. Doing. It.
My wife was invited along to go to some guy’s mansion house, gardens tour and have lunch. I don’t have a tv and I don’t buy magazines but this guy is evidently “famous” for cooking and growing all of his own stuff and maybe permaculture or who knows what… it was a Girls Day Out and I stayed and watched the farm. The tour was (as reported by my wife) just chock full of these rich (it was expensive and someone else paid for SK), well-coiffed, vapid women, who just ADORED the guy. Who was very gay. They ooohed and ahhhed over the grounds and gardens and home. But SK is a bit deeper than that….. By talking to staff and grounds keepers she learned they guy did not actually live there, he did none of his own gardening, and he paid groundskeepers to not only “do the gardens” but to completely change them several times a year. Fake. All of it. And yet people quote this guy like he is some guru.
I used to get garbage from the Youtubiots about all kinds of things from, “why don’t you pick up your place?” to “why don’t you trim your moustache” – you know, important stuff. And oh, the advice and corrections. From people who never get their soft hands dirty. Spare me.
The tacticool world is another example of people who “KNOW stuff”. Puhleeze. There are so many “gurus” out there spouting stuff they heard (or watched) others say. For those that actually know (ACTUALLY KNOW) – we notice they all make glaring mistakes. Then there are the multitudes that follow the “gurus” and buy all the things. Who have never crawled through the mud, let alone slept in it, with all that cool guy gear and try to tell others “what they need”.
Here is what I encourage you to do: Stuff. Get out there and DO stuff. Try it with what you have. Learn. Really learn. Experience difficulty and failure, then fix your failure and ease your difficulty. Before you recommend a course of action – know what you are talking about. Meaning you have tried this and found it worthy.
Challenge – yourself. Question yourself about why you believe something is so. If you believe the Bible says something – look it up and read it. In context. If you think an interior wall will stop birdshot out of a shotgun – build a bit of wall and shoot it from 6 or 10 feet away. If you think the ideal solution to homestead transportation is a gasifier – build one and commute to work with it or something.
Stop living vicariously through others. If you find a bit of “cool info” – go apply it to YOUR special circumstances. Sure, you may need to modify it – all the better. But instead of watching someone else do “the thing” – why not go do it yourself?
ISYOT,
PJF
……………………
But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. - Daniel 12:4
and then a little CS Lewis reflections
https://youtu.be/ydyCqhzVZVE
https://www.forbes.com/sites/markmurphy/2017/01/24/the-dunning-krug...
Peace, Peace, When There Is No Peace
“They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.” (Jeremiah 6:14)
This indictment by the prophet Jeremiah of the false prophets of his day could easily find a parallel today. The charge was repeated (8:11), so Jeremiah evidently considered it important. The prophet Ezekiel later leveled almost the same indictment against the false prophets of his time: “They have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace” (Ezekiel 13:10).
Almost every person would prefer to live in peace, of course. The word itself has become almost an ironic cliché. Our annual observance of Veterans Day (originally called Armistice Day) wistfully expresses the hope that when the current war is settled, it will be the final war, and thenceforth there will be “peace, peace.” The word “armistice” is from the Latin and means “arms standing still.”
But there is no real peace; there were numerous wars back during Babylonian times and Roman times and medieval times and all times! Even today there are dozens of small “wars and rumours of wars” going on in any given year (Matthew 24:6) and will continue to be so until Christ, the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6), comes back to “speak peace unto the heathen” and to establish His kingdom of peace “even to the ends of the earth” (Zechariah 9:10).
In the meantime, James reminds us of our personal guilt: “From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?” (James 4:1). And Paul exhorts: “Finally, brethren, . . . be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you” (2 Corinthians 13:11). HMM
https://thriveglobal.com/stories/winter-wellness-tips-mental-physic...
https://link.thriveglobal.com/view/5d7ad87cfc942d650ea2204eb1xmk.3l...
Small business of the week: Kickbike company makes “scooters sexy again”
One day, Jordan Crowder was watching Macklemore’s “Thrift Shop” music video with his daughter. As Mack rode out on an old school 80’s scooter, he thought, “I used to rock those!” His mind was blown when found the Finland-based retro scooter company Kickbike.
Crowder teamed up with Dave Nadolski, and they’ve introduced Kickbike to North America. The product is about more than looking cool. It has emerged as a cross-training and rehab tool for athletes. Dogs use the scooters for dryland mushing.
The company recently launched their eCruise Electric Kickbike and is planning races and events. The business is making about $400k a year, with no debt and little marketing.
Crowder’s advice to first-time founders?
"Entrepreneurs sometimes feel as if you need to invent something new, but often times, there is something amazing out there that already exists and just needs the right recipe of people and timing to make it something special,” he says. “You don’t always have to start from scratch."
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Happy Monday, people. First, a big shout out to American veterans on this Veterans Day — thank you for your service.
In totally unrelated news, it’s also Alibaba’s Singles Day — so hold onto your wallets and your PIN codes, people, because Big ’Baba is hoping to crank out more than $30B in sales.
Indiana is rolling out a historic welcome mat for Big Tech. Is it clever… or is it crazy?
Indiana passed a new lawoffering any business that commits at least $750m towards building a data center in the state 50 freakin’ years of exemption from sales taxes, according to a Bloombergreport.
Since most local neighborhood tech startups don’t have $750m lying around, the legislation seems to be a clear effort to lure Google, Apple, or Facebook — all of which have data centers in other Midwestern states — to the Hoosier state.
Other states also offer incentives, but Indiana’s is in its own league
A total of 30 US states offer some kind of deal sweetener to encourage tech companies to build data centers within their borders.
But, in most cases, those incentives (usually tax breaks) expire in 10 years — maybe 15 — instead of a half century.
So the question is: Will Indiana’s offer be worth it?
First, the facts: Since Indiana’s sales tax is 7%, the deal would cost the state a guaranteed $70m in tax revenue (and potentially much more) if a company takes the bait for a $1b center. A data center of that size would also provide local construction companies with millions of dollars worth of contracts.
But, beyond those bare bones facts, opinions differ on the law’s ultimate impact in terms of dollars and sense...
Despite the controversy, other Midwestern states now must decide whether they should offer similar incentives or sit this round out: Michigan legislators are currently debating a proposal to offer data center sales tax breaks through 2055.
So this is either the start of a Midwestern arms race for data center supremacy — or a 50-year headache for Indiana.
Want to read more about tech’s great migration to the Midwest? Check out this Hustle story about life in the “Silicon Prairie.”
Dating app Bumble is acquired, but business is still buzzing
In a deal announced Friday, MagicLab leadership sold their stake in the app company — which owns Bumble — to the private-equity biggie Blackstone. The acquisition highlights Bumble’s growth and profitability.
The deal includes a smart exit strategy
As part of the deal, MagicLab founder and majority shareholder Andrey Andreev will sell his entire stake in the company. Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd will retain much of her stake and become the CEO.
With about 75m users, Bumble is one of the top 10 lifestyle apps in the US. It is widely hailed as a feminist dating app because it’s designed to allow women to initiate all conversations… meaning fewer incidents of unsolicited phallus photos.
Things got weird when Forbes published an exposé this summer revealing a culture of misogyny at Badoo, another Andreev-owned dating app. His divestment in MagicLab allows Bumble to lose the baggage.
Meanwhile, let’s look at seriously sexy numbers
Blackstone earlier this year launched a businessdedicated to growth investing.
But rather than racking up minority stakes in unprofitable companies like Uber and Lyft — a standard investor practicefor the past few years — it is going for majority stakes in companies that can make money. MagicLab is profitable and it sees annual revenue growth of about 40%.
The Blackstone deal values MagicLab at about $3B — a nice bump up from a $1B acquisition offer from Match group. As part of the deal, Blackstone will invest in Bumble, which will allow it to expand geographically and develop additional services.
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Amtrak is finally on track to make a profit (well, almost)
Last week, Amtrak reported an operating loss of $29.8m across its entire transcontinental network of railroads in the fiscal year 2019 — a huge improvement over its $170.6m loss in 2018.
But, even more surprisingly, Amtrak also announced that it’s on track to break even by next summer — which would be a first in the company’s 48-year history.
Wait a second — how has Amtrak never turned a profit?
It all has to do with Amtrak’s strange origins: The company — whose full corporate name is technically the “National Railroad Passenger Corporation” — was chartered by Congress to address declining railroad usage across the country.
So, while the company is technically private, it is also almost entirely owned by the government (and, well, you know how that goes… ).
But, although the company has relied on one continuous government rail-out for 50 years, it could finally straighten out its operation soon.
That’s right: Amtrak has finally achieved ‘economies of rail’
So, how did Amtrak reverse its fortunes?
Amtrak says it has doubled down on its service in the Northeast Corridor (AKA between DC and Boston), which is the only regional corridor where it actually makes money. Elsewhere, the company says it has plans to scale back its long-distance, cross-country trips.
The railway’s expansion efforts have garnered mixed reviews among customers in different regions.
Critics have railed against the company’s plans to cut rural routes, while proponents have gushedover Amtrak’s plush new railcars as just the kind of infrastructural improvements they’d been freighting for.
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