It was probably the Summer of 1987.  In October Wall Street would experience Black Monday, Oliver Stone's eponymously named movie would be released in December, and ID[idn't]GAF.  I remember slowly turning the dial of the boombox trying to pull the signal in from a distant radio station to hear a Yankees baseball game in rural … Continue reading Investing Stranger Things →

Did you ever notice that the monkey in the "New Phone, Who Dis" GIF uses a flip phone?  Anyone remember when it was a big deal to get the wireless provider to hook your old phone and your new phone up to a computer and transfer the contact information?  Were you crossing your fingers that … Continue reading New Phone, Who Dis? →

Each day across cattle country tens of thousands of cows change hands at livestock markets.  The size and the quality of the venues differ, but most facilities contain a holding area to view the animals, a sale ring that the animals enter and exit, and an amplified auctioneer rhythmically chanting the upward march of the … Continue reading Your (Live)Stock Market Is Turning Your Brain Mushy →

Mary Poppins is one of those Disney movies that I vaguely remember watching as a child.  It wasn't one of my favorites, but I probably watched it a dozen times.  The movie was revisited in a sequel of sorts as "Mary Poppins Returns" this month and I had the opportunity to watch it on a … Continue reading Compounding: Perfect In Every Way →

Every town has a handful of barbershops, each with their own brand, rituals, and cultural mores.  Due to the heavy integration of the customer into the service model, there are readily observable operational and economic principles at play and perhaps more so than in other businesses. There are 2-3 chairs with female barbers and the … Continue reading The Barbershop Service Model →