Category Archives: Uncategorized

06/22/23

The Three Horsemen: Discipline, Risk, Regret

If you are pondering your future — who isn’t? — allow me to introduce the Three Horsemen: discipline, risk, regret.

You will harness and ride some or all of them in your life and they are both your loyal friend and vicious enemy depending upon how you create the relationship.

Discipline

There is no success in life without harnessing discipline. If you tell me you are out of bed by 5:30 AM and regularly plan your own future, I would buy stock in you without the necessity for us to even meet. Continue reading →

06/7/23

The Bonesaw Golf Tour — Sportswashing Works?

The Professional Golfers Association of America, the 1916 creation of one blue blooded Rodman Wanamaker of Philadelphia to professionalize golf — actually it is the PGA Tour, not the Professional Golfers Association of America — has been locked in a controversy with its nascent rival, the LIV Tour since its inception two years ago.

In fact, they were engaged in anti-trust litigation instigated by several golfers (talking to you, Slim Shady Mickelson) with the litigation joined by LIV.

It was a nasty spat. Continue reading →

06/2/23

The Impending Ukrainian Counterattack

The Russians threatened a year round attack on Ukraine promising a robust winter offensive that failed to materialize and what fighting did occur took a bloody and disproportionate toll on Russian combat power. Essentially, the Ukrainians gave up little to no territory and exacted a massive price in Russian blood.

The Russians, during the winter, unleashed a terrific missile attack nightly on Ukrainian civilian targets that has been substantially negated by the addition of Western anti-air assets, most particularly the US Patriot missile system.

The Russians used hypersonic missiles that were routinely defeated by the Patriot thereby piercing the bubble of Putin’s braggadocios invulnerability. Continue reading →

05/18/23

The Debt Ceiling Faux Crisis 2023 Edition

It is that time of the political cycle to pretend we have a debt ceiling crisis. The sky is falling!

Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen — who has been wrong on every substantive issue thus far including her huge boner on “transitory” inflation — says the government will run out of money on 1 June, so we have a crisis!

OK, so I blew it on inflation, but we do have a debt ceiling CRISIS! Trust me. This is my serious look.

Continue reading →

05/3/23

You, sir, are a bloody fascist!

The other day I had an amiable chat until the chap says, “You’re a bloody fascist!”

“Truly?” asks your Big Red Car.

“Yes. You’re a bloody fascist.” No exclamation point this time.

“What exactly is a fascist in this context?” asks your BRC.

The chap could not really enlighten me. Deer in the linguistic headlights sort of dumbfounded look.

I then conduct an experiment and ask pals of mine from both sides of the aisle, “What is a fascist?”

Blank stares and one good overview of Benito Mussolini’s bio. Continue reading →

05/2/23

CEO Shoptalk: Pace

Everybody is working 24/7 and fast as Hell — right?

Is that the most effective way to successfully run a business — startup or otherwise?

The answer is: it depends. It depends on a lot of things, but generally the answer is a resounding NO!

In Chinese dragon boat racing, pace separates the winners v the losers.

Continue reading →

04/17/23

In The Company Of Good Men — VMI Class of 1973, 50th Reunion

The test of every relationship is this:

Does it inject energy into your existence; or, does it hijack, kidnap energy from your life?

This is true of personal friendships, marriages, business alliances, employees, mutually owned vacation homes, hunting leases, co-oped airplanes, and all situations in which we flawed humans engage with others of the species.

It took me some time to discover and understand this, but it has served me well for many years. I consider it revealed wisdom.

Which brings me to the subject of wisdom itself. I have said this before:

Wisdom is the exercise of good judgment over a protracted period of time. It must be earned.

Good judgment is the product of experience. It must be done.

Experience entails the exercise of much bad judgment. It must be endured.

Continue reading →

03/17/23

Inferior Russian Tanks

We wrote about the numbers of Russian tanks back in December 2022. That blog post is here:

Russian Tanks By The Numbers 

Since then several things have happened:

 1. The Russian spring offensive began with attacks in southeast Ukraine and the continuing assault into the Bahkmut meat grinder where the Russians take seven KIAs for every one KIA for the Ukrainians.

This is the essence of a meat grinder.

 2. The Russians — even elite units — and the mercenary Wagner Group — powered by criminals — have made small progress, but appear to have taken a “tactical respite” for a couple of weeks.

The Ukrainians are doggedly defending and buying time for their own Spring/Summer dry land offensive.

 3. The US/NATO/West has promised Ukraine modern main battle tanks — Abrams M1A1, Crusaders 2s, Leopard IIs and others.

Deliveries are now happening.

Abrams tank — looking for work — arriving for deployment in Ukraine.

 4. The Russian tank situation has gotten worse from the perspective of raw numbers, tank crew training, and opposition. Continue reading →