10/8/21

Tesla Makes It Official — HQ Is Moving To Austin By God Texas

Yawn! You knew it was going to happen. It was always in the cards and now the hand is dealt. Cards are face up.

First, the Gigafactory for the new Tesla pickup and now this. A couple of other Musk companies along the way.

Austin By God Texas is to be the new home of the Tesla headquarters according to the man himself, Elon Musk — who also moved to Austin earlier last year.

Austin By God Texas, where the world is moving. No income tax, y’all.

But, hey, what the Hell do I really know anyway? I’m just a Big Red Car.

The_Kiss

Austin and Elon Musk, a match made in Texas. Thanks, California.

10/6/21

The Generations — Or, Talking About My Generation

I was getting ready to write a blog post contrasting and comparing the various generations, so I did some research to make sure I had the demarcation lines right.

Turns out it is very complicated. Here is what I have found:

I am ignoring the Lost Generation, the Generation of 1914, and the Interbellum Generation since they would be 106-131 years old today. Sorry. No disrespect intended.

 1. Depression Era Generation, the Greatest Generation – born 1912-21 (my late father’s bunch) – 12,000,000 declining rapidly

 2. World War II Generation – born 1922-27 (some fought in WWII) – 11,000,000 declining rapidly

 3. Post War Generation – born 1928-45 – 41,000,000 declining

The three preceding generations are also called the Silent Generations, the Traditionalists. You can get an argument on that.

 4. Baby Boomers, Boomer Cohort I – born 1946-54 (my gang) – 33,000,000

 5. Baby Boomers II, Generation Jones – born 1955-65 – 49,000,000

Taken together BB I/II totals 82,000,000 making them the largest generation.

 6. Generation X, the Baby Bust – born 1966-76 – 41,000,000

 7. Millennials, Echo Boomers, Generation Y, Gen Next – born 1977-1994 (my children) – 71,000,000 – the second largest generation

 8. Generation Z, iGen, Centennials – born 1995-2012 – 23,000,000

 9. Gen Alpha – born 2013-25

Stay tuned. More to come.

Sleeping Tee

Generation Alpha grabbing a nap while pondering the future, hoping the Millennials don’t wreck the joint while she’s growing up. Loves Boomers — grand parental units — cause they can be talked into anything.

10/5/21

Inflation, The Skunk At The Garden Party

Everybody — meaning anybody with a functioning brain — acknowledges that the scourge of inflation is loose in the land.

The Fed — hats off to these guys for having kept inflation at below 2% for the last 10 years, well played guys — says it is “transitory” meaning it will recede, but they cannot define the driving force that will propel that movement.

Why will it recede? What will drive it back from the gates of the city? What force?

Nobody disavows inflation; they just say it is transitory, will be fine, or ignore it.

Shipping Costs as an exemplar of inflation

So, I did some research and came up with this particular example to underpin my opinion:

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10/4/21

CEO Shoptalk — CEO Self Help, Self Appraisal

I am a huge fan of routine, standard operating procedures, process development/management, and ritual.

I am also a big fan of regular, rigorous Performance Appraisal and, in particular, Boards of Directors appraising the performance of their CEOs, and CEOs demanding an in-depth appraisal by the Board (subset of the Board is fine, try to get someone who has CEO experience on the committee).

Lazy, cowardly Boards of Directors ignore this critical professional development duty. Shame on you.

Pro tip: The methodology, timing, process of CEO Performance Appraisal belongs in any  competent Employment Agreement and professional boards/CEOs have Employment Agreements.

I am not a fan of trendy things like 360 Degree Performance Appraisals — I like bare knuckled, in your face, straightforward performance appraisal.

One of the things I practiced in 33 years of CEO-ing public and private companies, and I preach to CEOs is self appraisal. Nobody judges us as tough as we do ourselves. Think about that for a second.

CEO readying herself for performance self-appraisal.

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10/4/21

Loyalty

Comes to the front of my mind on this bluebird day in Austin By God Texas the subject of loyalty — a strong feeling of allegiance or fidelity to a person or a cause that results in a sense of heightened duty or devoted attachment.

In school, the military, business, and family, I have been exposed to extraordinary examples of loyalty, been the beneficiary of loyalty, been loyal.

The Virginia Military Institute

There is no more loyal bunch of alumni on the planet than those of my alma mater, The Virginia Military Institute.

Stonewall Jackson, former prof at VMI, guarding the parade ground overseeing the Rockbridge Battery (Mexican War, Civil War vets) Matthew, Mark, Luke, John in front of Jackson Arch wherein is inscribed the inspiring phrase, “You may be whatever you resolve to be.”

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09/29/21

Taxing Unrealized Capital Gains — A Truly Bad Idea

Washington DC provides stiff competition when it comes to stupid ideas related to policy, spending, and taxation as regular fare, but the idea to tax unrealized capital gains is a real doozie.

Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen explaining her taxation proposal, “Just give me and Joe all your money. You can trust us to be good stewards. We can spend it better than you.”

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09/28/21

The Debt Ceiling Kabuki Dance

Every few years, the United States rubs up against its mythical “debt ceiling,” a number which must be approved by the Congress to enable the Treasury to use debt to pay our national bills and conducts a ritualistic charade of acting like fiscally responsible adults — a bloody Kabuki dance.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer discussing the debt ceiling in costume of Japanese Kabuki dancers.

The debt ceiling is the maximum amount of money the US Treasury has authority to borrow in the form of bond sales.

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