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Showing posts from October, 2018

Netflix and Zero Hedge

So this morning I was reading Zero Hedge -- useful and weird source of financial news.  This morning Bill Blain posted that Netflix was a Ponzi scheme. Frankly, I'm not certain that Bill understands what's a Ponzi scheme, nevertheless.  So, there are three funny things in this post:  (1) the aforementioned "Ponzi" scheme idea, (2) that there is both nothing to see on Netflix but that they spend too much money on content, and (3) That what on TV is better than Netflix. Now, a Ponzi scheme involves paying off old investors with new investor money.  Since Netflix provides a service to more than 125 paying customers...not a Ponzi scheme, and since the company is making money (it seems that its net margin is around 10%) then on US$ 12 billion, it's not a bad business. So, its clear that Netflix is not, in fact, a Ponzi scheme (although its good clickbait -- if it was refuted elsewhere). The second issue is content, which I admit is less than fantastic at times

Having dinner with a Texas Republican last week...

You would think that this is the start of a good joke, but it's not, and it showed the level of disconnect when you assume that the meal will be driven by disagreement.  It turns out, like all things to be completely different. The subject (one subject at least) was the confirmation process of Kavanah, who neither of us knows or even knew.  I saw the pictures of his high school photo book -- and I can assure you that we had the same kind (well slightly less crude) in our boys only high school too. Less alcohol than these guys but the same stupid attitude that Kavanah and his friends seem to exemplify. What bothered everyone around the table was his defense last week, and his lies the previous weeks.  I mean if at 17 you are the president of the Keg club -- I can guarantee that you like beer.  Its too much trouble (without a car) to get those things. His best friend in those years talked (in a book he wrote while in a disintoxication cure) on his wild ways was a youth -- with