Consumer spending came back with a vengeance this year, and the economic collapse I expected did not occur. I think we’ve merely pushed it further into the future, every investment professional I know of is concentrating on real assets and resources. This tells me confidence is low in the U.S printing press.

I’m amazed that Douglas Spink was the most searched for term on this site this year…

Looking at my list from last year I can find a few things that I don’t feel differently about; this is a fact of which I am most proud. (the exceptions mainly are #7 in Vegans being morons, and #3 – Scotch being the drink of lions, of course!)

10. To become a man of principals, you must actually live them, rather than just know of them. I was confronted with a lot of decisions this year, many in which I felt divided. Staying on task in regards to my vision of the future, (like Captain Picard ) even when it requires hardship, I believe is the path I’ve been able to maintain. In corollary, what I say is irrelevant when it differs with my actions.

9. I am excessively sensitive, and at times selfish. Very seldom insult people with sincerity because of this fact. I pay a great deal of attention in how I address people, and how I am addressed. It annoys me when people tell me I should be so. I view sensitivity in this context (within the limits of good reason) as a heightened, and evolved sense. It seems the most advanced animals on the planet have the most developed sensitivities.

8. The more virtuous action in regards to human relationships is to be honest as early as possible, delay in any fashion only causes a greater amount of harm in at a later day. This is a large contrast to my previous notions of simply being kind and not expressing my feelings when they conflict with my actions. I have learned that is responsible to inhibit myself from interaction with others that I have no desire to continue for the long term. This was another huge one for me, as I have realized that a large part of maturity is the ability keep communication and action in accord.

7. While scotch is the drink of Lions, Wine is libation of Emperors. I suppose I have always known this, however this year I returned to my passion for grapes in building a private collection.

6. One of the most attractive qualities to me in anyone is to be a hard worker. I am most stimulated by those that I respect. If someone works in a capacity that I don’t find admirable, yet if they are a hard worker, I can still respect them to some degree. Furthermore, you can tell a great deal about a person from the books they they do, or do not read, the media they consume.

5. Art is communication and expression through emotion. I realized this staring at Chaos and Classicism at the Guggenheim (or maybe I read it somewhere…). I think there are people who prefer to communicate primarily through emotion, which is difficult for people like me, who prefer and cherish information. To me, the size, scope, mass, range, and potential of an object is far more fascinating than what feelings it evokes.

4. As I believe everything is temporary, I don’t particularly care for things that are purely based on the opinions of others. There are various exceptions to this, yet things like fashion to me are vapid and not terribly interesting. That said, I have taken the criticism to heart that all I wear are black t-shirts and jeans, recognizing that it is completely true. I talked about this last year… I think the problem is I’d much rather spend my money on artisanal cheese and wine than something to wear.

3. The fear of total economic collapse (on a personal level, as anyone who knows me knows I spend a great deal of time thinking about the apocalypse) that I’ve harbored for a long time now I think is largely subsided. Even in my frequent extended vacations I yearn to get back to some type of work. I think that this will ensure I am never broke, or without good charcuterie.

2. My fascination has always been with the restaurant, and within the restaurant lies my future. I plan on opening my own as well as producing my own wine.

1. There is a feeling that lives in Los Angeles, even in the crammed, over-crowded strip malls, or the vast deserts of the valleys you can feel it. People here want to be happy, and it is infectious. I never thought, as I do now that I would judge other places to live in what i’d have to give up in leaving L.A. I think the near future for this country is a more secular one, I visit other parts of America and I am amazed at how different “the middle” is. How much they like Fox News, Jesus, and carbohydrates. How unhealthy, overweight, uneducated, and parochial they are. I think I will stay on the outskirts for the foreseeable future.

I do have things to say however. All I listen to these days is Jazz music, the participants are as fascinating as the sounds they create. Andrew Hill, with songs like Passing Ships, and Siete Ocho; for me there are no better soundtracks to the time I spend alone. Eric Dolphy, someone whom I simply could not understand has become an enigma unraveled with songs like Hat and Beard, to me it sounds as if the two lobes of the brain are arguing in and out of disharmony. Lee Morgan doing Since I fell for you.. I could go on and on.

Mixology is a new interest. There is something very cool about pouring through a strainer into a martini glass, having the liquid come to a stop at the perfect position. The martini bar in my room is under construction. Old movies remain a perennial favorite. Watching Ben Hur again, I was amazed at all of the religious propaganda that sullied the story. Yet I still found it magnificent… the towering orchestra, flooding the scenes with emotion. I wonder, in a time where sequels and 3D movies rule the day if acting will ever achieve great levels again. Just to listen to the dialog and how superior it was.

I was watching Meet the Press and Joe Klein made a comment that I found profound. He referred to the evolving zeitgeist of the current age, that for the first time in American history we fear that the world we bequeath to our children will be inferior to our own; that the future does not look bright. This long has been a tenet of my ideology, why I feel that we must be prepared for the outcomes before they arise. Tony Blair said that history of the next century shall no longer be written nor remembered through the lens of Western civilization.  I think we are at a turning point.

In general, and with rare exceptions, the returns in love situations are roughly proportional to the amount of time and devotion invested. The amount of love you get from an investment in love is correlated, if only roughly, to the amount of yourself you invest in the relationship.

Roughly indeed. I often question ideas like love and their universal acceptance. From an analytical standpoint, can one truly believe in love if there is little evidence for it other than brain waves? I feel the similar about karma. Why should I believe  if I don’t have any proof, if there is nothing to measure, no correlations? I don’t seek to marginalize feeling and emotion, yet I have a tenancy to disbelieve anything without proof. To me, if someone can put an electrode to my head and produce love, then maybe what we think of as love is something else, a byproduct of evolution designed to make us a more successful species.

I recently engaged in some pretty spirited conversation about the subject of morals/ethics. Can there exist a universal standard of what is ethical or moral? I love love love the TED talk regarding the subject because it argues yes in a scientific way. I don’t like how individuals argue that we should be tolerant of other ideals simply because other people hold them sacrosanct. As Aristotle would urge I agree we must entertain all thoughts, yet I think a line should be drawn at behavior / ideologies that are shielded from reason and the scythe of the scientific method simply because they are traditional.

Bottom line if an idea / belief/ practice is irrational it should be reevaluated. Rational by who’s standard? Science. There can be no other standard.

I can usually tell a good deal about how well i’m going to get along with someone by the way that they eat. I especially dislike those that have “food texture” issues; I cringe when I hear someone say they don’t like the texture of something. I’m all for critiquing food with a scalpel, however to reject on these grounds in my eyes is akin to disliking a wine because of it’s bottle. In reading a recent NY Times article about Cilantro, it is clear that the brain chemistry makes itself known through preferences in appetite and taste. I almost always get along with gastronomically advanced individuals, as diverse a group they usually are. Picky people I find a perverse, handicapped group. It makes poor sense to me to raise children on a “Children’s Menu.” It is no secret I am a large human being, and I credit my health and rapid development on adequate nutrition, as opposed to pasta with butter and salt. Such behavior I feel leads to obesity, malnutrition, and a general lack of dietary intelligence.

Yet for me it goes a step further; picky people are the first to perish in an evolutionary bottle neck.

Why should I care what other people eat? Well, I suppose our ancestors were thinking the same thing about 70,000 years ago when the Toba Catastrophe occurred. I’m sure they were eating whatever they could find after such an event. Evolution is adaptation, and true while most of the changes we undergo are done at the molecular level, I believe that we must force ourselves to try new things – all the time. A step further would be to understand why we dislike the things we do. I mean come on, everyone likes the taste of meat – you’ve just convinced yourself you don’t. Otherwise a volcano will erupt rendering chicken fingers poisonous and leaving celery the only surviving crop. A great deal of people won’t make it.

– John Maynard Keynes

I like to take fairly complex issues and break them down into simple truths. This process in mathematics is called forming a proof. A proof is based upon a series of accepted and demonstrable truths called axioms. In economics, the most valuable information is often found in analyzing past data, as the future is based upon far too many variables. It does not take a Ph.D however to see that we are venturing on a precipice in American history with various parallels, yet few equals.

In this country we approach almost 400% debt to GDP ratio, i.for every dollar we earn we already owe 4. I’ve been talking to a great number of people regarding their thoughts on the reformed health care system, how great it is, how we should be more like Europe, Canada, etc. I tend to agree. It would be great to have free, universal health care. Yet when I pose the question, should a person earning 100k have the same level of health care as a person earning 20k and people answer yes, I sense a fundamental misunderstanding of capitalism.

Capitalism empowers the individual, not the society. It enables the individual to provide for himself, whereas Socialism empowers the society to provide for the individual. Personally, I would rather be empowered to provide for myself, and in the current system I am unable; yet the solution for me is not to scrap the whole system. I am less concerned with which system we use, and I doubt it means a fundamental shift in our economy.  The simple point I make is that we can not afford it.

People forget that we as a country are on paper insolvent. We are not China, who has billions of dollars in reserves in several different currencies, increasing by the minute. We are America, who almost every week have to auction off billions of dollars in debt to finance our economic activity. If we look at Greece (and Portugal, Spain, and several other countries.) We can see this process isn’t going well.

Lets look at some axioms: We are posed for the largest tax increase in history come January 2011. While research shows that a tax increase has a 3x negative effect on GDP. Unemployment is at an unsustainable high. The government buys mortgages in large pools to keep mortgage rates low. They have signaled they are going to cease this.

So what does the future look like? We are broke, we are unemployed, and we have high taxes (we are Europe?). At least we have great health.

Will it truly be cheaper to change course now, because in the long run it will cost us less per capita? Forgive my morbid ending, however I am reminded of this article of wisdom.

“In the long run we are all dead.”
– John Maynard Keynes, A Tract on Monetary Reform, 1924

Apple makes computers for people that don’t understand computers. I make this claim and people jump up to argue with me because they are in love with the clean intuitive design, the ease of use, the lack of viruses, the innovate interfaces.. I could go on. As far as the computer goes, that is simply window dressing. Apple makes people fall in love with the whole so that they are able to neglect the parts, after all, who cares about the chipset or the mainboard? People who understand computuers.

Obviously I’m stereotyping here, because there are some uber geeks that use Apples, but ask your average Mac user what chip set they are running, what speed their RAM is,or how their hard drive is setup and you will receive and answer like, “Oh, I have a MacBook Pro, the new one.” The migration to Cloud Computing is leading to a vast ignorance in regards to computers. It is application ready, press the button and start using applications. Most people simply don’t know how a computer works, they just know how to use it. Apple covets and breeds users, endlessly trapped in the upgrade cycle.

This was a different argument completely back when Apple was utilizing a completely different architecture all together (one vastly superior for multitasking actually), but it all changed when they began sourcing the same semiconductors as PCs. Most call it the Apple Tax

The MacBook Pro situation is worse, especially when you factor in the oh-so-viable option of a $1700 last-gen MBP delivering the same basic performance as the current $2500 model. But even when you consider the $2000 config against the $2500 one, the pricier one holds more value: Double the RAM, video memory, L2 cache and more storage/speed. It’s almost dumb to get the $2000 one. Except for the fact you’re now talking about a $2500 computer. – Gizmodo

I can take a PC and build it exactly how I want it hardware wise. I can upgrade it, I can overclock it, I can mod the case, I can control everything. I simply cannot do this on a Mac, and I am going to pay more for it because it comes prettier (out of the box).

If you look at the history of Apple, you can see that it was started by Hackers. People that had limited funds and extensive know how, who were interested in developing machines for others who understood computers. They used to even include the schematic of the entire computer when you purchased it! Now it is different, if you try to change anything the warranty is voided. At this point, you can find people who understand computers using both Apple and Non-Apple operating systems just because they are both so prevalent – however many of them are using hackintoshes (custom built PCs running apple software).

Calling oneself a geek or a hacker used to have an air of elitism to it. You had to take time to read manuals, understand the software limitations and abilities; you had to actually learn. Now the applications are so easy to use, anyone can create a song, make a movie, start a blog. It is genius when you think about it, they have been able to expand to every demographic of user with one exception, people who understand computers.

10. I’m not against breast augmentation as I was a few years ago. These days I think it is your body, do what you want with it. I can respect that.

9. To focus much more on happiness rather than the future, success, or money is healthy. Naturally because of my personal evolution, like my friend Kram, financial independence is and has always been a huge goal for me.

8. I was telling the other day about how much I used to pray, and how religious I was. Casting off this illogical coil has been a huge benefit to my mental well being. I try to control my disdain for those that believe in creationism, and it has become less of an issue, like a parent who’s child believes in Santa Claus.

7. Vegans are morons – and their argument is seriously flawed. . Just because pigs have teeth similar to our own or factory farming is terrible does not mean we should just stop doing what we’ve evolved to do. I rant about this all the time. I still think sugar is evil, but I tend to not worry as much about my diet as I used too. This is a bad thing.

6. You are the 5 people you spend the most time with this one is huge. As much as I’ve felt in the past that my resolve is iron clad, we humans are like sponges.

5. The world is full of things we are not designed to utilize, the majority of our own design. It’s all poison..HF-CS, hallucinogens, stimulants, the Jonas brothers..etc.. The best life is one lived free, with a clear mind and body. For me this was a huge one this year, freeing myself of things in the past I negated as having a huge effect really cured a great deal of depression.

4. Scotch is the drink of lions, warriors, and kings. I never understood scotch when I was younger. Many things are hard to appreciate when you don’t understand them, but when they click the halo of enlightenment is bliss. As a man ages, he should drink less, and drink better. That’s it.

3. Spearfishing, or hunting of any kind is fantastic. Jacques Cousteau said that civilization is about farming replacing hunting, which I can appreciate – but if you can’t farm, then go hunt.

2. The man makes the man, but the clothes make him better. I actually shop for clothes now, something I’ve not done since the first day of 7th grade.

1. Los Angeles is unlike any other place in the United States. It is the perfect place for people to live that don’t know what they want to do. Once you figure it out, if it isn’t art related, then it is usually time to leave.

In the eightfold path, practitioners are asked to a lot of “right” things. Some of them make sense.  ”Do not become intoxicated to the point where you can’t control your speech or actions.” – If anything is ever said about my personal philosophy, they will say that it borrowed a great deal from Buddhism. I do however detract a great deal from “Do not kill other living things or ask that they be killed for you.”

I read an article about the issues with meat, and I watched F0od Inc with its depiction of the terrifying horrors of factory farming. Yet frankly, in my best Gordon Gecko voice, “Meat is good.”

I think people have started to realize in this century that there is no need for carbohydrates in our diet, they just taste great. Meat has become a great deal less healthy with all the genetic engineering we’ve done to it, but refusing to eat it is like not breathing air because it’s polluted.

I advocate vastly reducing or eliminating the intake of grains for almost everyone. Far more than the fat in the foods we eat, it’s the excess carbohydrates from our starch and sugar-loaded diet that’s making people fat and unhealthy, and leading to epidemic levels of a host of diseases such as cancer and diabetes.

It was only with the advent of agriculture a mere 10,000 years ago, or 500 generations ago, that humans began ingesting large amounts of sugar and starch in the form of grains (and potatoes) into their diets. Indeed, 99.99% of our genes were formed before the advent of agriculture; in biological terms, our bodies are still those of hunter-gatherers.

Societies where the transition from a primarily meat/vegetation diet to one high in cereals show a reduced lifespan and stature, increases in infant mortality and infectious disease, and higher nutritional deficiencies. We haven’t suddenly evolved mechanisms to incorporate the high carbohydrates from starch and sugar-rich foods into our diet. -Dr. Joseph Mercola

Anyone who thinks otherwise I would urge to study the history of Homo Sapiens. Yes, we might of never reached civility without the population densities derived from the advent of agriculture – but we where weaned on meat. We have evolved to chase it, to hunt it, to digest it, yes some vegetables are great too – soy excluded!

I remember when I was a child and my father would torment me with Sci-Fi flicks; animals getting enlarged to astronomical proportions. We would watch massive house cats chasing around terrified owners and a home sized Fido eating little Jimmy. He would always comment, “What, do you think they wouldn’t eat us? We will even eat each other given the right circumstances.”

One cannot ignore the true nature of what we are as humans, no matter how much we effectively change the course of our evolutions. Given society, the rules deviate from simply the strong survive – but our bodies like meat. Besides, you know steak tastes great, even if you’ve convinced yourself you “just don’t like the taste.”

I was always a larger kid. I read somewhere that grip strength as a child is largely indicative of strength at maturity. My father used to always tell me he marveled at my ability to rip out my sisters hair or pick up heavy objects. Anything where strength was a factor I would always stand out. Yet I began to gain weight from spending most of my time at less active geek pursuits, and my abilities became uncommon in the face of my advancing peers. I didn’t like soccer because I couldn’t use my hands, and I was just clueless at football – I couldn’t stand wearing all the padding and sweaty helmets. I was always top pick playing park football but never showed any promise in high school.

When I discovered Rugby it was like an awakening – here was a sport where I could utilize everything: speed, strength, and endurance. Great Rugby players are multi-talented, and Rugby draws on all human strengths. It is like a game of real time chess. No one can do the tackling for you; everyone runs, tackles, passes, and uses the boot to a certain degree. I love football, but I prefer Rugby.

I bring all this up because when I look at football, and this offense called the Wildcat formation, I can’t help but think of Rugby. The athletes that make it possible have multiple skills, running backs that can pass, and quarterbacks that block. In rugby the coach only talks to his team at the half, the players look to their captain and think in real time on the field. Look at the drift towards the No-Huddle offense and the increase in calling Audibles. Americans took Rugby and turned it into football, but it seems like natural evolution of the game is drifting towards it’s roots.