Pinboard (maoxian)

Viggo Mortensen - Lucy Kellaway

maoxian — 2012-02-11T03:35:22+00:00

"I wonder if he counts his blessings so doggedly because fame and riches came late to him. He was in his forties when he became a global star through the Lord of the Rings films, and before that he spent 20 years driving trucks, waiting tables and playing a series of minor parts." ... EXPLAINS HIS HUMILITY ... "High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/5c9c0e66-52d0-11e1-ae2c-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz1m2bBnKSW Since Lord of the Rings, Mortensen has been offered lots of roles in big movies, which he’s turned down on the grounds that the stories don’t interest him. The money doesn’t interest him either. Most of what he’s earned, he’s given away. Some of it he spent on setting up Perceval Press which backs many uncommercial artists, including Mortensen himself. He owns one house, which is in the mountains in Idaho."

Tuba Thefts Plague California Schools

maoxian — 2012-02-11T03:21:32+00:00

BOOKMARKED JUST BECAUSE I LOVE THE HEADLINE... SCRAP METAL ZOMBIES AT WORK?

Today's 'Even Aerospace Engineers Have a Sense of Humor' Entry - James Fallows

maoxian — 2012-02-11T03:15:24+00:00

CUTE AND SURE TO GARNER SOME FREE PUBLICITY

The Roubini Stock Market Indicator

maoxian — 2012-02-11T03:12:51+00:00

FUN TO PICK ON ROUBINI AND ROSENBERG... I RECALL MAOXIAN'S POST, 'ROUBINI GLOBAL CELEBRATION TOUR PERFECTLY MARKS MARCH 09 BOTTOM'

The Widening Academic Achievement Gap Between the Rich and the Poor

maoxian — 2012-02-11T03:09:55+00:00

via @infoproc ... MONEY BEGETS MORE MONEY

Made Better in Japan

maoxian — 2012-02-11T03:09:05+00:00

""My boss won't let me make espressos," says the barista. "I need a year more, maybe two, before he's ready to let customers drink my shots undiluted by milk. And I'll need another whole year of practice after that if I want to be able to froth milk for cappuccinos."" ... THE JAPANESE ALWAYS TAKE THINGS TO EXTREMES

Is China Ripe for a Revolution?

maoxian — 2012-02-11T03:01:12+00:00

"The dominant tenor of Western press coverage is that the Communist Party is finally receiving its comeuppance — for its corruption, for its misrule in the countryside, for its indifference to human rights and democracy. And below the surface, usually unspoken, lurks a deeply felt sense of schadenfreude — a desire to see the Communist Party toppled from power by its own people." ... WILL BE A VERY LONG WAIT IF YOU'RE WAITING FOR THAT ... "Given the precarious state of our economy today, and America’s nearly existential reliance on our trade with China in particular, one wonders: for all of our principled condemnation of China’s government on political and human rights grounds, if it were actually faced with a revolution from within — even one led by a coalition calling for greater democracy — how likely is it that we, too, wouldn’t, in the end, find ourselves hoping for that revolution to fail?" ... CORRECT, THE WEST NEEDS THEIR IPADS

The End of My Paid Subscription Content Experiment - November 21st, 2010

maoxian — 2012-02-11T02:19:24+00:00

"And then I’d contemplate this. $1.99? Seriously? Is this how I’m valuing things all of sudden? The mere fact that I was thinking about this, especially since there was no practical way that the amount of money I’d make from this would have any impact on my life, seemed like a waste of mental and emotional cycles." ... HELPS IF YOU HAVE 10,000 SUBSCRIBERS (and charge $9.99)

博讯新闻主页 boxun news

maoxian — 2012-02-11T02:09:40+00:00

'NEWS' SITE MENTIONED BY BILL ... APPARENTLY AS MUCH FICTION AS FACT

"yellow girl" outed

maoxian — 2012-02-11T00:29:29+00:00

"The actress in question is named Lisa Chan. She's 21, from the Bay Area, graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in sociology, founded a nonprofit organization for at-risk youth, and recently competed as the reigning Miss Napa Valley in the 2012 Miss California USA pageant. (Yeah, I knowwwww.)" KID SHOULDA KNOWN BETTER

Chinese Official May Have Flown to Beijing After Consulate

maoxian — 2012-02-10T15:41:32+00:00

NICE DETECTIVE WORK

Swipe the Linen

maoxian — 2012-02-10T15:16:58+00:00

"Swipe the Linen is a website where you can upload your iOS home screen for others to see and talk about your favorite apps" ... GREAT IDEA ... LOOKS LIKE EVERY GEEK ON PLANET EARTH USES TWEETBOT

David Barnard's Home Screen

maoxian — 2012-02-10T15:15:37+00:00

"Then there’s QuickShot. I use it to take photos of receipts since it instantly and automatically uploads to a specified folder in Dropbox (and even does so in the background). After a business lunch or coffee it takes just 2 taps to capture the receipt. Once in Dropbox I never think about it again. I use the transaction data downloaded from my credit card for tax prep, so I never manually enter any data, and the photo is backed up in case I ever get audited." ... SLICK

Best Cities for Your Future

maoxian — 2012-02-10T15:08:36+00:00

NOT PAGINATED ... KNOXVILLE TN AT 5? (things that make you go hmmmmmm whaaa?)

Best Places to Live 2011 - from MONEY Magazine

maoxian — 2012-02-10T15:07:17+00:00

Louisville, CO Milton, MA Solon, OH Leesburg, VA Papillion, NE Hanover, NH Liberty, MO Middleton, WI Mukilteo, WA Chanhassen, MN COUPLE OF NEW ENGLAND TOWNS FOR ONCE (rare) ... NO STATE INCOME TAX IN NH (live free or die license plate a bonus)

Best Places to Live - US News & World Report

maoxian — 2012-02-10T15:05:24+00:00

ALBUQUERQUE, NM (again) AUBURN, AL (college town but deep in dixie) AUSTIN, TX (on every list) BOISE, ID (again, don't tell paul) DURHAM, NC (another way of saying Raleigh) LA CROSSE, WI (that's a more original pick) LOVELAND, CO (the rockies are beautiful it's true) SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA (is that Northern CA?) ST AUGUSTINE, FL (nice part of the year anyway) UPPER ST CLAIR, PA (pittsburgh? really? nah.)

The 10 best places to live in the U.S. - Slide Show

maoxian — 2012-02-10T14:59:29+00:00

AUSTIN TX, GRAND RAPIDS MI BOULDER CO (that one makes more sense) RALEIGH NC (again) DALLAS TX (can imagine few places worse) GREENVILLE SC (too dixie) AUGUSTA GA (way too dixie) BOISE (again, don't tell paul) OMAHA, NE (it's on all the lists, a great mystery) OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (on many lists, despite being in OK)

For a Pittsburgh Couple, a Radical Departure - Slide Show

maoxian — 2012-02-10T14:56:13+00:00

CANTILEVER IS NEAT BUT THAT VIEW LEAVES SOMETHING TO BE DESIRED

Money and Morals - Krugster

maoxian — 2012-02-10T14:53:09+00:00

" ...conservatives are telling us that it’s not really about money; it’s about morals. Never mind wage stagnation and all that, the real problem is the collapse of working-class family values, which is somehow the fault of liberals. But is it really all about morals? No, it’s mainly about money ... it is, frankly, amazing how quickly and blithely conservatives dismiss the seemingly obvious answer: A drastic reduction in the work opportunities available to less-educated men. Adjusted for inflation, entry-level wages of male high school graduates have fallen 23 percent since 1973. Meanwhile, employment benefits have collapsed. In 1980, 65 percent of recent high-school graduates working in the private sector had health benefits, but, by 2009, that was down to 29 percent. much of the social disruption among African-Americans popularly attributed to collapsing values was actually caused by a lack of blue-collar jobs in urban areas. If he was right, you would expect something similar to happen if another social group — say, working-class whites — experienced a comparable loss of economic opportunity. And so it has." ... CORRECT, TINY KRUGS RIGHT ON THE MONEY THIS WEEK

America's 50 Best Cities: The Best Places to Live - BusinessWeek

maoxian — 2012-02-10T14:46:16+00:00

SLIDESHOW HELL "Businessweek.com evaluated 100 of the country’s largest cities based on 16 criteria, which include: the number of restaurants, bars, and museums per capita; the number of colleges, libraries, and professional sports teams; the income, poverty, unemployment, crime, and foreclosure rates; percent of population with bachelor’s degrees, public school performance, park acres per 1,000 residents, and air quality. Greater weighting was placed on recreational amenities such as parks, bars, restaurants, and museums, and on educational attainment, school performance, poverty, and air quality." ... WHAT ABOUT TAXES?!?!? MMMM, AIR QUALITY ...BOISE AT 33, SCOTTSDALE AT 4, HONOLULU 3, ARLINGTON VA 2, RALEIGH NC 1

Best Places To Live? Big Roundup of Major Top 10 Lists

maoxian — 2012-02-10T14:39:03+00:00

DUMB LISTS BUT I'LL TAKE A CLOSE LOOK ANYWAY

CHINARTO Quote - Bloomberg Chinese Reverse Mergers Index - Bloomberg

maoxian — 2012-02-10T14:19:20+00:00

MAKE SURE TO GET COMPONENTS FOR THIS AND THE OTHER BLOOMBERG CHINA INDEXES WHEN YOU VISIT THEM NEXT WEEK

Winsway Hit by Short Sellers as Coal Deal Offers 115%: Real M&A

maoxian — 2012-02-10T14:18:40+00:00

"No contact information for Jonestown is listed on InvestDOOR’s website, where the report on Winsway was published. There don’t appear to be any results for a research firm named Jonestown Research using Google Inc.’s Internet search engine. InvestDOOR, which said in an e-mailed response to Bloomberg last month it doesn’t research or analyze companies and that Jonestown doesn’t publicly disclose contact information, didn’t respond to an e-mail yesterday seeking further comment."

Focus Media Defense Against Muddy Waters Report Reverses Losses

maoxian — 2012-02-10T14:15:38+00:00

"Focus Media overstated the size of its liquid-crystal- display television network by reporting some cardboard posters as LCD displays, Muddy Waters said in the report, reiterating a “strong sell” recommendation." ... MUDDY HAS TO FIND ANOTHER FLAT-ASS FRAUD, NOT SOMETHING LIKE FMCN WHICH ENGAGES IN RUN-OF-THE-MILL SHENANIGANS

iPad user manual

maoxian — 2012-02-10T12:46:09+00:00

Links for 2011-09-27 [del.icio.us]

2011-09-28T00:00:00-07:00

Alice Schroeder: Articles & Columns - Bloomberg
ALICE IS GREAT
Sino-Forest hit by new lawsuit seeking class-action status | Reuters
"NEI Investments and Batirente said in a statement that defendants in the suit include Sino-Forest's current and former auditors, 15 financial firms that brought Sino-Forest share and note offerings to market, certain forestry consulting firms, and 20 directors and senior executive officers of the company." ... TAKE 'EM ALL DOWN
Jean Giraud - Wikipedia
RIDLEY SCOTT SAID HE WAS HEAVILY INFLUENCED BY THE MOEBIUS COMICS
Authorities Dismiss News of Banning VIE: Paper
via @niubi ... "The variable interest entity is a structure devised to permit foreign investors to get around Chinese rules barring foreigners from owning company stakes in certain sectors. It was originally used by Sina in April 2000. Public data shows that ending August, the VIE structure has been used by 96 of the Chinese companies listed in New York and Nasdaq." ... NO FOREIGN EDITOR REVIEWED THIS POST

Links for 2011-09-26 [del.icio.us]

2011-09-27T00:00:00-07:00

经销店 | 雅马哈发动机株式会社
北京捷力众星商贸有限责任公司地址: 北京市丰台区花乡小草桥南三环西路11号院（车来拉电动车商城）电话: 010-51331506/63282911 ... ONE OFFICIAL DEALER OUT IN THE WILDS OF FENGTAI
经销店 | 雅马哈发动机株式会社
北京捷力众星商贸有限责任公司地址: 北京市丰台区花乡小草桥南三环西路11号院（车来拉电动车商城）电话: 010-51331506/63282911 ... ONE OFFICIAL DEALER OUT IN THE WILDS OF FENGTAI
Buyback Gives Buffett Weapon Against Slump
"Buffett previously preferred to use the firm’s profits to buy companies and securities issued by other firms. “Not a dime of cash” has been spent on buybacks or dividends in four decades, the billionaire told investors in his annual letter, published on Feb. 26. Buffett invested $5 billion in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and $3 billion in General Electric Co. in 2008 when the Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. failure cut companies off from traditional sources of funding." ...
Singapore Inc. Facing $7.4 Billion UBS Loss Tops Chain of Soured Bank Bets
"GIC, which manages more than $100 billion of the city- state’s reserves, owned about 6.4 percent of UBS as of Dec. 31. It became the bank’s largest shareholder when it converted 11 billion francs of notes into stock. The shares traded at about a fifth of the conversion price at the close on Sept. 23, though the 8.7 billion franc unrealized loss is partly offset by 2 billion francs in interest payments in the first two years of its investment. The fund also owns about 3.8 percent of New York-based Citigroup, the third-largest U.S. bank, after selling half of its original stake for a $1.6 billion profit two years ago. It’s the lender’s single-biggest investor, while 18 funds managed by State Street Corp. hold a combined 4.1 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg." ... OUCH, TOOK A BATH ON UBS
The Hidden Meaning Behind Buffett’s Hiring: Alice Schroeder
"He does, in fact, cover all the bases: finding acquisitions, financing them, overseeing management of acquired companies, designing their compensation, allocating capital of the entity that owns the businesses, and understanding lending and credit markets from a bank’s perspective. He also knows how to finance acquisitions in special situations such as bankruptcies; manage long-tailed risks like his former employer W.R. Grace & Co.’s asbestos liability; and control equity- portfolio risk in a volatile market using positioning, derivatives and moderate leverage."
Berkshire taps founder of Charlottesville firm
"Peninsula had about $2 billion in the stock of nine companies as of June 30, the firm said in a regulatory filing. The holdings included investments in satellite television provider DirecTV, specialty chemical maker W.R. Grace & Co., and dialysis facility owner DaVita Inc., the filing showed." ... CONCENTRATED

Shanghai to extend expat visas

maoxian — 2012-02-10T12:19:30+00:00

YEARLY RENEWAL IS A PAIN

www.bloombergbriefs.com

maoxian — 2012-02-10T10:05:17+00:00

SHARON SENT THIS OVER, WHAT THE BLOOMBERGBRIEFS PRODUCT LOOKS LIKE

Edward Y. Crossmore - Lawyer in Ithaca, New York (NY)

maoxian — 2012-02-10T09:59:34+00:00

ANOTHER LAWYER, HE MUST BE THE GUY DEVELOPING THOSE PROPERTIES OR IS THE FRONTMAN, HIS NAME IS ON THE SALES FOR THOSE TWO LOTS THAT HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED

News and Events

maoxian — 2012-02-10T09:52:21+00:00

"We were honored to have Edmund T. Cranch, former Dean of Engineering and active member of the Cornell Association of Professors Emeriti (CAPE) attend the event." ... AH HA, OLD CORNELL FACULTY, THAT MAKES SENSE, BORN 1922... DID HE DIE AND THE PROPERTY WAS SOLD??

BINGREM INC Ithaca NY

maoxian — 2012-02-10T09:46:51+00:00

FRED W REMILLARD'S BUSINESS... WONDER WHAT THEY DO?

1464 East Shore Dr

maoxian — 2012-02-10T09:45:01+00:00

16.28 acres ... THIS IS THE KEY PIECE OF LAND ... ASSESSED AT 629K VACANT ... EDMUND T CRANCH HELD SINCE AT LEAST 1998, 3/28/2008 $880,000 SOLD, BUT TO WHOM?

Nathaniel F. Knappen, Attorney at Law - General Practice - Ithaca, New York

maoxian — 2012-02-10T09:43:04+00:00

STILL PRACTICING?

1510 East Shore Dr

maoxian — 2012-02-10T09:41:28+00:00

TOOK ME AWHILE TO FIND IT 4/29/91 505K NATHANIEL F KNAPPEN 12/14/01 $1 FRED W REMILLARD 12/29/2005 1.1MM FRED W REMILLARD

Tompkins County GIS Portal-Maps-Property

maoxian — 2012-02-10T09:22:15+00:00

CONSTITUTIONAL TAX MARGIN and DEBT LIMIT

maoxian — 2012-02-10T09:20:53+00:00

RUNNING A DEFICIT

Tompkins County Administration 11-15-11 2012 County Budget Adopted

maoxian — 2012-02-10T09:18:59+00:00

BUDGET IN PDF FORM (LINE ITEM AVAIL)

Emma Willard School - Wikipedia

maoxian — 2012-02-10T09:12:24+00:00

"The school was used as a filming location for the films The Emperor's Club (as St. Benedict's Academy) and Scent of a Woman (as Baird School). In both of these films, the school is portrayed as an all-boys' school." ... WONDERED ABOUT THAT

Tompkins County, New York - Wikipedia

maoxian — 2012-02-10T09:08:36+00:00

"Tompkins County is the most Democratic county in New York State outside New York City" ... I BLAME ALL THOSE LEFTY INTELLECTUALS ... "About 6.80% of families and 17.60% of the population were below the poverty line" ... nine towns (Caroline, Danby, Dryden, Enfield, Groton, Ithaca, Lansing, Newfield, Ulysses), one city (Ithaca) ... there is a Hamlet in Ulysses Township named 'Podunk' which appeals to me.

List of counties in New York - Wikipedia

maoxian — 2012-02-10T09:05:53+00:00

new-york-county-map.gif (750×585)

maoxian — 2012-02-10T09:01:19+00:00

62 counties

Iittala - Products - Discontinued products

maoxian — 2012-02-10T07:07:12+00:00

GRAVEYARD... SAD TO SEE SO MUCH NICE STUFF PUT TO REST

Iittala - Products - Drinking - Everyday drinking - Lempi

maoxian — 2012-02-10T07:06:10+00:00

LEMPI, THIS IS THEIR NEW PRODUCT, NOT SURE I'M THRILLED WITH IT ... STACKABLE

Iittala - Products - Eating - Dinnerware - Origo

maoxian — 2012-02-10T06:57:47+00:00

GREAT COLLECTION BUT FEWER COLORS THAN IN THE OLD DAYS

PaidContent Founder Rafat Ali to Depart

maoxian — 2012-02-10T06:49:11+00:00

"That deal was potentially worth up to $30 million, based on various earn-out goals. But Ali and his investors took home only a portion of that. My best guess is something closer to $12 million." ... TOTAL WILD-ASSED GUESS, PROBABLY NOWHERE NEAR THAT ... "The last two years under Guardian have been illuminating, to say the least." LOL, THAT'S ONE WAY OF PUTTING IT, VERY POLITE

paidContent For Sale

maoxian — 2012-02-10T06:48:12+00:00

"there's been a perception among many readers that paidContent now just reprints press releases and stories several days after they've broken elsewhere" ... THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE ONLY ASSET (ALI) WALKS OUT THE DOOR

Guardian Media Group Selling PaidContent Publisher ContentNext - Peter Kafka - Media - AllThingsD

maoxian — 2012-02-10T06:45:59+00:00

"People familiar with the sale believe the Guardian is looking for something in the $15 million to $20 million range for the property, which would let it recoup its initial investment and subsequent infusions of working capital. [UPDATE: Or something much less! A rep for the company's Guardian News & Media unit says, via e-mail, that the $15-$20 million aspiration is " is not a figure we recognise."]" ... YES, THE DECIMAL PLACE GOT MOVED ONE TO THE RIGHT

MediaBistro May Want to Buy paidContent -- for Cost

maoxian — 2012-02-10T06:44:44+00:00

“Over the years we’ve been interested,” Alan Meckler, CEO of WebMediaBrands which owns Mediabistro, told TheWrap. “I would imagine at some point someone could buy it, possibly for just the liabilities.” ... MECKLER IS CRUEL

The Guardian Shops PaidContent - Nov 21, 201

maoxian — 2012-02-10T06:42:48+00:00

"The site was reported to have been sold for $30 million at the time, though that included a large earn-out that then-CEO Rafat Ali has said was not reached. The site at the time had about $3 million in annual revenue. Ali left the company in the summer of 2010. Coady Diemar Partners is marketing the company, which it values at $15-$20 million. That figure would allow The Guardian to get back the money it has put in. That would seem like a hefty sum given that PaidContent's traffic was at 639,000 unique visitors in October of 2011 while traffic across all of its the sites came in at 808,000 unques." ... LOVE TO KNOW WHAT OM PAID FOR IT (I'M GUESSING LOW SINGLE DIGIT MILLIONS)

Wild Geese Cocktail Book PDF

maoxian — 2012-02-10T06:30:05+00:00

to cache on pinboard

How the burrito chain is revolutionizing fast food

maoxian — 2012-02-10T06:29:25+00:00

"Chipotle is instead classified in the much-derided service sector. And yet it’s impossible for me to look at a Chipotle during a busy time and not see a modern version of an assembly line." ... WAS ONE OF THE FIRST STOCKS FEATURED ON WALLSTRIP