Steven's Thoughts

My 6 year old son's playlist

Steven — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 10:21:14 -0400

My six year old son Sebastian loves music. We always listen to it together, but he definitely has his own favorites. This is Sebastian's current playlist:

The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name

The Raconteurs - Consoler of the Lonely

The White Stripes - Seven Nation Army

Vampire Weekend - A-Punk

MGMT - Kids

MGMT - Electric Feel

The Fiery Furnaces - Even in the Rain

Anarbor -You And I

Michael Jackson - Human Nature

Jackson Five - I want you back

Best Albums of 2009 So Far

Steven — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 01:11:32 -0400

I have a running 2009 playlist the following albums and specifically these songs made my list:

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion: favorite song - My Girl (even though their show in Park Slope was pretty bad)

Wilco - Wilco (The Album) - favorite song: Country Disappeared (could not get back in time from Munich for the concert in Coney Island)

Franz Ferdinand - Tonight: Franz Ferdinand - favorite song: Ulysses

The Fiery Furnaces - I'm Going Away - favorite song: The End is Near (show was pretty good at the river)

Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest - favorite song: Two Weeks (missed them at the river)

Peter Bjorn and John - Living Thing - favorite song: Nothing to Worry About (they are amazing live)

Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix - favorite song: Lisztomania

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz! - favorite song: Zero (not going to see them at Radio City)

Wonderful Quote

Steven — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:23:14 -0400

"Human nature will not flourish, any more than a potato, if it be planted and replanted, for too long a series of generations, in the same worn-out soil. My children have had other birthplaces, and , so far as their fortunes may be within my control, shall strike their roots into unaccustomed earth."

- Nathaniel Hawthorne,

"The Custom-House"

What Recession?

Steven — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:02:00 -0400

One of my favorite local restaurants is David Chang's Momofuku.

I have been trying to get a reservation at his 12 seat chef's table

restaurant, Ko, since it opened about 2 years ago and it is always

booked.

Are we really in a recession? Or maybe it doesn't apply to foodies.

Recession music

Steven — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:59:32 -0400

Just like everyone else out there the economy has gotten to me - but what's strange is how a financial crisis can affect almost everything in my life - even the music that I enjoy the most now - 80s influenced indie pop.

Last night, Sienna and I went to see The Ting Tings at the Music Hall of Williamsburg and we felt transported back to an early 80s night club. What was so great about the concert? Was is it the lead singer's awesome, shiny leotards and her puffy dress, that only a skinny 26 year old bleached-blonde can pull off, or was it the playback of the plasticky sounding keyboard that was not even on stage? I think it was much more simple. It was my craving for comfort music.

A few weeks ago I posted on my Facebook status that I couldn't believe that I had started becoming a lover of pop music and listed acts such as: MGMT, Santigold (formally known as Santagold) and CSS. Many of my friends strongly disagreed with classification of these bands being pop.

I guess they are right. It is not pop as in what today's popular music is (billboard's top 100). It is not pop in 2009, but it was considered pop in the early 80s. Now people consider this music scrappy, dance-oriented indie pop. Anyway the point is, I am reverting to comfort music. Music of my childhood. The electro overtone of a cheap sounding synthesizer, is giving me the warm and fuzzy.

When we left the venue we ran into a friend who was with a cute young chick who was excited to keep the night going with some drinks. And that's when I realized that if my music taste was stuck in the 80s, my responsibilities are right here in 2009, and we politely said no thanks and good night and went home to relieve the babysitter.

I guess if 80s pop is all that I need to help me through this rescission I'm doing OK.

Quality of NYC Public Schools

Steven — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 00:08:47 -0400

Just in the last week two parents asked me about the quality of education Sebastian is received in the New York public school system. I am positively surprised how good the experience is.

When Sebastian was in Pre-school I agonized about where to send him. I knew that there were great private schools in the city, but I strongly believed in supporting the public school system.

But I was still concerned whether a public school could provide more than an adequate education. I wanted and still want Sebastian to have a great education.

Well, I have to say Sebastian is definitely learning. He loves reading and enjoys writing stories. And he is getting his math basics down. But more importantly he is surrounded by teachers who care about his individualized educational growth.

One of the latest initiatives that impressed me about his school are his individualized goals. Sebastian, together with his teacher, have created specific objectives for him. So now he, his teacher and his parents are all on the same page of what he should be accomplishing in the next month.

My verdict after one and a half years of NYC public schooling is that kids can get a very good education. My six year old son is proof.

It is hard to make money

Steven — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 15:56:54 -0500

Ever wonder how some people you know, or you may have heard of, made so much money in such a short period of time? Ever feel stupid for working so hard? Ever feel like you have been working for years like a dog, and achieved moderate success, but business continued to be such a grind year in and year out?

For years, my partners and I have been trying to figure out why every year we've been in business we've had to hustle to keep it going. In the last couple of years I've come to the realization that being of value to my clients, and building a real business, was always going to be hard work. In recent months, I also started to understand that the source of some people's instant success has been based on one, or two, bogus and unsustainable business concepts:

Excessive leverage
In a few cases straight out fraud

Excessive leverage:

Leverage is an important part of any business and our economic system. A company, like kasina, borrows money to supplement existing funds for investment in such a way that the potential positive outcome is magnified and/or enhanced. Leverage could allow us to potentially hire new and/or better people, or invest in an office in London and Shanghai, that we otherwise would not have the funds to invest in today.

Excessive leverage, on the other hand, is a powerful friend during an up market, but can quickly put you out of business during a down market. Most investment banks were leveraged by a ratio of 30 to 1. Government sponsored mortgage giants Freddie and Fannie were using leverage closer to 100 to 1 because of their supposedly stricter lending standards and implicit government backing. Most entrepreneurs would be able to make a lot of money if given 100 to 1 leverage.

Fraud:

Last week Bernard L. Madoff, a legend on Wall Street, was a arrested for essentially running a Ponzi scheme. The NYT reported that his funds for years claimed to produce consistently positive returns in up and down markets. One of them reported of having $7.3 billion in assets in October and claimed to have paid more than 11 percent interest each year through its 15-year track record. In reality, he paid returns to certain investors out of the cash received from other investors.

I feel a little less stupid these days about working so hard to be successful. The current financial crisis has changed the way our country does business and it's going to be very hard, if not impossible, to make a quick buck. The people who are going to succeed and make money are going to make money as a result of years of hard work. They will survive by busting their asses to add value to their customers or clients.

A Historic Day

Steven — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:48:11 -0500

This election is a histortic event and I have been an emotional mess since the minute I woke up this morning.

I am emotional, because if Barack Obama wins today's election my son Sebastian will truly be able to grow up knowing that he can be anything that he wants to be.

I am emotional, because my girlfriend's mom Phoebe, who went to a segregated kindergarten in Washington D.C., is able to vote for an African American candiate for President of the United States.

Steven at ALIF in Luxembourg

Steven — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 19:17:39 -0400

Being Part of History

Steven — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 20:15:22 -0400

It is often hard to keep perspective when you are in the middle of a hurricane, but it is important to understand when you are experiencing history first hand. In my relativity short career I have been at the center of three historic live changing events: The rise of the Internet, 9/11 and the current financial crisis.

In 1995, I experienced Netscape's IPO and a few years later I started my own company which focuses on how the Intenet changes and how we retrieve information as well as interact with each other.

Six years later, September 11, 2001, my employees had to evacuate our office at 180 Broadway, one block from where two commercial planes flew into the World Trade Centers.

Today, the full effects of the current financial crisis are not yet clear, but we are again in the midst of an historic event. September 16, 2008 has gone down in history as the biggest one day stock market point-drop ever and wiped out $1.2 trillion in market value.

I am not sure how all of these events will impact the future, but I know it is important to be aware that we are witnessing history. One day our kids and grandkids will ask us about these events and I want to be able to tell them what happend.