The Frustrated CFO

Quote of the Week: Just Because We Deserve It, We Do Not Have to Like It

2013-05-20T22:58:55-04:00

The original authorship of the statement "Every nation has the government it deserves" has been disputed, like, forever. Some attribute it to Joseph de Maistre, others to Alexis de Toqueville... There are also various translations, interpretations, etc. And why not? It's logical and simple to blame everyone (and no one in particular). To take an individual stand, however - that's a different story: "Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under." H. L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)

Quote of the Week: The Negation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Misguided Morality

2013-05-17T11:59:33-04:00

"Scott Fitzgerald was, in his own words, 'a moralist at heart.' He wanted to 'preach at people,' and what he preached about most was the degeneracy of the wealthy. His concern, however, did not lie with the antisocial behaviors to which the rich are prone: acquiring their wealth through immoral means... Like many American moralists, Fitzgerald was more offended by pleasure than by vice, and he had a tendency to confound them. In The Great Gatsby, polo and golf are more morally suspect than murder. Fitzgerald despised the rich not for their iniquity per se but for the glamour of...

Wave Goodbye to Quality Standards

2013-05-08T22:37:01-04:00

Remember how in the beginning of the year, we got a cascade of breaking news about problems with Boeing 787 Dreamliners? First there was a battery fire, then an oil leak, a fuel leak, engine cracks, a damaged cockpit window; then an emergency landing of an All Nippon Airways 787 followed by the airline's grounding of all 17 of the jets. On the same day Japan Airlines announced that they will stop flying their 787s as well. It must've made Qantas's execs feel real good about the cancellation of the 35-units order ($8.5 billion list price - nearly 10% of...