“Capitalism, I would assert, thrives on more, more, and more, but not so well when there is less or an expectation of less. This is not the Malthusian thesis, which maintained that at some point the world would run out of food to satisfy a growing population; it is an assertion that capitalism depends upon final demand and that if there ever comes a time when population growth slows, then the world’s most efficient economic system will be tested. If anything, my thesis is anti-Malthusian in its assertion that there will always be enough production to satisfy a growing population, but perhaps not enough new people to sustain growing production.”
– Bill Gross manages PIMCO’s gigantical bond fund. This excerpt is from his August client letter.

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Paul Kim | Leave a comment

“It is my great hope someday to see science and decision makers rediscover what the ancients have always known, namely that our highest currency is respect.”
– Nassim Nicholas Taleb, in “The Black Swan”

Posted on August 7, 2010 by Paul Kim | Leave a comment

“As a matter of profit and loss, it doesn’t make sense to store wool in a spa and let it convalesce for six months, but the methods of Luciano Barbera were never destined for a get-rich-quick guide to manufacturing. His business will make sense only to customers, and for them, quality has a logic of its own.”
– A look at the waning days of a bespoke merchant: “From Taxis to Textiles, Italy Chooses Tradition Over Growth”

Posted on August 4, 2010 by Paul Kim | Leave a comment

VaultPress beta review

Posted on July 31, 2010 by Paul Kim

“If you are concerned about reliability, stability, or whether or not VaultPress will be around tomorrow – I can provide some comfort. VaultPress is powered by Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, Akismet, etc. That reassures me, so it should for you as well. While the service isn’t free, it is absolutely a worthwhile investment for anyone looking to protect their WordPress site. Whether you are a personal blogger, professional blogger, small or medium business, or IT manager, VaultPress has something to offer you.”
– Jeff Weisbein, in his review of VaultPress beta

Posted in Automattic, VaultPress | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

From the early days department: over the weekend, we welcomed our 100th customer to the VaultPress beta. More on the VaultPress blog.

Posted on July 26, 2010 by Paul Kim | Comments Off

“Pig roasts often have as much to do with mechanical engineering as they do with the culinary arts. Serviceable roasters can be made from 250-gallon fuel-oil tanks. Brick ovens suitable to the task are often large enough to require municipal building permits. But there is a simpler option for the do-it-yourself cook who lacks welding supplies and masonry skills: start digging a hole.”
– Roasting a pig with your bare hands – the slideshow is atmospheric and filled with terroir

Posted on July 21, 2010 by Paul Kim | 2 Comments

Pearl Jam covers “Gimme Some Truth”

Posted on July 21, 2010 by Paul Kim

I tried and tried tonight to find a good video of Lennon’s original (the studio version) but no luck. This cover is pretty good, though.

Posted in Music, Video | Comments Off

“To those predictors of doom, I relay what an old friend once passed on to me. At a certain point in the process, no credit will be given for predicting rain. The only credit will be for helping to build an ark.”
– Ben Horowitz silences naysayers in his essay “No Credit for Predicting Rain”

Posted on July 20, 2010 by Paul Kim | Comments Off

“We are artistic and business partners, not primarily friends,” Teller says. “When we look at each other, we don’t think: ‘Now there’s a likeable chap!’ We think about the projects we are doing and how we will get them done. When we were first working together, we didn’t have such thick skins. But we recognised how useful we were to each other. And that prevailed.”
– Teller explains his long-lived collaboration with Penn in the Daily Telegraph

Posted on July 19, 2010 by Paul Kim | Comments Off

“While strong AI still lies safely beyond the Maes-Garreau horizon (a vanishing point, perpetually fifty years ahead) a host of important new developments in weak AI are poised to be commercialized in the next few years. But because these developments are a paradoxical mix of intelligence and stupidity, they defy simple forecasts, they resist hype. They are not unambiguously better, cheaper, or faster. They are something new.

“What are the implications of a car that adjusts its speed to avoid collisions … but occasionally mistakes the guardrail along a sharp curve as an oncoming obstacle and slams on the brakes? What will it mean when our computers know everything — every single fact, the entirety of human knowledge — but can only reason at the level of a cockroach?”
- Steve G. Steinberg on “new developments in AI”

H/T: Mike Shaver

Posted on July 16, 2010 by Paul Kim | Comments Off