OT: Jesse Livermore on tech investing
Hi Mike,
26 hours off-line? Omigod, how bad were the withdrawl symptoms?
I really think that Walt Mossberger has one of the kuhlest jobs going. And I think he's doing a really good job with the material. Whenever I have CNBC on for Thursday's Power Lunch session, I'll forego the mute when Walt comes on. He has interesting things to say.
That said, I do see promise for AOL-TV. They may not have the bugs worked out yet, and there may not be a lot of content built behind TV programming just yet, but I see a vast potential for this technology to provide, for instance, background data, statistics and color commentary for sporting events. The Olympics comes to mind as a prime candidate. Say you are watching the men's butterfly, and you wonder how dominant the US team has been in the last half-century. Use that clicker and create a screen in screen and while watching the event, drill down into it's history. Seems pretty kuhl to me. PBS is definitely a pioneer in this arena. Nova, among other broadcasts suggests linking to the PBS website for further data at opportune and germane moments during its broadcasts. So I'm not going to be in character here at all, I have no skepticism about this eventuality whatsoever.
I'm always amazed at how carried away we investors can get sometimes on technology.
I view it slightly differently. Jesse Livermore said the players change, the plays change, but the "game" is always the same, because human nature never changes. What we have invested most heavily and foolishly on for many decades, well, maybe centuries if you want to go back to the South Seas Bubble and Mississippi Bubble of 1720, is betting on the new story. So, a part of my approach to making an investment decision is always to ask, is this a story that the average investor can get enthusiastic about, that he/she can somewhat understand and that won't get topped by an even better story in the next quarter or two. And if the answer is yes, then I just blow off PSRs, etc. Why use them if no one else is. Afterall investing is a herd behaviour. And herds hardly ever think, they follow.
Now just what did this have to do with the last mile?
Best, Ramblin' Ray |
