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To: Mike Buckley who wrote (23314)	4/23/2000 9:03:00 AM
From: FLSTF97	Respond to of 54805

QCOM Market Cap OOPS! You're right Mike. Spread sheets are great; you can make more mistakes more quickly! I guess I shouldn't trying thinking anymore in the wee hours (at least until they make spread sheets that think!) FATBOY

To: Mike Buckley who wrote (23314)	4/23/2000 9:14:00 AM
From: Mike Buckley	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 54805

I've got a story about my four-year-old nephew that might relate to understanding stocks and companies. He and his father went to the sporting goods store. The staff had just constructed a wire bin standing ten feet high that was intended to display soft balls about the size of a soccer ball. The bin had a big hole in the bottom that customers would use to pull out a ball. The rest of the bin had holes of various sizes, all of them small enough to prevent the balls from falling out. The store's staff was stocking the bin by throwing the balls into the top of it. As the bin became more full, the balls tended to bounce out. Finally, there was only one ball to throw in but it kept bouncing out because the bin was full. The woman trying to get that last ball in was getting really flustered, so much so that she accidentally knocked her glasses off her head and, in an expression of frustration, threw her keys onto the floor. My nephew politely walked up to the woman and said, "May I help you?" With one of those be-nice-to-the-little-kid replies, she looked down at him and said, "Sure." He picked up the ball, stuffed it through one of the larger holes in the side of the bin, and without saying another word walked back to his father. I don't know if there is an analogy that applies to how we examine stocks and companies. I suspect there is, but that the analogy is different for each of us. For me, the story is a reminder that as much as we begin by focusing on the big picture akin to the opening at the top of the bin, the final decisions we make might be affected by paying attention to the details close at hand. --Mike Buckley