Archive for the ‘Outside the Fishbowl’ Category
Thursday, May 19th, 2011
Demographics is destiny. — Arthur Kemp
The political destiny of the U.S. for the next 25 years is sealed.
Here's how:
In the United States, the proportion of the population aged >65 years is projected to increase from 12.4% in 2000 to 19.6% in 2030 (3). The number of persons aged >65 years ...
Posted in Cultures, Geopolitics, Outside the Fishbowl, US Politics | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 17th, 2010
I read a good article on the radical re-making of the advertising market today: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/151/mayhem-on-madison-avenue.html
The article referenced a classic post by Clay Shirky that I'd read before, but was worth revisiting: http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2010/04/the-collapse-of-complex-business-models/
Clay, in turn, referenced a book by Joseph Tainter, The Collapse of Complex Societies.
Tainter makes many compelling observations, as summarized by Shirky:
"Complex ...
Posted in Econ / Finance, Geopolitics, Outside the Fishbowl, US Politics | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 17th, 2010
As most of you know, we spent most of the time between 2003 and 2009 exploring the world.
We've got our own list of lessons learned from those travels here: http://www.hackneys.com/travel/index-lessons-byarea.htm
Gary Arndt, who spent the last three years doing the same, was recently interviewed by Tim Ferriss and gave his 20 ...
Posted in Cultures, Outside the Fishbowl, Travel | No Comments »
Saturday, June 12th, 2010
I compiled my thoughts on the primary challenges the United States faces in the coming decade, and ways to overcome them, here: http://www.hackneys.com/docs/facingthefuture.pdf
The primary focus in this collection is on domestic challenges, although some geopolitical issues are addressed.
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Posted in Business, Cultures, Econ / Finance, Geopolitics, health care reform, Media, Outside the Fishbowl, US Politics | 4 Comments »
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
Following is a good overview of a current geopolitical situation from Stratfor, a public domain intelligence analysis firm.
If you are interested in the particular issue and region at hand, Israel / Palestinians / rising Turkey / etc., you will probably find it of value.
However, its true worth lies in some pearls of geopolitical wisdom, some ...
Posted in Geopolitics, Outside the Fishbowl, US Politics | No Comments »
Monday, May 31st, 2010
As part of our effort to reintegrate into American society and its culture, we’re spending part of our summer in the air conditioned retreat of the Paramount, a faithfully restored theater originally built in 1915 to host vaudeville as the Majestic and transformed in 1930 into a Baroque Revival movie ...
Posted in Cultures, Geopolitics, Media, Outside the Fishbowl | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 25th, 2010
Yesterday, an entrepreneur told me of his father, who died at 81. The father lived in a 4th floor walkup until he was 79, when a fire in the building forced a move to a new building. The new building came with a wonderful view of the East River and an ...
Posted in Business, Cultures, Outside the Fishbowl | 1 Comment »
Monday, March 29th, 2010
Much of the story of humans and groups of humans, as well as the challenges that face America, can be told with circles.
The core of the story is an individual.
The first unit of human organization is the family.
The next unit of human organization is tribe.
Posted in Cultures, Outside the Fishbowl, US Politics | 2 Comments »
Monday, March 29th, 2010
During America’s brief tenure atop the world’s pecking order between the end of WWII and the beginning of the current era, the country enjoyed an unprecedented run of prosperity and abundance. The country was so successful while producing copious wealth and endless opportunity, it could afford to take on costs ...
Posted in Cultures, Geopolitics, Outside the Fishbowl, US Politics | No Comments »
Monday, March 8th, 2010
The United States of America enjoys many riches, inherent capabilities and positive attributes, as well as shortcomings, unresolved issues and a converging set of existential threats.
The challenge is to be aware of the upsides of the United States without becoming defiantly hostile to any discussion of specific shortcomings or ways ...
Posted in Cultures, Econ / Finance, Outside the Fishbowl, US Politics | No Comments »
