Last chance for white bucks? men's stuff part fourteen

Labor Day is almost upon us, and so every good man asks himself the yearly question: Is it OK to wear my white bucks beyond the traditional end of summer?

The official answer would appear to be yes. I’m told that the 17th Edition of Emily Post's Etiquette, gives the go-ahead for wearing white after Labor Day.

Here in Central Texas the question may be non sequitur as we have only two seasons: summer, and summer will be right back. Because of this my wife is of the opinion that, in Texas at least, the deadline should be extended to Columbus Day.

So I'm leaving my white bucks out, at least for a little while longer. At worst I may be considered an unpolished eccentric by traditionalist, at best I may get my photo in The Sartorialist blog. ;)

-JP

"...he knew that to be careless in dress and manner required more confidence than to be careful. But carelessness was for his children."
- Winter Dreams, F. Scott Fitzgerald


PS- But you might want to start thinking about waxing your Barbour if you haven't done it yet. The wax is easier to work with while the weather is still warm.

My love affair with watches, men's stuff part sixteen

My love affair with watches began in the 4h grade when I received my first Timex wristwatch. It had a simple white face encased in stainless steel with black Arabic numbers, and its only "complication" was a sweep seconds hand. I remember carefully synchronizing my Timex with the school bell so I could count out the seconds for the end of the day, or secretly timing events with the sweep second hand.

In Junior High, for Christmas, I received my second watch. It was a digital Texas Instruments with red LED (like the one pictured above). You had to press the button to display the time, and the red numbers were so dim you couldn’t make them out in daylight, but it didn’t matter. In my mind I was James Bond. I had seen Roger Moore wearing the Hamilton Pulsar in the 1973 movie Live and Let Die and I thought digital was the height of cool. From there, my watch collection just began to expand; and today, it’s not unusual for me to strike up conversations with fellow watch aficionados on airplanes or social situations.

My love affair with time pieces continues. Below are some blog posts I wrote about some of my watches:

The Jaeger LeCoultre Reverso, men's stuff part twelve

The Seiko Professional Divers Watch, men's stuff part ten

The Hamilton Jazz Master, men's stuff part eight

The Rolex Submariner, men's stuff part three

(Photos- The top photo is what my Texas Instruments Watch looked like. Sadly that watch disappeared years ago, so the snapshot is just off the net. The lower photo however is my actual Rolex Submariner in its case.)

WatchTime Magazine - This is, in my opinion, the best watch publication for people wishing to learn more about the watch industry. Unlike many other watch magazines, WatchTime is extremely well written. It doesn’t just have a lot of pretty photographs with rewrites of company marketing copy.

Portero.com – This is a legitimate site for collectors wishing to buy or sell their watches.

-JP

Why the Lent Unplug?

An anonymous person commented: “Hope you had a happy Easter. Ok now, time to start blogging again...we're waiting Mr. P :)”

OK, I’m back and perhaps I should explain why I unplugged for Lent.

About 2 years ago, my wife and I both gave up television believing it to be a large time waster. However recently we noticed that our time online had grown, and that we were also downloading a lot of movies. In short, the Internet had replaced the old bad habit of TV. We saw Lent as a good time to change that behavior pattern.

I still used the Internet for work related items (research, dictionary.com, etc.) but I didn’t surf, participate with social sites like Facebook, or download any movies. (We did allow ourselves one movie night per week.)

Was there a benefit to this? The short answer would be yes. Our time became more productive and my main concern that we wouldn’t be caught up on news events proved groundless. During Lent, our news came from our hard-copy-subscriptions to the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg Businessweek, talk radio (both Limbaugh and NPR); and on Sundays I reverted to my old habit of buying the Sunday New York Times.

For recreation, I also read more books than I usually do, including “The Idiot” by Dostoyevsky which I had been meaning to get around to.

The photos on this post are from another source of battery charging during Lent. Just before Easter we took a brief vacation and visited my brother-in-law Robert in Malibu California. He has a beautiful house by the ocean. He was a gracious host, and we’re very glad for the visit. We even got to take in a Dodgers game.

"John, how did you turn on those fountain thingies in Robert's pool? And more importantly, how do you turn them off?"

My wife insisted I post the picture above. She said I laugh & giggle all the time, but that I'm rarely photographed doing it.

Heart in the Sand

The End

We Have A Watch Labrador

Another Exciting Guest Blog Entry
By
The ‘Lil Woman

We have a Watch Lab. As a young dog, Nancy could hear cars and visitors from a long way off, and would bark vigorously and loudly to alert us to the threat. Although she would turn into a wiggling pup if Ferocious Intruder were to actually come into the house, she took her duty as Watch Lab very seriously. We never trained her to do that, and sometimes it got on our nerves, but she considered it her job.

Well, Nancy is 12 years old now, and a little slower to respond. This morning, the UPS man actually made it all the way up to the door and rang the bell before she sprang up and barked. Though slower, she still takes her responsibility very seriously and looked a little indignant about being caught off guard. "I WASN’T NAPPING! WHO SAID I WAS NAPPING?!?"

And lately, our other dog Henry, who doesn't otherwise bark unless he's very happy, has started to issue a low "woof" at Nancy when someone comes up, as if to say, "Pssst!! Wake up!" She then jumps up and gets to work, and all is well with the world.

So a young pup turned into an old dog, but her personality didn't change much. She just got a little sweeter, and our house got a little more peaceful.

-SP

Nancy, with Bear, on the job.

Poem- An Old Dog is the Best Dog, Felix Dennis

Golf Anyone? Puzzle

Sue finished a second puzzle.

This time it was a 500 piece Ravensburger Puzzle depicting a Black Lab puppy with some (Callaway?) golf clubs.

It’s from a print by artist Phillip Crowe called “Drive for Show, Putt for Dough.” I saw the puzzle at the store, and added to her Christmas loot as it had two subjects close and dear to my heart- Labradors and Golf.

Click here to see her previous puzzle-“New Wonders of the World.”

Scotch Whiskey Blind Tasting

Christmas 2010 was a rich bounty. I received a bottle of Glenmorangie 12 year old Scotch from my brother in law Ernie ( Thanks Ernie! ), and a bottle of Macallan 18 year old from wife ( Thanks Sue! ). Sue got the gift idea of Macallan from her other brother Joe who has been a Scotch devotee for quite some time.

After Christmas Day my wife suggested a blind tasting, which included a bottle of Laphroaig 10 year old already on hand. Here are her (edited) notes from the evening’s entertainment. They are attributed to each specific Scotch Whiskey after the blind was lifted:

Labeled as A, and the first entrant, Glenmorangie 12 year old-

Me: Very smooth. Smooth start, smooth finish. No distinctive smell, maybe a hint of orange.

Sue: Less overwhelming than other Scotches. No burn.

Me: Almost like a high quality blended. Sheep Dip Scotch comes to mind.

(Comments that follow are after opening up the Glenmorangie with a thin small ice cube)

Sue: Opens up with the sliver of ice. Very good. Tastes different with ice.

Me: Tastes completely different when opened up, goes from smooth to complex. It could help take the nicotine edge off a strong cigar, like one with ligero as the filler. A "civilizing" influence.

Labeled as B, and second tasting, Laphroaig 10 year old-

From Sue’s written notes: John took a brief time out to smell and savor his win. He obviously recognized it as Laphroaig before even tasting it.

Me: Very peaty. You can tell the peat comes from an island. Strong start, smooth finish.

Sue: Smells like your clothes after you’ve spent a day burning brush. Has a certain burn to it. A bit overpowering for my taste. Opens up quite a bit with just exposure to air.

Labeled as C, and the third in the tasting, Macallan 18 year old-

Sue: Orange smell. Slightly peaty. Strong start, lingers nicely.

Me: Drinking it neat didn’t do it justice. When opened with a tiny sliver of ice, the flavor increased dramatically. Very rich flavor.

Sue: Complex, but polished.

Sue’s final Verdict on all three Scotch-Whiskeys:
Macallan- drink it neat.
Glenmorangie- drink it with ice.
Laphroaig- undrinkable

John’s final Verdict on all three Scotch-Whiskeys:
Both Macallan and Glenmorangie are best when opened up. Neat doesn’t do them justice. A small piece of ice is all that’s needed for this. Adding more water than that would be a crime. They're both excellent Scotches.
However, Laphroaig remains my favorite although it is best left to true Scotch aficionados; girly men need not apply.

-JP

"So say we all."

-Colonel Tigh, BSG

(Photo top: For Scotch drinking, I have a set of simple unadorned Stuart Crystal tumblers. I like their solid heavy feel.)

The Schadenfreude Goes On, part two

With all the media attention that went to Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, other smaller players haven’t received as much media attention as they might have otherwise received.

Below is a Fortune Magazine article that covers the story of Tony Young, a young man in a hurry, who successfully infiltrated the tightly-closed-off-polo-set by playing a mean game of polo, claiming a pedigree as a trust-fund heir, and an MBA from Emory University.

As he established himself in “one of the last bastions of the old-money equestrian lifestyle,” he started Acorn Capital Management (a hedge fund), and began investing the money of his newfound friends. As a young man in his thirties, he also began to live a lavish lifestyle similar to that of his clients.

Then one day, the SEC showed up and filed civil fraud charges against him. To everyone's surprise, federal regulators alleged that he was stealing the polo-set’s money in a scheme similar to that of Bernie Madoff’s. As the investigation continued, his background stories unraveled and he proved to be decidedly different than that of the manner-born-pedigree he had affected.

The Fortune story also has a hint for anyone wishing to do a fast social climb into the polo set- To learn polo quickly, buy a horse that is already trained to follow the ball. You can take it from there. (The Jaeger Lecoultre Reverso is optional.)

A Scandal Rocks the Polo Set- Fortune Magazine, November 23, 2009
“Among the swells who winter in Palm Beach, Tony Young was known as a brilliant investor from an old Southern family. Then the SEC showed up, and his façade began to crumble.”

Tony Young Pleads Guilty-Southern Chester County Weeklies, July 21, 2010
“A man once known as having a sterling reputation among the exclusive equestrian and financial community of the greater Unionville community, pleaded guilty Tuesday to single counts of mail fraud and money laundering in connection with a $35 million fraud scheme.”

Click here for “The Schadenfreude Goes On…” part one
The story of Dina Wein Reis, a middle class Jewish girl from Brooklyn who “duped” major U.S. corporations out of millions of dollars, and then used the money to move to Manhattan.


(Photo top left, Fortune Magazine; Photo bottom right, Philly.com- Tony Young leaves court after pleading guilty.)

Finally! Aliens!

My wife sent me a link to this U.K. Telegraph article on the Voyager 2 Spacecraft and the commentary-“FINALLY! Aliens! I've been waiting my whole life for this. All I can say is, it's about time.”

The article states that a German character, Hartwig Hausdorf, believes the U.S. Voyager 2 Spacecraft has been taken over by alien intelligence. His belief is based on the fact that Voyager 2 is now sending “strange messages that are confusing scientists.”

Of course the fact that Voyager has been in space for thirty-three-years, and could be simply breaking down and transmitting gibberish, apparently never entered Hartwig’s mind.

A real point of scientific interest is that Voyagers 1 and 2 are the most distant space probes in history. They’re traveling fast at approximately 38,000 and 35,000 miles-per-hour (about 20% the speed of light); and at a distance of approximately 10.5 billion miles, they will shortly leave the solar system’s heliosphere (according to NASA).


The heliosphere is a “bubble” in space composed of stuff being blown out of the sun (by the solar wind) against the cold of interstellar space. When you leave the heliosphere, you have in effect left the solar system.

Another interesting thing is something called the termination shock. The termination shock is the point within the heliosphere where the solar wind stops pushing out at supersonic speed (becomes subsonic) and causes compression, heat, and magnetic changes. One reference stated that Voyager 2 actually passed through termination shock five times. Apparently the termination shock line fluctuates due to changes in the Sun’s output.

I’m not a rocket scientist, but perhaps going through that boundary five times may have caused some of Voyager's components to become fried and this explains the gibberish transmissions.

Of course if it is aliens, then please read my prior post, "Cleverly Disguised Lizards Bring Hope and Change."


(The top illustration is the work of Franco Brambilla. He is an artist who adds sci-fi material to old postcards. The two other illustrations are from a NASA page.)


From the UK Metro: Man hit by six meteorites is being 'targeted by aliens'

The Duck Behind the Man

This is the duck I keep in my office. I’ve received some emails asking about him, and I thought it was high time the world got to know him.

Orange, Orange, Orange

I’ve given up and accepted orange.

My high school colors were orange and white, and I really, really, didn’t care for the colors. Casual clothing wise, I've always been a navy blue or forest green polo shirt with khakis kind of guy.

Then, in Army basic training, the uniform collar tabs for my training company were orange. (Hmm, odd coincidence.)

Then, I earned my undergraduate degree and Regular Army Commission from the University of Texas at El Paso whose colors were- you guessed it, orange and white.

Then graduate school at…Syracuse, otherwise known as “The Orange Men.”

So I give up. My next tie is going to be orange.

-J.P.

PS- OK, Canada won the gold in hockey. But Syracuse won in basketball. So I can live vicariously through that.

An old dog is the best dog- poem

An old dog is the best dog,

A dog with rheumy eyes;

An old dog is the best dog

A dog grown sad and wise,

Not one who snaps at bubbles,

Nor one who barks at nowt,

A dog who knows your troubles,

A dog to see you out.

An old bitch is the best bitch,

Not pups to fetch your sticks;

An old bitch is the best bitch,

Not one to teach new tricks,

Not one who's up and leaping,

But one whose coat is grey,

Leg's twitching while she's sleeping

In dreams of yesterday.

-Felix Dennis

Both photos are of Henry, my oldest Lab. He’s the arch nemesis of “Harvey,” a squirrel who lives in our front oak trees. H occasionally brings us some of Harvey’s insufficiently speedy relatives as gifts.

Felix Dennis the author of the poignant poem is a bit of an odd duck. He writes poetry but is best known as a successful magazine publisher and has written an odd assembly of books and pamphlets ranging from the death of Bruce Lee to how to get rich.

-JP

Reader's Question on Barbour Jacket Smell

I received this question on my Barbour Beaufort Jacket Post-

“Hello John,



I am having a bit of trouble with the smell of my Barbour Beaufort. It was a hand-me-down from my father. The problem is it smells musty. I can't seem to think this is the wax smell you've talked about. Do you have any ideas on how to diminish or even eliminate the stench? I personally do not mind but I do find my friends distancing themselves from me whenever I choose to wear it. Could Barbour help with the odor? Also could you further the information on the Barbour facility to me because I'd like to extend the arm length and might as well get it rewaxed?



Thanks, 
Ian”

Ian, the Barbour Beaufort waxed jacket does carry its own distinctive smell, which some people find unpleasant and describe as musty, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard it described as a “stench.”

Of my two jackets, my older the one, the Sylkoil Classic Beaufort Jacket probably has the greater propensity to generate a musty smell, but I find the odor dissipates once I clean it with some ice water and a sponge and re-wax it. (That's the jacket I'm wearing in the upper left photo.)

So here are some possible solutions to the musty smell you’re describing (remember it’s a long distance diagnoses) -

1. Use a sponge and some ice water to wipe down the jacket a couple of times and allow drying in the sun while unzipped and draped over a patio chair. The ice water hardens the wax and allows the sponge to pick up the dirt. By squeezing out the dirty water from the sponge, you should be able to judge how much dirt you’ve picked up and how much is remaining on the jacket. Leaving the jacket to dry in the sun will allow it to be aired out, especially if draped unzipped with the inside also catching some air.

I wouldn’t recommend applying new dressing until you’re sure you’ve done a good job of removing some of the old dirt layers which could have worked themselves into the old wax. I strongly suspect that’s what’s causing your smell. (By using multiple sponges during the cleaning you could also peel away some of the old contaminated wax which would also help.)

My guess it that you would have better luck with this approach in summer when the warmer temperatures would allow the existing wax to become more pliable; and you may find you have to go through this cleaning and airing out process several times. (In the Army we used to do this cleaning and airing out with our tents, and it was always a pain.)

2. Worst comes to worst, you could simply wash the jacket in a washing machine with clothing detergent, but that would more than likely strip off all the wax. Once you do that, you can’t re-wax it again. Any wax applied would more than likely just bleed off. I have run into people who have made that choice.

3. For help from Barbour service, repair and reproofing, if you’re in the U.S., I would recommend you do it through the Orvis Flagship Store in Manchester, Vermont. In my experience, they have the strongest working relationship with the Barbour Repair Shop, which is located in the neighboring State of New Hampshire.

I don’t think I’ve ever heard of them addressing the smell issue, but I do know that they can help with alterations, which includes adding sleeve length. Their contact information is-

Orvis Store
4180 Main Street, Historic Route 7A
Manchester, VT 05254
Phone: (802) 362-375

(A word of warning, they’re not quick, even if you send it during spring/summer expect a lengthy wait.)

If you’re not in the U.S., I would visit the Barbour website and see what information you can garner on stockists in your country or perhaps consider sending the jacket directly to Barbour in Great Britain. Their address is-

J. Barbour & Sons Ltd
Customer Services
Simonside
South Shields
Tyne & Wear
NE34 9PD

On their website they ask that you include your phone number, and explain that turn around could be 10 weeks. They also have a form that lists their prices in British Currency.

4. The one thing I wouldn’t do is to hose it down with an outside hose as I’ve seen some bloggers suggest. If the dirt causing the musty smell is embedded into the old wax dressing, the water pressure wouldn’t be enough to dislodge it; plus impurities in the outside water connection could do additional damage to the jacket.

I hope you are able to salvage the jacket. Items passed down from one’s father are always precious.

Regards,

John P.

PS- Barbour Marketing should really, really, send me a check.



For step by step re-waxing instructions, click here.

The Seiko Professional Divers Watch, men's stuff part ten

If I had to choose one watch from my collection for endurance and serviceability, this Seiko Divers would be the watch. It’s been with me in multiple environments- in deserts, in forests, in saltwater and freshwater, and in the cold of both the Korean DMZ and Alaska. I was also wearing it in 1986 when I broke my leg on the worst airborne jump of my military career. My ankle required some metal implants to repair it, but the watch was hardly scratched.

Today, its roughest mission is to the gym.

It’s a quartz watch, and the second hand begins to mark off two-seconds intervals when the battery needs changing. It’s waterproof to 200 meters or approximately 656 feet (which means it can go places I can’t go); and has a unidirectional rotating bezel, with the first twenty minutes highlighted in bright red. The day-date is at the three o’clock position, and the day can be set in either English or Spanish. The crown, located at the 4 o'clock position, has a very efficient curving crown guard.


I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve replaced the flat rubber bracelet, and despite its age, the luminous hands and markers are still visible in low lighting. I have had the jeweler offer to switch out the scratched bezel, but I like the memories the scratches represent. Remarkably, the crystal is unscratched.

Today, Seiko offers many versions of this watch in both quartz and mechanical models. Despite the fact that some watch aficionados look down upon them, I highly recommend them. They’re durable, inexpensive and don’t have to be babied. (I actually had a case of 5.56 ammunition dropped on mine once, without damage.)

Seiko's most recent technical accomplishment was the development of a space watch for billionaire Richard Garriott that was worn during a space walk outside the International Space Station.

And while strolling down memory lane, here’s the oldest watch in my collection. It’s the Timex I wore in Army Basic Training right out of high school. I remember I bought it with the intention of it being a disposable watch; but miraculously it’s still with me. It not only survived several Army schools, but it also outlived several so-called G-Shock watches and an untold number of GI issue field watches. Today, I still use it while clearing and burning brush or doing outside work. I think every true watch enthusiast has at least one Timex in his collection.

This last photo is of my father’s last field watch, which I inherited after he passed away recently. During my Army career, he developed a fondness for OD Green field watches. As a result I would always buy him a new field watch for Christmas from the PX. When I left the service, the tradition continued and I would always include a field watch with his Christmas packages when he needed a replacement. He loved to putter and work outside and was very hard on his watches. This Orvis version of the GI watch was the last field watch he owned. Prior to end-of-year, I need to clean it up and replace the strap which is very worn due to dad’s continual outdoor use.


Update: Below is my father's Orvis field watch after I cleaned it up and placed a new NATO Nylon Strap on it.


John P.


If you're into watches, check out my other watch related blog posts:

 Hamilton Jazz Master.

 Rolex Submariner.

 Jaeger LeCoultre Reverso

.

The Schadenfreude Goes On…

In case you didn’t get enough drama and entertainment from the business pages during summer, here is an interesting article from Fortune Magazine (entitled "The alleged grifter who duped corporate giants"). It deals with something we seldom think about- the movement of consumer goods through unauthorized distribution channels. Fortune Magazine’s James Bandler and Doris Burke explain-

“(Dina) Wein Reis was what is known as a "diverter," a player in the little-known but large gray market in which consumer goods are bought and sold in channels unauthorized by manufacturers. Diversion is not necessarily illegal. But the way Wein Reis did it was fraud, prosecutors allege.”

“For sheer dollar damages, her alleged thievery cannot come close to matching that of Bernard Madoff …But what she is accused of doing was fabulously brazen; she had the temerity to sting some of the world's biggest corporations -- not just once, but again and again.”

What struck me was a) the amount of hard work and coordination that went into the enterprise and b) Dina Wein Reis’s willingness to court publicity of her personal life. Prior to the legal melt down, her lavishly furnished Manhattan townhouse was actually featured in Architectural Digest. Most people in her position would have shunned the daylight. (If you want to see over the top Manhattan kitsch in a way only a middle-class Jewish girl from Brooklyn could pull off, you really must check out the photos.)

The Fed’s have since raided the townhouse and seized most of her property. One FBI agent described her home as so full of bling and loot as, "King Tut's tomb." I'm not sure when her trial is scheduled, but you can purchase a copy of her fraud indictment on Amazon for approximately ten dollars. Some light reading to keep you entertained on your next flight.

-JP

(Photo Above- of Wein Reis by Fortune Magazine.)


Update from The New York Post, dated May 19, 2011-
NY socialite Dina Wein Reis pleads guilty to fraud charges
“A New York socialite pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal charge that she duped corporations out of millions of dollars. Dina Wein Reis, 47, softly answered, “Guilty,” when U.S. District Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson asked her how she pleaded to a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.”


-

iMBA Fall 2009 Residency

The fall Whitman iMBA residency was fun and it was great to see our Syracuse friends again.
(Snapshot left- initial reception at the Sheraton)

This semester we’re taking Managerial Accounting with Professor Alex Thevaranjan (who prefers to be called Coach T by graduate students); and Investment Analysis with Professor Ravi Shukla, an engineer by training but now a PHD in finance, who is very passionate about trying to make sense out of the randomness of the market.

Managerial Accounting is focused on internal information that facilitates decisions about the future. It uses projection tools to sift out relevant information and identify risk and return before decisions are made. (By contrast Financial Accounting is after the fact and aimed at telling a story to people outside the company, usually investors.)

The second course, Investment Analysis, deals with the analytical methods to portfolio management. It touches on the different approaches to investment- Ad hoc (intuition), Bigger Fool Theory, and systematic approaches. It also addresses the different asset classes and diversification methods. One of the interesting subjects we discussed during the residency was the way poor quality mortgage securities infiltrated the US economy and produced last years economic melt down.

On the first day of classes, the faculty announced some changes during a town hall meeting. Future residencies will be shorter by one day to lessen the burden of travel, and as a result, classes will be extended from 90 minutes to a full two hours per day. The other major change involves new students. Previously new students were only required to start together with Financial Accounting and Strategic Management during their first semester. After that, they were free to choose their classes based on preference and availability. Now the school will try to keep students together in a cohort group for a longer period (I think it’s the first three semesters).

Students near graduation will be allowed early registration, and additional courses may be added in May to facilitate areas of concentration.

The bad news announced was that costs are going to continue to go up, an average of six percent per semester, despite the current state of the economy. This was an issue as many students complained that their employers were no longer reimbursing their tuition, as companies cut back on benefits. We also noticed the iMBA group looked smaller, possibly due to job losses.

During our week in Syracuse, we visited all our regular haunts- Lake Onondaga, Joey’s Italian Restaurant, Kitty Hoynes Irish Pub; and visited a few new places. We drove up to Lake Ontario for the first time, went hiking at Highland State Park, ate clams at the Clam Bar (on Brewerton Road) and shopped at a charming farm market called Ontario Orchards (in Oswego).

I want to also express special thanks to Dennis Hay, of Joey’s Italian Restaurant. After a very favorable experience last year, we postponed our 19th wedding anniversary dinner by about a week in order to celebrate it at Joey’s. Once again, my wife had flowers waiting for her at the table, and once again we had a great flaming desert of strawberries cooked in brown sugar and butter, yum. Kudos to Joey’s.

John P.

Professor Alex Thevaranjan (PHD in accounting) and myself after class. (Professor Ravi Shukla is in the top photo, fourth from the left.)

Me, Sari and Craig at the Whitman iMBA town hall.

Sue by some flowers at Highland State Park.

At Kitty Hoynes Irish Pub after hiking all afternoon at Highland State Park.

Click here for more information on the Syracuse University Whitman School of Management iMBA program.

-JP

Geo F. Trumper on Facebook, men's stuff part nine

Geo F. Trumper, considered by many to be the apex in men's wet shaving gear, has posted a link to my wet shaving post on their facebook page.

-JP

Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum

Today, we spent the afternoon visiting the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library in Austin. We hadn’t visited the Library in a number of years and wanted to see what had changed.

The LBJ Library is located in downtown Austin on a 30-acre site on the UT campus. The ten story building is modern monolithic in design and has visitor exhibits on the third, fourth, and tenth floor. The other notable feature is that it has a five-story glass encased view of the actual archives, which visitors can see, from the Great Hall on the fourth floor. It was dedicated on May 22, 1971.

Sue and me in front of LBJ’s Presidential Limo, a 1968 stretch Lincoln that was used in both D.C. and Austin.

There is also an animatronic LBJ that tells humorous stories from LBJ’s speeches. One of them goes something like this:

"A little boy was praying for his Momma. She was a poor widow and was having trouble making ends meet, so the little boy wrote a letter to God: "God, I'd be mighty thankful if you would send Momma a hundred dollars to help out." Well, his letter wound up in the postmaster general's office. And the postmaster was so moved by the letter that he took twenty-dollar bill from his pocket, put it in an official Washington D.C. Postmaster General envelope and sent it to the widow. Two weeks later, he gets another letter from the boy addressed to God. The letter thanked God for everything and the great help that the money provided. It also asked for another hundred dollars with this added caveat- “Only please God, this time send it direct. Last time it went through Washington and they withheld eighty percent.”


Photo Below-Sue in front of the LBJ storyteller. She thought it was creepy, the way the eyes moved and the hand creaked when it moved. In her own words:

“I found him kind of creepy, especially the eyes. I thought, what if you were accidentally stuck in the museum after they locked up for the night? Say you were studying in the archives and lost track of time. And A-LBJ started to move and talk, when nobody was around to trigger his motion sensors! And he didn't tell his funny stories but instead said stuff like, 'I don't take kindly to strangers snooping in my private papers.' Then the lights go out. And you run for the doors, stumbling around in the dark, only find the doors are locked from the outside! Then you hear a squeak from behind you...”


The Library had a section on the Vietnam War. Here I am in front of the Special Forces (SF) display. The beret on display has a 5th Group SF Flash on it; I was in 12th Group (1985-87), which no longer exists.


A view of the archives.


According to the visitors brochure, "The library houses 45 million pages of historical documents, 650,000 photos, one million feet of motion picture film, and 5,000 hours of recordings from the public career of Lyndon Baines Johnson and those of his close associates."

If you’re in Austin, and up to the drive, you can also go to nearby College Station and visit the George Bush Presidential Library at Texas A&M. My wife and I visited it about two years ago and it was also pretty cool.

On the other hand, if you find yourself in the Los Angeles area we highly recommend the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley California. That library has the old Air Force One airplane from the Reagan era and the "Gipper" sweater of Notre Dame fame.

Finally the G.W. Bush Library is getting off the ground and will be located in Dallas (approximately four hours from Austin). Sue and I are looking forward to visiting that one when it gets up and running.

-JP

Madoff Schadenfreude Part 2

According to the WSJ, the other shoe has dropped in the Madoff Ponzi scheme case. Irving Picard, the court appointed trustee in charge of recovering funds for Bernard Madoff’s victims is now suing Madoff’s wife, Ruth Madoff, for approximately $44.8 million.

“Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee, alleged that 68-year-old Ruth Madoff "knew or should have known" that vast sums of money she received from her husband's investment firm, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, rightly belonged to the firm and to her husband's customers.”

“’For decades, Mrs. Madoff lived a life of splendor using the money of (Madoff’s) customers,’ Mr. Picard said in a lawsuit filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. ‘Regardless of whether or not Mrs. Madoff knew of the fraud her husband perpetrated at (his firm) ... she received tens of millions of dollars from (the firm) for which (the firm) received no corresponding benefit or value and to which Mrs. Madoff had no good-faith basis to believe she was entitled.’"

Of course the problem is that Ruth Madoff has already given up her rights the bulk of the cash she had withdrawn (just prior to Bernie Madoff’s arrest), and has already agreed to sell the marital real estate assets in Manhattan, Long Island and Palm Beach as part of restitution for investors. In an agreement with federal prosecutors she was allowed to keep about $2.5 million in cash. Not chump change, but not anywhere near the $44.8 million Picard is seeking.

I am also not aware of anything preventing individual investors from bringing civil litigation directly against her. In which case, the $2.5 million could disappear almost overnight in attorney fees. Finally there have been reports that she is having trouble finding a place to live, as she is persona non grata in Manhattan and some buildings have refused her.

Whether you feel sorry for her or not, one thing is certain, she is about to undergo an extreme adjustment in her standard of living.

-JP

Read
Madoff Schadenfreude Part 1

(Photo ABOVE- Ruth Madoff is shown in an AP photo leaving a correctional facility after visiting her husband Bernie Madoff in April. Photo BELOW LEFT- Ruth and Bernie Madoff in happier times while at a desert party in Mexico- Rex USA. Photo BELOW RIGHT- The Madoffs on the yacht of real-estate tycoon Norman Levy. Vanity Fair)

Best Advice

Every year, Fortune Magazine has an issue where business leaders discuss the best advice they’ve received. That got me thinking about my life, and what I could claim was the one single best piece of advice I’ve ever received.

Here’s my answer- I joined the military right out of high school for the college money. I really had no other incentive; but to my surprise, I took to the military like a fish to water and did very well, very quickly. What I had anticipated as a drudgery had instead become a pleasurable experience.

While still a private, a crusty old Sergeant Major stopped me and stared at me intently. He then asked me, “Pacheco, you love the Army don’t you?” Up to that point I hadn’t really consciously articulated the thought, but after a moment’s consideration I replied, “Yes Sergeant Major, I guess I do.”

He then leaned into me and said, “Well don’t fall in love with the Army Pacheco, because the Army won’t fall in love with you.”

It took a while for the full meaning of that advice to sink it, but has been one of the most useful tools of perspective anyone has ever given me. No matter how much overlap there is, there will always be conflict between the objectives of your employer and your own enlightened-self-interest. You should never make the assumption that your interests and those of your organization are one and the same. You should never have the expectation that an organization will reward you for loyalty or self-sacrifice. Simply put, there are too many variables, both external and political for the equation to be that simple. At the end of the day, you have to keep your eyes wide open and do what’s right for yourself and your family. That’s your burden, and that burden cannot be delegated or entrusted to another earthly power.

Do what’s right by your colleagues and customers to earn your wages, but don’t overlook to do right by yourself in the day-to-day process.

-JP

The Tall Ship Cuauhtemoc

The print version of the WSJ had a photo of the Mexican tall ship Cuauhtemoc sailing into San Francisco on Monday July 13th. Unfortunately the photo wasn’t available online, but the photo I’ve posted here of the Cuauhtemoc arriving in Japan is essentially the same. When she enters a harbor, the crew stands on the yards and sings greeting.

The WSJ reported:
“The barque Cuauhtemoc sailing along the city-front in SF in the '05 Tall Ships Challenge. Built for the Mexican Navy as a training vessel for its cadets, she was named for the last Aztec emperor who was imprisoned and executed by conquistador Hernán Cortés in 1525.”

The ship apparently travels all over the world as a sort of good will ambassador and permits tours once in dock.

Emperor Cuauhtemoc’s name meant, “descending eagle,” which is perhaps fitting, as he was the last legitimate ruler of Tenochtitlan. The painting below depicts Cortez torturing him. Cortez wanted to know where the last of the Tenochtitlan’s gold had been hidden. Cuauhtemoc insisted there was nothing left of the national treasury and maintained his royal bearing and dignity through the pain. Eventually in frustration, Cortez had him hanged; however, Cauahtemoc's bravery made him a folk hero and his name lives on.

Legend has it that Cuauhtemoc will return in the era of the Sixth Sun and reseat the Mexica as the rightful rulers of the Cem-Anahuac (or “One World” as the Aztec Empire was known).

“You tell me then that I must perish
like the flowers that I cherish.
Nothing remaining of my name,
Nothing remembered of my fame?
But the gardens I planted still are young-
The songs I sang will be sung!”
- Huexotzin, Prince of Texcoco

The Torture of Cuauhtémoc - A 19th Century painting by Leandro Izaguirre

The Great Gatsby

One of the nice things about summer reading is that in addition to new stuff, you can revisit some old books that you haven’t read in years and see them with a new perspective.

This weekend I started re-reading Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. It’s one of those books you’re forced to read in school, to which your adolescent reaction is invariably a bored “Huh?” But as you get older, you begin to appreciate the nuances.

For a little humor try this passage describing the scene at one of Gatsby’s over the top parties-

“I was immediately struck by the number of young Englishmen dotted about; all well dressed, all looking a little hungry, and all talking in low, earnest voices to solid and prosperous Americans. I was sure that they were selling something: bonds or insurance or automobiles. They were at least agonizingly aware of the easy money in the vicinity and convinced that it was theirs for a few words in the right key.” (Sounds suspiciously like some of the parties I attended during the dot com bubble.)

And finally for those readers who haven’t read the book and just want the nickel-tour-summary so that they can discuss it, here it is-

“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- the smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made….”

Regurgitate that summary, and you’re sure to get an A.

-John P.

PS- For the record, and at the risk of getting beat up via email, I do think The Great Gatsby is the only good book Fitzgerald ever wrote.

The Hamilton Jazz Master, men's stuff part eight

I have a new Hamilton Jazz Master Chrono, a gift from my wife. It’s a beautiful watch with a classic masculine appearance, reminiscent of the 1950’s.

The Hamilton Watch Company has an interesting history. It was founded in 1882 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, but its real claim to fame came with World War II. During the war, the company stopped making watches for civilians, and concentrated all of its production towards the war effort. As a result, Hamilton became synonymous with the GI Field Watch. To this day, Hamilton carries a line of field watches and military style watches under its Khaki collection, however it is no longer American owned. In the 1990s Hamilton became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Swatch Group along with Omega.

In the past I had considered getting a Hamilton watch, but I couldn’t really get excited over the idea of field watch. I have owned too many field watches over the years.

Recently however, I noticed a collection of Hamilton watches in the window of a jewelry store and the Jazz Master Chronograph Auto caught my eye, specifically the rose gold case model. I went inside to take a closer look at it and was pleased with what I saw. The only flaw I saw was that the rose gold model came with a brown crocodile strap, and I prefer a black strap with rose gold.

That evening, I mentioned the watch to my wife and promptly forgot about it. She knew that I have been considering a new watch purchase- the IWC Portuguese Chrono, or the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso -but it hasn’t been an immediate pending decision. So imagine my joyful surprise when she gave it to me on the morning of a special event along with my morning coffee. (YES!) My wife even had them switch out the croc wristband from brown to black, so if it was perfect.


I’ve worn it now for about three weeks and have been very pleased with it. It has a solid feel to it, like a quality watch should. The chronograph (stopwatch) goes up to 12 hours, which is ample time for measuring flights and daily tasks. It has a dressier appearance than my Rolex Submariner and once I adjusted and stretched out the croc leather band, the Jazz Master was a comfortable fit despite its large size. (In its thickness, it reminds me of a Panerai watch.)

On the back, it has a sapphire crystal display so that you can see the inner workings, and “Hamilton “ is etched on the rotar. The automatic wind up feature (by motion) works fairly well. I’ve only had to manually wind it a little between wears.

The crocodile leather strap is adjusted and secured via a double butterfly clasp, and an “H” is etched on the outside of the clasp.


The chronograph controls and readouts are pretty standard. The outer-upper-right button (above the crown) starts and stops the stopwatch, and the outer-lower-right button clears the time. What is normally the sweep second hand on the face, is in fact the seconds-hand for the chronograph. The normal time sweep second hand is in one of the small inner dials. The other two inner dials keep track of elapsed minutes and hours.

In the close up photo, notice that the chronograph buttons are curved and serve as "de facto" crown guards.

Because of the three inner dials, the date function is moved to just below the 4 on the face, and yet the watch face remains classically balanced in appearance. The date can be set by either moving the hours forward with the crown, or faster by pushing an indented button (called a pusher) on the inner side of the case by the 10 on the face.


My one caveat is that Hamilton claims the watch is water resistant to 100 meters, but I wouldn’t put it to the test. It’s definitely a dress watch. I have a hard time picturing somebody actually diving into the ocean or pool with it (especially if left on the croc wristband). I wouldn’t trust the seals on the chronograph buttons, and saltwater could easily harm the finish.

Overall, the watch is classical in design, masculine, understated, and comfortable despite its large size. It was a great gift and I’m very pleased with it. Thanks hon!

JP

“Some people think luxury is the opposite of poverty. It is not. It is the opposite of vulgarity.” Coco Chanel

SPECS-
REFERENCE: H326460
NAME: JAZZMASTER CHRONO AUTO
MOVEMENT: Swiss Automatic Mechanical ETA 7753
POWER RESERVE: 42 Hours
WATER RESISTANCE: 10 ATM or 100 Meters (But I wouldn't put it to the test.)
REF STRAP: brown croc leather # H600.326.105 (NOTE- I changed mine out for Black)