LC

Thanks for posting. Ashtead looks interesting.

The first two seasons of Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock are some of the best TV in the past decade. Jeremy Brett's version is also incredible of course.

Anything you can take out loans against? Margin your stocks, mortgage, etc. etc.

Lesson 1: A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower when the doorbell rings. The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next door neighbour. Before she says a word, Bob says, “I’ll give you $800 to drop that towel.” After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob. After a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 dollars and leaves. The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs. When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks,… “Who was that?” “It was Bob the next door neighbour,” she replies. “Great!” the husband says, “Did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?” Moral of the story: If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure. Lesson 2: A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out. The Genie says, “I’ll give each of you just one wish” “Me first! Me first!” says the administration clerk. “I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world.” Poof! She’s gone. “Me next! Me next!” says the sales rep. “I want to be in Hawaii, relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life.” Poof! He’s gone. “OK, you’re up,” the Genie says to the manager. The manager says, “I want those two back in the office after lunch.” Moral of the story: Always let your boss have the first say Lesson 3: A priest offered a lift to a Nun. She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a leg. The priest nearly had an accident. After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg. The nun said,”Father, remember Psalm 129?” The priest removed his hand. But, changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again. The nun once again said, “Father, remember Psalm 129?” The priest apologized “Sorry sister but the flesh is weak.” Arriving at the convent, the nun went on her way. On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129. It said, “Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory.” Moral of the story: If you are not well informed in your job, you might miss a great opportunity Lesson 4 A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day. A rabbit asked him, ”Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?” The crow answered: “Sure, why not.” So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, and rested. A fox jumped on the rabbit and ate it. Moral of the story: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very high up Lesson 5: Power of Charisma A turkey was chatting with a bull “I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree,” sighed the turkey, but I haven’t got the energy.” “Well, why don’t you nibble on my droppings?” replied the bull. “They’re packed with nutrients.” The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fourth night, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree. Soon he was spotted by a farmer, who shot the turkey out of the tree. Moral of the story: Bullshit might get you to the top, but it wont keep you there Lesson 6 A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field. While he was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to realize how warm he was. The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy. A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him. Moral of the story: Not everyone who shits on you is your enemy Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend And when you’re in deep shit, it’s best to keep your mouth shut!

I'll throw one out - not only probably the best animated series ever, but possibly one of the best TV series ever: Avatar: the Last Airbender

I also joined the MO club slightly after the price drop yesterday. Will be happy to hold for years, but unless there’s future crazy price movement, i am not sure I will be adding more as it is about a 10% position.

I disagree about the opportunity cost because once you learn about a particular stock or business, well that knowledge doesn't go away. Five years later you can use most of it to make a trade decision. So now five years later you can spend that time researching stock Z

I think this is actually where value investing shines: you actually have to learn the business. Maybe you take losses initially due to the factors you mention. But maybe in 3 years you can come back and now the investment decision is easier because you have built up knowledge. The biggest “value” is this built up knowledge.

Romo is easily the best commentator the NFL has

Woof. Rams win it.

Different strokes for different folks. I'm with the posters who said 1) value investing has so many meanings, two "value" investors can be on both sides of a trade, and 2) "value" investing is just "investing" So really, do whatever you think is best. Which is usually what we're all doing anyways.

Easier said than done. Hasn't Berkshire been trying for years to increase acquisitions in Europe? Could it just be a culture thing? Two guys from the midwest vs business owners (and in many cases family businesses) in Europe?

VZ order went through today so saved a few % there. Bought IRM, PM, and NLSN.

3 vampires are having a competition to prove who's the most vicious vampire among them. The strongest one started 1st, "watch this," He said as he flies so fast, about 100 miles/hour. After only 10 minutes, he comes back with blood all over his mouth. "what happened?" they asked. "did you see that house over there?" "yes?" "well.. I killed the entire family and sucked the blood dry!" "wow!? fascinating, as expected from the strongest vampire" Then the eldest one takes the next turn "watch and learn," he said as he flies even faster, about 120 miles/hour. After only 5 minutes, he comes back with blood all over his mouth and his neck. "what happened??" they asked. "did you see that village over there?" "ye..yes?" "well.. I killed every last person on that village and sucked the blood dry!" "wow!? magnificent! truly amazing, we can expect no less from the eldest one!" Finally the last turn belongs to the fastest one, "don't blink or you'll miss it" he said as he flies really fast, even faster than the other two, about 140 miles/hour. After only a mere 30 seconds, he comes back with blood all over his mouth, his neck, and his nose. "wh..what happened???" they asked. "did you see that big ass tree over there?" "ye..yes?!" "well.. I didn't"

Great business that saved and made a lot of ordinary people money. That's the right incentive. RIP

Bought some MO. Also bought some VZ

Good luck on whichever path you venture down! ;D Also, there's nothing wrong with indexing and going to the beach!

Maybe it;'s just me but that was not really a convincing answer by WB. Essentially Howard's job is to collect a paycheck and make a CEO change if they pick "the wrong guy"? Firstly, the job description of COB is not that simple. If the CEO of Brk and CEO of one of the major subs have a big disagreement, in most companies, the board usually steps in or provides input. Howard will have a voice and a responsibility, regardless of whether "he has interest or not". Second, even in the severely limited role that WB specifies, WB doesn't answer how Howard is qualified. How does HB know who the right or wrong CEO is? Wouldn't you need some knowledge of the underlying businesses to make this decision? "Protect the culture" - looking past the ambiguity of this phrase, WB still doesn't say how HB is qualified. All WB says is that, "Howard cares enormously about protecting the culture and protecting the shareholders" and he has a "enormous sense of responsibility". This is wholly unsatisfying as a job qualification, and pretty suspicious that the selected individual with this "enormous sense of responsibility" happens to be WB's son.

Really? I didn't see it in this thread. I will check your post history. Thanks\ Ah found it - must have scrolled by ;D

Exactly. You have to look at actions, not words. The reality is that HB is simply not qualified. Someone should ask this question at the next Brk meeting (just kidding, it will never pass whatever question screening they have in place).

Post whatever, as whomever, you want but if there’s context I’m not going to ignore it.

Partially correct. Motives are important. Imagine this: someone posts a stock idea. Now as an investor, you will never know 100% of the details regarding how to value this stock. You know what the financials tell you, what your due diligence tells you, etc. but you will never have a full picture. Now, what if you find this person is a paid promoter for the company? Wouldn't you want to know this? Wouldn't you want to understand the biases and incentives underlying a stock pitch? This is why disclosure statements exist. Liberty makes a good point. Despite anonymous names, we all build up some social cache here on this message board. Or at the very least, over time people understand our biases and incentives. Of course content matters, but so does context. You need both.

Holy cow. Too much brain damage to me, outta here!

Dude what the *$#$? Trying to pick up a 16 year old at Exeter Academy as a 30 year old? I don't know what "more to the story" there can be. Who picks up high school girls as a freaking adult? And Eric, keep your crappy behavior outside of the 914 area code. Anyways - was interesting to hear you speak, Spek. Funny how Eric could not pronounce the name....it is a typical latin pronunciation. But you were the star of the show and more importantly, knew your stuff - well performed!

Yep - I have not done the exercise outside of my mind but that is what I concluded the result would most likely be. Everytime someone says that "Buffett's age is the risk" I think, well if he died tomorrow and they started such a runoff, it would probably increase the speed at which Berkshire's value is "realized". Regarding buybacks vs. dividends - Once Warren is gone, I prefer dividends. I don't trust the next guy to buy appropriately. While Warren is alive, I prefer neither. I'd rather give him as much opportunity to find another elephant.