Parsad

Folks, As I mentioned already in a previous post, please keep all posts on the subject of investing or at least somewhat related to investing, including things like tax issues, economics, accounting, etc. If you have an administrative, operational or membership issue, please email me directly at sanjeevparsad@shaw.ca or use the "My Messages" system on the board. All posts that are completely off-topic will be removed. Any posting of private emails will result in immediate termination of membership. Thanks very much!

Things are tough everywhere. Even Borsheim's has let go of 13 employees. Cheers! http://www.cnbc.com/id/31205800/site/14081545?__source=yahoo%7Cheadline%7Cquote%7Ctext%7C&par=yahoo

I remember Francis had his website for many years, but didn't know what to do with it, so it said "Under Construction" for a very long time. Next time I speak to someone at Fairfax, I'll ask them, but I'm guessing it just isn't a priority or they are still figuring out exactly what they want to say on there. Cheers!

Probably the operative word is "breakfast". Alot of the other stuff happens after dinner. Wynn's hotels, restaurants and clubs are magnificient! He really is the king down there. Cheers!

Prem said that they moved into equities only when they thought the prices had become much more reasonable, and that they could withstand another 50% drop from where they had fallen. So, he's factored in a total 75% drop in equities from the peak, and that they could survive such a catastrophic correction. If such a thing did happen, then book value would naturally fluctuate. Eventually though, those stocks would recover and book value would increase. They also would have a lot of bonds and cash that they could deploy to average down further, and enjoy a bigger bang on the way up. Finally, individual stocks can move independently of the market, so some of Prem's investments may not be long-term. He may already be increasing the amount of cash they are holding, as prices continue to rise. Cheers!

Things are very tough there. The hotels and casinos are relatively busy, but nothing like a couple of years ago. Home prices are down significantly and people feel poorer there. Deals galore wherever you go, and if you push it, you can find some more discounts. North Americans seem to be accounting for much of the business...staying close to home for their vacations. Fairly easy to get reservations at the best restaurants these days, while the lower end restaurants were enjoying bustling business. Alot more people seem to have a hustle going now...cab drivers, door men, concierges, everyone. Everyone knows who can do this for you and that for you. All of them are really clamouring for your business. I always leave Vegas a little perturbed. Literally the slogan of "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" applies to this city. I can only imagine what thoughts Munger would have on society after witnessing the debauchery that goes on in some parts of this town. Cheers!

I thought that was quite funny! I wonder what some of our headlines today will sound like in 70 years. Cheers!

Terrific blog by Isaac summarizing newspaper clips from the 1930's! Cheers! http://newsfrom1930.blogspot.com/

Article from Globeinvestor.com discussing the possibility of a "double dip" in the economy. Cheers! http://www.globeinvestor.com/servlet/story/GAM.20090608.RECONOMY08ART1941/GIStory/

Jack, I have no interest whatsoever in continuing this discussion. It really doesn't matter what view you had of this board...you just don't go and piss on someone else's lawn. This board will run as it always has except for one change: Going forward I would ask all boardmembers contact me directly either through the message system on here, or by email at sanjeevparsad@shaw.ca , if you have any operational ideas or issues with the board. Any posts that are put up discussing operational or administrative issues will be removed. Feel free to contact me at anytime and I'll respond to your queries explaining if it is something we can change, augment or eliminate. And if not, then at least I'll give you a direct explanation. The reason being, I don't want to expose boardmembers to this type of argumentative posts anymore, and I don't have the energy. I was in Vegas right now with Alnesh, my brother and some buddies to celebrate various upcoming birthdays, including mine. I spent time during this vacation dealing with this crap, and it did put a bit of a damper on things for me. I'm not going to waste another iota of my time explaining to a handful of individuals why their needs don't outweigh the entire board's, while voluminous posts are made with things getting personal from both sides. This board was not created for that purpose. Thanks very much!

Alice Schroeder article on Bloomberg discussing Buffett's views on the economy. Cheers! http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=aUgpE2pRx5eU

Unfortunately during these discussions there were real time examples of how control can can squelch discussion. Pointing out to some members that they are free to leave if they don't agree is an example of that. Not unlike a husband, who makes the money, saying to his wife, who stays home with the kids, "well if you don't like it you can leave." That's not a healthy dialogue. It's a good example of control gone bad. Unfortunately in this case, you would be the husband Jack. If you want to use this analogy, then let me explain it to you more clearly: I'm looking after the kids, cleaning up as Calongeo put it, and staying awake at night making sure they are fed. On top of that, I'm paying the household bills while YOU in particular, are sitting on your fat ass watching tv and asking me to get you a beer. I'm not asking for much. Yes, it is only $500. But that is $500 that I put out. At the same time, you tell me if I don't like it, that you are willing to watch the kids and I can get the hell out of Dodge. Problem is that they are MY kids. I raised them and I nurtured them (the collective board as a whole) over the years. And that is what you don't understand, no matter how much you explain it to the board. Ericopoly just came back. He's a member of the board...one of my kids. We've all been through alot together with Fairfax while you were an absentee father. We may fight, but he came back and I'm happy. I should never have stepped in between you and him...it almost cost me a family member and a very good one. I didn't boot him off...he had chosen to leave on his own and he came back when he felt he wanted to. That's how family works! I'm not going to boot you off either. You're like an adolescent child...petulant, self-righteous, arrogant, gruff and misguided. You don't understand what you have but I think many of our core do. I never expected much from any boardmember for the work I do...not even a thank-you...does any parent expect anything from their children? I never sought any monetary compensation. All the meetings I set up outside of the board, the interviews I did in the past and currently are trying to do, the favors I've pulled for boardmembers on the side...never asked for anything. I decided to put the ads in to pay for the costs, like a mother taking in boarders. I wasn't looking to my kids for a handout. But a couple of my kids tell me that they don't want me renting out part of their family home. That "It doesn't feel right." I'm expected to either take the handout and feel beholden to my kids (culture gets influenced), or not supplement my income (eat the cost). So in that context, how do you expect me to feel Jack? Perhaps, it would be better if you just went back to posting, and let me run the site as I see fit. We've had it for over seven years, and it still continues to run without significant impact to the users. In fact, it's a much better site than anything we've had before. I don't expect all my decisions to be universally appealing, but I try and do what is best for the overall user, which I happen to be one of...that means no cost to anyone, including myself. Cheers!

Sarcasm? John I'm not following you. What do you mean to say? Yours Jack River Are you serious that you believe our comments on the board create a substantial quid-quo-pro considering Sanjeev has a very real cost of $500/year? Or are you being sarcastic? John Stop for a second and think about what you are saying to me. That the content we collectively build on this site is worth less than 500 dollars per year. I reject that idea. To others who summarily dismiss such discussions: A debate on ads on a web page or a debate on the benefits that may accrue (an option) to someone in control of this site is just as germane to investing and thinking as a harder topic of balance sheets and income statements. I am a little surprised that others here don't see this too. You don't have to agree with me, but I sincerely think it a valid position to take. But let's go through it for those who care: For starters, nothing in life is free. That may seem quaint or trite to some of you, but it is classic Buffett / Munger. From the WallMart example that is so often cited, purchasing managers don't accept so much as even a cup of coffee. Second, right now it's about covering the 500 dollars per year with ads you click through on, but later it may be banner ads, and if ever enough incentive (money) is provided it may well be manipulative ads and large profits. I don't believe Parsad would do this, but for a mere 500 dollars isn't it better we not go down that road. On the front of this site is a picture of Ben Graham. As you all know, he was known for talking freely about investments. Ads on this site don't seem to me to follow that tradition although I'm sure he sold his books and taught his classes for profit. That's my opinion and from reading the replies, it looks like I'm a minority of one. Five hundred dollars and a bit of time did not seem enough of a hurdle to part from this notion. I used the words poor taste as a subtle way of saying no ads. As to control, I think this is a wonderful topic. I think there is a sort of group mentality building that won't allow for this to be freely discussed or understood. It gets boiled down to snips that Parsad is giving up his time and 500 dollars, but no one ask what he gets in return. If you could step outside for a bit many of you would understand that my comments aren't meant to be personal. Control does not rest solely with the ability to kick someone off the board or silence the discussion. It can manifest itself in other ways more subtle yet more onerous. It can sway the discussion. It can mislead the members. But others aren't willing to see this now because what the heck does it have to do with ads? What the heck does it have to do with ads? There was something in Parsad's post that seem to suggest a burden. My replies were an attempt to call foul. That more benefit accrues to him than the value of a small bit of his time and 500 dollars per year, and that we aren't getting something for nothing. Parsad, the control resides with you, but once again I alone ask, no ads. My offer stands as before, 51% control and I will gladly take over all burdens. Yours Jack River You see Jack, this is the whole problem I have with people like you. You see this as something that can easily be handed off to someone else...that there is no sort of emotional or vested interest in the relationships built here. To you this is just another forum. To me this is over seven years of work, shared knowledge and intimate friendships with other wonderful investors. Do you actually think that $500 from you, and I would let all these people who use it be subjected to your idea of what it is? You haven't got the faintest idea of what this forum means to the people who use it, and you certainly have no comprehension of what it means to me. I thank everyone who has supported my decisions presently and in the past, for the wonderful friendships over the years, and all your contributions. But I've had enough of this bitching and complaining from a handful of people, who decide to ruin the environment for everyone else. So the ads are going to stay the way they are, and this site will run for free with no compromises on the culture we've helped create over the years. But for you Jack...I'm going to do you a favor in the same manner which you've so graciously offered your services. My offer to you is if you want to stay, then you can pay $500 regardless. Everyone else gets to use the site for free! If you don't want to use our board, feel perfectly free to cancel your membership. If you don't know how, let me know and I'll be more than happy to do it for you.

Every time I start to see articles like this, it usually points to some sort of bubble forming in a specific sector: http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/analysis-reports/gold-investments-market-update/2009-06-04.v02.html History has always proven not to do this, yet you always have some numbnuts who decides they know better. Cheers!

Those are two very unique businesses you've combined Crip. Can you send me a prospectus! ;D Cheers!

No problem Jack. How about YOU pay the $500 annually then?

Thanks very much Viking! Much appreciated! We won't have any more ads than we already do, and I've kept them as unobtrusive as possible. Cheers!

LOL . . . Oh the umbrage!! ;) Listen, this is your board and you can do what you want. But save the outrage when you get called on being misleading. How the hell do you call any of this misleading? I told the board right from the beginning that we will eventually use some ads to offset costs. Zarley, you don't pay a dime to post here, yet I'm stuck with an annual $500 US bill for your pleasure. Yet, you feel completely fine telling me that I'm feeding you bull. To date for the two weeks we've had the ads, we've made a grand sum of $4.28 US. I have no problem with a boardmember telling me that they don't like the ads or the placement of an ad, but you've got to be kidding me when you decide to throw crap in my face for something that you get completely for free. Are you really that ignorant, or are you just being a wise-ass? I can only imagine how you actually treat a service provider that charges you for something.

Congratulations Mandeep! Cheers!

Sanjeev, please stop calling the in-thread ads as something that gets added to "long threads of posts." One is inserted into every thread regardless of length, and I agree with Ben that those are tough to stomach. I appreciate the need to have ads to support the board, but don't BS us about their nature. Zarley, please don't take that tone with me. If you think I'm giving you BS, then take it somewhere else, but I don't need that type of crap at all, thank you very much!

Ben, the old MSN board was completely free but MSN had their own ads plastered all over the site. We also had little control over the board, the format, or what we could do with the site. This board is also completely free with a few strategically placed ads. It costs several hundred dollars a year to run the board including domain name registration, hosting, templates, etc. I think the ad at the end of the long string of posts may not be ideal, but if it allows the site to pay for itself and allows us to manipulate the board in ways the old site couldn't, then it is probably worth it. I originally started with the one ad on top to see if that alone would cover costs. It didn't come close. I then ran for another week with an ad also on the bottom of the page. It also came up short, but we were much closer. I suspect now with the final ad at the bottom of the long threads of posts, we are closer to breakeven, and I will continue to eat any additional cost. Eventually, as the members increase, it will become completely breakeven. Cheers!

Play nice boys! Cheers!

Hi Folks, I was just testing out various places where ads could go, and then seeing how the reaction is to them and if they are distracting. I've decided to remove the one that was just under the menu bar (HOME, HELP, SEARCH, etc) within posts. It was a bit distracting. We will be keeping the one at the end of the long string of posts, as that is not interfering with someone searching or using the menu bar. In regards to a fee rather than ads, I don't like the idea of fees because I want to keep the site free. The Motley Fool had a great BRK board for so long. It was where I really got to learn alot about Berkshire. But once they started a fee, alot of quality people left and I really didn't like that it was no longer a free board where knowledge could be shared. Personally, and that is obviously biased, but I don't think the ads are distracting in this final format. There is one at the top across from the log-in, one at the very bottom of all pages, and one at the very end of a long string of posts. There will be no ads other than next to the log-in and the very bottom on the HOME page or INDEX pages. The way it is now set, the ad revenue will pay for the site's annual costs, so it will remain completely free for users. Thanks very much! Cheers!

But, the reality is if you feel like you've missed a fat pitch, you might be tempted to swing at the next decent pitch, not wait for another juicy one, just because you feel you missed a great opportunity. And that my friends is what kills us relative to the index over the long-term. Good ideas always eventually come along, so force yourself to be patient. The world won't end because you didn't catch the last wave...but if you suddenly get thrown into the sand...it will take some time to get back up on the board. Cheers!

This is what is always so damn fascinating to me. Here we have a relatively well-versed Buffett/Graham disciple who has a theoretical and technical advantage to most other market participants, yet a rising market compelled him to tip his hand (and please don't take any offense Mandeep, but I'm sure many other people have also jumped in). It's just absolutely weird how our human emotional side will supercede what logic and rationality are telling us not to do. I truly agree with Munger that most economists would be far better off taking psychology courses! Cheers!