DooDiligence

Before you showed up on this thread we were merely discussing things. If you were my child, you'd be pouting in a corner right now (come to think of it you probably are...)

It's even worse than that--I also watch Game of Thrones. In that, there's a guy who repeatedly rapes his own barely pubescent daughters & granddaughters and, when they become pregnant by him, sacrifices the newborn boys. That's got to be an even stronger sign of my derangement, I think. (That said, I'm not a fan of anything in the last few seasons related to Theon/Reek. That storyline zoomed right past the point of thought-provoking entertainment to stop squarely in the middle of pornographic sadism, I think. Joffrey was about as far as they needed to take that kind of character. They didn't need Joffrey-squared in vivid high-definition.) Provocative entertainment often mirrors real life & goes to excess when it runs out of ideas (just like our cardboard tiger...)

It's always black & white with you people. I enjoyed the Godfather & yet I wouldn't enjoy doing a hit. I enjoyed Band of Brothers & yet wouldn't want to go to war. You; on the other hand, deride me for being entertained by these films due to their violent content & yet you delight in picking virtual fights. Get the chip off your shoulder (I'll bet it's not there in face to face conversations...)

Well that's pretty condescending. I have a very deep science background, but I am also a pragmatist. Tell me Jeff, Do you have children? Do you drive any kind of car? Do you live in more than a one bedroom apartment? Do you fly? Do you drink coffee, eat food? In this world we need fossil fuels as we transition, and the need for fossil fuel based products will be with us a long time. Since Canada is uniquely suited as a provider of fossil fuels without the nasty social baggage of the mid east, and others, I think this is a good thing. And if you think turning over our energy security to someone else is a good thing then go live in the mideast, Nigeria, or Russia and see what life is like. And, we are reducing our footprint as we go, and rather rapidly. Ontario, like it or not has phased out coal power. The rest of the country is heading that way. Coal, if you read your science, Jeff, is the single largest contributor of greenhouse gases. Getting rid of this in favour of anything else is a step in the right direction. Oh, and then there is the issue of manufacturing, including steel, solar panels, and Teslas. It isn't solar that is providing the plastics, or energy, for these products. I dont know if you looked out the window today but there isn't alot of solar power going around right now, anywhere in Canada, and the Northern US. What works in southern climates is not necessarily the right thing for Canada, or the norhern US. Al, I'm sorry that it was perceived as condescending. English is not my first language and I can have some difficulties expressing strong ideas with the right tone. But I must admit that I am pretty tired to see some 1st degree analysis looking at really short term benefit on a value investing board where people should be able to think further than their little financial short terms benefit. People here are intelligent and it amazes me to see some weird view about climate change and environmental protection. And I must admit that Carboard doesn't show any tiny bit of understanding what is going on with climate change and it annoys me. When I hear about radical environmentalist and stuff like that, I always find that what is radical is to deny what is happening and keeping our head in the sand. Wanting a better world with less pollution and sustainable way of life dont appear radical to me! I must also admit Al that I really appreciate your contribution here and I do not challenge your background. To answer your question, we have one child, we live in a reasonably-sized townhouse in an urban area where we do shop locally most of the time, walking or biking. We commute by bus, metro and we have a car at home. It is a Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in hybrid which runs on both electricity and oil. Our electricity at home is provided by nearly 100% percent renewable energy. Yes we use energy, although I am always trying to increase our energy efficiency for our home and transportation, yes we do use some oil, and yes we travel by plane sometimes. I do offset all my transportation carbon footprint because of course, I still use some fossil fuels to live. I am not saying we don't use them and don't need them. They have been incredibly important and useful to humankind to get us where we are and I don't want to contest that. And I'm not saying the transition should be instantaneous. But I am trying to do the most I can to reduce my fossil fuel consumption and to accelerate the transition. The faster we will get out of fossil fuel, the better we will be. I just think that we should put a lot of energy as a specie to fight climate change and reduce our energy usage and transition to a post-fossil fuel world. I can not just accept that the transition will take time, I wish we could try altogether to accelerate it, because we don't have much time. The cost of inaction will be far greater than the cost of action, so why not put ou effort on this. I totally agree with you that it is not because a solution is good for a country or a region that is good for everyone. And of course we do not fossil fuels for plastic, but that is not the larger problem right now. In Canada, transportation is the largest contributor to our emissions, so I think that reducing our petrol consumption is a no-brainer. And concerning the pipelines, we do use less petroleum as a nation that what is produce already, so we don't need more. I am not asking to close the shop right now, but that is not possible to keep adding more and more production and emitting more and more greenhouse gas while we are also trying all we can to reduce our emissions. We will absolutely miss all the target and I am not really positive about staying under the already dangerous 2 degree Celsius limit. To quote Elon Musk, do we really want to do this big experiment, do we want to take that risk? Finally, concerning Canada and the Trudeau decision, a text in French for those who can read it that I mostly agree it and that summarize my thinking on this matter: http://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1003083/trudeau-pipelines-extraction-avant-environnement-fillion And you know Al, and everyone, I would rather see Canadiens putting some effort to reduce the demand instead of cutting the supply. A consequent carbon tax, real objectives like really increasing the mass transportation and active transport share, a fast switch to EVs lie in Norway where the market share is over 30%, getting rid of coal like Ontario is doing, etc. If we were really showing leadership, I could be less critical of this Trudeau decision. But still I think that we a limited amount of capital, we should put our money elsewhere than in pipelines that will be there for 50 years when we have to be out of oil at this time. Well said & well lived. Unfortunately the self styled "conservatives" will label you a dirty liberal no matter what...

Don't be short with Cardboard, DooDiligence. I actually enjoy this reasoning. It's kind of like, "I don't understand why you're annoyed that I drugged you so I could extract one of your kidneys to sell on the black market. I'll give you half the profit--that's money in your hand, today! People can live for years on one kidney, and besides, if I had extracted both, you'd be far more likely to die." Comparing my enjoyment of the clip to "rave reviews of a documentary of Pol Pot" warrants a long response but I gave a short one instead...

You guys sound perfect! You'll tell me you pronounce "herbs" with an "h" next! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs5H7cgcpkg Herb is the former CEO of Southwest & erb is what you put in food (I don't care what Martha Stewart says...)

Without organized national sports, we'd probably spend our weekends standing in shield walls & throwing heavy sharpened objects at each other (my next door neighbor is from Montreal & I like the guy so "huzzah for whatever sport get's a body in the stands or on the sofa...)

I predict you're wrong. Bieber is Canadian. But whatever. Us Canadians are just glad he moved to the US. He's your problem now. Make with him what you wish. Sure but that won't matter after the U.S. and Canada merger in 2038. A joke I hope... or I will be getting my guns out. You can come to the UK - with any luck it will be one of the most open countries in the world by then, *and* we have socialised medicine ;) I'm in as long as I'm not expected to watch that drama you call football. :P Foreigners may not realize it, but watching American Football isn't a requirement to live here. I think the last NFL game I sat down and watched was when the Patriots were in the Superbowl playing the Bears when I was young sometime in the 80's. Even back then I enjoyed the commercials more than the game. My wife and I like to make plans on Superbowl Sunday, because wherever you go it isn't crowded. A scoreless Champs league match between Arsenal & Barca is way more entertaining than any superbowl matchup (unless; of course, Trump starts executing flag burners during the halftime show...)

Last time I checked Munger wasn't a candidate. Of course he's not (no rational thinker would be...)

http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2016/08/31/491842943/can-a-canadian-prime-minister-be-an-action-hero-marvel-comics-thinks-so Would the Donald be his sidekick?

By artificial intelligence you must be referring to the president elect. Your comment regarding impoverishment under the guise of benificence definitely points to the same individual. Stay thin skinned & keep the fuzzy logic coming!

OK; I wish he was a ham sandwich & Donald Trump would eat him (I'm sure he'd be a bad ham sandwich & DT would probably choke on him & we'd rid ourselves of two turkeys with one rock...) Enough surrealistic mixed metaphoric nonsense for the evening.

I predict you're wrong. Bieber is Canadian. But whatever. Us Canadians are just glad he moved to the US. He's your problem now. Make with him what you wish. Oh well; not being a fan means I had no clue where the guy is from. Here's a leap for you! The Donald changes the law so fereners can run for president (he'll figure on getting Melania elected after he does his own eight years & the unintended consequence will be a Bieber presidency...)

I predict Justin Bieber will be president in 2041

When I see this phrase, I think of this scene from Utopia. This 2 minute scene--so beautiful in such an unusual way--was enough to persuade me to watch the entire show. :) Nice (I like offbeat & slightly disturbing films too) Makes us challenge our own sacred cows...

I think it's pretty reasonable if you are over the age of 50, and either don't have kids, or don't really care about them or anyone else on the planet. Why does it matter to you if you'll likely be dead by the time that billions start perishing as a consequence of global warming? Money today is what matters, not the survival of future generations. (Besides, it gives you a really nice answer to the Fermi Paradox.) Intelligent life overcomes scarcity & consequently destroys the planet. Future inhabitants are clueless (the wheel of life...) Hey; anyone ever read A Canticle for Leibowitz?

You could live well in Thailand for around $20K a year. I had 2 root canals & crowns done there for less than $500 in a very clean & professional environment (a US dentist quoted me around $700 just for one root canal.) Dental work aside; a more pleasant aspect of living there is that the food & the people are awesome!

But you have made money from it (see items 1 & 3 with 4 & the whole pay it forward, karmic thingy as a kicker...)

I don't think that pilot costs are a very high percentage of the overall costs. Then all you need a couple of accidents to put a lid on that idea. Also we went down from 3-4 pilots to 2 pilots per plane and the economics of the industry didn't really change. I think if we're talking about mass transportation drones as the cure for airlines we're really grasping at straws. I would have a very hard time getting on a plane that was being flown remotely (if the pilot has no skin in the game & is having a bad day...)

I've had a Private single engine land (no instrument rating) since 1980 & I love the precision & beauty of aircraft (the smell of 100LL gives me a woody!) I've never owned a plane & never will (maintenance costs will kill you.) Has anyone at BRK been friends with Burt Rutan? Paul Allen helped fund his SpaceShipOne project & Richard Branson was interested in this as well. Lots of billionaires trying to get a leg up on consumer space travel & maybe Buffett & Company are "blue skying" for 20 years down the road? Just noodlin'

Why risk permanent loss of capital on such a historically difficult business as an airline? The development, manufacture & marketing of diabetes therapies seems a safer bet...

The reference to IBM was about Sabre & possible data mining which may have given T&T some kind of insight that we're not seeing. Combined with inside info from PCP (the company & not the drug.) I know, I know - I don't really believe all that either (I think they were smoking PCP when they bought...)

I figured it out! BRK is gonna eventually own 100% of these guys & they'll divert the former dividend streams into capex for solar panels on aircraft to capture subsidies & cut fuel costs!!! Crap - I got confused (that was Mid American Energy...) Seriously though; maybe IBM data plus PCP (the drug - NOT the company) led to this decision? (OK so half seriously with a smattering of continued sarcasm.)

Once you understand that facts don't matter in politics, it's a lot less frustrating. Trump understands what many miss: people don’t make decisions based on facts http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/16/13426448/trump-psychology-fact-checking-lies These threads rarely changes minds, but they do confirm our own beliefs with the like-minded. You are a Buddha (that's a complement & not a reference to excessive girth or male pattern baldness...) You're dog looks cool too!

Time to snip this thread...