DooDiligence

I'm in favor of selling California to Mexico. I'm in favor of spinning off a bunch of states. The US should break into 4. The 2 coasts can each be the liberal leftist socialists paradises that they want to be. The middle can go to the conservatives. And give the libertarians New Hampshire. The notion that 320+ million people spread over most of one of the Earth's continents will all have the same culture and want the same type of government is absurd. It’s Time For The United States To Divorce Before Things Get Dangerous Heyyy, what about Florida?

There is a bunch of minesweeper apps on the apple app store. ;D If there's one that uncovers 7th chords in all positions & qualities, I'd play it. Truly a hazardous minefield.

I miss Minesweeper.

These depictions are interesting but like the mandated publicity on cigarette packs (black lungs, photos of people on chemo etc), the sensational aspect wears off quite rapidly, especially if you're addicted to nicotine. This is truly a bipartisan problem/issue and here's a graphic link with relevant info also about military spending. It seems to me that a combination of expense reduction and revenue increase is doable. https://www.debtconsolidation.com/us-debt-presidents/ With all the talk about decline (Mr. Munger etc), it's noteworthy to remember that it's not the persistently high military expenditures that broke Pax Romana, it's when the Romans' intrinsic capacity to generate revenue declined and when they had to outsource protection at the borders of the Empire where the Barbarians were waiting at the door. That's a scary scenario.

I'm interested in hearing comments regarding this Twitter accusation about DJCO & poor accounting controls. One poster replied, "You’re making a lot of statements about DJCO. What exactly are you saying? Accounting is not good? There’s something wrong? Or that you just don’t like the people running it?"

Oh, that is such a brilliant comment, and hits at the crux of the problem in America. So many people, (gov workers, etc) - want something for NOTHING. Where did the idea of sacrifice and work ethic go? With government - cutting spending has to happen - I live in Illinois - and there is going to be a tax revolt here one of this days. Real estate taxes are out of control, Chicago city taxes are out of control and city workers don't actually work. Pensions, etc - they all want to retire at 50 with full pension/benefits and get a second job. It's a ticking time bomb - raising taxes will be the route they take, until the public revolts and forces spending down. I hope I am out of here by then...Florida, here I come! You can buy a really nice waterfront home in NWFL for around $500K - 700K. The higher end gets you a property with more elevation & lower flood premiums. Cost of living is low. No state income tax. Beautiful beaches. Tolerable winters.

Yeah, Windows is like my Math for Liberal Arts instructor. She does a lousy job of explaining simple concepts. YouTube / Apple to the rescue.

Agreed. No pain, no gain. We need another Bush, Sr.

Munger & Buffett sat on a tuffet watching their cash pile grow In walked an elephant all fat & elegant and then they laid out some dough and the cash continued to flow...

If our brains continually use the same neural pathways, they stagnate. You're doing pushups with your brain :) A true muscle head!

I switched to Pages, Numbers, Keynote & Mail years ago & haven't missed Office at all. I can start a document on my iPhone, iPad or Mac & seamlessly continue working on it on any of the 3 platforms. For instance, last night I created a document on Pages & this morning I went to a study session & forgot to bring my Mac. I was telling one of my study partners about the document & he wanted a copy so I pulled it up on my phone, exported it as a pdf & texted it to him. Easy peasy. He discovered an error in the data on the document & I changed & saved it using my phone. I'm at home now & bam, there it is on my Mac. These are the best of times...

You're very welcome & I'll never be the best but I plan on always being better than the day before. My Sight Singing & Ear Training instructor usually starts us off with "Come on kids, shameless & fearless. Now blow my hair back!" --- A huge advantage of being in a classroom setting is that you have a bunch of other goofballs who have varying levels of skill & lack of skill & we all support each other. This differs from music programs at major universities where the instructors will haze the crap out of students to weed out the weak ones. Community college is more inclusive & if you aren't already badassed, that's where to start. I'm finding the instruction to be very good & the professors all want us to succeed.

Another equally important aspect is rhythm reading. You have simple meters 2/4 = simple duple meter 3/4 = simple triple meter 4/4 = simple quadruple meter and compound meters 6/8 = compound duple 9/8 = compound triple 12/8 = compound quadruple We start out by clapping a particular written, straight line rhythm (no pitches are included). Next you do what's called conducting & intoning (see attachment for conducting patterns). Use the neutral syllable "ta" for intonation & vocally reproduce the exact note value in terms of duration & position within each pulse. Compound & syncopated are the hardest to read & interpret. Syncopation is where the pulse hits on a weak part of the beat. 1 e and A 2 E and a 3 e AND A instead of falling directly on a down beat. This was very challenging for me & I didn't get it until the very end of last semester. Up till then I looked like Steve Martin in the opening credits of the Jerk. Steve progresses throughout the above clip & so did I. You will too & you have to be shameless & fearless in order to get there. See attachments for a simplification of simple & compound meters to get you started.

Attached are 2 lists of tunes which contain familiar intervals. The 1st list is a basic cheat sheet & the 2nd list includes a little more info. For instance, the 1st 2 notes of "Here Comes the Bride" make up a perfect 4th. This is helpful when you know what a perfect 4th looks like on a written piece of music so that you'll know what it's supposed to sound like. Acquiring the skills of "audiation" enable you to sight read more quickly & to accurately "ear" out pieces without sheet music. 6ths & 7ths are the hardest for me. Featured_Intervals.pdf Interval_Singing.pdf

I just found this & it looks very good. https://www.musical-u.com/learn/topic/ear-training/intervals/

How old is your son? Is he taking lessons? If he has a good ear, he's ahead of the game. If he really enjoys it & might continue playing throughout his life I recommend learning the following (at a minimum): 1. all the Major & minor scales (each key uses different pitch content). 2. understand how Major & minor keys relate to one another & how to switch modes. 3. understand how to transpose keys to accommodate different vocal ranges. 4. learn about triads & 7th chords & the different positions (jazz is big on inverted 7ths & builds improv skills). 5. understand the difference between simple & compound rhythms & how to divide & subdivide beats. These skills will VASTLY improve his abilities. Later on, I recommend Ear Training which will teach him how to recognize intervals (the space between 2 notes.) This will lead to the ability to hear a melody / harmony & be able to get the pitches & chords more accurately. https://www.earmaster.com Ear training also focuses on rhythmic elements which are easy enough to simply hear, memorize & imitate, and being able to see it written out & interpret the rhythm is to me more challenging than identifying pitches. None of this is truly necessary & many keyboardists simply learn finger patterns & watch YouTube videos to learn songs but if you want to be able to write (and copyright the work) and collaborate with top notch talent, these are foundational skills. --- ATM I'm working on Spooky by the Atlanta Rhythm Section. --- Is our young cellist (MarkS) hear/here? Fretless stringed instruments are super challenging. I'm here/hear dude. Man do I need ear training! I was at a lesson this afternoon - all i heard was higher/lower (on the finger board). Would that software work for a crappy cellist? It sounds like you're serious about this & I'd recommend checking your local community colleges to see if they have a music program. If so, they'll probably offer a "Fundamentals of Music" course which you can audit. In one semester they'll teach you how to read musical notation, work with key signatures (I've attached a copy of the circle of 5ths), & understand intervals (the distances between 2 pitches). You will also find that taking piano at the same time will supercharge your understanding of these fundamentals since the keyboard has all the pitches laid out in a straight line which helps to better visualize what's going on. --- After one semester, you'll be better equipped to do your own ear training with one of the following programs: http://www.teoria.com/en/exercises/ie.php I used this one a little bit but didn't spend a whole lot of time because I'm following a syllabus that involves MacGamut. --- https://www.earmaster.com I've never used this one but the demo presents a much better UI than MacGamut. --- We use MacGamut at school. The UI is garbage & it's really clunky. It's also very difficult & requires an understanding of the fundamentals of music. I'd recommend trying one of the other links above mainly because of the UI. --- Remember that ear training & music in general are difficult & WILL be frustrating. You must forge on & FAIL, FAIL, FAIL a lot but if you do this, you will begin to make progress. The results are immensely satisfying for a music lover. I highly recommend taking a fundamentals course & piano lessons. You'll be able to apply what you learn to the cello while you're taking lessons for both instruments. The piano is such an important tool to help lock in musical concepts that all music majors are required to demonstrate piano proficiency whether they intend to continue playing it or not (see attachment.) It also helps you to train your ears. Personally, I find it to be a wonderful instrument & will continue to play it & the guitar forever. Interval_Spelling_Cheat_Sheet.pdf

I'll be composing classical pieces under the pseudonym Maad A.S. Föch The keyboard is a Yamaha P115 which is a good entry level instrument but it's not real durable. I'm already starting to get some clicking in the keys after not quite a year of heavy use. This is what you get for $600 or so & it came with a nice stand, a bench that I never use & a cheap sustain pedal which I replaced immediately. I'm learning to be more gentle with the keys but at 1st I'm just so damn glad to be able to make a long shift & grab big chords that I hammer the hell out of them. My instructor says being heavy handed at first is normal. I'm working on dynamics & hand balance now. As I get better I'll pony up for something which is more substantially constructed & has more voices & built in effects but this Yamaha is sufficient for practice & should hold me for another 6 months. This weekend I'll Tweet J.S. Bach's Minuet in G Major, one of Beethovens German Dances & maybe my crappy rendition of the Beatles "Let it Be" with even crappier vocals.

I too am but a lowly weedhopper, reliably providing dubious color commentary. GFP & CB are the one's who can really make sense of complicated financial / operational situations. Now if you want to talk about music, that's another story.

The history of BHE is interesting. The fact that they can invest more heavily than dividend paying competitors should make them a powerhouse (pun intended.) https://berkshirebuffettandbeyond.com/2019/01/28/outsized-returns-in-a-regulated-industry/

I don't see how you link explains the change in brokers not allowing to trade Fairfax India anymore. It doesn't. It does however explain why Fairfax is not the right organization to contact regarding this matter. The ADR's are unsponsored.

Good discussion indeed. It seems that there are two sources of stress: intrinsic and extrinsic. Interesting to note that, during an era of improved standards and enlightenment (Mr. Pinker’s line of thinking), self-reported levels of stress have been growing and are reaching record levels. It may have something to do with the growing self-reported levels of anxiety and isolation at a time when we have never been more “connected” (“friends” on social media etc). The internal stress is defined mostly by your core beliefs and I guess what Ms. McGonigal describes is a method to alter those core beliefs. I would say outside input may be helpful but most of the work has to be internalized and, in my humble experience, I’ve rarely seen people change significantly after reaching adulthood (and even before), in terms of the ability to deal with stress. DooDiligence, your post reminded me of a quote (Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer): “Tom said to himself that it was not such a hollow world, after all. He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it—namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain. If he had been a great and wise philosopher, like the writer of this book, he would now have comprehended that Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and that Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.” I guess it boils down to doing the right things for the right reasons, and attitude. Yes :)

Goats can be assholes. Goats are also rather tasty (I found this out in West Africa.) Some goats are aware of being tasty & try their best to be likable.

Good discussion, thanks for posting. I had a music theory exam today & wound up breaking 3 pencils. I was concentrating so hard on double checking my work that I lost track of time & when the prof announced "6 minutes" I still had a good bit of work left. He let me stay an extra 15 minutes and I managed to complete the exam but it stressed the crap out of me. Couldn't concentrate for $h!t in my next class, math for liberal arts. We're doing logic & it requires a completely different intelligence. It feels like trying to turn a bus with no power steering. The stress of school is debilitating to a lot of people. I've seen quite a few of my fellow students melt down into tears over exams (I occasionally break pencils.) We actually had a student in the music program commit suicide last semester. https://www.srpressgazette.com/news/20181012/william-cassidy-schork I'm sure many of you who are college graduates have experienced the extreme pressures of school. Forcing yourself to get outside of your comfort zone is difficult but it can produce good results. Everyone has a different level of stress that they can deal with and still be productive. I took on too much in my 1st semester & have since found a good balance. I still feel overwhelmed on occasion but have learned to chunk my study & practice. I also have a lot of pencils.

MVP = Bill Vinovich

Wow! "Geico was the top-spending brand, making up six percent of YouTube ad revenue in 2018. The insurance company increased YouTube spending by 40 percent year-over-year last year, MediaRadar found." https://marketingland.com/report-youtube-ad-revenue-jumped-11-in-2018-thanks-to-repeat-advertisers-256343 Courtesy of,