DooDiligence

Nearly all of the 1st & early editions I have are from patiently waiting for them to pop up on eBay. The best deals usually come from inexperienced sellers whose listings are set to expire on a Mon, Tue or Wed and /or at odd hours that make it unlikely people will show up to bid when the listing ends. If you know how to do it, sniping is a guilty pleasure. All of this applies to more than just books. I've saved a ton of cash through eBay on other gear. If only I were as good at equity investing?

Was hoping nobody would feed the MAGA-trolls, but since Viking broke the ice... I am happy to talk about all the myriad failures of Premier Doug Ford in Ontaraio. AMA. P.s. for those surprised that Canadians have an opinion on American politics, please understand that we watch American TV, movies, football, etc. We listen to American music. I can't name a single Canadian supreme court justice. I know almost all the American justices. IIRC, the left calls this "cultural imperialism". We forgive you for Justin Bieber & thank you profusely for Rush & Neil Young.

Trimmed half of BRK.B in a 401K & would sell the rest if it started bumping the 52 week high. My confidence started to get eroded when WEB bought airlines. The IPO purchase doesn't even move the needle. I think the sale of WFC is a blunder (you already have enough cash). Too many odd purchases that don't seem to have any logic behind them. It's like he's picking away at garage sales with no cohesive strategy in mind. As another poster said, just buy back your own stock. I still believe the core of BHE, BNSF & insurance are strong but... If it goes sub $180 I may repurchase (and then again, I may not).

Are starter positions a social proof created to fool oneself?

A great Nova series on CRISPR. www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/how-does-crispr-work/ www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/gene-editing-reality-check/

Vote for Marc Rebillet "Make America Stank Again"

I'll treat it like an OS update & wait to see what happens to the guinea pigs.

“Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing.” --- “The result of preaching totalitarian doctrines is to weaken the instinct by means of which free peoples know what is or is not dangerous.” --- It's unfortunate that the words of Orwell are so true, now more than ever.

If an idiot falls in the woods, does anyone really give a shit?

i slept like a baby, thanks for asking. This AM, i walked with my youngest daughter on her way to the bus corner (first day of school for many here). It's really hard to be mad at life when seeing what she is becoming. FWIW, education authorities here (IMO) are navigating the return to school turbulence based on a reasonable course and a few compromises. It seems that they are using 'foreign' inputs for vicarious learning: https://www.npr.org/2020/08/01/898184566/how-denmark-is-thinking-about-reopening-schools-safely https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/switzerland-denmark-school-reopening-plan-covid-19-1.5683975 The importance of education can't be stressed enough. To learn the basics, ways to think, learn how to learn, rights and responsibilities of citizenship etc About the intensity of last night's exchanges, it happens rarely but, when it happens, my level of interest (for a person, an investment opportunity, a topic) can reach unusual levels and the coronavirus topic has been a relative focus lately. Hopefully, the exchanges are helpful for somebody. Helping others to help themselves tends to be productive while simply helping enters a territory of diminishing returns. And of course there's those that can't be helped. No good deed goes unpunished. This statement made no sense to me when I was young.

A fitting epitaph. "We need a leader, not a reader." - Herman Cain or was it president Schwarzenegger?

I'm touched that you remembered ;) and glad to be able to contribute to the forum. Hurt_Feelings_Report.pdf

Con la banana en la mano...

History rhymes, too many times. www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1990/02/18/the-s-l-junk-bond-link/af7c5d43-e4b0-4e24-8c2f-95135a7b041a/ First it was junk, then it was homes, what's the next vehicle, to make fodder for poems?

Run like the wind but if he/she follows up with a rousing rendition of Peanut Butter Conspiracy, back up the truck.

Saude!

Preach ;)

Lemann steps up in Brasil. https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-brazil/brazilian-billionaire-lemann-leads-initiative-to-build-covid-19-vaccine-factory-idUKKCN2533AY

I love when they were talking about reaching for yield & he says, "eventually, midnight comes & everything turns into pumpkins & mice..."

Potential career path for me.

This is my thought as well. They already have a cash problem. Why add to it? I disagree for two reasons: First, I don't think this is a good reason to own an overvalued security. Assuming of course WB thinks Apple is overvalued. Secondly, I don't think they have a cash problem. Having loads of cash isn't a problem, the problem is WB did not use it a few months ago. So if you think they should hold Apple today, then you must also think WB made an error in Mar-Apr not diving into equities head first. I agree with LC. Needing cash (or not needing cash) isn't a good reason to make buy or sell decisions. Imagine running your own portfolio that way. I know multiple people who took cash out of 401Ks during the Great Recession because they lost their jobs and needed cash. This kind of thing is the polar opposite of value investing. The fact that arguments like this about Berkshire (shouldn't sell possibility overvalued positions because marginal value of additional cash is low given how overcapitalized and cash generative the company is) make some intuitive sense speaks to Berkshire's size being an issue. There are three connected issues really: - Selling appreciated stock in taxable account is always a high hurdle, since any alternative (cash or other position) would have to outperform taking into account tax hit - This is further aggravated by existing and increasing cash position - This is further aggravated by very limited universe of investment options due to the size I think all those points hit on why AAPL position, assuming the stock is fairly valued* at the current price, should be valued at a significant discount to market price. * I recognize that this is a big assumption, but this discussion is probably better off not veering into "where should AAPL trade?" I think it should trade straight out of the portfolio unless he's trying to engineer a purchase of the whole business (not likely...) Pigs get fat... Sell & pay the taxes before you get slaughtered with another period of analysts screeching "peak iPhone" again.

Munger’s shoes are almost impossible to fill I think. It’s hard to imagine the annual meetings continue in the same fashion that it has for 40 years. But we have archives . Future questions are likely to be repeat from the past. I was thinking in terms of how many bad decisions he's kept WEB from making by being the devils advocate. I'll bet he had a few choice barbs about airlines which didn't stop the purchases but may have helped create the about face. The flip side of this might be that he cast a shade on opportunities last March. I hope (for better & for worse) there will always be a curmudgeon involved in allocation issues.

I was trying to find info on businesses that BRK may be closing or selling & came across this. “Technological change is destroying daily newspapers in America including the little ones like ours,” Mr Munger told Daily Journal investors. “The revenue goes away and the expenses remain and they’re all dying. Berkshire owns about 100 of them and it doesn’t matter because they’re all going to die. There’s nothing that can be done.” “Think how different television is, [Walter] Cronkite is gone. We have all these clowns on the opinion service lying to us . . . and they’re really good at it,” he added. “The ability to mislead people is greatly underestimated.” www.ft.com/content/03f977e6-4dde-11ea-95a0-43d18ec715f5 --- Between Jain, Able, Todd & Ted, who do you think would best model Munger?

Ah, Thanks. I've never been to the FL Keys. I've got to get down there someday. Yea, everything down there is referenced by mile marker since the entire collection of islands is only accessible via one road, which is US-1. oh man your description of the Keys sounds legit, never even considered it previously :D Nice place to visit but the whole one road in, one road out thing is rough during hurricane season. + High humidity, all year round, invites wood rot. Wood boring insects are a plague in the Keys. Salty air tends to eat up metal, think aluminum in particular (brutal on A/C units). Hard water is lousy to bath in. That said, Duval street is a ton of fun. Hog Fish Grill is a Keys dining experience. 5 Brothers Grocery makes a kick ass Cuban. No Name Pub on Big Pine is a great hang, and there's tons of beautiful, out of the way spots up & down the keys. Why own when you can kick around the Keys & the entire world for that matter, with no obligation other than enjoyment. I 2nd gfp's idea that if you find yourself visiting a particular place & making solid friends there, think about buying. I've been selling a lot of my stuff over the past year & am likely to stab a sign in front of my house & hit the road before too long. Might sell if the price is right & might just rent until the price gets right, but I want to become like water & find the path that leads me.

I think it's an Easter egg & that some time over the next few decades, pieces & parts will be spun. I just can't see how the SOTP is not worth significantly more than TBV. Then again, WTF do I know?