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I for one hope this guy @Lotsofcoke sticks around. He's speaking my kind of language.

By the way, Lotsofcoke has known Buffett probably longer than almost anyone on this message board, even though he's only about as old as me. Lotsofcoke, how old were you the first time you went to Omaha? Also, he co-founded the Yellow BRK'ers and had one of three yellow hats! They would go to Buffett's office every year with a birthday cake for him to cut! Cheers!

Hard for an American to see, particularly when you have benefited from it for most/all of your life ..... but the USD is loosing its reserve currency status. These things are 'managed', with Yuan a more recent example; now also a petro recycling currency, with completely separate competing banking/settlement, digital currency, etc, etc. Sanctions on anybody are unenforceable unless they agree to it. Live in North America; some of your assets will be in either USD/CAD/PESO (house, chequing/savings accounts, etc.); you can do things to mitigate the exposure, but whether you are an individual or an company - one of them will be your accounting 'currency of record'. The longer you look out, the more reasonable it seems that the USD trades at a discount to CAD at some point; 40%+ F/X gain should it occurr. There are other reasons as well, but Lotsofcoke can speak to them. SD

HaHa! - Somehow I knew this would get entertaining, when I realized there is only one @Lotsofcoke, and not a gangsta!

Where the hell has this guy been...hey John! Hope you are well! As John Hjorth pointed out...lotsofcoke is the main reason this board exists or I have anything to do with the investment world! Without him, I would never have met Buffett...which led to Francis/JoAnn...which led to Prem...which led to this site and Corner Market Capital Corporation. He understood what Marvel was before Sony Pictures bought the rights to Spiderman and nearly a decade before Disney bought Marvel outright! He's also a top collector of Canadian aboriginal art! So if he's starting to like BRK...start paying attention. Cheers!

Is there more than 1 Lotsofcoke?

@Lotsofcoke are you that @ lotsofcoke, that I have 'heard' [read] Sanjeev [ @Parsad ] telling funny stories about now many years ago? -Your posting style could indicate it! - - - o 0 o - - - No edit here! I was cursing Cloudflare for ruining my posting again using '@' feature, untill I found out that I had typed 'lotsofcake'.

There were three Yellow BRK'ers hats originally...my friend John Zemanovich (Lotsofcoke) had one...John Gartmann had one...and the third belonged to someone else...maybe Farmer Lyle, Sherrie Gregorie or Marlin. Cheers!

I remember when LotsofCoke bought tons of Marvel for like $2 and $4 for his accounts and his children's accounts. No one at the time could understand what he saw and how anyone would monetize all of the Marvel assets properly. Lo and behold, those assets make up the bulk of theatre revenues every year for the last decade. He was also the one who told me to come to Omaha back in 2000. If I had not gone there, hung out with LotsofCoke and met Buffett, COBF would not be around today! Thanks John...where ever you are and what ever you are doing these days! Cheers!

The only person who has had more influence on me than Warren and Prem was my father...no teacher has had more impact than those two. How has Buffett changed my life: - He changed everything for me from when I turned 29...the first time I read the 1998 BRK Letter to Shareholders, literally a light went on inside of me. I had been extremely depressed since my father had died when I was 21 and I was helping my mother raise my brother who was only 9...I was a functioning depressed person wondering what I was going to make of my life. - That letter and reading subsequent letters and books changed my whole investing framework and how I thought about money, life, happiness and integrity. - It lead me to Fairfax Financial and Prem Watsa who became a mentor and very good friend. - It lead to the creation of the initial version of this website and now COBF and all of the wonderful friends and posters on here...especially lotsofcoke and Ericopoly...two that played a significant role in my life and learning. - After meeting Buffett, I came home and quit my job and began my journey in the financial world. - That lead to finding other more accessible mentors and friends who were equally influenced by Buffett and others like Tim McElvaine, Francis Chou, Mohnish Pabrai, Larry Sarbit, Jeff Stacey, Wayne Peters, Andy Kilpatrick, Guy Spier, etc. - It lead to me starting my own fund company with my cousin who was like a brother to me. - Which led me to build PDH...for better or worse! - All of this lead to the wonderful experiences I've enjoyed and my family has enjoyed...trips to Toronto, Chicago, Los Angeles, China and especially the Fairfax India trip...also meeting Wayne Gretzky, who was a childhood hero for me and my brother. - It lead to raising nearly $300,000 for Crohn's & Colitis Canada, roughly another $2M that I've helped raise working for Cystic Fibrosis, The Center for Child Development and other charities. - Finally, Buffett was the seed that allowed me to learn and also influence so many others...via coffees, lunches, dinners, our Toronto dinner, the funds, PDH, COBF, charitable work. I turned 52 a week ago...Buffett has influenced me now for 23 years, 2 years longer than my father did! I owe my father and Buffett everything...everything! Cheers!

LotsofCoke started the discussion about Marvel on this message board back when it was the MSN Value Investing board about 15 years ago. I remember he bought a ton of shares for himself and his children around 50 cents to $2. He argued that there was an enormous catalogue of intellectual property that was now going to be monetized into movies. I don't think anyone, including Stan Lee himself, imagined that the Marvel movie machine engine would be as prolific or as good as it is today. I used to run around our house as a four year old dressed up in a Spiderman outfit. Now my four old nephew runs around the house dressed up as Spiderman or Black Panther on any given day! Cheers Stan Lee!

It's not that I've gone away. I'm here every day for a while, but I just can't say as much as I used to. I think boardmembers have to understand that things are cyclical. When we first started, my friend LotsofCoke and Bsilly, were the premier posters on the board. Circumstances and times change, and you had others take their place like Ericopoly, Twcowfca, Uccmal, etc. But those guys did really well in the last couple of downcycles and don't need to waste their time digging for nuggets when they will simply wait for the next big correction...the rest of their time is spent on other things, like family, enjoying life, etc. So in this next cycle, there will be newer members who will take their place in terms of quality and quantity of posts. It may take some time for the board to whittle down to whom they place on that mantle, but it will come as it always has for the last 13 years. And of course, the older boardmembers will come out of hibernation when the shit hits the fan and share their brilliance once again. Too many times I've seen people want this or that in a forum or tool, yet functionality and simplicity go by the wayside and the experience deteriorates. Why has this board not been replicated successfully? Stockhouse is crap, as is Motley Fool, Yahoo and even Greenblatt's Value Investing forum suffers from "Let's tweak it until we f*ck it up!" The non-investment threads in General Discussion usually appear when ideas become thinner...yes, I've heard the crap about 60,000 companies globally...how many are in that investor's circle of competence?! The forum is a vehicle based on give and take. Some want better ideas and more investment content...yet how much have they contributed back in ideas and investment content lately? When events and circumstances create uncertainty in the markets, that is when you get the best out of this forum, as many once again start to contribute. When things are quiet and circumspect, you get non-investment related discussions and thin contributions. It's pretty simple! Cheers!

Marlin is an old-timer Yellow BRK'er...back when Warren used to come to the party and speak for 45 minutes to an hour! It's where I first met Buffett, Mohnish, Marlin, Sherrie Gregory, et al. My friend John Zemanovich, Lotsofcoke, told me to come there on my first visit to Omaha at the Omaha Golf & Country Club. It changed my life. Marlin can post about Andy or whatever the hell he wants to! I'm a big fan of Andy's, as "Of Permanent Value" was part of the effect on my life in terms of Buffett and value investing. Buy "Of Permanent Value"...it's independently published, by a honest guy who isn't just shilling Buffett's name, but was there when no one wanted to write about Buffett. Now you have a deluge of books on Buffett, written by ten year olds or recent graduates of high school! Buy "Of Permanent Value"...a recommended choice by "Corner of Berkshire & Fairfax" and Sanjeev Parsad! ;D Cheers! http://www.andykilpatrick.net/

So you have the Qatari fund, plus Brookfield and Markel...now Manulife. Thanks to Lotsofcoke for the link! Cheers! http://business.financialpost.com/2013/11/08/manulife-blackberry-debt-offering/?__lsa=2bfe-a0e9

Would you consider then lotsofcoke that they have nowhere to go but up? I can think of a number of apple products that flopped in the 90s before that technology business turned profitable. :) Like apple, they were profitable before the decline.

Hmmm... I was just rooting around in my bookcase last night and I happened to see an ORH annual report. It never even occurred to me to list it on EBay. All of this time I thought that I was a tight-wad bastard, but compared to Lotsofcoke, I'm just a rookie! ;D

Wish I had been around for that. Lotsofcoke, any other recommendations for us? :D

Lotsofcoke's recommendation on MVL years ago on this board was just fantastic. It has to be one of the best opportunities ever - extremely high return with limited downside. Just a great recommendation.

Is that your copy Lotsofcoke? The seller's name is "artfiend"! ;D Cheers! There are a lot more annual reports there now! ;) http://www.ebay.ca/sch/artfiend2009/m.html?item=111119576046&hash=item19df3e2bee&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562

Is that your copy Lotsofcoke? The seller's name is "artfiend"! ;D Cheers! There are a lot more annual reports there now! ;)

Welcome back to the board, Lotsofcoke. I joined after you left, but it's nice to meet you and see that your legend was kept alive during your hiatus! :)

You're welcome. :) Blast from the past! lotsofcoke and other action heros never die. :)

Incidentally, welcome back Lotsofcoke! For those of you who don't know, it was Lotsofcoke who took me to my first Yellow BRK'ers party back in 2001, where I ended up meeting Buffett. The rest is history and this board pretty much exists because of that. Cheers! OMG! :o :o First the John Lennon watching the wheel song at ScionCapital,... and now Lotsofcoke. ... something is happening in Area 51 ;D The boards long lost Phoenix has risen from the ashes! ;D ;D ;D Welcome back Lotsofcoke,... ;D Some long lost remote satellite over the northern hemisphere has reponded again. I personally can be very grateful to him through the tumultuous years of 2002/2003,... I guess without him this board wouldn't be like it is today. Lotsofcoke was like a satellite light-house guiding the board members through the mist with deep knowledge. I was always wondering in the last years if he might sit somewhere undercover in the Royal Thomson Hall. 8) Welcome back! The famous BerkshireMystery.... Been a long time. Sorry to say but much like a lovely gentleman (Roger Hodgson) I had the pleasure of meeting once sang: I took the long way home.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfApBz4_XQk I really understood where he was coming from when he wrote that song. Most people don't pay attention to the lyrics. I experienced the same as Roger but my stage was finance: So you think you're a Romeo You're playing a part in a picture show Take the long way home Take the long way home But you're the joke of the neighborhood Why should you care if you're feeling good? Take the long way home Take the long way home But there are times that you feel you're part of the scenery All the greenery is comin' down, boy But then your wife seems to think you're part of the furniture Oh, it's peculiar, she used to be so nice When lonely days turn to lonely nights You take a trip to the city lights And take the long way home Take the long way home You never see what you want to see Forever playing to the gallery You take the long way home Take the long way home And when you're up on stage, it's so unbelievable Oh, unforgettable, how they adore you But then your wife seems to think you're losing your sanity Oh, calamity, is there no way out? Well does it feel that your life's become a catastrophe? Oh, it has to be for you to grow, boy When you look through the years and see what you could have been Oh, what you might have been if you'd have had more time So when the day comes to settle down Who's to blame if you're not around? You took the long way home Take the Long way Home. Welcome home! I spent a good 10 years after my father died in the wilderness, until a man named John invited me to the Yellow BRK'ers Party where I met Buffett. Glad I found my way home too! Cheers!

Incidentally, welcome back Lotsofcoke! For those of you who don't know, it was Lotsofcoke who took me to my first Yellow BRK'ers party back in 2001, where I ended up meeting Buffett. The rest is history and this board pretty much exists because of that. Cheers! OMG! :o :o First the John Lennon watching the wheel song at ScionCapital,... and now Lotsofcoke. ... something is happening in Area 51 ;D The boards long lost Phoenix has risen from the ashes! ;D ;D ;D Welcome back Lotsofcoke,... ;D Some long lost remote satellite over the northern hemisphere has reponded again. I personally can be very grateful to him through the tumultuous years of 2002/2003,... I guess without him this board wouldn't be like it is today. Lotsofcoke was like a satellite light-house guiding the board members through the mist with deep knowledge. I was always wondering in the last years if he might sit somewhere undercover in the Royal Thomson Hall. 8) Welcome back! The famous BerkshireMystery.... Been a long time. Sorry to say but much like a lovely gentleman (Roger Hodgson) I had the pleasure of meeting once sang: I took the long way home.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfApBz4_XQk I really understood where he was coming from when he wrote that song. Most people don't pay attention to the lyrics. I experienced the same as Roger but my stage was finance: So you think you're a Romeo You're playing a part in a picture show Take the long way home Take the long way home But you're the joke of the neighborhood Why should you care if you're feeling good? Take the long way home Take the long way home But there are times that you feel you're part of the scenery All the greenery is comin' down, boy But then your wife seems to think you're part of the furniture Oh, it's peculiar, she used to be so nice When lonely days turn to lonely nights You take a trip to the city lights And take the long way home Take the long way home You never see what you want to see Forever playing to the gallery You take the long way home Take the long way home And when you're up on stage, it's so unbelievable Oh, unforgettable, how they adore you But then your wife seems to think you're losing your sanity Oh, calamity, is there no way out? Well does it feel that your life's become a catastrophe? Oh, it has to be for you to grow, boy When you look through the years and see what you could have been Oh, what you might have been if you'd have had more time So when the day comes to settle down Who's to blame if you're not around? You took the long way home Take the Long way Home.

Incidentally, welcome back Lotsofcoke! For those of you who don't know, it was Lotsofcoke who took me to my first Yellow BRK'ers party back in 2001, where I ended up meeting Buffett. The rest is history and this board pretty much exists because of that. Cheers! Stop blaming me ;)