I’m reading the excellent book Outliers by Gladwell, it’s a fascinating analysis of success and how it happens, interwoven with biographies, history, psychology, science and social research. Some of the most interesting and engaging topics to read about. Reading the paragraph below just now made a lot of sense to me, especially after I was talking to a friend yesterday over some beers and German food. And ended up “complaining” to him that I find it difficult to detach myself from the markets and the research and projects I’m involved in. I tend to only do that when I’m on vacation. This wasn’t always the case. Back when I was working for the man, from 6pm and on weekends I couldn’t care less about work. The following snipet from the story about the Borgenicht, a poor Jewish immigrant family arriving in New York in the turn of the previous century pretty much explains why.

When Borgenicht came home at night to his children, he may have been tired and poor and overwhelmed, but he was alive. He was his own boss. He was responsible for his own decisions and direction. His work was complex: it engaged his mind and imagination. And in his work, there was a relationship between effort and reward: the longer he and Regina stayed up at night sewing aprons, the more money they made the next day on the streets.
Those three things — autonomy, complexity, and a connection between effort and reward—are, most people agree, the three qualities that work has to have if it is to be satisfying. It is not how much money we make that ultimately makes us happy between nine and five. It’s whether our work fulfills us.

Eventually the Borgenichts’ business they started in their $8 a month apartment with one sewing machine became one of the largest manufacturers of clothing in the US.

I remember I bumped into Phantom of the Pits mini book document (110 pages) a couple of years ago. I don’t even remember when or where exactly. Anyway I thought it was kind of cheesy and with a weird mystery created just for the hype. Over the last 2 days two individuals mentioned it to me again, both of whom are not the noobs falling for hype type of people. So I thought I’d check it out again, and there are indeed some interesting ideas in there that made me look at some aspects of trading in a slightly different way. For example this paragraph:

What criteria in your day-trading plan says you are right? Most say what determines you are wrong. Not us! We only want to know the criteria for being right. Okay, for us our program says, “If in the first half hour the market opens lower than yesterday and moves higher, expect a move above the prior day’s high within the first half day of trading.” Our program also says the position is only correct if the market stays in the prior day’s top half in the first half hour. Our last criteria for the trade is that it must show a 3-point profit by the close. Now, I ask you, what is your next step?

If you haven’t read it before I would recommend going over it if only to get some new perspectives on things. It’s very easy to find the file PDF online, it’s free and widely available so just google it.

This post is primarily a note to myself to keep some parts that stood out to me in this interesting research.

New Book Examines German Fanaticism in World War II | Germany | Deutsche Welle | 17.07.2008

A monumental war history in German, which has just been completed after 30 years of work, explores a question that preoccupies modern Germans: why Nazi Germany fought on, defying all military logic, to the bitter end.

It took more than two years of fighting to establish that Hitler’s war aims were unachievable. Hitler probably realized that himself.

Yet it took nearly three more years to end the war. The Wehrmacht did not capitulate until after the Fuehrer had committed suicide in his Berlin bunker in April 1945.

To the very end, the Nazi regime required Germans to recite their belief in “ultimate victory.” But in the final years of the war, part 8 suggested, Hitler’s mind gradually focused on staging a vain but heroic last stand.

Hitler’s all-or-nothing approach has been described by his biographers as a key to his rise, and an exiled German writer, Sebastian Haffner, suggested as early as 1940 that the method was also the mark of a “potential self-killer.”

The volume’s account of the war on the western front in 1944 and 1945 describes the German military fighting on towards self-destruction under mottoes such as “for honor” and “for the fatherland,” believing they were “doing their duty.”

“That was their common denominator with a majority of the Germans, who had been simply sticking to what they were doing, or had not sought any alternative, or had not been able to visualize any other way,” the book says.

On their own responsibility and often risking execution for treason, some of the German military openly disobeyed orders or subtly wasted time so that the Allied invasion of Germany could proceed quickly without even more loss of lives and property.

“To the Germans, no alternative appeared feasible, other than the unconditional surrender demanded by the enemy,” the book adds.

Most of the rest of the world was needed to defeat the most efficient fighting machine of its generation, which had battled on despite Hitler’s strategic blunders.

Explaining modern Germany’s reluctance to fight the Taliban and its focus on collective defense, the last part says the war taught post-war Germans an abiding lesson and they deliberately renounced any capacity to wage a war of their own ever again.

 

Germany’s submission to NATO [note: why is this considered a submission?] has meant that the Second World War was the “last war of the Germans” in history. [note: I think the entire world sure hopes so]

Pictures from Thailand: Thaksin kisses Thai soil

Ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra ended 17 months of exile abroad by falling to his knees and kissing Thai ground at Suvarnabhumi airport. Thousands greeted him with banners and signs but Mr Thaksin said he wanted to be an “ordinary citizen.” (The Manager/Bangkok Post)

I think this is how most Thai people feel about their country.

Will be interesting to see how his case develops, especially in light of the recent elections and the new government here, a factor which no doubt played a role in his decision to return.

I’ve read Tim’s book An American Hedge Fund and thought it was a really interesting read. I could identify with quite a bit of what he’s been through while starting out on his trading journey. He’s now going to the same amazing achievement all over again.

Timothy Sykes - ‘Wall Street Warriors’ TV Star Timothy Sykes Sets Up New & Transparent Challenge

Those of you who’ve read my book know the truth, but it’s time I really show everyone what I’m capable of so I’m gonna go back to my Bar Mitzvah Gift Money roots, take $12,415, stick it in a discount online brokerage account, and turn it into $1.65 million…again.

Oh man this is one of the most hilarious things I’ve heard and seen in a long while.

via Jill in Pattaya.

Holy shit, is this for real?