• THE HYPERLOOP, A SUPERFAST, SOLAR-POWERED, CITY-TO-CITY ELEVATED TRANSIT SYSTEM which could transport people or vehicles between LA and San Francisco in 30 minutes, via air-cushioned aluminum pods enclosed inside steel tubes, may be the next project of Elon Musk – the brains & brawn behind Pay Pal, eBay, space X and Tesla Motors. Musk has “built his entrepreneurial career attacking businesses he deems inefficient,” the latest being California’s proposed high-speed bullet train which he (and many others) contend would be too slow, too impractical, and too expensive, at likely over $100 billion. His team’s concept is that tubes would be on pylons aboveground following existing roads to make land acquisition, construction & maintenance dramatically easier & quicker, and could be built to travel at four-times the speed at one-tenth the price. [BLOOMBERG BUISNESS WEEK – Aug 12, 13]
  • THE CULTURE CLASH OF MODERN CHILDREARING INVOLVES DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIAL MEDIA. Over 80% of kids age 3 to 18 use laptops or tablets and over a quarter use smart-phones. 80% of U.S. school districts are progressing toward everyday curriculum usage of tablets, and Los Angeles County has budgeted $30 million on classroom iPads for some 640,000 pupils. But “barely half of parents agree that mobile technology should play a more prominent role in schools,” and many are adamant about their kids spending less time in front of screens – concerned about issues like “cyber-bullying, sexual predators, social media creating depression or insecurity… plus decades of studies proving too much TV can lead to obesity, violence and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.” The counter-arguments include, beyond simply staying competitive, “unprecedented learning opportunities” since kids are no longer limited to offered curriculum, and cognitive benefits (e.g. ‘game-players’ perform 12% better on logic tests”) resulting from engagement – “as retention rate skyrockets to 90%” versus studies showing that “students can remember only 10% of what they read, 20% of what they hear, and 50% of what they see demonstrated.” [TIME – Aug 19, 13]
  • YOU’LL SOON BE HEARING MORE ABOUT ‘5-2’ DIETS. A growing body of research suggests that normal eating for five days, then just two days of high-protein/ no-carb/ 1000-maximum-calories “are effective in keeping weight off, im- proving overall health… and boosting cognitive skills.” A recent British study of 100 woman found they “lost more weight than women who tried to cut calories all week… and eat less overall without feeling deprived.” [THE WEEK – Aug 16, 13]
  • OPPOSITE SIDE OF THAT COIN – BINGE DIETS: “A normal, healthy amount of food for an average teenager or adult is about 1,800 – 2,600 calories a day. During a bingeing episode, it is not unusual for someone to eat 20 to 25 times that amount – more than 50,000 calories, roughly equivalent to an extra-large pepperoni pizza, tub of ice cream, package of cookies, bag of chips, and an entire cake. Bulimics might engage in this type of eating several times a day.” Bingers trade- off is usually 1- 2 days of solid fasting a week, supposedly unhealthy but it works. [LEVINE BREAKING NEWS – Aug 20, 13]
  • STILL DOING PERSONAL STOCK PICKING? The S.E.C. recently announced greater focus on “red-flag issues in financial disclosures” which could be helpful – areas that might smell of corporate accounting frauds which later impact prices dramatically, like (1) Fast-growing receivables which can indicate “bad sales to customers unwilling to pay… or recording of revenue before earned – one of the most common forms of accounting fraud”; (2) Inventory growth out of line with sales trends which may indicate “slow-moving or obsolete assets that should be written off”; (3) Newly- acquired merger transactions that can “mask a slowdown in core business… or manipulate earnings through inflated (and later reversible) charges for Restructuring”; (4) Excessive use of ‘operating’ leases which can make companies “appear less leveraged and can artificially inflate earnings… Knowledge is the best weapon investors have to protect themselves” and DCG can guide you to further knowledge and safer strategies. [PENSIONS & INVESTMENTS ONLINE -July 20, 13
  • THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK:
    “As democracy is perfected, the office of the President represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last and the White House will be occupied by a downright fool and complete narcissistic moron.” -H.L. Mencken, July 1920 editorial, Baltimore Evening Sun

    10 ASTONISHING MINUTES OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE: http://www.youtube.com/embed/hUj65M4T1cg?feature=player_embedded