August 2009
77 posts
Guilty as discharged!
I got to leave the hospital and go home today. Both scary and rewarding. I’ve learned what I need to live without 24/7 nursing. The Missus is stepping up and the fantastic nursing, physical and occupational therapy teams at St. Mary’s Hospital are stepping down. I was told I was a great patient but it’s easy to be good when you work with the best (big thanks to Monica, Fran,...
July 2009
29 posts
The Zen of Hospital Stays
These past few days have been the best hospital and health care experience I’ve ever had. Everything from the surgery to care, food, physical theraphy to pain control and home equipment selection have been top notch.
My friend Beth who came in from London on her way to Texas reminded me that I’m very lucky. Not everyone are as fortunate to get acccess to this kind of care.
My...
Tethering for the iPhone 3G →
My Step-by-Step Recovery
Despite that some pain kicked in last night I’m feeling mentally and physically fine. Having to relearn how to walk is a very humbling experince.
Everything from lungs to blood pressure and temperature is fine. Both IV and drainage are disconnected.
My inlaws spent the whole day with us today and turned my room into a fun social gathering. And most importantly: they brought chocolate. ;)
My Surgery
I’m scared shitless of blood, needles and anything that can be associated with surgeries. I’m known for rescheduling my yearly physical several times before I’ve built up enough courage to be able to go without shaking like a leaf. A mere casual conversation covering anything anatomical and I’m about to hurl like a drunk high schooler. It needed to be said: I’m a big...
Surgery went great
The 2hrs surgery worked out as planned. What a team of rockstars. Thanks for all the well-wishes. More in a later post.
Welcome to the new "normal" where keeping up with... →
When visiting my physician last week I overheard a conversation by her admin staff; they talked about all the great stores they were going to go and buy great *stuff* from when off work. How these stores were like friends and family, offering them great *stuff*. I realized the New America is still far away.
Chief Executive Forced Out at Porsche →
A sad day. Mr. Wiedeking - Germany’s Steve Jobs - orchestrated one of the world’s most amazing company turnarounds. He brought back the love for extraordinary products and reinvented the 911 (as the iconic 993) as well as discontinuing the rather questionable models 924, 944 and 928. He brought back the roadster and introduced the SUV (not my favorite), the Cayman and now the...
Airy Thoughts
Flew home from a quick visit to Philadelphia yesterday evening. Cool airport when it’s completely rebuilt. Crazy many fast food joints though. When is this madness going to stop? I saw people that didn’t look like people anymore; just skeletons holding up hundred of pounds of bouncing flesh.
I got upgraded to First and catered to buy a young Elliot Gould look-and-sound-a-like. He had...
“First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you...”
– Gandhi
Goldman Sachs in Talks to Acquire Treasury... →
Hilarious!
WatchA spot on interview with Eliot Spitzer. Too bad he was *eliminated* before the meltdown.
1K = 100K miles on United
I know. It’s silly, very silly. But it’s the little overachiever inside of me that’s jumping for joy as I recently became member of the 1K mileage club on United. It’s like the black American Express card but more useful - at least for a traveler. And it’s free.
The biggest value is access to travel lounges, complimentary upgrades and more bonus miles. And of course,...
Market Thoughts July 8, 2009
Looking at a market bounce into the weekend / next week to negate the emerging H&S on S&P 500. I think it will fail, head higher and then break down later this summer.
Extreme Travels
I’m leaving all tech stuff behind for my weekend work trip to Europe. Only my iPhone (including USB cords / charger), four dress shirts, Barry Ritholtz’s “Bailout Nation” and some underwear gets to tag along. Everything else can either be bought, borrowed or lived w/o.
I installed Air Sharing Pro and GV Mobile in addition to all my 50+ apps and would like to see if I can...
“You won’t have to get more than a handful of key decisions correct -...”
– John Mauldin
Got Invited to Google Voice
I finally got an invitation to try Google Voice (former Grand Central) a few hours ago and I’m already set up. It’s very simple and brilliant. In combination with the iPhone App GV Mobile this could be a great option to AT&T’s brutally expensive calling plans (domestic and international).
My Hip Surgery
I’ve *suffered* from Legg-Calvé-Perthes syndrome for the past 35+ years. It’s practically a collapsed hip joint which makes it hard and very painful to walk, run, ski et cetera. The pain reached it’s apex during the past year and I decided - with the encouragement from a family friend and surgeon - to do hip replacement surgery.
My date is set and I’m now preparing myself...
Market Thoughts July 8, 2009
The market kept climbing slightly for another four days after my last market thoughts on June 25. Then on July 3 we saw the pullback that we have been waiting for, S&P down about 8% so far.
Oil is just $3 away from our $60 target and the four horsemen down 7-22%. RIMM looks the weakest and might be a perfect tech short if the markets roll over.
Tomorrow will be interesting, a bounce off...
WatchA great interview with two key insights for anyone who wants to understand the web:
Every year there is a new killer app that changes the Internet.
The difference between the Internet and previous media is software versus hardware.
Watch“The Man Who Crashed The World” by Michael Lewis in Vanity Fair, August 2009
1 tag
The Greater Fool Theory
The real estate market was and still is driven by the greater fool theory; out there - somewhere - is someone even more stupid that will be happy to catch the proverbial falling knife.
The folks behind the triple whammy (deregulation, cheap *and* easy credit, and the marketing mania) are now delivering the final punch: the threat of inflation that will kill your cash and double the cost of...
