Not ahead of its time

A truly obscure point, but when did they last update the White House's barware inventory? While these clunky handled chunkers continue to be the perfect way to enjoy A&W, the last time I drank beer out of one of those mugs was sharing a pitcher of 3.2 at Shakey's Pizza Parlor in 1983!

Doesn't nearly everyone use these (see right)?

And correct me if I'm wr0ng, but isn't drinking out of a bottle the most friendly and the most eco?

News you can shoes

Never a good way to start the morning . . . .seeing this face.

Why a part of his punishment is not having to take off and then put on his shoes every five minutes is beyond me.

Here's his beef.

Ahead of his time

I just finished "Go Like Hell".

Stating the obvious, Enzo Ferrari was a genius. This car debuted in 1966! Unbelievable.

This was a terrific read indeed. Go out and buy it. Per my earlier post on the book, it uses the car, the race and the personalities to foreshadow the globalization of the auto industry. An interesting follow up book might be one that describes the path that brought Toyota and Honda into the formula one world.

See 'em BS

Good update on the state of (and prospects for) the CMBS market.

Money quote - "To the extent that CMBS investors are able to buy and sell the securities again, spreads will tighten, the Fed and the industry argue. That will allow financial institutions that make loans backing the CMBS to free up their balance sheets and make new loans to the industry or refinance existing debt."

It's not too hard to a tighten a spread from infinity. That is to say they are not trading at all (an overstatement, but not much of one). Also, forget about new loans it's a forced refi world out there.

If the value of US CRE is $6.7 T and the leverage is $3.5 T, that's debt ratio of 52%. If property values fall by the noted 45% then the debt ratio climbs to 95%. For all intents and purposes that means no equity and the next stop is the B pieces. That's the way it's supposed to work! That tranche is for speculators anyway. Any institution dumb enough to be larded with B paper deserves to have to drive through this mess. Regulators should ease up on the banks on this until the B piece investors are gone. That's what they're there for. Then of course it will be OK to panic. It will be difficult on all, but it will get done and the pain will work it's way up the credit structure as it was intended.

Bat outta . . . the UK?

I'm looking forward to reading "Go Like Hell". It's surprising that this book hasn't already been written. It's such a great story (big personalities, business grudges, crazy Italians, maniacal Americans and of course lots of horsepower).

I was privileged to see one of the original Ford G40s at the terrific Blackhawk museum . It was even more beatiful in person than it had been in my mind. As a boy, I was spellbound by the car's feminine lines and absolutley perfect-for-the-times color scheme (Gulf & Western orange and blue). Later I came to appreciate the power and toughness of the car, which really exceeded its beauty. This car is a grossly under-recongnized icon of the mid-sixties.

There is a pretty inticing review of the book in the WSJ. I'm surprised there was not a bit more reverence for the car itself in the review, but maybe that's in the book. Also, the review notes Carroll Shelby's involvement in the project. I guess I was unaware that he had much to do with it; not surprising that he did - I just didn't know about it.

I'll know more when I read it, but it would seem too that it would be worth exploring the Ford G40 an early example of a "world car" (American horsepower, British chasis, Italian styling, and New Zealand drivers)

Nose news is bad news

I'm a huge skeptic on most pharmaceuticals, (OTC, prescription and alternative). There have been two exceptions to this rule for me - Tylenol 3 and Zycam. Tylenol 3 without question relieves pain. Zycam, in my mind benefited from its modest (and unprovable) claim; it shortens the common cold.

As someone who used to catch a lot of colds, I've used it a dozen or so times though the years off and on. I thought it worked. I guess it still might but with a big side effect. It potentially kills off the sense of smell. It's not worth missing out on the bouquet of a nicely aired out Bordeaux.

Today's new word is . . . .

"Ringelmann Effect". This is a new one for me.

Back in B school, we were taught this was something called the "diminishing marginal utility of labor", and it had more of a manufacturing sensibility to it. The naming convention that I learned also has a more sterile, less judgmental tone to it than Ringelmann's flavoring of the idea . His incorporates the notion of "social loafing", which I can't argue with but consider to be beside the point in any practical applicaton.

By whatever name though, it is a tremendously useful management insight. It is also habitually ignored. In my experience it's pretty astounding how often this time-tested, never-fail concept is not even considered. Almost always the response to project stall out is to "throw more bodies at it". I have never seen that work, and it almost always makes things worse.

If you want something done (and probably done mostly right and fast) in an organization, assign it to either one or three people.

By the way, the concept showed up in a new business book with the off putting yet begging for attention title of "I Hate People" With that as the title it will be interesting to see how it sells.