MNTS #43
[Week 11 / Year 2024] Fahrenheit 451, Market Leaders, Snail Mail, Vampire Campfire, Xtrema
Mainly, Notes To Self - my weekly attempt to compress everything noteworthy I read, watched, listened to, and discovered during the past week
Reading
Farenheight 451 by Ray Bradbury—I re-read this on a whim for the first time in twenty years, and I will just say that it’s a classic for a reason. Bradbury’s prose is the equivalent of gorging on a whole torchon of foie gras. It's extremely rich and leaves one feeling slightly nauseated from too much of a good thing, but you can’t help but go back for a bit more. Loved this monologue by Faber:
Because they have quality. And what does the word quality mean? To me it means texture. This book has pores. It has features. This book can go under the microscope. You'd find life under the glass, streaming past in infinite profusion. The more pores, the more truthfully recorded details of life per square inch you can get on a sheet of paper, the more 'literary' you are. That's my definition, anyway. Telling detail. Fresh detail. The good writers touch life often. The mediocre ones run a quick hand over her. The bad ones rape her and leave her for the flies.
Investor Perspectives #2: How to Beat the Market? by Market Sentiment
Market Leaders: Invest in companies that are in the top half of the field - That is, greater than average in market cap, shares outstanding, cash flow, and sales. Market Leaders were able to give close to double the return of the S&P 500 while having slightly higher risk (Std deviation and Sharpe ratio). Intuitively, this strategy makes sense, as we are picking the best-performing companies from the biggest companies. Over the long term, this outperformance should be reflected in the stock price, and that’s exactly what we see below!
Snail mail experimental project by Justin Murphy—I’m extremely bullish on physical print publications making a bit of a resurgence. I'm excited about the concept, and I hope this becomes something more people offer.
Listening
Random
We’ve been looking for a non-stick pan alternative, and we finally pulled the trigger on this ceramic one by Xtrema. It’s a great little frying pan, it’s surprisingly light and when properly oiled is completely non-stick. My only gripe is the form and aesthetic of the pan is brutal. I suspect there are legitimate constraints due to being made from ceramic, but this thing is ugly.
Until next week!
Stay spirited, stay resilient.
AP