Because really, who doesn't want a hedge fund manager who's both meditative and viciously competitive, and isn't that why everyone from Ray Dalio to Process Driven Trading's Peter Muller to Paul Tudor Jones is always touting their love for transcendental meditation or the new yoga studio they just opened in Greenwich. And to which end, we'd like to share the following advert with Cliff Asness, the AQR Capital founder who seems unaware of the awe-inducing (read: nauseating) activity known as competitive yoga.
Tag Archives: Health
How Did We Get To 7 Billion?
12 Dec
The global population was 1 billion just over two centuries ago. But improved medicine and better agriculture resulted in higher life expectancy, dramatically increasing the world population.
515 Chemicals A Day? You’ll Be Surprised To See What Your Skin Is Absorbing [Infographic]
14 Nov
Click to enlarge
Source: Ecomom.
Promoting Freedom Of Choice
16 Jul
The Soda King Mission:
John Nese is the proprietor of Galcos Soda Pop Stop in LA. His father ran it as a grocery store, and when the time came for John to take charge, he decided to convert it into the ultimate soda-lovers destination. About 500 pops line the shelves, sourced lovingly by John from around the world. John has made it his mission to keep small soda-makers afloat and help them find their consumers. Galcos also acts as a distributor for restaurants and bars along the West Coast, spreading the gospel of soda made with cane sugar (no high-fructose corn syrup if John can avoid it).
Source: YouTube.
Urban Skylines Ranked
11 Jul
Hong Kong Skyline // Wikipedia.
Place |
City |
Population |
Area |
Buildings² |
Points³ |
|
1. |
Hong Kong |
6,943,600 |
1,053 km² |
7,685 |
128,575 |
|
2. |
New York City |
8,391,881 |
800 km² |
5,919 |
39,786 |
|
3. |
Chicago |
2,853,114 |
589 km² |
1,124 |
19,411 |
|
4. |
Singapore |
4,351,400 |
710 km² |
4,366 |
18,870 |
|
5. |
São Paulo |
10,990,249 |
1,523 km² |
5,667 |
17,230 |
|
6. |
Seoul |
10,331,244 |
616 km² |
2,877 |
16,880 |
|
7. |
Shanghai |
9,145,711 |
6,639 km² |
990 |
14,847 |
|
8. |
Dubai |
1,954,000 |
3,885 km² |
564 |
14,831 |
|
9. |
Bangkok |
7,587,882 |
1,569 km² |
786 |
13,483 |
|
10. |
Tokyo |
8,653,000 |
621 km² |
2,702 |
13,376 |
Full Ranking >> Here.
Privatizing Retail Alcohol Sales
22 Jun
A task force of public health experts analyzed privatization of alcohol sales in 7 states, 2 European countries, and 2 Canadian provinces. Their report found that privatization efforts increase alcohol consumption by an average of 48 percent. The executive director of the Keystone Research Center and MIT-trained economist, Stephen Herzenberg, wrote a policy brief:
On the other hand:
«A 2009 study by the Commonwealth Foundation, a Harrisburg, Pa. think tank, which examined the effects of deregulation in Iowa and West Virginia, found that per capita alcohol consumption decreased by as much as 5.9 percent. One explanation cited by the study’s authors, John Pulito and Antony Davies of Duquesne University, was that with more convenient hours and less restrictive purchasing guidelines, consumers bought less alcohol per trip.»
Vote And Read Details On The Findings Here.
U.K May Face A Lost Decade
6 Jun
Professor Joe Nellis expects sluggish growth and inflationary pressures, which will distance the UK from Europe’s core countries. Achieving the growth needed to accumulate tax revenues and income growth, will be a real challenge. Nellis concludes that the economy is facing the danger of a «lost decade», but at the same time he also warns of talking ourselves into a depression.
Assorted Amusements
1 May
James Altucher: I Want My Daughters to Be Lesbians.
Some Of Google’s Weirdest Investments.
Washington State Lotto Commercial.
Worst Condoms Ever? Trojan.
Shortened Royal Wedding!
The Perfect Library Desk.
Cartoon: Food Scarcity.
A dose Christopher Walken, at his best, from SNL:
Betting With The Tax Auditor
24 Mar
The IRS decides to audit Ralph, and summons him to the IRS office. The IRS auditor is not surprised when Ralph shows up with his attorney.
The auditor says, ‘Well, sir, you have an extravagant lifestyle and no full-time employment, which you explain by saying that you win money gambling. I’m not sure the IRS finds that believable.’
I’m a great gambler, and I can prove it,’ says Ralph. ‘How about a
demonstration?’
The auditor thinks for a moment and said, ‘Okay. Go ahead.’
Ralph says, ‘I’ll bet you a thousand dollars that I can bite my own eye.’ The auditor thinks a moment and says, ‘It’s a bet.’
Ralph removes his glass eye and bites it.
The auditor’s jaw drops.
Ralph says, ‘Now, I’ll bet you two thousand dollars that I can bite my other eye.’
Now the auditor can tell Ralph isn’t blind, so he takes the bet.
Ralph removes his dentures and bites his good eye.
The stunned auditor now realizes he has wagered and lost three grand, with Ralph’s attorney as a witness. He starts to get nervous.
‘Want to go double or nothing?’ Ralph asks ‘I’ll bet you six thousand dollars that I can stand on one side of your desk, and pee into that wastebasket on the other side, and never get a drop anywhere in between.’
The auditor, twice burned, is cautious now, but he looks carefully and decides there’s no way this guy could possibly manage that stunt, so he agrees again.
Ralph stands beside the desk and unzips his pants, but although he strains mightily, he can’t make the stream reach the wastebasket on the other side, so he pretty much urinates all over the auditor’s desk.
The auditor leaps with joy, realizing that he has just turned a major loss into a huge win. But Ralph’s attorney moans and puts his head in his hands.
‘Are you okay?’ the auditor asks.
‘Not really,’ says the attorney. ‘This morning, when Ralph told me he’d been summoned for an audit, he bet me twenty-five thousand dollars that he could come in here and piss all over your desk and that you’d be happy about it.
HT: DentalNylon.
Walk On
9 Feb
Via Wikipedia
«Psychologists are suggesting that the hippocampus — a part of the brain important to the formation of memories — can be modestly expanded, and memory improved, by nothing more than regular walking.»
Story from NYT here.
How Meditation May Improve Skills
29 Jan
By chiaralily via Flickr
A study from Britta Hölzel, a psychologist at Harvard Medical School, is the first study to document changes in the gray-matter through meditation over time. According to the NY Times, the findings will appear in the Jan. 30 issue of Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging.
«Those who meditated for about 30 minutes a day for eight weeks had measurable changes in gray-matter density in parts of the brain associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress.
….the participants’ meditation regimen found increased gray matter in the hippocampus, an area important for learning and memory. The images also showed a reduction of gray matter in the amygdala, a region connected to anxiety and stress. A control group that did not practice meditation showed no such changes.»
Story here.
Earnings Du Jour
26 Jan
Earnings reports: Boeing, Conoco Phillips, United Technologies, Occidental Petroleum, United Continental, Valero Energy, U.S. Airways, General Dynamics, Rockwell Automation, Exelon, St. Jude Medical, WellPoint Health and Xerox.
Reports after the bell: Starbucks, Netflix, Symantec, Varian Medical, Logitech, Lam Research, Motorola Mobility, Citrix and ETrade.
The Logics Of Beauty
14 Jan
«Why beautiful people are more intelligent» – from Intelligence 32 (2004) 227–243 – Four assumptions follows from the conclusion that beautiful people are more intelligent:
« (1) Men who are more intelligent are more likely to attain higher status than men who are less intelligent. (2) Higher-status men are more likely to mate with more beautiful women than lower-status men. (3) Intelligence is heritable. (4) Beauty is heritable. If all four assumptions are empirically true, then the conclusion that beautiful people are more intelligent is logically true, making it a proven theorem.»
Researchers present empirical evidence for each of the four assumptions. Find out more on Free Market Mojo here.
Biking Before Breakfast
18 Dec
Via Wikipedia
Working out before eating breakfast can do wonders for your health, especially if you overeat during the holiday season:
A new study published in The Journal of Physiology suggests that you run or ride a bicycle before breakfast. The study results show that exercising in the morning, before eating, seems to significantly lessen the consequences of indulging in more fat and calories than usual.
Story by NY Times: Phys Ed: The Benefits of Exercising Before Breakfast.
Awake During Heart Surgery
14 Dec
Via Wikipedia
In Bangalore a heart operation performed with a patient wide awake can keep costs down and speed up recovery.
Video available via WSJ here. HT: MJ. Perry.
Night Owls Are Smarter Than Early Birds
21 Nov
Via Wikipedia
At least according to this study by London School of Economics researcher; Satoshi Kanazawa. The Christian Science Monitor noted that Americans who go to bed late appear to have higher IQs than those who go to bed early, but they also make less smart choices. But there are regional differences:
“Kanazawa also has done research which concludes that Americans with high IQs are not just night owls, but are more likely to smoke and drink more alcohol. Huh? High IQs but not-so-intelligent choices?
But Brits with high IQs are less likely to smoke, says Kanazawa, who admits he has no idea why this would be.”
The article also feature:
“..a 2006 study by psychologist Marina Giampietro and G.M. Cavallera at the University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, Italy, indicates evening-types tend to be less reliable, less emotionally stable, and more apt to suffer from depression, addictions and eating disorders..“
More via CSMonitor here.
Confidential Tax Heavens
23 Sep
Hong Kong skyline via Wikipedia
Switzerland has for centuries been the priority for people seeking to hide their fortunes and dodge taxes. Amid the escalating crackdown on national banks, the wealty are relocating to Singapore and Hong Kong – Why?
“Singapore lack taxes on capital gains and most foreign dividends; and system allowing depositors to open accounts in the guise of corporations, trusts and limited liability companies.”
Hong Kong does not have formal bank secrecy laws, it allows the formation of opaque companies that often serve as conduits for tax evasion. It also does not tax capital gains or deposit interest, and for corporations, it taxes only Hong Kong-sourced income.”
View the full article from the NY Times: Seeking Bank Secrecy in Asia.
The Gold Standard Would Probably Lead To More Government Intervention
22 Sep
“As you can see clearly, recessions were far more frequent up until we got off the gold standard. Also, deflation was way more vicious (and it’s not like we avoided inflation either).”
Read more here via The Business Insider.
Photos by Maersk Line
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WSJ Markets
- Yahoo Deal Shows Power ShiftYahoo has agreed to pay $1.1 billion for Tumblr, a six-year-old company with more than 100 million users but very little revenue, a deal that highlights the shifting balance of power in the technology business.
- Swedish Firms Squeezed as Krona StrengthensSwedish exporters like Sandvik and BabyBjorn are struggling to cope with a stronger krona, which is hurting profits on exports.
- Taiwan Central Bank Ups InterventionTaiwan's central bank has intensified its intervention in foreign-exchange markets to keep the island's currency relatively stable and especially to keep it from rising out of step with its peers.
- For Multinationals, Europe Is Soft SpotSoft European markets were a consistent and negative theme of the first-quarter results from big U.S. industrial companies, and concerns about further deterioration are expected to be a key topic at the annual conference that starts Monday.
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