Envelope / Develope

Photo by Michael Longmire on Unsplash This post is a convergence of my thoughts after re-reading a few books I always recommended for novice investors: The little book of common sense investing by John Bogle Where are the customer's yachts by Fred Schwed Thieves of Bay Street by Bruce Livesey (for Canadian investors) The Four pillars of investing by Michael Bernstein and also the continuous reading of web sites posting ideas and analysis for the investing community: Seeking Alpha Morningstar Bogleheads Investing  I am writing because I have friends who don't have the time/inclination and maybe curiosity to look a little bit deeper than the Yahoo financial articles and Motley Fool articles about investing (where people are goaded to consider different companies just because arguments are presented with catchy pseudo-reasons). They are at an age where planning for retirement should be a priority but, for some reason, the basic education of how to do ...

The US politics is full of empty slogans and misinformation. I was reading about claims by Barack Obama and Trump vis-a-vis the state of the economy, whose policies left it in a better shape. Photo by Jose Moreno on Unsplash It would make an interesting analysis with proper tools to recognize the real environment inherited by both presidents, the influence of the monetary policies during their period but most importantly their direct role in shaping the US economy. Unfortunately, in US media at least, nobody is talking about the real influences in the economy, the forces at play, with a lot of money power, that want to drive the economy in a "clear direction". We can talk about the beneficiaries of the government spending - like US defense and US health care - to industries sponsored through subsidies or punished because of well/not that well known public issue concerns - soft drinks, fast food, tobacco, chemical compounds. One of the puzzling policies, for m...

Here in Toronto, there is an intermittent radio show called "White coat, black art" about being a doctor nowadays or the dilemmas of the health system in Canada. The whole accent is about how difficult is to navigate the current medical problems when in fact, almost everyone is more interested about the ethical questions, economic factors (why some procedures are supported or not) and obviously the transparency of the personal skills of the medical staff. The public services are served as a "block" for everyone when the reality is that it counts on whose hands are you under medical care. What is not touched in any way (the guest making the show is a doctor) are conflictual and controversial views about doctors. The show is mostly about raising big questions, not touching constant slippage of the system and the self-empowerment of the job due to the social contract of how the doctors and the medical system are provisioned in Canada's economy. In this post I...

Photo by Mariah Ashby on Unsplash Last night, 24th of December 2019, we came home from a party with friends. My daughter was excited to see the presents received from Santa and rushed, after she entered our home, to discover the gifts. She paused a little and then stopped looking at a stack of wrapped boxes placed under the Christmas tree. Suddenly she started to cry. "There are just a few presents for me. What did I do wrong, daddy?" She was sobbing and I was a little flabbergasted; my effort to buy some interesting presents for her (some of them failed to be delivered but were still bought but not under the tree, due to unforeseen circumstances) seems to be dashed from a simple glance to a pile of boxes. She was expecting a deluge of boxes under the tree and the five/six wrapped boxes were not enough to fill-up her expectations. I just sat down in a chair and was chewing my kid's ungratefulness. She unwrapped one of the presents and discovered was a piano b...

Photo by Jonas Jacobsson on Unsplash One in five workers with a high school education or less are subject to a non-compete clause. Labor cost becomes one of the variables any company will try to contain, especially for large companies or small franchises (like soccer, basketball teams) where the star status is coming with large paychecks. I will try to touch this subject in the light of a few observations and findings of today's labor market. Large companies are been tacitly agreeing to limit poaching talent from each other in order to limit the salaries of the talented people Monopsony is the buyer's power in the market, single buyer or many of them agreeing to follow the same rules. I wanted to touch the subject because it reflects one of the old ideas where "managers" are trying to contain costs of their raising stars. That is valid for all industries with the exception of the movie, music industry or individual sports. All other cases - team sp...

Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash I am not a reader of fiction books, mostly because I devoured them as a teenager and young adult. My taste was spreading from the classics - like Montesquieu, Gustave Flaubert, Emile, Zola, Marcel Proust, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Descartes and ending with the titans of the 20th century - James Joyce, Aldous Huxley, Ernest Hemingway, Sam Below, Thomas Mann,Sam Becket, John Galsworthy, Max Frisch, John Fowles. It is hard to recognize that I enjoyed those authors, but in my youth, Internet was not present and killing time had not many avenues among us - sports, reading, scarce parties. I read some of the South-Americans authors - Garcia Marques, Jose Saramago, Mario Vargas Llosa - and enjoyed it as the writer's imagination and the reality of those countries had something in common with the reality of my country and Romanian authors being forced to write in parables and still lived under a heavy hand of the dictatorial/communist regime. ...

The taxi boat  for Saleccia beach was a retirees business, a pair which found a new way to stretch their money. If you were a fan of the Netflix movies showing Brits moving down south, that would be a perfect example.    We arrived one hour earlier just to stroll San Florent (San Firenzu) and visit the stores close to central plaza. I ordered an artisan gelato for Emma while I was tasting some Corsican peaches. I don't know why the hype with the beach, maybe because the color of the water and the gentle entry, no rocks and many boats anchored not far from the shore. The boat ride was speedy and bumpy (they wanted to carry as much people to the beach). I was concerned because Emma was the only kid in the group and everyone was grabbing the bars in order to keep their balance. No hats or flying scarfs were allowed and Emma's hair was getting a blow, which she liked it. Reaching the shore we jumped in the water and walked to the beach.Just from the visit to Carrefour, ...

We started today with the intention to go to the beach of Saint Fleurent and discovered that all boat taxis were very busy. You cannot book for the same day a taxi boat or even an ATV to reach Salecchia or Lotu beaches.    I made reservations for 21st of August (next day) to be taxied to the Salecchia beach in a 2pm to 7pm slot. Then I decided to go to another beach, on l'ile Rouse - Bodri beach. The drive was less than an hour along the west coast of Corsica with beautiful images along the way. Bodri beach, although public, has two different access points, one is from a private camping site, the other is 200 meters down the road, barely marked at the street level. You descend on a gravel road to get to the beach. There is a paying parking lot which becomes public after 5 pm. The beach is 20-30 meters wide, with a few trees making shade for the unprepared visitors (not having umbrellas or beach tents). Emma loved the water and stayed mostly at the edge of it, sometime...

After a memorable drive to reach Col du Prato, I was looking for a board sign telling me the starting point for one of the nice peaks of Corsica. There are in fact two starting points: one is a parking lot before the small village, on the right side, bordering a sheep ground. There is a path crossing the sheep ground and joining a gravel road. The real path starts across the church, besides a restaurant. It is marked with an orange band. Following the road, pay close attention because it splits at some point and you have to follow the right side. I followed the left side and managed to wander for 3 kilometers before correcting my mistake. The good part of the hike has a slow slope and is mostly through a forest, keeping you a cool temperature and shade. You may encounter cows or pigs or goats or sheep herds. It is not a strenuous hike with the exception of the last 30 minutes. Pay attention to the orange band, the path is well marked. Although we passed close to a few streams (...

Another Corte trip,  having with the intention to combine it with a dip in the waters of Tavignano stream. Searching the internet about the entry point for Tavignano gorges will give you mixed starting points. At the end of the citadel, close to the parking lot, there is begining of the trail. As always, I had a hard time to find it and started very close to the stream, following a path used by the locals to enjoy the pools along the gorge. At some point we were forced to climb up and join the marked path. It was a steep ascent and only seeing other people on the normal path gave me confidence we corrected a wrong starting location. The funny thing is that many tourists like us were doing the same mistake and "suffered" an abrupt ascent at some moment.    One of the problems was that we needed time to be at the starting point and I did not want to wake up Emma very early, still. We always managed to be at the beginning of the trail before 11 am, and all days were in 3...

We  were stationed in Lucciana, one hour south of Bastia and all our hikes were around Corte, another 50 minutes south west. Both lakes - Melu and Capitellu - are famous due to the Restonica gorges, people are coming to enjoy the small pools along the stream.  I searched for Restonica gorge and the car's navigation system just had it as POI.  The first shock, off Corte town, was the small road leading to Restonica gorges, were you have to carefully drive and negotiate the curbs with incoming traffic. There is one lane and a half and from place to place spaces where to cars can pass along each other. I haven't yet met obnoxious drivers in Corsica, all of them are trying to accommodate to the road conditions. Once we have reached the paying parking lot, the signs were showing one hour and forty-five minutes for lake Melu. I hiked in many countries, but this trail was busy like a side-walk to supermarket. The last part of the hike to reach the platform of the lake Melu...

As it happens with any traveler, I am using the big four trip booking companies - Booking, Expedia, Trip Advisor, AirBnB or Canadian equivalents. Over the years, I discussed with many hotel/lodging owners and everyone is saying they are not happy with the way they are represented and the cut the brokers are getting for only providing an interface and a common entry point for travelers. The broker companies offer convenience and service aggregation, a unique marketing platform and convenience for the user. It is a warehouse for a service (lodging), but many of the reviews are fake, misrepresenting the  reality. I realized there is competition about reviews, many companies are trying to get more and also veto the ones outside "reality". It is better to read the more recent ones. Companies like Google, Yelp (with many question marks), Trip Advisor are vying for people posting their last impressions or even their vacation photos. The reality is that the algorithms to promote t...

unsplash-logo Filip Mroz I used to watch the grand slam tennis matches and to observe the emotion of the players. Body language is a good indicator of what is happening with most of them. Their reaction on tense points or after long rallies is also an important indicator where their mind is. Small triggers based on spectators' reactions or referee's decisions are playing a role on their mind. You can see the maturity or the adolescence in some of their behaviors.  But you don't know how they judge and adjust during the match, what is crossing their mind and when the decisions are taken to employ a different tactic than before. And here is where the interviews with mass-media are shining some light about other side of their personalities, besides that of being a fantastic tennis player (because the majority of them are). We judge a sport based on the TV broadcasts instead of judging it based on the effort they put on to reach that level. If you have ever watched a...

Milan, 15 August 2019, day 2 A full day in Milan was scheduled for visiting Il Duomo, Castello Sforzesco and the Last Supper. I booked the tickets from Toronto and the first visit was scheduled for 8 am. I fumbled with the metro directions and we were there at 8:20 based on my watch. The whole plaza was empty and the cathedral was close. Then I realized I didn't change the time from Romania (one hour in advance) and started to take pictures of the plaza and of the nearby market - Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. Emma was sleepy and I promised her that after visiting the dome we will find something to eat.Il Duomo has the cornucopia of the same personages and themes of the church. I was impressed with the large stained glasses, the navel raised on long columns with human sculptures at the top. Were they real personages in life or fictional characters?   Walking the church, in the insets in the wall, a few sculptures impressed me - three black marble characters, one man and two wo...

Photo by Yohann LIBOT on Unsplash Nu stiu cum am ajuns la website ( www.teleleu.eu ), probabil am citit un articol pe unul din site-urile ziarelor din Romania. Este povestea a doi oameni care au avut curajul sa spuna lucrurile asa cum le-au vazut, lucruri pe care le auzim dar nimeni nu prea le aduce in fata, si cum mai toate proiectele lor necesitau multe zile "pe teren" s-au mutat intr-o rulota si au inceput sa colinde Europa (in special). Am citit majoritatea posturilor intr-o singura zi, cu lacomia celui care ar visa sa faca asemenea "nebunii" dar poate nu are destule motive, sau se teme "de gura lumii", sau pur si simplu este prins in angrenajul vietii ca o povara. Ce este interesant despre reportajele lor? Varietatea, tonul care nu judeca ci doar trasnmite mai departe ce personajele lor spun, din cind in cind observind comportamente si gesturi. Nu este nici o interpretare ci simplu documentare pentru un subiect. Majoritatea sunt oameni ca...

We traveled many times by train in Italy and didn't have trepidations. In getting to Bastia (in Corsica) we took the train to Livorno and then the ferry from Livorno to Bastia. The only unknown was getting from the train station to the Moby ferry port entrance in Livorno. Many people are not traveling using a car and I googled intensively to find my options - how can you reach the ferry terminal from the train station in Livorno? But before that, a few impressions from the train trip. Italians are using trains a lot and the system is very well organized. You can buy tickets online and present them to the train controller. I bought second class tickets during the week and the compartment was packed. The train passed through Cinque Terre, Spezia and a few places with colored beaches. Liguria's beaches still have the color of 50-60s Italian movies. Small patches of sand with colorful umbrella and chaise-longs. Brown bodies layered as sardines and capturing sun with the believe ...

Milan, 14th of Aug 2019 I just arrived and was confused about how to find the hotel. Although it was close to the train station, somebody just helped me to find the right directions. In hindsight I should have used Here for pedestrians.   The hotel (Soperga, ranked three stars, yes I don't splurge on lodging) looked very neat and the room was larger than what we've seen previously in Italy (2017). I got out with Emma and dined to a nearby restaurant with owners from Middle East. I got a mussel soup, Dorado fried fish and salad. More than I usually eat for dinner. Emma got shrimp, langostino and fries. I even tried their house wine but the fermentation was spoiling it.   The whole experience was not bad and the prices were decent. I was surprised by the richness of the mussel soup. Emma ate at least half of the mussels from my appetizer. It was a nice restaurant with table cloth, men servers and people smiling when talking to you. Romania has a long way to go in that rega...

Mes projets de voyage ne se font pas du jour au lendemain, simplement parce que je veux me détendre ou décompresser. La plupart du temps, je vois des endroits dans des documentaires ou des films ou je lis à leur sujet, puis je commence à dessiner un plan. Quand une graine est plantée, je récupère des informations et j'essaie de comprendre s'il ne reste plus que mon impulsion à me rendre sur place: si elles ont des endroits incroyables à photographier ou des paysages aux caractéristiques uniques, mieux c'est. Aujourd'hui, je dévoilerai mon plan de visite en Corse. Je suis un grand fan de TV5, la chaîne de télévision française qui au fil des ans m'a présenté de nombreux endroits incroyables à travers leurs documentaires: Thalassa, Des racines et des ailes, Passez moi les jumelles. Dans l'un des documentaires, une jeune guide ( Magali Vermeglio ) a été filmée lors d'une randonnée au GR20 et à la beauté du paysage et à la rugosité des sommets moi a commenc...

Photo by Gabriel B, My travels plans are not happening overnight, just because I want to relax or decompress. Most of the time I see places first in documentaries or movies or read about them and then I start to sketch a plan. When a seed is planted I dig information and try to understand if there is more than my impulse of getting to the place: if they have incredible places to photograph or scenery with unique characteristics, the better. Today I will unfold my plan to visit Corsica. I am a big fan of TV5, the French broadcasting channel which over the years introduced me to many amazing places through their documentaries - Thalassa, Des racines et des ailes, Passez moi les jumelles. In one of the documentaries, a young tour guide lady ( Magali Vermeglio ) was filmed while hiking GR20 and the beauty of the landscape and the roughness of the peaks just gotten me started. The only problem is that we are a family of two - dad and daughter (8 years old). Can we manage GR20, to...

Photo by Curtis MacNewton on Unsplash   Dansul hirtiilor in Romania 2019 Am iesit sa-mi eliberez un certificat de nastere, ca sa-mi fac din nou un pasaport Romanesc. Da, sunt inca cetatean roman, desi nu m-ai traiesc acolo de douazeci de ani. Dar nu am uitat, pentru orice fituica, trebuie sa alergi, intrebi, primesti lectii si astepti. Deci eram pregatit moral pentru socul cultural, inca mai imi aminteami de nervii pe care mi-i faceam acum douazeci de ani. Sa incepem cu gasirea cladirii unde se elibereaza certificatele. Pancarta care ar trebui sa anunte pentru oricine care este scopul acelei cladiri publice este facuta varza, poti sa-ti inchipui ca au trecut sute de ani peste ea (poate compania care a furnizat-o a trebuie sa taie din vopsea ca sa dea ciubucul pentru intrat la licitatie). Este o cladire veche, de cel putin 60-70 de ani conceputa pentru cu totul alte scopuri dar modificata pentru lucrul cu publicul. Am intrebat la casierie, ce trebuie sa fac, mi s-a ...