Most Recent Post
We’re Back in Missouri After a Weekend in Orange County
It is now Tuesday. We flew home yesterday and let me say the John Wayne Airport in Orange County is beautiful and well-run. The plane flew out over the Pacific Ocean and then banked back, parallel to the coast line, so we got the most amazing view. And I’m not sure what happened while we [...]
Our Last Day in Disneyland Before Heading Home on Monday
After breakfast at Steakhouse 55, we jumped on the monorail and went to the Magic Kingdom to enjoy our last day in the park. We flew out here on Friday and it’s now Sunday, so we will have to go back tomorrow. While Aaron was still getting the [...]
Breakfast at Steakhouse 55 in the Disneyland Hotel
We all met for breakfast at Steakhouse 55 in the Disneyland Hotel this morning. We were both starving because we hadn’t eaten in 24 hours – there was so much food at Club 33, neither of us were in the mood for anything else and couldn’t bring myself to even have a snack by midnight. This [...]
Disney’s California Adventure and The World of Color
If you can’t tell from the recent posts, I’m still out here in Southern California, where I flew out to spend the weekend with my college friends and continue our tradition of trips to the Disney parks. We passed Oswald the Lucky Rabbit’s store, which I told you I think is one of the most [...]
The Life and Business Lessons of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
After lunch at Club 33 and a ride through the Haunted Mansion, we all decided to head over to Disney’s adjacent theme park, California Adventure. The moment we walked through the entrance I was greeted by one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. If you don’t know what you are seeing, you aren’t alone. [...]
Lunch at Club 33 in Disneyland
Today is our lunch at Club 33 in Disneyland. I am excited about dining in what is unquestionably one of the most famous restaurants and dining rooms in the world but first, you need the backstory. Ten years ago, during college, Aaron, Ashly, and I, three friends who were in the same classical music studio [...]
We Flew Out to Disneyland in California for the Weekend to Meet Up with Friends
A few minutes after midnight, my entire family and their respective spouses, minus one of my sisters, met at a local movie theater to see the premier of Man of Steel, the new Superman movie. When it was over, we went home to take a shower, change into something comfortable for travel, and head to the [...]
The Collapse of J.C. Penney – What Caused It and Can It Be Fixed?
A couple of hours ago, I was running errands. The spouse needed to pick up something at J.C. Penney before hopping on a plane so I went along and wandered around the store, looking at the newly remodeled displays, noting which products I had seen at the wholesale gift mart the last time I was [...]
Grilled Kabobs, Running Shoes, Mandevilla, and United Technology Dividends
The first dividend from United Technologies came in today. Actually, it was deposited two days ago, but I forgot to note it when I checked the accounts. I told you when I added the position to the KRIP portfolio, and then later answered questions about the valuation of the stock. It is such a small [...]
Russia Is Sliding Into a Self-Reinforcing Cycle of Cultural Repression That Will Destroy the Nation
Those of you who study history will know that there can now be little doubt that the future of Russia is in serious jeopardy. Personally, short of an unexpected event or political uprising, I don’t see how they escape from the cycle that has begun, which has been accelerating if you’ve been paying attention to [...]
Sony’s PS4 Just Crushed Microsoft’s Xbox One
Talk about brilliant business strategy. This was so well executed, so perfectly timed, so flatly delivered that I believe Sony just won the next generation console wars with one fell swoop. There is a Harvard case study in here somewhere. If you haven’t been following what is going on, Microsoft’s upcoming console, the Xbox One, basically [...]
What Are Your Thoughts on the New Mac Pro Redesign?
Apple could be addressing some of the serious concerns I’ve had lately. The new iteration of the operating system will fix the notification errors I mentioned, as well as introduce a desktop version of the iBook software, letting it catch up to Kindle. Issues with dual screens and fullscreen settings will be resolved. Though I’m still [...]
The Before and After Deck Restoration
I was woken up this morning to the sound of the deck restoration team renewing the woodwork on the exterior of the house so I thought I’d share some before and after pictures. They were the people used by most of the folks in the neighborhood for their deck and patio restorations, and we have [...]
NSA Whistleblower Identified as Edward Snowden – Says Capabilities Are Even More Horrifying Than We Realize and the NSA Is Actively Lying to Congress About Its Targeting of American Citizens
Major global news outlets, including The New York Times, are identifying 29-year old ex-CIA computer technician Edward Snowden as the whistleblower who leaked documents to international newspapers to illustrate the unconstitutional and illegal surveillance of American citizens. He gave up a high income and powerful position to accepting the possibility of life imprisonment because he realized [...]
Mail Bag: Have You Ever Considered LVMH for the KRIP?
Here is a great question about the world’s preeminent luxury holding company, LVMH, which owns everything from Louis Vuitton to Dior to Givenchy to TAG Heuer, to Thomas Pink to Fendi. Hi Joshua, I not sure if you recognize me but you have replied a few times. I just wanted to know if you have [...]
Mail Bag: The Future of Society and Autism
This is an interesting question about autism and the future of society. Mr. Kennon, With the rising rates of autism found in the general population, how do you think society will adapt to the cultural changes that will inevitably follow in the future as more people are born with the condition? Do you think the [...]
Even More Posts
More NSA Classified Documents Leaked Showing the Government Has Direct Access To Facebook, Google, and Apple
Someone on the inside of the NSA has reportedly become terrified of the power the government is amassing and begun leaking more documents according to international newspapers. The latest update to the story, following The Wall Street Journal revelation that the executive branch has built backdoors into the credit card processing companies to be able to [...]
The 6 Most Common Biological Sexes in Humans
Many of you have expressed an interest in more of my personal essays; the documents I use myself to study various topics and take advantage of the so-called “orangutan theory”, which states that forcing yourself to write down your ideas, or speaking them out loud, even if your only audience is a large primate in [...]
The United States Government Has Been Caught Engaging In the Largest Violation of Constitutional Protections in History
Following a couple of bombshells in the news over the past week, we now know that the administration of former President George W. Bush, with AT&T, and the administration of President Obama, with Verizon, has engaged in the most expansive, unconstitutional surveillance of the American citizenry in the history of the country. The New York Times editorial [...]
My Day In Pictures – The Capital Grille in Kansas City
We took my sister-in-law to downtown Kansas City today to meet my brother-in-law on his last day at work. For the past few years, he was involved in the account records department at State Street, the global financial giant with $25 trillion in assets held in custody. I could be wrong, but I believe he [...]
General Mills Attacked for Having an Interracial Couple in Cheerios Ad
As of this afternoon, if you go one generation down from my tier on both sides of my family tree, 33.33% of all of the children are interracial. In all cases, they are half white and half black. I think that is why the recent General Mills situation caught me completely off guard. The entire [...]
Will 3D Printing Someday Put Consumer Staples Out of Business? What About Technological Singularity?
There was a question left for me by Peter Jan in the comments section of the article discussing how Quincy, Florida became a town of secret Coca-Cola millionaires. It was so good, and required such a detailed response, I am elevating it to its own post. Joshua, I may be a technology optimist, but can’t [...]
Thought Experiment: The Disappearing Dairy Queen
Imagine you have a craving for ice cream. You and your spouse decide to get in the car and go to the same Dairy Queen you’ve patronized dozens of times in the past, spread out over several years. You run a blog and you’ve taken pictures of it. You’ve had many conversations about what is [...]
I Just Watched The Worst Film I Have Ever Seen in 30 Years on Planet Earth
There is no doubt that tomorrow I am going to regret this. If you are an 85 year old woman who loves my blog, I profusely apologize. I do not mean to offend you. This is the sort of post I would have written when the site was much smaller and hadn’t had an influx [...]
Otherkin and Mental Models
There are several things I’m studying on my “mental model” list and adding to my files. The problem I have is I don’t feel comfortable sharing them on the site because it would require pointing out many examples – and there are wonderful, textbook examples out there – that come in the form of angst-ridden [...]
The Cherry Parfait Roses Are Blooming More Pink and Cream Than Red and White …
Our cherry parfait roses are coming in more pink and white, with a hint of cream, rather than a stark red with blinding white. It could be the particular genetic makeup of this individual cherry parfait rose bush, or it could be temperature and sunlight dependent as some roses will bloom differently depending upon the [...]
