Joshua Kennon's Personal Blog

Mar112011

New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley Teaches About Inflation Using the iPad … And Makes People Angry

EconomicsBy Joshua Kennon March 11, 2011 Leave a comment

There was a firestorm of controversy this morning following remarks by New York Federal Reserve Chairman William Dudley. In an attempt to explain how the Federal Reserve calculates inflation, the Fed President commented to a group of working class people that you can’t just look at the price of food – the price of everything has to be factored in to understand what is happening to the purchasing power of the dollar.

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Mar92011

My Mom Had Cupcakes Flown In from Georgetown Cupcake in Washington, D.C.

Food and Beverages, My Day In PicturesBy Joshua Kennon March 9, 2011 5 Comments

We had hoped to have time to swing by Washington, D.C. on our upcoming business trip to New York but it looks like that won’t happen because we need to spend more time in New York and New Jersey. My mom wanted to try this place called Georgetown Cupcake in Washington and now that we…

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Mar62011

United States Electoral College Vote in 2008 Presidential Election

Mail Bag – The Electoral College and the President of the United States

Politics, Religion & CultureBy Joshua Kennon March 6, 2011 3 Comments

Today’s mail bag letter comes from Sjberkely who writes: I was reading one of your blog entries and found it to be misleading. I hope you are able to correct the problem. Below are some facts that should help explain the system a bit more clearly. You should know that people are in a state…

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Mar62011

How Big Is Earth Compared to the Universe?

SpaceBy Joshua Kennon March 6, 2011 24 Comments

How big is Earth compared to the Universe? Think about Earth. The oceans. The mountains. The forests. The millions of forms of life. Thunderstorms. Volcanoes. Snow. Our history, including past civilizations and enormous monstrous dinosaurs. Now consider that there are at least 10 trillion planetary systems in the known universe.

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Mar52011

Saudi Aramco World's Most Valuable Company

The Man Sleeping Atop a Great Treasure

PhilosophyBy Joshua Kennon March 5, 2011 1 Comment

Seventy five years ago, Saudi Arabia had little, if any, global significance. Oil had been discovered in Iran, Iraq, and Bahrain, and “the Kingdom”, as it would come to be known, had been largely overlooked having only recently been founded in 1932 after Abdul Aziz bin Saud battled rival tribes for twenty fives years and…

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Mar42011

My Day In Pictures – March 3rd, 2011

My Day In PicturesBy Joshua Kennon March 4, 2011 3 Comments

Most days, I spend my time working and generating money to grow my investments. Today was one of those days that we cashed in some chips for enjoyment and spent. I didn’t plan on it but shortly after lunch, Aaron told me the custom shirts he designed at Brooks Brothers on January 13th were ready for…

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Mar32011

William Parrish Birthday Speech Meet Joe Black

What Do You Want Out of Life?

My Life, PhilosophyBy Joshua Kennon March 3, 2011 4 Comments

There is a scene in the final moments of Meet Joe Black in which Anthony Hopkin’s character, William Parrish, knowing that he will face death in a few short hours, gives a speech to those attending his 65th birthday party. “I thought I was going to sneak away tonight. What a glorious night. Every face I…

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Mar32011

Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Address Speech 2005

Four Lessons from Steve Jobs

Proverbs and WisdomBy Joshua Kennon March 3, 2011 Leave a comment

In 2005, Steve Jobs gave a commencement speech at Stanford University after surviving his first fight with pancreatic cancer. There were four lessons that really spoke to me in his message. These are: Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to make the big choices in life because…

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Mar22011

Definition of “To Sheen” and “To Lohan”

The Best Thing I HeardBy Joshua Kennon March 2, 2011 2 Comments

Aaron and I went to high school with Kyle Kurz, who penned two new verbs today. They are awesome because they work so well. Plus, it isn’t often a verb (or two!) can be added to the English language to fill a previously unmet need. But these are situations we all know and now can…

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Feb282011

Jesus Christ vs. Captain Kirk: A Study of Mental Models (or “A Modern Example of Binary Beliefs and Cognitive Dissonance In Everyday Western Culture”)

Politics, Religion & Culture, PsychologyBy Joshua Kennon February 28, 2011 26 Comments

The odds are good you won’t read this entire post. The reason? It has to do with confirmation bias. If you think what I am going to say conflicts with your belief system – whether you are a scientist or a Christian – you won’t finish it to avoid cognitive dissonance even though you aren’t…

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