Music of the Week
Don Vappie is a jazz musician from New Orleans who started his music career at age 6 and now encompasses the guitar, banjo, vocals, mandolin, double bass, and washboard. The Blue Book of Storyville is a fantastic album that helped bring me much-needed mental calmness this week.
Quotes of the Week
I’m no genius. I’m smart in spots, but I stay around those spots. – Thomas J. Watson Sr.
And less is often more. – Christoph Martin Wieland
You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. – Steve Jobs
One friend of mine said that in hiring, they look for three things: intelligence, energy, and character. – Warren Buffett
Success is a journey, not a destination. – Deepak Chopra
Articles of the Week
“We Do Not Fear Competition” Report to the Shareholders of the National Cash Register Company by John H. Patterson, President, June 1906
“The win-win from the pursuit of quality will extend to your own life, because it makes you wiser.” Going Beyond Buffett, From Stagnant Stoats to Harebrained Ideas
“The most dangerous way to lose time is not to spend it having fun, but to spend it doing fake work.” How to Lose Time and Money
“No. You’ve got it wrong, Mike. Everything you didn’t circle just became your Avoid-At-All-Cost list. No matter what, these things get no attention from you until you’ve succeeded with your top 5.” Warren Buffett’s “2 List” Strategy: How to Maximize Your Focus and Master Your Priorities
“The best thing you can do is to be exceptionally good at something. Whatever abilities you have can’t be taken away from you. They can’t actually be inflated away from you.” Warren Buffett: 6 Best Pieces of Money Advice for the Middle Class
Book of the Week
All I Want To Know Is Where I’m Going To Die So I’ll Never Go There: Buffett & Munger – A Study in Simplicity and Uncommon, Common Sense by Peter Bevelin is about a fictious Seeker who visits the “Library of Wisdom” where he meets the ficitious “Librarian” along with Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger. The Seeker wants to learn how to make better decisions to help his kids avoid the dumb decisions he’s made. The book is hilarious, providing countless lessons on how to make fewer dumb mistakes. Bevelin also covers how to fix mistakes faster after you make them. One of the major themes in the book is about avoiding terrible decision-making. I love how this book hammers home the concepts of efficiency, simplicity, common sense, and good judgment. Buffett and Munger’s ability to eliminate stupidity and get to the heart of an issue is unmatched. Supplementary Buffett and Munger books worth checking out include Tao of Charlie Munger: A Compilation of Quotes from Berkshire Hathaway’s Vice Chairman on Life, Business, and the Pursuit of Wealth With Commentary by David Clark | Poor Charlie’s Almanack: The Essential Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger | Charlie Munger: The Complete Investor | The Tao of Warren Buffett: Warren Buffett’s Words of Wisdom: Quotations and Interpretations to Help Guide You to Billionaire Wealth and Enlightened Business Management.
Podcasts of the Week
Renewable energy podcasts were the podcasts du jour this week. A few of my favorite episodes include:
Tonja Wicks Elevate Renewables | Goksenin Ozturkeri Relevate Power | Public to Private: The Shift in Clean Energy Ownership | More 2025 Trends: DeepSeek, Plug-In Hybrids, and Curtailment | Ty Daul Primergy Solar | The Case for Colocating Data Centers and Generation
Bonus: Video of the Week
Rory McIlroy gets emotional following Masters win, discusses sharing special moment with his caddie
