Books Read -- Dreaming in Chinese

This is the book I read in April having toned down my ridiculous idea of reading one book a week to one book a month. I have a hard time reading anything greater than tweet-length anymore. 

Deborah Fallows is James Fallows' wife and this is a short and often charming book about the Chinese language. Mrs. Fallows has a PhD in linguistics, but this is a light-hearted approach to explaining what makes the Chinese language special. The Fallows...es? spent three years in China in the 2000s, and Mrs. Fallows did the usual "trailing spouse" things (wandering around, having massages, attending bad Chinese classes), but she's smart and has an interest in language and how it relates to culture. It's a quick read.

I've added the Table of Contents below, which may help you decide if you want to read it.

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Chairman Recommended: Butter Dish

I use Kerrygold butter which comes in a big block, basically a double stick, and in the past I used to cut it in two and put one stick in a conventional butter dish and one stick in the fridge, which was a pain in the ass, but then I found Guzzini's butter dish -- it's designed to hold something two sticks wide. Although it's not made out of glass but some specialty plastic, it still looks good and is two-stick functional. A bargain at $20. Chairman recommended! 

Chairman Recommended: Hand Cream

It's all about the shea butter content, baby (20%!). This is the stuff I use from L'Occitane.  $28 a pop but worth every penny. Baby isn't thrilled with the fragrance, but I don't mind it, and I'm a manly man.  This product is Chairman recommended! 

Chairman Recommended: Bar Soap

My Twitter buddy @imagethief turned me on to Kirk's ... I had been using Mrs. Meyers before but Kirk's is better, a lot better. It lathers nicely, rinses cleanly, doesn't dry out your skin and isn't perfumed in any way. It's great soap. I pay $3.29 for a three pack. Chairman recommended! 

Tweets for May 7, 2016

When I did sleep study, the tech said, "I've never seen anyone as enthusiastic as you are abt this." I said, "It's b/c my life is so empty."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) May 8, 2016

Once you have barbecued chicken at Brooks’, it’s impossible to eat barbecued chicken anywhere else, nothing compares https://t.co/RXr5IN8avY

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) May 8, 2016

Paid $9.99 for TweetBot app for new iPhone so I’d have one tap access to my Twitter lists … deleted Twitter’s own app. Stay short $TWTR.

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) May 7, 2016

Tweets for May 6, 2016

Be nice if Valeant could get back below $28.92, the level they ramped from on news that Papa Joe of Perrigo Pizza fame would be taking helm.

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) May 6, 2016

.@JimmyDiResta makes a leather backpack: https://t.co/2lAoihTsJC | Lots of hand stitching. Love the “rustic” flap.

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) May 6, 2016

End times for $ENDP as there's something left on the bone even for retail shorts: pic.twitter.com/hj4VvcqT1v

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) May 6, 2016

Got first NYSEG bill since installing solar ... monthly expense dropped from ~$100 to $16 (which is "electricity delivery" fee + taxes).

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) May 6, 2016

GoPro whammied some buyers yesterday after-hours, will $9.57 low hold? $GPRO pic.twitter.com/DkRsFqVwBQ

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) May 6, 2016

MT @Robert_Fenner Uber’s China Rival ‘Close to Raising $2 Billion in New Funding’ https://t.co/A9BJd8BsrR | Uber can’t afford that fight.

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) May 6, 2016

Tweets for May 5, 2016

Did Ackman write a bunch of 60 and 70 calls on this one? https://t.co/AB24si8ITm pic.twitter.com/DQszq48X37

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) May 5, 2016

The Intro and the Outro reminds me of the Toca Band app, recommended for children on trans-Pacific flights https://t.co/he7ae8ZG7x

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) May 5, 2016

"Going from being the lender of last resort to the pawnbroker for all seasons" https://t.co/1WZcrFtlMK | Sensible suggestions from Merv King

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) May 5, 2016

$BABA crept up after hours ... not sure of time stamp on earnings release? pic.twitter.com/WELQH5AIRo

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) May 5, 2016

RT @oolah Just a wee bit concerned about what this bot might learn about gender norms. https://t.co/LfQsxUBviM | https://t.co/kAC5MQ2kfl !!

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) May 5, 2016

RT @michaelianblack “Donald Trump is the Republican nominee.” pic.twitter.com/mUnNCdotJd | via @hofrench

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) May 5, 2016

NYSEG looking to raise electric delivery fees … smart (for them) because it will discourage people from switching to solar.

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) May 5, 2016

The Donald only needs to win the swing states of either Ohio or Florida to win the general election: https://t.co/FDo5H99fvI

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) May 5, 2016

Tweets for May 4, 2016

MT @DavidSchawel Getting so tired of putting in bids on illiquid things & suddenly have a new bid appear one penny higher | U just noticed?

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) May 4, 2016

$5 come-on joining fee at local Planet Fitness ... I believe I paid $29.

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) May 4, 2016

Priceline this morning ... hard to get a line on the price. $PCLN pic.twitter.com/sEWHWPh8Aa

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) May 4, 2016

Janus emailed me to say that Bill Gross' latest Investment Outlook is now available ... if I click on a link ... to a pdf.

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) May 4, 2016

"Adidas to sell the TaylorMade, Adams and Ashworth brands" https://t.co/zpSwFkEbfX | Playing golf means going outdoors which no one does now

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) May 4, 2016

“Song acknowledged that the design [of ChineseinLA dot com] is chaotic. But the site is profitable.” https://t.co/FGYEEP75gs | V. profitable

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) May 4, 2016

ETF Trading Portfolio Update -- May 9, 2016

One change this week: reversing the emerging markets (closing the long and getting short). 

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Praise in Public, Rebuke in Private

From George Wilson's appearance on Booknotes in 1989:

"I think that American soldiers are American soldiers whether they be marines or infantrymen. And I have no worries about them running and letting us down. I have some worries about whether they are well enough lead. It seems to me we've gotten into this management syndrome where you give a guy a Rifle Company for a year or year and a half and then you put him in a Staff job then you send him to charm school you can't get get good leading troops and winning battles with all this turbulence at the top."