Gary Kinder the author of Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea, Random House, NY, 1998 essentially wrote 3 stories in one  – the first one a description of turn off the century California when gold was discovered. Then the story of the travels between the ports of New York and San Francisco with a stop through the Panama Canal, together with the reports of what the hurricane was similar to. The next story is the person who discovers methods and ways to search for the gold – an amazing creative engineering mine of Tommy Thompson who has to make discoveries to work in the deep oceans. The last chapters are what happens when gold or valuables are discovered. Who do they belong to and who should see them?

In the world of venture capital, often times there is a need or request to put more money into the venture. One method to look at is: in entrepreneurial ventures you often have tests; you have the pro forma and the actual and invariably something happens in the actual which tests the mettle of the managers. It is how they handle that really determines what the group is made up of.

In the above case, the group had found what they believed was the ship, had evidence of coal (fuel at that time) but needed more money to look through the ship to find the gold. As an investor what do you do? In this case, more money was raised and new engineering or do it yourself equipment was built. However, they were fortunate for although they found a ship, was it the right ship? Another pattern showed up and a decision was to go there first to test the new equipment and to try to show the competition they were in the wrong place. The new pattern seemed right and it turned out to be the ship with the gold and those with shares made their money back with handsome returns.

In 1961 President Kennedy said we will have land a man on the moon. For the next 8 years 400,000 people spent nearly $ 100 billion to do that. It was a great accomplishment. In order to get the gold, Tommy Thompson and his team spent $ 12 million, had a group of 30 people successfully searched the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, perfected their technology, found and imagined a mid-19th century wooded-hulled ship in 8,000 feet of water and recovered her treasures. For Tommy the ship recovery was rally an adventure in thinking, a way of looking at the world. The purpose was to unveil the treasures of the deep ocean, to enhance our understanding of history, to advance marine archaeology to further science or in the words of Star Trek to go where no one has gone before.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, while this was a great adventure, discovering the gold was what motivated the investors. The science, the understanding are a lot easier when there is an economic benefit in relatively easy grasp. We are all motivated by different things which makes us human, having the dividend payments go into the account makes life easier and able to continue to learn new things.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.

Gary Kinder the author of Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea, Random House, NY, 1998 essentially wrote 3 stories in one  – the first one a description of turn off the century California when gold was discovered. Then the story of the travels between the ports of New York and San Francisco with a stop through the Panama Canal, together with the reports of what the hurricane was similar to. The next story is the person who discovers methods and ways to search for the gold – an amazing creative engineering mine of Tommy Thompson who has to make discoveries to work in the deep oceans. The last chapters are what happens when gold or valuables are discovered. Who do they belong to and who should see them?

There are lots of reasons why investors invest and some of them have similar themes – they like to see what American ingenuity could come up with next, the investors liked the person Tommy. First he was extremely methodical. Second he had a dream, most scientists do not. Third he had way of convincing you without making a great effort. He was living the thing day in and day out. Out of the above there are aspects which are hard to quantify because it is investing in the person.

When Tommy was trying to narrow the field of where to search in the big ocean, he used known field points converted into formula and computed each scenario expecting the 3 known points would line up, the problem was there was an inconsistency or a piece was still missing. In turned out the ships were on the Gulf Stream and it had to be taken into account. When the current was the maps began to overlap and one could see where a starting point was in the deep blue sea.

The deep sea can be a very hostile environment and it costs millions of dollars to be out there so unless there was a reason to be there, people in the community would quickly know. Half the time the reason was government and it was top-secret, the other time was highly proprietary big business venture. Everybody in the deep-ocean community ran around with little secrets and they listened very closely – which meant they could determine what and when you are about to do something. The reason is in the deep blue sea the depth of the ocean presents problems – there are only a limited and rare equipment to go to the bottom of the sea. The deeper you went, the greater the seals on the equipment had to be or the equipment is highly specialized or only a few were involved. This is similar to most industries – it is easy to see once you are in the industry.

In going to sea, Tommy purposely picked mavericks – because he had do the impossible. Mavericks are people who are very good and think outside the box to solve problems, the box is generally liked by large organizations. Tommy used the approach let us talk about all the problems that might arise and then evaluate a couple dozen solutions to each of them. Generally deep ocean clients came with one problem to solve.

Sometimes the best solution was to build your own. Tommy liked to retreat to the point where technology had branched and all thought had taken down the path which lead to conventional wisdom. Tommy liked to go back to the fork in the road and take another look at the landscape. Maybe somebody missed something.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, often times dividend paying stocks are the conventional wisdom, if they are not continuing to view the landscape this is when the landscape changes because something is different than what it was for a long time Part of your job as an investor is to see what is out there and how threatening it is. It is up to the company to have the non conventional thinkers on their radar.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.

Gary Kinder the author of Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea, Random House, NY, 1998 essentially wrote 3 stories in one  – the first one a description of turn off the century California when gold was discovered. Then the story of the travels between the ports of New York and San Francisco with a stop through the Panama Canal, together with the reports of what the hurricane was similar to. The next story is the person who discovers methods and ways to search for the gold – an amazing creative engineering mine of Tommy Thompson who has to make discoveries to work in the deep oceans. The last chapters are what happens when gold or valuables are discovered. Who do they belong to and who should see them?

With every venture there is a need to raise capital, the easiest method is to raise venture capital from people who regularly fund such start-ups. If you watch the TV show Shark’s Den or something like it, the process is similar – you try to sell your story of why your company has the ability to expand or make higher than expected returns for the investors. The aspect of pitching should be the people who are listening have heard many pitches in the past, they expect to hear more in the future, some investments have only worked out of a tax basis, many do not work out, but still they are listening. Tommy Thompson was connected to Ohio State University through a professor; the professor knew the chief fund-raiser in Columbus who knew people who gave money. They loved the story and the first phase out of three was structured – the Seed Phase; The Search Phase and the Recovery Phase. Those who invested in the seed phase were able to take options into the next phases. Tommy was advised to take the process in the stages as well as not to budget for $100,000 if he needed $200,000. The number one reason why start-up companies fail is they went in underfunded. The first phase the investors are looking to see how disciplined the people are with the money.

There is a wonderful passage in the book considering how Tommy was thinking. Working on the bottom of the deep ocean wan not impossible, it was only considered impossible: other people labeled things impossible not because they could not be done, but because no one was doing them. Tommy had revisited the old assumptions, found many of them no longer valid, and saw ways around the others. The two lead people (Bob and Tommy) saw the process as a series of incredibly nonexistent barriers. Then the process shifted to what can we learn along the way.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, the companies are generating a profit, but others see things the company does not see because the company is making profits. There are alternatives to everything, we see more and more of it everyday, although that does not mean all of us change everyday. In the book, an example is the difference between Columbus and Prince Henry the Navigator. Columbus explored blindly; Prince Henry pursued something that had been never done before. Columbus’ approach was fraught with much risk and he died not realizing what he had done, Prince Henry had heard of gold off West Africa and made the gold the draw but his purpose was to establish a trade route and shipping network – he had his explorers learn about the countries, the winds, the people, in the long run information of greater value.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.

Gary Kinder the author of Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea, Random House, NY, 1998 essentially wrote 3 stories in one  – the first one a description of turn off the century California when gold was discovered. Then the story of the travels between the ports of New York and San Francisco with a stop through the Panama Canal, together with the reports of what the hurricane was similar to. The next story is the person who discovers methods and ways to search for the gold – an amazing creative engineering mine of Tommy Thompson who has to make discoveries to work in the deep oceans. The last chapters are what happens when gold or valuables are discovered. Who do they belong to and who should see them?

The first part of the story deals with the California gold rush – at a time when people made a few dollars a day, just by dipping a pan into a river could give you thousands of dollars, there was vast numbers of people who went to California to try their luck. It would be similar to buying a lottery ticket, many try only a few succeed but there are stories everywhere. The people went over the rivers and many found something – most not as much as they wanted but they found enough to change their previous lives. The story of the SS Central America was the story of the successful ones and at a time of gold prices at $20 an ounce, when the ship went down; the bars were worth the cost of the trip.

If you look at the ocean, you will see that it is big and even if you know the story well, where would the ship be? The method Tommy Thompson used was to gather as much information as possible – press reports, court hearings, survivors accounts and build a matrix. In addition to the reports, he needed to try to understand the ocean, currents, the terms which people used and build up a knowledge based on the journey. The matrix became known as the Data Correlation Matrix taking up a wall – if you watch Sherlock Holmes TV show – you often see a matrix on the wall.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, there is a numerous methods to gather information and the internet has made it easier. For your investments, you will continue to monitor the industry to ensure you know when to move to alternatives. The first step is to decide on which stocks, then ensure you understand how the companies make a profit; and the next stage is the easier part – the monitoring.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.

Anyone who has travelled or been to the ocean sometimes looks out and wonders about all the ships that went down with a cargo, are they worth value? is there gold somewhere there? whose property is it? In many countries around the world, if a ship goes down and its cargo washes ashore, then it is essentially finders keepers. It means in the area, more than usual amounts of the cargo will somehow make its way to the houses in the area. There is always a fine line between cargo accidentally washing ashore and being more directed, but that is something for the insurance adjusters to figure out. A real ship carrying gold from the California gold fields was the SS Central America – bringing the gold from Panama via Cuba to New York and off the coast of South Carolina, the ship which had weathered other storms met its match in a hurricane and between the wind and waves – the ocean won. Gary Kinder the author of Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea, Random House, NY, 1998 essentially wrote 3 stories in one  – the first one a description of turn off the century California when gold was discovered. Then the story of the travels between the ports of New York and San Francisco with a stop through the Panama Canal, together with the reports of what the hurricane was similar to. The next story is the person who discovers methods and ways to search for the gold – an amazing creative engineering mine of Tommy Thompson who has to make discoveries to work in the deep oceans. The last chapters are what happens when gold or valuables are discovered. Who do they belong to and who should see them?

Linking to dividend paying stocks, for the search to be successful various components have to be presented at the right time. In this case, new devices had to be invented. When you are investing using dividend paying stocks, there is little to be invented. The old adge of invest in profitable stocks remains a good thing to follow for new need to invest in the correct technologies just to stay in the game. Profitable companies can experiment with a number of new technologies to find solutions.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions. .

Business is an interesting subject because in the end it is math – do you make a profit from the goods and services or not. If you make a profit from doing something you enjoy so much the better. In one of the cases, given in our economy is diversified – you can make money or have a business in any sector. One example of how you do this is from Matt Mosteller writing in the Globe on October 16 with a title 5 Business Lessons from a Ski Bum.

Although the article does not say what Matt did during the summer, he had a love of skiing during the winter and likely he was either an instructor or guide in order to ski all day during the winter in the mountains. He has added responsibility over the years and works as an SVP. HIs 5 business lessons are:

1. Apres-ski or break bread with others. If you eat with others, the other people, in this case, others who share a passion for skiing, they will other advice to you; often try to help; integrate you within the community so your skills can help the community and vise versa.
2. First Tracks – the early bird gets the worm, the first up the ski hill lay down the tracks others will follow. Getting up early allows you to prioritize your time to do the things you want and need to do first.
3. Last run – if you love what you do, you want to do it most of the day including the last run before the resort closes. The last run in the mountains is determined by the setting sun – some of the best pictures are in the world can be seen in the sky.
4. Ski Patrol – Pay attention to the details. On the slopes – sometimes you go off the groomed paths but dangers will lurk you have to be aware of them, be able to deal with them and know when to stay away from the dangers. Life as a ski bum does not mean lots of income it means tight budgets (but it does involve skiing). One of the things you learn quickly is nature makes you respectful, humble and grateful.
5. Hot Tub Machine – share those tales you have made. If you talk to others, you will learn from others. If you want to ski everyday, it requires attention to fitness and exercise. The better you feel the more challenges you can take on with your increasing knowledge and respect for the situation you are in.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, the lessons Mr. Mosteller offers is good for all kinds of leadership and business. You chase because you enjoy and as you enjoy you learn lessons to do it longer. Learning is key and simple lessons are often the best ones. Investing in profitable stocks which pay dividends is a good simple lesson.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.

In 1347, on a typical day one ship landed in Messina, which was nothing out of the ordinary. However on this ship all the crew were sick with a disease from the Orient. The Black Plaque had arrived in Europe and by 1351 between 25 to 50% of Europe’s population was dead. With those types of results many things changed in Europe and many volumes of books have been written about it. The approach Robert Gottried took in his book The Black Death published by The Free Press, London, UK, 1983 was the environmental one.

About 50% of the population of Europe and countries around the Mediterranean were lost to the Black Plaque and people reacted the way people have always reacted in a variety of ways. Since the disease attacked people no matter their economic situation leadership changes happened and the old social and religious bonds were loosen. Partly because there was no other choice and partly because it was time for a change. For many years Europe was in a feudal situation but after the plaques there was a shortage of people to do the work necessary. Wages and hours went up and there was a new sense of time. Prior to the plaques people lived their lives according to the sun, afterwards more clocks were built – to be chimed or the modern equivalent is the factory whistle. Another change was in clerics or ministers – the doctors in many communities were the priests or clerics – in the evaluation of their work much was ineffective. The result was new medical schools and hospitals partly funded by charity to improve medical care and research.

In art there were two trends – one was the cynical process and the other which tends to be seen in great art works of the day is a prominence given to the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

The Black Plaque, the author believes was one of the greatest transformational event of Europe both from an environmental point of view and social point of view. If you think about our times or it seems the environment is changing which means society has to change one way or another.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, in all crisis there are many ways to react because we are humans and none is necessarily wrong or right. Ideally you can still look to the future because there will be opportunities which come up. Some prices will fall because it needs to be changed; some will rise because prices have fallen – an optimistic person will thing of rebuilding which adds value. Crisis will affect everyone a little differently, hopefully you will always look to the better part of the future.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.

In 1347, on a typical day one ship landed in Messina, which was nothing out of the ordinary. However on this ship all the crew were sick with a disease from the Orient. The Black Plaque had arrived in Europe and by 1351 between 25 to 50% of Europe’s population was dead. With those types of results many things changed in Europe and many volumes of books have been written about it. The approach Robert Gottried took in his book The Black Death published by The Free Press, London, UK, 1983 was the environmental one.

In the most basic understanding (such as mine) the Black Plaque was caused by flea called Yersinia pestis or Y.pestis which travels on rodents one of the most popular known as the Black Rat, interesting one barnyard animal which the flea does not like is the horse. The fleas like warm weather in the 80’s with high humidity. Cold limits the activity, high heat slows it down and less than 70% humidity kills it. In Western Europe the best conditions are late summer and early fall.

Prior to the Black Plaque Europe had seen fatal plaques before – from 541 to 542 what was called Justinian’s Plaque killed 40% of Europe after that Europe was relatively disease free. This allowed it to grow and contacts between Europe and Asia grew more trade happened, but then the climate changed but outside and the political climate. The setting is Europe has been relatively disease free for a few hundred years.

There are many theories why the Y pestis reached Europe although it is agreed that it originated in Mongolia and spread outwards. On the environmental side, Europe was becoming wetter than normal, while central Asia was becoming drier which meant the Mongol and Turkic nomads moved their flocks in search of greener pastures. The Black Plaque moved into China and its population in 1393 dropped from 125 million to 90 million. It affects are easily documented in the European literature but the plaque affected all human populations. The myth is the plaque came on one ship, the reality it was moving through all populations across Asia and Europe. The important aspect is what did people do when the plaque came? In some parts of the world there was fighting between different religions. In Constantinople the emperor believed the Black Death was divine punishment. In Cairo, the population fell from 500,000 to 300,000 – everything was in chaos. People flocked to Mecca because The Prophet Mohammed had claimed no deadly diseases in the Holy City but people died – perhaps they were the nonbelievers. Wherever the disease went about 50% of the people died, law and order broke down and people blamed someone else.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, while the affects of the plaque were terrible to all people, it is how people react which is most important to investors. First you want to protect yourself and who you feel your family/community is and then there is a blame game which targets someone else. In the case of the plaque eventually it moved on to the next community until the weather conditions were not good. We are fortunate or believe to be fortunate to have the disease control centers which give you an idea of where and how the disease comes and possible drugs to take not to have the affects on you. Sometimes as climate changes, cycles will change and things need to go back into balance – how long it takes no one really knows. When there is a boom or bust in the markets, remember when things are at the worst after you have adjusted that is when to buy the best profitable stocks and sell them when the markets are booming. Is it easy no. Does history say this is the easiest thing to do – yes.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.

Most people know something about Sparta – for many years people like me knew of the myth or legend of a prince stealing another man’s wife (Helen of Troy) and a battle for her. There have been numerous movies on the theme and because the story is compelling there will be likely more. Eventually you might ask who are the Spartans? The book The Spartans by Paul Carledge published by The Overlook Press, NY, 2003 is one book to begin to look for answers. The Spartans were a city-state in Ancient Greece who a particular interest in combat. From an early age all young males took part in exercises that lead to having core values of self-sacrifice, community endeavor and achievement against all odds. In the movie 300 – 300 Spartan warriors against an army of Persians, one of the warriors went told there were enough archers to block out the sun, replied good we will fight in the shade.

Part of the life for Spartans revolved around training and occasionally using that training to kept their lands. Another interesting part is to look at inheritance or passing of property. In the book, Mr. Carledge discusses the various rulers and their families – who they married and why. Sometimes marriages were done to ensure property holdings remained in a family so an uncle may marry a niece or close relative. It depends on where you are in the hierarchy but marriages could be have both political and economic considerations, ideally love or respect for each other developed as well as the next generation.

Another aspect to life as an independent is to try to remain independent which means forever forming alliances while others form alliances for other reasons. One example was Sparta went to fight Athens its strategy was to destroy the grain crop so as to starve the city. Unfortunately, Athens only a small portion of the grain consumed by Athens can from what it grew, most was imported from the what is now the Ukraine. Athens controlled the seas and were in no danger of starving. In the time of having many alliances means sometimes your friends are your enemies in the future.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, instead of city states fighting for lives we now have companies fighting for market share and hopefully everyone has a longer life. Within the context of fighting for market share will be alliances and strategies to enhance the company. Some of the strategies will be based on how does a person rise to the executive suite? some of it will be done on past history? and some of it will be done stepping on toes? These are all considerations for you to evaluate how the company will do in the future, ideally you want it to continue to make profits.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.