Hey guys,
Been a while since I posted on here. Here’s your (not so)-weekly guide of things I’m enjoying, consuming, using and loving. Enjoy.
What I’m Reading
Black Edge: Inside Information, Dirty Money and the Quest to Bring Down the Most Wanted Man on Wall Street by Sheelah Kolhatkar
“Every trader needs an edge, but not all edges are created equal. One of the most powerful edges is information. At SAC Capital, Jason Karp color coded information to teach his analysts “what was safe and what might be illegal.” The white edge was “readily available information” – completely safe but not worth much. The gray edge might be (and probably was) material, nonpublic information. At SAC, the only way to be sure it wouldn’t get the firm into trouble was to talk to its legal counsel, something few traders were eager to do. So gray slid into white. Black edge information was obviously illegal. Karp warned his analysts: ‘If you do one thing wrong, you’re in jail and your life is ruined. There is no trade that’s ever worth it.'”
If you watch the show Billions (I know, I look like Bobby Axelrod), this book is about the man that Bobby Axelrod is based off of. Steven Cohen, of SAC Capital (sounds oddly similar to Ax Capital), built a multi-billion dollar hedge fund off a model of insider trading, yet has not faced any prison time. This story dives deep into the rise of Steven Cohen and his master financial trading expertise. It’s amazing what he and his employees were able to get away with for a span of 30 years and mostly get away with making millions and millions of dollars off illegally supplied information.
Workout I’m Trying
Crossfit
Yes, yes, I know, and I’m SORRY… I finally became that guy. I’m officially a CrossFit member and am now obligated to talk about it, blog about it, annoy you about it, and bring it up at pretty much every chance I get.
But for real, I’m now a member and I honestly love it. I’ve always wanted to join a CrossFit gym full-time, but I only managed to go to a few free intro classes before ducking out either at the clientele of meatheads or the obnoxious monthly price tag. Why pay all this money when I can just google the Workout of the Day and do it at my local gym for $30/month?
I walked in to my first class and tried my best to go in with an open mind and avoid passing judgment on the people and the culture. And within 5 minutes my mindset was flipped. The people could not have been nicer. The staff and the coaches made sure they answered all my questions, they guided me through the steps needed before I could be come “certified” and the people in the class introduced themselves to me and asked if I needed any help. There was also no sight of meatheads. The class was mostly filled with women in their 30’s or 40’s.
I’m going to try my best not to talk about it at every possible moment, but I can’t make any promises. Did I also mention I’m Paleo???
Great Reads Across the Internet
- Intermittent Fasting took Three Men with Type 2 Diabetes Off Insulin: If you read my post on Intermittent Fasting, you know it’s difficult but comes with a host of amazing benefits. Now, you can add ‘helping Type 2 Diabetes’ to the list. “People are focused on giving drugs to Type 2 diabetes, but it’s a dietary disease,” said study author Dr. Jason Fung, medical director of the Intensive Dietary Management Program in Toronto.
- The Absence of Danger Makes us Crazy: I’ve long held the belief that America is in this state of turmoil, fear, and fake outrage because we are too comfortable. We have no war, no famine, no struggle – it’s too damn easy to stuff our faces with all the pizza and ice cream we want. When was the last time you went hungry for more than a few hours? Because of this, we invent reasons to be scared and go crazy – politics, religion, free speech, the economy. We all could use more discomfort and real struggle in our lives.
With that said, let’s stuff our freakin’ faces in this Thursday. Happy Thanksgiving y’all,
-KB