Venture Capital

"After 20 years of observing a simple rule:
If its just an idea, its worth $15,000
If it has a creditable management team in place, $150,000
If it has sold something for real money to real customers,it might be worth $750,000”
David Beer, MK Angel Network Organizer

Centric venturer

http://besttripchoices.com

i am a Centric venturer. this site was featured on wall street journal 11/27/2007

"You could enjoy a cruise in the Greek Isles, a car trip through gold mining ghost towns in California, or a shopping spree in New York City equally well."

first is on my to do list, i don't know about the next two.

"Cruising has experienced strong growth in recent years, thanks to the fact that you believe that the experience is not as confining as in the past. You have decided that it is affordable and more interesting than you ever thought. And, very important, it's so easy and comfortable because your hotel room goes with you wherever you are and you don't have to pack and unpack every day. You may also own a time share, the concept of owning one or two weeks of vacation time in a condo in a resort area. Time shares tend to offer excuses for travel and most of these owners venture forth regularly"

i do like cruising, done it twice (tahiti & mediterranean). greece-turkey cruise would be the next one i want to do.

401k vs IRA

"an IRA is always better for your beneficiaries because it lets them stretch distributions from your account over their own life expectations."

US health care

from Cigna's analyst meeting:

Company said that the US system is 2x as expensive as others for the following reasons:
1. Hospitals $150-200B - US hospitals are smaller, more conveniently located, and have 50-55% occupancy (vs 95% occupancy).
2. Obesity, smoking $150-200B. Other countries are becoming more like US in obesity.
3. more CAT scans, MRIs, stents, etc

GM vs Toyota
$1800 vs $200
health care related costs per auto

Ji's election guide

full credit goes to my fellow pegleg and health care guru ji

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p-azLm_LoI42dO80ICFBbMQ

Credit card rewards

CardWeb.com, Credit-reviews.com and creditcardgoodies.com that rate the programs and provide venues for cardholders to seek and give counsel.

The Good German

I watched the movie just after finishing the novel by Joseph Kanon.

The movie was a flop commercially (just over a $1m US box office despite $32m budget).

1. Black & white - Let's face it. Americans just won't turn out for a black & white movie. However, the other Clooney-Soderbergh black & white movie "Good Night, and Good Luck" grossed $31m with only a $7.5m budget and Clooney was just a supporting character, not even on the cover of the poster.

2. Not exactly a happy ending.

Anyway, let me just note some differences between the movie and the book without giving anything away (this assumes that anybody actually reads my blog, which may be optimistic).

Characters in the movie:

Jake Geismer (George Clooney) has some good action sequences in the book which I thought would be used in the movie. Jake gets away from the Russians at Adlon. Later, he has another action sequence in the parade, first on foot, then in a car. In the movie, Clooney character is a bit passive.

Tully (Tobey Maguire) - let's just say that this character has no dialogue in the book.

Lena Brandt - Lena character is almost saintly in the book, taking care of children in the hospital. In the movie, Cate Blanchett is more of a composite character, not quite saintly.

Emil Brandt is the mathematician who makes some key calculations on paper (900 calories per day). In the movie, he's just Bettman's favorite secretary.

Franz Bettmann - this one I don't quite understand. For everyone else, the movie uses the book character names. The book equivalent is von Braun who is only referred to and does not make an appearance.

Bernie Teitel is a Jew in the novel. He left Germany with his family during the 1930s and is very committed to bringing justice to the Nazi criminals.

Gunther is just a goon in the movie with no lines. In the book, he is a very important character. He was a decorated WW I veteran who became a policeman afterwards. His wife was a Jew who was fingered by the greifer. He testifies against Renate. He also helps Jake and Emil in the book, making a big sacrifice.

Congressman Breimer represents Utica, NY, home of the American Dye company which has a special relationship with a German company.

Lieutenant Schaeffer has a very substantial role in the book. I don't think he even has a line in the movie.

Danny - just a friendly bartender in the movie but in the novel, he's not exactly a boy scout.

General Sikorsky - Russian intelligence officer has several meetings with Jake and comes to a bad end in the book.

Colonel Muller signs some important pilsersigns in the book for Rosen and Erich.

Characters not in the movie:

Liz - American photographer who has an unfortunate accident. Lieutenant Schaeffer was dating her.

Renate - Greifer - a Jew who points out other Jews out to the Nazis. She has a talk with Jake right after her trial and asks for a big favor in return. She also helps Jake out with some crucial information.

Erich - Renate's son.

Dr. Rosen - business associate of Danny's, helps Lena.

Professor Brandt - Emil's father who was holding on to something.

Brian - a British reporter who helps out Jake at Adlon