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9:00 AM EST, Thursday, June 4, 2009. You look at them and think, "You're bright. You've had two years of expensive graduate education. Prove you're brilliant."

They don't do magic, nor cartwheels. They appear normal, while their grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, cries and says "she has nothing left to live for." So goes Harvard Business School graduation, Day One.

Jamie Dimon, keynote speaker and a 1980s HBS graduate, burbles on for an hour or so. It's the most disorganized drivel I've heard in eons. I expected magic. I got how much he cares for JP Morgan Chase & Co. or is it his family, or is it the environment? I got the message loud and clear. What he really cared for was himself, not the audience. Fortunately, I slept through most of it.

Oh yes, he believes learning is a lifelong thing, when you fail, get over it and move on and, oh yes, don't get angry. I thought that was particularly amusing since the man has a bad temper -- the sort of temper that makes legends.

I marveled at Mr. Dimon's arrogance that allowed him to waste 2,500 peoples' time with an unprepared speech. Didn't he say something about working hard?

Graduations are a study in genetics. You eye the kid and look at his parents. The end result is more handsome, and better dressed. Parents have little to talk about amongst themselves except about the brilliance of their kids. I never heard the words "above average." We were way beyond that.

Once we had established we all had brilliant kids, we talked about what we really cared about -- namely, hearing aids. The conclusion is they're useful, not reliable and way overpriced. Next year, I'm manning a booth selling hearing aid batteries.

Harvard Business School has changed in the 40 years since I graduated. There are carpets. We had linoleum. There are electronic, computerized, motorized PowerPoint projectors. We had foils. Now all the slides appear right side up. Amazing progress.

The School's massive resources shine less in the buildings than in the research done for the cases. We did two cases -- Saudi Arabia and Dubai -- in one hour. To prepare them took one professor several visits and many weeks. This is serious expense money. As usual, there were no "right answers" to the cases. We were mightily impressed with the billions Saudi's King Abdullah is spending to wean the kingdom off oil. He's got the right ideas -- opening the economy to outside investment, building new universities and four new cities -- each with its own vision. The key is to modernize, but not Westernize. Women still can't drive, are limited in their movements, must wear black from head to toe. Most countries separate religion and the state. Not Saudi Arabia. They are interwoven. Everyone loves the King. His approval ratings are over 90%. And the family still holds all the reigns of power. And probably owns the polling company.

Dubai's boom has been shuttered and shattered in the past nine months. Population has dropped by 30%. Real estate prices have dropped 50% to 60%. The Dubai government is scurrying around seeking money.

Several HBS graduates are going into private equity. They tell me their firms have money and there are good companies around to buy -- especially in Europe and Asia. Everyone seems ebullient. Maybe it's really the recovering economy? It certainly wasn't Jamie Dimon.

French Tennis Open 2009 TV Schedule

Thursday, June 4 - SEMIS
5:00 am - 8:00 AM: French Open Men’s Doubles Semifinals - TENNIS CHANNEL (HD) - LIVE
8:00 am - 1:00 PM: French Open Women’s Semifinals - ESPN2 + ESPN2 HD - LIVE
1:00 PM - 6:30 PM: French Open Women’s Semifinals - TENNIS CHANNEL (HD) - tape
6:30 PM - 5:00 AM: French Open “Tonight” show - TENNIS CHANNEL (HD) - tape

Friday, June 5: - SEMIS
5:00 am - 10:00 AM: French Open Women’s Semifinals - TENNIS CHANNEL (HD) - tape
10:00 am - 1:00 PM: French Open Men’s Semifinals - NBC - LIVE
4:00 PM - 11:00 PM: French Open Men’s Semifinals - TENNIS CHANNEL (HD) - tape
11:00 PM - 6:00 AM: French Open Men’s Semifinals - TENNIS CHANNEL (HD) - tape

Saturday, June 6: - FINAL
9:00 am - 12:00 PM: Women’s FINAL - NBC - LIVE

Sunday, June 7: FINAL
9:00 am - 2:00 PM: Men’s FINAL - NBC - LIVE

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This column is about my personal search for the perfect investment. I don't give investment advice. For that you have to be registered with regulatory authorities, which I am not. I am a reporter and an investor. I make my daily column -- Monday through Friday -- freely available for three reasons: Writing is good for sorting things out in my brain. Second, the column is research for a book I'm writing called "In Search of the Perfect Investment." Third, I encourage my readers to send me their ideas, concerns and experiences. That way we can all learn together. My email address is . You can't click on my email address. You have to re-type it . This protects me from software scanning the Internet for email addresses to spam. I have no role in choosing the Google ads on this site. Thus I cannot endorse, though some look interesting. If you click on a link, Google may send me money. Please note I'm not suggesting you do. That money, if there is any, may help pay Michael's business school tuition. Read more about Google AdSense, click here and here.