They have to be made to listen. <\/strong><\/p>\n I once made twenty times my money when I became chairman of the company.<\/p>\n Every evening, I’d telephone the president and we’d discuss what he planned to do the following day, what he hoped to accomplish in each meeting. The president had much enthusiasm, but little intelligence.<\/p>\n Eighteen months later, I sold out and resigned as chairman. \u00a0The president took over.<\/p>\n Six months later the company went Chapter 11. True story.<\/p>\n The “hard” money lenders are booming.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n They step in where banks don’t. Example, a bank says it will lend $20 million on a building. The buyer is about to close on the building. then the bank says it will only lend $17 million (true story). Banks are acting very irresponsibly today.<\/p>\n Quick, rush to a hard lender and borrow the $3 million you need — at an extortionate rate.<\/p>\n Good business for the hard lender:<\/p>\n 1. IF, he can get decent security for his money. Being behind the bank is a problem.<\/p>\n 2. IF the property is not over-valued, like in the old days.<\/p>\n These are big IFs. Rents are plummeting. The value of commercial real estate is continuing to decline.<\/p>\n Hard lenders are overwhelmed with “opportunities.” They are chasing investors like you and me. \u00a0I’ve had my fill of them.<\/p>\n Be wary.<\/p>\n Verizon’s MiFi revisited. Nice surfing the Internet in bed. Computers don’t dirty the sheets as newspapers do. (Around our place, our sheets are very important.) <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n I lay there last night and read The Wall Street Journal<\/em>, courtesy Verizon’s MiFi.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Questions from readers following yesterday’s writeup on the MiFi:<\/span><\/p>\n 1. You get nearly four hours from one charge. <\/span><\/p>\n 2. You and your four friends can run it while it’s being charged using the charger that comes with the device. <\/span><\/p>\n 3. You can run it tethered to your USB port. That will charge it and keep it charged. But only you can use it. Not your four closest friends. This is not a negative. Plug in the charger. See above. \u00a0Once it’s charged, it can go back to being an ultra-portable WiFi for you and your friends and family.<\/span><\/p>\n 4. No one nearby can steal your WiFi or There’s plenty of security. In fact, it won’t work unless you put in the security code.<\/span><\/p>\n 5. The amazing thing about this device is being on the Internet, getting your email and doing your work while in a moving car, bus or train, or at some remote place.<\/span><\/p>\n 6. The best speed test is at Speakeasy.net.<\/span><\/p>\n 7. The only negative is that the thing is so small and so light (2.5 ounces) that it’s real easy to lose. <\/span><\/p>\n I remain impressed.<\/span><\/p>\n One impressive woman.<\/span><\/strong> This is Anne, my son’s wonderful fianc\u00e9.<\/p>\n Oregon coast last weekend. She’s happy and so are we. She’s loving, talented, gorgeous and, most importantly, keeps Michael in check.<\/p>\n She’s also an Excel whiz. What more could anyone want in a daughter-in-law?<\/p>\n Not ultra-impressed with WordPress. This morning I tried to save a draft of this column. Once again, WordPress blew up, and lost my entire brilliance. I started over again. Now I’m copying into Word and backing up there. Imagine how bad things are when you have to rely on Microsoft! Anyone got any ideas on how to fix this irritating bug?<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Governments that are getting bigger and bigger and bigger really scare me.<\/span><\/strong> A reader sent me a chart showing government now employs more people than we have people in the U.S. making things.<\/p>\n The biggest lies are those made by politicians. Some of the biggest were made by Obama in his campaign.<\/p>\n Will Rogers once said, \u00a0\u201c I don\u2019t make jokes, I just watch the government and report the facts.\u201d<\/p>\n You can’t make this stuff up.<\/p>\n Do we enjoy being offended?<\/span><\/strong> This is a promotion for this magazine. I hesitated for three days. Should I publish this nonsense? It stuck with me. The words and the drawing. Check out their eyes. The illustration brilliant.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.technologyinvestor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/VerizonMifi.jpg\" "\\"VerizonMifi\\"")
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