Entrepreneur, Explorer, Angel.
Sometimes all at Once.
05TH April 2020
Havana Culture - Timeless - Timely
Shelter(ed) Day 5- Back to Havana
Chapter 5- The Riviera Pool Illustration- Finn, Nat, William card playing with Riviera dive in background- Ermitas Blanco Despite the late night, Finn was up early. The four-bedroom suite atop the Habana Riviera was worthy of anything he had seen in Europe or the States. And the coffee was better. Much better. With his coffee came steaming hot croissants from the Riviera bakery- yes they had their own- and a decent plate of fresh fruit. He almost didn’t want to open the paper tucked under the tray. He looked out over the Malecon to the strait and Key West over the horizon, just 90 miles away. Just a few deep-sea fishing boats on the water, but that wasn’t a giveway for either era. The cars on the Malecon were definitely […]
04TH April 2020
Adventure - Cuba - Good Story - Legends and tales - Timeless - Timely - Uncategorized
Shelter(ed) Day 4- Back to Havana
Chapter 4- The Tropicana Tables Illustration by Ermitas Blanco- Action at table five. Havana, Cuba. Sal had been sitting at the bar for awhile, when Snowball finally joined him. The “Trop” was always slow as hell between when the showgirls ended their afternoon rehearsal and the Special guests began to arrive for late dinner. That suited Sal just fine. His investigative style was “laid back nice guy,” who preferred to chum up his marks and ply them with liquor or women, while getting more information than any waterboarding had ever managed to do. He’d trained in Tampa directly under the head of the FBI Interrogation Unit before heading down to Havana on a minor assignment for the gaming commission. Turned out, he had Cuban roots in the family, but they […]
03TH April 2020
Adventure - Good Story - Legends and tales - Timely
Shelter(ed) Day 3- Back to Havana
Chapter 3- The Tesla Fuse Jorge- Illustrated by Ermitis Blanco. Havana. Jorge jumped into a cab outside the Nacionale with the mobsters in bumbling pursuit. “Where to Amigo?” “Make a right on 23rd, up La Rampa to Havana Libre, now cut down [street] to the end of the park and hang a left. Yeah, there. It’s one way! Yeah I know just do it. I’ll make it worth your while! Now into that little garage on the corner, by the Marti statue. Ok, pull to the back and I’ll close the door. Wait here while I get dressed. Grab yourself a cerveza from the fridge. My dad loves to drink them when he tinkers on his babies.” Jorge hustled upstairs, while the driver looked around. He’d never seen such […]
23TH August 2019
Business Tricks - Entrepreneur - Incredulous - Platforms - Timely - Uncategorized
More from the Incredulous Studios
I just returned from the studio at Gregory FCA; what’s going on there is pretty cool IMHO. We’ve been developing a show based on a simple (we thought!) premise. That being this; society would be a bit better if we could prepare and eat healthy meals, spend time at the table or the firepit catching up, and debating the topics of the day armed with information and opinions, but devoid of animus. It’s the animus thing that ruins everything, and really should not crop up just because of a differing opinion. Culturally, we’re all looking at the same stuff. We’re just seeing something different. Some things seem normal to one, offensive to another. Legal to one, verboten to the rest. Worth trying to one, taboo to the others. The difference […]
09TH May 2019
Angel Investor - culture - Incredulous - Timely - Uncategorized
Incredulous #1; The Boomers next party
For Boomers, the party never ends! And why should it… we did Woodstock, Wall Street, Dot.Com, and the Wall came down! Can we keep it going forever? Well, Jimmy Buffett’s opening a Retirement Home… Hey! If you liked that, you may like the next one: Erasing History at Washington & Lee. Is wiping out a military hero and leadership icon what we want to do? And if you really like what we’re doing, add something that made you Incredulous. We’ll put it to good use on the show soon!
07TH March 2019
Angel Investor - Family Office - Leftovers - Social - Timely - Uncategorized
Update on the Devils Lettuce
The NY Times had a recent feature on the family behind Charlotte’s Web. Yes, a family story, about the family business. It’s truly amazing how legitimized the industry is becoming, while Opioids have become the pain management whipping boy – this Samantha Bee takedown is epic, and hilarious. I’ve watched from a distance as the cannabis market has growth it’s way across the US and Canada. Well, actually, Canada is totally covered at this point. And it looks like the states are smelling the tax revenue. (I have one CBD investment I manage, and no relationship with the substance in question). I’m not sure where all the health concerns, gateway arguments, and the like pan out, but I’m fascinated by the history of cannabis and the US. I’ also rewarded […]
13TH February 2019
Race to the Bottom - Social - Timely - Uncategorized
Perdue Perdone
I’m sure there’s more to the story but Samantha Bee somehow makes it funny as she eviscerates Perdue and their owners for “branded, institutionalized drug dealing” . The You-Tube segment is painful to watch, perhaps because there are so many uncomfortable facts therein. Not the least of which, 130 people per day have died of addiction to Oxycontin. 130 overdoses per day. The marketing was silent on this, at best. As Samantha says …Even drug dealers will say “don’t take too much of this lady… I can tell by your Blazer… that you cannot handle this! No one is blameless I suspect. Maybe this is one step that helps clean it up. And somehow she made it funny.
28TH June 2018
Angel Investor - Geopolitical - Mobile - Parenting - Race to the Bottom - Timely
Ding. Look at me.
Digital addiction has gripped society in less than a decade. The smartphone era dates from Apple’s introduction of the iPhone in 2007… before that, the closest thing to a digital pavlovian response was hearing AOL’s goofy “You’ve got Mail”. Either way, it is a nanosecond in human evolution. No matter what we think we know now, we simply don’t know what the long-term effects of digital devices/smartphones are or will be, any more than generations past could glean the effects of all of those earlier technologies on moods, relationships, and cognitive development. Americans check their devices 80 times per day, which is more often than men think about sex (34.2 times according to Psych Today… I promise). Why? The secret is in the glowing notifications, likes and shares. Psychologists at […]
28TH May 2018
Family and Friends - Parenting - Parenting - Social - Timely - Uncategorized
Fortnight and the next great Battle for Screentime
It seems the big parenting battle of the summer might be over FortNite. This survival-action game developed by Epic Games and People Can Fly is a bit like what you’d get if you combined a sandbox-building game like Minecraft with an action shooter like Call of Duty. On one hand, it’s getting major points with kids and parents alike for building teamwork and thoughtful collaboration. On the other hand, it’s a combat-based game with tons of guns and violence. And the designers were brilliant in the way they weave the elements of addiction into the action- thanks guys! So whats a Father to do? Here are a few ideas I’m working on: Set limits. Establish media-free zones and weekly screen-time amounts. Aim for a balance of activities throughout the week: reading, playing, exploring, and so on. Choose age-appropriate, high-quality media. Not […]
20TH November 2017
Angel Investor - Business Tricks - Creative problem Solving - Entrepreneur - Family Office - Good Story - Leadership - Parenting - Portfolio - Timely - Uncategorized
Vaux Founder Profile- Theresa Claire of “Mixed Emotions”
Today, I couldn’t be happier to feature Theresa Claire, Founder of the Mixed Emotions Game. In her first pitch to me, even on the first slide, she told me all the reasons I should not get involved… I’m a solo entrepreneur- and Mom! I’m not the first mover. I don’t have a PhD. to my name. I need a side hustle to make this all work. To which I responded; so what. I tested the game with my kids, their friends, their parents, their teachers… and it totally rocked! Which is not the first reaction you would expect when discussing the subject of card games that teach kids emotional awareness. But here we are, launching a Kickstarter less than a month later and crushing it on social media. Because it […]
- Shelter(ed) Day 5- Back to Havana
- April 05, 2020
- Shelter(ed) Day 4- Back to Havana
- April 04, 2020
- Shelter(ed) Day 3- Back to Havana
- April 03, 2020
- 10 Things to ask before Investing with someone
- May 08, 2014
- Angel investing for Family Offices: What if you knew ‘Zuck… back then.
- July 10, 2013
- Now I really want to be like Peter Thiel
- June 11, 2016