2023.11.DisappearingMoment
This month marked the end of Pacella Partners, an investment club my friend Mike and I have had for 21 years. We put money into it when we felt like it and had a bit to spare. We used the money to buy stocks that both of thought were compelling investments.
For a while, we recorded how much we put into it. Sometimes we would measure our performance. We know we made more money than we would have if we had put it into a saving account. While it's unlikely that we beat the S&P 500, the investment club taught us more than owning a mutual fund. It was also a lot more fun, until it wasn't. Once we learned what it had to teach us, we decided the money had more important uses.
This month also marked the end of a far more successful investing partnership. Charlie Munger died two days ago, less than five weeks before his 100th birthday. His death ended more than 60 years of collaboration with Warren Buffett. Together, they built Berkshire Hathaway into one of the world's largest companies.
The part of their story I find most inspiring is how much they liked each other. They talked on the phone for hours each day. Because they were friends. Because they admired and learned from each other. Because it make them happy.
“We never had an argument in the entire time we’ve known each other, which is almost 60 years now,” Buffett told CNBC’s Becky Quick in 2018. “Charlie has given me the ultimate gift that a person can give to somebody else. He’s made me a better person than I would have otherwise been. ... He’s given me a lot of good advice over time. ... I’ve lived a better life because of Charlie.”
Their partnership reminds me of how Daniel Kahnema and Amos Tversky worked together. In The Undoing Project, Michael Lewis writes about their long walks. How they would close themselves off in a room. People on the other side of the door would hear them laughing for hours. In 2002, Kahneman received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences "for the pioneering research and theoretical work he conducted with colleague Amos Tversky, PhD, who died in 1996. While Tversky was acknowledged in the announcement, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences does not award prizes posthumously. 'Certainly, we would have gotten this together,' said Kahneman on the day of the announcement. 'There is that shadow over the joy I feel.'"
I dream of a happy marriage. I dream of health and happiness for my family and friends. And I dream of this kind of friendship.
I've come close. Working on the editorial board of In the Library with the Lead Pipe felt that way for years. Creating a strategic planning process with my friend Heidi. Geeking out about libraries with Luke. Pacella Partners with Mike. I look forward to it happening again and for longer.
Welcome to November 2023’s Disappearing Moment, an inventory of my experiences. I hope you enjoy it.
Podcasts
- C Tolle Run (I Liked It): Olympian Carrie Tollefson has good guests, asks good questions, and creates good audio. A solid complement to Ali on the Run.
- Landon's YouTube Channel (I Liked It): Landon's Basement Bodybuilding works better as a podcast, at least for me. From a financial perspective, he may be better off on YouTube.
Nerdy Software
Classical, a standalone app that's included with Apple Music subscriptions, is a good way to discover classical music. Apple released an iPad version this month.
Bougie Products
I spent a year researching power racks and benches before buying the REP PR-1050 and AB-3100. I love powerlifting in my garage.
Personal Finance and Investing
We've committed to travel points rather than cash back. Airlines are banks and compete for your business. More important: points remind us to plan vacations.
Reading
- Herman Martinus, My first year without social media (I Liked It): Herman makes Bear Blog. If I didn't know how to modify blogging software, I'd use Bear. I might start using it anyway.
- Simon Willison, Deciphering clues in a news article to understand how it was reported (I Liked It): Simon was a technologist at the Guardian and Lawrence Journal-World (where he helped create Django). His perspective on journalism is valuable.
Classical Radio Stations
I tried several dozen classical radio stations. These are my favorites.
- All Classical (Portland, OR)
- Classical King (Seattle)
- The Classical Station (Wake Forest, NC)
- KHFM (Albuquerque)
- KUSC (Los Angeles)
- Radio Swiss Classic (Basel)
- WFMT (Chicago)
- WQXR (New York City)
- Your Classical (Saint Paul, MN)
Thanks for spending a few moments with me. I look forward to corresponding again next month.
Brett
No large language models were used in the production of the Disappearing Moment newsletter or website (inspired by RFC 9518 Appendix A ¶ 4 and Tantek Çelik).