Fifty Three
Another year, another birthday.
For the past fifteen years, I’ve been spending my birthday on the beach with my family. That seems like the ideal way to do it. I hope that tradition lasts as long as I do.
The weather has been spectacular on the east end of long island this week and we spent most of yesterday afternoon on a boat in Sag Harbor.
Today, I plan to do some yoga, play some golf with my son, and have a family dinner tonight.
I don’t really enjoy receiving presents. The best present for me is to be somewhere awesome surrounded by my family. I’ve already received that present.
But if you feel that you must send me something, please make a small donation to CSNYC here. I would appreciate that very much.
Comments (Archived):
Happy Birthday, Fred. Have a good one!This whole summer has been amazingly nice around NYC.
Many happy returns of the day.(Infinite ROI, ya know)
You barely look a day over 52. Happy birthday, Fred.
Happy Birthday Fred
I’m on a Savoie exploration this summer Fred, so I’ll raise a glass of sparkling Gringet to you.Happy Bday!
“The best present for me is to be somewhere awesome surrounded by my family.”That says a lot. My father used to say something similar. He didn’t like presents.
I used to drive my parents crazy because I never wanted anything. It still drives my sister nuts. 🙂
Happy birthday, from a different beach, Myrtle Beach. Cheers!
Happy birthday Fred.
btw, when I first read the title of this post, I thought you were announcing an investment on Paper by 53. hehe!
i thought about that too!
Have a wonderful birthday 🙂
HB, FW!
Happy birthday, Fred. Enjoy the time with your family.
Dislike birthdays. Hate being made a fuss of. Being sung happy birthday is torture.#introvert4life
don’t be a grouch Liad!#extrovert4life
…all together now…HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO…. 😉
Getting older isn’t great, but it’s better than the alternative… 😉
Sharing this day with family is the best. Enjoy.
I’m 10 years ahead of you, Fred. Enjoy!
My uncle John was born today in 1946. He would have been 68. He died in 2004 of kidney cancer that spread through his body. He was my surrogate father. He was a good man. He didn’t deserve that fate. I miss him.Enjoy the time you have because you don’t know what may be coming next. You should retire as soon as you can and enjoy your golden years. When John was 53 he was perfectly healthy, and he didn’t make it to 58.
Happy Birthday Fred!
Happy Birthday. Drink a little wine, eat lots of cake.
Happy Birthday, Fred. Enjoy the day with your family!
Happy Birthday Fred…enjoy your day…yes family is precious!
Happy birthday, Fred!The Crowdrise page made me smile with its ‘Sponsoring: Fred Wilson’ label. Usually it’s the other way around 🙂
Happy birthday Fred! 🙂
Happy birthday Fred!
HB, Fred… enjoy the moment. The Hamptons in August is the perfect way to celebrate your birthday. We’re headed out east this week… plan to make the most of it.
Happy birthday! Yoga Shanti?
Happy Birthday Fred!
birthdays for adults need to be disrupted?So two woman are going out to eat as they do every week, at the same restaurant for years.The first women says “the food here is just awful”.The second woman says “yes, and the portions are so small”.
Happy birthday Fred!
all the best.
I’m with you – perfect birthday is dinner with my family, especially if it includes my friend Mr. Lobster and his cousin Montrachet. Have a wonderful time.
Happy 53rd. birthday.So I say “this is the age of knowing how to get things done”.Classic viagra commercial attached. Notice the imagery and message it conveys. It’s a fucking work of art (I’m serious – not joking).Curious if anyone who is not in the target age group understands what happened in the commercial.http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7Vd0…
.In real life and if he really owned a vintage car, he would have gotten FIVE bottles of water.JLM.
Funny. Actually a comedy skit on this could have him carting off the large bottle on top a water dispenser. (At the end of the spot we also don’t know if the other car is his wife’s or if he’s divorced and it’s his daily ride. My guess is daily ride. No wife so he has to perform like a 20 year old.)Anyway, on to more important things.Your thoughts on Rick Perrygate?
.Doubt the case even gets within a 3-wood of any courtroom.The law is not very good on the side of those who made the original complaint–George Soros funded hack group. I don’t have the time to discuss it fully but there is a lot of law for them to overcome to even make the charge stick.One of the challenges for any prosecutor is that once you get in front of a grand jury you are dealing purely with emotion and nobody ever researches the real law. The law is simply not there.This will make Perry emerge stronger in the end.That office is a very odd office — statewide prosecutorial authority from a local Austin office which is hopelessly Democratic and liberal. Structurally it should have been eliminated years agoRosemary Lehmberg’s (the drunken DA who is just a political hack slob) predecessor, Ronnie Earle, was the guy who brought the case against Sen Key Bailey Hutchison when she was the Comptroller. He got beaten like a rented mule in Ft Worth and the case never made it past opening statements before HE withdrew it.The case was moved to Ft Worth because of pre-trial prejudice. This is, of course, what Gov Perry will insist upon and he will get it. No local Judge wants this case in his Court.Once it gets moved, the local nonsense is over and it will be summarily dismissed.Same bunch who preferred charges against Tom Delay in the political money laundering case which he prevailed upon totally at the appellate level. Very unfair as he was completely vindicated.This is going nowhere.JLM.
against Tom Delay in the political money laundering caseYears ago I got called by a boiler room on behalf of Delay saying I had been nominated for some bogus sounding award (that I knew was a setup for something else). I knew right then, at that time, that Delay was sleezy. And hung up. A short time later I walked in to pickup chinese food and right there on the wall behind the counter was a certificate that Mr. Delay had “awarded” the same honor to Mr. Chinese restaurant owner. (They are always marks for this type of thing they typically also support the police and fire has something to do with the ways things work over in China and paying people off (ha ha)). So I had my confirmation of my gut instinct.)Doubt the case even gets within a 3-wood of any courtroom.This will make Perry emerge stronger in the end.I’ve given a great deal of thought to both of the above.Along one theory that I have even if Perry is victorious he will still have some pox or tarnish on his house. Like being accused and then vindicated of rape.Under another theory if it’s in the news then we have the WD-40 principle. The carrier remains but the active ingredient evaporates. (Or may be the opposite you get the point). In other words people already think of politicians as sleezy so here is one that has been proven not sleezy and then he gets extra media mention and people forget the point when it is time to vote. Hard to say but either is possible.I mean I don’t think he will need his Gerald Ford or anything.But I have to say (only knowing what I know) it does bother me slightly that he with held money in order to get someone to resign no matter what the reason was. Slightly.Nice hail mary move by the other side by the way. Type of thing that people probably threaten but nobody thinks anyone would ever do. (Nice doesn’t mean I agree or am happy about it but simply I recognize the guts it takes to do payback..)
.You have to develop a sense of how weird Austin is when it comes to the DemocratsEVERY statewide office is held by Republicans as well as the House and Senate. Austin is an incredible outlier because of the history, the entrenchment of political hacks in the state government and the University of Texas (liberal believe it or not).When I moved to Texas in the 1970s, it was just the opposite. Perry (as well as guys like former Sen Phil Gramm) were all Texas Democrats in the Lloyd Bentsen mold — perhaps the most conservative Southern Democrat in history.They all switched parties—like Ronald Reagan.The State of Texas did not become Republican as much as the national Democrats abandoned the Southern conservative Democrats like Lloyd Bentsen. The resultant governing philosophy was more comfortable in the Republican tent and that is what folks voted for (except for Austin).This is a desperation move funded by a Soros group who filed a complaint. The complaint did not come FROM the Office of Public Integrity, it was made TO the Office of Public Integrity. Huge difference.The Special Prosecutor is a political hack from San Antonio which also leans Democratic because of the immigration issue. Folks in Texas joke — “San Antone is like any other part of Mexico.”Grand juries — ham sandwiches, etc — are notoriously damned for getting the law wrong because they only have the prosecutor’s voice to listen to. Nobody gets to go before a grand jury with a lawyer even if they get any chance at all.Perry is going to be able to say he stared down the President on immigration (which is a legitimate unmitigated disaster with criminals being discharged into our streets every day) and he kicked Soros’ ass on this matter.It is pretty small ball at the end of the day.JLM.
Grand juries — ham sandwiches, etc — are notoriously damned for getting the law wrong because they only have the prosecutor’s voice to listen to.Otoh balance that with the fact that not every ham sandwich indicted is a winnable case.And the last thing any prosecutor wants is to bring forward a case and lose. Generally. So while it’s definitely not a perfect system, and can be abused, it’s similar to in business getting your foot in the door vs. cold calling a prospect.If Fred were to send you an email saying “meet with this entrepreneur in Austin he is selling insurance” you would meet with them for sure. But that doesn’t mean you would end up buying anything from them.
.You would be surprised how low the average DA’s conviction rate is on CONTESTED cases. Most DA’s are trying two handed dunk shot guilty plea/public defender type cases.When the defendant has good counsel most DA’s are settling but getting about 10% conviction rates.This case gets moved to Ft Worth and it is history just like Kay Bailey Hutchison.KBH went on to be elected Senator.Again, the law is very weak and almost every law school prof in TX is weighing in on how weak the case really is.The Tom Delay case ruined Ronnie Earle’s career and legacy. He’s a hack.JLM
Lets pivot back to start of post – Does the Big Red Car have a big block (396, 427 or 454) or the classic small block 327? inquiring minds want to know!
.It has a 327.JLM.
That’s a 1969 Camaro. I have one in my garage, 396. I never added water — heck no! I only added anti-freeze and sometimes rust inhibitor. Adding water to a radiator? Big bummer!
As a product of some of the best NYC public schools, including Bronx Science I can testify that the CS education sucked. That being said I am (now) grateful for my 7th grade typing teacher who taught me to touch type – although I wasn’t too thrilled at the time! Happy bday Fred!
By now it’s clear that my high school touch typing class was one of the most useful courses I ever took in school.The class was aimed at teaching the girls how to be secretaries, and for some reason they all found the class really easy and were effortlessly, accurately, rapidly typing away, right away, easily. Me? Clumsy! Some days sweating in my heavy ROTC uniform — not recommended for typing. Too often my fingers went between the keys. I was just awful. On my final exam, removing the paper from the typewriter, I tore it in two! The teacher had high standards, and the girls did well. I got an F.But, I did learn where they keys were, that is, was able to do actual ‘touch typing’. And, that was enough. All the rest was time, need, and practice, oceans of practice.Practice? By now, with all the computing I’ve done, I may have done more typing than anyone else in the class, maybe more than the total of any half of the class. I’ve done a LOT of typing and know just where the keys A-Z are. Grade F or not, for me the class was a great success!Computers, word whacking software, spell checkers, desktop printers, computer displays, etc. have no doubt put a lot of typists out of work. 100 million blogs. 1 trillion Web pages. All the traffic on Disqus, Twitter, Facebook — we’re talking a LOT of typing but now not by traditional ‘typists’.For anyone in math, typing the work was a challenge. To publish a math paper, it was easily much more work to get the typing done than to do the research for the paper and write it. And D. Knuth saw much the same. Then, along came laser printers! So, Knuth did his word whacking system TeX, especially good for math. So, TeX is now and has long been the unchallenged, international standard for word whacking in more mathematical fields. For my mathematical writing, TeX saved my tail feathers, gut, neck, head, etc. For what TeX commonly and easily does now, the typists never would have had a chance. RIP typists, or now everyone is their own ‘typist’! Or factors of 10 more in typing but nearly no work for typists! Amazing world we live in.
Indeed, I wish I could remember my teacher’s name so I could send her a thank you note. It would be most appropriate if I typed it out, although for how much good it has done me a hand written note would be far more deserving!
Congratulations on reaching middle age, Fred. 53 is the new 33!
Hard to beat that!
.At 53 you are just rounding the turnDont start sprinting. Lots more laps to go.JLM.
Happy 53What’s the best (material) birthday gift you recall receiving?
Life begins at sixty:https://www.google.co.in/se…
Happy birthday, Fred. Here is a present for you:http://jugad2.blogspot.in/2…Coincidentally, I posted that just a couple of days ago. Taken on a trip a while ago.
Fred – Happy Birthday!
Mazel tov. Go hang out.
Hope you had a great birthday, Fred.
Enjoy the day!
I am beginning to embrace my age in a new way but I still have a hard time with the concept of middle age. My niece inadvertently helped me come up with a new way of thinking about this season of life. On Facebook recounting all the old things she loved, she finally named the related decades, describing them as vintage, and included the decade I was born. I signed my response “from your vintage aunt”You are celebrating your birthday similarly to how I intend to spend mine in a few days. Simply, surrounded by my precious ones, near the water, with good food, wine, music. One thing about these vintage years is that by now we know what satisfies us. Happy Birthday, Fred! Here’s to yummy fulfilling vintage years!
53 is a very fine age to be. Enjoy. Was my 54th 2wks ago.
Happy Birthday Fred.
Wow and “Happy belated birthday”. I’m in my 30s and when I’m in my 50s, I hope I’m as cool with a great family life as you!
Happy belated birthday, Fred!
You, me, and the president – not a bad age really.
Happy B’day Fred! Have a nice summer break.
Happy Birthday Fred! I couidn’t agree more about presents. When I was young I appreciated tangible gifts of all kinds. They were needed and used. Then when I had pretty much the hard goods I needed or wanted, consumables like food or wine worked well. Now it is just my friends thoughts and wishes that mean the most. Glad to see your light touch to supporting crowd rise, and happy to do it. It’s the lease I can do to someone whose writings I really appreciate (and as my wife says I am all about the least I can do).My only other thought on gift giving are that the best gifts I have ever given or received, were gifts that ignored the price and focused on the value- not the specific occasion. Sometimes these are expensive, and sometimes very cheap. I didn’t give my sister in law gifts for several years, but she wanted a guitar for Christmas and I got her a nice one some years back. It violated our family amount policy, but was well worth it. But she continues to play that guitar and remember that gift.Immediate family excepted (they would shoot me)- It is not unusual for me to skip years on gifts to friends or extended family. But when I know they want or need something that would be useful and meaningful to them I am happy try to make it happen. And these gifts have been much more appreciated than the annual “obligatory” gift.Another sister in law who works at DISH got me medallion for the launch of Echostar XVI. She works there and it probably cost $10 in the company gift store, but back in my hy bond days in 90’sI invested in DISH and went to their first 6 launches. So her gift takes its place next to my medallions from the first six launches and brought back some nice memories.So for me it’s not about the timing- it’s about the need, memory or appreciation. When I can hit these, then grea – and when I can’ then skip it. So maybe a good gift for you would be an autographed strip of cooked back from Fake Grimlock. Don’t know if that hits the spot but I might work on it.Again, Happy Birthday!
Happy Belated bday Fred!
Late on the happy birthday wishes as we were also out at Sag Harbor this week introducing baby girl to the beach. Hope it was a great birthday, sounds like it was