Spiced Christmas Goose by Gordon Ramsay

Hamburger Quiz

"If you plan to eat hamburgers throughout your life and are not a cattle producer, should you wish for higher or lower prices for beef? Likewise, if you are going to buy a car from time to time but are not an auto manufacturer, should you prefer higher or lower car prices? These questions, of course, answer themselves." 

Warren E. Buffett, Letter to Shareholder, February 27 1998

Negotiation

Source: H. Raiffa, J. Richardson, and D. Metcalfe (2007); Negotiation analysis: the science and art of collaborative decision making. First Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.

• There is no cook book or a recipe for good negotiation
  
• Distributive negotiation: win-lose situation, such as haggling over a price in a bazaar.
• Integrative negotiation: win-win situation in order to have mutual gain. (eg. Harvard Method)
• 6 steps in Integrative negotiation
• Sides need to agree on what is the problem
• What are the interests behind the positions (Seperate people from the problem)
• Generate alternative solutions
• Redefine the problem
• Expand pie
• Logroll
• Offer compensation in other area
• Minimize costs
• Bridge
• Generate solutions
• Make a list of solutions
• Prioritize options and reduce the list
• Select a solution

 

Book Recommendation #5

Red Flags that show a Company is in Real Trouble

• Huge Goodwill figure in Balance Sheet
• Current Ratio < 1
• High Debt-to-Equity (High Gearing)
• A very high number that is hidden in the notes, but not shown in the actual financial tables: Read the annual report backwards, because the stuff that directors really don't want you to find will be at the back.
• Cash Flow not in line with Earnings: Compare FCF/share with EPS
• Highlighted Adjusted EBITDA: This is directors' favourite number, because it always goes up
• Key Management Changes: either they were brilliant and have been poached or they were rubbish and have been dumped
• Directors dumping shares
• Having only one "reliable" customer (eg. government)
• Rapid Expansion: Expansion needs to be controlled

Verdi - La Forza del Destino 'Overture'

Wiener Philharmoniker
conducted by RICCARDO MUTI

Casta Diva from Norma (V. Bellini) performed by C. Bartoli

Other notable performances:
Maria Callas
Leyla Gencer

Trivia:
Olga sings this to Oblomov (Oblomov by Ivan Goncharov)

Book Recommendation #4

 
A German Identity 

by Harold James

Eggs

Optional: Prepare an ice water bath.

• Firm Soft-Cooked Eggs: 

Bring water to a rapid simmer. Eggs into water (with a spoon). Cover. Remove from heat. 7 min. Transfer to ice bath.

• Medium-Cooked and Hard Cooked Eggs:

Eggs into cold water. Bring water to a rapid simmer over medium-high heat and 

• cook for 4 min. for medium-cooked
• cook for 7 min. for hard-cooked

Transfer to ice bath.

From: ad hoc at home, Thomas Keller

Achskonfiguration

Die Fahrtrichtung ist von rechts nach links. Schwarz gezeichnete Räder bezeichnen angetriebene Räder.