Hello from rainy Portland, home of giant artisan meat stuffed cheesy biscuits, sour fruity craft coffee and super bitter over hopped beer.
Finance
- The cryptocurrency market is still on fire. Bitcoin is near all time highs and Ripple is still climbing. Of course this is a very speculative, risky investment. Consensus 2017 is expected to bring further Ripple news to the industry (specifically the lock up), so watch out for major moves May 22-24. Is it time to buy or sell? Do the opposite of what I do.

- The DOW and S&P didn’t do much this week
- Macron won the French elections
- President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey
- Improving near-term sentiment in the oil markets
- Sluggish macro data and weak earnings reports from major retailers
In other news
- San Francisco seems to be on the decline with “Purge” like crime. So I bought a Simplisafe package, as they had a 20% off sale this week. With the $25 a month package, they have some guy monitoring your system status and will call the cops after calling your cell phone to check on you.
- I currently run Samsung Smartthings.
Interesting Articles
- Self driving car revolution (Motherboard on Vice)
Book of the week: Lean in – Sheryl Sandberg
- When it comes to mentorship, do your homework
- A successful mentorship usually comes from the mentor seeing potential in the mentee
- Be respectful of your mentor’s time. Don’t just do a casual “catch up”. Figure out what you want before seeing them
- Don’t ask questions that can be easily answered
- Provide value to your mentor
- Your mentor is not a therapist. Don’t whine and complain.
- It is worth the battle to change an unfavorable dynamic at work. Don’t give up.
- Set your own limits and stick to them. The corporate machine will never stop demanding your time and energy
- Practical tip: When you attend a meeting, take a seat at the table… especially in a conference room setting. Avoid sitting along the side wall.
- Upcoming book: The life-changing magic art of not giving a f
Podcasts of the week
- Wrongful Convictions with Jason Flom: Amanda Knox Season 2 Episode 1