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Issue 381 – 06/19/2020

Jun 19, 2020 | Fifteen on Friday

This week’s highlights: The Camden Police, Calpers, Capsule Wardrobes


Photo by munshots on Unsplash

Issue 381

by David Wells – Nashville TN

Happy Friday –
 
A Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there.
 
Best,
 
David

 


Food for Thought

  • WashPo – As Camden’s police chief, I scrapped the force and started over. It worked With so much about the future of policing being discussed, this was a helpful roadmap of a model that has been done before, and actually saw success.
  • Runner’s Life – Running in Darkness I started running in 2003 because there was a girl that I liked who ran, who thankfully later became my wife.  I consider myself an off and on runner at best – I much prefer other forms of exercise.  What I can definitively say is that I have never given my skin color a moments thought when I laced up my shoes and stepped out the door.  And maybe that fact, the ability to be “unaware of your unawareness” is the best way to explain white privilege.  My friend, Shaka, writes here on what it means to run as a black man – a wonderful reflection and a thoughtful gift to us all in sharing his thoughts.  “It is one thing to run in the dark: It is another thing entirely to run while dark.”
  • FNN – IRS programming mystery continues The IRS would go on to spend billions, but none of the contractors could ever convert the Individual Master File, coded in assembler language (think 1960s/1970s), to modern code.
  • WashPo – These people have been sick with coronavirus for more than 60 days Doctors aren’t sure why.

Business

  1. WSJ – Calpers Prepares for the Long Haul  Editor aside – When you have one of the largest global pension plans 10 years into a massive growth cycle for private equity say that the only way they can hit their target return is a greater allocation to private equity and ‘more assets’ i.e. adding leverage to the portfolio – that feels like a top in the private equity market.  IMO, Calpers is correct that they are going to struggle to hit their 7% target – but that’s due to a liability issue that the state hasn’t reckoned with.  Either benefits must go down or taxes must go up. 

    Illiquidity and leverage I would be willing to postulate will not help hit the target, but likely make it that much more difficult to achieve.
  2. TVG – Preparing a Board Presentation, Even If You Don’t Have a Board?
  3. II – No One Knows What Their Bond Fund Is Worth
  4. NYT – How’s the Economy Doing? Watch the Dentists  A crucial indicator of whether Americans feel safe returning to normal activities.

Culture/Tech/Science:

  1. ABC – House always messy? Just blame it on the second law of thermodynamics
  2. NYT – Pete Davidson Comes Out of His Basement With Judd Apatow’s Help  The “S.N.L.” star is open about his struggles. The director focuses on the personal. Still, their “The King of Staten Island” was “fraught with the possibility of failure.”
  3. Inverse – Evolution Made Really Smart People Long to Be Loners  Research finds highly intelligent individuals prefer to socialize less than the rest of us.
  4. Permanent Style – A Complete Capsule Wardrobe

Topics

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