http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2009/07/24/what-you-need-to-know-about-warren-buffetts-new-cartoon-show/

By Michael Corkery

There are plenty of adults who would like to learn how to be part of Warren Buffett’s secret millionaires club.

Sorry deal makers, you’ve got to be a kid to join this club. The “Secret Millionaires Club” is the title of a new cartoon staring the Oracle of Omaha, in which Buffett’s cartoon likeness (who with his stylish glasses and wavy gray hair looks much younger and more coiffed than the real-live Buffett) dispenses investment advice to a motley crew of kids from Omaha. The episodes are to be distributed over the internet by the end of 2009 or early 2010. AOL is helping produce the show. (View a trailer of the cartoon below)

Deal Journal spoke to the cartoon’s creator, Andy Heyward, of A Sqaured Entertainment LLC in Los Angeles. Heyward has been producing a cartoon for the Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting for many years and approached Buffett a few years ago with the idea for a show for kids.

The show’s animation, as seen in a five-minute trailer, is computer generated, but looks more Hannah Barbara from 1960s than, say, 2003’s “Finding Nemo”). Buffett teaches the gang how to evaluate whether to buy a candy business, while one-dimensional images of a factory pumping out chocolates flash by.

The name Warren Buffett probably means nothing to children being reared on “Dora the Explorer” and “Handy Manny.” Instead, the show is clearly being marketed at their parents. “His name lends credibility,’’ Heyward says.

Buffett agreed to provide the voice over for his character and his overall “ethos” inspired the various story lines, which touch on such investment topics as “determining the value of a business.” and “purchasing a company at a good price.” Heyward says Buffett weighed in on the early conception of the cartoon. The premise: the children are trying to raise money for a community center being foreclosed. (And what financial problem doesn’t start with foreclosure these days?)

Buffett nixed the original idea that the kids win the lottery. “He didn’t want to encourage buying lottery tickets,” Heyward said. Instead, they find a valuable baseball card in an attic and sell it for a big profit (It is a lesson either in harvesting value or the value of “Antiques Road Show.”)

The children ride skateboards to board meetings and calculate cash flow using their cellphones.
In the trailer, they are deciding whether to finance a candy factory or let it fall into the hands of a sinister developer (named Carl Shady) who wants to build condos on the site. (Quelle horreur!)

Buffett doesn’t shy away from big words. He tells them to decide whether the candy factory has “durable comparable advantage’’ over other candy makers. He advises them to buy businesses that produce things that consumers like. The gang takes his advice and finances the candy maker. The reasons? It meets Buffett’s criteria: People have emotional attachment to the product and it has sound and able management.

Heyward wouldn’t say if Buffett actually came up with any of the ideas for the episode. No word either on whether cartoon Buffett will teach the kids how to profit from the financial crisis a la his investment in Goldman Sachs last year, which reportedly has netted him $2 billion as the bank’s shares surge.

Heyward is also producing separate cartoons starring Martha Stewart and supermodel, Gisele Bundchen, who moonlights as an environmental superhero. “Gisele helps emphasize girl power,’’ he says.

Wow

http://mac.linsheng.me/?p=367

在上一篇中，我们解开了隐藏在“文本编辑”图标上的迷。今天，我们会继续挖掘隐藏在图标中的那些已解和未解之谜。

Keynote

和“文本编辑”类似，在Keynote的图标上也有一段文字。不过可惜的是，就算把图标放大到最大，这段字依然无法看的很清楚。不过，这并不能阻止粉丝们去发掘真相，最终还是有人破解了这些文字：

God, I dreamed there was an angel Who could hear me through the wall As I cried out-like, in Latin “This is so not life at all Help me out-out-of this nightmare” Then I heard her silver call- She said: “Just give it time, kid I come to one and all”

She said: “Give me that hand, please And the itch you can’t control Let me teach you how to handle All the sadness in your soul Oh, we’ll work that silver magic Then we’ll aim it at the wall” She said: “Love may make you blind kid- But I wouldn’t mind at all”

It’s the bitch of living (Bitch, just a bitch) With nothing but your hand (Just a bitch, yeah) Just the bitch of living As someone you can’t stand See, each night, it’s like fantastic- Tossing, turning, without rest

这段文字其实是一段歌词，来自Spring Awakening的“The Bitch of Living”。可是为什么要用这段歌词呢？还没有人知道。

Mail

在Mail图标上,有一个苹果的邮戳,上面写着HELLO FROM CUPERTINO, CA。而CUPERTINO，正是Apple公司的所在地。

字体册

“字体册”的图标上有三个字母, AFK 。Away From Keyboard(远离键盘) ?

iTunes

iTunes图标的光盘最内侧的透明塑料部分写着：APPLE 2006 ITUNES 7。2006年7月，Apple发布了iTunes7。不过这个图标更新的不够及时，iTunes8还继续使用这个图标。

iCal

iCal上的日期是7月17日。2002年7月17日，Apple在纽约的Macworld Expo上发布了iCal。

Photo Booth

在Photo Booth的图标上，照相的美女在不戴眼镜的时候笑得更开心。

计算器

12374218.75，计算器图标上的神秘数字。至今没有人能猜出这个数字的确切含义。曾经看过一个最强的解释是这个数字代表着Apple的第一 台计算机－Apple 1投入生产的日期。.75表示75年，Apple成立的日子。12374218是秒数，143天，5月23日。也就是这个数字代表着1975年5月23 日。Apple成立于1975年4月1日，而5月23日，则很可能是Apple 1投入生产的日期。

系统概述

系统概述图标上的序列号：810-54-2136-1, RM-NCE-1, 6319-415-1239很可能也有特殊的意义，但至今还未有人破解。

http://www.48minutesofhell.com/2009/07/09/in-appreciation-of-peter-holt/comment-page-1/#comment-5699

In Appreciation of Peter Holt

The presumed net worth of Peter Holt, CEO and owner of Spurs Sports & Entertainment, is around $80 million, making him one of the least wealthy owners in the NBA. Mr. Holt’s wealth derives from HOLT CAT, the nation’s largest authorized dealer of caterpillar machines, of which he is also CEO. Given the housing crisis that the United States has been experiencing since the fall of 2008, it’s safe to assume these are unnerving times for a man whose livelihood is based on the sale of construction equipment.

(I was unable to find financial data on HOLT CAT but the stock price for Caterpillar Inc., a company to which HOLT CAT’s fortunes are closely aligned, has fallen by nearly half since September 2008.)

Considering the financial pressure Holt is currently under, he did something brave yesterday: He allowed R.C. Buford to send the Spurs at least $10 million over the luxury tax line.

With a collective salary of $72,054,727, the Spurs were already $2.13 million dollars over the tax line (set by the NBA yesterday at $69.9 million) before they signed Antonio McDyess, Marcus Haislip, and Malik Hairston.

For every dollar the Spurs spend over the line, they must pay a one dollar tax to the league. By signing McDyess to the full Mid-Level Exception and Haislip to the full Bi-Annual Exception (most likely), the Spurs are now a solid $10 million over the line. In that number I have yet to include the recently signed contract of Malik Hairtson (the details which are unknown), and the still unnegotiated contracts of DeJuan Blair and Jack McClinton. In short, the Spurs just committed themselves to paying anywhere from $12 to $15 million worth of luxury tax dollars this upcoming season.

Peter Holt took a serious financial hit yesterday and he did so for the good of the franchise you love.

It’s hard to feel sympathy for a man whose net worth is counted not just in millions but in tens of millions, but compare Holt’s situation to Mark Cuban’s, whose net worth is presumed to be north of $2 billion, and you begin to recognize the commitment Holt is making to the franchise. When the Mavericks head into the luxury tax, Cuban hardly feels the prick of a pin. Holt and the rest of the Spurs ownership group commit a significant fraction of the franchise’s net worth to the team’s success.

Mr. Holt’s financial commitment to the team is significant to no one more than the 3 individuals we adore most: Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker. Whether by only requesting reasonable contracts or restructuring their contracts to allow the team to acquire the necessary supporting cast, over the last several years the big three have done their part to ensure the Spurs are in a position to compete for championships. By allowing the front office to take the steps they took today, Holt has kept up his end of the bargain.

In 2008, the median income of a household in San Antonio was $39,140. Over the last 12 months, that figure has surely gone down. I have just begun graduate school and am now neck deep in student loans. For all intents and purposes, you could say my net worth is zero. Given that most sports-related financial figures exist in millions, not thousands, it’s hard to feel like you can affect the life of a man like Mr. Holt. But you can.

Buy a ticket. Buy season tickets. Hell, buy a backhoe for all I care. You alone may speak the language of thousands, not millions. But there are over 2 million people in the greater San Antonio metropolitan area. We speak in millions. Fans have been known to organize financial boycotts of their favorite franchises when they disapprove of the ownership (see Cincinnati Bengals Fans for a simultaneously righteous and hilarious example). We can express approval with our wallets as well.

And remember, the franchise consists of more than just the Spurs. Go to Austin Toros games. Go to Silver Stars games. The franchise is deeply committed to the success of those two teams as well.

In many people’s opinion, the Spurs were teetering on the edge of irrelevance. By giving R.C. Buford and Gregg Popovich the necessary freedom, he has helped bring them back to the center of the contender debate. And he has done so during a time of great financial uncertainty. For this, Mr. Holt, we are deeply appreciative.