A friend reached out yesterday and shared an email chain from a creeper that “LI Hit on” her.  He even included some glam shots to help make his case.   C’mon, man!!!  I just don’t get it.  It’s like honking a horn at someone as you drive by... like what do you expect?   They are going to chase you down and say “Wow!  Thanks for noticing”.   My advice.  Don’t.    #hottakeoftheday

Sometimes, my hottakes are fun.  Sometimes they are silly.  Today- I‘m going to address a very serious subject.   As many of us would attest, the teenage years and high school were tough - and with social media and intense competition to get into College, I dare say it’s tougher now. And unfortunately, suicide rates in teens are spiking. I don’t have any answers, but here are some warning signs:  -Talking about death, suicide, and/or self-harm -Changes in personality or behavior that is out of character -Talking about feeling worthless, helpless, and/or...

It dawns on me that technology could make me a much better son.  So could someone design an app that would call my parents every day, listen attentively for an hour, use my voice to repeat important tidbits from my day and then summarize the conversation in a text message? I guess until then, I should call them more often.  After all, without our parents, we kind of wouldn’t be here.   #hottakeoftheday

Technology is a threat to oil prices.  And in this case - simply Twitter.  “Very important that OPEC increase the flow of Oil. World Markets are fragile, price of Oil getting too high. Thank you!”     Good to see the President is back to running the company with his thumbs now that the Mueller report is behind him.     #hottakeoftheday

I’m watching “Jack Ryan” on Amazon Prime as I anxiously await the return of Game of a Thrones and a line struck me. “Geography is destiny.” Of course, it was speaking of the differences that exist because someone is born in the US versus somewhere else and the opportunities that exist.  Would I be where I am today if I were born in Venezuela and was dealing with a collapsing economy, hyper inflation and rolling blackouts and didn’t know where my next meal was coming from?  Probably...

The best oil and gas website in the world is this one: www.rbcrichardsonbarr.com #hottakeoftheday

The PVAC-DNR merger was cancelled on Friday, reflecting the challenge associated with 1) low equity prices and 2) combining businesses that aren't really complementary.  Eagleford + CO2 equals...… more confusing. Better yet, companies with similar portfolios (Delaware-Delaware, Eagleford-Eagleford, Bakken-Bakken) and "upside kickers" feel like a better merger strategy but overcoming the memory of stock prices last summer is a powerful disincentive for management teams. Nonetheless, oil is almost $60 and the bulls are out and equity prices aren't reflecting any euphoria about price.  I continue to be surprised...

If one needed any more evidence that the stock market is controlled by “spirit animals”, I give you Thursday and Friday as exhibits A and A’.   Thursday- the market was given the all clear from the Fed that interest rates will not be raised in 2019, making risk assets far more enticing, and rallied hard. Then Friday, digesting the news that the Fed not raising interest rates might mean growth is low (and therefore valuations are high) the stock market gives everything up, and then some....

What is the purpose of LinkedIn?   It’s an excellent question that was asked of me recently. Do my hottakes belong here, on Facebook or somewhere else entirely- in the garbage perhaps? Why LinkedIn?  It’s the professionals “Facebook“- I can find former colleagues, associates from industry and potential partners and there is a much higher probability I’ll find them on LinkedIn than on any other platform.   Through the content feed, it allows free thought and ideas from a broader group than I would normally be exposed to...

Fun fact of the day: the United States has amended the right to vote in the constitution 4 times.   Men (15th amendment), Women (19th amendment). Abolishing poll taxes (24th amendment). And Lowing the voting age from 21 to 18 (26th amendment). In total, there have been 27 amendments to the constitution after the original 10 in 1791. The last one occurred in 1992 addressing the pay of house of representatives and senators.   You mean the original document had room for improvements?  And sometimes multiple ones to the...