Search Results for: palo alto

The McLaren Epiphany

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Five-thirty in the morning is my normal wake-up time.I have a circadian rhythm with Swiss-like accuracy, so I never need an alarm, even if I’ve changed multiple time zones. I get up, glance at the quotes on the iPad, and amble downstairs with my phalanx of canines. I leash them up and head off in the dark chill of pre-dawn.

The route we take has, over time, become consistent. That is to say, footstep by footstep, it’s pretty much the same path 365 days a year. My big payoff from this journey is, at its midpoint, to pick up a fresh copy of the Daily Post, which is Palo Alto’s only local newspaper. This morning, however, had a new surprise. Just a block away from my house, I saw a car in a driveway that had never been there before; a McLaren. This is the precise model and color: (more…)

Who Feels the Sting

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Now that the massive new tax bill has passed, I thought I’d do a little experiment with a spreadsheet to see how a hypothetical Silicon Valley, California earner might be affected. I was sure his tax bill would be higher, but I am surprised at how much higher.I wouldn’t be surprised if some people decided not to stay in their homes since their tax bite is so substantial.

I will preface this by saying I’m not a tax expert, but I’ve got a pretty good understanding of taxes, and I put together a deliberately simplistic spreadsheet for this experiment. And while it may be simplistic, it still makes a powerful point, and the tiny amount of rounding error for an actual tax form won’t change the conclusion. (more…)

Reflecting on 2017: Part Two of Three

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Preface to all three parts: 2017 has been an exciting year for Slope, and I went looking among the literally thousands of posts this year to find what I considered the most intriguing. I earmarked twenty-one of them, and since that is too much for a single post, I’ve broken them into three equal parts. Here, then, are seven of my favorite posts from the year and a few words about each one. Thank you, Slopers, for making this place thrive for so many years.

  • Not Even Worth a Binder – In which I decide there’s absolutely nothing about Martin Armstrong worth considering.
  • Two Blondes, Two Fates – Marissa Mayer and Elizabeth Holmes. What are their similarities and differences, and why did one succeed while the other flopped?
  • SlopeCharts is Live! – I excitedly announce the launch of my latest creation, which has been gobbling up my time ever since.
  • Streetwise – this is probably my best-written post of the entire year. It’s about Zachary, who lives on the streets of Palo Alto. It also prompted a generous response from Slopers who sent him a surprising amount of cash to help.
  • What Rich Used To Be – the massive changes that have taken place over the past few decades that have altered the meaning of rich, poor, and middle class.
  • Blessings In Disguise – A look back at my life’s misfortunes and how they transformed themselves into positives, once some time had passed.
  • Ego Salieri – A long post about my career and some bitter disappointments along the way.