Sublime
An inspiration engine for ideas
Linda
@lyger
Dennis Chatham
@dennischatham
In the investigation of 1879, when the producers were trying to find out the real nature of the Standard alliance, they were much puzzled by the sworn testimony of certain Standard men that the factories they controlled were competing, and competing hard, with the Standard Oil Co. of Cleveland. How could this be? Being bitter of heart and reckless
... See moreCharles R. Morris • The Tycoons: How Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Jay Gould, and J. P. Morgan Invented the American Supereconomy
“Barry, here’s the thing. I’m not just buying a can of soup for twenty-nine cents and selling it for forty-nine cents,” I explained. “I have ten different services that are growing all the time. Think of us like the local sewer system.” Well, that got his attention. “We’re a utility. Nothing can get rid of us—nothing. Two of the biggest businesses
... See moreWillis Johnson • Junk to Gold: From Salvage to the World’S Largest Online Auto Auction
A bitumen mine is not a place you would let your child play, but it is excavated using equipment familiar to any four-year-old conversant in Tonka technology—and with a similar grandiosity of ambition. In order to access the bitumen, the forest above it must first be removed. In industry parlance, this living material is referred to as “overburden,
... See moreJohn Vaillant • Fire Weather
At the very height of the market, Walsh concluded his last great deal, a joint transaction with Bank of America, committing $17.1 billion in debt plus $4.6 billion in bridge equity to finance the purchase of Archstone-Smith, a collection of premium apartment complexes and other high-end real estate. The properties were excellent, but the price was
... See moreAndrew Ross Sorkin • Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the FinancialSystem--and Themselves
By the late 1980s, Fink had supplanted Cato’s Ed Crane as Charles Koch’s main political lieutenant. Unlike Crane, who was interested in libertarian ideas but regarded it as “creepy when you have to deal with politicians,” Fink was fascinated by the nuts and bolts of power. After studying the Kochs’ political problems for six months, he drew up a pr
... See moreJane Mayer • Dark Money
Although Ivar had staff, he didn’t like being waited on. He still carried his own luggage, answered the telephone, greeted visitors, and opened his copious letters and cables. Ivar preferred to spend most of his time in Stockholm by himself, in silence. He had not lost the extraordinary memory skills he had as a child, and he spent much of his time
... See more