February 2009
23 posts
live scrabble results
matt: 307 … 279
daria: 333 … 303
bench press update
225 lbs 3x
225 lbs 3x
didn’t go so low, as suggested by the spot
not sure whether these are “legit”
January 2009
31 posts
live scrabble results
matt: 302 … 360
daria: 332 … 317
Duchamp's Monte Carlo Bond →
live scrabble results
matt: 201 … 218 … 232
daria: 447 … 376 … 323
bench press update
205 lbs 4x
215 lbs 5x, with help from spot on the last three
spot said i’m letting the bar drop too low.
the bank: objections
Hm… the primary thing is that I just don’t feel like I have all that much money now. Even though I know very well that I could spare $100 for a year, there’s enough of a feeling of financial insecurity in my life right now that I’m inclined to lock all my money down as much as possible and be frugal. Also, I’m just not clear on what the benefit is here, and to...
I am out in the streets
posting to my tumblr from my phone. Hopefully you will find this news as interesting as I do. Huzzah.
John Young on Obama
I don’t agree with everything that John Young from Cryptome is saying here, but it’s a tasty bit of polemic. John’s right about the deep divide on the left between so-called “knowledge workers,” who work out in gyms and manipulate symbols for a living, and labourers who earn an income by carrying out tasks with their bodies. You can hear an argument roiling underneath...
bench press update
205 lbs 6x
205 lbs another 6x
saturday
i woke up
the internet was everywhere
bench press update
185 lbs 6x
felt tired, went home
pitch this now →
more bank discussion
me: yo
Richie: yo brah
me: have i told you about this bank project?
Richie: no, but I noticed it
me: i'd like to hit you up for a loan
Richie: for $100?
me: yes
Richie: what's in it for Richie?
me: this is what you get
1. you get your $100 back in one year
2. you get a nice Promissory Note print, probably worth more than the interest you'd make on your $100
3. you might get some gratuity, if the project goes well. this could be money; it could be some other form of consideration
4. you get some say in how the money gets lent out
5. you and your friends get preferential treatment if you want loans
6. you get paid back **no matter what**
on this you have my solemn word
Richie: Has this been going well? Youve got others signed up?
me: i'm just getting started
so far i have lots of people interested
two people have bought notes
most will buy at an event, where we dress up an art gallery as a bank
Tiven bought the first note
me: i don't want to twist your arm or anything ... you may not have $100 sitting around gathering dust
however i would be most proud to add your name to our ledger
Richie: Well, the personal account is damn near empty
but Richie Record // TestosterTunes could make such an investment
me: we welcome institutional investors
i mean lenders, not investors
Richie: And what kind of loan can I get involved in?
Say I need $500 6 months from now...
me: we could do that
i can't say for sure
basically we would set up a formal meeting
you would present your case for the loan
and we'd make an up or down decision
however your reputation as a debt-paying man is known to me
and would factor positively
as would your decision to lend to the bank
you could of course apply for a loan without buying a note
Richie: Well I'm pretty much sold on the note
me: we can do the deal through the mail if you want
Richie: yeah that's fine.. I don't see myself in NYC anytime very soon
me: okay, make out a check or money order to "Ink and Ledger"
for $100
send it here:
Matt Schwartz
P.O. Box 201
New York NY 10276
make sure you enclose your mailing address
then i'll send you a signed note
Richie: ok. Expect it in the next week or so
me: sweet, thanks man
David Brin's advice for Barack Obama →
Ever since I read David Brin’s 1998 book, “The Transparent Society,” I’ve found myself drunkenly touting him to friends as one of the world’s least appreciated thinkers. “The Transparent Society” argues that ubiquitous video cameras and databases will soon mean the end of privacy as we know it. Privacy laws are no defense against total surveillance—all...
old list
compassion
moves
w/ a hammer
consequences.
bench press update
195 lbs 5x
200 lbs 4x
bench press update
185 lbs 4x, two sets
195 lbs 6x with assist by CIS
Tuesday, two poems
I fish for minnows in the lake.
Just born, they have no fear of man.
And those who have learned,
Never come back to warn them.
+++
Everybody wants an intelligent son.
My intelligence has only got me into difficulties.
I want only a brave and simple boy,
Who, without trouble or resistance,
Will rise to the highest offices.
— Su Tung P’o
translated from the Chinese by Kenneth...
Monday
I was a mid-tenure-track professor, working on a medium-importance but short deadline task to create a class module that I had promised my operating systems students for the class the next morning. As I was reading through my previous year’s course notes in preparation, a young seeker-of-knowledge chose to take advantage of my “always open-door” policy in order to enrich himself. I say that ...
More Bank of Ink & Ledger
me: there's nothing tricky about these promissory notes. they are as simple as an IOU.
James: yeah but what do i get back
me: 1. You get to park your money with zero risk, like a T-Bill.
James: are you FDIC insured
me: 2. You get the Note itself, which is signed and numbered on parchment, screenprinted with a few different inks and is probably worth the four bucks that you're losing in interest.
James: and what about inflation
so can i just pay you four dollars for a note
me: 3. We may give you some gratuity, in the event that we turn a profit. Not interest, but gratuity.
James: haha
me: No, not FDIC insured.
James: who is we
me: And no, the only way you can get a note is to lend $100.
James: can i call in the loan early, if im at a bar and need to cash out
me: i might be able to give you some paperwork that would let you sell the debt or assign it to someone else
also, you'll have some say as to what we do with the money, and first dibs on future Note issues
James: haha i could bundle the debt
and the sell packages to my banker friends
me: certainly
James: i have learned nothing from the financial crisis
me: actually, it would be really cool if we could find a way to lend some of our money out to a really large institution
i'll bring a couple of the notes on Thursday
the deal is a win, i think, because you're guaranteed to make your money back and the Note itself is worth more, as an art investment, than the interest you'll be giving up
but if there's one thing i've learned in my long banking career, it's that you never want to twist anybody's arm too hard.
James: well i'd want more info about where the money's going
not that i dont trust you
me: ok
Introducing the Bank of Ink & Ledger
Matt: Matt invites you to ask him about his new bank.
Steve: are you enjoying credit union love?
Matt: no ... i am starting an informal unlicensed bank with two friends. we are issuing a series of $100 promissory notes backed by our own faith and credit.
Steve: Consider this an official 'I want to know more' request.
Matt: Okay, here's the deal: The bank is called The Bank of Ink and Ledger. I founded it with two partners, Jesse Goldstein from Space 1026, and Eliza Newman-Saul, an artist who works in Amsterdam.
Here's how the bank works. You give us $100 for one year. We give you a nice looking screenprinted $100 Promissory Note. This document (you can see a picture at thecolor12.tumblr.com) is an IOU which represents our debt to you. In March 2010, we will cancel the note (yours to keep) and give you your $100 back. In the meantime, we will be making loans on the same terms--zero interest handshake agreements with people who we have reason to trust.
The Bank of Ink and Ledger is backed by our own faith and credit, meaning that we'll go into our own pockets to make sure we make good on all the Promissory Notes, in the event that there's any trouble with the loans we make.
Thanks for asking, and let me know if there's anything else you'd like to know.
Matt: Oh yes, also, a few legal caveats:
The Bank of Ink and Ledger is not licensed, insured, or regulated by any state, federal or local government entity. The Bank of Ink and Ledger is not insured by the FDIC or any other institution. The 2009 Promissory Note series is not a government bond or a regulated security. It is a contract representing a loan between friends, backed by the full faith and credit of the Bank of Ink and Ledger and nothing more. Only those lenders who trust the Bank of Ink and Ledger should participate in the 2009 Promissory Note series.
bench press update
195 lbs 4x
