24.Oct.2011 It’s Easy to Kick Netflix

I own Netflix!  Well, at least a handful of shares.  I’ve bought more over the last few weeks.

It’s been easy for commentators to kick Netflix this last month.  Necessary but unpopular changes went into effect with (to the average user) little warning.  Unnecessary changes (Qwikster) were announced and dropped.  This is the usual bag of comments:

Do We Really Need Netflix?

I dropped Directv a year ago.  I was paying $80 a month to watch John Stewart and a Rugby Match every week.  I found that, given the choice between TV and Netflix, Netflix won nine nights out of ten.

What the commentators are missing is the difference between entertainment and “instantaneous” entertainment.  Instantaneous as in sports, news, this season’s hit TV show and the latest “blockbuster” movies (delayed for months).  This is the same, not so fresh, instantaneousness that film producers are trying to eke a few more dollars out of as movie theaters fall out of favor.

Netflix eschewed this content from the start and left that ground to competitors to scrap over.  Coming from the DVD distribution business, they knew in advance that their customers didn’t much care for fresh so much as for quality.

So when commentators speak about Netflix not having a “moat” for the streaming business, they’re really talking about that tiny slice of current content that Hulu and Amazon are fighting for.  Netflix’s moat (which I hope they now understand) is the sheer depth of their content when the DVD and streaming are combined.

In the last month I’ve watched obscure anime (Darker than Black, Clannad) and two series (Criminal Minds, Eureka).  Next week I’ll have a Jean Cocteau film festival every night.  That’s leaving out the documentaries.  Sure, maybe I’ll be lured by Hulu or Vudu or whatever.  Maybe I’ll check out what they have to offer.  Will it match up to the kind of expectations that Netflix has instilled in me?  Not a chance.

So, I still own Netflix.  I’ll probably buy more.

PS:  I wrote this before this evenings earnings announcement.  The stock is down to $86 after hours.  I’m putting in my order now.  All of you Benjamin Graham fans will understand.

24.Aug.2011 Christianity Is Dead

…or at least it’s starting to smell bad.

For over 30 years a small faction of radicals, along with their gullible followers, have hijacked the title of “Christian” in America.  For money and power they’ve led their “flock” far away from the teachings of Christ towards a new world of greed and hate.  They have allied themselves with the worst of Conservative thinkers with the ultimate (stated) aim of outright Theocracy.

Yes, the United States is a Majority Christian country.  These grifters have used that fact to claim that they represent that Majority.  I’ve waited for years for “Real Christians” to stand up and say “NO, these people in no way represent our Faith and our Beliefs!”  I have, it seems, waited in vain.

So where are the “Real Christians?”  Not the “Born Again” crowd, but the “Ye shall know them by their fruits” and the “Faith, hope, charity” Christians.  Where are the Christians that have read the words of Christ and Paul for themselves and gotten a message of love and goodwill to all?  And why should I have to look for them?

I am no Christian.  I am a practicing American Buddhist.  But, as the Pew Foundation found when they simply asked, we Buddhists, agnostics and atheists seem to know more about the Christian Religion than professed Christians.  Perhaps we’re living through a counter-reformation.  53% of American Protestants could not identify Martin Luther.  How many understand that the Reformation had as a basic tenet that Christians could approach their own Faith without the mediation of Priests?  Do these sad followers of James Dobson, John Hagee, et. al. understand that they are giving away that precious gift:  to decide for yourself in Spiritual matters?

Clearly I should not be the one to tell them.  The Christian Community of the United States needs to speak out.  Or maybe they just don’t exist.  Maybe Christianity is dead.

Here’s a “not so optimistic” piece from Chris Hedges:

The Christian Right and the Rise of American Fascism

Chilling.

 

 

09.Feb.2011 The Joy of Snus

I am a tobacco user.  Once again this week, I had to go to my HMO and be told “you are a smoker.”  Once again I had to explain: “I am a tobacco user.”  Quite tedious.  After the decades long attack on cigarettes in the United States, smokers of Pipes and users of smokeless tobaccos have been lumped in to the single category of “smoker.”

Europe is on a different track.  Instead of trying to ban all tobacco use, or tax it out of existence, the Europeans had taken a look at a very reasonable philosophy called Harm Reduction.  Here is a short explanation from tobaccoharmreduction.org:

Tobacco harm reduction describes actions taken to lower the health risks associated with using tobacco or nicotine. A very important part of tobacco harm reduction is simply educating people about the risks of different sources of nicotine.

Which gets me to my point.  Swedish Snus.  Snus is processed, ground tobacco meant to be placed under the lip for a prolonged nicotine release.  It is the origin of American snuff; Copenhagen, Skoal and hundreds more.  The main difference is that Snus is not fermented but pasteurized.  In Sweden, snus is regulated as a foodstuff and must pass a massive regulatory hurdle to get to the market.

Snus is addictive and snus can be harmful.  But snus also has led to a reduction in harm for tobacco users in Sweden.  This from The Northerner:

Use of tobacco in Sweden is at a comparable level with that in many other European countries. Despite this, the risk of dying of a tobacco related disease is lower in Sweden than in any other European country. In research circles this paradox has been dubbed “The Swedish Experience” and can in all probability be explained by the unique smoking habits of Swedish men. Swedish men smoke to an appreciably lesser extent than is common in the rest of Europe. In Sweden, on the other hand, snuff taking is as common as smoking.

Buying Snus In the US

Last year I decided to switch completely to snus, giving up on cigars and skoal; but what a serpentine process awaited me!  First, where to get snus in the US?  The Camel Snus, available in most liquor stores and 7/11′s here in LA, is just a weak, candied imitation of the real thing.  I tried a few versions and could sense no nicotine at all.

Poking around the internet, I found that Swedish Snus could be purchased online.  Most of the sites offering it are mirrors of each other, and most of them have about the same prices.  The decider for me was shipping charges.  They all make you go through the entire purchase process before you can find out the shipping, and that is where they get you.  Four out of Five sites that I checked were demanding ~$30 to ship $30 worth of snus.

I did find a winner:  The Northerner.  Had I gone there first I might have thought their $12-14 shipping outrageous.  Having seen the rates charged by the others, it now seems quite reasonable.  If you know what you want, and are willing to buy 40 cans at a time, the shipping becomes a non-issue.  I should also point out that they will charge the state and local taxes that formerly could be avoided by buying online.  Using snus in America is not cheap!

OK, But Which One?

There is a huge array of snus available online.  Los (Loose, like a finely ground Copenhagen) or Portion (small bags, like Skoal Bandits).  The strength is actually known and is rated in Mg/g of tobacco.  There’s a regular, strong and extra strong for most brands, ranging from 8Mg/g (slight pickup) up to 17 and 18Mg/g (mega-buzz).  Amongst the portions there are white, regular (bags are premoistened for faster effect) and black.

For me, having used snuff for years and having recently gotten off Skoal Long Cut Straight to the milder Wolf Packs, the first choice was Strong Portion.  I tried most of the top brands, but all of them had something about them that I didn’t like.  Here’s an idea of my process:

• Jakobssons Classic – Too spicy, slight hint of anise.  Taste deteriorated quickly.
• General Extra Sterk Portion – Good tobacco flavor.  I thought this might be the one.
• Oden’s Original Extra Stark Portion – A bit harsh, kind of cheap tasting
• Thunder Frosted Extra Stark Portion – Strong flavor, but a hint of mint that put me off

Love at first taste came with Nick & Johnny’s Strong Portion.  A full cigar-like tobacco taste with a touch of saltiness.  The flavor lasts for over an hour.  I’ve tried both the Strong Portion and the Strong White Portion and both are wonderful.  Unfortunately, they are among the most expensive snus on the market, but, as any tobacco user will tell you, it’s always worth it to get what you want.  It’s harder to settle for less just to save a few dollars.

Well…if you’ve read this far, you are probably thinking about the same switch that I made.  Hopefully my story will get you past a few of the roadblocks and get you on the snus.  Or maybe you’ll quit altogether.  I think that may be the preferable choice for all of us, but it doesn’t always work out that way.  Let me know how it goes for you.