Joel Gross's Blog

Autobiographies are the best way to learn firsthand from those who have “won” at business:

Sam Walton – this is easily the best. Solid gold nuggets of wisdom every page.

Henry Ford – strong business, science, and tech ideas. Plus his biography of his good friend Thomas Edison is great.

Larry Ellison – pretty solid.

Richard Branson – okay autobiographies, probably too many though.

Why are so many people not having children, or having fewer children? Why are families often so disconnected?

I think part of the issue is that people over-emphasize friends. Friends have a place and are good to have, but they do NOT replace and they should never be more important than family.

Grandparents who would rather hang out on the golf course with their peers rather than help their kids raise their grandkids are a big part of the problem.… read more “Are friends detracting from families?”

When I was in college and afterwards living in big cities, my friends and I looked down our noses at fast food restaurants like McDonald’s. We thought the food was poor quality, unhealthy, and for peasants. We spent lots of money at fancy restaurants feeling smug.

Now that I have four kids (as of about 20 minutes ago!!),… read more “McDonald’s with Play Places are my new favorite restaurant”

We are here on the farm waiting for our fourth baby to be born. In the meantime, I am trying to learn as much as I can about running the farm and trying to get the house we will live in remodeled. We also have been watching the tiktoks of a friend of a friend who is a druggie and abandoned his family to be a rapper, so I jokingly made a rap video.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacheverson/2023/08/17/heres-how-much-joe-biden-is-worth/

Joe Biden is not as bad as as the socialist Elizabeth Warren with a reporter $80 million net worth https://www.caclubindia.com/wealth/elizabeth-warren-net-worth-forbes/.

Politicians should not be allowed to make huge speech fees or accept other forms of money that basically amount to taking bribes. Selling books at normal prices is okay or working in a profession they held prior to being a politician are okay, but they should not get massive corporate and foreign payments during or after their elected years.… read more “Politicians should not be allowed to take bribes, like speech fees”

I desperately need to get funds out to escrow for a real estate transaction due today and they keep telling me the only way to get at my money is to wait 2-5 business days. Totally nuts.

Charles Schwab let me get it done online inside of 5 minutes with no troubles. Use Charles Schwab, not Interactive Brokers.

I contacted Precor for a replacement belt and they quoted me $383 and said the product was on backorder. I found it on Grainger.com for $82 with four day shipping – https://www.grainger.com/product/CONTINENTAL-Industrial-Timing-Belt-12-39GD80?opr=ILOF. Good deal! I expect it should fit as the measurements all match.

I am reading a book, Soil Science Simplified, and it describes massive losses to our soil from crop tillage and ploughing that is required to grow crops at scale. We are rapidly depleting our top soil and without top soil humans and animals and insects will experience massive famines and die offs. Cattle and other animals can be raised on perennial pasture that actually builds the soil rather than depleting it.… read more “Is Veganism Bad For the Environment?”