A Star Appears ...

That star is our dog, Sky, who is now emerging to compete in sheep herding competition this Spring. Here's a link to a YouTube video of him in a lesson this past weekend:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6Cyx_ru46k

He's responding to whistle commands and does a fine gather (aka an "outrun"), drives the sheep through various "gates" and then "sheds" one off the rest of the flock He really likes doing that. We have high hopes for him in the trials, but he's really our pet first. His aunt, Krypto, does this, too, but started lessons as an older dog, so is a bit behind. She might catch up fast as she's very smart.

Markets

Alcoa missed earnings. What a shocker - not ! Alcoa is a poorly managed company and is a serial misser. That company needs to be taken over by someone with better management.

Book of the Week

If you want to understand the early history of Central Asia, then read this book: The Empire of the Steppes: a history of Central Asia by René Grousset. This book covers Central Asia from the beginnings circa 2000 BC to the 18th century. Drawing hugely on Chinese sources, the changing cultures and peoples who populated this regions are described from the early Indo-European tribes, to the Turkic and Mongol tribes, the Arab invasions and on and on.

The book lays out many interconnections of cultures of China, India, Persia, Tibet and even to Rome. Why is this huge area dominated now by Turkic peoples and the religion of Islam ? How connected is Tibet to China ? What role did the "Silk Road" play and who created it ? The book has historical facts to help one understand all this.

I haven't finished it yet, but have already learned a huge amount. It's very dry history, but this book has the facts.

As a bonus, it helps one understand the art and culture of Afghanistan in antiquity. I wish I had read it before seeing the exhibit on the art of Afghanistan at the Metropolitan Museum in NYC last summer. I would have better understood the cultures that produced the art.

Word of the Day

"Sapid" - adjective [$10] literary
Sapid means 1. having (especially an agreeable) flavor; savory; palatable; not insipid; 2. literary (of talk, writing, etc.) not vapid or uninteresting. Sapid is the antonym of insipid in both meanings.
Sentence: Bunkerman made a particularly sapid multicultural pizza last weekend with a blue corn meal crust, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses, a pesto sauce, Polish smoked sausage, black olives, red peppers and elephant garlic. Primo ! And he has leftovers tonight ... with a fine red wine ... mmmmmmmmmm.