bbalfreywrit340

  I think my biggest contribution that I’d like to make to the world is honesty and transparency. Increasingly I notice that saving face and projecting an image are central driving forces in our society. LinkedIn, Instagram, traditional media mediums, and even our interpersonal relationships - they all are dominated by the reputation-driven Influencer , who is judged almost entirely on how much influence they have on their followers. Influence is status. Influencer actions are driven by image. When their actions are successful, or more importantly give the image of success , their influence increases. On the contrary, when they do something that tarnishes their image, their influence decreases. People then simply stop following or listening to the influencer. Unfortunately, this means that the influencer has to project the best image of themselves to their followers almost all the time. Admitting failure is handing in the towel. As an influencer, admitting imperfection is admitting...

Camping this weekend, while suffering from food poisoning huddled up in my tent trying to stay warm, I listened to Mr. Tambourine Man at least a couple hundred times. It’s probably one of Bob Dylan’s most popular and recognizable songs, even though it was made famous by The Byrds. Despite its popularity and how much it has been played throughout the years, I don’t think it is humanly possible to listen to Mr. Tambourine Man enough times. The song’s chorus repeats the simple call to action “Hey Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me.” Hearing that, I reminisce on simpler times, nights when you sit with your friends drinking beers and listening to songs such as Mr. Tambourine Man. The universal love for enjoying live music transcends all human differences, and could quite possibly help us reach world peace. People speculate that Bob Dylan might’ve been talking about an acid trip in this song, but I’m not convinced that this is the case - I think sometimes we confuse natural thoughts and ...

If there are two takeaways from How I Killed Pluto, and Why It Had It Coming , they are that Mike Brown loves astronomy and he loves his daughter. The book is definitely a personal-first, scientific-second overview of a very scientific person’s life. Mike Brown’s scientific side comes across bright and clear; before the birth of his daughter, he crunches the numbers around his wife’s contractions, trying to figure out when the best time to go to the hospital is. Although most couples probably do this, Brown’s language and methodology clearly displays his scientific approach to life. His scientific nature also comes through with his love of nature. “When I first started looking for planets, I lived in a little cabin in the mountains above Pasadena. I have a feeling I was the only professor at Caltech at the time who lacked indoor plumbing and instead used an outhouse on a daily (and nightly) basis.I worked long hours, and it was almost always dark, often past midnight, when I made my wa...

  For my second book, I have picked How I Killed Pluto, and Why It Had It Coming by Mike Brown. Mike Brown is well respected in the astronomy field, and I felt like I wanted to read something a bit more scientific this time around. Furthermore, his Twitter bio is pretty funny. I like his sense of humor and hope to learn more about the solar system. Although I haven’t started reading the book yet, the reviews on Amazon are promising. In particular, this one stood out to me: I loved the scientific explanations and I love the heartfelt joys of a new father. It make me curious, it made me laugh, it made me nostalgic, and it made me want to go outside and stare at the night sky. - Amazon user TEY I’m particularly interested in this book because its scientific, but also (apparently) personal as well. As somebody going into an engineering field, it’s especially interesting to me to read about what people do outside of their jobs as well as their actual professions. Scientists always have...

Investment Memo Re: Everytable Anima Mundi Development Partners (ADMP) Brighton Balfrey Introduction: Everytable is a Los Angeles based chain of takeout restaurants specializing in offering healthy food at lower cost than competitors. Priced competitively with nationwide fast food offerings such as McDonalds, Everytable is trying to provide lower-income areas with affordable, premade meals priced relative to the communities they serve. Based off of extensive research,  Everytable is a valuable investment into modern, healthy food alternatives sold at a price point with very few competitors and a mission that supports the communities it operates out of. ADMP Pillars of Investment - Brief Overview: According to Timothy Slaper and Tanya Hall of the Indiana Business Review, Triple Bottom Line has three dimensions: social, environmental, and financial. The social dimension deals with the social capital that a company can build within their community. This can include the following: Hea...