Your College Famous For Billionaires or Athletes? Carl Fisher was simply a Great Man. August 16, 2009

Harvard Rugby Team-Any Future Billionaires?

Top 10 in Billionaires and Many sports-A rarity

A New Way to Rate Colleges: If you visit a university and talk to their alumni, you will often hear them say “we are ranked number such-and-such” or “our widget school is ranked thus-and-so.” More often, they won’t be as specific and simply say that “our widget school is one of the highest ranked.” Almost every time, in my experience, when I have gone to the US News and World Report ranking, the claims are not matched. Several times I’ve been told some great thing and found that particular discipline at that school is ranked somewhere between 100 and 150. I suppose that if you have to tell me that your school is highly ranked in academics, it’s probably won’t live up to the billing.

Not in Top Ten in Football or Billionaires

There are different ways of ranking schools but at least part of the criteria is based on outcome. Many undergraduate programs will encourage their better students to go on to advanced degrees because the more of their students that can attain a Masters or PhD, the better that undergraduate school looks. Beyond academic achievement, another way to grade a school’s performance is the working world performance of its graduates. There is one famous school that one always hears is so great yet I am unaware of any high-profile business successes from that school, but they are famous for football.

Gates-Richest Harvard Dropout

Forbes magazine came out with an interesting way of ranking schools. How many billionaires are products of that academic institution? The Forbes list of billionaires hailing from particular universities is headed up by Harvard with 5% of the world’s billionaires. I’m not sure, but I don’t think that it includes rich guys who dropped out like Bill Gates. New York University made this list, but also sports 5 drop outs that have gone on to great riches. The University of Pennsylvania is on the list and boasts the famous Wharton School of Business and its most famous graduate, Donald Trump.

An interesting note is that the only state schools on the list are ones that are also known for football prowess, or really athletic achievement in general.   The state schools that  round out the top 10 are USC, UCLA and The University of Texas at Austin. These schools all were tied for 9th place with nine billionaires in their ranks. I’ve often wanted to ask a university president if his objective was to entertain the alumni or to produce students who gain a quality education. It’s kinda tough to do both.

On This Date In History: Not all success stories are college graduates or even college drop outs. On this date in 1909, entrepreneur Carl Graham Fisher was looking ahead to a big day. In just a 3 days, he was going to stage the first race at the Indianpolis Motor Speedway . Four days later he was scratching his head because the opening of his Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a three day, 300 mile race didn’t go very well. Drivers were blinded by the dust kicked up from the gravel roadway and 5 people were killed. Fisher abruptly stopped the race. But, he didn’t give up. He had the 2.5 mile oval set with brick and in 1911, the first Indy 500 was held.

Fisher didn’t give up on a lot of things. He was born half blind but didn’t know about it until he was 31. He started a small bicycle business and promoted it by riding a bike across a tightrope. He opened what is thought to be the first auto dealership in America and promoted that business in Indianapolis by floating across the city in a hot-air balloon. Part of the reason he opened the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was that he wanted to try to make Indianapolis the hub of the auto-industry instead of Detroit. He also went into business making auto headlights. He later sold that in 1912 to Union Carbide for $9 million. Perhaps buoyed by the success of making Indianapolis Motor Speedway the “Brickyard”, he conceived of the idea and helped develop the nations first coast to coast highway, the Lincoln Highway, named for his favorite hero. He went a step farther and pushed for the Dixie Highway from Indianapolis to Florida, which John Mellencamp made famous later.

In Florida, he became a real estate mogul and bought an overgrown island off of Miami. He had it cleared of mangroves, filled in the swamps and built a bridge to what is now known as Miami Beach. As part of a promotion, he once used an elephant with a baseball player on its head, which I have no idea how that promotes a real estate development. But, Fisher is considered a genius while that moniker has escaped me. He also began a “Miami of the North”, developing what would become Montauk on the eastern tip of Long Island. At one point he was worth $100 million in 1920’s dollars. But..easy come easy go.

Miami Beach Memorial Honoring Fisher

Before the hype of Global Warming, a number of hurricanes devastated Florida and just hammered the real estate market in Florida. That took a toll on Fisher’s fortune. Then the stock market crash of 1929 wiped him out. He ended up in a small cottage on Miami Beach, but he didn’t stop. He developed the Caribbean Club in Key Largo. He died in 1939 with an estate estimated at just $40,000. But, he is credited with helping to inspire President Eisenhower to develop the interstate highway system. He was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame and was named one of Florida’s 50 most influential people of the 20th Century.

From rags to riches to rags again….yet he left a legacy of benefit for the entire nation. Ever wonder what you can do if you try?

Monday Evening

Weather Bottom Line: Look for another day near 90…that’s even possible on Monday too. But, the rain chances will begin to increase by Monday afternoon and then stick around for much of the week. A lazy front will sag down our way and maybe not even get through the area, but will get close enough and then lurk around long enough to cause enough of a ruckus to help focus at least scattered storms for much of the week. I suspect that its initial approach on Tuesday will bring the greatest chances. Otherwise, it will be warm and humid for the week ahead

Jim Morrison Conspiracy Theories Rival Those of Michael Jackson; The Wall Street Witch; General Washington July 3, 2009

 

Lizard King Still Walking the Earth With Elvis?

 Independence for the big Door:

Morrison Shrine/Grave

Jim Morrison died in a Paris bathtub on this date in 1971. He officially died of heart failure though a drug overdose was suspected. Just like with the conspiracy theories concerning the recent death of Michael Jackson, some of which suggest Jackson’s death was a fake,   almost immediately claims that Morrison really wasn’t dead hit the news.  Had there been a world wide web, I’m sure that the blogosphere would have been going wild.  Many conspiracy theorists floated the idea that Morrison was tired of his fame so he faked his own death.   That was the one that I always heard but there are a bunch of Jim Morrison conspiracy theories out there.  There was even a notion that the J. Edgar Hoover led FBI had him knocked off in an effort to stop the hippie movement.  I think his grave is some sort of haven or shrine for those who…well…I don’t know what they do or think. You can take the Jim Morrison Grave Tour on the web if you like.

On This Date In History:  Hetty Green died on this date in 1916. Who is Hetty Green? Why the Witch of Wall Street! Seems kinda sexist to call a rather ornery rich woman a “witch” when rich old coots might be called “tough” or “hard nosed.” Anyway, she is said to have learned to read the financial pages at age 6. She inherited a million dollars from her father at age 30. At that point, she became quite shrewd as she bought Civil War Bonds when others thought it was a bad investment. She made a mint. Basically, she took her million inheritance and increased it 100 fold. But, she was rather odd in that she lived like a pauper. Supposedly, Hetty married so that her heirs would be her children and not other relatives that she didn’t care for. She kept an office in a bank from which she negotiated a rent free lease. She moved from hotel to hotel to avoid paying property taxes. Hetty had a son and a daughter and when her boy hurt his leg in a sledding accident, she took him to a charity hospital. Well, hospital personnel recognized her and demand that she pay. She refused and decided to treat the child’s injured leg herself. He ended up losing the leg. She forced her children to eat as she did, which was ham sandwiches. Some call her thrifty, others a miser or the Witch of Wall Street. She is but one of a list of eccentric wealthy Americans.  Hetty died on this date in 1916 of a stroke suffered while arguing with a maid over the price of milk!! Can you imagine what she would be like with today’s rising prices?

Wonder if Hetty's Dog Was Toto?

Don’t worry, The Who may have been aware of the story because the Kids Are Alright. Hetty left each child $50 million. The more famous J.P. Morgan was worth a reported $70 million and her wealth equaled that of Henry Ford. In 2008 dollars, her fortune would have been near $2 Billion.

See what happens when you watch your pennies? She may have been a witch, but she was probably the wealthiest witch Wall Street had ever seen. Here’s a Forbes list of early wealthy Americans.

On This Date In 1775, Virginia planter and former British officer George Washington strode before the Continental Army, drew his sword and formerly took command as General of the Armies. While some opposed his appointment, he was chosen because of his leadership and because, as a Virginian, it was hoped he could bridge the differences between the southern colonies and those in New England. Washington had accepted the appointment two weeks prior under the stipulation that he not be paid except for reimbursement of expenses.

I Think The General Liked This Painting

While he is called the “father of the country” I think much is lost regarding Washington. He was quite remarkable and he really set the tone for the nation today. After he led the defeat of the most power nation on earth, Washington had all of the power. He had political power and the loyalty of the army. Other men in his position might have seized the reigns of power in the nation. There was some fear he may strike up a dictatorship. But he voluntarily gave up his sword and returned to Virginia. In 1787, the fledgling nation called again and he took the position of President of the Constitutional Convention. It is said his quiet resolve was inspiring to the delegates as they argued and compromised over a document that would last the ages. He was elected as the first President and won an overwhelming re-election. He could have served another term but instead, voluntarily gave up power for a second time.

FDR Broke Washington Tradition

Until Franklin Roosevelt, no one broke the two term tradition, though US Grant came reasonably close to gaining a third consecutive term. The two term tradition became a point of law following the passage of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution which was ratified in 1951. If you think about it, that is the general tone of the nation. How many other nations in history have conquered as much territory and defeated so many nations in battle and then voluntarily given up the spoils? Again, I take you to his farewell address of 1796 in which you can see all of the wisdom poured forth for the nation he helped to build. Washington died in 1799 from what most think was a cold or the flu….though there is speculation that he would have lived except for the practice of bleeding a patient. Washington himself may have been the cause of his own demise as he supposedly urged the doctor to let him bleed after the doctor was going to close the wounds. Speculation is that Washington bled to death. Here is the text of George Washington’s  farewell address, that is often quoted and paraphrased, in case you missed it before. Look for all of the items that would apply today and also look for his interesting take on religion in society.

Weather Bottom Line:  Really not much change in the story line for the Fourth of July weekend.  Today will be great with tons of sun and a high in the mid 80’s.  A low will be ejecting out of the southwest and get up to say, Memphis on Saturday.  That should be sufficient to throw over some moisture and create some isolated t’storms in the afternoon.  The short makes its closest approach on Saturday evening and that is when t’storm activity will have its greatest risk.  I intimdated that the SPC might widen its slight risk area and they have done so such that Louisville is barely in the risk region.  As I said previously, not a slam dunk for strong storms but not totally out of the question.   There will be clouds sticking around on Sunday with the risk for rain probably being greatest in the first half of the day.   As the long wave pattern continues to slowly shift, we should be out of the influence of the Great Lakes trof that brought us such cool weather the past few days and a slight ridge will start building in.  There’s a chance for a shortwave to come through the flow on Monday perhaps bringing a t’storm chance then, but otherwise, the signature of next week will be our afternoon temperatures moving back into the upper 80’s.

DAY 2 CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK 
   NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
   1257 AM CDT FRI JUL 03 2009
  
   VALID 041200Z – 051200Z
  
   …THERE IS A SLGT RISK OF SVR TSTMS FROM THE UPPER OH VALLEY INTO
   THE SRN PLAINS…
  
   …THERE IS A SLGT RISK OF SVR TSTMS OVER ERN PARTS OF WY AND CO…
  
   …SYNOPSIS…
   QUASI-STATIONARY UPPER LOW OVER THE LOWER GREAT LAKES IS FORECAST TO
   PERSIST INTO SATURDAY…WITH AMPLITUDE OF THE ERN US LONG WAVE
   DIMINISHING.  THIS WILL RESULT IN BROAD WNWLY FLOW ALOFT ACROSS MUCH
   OF THE US FROM THE NRN/CENTRAL INTERMOUNTAIN REGION TO THE ATLANTIC
   COAST…DOWNSTREAM FROM AN UPPER RIDGE AXIS OVER THE INTERMOUNTAIN
   WEST. 
  
   AT THE SURFACE…A LOW IS FORECAST TO MOVE ESEWD ACROSS THE MID MS
   VALLEY TOWARD THE UPPER OH VALLEY BY THE END OF THE PERIOD…WITH A
   TRAILING COLD FRONT MOVING SWD ACROSS THE OZARKS AND INTO THE SRN
   PLAINS. A QUASI-STATIONARY FRONT WILL EXTEND EWD FROM THE LOW. 
  
   …MID MS VALLEY INTO THE OH VALLEY…
   AN MCS IS EXPECTED TO BE ONGOING AT THE START OF THE PERIOD OVER
   PARTS OF NRN MO…ERN IA AND NRN/CENTRAL IL.  THE CONVECTIVE SYSTEM
   WILL BE PRIMARILY ELEVATED TO THE NORTH OF THE SURFACE LOW AND
   QUASI-STATIONARY FRONT…MAINTAINED BY STRONG LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE
   AND WARM ADVECTION LIFT NEAR THE NOSE OF A 50 KT SWLY LOW LEVEL JET.
   GIVEN THE BACKGROUND 35-45 KT MID LEVEL WINDS AND RESULTANT STRONG
   VERTICAL SHEAR…THERE IS POTENTIAL FOR A FEW SEVERE STORMS TO OCCUR
   IN THE SRN PART OF THE MCS DURING THE MORNING…ALTHOUGH WEAK
   INSTABILITY SHOULD LIMIT THE OVERALL SEVERE THREAT.  STORMS MAY
   INTENSIFY BY LATE MORNING/EARLY AFTERNOON AS STRONG DIURNAL HEATING
   OCCURS ALONG THE SRN EDGE OF THE CONVECTIVE CLOUD SHIELD OVER PARTS
   OF THE MID MS VALLEY AND UPPER OH VALLEY.  CONTINUED FAVORABLE
   LOW-LEVEL AND DEEP LAYER SHEAR WILL ENHANCE STORM ORGANIZATION AND
   INTENSITY…AND MAY COMPENSATE FOR WEAK MID LEVEL LAPSE RATES ACROSS
   THE AREA.  DAMAGING WIND GUSTS AND HAIL WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH
   STRONGER STORMS…WHICH SHOULD DIMINISH AFTER 03Z.
  
   …SRN PLAINS INTO THE OZARKS…
   AIR MASS IS EXPECTED TO UNDERGO SUBSTANTIAL DIURNAL HEATING AHEAD OF
   THE ADVANCING COLD FRONT…AND WHEN COUPLED WITH SURFACE DEW POINTS
   IN THE 60S TO LOW 70S…WILL RESULT IN MLCAPE OF 1000-2000 J/KG.
   STRONG HEATING WILL GRADUALLY WEAKEN THE CAP DURING THE
   AFTERNOON…AND LOW-LEVEL CONVERGENCE ALONG THE FRONT WILL PROMOTE
   DEVELOPMENT OF SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS.  ALTHOUGH MID LEVEL
   WINDS/DEEP LAYER SHEAR WILL BE MODEST AT BEST…LARGE
   TEMPERATURE/DEW POINT SPREADS ASSOCIATED WITH A RELATIVELY DEEP
   MIXED LAYER…AND DRIER AIR IN THE MID LEVELS WILL CONTRIBUTE TO
   LARGE DCAPE VALUES INDICATIVE OF ENHANCED DOWNDRAFT INTENSITY AND
   THREAT FOR DAMAGING WIND GUSTS.  THERE WILL ALSO BE A THREAT FOR
   LARGE HAIL WITH STRONGER CELLS.  SEVERE THREAT IS EXPECTED TO SPREAD
   SWD ALONG THE FRONT AND ASSOCIATED OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES THROUGH THE
   EVENING HOURS.
  
   …ERN PARTS OF WY AND CO…
   WEAK UPSLOPE LOW LEVEL WINDS ARE FORECAST TO DEVELOP OVER THE ERN
   SLOPES OF THE ROCKIES ON SATURDAY AS A WEAK SURFACE RIDGE MOVES INTO
   PARTS OF SD AND NEB.  THIS WILL MAINTAIN SURFACE DEW POINTS IN THE
   LOW 50S…AND CONTRIBUTE TO AN UNSTABLE AFTERNOON ENVIRONMENT WITH
   MLCAPE AROUND 1000-1500 J/KG.  THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY TO DEVELOP
   OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN DURING THE AFTERNOON AND MOVE EWD/ESEWD INTO
   THE HIGH PLAINS WITHIN A BAND OF 25-35 KT MID LEVEL FLOW.  DEEP
   LAYER SHEAR WILL BE SUFFICIENT FOR ORGANIZED STORMS TO
   DEVELOP…INCLUDING A FEW SUPERCELLS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LARGE HAIL
   AND STRONG WIND GUSTS THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS.
  
   ..WEISS.. 07/03/2009

 

7/3 SPC convective outlook for 7/4/09