Blog: Cutting Through the Noise

Nice Shirt!

Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on March 8, 2013

The latest Steadyhand T-shirt minces no words. In bold white letters on a black shirt are the words Scott came up with to describe our philosophy around stock investing – concentrate dammit! We’ve had lots of interesting reaction to the shirt, but the best comes from Winnipeg. Lori and I gave everyone in the family (who we thought might wear it) a shirt for Christmas, including our nephew Branton...

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Observations from Interstate 82 (and Thereabouts)

Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on September 18, 2012

My wife and I love wine. While we try to support local Okanagan producers as much as possible, we’ve found that our neighbors in Washington also make some great juice, and at good prices. We hit the road last month to explore Washington wine country with Walla Walla as our base camp. Here are a few random observations from our trip. Driving through the Columbia Valley, we had our first...

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Under the Table

Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on September 10, 2012

While I was cleaning out the cottage last week, I found a few old items that brought back memories. The Clarkson Bantam hockey jacket with the black leather sleeves was a beauty, although it doesn’t seem to fit anymore. Fortunately, neither does the Speedo with the maple leaf pattern. I found a pair of flip flops that were so old they were called thongs. And to my great surprise, my wooden toy box was...

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Further Creeping

Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on November 3, 2011

As a follow-up to my ‘Creep’ column last week (The Dangerous Rise of an Obsession with Safety), we’ve come up with a few more items for the list. As a reminder, we defined creep as a ‘slow and stealthy movement’. One you don’t notice while it’s happening...

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Reminiscing

Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on September 12, 2011

As a kid, my family and I used to go on a summer holiday every year to Savary Island (a small island about 200 km north of Vancouver). It’s a bit of a hidden treasure, with white sand beaches, warm waters and an abundance of shellfish. There was no electricity, few cars and fewer rules (don’t bury your sister and be home for dinner). We loved it. I was back on the Island this summer and few things have...

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Cross Country Customer Experiences

Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on April 25, 2011

How’s this for two totally different customer experiences. Recently I went into Sigge’s, a local cross-country ski store, to buy some equipment. I’ve been a ‘classic’ skier for years, but am increasingly feeling the pressure to keep up with my ‘skate skiing...

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The Back Hand – Relief from the Macro Gloom

Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on August 6, 2010

Everything we read about the economy these days is depressing – too much debt, scary demographics (with regard to social security and healthcare), weak political leadership and a warming planet. As an antidote to this macro gloom, there were lots of positives...

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The Back Hand - Stress

Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on July 30, 2010

Investors have learned to deal with a lot of anxiety over the last couple of years, what with a severe credit crisis, major bank failures, derivatives gone bad and gyrating stock markets. Indeed, stress is becoming the new buzz word. Below are some stress-related observations and musings on the week that was. Stress tests: European banks were recently subject to a health check in the form of stress...

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The Back Hand – The Heat Is On

Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on July 9, 2010

Below are some observations and musings on the week that was – a recent feature that we’ve aptly coined The Back Hand. The Next Wall Street? – I’m desperately trying to come up with an investing analogy for the LeBron James signing with the Miami Heat

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Olympic Observations

Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on February 16, 2010

It’s Day 5 of the Games. As we’re lucky enough to be in the heart of the action here in Vancouver (or unlucky enough depending on your viewpoint), it’s time for a few observations: Canadians are bursting with pride and patriotism. Which is a good thing, no matter how you look at it. There have been a few early disappointments for the home team (Manny Osborne-Paradis...

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Steadyhand NHL Playoff Pool

Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on April 12, 2009

Dig out the white towel and put the razor away. It’s playoff time. Get in on the action by entering the Steadyhand NHL Playoff Pool. Entry is free, and the winner will walk away with a team jersey of their choice. Tom would suggest a Mats Sundin Canucks jersey, of...

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He Couldn't Carry Trevor's Bag

Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on December 20, 2008

I’m a sports fan. I’m a Canucks fan. I was a Mats Sundin fan.  Until now. Mats’ little dance with NHL general managers is one of the most cynical things I’ve witnessed in sports - the NY Knicks signing of ...

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