Author Archives: bruss.young@gmail.com

Aweh dearly beloved fellow ruminants & groupies So, what is this thing called objective reality? Does it exist? The first time I confronted the concept was when I was 18 and in my matric year at St Stithians. I was Captain of the chess team, and our top chess player was a slight 14-year-old mathsContinue reading “Ruminations on objective reality”

Aweh dearly beloved fellow ruminants & groupies In a moderate-risk long-term investment portfolio, it is often desirable to find solid, even dull, companies that reliably generate cash, pay dividends, and exhibit reliable growth above inflation. Think about a company like Tiger Brands which is more than a hundred years old and sells food staples withContinue reading “Wrestling with the tiger of long-term shareholder value destruction”

Aweh dearly beloved fellow ruminants & groupies As we observe the evolving Ukranian war from the southern tip of Africa, I have taken a particular interest in the plight of young Russian men who are being conscripted to fight and die in a war they did not start, may not understand, or believe in. IContinue reading “Ruminations on conscription, military service, and patriotism.”

Aweh dearly beloved fellow ruminants & groupies There is this idea that in polite society one should not discuss politics or religion. Is this true? It has been suggested to me that in the South African context to be effective one should stay out of party politics and remain scrupulously neutral or non-aligned as SouthContinue reading “Ruminations regarding what you should not discuss, politics, business, and collaboration.”

Aweh dearly beloved fellow ruminants & groupies Last week I turned 62 and my presents consisted of warm clothes for winter and books. Very good gifts for me.  I would like to classify these as necessities and not luxuries. Nerine bought me a book titled, “Unequal” about inequality. It is not a book I wouldContinue reading “Ruminations regarding inequality, luxuries, morality, and Peter Singer”

Aweh dearly beloved fellow ruminants & groupies Let’s start with what I think is a statement of the obvious. To be effective and to be taken seriously it helps a lot to be articulate.  How do you become articulate? As with most other things in life if you want to be good at something youContinue reading “Ruminations regarding world views and being articulate”

Aweh dearly beloved fellow ruminants & groupies For many years my wife, Nerine, said that I lived in a bubble disconnected from the South African reality living in a corporate world that operated in the global arena. Well, that has changed. In the last year, I have been involved in volunteer work at a secondaryContinue reading “Ruminations of a grumpy privileged white monopoly capitalist regarding electricity and failing states”

Aweh dearly beloved fellow ruminants & groupies This week a book about Eskom, the South African state electricity utility, was published by André de Ruyter about his three years as CEO. He is now in hiding abroad after leaving Eskom in February. In December he survived an assassination attempt. I have now read most ofContinue reading “Ruminations on truth to power”

Aweh dearly beloved fellow ruminants & groupies Next week I start teaching a course on decarbonisation and earlier this year I taught a course on sustainability. This has allowed me to ruminate deeply on these two related topics and I can now pontificate verbosely and annoy you with my blog. The whole idea behind theContinue reading “Ruminations on decarbonisation, sustainability, and exponentials”

Aweh dearly beloved fellow ruminants & groupies Forgive me it has been two weeks since my last blog. One of the most gratifying aspects of writing this blog are the comments and interactions I have with friends and colleagues from all over the world. In many cases, I have not seen some of my readersContinue reading “Ruminations on beer, good news, optimism, and government policy”