This week’s highlights:  Beyond Wealth, Making Money off Sears, Traveling – Bourdain style.

Fifteen on Friday – Issue 311

Food for Thought:

1. NYT – Jon Meacham: George H.W. Bush and the Price of Politics.  and Frank Bruni  – “George H.W. Bush’s Uncommon Grace” No doubt, we lost a great American this week.  While there are a multitude of tribute pieces that have been published – here were two that stood out to me.
2. TheAtlantic – The Reason Many Ultrarich People Aren’t Satisfied With Their Wealth  At a certain point, another million dollars doesn’t make anything newly affordable. That’s when other motivations take over.
3. Economist – What other countries can learn from Singapore’s schools.  Rigorous teaching methods and excellent teachers keep the island-state top of the class.
4. TheAtlantic – The Real Roots of Midlife Crisis – Why you should understand the happiness U-curve
5. IWTY – 4 gift-giving tips to give the perfect present this holiday – Loved tip #1 here – “If someone is really into something, DON’T BUY IT for them”

Business/Economics:

1. II – Eddie Lampert Shattered Sears, Sullied His Reputation, and Lost Billions of Dollars. Or Did He?  The untold story of how a hedge fund titan profited as an American icon fell.
2. Freakonomics – Should America Be Run by … Trader Joe’s?   The quirky little grocery chain with California roots and German ownership has a lot to teach all of us about choice architecture, efficiency, frugality, collaboration, and team spirit.
3. CF – How This All Happened – Credit SF –  This is a short story about what happened to the U.S. economy since the end of World War II.
4. Bloomberg – Inside the World’s Most Elite (and Secret) Traders’ Club  The nameless group confers “a hunting license” that lets an investor sit at the “big boy table and make high-level trades not available to stupid amateurs.”
5. Airtable.com – Startup Pitch Decks  – See some of the original pitch decks of some of the biggest technology companies today.

Culture/Tech/Science:

1. CM – How to Travel Like Anthony Bourdain Did
2. Jalopnik – Fiat Chrysler’s Bet On Trucks And SUVs Is Paying Off Big
3. TheAtlantic – How Restaurants Got So Loud  Fashionable minimalism replaced plush opulence. That’s a recipe for commotion.
4. NYT – The Link Between August Birthdays and A.D.H.D.  A new study raises questions about age, maturity and overdiagnosis.
5. CNET – Electric scooters are now disrupting wrists, elbows and heads  Injured scooter riders are flooding US emergency rooms. Accident rates could be as high as 1,000 per month.