Colleen Taylor

Karl Lagerfeld's recent Vice interview has me re-thinking my plans to get a smart phone. I know he's completely nuts, and I obviously can't afford to hire a personal letter carrier, but his dismissive put-down of always being connected is pretty sharp.

And even if I do spring for that Nexus One I've been eyeing, I'm definitely going to start using the phrases "I'm not a chambermaid" and "I'm not working at a switchboard" to explain any lags in email and phone call response time.

Your relationship to technology is kind of interesting.
Well, I hate telephones. I prefer faxes because I like to write.

Who are you faxing? Nobody faxes anymore. You’re like the only person with a fax machine.
People I’m really friendly with have faxes. Anna Wintour has one. We speak via fax. And in Paris I send letters to people.

That’s a lost art.
I have somebody to deliver letters all over every day.

You send a note over.
Yes, I send notes.

That’s very Victorian.
Yes, but there’s not one bit bad about the Victorian. Civilized living for me is like this. I’m not a chambermaid whom you can ring at every moment. Today, you know, most people act like they work at a switchboard in a hotel.

The whole culture of cell phones, texting, and instant messaging is very impersonal and also very distracting.
I’m not working at a switchboard. I have to concentrate on what I’m doing. The few people I have in my telephone are already too much.

"After working for nearly two decades in the fashion industry, she knows better than most that when the clothes don't fit you right, move on: It's the clothes, not you."

--from a profile of model Kate Dillon in the April 2010 issue of Vogue

Male readers may see this as a no-brainer, but how many times have we women hemmed and hawed in a dressing room, trying to convince ourselves that it could make sense to buy an article of clothing-- if only we lost 5 pounds, were wearing high heels, had a true need for a sequined cocktail dress, etc.?

I thought Kate Dillon's perspective was so simple and freeing. It makes so much sense to just move on if it doesn't feel good right away-- it's not like there's a shortage of clothing out there.

... about the things one can see on a weekday in San Francisco while outside of an office between the hours of 9am-5pm. 



This may become a recurring feature.

Just in case you don't make it through all 19 pages of Berkshire Hathaway's annual report, you should know that arguably the best part is at the very end, when Warren Buffett expresses gratitude for his life and success without getting overly sentimental. At 79, Buffett could be forgiven for crossing the line into schmaltz, but he doesn't. Perfectly pitched, and textbook Midwestern (Buffett is, famously, from Omaha.)

And I think we all can appreciate a well-played "P.S."

"At 86 and 79, [Berkshire CEO] Charlie [Munger] and I remain lucky beyond our dreams.

We were born in America; had terrific parents who saw that we got good educations; have enjoyed wonderful families and great health; and came equipped with a “business” gene that allows us to prosper in a manner hugely disproportionate to that experienced by many people who contribute as much or more to our society’s well-being. Moreover, we have long had jobs that we love, in which we are helped in countless ways by talented and cheerful associates. Indeed, over the years, our work has become ever more fascinating; no wonder we tap-dance to work. If pushed, we would gladly pay substantial sums to have our jobs (but don’t tell the Comp Committee).

Nothing, however, is more fun for us than getting together with our shareholder-partners at Berkshire’s annual meeting. So join us on May 1st at the Qwest for our annual Woodstock for Capitalists. We’ll see you there.

February 26, 2010
Warren E. Buffett
Chairman of the Board

P.S. Come by rail.