In these challenging times

Dr. Kapital posts this from a Tony Robbins seminar in Berne:

"These are challenging times, especially for successful financial services executives and their wives. Here are some economizing tips for you and your newly-disgraced friends:

• "The Mirado Black Warrior is a manageable extravagance - a subtle way to let your cellmate know you are down, but not out. And it doubles as a shiv, if it comes to that...
• "If you've been spending your TARP money down at Starbucks, several hundred million pissed-off countrymen would like a word with you. As you beat your retreat, may I suggest a more economical office coffee machine - perhaps a Nespresso, which comes with its own aspirational lifestyle magazine. You'll need the milk frother, too...but you can hide that in the postage budget.
• "Ah, so that Russian website downloaded more than entertainment, and annihilated your laptop? Not to worry - get an Ubuntu Netbook. They say Ubuntu's user interface is just as slick as Apple's or Microsoft's. It's not, but no one will know because only you will have it. It's cheap, and it (mostly) works. No, it doesn't play games! May I remind you: you took U.S. government money.
  
• "If it has come to that, and you cannot afford a new PC, go retro and make a commitment to superior design: get yourself a Palm Pilot. It has most of the advantages of an iPhone (its calendar actually works), without the annoying monthly bill from the phone company. No, it doesn't run Facebook or play Hannah Montana songs. But then again, who would want to?
• "If you're like most rich people, you've followed Barton Biggs' advice and procured a secure, inconspicuous, defensible place in the country where you can wait things out. But ammunition is so expensive! Here's a hint - use the cheap stuff. It's just as good."