The Great City of Teotihuacan

I spent the last five days in Mexico City on vacation with several people from my class. One day we ventured out to the pyramids in the remnants of Teotihuacan, about 45km outside the Mexico City. I thought it was pretty fascinating so decided to write about it for today's post. 

Temple of the Sun

Teotihuacan covered about eight square miles and supported a population of about 100-200,000 people at its peak around the 14th century. This is extraordinary - for reference, London at the time was about 60,000 people. The area was settled around 400 BCE, but did not experience large growth until a few centuries later. The city's buildings include the Temple of the Sun and the Temple of the Moon, however it does not have any military structures.

Real Estate Transfer Taxes

We are currently reviewing ways to close Chicago's $838 million deficit in my public policy class at Kellogg. One proposal from Mayor Lightfoot is to change the current property transfer tax to a graduated system. I'll do a brief overview of real estate transfer taxes and the pros and cons of a graduated system in today's post.

What is a real estate transfer tax?

A real estate transfer tax (RETT) is a one-time tax on the transfer of property from one owner to another. There are 38 states that have some form of a RETT, whether its imposed from the state or a local government. Most RETTs have a flat fee structure, however a few major cities in the US impose a graduated RETT, including San Francisco and New York City. Evanston even approved a referendum in November 2018 to institute a graduated system.

Fidel Castro's Ice Cream Parlor

I recently read a fascinating and ridiculous article about Fidel Castro's obsession with ice cream and thought I would share some excerpts:

"In “A Personal Portrait of Fidel,” novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez described Castro polishing off 18 scoops after Sunday lunch. His affection for ice cream was such that the CIA attempted to poison his milkshake. “That was the closest the CIA got to assassinating Fidel,” a retired state security general told Reuters in 2007"

What's different with the new AirPods Pro?

I am a huge fan of my Gen 1 AirPods. I remember when the AirPods were first announced - I laughed at how stupid they looked and how useless I thought they were. It was only until I saw Dwight Howard wearing them while warming up for a game that I saw the potential. I love playing basketball but listening to music on the court always required me having a phone tucked in my shorts with the cord going up through my shirt. This of course is less than ideal with the cord constantly being in the way and the phone adding some discomfort.

I made an impulse decision one day at the mall and never looked back. The AirPods are simply the best headphones I've owned, even though the actual audio quality lacks compared to some others I have had. The entire AirPods experience is pretty seamless - both buds connect immediately to my phone, removing one bud automatically pauses music, and I can play sports with them on with no issue. While I had a pair of QC-35s prior to purchasing the AirPods, they are now literally only used on longer (3+ hr) flights. I do have my issues with the AirPods, namely battery life and the limited controls (why can't I adjust volume by tapping the buds?) but the overall experience is just so incredible that it makes these issues pretty forgiveable.

The new AirPods Pro was announced a few weeks ago with a price that's nearly $100 more than the normal AirPods. This is a pretty high price for some tech with batteries that last around two years. That being said, the Pro version has some cool new bells and whistles.

$249 AirPods Pro (left) and regular $159 AirPods (right)

Time to Relax

Sometimes it's hard to decompress after a long week or a tough meeting. Today, I thought I would share a music video I've been using recently to help me relax.

If you aren't familiar with FKJ, I highly suggest checking out his library on Spotify or YouTube. His song with Masego, Tadow, had me immediately hooked.

The (new) Motorola RAZR

Remember the RAZR V3? It's iconic design made it an instant success and fashion statement. It was just so thin and completely different from the typical blocky phones at the time. Carriers were clamoring to sell it - Apple even collaborated with Motorola to release a version with iTunes.

If I remember correctly, my family switched to AT&T just to get the RAZR. In some ways, it showed just how powerful a great product/phone can be in that industry. Later on, Apple used the potential selling power of the first iPhone to secure an incredibly favorable contract with AT&T where they were able to hold full control of the software (an industry first).

The RAZR is still a phone I look back at very fondly, and possibly the second or third best phone I have ever owned (and I have had almost every iPhone released). So I was incredibly intrigued when reports and leaks came out earlier this year of a new RAZR, but this time with a foldable display.

First!

Hi,

My name is Quinn. I am a Tulane alum (2014), Kellogg MBA (2020), and aspiring leader and entrepreneur. I hope to write something every day - whether it's an interesting investment idea, neat news article, frustrations with Atlanta sports, or something completely random.

Welcome to TBD!