"When I screwed it up a couple years ago."
Wow, Gradient's lawyers are going to have an absolute field day with that one.
This is how the 8-K reads:
"On December 31, 2007, Mr. Jason C. Lindsey resigned, effective immediately, from his positions as President, Chief Operating Officer (principal operating officer) and a member of the Board of Directors of Overstock.com, Inc. (the “Company”). Mr. Lindsey intends to spend more time with his family, but also intends to remain a part-time employee of the Company and to work on special projects as requested from time to time by the Company."
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edga...08-
1063_18k.htm
The "special projects" assignment can be a mechanism to defer an exec's termination pay into the next tax year. I don't think this was a surprise to PB. Read the letter from Jason Lindsey at the end of the 8-K.
They had a conversation, Monday, and a couple of hours later, Lindsey supplied a resignation letter outlining some of the terms agreed to in the conversation. And then there is boilerplate spin. Gary's post assumes this was Lindsey's idea but I think it was PB's.
Best of luck to Jason. He's young. There is a lot to live down, but if he started Monday, then there is time.
I have to wonder if Jason's thinking to himself right now... "Oh man. I should never have come back..."
"The stock is still in the shitter and we're still be losing money..."
"If I had just stayed the hell away, I wouldn't be in the middle of this SEC investigation and looking at weeks of depositions in front of hostile Copper River/Gradient attorneys."
To Jason C. Lindsey
Re: Special Projects
According to Overstock.com's 8-K report:
"Mr. Lindsey intends to spend more time with his family, but also intends to remain a part-time employee of the Company and to work on special projects as requested from time to time by the Company."
Here are some suggestions for your future special projects:
1. Join Overstock.com's black ops team.
2. Trade places with Lenofus on InvestorVillage.
3. Take over Judd Bagley's role of vandalizing Wikipedia
4. Post new blog items on antisocialmedia.net.
5. Study the 5th amendment to the US Constitution and teach it to Patrick Byrne and Judd Bagley.
6. Memorize your Miranda rights, too.
7. Give a free fraud presentation to Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff. (Note: Learn how to wear a wire when dealing with corrupt politicians).
Respectfully,
Sam E. Antar (former Crazy Eddie CFO & convicted felon)
The update links to a blog by Sam Antar that makes a really interesting point about PB's calendar opening up Monday night that Gary quotes. Sam also discusses the possibility that there is something wrong with the increase in reserves for obsolete inventory in 2006Q4. I don't have a problem with the increase in reserves.
Sam thinks it doesn't make sense that in 2006Q4 they say both that they sold off all the junk and also that they increased the amount of junk they claimed to still have. I think it makes sense. Let's say that instead of claiming to have sold a lot of old inventory at low or neg margin, and writing down what's leftover, they wrote down everything and then claimed to have sold it at usual margins? It's the same thing.
If there is a problem with inventory accounting it's with all the quarters leading up to 200Q4 where they claimed the reserves were conservative.
2006Q4 was also a problem in that they claimed that it was their plan all along to have low margins in Q4, even when their statements up to Q4 would suggest otherwise. They should have increased their reserves as soon as they made that plan, ahem, at the beginning of the year.
Jon Ogg says that Jason was viewed as the adult supervision at OSTK. He's 37.
Let's put it this way: When you have a CEO that requires "adult supervision" - Houston, you have a problem.
The greatest liability that Overstock has is Patrick Byrne, and that's not something you can reserve for on a balance sheet.
OK I figured it out. Two things to remember.
First, whenever PB says something out of the blue, what he means is the exact opposite of what he says. Like when he said that EBITD is the dumbest thing he ever heard of, what he meant is "watch me show how to reverse one time charge my way to profitability". When he said that he didn't know Bobo as he launches a long presentation during the CC, you get the point.
Second, when he posts on Investorjonestown, it means that bad news is on the way.
So on New Year's Eve, at 20:30, when most people were relaxing with their friends, PB was posting on IJ that he now has more time to spend blogging, what he meant was that there was really bad news on the way, and that this news would mean he would have less time for blogging.
Actually John, I think he meant to say that, with the adult supervision gone (i.e., Jason), he can get back to his true passion, blogging.
"Profits? We don't need no stinking profits!"
"Let loose the dogs of war! I've got blogging to do!"
"Miscreants! Nekkid shorts! UFOs! Little green men! Who shot JFK? Who shot JR?"
"Where's the closest gay bathhouse with an internet connection?"
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