Forrest Fenn

Nobody has said that they have found the Fenn Treasure in New Mexico so I guess there's still time for me to formulate a theory about where it is and go look for it. I just might be right. What have I got to lose? I live almost next door. 

Pope Benedict on Twitter

As you know, Pope Benedict has decided to enter the world of Twitter. His account will not be active until December 12, 2012 and he has not yet posted a single tweet but already has more than 300,000 followers. He will, of course, end up with millions of followers. His Twitter name, in case you are interested, is @Pontifex. He will, however, not be replying to any messages you send. 

Presidential Bonds

There people out there looking for 4-Head Presidenttial bonds. [ICU] :-) If you have one, don't give it up without a legally-binding contract stipulating your commission EXACTLY and make sure your attorney does the deal for you. Brokers will always find a way not to pay you. Been there - done that.

Hidden Treasure Found

I believe I have figured out where Fenn's hidden treasure is. Please see the previous post for more information on this. It was all a very interesting and delightful intellectual exercise. Now, I must get my ass over there and collect it, so to speak. 

Hidden treasure

I don't know if you have heard or not but Forrest Fenn, a modern-day Indiana Jones has written a poem which gives clues to where he put a treasure worth maybe one million dollars. Here it is: GOOD LUCK. 

As I have gone alone in there and with my treasures bold, I can keep my secret where, and hint of riches new and old.  Begin it where warm waters halt and take it in the canyon down, not far, but too far to walk.  Put in below the home of Brown.  From there it's no place for the meek, the end is ever drawing nigh; there'll be no paddle up your creek, just heavy loads and water high.  If you've been wise and found the blaze, look quickly down, your quest to cease, but tarry scant with marvel gaze, just take the chest and go in peace.  So why is it that I must go and leave my trove for all to seek?  The answers I already know, I've done it tired and now I'm weak.  So hear me all and listen good, your effort will be worth the cold.  If you are brave and in the wood, I give you title to the gold.  

Not funny at all

I'm just writing a little post here so that I can say I have not forgotten my little blog altogether.  The 2012 Summer Olympics have started in London but I do not know a single one of the athletes - not one. Not a single person in any of the sports. I don't even know how many Olympic sports there are. I know there is swimming and the high jump but that's about it. It's not funny but I really don't care. As long as I have my Daiquiris I am fine. Thanks.

Mexican elections - 2012 version

I know next-to-nothing about Mexican politics; nevertheless, I predict that within the next five years, Mexico will experience an economic boom and a cultural and social renaissance unseen in modern times - in fact, unseen since the beginning of time. You may think I'm nuts but I'm holding to my prediction no matter what. Don't ask me for facts or data - it's just a gut feeling. Economists and think tanks use the same method for making economic (and other) predictions. Don't kid yourself that they don't. 

Getting Old is BAD

Don't listen to anyone who says old age can be fun. It is absolutely not true. They should not be called the golden years - they should be called the rusted years. Even if you're in good health, at age 75, you always know in the back of your mind that as soon as you're gone, no matter how GREAT you were, NOBODY will remember anything you did.  Of all the billions of people who ever lived, not even one tenth of one tenth of one tenth of one tenth of one percent are still regularly talked about - perhaps one hundred historical figures in various fields: science, art, politics. You cannot enjoy anything when you're dead and you KNOW you'll be dead soon. People treat you with respect but only out of respect, not genuine interest. You are basically shoved aside. You become obsolete in front of your very eyes. You also look horrible - wrinkly and crooked. If you get sick, things are only worse. You spend a lot of time just worrying about whether you'll get sicker. You get depressed easily. You spend too much time with doctors, looking for a cure for the incurable. The only good thing about growing really old is that you might get to see a lot of your friends die before you do. That's it. Then, it's your turn. Death is NOT normal and it is never fun. Old people know all of this but they just pretend things are ok and that they are fine with old age. They are NOT. Getting old is bad - really bad. Let us not pretend otherwise. It is a CURSE but people just insist on looking on the bright side.  In this case, there isn't any. hahaha

Obsession

Is it possible to get too caught up in the stock market - to treat it as you would a table card game like poker? I'm afraid so. It can become an obsession - like a beautiful woman or like fine liquor. There is nothing wrong with becoming obsessed, just be careful what you become addicted to. There are always at least two roads to travel - choose wisely. 

Very funny

From a Yahoo! News story: “CARACAS, Venezuela – Prominent Venezuelan non-governmental organizations warned Thursday that a bill being drafted by lawmakers loyal to President Hugo Chavez could be used to financially strangle groups that criticize the government. Ruling-party lawmakers argue the proposed law is necessary to increase oversight of foreign funding destined for NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations), although they've promised to hear concerns from critics before taking up the bill for likely approval in the coming months. A draft of the bill says foreign donations for NGOs would no longer be sent directly to organizations but instead would be deposited in a government-controlled fund. Officials would dole out the money at their discretion.” This is really funny. As the saying goes, “He who has the gold makes the rules,” no? Once the government gets its hands on the money, it will be next to impossible to shake it loose. Who knows?

Recession and cynics

From the New York Times: “Speaking at a conference in New York in December, Walter M. Pressey, president of Boston Private Wealth Management, a healthy bank with a mostly affluent clientele, said there were no immediate plans to do much with the $154 million it received from the Treasury. “With that capital in hand, not only do we feel comfortable that we can ride out the recession,” he said, “but we also feel that we’ll be in a position to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves once this recession is sorted out.” The report on the TARP concluded that the Treasury’s top priority seemed to be to “stabilize financial markets” by simply giving healthy banks more money and letting them decide how best to use it. The report also said it was not clear how giving billions to banks “advances both the goal of financial stability and the well-being of taxpayers, including homeowners threatened by foreclosure, people losing their jobs, and families unable to pay their credit cards.” For Mr. Hope, the Whitney National Bank chairman, “the main motivation for TARP” was not more loans, but rather to safeguard against the “possibility things could get a lot worse.” He said Whitney would continue making loans “that we would have made with or without TARP.” “We see TARP as an insurance policy,” he said. “That when all this stuff is finally over, no matter how bad it gets, we’re going to be one of the remaining banks.” WHAT UNBELIEVABLE CYNICISM. Isn’t this the same kind of greediness that got us here? Now, thanks to the bailouts, China and the Middle East hold the mortgage on the entire country – first and second lien, as it were. The higher ups don’t care – they will just go live in Europe. 

Government and Politics

If you want to learn something crucial about how politics and government work, simply try to find out why the flat tax cannot and never will be implemented.  

New Google Chrome saves the day

Testing. This is just a test. My old browser could not get me in so I tried Google Chrome and it seems to be working. We can write and edit again. Yipee!!!! I can even upload pictures like I used to. I need to celebrate but, unfortunately, I am out of beer and I have no wine nor wine coolers. I have no Scotch nor Tequila either. I should not have had that last beer at lunch. No problem. I can celebrate tomorrow. I might even just have a candied apple. Why not. There's more than one way to celebrate Google Chrome and its ability to rescue a floundering blogger.  By the way, that picture is supposed to be two trees being beat up by a hurricane. The original is much larger. I hope I don't experience any more blogger problems. 

Frank Lloyd Wright

"Bureaucrats: they are dead at 30 and buried at 60. They are like custard pies; you can't nail them to a wall."  This was said by architect Frank Lloyd Wright.  I wholeheartedly agree.

Whitney Houston and Stress

Whitney Houston, the singer, is dead. She died at a rather young age - she was only 48. The regular papers all say she abused drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. Perhaps she did. I wasn't there to witness any of it. They are saying her death was related to her deteriorating health. That is, of course, stating the obvious. Houston actually died of stress - stress on her body and mental condition due to pressures from career issues. 99% of people do not realize that artists lead difficult lives in private. The distance between the public and the private person is very great. Bridging that distance is hard. Keeping up appearances is tough. Being creative is demanding. Staying in top form is difficult. Fame and skill do not last forever. Artists are people who need lots and lots of moral support. When it does not come, they turn to whatever means are available to hide the fact that things are not quite what they should be. Unfortunately, money does not solve the problem. Fortunate is the artist who does not pay some heavy personal price for their success. The torture is sometimes unbearable but most times, it is self-inflicted. What Houston needed most was simply to just have a good time - just like she used to.

Charles Baudelaire

"Everything that is beautiful and noble is the product of reason and calculation." This is according to Charles Baudelaire, French poet. It makes sense to me. I know women are beautiful so Whoever made them must have put a lot of thought into it. If women were not so beautiful, advertising men would not use them to sell everything from alcohol to bank accounts to diamonds to shampoo to tires to magazines to vacuum cleaners.

Chickens and eggs

Think about this: Someone plants some seeds that yield plants that yield grain. The grain is fed to some chickens. The chickens lay eggs and have little chicks. Someone eats the eggs and a few of the chickens when they grow up and become plump and edible. Chickens are domestic animals, good for food. Many different dishes can be prepared from chicken meat - some more fancy than others. The chicken is not in control. Someone is in control. Yet, nobody told the seed how to sprout or how to grow - all it needed was soil and water - but someone had to plant it. Nobody had to teach the chicken to eat grain or how to lay eggs but someone had to gather the grain and give it to the chicken. Millions of people believe in the fairy tale known as evolution. The fairy tale says that fish turned into frogs then into birds then into pigs and roosters and chickens and horses and monkeys and lions and tigers and bears and finally into humans. The fairy tale says that one plant magically turned into trees that yield apples, and oranges, and avocados, and mangoes, and coconuts, and bananas, and pears, and peaches, and figs, and nuts; and stalks that yield tomatos, and corn, and rice, and wheat, and beans, and chili peppers, and sugar cane, and barley, and peanuts, and oats; and vines that yield grapes. We know how to turn good grapes into good wine. How odd.

Joe Paterno and stress

Many years ago, a candidate for president of Mexico, Donaldo Colosio, was assassinated. His widow died a year later. It was tragic because both of them were in their prime. Later, the guy who used to play Superman, Christopher Reeve, died after battling paralysis for years. His widow died a year later. She was in her prime. Now, Joe Paterno is ill. People say it is as a result of stress induced by the investigation into his handling of the Sandusky child abuse case. That is probably true. Stress and worry and depression kill people. Avoid them like the plague.

P.S. Five minutes after I posted this, Paterno died. Sad but true. He was the fall guy for others who should have reported what they knew. He trusted their judgment and they let him down.