Well, okay

Yes, I am still around. I won't write anything here now but I might come back at a later time. I'll definitely check this post later to see if it gets any views.

Realization

I just realized I did not post a single word in 2017 - so here are a few for 2018. This gets me all caught up. 

Forrest Fenn's treasure

We will soon give our search for Forrest Fenn's hidden treasure another go, even if we live so far away from New Mexico and the mountainous areas nearby. This nut is really hard to crack. Eventually, someone has to find it, preferably before Fenn kicks off. In the end, it will seem so obvious. People will just say, "Oh, that was so simple, we should have figured it out long ago." 

Not Dead Yet

I'm just writing this to quell any rumors that perhaps I may have already died (prematurely, of course) and gone to hell. I have not. I hope you can accept this as proof. (That is not me in the photo - take my word for it.) 

Getting Lost

Don't ask me what I was doing there but I found myself in a very large military installation some time ago - it was nighttime, close to 10 pm. I don't know how it happened but I got lost trying to get out to the civilian side. Due to the time of day (night), there was little traffic on the fort's streets. After about thirty minutes of going to and fro and getting completely disoriented, I decided I would have to plan a strategy if I wanted to get out before running out of gas. I could have called someone but that would have been too embarrassing. Instead, I parked at an intersection and left my emergency blinkers on. Sure enough, after a while, a car passed by and stopped at the stop light where I was parked. I quickly jumped out of my car and without appearing too nervous, I told the soldier that I couldn't find my way out. He was very polite and told me exactly how to get to the nearest exit. You guessed it - I was a mere four blocks away from the exit but I am certain I would never have found it on my own. That's what happens when you don't know your way around. 

Eye gouging for IDIOTS

On an absolutely gorgeous day, I am reminded of the story of a poor music consumer. A man bought a Chinese violin (with case and bow included) for $32.75. The violin arrived but was not set up - basically, the bridge had not been set in place nor calibrated. He took it to a local shop to have it taken care of and was told it would run him $79.00 to have this done, plus TAX, of course. He then asked if they could also TUNE the violin, whereupon they said they would be glad to tune the instrument for him but he would need to pay an additional $39.00 for that - plus tax. He would owe them about $127.00 for the service he required and they could not offer him a discount because he was not a regular customer. 

Political Correctness Inc

What can I say about political correctness?





Not for me.

I Am Not A Critic But I Know What I Like

I was listening to performance of some work with the great Concertgebouw orchestra the other day - it was on YouTube. I am sure you will agree that the preponderance of listeners on that video channel are poorly-educated and small-minded persons - I am guessing about 98 percent or thereabouts. Then again, you might not agree with me about that but it matters not - not to me, anyway. I know whereof I speak and I cannot change my opinion about that. Now and again, one comes across a really intelligent comment, but those are few and far between, as the cliche goes. I am digressing. Sorry. My post is about my experience with the Concertgebouw post on YouTube. That particular performance was superb, as I expected. However, toward the end, a scramble in the strings (which probably lasted no more than three seconds but which my ear caught instantly) marred the ending just a trifle. I made a comment to that effect. Almost immediately, some person who obviously has little musical education, no ear training whatsoever, and poor manners attacked me for pointing that little fault out. Another moron jumped in and defended the first ninny. What to do? One cannot engage ignorant people in a dialogue - it would be like talking to or arguing with a chair. I enjoy pointing out errors when I hear them. Nothing is perfect - not even Heifetz. Hilary Hahn comes close - damn her.  

Summa Cum Laude

I was at a dinner the other evening. It wasn't for me but I was there. It was held to honor lots of people who had graduated in the top ten percentile in their college graduation classes. There was  - as expected - a cocktail hour before the dinner and, by chance, a man and his sister came to sit with us at our table. The man admitted he had graduated by the skin of his teeth but he was there as his sister's guest and because he had put a video presentation together for the college. I noted that there were very, very few luminaries among the top ten. They were all successful people but nothing extraordinary. The guy who got the biggest cheers was that man who had sat with us and who probably graduated in the bottom ten percent. It is well-known that many super-successful people are often not the ones who succeed in school. This was no exception. It's not the teachers who matter; it's the pupils. You could name ten or twenty extraordinary historical figures but you could never name who their teachers were. It matters, but not that much. As the 1800 tequila commercial says, "enough said." 

Accidents

According to one very reliable source, these things happen in America every single day: 

240 people die as a result of medical errors 

144 people die as a result of an accident at home 

130 people die as a result of a traffic accident 

110 people die as a result of accidental poisoning 

62 people die as a result of a fall 

49 people die victims of a homicide 

28 people die victims of a drunk driver 

9 people die as a result of drowning 

Maybe we can learn something from these numbers. They say that doctors bury their mistakes so maybe that is still true? Perhaps people should really watch where they are going to avoid being victims of accidents? People should learn how to swim or wear life jackets always? Don't hang around people who might kill you? Don't put strange stuff in your mouth and maybe, just maybe, you won't poison yourself? Nobody dies as a result of starvation so I guess that's a good thing. 

Filling up space and time - part two

I'm writing this just to post something on the first day of the year - that's all. I have my trusty vodka by my side. 

Filling up space and time

I'm just writing this to kill time and fill up some space. It will be the last post of 2013. 2013 was definitely not the best year on record - too many bad things happened. If you keep up with the news, you know what I mean. We didn't find the Forrest Fenn treasure either. 

Africa and other countries

What if every country just retreated back to its borders and decided to mind its own business? What could possibly happen? Every country would be left to figure out its own problems and manage its own prosperity. Yes, there would be plenty of commercial trade but no foreigners would remain in another's country longer than thirty days, even for tourist excursions. What could happen? Weapons would not be allowed to cross borders. Every country would have to manufacture its own weapons if it chose to do so. Defense treaties would be outlawed. Of course, strong, aggressive countries could militarily attack and subjugate other countries but they would themselves be subject to the same actions by other countries. No country would have any legal or moral obligation to step in and defend any other country. What could happen? Would things be worse than they are now? 

LTNs and MTNs

Even though only five or six people will read this, it's worth mentioning. One never knows. Coincidence is one of the secrets of life so, if just by pure dumb chance, the right person were to stumble across this blog post, we could end up with something worthwhile to do. Be that as it may, I have a buyer ready to purchase LTNs (which MUST be on Euroclear) or MTNs. Of course, I am just the intermediary but you cannot get to the buyer without me. Thank you so much. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday. 

Treasure in Santa Fe New Mexico

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? This is NOT breaking news so don't get excited. 

Government Corruption

Someone has suggested that even the best of intentions by the best and most honorable men are subject to corruption.  I tend to agree wholeheartedly.  Just look at the mess.  The U.S. Postal Service was established in 1775; after 234 years, it is broke.  Social Security was established in 1935; after 74 years, it is broke.  Fannie Mae was established in 1938; after 71 years, it is broke.  The War on Poverty was started in 1964; after 45 years, $1 trillion of our money is confiscated each year and transferred to "the poor" and they only want more.  Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965; after 44 years, they are broke.  Freddie Mac was established in 1970; after 39 years, it is broke.  The Department of Energy was created in 1977 to lessen our dependence on foreign oil. It has ballooned to 16,000 employees with a budget of $24 billion a year and we import more oil than ever before; after 32 years, it is an abysmal failure.  Now, here comes the health care law.  I didn't bother to look for a picture to post with this blog. 

Evolutionary fairy tales

People who support the theory of evolution to explain the existence of the Earth and the entire Universe and all the things in them and, of course, life itself, use time as a crutch, saying that given enough time, anything is possible. The truth is that the possibility thing is a big myth. Life is so complex and so organized as to make anything like evolution by chance IMPOSSIBLE. Imagine you had two nickels and you tossed them in the air. The chances that they would both land heads up are pretty good. Imagine you had 500 nickels and you tossed them all in the air in hopes of that happening. What are the chances now that they would ALL land heads up? It might happen - you say - if you had one billion years waiting for that to happen. Ok, perhaps. However, we have not introduced the element of "organization" into the mix. What are the chances of having the 500 nickels ALL land heads up AND being exactly equidistant in a grid pattern when they land? Zero. Here is an article that better explains what I'm saying in mathematical terms - from an expert. The best argument against the theory of evolution is actually your own body. In order for evolution to be plausible, nature itself would have to be perfect, allowing for changes to be positive and beneficial. However, we all know things degenerate and decay. 

Dubai

I AM NOT a financial planner, or financial consultant, or registered commodities trader, or licensed stock broker, or anything of the kind. I can tell you though, that buying low and selling high always works in your favor. I read that BWMG is going to Dubai. The stock is still selling at .0005. If you buy 2,000,000 shares, it will set you back $1,000 plus whatever you pay in commissions. If you wait until the stock goes into real money, you will never be able to afford those shares. Even at ONE CENT, you will need $20,000 to purchase 2,000,000 shares.  Do I heed my own advice? You bet. Good luck to you. 

Learn

Hey! I am NOT a licensed commodities trader or stock broker or financial consultant or adviser or anything of the sort. I don't have a crystal ball either. However, I can add and multiply. Now, about BWMG, the stock I spoke about last week. Listen and learn. If you had purchased the 500,000 shares at the price I suggested, you would have made a profit of nearly $250.00 by early this morning. Your cost for the half million shares would have been $200 and those shares as of a few hours ago were valued at $450. Now, what bank would have paid you that amount of interest in two days? Buy low and sell high, as they say, and buy hundreds of thousands of shares.  Will BWMG go higher? You be the judge. It's not even at one tenth of a penny right now.  

BUY LOW

This photo shows almost the ENTIRETY of Microsoft in 1978.  In 2012, the company had 94,400 employees.  Microsoft was founded in 1975 but didn’t go PUBLIC until 11 years later.  In between, a lot of people had a chance to invest in Microsoft – to buy shares cheaply.  Those who BELIEVED did, but those who didn’t believe, just shrugged and stayed happy with what they had.  They probably thought the company would stay small.  Would you have invested in these young people?  How much of your money would you have risked?  Of course, when you are an insider you can see things a lot more easily.  From the outside, you hardly see anything other than reports.  The insiders saw how much effort the people in charge at Microsoft put into the business.  By the look of things, it was bound to succeed so the insiders had NO EXCUSE for not buying stock in the company.