- Do not blindly accept recommendations from your rich friends.
- What's management's history?
- What your money going for or to?
- Push them in some way. Make a ridiculous request. Raise questions of technical competence. Ask for a simple request. Whatever you can think of. Gauge their response. Often it's immature -- they're hurt, they get annoyed. You're looking for a money manager/ an entrepreneur who can take weird stuff in stride, with a sense of humor. After all, that's what life is all about.

+ Always follow our inviolate 15% Stop Loss. Apply it to stocks and managers. Don't fall in love with stocks, money managers or brokers. Stick with wives.
+ Finally learn to sayNo. Saying No is hard. Follow our mantra: When in doubt, stay out. And always remember: When God closes a door, He opens a window. Which means a better opportunity always comes along.

Commodities Fund results: My commodities fund was up 6.94% after fees for the first six months of 2006. I had promised that I'd email readers who wanted the fund's name and contact information. But by the time, the first emails arrived and I had time to answer them, the fund had plunged and was losing money. (Welcome to the commodities business, Harry.) Now, I feel more comfortable. If you want contact information, send me an email.

How to fix things, including computers, phones and your broadband service. The standard solution is to unplug the offending item, count to thirty and plug it back in. That's for standalone things, like phone systems. If the thing is part of a network -- e.g. you're having trouble with your broadband service -- you need to unplug everything. Count to thirty. Then plug them back in -- but in the following order:

First, the DSL or cable modem. Wait until the lights are on and are steady. This means they've synchronized with the network at the cable or telephone company.
Second, your wireless or wired router. You can recognize it. It's the blue gadget. It's usually made by Linksys. Make sure all its lights are steady. This means it's now synchronized with your DSL or cable modem.
Third, your computer. Plug it in. Turn it on. It should now be on the Internet.

If you forget all this, remember to turn everything on, starting with the item closest to your telephone or cable wall jack.

Greenborder sounds like a great idea: The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg has a piece today on an intriguing piece of software called Greenborder. Walt writes:

Greenborder has developed a product that isolates the browser from the rest of the computer, without impairing your Web browsing. It erects a sort of fence around the browser. Inside that fence, the browser runs normally, along with associated programs like media players. But the browser can't be used to install bad software or to spy on the rest of the computer outside the fence.

With this product, called GreenBorder Pro, any malicious software you pick up is trapped in a computing environment -- called a virtual session -- that exists only inside the fence and can't affect any key files or settings outside.

Once you quit the browser, this virtual session simply disappears, along with any bad stuff that has collected within it. Your files and settings remain unaffected. You can even purge the bad stuff from the virtual environment at any time by clicking on a command called Clean and Reset GreenBorder.

For instance, inside a GreenBorder Pro session, you might get infected with a "browser hijacker," a spyware program that permanently changes your browser's home page and search page to sites operated by sleazy companies. But once you quit the browser, or click on Clean and Reset, the hijacking effects disappear.

Mossberg doesn't know if the software works, though he suspects it does. Last night I installed it on one of my PCs. It seemed to work. It certainly didn't mess anything up. It may be worth using. For Mossberg's article, Click here. To download the software, click here. The first 10,000 downloads are free.

Are Susan and I the only two people hooked on 24? The show defies all logic, yet is totally engrossing, to the detriment of work, sleep, meals and a life. Start with Season 1, Disc 1. Work yourself through the series. We use Netflix, but your corner video store works just fine.

Honesty at Amtrak: I'm booking a train for an early ride back to the City this morning. Under amenities, Amtrak notes that my train has "none." Comforting.

Ken Lay died. He was 64. So am I. Mark Palmer, Enron's former spokesman, who said he had not spoken to Mr. Lay since 2002, told the New York Times, "Ken was a spiritual guy and he believed the Lord has a plan for him. If this is it, I hope he's at peace."

Lay in Washington and not enjoying his visit. I pray the Lord has a better plan for me.

Wimbledon Tennis is on. The finals are this weekend.

The barber puts a dollar bill in one hand and two quarters in the other, then calls the boy over and asks, "Which do you want, son?"

The boy takes the quarters and leaves.

"What did I tell you?" said the barber. "That kid never learns!"

Later, when the customer leaves, he sees the same young boy coming out of the ice cream store.

"Hey, son! May I ask you a question? Why did you take the quarters instead of the dollar bill?"

The boy licked his cone and replied, "Because the day I take the dollar, the game's over"


Harry Newton

This column is about my personal search for the perfect investment. I don't give investment advice. For that you have to be registered with regulatory authorities, which I am not. I am a reporter and an investor. I make my daily column -- Monday through Friday -- freely available for three reasons: Writing is good for sorting things out in my brain. Second, the column is research for a book I'm writing called "In Search of the Perfect Investment." Third, I encourage my readers to send me their ideas, concerns and experiences. That way we can all learn together. My email address is . You can't click on my email address. You have to re-type it . This protects me from software scanning the Internet for email addresses to spam. I have no role in choosing the Google ads. Thus I cannot endorse any, though some look mighty interesting. If you click on a link, Google may send me money. Please note I'm not suggesting you do. That money, if there is any, may help pay Claire's law school tuition. Read more about Google AdSense, click here and here.
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