1. The government gets involved.

2. Market perceptions change.

3. The company's earnings improve.

This is complex stuff with issues of timing and risk analysis. An example: A bond has a 6% coupon and traded at 21 cents on the dollar at the end of May, giving it a current yield over 28%. In the worst case scenario there's a 100% downside. In the best case, there's a potential for over a 300% return (assuming rise to par). In the meantime, there's a 28%+ yield while we wait to see how the story unfolds.

Is this a game you and I can play? I honestly don't know.

Google Voice is brilliant. I'm not going to tell you what it does. Except it's most useful and it's free. Problem: You can't get it yet. You have to be invited. Sign up to be invited here. Do it now.

Convert Office 2007 files. Your friend sends you a file with an extension ending in X, e.g. PowerPoint.pptx. It's an Office 2007 file and you can't open it because you're still using the old, reliable Office 2003. Solution: Zamzar.com. It will convert your files for free to the old format.

Lyme Disease really sucks. It can last forever. I know someone who's had it for ten years. It returns with intermittent excruciating pain. It is rampant in Columbia County, 100 miles north of New York City. We have a house there. It's all over the Eastern seaboard. Everyone and their uncle have had it. Many report getting it, though they did not see a telltale bullseye rash and though they did not find any deer tick on their body. Finally more locals are beginning to take Lyme Disease seriously and are covering themselves -- including tucking their pants into their socks. A new documentary is out.

The New York Times reviewed it:

“Under Our Skin,” Andy Abrahams Wilson’s inflammatory documentary about the tick-borne ailment Lyme disease, is scary enough to make the faint of heart decide never to venture into the woods or to lie on the grass again without protective covering. The polemic takes awhile to get its guns lined up. But once it does, it takes aim at the medical establishment, in particular the Infectious Diseases Society of America, which has declared that chronic Lyme disease does not exist. The film follows the quest by longtime sufferers increasingly debilitated from all manner of physical and neurological ailments to find effective treatment. — Stephen Holden, The New York Times.

Be extra nice to your customers. Times are tough. This is the time for extra effort. Not extra stupidity. Latest idiocy: On Saturday I bought stuff at local Ace Hardware. As change, they gave me a nickel and four pennies. I asked "Can I owe you a penny. I hate pennies Can you swap the 9 cents for a dime?" Their answer: "No. Our cash register won't balance. ... Moreover, it all adds up." I was stunned. This was a store I had been shopping at for years. I thanked them and explained I would never return." They shrugged. Stunning idiocy!

Biggest accomplishment of the past week: Unsubscribing. I've reduced my volume of junk offers by simply hitting the "unsubscribe" button at the bottom. And -- good news -- it's working.

The creativity of New York State. It has a new tax. It's called the "Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Mobility Tax." I bet I'll have to pay it. What joy. More paperwork the State can lose.

Wimbledon 2009 Tennis TV Schedule. Everything is live, except on The Tennis Channel, which shows repeats. I think I finally got it right. (Last week I was publishing 2008's schedule.)

Jokes tomorrow.

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 on this site. Thus I cannot endorse, though some look 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 Michael's business school tuition. Read more about Google AdSense, click here and here.