An idea: Look at all the recent “hot” stocks.
Only Apple and Netflix have done well. Says something about volatility and the difficulty of playing with fire. (Unless you got in on the IPO, which you and I didn’t.)
Chipotle
Netflix
Google
Apple
BOX
GPRO
BABA
CYBR
SHAK
Increasingly too hard to play “hot” stocks — especially those which get the most press on BubbleVision (CNBC).
Simple, low-cost index funds make increasing sense.
Sundry stuff:
+ There are four main browsers — Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, Google’s Chrome, Mozilla’s Firefox and Apple’s
Safari. Everyone loves their browser. But each browser has its own quirks and irritations. Hence it’s a good idea to have several installed on your laptop. When Adobe’s Shockwave Flash blows up in Firefox (as it does), you can move to Chrome.
+ Everyone is sick with variations on the “flu.” From diarrhea to coughing to debilitating fatigue, the symptoms are truly awful. Planes seem to be cesspools. To repeat: Open the air vent and aim it towards your head. It’s the only clean air in the plane. Wipe everything down with antiseptic wipes. Don’t ever use the seat pocket in front of you. You have no idea what was dumped in last trip. Someone’s snotty tissues. Wash your hands obsessively. Don’t touch your eyes. Don’t shake hands with anybody. Tell them you’ve been sick. You’re protecting them.
+ Reading books on Kindle is fun. Best is when you highlight text you want to refer back to, Amazon saves your highlights here: https://kindle.amazon.com/your_highlights. Much easier to save highlights electronically than with a yellow magic marker.
+ eBay charges a 10% commission on things you sell. It’s outrageous. The fee is not matched by eBay’s “service,” nor their user interface — both of which are awful. I pray someone competes against them soon. Craigslist is OK, but not “professional” enough.
+ 5 Apps No Traveler Should Leave Home Without. From Mens Journal. The are Citymapper, Yplan, HotelTonight,
Pocket and Localleur. For an explanation. Click here.
+ The Black+Decker 20 volt hand vac. The family loves this powerful dustbuster:
$79. Click here.
What’s it like to climb Everest. This is the most amazing video. As you climb, watch the elevation on the left. When you arrive at the summit, move your mouse for a 360 degree view. Watch it on a big screen.
Click on this or paste it into your browser: http://everestavalanchetragedy.com/mt-everest-journey.html
American Sniper is an amazing movie. You know the story: A man driven by his desire to serve and protect our country after seeing 9/11. Four tours of duty. Incredible skills. More kills than any other sniper in that war. Only to come home with PTSD, which causes severe family problems. He tackles it, ultimately finding a satisfying calling stateside — helping vets. Only to be killed by one of them.
Go see the movie. Sit up front. Or (my choice) wear assistive headphones. The dialog can be hard to hear. Sincerest congratulations to Clint Eastwood for making a truly incredible movie.
Harry Newton, who is bracing himself for today’s battle with eBay.
Clint in 2016…He knows how to pull the trigger.
My husband and I enjoyed American Sniper movie and think that Bradley Cooper did a stellar job in his portrayal of a man who believes he exists to protect and save others. What I got out of this movie is the internal complexities of trying to achieve the delicate balance between active combat duty and normal home life that all servicemen and women experience when they are assigned to extreme situations such as the movie depicted. Snipers, nurses, doctors, cooks, truck drivers…whatever…they are all heroes in my book and Michael Moore needs to attend to his obviously undisciplined lifestyle causing his obesity and be less focused on his vicious criticism of others.
Harry, you are all over the map when it comes to investing. Most of the time you are all about the “hot” investment of the day. When, in fact, you should be just the opposite and looking at what;s out of favor. You watch too much CNBC and Cramer, and sometimes I think you are just a senile old man on here rambling.
Regarding American Sniper: As Michael Moore (I think it was Michael) said, being a sniper is the job in the military for cowards. After the Jesse Ventura verdict you could not pay me to see this B.S. movie about an American coward.
Sniper is a masterful film and Eastwood is extraordinary, for sure. “Slight” problem is that it is happily context free. It conveniently completely ignores the tragically false premise of the invasion and the fact that the invaders were slaughtering people who did not attack anyone. The invasion also destabilized the nation and created factional violence that did not exist before. The invasion also created a fierce *blowback*- no Al Qaeda there before the invasion, no Isis, direct results of misguided policies. The invasion also created a new ally for the Iraqi government- Iran. The blowback has created a spiral of violence and instability that now has a life of its own and no “sniper” can stop. Millions have died and drones create more “collateral damage” which creates more reaction on “their” part which creates more reaction on “our” part. We are not the first nation to manifest the power of propaganda that skillfully builds on emotion and patriotism, not reality.
I agree that eBay’s 10% is absurd. Craigslist attracts time-wasters and crazies. Facebook has a growing number of “tag sale” pages serving states, cities, even neighborhoods. They’re free and effective.
I was propositioned on Craigslist by two gay guys and someone promoting a sex fetish club.
http://www.bookmakingblog.com/2015/01/i-was-propositioned-on-craigslist-by.html