In Search of the Perfect Investment

Friday January 3: The Spencertown Country Store, mid-state New York:

A kindly gentleman is reading The New York Times. He moving slowly page by page, devouring all the news.

Harry: “Have you found any good news, yet?”

Kind gentleman: “It’s still early in the New Year.”

What a magnificent year. Here’s the last year:

Now we should expect volatility — profit taking, a flee to safety, killing Iranian generals (and fear of war), etc.

Here’s the last five days, including today, Friday.

I was hoping to pick up some cheap Apple as it fell in the afternoon. But it fell too fast. I’m always scared of catching falling knives. Here’s today:

J.P. Morgan  Chase sent me their predictions for 2020. No one can predict the future . It’s always fun trying.

Microsoft is ending support for Windows 7 on January 14

If you’re rich, you can buy extended support.

If you’re poor, you can keep running Windows 7 and buy a cheap virus checker. Here’s PC Mag’s list of the best. Click here.

If you’re gutsy (or stupid) you can “upgrade” to Windows 10. That will cost you money and mega-aggravation. My philosophy remains: “If it works, don’t fu*k with it.”

I wrote this blog on Windows 7. Recently, I bought a very fast ThinkPad that runs Windows 10, but can’t install all the software I love and use every day. I get suckered in by speed and then lose on aggravation. I’ll probably be buried with my Windows 7 machine. Unless I switch to Apple.

Microsoft has this annoying habit of changing things for absolutely no apparent reason — like icons for USB externals, like disk layouts. Maybe it’s just to provide me material for this blog and/or keep me off the streets?

I am in love with Taylor Swift

 

She’s just released her seventh album. She handles her career brilliantly. She’s worth $500 million, plus. All self-made.

She apparently can’t handle relationships with men, which provides grist for the gossip columnists:

Swift has tried on a lot of suitors, to the point where she’s giving off the impression that she has no idea what she actually wants in a man. Yes, that’s normal for any 26-year-old (she’s now 30), but when you jump from a scrappy DJ to a highfalutin thespian within weeks, you’re telling the world you’ll court just about anyone until you find your Prince Charming. In which case, it’s no wonder Swift has kissed so many frogs.

Swift’s relationships tend to be as brief as they are high-profile. One day, she’s going to the zoo with the love of her life, and the next day, she’s battling break-up stories in the tabloids. When she celebrated her one-year anniversary with Harris in March 2016, followers viewed it as a miracle, like the time Andy Murray became the first Brit in a bazillion years to win Wimbledon. We never thought we’d see the day.

At this point, hearing about Swift’s love life has the same effect as hearing a story your dad tells you on the way to the airport. You just want to roll your eyes.

Whenever Swift releases a single, listeners immediately wonder: which ex-boyfriend is she writing about?

This one isn’t really Swift’s problem, per se. Sadly, we live in a world where men can be really insecure and intimidated by a woman’s accomplishments, and Swift is the very definition of success. Between all the Grammys she’s won and her net worth of some $250 million and counting, she could retire to a deserted island tomorrow and be rich and famous for the rest of her life.

But for now, she’s smack dab in the center of the spotlight, and that can be a very intense experience for someone who’s not into that level of scrutiny.

Jesse, Smith, my brilliant tennis coach, makes me sing Shake It Off every time I shank a ball. (hit it into the net). You should watch the video. It’s Taylor’s best song, Listen carefully to what she says about men!

Hard to find anything to Shake it Off about in 2019.

But, if you do find something, watch the video. And then watch it again.

See you Monday. — Harry Newton