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An eye to “normalcy”, as we anticipate election shenanigans and the virus goes for its third, higher and most frightening peak

This morning Eye-Buy-Direct, my favored glasses supplier, emailed me “Buy one. Get the second pair half off.

Best Buy sent me a bunch of electronics on sale. Lands End has 60% off on Black Friday stuff, including what we’re all wearing — pajamas.

Someone pitched me some pills that could drop my blood pressure to where I’m barely alive. Seems like an opportunity.

The market is rebounding a little from last week’s huge sell-off.

The virus is exploding, with nearly 100,000 Americans getting it every day!

Oh yes, tomorrow is Election Day. In anticipation I’m being bombarded with made-up stuff about both candidates that will prove bad for my pocketbook and my health.

I’ll vote for Biden tomorrow for the one major reason I explained before — Trump’s egregious “handling” of the virus. He’s still poking fun at masks. Next we’ll be removing seatbelts from cars. Then maybe airbags.

Eyeing the exploding virus makes me scared. I’m older than Trump and Biden. People are catching it from no-one knows where or how. The symptoms are totally unpredictable. From mild to death. And long-term, too. I hear that to cure Trump cost us taxpayers $500,000.

Tomorrow Election Day gives me pause also. Many New York stores are plywooding up again. Our apartment building is taking extra precautions. Extra staff, extra caution. For an election. Our democracy has come to this.

I’m praying you all vote, if you haven’t already. Looks like it’s going to be very close.

Susan and I will be voting tomorrow at the town hall in our one-store country village. Oops, it used to have a country store. The virus closed it for good earlier this year. Sad, they had great croissants.

I’m trying to make this blog read somewhat normal. It’s a stressful time.

Useful tips

+ My new Apple Watch Series 6 is wonderful. Charges faster. Is brighter. Measures my oxygen. If you trade in your old one, you need to disconnect it from your iPhone before you send the watch back to Apple. I’m getting a $180 trade-in.

+  You can combine cell phones on one account with most carriers. It’s much cheaper than subscribing individually.

+ The most comfortable shoes in the entire world are Sketchers.

+ Never accept notifications on your PC. They’re a pain.

+ The family has gone nuts on Blundstone boots made in Tasmania, Australia. Amazon and Zappos have a huge selection.

+ The ParkWhiz app will find you cheap parking in New York. It’s an amazingly useful app.

+ You don’t need Prevagen. Just as there is no magic pill to prevent cognitive decline, no single almighty brain food can ensure a sharp brain as you age. Nutritionists emphasize that the most important strategy is to follow a healthy dietary pattern that includes a lot of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. Try to get protein from plant sources and fish and choose healthy fats, such as olive oil or canola, rather than saturated fats.

+ Claire bought a Subaru Crosstrek. Cute little car. It’s an Outback with a smaller back, less luggage space. Fun to drive. Easy to park. Very reliable, like all Subarus. The family loves it.

Long live commercial office space.

From Joel Ross:

+ I do hear many guys say they need to get away from their wives, many of whom work full time as well, so that will drive many back to the office, as odd as that might seem.

From Francis:

+ I hear the same thing about getting away from the kids.

Funny, sort of

Volatility incarnate

Last week was awful. This week is opening higher.

Here’s the last five days on the-heavy Nasdaq.

I suspect volatility is the new normal — at least until January 20, 2021.

The biggest gainers in our portfolio today — percentage wise — are two solar energy stocks SEDG and ENPH. I continue to like GNRC. I”m leery of my large position in AMZN which is easing back. I’m liking UNH and ZTS which we own. Health seems to be sound theme if Biden wins.

Why do white men love Trump?

The Atlantic has a piece. The reasons are fascinating.

+ The most consistent theme on the right-wing talk-radio shows she’s been listening to is a desire to trust people to make their own decisions, rather than trusting the government to make decisions for people.

+ Many white men feel that their gender and race have been vilified, says the sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild. Their economic prospects are bad, and American culture tells them that their gender is too. So they’ve turned to Trump as a type of folk hero, one who can restore their sense of former glory. Exposing themselves and others to the coronavirus is part of that heroism.

+ Or as Kurtis told me when I asked him how he felt about Trump getting the coronavirus, “Trump’s willing to accept that risk to win for the American people. And Joe Biden is sitting in his basement.”

+ Men in this community, she told me, “are starved for a sense of heroism. They don’t feel good about themselves. They feel like they haven’t done as well as their fathers, that they’re on a downward slope.” Coal jobs have evaporated, and liberals, they feel, are making enemies of white men.

Read the full piece here.

I’m off to play tennis, though my back hurts. Got to work that crick out. — Harry Newton