{"id":37131,"date":"2016-12-30T15:09:58","date_gmt":"2016-12-30T20:09:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.technologyinvestor.com\/?p=37131"},"modified":"2016-12-30T15:09:58","modified_gmt":"2016-12-30T20:09:58","slug":"the-only-useful-new-years-resolution-dont-do-stupid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.technologyinvestor.com\/?p=37131","title":{"rendered":"The ONLY useful New Year’s Resolution — Don’t Do Stupid!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Don’t do stupid:<\/strong><\/p>\n

+ Stupid is heaving your heavy bag into the overhead rack.<\/p>\n

+ Stupid is not putting your cell phone in the same place every day. And making sure that place is zippered.<\/p>\n

+ Stupid is not holding the railing as you descend the staircase.<\/p>\n

+ Stupid is buying stocks on margin, and\/or borrowing money on credit cards.<\/p>\n

+ Stupid is not being passionate about something, even something as minor as writing this blog.<\/p>\n

+ Stupid is not breaking a sweat every single day.<\/p>\n

+ Stupid is not learning something new each day.<\/p>\n

+ Stupid is not checking your health with multiple doctors and extensive research. Dr. Google is not sufficient. He is a good beginning.<\/p>\n

+ Stupid is not following our mantra: CHECK. CHECK. CHECK. JPMorgan’s ATM was about to gyp me out of $2,000 yesterday, because it misread one of my deposited checks. I caught it and fixed it. I checked.<\/p>\n

+ Stupid is saying YES. Better to say NO. Especially to new software, when the old one works just fine.<\/p>\n

+ Stupid is responding to Phishing. You receive an email saying you have been hacked and you need immediately and urgently to change your username and password at this Internet address, which is of course fake and made to look like a real one. That’s how the Democratic National Committee got hacked. John Podesta fell for the oldest email trick in the book. And, also don’t open email attachments, please. You know that scam one, too?<\/p>\n

+ Stupid is investing in other peoples’ startups, especially those in biotech.<\/p>\n

+ Stupid is driving fast, texting while driving, and\/or dooring bicyclists.<\/p>\n

+ Stupid is not diversifying your portfolio broadly — from stocks to real estate, to things you really know a lot about.<\/p>\n

+ Stupid is investing in something you can lose ALL your money in. If total loss is the downside, say NO fast and often. And run for the EXIT.<\/p>\n

If you hurt yourself at our age, you’ll recover well enough to fully enjoy the rest of your life.<\/p>\n

If you run out of money you’ll be miserable and die young.<\/p>\n

Life is too wonderful (and too short) to take risks.<\/p>\n

I’ve done STUPID on each one of this list. Some multiple times.<\/p>\n

Don’t do stupid, like me.<\/p>\n

A portfolio for your kids.<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n

The best gift for your kids is an online brokerage account and a small portfolio.<\/p>\n

They must learn investing and entrepreneurship early. It’s never too early.<\/p>\n

Give teach one a share of McDonalds, Nike, Amazon, Google, Disney and Netflix.<\/p>\n

Christmas crackers revisited<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

+\u00a0A Senior New Year’s Eve<\/strong><\/p>\n

We’re going to enjoy a Senior New Years Eve by setting our clocks ahead four hours.<\/p>\n

That way we won’t have to stay up later then our bedtime.<\/p>\n

+ Combating boredom<\/strong><\/p>\n

I wonder what my parents did to fight boredom before smartphones and the Internet?<\/p>\n

I asked my 17 brothers and sisters and they didn’t know either.<\/p>\n

+ Elementary arithmetic<\/strong><\/p>\n

Q: What do you get when you divide a large poop into three equal pieces?<\/p>\n

A: Turds.<\/p>\n

Favorite Christmas decoration<\/span>.<\/strong> Found and photographed by yours truly this morning in Hudson, New York:<\/p>\n

\"santa2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"santa1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Eat your heart out that you didn’t get one for your house.<\/p>\n

\"HarryNewton\"<\/a>
\nHarry Newton, who is actually looking forward to New Year’s Eve, now he knows the trick about fixing the clock.<\/p>\n