{"id":47180,"date":"2019-07-08T16:16:55","date_gmt":"2019-07-08T20:16:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.technologyinvestor.com\/?p=47180"},"modified":"2019-07-08T16:16:55","modified_gmt":"2019-07-08T20:16:55","slug":"in-praise-of-obsession","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.technologyinvestor.com\/?p=47180","title":{"rendered":"In praise of obsession"},"content":{"rendered":"

Latest strong employment numbers come from..<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

areas not affected by trade wars, like education, health, and software<\/p>\n

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There are theories on where the stockmarket is going.<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n

Here’s Joel Ross:<\/p>\n

Some economists believe we are starting a downturn due to all the uncertainty, and that the Fed will work hard now to forestall it. The will mean another rate cut in September if true. Uncertainty is never a good thing for capital investment, and if that stops, then the economy will slow more. We need to see what happens the rest of summer to know where the next year will be.<\/p>\n

You may have noted that dividend yields seem to have declined. That is simply because stock prices have gone up 19% on average. It is the dollars you receive, not the yield that matters.<\/p>\n

I’m in Columbia County, about 125 miles north of New York City.<\/p>\n

The County is booming — judging by the armada of trucks passing the town tennis court at 7:30 AM this morning. I’ve never seen so many trucks. So many huge ones.<\/p>\n

All I’m doing is picking up stocks that are suddenly cheap or look like they’re become newly popular like Crowdstrike Holdings and Yeti — both of which I’ve mentioned before.<\/p>\n

Apple is getting hit today because one moronic broker downgraded it. It will bounce back. When a stock gets hit, buying it around 10:00 AM is a good strategy. I was recovering from tennis at that time, so I didn’t see the drop. Here’s Apple today.<\/p>\n

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Obsession is good<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

+ You can fix anything by searching on YouTube. Scanners use “consumables.” Did I know? Buy them from Amazon. Easy to install. Follow the YouTube video.<\/p>\n

+ You can get free trades from online brokers if you give them money. Do the deal up front.<\/p>\n

+ I’m closing my Vanguard account. I can buy everything from Fidelity which Vanguard can sell me. And at the same price — free. Worse,\u00a0Vanguard’s online system hasn’t been improved in 30 years. It still stinks.<\/p>\n

+ Owning a holiday home is nice — if you use it a lot. But it comes with a price: This weekend’s consumables: A busted front door lock, a leaking faucet, an non-cooling AC unit, water that turned brown because of our well’s overuse. I remember earlier this year when we handed the key back to our VRBO rental’s owner, and smiled.<\/p>\n

Wonderful weekend with two grandkids and family.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Zoe and Sophie.<\/p>\n

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Theater fantasy. Playground climbing. Pool and pond swimming. Birthday celebrating. Parties. And bird watching. Our three new arrivals:<\/p>\n

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I wish my investments grew as quickly as these three robins have grown the last few days.<\/p>\n

Saddest news<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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I never seen economic statistics as bad as those coming out of Venezuela. For the full gruesome story, click here.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

One of the older kids was reading this:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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I started reading it and loved its layout and illustrations. I’ll finish it. It’s engrossing it. One Amazon reader wrote,<\/p>\n

“Zinn’s rather simple genius is looking at history from a different angle — that of the often-overlooked ordinary men and women in society. His writing is clear and persuasive. Highly recommended for those seeking an alternative to the run-of-the-mill version of history.It’s a more modern version of history.”<\/p>\n

Click here.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

I can relate to this:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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From Quora:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

What did your mother say that made your jaw drop?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mary Ramsay, Answered Jun 25<\/p>\n

When I was 19 I met the man who would become my husband and told my mother that I was moving across the continent to be with him. She wanted to know what he did for a living, so I told her that he was a mathematician.<\/p>\n

“What do mean, a mathematician?” she asked.<\/p>\n

“He teaches math at a university and does research,” I replied.<\/p>\n

“So he has a PhD?”<\/p>\n

“Um, yeah.”<\/p>\n

“Where did he get it?”<\/p>\n

“Harvard.”<\/p>\n

“Good heavens!” she said, “What could he possibly see in you?”<\/p>\n

Granted, I was a high school dropout 10 years his junior, but still ..<\/p>\n

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Harry, still wearing the tie that Sophie made for my birthday.<\/p>\n