Greentea9

Saturday weight

2010-05-15T10:17:00.001-04:00

203. Aha, some progress.

Saturday weight

2010-05-08T10:43:00.000-04:00

205. So finally broke the stalemate? Tune in next week.

Saturday weight

2010-04-24T09:57:00.002-04:00

I appear to be stalled out at 207. Kind of annoying because I've been paleo 90% of the time and I'm excercising more.

Saturday weight

2010-04-10T10:31:00.002-04:00

207.

So no change for 2 weeks. Pretty lame. Can sorta blame it on Easter, etc.

Tune in next week.

Saturday weight

2010-03-27T10:46:00.002-04:00

207.

Continuing the right direction, modest amount theme. Tune in next week.

I have to stop packing on 20 during the holidaze. This will be the third year I get down to 190 or so by summer.

Saturday weight

2010-03-20T11:31:00.003-04:00

209.

So two pounds? Right direction. No carbed all week so was hoping for a bit more. I need to drop a quick 20. Tune in next week.

Saturday weight

2010-03-13T10:01:00.002-05:00

211.

I kinda went off the wagon in Feb so it was a less than spectacular amount, tho in the right direction.

Tune in next week.

Saturday weight

2010-01-30T10:43:00.002-05:00

It's back! I figure I have this perfectly ok blog sitting here so might as well use it for something.

Today I weigh 215. So packed on maybe 15-20 over the holidaze? Jeez. Back on no-carb wagon though. Tune in next week.

Saturday weight

2009-08-15T10:50:00.001-04:00

199. Went off the wagon but didn't pack a bunch back on. Tune in next week.

Saturday weight

2009-07-18T16:08:00.001-04:00

198. So we broke through 200, which I should have done months ago. Anyway tune in next week.

Screw you guys I'm on Twitter

2009-07-16T11:33:00.003-04:00

In what is doubtless heartbreaking news for the 4 or 5 people who accidentally stumble across this blog per year, I think I'm going to pretty much migrate to Twitter. It seems to satisfy whatever narcissistic impulse that leads to writing on the internet, plus it's short, and a few people actually read my stuff, I think.

I'm using my real name on Twitter but, eh, let's stick to my initials here.

Fear not though, weight loss updates will continue and any long-winded stuff that strikes me.

Sunday weight

2009-07-12T10:22:00.002-04:00

Actually weighed-in on Saturday but too lazy to write about it. 200. No change. Which is actually ok since I really blew the diet over the 4th.

Saturday weight

2009-06-27T13:26:00.002-04:00

200. That's more like it. If I could drop 5 a week we're talking 180 in a month. That'd be cool. The weigh-in last week might have been screwy for some reason so maybe I didn't really drop 5 in a week but . . . tune in next week.

Hey ladies

2009-06-26T12:53:00.003-04:00

This internets dating thing. Hmm. First, I'm surprised by the number of reasonably attractive single women in their 30s without kids. Let's hope they actually exist and aren't conjured up by their marketing department. Second, I should have done this earlier to motivate the diet. Third, I need to get hornier somehow to motivate me to put myself out there.

It's funny it's kinda like Youtube you see one you like *favorite* over and over I've got a harem of about 20 now.

Need to think of an email strategy that's not cheesy, too available, etc.

Crap

2009-06-24T00:41:00.003-04:00

Oh this is still around? Uh, I sold some BAM to buy some AGU. My cost on BAM is now under their supposed liquidation value of $20 something (according to them for what that's worth). Needed to get back a little into agriculture.

Writing about stocks on the internet might be most embarrassing waste of time in the world. It's like a geeky guy version of weird middle age women dressing their cats up in costumes and posting pictures on the internet.

I'd hate though to just give up on this blog for Twitter and then Twitter turns into an embarrassing fad one will regret being associated with at some point in the future.

Saturday weight

2009-06-20T11:25:00.000-04:00

205. Well that's frustrating. Tune in next week.

Below par

2009-06-15T09:43:00.002-04:00

I've got allergies, the worst ever, maybe a summer cold, and my back is like crumbly cement. The Claritin should kick in in an hour or so but I am not in top form. Need to take yoga or something.

There's a few projects I've been working on with some success. I have lost 20 pounds, even though it's been ridiculously slow. 20 more to go! I did start the internets dating thing. Well no dates yet but made a profile and then I figure it'll be hot and cold running babes. Night welding classes start in September so I'll sign up for that (60% chance of actually happening).

When I was in high school and college that was the high point of the idea that you get trained as a Knowledge Worker and work in the service economy manipulating symbols. This seemed like a cool idea in 1989 and rather bogus in 2009.

I actually like doing physical work: cooking gardening etc. Of course doing it as a hobby and doing it all day are two different things.

It's satisfying actually seeing something accomplished. Working all day on an excel spreadsheet or a database seems like just farting in the wind. What does it accomplish and who ever notices? It pays better I guess until they send it to India.

Sunday weight

2009-06-14T09:28:00.002-04:00

No change. I forgot to yesterday. Tomorrow I'm starting Atkins as I've got 20 pounds to lose and need to do it fast because internet dating is go.

There's more 30ish women, single or divorced, no kids, and not horrible looking than I would have expected. At my age I figured it'd be 1) still attractive and divorced with kids or 2) single and morbidly obese.

I talk much more about the Atkins diet than I've done it successfully but I have done it for 3 different weeks and lost 9, 5, and 4 pounds respectively.

Dream report

2009-06-09T10:17:00.001-04:00

I was floating down a swollen river on a dinner table I think or a desk. It was sort of like Huckleberry Finn. You know, where they come upon the house floating down the river, etc.

Saturday weight

2009-06-06T11:56:00.004-04:00

203. I'm at the point where I should lock myself in my house with nothing but bacon and hot dogs and Atkins the last 20 pounds off in a month. I think it would work but not the most practical idea.

At 190 I look ok in clothes and by contemporary US standards don't stand out as a fatso. I should be 180 or a bit less. That's not all that much to lose really.

Wednesday report

2009-06-03T21:29:00.004-04:00

1) I weighed myself today and was 203. I'm moving the weigh-ins to Saturday morning to better capture good behavior during the week.

2) I've got an internet dating profile 90% set up but they want some sort of essay or mission statement or something. I'm sure you're supposed to be funny but not a smartass. Confident but not a jerk. Sensitive but not wimpy. Intelligent but not nerdy. Etc. Not really in the mood. Maybe I need some beer to warm me up.

3) I can say on my profile that I'm an attorney and investor and both are completely true. They can find out later that the attorney thing might not be working out and I'm going to welding school.

4) I wouldn't call myself a sexpert or anything but I know you can be not rich, bald, getting old, all sorts of things, but if you have attitude you can do surprisingly well.

5) NCR moved out of Dayton. If DXO pays off I'll have some cash that will need deploying. (I refuse to hold US dollars except for a 6-12 month emergency fund). I might buy like 5 houses in Dayton and wait for the water and oil to run out. It's not reached Detroit-like $100/house levels. Yet. If it does, then maybe 50 houses.

6) Or maybe a duplex or 4-unit building in Oakwood that would be nice, right now, generate income, and be pretty valuable when the water and oil run out.

7) I know I said I wouldn't write about stocks, etc. Anyway. I have pretty much all my net worth about 50/50 stocks/commodity ETFs. If DXO blows up and I sell it it could very well be 50/50 stocks/cash. I'm never going higher than 50% stocks again but I'll have to do something with that cash.

Rhubarb & strawberry

2009-05-31T19:55:00.001-04:00

Sunday weight

2009-05-31T12:47:00.002-04:00

205. So no progress but no gain at least. I suspect if I weighed in on Friday I would have lost 1 or 2. I tend to be weakest on Sat & Sun.

Two observations

2009-05-31T10:03:00.001-04:00

1) The three things the nephews find most compelling: bugs, tools & machinery, Donkey Kong 64.

2) The older you get, and the more aware of your mortality, the faster time seems to go. Funny stuff. It's June already.

Greentea9

2009-05-27T20:58:00.005-04:00

I'm reviewing this blog which is now getting on 2.5 years old.

The financial stuff - stocks I'm buying and all that - is tedious and doesn't age well.

The other stuff is mildly to moderately interesting, although I repeat myself a lot. That happens when you're talking to yourself.

Thus from now on the stock stuff is banned, except I will note trades. A short post "Today I bought 100 XYZ @ $10" or whatever. Just for the record.

Hopefully I'll have more interesting stuff to write about in the future. My life has been in a bit of a holding pattern. Writing is 10% talent and 90% material after all.

Update

2009-05-27T20:14:00.004-04:00

1) Had my sister take a picture of me for internet dating.

Never a big fan of my own picture but I don't look that bad relatively speaking.

2) I started playing the trumpet again. The rust really blows away quickly. I can play all the scales and all that. Can play notes it took a year or two to hit the first time around.

Can't really play music like I'd like but, oh well. I was listening to Clifford Brown playing and he was just playing. Wasn't thinking about notes, scales, chords, all that crap. Just sound. That's how you do it and I don't think I'll ever get there.

3) Garden is boomin' should put more pictures up.

4) Sis me and her kids may very well finish Donkey Kong 64 this summer.

5) My niece knows an amazing amount of words and is starting to put them together into sentences. She is soooo rowdy. What a terror. She'll be the last to exit the terrible twos in 6 months or so so it'll get easier. Unless I have some.

Sunday weight

2009-05-24T10:55:00.003-04:00

205. So I dropped 4.

I did no carb Mon-Thur. Then a little watermelon on Fri. Yesterday a few more carbs but nothing crazy. I think 4 days no carb 3 some carb might be a way to go that works and is sustainable.

I've hit that point where you get disgusted with being a tub of goo so I'm motivated.

Man 4 a week would get me to 190 in a month. Wonder if I could do that?

Reduced to this

2009-05-20T19:52:00.006-04:00

Man Twitter is really cutting down on the crap I put up here but who cares?

I don't.

A few people actually skim though my Twitter crap but nobody reads this.

Anyway I used the Craigslist Missed Connections thingy for the first time today.

In other news, I tell you, I need to go to bar association mixers and stuff.

Had another class today. The lawyers are split about 50/50 male female but the dudes are such tubby slobs and weirdos that even needing to lose 20 pounds I'm easily in the top quartile appearance-wise. There's always at least one workable woman or two without a ring on.

I've got about half my continuing education requirement met. Of the other half half of that can be done online. So probably going downtown for another class or two. It's a nice change of scenery from my rural exile.

Dayton has a really nice assortment of 10-20 story buildings built back when they built them with style: 1890s-1920s.

Once the oil and water run out urban rust belt real estate like that will be gold.

Sunday weight

2009-05-17T20:17:00.002-04:00

209. Well, that's weak. I stuck to it pretty well too except for Saturday. I seem to lose in discontinuous chunks rather than a smooth decent.

I really need to decide if I'm committed to the project to get to the 180s or if I'll just content myself with staying around here and not gaining.

I probably was 220+ at the high point after the Holidaze so I've made some progress but still.

Tune in next week.

Classes

2009-05-15T07:06:00.003-04:00

Taking more continuing education today. 6 hour intro to bankruptcy law. Then next week 3 hour DUI update. I'm hitting all the growth markets here.

Need to remember to sign up for welding night classes. I figure 1000 shares of DXO @ $10 will more than pay for it. Leaving 9000 for other stuff.

Sunday weight

2009-05-10T21:13:00.001-04:00

207. Aw yeah. I didn't really stick religiously to it either. If I really knocked myself out I could get to 190 in 6 weeks or something. I should try. Not getting any younger.

The boy is back

2009-05-09T10:02:00.002-04:00

After the Disaster of 2008 my investing skilz seem to be somewhat back - up 22% YTD. Mainly timely buys of DXO. With help from BHP and good old MA which is back to a triple from where I bought it. Even BAM is sucking less.

Don't confuse reflation with genius.

If I spent as much time trying to start a business or something as I do on this stuff I'd have one by now.

I'm thinking of just going on Craigslist and asking if anyone wants to hire a licensed atty flunky to do research whatever for el precio super cheapo.

I'm a smart energetic weirdo, I should be able to find my way in the world.

Apple

2009-05-07T16:56:00.002-04:00

It's interesting if you're no-carbing for a while how something like an apple sounds like the greatest thing possible on earth. I can see cheekbones and a jawline again so we're making progress.

Strawberries again

2009-05-03T22:51:00.003-04:00

Really getting into this gardening thing. Each flower will be a strawberry if all goes well.

Sunday weight

2009-05-03T20:39:00.001-04:00

210. So a bit of backsliding. No problemo. This week should have good no carb opportunities. Bet I can break through 200 this month.

Income

2009-04-29T13:23:00.002-04:00

I buy the idea that Americans are going to have a lower standard of living going forward. Or at least less money coming in. Wanting a return to the ez cash of the past is foolish because that was all just debt piled on debt anyway.

But in my own life I keep thinking damn I want to make $50k again that was nice.

So I'm sort of anchoring aren't I? Not being realistic?

Place

2009-04-29T13:05:00.004-04:00

Had some continuing education today so I drove all the way up 48 to downtown Dayton.

Dayton looked better than I remember. Maybe the weak and sick are dying off and only the strong are left? I dunno. Lots of nice old buildings on a human scale, less vacant than I might have guessed.

Also went through Oakwood which is my all-time second favorite place I've ever lived. What a beautiful dull little oasis.

My favorite place was the Ohio State student slum, but I'm too old for that now.

Were it economically viable I'd just get a place in Oakwood and stay planted.

Morels

2009-04-26T21:23:00.002-04:00

The nephews are fantastic at finding these things. I never see them. We cooked some up and I can't really see going out of my way for them but, I dunno, maybe it's about the hunt or something.

Sunday weight

2009-04-26T19:57:00.002-04:00

209. So that's a loss of three? That's more like it. If I push I can crack 200 in not that long a time. Around 195 or so I look fine in clothes but I should weigh 180 or less.

Gas again

2009-04-24T13:20:00.006-04:00

Bought some more UNG today. That thing just goes down every day. I plan to buy another chunk (lower of course) to get to 500 shares and then maybe sell covered calls. (Need to call USAA and get myself able to do that). Then I'll sell it all on a spike maybe in 2010 or whatever.

I found this woman I had a huge crush on in the early 90s singing on Youtube. The singing didn't do much for me but she's still rather cute. And still a bit crazy. Interesting stuff.

I'm going to the park.

Twitter again

2009-04-19T19:39:00.003-04:00

Twitter is really eating into my bloggin' time. Which is no great loss for the world.

Twitter reminds me of Youtube: I knew the instant I saw it that it was very cool but it took a while to figure out what it was for. In Youtube's case, music. An incredible resource for re/discovering music.

Twitter I'm not sure yet. Instant networks for your various microinterests?

Sunday weight

2009-04-19T19:38:00.003-04:00

212. So a less than spectacular one pound lost. I try to do Atkins for as long as I can stand, usually 2 weeks or less, then cycle off. Trying another round on Monday. We'll see.

Whine

2009-04-19T19:36:00.001-04:00

Man, my brother-in-law is a whiny little bitch. A grown man in his 40s who can act like 14-year-old girl. Very odd. Sort of guy I would totally avoid except he happens to be married to my sister for the time being.

Continuing education

2009-04-16T23:44:00.002-04:00

I've got to take 24 hours of continuing education this year. Only 6 of it can be online. So I'll be driving to the bar association and all. They've got a 6 hour bankruptcy thing I think I'll go to next month.

Seeing as I'm still not practicing law and tending to think I won't, I'm not particularly enthusiastic. Maybe they'll be some winsome lawyerettes there.

Speaking of practicing law I keep coming up with job prospects in places like Lima, Troy, Chillicothe, total dumps in the middle of nowhere that make Dayton look vibrant.

If I had it to do over again I would have still gone to Miami, but then learned a trade instead of getting more degrees. Professional degrees appear to accomplish little in the contemporary economy other than making you overqualified for lots of stuff.

Gold

2009-04-15T21:40:00.003-04:00

That's a blurry picture of a 2009 1 oz Canadian Maple Leaf.

I thought a few weeks ago that going into credit card debt to buy gold and silver might be a clever idea. Manageable debt you can service of course.

The theory is in the future gold and silver will be worth more, and the debt will be worth less in real terms as they debase the dollar to prop up the bankster sickos.

We'll see if it works.

Strawberries and Rhubarb

2009-04-12T18:42:00.002-04:00

Sunday weight

2009-04-12T18:38:00.002-04:00

213. So we dropped two. About two a week seems to be what you can accomplish realistically. Tune in next week.

Selegiline

2009-04-09T21:21:00.002-04:00

Doing another nootropic experiment, this time with Selegiline. It's supposed to do the usual: increase energy and memory, brighten mood, etc. It's a selective irreversible MAO-B inhibitor used for Parkinson's and depression.

I've only been trying it for a few days and it's not doing much as far as intelligence goes. However, one effect that is mentioned often is quite noticeable: libido.

So horny. I feel like I'm 16 again.

Amusing, but not sure I'll stick with it.

Rhubarb part 4

2009-04-05T19:44:00.000-04:00

Sunday weight relaunch

2009-04-05T19:28:00.003-04:00

215. You'll recall we did this last year. I got down to the mid 190s and then relapsed. So now I'm back at 215. The ultimate goal is 180, the high end of my high school weight, but I'd be happy with 190. Tune in next week.

Gas

2009-04-04T10:25:00.004-04:00

I forgot. This week I sold 500 of my CEF (1000 left) for a modest profit to buy 300 UNG. A starter position in natural gas. I'll add a bit more if it goes down a lot.

This year is proving to be rather sucessful, after last years wipe out. Somehow I'm still up 20% something since 2005 when I started being more active in my investing. 20% isn't too shabby all things considered. Of course I was up 100% at the high point. I'll get there again.

Rhubarb part 3

2009-03-31T13:11:00.002-04:00

2009

2009-03-31T13:00:00.003-04:00

Sweet. Found out a project I'm working on will go through 2009. (Unless it doesn't). This will allow me to break even financially and put a year or more of cash in the bank.

The plan this year is to get a real job using the JD, make up a job for myself, or go to school.

I'm looking at welding program at the county voc center. Seriously. Takes maybe six months, costs $7500. The economy is crap now but welding is one of those Old Economy jobs where everyone is 50+ and employers will have a tough time getting qualified people, assuming the economy ever comes back. Because all we youngsters (40 and under) went to college to get BS service economy jobs. Google it if you don't believe me.

I think I'll call up some welding contractors and ask them what prospects are like, which is more research than I did when I slid into law school for lack of a better idea.

Twitter

2009-03-25T11:29:00.003-04:00

I've gotten hooked on Twitter. Posting a fair amount under my almost real name. I think this blog will become a place for pics and the occasional rambling essay.

For the most part I don't have much interesting to say over 140 characters.

I've been reluctant to put stuff with my real name out there while hunting for a stodgy stuffy attorney job but I've just about given up on that. I'm 50% serious when I say I'm going to welding school. Maybe in the fall or late summer.

Rhubarb part 2

2009-03-23T22:30:00.002-04:00

A little alien looking. It grows very fast. It's more or less a weed once it gets established, I'm told.

Slacker

2009-03-20T09:39:00.003-04:00

I read an email from a reader on Andrew Sullivan's website. He said that he had a respectable professional job, a 401(k) and all that, and ditched it to travel around the world goofing off. The guy was about my age and starting to think he should settle down, get a career, etc. But then the economy crapped out and he figured if he'd followed the respectable route, he'd be downsized, unemployed, and his 401(k) would be wiped out anyway. So maybe slacking was the right choice.

I'm starting to think that early 90s ethos of being underemployed, not spending much money (thus not needing much) and just enjoying the simple life was really on to something.

Rhubarb

2009-03-19T21:42:00.001-04:00

Shorts day

2009-03-18T13:31:00.001-04:00

Today is a special day - first shorts of the year day. The legs want to be free.

In less happy news, the fat shorts are a touch snug. I'm really pissed at myself packing it back on. I have been doing hardcore Atkins lately so we'll get back but it's still a lame move on my part.

Dream report part 2

2009-03-17T10:47:00.002-04:00

I had a dream about the same person. It had something to do with a graduation and breakfast - breakfast before the graduation? Waffles and all. I dunno. Not very coherent. I don't imagine I'll ever see her again.

In other news, I was driving by a cemetery and they had a big sign out front that said:

Mausoleum Sale!

The cheery exclamation point was a nice touch.

Dream report

2009-03-16T10:31:00.002-04:00

I was talking on the phone to someone I used to know. It's kind of garbled. Something about lobsters. Buying some at the grocery store? Anyway the phone was clear plastic and about the size of a credit card. Kind of futuristic, in a cheesy way. In the end we were calling each other the wrong names. I dunno.

Work

2009-03-15T19:39:00.004-04:00

I always spend Sunday at my sisters with the three kids. It's about 10 hours of non-stop cooking, dishwashing, wrangling the kids, and chores like gardening or moving logs around or whatnot.

It just wipes me out. Haven't been this beat since my dishwashing job.

I ought to charge $10/hour or whatever undocumented handymen make.

But it is satisfying to actually do stuff. Real stuff. Accomplishing something in the physical world. I want to learn to do more stuff. Fix things, welding, etc.

Speaking of the garden I took the winter straw off the strawberries. The rhubarb is coming up. We're trying to grow our own tomato seedlings and got some sprouts this weekend.

Green part 3

2009-03-13T16:14:00.001-04:00

Crocus I think.

No carb thoughts

2009-03-12T12:38:00.007-04:00

A no carb diet leads to an odd mental state: clear and energetic but with no patience for anything and cranky. Also, I hate changing the clocks. I'm dazed and incoherent for a week. Oh my once mighty brain.

I keep thinking there must be a way to assemble a nice portfolio of income streams. Mostly telecommuting. This coupled with depression cheap Ohio would lead to a nice life, relatively speaking.

I did the corporate thing but find myself having to reinvent my life in the second half of my 30s, in a depression. Interesting times. At least I'm not 60 I guess.

I did a year in a cubicle and I really don't want to do that again anyway. I've been telecommuting so long I'm not sure I could really make it in an office.

Green part 2

2009-03-11T11:09:00.001-04:00

I have so little interesting to say maybe I'll just put pictures up here.

Green

2009-03-09T21:24:00.002-04:00

It's still pretty brown and lifeless, but you can tell winter is losing it.

Spring

2009-03-06T00:05:00.003-05:00

Today was the first day you could walk outside and not feel like you're getting kicked by the cold. It's something you notice. The air, it's not hostile. You can feel Spring coming.

I was out somewhere and saw one of those proverbial fat girls with a pretty face. Really cute. Needed to drop 100. Dark hair. You could see: drop 100, it would be quite workable. I'm not being judgmental here I've got a spare tire myself which I will conquer in 2009 or die trying.

Hey want to do Atkins together? I've got a treadmill. . .

Sunday notes

2009-03-01T20:16:00.010-05:00

1) I think making music is really good for me. As discussed before, I made hours and hours of somewhat Harold Budd like electronic noodling music. I need to start that up again. I still have the Nord Lead 2 and the 2003 laptop. I should figure out some way to get it out there in case 5 or 10 people in the world might like it.

2) I should also get out the trumpet. I used to practice 2-3 hours a day religiously. I got pretty ok. It was like doing yoga or something - cleared the brain and required a certain physical discipline I could really use now. Every once in a while I get it out and it's pretty wobbly but I can hit notes that it took a year to hit the first time around. My fingers know how to play scales even if I'm not sure what the scale is when they start. "What was that? Let's see Eb that's a nice one." I would probably be a much better improviser now because I'm not as rigid as I was when young.

3) I could very well be unemployable as an attorney. Especially with the economy pooping the pool there's going to be a lot of JDs out there. They just need to shut the damn schools down for a few years. But anyway, that leads to the question "so what else do I do?" Vocational school?

4) I'm not really in love with law or anything. I just sort of drifted into it when I was 22 and it seemed like something I could do.

5) I need to go ahead and start breeding already. That's a project for 2009. I don't mean, get laid, I mean mixing DNA and making little monsters.

6) Maybe I won't ever have a real job. I used to feel bad about that but we're in a depression, more or less, and I'm in godforsaken Ohio. Jobs are overrated. Why spend you life shoveling crap for some corporation? Get cash from different directions and fuck em. It's so cheap here.

7) My mind is going through all sorts of interesting scenarios. Things that would have been off limits reconsidered. Authorities dismissed. New angles and approaches arise.

8) I keep replaying scenes from high school (85-89) where it was drilled into us to get an education, go to college, become a professional. You didn't want to be a plumber or fix cars. What utterly discredited bullshit, in retrospect. Some guy in Mumbai can't fix your car.

Another dream report

2009-03-01T20:12:00.001-05:00

I was studying the various fertilizer companies: POT, MOS, AGU, etc. Used to own AGU of course. Roundtripped. Sold it to buy more DXO . . . I wonder how many will be publicly traded companies in a few years?

Anyway, then there was some large animal in the yard. A dog or camel or something. I dunno what.

That's a pretty dull dream. Actually sounds like a typical day for me.

Dream report

2009-02-27T11:37:00.002-05:00

On a beach somewhere. Then at a museum. It was supposed to be a bird museum (whatever that is - an aviary?) but then turned into an unironic Hair Band museum. With shrines to Ratt, Poison, Winger, etc.

For some reason I didn't want to walk in the museum but instead drove my car through it. This was not well-received and they tried to tow it away but I drove off.

90s part 2

2009-02-26T00:03:00.001-05:00

I seem to be on a 90s jag. This reminds me of Columbus in 92 or 93.

Backyard part 3

2009-02-25T17:10:00.001-05:00

Signs you need a new job

2009-02-23T12:39:00.002-05:00

You hope, in the middle of Great Depression 2.0, that your hours get cut, or maybe even the job just goes away, so you don't have to deal with the buttknobs.

Off to get a Mega Millions ticket.

Worst month

2009-02-19T21:22:00.002-05:00

Without a doubt February is a trying month. It grinds on and on. It seems like winter is never going to end. We had halfway decent temps for a few days and now it's back to the 20s for a week. Was mich nicht umbringt, macht mich stärker.

Backyard part 2

2009-02-18T10:52:00.002-05:00

One last round

2009-02-18T10:14:00.007-05:00

I bought a final 1000 DXO @ $1.83 for the brokerage.

That gets me to my magic number 10000 across the brokerage and IRA with an average price around $2.50.

I'm assuming it will, someday, rise as spectacularly as it dropped. I'm thinking six digit gains here. $10 x 10000 = $100000. It was $30 in July.

While the 6000 in the IRA is there for the big haul, the 4000 in the brokerage is subject to sale at any moment above $3 if cash is needed. Assuming it gets above $3 again of course.

I almost have a good 6 month supply of cash in the bank so I shouldn't need any cash immediately. Still employed.

Am I nuts? We'll see.

Lake

2009-02-17T22:10:00.002-05:00

Backyard

2009-02-12T16:46:00.002-05:00

DXO again

2009-02-12T09:47:00.006-05:00

I bought a last chunk of 1000 DXO @ $2.45 for the IRA.

This brings me to 9000 in the IRA and brokerage. I know the way my brain works I'm going to obsess over getting it to a round 10000.

I'm going to sell based on rather arbitrary price targets.

The 3000 in the brokerage will get sold when oil hits $80. Or maybe $100. Haven't decided. I'd like to hold out for long term capital gains.

The 6000 in the IRA will be sold at intervals: 1000 when oil hits $100, 1000 when oil hits $120, etc.

I need something arbitrary like that because my major weakness is a lack of selling discipline.

Give it a year or two.

And every day I'll say a prayer for the continuing health of Deutsche Bank.

Snooze

2009-02-11T09:05:00.007-05:00

I have zero motivation. I actually have work to do, which will give me a lot of stories to tell the hobos as we gather around the oil drum of burning garbage:

I had job once guys.

A job?!

I'm working a lot because every week could be your last. I usually make enough in a week to pay the bills for a month so I'm getting close to breaking even on the first half of the year.

But man.

Boring!

There's coffee and tea but I wouldn't mind some motivational pills of some sort. I'm a little chicken to import Modafinil because it's a bit less than legal absent a script. Although the chances of getting caught are rather slim I suppose. I did try Adrafinil. It more or less worked but not worth it really.

Maybe I could fake ADD. I actually did get diagnosed when I was 12 or something. (In other words I was a perfectly normal squirrely young primate). But I never really did the pill thing.

Keep thinking of the money!

I know when I'm stocking shelves at WalMart I'll miss this soft gig.

More bounce to the ounce

2009-02-10T21:36:00.004-05:00

The thirty ounces of silver got here and it's in a safe right now. The nephews were fascinated by them.

My only regret is not getting 100 ounces. I guess it was just a test buy. I think I'll get another 70 of these to round it out, then move to the 100 oz silver bars. Silver is up a lot in two months. Should try to be a bit patient.

Soggy

2009-02-10T21:33:00.004-05:00

It appears we exchanged the arctic weather for something more tame, yet a soggy gloom. The ice melts to mud farms. I'm undecided which is better. The really cold stuff came with sun and blue skies for weeks.

90s

2009-02-08T08:37:00.001-05:00

Deep end

2009-02-05T22:46:00.006-05:00

Thirty ounces of silver are on the way, ordered on the internets. I haven't started stockpiling guns and food yet. I'll buy more over time.

I realize I may be topticking precious metals with my recent interest in them.

Ten years

2009-02-03T13:44:00.003-05:00

I realized it was 10 years ago this week that I started working for my employer. My first real job. Started out as a temp and was making $50k after a few years. Not bad money at all for Ohio if you live within your means. I was into austerity and deleveraging before it was cool.

I was downsized eventually and hired back as a contractor or whatever but I'm still milking them for not-bad money. I do need to diversify income streams as I've said.

Anyway, what the hell happened to my 30s?

Music

2009-02-03T00:06:00.001-05:00

Lost time

2009-02-01T19:38:00.008-05:00

1) We went sledding today. It got up to 40 which feels like summer after the last month. That is some fun stuff. The kids made a snowman. I told my sister how I remember going sledding when we lived in Ann Arbor and I was about the same age as her oldest kid is now - 4 or 5. Very clearly. It was a huge hill at a golf course, I think. Seemed huge at the time.

2) I used to live in an apartment on Summit Street in Columbus. I think it was $250 a month or less. A bit of a dive you might say. It didn't have air conditioning so I'd sit around at 2:00 in the morning listening to Art Bell in the summer. I was a little underemployed at the time. For some reason I remember the night they announced Frank Sinatra croaked. Looks like it was May 1998.

Dream report

2009-02-01T08:43:00.003-05:00

The sun was an opaque circle with barely any heat. The skies were cloudy and grey. The trees were black without leaves. I was thinking about moving to Brazil.

Kind of like it is now. Well, except it's blinding arctic sunny every day.

Gold buggin'

2009-01-30T10:19:00.005-05:00

I bought 1500 CEF @ $11 today in the IRA.

I consider this a replacement for bonds/cash rather than something that's going to blow up in a good way, like DXO.

My next thing is to figure out where I'm going to get money to buy 1000 more BAM. I just know I'll wish I had.

BHP is the obvious candidate. But it will also blow up in a good way, provided we don't get a Mad Max scenario.

Also interested in guys I used to own who've been nuked: BNI and DEO.

If DXO does blow up and I sell it, I might be able to buy 1000 BAM and 200 DEO like I'd like, although perhaps not at these bargin bin prices.

DXO or bust

2009-01-29T11:13:00.004-05:00

I bought 5000 DXO @ $2.65 today for the IRA.

Researching gold.

I remember seeing an interview with Hugh Hendry where he thought that after this deflationary unpleasantness was over, gold could go to $6000. But then he figured people would think he's nuts so just in case he cut his target price to $3000.

Central Fund of Canada is an interesting outfit. They buy gold and silver bars and keep them in a vault in Canada. Insured, audited, inspected, etc.

If you look at a chart of it against gold it does a remarkable job of doing what gold does. Unlike say, gold miners.

I could see that being a good place to stash cash away from bonds and US Pesos. Both of those scare me. It has a beta of 0.19 and a three year correlation with SPY of -0.02. It's like a money market or bond fund that will actually keep up with inflation.

I'm talking myself into it.

Unlike oil, gold is a little overbought at the moment.

Snow

2009-01-29T09:30:00.001-05:00

Took this with my cell phone yesterday.

I've never done this before

2009-01-26T13:14:00.004-05:00

I'm thinking of putting maybe 1/3 of the IRA in gold.

GLD or another ETF or maybe CEF.

I never really got into gold before, although DBC is 10% gold futures, but I can see - it's a currency that has no country as Gregor Macdonald puts it.

It was actually up somewhat 5% maybe in 2008 which is outstanding.

A real gold bug would disdain the ETFs of course.

Monday report

2009-01-26T10:55:00.003-05:00

1) I'm remembering more dreams than usual. Lots of hippy settings like Yellow Springs. Wandering around. Last nite's was about a flaming dumpster of garbage. I drove a friend to the dumpster to dump something off and the dumpster was on fire but we didn't seem to think it was remarkable.

2) I think the diet is going pretty well. I can see cheekbones and a jawline again. The first 10 pounds of bloat comes off quickly and then it becomes a protracted siege. I haven't weighed myself yet because I thought it might be demoralizing. I might first Sunday in Feb or maybe March. You do need a number to keep you honest.

Speculatin'

2009-01-26T09:49:00.003-05:00

Ok the turds have been flushed from the IRA. The indexes are gone. I was fooled by lazy portfolio BS and all that but anyway, looking forward, the IRA now consists of:

1) 1000 DBC with an average price of $23.42 and

2) A pile of cash

I haven't bought the 10000 DXO yet. I'm thinking of legging into that in 2500 or 5000 increments, and leaving a fair amount of cash as ballast.

I think of DBC as a buy and hold (yeah I know) and DXO as a trade, although maybe a 1 or 2 year one.

Now to the brokerage account. I'm not sure I need the 300 BHP there with all these commodities. So that might go. But I'm not selling below $50 which would be a decent profit. Then I might buy another 1000 BAM.

It feels good to not own a bunch of stocks. I might be done with those except special circumstances, like MA right after the IPO or BAM which I think is a buy it and forget about it for 20 years Berkshire sort of like thing.

Bananas

2009-01-25T19:17:00.004-05:00

I've got a mighty chunk of the IRA tied up in Vanguard indexes. They took a giant crap in 2008 of course. If stocks ever go up again, it will still take years to get it back.

So I'm thinking, nuts to the indexes. Sell, and buy some crazy amount of DXO. 10000 shares or something.

I think it's very very likely that oil will be more expensive 1, 2, 5 years from now. Really the only thing holding me back is worrying if Deutsche Bank might blow up. DXO is an ETN after all.

You could buy 10000 and have a strict selling plan:

Oil hits $75 sell 1000, Oil hits $100 sell 1000, etc.

I need something arbitrary and mechanical like that so I won't be able to talk myself out of it.

Without a doubt my weak link is a lack of selling discipline.

Thinking about it. . .

Outlier times call for outlier actions.

Light

2009-01-21T17:59:00.003-05:00

It's still a little light outside at 6:00. Quite an improvement over the end of November into December. About one more month or six weeks of the really cold stuff left.

More DXO

2009-01-21T10:01:00.001-05:00

I bought another 1000 DXO @ $2.45. That's probably the last thing I'll be buying in 2009.

Flexible

2009-01-19T22:21:00.003-05:00

I worked 10 hours today. Trying to grab maximum cash while it's available.

I got a brochure in the mail from the Warren County vocational center. Is it a sign? Not just welding but they also have a 9 month power line mechanic program. One of those old economy jobs full of soon-to-retire geezers because smart kids like me went to college so we could sit in a cubicle until they send the job to India and we find ourselves at 30, 35, 40, with nothing particularly marketable to offer.

Anyway, have to say flexible.

Dream report

2009-01-17T08:40:00.004-05:00

I had a dream I was pushing the oldest nephew around in a stroller. He's a bit too big for a stroller but anyway that's what we did. It was some sort of ruse I guess. We were walking around and walked into a house that had a big wedding reception going on. We made off with a few cakes. A chocolate one and some sort of whipped cream and strawberry thing.

Feelin' fine

2009-01-17T08:18:00.006-05:00

The dentist drilled out the tooth, took the nerves out, and filled it with cement. Later it's going to get a crown or whatever. So I've taken the first step towards becoming a cyborg.

One of the 2blowhards guys has a theory that music is an attempt to recreate drug experiences. I must say a touch of opiates makes jazz even better, especially the post WWII varieties: Bebop, etc. They work well together.

Here's a good one. There's a bit of geezer patter in the beginning you might as well fast forward through.

Root canal

2009-01-16T16:05:00.002-05:00

Well that was fun. I swear I brush my teeth and floss regularly.

Not too sore now but I bet I'll be feeling it in the morning.

In happier news, the Vicodin appears to be kicking in.