Question: "How're ya doin' ?" Answer ...

... (embellished a little, but not much):

... there's always someone who just has to know "How you're doin'?"

What a week!  Had a note from SONY that our BRAVIA flat-panel TV could spontaneously burst into flame, so we had a Tech visit us and take the whole thing apart, test the innards and tell us ours was not one that would do that

... maket went up ... then drove to remote work site for two days of 8 hr-per-day training on a new EHRS (electronic health records system)

... market went down ... then they killed "Al Gathafi," variously rendered as "Al Qaddafi," "Algathafi," and "Al-Gathafi." ("variously rendered" in this case referring to the spelling of his name, not what the rebels did to him). To make it worse ther is the ironically-named "Al-Gaddafi International Prize for Human Rights" and we wondered more about the spelling

... then the market went up (sort of) ... Note: And that's just his surname. Variations on his given name include Muammar, Moammar, Mu'ammar, and Moamar, and many others. Once you've settled on how to spell his first and last names, you then have to decide whether you want to add the Arabic prefix "al-" before his last name. Which can also be spelled "el-." And then, as the Editor of the story,  you have to decide whether the prefix should be capitalized ... or not

... then the market ... well, you know

... This is the point where most editors would give up on him and run a story on Justin Bieber instead (sp? Beiber, Beeber, Beaber ... at least we know it doesn't require the prefix El- or el-, capitalized or not), but his assassination was big enough to get reported with all the name variations, probably just to make sure he was really the properly "named one" who was dispatched

... then I got home from worksite, which took 4 1/2 hours instead of the usual 2 1/2 (due to work on the Bay Bridge causing one-lane traffic hold-ups)

... got to bed at 11:30 PM, awakened at 1:30 AM when wife got sick (minor illness, but we were both awake), then finally got back to sleep at 5:30 AM or so, awakened at 8:45 AM and called the cardiology office to tell them we were not going to be there in 45 minutes to keep her appointment

... then found out that overall we were up $4,500+ in the market for the week!

So, all-in-all, it was quite a week.  I am going to the wet bar in the kitchen now and believe I will just drink until Sunday night and hope for a better week coming up.

All of which proves: "If you don't want to know the answer, don't ask the question."

"So, how are YOU doin'?"

“ ... Summer Roller Coaster” (Investment Newsletter response)

Newsletter text (NL): Summer is a time when many Americans seek out amusement parks for the thrills of riding a rollercoaster. The climbs and drops at high speed deliver an exciting mix of fear and exhilaration. But knowing the extent of the highs and lows, and when it is going to be over, play a crucial role in the fun of riding a metal roller coaster.  Riding a market roller coaster offers no such assurances and is no fun at all ... "

Response to NL (R2NL): however, we do know the highest the market has ever been and that the lowest it can go is to Zero.  That's a paltry 12,000-point range and barely worth the trouble if you are really lookin' for a good time!  (And, don't cha know, we are all lookin' for a good time oncet in a whale.)    

With only 400 to 520-point drops and falls in the current market, I am really not feeling the gut-wrenching excitement, the blood pressure-elevating fear, the terminal projectile vomiting that I really need to get out of playing the market for hard core fun.  Therefore, I would like you to get ready to talk with us about liquidating all of our investments in stocks, funds, Credit Default Swaps, junk bonds and related low-adrenaline pumping stuff and start thinking about moving it all to Commodities. 

I would like to focus on liquid natural gas, copper, aluminum, gold and silver for starters, then using my profits, move into the majorly volatile (e.g., gasoline) ones later.  I am planning on a "buy the market and sell the news" strategy, combined with "buy low and sell high" and other pearls of wisdom I have learned from a pamphlet I got in the mail back in 1984 called "The Burning Match."  

From what I have read, and incorporated into what I call my personal CMS (Commodities Management Strategy) it sounds like I would be in favor of the safest procedure, i.e., taking actual possession of each and every commodity I buy.  I hear people have done that with soy beans and I don't think doing it with LNG would be that much harder ... and I have held a couple of Kruger Rands before which wasn't hard at all (hid 'em in the toilet tank and nobody ever tumbled to where they were).  By taking possession, I don't have to worry about some doofus semi-pro in Conehatta, Mississippi, (locally referred to as Cone-Heads), messing around and losing my gold, silver and liquefied natural gas, etc.  I will have it all right here and can touch it and feel it and show it off to my neighbors.

So, as usual, I have learned a great deal from your investment newsletter and look forward to reading many more.  Thanks so much.

Your loyal investment customer,
Doc