Sometimes you win big!
Today was like that for me. FOFOA started me off this morning with a nice & scary (not to mention commendably short) Halloween Story! FOFOA! Make this a series while you still have time!
fofoa.blogspot.com
***
Soon after I had a meeting that went better than I could have even hoped for, I will not bore you with the details.
***
After that I had my annual (more-or-less) physical with my doctor. Everything went fine, and then the Grand Finale... Similar to last year:
Robert Mix: "Doctor, are you sure there is, ah, no, chemical way to check this? You know, like from my blood test or urinanalysis?"
Doctor B: "No. Sorry."
I then mentioned maybe it was just as well, as it would be good training for Belle Glade ("Google it")... I then mentioned (like last year...) that he should just hide a tape recorder there in the room and tape all the really different noises that come from deep within the human male body re that exam, and once he has some variety post it at YouTube... I swear that his finger gets a little fatter every year...
***
When I got home, I found that I had some extra energy, so I decided to go ahead and "take some exercise". As it was late afternoon on Halloween, I was happy to note NO CHILDREN AROUND, so I got my Tai Chi sword out (I do not practice with the sword when children and/or Security are around). I did my two forms and a decent amount of sword work (I have just started learning this, it is awesome cool).
When I finished my Tai Chi, I went to the spa and worked some of the weights. I loaded up the bench press to 165 lbs (which matches my own weight). I had read years ago that "a man ought to be able to lift his own weight." I presume that means a full scale barbell lift (from the floor), which is harder than the bench press. I asked some TEENAGE DUUUUUDE to "spot me" (assist me in lifting the weight in case I could not do it), but I heaved it up (one time) just fine. That is the most I have lifted since I was a young lad of 40...
Next up was my run. So I hid my sword and hit the trail. I have decided to add some variety to my runs, so I duck under branches, hurdle over a wall, speed up & slow down, etc. Upon finishing my run, I retrieved my sword and headed for the entrance of our condo building. A family of three was waiting, perhaps for the Valet to deliver their car.
The door slid open, and as I passed them one of those little shitty white dogs (toy poodles so beloved of the ex-NYC-ers here, I guess) BARKED at me, very loud! I did not notice the little son-of-a-bitch (yes, you can look that one up too!) when I had walked past. The little thing had an impressive bark, enough to startle me some.
And then, one of those moments that many men wait for..., wait for, for years! I stopped, glanced over at the Concierge, and unsheathed my sword!
"Sssschleeeeeeeeeeeeennnggg!"
The Concierge screamed: "Noooohh! Please don't kill the dog!!!"
I then told her not to worry, that I had no intention to, and that it was just an El Cheapo Chinese sword for practicing sword forms in Tai Chi, and put it back where it belonged... (Big smile)
***
So, in the shower after that, recollecting the various moments of this awesome day, I then thought this would make a nice blog post! Some of you already know I get some of my most creative ideas in the shower... I had the post almost already written in there! And then I saw what my lovely dear wife had made for dinner:
Ceviche!
Mmm....
***
My day was one in a thousand... May all of you have days like this!
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Monday, October 29, 2012
Mickey Fulp's Musings (29 October 2012)
A Musing on Gold and Fiat Currencies
A Monday Morning Musing from Mickey the Mercenary Geologist
October 29, 2012
Gold
is money that maintains its purchasing power, and for this reason it should be
viewed as insurance against financial calamity and a hedge in case of economic
collapse.
When
money supplies are inflated, fiat currencies are devalued and the price of gold
goes up. For example, monopoly money manipulators Bernanke and Draghi announced
the purchase of more tranches of American and European debt in late August and
early September and gold rose $127 an ounce in a two-week period:
During
the previous six months, it had been widely anticipated that Professor Bernanke
planned to engage in this third round of quantitative easing. In the various
instances when he did not, gold precipitously dropped $50 or more immediately after
his speech.
Despite
mainstream media‘s promulgation of the idea, gold's inexorable increase in
price does not represent a bubble. The gold price has steadily increased in
every major currency over the last 11 years, and it is now all but certain the
metal will end 2012 higher than it was at year’s end 2011. Precious metals pundits
have predicted this performance for several years now; it seems a veritable
no-brainer.
By
comparison, examine what happened with the price of silver in the late winter
to mid-spring of 2011; it rose from less than $27 to nearly $50 an ounce and then
immediately collapsed in a parabolic fall to $32 and change. This is precisely
how speculative market bubbles work:
Although
silver has traded below $30 most of 2012, it is now at $32 in the aftermath of
QE3. Silver is not money; it is more industrial than precious metal.
We
have not seen this sort of volatility in the gold market since late 1979 to
early 1980. In the course of five and a half months it went from $282 to $850
an ounce and in a classic parabolic fall, was at $482 two months later. It took
nearly 28 years to reach that lofty level again.
As
for the bevy of gold bug speculators currently predicting that gold will reach
$2,500 an ounce by the end of the year, I can foresee no catalyst to stimulate
such an exponential rise.
Regarding
their mid-term ideas of gold breaching $5,000, $10,000 or even $15,000 an ounce,
I would opine that if it were to reach those levels within the next few years,
you should own not only gold but a gaggle of guns and an arsenal of ammo
because the world would be in total economic and social collapse.
No
matter what price of gold bullion retailers, newsletter writers, radio pundits,
and TV talking heads with vested interests may promote, please note that
financial success with their respective buyers, subscribers, listeners, and
viewers depends on sustaining an emotional environment of greed, fear, and
panic. Some of the older perma-bulls in this crowd have been predicting an
imminent collapse of the world’s financial system since the late 1970s and
early 1980s. This Chicken Little notion reminds me of the multitude of
born-again doomsday prophets predicting the end of the world, a la Monty
Python’s “Life of Brian”.
Personally,
I prefer the Boy Scout way and am hopefully prepared for whatever may come;
i.e., I hold a minimum of 10 per cent of my net assets in physical gold in my
physical possession at any given time.
For
me, gold is neither an investment nor a speculation. I do not trade gold; I
hoard gold. Gold is my insurance policy against financial calamity and my hedge
against economic collapse.
I
think that every smart investor should have a portion of his net assets in
physical gold. Gold is money. Everything else is just a constantly devaluing
piece of fiat paper or a keyboard stroke that is deemed by one insolvent government or another to be money.
May
you own gold, live long, and prosper.
Ciao for now,
Mickey Fulp
Mercenary Geologist
The Mercenary
Geologist Michael S. “Mickey” Fulp
is a Certified Professional Geologist with a
B.Sc. Earth Sciences with honor from the University
of Tulsa , and M.Sc. Geology from the University of New Mexico
Mickey worked for junior explorers, major
mining companies, private companies, and investors as a consulting economic
geologist for over 20 years, specializing in geological mapping, property
evaluation, and business development. In
addition to Mickey’s professional credentials and experience, he is
high-altitude proficient, and is bilingual in English and Spanish. From 2003 to
2006, he made four outcrop ore discoveries in Peru, Nevada, Chile, and British
Columbia.
Mickey is well-known and highly respected throughout
the mining and exploration community due to his ongoing work as an analyst, writer,
and speaker.
Disclaimer: I am not a certified financial analyst,
broker, or professional qualified to offer investment advice. Nothing in a
report, commentary, this website, interview, and other content constitutes or
can be construed as investment advice or an offer or solicitation to buy or
sell stock. Information is obtained from research of public documents and
content available on the company’s website, regulatory filings, various stock exchange
websites, and stock information services, through discussions with company
representatives, agents, other professionals and investors, and field visits.
While the information is believed to be accurate and reliable, it is not
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it is provided in good faith but without any legal responsibility or obligation
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