Cabin Fever
Feb 26, 1999
I know it's crazy, but I wish you'd let me know the first time you successfully list the 42 presidents. And, I'll let you know the first time I do it. I did review the sentences the day before yesterday, but I'm not working on it as often as I should. I will, though. I will. Anyway, an intermittent schedule leads to better retention. I remember that from Psych 101.
Yesterday marked dental visit 2 of 5. Laura yanked one of the big fellas, bottom left. Right now as I'm banging away on the Samsung keyboard - I'm using the notebook upstairs at the kitchen table - I'm biting down on a big wad of gauze. I feel like tossing it against the wall but Helen's told me all kinds of horror stories about a condition called "dry hole," (no, Killer, that's not a sexual dysfunction) so I won't. Laura also super cleaned the bottom left quadrant. The other 3 will be taken care of on visits 3 thru 5.
Wall Street... My name is Ace. I'm a trade-a-holic. You guessed it. I didn't get too far with my efforts to stand pat. Freaked on Compaq after Merril Lynch made some dour forecasts for the PC makers, I sold all I had in my "investment account." Still kept some CPQ in my retirement portfolio, though, but in the clear light of the new day that was a mistake. Two analysts downgraded CPQ this morning and its falling faster than Clinton's drawers. I sold it anyway and put the money into E-Trade, figuring the quickest way to recoup my losses would be with an internet stock. I'm still looking for something to buy something to fill the void left by yesterday's sale but haven't fallen in love with anything yet this morning. Check the chart over in column one tomorrow and you'll be able to detect the changes. In fact, I think I'll add a cell at the bottom in which I detail daily changes. I tried to buy 500 more shares of my penney stock, yesterday, but the limit order didn't go thru. Maybe, I'll be buying that today. Who knows. Meanwhile, what's with bonds, huh? I gotta think, gotta hope, the market's over-reacting. Rates will fall. At least, they better. Else the Dow's never gonna hit 11,000, and that's what I'm hoping for before the Millenium.
While I was getting my tooth yanked, Helen observed some unusual activity out in the barnyard and, after venturing out, discovered that one of the horses had injured its back leg, maybe by slipping on the ice. And, up in the main house, Ribbon, Ronny's dog, is resting beneath a warm blanket, trying to recuperate from a leg wound. It began as a sore, but, by picking and biting at it, she turned it into an ugly mess.
What's on tap for today? Not much. Can't exercise - don't wanna get dry hole. Don't feel like writing or working on baseball cards. Wet hole's bothering me. Think I'll just watch TV for a change. Which reminds me... we watched the X-Files movie when I came back from the dentist. Pretty darn good. Though Fox doesn't broadcast a signal up here, I do get to see the syndicated shows aired on other channels. Better than nothing.
Another week down the drain, gurgling as it goes. Have fun this weekend. And floss. Ciao.
We made the rounds, yesterday. First, I bought some lotto tickets. You can imagine my jubilation when I found out I had won $3 on Saturday's ticket. Then we visited the dumpsters and dropped off our garbage. Because it was rainy, the place was a muddy mess. From there, we went to the jewelers. My ring wasn't ready. The jewel had a fundamental design problem with the lettering his clerk had chosen for me. I agreed with him and was glad he balked. It might be ready today. I'll check it out when I come back from the post office; I have to mail out a baseball card. Next, I went to the video store while Helen started the grocery shopping. This weeks picks: City of Angels; X-Files. When we got home, Helen baked one of her famous homemade chicken pot pies. As always, it was superlative, much more than the sum of its parts. "Okay, Doll, I told them." She also made a batch of brownies from the Duncan Hines mix that was on sale... even though I'm still having trouble closing up my jeans, I may add. I have no will power when it comes to abstaining from chocolate things. I'll have to do some extra exercise.
We enjoyed City of Angels. We started watching it around 4 so that we'd be done long before the Grammies. Helen was truly inspired. She says she should have made my becoming a human being a precondition for our getting together. We'll be watching The X-Files this afternoon.
Wall Street Rap... The market was cruising along nicely till the bottom fell out shortly before closing, without my knowing because I was wrapped up with scanning baseball cards, getting ready for this weekend's auctions. Which reminds me... I picked up a copy of The Mountain Trader, yesterday, and found a small but significant typo in my ad. Instead of beginning "Sell Your Sportscards On The Internet," it said "Sell You Sportscards..." Big difference between "Sell Your" and "Sell You," don't you agree? Brooke, the girl who took my call, says they'll run the corrected version an extra week for nothing. Still, my business venture may never survive this blatant bit of sabotage. When I find out who was behind it, I'll let you know. My guess: it was the checkout girl from SuperOne. But, I digress... After 3 morning trades, I resisted all further temptations to alter my portfolio and turned my attentions elsewhere. The AIUD and S&P 500 finished in a dead-heat downer. Big losers in the AIUD were Lucent (LU), down 4 1/6, and INSS, down 2 1/8. Continuing upward against the grain were BroadCom (BRCM) and Nokia (NOK.a). Though it shed it's early gains, AOL managed to escape with a mere 7/16 point loss. Not bad considering it had experienced an 18 point run-up during the last 3 sessions. Inktome showed similar resilience sliding back only 3/8 after its recent surge. I continue to be optimistic about everything, though there's very little reason to be. And, I'm going to try to stand pat another day (one day at a time), though I might cheat a little by picking up some more of that penney stock, AMTI. It slid back to 79 cents, yesterday, so I'm thinking about buying another 500 shares, bringing my total to 1,000. That way, if it goes up a dime, I make a hundred bucks.
Grammies... Like most viewers, I spent the whole night wondering if Shania Twain was going to expose her midrift. Either she's proud of that belly of hers or she's an exhibitionist, or both. Anyway, she didn't flash her naval. Instead, she wrapped it in leather and shook it around. Also interesting were the shows the other networks were offering as competition. On tap on Dateline NBC was an exclusive interview with Clinton Rapee, Jane Doe V, whose story was so flimsy even Kenneth Starr wouldn't touch it. In another coup, the Today show brought back Tonya Harding this morning. I know the girl has to make money. My advice: Roller Derby.
And though I'm not big on foreign affairs, I've had all I can take of them Serbs. You can't negotiate with them bastards. They can't be trusted. Let's wipe'em out once and for all.
Ducks and geese marched down to the pond 5 or 6 times yesterday - no water. The warm temps - it's been in the 40's - probably has their internal gizmos all out of whack.
That's it from the cabin. Cya.
Feb 25, 1999
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STUDY GUIDE 1. Which Angel Jumped Marilyn Monroe After Joe Vanished? 2. Heavy Tanks Pushed The French Past British Lines. 3. John Glenn Helps Giant Aliens Catch Hairy Cats. 4. Monica Runs Through White House Carrying Hillary's Report. 5. The Evil King Jogs Nude For "Cool" Recreation. Sentence cue: White House Janitor Mops The Bathroom
And to learn more about the presidents click here. |
Feb 24, 1999
Here's the next and last installment of our "Remember the Presidents" exercise. This list of 8 bring us up to Ronald Reagan. I'm hoping my students will be able to recall on their own that ole Ronnie was succeeded by George Herbert Walker Bush and William Jefferson Clinton. I'm hoping. Here's the list:
33. Harry S. Truman
Their last initials are T-E-K-J-N-F-C-R. The sentence for remembering them is "The Evil King Jogs Nude For Cool Recreation." We now have 5 sentences. They begin with W-H-J-M-T. Add a B, for Bush, to that, and our sentence cue, in a slightly revised form, is "White House Janitor Mops The Bathroom." All you have to do now is study. During our short history, we've only had 42 presidents, 41 if you count the two-termer Grover Cleveland as one, and even if we don't have any idea what they did or what they stood for, I think it would be nice if we at least could remember their names in sequence. Bet my 50% brother, Paulie, over in England could rattle off all of his country's Kings and Queens. What are we... schmucks? Buckle down! Do it for the Gipper!
Wall Street Rap... Well, Greenspan remained true to form and flapped his gums just enough to take the wind out of the market's sales. I'm hoping investors will shrug off his comments today and re-ignite Monday's rally. Even though prices did retreat from their early highs, there were some good performers among tech and internet stocks. Among our holdings Inktome, the internet software company, was the star, tacking 5 3/4 points onto the 4 points it gained the day before. As things stand now, my move to sell Bell Atlantic, Monday, and throw the money into INKT was a stroke of genius. Unfortunately, the way these tech stocks are bouncing, I could be the village idiot by tonight. Which reminds me, Tuesday's Pick of the Week continues to head south. Stupidly, I bought it on Monday for 8.03125 after two different brokers upgraded it, one to "buy," the other to "strong buy." Yesterday, it finished at 7 3/8. I've since discovered that the two brokers have a questionable relationship with the company which could make them less than objective, so I dumped their stock first thing this morning. I also dumped RES, and bought more Lucent which looks good on the chart. Gonna stick with bigger names... today. That done, I'm going to see if I can stand pat for a while. Wish me luck.
A few of you have expressed a desire to know more about my chronic affliction, Hepatitis C. I don't think about it much since thinking about it serves no purpose. Plus, it's depressing. But, if you still want to learn something about it, a good place to start is right here.
Helen's off today. I think we'll stop at the video store and rent one of those "two thumbs uppers". Jeez, I still can't get over that. And, I want to check on that lottery ticket - see if I win anything for picking the Powerball. Then we'll do a little shopping, taking our time, since I don't have to hurry home to watch the market. I'm beyond that now. Yuk. We've gotta stop by the jeweler's, too, to pick up my ring. They're obliterating my initials, and replacing them with "Ace." So I don't forget who I am.
Helen was interviewed by the Hungry Horse News, the local weekly paper, yesterday, concerning the big crash at Blimpies. That makes her somewhat of a celebrity.
Uh oh, she's getting antsy. Better boogie, mon. Later.
Crash At Blimpies... A junky reddish pickup with Idaho plates crashed through the Blimpies entrance, yesterday, shattering glass, breaking windows and doors, and thoroughly disrupting the sandwich shop's operations. Helen reports that the driver of the errant vehicle had neither a license, insurance, nor brains and that he and his passenger, a fellow hayseed, found the incident amusing. They left the scene with the local police, not before one of the culprits had ordered breakfast to go, but their current status in unknown.
Kiplinger's is taxing... What a headache! It's unbelievable how non-helpful the Montana Income Tax add-on was. And it took an hour and a half to download! No instructions! I would have been better off with a regular tax booklet. Still, I finished the return, wrote out the check, and Helen's dropping it in the mail this morning, along with the NC return and the federal. They too required me to draw on my check writing skills. Does it make any sense that my Montana income tax would be twice as much as my federal? Well, that's how things turned out. I think it's because part year residents can't use the standard deduction. Power to the people!
Received a couple favorable comments concerning the new format. Thanks. I'll be tuning up the other pages when I get a chance. And I'd like to thank those of you who have been ordering books through my Barnes and Noble page. I appreciate it.
Wall Street Rumble... Just like the old days, yesterday, with the tech-heavy AIUD jumping twice as much as the S&P 500. I would've been better off holding onto Cisco which I dumped in the morning, but it's gone now and not worth crying over. I also sold Bell Atlantic. Inactivity. Plus they have some annoying pseudo-intellectuals on their Yahoo message board who make me wanna puke. Put proceeds immediately into more Inktome. Also bought a few hundred shares of Descartes Systems Group Inc. Hey, think I'll name that...
34. Dwight D. Eisenhower
35. John F. Kennedy
36. Lyndon B. Johnson
37. Richard M. Nixon
38. Gerald R. Ford
39. Jimmy Carter
40. Ronald W. Reagan
Feb 23, 1999
Read all about it here. Yesterday, a couple analysts started DSGX with buy recommendations. That led me to the company website. Then I bought some. Now you know how the great investment minds work. (I know you're not stupid, but just in case you feel tempted, I'd like to warn you against buying DSGX. Don't. At least not on my say so. Bet with your head, not over it.)
AIUD's big winners were the newly split AOL, up more than 12 1/2, Inktome, up 4, Nokia, up over 6, and Lucent, up 3 9/16. AMTI, my penney stock, jumped another couple cents, and even the recently stagnant BroadCom added a better than nothing 1 21/32. Though the dow appeared skiddish at today's opening, techs had a good start though they're pulling back a little at this hour. I did a little buying, increasing my holdings in Compaq and Lucent, and even buying 50 shares (that's all the cash I had in my IRA of Egghead (EGGS). I just hope Greenspan can keep his yap under control later when he makes his semi-annual spiel.
How's my college basketball picking going? Here's the latest read out: "You are in a tie for number 1620 in the overall standings, with 25 points. Play this week's Pick 'em!" I hit 7 out of 10 last week, by far my best, but I didn't make up much ground. Oh yeah, and I hit the powerball in the lotto. Nothing else, just the powerball number. I'm not sure if that's worth anything or not. Stay tuned.
Well, it's time I tried to make something of my life. Ciao.
Feb 22, 1999
If you've been here before, chances are you've noticed that Cabin Fever has a new look. Not that I didn't have anything else to do over the weekend - taxes, taxes, taxes, it just dawned on me Saturday night that it was time for an overhaul So, Sunday morning, bright and early, I set about revamping and simplifying. When I finally arrived at a format I could live with, I clicked where I shouldn't have, deleted my new page and had to start all over. Anyway, lemme know what you think.
I can't say that I agreed with every call he ever made, every thumbs up or thumbs down, but I agreed with enough of them, the overwhelming majority of them in fact, that I came to give his opinions a lot of weight. And even in those rare instances when I didn't particularly like one of his picks, knowing Gene like I did, I knew what he liked about the film. Without saying, he loved movies, he loved directors, he loved actors, but mostly he loved movies, directors, and actors who took chances, who weren't just playing it safe, who weren't just trying to make a buck, artists who cared about making great or, at least, good movies. The movie scene won't be quite the same for me without him, and I can only imagine his family's feelings of loss.
Taxes... Kiplinger Sucks! I bought the "Deluxe" Tax Package which supposedly includes software for state taxes, too, but they fail to mention you have to download the state programs and that it takes forever and that they're pretty shabby once you get them. What a difference a year makes! Last year's program wasn't too bad, this year's is. Anyway, I've done the federal, and the North Carolina. All that's left is the Montana. I'm surprised we don't owe anything in Wyoming, after all, we camped there a week.
Barnyard Bus... It looks like something attacked the geese on Saturday. Olive's foot was bleeding, and another goose's neck was roughed up. I was down in the dungeon doing my taxes and heard nothing though I spotted some down blowing around when I went to get the mail around 2 o'clock and noticed that the fowl had all retreated into the coup. Speaking of fowl, Ronnie went out and got a rooster for our hen. You may recall that a renegade cat killed the last rooster a few days before Christmas. And, speaking of cats, I was happy to see that the cat killer portrayed on last night's The Practice was thrown in the clink for his dastardly crime. Allegedly he threw his neighbor's pet out of a speeding car window. Justice.
Wall Street Rap... Coincidentally, the day after I bought the penney stock, or 81 penney stock, AMTI, the company announced it might spin off its internet business. Acting on the news, traders pushed the stock up to .95, watched it fall back to .81, then saw it recover to .87. Quite a hefty percentage gain, yet it hardly pays the commission. Penney Stock 101, Lesson one: Buy plenty or your gains will be peanuts. Otherwise, the market's still in a funk. Investors are nervous, but I get the sense they would like to jump in. All they need are a few upgrades. There were some positive comments over the weekend, but no out and out buy recommendations. Maybe we'll get some today. I sold Cisco this morning because of a lack of movement and a lack of faith. AOL was up more than 4 points when I checked in - it's set to split 2 for 1 tomorrow - and everything else, except Cisco, was up slightly. I'll be watching the drug companies closely, they've been down lately, especially WLA.
Helen had a nice visit with Cora Beth on Saturday, Dusty liked his autographed Team #18 cap, Helen was treated to roasted garlic - the gift that keeps on giving.
Going going gone... Had a pretty good weekend on eBay. One buyer, whose e-mail praised my cards' presentation, bought two of my lots. My "auction specialist/consultant" ad should appear in the Mountain Trader this week. So it goes...
Speaking of movies, did you watch Mr. Holland's Opus? Love those tear-jerkers.
Whenever anyone asks Helen how long are we going to stay in the cabin, she replies, "Until Ace gets us thrown out." Ridiculous! Would I do that? In an unrelated matter, I'm glad to report that our landlady, Ronnie, is not a witch. With all her mumbo jumbo herb concoctions and remedies - her dog was walking around with a poltice on her leg the other day - I thought she might be a member of the friendly neighborhood coven. But, when I asked her, she assured me she wasn't.
Let me get back to those taxes; I won't be able to get on with my life till they're done. Later.
For February, 1999
A friend of mine, Gene Siskel, 53, died on Saturday. Well, Gene wasn't quite a friend, but he was definitely more than an acquaintance. I've been watching movies with him, through him, for almost 20 years, since the early days of Sneak Previews on public television.
Feb 19, 1999
About 5 inches of fresh snow sits atop the picnic table this morning, and it's still falling. Of course, I was warned against skiing after I broke my leg and loused up my knee back in 1976. Nevertheless, I celebrate the fresh powder.
There's been still another addition to my Jerks' List. If you get a chance, read the horrid details yourself.
Helen returned from Blimpie's yesterday afternoon in a state of euphoria because of the freebies she had been able to snare - two balls of pastie dough, the same dough she had transformed into a couple turkey pasties and a chicken pot pie two weeks ago, plus one complete pastie and a cup of gravy. Quite a coup. We ate frozen DiGiorno Supreme Rising Crust Pizza for last night's supper. A dollar coupon had been stuck to the bottle of wine she bought to take to Cora Beth's on Saturday. There aren't any great NY style pizzarias around here, and for the longest time I've been too lazy to make my famous whole wheat pizza, so every once in a while we pick up a frozen pie. Last night's was one of the better ones we've sampled.
If the pizza talk has you wondering if I'm sticking to the exercise regimen and diet I began on New Year's Day, the answer is "Yes." Still exercising every day - 15 minutes of aerobic stepping and jogging in place, 180 crunches, and another 15 or 20 minutes of throwing the dumbbells around. And, I'm still avoiding desserts, though I have been snacking on the peanut butter filled chocolate lips Helen picked up at the post-Valentine's Day sale. But no cakes and no pies. My 32 inch waist jeans are still a little snug, but I'm back in them, and in another month all vestiges of the holiday bulge should be gone.
Speaking of people who could lose some weight, here's Helen's latest Blimpie story as related to her by her boss: A customer came in Wednesday and said, "Why's it so quiet in here?" One of Helen's co-workers pipes up, "Because the older lady (meaning Helen) who works here is off today." Laura, the boss, says she immediately spoke up in Helen's defense, saying to the customer, "Older lady! She looks ten years younger than her!" Helen appreciated that but was still offended by the comment since she has been especially kind and sensitive to the offender who has a habit of lying and blaming others in order to cover up her mistakes, plus she kept her mouth shut the other day when this rather portly matron was explaining to her how much her husband hates "fat" people. She repeated it several times during their conversation and all the time Helen's wondering, "If he hates fat people, what does he think of his wife who's at least 75 pounds overweight?" But, kind as always, she kept her mouth shut. No justice. The boss said that after her comment, the worker didn't speak to her the rest of the day.
Though I don't usually report the number of shares I buy and sell, in this case I will - yesterday, I bought 500 shares of AMTI. Price: 81 cents per share. That puts my total investment around $400. I've been following it for about a month, ever since it got caught in the radar because of a lot of insider buying. I'm no stock picking guru, but I think it's nice when people within a company are buying shares rather than dumping them. Makes me think they think good things are on the horizon. Beyond that I know very little about the company other than the fact that they are based around San Antonio, TX, do the telecommunications 10-10-something-or-other thing, also own cute.html, and recently sprung for some new equipment. Anyway, the price has busted through a dollar a couple times lately before backing off and has been as high as $3.50, so I thought I'd cut in for a dance or two. Visit the company's website here. A word of advice: if you do buy AMTI, place a limit order. Mine went through at the bid price.
DISCLAIMER: The above should not be construed as a recommendation. Stocks selected as Ace's Stock Pick of the Week are not likely to perform well, and should not be considered as investment opportunities for the short or long term. You are not encouraged to purchase them and would probably be better off buying used lotto tickets. Any positive comments are lies or gross exaggerations.
Wall Street... The market reacted well to Office Depot's earnings report pushing the price up 3 points. I took advantage of the surge and dumped ODP, putting the proceeds into Inktome (INKT), another internet related stock. Charts indicate it's time to buy. I'm new to this chart business, but I figured I'd give it a stab. What the hay! I also bought a little more Compaq. Before you know it I'll have as much as I did before I dumped it at 45 15/16 or thereabouts. I almost added to my Cisco holdings. It was down 3 points early. But, we went to the dumpsters, the jewelers (I'm having my ring engraved), and then to Smith's Foods, and by the time we got back, Cisco's losses had been wiped out, so I decided against buying. Over all, yesterday was a good day, the AIUD faring slightly (50%) better than the S&P 500. As always, I'm looking for this rally to continue for 4 or 5 months... hoping, anyway.
ER... Not much. George Clooney's last episode was a big nothing. Seems they couldn't wait one more week to wean us from Doug Ross - they had to start last night. Oh, and woo-woo! next week we get to meet the "new" Dr. Benton! Snooze. I've said it before, and I'll say it again - Clooney is the heart and soul of ER. With him gone the show dies. Green, Benton, Carter... who cares! Looks like Ginny has Hep C. I'm all for Hep C awareness, but, jeez, let's not be so fatalistic.
Stephen King... I'm not a big fan, but his TV movie was a lot better than your average TV movie, especially the most recent crop. Also coming to abc this weekend is "Mr. Holland's Opus," one of my favorite flicks of the last couple years. If you haven't seen it, see it. I'll be watching it again.
That's all from the cabin for another week. Think I'll do something patriotic this weekend - taxes. Until Monday, be fertile and multiply. Ciao.
Feb 18, 1999
Just heard some disturbing news - Quinton Tarantino is working on Dusk Till Dawn II. Why's that disturbing? Only because the original Dusk Till Dawn was, in my estimation, one of the worst movies of all time. Do we really need more of that crap?
I survived my date with the dentist. One visit down, four to go... Also rerouted my isp bill through the bank and will immediately start saving $3.33 per month, the 33 cents on the stamp I'll no longer need since the fee comes right out of our checking account... And by the time I got drilled and filled and walked the snowy streets back to Smith's Foods, Helen was first up in the checkout line. Good timing.
Just called the Alien Hot Line. "Fat people" will be first choice for southern aliens, deep fried, while northern aliens seem to prefer their meat lean, and westerners most likely will shun humans altogether, prefering instead to decimate the shrubbery.
As happy as I am to receive e-mail regarding Cabin Fever, it always amazes me when I get a question relating to some entry that's buried in the archives. I received a message from someone yesterday who wanted me to elaborate on a statement I made a while back concerning the state of the local real estate market which I had characterized as over-priced. Not much I can say. Summer visitors from all points east, west, south, and north, enamored by its picture postcard beauty, fell in love with the area and started bidding up prices. Local property owners are suddenly turned into land speculators, and as such are no longer content to make healthy profits from their investments - they crave the astronomical. Problem is, as is often the case with company, visitors get bored and head back home, hoping to sell their property to new visitors who are as flushed with the fever for the rugged life as they had once been. But they don't come, property sits unsold, and locals, beneficiaries of the lowest wages in the 50 states, can't afford to become homeowners, themselves, unless they're willing to mortgage their souls. So, honestly speaking, if you're looking for real estate bargains, check out Nebraska or Iowa. We almost bought into a nice little Nebraska town while we were RVing last summer, real, real, nice, for $22,000. Of course, I'm not interested in buying anywhere right now - I dig the cabin. But, if you check in one day and the banner reads "Prairie Fever"...
Wall Street... (sigh) Tech stocks fallin' faster than Clinton's drawers. And most of what I'm holding is Tech. Forgive me for not wanting to mess with groceries or toothpaste. I'm lookin' for action! Of course, I'd prefer "Up" action to "Down" action, but that day will come, things will turn around. Meanwhile, I be buying on the dip, brother. More Compaq, yesterday, and some Lucent. A few more shares of CPQ this morning, and maybe, before the day is done, some Inktome and a few more shares of Cisco. My big losses yesterday - Broadcom, down 12 7/8; AOL, 6 1/2; NOK.A, 5 1/8; Cisco Systems, 3 15/16. Office Depot reported pretty strong earnings after the bell. Will see how the markets react today. It was up a couple points early but I'll be very surprised if it doesn't tank. That's how things have been going. Broadcom splits 2 for 1 as of today, so I have twice as many shares worth half as much and declining rapidly. Big whoop. AOL's split takes effect before the end of the month. Who knows how the market will react to that? I'm trying not to worry too much about the immediate trend and am concentrating on loading my portfolio with good companies that will set the trends for the next 10 years. After that, I'll be out of the market, and into bonds, drawing a monthly stipend. Hopefully, that is.
Helen's working 2 to 5, today. Her boss feels the need to take more afternoons off. To do what? That's what I wanna know. Me, I feel like writing. Doesn't mean I will though. Depends on the market, I guess. Ain't that a sad state of affairs. Hasta luigi...
Dentist today. I'm not nervous... I'm not nervous. Just a little drilling. DRILLING! A lot of drilling, probably. Oh, God, that was the scenario the day Howard, my last dentist, uttered those fateful words, "Damn! I hit the pulp." There was a skirmish of activity after that, lit a fire under him and his girl, but I would've been better off if he just fessed up and yanked the sucker. Oh, he was honest. He forecasted a pretty dim future for the violated tooth, but he still charged me for the filling and probably took a loan out for the amount of the forthcoming extraction. Anyway, I'm hopin' Laura, my new dentist, knows enough to stay away from the pulp. But... I'm not nervous.
Not to brag, but I received word yesterday that I won a prestigious Rising Star award. Here's my trophy:
Feb 17, 1999
It will reside permanently on my Home page. Upward and onward!
Wall Street... Pulled the trigger on Compuware and Netspeak, yesterday. They both fell victim to my 10% decline from high rule. I've owned CPWR a few times, but I think I'm through with it now. Too volatile. NSPK - that was just a stupid mistake. I also bought back into Compaq (CPQ). That might have been a mistake. Have to see how it acts today vis a vis DELL which hit the shitter yesterday afternoon. Gotta bounce back - Compaq, that is. That's what my chart says. DELL too for that matter, but I'm sticking with CPQ. Bought another 100 this morning. If it dips further, I'll buy more. My biggest problem with the company is their "Hype" department. On any given day they must put out at least 10 press releases. Smoke screens? Office Depot's supposed to report its earnings today. I bought it a few weeks backs on an "aggressive buy" recommendation by some ham'n'egg analyst. Not that I had a lot of faith in the tout, I was just in a buying mood and realistically I knew ODP was gonna go up or down, so I gave it a shot. Well, it's gone down, but hoping against hope that the tout new something I've been holding on, waiting for these earnings. We'll see, today. Hey, if you're interested in chart analyses of your stocks, here's a good place to go. They give you all kind of chart options, and they explain the rudiments of each one.
I got an e-mail from DigiSys, my ISP, yesterday saying my payment was overdue. Well, we sent it out back on the 4th so I called the bank to see if the check's come home and the girl I'm talking to informs me that if I go through some program they have, I can get service from DigiSys for 16.99, $3 less than I'm paying now. So, before or after I go to the dentist I'm going to stop at the bank to fill out the forms. Of course, my check's still missing.
Helen's off. She'll be shopping at Smith's Foods while I'm getting drilled. She says today's the official Grand Opening. Bargains galore, I suppose. The kids been down in the dumps the last couple days. She thinks she's getting old and says it's taking more and more time and make-up for her to get "cute." "Pshaww!" I telI her, assuring her she's not getting old and that she's still as cute as she was the first time I saw her, 36 long years ago... Maybe I should have left that last part out.
Working on those presidents? Me neither. But I'm really going to buckle down now. We've come too far not to complete our task. One of you asked if I actually write down all the sentences when I try listing the presidents. No, just the letters in order in a vertical column. However, I do jot down the sentence key, "White House Janitor Massages..."
I did a little writing yesterday but soon felt the need to return to the market. I probably won't feel like doing anything today - writing or trading - when I get back from the dentist, except lay back. But, I shall return tomorrow. Be sure to tune in. Ciao.
Feb 16, 1999
In case you missed it yesterday, there's a new Feature Photo! It features Helen and her brood. Scroll up to the flashing camera.
We did a lot of running around yesterday. First, we rode into Kalispell and scoped out Cora Beth's house. Helen's making a solo visit Saturday, and she wanted to make sure she'd be able to find it. From there we went to the Mountain Trader. They publish a free weekly ad-only paper that's widely read hereabouts. Here's the ad I placed for two weeks:
| Sell Your Old Sportscards On The Internet - Call Ace's Card Exchange, sportscard auction specialists. 555-Bids |
For 8 bucks, I figured it was worth a gamble - even if it doesn't generate any business, it might bring some cards my way. You never know.
From there we drove by the Salvation Army Store, which was closed. This could be on account of the holiday, or it might be due to the fact that they're moving to new digs out on Lasalle. Stay tuned. On our way out of town we stopped at the dollar store. A crazy place, everything costs a dollar there, whether it's worth a quarter or a buck and a half. Next stop: ShopKo. I bought a 99 cent pack of loose leaf page dividers for my stock transaction book. As you can imagine, it's getting quite thick. Helen bought some artificial daisies. Then we went across the road to KMart. I had seen a report on TV about how nuts were beneficial, so I bought a jar of Jiff. I also picked up a roll of 200 ASA Kodak Gold Film. On the way home I stopped at the video store and picked up the Big Lebowski while Helen ran over to Smith Foods and grabbed some discounted Valentine's Day candy. And that was that. We never did get to go out for dinner as we had planned. By the time we got back from town, Helen was tuckered out. Maybe Wednesday.
Videos... The Big Lebowski was an interesting flick. I like Jeff Bridges. And Julianna Moore. She's a soap opera graduate, like Meg Ryan, and I like watching the careers of ex-soapsters. John Goodman's character was a dork and a half. I know that good actors sometimes play less than admirable characters, but I have a hard time appreciating their performances when they do. I know, that's a failing on my part. Anyway, I couldn't stand Goodman's character, or, hence, his performance. I did like narrator, Sam Eliot, though, and I'm pretty sure he could make sense of a plot that followed the exploits of several inept whackos whose pathes by chance have suddenly converged, even if I couldn't. If that sounds like a negative comment, it's not. The movie was different, unpredictable, and worth watching, especially for us, since we didn't have to pay for it as it was a freebie courtesy of the video store's rent ten get one free program.
Wall Street... Interest rates are rising. That's bad. Some analysts think they shouldn't be. That's good. The fed's next move is going to be up. That's bad. Of course, no one knows that for sure. That's good. I don't know what I'm talking about. That's bad. Neither does anybody else. That's good. My best advice? Keep your fingers crossed. Everything was up at the bell, which was good, then there was a slight pull back. I don't really feel like buying today - I have almost as much in stocks as I want right now. I have been looking to buy back into Compaq if it got down to 40, but it hasn't, and neither have I. Someone on one of the message boards was touting MIPS this morning, so I took a quick look at it. I like its trend line and its multiples. Might buy a little, later.
I've only been to the dentist once, for the preliminary appraisal, and I'm already thinking about finding someone else. Do I have a problem with the dentist, Laura? No. It's the receptionist. Don't like her. She couldn't understand why I wouldn't want to give them my social security number. The way I look at it, they have no business knowing it. I don't have insurance. I'm not on medicaid. I'm paying cash. Then she gives me a form to fill out that, if filled out properly, would have had me write my name and address 4 or 5 times. Ridiculous! I wrote mine once. Of course, she chalked up my unwillingness to comply with her requests as a symptom of old age and as I was pulling on my coat to leave she says, "Oh, I should've helped you with that." That pissed me off, and continues to piss me off, even now. Old? Me? Hell, I'm willing to bet that my mind's in a lot better shape than hers. Give us a test; I'll scomp the shit out of her. And physically? Bring on your boyfriend, Girl, your brothers, your old man, all your male relatives - when I'm done flattening them, I'll do something that's really taxing, like play a game of dominos. So, that's why I didn't pay for the whole program up front and save a whopping 5%. I don't want to feel obligated to return. I know, I have a nasty side. Fact is, I have two nasty sides. Maybe I need some Jerk Page therapy.
Gotta go. Time to watch the daily ups and downs. Check back tomorrow. Ciao.
Feb 15, 1999
HOLIDAY EDITION
Happy Presidents' Day! With all my recent attention to the presidents, I feel obligated to pay homage to them on this their special day. If you have the time, scroll up to the Study Guide and click on the "learn more" link.
New Feature Photo! Scroll up if you missed it.
Sports... I wouldn't want to mislead anyone; I'm not a dyed in the wool stock car racing fan. BUT, Ima gonna tella you! I would be hardpressed to find anything in all the world of sports to match the last 13 laps of yesterday's Daytona 500 for shear breath-holding, nail-biting, eyes-glued-to-the-tube excitement. Not to say my heroes haven't delivered the thrills over the years - guys like Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Jim Brown, Gale Sayers, Joe Namath, even Franz Klammer. But the flash of excitement they generated usually lasted a matter of seconds or, at the most, a minute or two, not thirteen circuits around the oval. Another confession: I jumped into the shower yesterday afternoon with 30 laps to go. That's why I only saw the last 13 laps. I didn't want to miss golf. Ha ha ha, talk about excitement! Well, they were playing in San Diego where I had once lived, on the Torrey Pines course, where I had attended the Andy Williams San Diego Open in its totality back in 1982, and Tiger Woods had surged into the lead on Saturday after a course breaking 62. For me, that's exciting! But, lately, mostly because we discovered that one of Helen's long lost cousins, Jimmy Makar, is a crew chief for the Joe Gibbs Racing Team and driver Bobby Labonte, my interest has been on the rise. In fact, we just received a package from Debbie, Jimmy's sister, on Saturday because Helen had written to her explaining that a young friend of ours, Dusty, was an avid racing fan, and requesting any item of memoribilia they might care to supply. Can't tell you what she sent us because it's a surprise which Helen will present when she goes over to visit Kari, Dusty's mom, next Saturday. I'm sure the young man will like it, though. Anyway, next time I hear someone ask, "What's the fascination with car racing?" I just might be able to come up with an answer for him.
eBay... Had a pretty good eBay weekend. That '59 Ernie Banks card the fellow from BISYS down in Birmingham, Alabama, thought was "funny," finally went for $52. A fair price for a beautiful card. I started 8 new auctions, yesterday - no big names, just regional favorites.
Wall Street... Mercifully, the markets are closed today in honor of the holiday. I could use the day off. There's still a lot of negative sentiment out there concerning Internet Stocks and Technology, but I'm hoping we can make another run. Maybe good news out of Japan will supply the boost. Otherwise, I'm looking forward to cashing in again and putting everything into energy, especially, oil and oil services. Can't go down much more, and the sector's bound to do well over the next couple years.
Valentine's Day... Helen and I will be going out to dinner tonight since she had to hack the ham and bop the baloney at Blimpie's yesterday. Hardly the cuisinary capitol of the world, the valley does have a few decent eateries. We're probably doing Mexican.
Home Page... I inserted one of those fast downloading site entry pages the other day. It should save time for folks who know where they're going. Also, updated "Ace's Barnes and Noble Superstore." I'd like to thank all of you who have been accessing B&N through me. I really appreciate it. In case you missed the announcement, Microsoft's Slate Magazine is free now. On the news, I went there for the first time and found it a pretty good resource.
That's about it for this special holiday edition. Manana.
Surprise, surprise - my mouth is a disaster area. The dentist wants me back next week for the filling I knew I needed, and the week after for the yankin' I knew I needed, plus stage one of a 4 stage scaling which may or may not be beneficial, and may or may not allow me to keep my teeth for another few years. As she gazed into her crystal ball, she saw more yankin's in my future and even a partial plate. Of course, none of this is free, and old Granite Liver can't get insurance, so this is all comin' out of petty cash. Yesterday, I could afford choppers of gold. Today? Well, that's a different story (see "Wall Street Rap").
At least one of you enjoyed my Jerry Falwell reminiscence. Here's another, shorter one. Although for effect, I often retell this tale as though it happened to me, it actually happened to one of my fellow San Diego drivers, Joel, but I'd like to think that placed in his situation I'd have done the same thing. Responding to a bell, a "bell" being a call that originates with the customer's phone call, as opposed to a "flag" or a "pickup" which originates with a raised arm, Joel got called to one of the upscale residential areas north of the city. There he picked up noted local TV sportscaster Ted Leitner who needed a ride to the airport. I don't really know how much yakkin' went on enroute, so we'll pick up the story outside the terminal. The fare on the meter read $9.90, so Ted hands Joel a ten-spot, directs him to "Keep the change," then rushes off toward the big glass doors. Thinking quickly and instinctively, Joel reaches into his pocket, pulls out a dime, and throws it at the retreating Leitner, yelling at him as he did, "Keep your f___in' dime, you cheap f__k!" Joel was also a writer, and, like me, he had grown up in a pool hall. In fact, he really liked my pool story, "What Happened At the R&R?" Who knows, maybe our pathes will cross again some day.
Wall Street Rap... AOL, up 13 13/16; Broadcom, up 7 1/2; Compuware, up 3 1/8; Cisco, up 6 5/16; Nokia, up 8 13/16... No doubt about it, it was a banner day for the AIUD which jumped 5.97%, 3% more than the S&P 500. Only bad news for me was that, because my online broker was off-line for the first hour of trading, I didn't get to buy more Broadcom as I had intended. That buy would have brought me back to near even. But, why complain? Was hopin' the rally would continue a month or two, at least long enough to pay for the choppers, but everything's down this morning probably in sympathy with DELL whose future earnings have been called into question by at least one analyst. Looks like the Aceman made a good move when he sold Compaq - the outlook for PC's isn't that rosy. Internet, that's the place where things are going to be happening. Ace Analytics, a newly formed subdivision of parent firm Goin' Prose Publications, came out with several STRONG BUY recommendations this morning. They include the following: AOL, Bell Atlantic (BEL), Broadcom (BRCM), Compuware (CPWR), Cisco Systems (CSCO), Nokia (NOK A), Netspeak (NSPK), and Office Depot (ODP). If you have any loose change, that's where you should be putting your money.
eBay... Not much action on the auction scene. One fellow e-mailed me from Alabama to ask if my Ernie Banks card was authentic, and I assured him it was, though I guess it's possible that the crew at Marty's Luncheonette may have been involved in counterfeiting Ernie Banks cards back in 1959 when I purchased it. Ernie was real popular with the kids in suburban NJ who were shelling out nickels for bubble gum and only dimly aware that cards came along with it. Tuesday, I picked up a pair of Sears and Roebuck rollerskates, the kind that hook onto your shoes, at one of the local second hand stores. I'm thinking they might be antiques, or close to it. Guess I'll snoop around the toy auctions to see if there's anything similar posted. Gotta keep that grocery money comin' in.
Helen's been doing a lot of cleaning and decorating around the cabin lately. I don't know why. Let me ask her. Oh, guess this makes sense. She's decorating now because she's not working this summer and won't have any decorating money coming in. Next month, she informs me, she's going to be buying new dishes. Don't know what's wrong with the old ones, and I'm not gonna ask.
I'm low on trout flies, and had intended to do some tying this winter but haven't even looked at the old fly tying box. There are at least two nymphs that I'm out of, both having been very succesful last spring, one at the Big Horn, the other at the Bitterroot near Darby. I think the patterns are from Schwiebert's Matching the Hatch. Aaa, who'm I kiddin'? I don't have time for tying flies. If I do go fishing, I'll probably wind up buying them. Unless someone out there sends me 4 or 5 dozen.
TV... Holy Kevorkian! ER's dying a slow death. I must be morally corrupt, because I can't understand why the administration is all up in arms about Doug Ross. And I can't imagine what will compell people to watch the show once he's gone. Remember, I'm the guy who reasoned that Bobby Simone had to die. Now, I'm telling you ER's destined for the same fate; it will be canceled next season. Clooney's demise does seem to be shaping up as a fitting one, however. Now that he and HIV positive Gloria Reubin have crashed into the dumpster, Doug, no doubt, will come to her aid, with little thought of his own welfare, and afterwards, realizing he may have been infected, leave Carol, town, the hospital, and the show.
Got a busy day on tap. I've been taking a tutorial on hacking. You'd be amazed if you knew what I've gained access to during the last couple of days. And you thought that stuff was confidential. Chow-chow, see ya Monday.
First off, I've been asked for an update on Helen and Blimpies. Not much new there, except the fact that for a few days she had had her eye on a nice ball of leftover dough, the same kind she used to make us turkey pasties and a chicken pot pie last week, but someone beat her to it. Also, she reports that a guy came in a couple weeks ago with a sob story that he desperately needed $15 gas money so that he could continue on to his friend's house. The owner, Lowell, lended him the 15 bucks, taking the man's ring as colateral. Later that same day, the guy returned saying the $15 dollars wasn't enough and that he also needed enough money for a motel room. His original story was unraveling, now, besides no one was around with authority to advance him more money, so he left and hasn't been back to redeem his ring. Helen also informed Laurie and Lowell that she'll be taking the summer off so she can roam around with me in our RV, taking for granted we can get the old heap up and running. That's fine with them since they usually take on some high school kids for the summer, anyway. I don't think we'll be taking any long trips like last year; we'll probably pretty much stay in the lower 48. We are currently accepting invites, since, if you hadn't heard, we don't believe in paying for campsites, and depend mostly on the generosity of strangers and friends, as well as Flying J Travel Centers and WalMart parking lots. We were on the road continuously for several months last year and didn't stop at a "pay to stay" campground once. So, if you have room in your driveway and said driveway doesn't have too steep an incline, or if you have a spot for us out front of the house, let us know and we'll work you into our itinerary.
Regarding the active cursor, if it turns into a "lemon," (that's hack parlance for a yellowcab) that's all it's supposed to do here. However, click the button over in column one and go to Comet's web page and you'll find demos that reveal the applications full potential.
Ready or not, here they come, the next 8 presidents:
25. William McKinley (1897-1901)
The last initials: M-R-T-W-H-C-H-R
The sentence cue: Monica Runs Through White House Carrying Hillary's Report.
Study these presidents; even go to the White House site and study their bios if you have time. Practice recalling their names from their initials. When you can do that, memorize the sentence cue. That will make four sentences you've memorized and the cue to remembering them is White House Janitor Massages... I'm going to be truthful, I haven't been studying as hard as I should have. I can reel off the first 24, but the reel could use some oil. But, I'm going to bear down, now, and practice till I can rattle'em off faster than you can say Jack Robinson. (Incidentally, I recently discovered that saying has nothing to do with the Dodgers' great) This is it for me. I'll continue the program for you younger folks, but I can remember the rest of the presidents. I've lived through their administrations. Let's see: Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton. Hope I didn't leave anybody out.
We rented a couple videos yesterday, viewed one, The Education of Little Tree. Had never heard of it - it might have come out while we were RVing around the country - but liked it. Kids would probably enjoy it, too; it's rated PG.
Wall Street... The bleeding stopped, at least momentarily, yesterday. Excite bounced back in the morning so I sold it. Shouldn't have, it was up 7 this morning. But, there seems to be a lot of skepticism concerning internet portals right now. Broadcom fell 6 1/4 points for the second day running. That's about 18 points down from where I bought it on Monday. Slick, huh? I'm thinking, hoping, it'll find support, here, around 115. If it does, I might buy some more - average down, as they say. It's crazy. I hear analysts touting stocks they claim will climb 25% in the next 12 months and I turn up my nose. I'm lookin' to make 25% overnight! Anyway, AOL, currently my biggest holding was upgraded by somebody and bounced back a couple points. Cisco did, too. Compuware and Nokia were each up a half. These companies still have high P&E's but I'm hoping buyers ignore that and get back into the spirit of irrational exuberance. My on-line broker was broke down again this morning. (sigh) Maybe it was a blessing. Who knows. Anyway, things seem to be starting out on an up note. Go, baby, go!
Our shopping at Smith Foods went pretty smoothly, and we saved more than $3. by using our Smith's Fresh Values Frequent Shopper Card. The checker asked the old-timer ahead of us if he would like a card. "No," he grumbled. "Don't believe in' em." How could you not believe is saving a few bucks. Besides, aren't these cards a lot more convenient than coupons? It takes all kinds.
Helen's off again, today, and she'll be doing the laundry while I go to the dentist. I need a little work done - at least one filling, and maybe one yanking. It'll be my first dental visit in 2 years and I'm not looking forward to it.
Bought gas here yesterday for 95.9. I know that's not that low compared to some parts of the country, but for Montana where prices have been artificially inflated for years that's almost a giveaway. We couldn't find gas under $1.20 last summer when we were traveling from fishing hole to fishing hole in our camper. Since we intend to do more of the same this summer, hope fuel prices stay low.
TV... I didn't mention Spin City, yesterday. It must have slipped my mind. Jerry Falwell ought to forget about the pro-gay Teletubbies - if I'm not mistaken, Michael J. Fox was discussing spanking his monkey, bopping his baloney, masturbating on prime-time TV. What's this world coming to (no pun intended)! I've got a true Jerry Falwell story for you. One night, back when I was driving a cab in San Diego, I was parked third or fourth in line out front of the Holiday Inn Embarcadero, sitting with my window down, listening to my two-way, and watching the occasional flurries of action around the lobby entrance when who should come out but Jerry and a couple of his buddies. He stopped beside the two cabs in front of me, introduced himself, and shook hands with their drivers. Then, he approached my cab, cab 40, but apparently didn't like the looks of me - I had a beard at the time, so passed me by and resumed his handshaking with the cab behind me. I must have been crushed by the rebuff because I yelled out as loud as I could, "Jerry! What the hell's the matter with me!" A couple nights later I was sitting in the same spot when Jim Brown, legendary Cleveland running back, and a much more important human being, walked by with a couple bodyguards. "Hey, Jim, how's it goin'?" I called. "All right," he said.
Now, get to work on those presidents. Review, review, review. With my broker down, I'll be chillin', all day. Chow.
Helen's off today, and, after yesterday's Wall Street masacre, I wasn't in any real hurry to get up - not depressed, just not in a mood to trade. But our Katie has her own idea of how the day is supposed to unravel, so, not finding my lap in its usual place at the usual hour - on the sofa in front of the TV at 6:30 AM - she starts raising a ruckus upstairs, and when that fails to produce the desired result, she races down to the bedroom, jumps up on me and forces me out of bed. That darn cat. We'll be celebrating her birthday on Valentine's Day which will mark 8 years since we brought her home from the animal shelter. As the story goes, her original owners couldn't afford to feed her. Amazing, since at the time she was no bigger than my hand, but, whatever their reason for giving her up, we've always been grateful they thought enough of her to bring her to the shelter.
Posted another entry on the Jerk's List, yesterday. It seems this Jerk likes to treat women badly. He deserves the notoriety. Read the gory details if you get a chance.
Wall Street Masacre... No news is good news, not even good news. Tech stocks got clobbered again, yesterday, mostly in response to the cries of "Fire" made by a few well-known pundits, and the gutless hoard's subsequent rush to the exits. In reality, nothing's changed since the glory days of January, nothing except folks are selling instead of buying. I was so freaking smart when I sold my Compaq. Too bad I didn't hold onto the cash a little bit longer. This is a good time to start thinking about buying... I hope. Anyway, a glance at the chart will reveal hefty losses in AOL, BroadCom, Cisco Systems, Nokia, and Excite. Hefty! Will things turn around? I sure as hell hope so. Will I buy, here? Nope. Gotta wait and see if things keep sliding and, judging by my first peek this morning, it looks like they will. Gonna sell? You never know; I could dump something, just to get some buying power.
Yesterday, I put the code for the active cursor on My Home Page, Link Page, and The Jerks Page, too. I heard from a couple of you on the subject. Glad you're enjoying it. To those of you who are wary, no one's experienced any problems. Just follow the directions. I didn't even log off when downloading my plugin; I just minimized the browser, momentarily. The whole process took about half a minute. For you newcomers to the web, you minimize the screen by clicking on the left-most of the little buttons in the upper right hand corner, the one with the dash in it. You maximize it again by clicking on the corresponding button on the bottom toolbar. Sorry, Mac users, I understand the magic cursor isn't mac-compatible, yet. Maybe soon.
I started working on the first rewrite of my short short story, "Haircut," yesterday. I'll let you know when it's finished. That reminds me... I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts last week when I got my haircut, I didn't realize the barber had a broken arm. I noticed some kind of contraption on his hand, but forgot about it before I had a chance to mention it. Later, as Helen and I were riding by, she read a notice in the window that informed of the barber's fracture. No wonder the shop was empty.
TV... NYPD Blue is still the best show on TV - much superior to either ER or The Practice - even though success or failure more and more seems to rest on the sloped shoulders of Andy Stipowitz. Serious with humor - I still love it... I panned Sunday night's Hall Mark Hall of Fame presentation without mentioning the ads which are usually the best part of a HOF presentation. They didn't even bother to roll out a new crop. Knees down on the ads, too... Speaking of ads, Folger's are still among my favorites, especially, the "river dance" commercial. I'm not allowed to ogle the V. Secrets promos, so I don't. (wink)
Well, we'll be trying Smith Foods again today. I sincerely hope I can get out of there without kicking somebody's ass, but, I definitely won't be putting up with the kind of crap they gave Helen's friend Joan the other day. (See yesterday's entry) Somebody would have to pay for that. Still, I'd rather not drive all the way to Kalispell, so we'll give them a chance or two to become humanitarians.
That's all from here. Cabin Fever: catch it!
I don't know why, but, after you hit 50, grocery shopping takes on a new significance. So, I've been devoting a lot of attention to the change-over of our local store, formerly the Fred Meyers B&B, to Smith Foods. My first impression of the new management team? Jerks! Helen's friend, Joan, a retiree, not "old" old, but old enough, went into town the other day to get her hair done and, afterwards, do her shopping. Well, she didn't realize when she left the house that she only had one check in her checkbook. This she discovered when she paid her beautician. So, rather than head right to Smith Foods, she zoomed first to the bank, where they were kind enough to print her a check, account number and all. She says she spent at least an hour and a half exploring the new Smith's Foods, checking prices, and picking out her stuff. Then, when she was finally finished she started the checkout process - waiting in line, emptying the cart... You know how it goes. Well, as you've probably guessed by now, when she pulled out her check, the clerk wouldn't accept it. The manager was called over; he didn't like it either. She's been shopping in the store for years, but that didn't matter now - all that mattered was the Smith Foods check acceptance policy. Forced to leave without her order, upset by the ordeal, Joan confesses that she fled to her car and cried for several minutes before she was able to drive off. Nice folks, those Smiths - nice, as in asshole. Helen and I stopped in the Columbia Falls Smith Foods on Sunday to pick up a jar of Orville Redenbacher popcorn. The guy in front of us at the express checkout was waiting to pay for his six pack. If I had to guess, I'd say he was in his late 30's, 38 maybe. Well, though it's not posted, I'm guessing Smith Foods has a pretty stringent i.d. policy, because the clerk, apologetically, made this guy produce some proof, as though she was afraid someone was watching her. If anything nice should happen there, I'll be sure to report it.
Download the cursor plugin? Might as well, before long every website will have an active cursor. Take my word for it. Oh, and I heard from a nice fellow from Comet, yesterday. Sorry to report the company's privately held with no plans to go public in the immediate future. I'm sure they'll notify me if that situation changes. They have plenty of cursors to choose from, but having been a hack for a good many years, I've decided to go with the "lemon" for now.
TV... The 60's... A noble undertaking... but just a little too much sixties concentrated in one family. Freedom Riders, Vietnam, Peace Marches, Sit-ins, The Chicago Seven, the SDS, Bobby Kennedy, Woodstock, bad acid, communes, free love -- you name it, and they were in the thick of it. The only person they didn't bump into, and I'm surprised he didn't show up at the end for the scrimmage, was Forrest Gump. Two knees down for this production - aside from the music, it sucked!
Wall Street... Just couldn't sit on the sidelines yesterday, though I wish I had. Though none of the experts ever know what's gonna happen next, when a few of them start prophecizing doom and gloom, it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy, a la Rosenthal and Jacobsen. And that's what a few of the goons have been doing... hoping, I suspect, to tank the market so they can make the rounds of the finance shows and tell everyone how smart they are. So, buying on the dip that's still dipping, I picked up some BroadCom, Compuware, Cisco, and Excite. Upgrades came out on Compuware and Nokia but I'm having a hard time feeling optimistic. AOL dropped another 5 points and Broadcom 5 1/2 from where I bought it. All toll, the AIUD fell back a third of a percentage point while the S&P 500 gained the same amount. Today opened with a BLOOD BATH! Nothing I can do right now, but hold on. Let's hope the gravy train starts rolling again.
For the sake of accuracy, I must amend the report I made last week stating our friends, Fred and Barbara, were going out to buy a PC. Well, it all depends on what the meaning of "is" is. In other words, they told us they were going out to buy a PC, but, for a couple dozen reasons, they didn't. I should have seen this coming. They've also been looking to buy a house off and on for several years, but have never been able to follow through on that either. In other words, rather than make a bad decision, their normal pattern is to make no decision at all. Wonderful folks, but they need to take more risks. Anyway, don't expect to receive any e-mail from Barbie and Fred before the millenium - Victorias Secret or No Victorias Secret.
I know I often invite you to visit my eBay auctions. Now, I've learned that one of you is on the road to becoming an eBay junkie. To coin a phrase: Bid with your head, not over it.
Well, that's about all the wisdom I care to dispense, today. Get ready for the next 8 presidents; they're coming, soon. Ciao.
The Weekend... Ebayed my brains out, Saturday. Learned one of the fundamental precepts of business first hand. It's called the law of supply and demand. A couple weeks ago, I put a 1958 Brooks Robinson up for auction, but, when it generated no interest for 3 days and a subsequent search revealed several of the same cards were on the block, I stopped the auction. On Saturday, I checked the listings and found no '58 Robinsons were currently being offered so I relisted mine. Within a couple hours it had been bid up to $20. And the auction runs till next Saturday. I also posted a pretty nice '59 Ernie Banks, yesterday, and it was bid on within minutes. Check out my auctions if you get a chance. If you're new to the Fever, there's an eBay icon over in column one... Sunday, we journeyed into Kalispell to do some shopping. I stopped at Office Max to buy padded envelopes for shipping baseball cards. Then we hit WalMart. There, I picked up The Deluxe Kiplinger Tax program and a Presto PowerPop microwave multi-popper. It's basically a plastic bowl with lid that you place inside your microwave. There's too much fat in packaged microwave popcorn, so I've been looking for an alternative. Tried it last night and it worked like a dream. One problem: stores, their shelves dominated by microwave popcorn, aren't selling as much jarred popcorn as they used to, some don't carry it at all. Helen also scored, picking up a little shelf, a 5X8 rag rug, and a natural wood toilet seat. I was perfectly happy with the old white seat, but when it comes to decorating I don't get much imput, so I don't waste my time making common sense observations. I think she's going for rustic... Friday, Helen stopped at the jeweler's on her way to Blimpies and picked up her ring. They replaced the missing diamond, welded the two bands together, and polished up the whole piece. She absolutely adores it! Here's a tip for you - chicks like diamonds!
I'm experimenting with a Comet Systems cursor. I think this creative use of cursors is the greatest thing to hit the web since... since... I think it's a good idea! I'd like to own some stock in the company that's developing it, but I don't think they've gone public yet. At this point I'm not sure, but you may have to download a plugin to get the souped up cursor. I did it yesterday, then went to the companies demo pages, for a test drive. Far out! Lemme know if you like it, or, if it's a pain in your bum. Scroll down column one and you'll find a link to the company.
TV... Catch the Miss USA Pageant Friday night? If you're like me, you caught the introductions, let your wife make her pick, then switched to another show, coming back at the tail end to see who won. These affairs aren't supposed to be beauty contests anymore. Contestants, now referred to as delegates, are supposedly judged on their minds as well as their physical attributes. Of course, that's a lot of baloney. As soon as Helen set eyes on Miss New York, she said there's the winner, and then went to bed. I immediately clicked off but rejoined the show in time to see the final threesome - Miss California, Miss Tennessee, and Miss New York - tackle that identical final question. I think it had something to do with whether or not Chelsea Clinton should be insulated from the Press. Miss New York's stumbling response was far less thoughtful and sensible than the other contestants' but on the strength of her looks, she won the title. Why do they even bother with the questions? Did you know The 60's was going to be a mini-series? NBC didn't waste much energy publicizing that fact. Makes me think they were afraid the prospect of having to follow the exploits of Mr. and Mrs. Sixties, along with their brood of little Sixties, for two nights would scare off viewers. If so, they were right... The Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation was even more disappointing. Having done a little writing myself, I know it's important to get the viewer interested within the first ten minutes of the story. I was still waiting to get drawn in after two hours.
Wall Street... I did a lot of research over the weekend, trying to figure out what to buy next. Friday, I bought a few more shares of AOL and Nokia. Otherwise, I stood pat. I'm already having second thoughts about Nokia. It's a Finnish Company which means it gets a lot of European interest and, for some reason, I can't help thinking with European's involved, things are bound to get loused up. They're far too sensible over there to get carried away by emotion and emotions are what you have to focus on if you want to make money nowadays, especially in a high-priced stock like Nokia. There was a favorable write up about the stock at www.herring.com, so I may hold on a while, but if it starts to tumble don't expect to see it in the AIUD tomorrow. I'll also be watching the big names - Cisco, Dell, Lucent, Oracle, Intel, Broadcom, and even the recently dumped Compuware and Compaq. If they slide back further, I might be buying. I'm also interested in IFCI, TECD, EFII, and MXIM. Here's another original maxim: Life's a gamble.
Ronnie, the owner of the cabin, stopped by Saturday to let us know she's making alternate arrangements in case the Y2K bug strips us of gas for heat and electricity for cooking. I think she's going to give us a hot plate and a space heater and let her husband, Doug, supply the power by peddling a bicycle generator in the garage.
That's about it. Check in once in a while and let me know what's on your minds. Hasta la pasta, amigos.
I had big plans yesterday, was gonna do dis and dat, wound up staring at the monitor and clicking, staring at the monitor and clicking most of the day. I took a few breaks - twice for exercise, once for lunch, and once to fetch the mail - but as soon as I was done it was back to surfing the financial sites. Oh, you thought I was ogling underwear ads? No such luck - that's not my obsession. There were a few cyber-diversions, like e-mail that required replies, and a couple games of free cell (I'm currently on a 7 game streak), but I never got to rewriting my story, or preparing baseball cards for auction. Maybe, since the markets are closed, I'll be able to get to those things this weekend.
The Market... Sold Compaq, every last share, yesterday. My biggest holding, I had started buying it last fall when it was in the mid-20's. It peaked last week over 50, but since has slid backwards 10% and that's one of my selling triggers. Of course, I could've given it a little more room on the downside, but to tell you the truth, I was tired of the company, the management, the evasiveness, the hype. Plus, in case we do have one of those plunges the experts optimistically like to refer to as corrections, or buying opportunities, I want to have as much cash on hand as possible. I did bump into a few stocks I thought about buying, but wound up with only one new notch on my gun, Netspeak, NSPK. They've been hiring bigshots with impressive credentials, one, I believe, came to them via AT&T. Plus, they have a nifty, fast down-loading website. They also posted better than expected numbers, though, except for an upgrade by one obscure analyst, the market chose to ignore the news. I looked at American Quantum (AMQS) without buying. They make motorcycles and just announced signing A.J. Foyt as a spokesman for their product. The stock sells for around 3 1/4. Does anyone know anybody who owns one of their bikes? Among the long list of stocks I should've held onto you can add PC Quote which I just sold last week at 2 5/8. It was up over 7 today. Add, also, Keebler. I held onto the elves for a few months but got bored. It's climbed more than 10 points since I dumped it. Then there's Gateway. I bought it in the 40's and sold it in the 50's a few times last year, making some quick cash. Now, it's up around 90. You might be thinking that I should learn my lesson and hold onto things a while, but it just isn't in my nature to be a passive investor. Buy, sell, buy, sell, buy, sell. Keeps me busy.
Supposedly, the Zavodny's, probably motivated by the Super Bowl Victoria's Secret ad, went out to Office Max last night to buy their first PC. God save us all!
Helen's cleaning the stove and acting a little grumpy about it so I say, "Hey, I didn't make it dirty. All I ever do is boil water!" And thus, another great idea was born - "Eating Well On Boiled Water," or "The Boiled Water Cookbook," or "The Instant Gourmet." Something tells me someone must have beat me to that idea; I just don't feel that creative today.
TV... ER, once my favorite show, seems hardly worth mentioning, or watching, anymore. I mean Dr. Green, who's supposedly Doug's friend, has evolved into such a tight-assed s.o.b., that it's going to be a great disappointment to have him remain on the show when Clooney goes. And, without Clooney, what's left? As I've said before, nothing. NBC's going down the tubes, take my word for it. They lost pro football, now they're losing Thursday nights. What do ya expect of someone who jumps in bed with Bill Gates? If you're holding GE, sell!
Students... At least two times this weekend, make time to regurgitate the entire list of 24 presidents onto a clean sheet of paper. Do it anyway you want but my suggestion would be to start with "White House Janitor," write down, from memory, our 3 key sentences, and then make your list. We'll be moving onto the next 8 sometime next week. Be ready.
Hwell, that's it from the cabin for another week. I really doubt that Helen will get to skate this weekend - it's a little too warm here. Me? I'll be manning the monitor as usual. Back Monday.
Here's an analogy that came to me as we were riding into town yesterday:
A guy farts in a crowded elevator. Everybody hears it, and, soon after, everybody smells it. The guy was with a couple friends; they doubled over laughing. Some of the other people didn't care, some were pissed off, others disgusted, and, though it did no good at all, they all tried to move as far away from the farter as possible. The last to grasp the situation was a somewhat dorky-looking nerd who, once he did understand, started crying out loudly, "YOU FARTED!" No one paid the dorky town cryer much mind, until he repeated his proclamation, "YOU FARTED!" Unable to stop, he kept screaming "YOU FARTED! YOU FARTED!" and the gang in the elevator soon realized that, while the farter was certainly guilty of an indiscretion, the nerd, who was now threatening to report the farter to the head of the company who owned the building that housed the elevator, was an unbearably annoying little twit, so, as they were exiting, they knocked him over and trampled him to death.
Obviously, our flatulating friend represents Bill Clinton. The nerd, any of a couple hundred jerky-assed Republicans. The tramplers? I'm hoping that's you and me.
Wall Street... At the suggestion of one of my faithful readers, I've revamped the stock table. Now it reflects the previous days closing price, the point change, and the cumulative per cent gain based on the original cost and the current price. Yesterday, was a pretty good day with AOL climbing almost 6 points, Nokia 5, and Office Depot 1 1/8. Bell Atlantic and Compaq declined slightly. I was a little hesitant at the opening bell and wound up standing pat, therefore missing out on gains in those stocks I had been thinking about buying - Intimate Brands and The Limited. Such is life. I was a little concerned with news that MCI WorldCom would soon be competing with Bell Atlantic for local phone business. The stock held up pretty well, yesterday, as the market digested the news. We'll see what happens today. Word is that the competition will actually be good for BEL and may, eventually, lead to its entrance into the long distance market. But that's all speculation. (sigh) I've owned this stock exactly 2 days and already it's giving me indigestion.
Helen didn't approve of some things I said in the opening paragraph of yesterday's entry. She feared I wasn't characterizing our relationship as the equal partnership it is. I told her she was being insubordinate. Nuff said about that.
We rented "Something About Mary," yesterday. There's something about Cameron Diaz that makes it impossible to get tired of watching her, but there was a point in the film when I had had enough of Matt Dillon's character and was desperate to move on. This occurred when he and his listening devices showed up (one time too many) outside the building that housed Mary's office. Thankfully, the movie's directors must have sensed the same thing because it moved on briskly from here straight through to the conclusion. Verdict: Really enjoyed this thorougly original comedy. And, the end credits are among the best I've ever seen. I tried watching it again, later, but fell asleep. That probably wasn't the movie's fault.
After Helen did the laundry and I got my hair cut at Jerry's, we stopped by the new Smith Foods, picked up free membership cards, but finding the store less than fully stocked, we traveled into Kalispell and did our shopping at Tidyman's.
Cut and pasted from yesterday's entry...Wanna play College Basketball Pick'em? Click here. I've had 4 out of 10 right each of the last 2 weeks, which should show you how much I follow college hoops. But, it's fun, anyway, and, who knows, I could get lucky!
One of my cyber students reports that the last 8 presidents are giving him more trouble than the previous 16. With all the talk about impeachment, we should be able to remember that Andrew Johnson succeeded Lincoln. With the Civil War recently ended, we should remember that General Grant follows him. Now picture a bale of Hay for Rutherford B. Hayes, the first H in the sequence. The second H falls on the word "Hairy" of our key sentence, which should help you recall Harri-son, Benjamin, who interrupted Cleveland's two terms, and who, incidentally, was the first grandson of a president to attain that office. Practice, practice, practice. Visualize, visualize, visualize. Review, review, review. You can do it.
I had mentioned last fall that it had been discovered that a malignancy had been discovered in the liver of our friend Chile Pepper's sister, Seeley. Her liver was removed, Tuesday, and replaced with a segment of her son's. Both, though in considerable pain, were already on their feet yesterday and walking around. Let's direct some positive thoughts their way, or, if you believe in such voodoo, mention them in your prayers. Thanks a lot.
Lots of work on tap today - stocks, stories, website, baseball cards. Tough life, isn't it? Manana, mi placebos.
Man, was it ugly in these parts, yesterday! Cold. Gray. I could barely see the mountains, less than a mile away. The snow flew by the window sideways, heading north, and it's hard to believe that some of it actually reached the ground. Which brings me to one of this week's e-mail inquiries. "Why," writes one of my cyber-pals, "since Helen apparently wants a house of her own, don't you break down and buy one for her?" Answer no. 1: Too freakin' cold, here. Answer no. 2: Real estate here is insanely overvalued. Answer no. 3: A round of golf is insanely overvalued here, too. Answer no. 4: If I ever do buy again, I think I'd like to be a little closer to civilization. Answer no. 5: No FOX TV. Answer no. 6: I'm gettin' too old for wranglin'. There's more, but that's enough for now.
Helen's chicken pot pie was out of this world! Unlike our neighbor Steve, who, like me, isn't working, though for more legitimate reasons, and who, to keep busy, cooks dinner and straightens up around the house while his missus is working, I do very little during the day that a woman would consider constructive, except, maybe, set the table once in a while. Yesterday, however, I was given extra responsibility. Helen left me a note. It read, "Cuter..." That's one of her pet names for me. "Take pot pie out of Refrig. at 3:00. Put in 350 degree oven at 3:30 pm. Do not put any cover over it." I pretty much followed orders though I removed the pie from the refrigerator at 2:45, instead of 3:00, and I didn't get it into the oven till 3:37. I even set the table and doled out our vitamins. Quite a workout! When Helen blew in, we were good to go.
Wall Street... Though the AIUD fared better than the S&P 500, falling only 0.29% as compared to the latter's 0.86%, it was, all in all, a pretty gloomy day for stocks, yesterday. Timing's everything. I picked up 50 shares of Nokia on the recent dip for 134.63, but it dipped even further, ending the day at 131.88. Thank God, I only bought 50. I also grabbed a block of Bell Atlantic (BEL). It rose from my purchase price of 58.82 to 60. Nice doggie. AOL dropped almost 5 points, while Compaq and Office Depot eked out small gains. I'll be watching things closely today, very closely. As it is, Nokia was up 4 points in the early going. Added to my watch list is Intimate Brands, the Victoria's Secret people, and LTD which still owns 85% of the peep show.
As you may have noticed, I've listed presidents 1 thru 24 over in column one. Got'em down, yet? I almost do, though the most recent 8 still trip me up. Guess I haven't been working on them as hard as I should. Let's see... "John Glenn Helps Giant Aliens Catch Hairy Cats!" No, I'm not cheating. "J... Andrew Johnson. G... Grant, U.S. Grant. H... Hayes, Rutherford. G... Garfield, John? No James. A... Arthur, Chester A. C... Cleveland, Grover. H... Harry-son, Benjamin. C... Grover Cleveland, again." I didn't peek once. I swear! If you haven't, already, check out the White House link up above in the Study Guide box.
Heard on the news that Bears' great, Walter Payton needs a liver transplant. They didn't specify which liver disease he was suffering from, but he claims it isn't drug related, etc., etc. Another case of a contaminated transfusion, I guess. Maybe as a public service Walter can go around and discourage young people from using "transfusions."
Helen's off, today, and while she's watching the laundry spin I'm going to head uptown to the barber shop. Think I'll try someone different this time. Last guy had a wierd layout to his shop. Couldn't see the people waiting. Well, hope all your ponies make it to the finish line. (There actually is a bar in Kalispell called "The Finish Line." I thought it was a Scandinavian hangout.) Ciao for now.
Here are presidents 17 through 24:
J-G-H-G-A-C-H-C
This key sentence involves one of our beloved space pioneers:
John Glenn Helps Giant Aliens Catch Hairy Cats.
As before, try to visualize the Senator helping those big aliens catch those very hairy cats. It will help you remember. Once you get these down, you're more than half way home. And who knows - tomorrow might be the day someone taps you on the shoulder and asks, "Can you name the first 24 presidents?" Your response: "Of course!" I see I have plenty of room over in column 1. Maybe I'll list 1-24 over there for tomorrow.
Wall Street... My on-line broker was off-line most of the day yesterday, so rather than take any chances, I dumped Earthlink and InfoSeek as soon as the system was up and running. All that left of the AIUD were AOL, Compaq, and Office Depot. I would've been buying yesterday had there not been technical problems, and the technical lapse may have cost me a few bucks, but I learned a valuable lesson: Uhhh... it's hard to put into words, but I learned it. This morning I picked up 50 shares of Nokia which is splitting 2 for 1 and, despite strong earnings, is down about 15 points since Friday. I'm also looking at Warner Lambert, Bell Atlantic, and shoe manufacturer, Candies, but... as for now, just looking.
Helen came in from Blimpies yesterday and immediately began making cookies. She's been quite creative around the kitchen this week. Maybe I can get her to tell you about it. "Nope," she says, "I'm too tired." Well, I'll tell you, then. It started with some leftover pasty dough she brought home from work. With spuds, carrots, celery, and ground turkey we already had on hand, she made two large pasties, each a meal for us. She used the rest of the dough to make a chicken pot pie. We'll be sampling that tonight. Yesterday, we dined on some home-made potato soup, served with toasted garlic bread made from blimpie blast end pieces. It was excellente.
My check finally landed in my eBay account, which means I can start getting another round of auctions ready. I like listing them on Saturdays or Sundays because, since the auctions run 7 days, that means they'll end on a weekend when a lot of people are home scanning the lists. Adding to the likelihood that the items will get noticed is the fact that a lot of people call up lists of auctions that are ending on that day. Of course, there are a lot of tricks and strategies I've learned since I've become involved with eBay and, from time to time, some would-be auctioner will see one of my listings and e-mail me for advice. Most recently someone needed help inserting pictures into his listings. Two or three e-mails later, he reported that he had successfully inserted his first image. Another thing I've learned is that certain teams generate a lot more interest than others. Hottest are Dodgers, Yankees, and the Red Sox. The Giants and Braves also move pretty well. On the other end of the spectrum are the Detroit Tigers. Aside from Tom Selleck, they don't get much of a following.
Well, I better get back to the big board. Maybe I'll get lucky today. (I didn't mean that kind of "lucky," Killer. Helen says your mind's always in the gutter.) Ciao.
Weekend Review... Helen did get to skate Saturday though she reports the ice was less than ideal - bumpy and soft. Add to that the fact that the surface area continues to decline and it appears we'll soon be traveling to other skating sites... We rented two more videos, The Horse Whisperer and Great Expectations, in our quest to catch up with the times and enjoyed them both. I, personally, liked Great Expectations best, not only because I'm a Dickens fan, but because it concerned people I could identify with... Saturday afternoon, I signed onto the Netscape/AOL instant messenger network and was immediately rewarded with notification that one of my dear old friends from NC was on line. We did a little catching up but, more importantly, reestablished contact. I've got two user names in case you want to check in on me - "aceymt" and "aceyt623." I may have made an error when I listed them last week...
Within the last week I've received 3 e-mails concerning my short stories. Honestly speaking, three in a week is a lot. Anyway, one person had just gotten around to reading my Christmas story and said he liked it. Another reported reading and enjoying Rattling On. The third, the one that's compelling me to write this morning, said something to the effect that my stories reflected a consistently negative and depressing outlook. I would quote her criticism directly but I deleted her mail as soon as I read it. Not to deny that there may be some truth to what she says, at least as far as consistency and repetition of theme is concerned. I make no excuses for this. I write what I know. I've tried dozens of times to write about things I don't know and I've never gotten very far. I'm not a big fan of fantasies, anyway. Besides, writing for me, as an opportunity to express intense internalized feelings and to react to life's harsh realities, has always been more therapeutic than artistic. Not that any amount of self-examination will ever enable me to get past a painful childhood, one characterized by years of hopelessness, helplessness, terror, abuse, and neglect. It can't. So, I'm stuck there. One reason I'm stuck, one reason I've never been able to deal with these issues and put them behind me, one reason I'm obsessed with exposing my past, is that I have always been surrounded by people who for whatever reason - believe me when I say I'm not smart enough to figure out what kind of self-serving reason one might have to do this - have not only closed their eyes to my early experience or downplayed its severity and significance, but, beyond that, have vociferously denied it. Denied what I witnessed first hand! "Never happened." "You're exaggerating!" "But, he had his good points too!" That last one always got me - as though tweaking someone's knee could possibly make up for years of vicious savagery and brutality. But while others may have been able to distance themselves from reality and deny the truth of my experience, I never could. And while they discouraged me from talking to them about it, tuned me out, so to speak, the need to talk about it, the need to tell the truth, never subsided and, if anything, increased - increased to the Explosion point! So, I write about it. If it's not all magic and faerie dust, I'm not apologizing - I'm sure there's plenty of that around. And, who knows, maybe one day I will get past it and move onto other issues. Anyway, getting back to that e-mail, I think the thing that disturbed me the most about it was that it came from a person who accessed my site from one of the survivors webrings, an overcomer who apparently has moved beyond the ability to understand.
Now, moving on to more trivial matters...
Wall Street... When the bell rang this morning, my holdings had been reduced to 5 issues - AOL, Compaq, EarthLink, Office Depot, and InfoSeek - 3 pure internet plays, 2 with internet connections. I still think that due to size and pervasiveness AOL is the enduring internet play. ELNK and SEEK are short term gambles. I sold one block of Earthlink on Friday and immediately put the proceeds to work in InfoSeek which had dipped 5 1/2 points. At one point during the day I was $500 ahead, but by the end of trading SEEK had recaptured its downward momentum. EarthLink, I'm hoping, will merge with someone or get bought out. Compaq, which I started buying last fall when it was in the mid 20's, has been doing real good for me. Though reactions to last weeks earnings report have been less than exuberant, with the upcoming spin-off of AltaVista and the emergence of Compaq.com, I think I'll hold on a while, though I'm not planning to increase my holdings at current prices. What else is there? Oh, Office Depot. Someone rated it an "agressive buy" last week. I checked the price, saw it hadn't climbed on the upgrade, so I bought some. It still hasn't climbed, but it's not falling either. It does have a pretty nice website, www.officedepot.com, and with the right kind of promotion could take off as an e-commerce play. That's what I'm hoping for, anyway. I finally dumped Sotheby's, Friday. A loser, believe me, now and forever. Not much is looking good to me right now. Maybe, Johnson & Johnson, GTE, or a couple of the brokerage houses. Of course, oil stocks are cheap but they might get cheaper yet. I am expecting some dips in the weeks ahead so hopefully I'll be able to lay low till those buying opportunities arise. SEEK and ELNK were up at the bell, Compaq, Office Depot, and AOL were down, and my on-line broker was down and still is. Talk about STRESS!
Helen wanted me to mention that we stopped at the jeweler's Saturday. She's been carrying an engagement ring, minus the diamond, and a matching band for about 20 years, ever since a prong broke and sent the stone into oblivion. Well, she figured it was about time she had the thing repaired and I agreed, so she picked out a rock and the ring will be back on her finger by Valentine's Day.
In case you've checked, I haven't been able to post any new eBay auctions because they still haven't credited my account with the payment I sent in. They're really making me pay for unlinking my credit card from my account.
Get ready for the next 8 Presidents - Johnson thru Cleveland Two.
That's it from the Cabin. Hope your reading's been magical and uplifting. Ciao.
Feb 12, 1999
Feb 11, 1999
26. Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909)
27. William Howard Taft (1909-1913)
28. Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)
29. Warren G. Harding (1921-1923)
30. Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929)
31. Herbert Hoover (1929-1933)
32. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1933-1945)
Feb 10, 1999
Feb 9, 1999
Feb 8, 1999
Feb 5, 1999
Feb 4, 1999
Feb 3, 1999
Feb 2, 1999
17. Andrew Johnson (1865-1869)
Familiarize yourselves with the list, then try to recall these presidents from their last initials:
18. U.S. Grant (1869-1877)
19. Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881)
20. James A. Garfield (1881)
21. Chester A. Arthur (1881-1885)
22. Grover Cleveland (1885-1889)
23. Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893)
24. Grover Cleveland (1893-1897)
Feb 1, 1999