I found a great posting on a popular website where a number of bluegrass fans posted their favorite, sad bluegrass songs. Find them here. I have been performing some bluegrass on the mandolin at local open mics this year and some of the feedback was pretty much summed up in the description of this thread: "Bluegrass can be both the happiest and saddest genre." Only, I found most of my songs were of the happy variety even though I am not necessarily happy all the time. Being positive is great, and happy is a positive emotion. Life is not always happy, however, and being able to express myself through music is very important. I began to work in an old bluegrass book I had, finding a song called "Billy in the Low Ground." The song is an allusion to being dead and buried.
Death, equally fascinating as Life. I am glad this post in /r/bluegrass presented itself when it did because I was looking for just such a collection of songs. The problem can be an overwhelming number of songs, and not enough time to filter them all to get to some good ones, or some songs that really speak to you. This list has narrowed the search for me and now I can do some listening and find ones I like and get to learning them as soon as humanly possible. I seem to have a problem with my attention and that's why I say "as soon as humanly possible." I have a vision about my music and I have not been writing this vision down, or anything down, for that matter. I hope I can get back into the groove of shipping new ideas.
This blog initially was started to ship new ideas, new ideas in business or economics. Since its creation in 2010 I have been negligent and I also see other areas in my life where my diligence has been lacking. I will be making changes in that area. The changes were borne of my dissatisfaction in my music. Like most everything in my life, I put it aside and was distracted, leaving me further and further behind each day I did not continue yesterday's progress. This lack of continuation is depressing me because I cannot get my thoughts out of the past and become anxious due to the idea of having to catch up from so far behind. Each new journey begins with a single step.
My first step was to create a list of the areas I would like to accomplish objectives. Each area has a few subtopics to work on. I began with my blog from the roll of the dice. I have told myself to work for an hour on each objective and that should keep me busy, productive, and my mind off of my past and my head out of the uncertainties of the future. Lately, I have been frustrated with my life due to the lack of consistency and when I would pick up my mandolin to play, and only "happy" songs would emerge, even though I wanted to express my discomfort, I would quit playing, perpetuating the cycle of negligence. So, in my attempt to search for "sad" songs, I have rediscovered my blog and hope to keep all my objectives in the rotation.
I believe the first new song of the sad variety will be "Wayfaring Stranger." Another objective is to create some instructional videos of playing mandolin for YouTube. Look for this song in the future, eventually!
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
A Girl In College
I dated a girl in college who as a child was witness to her father physically abusing her mother. She then fell into a physically abusive relationship with her first boyfriend, Ryan. This relationship went on while she was 17-20. She got out only because of a restraining order against him. Her next relationship was with a mentally abusive guy, Kurt. Kurt is a guy’s guy. He has privilege, power, and he quickly figured out how to maintain control over the emotions of this girl to keep her around and submissive. I knew her during this period, ages 21-23. We were close friends until recently.
I was quick to assert Ryan had no right whatsoever to physically abuse her, for any reason, EVER. “That behavior is not okay,” I told her on more than one occasion. Once, in class I intercepted a couple of male students’ text message that made a derogatory comment about her and a large, phallic device, and I stood up in lecture and brought it to the attention of the rest of the class. I believe in the power to change the negative, male behavior in a continuum of a peer culture climate where the behavior is perceived as wrong and inaccessible in those peer cultures. A poor leader allows that behavior to be laughed at, brushed aside as a “stupid remark,” or ignored completely, making those outside the immediate situation of abuse complicit in the negative behavior. The issue of mental and physical abuse is an issue of leadership, not necessarily gender equality or women’s issues.
Ultimately, I sacrificed my feelings for her to give her balance. Not short-term, but long-term. All my family and friends were wary of her, they could sense the patterns of abuse. I was as opposite as I could muster from the other men in her past. This was attractive to her, it was weird. I knew that being nice, yet still a strong man, to her and not playing the “dating game” would mean an inevitable end to our relationship. I helped build confidence she would later use against me. I love that girl and she let me fall in the trap she had fallen into with her previous relationships. She took on their role and mentally abused me and cut down my self-esteem and self-worth. She planted doubt and insecurities in my mind. She played with my emotions and got me to give disproportionally to what she would take. I allowed it all to happen.
It was the right thing to do, but it meant that I would not get to be with her. I wasn’t going to “save her.” Kurt would promise to “solve her problems,” that’s not what she needs. She needs to learn how to trust men. She needs to be trusted by men. I did the best I could, however, I could not contend with the negativity. I was not ready for everything that she would unleash on me. She broke me down, I lost my composure and she left me, for good. In that experience, I began to understand what had been done to her, why she felt the way she did about the world. She broke my heart. No doubt there is another way to do what I was trying to do, I did the best I could and refuse to give up. A man is just a man, I had to forgive myself and move on.
Check out this TEDX from November 2012. It was posted May 2013 to their website. In it, Dr. Jackson Katz explains societal discourse is from the perspective of the male, the male is the dominate group in our society.
“This is one of the ways dominate systems maintain and reproduce themselves. That is to say the dominate group is rarely challenged to think about its dominance; because, that’s one of the key characteristics of power and privilege. The ability to go unexamined, lacking introspection; in fact, being rendered invisible in large measure in the discourse about issues that are primarily about us.”
Dr. Katz went on to explain our whole cognitive structure is built to blame the victim. He uses the English language to show how “John beat Mary” becomes “Mary is a battered woman” and John is no longer in the conversation, and Mary’s problem becomes a woman’s issue. Men tend to tune out “women’s issues” because they are men, the dominate gender, and simply lose interest. It happened to me in college: “Oh, Women’s Studies…where am I studying today?” My friend admitted that she played a part in the abuse, provoking it at times out of Ryan. Further, nothing was stopping her from removing herself from Kurt’s living situation. Yet, even though there is another side to the story, in those situations, as well as our relationship, this pattern of abuse began in her home as a child. Everything after that was blaming her for being emotionally unstable, or chastisement from her family for being sad over break-ups. “Ryan didn’t abuse my friend, my friend caused Ryan to abuse her.” Or, “Kurt didn’t manipulate her, she let him.”
In my experience with her, my wary family and friends were quick to point out how poorly she was treating me. They pointed out that she did not respect me and that she was manipulating me to get what she could from me. They just wanted to protect me from this “poison” when they saw how much I was torn up over her. No one helped me cope with the negativity I was enduring so I could prolong our dance. I was told to remove myself from the situation. Nope, I was not going to leave her alone, just like every other man she has given her love to in life. She had plenty of friends when I last talked to her, and she left me. I didn’t abuse her and she knows that she can trust me, still. I was sad, of course, though I stand by my actions and see the Positive. You are reading it right now.
I was quick to assert Ryan had no right whatsoever to physically abuse her, for any reason, EVER. “That behavior is not okay,” I told her on more than one occasion. Once, in class I intercepted a couple of male students’ text message that made a derogatory comment about her and a large, phallic device, and I stood up in lecture and brought it to the attention of the rest of the class. I believe in the power to change the negative, male behavior in a continuum of a peer culture climate where the behavior is perceived as wrong and inaccessible in those peer cultures. A poor leader allows that behavior to be laughed at, brushed aside as a “stupid remark,” or ignored completely, making those outside the immediate situation of abuse complicit in the negative behavior. The issue of mental and physical abuse is an issue of leadership, not necessarily gender equality or women’s issues.
Ultimately, I sacrificed my feelings for her to give her balance. Not short-term, but long-term. All my family and friends were wary of her, they could sense the patterns of abuse. I was as opposite as I could muster from the other men in her past. This was attractive to her, it was weird. I knew that being nice, yet still a strong man, to her and not playing the “dating game” would mean an inevitable end to our relationship. I helped build confidence she would later use against me. I love that girl and she let me fall in the trap she had fallen into with her previous relationships. She took on their role and mentally abused me and cut down my self-esteem and self-worth. She planted doubt and insecurities in my mind. She played with my emotions and got me to give disproportionally to what she would take. I allowed it all to happen.
It was the right thing to do, but it meant that I would not get to be with her. I wasn’t going to “save her.” Kurt would promise to “solve her problems,” that’s not what she needs. She needs to learn how to trust men. She needs to be trusted by men. I did the best I could, however, I could not contend with the negativity. I was not ready for everything that she would unleash on me. She broke me down, I lost my composure and she left me, for good. In that experience, I began to understand what had been done to her, why she felt the way she did about the world. She broke my heart. No doubt there is another way to do what I was trying to do, I did the best I could and refuse to give up. A man is just a man, I had to forgive myself and move on.
Check out this TEDX from November 2012. It was posted May 2013 to their website. In it, Dr. Jackson Katz explains societal discourse is from the perspective of the male, the male is the dominate group in our society.
“This is one of the ways dominate systems maintain and reproduce themselves. That is to say the dominate group is rarely challenged to think about its dominance; because, that’s one of the key characteristics of power and privilege. The ability to go unexamined, lacking introspection; in fact, being rendered invisible in large measure in the discourse about issues that are primarily about us.”
Dr. Katz went on to explain our whole cognitive structure is built to blame the victim. He uses the English language to show how “John beat Mary” becomes “Mary is a battered woman” and John is no longer in the conversation, and Mary’s problem becomes a woman’s issue. Men tend to tune out “women’s issues” because they are men, the dominate gender, and simply lose interest. It happened to me in college: “Oh, Women’s Studies…where am I studying today?” My friend admitted that she played a part in the abuse, provoking it at times out of Ryan. Further, nothing was stopping her from removing herself from Kurt’s living situation. Yet, even though there is another side to the story, in those situations, as well as our relationship, this pattern of abuse began in her home as a child. Everything after that was blaming her for being emotionally unstable, or chastisement from her family for being sad over break-ups. “Ryan didn’t abuse my friend, my friend caused Ryan to abuse her.” Or, “Kurt didn’t manipulate her, she let him.”
In my experience with her, my wary family and friends were quick to point out how poorly she was treating me. They pointed out that she did not respect me and that she was manipulating me to get what she could from me. They just wanted to protect me from this “poison” when they saw how much I was torn up over her. No one helped me cope with the negativity I was enduring so I could prolong our dance. I was told to remove myself from the situation. Nope, I was not going to leave her alone, just like every other man she has given her love to in life. She had plenty of friends when I last talked to her, and she left me. I didn’t abuse her and she knows that she can trust me, still. I was sad, of course, though I stand by my actions and see the Positive. You are reading it right now.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Keep the Fed?
Reuters Reports:
Even with a smaller size, Highfields [Capital] will still rank among the $2.4 trillion hedge fund industry's biggest players in part because it is not alone in deciding it is better to be smaller and more maneuverable.This is good because we want the rich people to spend more money. Wealth accumulation has reached a ceiling with current interest rates held in place by the Fed bond purchase program. Successful hedge funds are returning capital to investors to better accommodate current market rates in a way that doesn't sacrifice their fund's return potential. If rich people start spending their money again, the conspicuous consumption effect will shift tastes and preferences of consumers -- a determinate of demand. It's not class warfare if we are all on the same side, and we are all part of consumer demand.
Credit Card Regulation
Yet another instance where government regulation has hurt
consumers and businesses…wait. I think I got that one backwards.
The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure
Act of 2009 or Credit CARD Act of 2009 has been reported to better protect
consumers from credit cards they cannot afford than they were before Congress
passed the law by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
If read about what the act does for credit consumers you
might realize that Senator Tom Coburn, a Republican from Oklahoma added an
unrelated rider to the bill to prevent the Secretary of the Interior from
enforcing any regulation that would prohibit an individual from possessing a
firearm in any unit of the National Park System.
I’m not sure why this was needed to pass the bill, the rider
seems very incongruous with the idea of the law. I will never understand
politics I am not a part of.
Consumers are protected from credit card companies charging
opaque fees for going over allowable credit limits in order to create a market
where consumers can see the costs of each card upfront.
Since 2009, Visa (V) is up 162%, MasterCard (MA) is up over
200%, American Express (AMP) is up 130%, Capitol One (COF) is up 95%, and
Discover (DFS) is up 280%.
Due to a law passed by a Democratic Congress and White
House, consumers pay less penalties for late payments and other unexpected
fees, credit card companies have seen EPS soar, and American’s can no longer be
charged for hunting in the King’s forest.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
FAME to Black
The 4-week value strategy I am working with this month
includes 7 equities. The metrics to create this sample of stocks were a
Price-Earnings using a 12-month Earnings per Share ratio, quarterly Earnings
per Share this quarter and the quarter prior ratio, and the Zacks “Rating
Change and Estimate Revision Factor.”
According to J O'Shaughnessy in What Works on Wall Street, the Price-to-Sales Ratio “is the best,” measuring
the price of the company against annual sales instead of earnings. This means
that it is “’an almost perfect measure of popularity.’ Only hope and hype will
increase the price of a stock with a high PSR.” (He is quoting the author of
the 1984 book Super Stocks.)
I learned quickly on my second attempt trading with my
brokerage account to put the trade at least one day ahead of the price you want
for your security. The market ended high last Friday the 27th and I
got Friday’s ask price. Monday, today, the first of October, awoke to a “shut-down”
federal government. The market was at a three-week low and I got those bid
prices, too.
The Economist uses hyperbole, calling the current Congress with a rodeo
clown compared to a country once considered a stalwart of good governance. Also
noting:
If America were in real danger of missing a debt payment it is likely that President Obama would find some constitutional justification for ignoring Congress rather than set off a financial meltdown.
I followed the advice of David Darst, director and Chief
Investment Strategist of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney: “Buy the pancake; sell
the spike.” He spoke at an annual FAME Conference at San Francisco State
University in November 2012 and I was fortunate enough to be part of the
Student Investment Fund in attendance.
After one day I have already recouped my trading costs and am in the black. However, I realize how quickly the market can turn down, wiping away any positive gains I return after the first day of trading.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
I Can't Get No Good Insurance
If you are like me and have no medical insurance coverage, the open enrollment for providers begins October 1st. You are like me in that on March 31, 2014 you will have medical insurance because of the federal healthcare law that mandates all Americans have health insurance. We have six months to figure out who we are going to give our money to so we avoid the government fine for not having said insurance.
I read in the Wall Street Journal about some nefarious practices of some health providers in the US that are sending current members misleading information about the ramifications of the new health care law as pertains to their current coverage. It was an interesting read, and not too surprising. I'm glad the state insurance regulators caught the providers and did something about it. The article got me thinking about my coverage, or lack thereof, and the necessity of it by the end of March next year.
The article in the WSJ mentioned Cigna Health and an online tool that assists people in finding the best health coverage plan for them -- even if it means Cigna will lose customers because a better plan happens to be with another health provider. This action made me nod my head in approval, Cigna was the first place I went looking for my health coverage. As it turns out, however, Cigna will not be available to me in California. The nice woman I spoke with on the phone at Cigna directed me to Healthcare.gov, a website that will help me find the information to get me the coverage I need.
The website set up and run by the government was easy to navigate and sent me in the right direction. We do have to wait until October 1st to see the plan and cost information. I answered some questions about myself: Age, gender, state of residence, etc., entered my zip code and was directed to the state agency responsible for signing up people living in that state. California uses "Covered California," Colorado has "Connect for Health Colorado."
Back at the Covered California website I find a very easy to navigate website that helps me figure out exactly what I am looking for, on average. I was given three options to choose from based on my demographics. All are about the same price of $150 per month, and generally offer the same services with the only differences being in the co-pay and deductible ratios. I am a healthy dude and do not expect to need lots of care so I will go for the plan with a lower monthly and higher deductible because I don't plan on using the services too often. Besides, the preventive care visits are free with my plan. I look forward to access to a medical professional one-on-one.
Some people complain about the mandate increasing fixed costs for the household. Sure, I'd rather not pay $150 a month, but the positive externalities of everyone in the country with access to better healthcare services far outweighs my meager $1,800 a year contribution to society. Thank You, President Obama, for taking monumental action here at home in the USA. The Affordable Care Act will be how I remember you best.
I read in the Wall Street Journal about some nefarious practices of some health providers in the US that are sending current members misleading information about the ramifications of the new health care law as pertains to their current coverage. It was an interesting read, and not too surprising. I'm glad the state insurance regulators caught the providers and did something about it. The article got me thinking about my coverage, or lack thereof, and the necessity of it by the end of March next year.
The article in the WSJ mentioned Cigna Health and an online tool that assists people in finding the best health coverage plan for them -- even if it means Cigna will lose customers because a better plan happens to be with another health provider. This action made me nod my head in approval, Cigna was the first place I went looking for my health coverage. As it turns out, however, Cigna will not be available to me in California. The nice woman I spoke with on the phone at Cigna directed me to Healthcare.gov, a website that will help me find the information to get me the coverage I need.
The website set up and run by the government was easy to navigate and sent me in the right direction. We do have to wait until October 1st to see the plan and cost information. I answered some questions about myself: Age, gender, state of residence, etc., entered my zip code and was directed to the state agency responsible for signing up people living in that state. California uses "Covered California," Colorado has "Connect for Health Colorado."
Back at the Covered California website I find a very easy to navigate website that helps me figure out exactly what I am looking for, on average. I was given three options to choose from based on my demographics. All are about the same price of $150 per month, and generally offer the same services with the only differences being in the co-pay and deductible ratios. I am a healthy dude and do not expect to need lots of care so I will go for the plan with a lower monthly and higher deductible because I don't plan on using the services too often. Besides, the preventive care visits are free with my plan. I look forward to access to a medical professional one-on-one.
Some people complain about the mandate increasing fixed costs for the household. Sure, I'd rather not pay $150 a month, but the positive externalities of everyone in the country with access to better healthcare services far outweighs my meager $1,800 a year contribution to society. Thank You, President Obama, for taking monumental action here at home in the USA. The Affordable Care Act will be how I remember you best.
Monday, September 23, 2013
Big Money Strategy
This is the contents of my Big Money investment strategy going into the first week.
The Zale Corporation is a small cap stock operating as a specialty retailer of fine jewelry in North America. Over the past 52-week period, the share price for Zale has risen 128%.
A Finnish company part of the Materials sector, Stora Enso Oyi engages in the production and sle of biomaterials, paper, packaging, and wood products in Finland an internationally. This is a mid cap stock that has seen its share price rise 39% in the trailing twelve-month period.
Agean Marine operates as a marine fuel logistics company that markets and supplies refined marine fuel and lubricants to ships in port, at sea, and on rivers worldwide. This is a small cap stock that has experienced an annualized stock price increase of 61%.
I will track their share price over the next week and next Monday may have new picks for the Big Money portfolio.
The Zale Corporation is a small cap stock operating as a specialty retailer of fine jewelry in North America. Over the past 52-week period, the share price for Zale has risen 128%.
A Finnish company part of the Materials sector, Stora Enso Oyi engages in the production and sle of biomaterials, paper, packaging, and wood products in Finland an internationally. This is a mid cap stock that has seen its share price rise 39% in the trailing twelve-month period.
Agean Marine operates as a marine fuel logistics company that markets and supplies refined marine fuel and lubricants to ships in port, at sea, and on rivers worldwide. This is a small cap stock that has experienced an annualized stock price increase of 61%.
I will track their share price over the next week and next Monday may have new picks for the Big Money portfolio.
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