patrick.net

x,

That's fine. As long as Stephen Merritt scores the movie.

FRIFY,

I think that Conor has well displayed that he is not just another 20 something. You go Conor!

Peter P,

As a sample last night I tuned into 5 Bay Area AM radio stations between 9:30pm and 12:30am while doing some other work. 4 were talk format, 1 news format. All had at least one "buy gold now before it's too late" ad. One station in particular had an ad about every other break, and from different companies, and saying things like "Gold going to $5,000/oz! Better buy now".

Common support were stylized "Gold-to-DOW" correlations. Interestingly, no direct attacks on the dollar. Probably a weird marketing/advertising thing there about not offending anyone's national pride. After all, these ads were clearly aimed at "lay people", not financially astute investors.

I then flipped through late night television before hitting bed (I rarely watch TV). I found two gold-profit infomercials running, although one was gold + copper, no risk, make $ without using your own $. Do it like the hedge-funds do! kind of stuff.

I'm not saying it's a bubble yet, but it's starting to look "frothy".

X,

I think the FED is at 5% even, no? Doesn't matter, just as long as we have an ample supply of bubble bucks!

Btw, who will be playing the lead roles in Broke Butt Beach?

Surfer-X should direct it.

x,

I'd pay good money to see Broke Butt Beach, starring Takeshi Kaneshiro and Sean Maher. (of course, I'd pay good money to see any movie with those two)

DinOR, yeah 5%. But come on, if the fed keeps raising rates it makes more sense to put your money elsewhere, if you are getting what 4.7% holding very risky housing notes, and you can get 4.75% in a freaking CD, come on man, do the math. Makes no sense to me. But then again I pay everything off. So far the tally is student loan only, 41K at 3.75% fixed. I abhor debt but see no reason to pay this one off as it is technically now free money.

Brokeback Beach is currently filming. Seems that "Chad" is upset that "Blain" keeps diddiling the cabana boys.

Just got back from the coin store with 1/200th of my post-bubble house in my pocket. I'm sure I've left some money on the table for the next guy. Enjoy the butterflies and the told-you-sos for the next 0-6 months and we'll talk in a year.

X,

Agreed! And yes, it's basically free money. Claim as ded. int. as usual. I think my daughter's loans will run quite a bit more than 3.75%!

Just the idea of low budget version of BBM filmed in SoCal reminds of those cheesy Bikini Car Wash, or Bikini Drive-Thru movies they used to run at 3:00am on USA. You know, where you see uncredited extras playing 2 or 3 roles and they don't even bother to take the pains to conceal it?

You know the deal! We've got to raise $25,000 before the bank will foreclose on my drifty, but likeable uncle! He runs the last drive-in movie/hot tub hotel/taco stand in SoCal! Let's get to work girls! Alright already. Cue the "clueless" guy with coke bottle thick glasses.

@SP, the all time best has to be "Moo Goo Guy Poon"

SP,

Do Elitists come with personal intellectual property lawyers? That's a lot of trademarking you're doing. :)

Gold will get busted.

I am praying that Ag rises above 15.

Three men and a maybe?

Oh, this has just gone too far!

Anyway, the reason I thought that the "endless beach party/my folks are gone for the weekend" format would create the perfect vehicle for Surfer X's "up date" of BBM is b/c this is an art? form that obviously doesn't take itself too seriously. No attempt is made to make these "works" a period piece. They are shot in the here and now and if there's a "vapor trail" or they just can't get that rush hour traffic to materialize they just leave it in. Everything is done on a budget and the first take is the ONLY take. They just kind of turn out how they turn out, take it or leave it. Cut! That's a wrap. Now let's really party!

Conor, the market is a giant casino. The real macho guys play with gold futures. Of course, most speculators get eaten alive by the COT in the futures market. The no-so-macho guys like me dabble with mining stocks.

You can also play Au and Ag ETF. But you need a lot of money to daytrade them (in order to get a sizable profit).

But if you stay put for the long run, you'll do well. The only downside is that with physicals, you have no leverage. But you'll do much better than 99% of your peers. And since you are still very young, that small advantage will turn into major advantage at an exponential pace, especially since you seem to have a brain -- the same cannot be said for some other people in this world, let alone on this board.

Anybody here has insight on platinum or palladium or other (I believe palladium is a rare earth metal?!?) rare earth metals? They certainly have industrial uses.

Anybody here has insight on platinum or palladium or other (I believe palladium is a rare earth metal?!?) rare earth metals?

Buy, buy, buy.

NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE

Conor,

Well said. I don't know if those LTCM guys had a brain. My buddies and I, all togther an ex-nuclear physicist, an ex CS theoretician, and an ex aspiring theoretical physicist-experimental jack of all trades-occasional hacker-lover of women, checked the Nobel Prize-winning theory that those guys came up with. It was a very simple shit, physics applied to economics.

Mucking with math equations does not need a brain.

On my way to work, I talked to a carpenter who's fixing stuff at our condo complex. I was surprised that this guy, in his late 50's-60's, had gone to college to study sociology in the 60s. He knew what he was talking about. He said he was once rich and made 6 figures shortly after college, back when 6 figures was something to boast to your college buddy (perhaps even your parents). I did ask him about RE market in the Seattle area. He coyed. (Did I spell correctly?)

I love talking to these old folks.

Here’s some advice — if you don’t know what palladium is, don’t invest in it.

IMO, one does not need to know what X is before investing in X. One only need to know what other people think of X. It is 100% human psychology. Fundamental analysis will only derail your feel.

Conor,

LOL! I was hoping someone would tell me. I know it turns up for use as a catalyst and in alloys. I'm not planning to invest any of the above (except maybe platinum), but it's nice to get some feedback about them.

Conor,

I commend you on your fiscal austerity. Living below your means is the key to long term prosperity. I just hate to hear a young guy investing in something with such a historically low return as gold at a historically high water mark. Gold's return is low for a reason; it bubbles when people fear inflation and retraces when they calm back down.

I'm not going to try to talk you out of gold, but if you own no stocks, you're overexposed to metals. Diversify, diversify. Cash @ 5% return isn't a bad safe bet, but as young as you are, you should be in the stock market at 70% or above. The only serious inflation we've experienced has been housing inflation. If you believe the majority of the people on this board, that's been an abnormal result of the foolish borrowing habits of FBs and the foolish lending habits of dark forces.

Gold sits. Gold produces nothing. Make your money work for you. Invest it. Buying gold is speculating.

Good luck!

FRIFY says:
Good luck!

Indeed. Conor needs it if he follows your advice.

Peter P,

It's not 100% human psychology. There are always supply and demand constraints. If diamond is as common as graphite, no one would pay so much for them, no matter how much it sparkles.

So you still need to analyze for production capacity, current availability, usage, etc. Going all meta on mass psychology is insufficient. You need to go meta-meta to figure out what figures into mass psychology, and reality is a surprising important component.

Seriously, studies have shown that timing is very important even for long-term stock investing. So this putting your 70% in the stock market is pure garbage, propagated by people who were lucky enough to live their useful period of life during 1980-2000.

Living below your means is the key to long term prosperity.

With all due respect, the key to long term prosperity is being born at the right place at the right time. The next best thing is doing the right thing at the right time.

One cannot gain much wealth just by saving. It is making the right call at the right moment that counts.

Gold sits. Gold produces nothing. Make your money work for you. Invest it. Buying gold is speculating.

One can surely invest in his own speculation.

NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE

Indeed. Conor needs it if he follows your advice.

Haven't unloaded all of your Gold portfolio yet, GC? ;-) You can't get my goat, but you might give Linda my vote...

Conor,

Absolutely. Common sense and street smarts are not taught at schools. As a matter of fact, colleges make a point not to teach these things. Well, for one thing, the profs don't know how to for they lack common sense ans street smarts. For another, if they do, meaning teaching something one naturally picks up in the streets or inherit from parents, how can colleges justify their existence and high tuitions?

One more body bag added to the altar of majority rule (woops, democracy).

FRIFY,

I am watching. I am seriously contemplating dumping my Au & Ag shares. I will hold my Palladium shares, even though these garbage stocks have gone no where while Pd the metal is going through the roof. Speaking of garbage stocks, did I tell that I once bought a mining company for 8 cents a share? It proceeded to gradually drop to 0.1 cent a share.

Seriously, you have to learn to ferret out gold from my nasty jokes.

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=VFINX&t=my&l=on&z=m&q=l&c=VGPMX

Connor will be 40 in 15 years...

What's the point? 400% return over 15 years is nothing to write home about.

Conor,

At least some of the Western water use issues can be solved by legislation and lifestyle changes. Nobody should have a lawn in the middle of a desert. Growing rice in a desert is also a bad idea. The old western water rights need to be altered and bought out to accommodate contemporary water usage.

GC,

What’s the point? 400% return over 15 years is nothing to write home about.

How about 300%? How about -300% if you bought in the 80s?

Seriously, you have to learn to ferret out gold from my nasty jokes.

Despite the fact that I'd take a crowbar to your head if you cracked some of your jokes next to my kids, I confess that I find the occasional remark amusing. Free speech all the way. I just hope our younger audience realizes that you're usually not serious.

Ok, kids, gotta go. Watch your back Connor.

I can envision technology that can easily solve the water problem using distillation or electrolysis. All we need is energy.

Or we can start to recycle water.

The one thing I can say is that you just can't try to serve too many masters. Earlier SP referred to me as an "expert" in debt paper. I'm flattered! The truth is I know a lot of experts in debt paper. These guys run trades that dwarf any thing I've EVER done and they do it every day! Why would I pull my hair out when all I have to do is call some guy in New Jersey. They're only too happy to help if I throw some business at them once in a while.

I see where FRIFY is coming from and by and large he's right. Conor is young enough to overcome any kind of prolonged downturn (yes even RE) but he's doing it his way. I say step aside. "Any man brave enough to open up a Datek account on August 1, 2000 can drink from my canteen any day!"

*Robert Duvall in Apocalypse Now!

Uh, I don't need to LIVE in Las Vegas, actually a license and a P.O box would suffice and while I'm there I promise not to drink any water.

charlie,

Where do I get mine? Just send me the stickers, I'll figure out where to stick them.

Charlie,

I've got another idea. Make stickers that say "HELOCed second home", you can stick them on big SUVs. And make sure you get the nasty cheap sort of sticker paper, so they won't come off easily.

Disclaimer: This post is solely for recreational purposes. I am not responsible for any property damage or emotional traumas that come out of this post.