One year ago today: December 20, 2022, still in the mountains.
Five years ago today: December 20, 2018, that’s A.I., not AI.
Nine years ago today: December 20, 2014, not in Seattle, anyway.
Random years ago today: December 20, 2003, $500 after taxes.
The libtards have shot themselves in the foot again. This time they got a panel of corrupt Soros-backed judges in Colorado to ban Trump’s name from the 2024 ballots. It’s worded as if Trump is ineligible to run, but that is not the case. They are using the so-called “Insurrection Act” claiming the J6 guided tour was a Trump-based attack. The bad guys chose Colorado because it is where everybody outside of Denver just wants to be left alone, so they weren’t paying attention when these robot judges were appointed.
My main work computer is still down, it’s that weird memory card and I cannot find any instructions on-line. It has a very fragile housing so I won’t force it. This emphasizes that after twenty years in Florida, other than Fred who got out of the business, I do not know a single person who can help me with computer RAM. But I know dozens of people who consider themselves power users because of Facebook. I finally took the unit to the free diagnostic place, but they are on to me. Once they tell me what is wrong, I can fix it myself. Today, they did not mind but after this, I will have to spend some money there.
They are aware I’m a former shop-owner as well, so we talked a bit. Win 10 support ends soon, which always results in a happy time. As just mentioned, these power users don’t have a clue about the mechanics of either the computer or the business which leaves them little choice but to buy new. Thus, should they come into a super Win 10 unit that checks out, I let them know it is worth $500 to me. Roger that, they said, and I made a quick exit.
Pressing my luck, I went into the music store and looked to the back of every last hook of picks they had. Nearly a half-hour later what do I find? A spar-pack of twenty Dunlop 46mm. It had a $6 price tag and that’s more picks than I’ll need for the rest of my life, but I snapped them up fast. They are not quite the 36mm I prefer but finding these made my Xmas. Peavy is now making a super light portable bass amp with an 8” speaker, but at $170 it is twice too much for me. The electronics in these amps is mass produced for pennies and the whole assembly is worth maybe $15.
My best practice amp turns out to be that Tailgater from Wal*Mart that I’ve repaired how many times, including a new battery. That’s the one where I cut off the insides of the handles so you could carry it with one hand. It’s a mite too heavy, making it a hassle setting it up and down for practice, so I’m thinking. We are overall under budget again but not enough to splurge. I broke down and bought a pop filter for a larger mic and trimmed it down to fit my headset. It looks a bit awkward but that doesn’t affect me. I’m expecting the jam tonight to be typical. One way is that Keith can’t play along to any of our material, so I just use his mic which is always turned up so loud I can keep almost half a foot back.
The jam session. It was evident I was off balance, but that even so, I can put on a show. We know most of the other guy’s list, no thanks to him, and we were on stage 2-1/2 hours. The crowd did not show up until we were finished, around 9:30PM. I seem to have missed an entire era of rather repetitious bluegrass tunes the other guys know by heart. Cancel the pending New Year’s gig, they opted for a disk jockey. Their loss.
So this guy posts a picture on Gab of his 13-year-old son wearing a “God is Great” ball cap and “so excited” about getting a 100-year-old book in his stocking. Let’s pick the best comments:
a) Nice hat.Here’s a question for you. I know I tend to talk more about money when my fiscal year ends, and this time CDs were in the news. Banks are allowed to trade stocks but they also push something called Money Market. If you try to find out, you will get the same barrage of propaganda from every source. They talk jargon so I’ll clear up some of the fog. Banks indulge in all kinds of funny loans between each other. Most of it boils down to gambling with the money the bank makes from bank fees. Banks rake in billions more than they need to operate and they become rather good at reading the signs.
b) If it’s that old, it’s certainly Christian, not Sodomite.
c) Mein Kampf?
d) Hope it’s a history book.
e) Protocols of the Elders of Zion?
f) Hopefully that pink book bag next to him isn’t his.
g) No need to lie a 13 y.o. is excited about a book, what was his other gift? Socks?
h) Imagine his exhilaration once he’s in college and learns how to read.
i) Does it still work after 100 years?
CD interest rates have dropped, so I’m looking closer. The bank will always tell you the return comes from “short term loans”, but what exactly are those? Anybody whose ever used a credit card for a cash advance can tell you. Another major source is 0% credit cards, usually for one or two years. If you default even once, and bank knows you will, that 29.99% interest applies. And not from the date of default, but from the date you opened the account. A reminder to all that bank privacy policies only apply when you are a client. When you close the account, they are free to tell everybody about your behavior right down to the daily transaction level.
I also know the era is gone when you can get straight answers. Money market accounts are not the same as money market funds. The account is basically giving the band permission to gamble with your money, mind you under strict Federal guidelines. The best way to probe for changes is to establish an account and watch it like hell the first year. What say we do this? It’s been a successful year for investing, close to a thousand dollars (before taxes).
The cash would come from my funeral account, where I have complete say—but much like my band, only as long as I’m right most of the time. The Reb & I have a simple formula. When we agree on something, I decide. When we disagree, she decides. I use a private bank, but the rules are generally the same. They advise you keep six months living expenses ahead in a money market account and remind you there are limits to how many withdrawals you can make per month. This does not affect me, as dead people have no living expenses and I have never taken money out any investment account. This is in addition to Caltier, no overlap whatsoever.
One final piece of advice today. It is no longer possible to keep ahead of times by savings alone. You can never add a little to savings along the way and hope to keep pace with the world - or have enough for an emergency. Banks refer to stowing money away as hoarding. It is no longer a viable strategy, it is a guaranteed loss. One disincentive is many banks have minimums for such accounts. Be wary. For my bank there is only a $50 minimum, but you’ll need at least $2,500 to avoid the $16 per month service charge.
