Search found 274 matches

by ns3
Mon Jun 02, 2014 6:46 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Antioxidant supplements make you age faster?
Replies: 20
Views: 8940

Re: Antioxidant supplements make you age faster?

Keyne's "barberous relic" comment was about the gold standard, not gold per se.  So I would agree that vegetables and fruits are barberous relics when it comes to providing vitamins and in our depleted modern times, minerals. I didn't even know that Keynes was the original source of the quote. I th...
by ns3
Sun Jun 01, 2014 7:40 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Your rights under direct assault
Replies: 10
Views: 4897

Re: Your rights under direct assault

Frankly I'm surprised when a government or corporation doesn't already know something detailed and personal about me. That's just the world we live in. You might be surprised to know then that the government has been going after corporations that retain too much personal information. I know this ve...
by ns3
Sun Jun 01, 2014 10:44 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Who should we bomb next?
Replies: 0
Views: 2219

Re: Who should we bomb next?

Good question.

Maybe they should open a betting line in Vegas.
by ns3
Sun Jun 01, 2014 10:37 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Antioxidant supplements make you age faster?
Replies: 20
Views: 8940

Re: Antioxidant supplements make you age faster?

Now whether or not we actually need these "antioxidant toxins" from vegetables/fruits in the first place remains to be seen.  I think there are better (safer) ways to go.  What veggies/fruits do provide besides fiber is exosome RNA that are literally incorporated into human cells; everything else i...
by ns3
Sun Jun 01, 2014 10:23 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Bloomberg's commencement speech at Harvard
Replies: 7
Views: 4393

Re: Bloomberg's commencement speech at Harvard

I'm from the generation of students that shut down campuses and burned down ROTC buildings so these anti-establishment protests against commencement speakers seem fairly mild in comparison. I don't know what all the protests were about and I doubt I would agree with all of them but in the case of Ms...
by ns3
Sat May 31, 2014 1:31 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Retirement plan seizure risks
Replies: 42
Views: 18118

Re: Retirement plan seizure risks

"global warming" "climate change". but the new official name is "climate disruption"... the more vague and unprovable the name makes it...    the better it is for the agenda. I just read somewhere yesterday that they figured out "global warming" is a more fear-inducing term than the others. It woul...
by ns3
Sat May 31, 2014 12:49 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Figuring Out Religion
Replies: 4052
Views: 1387007

Re: Figuring Out Religion

There is a region in the brain that predisposes people to believe in the "God" concept.  It's likely to be related to co-operation since it promotes in-group social cohesion (but also wars against out-groups). So it's like two cavemen get together and realize they need to co-operate in order to sur...
by ns3
Sat May 31, 2014 11:18 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Figuring Out Religion
Replies: 4052
Views: 1387007

Re: Figuring Out Religion

Have you ever heard a good theory about where the "neurological biases" come from. I can't think of any evolutionary benefit for it off-hand but I'm not well read on the subject. Those behavioral traits that benefited survival at expense of death got hardwired through natural selection.  What many ...
by ns3
Sat May 31, 2014 10:01 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Figuring Out Religion
Replies: 4052
Views: 1387007

Re: Figuring Out Religion

My core problem isn't people believing in the Light Bulb (well, until they become righteous), so much as they're simply unaware of the many neurological biases pushing them into that direction.  Have you ever heard a good theory about where the "neurological biases" come from. I can't think of any ...
by ns3
Sat May 31, 2014 9:39 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Any Idea How Many People Use The PP Strategy?
Replies: 20
Views: 11409

Re: Any Idea How Many People Use The PP Strategy?

Reub wrote: I'm just curious how many people use the PP strategy. Any idea?
I'm more curious about how many people on this forum actually use the PP strategy. I used to think it was most but I've been getting the impression lately that maybe not.
by ns3
Sat May 31, 2014 9:35 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Does a rebalance bonus exist?
Replies: 9
Views: 6907

Re: Does a rebalance bonus exist?

All I know is that when I sold stock and bought gold back in January it was probably the first time in my life that I ever knowingly sold high and bought low and I felt good about it. At that point I resolved to not look at my portfolio again until next January because I don't want to know whether o...
by ns3
Thu May 29, 2014 5:23 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Current PP Allocations
Replies: 32
Views: 15168

Re: Current PP Allocations

I will pick on you annieB. How do you feel about the possibility of rebalancing into gold if/when it breaches the 15% tolerance band? Personally, I am more comfortable re-balancing into one or more of the other assets. It would be a monumentous achievement for me to execute the trade. Yikes! Intere...
by ns3
Thu May 29, 2014 9:21 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Retirement plan seizure risks
Replies: 42
Views: 18118

Re: Retirement plan seizure risks

I was making a bit of a joke. I'd never advocate that an externality tax be levied on retirement accounts.  It defeats the whole purpose. I would probably favor taxing carbon emissions. Beyond just having them subject to income tax, I don't really favor any strict rules on retirement accounts. I wa...
by ns3
Thu May 29, 2014 6:31 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Retirement plan seizure risks
Replies: 42
Views: 18118

Re: Retirement plan seizure risks

moda0306 wrote: But anyway, back to the government confiscating our retirement plans to pay carbon taxes :).
So, are you for it or against it?
by ns3
Wed May 28, 2014 6:45 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Antioxidant supplements make you age faster?
Replies: 20
Views: 8940

Antioxidant supplements make you age faster?

Does this call into question anything published in the "Permanent Supplement Regime"? Just wondering. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2639929/Think-antioxidants-make-live-longer-Think-We-spend-millions-researchers-say-supplements-make-bodies-age-FASTER.html This isn't the first study I've ...
by ns3
Tue May 27, 2014 4:09 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Delaying SS Benefits
Replies: 19
Views: 9547

Re: Delaying SS Benefits

What problem are you having with the desktop calculator?  I've used it several times to verify three different people, separately and including all together, and it all matched up with actual amounts received, so long as you enter the covered earnings data accurately and correctly. As for the plann...
by ns3
Tue May 27, 2014 8:03 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Delaying SS Benefits
Replies: 19
Views: 9547

Re: Delaying SS Benefits

Also, this is one of the best free financial planners: http://www.flexibleretirementplanner.com/wp/planner-launch-page/ It may or may not have the SS deferral issue built in. I think I've tried all the free retirement calculators including that one. Not satisfied with any of them I've been writing ...
by ns3
Mon May 26, 2014 12:33 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Delaying SS Benefits
Replies: 19
Views: 9547

Re: Delaying SS Benefits

Seeing the formula up close and personal also gives one an appreciation for why tacking on a few more high-earnings years has relatively little impact on the social security monthly benefit. Yes, this is something that I became aware of looking at the figures. There is a substantial increase for de...
by ns3
Sun May 25, 2014 10:32 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Anti-Medical Marijuana
Replies: 22
Views: 10235

Re: Anti-Medical Marijuana

The first time I ever smoked a joint was in the town of Nha Be, just north of Saigon. I remember laying back and thinking to myself there really is a God in this hell-hole of a place and that I'd found a way that I can get through this after all. I will always have fond memories and if they ever mak...
by ns3
Sun May 25, 2014 10:11 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Delaying SS Benefits
Replies: 19
Views: 9547

Re: Delaying SS Benefits

Thanks for the input everyone. Differences of opinion from the other forum are interesting but kind of predictable given the level of government mistrust here. It seems almost verboten to express such things over there. Also agree that deciding whether or not to pay off the mortgage involves similar...
by ns3
Sat May 24, 2014 9:58 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Delaying SS Benefits
Replies: 19
Views: 9547

Delaying SS Benefits

Over on another forum I waded into a debate on whether or not it is a good idea to delay Social Security benefits or not. It was a mostly  unpleasant experience and I probably will never post there again (you can imagine what forum I'm talking about). Thought I would try it here and see what happens...
by ns3
Sat May 24, 2014 8:27 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Retirement plan seizure risks
Replies: 42
Views: 18118

Re: Retirement plan seizure risks

It's very interesting that I was just throwing out the global warming idea as an example of a justification that might be used to seize some of the money in retirement plans and it sounds like some people might have actually taken it seriously. Kind of confirms my thinking. If the weather ever start...
by ns3
Sat May 24, 2014 8:11 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: HBPP Basic Rules
Replies: 2
Views: 2299

Re: HBPP Basic Rules

I believe HB's advice was to only check your portfolio once a year unless you observe that something extraordinary is happening in the economy  and then to only re-balance when you hit the bands. I'm sure others here do it differently, but after the initial few years of looking more often and tinker...
by ns3
Fri May 23, 2014 2:49 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Retirement plan seizure risks
Replies: 42
Views: 18118

Re: Retirement plan seizure risks

I just read lately that a French foreign minister said we have only 500 days left to do something about global warming before it's too late (and that was over a week ago so we're down to less than 493 days and counting). Also, both John Kerry and Obama are making a lot of noise about the urgency to ...
by ns3
Fri May 23, 2014 2:29 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: A Life Beyond "Do What You Love"
Replies: 38
Views: 12215

Re: A Life Beyond "Do What You Love"

You better have a plan to deal with the boredom of retirement.  Because you've got only about a year of retirement before it kicks in.  IMO, the real problem isn't in working; its in continuing to work the wrong job.  Retirement is a passe concept. I used to think that way until just lately, not ha...