Not that this is pertinent to the conversation, but how can you use pastrami [a fatty, cured, red meat] and healthy in the same sentence? Maybe he means an uncured, nitrate-free pastrami??? I actually have nothing against nitrates (or wood smoke or salt or spices). Anyone that tells you to eat your...

Good question Reub (and Budd). I think you should always question the fundamentals of any system.  The problem is in not having a decent metric to evaluate whether the fundamentals are working or not.  You can't look at the day to day swings.  That is just noise and will drive you crazy.  But withou...

I've got some short term cash parked in a Capital One 360 checking account.  It is generating 0.9 %

https://home.capitalone360.com/rates

I'm going against the tide here. I think tipping is the best value for the buck you can get anywhere. I don't go out just for the steak and wine.  (I'm pretty good at making that myself). Tip early and often and generously. Eating out doesn't make any economic sense from a "fuel" standpoin...

What level of outrage would you feel if a racoon turned over your trash cans and made a big mess in your yard? Do you have a higher level of outrage toward the TSA than you would toward the racoon?  If so, why?  Why give the TSA such power to influence your moods?  Why not just interact with them t...

I think that we have to be realistic about what we are hoping for.  The TSA just doesn't leave much of an imprint on my life, and it only takes a few minutes of planning to completely neutralize the effect of their stupidity on me. Maybe my training and experience as a lawyer helps me more than I r...

I think of the TSA as just a bunch of harmless idiots. Me too.  Except for the harmless part. The problem comes when I mistakenly endeavor to reasonably explain to them why they are wrong.  Twice that has almost landed me in zip-ties.  Fortunately, I was able to sense it just before it happened, an...

bedraggled wrote: I have eliminated 8 pages from my inbox.

Who's done better?

I've eliminated all of my messages from bedraggled!

Just kidding, Kevin - I've thoroughly enjoyed our correspondence.
Mark

How much "cash" do any of you actually use? About 50% of my annual spending.  Everything that is not housing or transportation (AirBnB and Expedia and Uber and Hertz and gas stations) Everything else is cash. Cash just works everywhere.  You can travel the USA and you can travel the world...

I almost couldn't believe the chart on this link that shows that the top 1% own 35% of the nation's wealth while the bottom 40% hold 0%...  Pitchforks came to mind... Why would that surprise you? (Note, I agree that pitchforks are likely coming... but not out of any unfairness.) The top 1% of anyth...

Anyone like the idea of a lithium battery standard? I think you are on the right track here, Tex.  I was just thinking something similar after paying an outrageous amount for a titanium coffee cup. The problem is, you need a system that stores value exponentially proportional to weight.  That way y...

Hey Craig - just a quick note to thank you for keeping the forum going. I don't know how long it will be worth your while to keep doing so, but I've really appreciated the high quality of thought that permeates every post on this forum.  I'm not sure what you've done to be able to attract such serio...

I love buying gold for some strange reason regardless of its performance these last couple of years.  It is very comforting to have portable wealth.  Question:  for those of you who like to hold gold coins for potential meltdown scenarios, do you also buy smaller coins?  My coins are all one ounce....

WildAboutHarry wrote:

Mark Leavy wrote:San Diego beaches in June.

Don't forget about June Gloom.

Yea, I think I outsmarted myself there.  I knew about that, but had forgotten.

So I have to ask the obvious: Why did you choose SD as your state of permanent residence? I know there is no state income tax, but there are six other states that also do not assess one. Knowing you from the forum, I assume you thoroughly researched this prior to making a decision. My first thought...

Moving to California I’m moving to California, June 1st. For a month. I rented an AirBnB condo in San Diego.  (little Italy / gaslamp district).    Here’s what I’m looking forward to: 1 - The neighborhood has one of the highest walkable scores in the nation.  Even higher than Manhattan and even high...

I have gold deposits in Euros, I wish I would have them in Dollars. It's frustrating to see what has happened when the Dollar was raising the some weeks ago. The Euro price was exploding and in Dollars, not a significantly big price increase. Tricky with different currencies. I'm sure this is na�ve...

I just came across this concept: https://www.betterment.com/resources/investment-strategy/the-real-cost-of-cash-drag/ Is it just me, or does this analysis completely ignore the value of having cash available to purchase assets at a discount during an economic downturn? This is just betterment lashi...

Great article on hiding two Nobel gold prize medals from the Nazis.  Discovery would have been a death sentence for the medal holders. The medals were dissolved in aqua regia (3 parts hydrochloric acid, 1 part nitric acid) and then hidden in plain sight on a shelf with a bunch of other bottles of so...

Just pack 4 kilos of cash until you understand the land you are visiting.

Ignorance is not the same as agnosticism.  After you set foot on your new land - after you see the lives and risks of its inhabitants and the functioning of its authorities - you will be better able to allocate your assets.

Tracking Error I define tracking error to be the deviation from a straight line linear growth.  Comparing it to some other index/portfolio doesn't make a lot of sense to me. [img width=800]http://i62.tinypic.com/9acxao.png[/img] The above image is a vanilla HBPP from, March 26, 2004 to May 1st, 2015...

There is a really good book written specifically for folks in your situation.  It covers all of your questions and addresses the various approaches that you can use to make it work for you. http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51xumaDDAVL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-v3-big,TopRight,0,-55_SX278_...

How are you getting the fat % number?  It seems that's the key to the whole calculation.  It's highly dependent not just on the instrument but where you check as well. I measure my waist with a tape measure each morning.  I assume my height and neck size are constant and then use the "marine t...

Oh PS... you are in for a treat. Given your disposition - you definitely need to make your own. But forget cottage cheese.  Look up some recipes for young mozzarella or ricotta.  Easy, cheap.  Over the top delicious.  All of those uncured cheeses are to die for - and can be made in a couple of hours...

Hey moda, Here's what I do for life tracking every morning. I just log the orange numbers and let the calcs flow through my spreadsheet.  A wonderful friend once told me that everything boils down to just one number. And track that number.  It took me a long time to digest that. I never got down to ...