Tuesday, April 24, 2012

I AM A NEW FAN OF ROMANTIC NOVELS

I just read my first romance novel and I loved it! The title is "On The Island". The author is Tracey Garvis-Graves. I bought the book by mistake. I thought it was an adventure story about a castaway on a tropical island. I would never have purchased it if I had known it was a love story about a 30 year old woman and a 16 year old boy who are stranded on a remote island for 3 years. As the boy grows into a man, a close relationship develops between them. There is an adventure aspect to the story but the main gist of the plot is about how they become lovers. Each of the characters take turns telling the story from their point of view. This literary technique adds a fascinating, phychological aspect to the story. It is intriging to learn what each character is thinking about the development of the romance. The evential sexual involvement is erotic but described in good taste. I am now a fan of romantic novels. I hope I can find another one as good as "On The Island".

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

IN THE SPRING,


A boy’s fancy turns to fishing, a young man’s fancy turns to love, and an old man’s fancy turns to sailing. Hawks glide on thermals in the sky. Purple martins arrive from Brazil but I don’t know why. Yellow finches are back from who knows where.  Ducks quack on the lake and bird songs are in the air.  Lilac’s fragrance is wafting on the breeze. Bright sunshine warms my skin. I wonder where to begin. Clean the garage? Mow the grass? No, I will hang the hammock and rest my ass. It is time to meditate about the season. Spring is here and it is pleasin!

Another thing I love about spring, is putting up flags. Colorful flags flying in the wind are marvelous to behold. State, country, university, and officer flags tell stories that are never too old to be told. On my water front I fly flags for the U.S.A., Michigan, Michigan State University, and Yacht Club Past Commodore. They make a magnificent show!

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

MILLIONS OF ANCESTORS PRECEDED YOU

Theoretically, everyone has two ancestors in the previous generation, four in the generation before that, eight in the generation before that, and in 24 generations you have 33,554,432. Going back 30 generations (about 1000 years) you would have a billion ancestors. That is a surprising number of relatives! I find it very interesting that we are related to almost everybody. It is likely that you share many ancestors with me. So, I guess we have a lot in common.

Some of my ancestors from Europe had names that gradually changed from Deats, Teits, Teetz, Teats, to Teets. They were merchants, shop keepers, farmers, teamsters, sailors, thieves, preachers, teachers, doctors, and lawyers. I always wanted a pirate ancestor but I can't find any record of one. On the paternal side, my great, great grandfather was Nelson Teets, my great grandfather was George Nelson Teets, my grand father was Thomas Teets, and my father was Voyle Coclough Teets, which is a very unique name. In the history of the world, no one else has had that name.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

A LOT OF BULL

I have posted 180 times on my blog but never about investing. Today, I will give you some free investment advice. It is worth every penny of my fee. The stock market just had its best first quarter in 14 years. The Standard & Poor's index is up 100% since the market hit bottom on March 9, 2009. The bull market is starting its third year, and many investors are just now getting back into stocks. Are they too late? Yes, it is too late! (IMO). The bull may continue to run for awhile but history says that the big gain has already happened. Any remaining gain is likely to be small and not worth the risk. The average bull market usually lasts about 4 years. The average gain in the third year of a bull market is only 4%. I am not willing to risk losing the 100% gain I have had in the last 2 years for a possible gain of 4%. The risk reward ratio is lousy! I have sold all my stocks and put the proceeds into a safe money market fund that pays 2.6% interest.


I do not claim to be able to accurately call the exact highs and lows of the market. No one can do that. But it is possible to use historical data to determine which way the market is likely to go in the near future. It is a gamble but rational common sense can help improve your odds. My friend Patrick Fero is a cynical pessimist about most subjects and concerning the present condition of the stock market, I totally agree with his philosophy. A spring pullback seems very likely and there are many, many potential events that could trigger another serious bear market. China seems to be heading for a recession, Europe teeters on the brink of bankruptcy, the price of gas is headed for $5.00 per gallon, our presidential election is fraught with uncertainty, and it has been a long time since the last successful terrorist's attack on American soil. I hope none of that bad stuff happens but one does not know, do one?  

Last:
13,264.49
Change:
arrow +52.45
Open:
13,211.36
High:
13,297.11
Low:
13,153.69
Volume:
108,785,713
Percent Change:
+0.40%
Yield:
n/a
P/E Ratio:
n/a
52 Week Range:
10,404.49 to 13,297.11