Chickens are being euthanized because they are starving , chicken feed in short supply. Fowl play is suspected. 2) A phenomenon has occurred in Chicago, billionaire Ken Griffin just sold some properties at a 44% loss, from less than 10 years ago. hmmm. Also, an office tower in East St. louis was listed for three million large ,recently. 8 years ago, it commanded 300 million. A 99% loss. hmmm. As The late Bob Newhart might say, " Oh Boy." No exclamation point. Alas, another very common belief has gone the way of Betamax, the dodo, and water bubblers.i.e.,  You never lose money in real estate. And we will  not forget the square miles of abandoned houses in Detroit, properties are available for often just the cost of the paperwork....!

I just received my annual water bill, a tiny 158 dollars. It informed me that I will pay .00375 cents per gallon. When bottled water is even 5 a pint or 40 per gallon, that is roughly 10,000 times higher. It is often at 30,000 times higher.as many venues charge 15 a pint. Even at a buck a pint  , that is still thousands of times more , for exactly the same stuff that falls, every time it rains. I do have a water filter through the fridge, but, the water straight from the faucet is fine. I could see if bottled water was maybe ten cents a pint, for the packaging and the like, but….! For the 40 percent of the population that is good at math, please, check my figures  to ensure accuracy. I am a part of the 80 percent that are not good in math. Please, before we talk stocks and bonds, etc., cease getting ripped off buying water.  And I will not talk about wasting money on green hair, body piercings,  tattoos and the financially challenged buying expensive German brand SUVS , financing them for eight years, etc.

Please, why would anybody buy any actively traded fund, especially in the large market cap category and especially in conventional accounts? As a whole, every investor , large and small, must collectively earn less than the market's return.  For every buyer there is a seller, of course, and once bid-ask spreads, fees, etc., are factored in, there has to be a slight loss. Also,  the active funds, due to the frequent trading , often have returns that are often  30, 40 or 50 percent lower, after taxes and sale of shares.   In  traditional, non tax sheltered venues, the difference between gross and net,  is tremendous.  Even in tax sheltered accounts, you are still paying much higher annual fees. I don't know if it still exists, but a few years ago, there was an S and P 500 fund that charged a 3 % load, and an annual fee of 1.2 percent. Why are there still funds that charge sales loads, period? If no one bought them, would they not go extinct? 2) Why do so many people buy or lease very expensive vehicles, take out, in many cases, 8 year loans, and then complain about the "high" price of the premium fuel it requires?    Why don't they care about the hundreds of bucks in monthly payments, the high insurance costs, the high repair and service costs. And the depreciation of the very fancy, fussy German brands , and Jaguar, Land Rover,etc., is much worse than the much more reliable Japanese car makers, just compare the resale value of a used MB, Audi to virtually any Toyota product. I know why the politicians mention gas prices constantly, they know that is an issue with so many Americans, and they are trying to relate. A lot of consumers  are angry that their fancy BMW , or Audi or Jeep, ( A Jeep Grand Wagoneer can easily set you back 120 k, plus the financing), is far less reliable than a ten year old Toyota Corolla with 150 grand miles on it. In this case, all of that extra money buys you more electronics, more computer modules, 10 speed aut0matic transmissions, etc., but, makes the car less reliable. Sometimes just doing a brake job on a fancy  car requires reprogramming multiple computers, before the car will move. This one really takes the cake. Most automakers have eliminated the dipstick to check transmission fluid, because no one ever checked it anyway. Now, many are eliminating the oil dipstick, and having the owner rely on scrolling through multiple complicated computer interfaces, etc. This has led to many engine failures and much profit for the auto makers. Something as basic as checking the oil should not rely on computers. And, finally, for anybody whom has read all so far, not many, I bet, I say: When I get a tad overwhelmed by everything, and I sometimes feel I have not lived up to my expectations, and so forth,and I think of my far too many mistakes , I will call the dog for a walk. As we walk our  usual route, and she happily trots, very rarely lifting her nose from the ground, tail wagging, she is having the  time of her life. When she spots a cat or wood- chuck or a rabbit, she has the strength of Hercules and one day I shall don roller skates so she can pull me. She has no bank account , no money, or bills. As long as her dish is filled, and she eats exactly the same food every day, and she has water,she  is content. She also rides in the car as often as possible , indeed, as soon as I grab the keys she starts bouncing , and heads for the garage at full tilt. There is also at least one group of people that live in Papua, New Guinea, and their lifestyle has not changed in thousands of years. They also have no money,  or anything other than very basic shelter. They have zero contact with outsiders, and are perfectly happy the way they are. The shelters are built 80 feet high in trees, as protection from ant enemy. I am getting a bit long winded as usual, but, the point I am trying to make is sometimes simpler is better. I am not suggesting we live like dogs or tribes residing in isolation. I just feel better, by just attempting to keep things simpler, and if I have a house that suits my needs, and I can get to the places I need to go with my car, that's fine. I don't need to continue on the hedonistic treadmill, because there will always be someone with a nicer house, a faster car, and so forth. When my wife and I go away for a few days, and a family member takes care of Jill, the dog, she refuses to eat, will not go for a walk, and stays on her bed, for a few days. Then she will reluctantly take a short walk, eat a bit, but she is  not her usual self. When we return, she acts like I am the greatest thing ever, and she will not leave me alone for at least 30 minutes. It is a tremendous feeling to know how much I mean to her, it really is, and did I mention that the tribe in Papua also have no psychiatrists, psychologists, and no suicides?  

As a country with only a couple of centuries under its belt, I think that our nation has beaten the odds. When the intrepid souls left England and crossed the pond to start a new country, what were the odds of success? England was a tremendous world power, a strong navy, territories covering the globe, etc., and it must have seemed foolhardy to fight that. Yet, here we are, and thanks to the native Americans, and the millions of immigrants that have come here from 200 nations, we are the world leader in many categories. Our business friendly policies, and our government so willing to help new businesses and entrepreneurs and the like, have enabled so many to start businesses and thrive, from mom and pop pizza parlors and service stations, to high tech companies and so forth. My favorite restaurant is owned by people born in Greece, computer repair by a great guy from Japan, and my house was built by nice people born in Portugal. The general contractor that built the small addition is from Italy. My kin came from Canada, France, Russia and Finland and they never regretted it. In New York City, something like 800 languages are used, showing the variety of the population. Of course it is vital to have allies, and when a mad man tried to conquer the world about 80 years ago, we all banded together , and defeated The Third Reich , and lets hope that no more wars costing the lives of 80 million people should occur. Winston Churchill, the brilliant Prime Minister, was very worried about the outcome of the war, prior to the Pearl Harbor attacks. He traveled across the Atlantic, pleading with FDR , to have us enter the war. Roosevelt refused, but after December 7, 1941, our congress voted for war. Churchill wrote," Only after hearing of the attacks on Pearl Harbor was I able to sleep fitfully, through the night, as I knew once America entered the fray, the outcome was no longer in doubt". Our stock market cap is 60%  of the worlds total, even though we are only 4% of theat nations. a  population. Our 3 largest companies are 10% of the total.The dollar is the reserve currency and our treasuries are the gold standard for safety , stability and liquidity. In my opinion, The United Kingdom is tied with us, for great nations ,as are  others, no, not North Korea. It is amazing that with countries like Sweden and Norway and dozens more, that we hear so much about not so terrific places, and much less about good places, and I will leave it at that. Bad news makes the money, I guess. Now , another vital topic, the number of superbly talented musicians that are from The United Kingdom. The  Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, Rod Stewart. Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Robert Palmer and Elton John. Joe Cocker. Dire Straights. The Who. Graham Nash. And so many more. The number of musical talents is way out of proportion to the population, and I, for one, am grateful. There is something there that ensures England produces such a wealth of talent. It is similar to the number of superb long distance runners that come from a very small part of Africa, way too many for it to be chance. Whatever it may be, please, continue. Finally, and you are welcome, I recently added a bit of umbrella insurance liability coverage. I had a million dollar policy that cost a modest 800,yearly, and for  a mere 169 dollars more,I doubled it to 2 million.  The horrific proliferation of personal injury ads on tv and print media spurred me into action. I am shocked and also horrified, it appears that a litany of  lawyers are so driven by money! Who would have thought that? Now, I am barely 5' 8" tall , but a whopping 251 lbs, ( I prefer to use kilograms, actually, then I am "only" 114),so, a  doubling of the rain umbrella was necessary, also*. My doctor wants me to shed some significant tonnage, insulted, I  asked for a second opinion. " Sure, your nose is too big!", she replied.   *A few years ago, after having surgery, I was walking the halls, helped by 2  nurses, and another one near, alas, the little dinky johnny they force you to wear opened in the back. There were many people behind me, and I heard gasps of shock and horror ,people fainting ,etc.. So far, no lawsuits, but, one cannot be too careful. More secure ties are now required on hospital gowns.  

As I keep getting older, I strive mightily to at least slow down the process, alas,  all of my heroic efforts are in vain, those darn birthdays just keep on coming, like clockwork, and I have finally thrown in the towel and accept it. However, as I age, I find myself getting increasingly annoyed at things that just waste so much time. Specifically, ads of any type, and at the top of the list are  pop up ads, which do nothing positive for me. Until recently, I would just hit the x, but every day it is worse than a game of whack-a mole. I now write down the name of the sponsor, and vow to never buy or use any of their products, if I have a choice. Second are the truly maddening amount of ads during television sporting events, especially football and baseball. It has gotten so bad, sometimes during pauses, , the ads are on a split screen , sharing space with the game. Are not the ads between every inning in baseball and the tremendous number and length of them during football games sufficient? In boxing, every 3 minutes comes horrible commercials. To make matters worse, sometimes plays are missed, as the commercial is too long and the TV station drops the ball, and doesn't return quickly enough. To all of you advertisers, if I have a choice , I will never buy any of your products, as long as you continue to drive me crazy with your horrible, deceiving and BORING ads. The ads are also way too loud, and many have them people singing, usually, terribly off key, about the virtues of prescription drugs and so forth. I did find out why the ads are so annoyingly loud. The shows, events and ads all have a maximum volume level allowed, which is the same for everybody. However, the entire ad is usually played at the highest level allowed, while the shows have only occasional max levels. For example, a gunshot on a cop show, the crowd roaring , etc., are high volume,and the rest of the show is usually quieter,  but , on the ad, especially a certain guy screaming in a raspy voice about pillows, the entire ad is played at close to max levels. And no, to all of the beer and hard liquor people, you will never convince me that drinking alcohol, no matter the venue, will make me a more attractive person, will allow me to have more fun, etc.  I do enjoy a drink a few times a week, but I know far too many people whom messed up their lives and lives around them, by drinking way too much alcohol. The tobacco people have been sued, they cannot advertise on TV, etc., but beer, wine and whiskey ads are far too common, in my view. How about some limitation on the alcohol ads? To the ad people, are you really convinced that pop up ads , etc., intruding constantly , is a wise method to get people to buy your products? Why do you feel that way, please? I have often discussed with my bride of five years, my desire to move to Vermont, some day. It is a very rural state, no large or even medium sized cities, beautiful scenery, great people, and, I don't know if Vermont is unique in this regard, but, billboards are not allowed!

I implore the much more astute for information concerning Social Security benefits, mainly, what is the duration, maturity, credit rating and so forth, please? My bond knowledge is limited to knowing which actor starred as James Bond, Sean or Timothy and the like. I have read here that Social Security retirement money should be a part of the fixed income allocation, etc. Thank you. And now , on to a much less difficult question, " Is the inertia of a body a measure of its energy content?" ( E = MC 2 and other mundane and simple stuff) I am joking. Apologies to Albert Einstein.