Tech stocks have weighed so heavily on the market in 2022, there is a strange disconnect between the Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500, average, and the NASDAQ index. – Dow Jones -5% YTD – S&P 500 -15% YTD – NASDAQ -27% I am guessing we have not seen a split like this since the ‘dot-com boom’ busted in the year 2000. Statistics show … Continue reading Time For A Santa Rally?
When I was a kid in the 1970s our family – like many Americans – followed President Nixon’s ‘Project Independence’ national energy plan, which included lowering our thermostat to 68-degrees during the day. In 1977, new President Jimmy Carter went 3-degrees lower, asking Americans to cut the thermostat temperature down to 65-degrees. That was cold! We wore sweatshirts indoors, quilted “polar slippers” from the JCPenney … Continue reading Keeping Warm This Winter
The Big Man – Santa Claus – is back on his throne at our local shopping mall after a two year, pandemic-induced absence. It’s great to see him back. Unlike most guys, I love going to the mall and looking around. A UK study from a few years ago said most guys get ‘fatigued’ after just 27 minutes of shopping, while women don’t reach that … Continue reading Mega Shopping @ Mega Mall
We have three friends that have all bought vacation places in Florida over the last few months. The Sunshine State is getting some great new friends, who may become permanent residence, in time. Our friends are settling all-over the state. One couple bought a place on Merritt Island, near Cape Canaveral (they can see rocket launches from their front porch). Another couple bought a place … Continue reading What’s Happening In Florida?
About 10 years ago, I was one of those goofballs you see on the evening news waiting outside a store at midnight around Black Friday for the “big new thing”. Our son was excited for the debut of the Nintendo Wii U game console that was being released that night. I got there at about 9:30 PM and waited for the store to open for … Continue reading Not A Video Gamer
I took Thanksgiving weekend off from writing, but thought I would share this funny bit I saw posted on Reddit recently. It’s perfect for framing life in the ‘slow lane’ of early retirement… An Airbus 380 is on its way across the Atlantic. It flies consistently at 800 km/h at 30,000 feet, when suddenly an Eurofighter with a Tempo Mach 2 appears. The pilot of … Continue reading Slower, Older, and Smarter
It’s been a busy November, but I’ve never been so organized heading into the holidays. I like to load up the month with all of the ‘work’ of the holidays so that I can just goof-off and enjoy ourselves between now and New Year’s. My approach this year was inspired by something I saw used at our metro zoo. I’ve been involved with the zoo … Continue reading Pre-Holiday Organization
Winter came relatively early this year. Snow fell every day for 4 days this week and now we have about 5” on the ground. With high temperatures falling into the teens today, there’s a good chance we’re stuck with the snow cover until next spring. I was ahead of the cold blast in getting the lawn mowed one last time and putting the Christmas lights … Continue reading Money Blowing In The Snow
I recently ran across this interesting chart that shows how much time people spend with others at different points of their lives. Alone time and time with your partner, children, family, coworkers, and friends. It’s apparently from an annual ‘Time Use Study’ by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. At first glance, I was a little depressed to see the ebb & flow of the lines … Continue reading Who Do You Spend Your Time With?
We shopped early for our Thanksgiving Turkey this year. Our 20+ pound Butterball Premium has been safely ensconced in our freezer for almost a week now. A friend of ours – who runs a big poultry business in Iowa – told us to grab one early as prices will be way up and selection way down due to the Avian Flu this year. Sure enough, … Continue reading The Early Bird Gets The Turkey
