Back to Trading

Well, I borrowed $7500 from a loan company and I'll be back trading, soon. I think I'll buy Rice, Hall, James Micro cap mutual fund. It's recommended by Jim Cramer in one of his books. I'm also related by my sister's marriage to the Hall in Rice, Hall and James. I'm waiting for the check to clear then I'll jump in with both feet. I think I should be able to stay ahead of the interest payments. If the market keeps going as it has been I'll be fine.

I'll be posting a picture of the outside of the eagle's nest. You can't get very close to the nest without disturbing them so I took a picture from across the road. Two of the eaglets have hatched already and the third is hatching today. The nest is eighty feet in the air. The cottonwood is near the center of the picture. It's quite distant. If you want to see the nest today, I have it posted on a previous blog.
I replaced the engine of my van. It now runs great and it has oil pressure. Now I'm tempted to replace the rear springs and shock absorbers. I also could use a trailer hitch. The old one rusted off. It fell off in front of a fire station in Calmar. It was almost all of the way off and I just broke it the rest of the way.
I went to the shrink in Coralville, yesterday. I'll see her through the video conferencing at the Decorah VA clinic. They just now opened up. I hope to see her more often than just once. I'm pretty sick with my schizophrenia. I think that is why I gamble and lose money on stock options. I think I just feel that I'm poor and that drives me to risk money.
That's all that I have, today. I think I'll buy something on E-trade. Later
Craig

The Snow Is Gone

Well, it looks like Winter is over. It's been in the sixties the last few days. I didn't make much, shoveling snow, but I needed what I did make.
I'm still trying to come up with some money for the bonds. They are staying low so there might still be time. I bid on a couple of options on Conocophillips, today. The market was closed so the bid will go in next morning. I'm still waiting to here from Erin at the credit union about my extension to my credit card. I told them that I was using it for a different car. I do need a better car so that may not be a lie. Next I'll try to get a loan from the other bank.
I sent off an essay on "What's Essential to Me". It was for a contest for a free trip to Santa Cruz, CA. It's being put on by a fish oil company, Nordic something. Santa Cruz is my favorite city so I really hope to win. The second and third prizes involve free fish oil. That's something I need anyway.
I went with Loula to a talk at Luther about human trafficking. I should have asked why it was so accepted at truck stops since it is against the law. Maybe they just don't have enough cops.
I need to write up a resume. There is a job for a peer support counselor in Waterloo, IA. I've got all the training that's needed and Waterloo is a larger city. If I can get them to pay moving expenses, maybe I'll go. I do enjoy Decorah, however. All of my friends are here.
Mentioning Decorah reminded me to post the eagles site. I haven't done that for a while. Here it is. Eagles
Just click on the colored word Eagles.
That's all for now.
Craig

Snow day in Decorah

It's snowing in Decorah. I'll be making some money, shoveling snow. Here are a couple of pictures of the snow on Water Street.

No sooner did I paste the pictures but it stopped snowing. I think I'll spread a little salt on the sidewalk and forget about it.

Delphi is showing signs of life. Yesterday, after the close, they announced that they were going to trade new bonds for their old bonds. This only affected their senior bonds, so my bonds weren't affected yet. This should be a good thing since they'll be paying coupon on the new bonds. I think it'll drive all their bond prices up.

Anyway I'm in full "dig up some money" mode. If I can come up with $1000 I could buy up all the Delphi bonds being offered on E-trade. I might drive the prices up by myself. $1000 bonds are selling for $20. I don't see how I can lose. My sister told me to borrow from my brother. I think I'll give it a shot. I still have a credit card that has $400 on it yet. So I'm 40% there.

Last night Cramer said to buy banks. He's been a bear on banks for at least 3 years, now. He says that they are a buy, now.

Gold plated coins

I've been buying some gold plated coins on E-bay, lately. I'm afraid that I've gotten compulsive about it. I've already gotten around 150 and I keep buying more. They are cheap, usually no more than $.30/each. I just don't need them. I hope that I'll be able to find one with more than a thin coating of gold. I don't know if I could get the gold off them if I do. So far, I've added them to my money alter. It's a fountain of a frog with water coming out of his mouth. I put my gold plated coins in the bottom of the fountain. Three legged frog statuettes are supposed to bring wealth according to some Chinese beliefs. I was thinking that having gold plated coins in such an alter would bring me gold. So far, it has brought more gold plated coins. Maybe I could sell them on E-bay, one at a time. I've seen them go for $1.00 a piece.
Somebody sent me an email of a job posting in Waterloo, Iowa. It's for a peer support specialist. I've had all the training that I would need for the job. I would have to make a resume. I don't know if I would want to move to Waterloo. Moving is a hassle. I don't want to make enough money to lose my disability. All my friends at in Decorah. It would cost money that I don't have to move. I think I'll go through the motions of applying for the job but I'll have to ask for travel pay.
Gold is bouncing around like crazy. Yesterday it went down $97. Today it's up $10 after being up $27. I think it's a buy at these prices. The Indians and Chinese will drive the price back up, soon. All the short sellers will be squeezed. Maybe that's why I want to buy gold plated coins so much. I't the only way I can afford to buy gold.
It's supposed to snow tomorrow. I hope it does. I could make some money shoveling snow. If it snows as much as predicted, I'll make a ton of money before Monday. Somebody said that it would snow 8 inches tomorrow. There is a chance that it'll keep snowing til Monday. If it does snow that much, I'll take some pictures for the blog.
Later
Craig