I've been meaning to rant about how I've been taken advantage of by Wall Street for some time, now.
First I want to acknowledge that I am speaking from self-pity and blaming others for my problems. That's human.
Shortly before I would lose money on Wall Street I always read a book about investing. Generally they would say that the ruling class was about to pull away from the masses. Now was always the time to invest because the train was pulling out and if you didn't jump on board right away you would always be poor and not in control of your destiny.
Usually I would win for about 1 month. When I figured out how much I would make by the end of a year it was in increments of hundreds of thousands of dollars if not millions.
After the first month I started losing. I would not only lose what I had gained but whatever I had saved or borrowed to start investing in the first place.
It's too depressing to add up what I've lost but it included my inheritance, back-pay from Social Security Disability and several thousand dollars that I borrowed.
I think my schizophrenia is a big part of the problem. One of my delusions is that I made billions during the 1987 stock market crash. I had delusions that I invested millions from a credit card (betting against the market) and turned it into billions. A few months later the federal government took it away. These things always turn into thin air and nothing comes of it. That is the nature of schizophrenia. It turns out that my most hopeful thoughts are delusions of grandeur. I also have delusions involving Sports Illustrated models. Oh well.
Part of the problem is that I'm drawn to leverage. That means (in the financial world) using small amounts of money to control larger amounts. I started as a commodities trader. With commodities ( at that time) $2,000 would control a commodity worth $40,000. This is wonderful when you are winning but it sucks when the underlying commodity goes in the wrong direction. I would also use options which is similar. Even when I bought stocks I was generally on margin. That means for every $1 I put up the brokerage would put up $2 more.
It was always just a matter of time before I would lose my shirt; and I always did.
Now I'm down to betting on precious metals and Bitcoins. I'm not using leverage and things are going fairly well.
I still want to get out to California before the financial collapse. I feel that I only have a few months. Maybe I'm repeating my old (fear basesd) thinking.
I feel that I'll be able to live practically for free and if I find some gold that is just icing ont the cake.
Today I'm putting batteries into the motor home. I've got the wrong battery in the engine compartment. The posts are too close to the hood. I have to put mounting brackets into the battery compartment for the other two batteries. Once I get that done I'll take it to Wal-Mart and install a couple of marine batteries, there. I think that will happen yet today maybe Saturday. We'll see.
That's all I've got today.
Later
Thursday, July 3, 2014
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Decision Time
I feel that it is time for me to decide to get off my butt and go to California, now.
Lately, I've been thinking about going next Spring. I'll have more money; especially after making money shoveling snow. The trouble is that the long awaited currency collapse will be that much closer.
My current thinking is that the world wide currency collapse will be brought on by the Ebola outbreak. As it spreads out from Africa the world's economy will collapse because people will withdraw and not spend money. Everyone will be hiding in their homes. I feel that the lack of consumer spending will wreck the economy. It will probably happen within the next 6 months.
I'm watching the outbreak very closely. It may not spread as much in the Western world but it will get here. People will panic and the only thing that really will prevent it's spread is isolation. Of course, people will say that they are being discriminated against so that may not happen. Those factors increased the spread of AIDS. It will happen again only with more disastrous results.
If I were to get off my butt and sell some etchings and silver I would be able to get out to California and be panning gold in a month or so. It's time to quit straddling the fence. It's important to get out of here.
Even if the epidemic isn't as bad as I think it will be, it will probably trash the economy. Even if it doesn't, I'll still be living quite cheaply and will be finding gold.
On the topic of jumping into my motor home and leaving; I drove the motor home to Waukon, last Sunday. It still drives badly. The new tires helped some but the wind blows it all over the road. People tell me that all motor homes are like that.
I need a few things for it:
That leaves getting the fuel tanks and brakes fixed. I'll have to get after Dan to do those, quickly.
I need to get moving.
Later
Lately, I've been thinking about going next Spring. I'll have more money; especially after making money shoveling snow. The trouble is that the long awaited currency collapse will be that much closer.
My current thinking is that the world wide currency collapse will be brought on by the Ebola outbreak. As it spreads out from Africa the world's economy will collapse because people will withdraw and not spend money. Everyone will be hiding in their homes. I feel that the lack of consumer spending will wreck the economy. It will probably happen within the next 6 months.
I'm watching the outbreak very closely. It may not spread as much in the Western world but it will get here. People will panic and the only thing that really will prevent it's spread is isolation. Of course, people will say that they are being discriminated against so that may not happen. Those factors increased the spread of AIDS. It will happen again only with more disastrous results.
If I were to get off my butt and sell some etchings and silver I would be able to get out to California and be panning gold in a month or so. It's time to quit straddling the fence. It's important to get out of here.
Even if the epidemic isn't as bad as I think it will be, it will probably trash the economy. Even if it doesn't, I'll still be living quite cheaply and will be finding gold.
On the topic of jumping into my motor home and leaving; I drove the motor home to Waukon, last Sunday. It still drives badly. The new tires helped some but the wind blows it all over the road. People tell me that all motor homes are like that.
I need a few things for it:
- Repair the sensors for the gas tanks. The meter shows empty all the time.
- Fix the rear tank so I can get fuel into it. The intake hose leaks.
- Replace the refrigerator.
- Install batteries for the living space.
- Install something to hook up the solar panel
- Check the brakes. It takes a lot to stop it.
- Replace the vent over the bathroom.
That leaves getting the fuel tanks and brakes fixed. I'll have to get after Dan to do those, quickly.
I need to get moving.
Later
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Begging on EBay
I've taken to begging on EBay. I'm now asking people to buy my etchings to help a prepper bug out to Northern California. I needed to do something to get people to actually buy my etchings
I start them out at $100 and I end up going down to $75 before 1 person actually makes a bid. I'm tempted to start out at $0.99 and see if I can get some bidding between people. I don't think I'll do that even though EBay advises it. The idea of selling an etching for $0.99 is just too frightening.
I tore a hangnail off of my big toe on my left foot a couple of days ago. Was that ever a mistake. Now it's throbbing and swolllen. I found some antiseptic in an old first aid kit and that helped a lot, but I'm still a few days away from it being well.
Not much is happening with my motor home. Dan is busy rebuilding his garage. I think he is too busy to get to my motor home. I was just asking a friend (named Nick) where I should take it. Maybe I'll take it to an RV dealer in Cresco. I think that is my best bet. It looks to me like he's been around for a while and he probably knows how to repair things. Well, I've got to get going on getting my bug-out vehicle running. I think the Ebola outbreak will only affect Africa, but I would like to have the option of leaving if I have to. I'll run up to the RV place, here in Decorah, and see if he can work on it, tomorrow.
Later.
I start them out at $100 and I end up going down to $75 before 1 person actually makes a bid. I'm tempted to start out at $0.99 and see if I can get some bidding between people. I don't think I'll do that even though EBay advises it. The idea of selling an etching for $0.99 is just too frightening.
I tore a hangnail off of my big toe on my left foot a couple of days ago. Was that ever a mistake. Now it's throbbing and swolllen. I found some antiseptic in an old first aid kit and that helped a lot, but I'm still a few days away from it being well.
Not much is happening with my motor home. Dan is busy rebuilding his garage. I think he is too busy to get to my motor home. I was just asking a friend (named Nick) where I should take it. Maybe I'll take it to an RV dealer in Cresco. I think that is my best bet. It looks to me like he's been around for a while and he probably knows how to repair things. Well, I've got to get going on getting my bug-out vehicle running. I think the Ebola outbreak will only affect Africa, but I would like to have the option of leaving if I have to. I'll run up to the RV place, here in Decorah, and see if he can work on it, tomorrow.
Later.
Sunday, June 22, 2014
A Lack of Focus
I feel that I've been demonstrating a lack of focus, lately.
I should be doing everything that I can to get to California and panning gold. Instead, I've been buying gold and silver and fixing the motor home.
Of course, I need the motor home to live in while I'm panning gold; and getting gold and silver is why I want to go to California in the first place.
Maybe I'm just being impatient. Lack of patience is something I learned in the Marine Corps. It's essential to getting things done on a timely basis.
I'm also trapped by having a part-time job. I'm bringing in income that makes the move possible in the first place. Without the money coming in from my job I would never have considered going to California. I almost hope I get laid off so I can run out there immediately.
I feel that I'll make more money out there but I have a sure thing going on here.
My present plan is to wait until after next March to make my move. That way I can bring in some income by shoveling snow. I do quite well at that. Of course, I'll end up spending most of that money on gold and silver from EBay.
I've cut my expenditures a lot by moving into a different apartment. Not only was the rent less but I'm getting free Internet. I figure that I'm saving over $100/month by living here.
I just need to find ways to make more money in the summer. I got a landscaping job on Fridays. That will help.
I need to sell more of my etchings. I collect etchings by an artist named Malcolm Childers.
I should be doing everything that I can to get to California and panning gold. Instead, I've been buying gold and silver and fixing the motor home.
Of course, I need the motor home to live in while I'm panning gold; and getting gold and silver is why I want to go to California in the first place.
Maybe I'm just being impatient. Lack of patience is something I learned in the Marine Corps. It's essential to getting things done on a timely basis.
I'm also trapped by having a part-time job. I'm bringing in income that makes the move possible in the first place. Without the money coming in from my job I would never have considered going to California. I almost hope I get laid off so I can run out there immediately.
I feel that I'll make more money out there but I have a sure thing going on here.
My present plan is to wait until after next March to make my move. That way I can bring in some income by shoveling snow. I do quite well at that. Of course, I'll end up spending most of that money on gold and silver from EBay.
I've cut my expenditures a lot by moving into a different apartment. Not only was the rent less but I'm getting free Internet. I figure that I'm saving over $100/month by living here.
I just need to find ways to make more money in the summer. I got a landscaping job on Fridays. That will help.
I need to sell more of my etchings. I collect etchings by an artist named Malcolm Childers.
I put one of my favorites above. It's named "Frenchy's Flathead Flyer". It's an etching of a vehicle that a junkyard mechanic (named Frenchy) put together from various vehicles in the 1970's. I guess he used it to run around the desert in Nevada. It looks like a lot of fun.
Well, I'm going home to work on one of my laptops. It doesn't charge up the battery correctly and I have the part that should fix it.
Later
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Got New Tires for the Motor Home
I got the new tires put on my motor home today.
I've taken to calling it "The Beast" for the way it drives. It reminded me of an old movie "The Beast". It was about the battle between an Afghan fighter and the driver of a Russian tank. This motor home drives like that tank.
On other news, the Ebola outbreak was called "out of control". I don't think I'll panic quite yet. It seems to be attacking health care people and people who bury the bodies. I don't think normal people will get it very often. It seems to be spread through body fluids.
It might hit Africa hard since they have a lack of infrastructure. I hope it stops there. If it mutates to an airborne contagion it will kill 50 to 90 percent of the human population.
I hope to have the motor home ready to run to the north woods if that happens.
I think that a financial collapse is more likely though.
That reminds me, gold spiked by over $40 last Thursday. I didn't see any real reason for it so maybe it's the long-awaited hyperinflation. Oil also went up on the Iraq crisis. Maybe that's what spiked gold. If it keeps going up next week it's hyperinflation.
I priced taking the motor home to California by train. They wanted $14,000. That's more than it would cost to get a fairly new motor home in California. I told them to forget it.
I'll have to rent a car trailer to tow my van behind my motor home. It looks like that will cost $400 to $500. It will be worth it.
My plan is to go by next March. I'm having trouble financing the move. And I can make money shoveling snow in the winter. That should be enough to get going. Maybe I can hit up Faye for some money to make it happen sooner. I could offer her interest and maybe have her hold my gold and silver as collateral.
I need to do some sort of landscaping to make money in the summer. I need the money to make my move. I do so well in the winter but summers are a waste to me, here.
I've run out of things to talk about for now.
Later
I've taken to calling it "The Beast" for the way it drives. It reminded me of an old movie "The Beast". It was about the battle between an Afghan fighter and the driver of a Russian tank. This motor home drives like that tank.
On other news, the Ebola outbreak was called "out of control". I don't think I'll panic quite yet. It seems to be attacking health care people and people who bury the bodies. I don't think normal people will get it very often. It seems to be spread through body fluids.
It might hit Africa hard since they have a lack of infrastructure. I hope it stops there. If it mutates to an airborne contagion it will kill 50 to 90 percent of the human population.
I hope to have the motor home ready to run to the north woods if that happens.
I think that a financial collapse is more likely though.
That reminds me, gold spiked by over $40 last Thursday. I didn't see any real reason for it so maybe it's the long-awaited hyperinflation. Oil also went up on the Iraq crisis. Maybe that's what spiked gold. If it keeps going up next week it's hyperinflation.
I priced taking the motor home to California by train. They wanted $14,000. That's more than it would cost to get a fairly new motor home in California. I told them to forget it.
I'll have to rent a car trailer to tow my van behind my motor home. It looks like that will cost $400 to $500. It will be worth it.
My plan is to go by next March. I'm having trouble financing the move. And I can make money shoveling snow in the winter. That should be enough to get going. Maybe I can hit up Faye for some money to make it happen sooner. I could offer her interest and maybe have her hold my gold and silver as collateral.
I need to do some sort of landscaping to make money in the summer. I need the money to make my move. I do so well in the winter but summers are a waste to me, here.
I've run out of things to talk about for now.
Later
Monday, June 16, 2014
Shipping the Motor Home is not Hopeful.
I had a lot of bad news, today, about shipping the motor home.
One person I talked to about shipping it by truck said that it had to be shorter than 8' 4". I measured the motor home and it came to over 9'
.
Another place gave me quotes of over $3000.
I still have to find out if I could ship it by rail but I don't know how I would load it and off load it to a train. I guess I would need a crane. That might damage it.
It's not too hopeful. I'm thinking I'll have to drive it out.
I think I'll name it the "Beast" because of the way it handles in the wind. I drove 18 wheel trucks that handled better than this thing. I hope it's just the tires that are causing troubles.
I've been fighting with Linux Mint 17 at work. I got one version to work on the HP and another to work on the Dell. I think I'll leave it there. At least I got the latest form to work with the HP. I tried the same version on the Dell and it messed up Firefox. I need Firefox to work to get Chrome to work.
I've got to get after Coinbased to see if I parked some Bitcoins there a few years ago. Writing these blogs helps remind me to do things.
One person I talked to about shipping it by truck said that it had to be shorter than 8' 4". I measured the motor home and it came to over 9'
The Beast
Another place gave me quotes of over $3000.
I still have to find out if I could ship it by rail but I don't know how I would load it and off load it to a train. I guess I would need a crane. That might damage it.
It's not too hopeful. I'm thinking I'll have to drive it out.
I think I'll name it the "Beast" because of the way it handles in the wind. I drove 18 wheel trucks that handled better than this thing. I hope it's just the tires that are causing troubles.
I've been fighting with Linux Mint 17 at work. I got one version to work on the HP and another to work on the Dell. I think I'll leave it there. At least I got the latest form to work with the HP. I tried the same version on the Dell and it messed up Firefox. I need Firefox to work to get Chrome to work.
I've got to get after Coinbased to see if I parked some Bitcoins there a few years ago. Writing these blogs helps remind me to do things.
Sunday, June 15, 2014
Buying Gold on EBay
I gave up trying to buy gold at garage sales, here; so I'm back to EBay.
I found a gold bracelet that has 7 1/10 ounce coins in it. It also has gold chains holding it together. I figured that a 1/10 ounce Kruggarand is worth $150 on EBay so 7 of them should be worth $1050 and that's not even counting the gold chain.
I have a credit card that has $1000 on it. If I can use that I'll bid on it. The bidding is now at $760. It's been listed before and the bidding never got over $700. It is a little ugly. Maybe that's why there wasn't much interest.
I don't know what the reserve is; that's the minimum price that the seller will sell it for. I'll bid $960 because I have to pay $20 shipping and there might be other fees. I don't want to go over my credit limit. I just feel that it's a great bargain.
Wish me well or bid against me. It would be good to get it at less than $1000 or just save my money for any of the multitude of things I need it for.
I'm thinking of going back to college and getting my degree in Social Work. I doubt that I'll ever get a job as a social worker but I would like to have a degree. I've gotten very close to it.
I'm thinking of taking most of my classes at a Junior College in Calmar, IA and then transfering the credits to Luther (here in Decorah, IA).
It would take about a year and then I could go out to Happy Camp, CA and pan for gold. Maybe I could work as a social worker in California or Oregon and pan gold on weekends.
It looks like it will take me a year or more to get out of here anyway. I could finance most of my college with Pell grants and help from government agencies. I'll start looking into it tomorrow.
I've got to get on another computer to make sure that I can use my Visa card on Paypal.
Later
I found a gold bracelet that has 7 1/10 ounce coins in it. It also has gold chains holding it together. I figured that a 1/10 ounce Kruggarand is worth $150 on EBay so 7 of them should be worth $1050 and that's not even counting the gold chain.
I have a credit card that has $1000 on it. If I can use that I'll bid on it. The bidding is now at $760. It's been listed before and the bidding never got over $700. It is a little ugly. Maybe that's why there wasn't much interest.
I don't know what the reserve is; that's the minimum price that the seller will sell it for. I'll bid $960 because I have to pay $20 shipping and there might be other fees. I don't want to go over my credit limit. I just feel that it's a great bargain.
Wish me well or bid against me. It would be good to get it at less than $1000 or just save my money for any of the multitude of things I need it for.
I'm thinking of going back to college and getting my degree in Social Work. I doubt that I'll ever get a job as a social worker but I would like to have a degree. I've gotten very close to it.
I'm thinking of taking most of my classes at a Junior College in Calmar, IA and then transfering the credits to Luther (here in Decorah, IA).
It would take about a year and then I could go out to Happy Camp, CA and pan for gold. Maybe I could work as a social worker in California or Oregon and pan gold on weekends.
It looks like it will take me a year or more to get out of here anyway. I could finance most of my college with Pell grants and help from government agencies. I'll start looking into it tomorrow.
I've got to get on another computer to make sure that I can use my Visa card on Paypal.
Later
Update on EBay bidding
I was out bid. Someone went up to $1000 for the coin/bracelet. I feel that it was worth $1300 so they did well. I ran out of money at $980. At least I didn't spend anything and I can use my money for something else, next week.
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