“In 1883, Monet and his family settled at Giverny, northwest of Paris. Three years later he acquired an adjacent piece of land and applied for permission to dig a pond, which he hoped would be a source of artistic inspiration,” writes Rebecca Wei, President of Christie’s Asia. “In his petition to the local authorities, Monet […]
Your Retirement: The Van Life
Is living in a van and travelling the country for you? For some baby boomers it’s the only way to travel. “‘The thing I like so much about van life is the simplicity,’ says 55-year-old John Kennedy, now on his first big road trip, to California, in his $75,000 revamped Ram ProMaster,” reports Anne Marie Chaker […]
$50 Lobster Roll?
A $50 lobster roll? Talk about sticker shock. But that’s the reality in Boston. “A combination of lousy weather, international demand, and iced-over Canadian fisheries has created a shortage that has driven whole hard-shell lobster prices to as high as $15 a pound this spring, up from about $8 a pound last year,” reports Janelle […]
The Good News Continues for Dividend-Centric Investors
There’s a certain discipline required of the stock investor whom adheres to a dividend-centric investment strategy. It’s not for the FOMO (fear of missing out) crowd that talks up their latest stock heroics at cocktail parties—a never in doubt but often wrong crowd if I’ve ever seen one. At the end of the day, it’s […]
O Canada: “Sports Bind Us Together in our Pain and Heartache”
In his wonderful tribute to the 16 members of Canada’s hockey community killed in a tragic bus crash—10 were players of the Humboldt Broncos heading to a playoff game in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League Playoffs—Aaron Gleason of The Federalist, writes “Canada is hockey and hockey is Canada.” Think of the Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles […]
Syria’s Four Fronts and a Perfect Storm of Chaos
As you can see in the map above, the Syrian civil war has many fronts and many players. Those fronts are increasingly more complicated as outside forces are getting increasingly involved. As Haaretz explains in “Syrias Four-Front War and the Unprecedented Chaos It Has Created,” the recent chaos has seen al-Qaida rebels shooting down a […]
Make Your Bed: Advice for SEALs and Investors
Originally posted May 18, 2017. Make Your Bed by Admiral William H. McRaven (U.S. Navy Retired) is a little blue-book about little things that can change your life…and maybe the world. It was inspired by the commencement speech McRaven gave on May 21, 2014. Start your day with a task completed. Make your bed. And, […]
How Would You Evacuate? Could You?
Originally posted September 22, 2017. After the triple shot of devastation served up by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, it’s worth a few minutes of your time to reassess your level of preparedness. Even if you live far away from the Atlantic or Pacific, you’re not immune. There are natural disasters that can touch down […]
Blackout: The Lights are Out in Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria’s devastation is still front and center in Puerto Rico where an island-wide blackout triggered a power line failure in the south yesterday, reports the WSJ. “It is the latest in a string of blackouts that have plagued Puerto Rico in the wake of last year’s hurricanes, which wiped out power to the entire […]
Your Pre-Retirement Years: A Straightforward Way to Earn Over 9% with Vanguard Wellesley
Over the past year, the total return for Vanguard Wellesley has been just over five and half percent. “Five and a half percent? What’s so great about that,” you might think. Well, it can be great if you’re a patient investor and you allow the miracle of compound interest, what Albert Einstein is said to […]
Facebook: “A Giant Blood-Engorged Tick Hanging off Your Frontal Lobe”
“Designed to be addictive, Facebook feels like a giant blood-engorged tick hanging off your frontal lobe,” writes Matt Taibbi in Rolling Stone. You may recall, Taibbi coined Goldman Sachs as a “[G]reat vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity.” In his piece on Facebook, where the median salary is $240,430, Taibbi makes a case […]
The F-35C is about to Extend its Deadly Reach
The U.S. Navy is reporting that the final developmental test was completed to integrate Raytheon’s Joint Standoff Weapon C (JSOW C-1) with the F-35 carrier variant, the F-35C. The deployment of the JSOW on the F-35C is on schedule for 2019. The F-35C with the JSOW will be able to eliminate the toughest ground targets […]