You know the saying: The two best days for a boat owner are the day he buys it and the day he sells it. Well I bought a boat a few years ago and it was the best day. So I thought I'd share with you the process I went through to get there and hopefully help you in your own search for a boat. The first thing you need to do is decide that you want a boat. I grew up in Mattapoisett, MA which is a small town on the water near Cape Cod. To know where Mattapoisett is imagine looking down on Cape Cod from the air—Mattapoisett is the armpit. It's a real pretty town right on Buzzard’s … [Read more...]
Last Wednesday at the Range
How well your rifle shoots depends on a number of variables. Last Wednesday I worked on a couple of things I thought I’d share with you. First, to try and limit user-error I shot off of a bench. Over the past month or so I’ve been shooting lying down or prone. If you’ve ever shot from a prone position you know it can be like holding a yoga pose and can wear you down. Next, I wanted to see how my rifle shoots using two different brands of 168 grain .308 ammo. The first photo is of my Remington Model 700 SPS. The next one is of the ammo. And the last is of the results from 100 yards: I worked … [Read more...]
VIDEO: Ghost Gunner
If you didn't know about the Ghost Gunner, now you do. From GhostGunner.net: "Ghost Gunner is a general purpose CNC mill, built upon a large body of open source work, including the gshield 3 axis motion hardware, the grbl g-code parser and motion controller, and popular microcontrollers. All Ghost Gunner schematics and design files will be published into the public domain, and anyone can program anything for the machine." … [Read more...]
VIDEO: Ghost Gunner
If you didn't know about the Ghost Gunner, now you do. From GhostGunner.net: "Ghost Gunner is a general purpose CNC mill, built upon a large body of open source work, including the gshield 3 axis motion hardware, the grbl g-code parser and motion controller, and popular microcontrollers. All Ghost Gunner schematics and design files will be published into the public domain, and anyone can program anything for the machine." … [Read more...]
Best Sniper Cartridge?
If you're interested in long-range shooting it's important to pick the right cartridge for you. I like the Sniper 101 video series by TiborasaurusRex. Don't be put off by the name. This is an incredibly informative series for serious shooters or those who aspire to be. Like most skills in life it's important to build a strong foundation while trying to keep it simple. Rex does an incredible job of describing the task at hand in an easy to follow manner. Your eyes may glaze over now and then but this video gives you the intel on cartridge selection while trying to keep it simple. From the … [Read more...]
The Crushing Cost of Retirement Healthcare
Have you added the cost of healthcare to your retirement planning? Fidelity has estimated that a 65-year old couple retiring in 2014 will need $220,000 to cover their healthcare expenses through retirement. It's no surprise if you've paid attention to the fast increasing costs of medical care. Since 1997, costs for nursing homes have nearly doubled. And costs of hospital services are on their way to tripling. You need to start planning now to cover any extra medical expenses during retirement. You might even change your retirement timeline. Fidelity estimates that just … [Read more...]
Moneyball is Back
One of the great books on investing is not about investing in stocks. It’s about investing in baseball players. The now well-known strategy discussed in Michael Lewis’ Moneyball tells how A’s GM Billy Beane created an edge by using statistics overlooked by other managers. The league has since caught up to Beane but there may be a new way to find some value. The WSJ’s CIO Journal reports: New technology being tested by Major League Baseball this year could provide Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane with new ways of evaluating players. The new technology relies on clusters of high … [Read more...]
Your Personal Financial Security Part I
Your personal financial security may not be as strong as it should be. You may be more vulnerable than you think. I called a client yesterday to review his portfolio and his wife quickly said he’d have to call me back because the police were at the house. He was filing a report because his debit card had been compromised. It turns out that over the weekend a waiter had held the card longer than normal (obvious after the fact) and had used the card numbers to make purchases online. Thankfully their bank was able to notify them and quickly canceled the card. I’m sure many of you have been in a … [Read more...]
VIDEO: Think You Know Your Shotgun?
This is knowing your shotgun. … [Read more...]
A Violent Unregulated Secondary Market
Gun laws don’t make you safe. Those who wish to commit violent crimes against you will buy their guns on the unregulated secondary market. As the ATF reports, lost and stolen guns aren't reported to the law. No kidding. USA Today reports: In its report, the ATF warned that its findings "likely reveal only a fraction of the problem'' because "many lost and stolen firearms go entirely unreported.'' "Individuals (who) steal firearms are more likely to commit violent crimes with stolen guns, transfer stolen firearms to others who commit crimes and create an unregulated secondary market for … [Read more...]