The little warrior makes a move....

.

.
Good Morning Friends,
.

.

today is Tuesday November 24, 2009

.

Last day off and then back to work tomorrow. I have a small administrative type task that I have to attend to this morning so I will getting out and about around the same time as I normally would for work. So, that will certainly give me something to do right off the bat.

.

I am sure many of you have seen the above picture before. It shows up on the main part of my blog when I talk about my early childhood. That is me beaming away up in the top left hand corner. This is 1958 and I am on top of the world so to speak. I am teacher's pet and I am a track star. That's right, I won the most blue ribbons of anybody on Sport's Day in that year. I was a really fast sprinter and I won all of the races on that day.

.

I also liked school, was a good student and I went to church as well. I was a model citizen when I was young. But, as all things change so did I. None of the things evident here and at this time of my life would be the same when I became an adult. I grew up and I became a different person with different ideas.

.

But, underneath everything, I was still Carl Baydala of course. Nothing changes who you really are so let us be clear about that. I think the main thing that I kept throughout the years was the determination to win and to outdo other people. I believe this to be a cornerstone of my personality actually and it makes me who I am. So, there you have it, if you are trying to figure me out. I have just provided you with one of the biggest clues imaginable as to my true nature.

.

Which leads me to today's difficulties and I how I handle them. I am talking about the stock market friends and how I am dealing with it. I don't trust it, but I am forced to deal with it because it is just there - and it must be dealt with. So, that means, that after all of these months I finally made some changes to my portfolio - yesterday and today. I am easing back into stocks, just a bit. Not much at all and most people wouldn't even of thought that I did anything given the small steps that I took. But, I did take a step and that is the important thing. Seems like every time I venture back into the market though the stock gods are waiting in the background and watching me. And, that is when they decide to act. Now, maybe I am just testing the gods and I want to see how they react to my movements. I am not planning on any really serious moves back into stocks, just some minor interventions to take some of the pressure off my money market funds. They are paying next to zero so perhaps it is time to take on a bit of risk even though there is every chance in the world that the market could correct just as it sees me venturing and testing the waters, so to speak.

.

Here is a terrific article which details for you the current risk in the marketplace. This writer is talking about the banks, currencies, and in fact, the way in which the whole system is set up. The system is phony and it is based on the relationship of the bankers and their dealings with the producing nations of the world, such as China. The time has come for a show down of sorts because the system cannot handle much more of the nonsense that is taking place. There is too much debt and the holders of U.S. dollars are getting nervous. ( the author refers to these U.S. dollars as toilet paper ) Here is the article in question:

.

.

Red Alert: The Second Wave of The Financial Tsunami

.

.

Have you hugged your gold today?....

.
.

.

Good Morning Friends,
.

.

today is Monday November 23, 2009

.

Have you hugged your gold bar today? Well, I am not going to lie to you. I like gold and I like the idea of owning it. Except, I do not actually own any physical gold, maybe just a tiny bit in one of my rings or something like that. But, I do have some gold in my stock portfolio so that makes things a bit more exciting for me.

.

I had a goodly portion of gold in my portfolio last year, but I sold half of it when gold peaked. But, I did keep some like I said for insurances purposes. And, it looks like that was a pretty good move since the price of gold is rising steadily. I think holding a portion of gold in one's portfolio makes a lot of sense. Now, you cannot really do anything with gold since it does not pay dividends or anything like that. But, what it does is it gives your ego a boost. And, anything that can make you feel better cannot be a bad thing at all.

.

As of a couple of days ago, gold formed approximately 5.24% of my portfolio. As we speak and looking at the Bloomberg website, gold is currently up just over $ 24.00 on the day. Now, that is certainly a significant move to be sure. And, I notice that Toronto is up as well by over 1%. So, things are looking good ' for the moment. '

.

Now, I have been a mutual fund investor for more than 15 years so I know that things go up and things go down. That is just the way markets work. But, I also know that one tends to feel better when things are going up as opposed to when things are going down. And, the experts tell us that when the stock market is in decline it affects our psyche more than when it is going up. So, savour the moment friends because nothing stays the same and there will indeed be the good days and there will also be the inevitable bad days as well. It is just a good thing for me that gold is going up on a Monday, a day which is traditionally a bad day psychologically for me. So, the rising price of gold would be an offsetting event for me on this usually bad day.

.

I have not done anything with my portfolio all year long and I have almost fully recovered from the losses of 2008. So, that is a very good thing indeed. I am quite heavy into cash and this component of my portfolio is paying virtually no returns at all. And, I only have a modest weighting in bonds as well. So, all the action for me has to come out the stock component of the portfolio. And, so far it is doing the job that it was expected to do. Now, the main thing about the current economy is its dual risks. The one risk is that of deflation and that is occurring because of lack of consumer demand. Things are tight and there is lots of unemployment. People are not able to buy the things that they were able to buy before and that is because of their loss of wealth through housing, stocks, and even employment. People are becoming savers as opposed to spenders. So, that is a real risk to a vibrant economy and that is cash -related assets which are returning little or nothing. This is the ' cash is trash ' scenario. The other side of the equation is the potential for a great burst of inflation to develop. This is so because of the amount of liquidity pumped into the system from the central bankers and also from government deficits. The U.S. now has literally, trillion dollar deficits, and this is combined with its ten trillion dollar debt. I am mainly talking about the U.S. economy here as you can see. There are huge debts and deficits, and on going wars to contend with and this affects the value of the U.S. dollar as well. Foreigners do not want to hold these dollars anymore because they are becoming more risky to hold. So, this is the case for the rising price in gold. Not only are gold people expecting possible inflation in the system, but they are also concerned about the value of the U.S. dollar. So, it looks for now that there are very good reasons to hold gold and the main one is that nobody knows what is going to happen going forward. All they see is risk everywhere that they look. That means that it is never a bad idea to hold gold under these kinds of conditions. So, if you own a bar of gold now is the time to hug it and tell that pretty thing that you really do love it.

.

Talk to you all later and have a nice day.

.

Picture of gold bar here

.

Remembering JFK once again....

.

.

Good Morning Friends,

.

.

today is Sunday November 22, 2009

.

.

I trust everyone is taking time out this morning to remember the great man that was shot down in Dallas in 1963. As you can see that is what I am doing.

.

John F. Kennedy was a man that was truly loved by the population and many mourned when he died on that fateful day. He was a man that represented hope, and as an American, he did the country well. The United States was still respected as a nation back then and the fall of this man was to be the onset of many new developments for that once proud nation.

.

The Vietnam War was to rage on, and in time, well, things just seem to get progressively worse for the nation. It would start to head in a new direction; a direction of war and into something called ' Globalization. ' This phenomenon was to come into its own with the advent of the Reagan Adminstration in the 80's. America was turning a corner and once turned things would never be the same. And, I believe that it all started with the death of Kennedy. But, then again, that is just the opinion of one person.

.

So, thanks for taking time out to remember John F. Kennedy with me and have a nice day.

.

Above

The end of a slow week....

.
.

.

Above picture. Looking south

one block away from the

City of Surrey Complex

.

.

Good Morning Friends,

.

.

today is Saturday November 21, 2009

.

.

Another dismal three day work week friends and thank God the whole thing is over. Now I have four days off in which to lick my wounds. That is wounds from not making any dough just in case we are not all on the same page here. But, I suspect that most of my readers know what I am talking about of course. It does feel very dim indeed at work. Like, where have all of the customers gone? Such a change from last year, when there was still some pretty good money around. But, now it looks as if we are in the midst of something brand new again. Oh well. Maybe the racing coming up in December will cheer me up a bit. We shall see what we shall see.

.

The weather is still very cool and very windy and rainy as well. And, last night around 18:00 hrs or so there was a big lighting storm too, and also fork lightening, you know, the dangerous kind. And, there was a big blast of hail associated with the incoming turbulence as well. Some parts of the road were covered in the stuff, looking like fresh whtie stucco scattered about. It was quite slippery going down the hills and I certainly was paying very close attention to the details let me assure you. So, that was our first big scare for winter, I suppose. But, then that is what nature does - it excites us and keeps reminding us who is really in charge. Well, that is my take on the subject anyway. Not much else to report friends so talk to you all later. If you are popping into town from out of town you know how to get hold of me.

.

Below are a couple more snaps from yesterday. The first two are in Richmond and the last one is in White Rock.

Some Friday philosophy for you....

.
.

.

Good Morning Friends,

.

today is Friday November 20, 2009

.

Vancouver, B.C. Webcams

.

Still windy and rainy and still no dough. You would think something would have to give eh? Like, I mean, either the weather shapes up or the money picks up. Just double trouble that is all. Things cannot last forever of course, just like nothing lasts forever, except eternity and the matter contained within the universe. Other than these two things nothing really lasts forever in its current form. So, that is our ray of sunshine so to speak, that some things are destined to change that is. That is all that we have to fall back upon.

.

So, tell me. Do you feel like you are in a rut or do you feel like life is going well for you? That is the general way of things is it not? I mean, one day you feel like you are on top of the world and you are working toward some goal or another and everything seems to be just fine. And, then there other times when you feel down and out or that things are just boring and a waste of time. Life may even feel like a drudgery for you. Well, life can be many different things at different times that is for sure. So, what is the trick to this madness I wonder? The thing about life is that it is all in the cards; life gets to deal the cards and you are forced to play the hand that was dealt to you. I think this is the only logical way to look at life actually. You have to be able to take the good with the bad and that is the simplicity of the thing. So, that means that there will good times and it also means that there will be bad times. You just have to accept what comes your way and go with the flow so to speak. Now, maybe some of you want to be rich and famous or maybe others want to fall in love with a a special person or whatever. Well, it doesn't really matter what you wish for because some things just are not attainable. I mean, some things are just so unreasonable that they are not going to happen. Like believing in God for example. A lot of people believe in God, but what do you think is going to happen to them when the big day finally comes and they find out one way or the other? I do not know what is going to happen and that is why I do not spend a lot time believing that God exists. It is simply foolhardy behaviour. Just like dreaming about princes and riches and the like. If you are going to dream I say just dream about things that could realistically come true, if you have to dream that is. I think the best overall philosophy though is to just take things as they come, and day by day at that. You cannot predict the future, no, not even one day in advance. Just like I cannot predict the outcome of even one race at the racetrack. I can wish and hope and dream that I am going to win, but I have no control over the event itself. Some things just are beyond our control and we have to accept that. You cannot control the weather and you cannot control or predict a person's behavior from one day to the next either. So, it all sounds rather impossible now doesn't it? And, yet you might retort and ask: well now, how come there are so many rich and famous people around and why cannot I be like them? And, well I am on the topic how come I cannot win a million bucks in a lottery and just retire and do nothing? Yeah, how come other people seem so lucky or fortunate all of the time? When is it going to be my turn to participate in the good life? Now, these are honest questions that need to be answered of course. But, I have already answered the question for you now haven't I? Of course I have. I have already told you here and in other places that life is not fair.

.

Is is fair that life is unfair?

.

Another good question of course. Of course it is not fair and that is the whole point of the thing. But, there is a way out of the morass of course and that is to become a philosopher. That is why people study philosophy you know. They want to understand things and they want to put their lives into perspective and they want answers for everything. And, if you study philosophy you will be able to form your own life view and figure things out to your very own personal satisfaction. And, once you study philosophy and the views of the great men and women then you will come to know about things like fairness and unfairness. And, hopefully, if you are successful at philosophy you will discover some kind of method to deal with the inequities of life.

.

I think understanding is one of the best lessons that comes out of philosophy actually. You are you because you are you is the best way that I can explain things for you. You were born into a certain situation at a certain time. You were given things and circumstances that may be unique to your station in life. And, you were born with certain gifts of physical and mental capacities. Some of you were seemingly more favoured than others. Some were born into poor families and others into wealthy ones. In other words dear friends you were dealt a hand of cards that were unique to your situation in life. And, now you are forced to play those cards. And, you must play them in the best way that you know how. But, the point is that you must continue to play them. You have to play them to the best of your ability and the people around you will respect you for that aspect of your life. They will come to know that you are doing the very best job that you could do with the cards that you were dealt. And, as I say you will be respected. So, I think that is the mark of a successful personality actually, that one plays the cards that he is dealt in the best way that he or she can. I think that if you stick to this principle then you are well on the way to living a successful life.

.

I have told you that life is unfair and it was not meant to be otherwise, but in that unfairness is a built in fairness. And, this is the philosophy friends. In that unfairness is the built-in capacity of every person to achieve what they can achieve within the context of the cards that they were dealt to them. That is the fairness. We are all free and equal in this regard. Life gave us the fairness to participate with what we have. Yes, life provided the conditions, but it also provided the means to deal with those conditions; it provides the fairness mechanism. And, you can be successful if you follow this rule, and you will survive, and you might even prosper as well. And, where does the prosperity come from you may now enquire? The prosperity comes from the happiness of the endeavour. There are a lot of happy people who have no material goods you know. You know what I mean, certain religious people and the like. They have come to know that not all happiness is achieved through monetary and physical success. There is more to life than materialism and vanity and that kind of thing. And, if you stick to your knitting and accept what you are and what you have then you will be a very happy person indeed. Others will come to know that you are happy because you have accepted your fate and you are being successful at what you are doing and what you have. Just keep healthy and do the kinds of things that any rational person would do. And, keep smiling as well. Others will come to know of your happiness and will appreciate you for what you are. Now, the curious thing about life is that it changes day by day. Sometimes luck just falls into ones lap; you might win a lottery or even win some kind of big race at the racetrack if you are a gambler for example. Yes, you just might get lucky. Good things do happen for no apparent reason sometimes. This is the element of luck in life. And, you must be ready to receive your luck when it comes your way. And, it is the same thing with opportunity as well. And, rest assured that opportunity comes in many forms as well. And, opportunity does not play favourites either. Opportunity happens every day and in all places. So, learn about what an opportunity is because this is a key thing that can make you even happier than you are now, in your current situation, that is. This is the business of life friends - fairness and unfairness and all the rest. But, life can be lived and lived successfully as I am trying to point out to you. Just be yourself and appreciate luck when it lands in your lap, but most importantly I think, do not fail to notice an opportunity, large or small. Because opportunities really are the life changers. They can be sexual ones and they can be monetary and material ones. They can be anything, but learn how to spot them, that is the key. So, know them and grab on to them when they come your way. And, when you do that I think you will find that you will come to have a different kind of perspective on life as regards to this business of fairness and unfairness.

.

Still no racing for a while friends, but hang in there because one day we will be in action once again. Will let you know when things are cranking up again. So, thanks for reading and have a nice day. Below are a couple of snaps from work yesterday - Thursday.

The road to manhood in 1964 - revisited....

.

.

Good Morning Friends,

.

.

today is Thursday November 19, 2009

.

.

Still pretty slim pickings at work. Don't know what the problem is at all. Funny, how there was quite a burst of activity a few weeks back and now we are back to the rot of non-activity again. I guess it is a sign of the times and there is not much that we can do except ride out the storm of uncertainty and keep a stiff upper lip as it were.

.

And, speaking of riding out the storm of uncertainty, do you remember the post I did about 1964 when I was a teenager? This was the post when I detailed for you my trip up the coast of northern B.C. in a small gillnetter. I was fifteen years old and my father decided that the time had come for me to become a man. And, the road to get me there would a fishing trip up north as an assistant to a commercial fisherman. This was the time when I crossed the wide open Pacific, and the experience in that small boat, riding the swells, was similar to the feeling that one gets when in a giant roller coaster at an amusement park. The trip was to be an exciting, but disappointing one at the same time. My road to manhood was to be a very choppy one indeed. But, there was a silver lining to the whole thing of course as there seems to be in most parts of my life. You can read about it here:

.

My Teenage Years: 1964

.

Anyway, I was looking for a picture for that post and I finally found something which I eventually used for that entry. However, pictured above is a real life gillnetter. I have passed this boat many times in the past, but never really had an opportunity, or even thought about taking time to stop and getting a snap for you. But, I did yesterday and there is the picture in all of its glory. I guess the little boat that I went up north in looked kind of like the picture above. The property where the vessel is sitting is on 16th Avenue, just west of 200th Street in the south of Langely. It is always good to find little gems like these as it certainly makes my job more interesting.

.

It is still supposed to be rainy and windy so I will be looking forward to that of course. They are calling for snow in the local mountains so that is a good thing for the skiers as you can well imagine. And, I am sure the people up in Whistler are praying that it will be at least a normal winter so that the snowpack will develop and that things will be a success for the Games. It is still early on the game of course, and I wish them well as you might expect. Talk to you all later.

.

I'm only buggin you....

.
.

.

Good Morning Friends,

.

.

today is Wednesday November 18, 2009

.

.

Back to work friends and making some dough. Speaking of dough it has been rather quiet again at work. So, it is certainly an unstable situation to say the least. I hope you don't mind me posting my entry yesterday about that little bug that I snuffed out. I know that it was quite graphic and all that, but I really only did it for effect you know. So, I hope the more squeamish among you do not think too negatively of me. Also, I don't want you thinking I am perfect and god-like when I am far from being anything remotely resembling perfection. I mean, we all kill bugs from time to time. Think about it. Just how many flies and mosquitoes and that kind of thing have you killed and never even batted an eyelash so to speak? Well, lots I bet. So, don't let the little dead bug story overwhelm you like it might overwhelm a weaker personality. I am only as human as the next person so keep that in mind and I do in fact eliminate my share of pests from my life.

.

I am thinking about next month right now and how things might be. Primarily, I am thinking of the racetrack once again. You know, the Meadowlands in New Jersey. That is my foremost winter pastime you know and when I am at work all I think about is the Saturdays and driving out to the track in the sunshine ( hopefully good weather ) and making bets at my favourite track. I have been doing that for years and I guess it will be my choice of entertainment until the day that I die. It is interesting now that I think about it and the amount of people who are dedicated to the sport. If you are any kind of a racetrack fan, or know people who are, then you will know about the dedication of a racetrack personality. We are very committed to the task. Now, maybe that really does say something about our personalities. We are very confirmed and focused types - we are dedicated to our jobs. So, mark that down if you want to know me better. And, we do not quit and we keep on trying to beat the system. Yes, we are all of these things. If you are fan yourself then you will know that the same people keep showing up year after year after year. Why, if you study things closely enough you will be able to watch people grow old right in front of you. Because the same dedicated fans are there just as you are and maybe they are even watching you grow older as well. That is certainly a fascinating feature of the sport I think.

.

The stock market is interesting don't you think? It keeps on steadily climbing in spite of the difficulties in the system. I suppose Canada is particularly well suited to take advantage of events as well. You know, since we are still a resource based economy and that kind of thing. I mean, the U.S. is still mired in its difficulties and part of the problem for the country is its enormous debt of course. And, this translates into a weaker currency and a higher price of gold - a price that keeps rising steadily. Anyway, to make a long story short, I am almost even for the year. Oh, I am up year to date, don't get me wrong. The point is that I have almost recovered totally from the losses of 2008, and that is a very big deal let me tell you, especially when you consider that I am overloaded in cash as a percentage of my assets.

.

And, finally just a note about my videos. A popular one seems to be the one about Bobby's Girl. I believe I mentioned that video before. So, I will be watching it to see if every state in the Union hooks up and watches it. It is my most popular video so far, by U.S. geographic hits that is. This is one of the videos that I took while driving up to Squamish last September. It is one of these sad happy songs and they are really neat. Here is the video here if you are interested:

.



.

.

Talk to you all later and have a nice day.

.

.