Good-Bye Miss Cassie

Cassidy (on the right) lived with me for several years in North Carolina and has been living with my parents for the last 5 years. They had to put her down this past week - she was 14 years old! She was a beautiful black lab and an awesome companion. Good-bye Miss Cassie :(

The Sailfisherman!

Went fishin' yesterday with a few buddies for the first time in about three years. Looks like I did OK, huh? It's one thing to gloat about a big fish you caught, but it is different when you actually have proof. According to the measurement, it was 80 inches from tip to tail. Thanks to Pimpbling for being there to take the picture and provide moral support while I was reelin' it in.

What Media Bias?

For years now, I have made it pretty clear that I think there is a liberal bias in the main-stream media. Whether you agree or disagree with this is really not important as I am (of course) correct! I would ask you to look at the following article published recently by NBC that shows a listing of political contributions by members of the media. After looking at the numbers, I realize that it proves my point pretty dramatically. According to my calculations, there were a total of 143 people listed who made political contributions from 2004 through early 2007. Of that 143, two made contributions to both parties, so I throw them out. Of the remaining 141 people, here was the breakdown:

Republican: 16
Democrat: 125

Hmmm. Now I know someone out there (probably MT or the Senator) is going to say this proves nothing, but the numbers don't lie...90% versus 10% is pretty clear. Here is the article:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19113455

Shut up Phil

After shooting a million today at Oakmont and missing the cut, Phil Mickelson had the balls to blame the course for his recent wrist injury. I watched the replay of the interview and it was truly pathetic...I used to actually respect Phil. Maybe if Phil lifted some weights occasionally and didn't look like a slob with man boobs he might not get hurt. The other 154 players didn't seem to have any problems...

Buy Low, Sell High

Everyone that invests in the stock market knows that you are supposed to buy low and sell high. Yet the emotional nature of people always throws a monkey wrench in the gears of reason. This week was no exception as I tried to explain to a rather nice but unsophisticated client that he should sell one closed end fund to buy another. Below is the scenario. (note: if this kind of stock market talk bores you to death, just go buy some BTZ and quit reading)

Retired doctor. Income Investor who wants to get a better yield than your average 5% CD and is willing to take a little more risk to get it. I buy him some BCF late last year around 14.30 and he has been getting a 7.5% yield on his money. Now its trading at 16.30 and the yield is down to 6.7%. I suggest he sell the BCF, take a nice 11-12% profit (after commish on both ends) and buy some BTZ at 21.50 yielding about 8.5% and trading 6% below its NAV. It's been down the last two weeks due to the spike in interest rates, but it will go back up when rates straighten out.

So, does Joe Doctor listen to his smart financial advisor? Nope. Instead of taking advantage of an opportunity and making his situation better with more income AND more appreciation potential, he is going to wait. When BCF comes back down, he will complain that he didn't sell it at a good profit. In the meantime, he will continue getting his 6.7% and lose some principal while smart institutions and sophisticated investors make 8.5% on an appreciating asset. These are the same kind of people who I pleaded with to buy Merck in late 2004 at 27 with a 5% dividend yield. How would that have done? Well...more than a double with dividends reinvested and almost a double taking the dividends in cash.

And we wonder why Joe Q Public never seems to win in the stock market. Hmmmm.......

It's Open Week!

Once a year the wonderful tournament known as the US Open rolls around. This is the one tournament every year where professional golfers end up looking like a hack from the local muni course. And I love it. What else could be more exciting than watching Tiger, Phil, or Vijay make an 8 on a par 4? Ah yes...the long rough...the tight fairways...the fast greens...has it been a year already?

This years Open holds a special meaning for me as it's being held at Oakmont, about two hours from where I grew up. I was fortunate enough to attend the 1994 US Open the last time it was at Oakmont (the year Ernie Els won his first major) and I was incredibly impressed by the golf course. Oakmont is known for having the fastest greens in the country...no joke. These things are just ridiculous and I'm looking forward to the carnage. They have also removed over 5000 tress from the property, turning the course from a tree-lined to its original links design. While the Oakmont crowd isn't going to get any awards on Arbor Day, it is a very cool and ballsy change.

Word has it that Mr. Kris Douglas has procured some tickets for Friday's round. Enjoy the experience chief. I'll fly up for the next one at Oakmont...I promise.

The Big Merger

Unless you have been living in a hole the last two weeks, you should know that Wachovia Securities and A.G. Edwards will be merging later this year. I guess I have lots of mixed emotions about it. First of all, it is really sad to see a company with such a rich tradition and excellent reputation disappear. A.G. Edwards has been around for 120 years and until recently was always run by a member of the Edwards family. The first non-family member to run the company was Bob Bagby, who took over in 2001. While Bob was very adamant to the employees about our desire to stay an independent company, it seems that behind the scenes he was pulling a Nick Saban on all of us, preparing the company to be bought. While I and a majority of the AG Edwards advisors hope he rots in hell for destroying our nice company, I guess there are some positives to being the second largest brokerage firm in the US.

So, I have decided to stop bitching and whining about it, as I have most of the last 10 days. I had a very good lunch conversation yesterday with Mr. Hickman that gave me some different perspective on the subject. I also had another good conversation with Joel Brookman around 4pm yesterday that have led me to be more positive. I mean...what can I really do at this point? I could complain about how unfair it is...how "big business" is ruining the small companies...bla bla bla. But what would this really accomplish? The deal is done and the changes are going to take place regardless of my view on the subject. I might as well be positive and look on the bright side. I can't control what happens day-to-day in the stock market so why is this any different? Life goes on and I guess I need to be positive about the bright future ahead.

I would however like to take a five minute break from that bright future one day to hold Bob Bagby's head underwater. Five minutes is all it would take and I think I would feel much better...

Zach's Baptism

The little man got baptized yesterday. I just HAD to post this picture of Z in his little white tux. And yes...that is a little bit of hair that is starting to show up on his head!

Phillip Wellman

If you are a big fan of baseball, you need to check out this clip. It's not a walk-off homer or a guy getting beaned by an overly aggressive pitcher. It is a clip of one of the funniest things ever in baseball...the manager blow-up. This must have happened recently, but this guy (named Phillip Wellman) takes things to a whole new level. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUcFWPgB8oY