Search found 53 matches

by ZedThou
Sat Jul 16, 2016 9:13 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Savings Rates by Wealth Class
Replies: 13
Views: 7582

Re: Savings Rates by Wealth Class

My wife and I are a DINK household and we save about 60% of gross income. At a 4% SWR we are on the cusp of financial independence. The plan now is to spend the next five years building up the bulwark further and then leave the workforce and spend my remaining days fly fishing and becoming a better ...
by ZedThou
Thu Jun 16, 2016 2:18 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: New Jazz?
Replies: 1
Views: 1710

New Jazz?

I can't seem to keep up with new artists. My old favorites are the usual legends - Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Pharoah Sanders, Kenny Barron, Sonny Rollins, Pat Metheny, Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau, etc. Recently, I've enjoyed discovering the B...
by ZedThou
Fri Apr 29, 2016 10:44 pm
Forum: Cash
Topic: EE Bond Phantom Return Analysis
Replies: 12
Views: 10780

Re: EE Bond Phantom Return Analysis

Four years ago I maxed out on EE savings bonds for myself and my wife, only $20k. I wasn't excited about tying up that money for 20 years for a measly 3.5% return, but it was intended to be the deepest emergency savings. Redemption of those bonds would be the final resort if disaster happened to str...
by ZedThou
Thu Apr 21, 2016 11:53 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: PP humming along again
Replies: 42
Views: 19915

Re: PP humming along again

Perhaps oscillate would've been a better word. Anyway, it's just my nature to be pessimistic. It certainly doesn't mean anything other than that I'm a nervous nelly.
by ZedThou
Thu Apr 21, 2016 1:34 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: PP humming along again
Replies: 42
Views: 19915

Re: PP humming along again

My net worth is at an all-time high at the moment and has recently reached a significant milestone. But seeing how this portfolio gyrates over time, I'm expecting a plunge any day now.
by ZedThou
Wed Apr 06, 2016 12:54 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: The Surprising Origin Story of Wonder Woman
Replies: 6
Views: 2739

Re: The Surprising Origin Story of Wonder Woman

A couple of years ago I paid $10 for a one-year subscription. And last year I renewed, $22 for two more years.
by ZedThou
Mon Apr 04, 2016 1:54 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: The Surprising Origin Story of Wonder Woman
Replies: 6
Views: 2739

Re: The Surprising Origin Story of Wonder Woman

Are you working your way up through the Smithsonian magazine archives?  ;) I read it cover-to-cover each month, and there's always an article or two about topics which I've not given much  thought previously. Some articles I've enjoyed recently includes those about Peanuts, the free county of Jones,...
by ZedThou
Thu Jan 28, 2016 11:51 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: How bad, historically, has the last 2 1/2 years been for the PP?
Replies: 20
Views: 10988

Re: How bad, historically, has the last 2 1/2 years been for the PP?

I didn't suffer heavy losses in 2015 thanks to the permanent portfolio. However, it was still a difficult year of investment for me. I am still afraid to get started with my investments again. So far, I have only bought gold and bonds because the stock market has been bearish in Europe and Sweden s...
by ZedThou
Tue Dec 22, 2015 1:58 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Star Wars
Replies: 27
Views: 11422

Re: Star Wars

I will see it in a week or two, trying to avoid crowded theaters. In the meantime I am trying to avoid any spoilers. Seems like I should just get completely off of the Internet...I was reading yesterday on io9.com about the opening weekend box office proceeds, and someone casually mentioned the fate...
by ZedThou
Sun Dec 20, 2015 3:01 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Figuring Out Religion
Replies: 4052
Views: 1385492

Re: Figuring Out Religion

My hope is that all will be ready for his second coming. When do you predict this will occur, exactly? Will any of us still be alive, in order to be ready? Edit - nevermind. Mountaineer has lost all grasp on reality. Something to ponder: Jesus took away the sin of the world. When we see this as ont...
by ZedThou
Wed Dec 16, 2015 3:29 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Official Fargo-Only thread
Replies: 48
Views: 18337

Re: Official Fargo-Only thread

Regarding the appearance of UFOs this season, those come straight out of 1970's Minnesota. See http://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/10/27/fargo-val-johnson-incident Minnesota in the 1970s was something of a hotbed of UFO activity — for the people who believe in that kind of thing. "This was a big decad...
by ZedThou
Fri Dec 04, 2015 12:46 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Figuring Out Religion
Replies: 4052
Views: 1385492

Re: Figuring Out Religion

I used to think that this forum was a place where most other members were like-minded rational souls. But wow, this thread has been eye-opening and very disappointing. There are some posters here who are unhinged, and who have completely lost touch with objective reality. Extraordinary claims requir...
by ZedThou
Sun Jul 05, 2015 10:27 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: gnucash bond quotes
Replies: 19
Views: 13536

Re: gnucash bond quotes

They don't have a github repo where you can submit a merge request or something? Or you did and nobody cared? I'm so glad you asked, since it made me go looking to find out. It turns out that they have moved to github and someone had put my previous module there! So, this new module has a few kinks...
by ZedThou
Tue Jun 30, 2015 5:14 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: gnucash bond quotes
Replies: 19
Views: 13536

Re: gnucash bond quotes

Pointedstick wrote: Nice work! Are you planning to commit it to the source repo too?
I tried with the last version and received zero response, so I won't bother this time.
by ZedThou
Tue Jun 30, 2015 4:43 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: gnucash bond quotes
Replies: 19
Views: 13536

Re: gnucash bond quotes

I'm not sure if there was anyone using my previous module. If so, they'll have noticed that it stopped working quite some time ago since Fidelity now requires a login to view bond quotes. So, I've written a new module, which grabs the quotes from Treasury Direct  :) Of course it will only fetch quot...
by ZedThou
Tue Jul 01, 2014 3:05 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: True Detective
Replies: 4
Views: 2253

Re: True Detective

True Detective was great, and Fargo was even better. Television miniseries quality is very good lately. Billy Bob Thornton was interviewed recently by Charlie Rose, and he mentioned that funding for independent films is difficult to come by these days and that long-form television storytelling was a...
by ZedThou
Fri Feb 21, 2014 5:12 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Post your stack or favorite coins
Replies: 7
Views: 4228

Re: Post your stack or favorite coins

This thing isn't even worth a single ounce of gold, but it's still my favorite piece so far.

Image

Image
by ZedThou
Fri Jan 17, 2014 3:13 pm
Forum: Variable Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Favorite VP Investment?
Replies: 18
Views: 12043

Re: Favorite VP Investment?

Direct from China is the only way to go, they have amazing deals!

Gainesville Coins has a 10 kilo lunar snake, but they want about 1.5 times spot. At some point I'll get one that size, but it will have to be something I really, really like.
by ZedThou
Fri Jan 17, 2014 1:40 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Pregnant and Forced to Stay On Life support
Replies: 5
Views: 2968

Re: Pregnant and Forced to Stay On Life support

I guess the plan is to keep her heart beating for six months, carve the baby out, and finally let the family have the corpse. That's disgusting.
by ZedThou
Fri Jan 17, 2014 1:27 pm
Forum: Variable Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Favorite VP Investment?
Replies: 18
Views: 12043

Re: Favorite VP Investment?

Recently I've been collecting as many different silver coins as I can find. Not sure I would even call this part of a VP though, since I don't plan on ever selling them. My wife likes anything with an animal on it, especially Takus and the 10 oz Kookaburra. I'm partial to the kilo Libertad.
by ZedThou
Fri Dec 20, 2013 12:57 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Duck Dynasty in Hot Water
Replies: 103
Views: 40125

Re: Duck Dynasty in Hot Water

It was idiotic for a TV star to make such stupid statements to the press. I haven't read completely through this thread, but this sentiment was the first thing that came to mind. I remember John Rocker making candid remarks to a reporter long ago and things didn't go well for him afterwards. If my ...
by ZedThou
Sat Dec 07, 2013 12:24 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Fred Reed on Evolution
Replies: 31
Views: 10990

Re: Fred Reed on Evolution

Many people who reject religion as superstition simultaneously fail to realize that belief in untestable scientific theories such as the Big Bang and natural selection also requires significant leaps of secular faith. These are not equivalent "beliefs." The first is faith - the acceptance of a supe...
by ZedThou
Fri Nov 22, 2013 1:41 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Peeking, and the Permanent Portfolio
Replies: 30
Views: 17779

Re: Peeking, and the Permanent Portfolio

6 Iron wrote: Honestly, a cold detached acceptance now.
Couldn't have described it better, and I keep tabs multiple times a day! We're all different, I suppose. There have been quite a few days this year where I was down five figures, but I have achieved emotional detachment.
by ZedThou
Tue Nov 05, 2013 11:08 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Post your stack or favorite coins
Replies: 7
Views: 4228

Re: Post your stack or favorite coins

I have a complete Perth Mint Lunar Series One 1oz gold coin set which I'm quite fond of, and they will probably be the last coins I ever sell. Or maybe it would be the collection of Pandas. I don't know.

No photos handy unfortunately.
by ZedThou
Wed Sep 25, 2013 10:49 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: How to value direct bond holdings on Google Docs?
Replies: 42
Views: 35357

Re: How to value direct bond holdings on Google Docs?

Gnucash gets asset values from the Perl Finance::Quote module. Previously the module had no mechanism for retrieving bond quotes given CUSIP, so my modification is a Finance::Quote submodule which does this by scraping the Fidelity Fixed web page. I've submitted the code to the Finance::Quote develo...