Mocca Gallery

When the truth gets buried deep
Beneath a thousand years of sleep
Time demands a turn-around
And once again the truth is found

— George Harrison

She lived by the beach. It doesn’t matter which one. She waited every day for the perfect wave to take her away. It doesn’t matter where. But every day she went to the shore and looked far out along the waves. She waited for the perfect one.

And the house was never really clean. And the meals were never really good. In her estimation, she was tied to the wave. And so everything was a failure because the wave wouldn’t come. Everything was waiting. Every atom of her being was waiting. And she hated waiting.

One day, after so many years she lost count, she bought a ticket and boarded a ship for somewhere else. And then the tsunami came. And she lived or died or had other adventures—that part doesn’t matter. The question is, was she wasting all that time waiting when she could have been long gone? Or was the tsunami the Perfect Wave she was secretly waiting for all along?

I don’t normally do this, but there are some areas I’d like to work on next year, some new directions I’d like to take.

•  Investments – I plan to learn about and experiment with as many different investment vehicles as I can. Tax liens, direct purchase of treasuries, foreign equity markets, currency exchanges, commodity futures, and what ever else I stubble upon. The idea is that if I get an idea I’d like to invest in I’ll be able to move quickly if I’ve already experimented with a wide variety of vehicles.
• Health & Fitness – I’d like to learn more about organic foods. Maybe even grow our own vegetables. More yoga too. Deb & I are pretty fit, but I think we can do lots more.
• Technology – Time to make the leap from the desktop to a mobile device. I’d love to be able to cancel Vonage and Cox. Mobile is the next big thing and I know nothing about it. Don’t want to fall behind, and I think it will be fun.

Let’s see how I do…

My wonderful old computer had slowly fallen behind the times. I was in desperate need of an upgrade. I don’t remember what got me started on this, but I decided I wanted to build my own rather than buy a ready made one.

So, I got a how-to book at Borders and began researching the project. After many false starts, I finally got up the nerve to order the components online at NewEgg.com. A few days later big boxes began arriving at the door.

I immediately had second thoughts. What had I gotten myself into? What if it didn’t work? There were so many wires, it was all very intimidating. Deb was a huge help, calming me down, reading instructions, pointing out important facts. I couldn’t have done it without her.

Then came the magic moment, turning it on for the first time – it fired right up. Amazing. What a beautiful thing. Of course, now I’m happy I did it this way. I know what’s in it and I know how it’s put together. I hand picked every component and they are all top notch blazing fast. Not a bad price either.

• Intel ATX Motherboard ($230)
• Intel Core 2 Quad 2.4GHz Processor ($190)
• Corsair 4GB DDR3 Memory Chips ($188)
• 2 Seagate Barracuda 250GB Hard Drives ($60 each)
• Asus 20X DVD Burner ($36)
• ATI Graphics Accelerator Card ($107)
• Thermaltake Purepower 500Watt Power Supply ($60)
• Cooler Master ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ($55)
• Acer 20″ Widescreen LCD Monitor ($160)
• Microsoft USB Wired Optical Wheel Mouse ($20)
• Logitech USB Keyboard ($20)
• Ubuntu 64-bit Desktop Operating System (free)

Grand total  $1,186 after shipping and rebates.

I just cashed out $415.87 from the InTrade prediction marketplace.

I deposited $100 there earlier this year so I could play in the election markets. I made a series of plays on big favorites, slowly building my stake from $100 to $146. In the primaries I shorted Fred Thompson (he was pathetic).  I shorted Rudy Giuliani (he was scary). I bet against a US/Israeli air strike on Iran. I made a small profit going long Ron Paul in the early days of his campaign.

Then I put everything on Hillary Clinton to win it all. I figured she was a lock to beat anyone the Republicans would run. But her share price began to fall. I booked a small loss and moved to the sidelines for a week to try and figure out just what was happening.

That was the first time I took notice of Obama. He looked good. Here was a real candidate. I put everything on Obama to win the presidency. At the time his share price was $32.20. I held him all the way and last night he closed at $100 a share. I love politics.

Barack Obama won last night, and the whole world breathed a sigh of relief. For the first time in eight years I feel good about America. For the first time in eight years I saw a flag and didn’t cringe. For the first time in eight years I heard the word patriotism and didn’t immediately think of Joseph McCarthy. Change is in the air. The headline in the London Daily Express reads A New World Dawns. I couldn’t agree more.

O brave new world, That has such people in it!

————

August 28, 2010 – Looking back on this post now, and of course I’m embarrassed. You can tell Pete Townshend that we did get fooled again. At least I did. I had such high hopes, but it turned out he was just another empty suit, all style, and no substance.

I just got a check from PokerStars for $374.83.

I hadn’t played there for a year or two. Several months ago I logged in just to see what was going on. I noticed that I had an unearned bonus there. So, I deposited $100 and starting playing a little in my spare time.

Last week I finally played enough to clear the bonus. I won $174.83 playing, earned a $100 bonus, together with my $100 deposit I was able to cash out $374.83. Sweet.

We were watching a film last night called “How To Cook Your Life” about Zen Master Chef Edward Espe Brown. In it was a poem by Donald Babcock that I liked a lot:

The Little Duck

Now we are ready to look at something pretty special.
It is a duck riding the ocean a hundred feet beyond the surf,
And he cuddles in the swells.
There is a big heaving in the Atlantic.
And he is part of it.
He can rest while the Atlantic heaves, because he rests in the Atlantic.
Probably he doesn’t know how large the ocean is.
And neither do you.
But he realizes it.
And what does he do, I ask you.
He sits down in it.
He reposes in the immediate as if it were infinity – which it is.
That is religion, and the duck has it.
I like the little duck.
He doesn’t know much.
But he has religion.

It seems clear the old structure is changing and something new is coming. But that is always the case. Grab any old newspaper from, any year, and the excitement and fear of what is approaching is always the top story.

Today it seems like a really big thing is happening. But, again, that is always the feeling.

I’m trying to see what is being born. But I don’t see it yet. I’m on the lookout for signs, clues. I need an oracle to read some chicken bones.

Part of the difficulty is the noise from the falling away of the old is so damn loud, it drowns out everything else. All the spotlights are on what is leaving. But that is always the case.

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won’t come again
And don’t speak too soon
For the wheel’s still in spin
And there’s no tellin’ who
That it’s namin’.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin’.

Dylan – 1963

It is interesting, all the posts and blogs and articles and youtube videos I see, everyone is convinced they have it right. It is fascinating. I must admit I think I’m right too. And of course everyone else is obviously wrong. So, now I must come to the conclusion that somehow, maybe, I may not be right after all.

It is much clearer when I look at religion. Each religion knows it is right and the other religions have it wrong. Being non-religious, it is easy for me to see that none of them are right.

But in matters where I do have a belief, I seem to be blind. Even though, over the years, I have had countless beliefs that I later rejected. The ones I hold now I really think are true.

It seems there is some basic flaw in the way our minds work. It is insidious, because even though I know about the flaw, I still make the same mistake. I know that if I write down everything I believe in today, and then read that list in 20 years, not many of those beliefs will hold up. And yet I still think I’m right today.

So, how messed up is that?