[stockstradr]

My in-laws live in my investment property condo in China. Their male cat was spraying. Keep in mind this is a luxury condo, about 2000 sq ft. I did not want that condo given the cat urine “air freshener” treatment.

I told them to castrate that cat. The father agreed and pressured the mother also to take that cat to vet.

So they took it to vet to get it castrated.

That China vet killed that cat when it botched the castration. (Nice medical services in China!)

So cat is dead, PROBLEM SOLVED!

My wife cried for WEEKS over loss of the cat she remembered from childhood in China.

Now, you must know this cat was PSYCHO because it was abused or something before they got it. That cat would not let anyone pet it, and it ran and hid when anyone was around. It couldn’t meow and would utter this pathetic sound like it had deep psychological distubances. it never purred. It was crazy.

I thought to myself, “What is the point of having a pet cat like that if it doesn’t act like a pet, and it hates humans and acts crazy?”

I think this is good example of how that crazy cat would act. Our China cat must have been related to this “Burger and Fries” cat:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Z2mbeSAmUP4

I did not cry when it died. 🙂

[stockstradr]

My in-laws live in my investment property condo in China. Their male cat was spraying. Keep in mind this is a luxury condo, about 2000 sq ft. I did not want that condo given the cat urine “air freshener” treatment.

I told them to castrate that cat. The father agreed and pressured the mother also to take that cat to vet.

So they took it to vet to get it castrated.

That China vet killed that cat when it botched the castration. (Nice medical services in China!)

So cat is dead, PROBLEM SOLVED!

My wife cried for WEEKS over loss of the cat she remembered from childhood in China.

Now, you must know this cat was PSYCHO because it was abused or something before they got it. That cat would not let anyone pet it, and it ran and hid when anyone was around. It couldn’t meow and would utter this pathetic sound like it had deep psychological distubances. it never purred. It was crazy.

I thought to myself, “What is the point of having a pet cat like that if it doesn’t act like a pet, and it hates humans and acts crazy?”

I think this is good example of how that crazy cat would act. Our China cat must have been related to this “Burger and Fries” cat:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Z2mbeSAmUP4

I did not cry when it died. 🙂

[stockstradr]

My in-laws live in my investment property condo in China. Their male cat was spraying. Keep in mind this is a luxury condo, about 2000 sq ft. I did not want that condo given the cat urine “air freshener” treatment.

I told them to castrate that cat. The father agreed and pressured the mother also to take that cat to vet.

So they took it to vet to get it castrated.

That China vet killed that cat when it botched the castration. (Nice medical services in China!)

So cat is dead, PROBLEM SOLVED!

My wife cried for WEEKS over loss of the cat she remembered from childhood in China.

Now, you must know this cat was PSYCHO because it was abused or something before they got it. That cat would not let anyone pet it, and it ran and hid when anyone was around. It couldn’t meow and would utter this pathetic sound like it had deep psychological distubances. it never purred. It was crazy.

I thought to myself, “What is the point of having a pet cat like that if it doesn’t act like a pet, and it hates humans and acts crazy?”

I think this is good example of how that crazy cat would act. Our China cat must have been related to this “Burger and Fries” cat:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Z2mbeSAmUP4

I did not cry when it died. 🙂

[stockstradr]

>>would you choose a single story?

Ten years ago I would have answered this only in terms of liveability of the home and how it impacts resale value.

Then I moved to CA, where earthquakes kill people. If you are living anywhere near a fault line you must prepare for the eventual “Big One,” an earthquake of such magnitude it will destroy all construction of certain types within danger zone radius around fault line.

I now believe that keeping my family alive during the eventual BIG earthquake is far more important than other factors when it comes to choosing home layout and construction.

I think if you dig around on this web site you’ll find a lot of good data covering earthquake damage risk for various typical home and office building construction types in CA.

http://www.abag.ca.gov/bayarea/eqmaps/shelpop/bldg.html

If I recall correctly, of typical homes on the market in CA, the safest are wood framed single story SFH, built AFTER 1939 (better yet, built within last 10-15 years), no masonry chimney above living area, and obviously located as far as possible away from fault line and not on a liquifaction zone.

If you must get a two story, you should always ensure a bedroom is not over the garage, because generally rooms over the garage can collapse during earthquake.

(Also, older multi-story condo or apartment complexes are some of the worst places to be in an earthquake.)

I’ve noticed people are oddly IRRATIONAL about protecting themselves from REAL risks to health and life. Consider how few people think about earthquake risk when selecting a home, relative to home age, construction type, number of floors, and location.

Yet many Californians will agree there is a significant possibility that in the next 25 years an earthquake of 8 or greater magnitude hitting one or more major population centers in CA such as LA, San Diego, or Bay Area.

I know plenty of people who stopped eathing beef when a few people in Europe were stricken with “Mad Cow” disease. Then those same people stopped eating chicken when Asia had the rare “Bird Flu” deaths in the news. Yet those same people go to sleep every night in a home/apartment/condo of a construction type that WILL collapse during a major earthquake, killing them. They are being irrational.

[stockstradr]

>>would you choose a single story?

Ten years ago I would have answered this only in terms of liveability of the home and how it impacts resale value.

Then I moved to CA, where earthquakes kill people. If you are living anywhere near a fault line you must prepare for the eventual “Big One,” an earthquake of such magnitude it will destroy all construction of certain types within danger zone radius around fault line.

I now believe that keeping my family alive during the eventual BIG earthquake is far more important than other factors when it comes to choosing home layout and construction.

I think if you dig around on this web site you’ll find a lot of good data covering earthquake damage risk for various typical home and office building construction types in CA.

http://www.abag.ca.gov/bayarea/eqmaps/shelpop/bldg.html

If I recall correctly, of typical homes on the market in CA, the safest are wood framed single story SFH, built AFTER 1939 (better yet, built within last 10-15 years), no masonry chimney above living area, and obviously located as far as possible away from fault line and not on a liquifaction zone.

If you must get a two story, you should always ensure a bedroom is not over the garage, because generally rooms over the garage can collapse during earthquake.

(Also, older multi-story condo or apartment complexes are some of the worst places to be in an earthquake.)

I’ve noticed people are oddly IRRATIONAL about protecting themselves from REAL risks to health and life. Consider how few people think about earthquake risk when selecting a home, relative to home age, construction type, number of floors, and location.

Yet many Californians will agree there is a significant possibility that in the next 25 years an earthquake of 8 or greater magnitude hitting one or more major population centers in CA such as LA, San Diego, or Bay Area.

I know plenty of people who stopped eathing beef when a few people in Europe were stricken with “Mad Cow” disease. Then those same people stopped eating chicken when Asia had the rare “Bird Flu” deaths in the news. Yet those same people go to sleep every night in a home/apartment/condo of a construction type that WILL collapse during a major earthquake, killing them. They are being irrational.

[stockstradr]

>>would you choose a single story?

Ten years ago I would have answered this only in terms of liveability of the home and how it impacts resale value.

Then I moved to CA, where earthquakes kill people. If you are living anywhere near a fault line you must prepare for the eventual “Big One,” an earthquake of such magnitude it will destroy all construction of certain types within danger zone radius around fault line.

I now believe that keeping my family alive during the eventual BIG earthquake is far more important than other factors when it comes to choosing home layout and construction.

I think if you dig around on this web site you’ll find a lot of good data covering earthquake damage risk for various typical home and office building construction types in CA.

http://www.abag.ca.gov/bayarea/eqmaps/shelpop/bldg.html

If I recall correctly, of typical homes on the market in CA, the safest are wood framed single story SFH, built AFTER 1939 (better yet, built within last 10-15 years), no masonry chimney above living area, and obviously located as far as possible away from fault line and not on a liquifaction zone.

If you must get a two story, you should always ensure a bedroom is not over the garage, because generally rooms over the garage can collapse during earthquake.

(Also, older multi-story condo or apartment complexes are some of the worst places to be in an earthquake.)

I’ve noticed people are oddly IRRATIONAL about protecting themselves from REAL risks to health and life. Consider how few people think about earthquake risk when selecting a home, relative to home age, construction type, number of floors, and location.

Yet many Californians will agree there is a significant possibility that in the next 25 years an earthquake of 8 or greater magnitude hitting one or more major population centers in CA such as LA, San Diego, or Bay Area.

I know plenty of people who stopped eathing beef when a few people in Europe were stricken with “Mad Cow” disease. Then those same people stopped eating chicken when Asia had the rare “Bird Flu” deaths in the news. Yet those same people go to sleep every night in a home/apartment/condo of a construction type that WILL collapse during a major earthquake, killing them. They are being irrational.

[stockstradr]

>>would you choose a single story?

Ten years ago I would have answered this only in terms of liveability of the home and how it impacts resale value.

Then I moved to CA, where earthquakes kill people. If you are living anywhere near a fault line you must prepare for the eventual “Big One,” an earthquake of such magnitude it will destroy all construction of certain types within danger zone radius around fault line.

I now believe that keeping my family alive during the eventual BIG earthquake is far more important than other factors when it comes to choosing home layout and construction.

I think if you dig around on this web site you’ll find a lot of good data covering earthquake damage risk for various typical home and office building construction types in CA.

http://www.abag.ca.gov/bayarea/eqmaps/shelpop/bldg.html

If I recall correctly, of typical homes on the market in CA, the safest are wood framed single story SFH, built AFTER 1939 (better yet, built within last 10-15 years), no masonry chimney above living area, and obviously located as far as possible away from fault line and not on a liquifaction zone.

If you must get a two story, you should always ensure a bedroom is not over the garage, because generally rooms over the garage can collapse during earthquake.

(Also, older multi-story condo or apartment complexes are some of the worst places to be in an earthquake.)

I’ve noticed people are oddly IRRATIONAL about protecting themselves from REAL risks to health and life. Consider how few people think about earthquake risk when selecting a home, relative to home age, construction type, number of floors, and location.

Yet many Californians will agree there is a significant possibility that in the next 25 years an earthquake of 8 or greater magnitude hitting one or more major population centers in CA such as LA, San Diego, or Bay Area.

I know plenty of people who stopped eathing beef when a few people in Europe were stricken with “Mad Cow” disease. Then those same people stopped eating chicken when Asia had the rare “Bird Flu” deaths in the news. Yet those same people go to sleep every night in a home/apartment/condo of a construction type that WILL collapse during a major earthquake, killing them. They are being irrational.

[stockstradr]

>>would you choose a single story?

Ten years ago I would have answered this only in terms of liveability of the home and how it impacts resale value.

Then I moved to CA, where earthquakes kill people. If you are living anywhere near a fault line you must prepare for the eventual “Big One,” an earthquake of such magnitude it will destroy all construction of certain types within danger zone radius around fault line.

I now believe that keeping my family alive during the eventual BIG earthquake is far more important than other factors when it comes to choosing home layout and construction.

I think if you dig around on this web site you’ll find a lot of good data covering earthquake damage risk for various typical home and office building construction types in CA.

http://www.abag.ca.gov/bayarea/eqmaps/shelpop/bldg.html

If I recall correctly, of typical homes on the market in CA, the safest are wood framed single story SFH, built AFTER 1939 (better yet, built within last 10-15 years), no masonry chimney above living area, and obviously located as far as possible away from fault line and not on a liquifaction zone.

If you must get a two story, you should always ensure a bedroom is not over the garage, because generally rooms over the garage can collapse during earthquake.

(Also, older multi-story condo or apartment complexes are some of the worst places to be in an earthquake.)

I’ve noticed people are oddly IRRATIONAL about protecting themselves from REAL risks to health and life. Consider how few people think about earthquake risk when selecting a home, relative to home age, construction type, number of floors, and location.

Yet many Californians will agree there is a significant possibility that in the next 25 years an earthquake of 8 or greater magnitude hitting one or more major population centers in CA such as LA, San Diego, or Bay Area.

I know plenty of people who stopped eathing beef when a few people in Europe were stricken with “Mad Cow” disease. Then those same people stopped eating chicken when Asia had the rare “Bird Flu” deaths in the news. Yet those same people go to sleep every night in a home/apartment/condo of a construction type that WILL collapse during a major earthquake, killing them. They are being irrational.

[stockstradr]

Days like this I drink Champagne with my wife and celebrate.

I have been very aggressively short this market now for some time.

My portfolio:

58% SDS, ProShares Ultrashort (2X) on S&P 500
11% DUG 1X INVERSE of Dow Jones U.S. Oil & Gas index.
13% GLD (gold ETF)
11% PUTS on NASDAQ and S&P 500
7% CASH

Yes, I’m getting my ass kicked on the inverse oil position (down 16%) but I’m firing on all other cylinders.

You can imagine those PUTS are really paying off on days like this, to the tune of UP thousands of dollars per hour.

With gold at $865 I’m sitting pretty there also.

Also, I’m obvously pleased that nearly 60% of my portfolio is double-leveraged on the down side of the S&P 500, while that index has fallen 10% since Oct ’07

I do not suggest this portfolio allocation for anyone. This is an incredibly risky allocation, but it is paying off.

If you think markets will continue to head south, I do suggest ProShares “SDS” which has worked very well for shorting the S&P 500 with some added leverage.

The obvious “long shot” gamble in my portfolio, is the short oil position. Laugh, but I still have a good feeling about that gamble paying off short-term. The theory is that with recession now knocking at the door, world oil demand will drop significantly into 2008. Much of oil’s price increase has been speculative and inflation-driven. I see oil falling below $60 within twelve months. However, long-term I’m obviously very bullish on oil prices, expecting $200/bbl oil within 5 years.

[stockstradr]

Days like this I drink Champagne with my wife and celebrate.

I have been very aggressively short this market now for some time.

My portfolio:

58% SDS, ProShares Ultrashort (2X) on S&P 500
11% DUG 1X INVERSE of Dow Jones U.S. Oil & Gas index.
13% GLD (gold ETF)
11% PUTS on NASDAQ and S&P 500
7% CASH

Yes, I’m getting my ass kicked on the inverse oil position (down 16%) but I’m firing on all other cylinders.

You can imagine those PUTS are really paying off on days like this, to the tune of UP thousands of dollars per hour.

With gold at $865 I’m sitting pretty there also.

Also, I’m obvously pleased that nearly 60% of my portfolio is double-leveraged on the down side of the S&P 500, while that index has fallen 10% since Oct ’07

I do not suggest this portfolio allocation for anyone. This is an incredibly risky allocation, but it is paying off.

If you think markets will continue to head south, I do suggest ProShares “SDS” which has worked very well for shorting the S&P 500 with some added leverage.

The obvious “long shot” gamble in my portfolio, is the short oil position. Laugh, but I still have a good feeling about that gamble paying off short-term. The theory is that with recession now knocking at the door, world oil demand will drop significantly into 2008. Much of oil’s price increase has been speculative and inflation-driven. I see oil falling below $60 within twelve months. However, long-term I’m obviously very bullish on oil prices, expecting $200/bbl oil within 5 years.

[stockstradr]

Days like this I drink Champagne with my wife and celebrate.

I have been very aggressively short this market now for some time.

My portfolio:

58% SDS, ProShares Ultrashort (2X) on S&P 500
11% DUG 1X INVERSE of Dow Jones U.S. Oil & Gas index.
13% GLD (gold ETF)
11% PUTS on NASDAQ and S&P 500
7% CASH

Yes, I’m getting my ass kicked on the inverse oil position (down 16%) but I’m firing on all other cylinders.

You can imagine those PUTS are really paying off on days like this, to the tune of UP thousands of dollars per hour.

With gold at $865 I’m sitting pretty there also.

Also, I’m obvously pleased that nearly 60% of my portfolio is double-leveraged on the down side of the S&P 500, while that index has fallen 10% since Oct ’07

I do not suggest this portfolio allocation for anyone. This is an incredibly risky allocation, but it is paying off.

If you think markets will continue to head south, I do suggest ProShares “SDS” which has worked very well for shorting the S&P 500 with some added leverage.

The obvious “long shot” gamble in my portfolio, is the short oil position. Laugh, but I still have a good feeling about that gamble paying off short-term. The theory is that with recession now knocking at the door, world oil demand will drop significantly into 2008. Much of oil’s price increase has been speculative and inflation-driven. I see oil falling below $60 within twelve months. However, long-term I’m obviously very bullish on oil prices, expecting $200/bbl oil within 5 years.

[stockstradr]

Days like this I drink Champagne with my wife and celebrate.

I have been very aggressively short this market now for some time.

My portfolio:

58% SDS, ProShares Ultrashort (2X) on S&P 500
11% DUG 1X INVERSE of Dow Jones U.S. Oil & Gas index.
13% GLD (gold ETF)
11% PUTS on NASDAQ and S&P 500
7% CASH

Yes, I’m getting my ass kicked on the inverse oil position (down 16%) but I’m firing on all other cylinders.

You can imagine those PUTS are really paying off on days like this, to the tune of UP thousands of dollars per hour.

With gold at $865 I’m sitting pretty there also.

Also, I’m obvously pleased that nearly 60% of my portfolio is double-leveraged on the down side of the S&P 500, while that index has fallen 10% since Oct ’07

I do not suggest this portfolio allocation for anyone. This is an incredibly risky allocation, but it is paying off.

If you think markets will continue to head south, I do suggest ProShares “SDS” which has worked very well for shorting the S&P 500 with some added leverage.

The obvious “long shot” gamble in my portfolio, is the short oil position. Laugh, but I still have a good feeling about that gamble paying off short-term. The theory is that with recession now knocking at the door, world oil demand will drop significantly into 2008. Much of oil’s price increase has been speculative and inflation-driven. I see oil falling below $60 within twelve months. However, long-term I’m obviously very bullish on oil prices, expecting $200/bbl oil within 5 years.

[stockstradr]

Days like this I drink Champagne with my wife and celebrate.

I have been very aggressively short this market now for some time.

My portfolio:

58% SDS, ProShares Ultrashort (2X) on S&P 500
11% DUG 1X INVERSE of Dow Jones U.S. Oil & Gas index.
13% GLD (gold ETF)
11% PUTS on NASDAQ and S&P 500
7% CASH

Yes, I’m getting my ass kicked on the inverse oil position (down 16%) but I’m firing on all other cylinders.

You can imagine those PUTS are really paying off on days like this, to the tune of UP thousands of dollars per hour.

With gold at $865 I’m sitting pretty there also.

Also, I’m obvously pleased that nearly 60% of my portfolio is double-leveraged on the down side of the S&P 500, while that index has fallen 10% since Oct ’07

I do not suggest this portfolio allocation for anyone. This is an incredibly risky allocation, but it is paying off.

If you think markets will continue to head south, I do suggest ProShares “SDS” which has worked very well for shorting the S&P 500 with some added leverage.

The obvious “long shot” gamble in my portfolio, is the short oil position. Laugh, but I still have a good feeling about that gamble paying off short-term. The theory is that with recession now knocking at the door, world oil demand will drop significantly into 2008. Much of oil’s price increase has been speculative and inflation-driven. I see oil falling below $60 within twelve months. However, long-term I’m obviously very bullish on oil prices, expecting $200/bbl oil within 5 years.

[stockstradr]

Stockstradr, don’t know if you’ll see this, but where did you get the KitchenAid mixer?

It is absolutely true that we could have bought a 325 Watt 5 qt KitchenAid, with multiple accessories, for $85 at Mervyn’s. Only white color was available.

My wife nixed the purchase. Oddly, I was the one who wanted to buy that KitchenAid. It bothered me for weeks that we didn’t buy that at THAT price. We ended up getting another cheap $25 mixer that day.

However, that price came during a fleeting moment. That sale was only during the first half of Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving) and also was possible only because we had been approved for a new Mervyn’s credit card so also another 20% off that day.

Reason wife nixed that purchase is I had already spent $800 in two hours in that store

[stockstradr]

Stockstradr, don’t know if you’ll see this, but where did you get the KitchenAid mixer?

It is absolutely true that we could have bought a 325 Watt 5 qt KitchenAid, with multiple accessories, for $85 at Mervyn’s. Only white color was available.

My wife nixed the purchase. Oddly, I was the one who wanted to buy that KitchenAid. It bothered me for weeks that we didn’t buy that at THAT price. We ended up getting another cheap $25 mixer that day.

However, that price came during a fleeting moment. That sale was only during the first half of Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving) and also was possible only because we had been approved for a new Mervyn’s credit card so also another 20% off that day.

Reason wife nixed that purchase is I had already spent $800 in two hours in that store

[Author]

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