I am always looking to improve the quality and relevance of what I put up here and I could really use your help.

If you are like me, I often have at least one concern or question rolling around in my head at any given moment about investing. Actually, it is more like a a half a dozen truth be told. I then do my best to get it answered as quick as I can.

With that in mind, I am looking to do the same for you. I would like to know what question or concern you have about investing and get them answered for you!

It might be answered by me or the best expert that I can dig up and I am very good at digging and finding the best person in the field. Now the best person does not always mean the most noted. I just look for skill and knowledge, not what package it comes in.

So if you have a question, take 30 seconds or so and jot it down below.  I will do my best to answer as many of them as I can. If you don’t want me to use your name, I won’t.

Thanks, AA

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So you think you are going to do well with your investments ? This is could have more effect on your investing than you think. Read on and you will find out why.

Every once in awhile, a light bulb goes on for me (incandescent ones, I don‘t do fluorescents) when thoughts come together that have been brewing for some time.

I happened to be going through some of the piles of books that I have and came across “The Power of Positive Thinking In Business” by Scott W. Ventrella.

I had read and own a first run copy of Norman Vincent Peal’s classic, “The Power of Positive Thinking.” Good book indeed and runs along with “Think And Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill.

I had casually read through it before and it had not tripped my trigger, although I had lent it out so several people and one person in particular gave it credit for changing the course of her career and leading her to go back to school for her Masters Degree. Still, I had not revisited it.

But as I opened it up it this time I came across a section that I think sums up one of the keys to investing success, and success in most areas of our lives: this is called the Pygmalion Effect.

For those of you that do not know what it is, here you go. In mythology, there was a sculptor who sculpted a beautiful woman. He poured his heart, soul, and all of his skill into the sculpture. It was so perfect that he fell in love with it and he wished it were a real woman and named her Galatea. Well, the Goddess Venus saw this and actually made Galatea into a real live woman. Thus arose the Pygmalion effect, where you get what you wish or expect. (more…)

The Investor’s Dilemma
If you are like me, perhaps you have had some of these same dilemmas.

• Not sure where to start
• Not sure what “Experts” I should listen too
• Not sure if it is a good time to invest
• Not sure “what” to invest in. Do I invest in Stocks, Bonds, Mutual Funds, Real Estate etc?
• It seems like “everyone” has an angle to pry my money from me
• I know that I need to do something but not sure where to start
• Or I have been doing OK, but I want to do better, there has to be a better way

Any of this sound familiar? Well, how about if I walk you through some of the steps and missteps that I have gone through and save you some of the cuts, bruises, and downright thumpings that I have gotten?

How about if we do it live, right here? Does that sound at all interesting to you? (more…)

Craigslist is getting a run for its money.

Well, it was bound to happen; Craigslist the world’s largest online classifieds is getting a run for its money with the likes of Listpic , Kijiji , Backpage, and a host of others.

If you have never used Craigslist before, if you have anything in your house that you want to sell, say that old spare bed or stuff in the garage, you can put it on Craigslist and if it is priced right, it can be sold in a matter of hours and the best part is that it is all free.

Also, if you are looking for something from furniture, to tools, to a lawnmower, you can probably find it at a great price there. It is amazing if you have never used it before. It is like a garage sale on steroids. (more…)

It takes a lot to impress me these days, which I guess is a good thing. But, this has to be one of the best uses of the Internet from a practical standpoint to demonstrate a product that I have yet seen.

On this site, you can actually start and control a diesel engine from you computer. It just goes to show you what can be done using remote technology.

First, it is a great demo for their product, secondly, it shows how one person can monitor and control situations remotely rather than have someone monitoring on site.

Why this is not done more often I have yet to figure out. The technology has been around for years. I can think of dozens of applications where this could be used to help bond customers to your product or actually reduce employee costs and or add to safety and efficiency of an operation.

The Product is the Dems-1000 engine management system. You can even control it via your cell phone!

Click Here to take a look and play with the engine. It will probably scare Chuck their computer programmer too. He said he is often alone in the warehouse there. He says you never know when the darn thing is going to start up. LOL

Here are some specs:

• 
  

  Oil Level	Vibration
  Oil Pressure	Engine Overspeed
  Oil Temperature	Battery Voltage
  Water Temperature	Alternator
  Fuel Pressure	Air Filter Monitor
  Fuel Flow	Water in fuel
  Fuel Tank Level	Auxillary Inputs
  Manifold Pressure

• Remote and Local Keypad Control
• Access from Internet, cellphone, RS485, or twisted phone pair.

This is the type of thing, that could end up being a fairly large product in my estimation. Who knows, they might just be looking for investors or new distribution channels. In any case, it could be worth keeping an eye on.

Anyway, go ahead and start the engine and give Chuck a start too.

I have pulled together just some of my favorite quotes on Money, Government, and the Economy. I hope that you enjoy them as much as I do. If you have others, please feel free to share in the comments section.

Many of these are from the writer, Ayn Rand whom coming from Communist Russia, had the clarity of one that does not take something for granted.

Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it, If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it. — Ronald Reagan (1986)

In general, the art of government consists in taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other. — Voltaire (1764)

I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. — Winston Churchill

A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have. — Thomas Jefferson

In a truly free capitalistic society, inefficiency usually gets solved by someone making a profit for solving it! –Andrew Anderson

“Let me define the difference between economic power and political power: economic power is exercised by means of a positive, by offering men a reward, an incentive, a payment, a value; political power is exercised by means of a negative, by the threat of punishment, injury, imprisonment, destruction. The businessman’s tool is values; the bureaucrat’s tool is fear.” — Ayn Rand

“If you ask me to name the proudest distinction of Americans, I would choose… the fact that they were the people who created the phrase “to make money.” No other language or nation had ever used these words before… Americans were the first to understand that wealth has to be created.” Ayn Rand

Capitalism is the only system that functions in a way which rewards rationality and penalizes all forms of irrationality….It is capitalism that gave mankind its first steps toward freedom and a rational way of life. It is capitalism that broke through national and racial barriers, by means of free trade. It is capitalism that abolished serfdom and slavery in all the civilized countries of the world.”
Ayn Rand

If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it’s free. — P.J. O’Rourke

“The economy depends about as much on economists as the weather does on weather forecasters.” Unknown

Wealth is the product of man’s capacity to think.
Ayn Rand

“America’s abundance was not created
by public sacrifices to ‘the common
good’ but by the productive genius of
free men who pursued their own
personal interests and the making of
their own private fortunes.” - Ayn Rand

“The politicians say “we” can’t afford a tax cut. Maybe we can’t afford the politicians.” - Steve Forbes

Yahoo, well not so much. With Yahoo saying that they think their stock is worth $40, it is a bit like like trying to fob off an abused Rental Car that has had the odometer turned back as brand new one some unsuspecting old lady. If the company is worth that much, then why hasn’t the current management convinced million of stock buyers of that fact?

Do they think that Microsoft is really that stupid? The fact that Yahoo has not been able to capitalize on it’s assets says it all.

This is what I love about Capitalism as a whole!

(more…)

Why are we here? Not the big, big question, but the smaller one, Why Am I An Investor?

Well, I have been thinking about it and here is what I came up with and see if you agree.

“As an investor, I want to make as much money as fast as I can ethically, and repeat this formula consistently on a regular basis for the rest of my life”.

How is that? Does that about cover it? Well if it does, then you came to the right place. I have been on a quest for the above since I was in 3rd grade when I started selling combs and Christmas cards door to door. (more…)

We now have 60 Minutes talking about the Housing Bust, and Newsweek talking about the “Recession”. Historically whenever these two media outlets take note of something involving the Economy, they are always the last ones to the party.

So, this must could mean the bottom of both markets. Don’t quote me on this, but I think that at least Newsweek said the equities would never recover back in 1979. Don’t you wish that you had bought then?

I also think that 60 Minutes is usually about a year or so behind the 8 Ball. In September of 2000, CBS news had a stunning revelation that that Real Estate prices are determined by location.

With scintillating indicators like these, who needs to look at data or charts?

We would love to know where you hale from! While we can see where you are, let others know that your town or country counts too. I know we have people from all over the world visiting the site.

You can use this fun location and visitor map. You can even put your name, or make one up in there too.  Everyone should have at least one Internet handle anyway.  It is a fun tool that I will show you later how to use to help your investing career.

It is easy to use and you can’t hurt it. If you click on it and hold down your left mouse button, you can move the map around or click on the - or + signs to zoom in or out on the map.