PessOptimist's Account Talk

[DreamboatAnnie]

Begin to buy yourself an equity portfolio that pays increasing dividends and build that income stream. Money is going to flow to shareholders.

Hello BT, Are there any particular ones you would recommend to start out?? Do you tend to turn them over frequently or are there some you keep for years??

 

[Birchtree]

Hello BT, Are there any particular ones you would recommend to start out?? Do you tend to turn them over frequently or are there some you keep for years??

I try to only sell when the girls from the back office are going to call demanding I pay any margin calls I may be looking at - otherwise I try to hold on to my wall flowers for years. I did loose about 5 stocks from buyouts and I'm waiting on the money now. For income I do like PFE and MRK.

 

[DreamboatAnnie]

I try to only sell when the girls from the back office are going to call demanding I pay any margin calls I may be looking at - otherwise I try to hold on to my wall flowers for years. I did loose about 5 stocks from buyouts and I'm waiting on the money now. For income I do like PFE and MRK.

Thank you BT! I need to start working on building dividend paying portfolio.... a bit late, but gotta start somewhere.

 

[PessOptimist]

Woohooo! I am positive for the first time this year. Time to go to G and save it!? Not. Not yet. Maybe in a couple years.

Thanks for all inputs. I still have no clue about starting that equity portfolio that pays increasing dividends and builds that income stream. There just never seems to be enough time or a clue about how to set it up or what to invest in. Lot's of advice about that but searching for it takes time.

PO

 

[PessOptimist]

Posting to prove to myself I am still here.

I made no moves today. Surprise! I was going to adjust the autotracker back in December to reflect reality but haven’t gotten around to it yet. Reality is about G 35% and C 65%. That hasn’t really changed since 1 Jan. It may change if this recent decline turns out to be a correction or maybe even the big crash predicted every time the market goes down 1% or so.

Yeah I have to think in percent. As someone else stated once your balance gets to a point, thinking in $ lost will give you a headache or worse.

The old cliché “it’s a marathon not a sprint” is still true but once the end of the marathon gets closer I find it seems like climbing “heartbreak hill”. I will make it to the top but will that be “heartbreak ridge”?

Depending on Monday I could go to the G fund and set myself up for a 2% year. Or not.

So much for investment strategies. Wish I could find one.

On to vacation or more correctly annual leave stuff.

I took 40 hours AL this week. SO is out of town so I figured I could get a lot of stuff done without distractions. Mixed results due to my motivation. I do love to sleep in. No excursions in to acting single as at my age I find peace preferable to piece.

Dang! Sounding like burro. No offense meant burro, you are one of the few who dare to mention thoughts racing around in the male brain that all have but all (well almost all) put aside in order to be considered acceptable citizens.

So about that AL. This year there was a big emphasis on scheduling ALL annual leave by 31 Mar 15. Been a rule for years but big emphasis this year. I have no plans to spend any money on vaca so I spread the use/lose out making more long weekends.

I sincerely wish I could carry it all over and sell it back when I retire.

PO

 

[burrocrat]

Posting to prove to myself I am still here.

I made no moves today. Surprise! I was going to adjust the autotracker back in December to reflect reality but haven’t gotten around to it yet. Reality is about G 35% and C 65%. That hasn’t really changed since 1 Jan. It may change if this recent decline turns out to be a correction or maybe even the big crash predicted every time the market goes down 1% or so.

Yeah I have to think in percent. As someone else stated once your balance gets to a point, thinking in $ lost will give you a headache or worse.

The old cliché “it’s a marathon not a sprint” is still true but once the end of the marathon gets closer I find it seems like climbing “heartbreak hill”. I will make it to the top but will that be “heartbreak ridge”?

Depending on Monday I could go to the G fund and set myself up for a 2% year. Or not.

So much for investment strategies. Wish I could find one.

On to vacation or more correctly annual leave stuff.

I took 40 hours AL this week. SO is out of town so I figured I could get a lot of stuff done without distractions. Mixed results due to my motivation. I do love to sleep in. No excursions in to acting single as at my age I find peace preferable to piece.

Dang! Sounding like burro. No offense meant burro, you are one of the few who dare to mention thoughts racing around in the male brain that all have but all (well almost all) put aside in order to be considered acceptable citizens.

So about that AL. This year there was a big emphasis on scheduling ALL annual leave by 31 Mar 15. Been a rule for years but big emphasis this year. I have no plans to spend any money on vaca so I spread the use/lose out making more long weekends.

I sincerely wish I could carry it all over and sell it back when I retire.

PO

maybe just get some exercise and hang out, make you feel better? just be careful which two 'personal trainers' you hire so you don't end having an exercise accident like hairy reed and lose your sight after getting your faced bashed in. it must be really hard to walk away gracefully from a failed kingdom after that. the scarey part is if that is the best excuse one come up with, the truth must be really bad.

 

[PessOptimist]

There can be some entertainment from the MB taking you to the oldest page of a forum/thread. You get to read what the OP said and progress from there if you wish or click on "First" and go to the latest. Amazing how some threads have changed since the original post.

Just my observation.

PO

 

[konakathy]

There can be some entertainment from the MB taking you to the oldest page of a forum/thread. You get to read what the OP said and progress from there if you wish or click on "First" and go to the latest. Amazing how some threads have changed since the original post.

Just my observation.

PO

:laugh: I started reading some of your posts from the beginning and you're right there is some entertainment in those older posts. I did notice you don't mention the SO as much, but you still are a ramblin' man.

 

[PessOptimist]

I am having a hard time deciding where to post this. The day job/military doesn't seem to fit and the lounge seems a little frivolous. So I will post it in my home.

This weekend is the traditional start of summer long weekend here in the USA. Lots of “happy Memorial Day” in print and speech. I never liked the use of happy in association with the day, especially as I got older.

Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving as U.S. military veterans.

Not saying don’t enjoy the holiday. Just remember it is not Veterans Day of Armed Forces Day.

If you fly the flag, it should be at half-staff from sunrise to noon, then raised briskly to the top of the pole.

A more recent addition to the day is at 3PM local time you can observe a moment of silence in remembrance.

Keeping that in mind, have a great weekend.

PO

 

[konakathy]

I am having a hard time deciding where to post this. The day job/military doesn't seem to fit and the lounge seems a little frivolous. So I will post it in my home.

This weekend is the traditional start of summer long weekend here in the USA. Lots of “happy Memorial Day” in print and speech. I never liked the use of happy in association with the day, especially as I got older.

Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving as U.S. military veterans.

Not saying don’t enjoy the holiday. Just remember it is not Veterans Day of Armed Forces Day.

If you fly the flag, it should be at half-staff from sunrise to noon, then raised briskly to the top of the pole.

A more recent addition to the day is at 3PM local time you can observe a moment of silence in remembrance.

Keeping that in mind, have a great weekend.

PO

Thanks for the reminder, PO.

 

[PessOptimist]

"excuse me, i think you dropped this"


i was in walmart last week and this fancy lady was pulling her cart by the front and talking on her smart phone, high heels just clacking away down the aisle. out of the basket/tray up by the handle bars drops a head of celery, right on the floor. so i picked up and caught up to her and tapped her on the shoulder and handed it to her.


she looked at me like i was going to assault her and never stopped talking on her phone and when i walked back to my cart i saw her put the celery on the shelf by the cheez-its. that is not where celery belongs you selfish wench, and i only touched the plastic sleeve part at the bottom. it made me feel like a pervert.


i just didn't want her to get home and not have sprigs of celery for her bloody maries, because i know how dissapointing that can be. no good deed goes unpunished.

I thought of replying in the original thread but this will turn in to an old person who does not understand how the world should be according to whoever believes they should be running the world complaining.


Old people like that should be put somewhere after their usefulness is no longer useful. In the mean time they should confine themselves to work or home environments and not interact with important people of todays society.


One can hardly blame these people. It is the way I dress. This may apply to you burro. To and from work I am usually wearing a cheap polo shirt and jeans. Sometimes fire resistant jeans which are not very stylish. Always a 100% cotton polo shirt which is not very stylish. On non work days I am in shorts (not undershorts) and a T-shirt. I may not have shaved. If my movements have been observed, I got out of a 14 year old pickup that needs to be washed badly. I usually park it next to a BMW that is all alone diagonally over four spaces. Not always. Sometimes I slide in to a space partially taken up by some other luxery vehicle. I am so bad.


Why should these people not be afraid of a person who may be homeless but at the very least is not worth nearly the amount they owe for loans on their stuff. If they drop something out of their cart just go around it and if you wish and it is money or a credit card or a designer stuff holder, report it to a store associate if at all. The person who dropped it will more than likely want to report to LE types that you tried to steal the dropped property. DO NOT TOUCH the dropped roperty.


As long as I am writing about other people's perceptions of other people, lets go to the work place. As others are I am sure I am instructed to challenge those I do not recognize. Even if they have credentials that open a certain door. Between the turnover of employees here and the abundance of managers from headquarters here to fix things I don't recognize the majority of them. Since they ususally wear their credentials near the breast or crotch area, that is where one would look to examine the credentials. There have been complaints. Now, if the credential makes a door open I assume the security types have it correct and I am remiss about not knowing who the person with the credential is. I keep my eyes on the floor and only speak if spoken to. The exception to that is if a person I do not know not accompanied by one I do know comes in to my area of responsibility. I will politely ask if I may help them, what they are looking for and who they are. Mixed results. Probably because I am old, dressed in a non stylish polo shirt and jeans and they have no idea nor care how my little part fits in to the agency. Maybe some of these people with credentials think I am a homeless person just hanging out in the controlled area? Maybe I am. OPM is still paying me. I hope that is not a mistake. Maybe I need to start wearing a tie?


This is just me complaining about society in general and work. The best thing for older people is keep on keepin on and look at the floor. Move out of the way when spoken to. Never speak unless required and then only if it is someone you should be required to answer.


PO

 

[PessOptimist]

As long as I am in complaining mode about life, tonight CBS aired a story originally from Nov 14 but as if it was new by Lesley Stahl stating we will have no water tomorrow. No solutions other than that we will have to drink treated effluent. California was mentioned as a high user but no suggestion they should cut down on water use. News as usual but the suggestion from the other occupant of the house was noteworthy, IMHO. I have not been irrigating our 110 square foot lawn and letting it fend for itself based on rainfall and infrequent backwashing of the pool filter. It is not looking real green. The suggestion was to put lots of water on it in case we run out. I am not making this up.


If I am concerned, why do I have a pool and a 110 sq ft lawn? Because I do and it ain't easy trying to be green. It's not like I had this stuff built yesterday.


Enjoy the approaching work week.


PO

 

[burrocrat]

i'm just glad it wasn't a cucumber. that would've really been awkward.

 

[alevin]

Well, sounds like you're a prepper, PO. Substantial water supply available for extended span of time once water stops coming out of the tap. good job.

 

[PessOptimist]

As long as I am being paranoid, my latest TSP account balance page shows 11,309.4836 shares of G fund. Price shown is $14.7475. Calculator says this equals $166786.609391. Statement shows $166786.60. I have noticed this many times before. Is someone putting $.01 per account somewhere occasionally? I am sure FRTIB and/or whoever manages the G fund now will chalk it up to “rounding error. Perhaps my math training is so old I don’t understand how to round an amount?

PO

 

[userque]

As long as I am being paranoid, my latest TSP account balance page shows 11,309.4836 shares of G fund. Price shown is $14.7475. Calculator says this equals $166786.609391. Statement shows $166786.60. I have noticed this many times before. Is someone putting $.01 per account somewhere occasionally? I am sure FRTIB and/or whoever manages the G fund now will chalk it up to “rounding error. Perhaps my math training is so old I don’t understand how to round an amount?

PO

Ahh yes, Salami Slicing, not sure if it's happening to you; more research is required...

"Salami slicing refers to a series of many small actions, often performed by clandestine means, that as an accumulated whole produces a much larger action or result that would be difficult or unlawful to perform all at once."

or more specifically, penny shaving...

"An example of salami slicing, also known as penny shaving, is the fraudulent practice of stealing money repeatedly in extremely small quantities, usually by taking advantage of rounding to the nearest cent (or other monetary unit) in financial transactions. It would be done by always rounding down, and putting the fractions of a cent into another account. The idea is to make the change small enough that any single transaction will go undetected.[SUP][1]"[/SUP]

Illustrated in Superman III

"The computer program that Gus Gorman created, which took the fractions of cents left over from financial transactions and interest compounding and transferred them to a dummy account, is actually a reasonable way to steal if security has been compromised. Most people do not manually balance their own books, and would thus not notice the missing penny. However, many corporations employ supercomputers that check for embezzling and also look for this action as well. Although some businesses do not hunt for "ghost pennies", others, namely banks, do often end up with fractions of a cent left over due to compounding interest on savings accounts. Thus, if a savings account that has a rate of 1.5% and principal of $155 compounds interest, the amount would be $2.325; many banks would pay $2.32 to the account holder and keep the half-cent left over as their cut.

The technique to embezzle fractions of a cent left over has not had a formal name, but it is known in slang as "salami slicing", and is illegal in many jurisdictions."

 

[PessOptimist]

Yes, thanks and no I am not sure. I am sure any government contract is not without perks for the contract holder.

Different subject, is it userQ, userkey, userkay or what do you prefer?

PO

 

[userque]

Yes, thanks and no I am not sure. I am sure any government contract is not without perks for the contract holder.

Different subject, is it userQ, userkey, userkay or what do you prefer?

PO

Q, userq, userQ, Que, or whatever you prefer that sounds cool and I can be sure you are referring to me. For example, someone called me usercuz...which is cool, and, I know he is referring to me.

 

[PessOptimist]

Happy Independence Day holiday to all. I will be off tomorrow as it is my “in lieu of holiday” for AWS types. So I am celebrating this evening on my patio with a Sammy Adams Boston Lager which has a picture of Paul Revere on it. Brewed in either OH or PA (maybe) and one of the few lagers possibly not owned by some company that is outside the US. What could be more apropos?

Today is Canada day and I thought about getting some LaBatt’s Blue but that would be not “murrican”.

How about that market? Way too late for me to bail right now but maybe if I hold I will end up better than 2008? That year was -.23% for me. Worst year ever. Retirement is looming in two years so maybe it’s time to get more conservative? Maybe not as TSP is not figured in to retirement income and it looks OK without it. At least I hope. Too bad hopium doesn’t really exist.

Lots of other things around about too many candidates or too few and who is getting sustenance from where. The usual posters. Maine’s Governor is of interest to who that does not live in New England?

Anyone sure those 80s era Drachmas I found won’t be worth a pita souvlaki or two in the future? We will see what we see about what happens. Maybe Greece will go back to growing olives or something.

Enjoy your weekend people. (oops entities may be the correct statement) I wasn’t sure if I should post this on the patio or my home but home won since it needs a bump.

I feel the need to mention that as an AWS person I will once again not be given any admin leave for the upcoming holiday. So enjoy it all who get it.

No matter what the demands of home or work are now or tomorrow enjoy the celebrated birthday of our nation. Safely and sanely of course.

PO

 

[nasa1974]

Thanks PO.

Have a great and safe weekend.