PessOptimist's Account Talk

what I did on my summer vacation

This is turning in to a vacation blog. Should I start a blog? No, not here. This board is about investing in TSP.
The board members are sort of like a family in a way. Those that choose to read about vacations can, those that object can petition to have the offending posts removed. Or they can ignore it and go back to speculating on how to beat a fixed game.

50%G 50%C. No moves in site. Suggestions appreciated.

Back to the vaca. Short site seeing drive today. The west coast is just set up wrong. We left the hotel this morning and the copilot/navigator/tour manager/HMFIC said go south. Like any normal person from the normal side of the country, with the ocean to my back, I turned left. After some stern corrections, we soon were headed south.

Drove along 101 through a lot of rain and gloom and twists and turns. It is a lot like New England as far as roads go, including driving in Portland. Drives my copilot crazy, she of California and Iowa upbringing. The main difference is they forgot the flat lands between the mountains and the beach.

We got to see some place where a lighthouse might be (never saw it, signs said it was there), an octupus tree, cheese factory, lots of unique bridges and places where the trees make it like a tunnel and it always is rainy and foggy. Oh, yeah, a couple of man made tunnels.

Tomorrow it's off to Forks WA. More driving up the coast. Where the sun should be rising.

About the rental ride for the trip. Tour guide requested a RAV4. I never question why. It is enjoyable to drive different vehicles. Maybe she requested a 4x4 SUV because as a Southern CA person she doubted the existence of paved roads up here. What was given is a Jeep Patriot. All I care about is if I can drive it all day and not be in pain. This meets that requirement so far. Not fancy looking, hard seats but my butt doesn't hurt after a trip. Four banger with CVT. Some manual control allowed. Simulated six gears. OK so far. I read a lot of bad things about "drone". When you come to a hill and accelerate, it sounds sort of like a small airplane when you throttle up. Engine drone, speed maintained. I can see why brainless motorist would ask why and gearheads whould object because it is different.

Fraggle Rock has been calling me since we checked in here yesterday. We got back early enough today so the tide was still out and so I went to visit Fraggle Rock. It turns out the rock is not so friendly.
welcom to fragle rock.JPG
 
Just lost two posts, though the top line says I am still logged in. When I submit I get a message saying I logged in after a page was created but before selcting preview or submit. Oh well, this is not the only forum using this software that does this to you. Bottom line, if you are writing a reply and take a long time or have to leave the keyboard even for a few seconds, copy/paste it to notepad or something. Even copying it may allow you to paste it back to the empty reply.
 
Re: what I did on my summer vacation


...Just lost two posts...

I'm assuming the lost posts were photos from the other side of sign, maybe a new security feature?
Local tradition was to put a sticker from some hippie band or an invite to a gathering or scrawl a note to an unrequited love on the back side (of the sign not the love), you can't believe everything you read.

If you get hassled, then you just say you forgot your glasses and couldn't read it from way back there and needed a closer look. Nothing to see here, move along folks, yes sir officer.
 
Re: what I did on my summer vacation

This is turning in to a vacation blog ... Fraggle Rock has been calling me since we checked in here yesterday. We got back early enough today so the tide was still out and so I went to visit Fraggle Rock. It turns out the rock is not so friendly.
View attachment 14531

I like your vacation blog PO.

The rock is plenty friendly, the sign, not so much. They have low tides at dark too you know.

Looks like you found a door/antennae/vortex, like buster's japanese arch or two peculiar trees in the forest, cue light saber sound as you pass, wooomph.

If the rock is calling you, you have to go. Give us a sign, like a dot above a V with an arrow at the end. Sharpies are cheap.
 
I love Eeyore's vaca blog too. Haven't been there in awhile, he makes it feel like I'm right there, some of my favorite sceneries, driving experiences. love the OR coast and haystacks and walking on beaches when tide is low. watch out for those Devil's Churns tho (further south), and sneaker waves (more food for Eeyore). :cool:
 
Re: what I did on my summer vacation

Hey PO, it just occurred to me, that haystack rock would be a great place to plank, you could be the first tsp'er to plank on the west coast, or anywhere for that matter.

Or how about owling? If you post a pic of you (or whomever you can talk into it) owling while perched on that "Don't" sign I bet a few of us might chip in to cover a night's hotel bill, if not I'll cover it myself, just have to work for free a couple of days, please no room service ok?
 
Re: what I did on my summer vacation

I'm too feeble to get up on the sign. Besides, I'm in Canada now. In spite of rumors, they have cell service, internet and even flush tiolets. More later if I feel like it. Enjoyed the drive to Bellingham and the bus ride to vancouver. Now I wait for the girls to decide where we eat, what we do and other things.
 
Re: what I did on my summer vacation

There are signs but they are all in two or three languages.

Ne pas monter ou nous pète dans votre direction générale

Not sure what it means but all the signs in that language seem to end in "ou nous pète dans votre direction générale"
 
Re: what I did on my summer vacation

sounds like your vacation was a gas.

where'd you go? you didn't go and get yourself detained in a foreign country did you?

can't help you with the bail there, but i could probably find someone to slide you a little in the commissary.

where you at rock? where you at?
 
Re: what I did on my summer vacation

I'm in Talkeetna AK right now. Wasn't posting while on the ship because I am too cheap to pay $1.65 per minute. No sign of Mt McKinley so far. They tell me it's out there-somewhere. Going out to look for it today by road since flightseeing has been cancelled last two days.
 
Re: what I did on my summer vacation

I'm in Talkeetna AK right now. Wasn't posting while on the ship because I am too cheap to pay $1.65 per minute. No sign of Mt McKinley so far. They tell me it's out there-somewhere. Going out to look for it today by road since flightseeing has been cancelled last two days.
If you are looking in the right direction and it is clear you can see it from there. It looks about this big ^. Maybe a little bigger. :cheesy: Hope you are having a good time. The wife and I really enjoyed the Alaska cruise/tour we took 2007.
 
Re: what I did on my summer vacation

Back to reality. Dew point is near 70. I haven't updated my TSP spread sheet for three weeks. Looking forward to seeing the balance shrink. After I finish that I will probably drink some beer. Still 50/50 G/C.
 
Re: what I did on my summer vacation

Back to reality. Dew point is near 70. I haven't updated my TSP spread sheet for three weeks. Looking forward to seeing the balance shrink. After I finish that I will probably drink some beer. Still 50/50 G/C.

I recommend starting with the beer first, then move on to the spreadsheet.

Welcome back.
 
Re: what I did on my summer vacation

I updated that spread sheet to Wednesday last night and updated it to Friday early this morning. Burro was right, drink first. My balance is the same as it was at the end of March.

Took a nap yesterday afternoon that turned in to a five hour sleep. Got up about 2000 and cooked dinner. Been up ever since, had a beer about 0300 and moved to the patio. Nice out here, about 80. I figured you east coast people were up by then so logged on to TSPTalk. Of course I probably have some 'splainin to do when the wife gets up. I haven't sat on this patio and watched the sun come up for years, probably never while drinking beer. What has this vacation done to me?

Here is my graph of TSP balance v. contribution. Pretty cool the way it is curving.

tsp graph7-29-11.JPG
 
Pessoptimist's Account Talk

Just updated my daily account balance spread sheet for this week. Some observations.

I am still sitting 50%G 50%C. Since the first of the year.

The high price for C fund was $16.4 in late April. Would have been great if I had sold all that and let it sit in G and tried to find the best buy in. Now we are at what, about $13.6? Loss of between 17 and 20% for C depending on how you spin it.

Buy and wait has it's down side. Buy and be frozen by indecision in my case. However, since my retirement target is 2017 or 2018, the C fund may be worth more than $16.4 by then. It may not either.

I am thinking that if I had sold and bought near the bottom (now?) I would be ahead.

FWIW, my TSP balance is about where it was in February.
 
Suppose

Suppose that someone owned 10,000 shares of a fund. Not too long ago each share was worth $16.5 per share. Nice. Suppose that this fund is now worth $13.75. Still a nice sum but, OUCH. That might be more than the owner owes on everything including the house.

Should the owner cut his/her losses? Should the owner stay strong? Will this fund EVER reach $16.5 again? Stay tuned.

Tip: there are cheaper canned meat products made for both human and animal consumption than Alpo. Alpo just gets the bad rap.
 
Re: Suppose

Suppose that someone owned 10,000 shares of a fund. Not too long ago each share was worth $16.5 per share. Nice. Suppose that this fund is now worth $13.75. Still a nice sum but, OUCH. That might be more than the owner owes on everything including the house.

Should the owner cut his/her losses? Should the owner stay strong? Will this fund EVER reach $16.5 again? Stay tuned.

Tip: there are cheaper canned meat products made for both human and animal consumption than Alpo. Alpo just gets the bad rap.

lol is this owner you?
 
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