Happy Thursday. Your Survival Guy and coastal New England are prepping for a “bomb cyclone” that could dump over a foot of snow on Saturday. Bring it on. I don’t mean to sound like a parent, but, when I was a kid, we didn’t plan four days ahead for a snowstorm. It would snow. We’d help clear the driveway, and then we’d play outside to the point of exhaustion. If we went inside for hot chocolate, and wanted to go back outside, we’d put our feet in sandwich bags and stuff them into our boots and go back outside. Not a big deal.
Your Survival Guy’s boots on the ground experience on Monday: Nasdaq dropped by about 5% and then shot up toward the end of the day. In my conversation with you, around three O’clock eastern, I was asked “How’s the market today?” “Well, it’s up for the day,” I said. “But it’s been a wild ride.” Sometimes it’s better to miss the craziness. Unless it’s the last 13 seconds of the Bills/Chiefs game. I feel for my friends at the University of Wyoming and their former star, and current Bill’s QB Josh Allen.
Is this the end of the road for Tom Brady? Former Montreal Canadian goalie Ken Dryden writes in his classic, The Game, “In an athlete, it is not the legs that go first, it is the enthusiasm that drives the legs. I go to optional practices, I work as hard as I ever did, but my motivation is different: where once I felt joy, now I feel joy mixed with grim desperation. I will not get any better. I must fight to keep what I have.”
I can see why the Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask resigned with Boston for a fraction of his previous contract. There’s nothing like the pressure of playing with a big contract hanging around your neck. That’s not what Rask needs right now. If he can shake off the rust, the Bs could make a run here with him healthy. Stay tuned.
OK, Florida’s going to be chilly this weekend, dipping into the low 50s. It feels like 3 degrees here in Newport this morning. But when you’re accustomed to sunny days in the mid-70s, like in Key West, the low 50s can feel like 3 degrees. Layer up.
Aside from the disastrous big blue cities and big government, is there a better year-round climate than California? Here’s a picture from a client in Marin County.
This from clients wintering on their sailboat who just picked up a mooring in the Bahamas.
And another client couple beat the summer crowd at Yellowstone National Park, spending three days on a cross country ski tour to take a break from downhill skiing at Jackson Hole.
Action Line: Legendary investor Ben Graham recommends a portfolio balance between 70-30 or 30-70. When you realize the wisdom in this mix, you understand why the Rich Man doesn’t need the markets to “do” anything for him. Let’s talk.
P.S. Remember, 9 out of 10 investing ideas are rotten to the core, and investing is more art than science. I want you to be relaxed like an artist. I want you to be loose. That’s where the art happens, not when you’re wound tighter than a drum and holding on for dear life.
