SEASON FOR BASICS
Hello Heinz and Joel,
This day was hot, muggy, and uncomfortable to a great many folks, and then we had pouring sheets of rain, and winter-dark sky. I got a lot accomplished at home.


Looking


I (i) did some admin chores (one never finishes this type of duties, for they are endless), (ii) get reflexology-ized and massaged (after a two week absence, a treat, with sinew pressured, lymph drained, shoulder fixed, back kneaded, and skull crunched), (iii) did some more of this and that.


Looking Cool

I am now cleared for a China trip starting tomorrow that will take me through Beijing, Xian, Shanghai and Hangzhou, visiting with folks and seeing places. I will get an update on what might be for that big land, as the traveling group will get a briefing at each locale on what the society is supposedly doing.


Cooling

I returned to Hong Kong earlier in the week, after a river/canal boat trip through a small patch of France, from Paris to Rogny in Burgundy, two hours by car but 7 days by canal - I adore the way the French get things done, unhurried :0)


Shore Party

The canal boat carried a small car, 4 mountain bikes, a collapsible cold tub, and had ensuite accommodation for eight adults plus 4 crews. The food was fabulous, and besides eating, sleeping, biking, looking, reading, conversing, and playing games, there wasn't much to do nor needing to be done. We were tagged by a van and used it to check out the sites in and around a bunch of small towns. We decompressed in Paris before sending wife and Coconut to Brittany, and I returning to HK.


Checking

I now can appreciate why the French worship their 35-hours work week, and their numerous strikes that stops society all around; the reason is because the French have better uses for their time than increasing productivity. Their schema is wonderful, as long as they can still afford it.


Crashing

I cannot say a great deal had happened in the world while I was on holiday:

(i) The forever and pointless war in the Middle East carried on as before, towards endlessness,

(ii) The financial markets went up, down, and up, but basically not convincingly going anywhere,

(iii) Gold went up, then down, and then up again, sort of,

(iv) Japan released some liquid goodness, for a few moments,

(v) The US media celebrated the reduction of fiscal deficit increment by path of increased tax revenue of about a 100 billion that, however, was generated by the way of increasing societal debt by several trillion - nice going, and may it keeps going,

(vi) China tried to slow its economy down, again, and the non-China media starts pondering about a supposed oncoming depression, without realizing that it would take a long time to fulfill a 300-years pent-up demand for everything,

(vii) Oil price went down, hooray, from 70 to 75 and then to 73, we are saved, and

(viii) Soon enough we will be pondering whether there will be one, two, or three FED rate rises. I think there could be two rounds, or even three, else the dollar crumples, market takes the long rate up, housing vaporizes instead of collapses, and we will not have anything to worry about for a long while.



Recommendation: Build paper cash position. Hold physical gold. Relax, chill out, get a physical checkup, read a book, gather with the family, and enjoy the summer. I call this Active Waiting for reckoning day.



Late Afternoon Snack


Dinner again


Soup


Shrimp


Pork


Red Grape Fruit w/ Red Pepper


UPDATE ON ZIGS AND ZAGS
I did nothing, except committing the sin of selling paper gold:

http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=22632681
http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=22658071

Forgive me. I hope the price of paper gold will come down, accommodating my desire to load up again.

Shuffling the pointless paper that represents useless gold sure is rewarding. It is just as well, as I do not see anything else in season, and so best to stay with the basics, trading fiat money for paper that represents true money, to earn excess surplus so as to accumulate mineralized wealth. I term the current period a Season for Basics, and so best to keep the machinations real simple.



Daydreaming

UPDATE ON COCONUT
The Coconut, still at 21 months young, can now respond in English to questions in Chinese, and respond in Chinese to questions in English, depending on whether she believes the questioner normally speaks to her in English or Chinese, respectively.


Grooming in Paris

Gotta run. Tomorrow is traveling day.

Chugs, J

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