I believe last night was the first time in about five years in which I watched two consecutive periods of NHL hockey. Once again I was reminded why I turned off my cable TV those five years ago. It was the Flames versus Kings and HNIC was all over some personal rivalry between two players baiting viewers whether they would fight or not. Then there was the tight checking play with little actual execution of passing and play making. Factor in puck scrambles, scrums, slashing, and goalie screening – it all became very boring to watch. To my surprise, hockey ambassador Brian Burke came on between periods and raved about why a shot clock in overtime is now necessary due to players ragging the puck in a defensive fashion just to solidify the tie. My fellow Calgarians….as a sportsman with an original educational foundation in coaching and athletic training, I suggest you should not be subsidizing this theatre with your tax dollars. Big shout out to Celine at Murdoch’s for her conversational prowess in taking the boredom from this broadcast.
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Depending On The State
You either believe in you or you believe in the state caring for your needs. You believe in contributing to your own good health or waste your health and expect your government to pick up the tab for your maladies. You believe you can support your children’s growth or you believe that it’s the state’s responsibility. You believe in a free market with responsible regulation or you believe that your government should dictate how and from whom you should purchase goods and services. You expect that your country should pay its bills or you believe that that perpetual increases in debt and deficits have no consequences. You believe that natural resources should be harvested responsibly or you believe that a service oriented economy will in and of itself will be sufficient to provide for the quality of life that you expect. You believe that leaders should be held responsible for corrupt behavior, or not. You believe that the welfare of your neighbor’s children is their responsibility or you believe that your income taxes paid should subsidize them. You believe in lower taxes with governments strictly burdened with administering services specific to the public good such as roads, the rule of law, public education, disease prevention, and reasonable regulation as opposed to higher taxes attributing resources toward the financing of special interest groups such as artists, industry, or hockey players. You condone wasteful government spending or you do not.
Mike MacKenzie Band Covers Led Zeppelin
My best ten bucks ever spent was last night for a ticket to a cover of Led Zeppelin II at the Deerfoot Inn and Casino. The Mike Mackenzie Band paid tribute with select pieces recorded 50 years ago in addition to this album which most likely launched Zeppelin into super stardom. The huge take away from the evening was the affirmation that there are superb musicians amongst us today that are undiscovered and perhaps even under appreciated. MacKenzie’s vocals are stellar. He played lead while absolutely matching the high pitch of Robert Plant. The acoustics of the venue were good in spite of encountering subtle feedback from keyboards. Mackenzie turned to an old faithful he’s performed with past projects, The Rover from Physical Graffiti. Other standouts included Ramble On and Killing Floor. Killing Floor was one of those 1969 releases which showcased the talent of John Paul Jones on bass. The bass player last night can easily be excused for any misses given the complexity. What Mackenzie may be missing in soloing prowess, he makes up for with versatility and chord voicings.
A standout in the set’s second half was “No Quarter”. I just love the keyboard intro and the subtlety of this song. It takes good unrushed time in order to pull this one off and apparently the keys player is new to this Mackenzie ensemble.
Notable omissions were “Kashmir”, “Dazed and Confused”, and “Since I’ve Been Loving You”.
The merchandise sales lady referenced a formal jazz education by Mackenzie right here at Mount Royal College here in Calgary. The man has stage presence and puts the audience at ease with his charisma. With Bonham’s death, Page and Plant espoused that nobody could take the place of the legendary drummer. Well, the rhythm section last night was great support and in fact such confidence was bestowed the drummer that he performed his own solo. The rhythm guitarist pitched in admirably with adept acoustic pieces.
Vote Buying In Face of Corrupt Leadership
That’s Trudeau folks. Our Prime Minister is as corrupt (SNC Lavalin – evidence is clear) as Donald Trump (election interference – evidence is clear). Your first world ideals are under attack by ambivalent weak leadership, right now. Your only hope in a democracy is your vote. You stand for the ideals of individual autonomy or socialism. You stand for pay based on merit or income redistribution. You stand for reduced taxes or increased taxes. You stand for strong law enforcement or weak law enforcement. You stand for fiscal prudence or deficits and debt. You stand for limited government or an overbearing one. You condone corrupt activity with your vote or you do not. If you believe in you, vote conservative. If you’re compelled to turn to the state for your needs, vote otherwise.
Options Leaps and Time Value
I write this piece having brushed up on my formal derivatives training from 20 years ago. What are options, leaps, and time value? These are fancy terms associated with an alternative form of investing. One discovers new terminology while venturing out into a potential land mine without due diligence. I went to a weekend seminar last summer to reacquaint myself with options and found the weekend valuable. It’s a year later, and I put some capital to work. I had successfully recovered my weekend training fees by fulfilling “the required” in the market and submitting proof of my trades.
Margin accounts have authorization levels. You’ll start out by going long on calls and puts only. The closer your “strike price” is to being “in the money”, the more you’ll pay in premium. Obviously less risk entails purchasing calls or puts closer to the market price at inception.
Then there is time value. The more time until option expiry, the lesser the risk. You start to see the moving parts involved with options. This is why no investment advisor wants you in them. They think you lack the capacity to absorb the variables in placing option trades. So, what are LEAPS? These are options which have a time value of one year plus. You’ve all seen stock charts right. The line graphs move up and down and oftentimes in a pattern. What if you projected that pattern outward while giving yourself lots of “time value” for forgiveness? You are not in options because you’ve been taught that risk is bad. I’m here to say that when you eliminate all risk, you can only expect a meagre return. There is actually an opportunity cost in not at least keeping up to “actual inflation”. Your investment advisor does not want to be proclaimed as a conduit of your options losses. Therefore, you need to direct these investments yourself. However; this would take some time in learning, researching, and acting on your own behalf on your own account. Interested?