Carl Andersen
Dear Readers,
The legions of you begging me for my prediction on the outcome of our imminent presidential election need wait no more!
It’s here.
Regrettably, there is only one factor in the outcome of this election that I can predict with absolute certainty, and it’s not who will move into the residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue this coming January.
It was to do with our would-be POTUS (President of the United States), Hillary-Cougar-Rodham-Mellencamp-Clinton. Continue reading
I fired Macy’s today.
His Majesty the King of Thailand passed away yesterday and I am decidedly understocked with black dress shirts (and there is very little chance of finding any to fit me in Thailand).
Over the past couple of years, Macy’s had become my “go to” place for suits and dress shirts because they had several brands that fit my odd size and “Wendell” at the Burnsville store is a real gem and very helpful. Continue reading
Since the Volkswagen TDI Diesel Emissions defeating scandal hits me very personally, I thought I would address my concerns to Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. CEO Michael Horn here on the Daily Diatribe.
So here goes:
19 Octobler 2015
Michael Horn
President and CEO
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
SUBJECT: My 2014 Passat TDI SEL Premium
Dear Mr. Horn: Continue reading
Below is an excerpt from my best-selling book, “Honest Money” and is a subject I feel is very important to understand. Please have a look and see if you don’t agree.
The First Bank
Image courtesy of Jimmy Haagenson
Back in the Middle Ages, they didn’t have banks. People either carried their money with them or else hid it in their houses. Some people who wanted more security for their personal wealth sought out a safe place to keep it, but the only people who had vaults or safes were goldsmiths because they naturally had a supply of gold and needed to keep it safe from robbers and thieves.
Goldsmiths started storing other people’s gold for a fee. People would pay them a certain amount per month or year for storing their gold in the vault. The goldsmith would issue a paper receipt, stamped with his personal seal, for the specific items or amount of gold on deposit with him. This was the first use of what became known in the bullion business as a “warehouse receipt.”
When people wanted to spend their gold, Continue reading
One of my rules for life is:
“Never underestimate the capacity for stupidity in your fellow man.”
A corollary to this must, following simple logic, therefore be:
“Never underestimate the capacity for stupidity in yourself.”
So here’s my story. As many of my readers know, I live in Thailand. What you may not know is that my wife and I bought a house in Minnesota last year. We still live in Thailand but we’re keeping the home in Minnesota for that dreamed-of day in the future when we move back to the land of the sky-blue waters.
I also have a storage bin of possessions (from the “BH” or “Before Helen” period of my life) that are still in the storage bin I rented several years ago. These items are not all moved into the new house because, well, there’s a lot of stuff there and I don’t want to just dump them in the new house because then I’d spent my painfully short vacations going through stuff and I’m not ready to do that yet.
In aviation, we say that an accident is usually the result of a chain or series of mistakes or poor choices, and I think that’s true in all endeavors.
First mistake: Take the keys to the storage bin to Thailand. Continue reading
