71

Happy Birthday to me and thank you to my Mom............she did all the work!

Been a grand ride around the sun but time is not refundable.

Not much difference besides a mustache from 70 to 71.  Weight down.  Eating well. Feel strong, legs need more miles.  Losing fat is hard. Being fat, obese, or overweight is harder.  Always something to do. 

I didn't harvest an elk, an antelope, or a deer this year.  May never again.

Last night was great. Had so much scenery, and it was so close to the boat.

Whales. Seals. Birds. Mahi-mahi chasing schools of baitfish. Massive flock of man-o-war birds. Great night on the water. Great food and family. Blessed and thankful. Another day in Baja!!!

I received several nice presents today (a new Keurig coffee maker had my name on it, thank you), but Mr. Market came through in true holiday ebullience.

What more could a trader ask for?  It's been a solid year.  I don't make prognostications often, but I would assume it will be tougher in 2025 without the Mag 7 garnering all the attention.  Some phenomenal companies are doing great things with explosive earnings out there.   Let's hope more Palantir's find their way into my portfolio.

I did sell half my Costco position above a grand the other day.  When they announce a split I will be back in size.  

Last night it was time to celebrate.  I had a martini.

Alcohol doesn't do it for me these days.  Seldom imbibe.  It'll be another year until my next martini!

Elon, Vance, Vivek, and the rest of the Trump Train are about to leave the station.   What a time to be alive!

LFG!

And in 2025 keep my favorite quotes in mind.  They have served me well.

The extra mile is never crowded.

Americans underestimate the value of pure freedom.

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage. 

Choice, not chance, determines your destiny. 

Luck, typically created by hard work colliding with opportunity.

  

College Life..................

 

This time in my life was special.  College days.  Trapping my way through life!  $65 for a red fox pelt was special then and still is today.  It was then that I knew I would always work for myself.  I would always cook what I caught, and eat what I killed.

I had one job in college that I despised.   I worked for the Minnesota Highway Department, a state government job that taught me about the lack of incentives for employees to do the right thing for taxpayers.  I couldn't imagine working for a government agency or large corporation for a career. 

I earned a degree in social science with a secondary teaching certificate in Minnesota and quickly learned that teaching was rewarding but wasn't going to take me where I wanted.   Sitting in teachers' lounges listening to teachers gossip about students and their parents wasn't my cup of tea nor was the simple fact that no matter what I tried, the same kids in the back of the class that were goofballs on the first day of school would be jag-offs on the last day of the school year.  I can't imagine the difficulty in classrooms today without a father in sight for them.         

VAX STATUS UPDATE for VAXXED CHILDREN

New CDC study finds Pfizer's COVID vaccine increases the risk of infection and symptomatic disease in young children who have never had COVID.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39656907/

Hey You, Yes, You, CONGRESS, listen up............

The only people in the United States of Amerca that deserve a pay raise are the AMERICAN PEOPLE.

Not Congress, not the Senate.

It's Mexico .......................

 SOMEDAY......................

Milton Eagles H.S. Football, Georgia Champions!

A big shout-out to the Milton High School Football Team for last night winning the top spot in Georgia over Langston-Hughes H.S. by a score of 56 to 35.  Thank you also to Georgia Public Broadcasting and all its sponsors for allowing me to sit here in Palmilla, in San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico, and watch the game on my phone! 

Ben Reaves is the real deal as head coach.  It is Milton's first 15-0 season!   Congratulations to the entire community, the coaches, staff, Milton H.S. administration, and the staff surrounding this effort.     

THE YELLOWSTONE RIVER

Ghost Ranch sits on the northern bank of the Yellowstone River for a couple of miles.

Click on this link and enjoy!

The Yellowstone. Shape of a River.

Elon Musk X and Donald J. Trump

I can't imagine how far down the rabbit hole we would be if Elon Musk had not mustered up $44,000,000,000 and purchased X. 

The injustice of the media, the agencies, the politicians, and liberal lunatics against Mr. Trump were out of control.

The courage, experience, love of country, perseverance and the intelligence of Musk and Trump will be on center stage for years.

God Bless America and God Bless Elon Musk and Donald Trump.  

MEDIA CLOWNS

The clueless media is worked up about the criminal families that will be separated when being deported during the Trump 47 reign.  These criminals invaded the United States in the last four years and are about to be deported from the country.

These media hounds and clowns had not a care in the world for elderly family members who died alone during the COVID lockdowns. 

Pilots over New Jersey, BEWARE!

 

Waterfowlers in America!

It was right at legal light, maybe 3 seconds after.

They came into the decoy spread with legs down. I heard it coming and hit the flock with a load of 3.5-inch buckshot............. I was told it isn't wise to eat them.

Not a clue on bag limits but I couldn't pass it up.

Waiting on the F.B.I. C.I.A., D.H.S. now before I take it to my taxidermist.  Might be tough to clean it.`

For young people the world over.........

I stumbled across Mr. Vitaliy Katsenelson years ago on Victor Niederehoffers' site, DAILY SPECULATIONS. I own shares of Berkshire Hathaway and thought Vitaliy's writing should be shared. He is a great author and probably a great investment manager.

Q&A Series: Money Habits for Kids and the Power of Writing

I wanted to share with you some edited excerpts from a Q&A session I held with readers in Omaha during Berkshire Hathaway's shareholder meeting weekend. In this email, we'll explore teaching money habits to young people and how writing has improved my investment approach. How do you teach good money habits to young people?  What skills should kids learn? I'm a big believer in scarcity and constraints. My kids get limited allowances, always less than they think they need. For instance, my 18-year-old daughter gets $20 a week – just enough to visit Starbucks twice. This scarcity motivated her to get a job at a coffee shop and work at IMA to supplement her allowance. With Jonah, I used a different approach in high school. I paid him for his grades, but with an interesting system. He got nothing for C's, lost money for D's and F's, and earned money for B's and A's. If he got okay grades, he got nothing. Great grades meant a good payout. He went from a 1.3 GPA in 11th grade to a 3.9 GPA in 12th grade. Money wasn't the only motivator, but it helped. The point is, no matter how much you make, you can always spend more. You always have trade-offs. Hannah has to choose between going to the movies or eating out an extra time. That's how I deal with teaching money management. How has writing helped you become a better investor?  I'm so thankful for this question, especially because my kids are here. I want them to hear this answer twice a day. For anyone who wants to be a thoughtful, mindful human being, writing daily is crucial, even if it's just for five or 15 minutes. Think about it – throughout the day, we're so busy with life, picking up kids from school, scrolling through TikTok; we don't have time to think, right? But when you sit down to write, it's pure focused thinking. That's all it is. None of you would be here if I didn't write. I'd be a far less interesting person without writing. It gives me time to ponder all these different topics. Without it, I wouldn't have the mental space to even consider how to answer this question. Take my latest investment, for example. I've spent countless hours in front of my computer, writing about it, thinking it through, finding logical gaps in my reasoning, then going back and rethinking it all. This process is invaluable, and I believe everyone should give writing a shot. I'm a morning person, so I write early. But Walter Isaacson writes at night. The key is finding a time that works for you, doing it daily or almost daily, and just start journaling. I'm proud that my son is journaling almost every day now. Writing has transformed me as an investor. It forces me to organize my thoughts, challenge my assumptions, and dive deeper into my analysis. It's not just about putting words on paper; it's about thinking critically and clearly. When you explain something in writing, you often uncover gaps in your understanding or flaws in your logic. This process of self-discovery and refinement is priceless in investing, where clear thinking and thorough analysis make all the difference. How do working-class people approach bargaining with employers without unions?  That's a great question. About 90% of our economy functions without unions, and we're doing fine. I think the key to bargaining with your employer is to create more value. This is advice I give my kids: Be more valuable than your cost. It's that simple. If you're producing $100,000 of value but want $150,000, you probably don't have much bargaining power. Let me give you an example using Amazon, which is often criticized. I had dinner with a young woman, a professional musician. She's never taken an economics class and hates Amazon, thinks Jeff Bezos is worse than Putin – I might be exaggerating, but her anger towards Jeff Bezos was intense. She both criticized Amazon for harsh working conditions in its warehouses and then criticized Amazon for automation. It's a catch-22. The key is to have skills. In today's world, just having capable hands isn't enough anymore. You need unique skills to be better than others – or robots. That's the reality we're facing. Factories are starting to look like sci-fi movies with all the automation. This is why I emphasize good education for my kids. I want them to think about how they can create value for their employer. I don't believe anyone owes us anything. There's a sense of entitlement in the younger generation that I disagree with. Maybe it's my immigrant mentality – when I came to this country, I knew nobody owed me anything. I had to achieve everything on my own. In this new world of automation, it's crucial to have multifaceted skills. Hannah is considering studying psychology and business. There are many who study one or the other, but fewer who combine them. This gives her an edge in the job market. Interestingly, today you don't necessarily have to go to school in the traditional way. You can take Ivy League classes online for free and build your own curriculum. It's not for everyone – I needed the structure of school – but if you're self-disciplined, it's a viable option. Imagine two people applying for a job at IMA. One created their own curriculum from various online sources, while the other went to an Ivy League school. I'd probably find the self-taught applicant more interesting. It shows original thinking and value investing principles – they saved $400,000 on tuition! I have a friend who was rejected by Goldman Sachs. He went home, read 150 books, created outlines of what he learned from each, and reapplied the next year. He got the job. That's the kind of creative thinking I encourage. Many kids today just click "Apply" on every job on LinkedIn and wonder why they don't get hired. There are 250 other kids doing the same thing. It requires creativity to stand out. That's what I encourage my kids to do. So, to answer the question: Develop valuable skills, create more value than you cost, and always look for ways to improve. That's your bargaining power in a world without unions.

Becoming good at investing can be challenging, so I’ve crafted a straightforward 6-step guide encompassing the essential lessons every investor ought to grasp.   Grab this guide at no cost today by clicking here.

AVIAN FLU in SNOW GEESE

Been a birdwatcher for over 60 years.   In my next life I want to become an expert on ROBINS or study migration in Snow Geese.

Here is a video of snow geese infected with AVIAN FLU taken the other day in Idaho.

Rough to watch.  Death in the bird world is harsh.

 

REV SHARK lays it out...........

 

Conversation

James DePorre

@RevShark

We are so lucky that Trump won the election. We would never have gotten rid of the Dems if they had won this time--- Marc Andreessen

@pmarca

says he attended “absolutely horrifying” meetings where Biden’s government vowed to take “complete control” over AI technology: “They basically said AI is going to be a game of 2 or 3 big companies working closely with the government… We’re going to protect them from competition, control them, and dictate what they do.”

Dan Hill said it best.................

How did a country of 330 million mostly good, kind, honest, hardworking people end up with so many Representatives who are corrupt, evil, bastards?

Question for Lawmakers

If a criminal alien is in the United States and the bounty for illegal, criminal aliens is $1,000 can United States taxpayers who turn in those lawbreakers get a tax break on the $1,000 for helping cut expenses for American taxpayers? 

Asking for a friend who lives on an Indian Reservation.

Poster Boy for Criminality

 

Gavin Newsome.  Criminal!

Elon Musk Speech

Full remarks from Elon Musk at Mar-a-Lago, on November 14, 2024.

“I guess someone's got to be the George Soros on the right. I mean, I'd call myself George Soros of the center, I think We obviously need to have just the basics. As President Trump rightly said, we need to restore common sense. We want safe cities, we want secure borders, sensible spending, freedom of speech, and respect for the Constitution. If that's George Soros of the right, that's me. 

I'm incredibly excited about the future. The public has given us a mandate that could not be more clear. It's the clearest mandate. Winning the popular vote, clearly, the House, the Senate, the Electoral College by a mile, a majority of governorships, a majority of House legislatures, all Republican. The people have spoken. The people want change. And we're going to give it to them. They will get what they asked for. I think this will be the most transformative presidency, perhaps, since the country's founding. 

And President Trump is picking the Cabinet to do it. You can see that the choices are people who will make change. It's not going to be business as usual. We're going to shake things up. It's going to be a revolution, and we're headed towards, I think, a fantastic future. I'm super excited. I look forward to experiencing that with everyone. Thank you.” 

Mar-a-Lago, November 14, 2024

2024 Ghost Ranch Christmas Goose

 

Have been enamored with hunting Canadians since 3rd grade.  

It never gets old. The team did well. Cool temperatures and some wind helped. They could have used some clouds, but hey, it's hunting, not shooting.

Too good not to share on this day..................thank you Victor and Laurel

https://www.dailyspeculations.com/wordpress/

Thanksgiving, 2024

 

From Ghost Ranch to your crib, all the blessings of hard work, faith, health and goodwill to you and yours.  My Christmas wish list includes having a few tons of female deer removed from the ranch!

The chart never lies!

 

"The stocks don't know you own them and wouldn't behave any differently if they did" 

As my account goes into NEW HIGH GROUND almost daily, I owe this man tremendous gratitude.

CANCER

My Grandfather.

I loved him.   The only time I heard him cry was when he told me he had cancer.   I know he loved me.   I never heard him say it.

HORSE CREEK FENCING

I would like to publicly thank Horse Creek Fencing for such outstanding work on the Ghost Ranch.

Buck Ward and his wonderful wife, Tricia have done excellent work.

They do a couple of things very well.    First, they tell the ranch owner what they are going to do.  Second, they do it.

No fluff, no excuses, no bullshit, no cutting corners.

They simply do what they say they are going to do.

If you need fencing don't hesitate to contact Buck Ward at Horse Creek Fencing.   His phone number is 406-570-6607. 

Serenity and Stillness with Electric!

 Packing out a hefty doe with electricity!

The Metzgers, Mel and Judy

 

When you walk into the Melstone Bar & Cafe in Melstone, Montana and remember you have been eating there since 1983! 

CNH Long n Strong!

 

PERSPECTIVE

Life can be rather harsh.  Life can be beautiful!  The vistas will always be there long after you are. 

It doesn't matter whether you are looking up or looking down.

If your perspective, attitude, optimism, and energy aren't in sync not much else is in your life.

ELK & LIFE

Hunting elk can be deliriously wild!  It can be so easy.  It can be and is usually very hard.  It often takes you where your soul is free.  It can take you to sights and sounds not often heard or seen by people you know.  It can take you to lofty perches, to ample evidence of prey and predator, to skies so clear they make you feel you are in the next galaxy!

LIFE, 2024, MONTANA

This magnificent cottonwood tree defines the Ghost Ranch.  At Ghost Ranch, our attention to personal detail of the land and habitat drove our attitude of stewardship because we were of one mind that land had become a part of the family.  For many people, their Montana ranch changes them. Part of that is you get to Montana and start meeting good people who aren’t trying to impress anyone.  We very seldom had a conversation in Montana with someone where we did the whole, “Well what did you do”? It just isn’t important in Montana.  A big change from the big city in most of America. It becomes about kids, about the choice of lifestyle. You hear people talk about their Montana ranches and how they feel they impact lives and the world from their chunk of land, great sunrises and sunsets, and their closest neighbors being deer and elk.

You get to observe things that not many people in the world get to see. A bald eagle catching a fish in front of you, walking out your front door bumping into a big buck. These are not made up but actual occurrences, weekly if not daily, on the Ghost Ranch. 

Montana, Ghost Ranch

Owning a Montana hunting ranch is hard work. Many don’t realize just how much hard work it entails. A ranch will teach you respect for putting in a hard day’s work. Life gets in your soul and I’ve been told numerous times it changes your outlook on dealing with stress and urban life. I know it did for me.

GHOST RANCH, MONTANA

Running a Montana ranch teaches you about having to make hard decisions.  If you own a hunting ranch you may have to decide which wild animal to take to improve genetics. What crop to plant to help increase the population of certain species? It can teach skinning skills that have swayed kids into wanting to become surgeons. Nature is a fantastic schoolroom filled with problem-solving skills and lessons. Some of those decisions give you instantaneous feedback, while others may take decades to decipher if you chose right. Those skills are transferable to any job on this earth.

AGENDA 47

Donald J. Trump needs to initiate AGENDA 47.

The abolishment/overhaul/rewiring of leadership in the rancid, rotten, corrupt DOJ, FBI, FDA, etc.

 

Coyote............

This furry killer reminded me of a certain politician.   

Old, angry, not going anywhere from now on.  

Died on November 5, 2024.

Saving fawns one coyote at a time.

May Creator bless America and Donald J. Trump.

 

Greed & Fear, Pain & Pleasure, Bull vs. Bear

All bull markets start with investors crowding churches, synagogues and temples around the world.  At the country clubs, the Hamptons, Palm Beach, LaJolla, Greenwich a united chorus can be heard:  “Lord, forgive me for having overindulged myself in what turned out to be a bear market.  I got carried away, a bit too greedy…pardon me Lord I will never buy another high P/E stock again, mea culpa, no more Nifty 50 stocks or the latest, hottest Mutual Fund in Money Magazine.”   

It is always darkest before the dawn and then a loud and forceful voice is heard coming from the alter from those houses of worship:   

Go placidly amid the noise and haste and remember what peace there may be in the stock market.  As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with the bulls for most investors get exactly what they expect from the stock market.  Speak your truth quietly and clearly; but don’t listen to your salesman broker for they too have their mortgage to be paid with your commissions.  Avoid loud and aggressive persons (Jim Cramer) for they are vexations to the spirit.  If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser investors than yourself.  Enjoy your profits as well as your losses.  Keep interested in your portfolio, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.  Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery.  But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many fundamentalists strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.  Be yourself.  Especially do not avoid the technician, those closing prints are usually real traders not algorithms.  Neither be cynical about making money; for in the face of losses and despair it is perennial and as green as grass.  Take kindly the counsel of your investment advisor, gracefully surrendering your hard-earned cash.  Nurture your mental stops to shield you against sudden market declines.  But do not distress yourself with imagining a $100 stock disintegrating to $15 in three days.  Many fears are born of bear markets.  Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.  You are a child of Wall Street no less, not poorer or richer, you have the right to be here.  And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt Wall Street is unfolding as it should.  Therefore, be at peace with the stock market.  The stocks don’t know you own them and wouldn’t behave any differently if they did.  Whatever you conceive your investment approach to be in the noisy confusion of life on Wall Street, keep peace with your soul.  With all it’s sham, drudgery and broken dreams, the stock market is still a beautiful world.  Be careful and strive for profits.

 

An updated version of DESIDERATA, which was a prose poem by Max Ehrmann about attaining happiness in life, updated by Dean Parisian about the stock market in 2018.        

Donald J. Trump, 45 - 47

I am like Trump.  Tired of winning.  My portfolio is up HUGELY today on the back of the Trump victory.

Democrats got their ass kicked.  They had it in their pocket.  The wild child, Tim Walz, didn't help their cause.  Amazing that Minnesota has such a loser as its Governor.

The Democratic machine was at its zenith and they still got their ass kicked.  

They had complete control of the media 

They had complete control of our federal law enforcement agencies 

They had corrupt politicians, district attorneys and judges

They had all the celebrities 

They paid for influencers 

They relentlessly censored us

They controlled the voting machines 

They imported millions of new voters 

They had unlimited surveillance over everyone 

They had lobbyists 

They had BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street 

They had control of our legal system 

They had control of public school systems 

They had control of universities 

They had control of the military 

They had control of homeland security

They had control of hundreds of NGOS 

They had complete control of the financial markets 

They controlled our regulation agencies 

They had more money 

They controlled foreign policy

They taxed us to death 

They flooded our social media with bots and trolls 

They controlled Big Tech 

They controlled Google 

They controlled the talk shows, radio shows, magazines and broadcasting licenses 

They had the largest corporations behind them

They had decades of experience 

The military-industrial complex was behind them 

They had data centers running prediction models 

They had all of that

And they still lost

GHOST RANCH, MONTANA

Over the last decade many people have asked why we named our ranch on the Yellowstone River in Montana, the "GHOST RANCH".

This picture answers the question. 

Election Day. 2024

We have a country to save.

A long list of why you shouldn't vote for Kamala Harris:

• Opened our borders 

• Supports a fracking ban 

• Backed mass amnesty 

• Said illegal aliens aren't criminals 

• Championed a ban on gas cars 

• Covered up Biden's cognitive decline 

• Praised Defund the Police • Bragged about ending cash bail 

• Admitted she's a radical leftist 

• Called for abolishing ICE 

• Compared ICE to the KKK 

• Co-sponsored the Green New Deal 

• Backed free healthcare for illegals 

• Denied illegal immigration is a crisis 

• Fakes accents 

• Called young Americans stupid 

• Wants to pack the Supreme Court 

• Voted for the Inflation Expansion Act 

• Plagiarized multiple times 

• Supported a plastic straw ban 

• Abolish private health insurance 

• Defended sanctuary cities 

• $25,000 for illegals to buy homes 

• Helped bail out BLM rioters 

• Believes "don't" is a foreign policy 

• Botched Afghanistan withdrawal 

• $750 for hurricane victims 

• Over 10 million border crossings 

• 20.5% increase in overall prices 

• Largest capital gains tax hike in history 

• Laken Riley, Rachel Morin, Jocelyn Nungaray 

This is our chance to Save America!

How it's going................

 

I am pretty sure this is the big male coyote I watched chase a fawn across a hay field the other day.   He has dined on his last fawn at Ghost Ranch!

How it started.......................

You never forget your first fox.  Mine was in the fall of 1972 near the Chippewa River in Minnesota.   Caught it on a dead hen pheasant that was killed on the highway staked into the top of a pocket gopher mound.  Remember it like yesterday.  

There have been hundreds since.   What a beautiful renewable resource that's been nearly eliminated by his older cousin, Mr. Wily Coyote across much of his range.