Our African safari included a tracker who sat in a chair mounted on the front of the jeep. Over multiple game drives we gained a great appreciation for his remarkable skills. Each drive would begin with his asking what we wanted to see that day, and without fail he would find it for us. Whether…
DetailsAs a pilot I am often asked, “What if something goes wrong?” Things do go wrong sometimes, but passengers rarely hear of it. They go wrong for commercial pilots too. In one funny exchange I heard a commercial pilot announce an urgent landing due to a “strange smell in the cockpit.” That definitely generated a…
DetailsLauna and I recently returned from a photo safari to Africa. Even though it was on our bucket list, we had some apprehensions about this trip given the immunizations, safety warnings, political uncertainties, etc.. The unknown always brings with it some anxiety and so we did all we could to educate ourselves on our destination.…
DetailsI am pretty happy this week because our St. George airport has finally re-opened after being closed for runway repairs. Though only a few years old, the runway had become unusable due to damage from underlying expansive soils. The loss of air service, and the high repair costs could have been easily avoided had the…
DetailsI would like to share some thoughts with my younger readers. In my youth I remember thinking there were two types of people, old people and young people, and I was one of the young ones. I never realized I would one day join the other group until recently when I entered a crowded waiting…
DetailsI have decided this week to list a few areas of the economy that I believe are worthy of a look by investors. I base my thoughts on the well-known elephant theory that I teach regularly. It is that if you want to capture an elephant, you don’t sneak up behind it with a rope,…
DetailsFew financial products create more confusion than annuities. These are basically an investment issued by an insurance company and tied to an insurance policy. In some manner, the issuing insurance company takes a risk based on the anticipated lifespan of the person whose life the annuity is tied to (the annuitant). For taking that risk…
DetailsI love the Disney musical “Newsies.” The movie originally didn’t do too well, but in recent years the world has embraced it with the very popular live Broadway versions. The story centers on a group of mostly orphaned newsboys who hawk daily papers on the streets of New York. The more experienced “Newsies” teach the younger…
DetailsLauna and I love to take walks along a particular California beach. Ten years ago the hillside adjoining the beach was developed into a premier ocean front neighborhood. Laid out in tiers, the area is a classroom on the value of location in real estate. The lots right on the beach start at $15 million.…
DetailsThis week I am still thinking about the hills I climb and descend on my regular bicycle rides. On my road bike every part is designed to be as light as possible to reduce drag and increase efficiency. One of the heavier items on a bike are the gears. Mine has 16 gears, yet at…
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