"Build an ark"

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Biggest bubble of 'em all

I briefly talked about the housing bubble, and I encourage my readers to research it.

But the biggest, scariest bubble, the fat mama of all bubbles, is the derivatives bubble.

What the heck is a derivative? Basically, it's a hedge fund. We've all heard that term, even if we don't understand exactly what it means. I barely do, so please follow the links and read 'em.

Since I've never had enough money to invest in anything, I have trouble getting my brain around all this weird financial stuff ;-). Derivatives primer here.

I've long thought of investing in the stock market as gambling. It is, and yet it isn't. Technically, stockholders own something that's [hopefully] of value - a piece of a company.

A derivative is much more speculative. It's a wager on the future price of an investment in an underlying market. It's like the futures market for stocks, bonds and commodities, except more so. It can even be a hedge on a hedge, and thinking about that one makes me dizzy.

The volume of derivatives traded is huge - many times bigger than the global GNP. Yet it creates nothing. So a ginormous amount of money is changing hands all over the world, wagers done on margin, and the money doesn't exist. How can it? It's bigger than the world GNP. It's a gigantic weird complicated impossibility.

It's a bubble.

What does this all mean? When the derivatives bubble bursts, the stock bubble and Crash of '29 will look like a mere blip by comparison.

Here's Warren Buffet on the topic, very worthwhile reading.

What to do? Live below your means. Put by some extra food. Learn a new DIY skill. All of these are good planning for hurricane country anyway. There are folks that recommend keeping some silver or gold coins at home in case banks collapse.

And if you pray, it's prolly a good time to do that too.

PS - The big spaces between paragraphs are because of blogging through Performancing Firefox. Sorry 'bout that!

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Advice for the New Year

I've spent the better part of the year reading about the Housing Bubble at Housing Panic, among other sites. Google "housing bubble," read and weep.

Some predict a full-blown Depression will result from the greed, with bank failures and massive unemployment and homelessness. Others claim we'll go through an inflationary period with static wages.

To help my friends and readers live below their means and prepare for the future, some favorite DIY and economizing sites:

Hillbilly Housewife
Do-it 101
DIY Network
Ron Hazelton
BuildIt Solar - save energy!
Frugal Homemaker
Miserly Moms
Frugal Families

More in another post :-).

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Another Washington Parish blog

Listed at NOLA.com - here.

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Another Louisiana blog

Found it at We Saw That:

CenLamar.

They get a lot of visitors - give 'em a few more! Good reading about our neighbors to the west. Whoops, all of our Louisiana neighbors are to the west, lol.

Will add it to the blogroll ASAP - when Darling Son isn't itchin' to play Second Life

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Speaking of real estate...

I went over to Realtor.com and looked up what's for sale in 70427. 79 properties as of this moment.

Seems a bit odd to see a number of apparently livable small homes offered for around $50k, and only one rental. We short of rental property here? I didn't know.

The Daily News classifieds have a few homes for rent - One for $700, and one offered at $550 per month or buy it for $42k.

Are the apartments in Bogalusa all full? Or don't they advertise?

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NAR will bite the dust?

Via the Marin Real Estate Bubble blog:

A Chicago district court cleared the way Tuesday for the Department of Justice to proceed with its antitrust lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

The DoJ contends the NAR is engaging in anti-competitive behavior against online home brokers.

Hmmm. The internet results in better, lower-priced service, and the dinosaur NAR acts like a jerk and tries to protect their interests.



Here are the filings at the DoJ site, for you legal beagles who understand such stuff.

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Daily News Watch

They didn't update their site in an age.

Now they have. But if you search the archives for articles between Dec. 7 and Dec. 19, there's nothing, nada, zero, zip.

Sheesh.

Food reviews at Amazon

Read 'em. They're a scream.

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A-maze-ing

Corn maze in Hickory. Or maybe it's a maize maze?

Closed this year due to Katrina. Open again in 2007.

Sounds like a fun activity with the kids, huh?

New disaster program sign-up begins

Read all about it here. Aid is available for producers who suffered losses due to the 2005 hurricanes.

Apply at local FSA offices or USDA Service Centers.

Fact sheets are online at www.fsa.usda.gov under "disaster assistance programs."

Lock up your cows!

A couple jerks swiped a calf, got caught:

Two Tangipahoa Parish men were arrested on theft and criminal trespassing charges in early December for allegedly stealing a calf from a Ponchatoula cattlewoman, Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry Bob Odom said.

“During the holidays people start looking for ways to get quick cash so livestock owners need to be aware of what is going on in their pastures. Know how many animals you have out there and be sure to report any that come up missing,” Odom said.

A 17-year-old from Hammond and Bradley Hayes, 18, 175 Nellwood Drive in Ponchatoula, were booked by the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Department after an investigation by Department of Agriculture and Forestry Brand Commission Officer Scott Lee of Kentwood.

Once again, I was stupid.

I set up comment verification on this blog.

I thought the comments would be emailed to me.

They were not. I found 'em today.

My sincere apologies to the nice folks who left comments. They've now been published.

Returning the favor

I love people-helping-people stories. Don't you?



Here's an inspiring one - assistance from Bogalusa to Decatur, Illinois:

Called "the forgotten city" during recovery from Hurricane Katrina, Bogalusa, La., may now become known as the community that never forgets.



Nearly a dozen of its citizens are in Macon County cleaning up debris from the great ice storm of 2006 this week because Illinois Southern Baptists are the ones who came to them last year when disaster relief teams seemed to be going everywhere else.

Follow the link to read the whole thing.

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Dog day afternoon

Bogalusa High School played host to the city's finest and their drug dog today.



Sadly, there were a few kids caught with contraband, according to some students who wish to remain anonymous.



Thanks for keeping our children safe, BPD :-).

UPDATE 12/16/06: It says in the Daily News that there were no violators found.

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Still no update

The Daily News hasn't updated its site yet.



Jeez Louise! You can get more, and more current, news reading the Hard Copy message board [link at left].

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Let's call 'em

If we all called, emailed or wrote to The Daily News, maybe they'd update their site.



It's still Wednesday, December 06, 2006 to them. My calendar says December 13.

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Still snoozin'

Waiting for the current Daily News to come online so I can read about the Parish Council meeting. If they report it.

The issue showing as of this time is December 6.

I swear, their subtitle oughtta be "Asleep at the Wheel."

Repeat warning

There've been problems with livestock on the roads.

Drive carefully; don't speed. It ain't any fun hittin' a horse, or driving into a ditch to avoid one.

Tell your local school board about this one.

Good post at Kevin Kelly's Cool Tools:

At DonorsChoose you can be a philanthropist for ten bucks (or more). Go to the site and choose from among thousands of projects submitted by public school teachers -- everything from books needed to technology to class trips. Once the project's been funded, DonorsChoose buys the materials for the teachers, and you get a package of letters and photographs from the students. Link

Seems like a way to replace the schools' supplies and equipment that the insurance didn't...o0o..

If you've never been to Cool Tools, check it out - especially with the gift season fast approaching. The Tools part of the site title is a bit misleading; items include books, websites and computer programs, not merely pliers and such.

Mr. Kelly's site doesn't take the place of the "biggies" like Epinions or Consumer Search, but it's great fun to browse.

Be careful out there.

Armed Robberies Continue:

Police have identified a number of suspects in a series of armed robberies that began on Nov. 14 and continued into the weekend, but it is the series of six robberies between last Sunday and Friday that has the attention of police.

In the latest incidents, both Friday, female victims were again robbed at gunpoint by two black males wearing hooded clothing and ski masks as they neared their respective places of residence.

Might I suggest to the Bogalusa Police Department... Identify the nearest heroin dealer, and you'll probably find these jerks.

Congrats to our drill team!

Bogalusa High School hosted a JROTC drill meet Saturday.

Our armed drill team placed first!

Could use more of an audience next time. Admission was free, the food was decent, and the weather was cool but sunny and nice.

Here they are on the field: