Author: Henry Barnard

I am a voracious reader and also enjoy writing. I often have a very different point of view than the popular one. I do see value in debate, and thought it might add to the public debate on controversial issues if I were to express my contrarian opinions. I also started keeping my poems recently (I've written little pieces my whole adult life but never kept any); and I've been a photographer now for over 25 years. So I will be adding an occasional poem and hopefully interesting photograph to the blog along the way, just to spice things up.

Climate Change Disagreements

I think the real debate about climate change isn’t whether it is happening and the degree to which humans are causing it — most reasonable people agree about both — but rather what measures should be implemented to address it. There is intense disagreement about these measures.

The most divisive issue has to do with restricting our use of fossil fuels. Radicals would have us do this to a large degree, but conservatives protest this would undermine our economies and lead to hardship and poverty.

Thoughtful conservatives now have the counter argument that the real remedy here has to do with more efficient ways to extract carbon from the atmosphere — through improved soil management on a large scale, planting trees and reforestation, new carbon extraction technologies, etc., i.e., use of fossil fuels becomes a non-issue if you can extract enough carbon from the atmosphere to achieve net equilibrium.

“Our Planet”

Serenity

Don’t underappreciate calm serenity.

Marcus Aurelius noted that one can retreat into the serene haven of one’s own mind at any time.

We live in an age that dotes on excitement and entertainment, but this perspective may be harmful if taken to the extreme, and may lead one to not appreciate the very real benefits of serenity.

Those who practice some form of meditation have come around to this point of view.

In the long run, which is really more beneficial to you, excitement or peace of mind?

Xperience

Silence

Never proud in death’s sad embrace,
And when the winds blow and the harsh rains descend,
The soul doth but meekly ascend.

Here but a few moments in fleeting time,
When it is time to go, we do not mend,
As the hourglass comes to its crushing end.

Nothing to say about such a journey…
No soothing comment for who must follow.
Silence — the only reply from the cavernous hollow.

Lunatics in Charge

Biden has Kerry and Rice back in his White House. These were the two knuckleheaded masterminds of the “Peace in Our Time” deal with Iran. They took a page from Reagan but altered it a bit — “Trust but no verify,” as they were in such a hurry to get a deal — any deal — with Iran. Just like Chamberlain at Munich. So we are going to have lunatics in charge of our foreign policy again, if you can call it that.

And of course Biden is in bed with the Chinese, perhaps even financially benefiting from Chinese companies. But then you know that for career politicians, graft is just considered their retirement benefit. So back to the “policy” of doing things that benefit China but undermine the US — because the Rust Belt isn’t big enough yet.

First Real Test for Biden

Munich Agreement

Weight Control

Not weight loss but weight control — what can you do to stabilize your weight, not to lose weight per se, but instead to help ensure that it doesn’t creep back up?

One thing that I do is once a week, on a designated day that I know I’m obligated to use for that purpose, I have a low-calorie day. I shoot for 550+ calories lower than what I usually eat (Cronometer helps a lot with this). Tuesday is my low-calorie day, and I usually eat the same assortment of foods, which tend to be very low in fat calories. But there are little nuances on that particular day that help me get to minus 550 calories. For instance, instead of my usual 3 prunes I only have 2, instead of 2 figs, just the 1. Instead of my usual mouthful of walnuts, I’ll skip nuts entirely, and have an extra slice of lean turkey. With enough of these nuances, it is surprisingly easy to have such a low-calorie day — and you don’t feel deprived.

Having such a lean day one day a week means that on those other days when you inevitably go “over budget,” sort of speak, it all gets compensated for in the end — and the weight stays amazingly stable, no longer so erratic.

Omega 3 Fat Hurdles

Naked Calls

If you sell a naked call and the stock price moves against it, buy the shares before the strike price is reached, and sell another naked call at a new and higher strike price. You need adequate amounts of a cash position to cover all your naked calls with such stock buys. If you buy the 100 shares before the strike price is reached, you then want it to be reached, as this will make for a small gain on the sale of the stock and will also free you of it.

The big risk here is a gap up in stock price that goes well past the strike price, preventing you from buying the stock at a price below the strike price. Quarterly earnings or a takeover bid or some other unusual event can cause such a gap up. You might consider rolling the losing call out and up to get it closer to the higher price of the stock if you think this rise in the stock price is not going to be sustained. If you do think the stock price will be sustained and may well rise even higher, then take the loss and buy back the losing call — some losses are inevitable and are therefore part of the cost of trading options.

The other risk is if you buy the 100 shares before the strike price is reached, and then the stock price collapses — so you are left with 100s shares going into the red. If the stock price drops precipitously enough, but you consider this a normal and reasonable correction, consider selling a put to collect premium and establish a strangle. The premium on the sale of the put will lower your average cost of the stock.

Paul Morphy’s Games