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With a Cherry on Top

Posted on by boom booms room staff

Well it happened again.  Capitalism got in the way.  Freedom of speech is good, even in Canada, of course.  Of course, it’s only good in Canada until it’s deemed divisive.  Or, stated differently, it’s only good if it doesn’t divide our fan base and potentially drain our coiffures.

We’ll keep it short this AM as we are working on a fun article for tomorrow AM.  Take three minutes to read this link from our friends at ESPN, the worldwide leader in diversity, and let us know what you think.  Hockey legend and commentator Don Cherry, embraced for his outspoken takes, was taken out after calling out those that in his opinion didn’t properly honor the heroes he honors.

Of all of the politically correct buttocks covering that went on after his rant, the mayor of his town took the prize.   Quoting directly from the article, “Mississauga mayor Bonnie Crombie called Cherry’s remarks “despicable” on Twitter. “We’re proud of diverse cultural heritage and we’ll always stand up for it. New immigrants enrich our country for the better. We’re all Canadians and wear our poppies proudly,” she said.”

Her last sentence is exactly what he was calling out and she is agreeing.  Wasn’t it?  Double talk.

But it didn’t stop there.  His long time co-host gave him an on air thumbs up and 24 hours later called the remarks hurtful.  It was a remarkable turnaround from approval to disdain.  His buttocks were covered too, but his arse was really exposed.

As stated in the article, both the National Hockey League and Hockey Canada distanced themselves from the comments in separate public statements. It’s their right.   Kudos to the young 85 year old Cherry for double and tripling down on his statement.  It’s his right.

With a Cherry on top, Cherry went out on top.

 

 

Boom Boom’s Life Lessons #17

Posted on by boom booms room staff

One of the many gifts that Boom Boom gave us was the torrent of quips about how one leads one’s life.   He could say so much by saying so little.   A statement at just the right moment resonated in my young, eager eardrums.  How I interpreted or applied it was up to me.  No more words were spoken because no more words were needed.

Today U.S. Government Series EE Savings Bonds as an investment are about as popular as Donald J. Trump is in Portland, Oregon as a president.  But way back in the 1960’s and 1970’s they were backed (and still are) by the full faith and credit of the United States and paid about eight percent interest per year.

And way back in the 1960’s and 1970’s Boom Boom brought one home every other week in his briefcase.   I just didn’t know it.  I didn’t know it, that is, until one evening after supper.

In Lesson #4 we shared that on a couple of weeknights each week he finished dinner and headed to our spare bedroom that housed his desk, his adding machine, my mother’s exercise bike, and most of all an undersized pool table.  Yes, it was crowded.  He needed to do some “book work” he always said.  He struck the adding machine keys so quickly that it was not possible to follow.

His one and only son loved playing pool (competition and geometry combined is a tasty combo) and asked for him to”crack em” almost every night that his own homework didn’t get in the way and after his father’s “book work” was completed.

But this particular evening was different.  Boom Boom asked that I help him with his book work.  At the tender age of eight or nine I had no idea what that meant.  I had no idea until he took the bond out of his briefcase and pulled a short stack of them with a rubber band around them out of his top drawer.

“Son, these bonds are going to pay for your college.”  “College?” I stammered.  You see the dollar amount in the corner of each?”  “Yes.”  That will be how much each is worth when they mature.  And almost all mature seven years after you buy them.”  “Mature?” I asked.  “Yes.  I buy them for half of what their face value is.”  “Face value?”  “It’s the dollar amount in the corner.”

“Where do you get them?”  “Don’t worry about that.”  “Let’s add them up together to see how we are doing.”  “Ok, Dad.”

From then on every two weeks we would add another fifty or sometimes even a hundred dollar one to the growing stack and cross out the total to write down the new total.

“Save your money, Son.”  I heard that refrain every two weeks as the rubber band went “whack” around the stack.  “When you need it for something down the road you will be able to afford it without borrowing.  Save your money, Son.“

As Good As Gold

Posted on by boom booms room staff

Until Richard Nixon unhinged gold as the backing for the nation’s money supply people would (safely) assume that their paper currency was “as good as gold.”  But, nowadays you might wonder, ‘how good is gold?’

The answer isn’t easy.  The price of gold has closed lower in about four of every 10 years while rising six of every 10 since the decoupling 48 years ago.  This makes makes it more volatile than stocks and bonds.  In the short term you often have gotten burned.   Yet it’s annualized return over the last 30 years actually outstrips the performance of broad indices of stocks and bonds.  To further confuse things, gold’s total return in the last 15 years is the exact same as the last 30.  It tends to be a flight to safety often rising as a hedge when stocks and or bonds are retreating.  This behavior was acutely present right after 9/11 and before, during, and after the 2008-2009 financial crisis.

But, is all gold safe?  After all there are gold mining stocks, pure gold bars (bullion), and gold coins.  Each have their plusses and some have some negatives.  And, a part of one is downright rotten.  Which one?  Gold coins that are a dime a dozen in availability and worth only a nickel a dozen after you purchase them.

Henny Youngman said, “take my wife, please!”  Take Rosland Capital, please.

Rosland Capital primarily offers gold coins, silver coins, and gold IRA’s.  Their pitch on gold coins by their TV pitchman and former Hollywood actor William Davane pleads to the elderly’s biggest fears.  Their biggest fears are their physical safety and their financial stability in retirement.   Rosland, time and time again, says that you need gold as a safety net.  In one commercial they use a naval vessel to show the defense department protecting you physically and equate it to gold taking care of you financially.  They have a debt counter (22 trillion and counting) on the homepage of their website to stoke your fear.   They show Davane coming out of the rain and into the sunshine as he says that when he has extra money he buys more gold.

All the while the split screen shows these beautiful, one of a kind, limited edition gold coins.  Call now!

If your insecurity about your security consumes you, maybe you do call.  And with “expert gold advisors” standing by to help here is what you get if you buy.  You get overpriced, commission heavy, hard to sell, mass produced gold coins.  The coins melt value (it’s what it sounds like) is worth less than the price they sell them to you by either a lot or a lot lot.  They are tied to the price of gold, you just start in a hole.

Stated differently, gold would have to go up by a lot, or a lot lot, for you to break even when you need to convert the gold to cash.  How ironic!  The very thing that gold did (back paper cash) now doesn’t convert gold into the cash you would expect.

And, all of that assumes that you find a buyer.  These are readily available coins.  These aren’t rare, and won’t be.  Think baseball cards.  Mickey Mantle is worth a lot.  Mike Trout isn’t worth much.  Why?  Few Mantle cards exist.  They’re more Trout cards than trout fish in the sea.

Maybe gold should be a part of your financial portfolio.  Maybe not.  Maybe gold coins should be a part of your portfolio.  Maybe not.

Maybe William Davane should be ashamed of himself.  We wonder if he is compensated by Rosland in gold coins.  Maybe not.   Greenbacks?  Probably so.

 

publisher’s note: The above is only meant as commentary and opinion by the boomboomsroom.com staff.  It is in no way an attempt to offer any financial advice or solicit or direct any reader in any way.  

Cashing In on Cashing Out

Posted on by boom booms room staff

After taking two flights, and driving through four states, and staying eight days in three different hotels, our summer vacation ended all too soon.  Good times were had by all on food, golf, gifts, hikes, bikes, a baseball game, and the like.  So, it goes without saying that it was smart to get $300, just to be safe, out of the ATM before the journey and all of the festivities started.  Or, was it?

Eight days later just shy of $275 remained in my pocket.  Cash is king, you know.  Or, at least cash was once king.

So, it got our staff wondering last evening.  Will we see a cashless society in the future?  We think the answer is yes.  It’s when, not if.

And, why not?  Every merchant in brick and mortar and any merchant in the virtual world of any kind takes some or all of Visa, MasterCard, Amex, Discover, PayPal, Venmo, Chase Quick pay, etc.  And, everyone has two or more of these forms of payment in their pocket, purse, or mobile device.

Cards give you rewards or cash back.  Cash gives you pesky change back.  What do you do with your loose nickels and dimes?  Ours are in the console of the truck, or in the luggage that we carried.  Sometimes the dreaded pennies make it into the pocket and all of the way into the house.  Then what?  Then they go into the large jar on the top shelf.  We hope the shelf doesn’t crash down one day from the weight of the copper and silver.

It took America two or three generations to nearly stop smoking altogether.  It’ll took Uber and Lyft about a decade to obliterate the dreadful taxi industry.  How long before cash is all but gone?

About the only need for it is when you directly interact with another citizen in the moment.  A tip for for this, or a ticket scalped outside of a venue come to mind.  Little else does.

So when you cash out, who cashes in?  Visa, MasterCard and PayPal come to mind.   Their build out for electronic processing allows hundreds of thousands of transactions a minute placing them far ahead of rivals mentioned above.  A very recent Barron’s article quoted some industry experts that feel like the electronic processing will continue its percentage growth in the high teens yearly for the next five years and perhaps beyond.

Remember when Apple Pay was going to change the world?  Guess who Apple partnered with to facilitate what they could not?  It’s Visa and MasterCard.  It seems like they are everywhere you want them to be.

Business to business is next.  Cutting checks to pay vendors and such is getting cut by the day.  Who’s there to help?  Yep.  It’s the next big growth vehicle for them.

Banks charge merchants and businesses two or three percent for the privilege of accepting these forms of payment and get paid well to do so.   Consumers win (or at least feel like they do) with one or more percent cash and/or points earned coming back to them.

But the real winners?  Yep.  They collect what seems like a very slim 0.15% of each transaction.  Mere pennies on the dollar you say?  Their shelf is very sturdy.  It has to be.  They collect millions and millions of dollars of pennies every day.

Cash was king.   Visa and MasterCard sit on the highest thrones now.

Vacation Time

Posted on by boom booms room staff

The entire BBR staff took this week off.  They are enjoying sumptuous meals and great fun in an undisclosed location.  It rhymes with HiltonHead Island if you need a clue.  We’ll be back with more award winning journalistic excellence next week.

 

Till then, hit em straight.

So Have Those Who Served Us.

Posted on by boom booms room staff

It’s the start of a long weekend.  It’s time to take some time off.  You’ve earned it.  Enjoy.

But, first take a moment to really, really remember why we “celebrate” this weekend.  It’s to honor those who have served this country and died.  They protect our rights for us to have weekends like this one.  And, they protect us so that we may live a life that is filled with freedom.

If you’ve never been to a Veteran’s Administration Hospital(VA), consider yourself lucky.  That likely means that you have never had a loved one from your group of friends nor family spend time healing from one of the many, many maladies that war causes.

If you’ve never been to a VA Hospital consider yourself unlucky.  That likely means that you have never had a chance to see how many, many veterans who gave it their all now have to hope the doctors and nurses give it their all every day to care for them.  It is quite moving.  Quite moving.

Take that moment to remember.  And, we suggest that the next time you can recognize someone who is currently serving or did serve, go out of your way to say thank you for that service.  You ‘ll be glad you did.  And, they’ll be glad you did.

Get the work done today.  Then enjoy the good life.  You’ve earned it.  So have those who served us.

Happy Memorial Day weekend.

Crazy Names All

Posted on by boom booms room staff

If you’ve been an avid BBR reader from way back in fall of 2018, you might recall a virtual trip that we took around the US discovering some unique names given to towns all across the U.S. of A.  Today we take a look at five more.

Waterproof, Louisiana 

Waterproof long ago was the one place in the immediate region that managed to avoid devastating floodwaters from the Mississippi River.   Tired of the annual Spring floods, residents move to the spot and named it Waterproof.  Unfortunately for farming community of Waterproof the 2008 crops were lost due to an unprecedented drought.   Maybe a flood every once in a while is a good thing.

Bald Head, Maine

Bald Head is named for the cliff of the same name. Does Bald Head Cliff look like a bald head? Nope. Sometimes town names don’t have a unique meaning to match the unique name.   The neighboring town’s name is just as odd.  Ogunquit (which sounds like “a-gun-quit”) is it’s strange handle.  Bald Head Maine is a personal favorite of this writer.

Accident, Maryland

Legend that dates back to the 1700’s has it that two surveyors, Brooke Beall and William Deakins, Jr., both claimed the same piece of land in the then-colony of Maryland. Friends they were as well.  The dual claim occurred by accident.  Deakins let Beall keep the land as he actually filed first.  No word on the safety of attempting to drive though the town.  Can you imagine explaining to the Geico lizard that you “had an accident in Accident?”

Frankenstein, Missouri

In 1890, Gottfried Franken donated land for the community to build a church.  The town then named itself after the donor.  Sorta.   Franken was not a mad scientist either.   Weird.

Worms, Nebraska

Worms was not named for the wildlife.   The name’s origin might follow from the city of Worms, Germany.  That one would be pronounced “vorms” and comes from a nickname for a Roman emperor.   Why did Germany give a name to a town after a Roman by the way?  We have no clue.  It might be a better story if it was just named after the earthworm after all.

Waterproof, Bald Head, Accident, Frankenstein, and Worms.  That’s five odd names for five odd reasons.

 

 

Hoping to Change Is Unrealistic

Posted on by boom booms room staff

The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.  So said William Arthur Ward.  We had no idea who William Arthur Ward was, but an avid reader forwarded this quote to us yesterday.

Turns out that Mr. Ward was an often quoted  writer of inspirational maxims.  During his lifespan more than 100 articles, poems and meditations written by Ward were published in such magazines as Reader’s Digest, The Phi Delta Kappan, and Science of Mind.

We had no idea who Lori Lightfoot was either.  Well that is, we didn’t until yesterday.  Turns out that Lightfoot was elected mayor of the third largest city in America, Chicago, yesterday.  In her victory speech late Tuesday evening she said that her election was a “mandate for change.”  She went on saying “Together we will insure that your zip code will no longer determine your destiny.”

Mr. Ward and Ms. Lightfoot on the surface both sound quite inspirational don’t they?

But we wonder, as a realist, if a mayor, or a government can insure that you, as an individual, or as a zip code can change as her “mandate” of an election speech suggests.

It was John F. Kennedy who asked in his inauguration speech, “Ask not what your country can do for you.  Ask what you can do for your country.”  Sounds like President Kennedy, who I am sure felt like his election was a mandate for change as well, was perhaps more of a realist.

Reliance on government creates a dependency.  When one hopes someone else will help them, they are dependent.  Once in place, and BBR submits its been in place for far too long, it becomes an entitlement.  Hoping is the first cousin of moping.

But, every two, four, or six years too many people in too many elections run on a promise of change, and hope, and dreams.  As a realist, we wish they would run on reality.

Chicago’s very own, the Reverend Jessie Jackson, while concluding the 1988 Democratic Convention warm up speech before a worldwide audience said “Keep Hope Alive!”  In fact he liked the sound of it so much he said it four consecutive times.  Inspirational indeed.

Hope is but an emotional connection.  Post election reality sets in all over again.  It’s nice to keep hope alive.  It really is.  We all like to dream of better days.

Realistically, however, without action, it gets you as an individual, nowhere.  Sorry to disagree Ms. Lightfoot, but you’ll be in the same zip code in four years if you rely on others.

 

Halftime Score -14 from 7.

Posted on by boom booms room staff

As the BBR staff descended yesterday on the city of New Orleans for a little Mardi Gras fun today, we couldn’t help but think of Antonio Cromartie.  Mardi Gras means Fat Tuesday.  Fat Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday in the Catholic religion.  Ash Wednesday officially kicks of the Lenten Season, or Lent.

Lent is traditionally described as lasting for 40 days, in commemoration of the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, during which he endured temptation by Satan.  During Lent devout Catholics give up or fast from one or more of their favorite foods, drinks, or activities.

So based on the above clearly the catholic religion, Mardi Gras, lent, restraint, and Cromartie would make for strange bedfellows don’t you say?  Therein lies the connection actually.  Cromartie has apparently never met a strange bedfellow.

Antonio Cromartie (born April 15, 1984) is a former NFL starting cornerback.   He played college football at Florida State and was drafted in the first round (19th overall) by the San Diego Chargers in the 2006 NFL Draft. He was selected to four Pro Bowls and was a first-team All-Pro in 2007 after leading the league in interceptions. Cromartie is credited with the longest play in NFL history, returning a missed field goal 109 yards for a touchdown in 2007.   He also played for the Arizona Cardinals, New York Jets and Indianapolis Colts.

Productive might be a word used to describe his career on the field. He played defense. But, on another playing field Cromartie might be called prolific.  There he plays offense.  And,  Antonio’s greatest talent is scoring.   His 14 children at the age of 33 arrived via seven baby mamas.  So the score, which we clearly hope is the final score, is children 14, baby mamas 7.  But, at only 33 years of age we might have only reached halftime.

Several years back when the baby count had reached the meager total of only eight, Antonio was interviewed for a segment on the HBO show Hard Knocks. It’s 1 minute and 27 seconds of pure gold and definitely worth another look.   At that point three of his children were each three years old.  None of the three were twins, nor were they triplets.  Three kids all three years old from three women has to be a record.  3,3,3.  It has to be, doesn’t it?

Cromartie owes, and we assume pays, $336,000 in child support a year.   We hope that he saved/invested wisely from his successful on field career to fund his successful playing the field career.

Mardi Gras gives one a last shot at decadence before Lent sets us straight.  Mr. Cromartie could be the king of this carnival.  He more than qualifies.  We aren’t judging.   Are we?

Lent?  Well, so far, not so much for him.  There is still time though.  It’s only halftime.

We’ll be back after these commercials ladies and gentlemen.  Once again, the score 14 from 7.

Laissez les bon temps rouler!