Hash Users Smoking ‘Dangerous Amounts of Fecal Bacteria’
The lows of trying to get high in Madrid.
Most cannabis sold on the streets of Madrid is not suitable for human consumption, according to a new study.
Samples of unregulated drugs from the Spanish capital often contained dangerously high levels of E.coli bacteria and Aspergillus fungus. ...
Speaking to the Spanish newspaper El País, Pérez explained that the acorns were more likely to be contaminated because the cannabis samples were wrapped up in plastic packets and swallowed by the drug smugglers. These contraband-containing couriers would then “take a laxative and expel” the pellets in a toilet.
... material for a skit on Saturday Night Live or for Cheech and Chong? (Watch it to the end for the punchline.)
A Wonderful Post on Experience and Investing
I subscribe to periodic posts which are written by inmates of the Collaborative Fund. They are wonderful and I would recommend that readers also subscribe via the blog section of the web site.
Here is a noteworthy post.
You Have to Live it to Believe it
The post explores
the effect difference experiences we’ve had have on our ability to make smart decisions about business and investing risk.
Morgan Housel, the author, has a delicate touch. It's a real delight to follow a thinking process which synthesizes a variety of seemingly disparate observations into a coherent narrative.
I'll not spoil the experience for readers by providing a summary of Housel's line of thought. After reading the article you'll see why.
It is also well worth visiting the section of the web site entitled, What We're Reading. When you read the posts, also explore the sites which host the posts. For example, one of them, What It's Like to Grow Up With More Money Than You'll Ever Spend, is hosted by Cut.
Visit the sites listed on the top of the page and you'll be introduced to the world of the hip, urban, millennial and an environment of "first world problems" ... my take as a member of the leading edge of the baby boomers. One of the sites is quite hilarious ... and a bit sad ... my bet is that the contributors to the site are "helicopter parents" with a low tolerance for risk. Visit Cut to see why. Then the cynical side of me then takes over and I surf it with a view to ferreting out potential investment opportunities ...
It is also worth visiting the Collaborative Fund's investment portfolio. Exposure to the thinking of others is always useful when it comes to investing. The fund is focused on five themes: cities, kids, money, health and the consumer. I find it fascinating to see how the investment team has approached each of these themes, especially as I would take a much different approach through the lens (millenial speak) of my experience and formal training. But then again ... isn't that what makes markets? As my father-in-law often opined ... "That's why they make Chevs and Fords". Among the themes that I would explore: survival (food security, coping with climate change); energy (management and distribution); "human substitution" (robotics, systemized decision-making); innovative upstarts (novel business models); urbanization and the aftermath in non-urban areas.
How to prepare for volatility exploding
Low volatility sounds like a good thing in markets. And it can be, unless it's masking or ignoring problems. The real trick is preparing for an end that can be quick and unpleasant.
"Volatility rarely picks up bit by bit. It tends to spike when the late-cycle bullish narrative goes off the rails," Cantor Fitzgerald LP's Peter Cecchini wrote in an email.
As noted in previous posts, THE single most important cause of my losses in the past 20 years was general declines in the markets. Equities markets have had a wonderful decade of growth and are due for a correction over the next two years or so in my view.
In the past 18 months, I've dismissed weaker members of the crew and have a large cash position in my portfolios. I'm now exploring ways to profit from a general decline in the markets without taking undue risks.
Precious metals are represented prominently in my portfolios on the assumption that investors will seek "safe havens" during times of uncertainty. In order to profit from market declines I intend to use other vehicles such as inverse index funds and options.
Another observation: I have little faith in the ability of President Trump and his inner circle to deal prudently with economic dislocation and crashing markets, especially considering that they may be unintended consequences of their handiwork. Further, the U.S. simply does not have the option of declaring bankruptcy - something that The Donald has done habitually in order to escape responsibilities for his ineptitude. How many times?
Why Donald Trump's Companies Went Bankrupt
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