Where to start?

The idea of a financial blog, at least in my mind, is to post something original and interesting on the world of investing–the profound and mundane–and make it practical and readable.  To do that, and to do it well, and to do it with regularity is what separates mediocrity from the sublime.

As this is my first post to my IBC that few will read, I guess it won’t  hurt  to lay out a few principles I hope to follow in my entries.

1.  Don’t Post When You Have Nothing Original or Compelling to Write.  The world is top-full of narcissists who post only to be posted.  I don’t need to add to this.

2.  Keep It Brief.  As a teacher of literature (did I mention that?) I abhor the use of lame quotes–especially by Shakespeare–to give a false gravitas to writing.   Besides, most quotes are frequently taken out of context by writers who have not read the original work, and must google to find words of merit.  One of the most mis-quoted characters in literature must be Polonius in Hamlet.  Most of what Polonius says is meant to be taken as irony–he is doddling aged sycophant who peppers his speeches with tired and cliched phrases.–yet how often have you heard people repeat his most cliched phrase,  ‘to thine own self be true’, which reflects  Polonius’ own pomposity more than any genuine philosophy of the man known as Shakespeare.   Polonius also said ‘Brevity is the soul of wit’–and here  I must go against best practice and quote him here, for that is a quote worth remembering–especially in the blog-o-sphere.

3.  Break Rules Whenever and/or Wherever Necessary.  Just did it above.  Enough said.

As an amateur investor, the last year (since POMO ran out) has been rough.  I don’t trust mutual funds or financial investors.  Hell, I barely even trust banks anymore, but I’m not prepared to be digging holes in the backyard quite yet (waiting for warmer weather).

Given the lack of honest and reliable advice out there for investors like me, I want to thank the good people of The PPT and 12631 for helping me through what has been an extremely steep learning curve this last year or so.  The good news is that I am down single digits from the start of 2011 (most of that from AGQ).  Hoping my battered PM miners can stage a recovery.  Someday, I may even have more than I did when they hiked the margin requirements in SLV last year…

For now, I have high hopes for two names–VHC and SVVC–hat tip to those in The PPT who shared their knowledge of these two gems which I think will bring me back to break-even in the near term.

Overall, I am 70% cash.  Too scared to go beyond that.  The potential for ruin has never been greater in my lifetime, and the perilous state of affairs in Europe makes me wonder who–or what–can be trusted.

Wish there were easy answers out there, but these are the times we are live in.

That’s all that’s fit to print now.  Gotta run–QE’s at the door…