Investments Gone Wild!

Money market fund yields have gone up to 1.4% per annum and bond fund yields are hovering at 2.85% per annum. Unfortunately, a higher bond yield lowers the per share net asset value (NAV). At present, the loss incurred by lower bond fund NAV was offset by rising money market yields. Money market NAV is always $1 per share. The net loss/gain is zero as of this post.

Addendum: Portfolio has no equity funds at this time. There are no plans to invest in equity funds until the rigged stock market collapses.

Fork & Mummify

The existing Twitter® feed was officially forked a few weeks ago, which also effectively separated it from Exodus Notes. At present, the current plan is to deprecate the Twitter® feed gradually until it is finally mummified. Thus, there will be no “tweets” other than ones related to Molech from this point forward.

There was a significant increase in “followers,” which is quite baffling. The only assumption is that there are myriad fools looking for pictures of young hotties on the Net. The mix of Molech and pictures of young hotties seems to have created a kind of dissonance that is gradually culling the following. The ultimate goal is, as has always been, to reduce the following to zero and avoid “disappearing” the feed altogether.

Bottom Line

There is little point in discussing frugality much further. In an extensive review of the current budget, the only line items that can be eliminated to save money are as follows:

• Eat more cheap junk food.
• Replace current wireless plan with “pay ‘n go” plan.
• Only drive the minivan on Monday for usual Hawai’i Kai visit.

The only significant reduction in costs would occur if the minivan was sold off. However, that option was mummified. Maximum savings from the three aforementioned line items would be about $65 per month.

Health Issues

Like a bad sitcom, the heart palpitations keep coming back. Skipped heartbeats are occurring very frequently, although there have been no prolonged episodes. The cause is probably stress. Ever since the move to “affordable” senior citizen housing (“old folks home”), pretty much everything has gone downhill:

• Outside ambient noise is causing sleeplessness. Noise is continuous, day and night.
• Continuous exposure to myriad decrepit senior citizens in the ”old folks home,” on the bus, at the gym, in the fast food joints, and at shopping malls is causing extreme duress over mortality issues.
• Increasing expenditures and “shrinkflation” is generating extreme anxiety over money matters.

Quality-of-life in the islands (and empire as a whole) has degenerated to such a low level that the “civilization” paradigm is a total failure. Little wonder why people are totally preoccupied with their “smartphones.” The latter is a facilitator of denial. And, denial is really the only way that a rank-and-file peon can survive without going berserk.

Addendum: Dental issues abound as well. The one troublesome molar, which had a root canal, is still acting up. There is an on-going infection because of erosion. The tooth needs to be extracted, but the cost is prohibitive. The extraction of the tooth will cause other problems, too.

Fruitless Endeavor

Recent local and personal events suggest that obsessive frugality is a complete waste of time, a fruitless endeavor. Line item cost reductions are quickly neutralized by cost increases in other line items. The net result is always the same - costs keep going up anyway. In the end, a lot of calculated effort ends up being meaningless.

There’s just no way to stop the “highway robbery” perpetrated by the moneychangers onto the masses. They control money & wealth, so the outcome is always rigged. The only solution is increase the commitments to wage slavery, but that doesn’t always produce the desired result.

The best anyone can do is keep plodding along until poverty, homelessness, or death ensues (sometimes in that exact order). There is nothing that any peon can do to effectively increase net worth. The whole “system” is rigged.

Minivan Mumbo-Jumbo

During the free oil change service for the Nissan® Quest minivan (i.e., senior citizen mobile command center) at the dealership in Kane’ohe, a query was made concerning the buyback price for the vehicle. A quote of $13,500 was given, which is about $900 lower than the Kelly Blue Book® & Autotrader® on-line quote. Both quotes are about one-half of the original purchase price. The minivan is 2.5 years old.

Nissan® Quest Minivan

The advantages of the cash buyback is that it is quick. No need to run advertisements, haggle with potential buyers, or any of the numerous other pesky problems with selling a vehicle. There are no real disadvantages except for less money from the sale.

The cost of operating the minivan for one year (i.e., registration, insurance, parking fee, petrol) is $1,800 at a minimum. Oil change and annual safety check are covered by the dealership. Car wash is free at the dealership as well, but Kane’ohe is too far out of the way. The expenses come to $150 per month. That’s with the bare minimum of driving. Hence, the minivan has only 18,000 miles on the odometer.

Automobile rentals in Hawai’i are fairly high, even for economy models. However, a vehicle is technically only needed once per week for the usual Hawai’i Kai visit. Even if rental expenses total $300 per month, the former vehicle expenses can be subtracted to yield an actual net cost for the rentals to be $150 per month. If depreciation of the “owned” vehicle is considered, the automobile net rental expense would be even lower, probably close to $50 per month.

Of course, “owning” and driving a vehicle for so long, no matter how tedious or cumbersome, there is a huge psychological barrier to divestiture. The automobile is part of the culture of empire. The “convenience” of “owning” a vehicle is ingrained and difficult to discard.

Finally, the ordeal of renting an automobile must be considered. The on-line portals for the best rental deals only include pickup and return of the rented automobile at the airport location. The fees are higher, and the travel time by bus to and from the airport is another consideration.

So far, the consensus amongst acquaintances is “ownership” over renting. The acquaintances are, of course, more devoted to the “mainstream” way of life. They are quite removed from the ways of a mendicant monk. Then again, the question begs to be asked - what is the purpose of saving money at this advanced age?

Addendum: The experience at the dealership in Kane’ohe concerning the buyback proceedings was less than satisfactory. The sales manager’s presention was construed as sleazy. Overall, just on the basis of his sleaziness, the deal may fall through.

Update: Due to the growing police & surveillance state apparatus and accelerating constriction of personal freedom & movement, the sale of the minivan has been mummified.

“Security” Guard

The biggest employment boom in Hawai’i is in the field of ... “security” guards. No experience necessary, no education requirement, and the pay is a whopping $15 per hour after a brief grace period. All that required is passing a $50 “security” guard course (paid for by the student). Any criminal record is ignored because there is a “security” guard shortage.

What exactly can a potential “security” guard learn in a $50 four-hour course? Proper law enforcement procedures? Baha! Ha! Ha! Haaa! With so many police officers misbehaving across the empire, how can a pea-brained “security” guard be expected to maintain a high standard? Even the (former) Chief of Police in Honolulu crossed the line!

The uniform of a typical “security” is designed to be distinguishable from regular law enforcement uniforms, usually more goofy looking. The intent is to insure that the “security” guard is aware that he/she is not in law enforcement. The “security” guard is merely an observer. Any suspected crime must be referred to proper law enforcement officials. Unfortunately, the mental midgets attracted to the “security” guard field intentionally forget that part of their job description, opting instead to act out the worst “made for TV” cop persona. Never mind that many of them have criminal backgrounds. No one is ever secure with “security” guards around.

Notes

“Exodus Notes” is now the official title since the contents no longer footnote any specific “tweet” in the main Twitter® feed. “Notes” is not to be confused with a return to the “blog” format. Note composition will still be limited to a neutral party style. On-going and legacy topics will continue.

Comments have always been enabled, but delayed by the moderation option. Checking the queue for awaiting comments is only done sporadically, so actual publishing may take a while. “Troll” comments are automatically mummified.

Update: Comments mummified. Pruning of superfluous “tweets“ in the Twitter® feed is in effect.

End of the World

The solar system is set for destruction in about 5 billion years when the sun goes “red star.” The dying star will expand and consume all of the planets. Obviously, all life on Earth will be destroyed. Unfortunately, the chimpo sapiens (humans) want to expedite the process through mass extinctions and a possible thermonuclear conflagration.

The latter scenario will be triggered by a dying empire. Like a trapped animal, the empire is lashing out at everything. The collective psyche of empire, the moneychangers & powers-that-be are clearly schizophrenic. Why? And, why do all empire follow the same destructive path?

The simple answer is that, as empires grow too large, they require more and more resources to continue the empire agenda. The more complex answer was provided by Ernest Becker in his landmark books, “The Denial of Death,” and “Escape from Evil.” Becker stated that all humans are psychologically disturbed because consciousness and self-awareness brings the issue of death to the forefront of human thought. Only various denial mechanisms allow humans to function somewhat normally.

Unfortunately, the aforementioned mechanisms of denial are what Becker describes as “immortality projects.” The scope and ramifications of those projects ultimately determine their lethality. The moneychangers & powers-that-be of empire are concerned with preservation of wealth and power for time indefinite. That alone is the root cause of their collective psychosis. Nothing can stand in their way of what they perceive to be the path to immortality or perpetual legacy. The result is what Becker defines as “evil.”

False Alarm

“Old Folks Home”

The second observed false fire alarm at the “old folks home” occurred yesterday. The automatic fire alarm is triggered after it senses smoke in the enclosed hallways. Both observations occurred in the afternoon circa 5pm. In both cases, the cause of the false alarm was a “little old lady” cooking with the apartment door open on the second floor.

One of the old codgers mentioned that the problem is always someone cooking with the doors open. He also stated that the some of the “little old ladies” can’t see the settings on the electric range in the apartment, so they end up burning the food. The resident manager had previously advised some of the people to stop cooking entirely, but to no avail.

According to one of the younger old codgers, the false fire alarms are a regular occurrence, usually every two weeks. The culprit is always the same “little old lady” on the second floor. The incidents keep occurring even though the resident manager had several discussions with the “little old lady.”

Whenever the fire alarm is triggered, the residents of the “old folks home” are required to walk down the stairs and exit the building. Using the elevator is prohibited. Many of the senior citizens use walkers or are in wheelchairs or motorized chairs. They could be seen standing and looking out the pane glass windows near the elevators on each floor. A fear emergency would have resulted in many casualties or fatalities.

Of course, the incidents collectively represent the sad aspect known as “senior moments.” Remaining in the “old folks home” will only accelerate personal “senior moments,” a fear that cannot be abated. People will always become a product of their environment.

Instant Coffee

Drinking instant coffee while in retirement is definitely an abomination. However, the grotesque circumstances created by the moneychangers and powers-that-be do not allow for any other option. The Nescafé® Taster’s Choice® instant coffee isn’t really that bad. No final judgment can be made because the instant coffee is being consumed sans half-and-half creamer.

Starbucks® Via is supposedly the best instant coffee, but its highest price make it more of luxury. And, it is rarely sale priced. If the opportunity arises, though, it will be sampled for comparison.

Addendum: The Nescafé® Taster’s Choice® Colombian instant coffee (100% Colombian Arabica beans) is good. Unfortunately, the flavor is only available in the costlier sealed packets.

Net Disconnection - Postponed

Foolish indecision resulted in the continuation of the current $30 per month wireless plan. Although it is a good plan (see previous footnote titled, “T-Mobile® $30/month Plan”), there is just no justification to continue the subscription. No phone calls, no text messages, and just 1.4 GB of 4G LTE data used in the last 30-day period ... not worth the cost. Convenience is a consideration, but a minor one at that.

There are no third-party or first-party “apps” installed. Non-system “apps” have been pruned to include the most useful. Incidentally, any “app” requiring a subscription or registration is immediately disqualified by default. Most “apps” are performing tracking functions. Even “apps” supported by advertising is performing tracking on the user. So, the best decision is to avoid the use of “apps.”

Given the conditions of the current police and surveillance state, the use of any “smartphone” should be limited. Location services and all wireless radios should be disabled while the “smartphone” is not being used. The decision to move to a “pay ‘n go” wireless plan must be expedited.

Update: Another 1.27 GB of “stuff” has been deleted from the “cloud.” So far, 3.27 GB of “stuff has been deleted.

Lower Makiki

The “old folks home” is located in the Lower Makiki district along King Street. The neighborhood has really gone downhill. Essentially, the area is a dump. Adjacent to the “old folks home” is a Chinese restaurant and the lovely State Juvenile Detention Center. Police vehicles are continuously dropping off handcuffed juveniles at the latter.

All along King Street (both sides) are the spots for various nighttime camps for the homeless. After 7pm, the homeless begin to set up their makeshift accommodations for the night. There is also a large number of mentally ill homeless walking around day and night.

The noise in the area is horrific. Even when traffic is light, the noise just amplifies between the various buildings in the area. Trash dumpster pickup runs pretty much hourly from midnight to early morning on Wednesday and Saturday. Lots of loud talking can be heard on Friday and Saturday night and early morning from Zippys across the street because that’s the hangout after an of alcoholic beverage indulgence.

There are also myriad sleazy bars and night clubs in the area, even along the side streets. Strangely, each sleazy joint is able to attract enough customers to stay in business. The customer profile is primarily Asian, mostly Korean. That’s Lower Makiki in a “nutshell.” To summarize, Lower Makiki spells “D-U-M-P”!

Addendum: There is a large number of motorhomeless in the area. Most of them are interspersed in various parts of the Lower Makiki ghetto. A group of permanent motorhomeless are parked along the street periphery of the State Juvenile Detention Center.

Obsessive Frugality

Ever since the brief tenure at the Sand Island homeless shelter, there has been an obsessive need for frugality tugging at the senses. The sensation appears to be a locked-in “survival mode.” Every kind of discount must be exploited. Anything “free” must be taken advantage of. All effort must be concentrated on cutting expenses. Conveniences are not an affordable or feasible luxury. Many aspects of the “penny-pinching” strategy has been adopted from tips from the formerly-homeless buddy and others in similar situations.

Of course, cutting expenses makes sense because the moneychangers have really put the squeeze on the rank-and-file peons. All “shiny objects” must be avoided. The latter are only inducements to produce a Pavlovian response (i.e., spending more) after the “shiny object” loses its luster.

In most cases, goods and services are so mediocre, there is no way to justify the cost of either. Better to deal with self-induced mediocrity in which only oneself is to be blamed for any disappointment. Actually, self-induced mediocrity is more likely to be embraced wholeheartedly.

Addendum: Poor quality and service problems have reduced the daily regime to three components - coffee time with instant coffee, working out at the gym, and eating dinner at a small handful of vendors.

Net Mummification

The Net is totally boring. In its full commercialized state, the experience is mind-numbing at best. Shopping, fake news, stupidity ... all pre-packaged and ready for purpose. Then, there’s the void created by useless mobile “apps.” No details are necessary. Using free wireless hotspots lessen the pain of sheer boredom, but paying for data allocation to access the “wasteland is an insult to anyone’s intelligence.

Sadly, there are few intelligent beings around anymore. The “smartphone” has created or converted an entire populace into zombified on-line shoppers. Or, time is wasted on “social media.” There is little in the way of redemption for the former and latter.

The big question: why pay for mobile data allocation to access useless shit? There is no justification. A complete review of the situation pretty much deemed the latter as totally senseless and too costly. There are some risks with using free public wireless hotspots. However, those risks are minimal. So, the time has come to mummify!

Addendum: All useless system, non-system, and third-party “apps” have been removed or disabled on iPhone 7 device. After “test driving” most “apps,” there was little justification to keep them. Worst of all, most “apps” are tracking users to some degree.

Update: While the “jury is still out” concerning the conversion of wireless plans to “pay ‘n go,” the existing account phone number has been changed. The phone number will only be listed with financial accounts. The Google® Voice number will be used for everything else, although it will seldom be checked.