Beer in Hell

If you aren't going to read the book, you can catch many of the 'stories' on his website http://www.tuckermax.com . There was talk of a movie and it actually started filming last year, but then he seemed to fall off the face of the earth. He also has a new book called a-holes finish first?! And his original book from 2003 "Belligerence and Debauchery"

InMotion Video, what a rip off!

I fly often for work and like to use InMotion Video. It's a convenient DVD/DVD player rental store in the airport. You rent the movie in one airport, watch it on the plane (or in the hotel) and return it at the other airport or drop it in the mail. What could be simpler? Well I rented Vantage Point only to find out (after I'm on the plane) that the DVD is damaged. I placed it (and my noise cancellation earphones) in the pocket of the seat in front of me and promptly forgot about them. When I landed (and remembered) I went to Continental but they said they weren't found on the plane and no one turned them in to lost and found. A few follow up calls produced the same answer. Now InMotion is going to charge me the $5 rental fee + $15 for the movie + $3.45 restocking fee. (and I'm without my nifty earphones) What a rip off! Yes, I lost the movie but is that my fault? Why should I pay? What happened to customer service? Doesn't the $5 rental fee assume some movies will be lost? Besides, it was probably watched by 6,000 people already. And it was damaged! Geesh! How do these people stay in business? I'm going to write them a strongly worded email! Is there no justice left in the world?

August GBC

July GBC was well attended: Scott C, Chris H, Paul D, Chip W, David S, Scott M, Sandeep K, Ray R. The July book "Stormy Weather" by Car Hiaassen was a huge success (thanks for the recommendation Paul!). We set a new GBC record: 50% of attendees read the book! Keep this up and we might go legitimate.

I'm having trouble remembering the details, but I believe Paul "I'm not a Kook" Daily told a story involving a gay squirrel and hot flight attendants. I remember feeling sorry for the squirrel. Anyway, Paul asked not to be named as the person who recommended this month's book: I hope they serve beer in hell by Tucker Max. Apparently this Tucker fellow is one colorful fellow who decided to document his abuse of women and alcohol. Please respect Paul's request of not being associated with this book. (I've got your back dude!)

See you all Thursday, August 21st (YES! this one will actually be the on the 3rd Thursday of the month! geesh). 8:00 at Poor Herbie's

Tequila Medical Disclaimer

GBC Member Corresponds with Author of February Book. . . Declared "Not a Kook"

While I don't feel it is conclusive evidence, Paul seems to think this email exchange with an author of a book we read clears him of being labeled a 'kook'. Judge for yourself:

-----Original Message-----
From: Gary Weiss [mailto:garyweiss.email@gmail.com]
Sent: Thu 7/17/2008 2:40 PM
To: Daly, Paul
Subject: Re: So what is an individual investor to do?

Oh, my pleasure. I mostly hear from kooks, so it is nice to hear from
someone such as yourself.

On Thu, Jul 17, 2008 at 2:40 PM, Daly, Paul wrote:
> No, thank you. Appreciate the insights.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Gary Weiss [mailto:garyweiss.email@gmail.com]
> Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2008 2:37 PM
> To: Daly, Paul
> Subject: Re: So what is an individual investor to do?
>
> Hi Paul,
>
> Glad you liked the book. Well, you know I do tend to favor index funds
> and index products such as ETFs. I think costs are the main systemic
> issue that you would have to deal with in those products.
>
> So you want products with low costs, such as the Vanguard funds for
> instance, as some index products have surprisingly high fees. ETFs
> (such as Spiders and Diamonds) tend to have low costs as well.
>
> Personally I think the best thing to do is to put new money in index
> products. I'm certainly not suggesting that people dump their existing
> stocks, particularly in this awful market! Besides, it is almost
> impossible to resist the allure of buying individual stocks. I own a
> few myself.
>
> Thanks for writing,
> Gary
>
> On Thu, Jul 17, 2008 at 2:26 PM, Daly, Paul <xxxxx> wrote:
>> Gary, I'm most of the way through W.S. v. America. As an
>> attorney who practices in Mercer County, I got my money's worth just reading
>> about the Judges in the intro and the epilogue. Something to chat about and
>> schmooze about.
>>
>> But I flipped to through the remaining few chapters last night
>> and don't see that you really answer the question above.
>>
>> Are index funds the only place for an individual investor?
>> Aren't they subject to many of the same systemic problems you outline
>> in the book?
>>
>> I've been happy with my buy-and-hold, value based, broad
>> portfolio for the past 10 years, but honestly, you've made me question that.
>> (Of course, it is easy to question your strategy in a bear market, I suppose.)
>>
>> Appreciate any reply you care to give.
>>
>> Paul Daly
>

Atheist soldier sues Army for 'unconstitutional' discrimination

Source: (http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/08/atheist.soldier/index.html)
I get really scared when I read articles that talk about Christian dominance and influence in our military. Are we fighting a war based on laws and protecting our country? Or for some god? And if it's for a god, how does that make us any different from religious military extremest?