financial hacking, part 2

Told Fidelity to route future Harvard retirement contributions into that same S&P-based index. It seems good-lazy and quite sane for the time being.

I read and appreciated a Motley Fool article about the "Index Plus a Few" (IPF) investment strategy, which is the one I shall probably pursue, at least while I still consider myself a beginner to all this. Briefly, it just advises putting the bulk of your portfolio into an index (check) and then carefully choosing one or two additional stocks to buy into, just to add some trim. Thereafter, you put in minimal maintenance time just keeping tabs on them. Seems like a great (and again lazy) way to learn the ropes.

Going to put that off for later, though... lots of more immediate stuff to settle over the next few days. (I've reflexively been in a whee vacation!! mode since Friday and... well, that's good, but I need to snap myself out of it soonish.)

(no subject)

A while ago I posted a hypothetical question designed to be asked at Bush-voting Americans (which I'd happily link to if LJ had a tagging feature so I could find it grumble grumble). It was, in essence, "If you could magically eliminate everyone in the world who is not American, would you?" I predicted that more than you might think would answer in the affirmative. Got some very thoughtful comments, many saying I was just riding my own cynicism to think so lowly of my countrymen.

At first I tended to agree, but I have thought about this from time to time since then, and found that I've gone back to believing that my original hypothesis would be true. I am reminded of it, time and again, in little ways. I am posting this now because I saw it again today in this Doonesbury discussion thread.

I probably first saw it years ago back when I read Lileks every day, and he went insane in this highly specific fashion. And -- it's harsh -- but I really do think that a great deal of otherwise rational Americans are completely batshit crazy in the same way.

...wtf...

According to Flickr, kids around the world went to their proms dressed in duct tape. (Link will be stale after a few days. I don't know how to prevent this.)

Oh yeah, the "zendonut" photos on that page are of me and I think keimel fighting with duct tape-encrusted swords sometime in 2000.

Rrr

Frog face (detail of corrugated concrete building)
Originally uploaded by meeralee.

This gets my clever-framing-of-the-day award.

Anyone know where in Boston this is?