If each of us can replace just one interaction filled with hate to one drawn to love and just one reaction fueled by fear to one blessed with hope, then 2024 will be a VERY bright year. The best way to predict the future is to create it. Our future starts today!

  Our Thanksgiving Message My oldest son and my ex-wife will be traveling to Edinburgh Scotland tomorrow to attend his graduation from a virtual masters program on Friday. In preparation for this momentous event, I decided to brush up on my Scottish history by - of course - watching the popular movie Braveheart. In this epic story, William Wallace loses the love of his life and devotes the rest of his short life to defending one singular idea. FREEDOM was his last word before making the ultimate sacrifice for his fellow Scots. With so much going on in the world, I cannot help but be thankful for how much we have in Hartford, Connecticut, and America. I do not have family in the Middle East, but my heart goes out to those who have been devastated by the conflict between the rival factions. I am grateful for the four day cease fire and hope that this brief respite will last longer than the current pledge. Conflict seems to be a given constant in our “modern” world. I sometimes wonder...

Once Upon A Time... Those are the words often used to begin a fairy tale. Fairy tales often start in an idyllic setting and finish with a happy ending. They invariably feature a fairly family-friendly theme and provide an underlying moral to the story. Unicorns and rainbows come immediately to mind when thinking about fairy tales. Goldilocks, Cinderella, and Little Red Riding Hood are some of my all-time favorites that can be found in any public library or on the Disney Channel. Here is a more complete list of fairy tales from around the world. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fairy_tales The legend of Thomas A. Carroll The Race is a portion of Long Island Sound between Fishers Island and Plum Island. It is one of four gaps through which all of the tidal waters from Long Island Sound fill and drain twice each day in their moon-driven cycles. Because the depths change so rapidly in this part of the sound, the currents are constantly swirling and the waves can get pretty choppy....

Physics Of Sailing For those of you who have yet to venture sailing offshore with me, you may wonder what is my “thing” about lighthouses and sailboats? I grew up sailing in small boats on the Connecticut River and ventured forth on memorable family vacations aboard our Tartan 30 sloop. As a “recovering engineer,” I remain fascinated by the sea and still learn from my sailing adventures. The first thing I share with my novice crew is the way the sails try to tip (heel) the boat over and the keel tries to keep the vessel upright. As the breeze increases, the tipping results in wind spilling out of the sails. The further the boat tips, the more “righting moment” is applied by the keel. This righting diagram shows a sailboat viewed from behind. Parallels To Investing Here is where things get interesting. The sails are similar to the stocks that drive our portfolios over the long term; while the keel is akin to bonds that provide the stability for a smoother ride. They tend to counterbalan...

  Boats Before Airplanes It may not come as any great surprise that humans have been getting around on the water using boats for thousands of years. Airplanes are a relatively new innovation that was inspired by watching birds cover great distances in very little time. Thanks to Archimedes principle (circa 246 BC), boats displace a volume of water equal in weight to the weight of the boat. This allows watercraft constructed of various materials (including wood, aluminum, steel, cement, and lead) to float and maintain their stability. Many wonder how airplanes stay aloft just as birds soar above a ridge full of updrafts. Airplanes are designed with a fuselage that carries passengers (or cargo), wings that generate lift, and appendages that provide control. The lift force must be at least as large as the weight force in order to maintain or increase the altitude. This is possible because of a principle called the Kutta condition. The formal definition is that the velocities leav...

I realize that this title may ruffle more than a few feathers. It is intentionally dramatic and thought provoking. Bitcoin has been all over the news lately after reaching new highs and taking dome deep dives. The Earth keeps turning. And turning. And turning. But that beautifully symmetric pattern is starting to wobble - and we humans may have something to do with this anomaly. Mother Earth First You do not have to be Captain Obvious to realize that Mother Earth came first in the grand chronological pecking order. We have (or perhaps had) everything we need to sustain life on this planet in the form of clean air, fresh water, and radiant sunshine. The fruits of our labor will soon sprout from the ground and we will be rewarded with beauty to the eye, fragrance for the nose, and taste in our hungry palette. We have everything we need for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. As long as we do not destroy it. Bitcoin Distant Second In the event named the 100 Guineas Cup, several s...