Canada Selling Part of Its Gold Reserves

by Martin Armstrong

Governments everywhere are going broke. Despite what people think, gold may yet make new record lows under $1,000 in the months ahead. Canada has sold off a piece of its gold reserve into this rally. There is NO intention of returning to a gold standard. They are moving fully electronic and intend to eliminate cash everywhere. In so doing, the “official” view behind the curtain is that they no longer need gold.

Fitbit

     I finally got rid of all my old VCR tapes. They start to degrade after so many years. Imagine, saving all those old movies and TV shows. What was I thinking? Now I guess I've made myself space for some other junk.
     I need a new strap for my Fitbit. This one is falling apart, but I don't think a new strap will solve my problem. A piece of plastic has broken off one end so I won't be able to secure the new strap. Need to think out of the box on this one. Have to figure something out. The bottom line is, I hate the strap.

Dual Citizenship

     While I was in the R.C.A.F, I was for a short time stationed in Sardinia, an island off Italy. It was an air force base for Italians, Germans and Canadians. One evening, a few of us went to a club on the Italian side. While sitting there, a guy came up and told us a memorable story. He was actually a Canadian, who went to Italy to visit his Grandparents. While there, the government grabbed him and shoved him into the Air Force. The surprise and price of dual citizenship.

Snow Storm

 

Well, we had our big snow storm on Sat. The forecast was for 16 ins. starting at 10 am. As I watched the weather map on T.V, I saw that there was snow all around us, while we were in a long stripe of no snow. As it turned out, the snow didn't start falling until 5 pm. Seven hours of no snow made a big difference. Around us did get the18 ins. We received a lot less snow, but the high winds did kick up some small snow banks.

Raisin Bran

I had Raisin Bran for breakfast the other day. On the box it read that there were hundreds of raisins in every box. I'm not trying to doubt Kellogg, but hundreds of raisins? I wonder how they figure that out, drop 200 raisins in the bottom of the box? Well, I'm not going to empty the box and count them. I'll just have to take their word for it. Can you take the word of a Cooperation?

Horatio Hornblower

Watched an old movie the other day. Horatio Hornblower. When I was young, I thought this was an actual sailor. Never read any of those books. Must rectify that.

Van Recall

     Had to take my van in on Thursday for a recall. Actually the recall was for last July, it took this long to get the part. There was a switch for a back window that could catch fire. It happened to a van in the parking lot next to the Supermarket. Burnt the whole van out. I was thinking that it would be a disaster if it caught on fire while my daughter was in her wheelchair, strapped in the back. I couldn't get it unbuckled that fast.
     It only took about five minutes to change. It was in the armrest on the driver's side. The girl just pulled it out, unplugged it, plugged in another one, and stuck it back in. And that was that.

The Earth is Round.

     When I was at the ruins of Ephesus a few years ago, I saw what was left of a Roman statue. It was an emperor's foot on a globe. The ancient Romans obviously knew the world was round.

     (From Armstrong Economics: Knowledge itself moves in cycles. The reverse side of the coin of the Roman Emperor Theodosius II (402-450 AD) dpicts the emperor standing holding the world as a round globe. To the left is the scepter of the only Roman emperor to have been discovered. Here too, we see from Maxentius (306-312 AD) that the world is represented as a globe and not a flat piece of land. The Chinese and Romans knew about each other; both claimed that the world was round and they were the rulers of the world. Yet knowledge is lost in the Dark Age and we returned to the primitive idea that the world was flat. What our computer is accomplishing is an awakening of knowledge that has been lost. This is a journey to rediscover reality.
     The fall of Rome destroyed a lot more than people realize. It was more than just gold coins vanishing until the 13th century. Knowledge itself also vanished and we are still clawing our way back to understanding. Personal opinion is meaningless for it does not even scratch the surface. Open your mind and you just may begin to see what we have forgotten.)

Pineapple

For breakfast the other day, I had a slice of pineapple. Not from a can, but an actual pineapple where I cut off a slice. It just so happened that day I read 'Ripley's' and one of the items was about pineapples. Back in the 16th and 17th centuries, pineapples were so rare, that one would cost between $5,000. and $10,000. I don't imagine there was much waste.
Next month, my toaster will be 48 years old. That means I will be married 48 years. Funny how it is easier to remember how old my toaster is, than my wedding anniversary.
The CBC certainly hates Trump. (Can you imagine the back tracking if he becomes President.) Back tracking everywhere, especially at CNN.

Old Boats

On one of my trips to the Caribbean, a WW 2 landing craft was used to ferry passengers from the ship to an island. It would bump on the sand, the ramp in the front would drop down, and we would all walk off. It was a weird experience. I kept thinking of Normandy.

It's Customary

They have a custom in Spain on New Year's Eve to eat 12 grapes in the last 12 seconds before midnight. It's called the 12 grapes of luck.. I was at a ball in Madrid one New Year's Eve and tried that. 12 seconds is not long enough.

Does anyone remember Sen-Sen?

Harrison Ford - Hans Duo

I read this in "Gone Tomorrow (Jack Reacher, #13)"

 " If you take political candidates as a population example, then the United States is a third world country. Everyone grows up poor, drinking water is a luxury, shoes are rare, a square meal is cause for jubilant celebration."

A friend told me that when she was young she sang soprano. I told her I just sang loud.

This is how it all began….

 

 

 

Once upon a time there was a king who wanted to go fishing.

He called the royal weather forecaster and inquired as to the weather forecast for the next few hours. The weatherman assured him that there was no chance of rain in the coming days. So the king went fishing with his wife, the queen.

 

On the way he met a farmer on his donkey. Upon seeing the king the farmer said, “Your Majesty, you should return to the palace at once because in just a short time I expect a huge amount of rain to fall in this area”.  

 

The king was polite and considerate, he replied: “I hold the palace meteorologist in high regard. He is an extensively educated and experienced professional. And besides, I pay him very high wages. He gave me a very different forecast. I trust him and I will continue on my way.” So he continued on his way.  

 

However, a short time later a torrential rain fell from the sky. The King and Queen were totally soaked and their entourage chuckled upon seeing them in such a shameful condition.  

 

Furious, the king returned to the palace and gave the order to fire the professional. Then he summoned the farmer and offered him the prestigious and high paying role of royal forecaster.

 

The farmer said, “Your Majesty, I do not know anything about forecasting. I obtain my information from my donkey. If I see my donkey’s ears drooping, it means with certainty that it will rain.”  

 

So the king hired the donkey.

 

And thus began the practice of hiring dumb asses to work in the government and occupy its highest and most influential positions.  

 

And the practice is unbroken to this date...        

 

Did you know that chocolate bars get raptured?

Obituary column was the usual. Only nice people died.

In the winter, my mother used to hang clothes on the line. They became frozen solid. Easy to dance with, as long as you stayed outside.

You Can’t Write What You Wouldn’t Read for Pleasure

The most important thing is you can’t write what you wouldn’t read for pleasure. It’s a mistake to analyze the market thinking you can write whatever is hot. You can’t say you’re going to write romance when you don’t even like it. You need to write what you would read if you expect anybody else to read it.
 And you have to be driven. You have to have the three D’s: drive, discipline and desire. If you’re missing any one of those three, you can have all the talent in the world, but it’s going to be really hard to get anything done.

NORA ROBERTS