3 1/2 months later...

Wow, time sure flies!

Okay, I could offer all manner of excuses and (even good) reasons for my disappearance, but none would change the fact that 3 1/2 months have lapsed since my last post.

I regret my absence, offer my sincere apology, and vow to return to (posting) form. Watch for new posts soon!
-- David M Gordon / The Deipnosophist

Away again

I will be away this week, and will return to my desk on Sunday, 16 January. (I will be traipsing through the parks of SW Utah -- Snow Canyon, Zion, Bryce, etc.)

Invest well!
-- David M Gordon / The Deipnosophist

Away to CES

At CES all day today.

Hope to post all about the exciting news, items, and many new gadgets I discover while there.
-- David M Gordon / The Deipnosophist

On holiday

Back in a few weeks. See you then!
-- David M Gordon / The Deipnosophist

On (brief) holiday

Back on Monday.
-- David M Gordon / The Deipnosophist

Back home

And strive to catch up with everything, especially the markets. I will post asap.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.
-- David M Gordon / The Deipnosophist

Away

I must be away from my desk, and this blog, for the next few days.

I apologize for the suddenness of my leave, but will check in immediately upon my return.
-- David M Gordon / The Deipnosophist

CES 2010

The 2010 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) occurs this Wednesday evening (with Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer's keynote address) through Sunday.

I will be there on Thursday (away during market hours) and Saturday, the better to learn of new technologies (also here)... and future investment opportunities.

Please contact me, if you too will be there; I would love to meet up!
-- David M Gordon / The Deipnosophist

Comments

The Deipnosophist's comments section is missing in action because the software I used no longer is available. And for some reason I fail to understand, Blogger's software fails to kick in.

I did mention several months ago that I would disable the comments field; now that decision no longer is mine to make. You know how to contact me, if necessary.
-- David M Gordon / The Deipnosophist

A Death in the Family

Back in 1997 (the prehistoric days of the Internet), I emerged ever so slowly from my self-imposed exile. And as I climbed out of my rabbit hole, I somehow found my way to George Gilder's Technology Forum (the GTF, as we called it back then).

I began posting, infrequently at first but ultimately a cascade, each post signed only as 'dmg'. I felt comfortable at the GTF, like I was at home, due chiefly to the warmth and camaraderie I felt while there. We trusted each other, we merry band of regular posters who converged at the site daily, to mingle, interact, be friends: Roger Austin, Fay Voshell, Allan Harris, Tom Burger, Fred Moreno, Scott Grannis, many whom I forget or neglect to name, including many of you readers... and Gene Prescott.

Allan Harris has just shared the horrifying news that Gene Prescott's son died a few days ago. By suicide. The partial obituary...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jason Hill Prescott, 40, died Saturday, November 28, 2009.

A funeral service will be conducted Wednesday at 11 am in The Memorial Baptist Church, by his current and former pastors. Burial will follow at Greenwood Cemetery.

A native of Greenville, Jason was a graduate of J.H. Rose High School. He received a BSBA degree in accounting from Appalachian State University in 1991 and became a CPA in 1994. He began his accounting career at Overton’s, Inc., in 1991. In 1993, Jason joined C. Eugene Prescott, CPA, his father’s firm, where he later became a partner. In 2005, he joined Bill Clark Homes as Controller.

Jason’s professional affiliations included American Institute of CPAs, the North Carolina Association of CPAs, and the Coastal Plains Chapter of the NCACPA. He served on the AICPA Tax Division’s Member Tax Practice Improvement Committee, the AICPA Top Ten Technologies Tax Force, the AICPA Tax Division’s Tax Technology Committee, and the Coastal Plains Chapter of the NCACPA Continuing Education Committee. He was a co-presenter of technological programs at tax and computer conferences for the AICPA, the Virginia Society of CPAs, and the Coastal Plains Chapter of NCACPA.

A life-long member of The Memorial Baptist Church, Jason served in various capacities including the Diaconate, the Royal Ambassadors, the Technology Committee, the Financial Review Committee, and the Stewardship Committee. He was currently serving as an active member of the Administrative Deacons, the Audio Visual Task Force, and the Finance Team, to which he dedicated much of his time and energy and was its incoming Chair for 2010. He also enjoyed volunteering with the Baptist Men’s Disaster Relief efforts.

Jason was an avid NASCAR fan, who along with his wife Ruthi developed many meaningful friendships with fellow fans around the country. He also enjoyed biking, church league softball, and water sports at the family’s cottage at Bath.

The family will receive friends Tuesday from 6 to 8 pm at Wilkerson Funeral Home and at other times at 1416 Addison Court, Windsor (Subdivision), and 106 Williamsburg Drive, Lynndale.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be given to the Operating Fund of The Memorial Baptist Church, 1510 Greenville Blvd., SE, Greenville, NC 27858.

On-line condolences at http://www.wilkersonfuneralhome.com/
Gene's e-address: prescottg@gmail.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I sit at my desk, floored by disbelief. Do you recall all the stories Gene shared of his family, friends, and church? His fall from the ladder? His plea for financial help in the wake of Hurricane -- ? Each of Gene's posts were imbued with his love and trust in life, family, and church. I suspect that Gene, who always somehow landed on his feet, is distraught and bereft right about now.

Please, those of you who remember Gene, take a moment now to send your condolences. Remembering Gene for the (Southern) gentleman he was always, I bet he would appreciate hearing from you at any time, but especially now.

Full Disclosure: Long sadness.
-- David M Gordon / The Deipnosophist

Announcing Investment Poetry!

My new website, http://investmentpoetry.com/, is now ready for prime time. Thank you to Dan Hung, The Curious Investor, for creating a wonderfully useful site for investors.

Please visit, make suggestions for improvement... and subscribe, if the site proves of interest.
-- David M Gordon / The Deipnosophist

Back home

I have returned from my holiday, and it was everything I hoped for, and more. I will create a slideshow soon to share some photos of the trek portion of my holiday.

Soon... or later. A horrible illness welcomes me home, which has felled me with one giant swoop. So I am WAY behind the eight ball.

Pending my recovery, please share (as a reply to this post) items that occurred during the past 3+ weeks I likely missed but should know: news re the markets, companies/stocks I should consider, geo-political issues, etc.

After all, nothing is as good as quality reading material while a person is laid up.
-- David M Gordon / The Deipnosophist

Self-portrait

I depart next Friday, the 18th, for a few weeks of holiday; the markets will continue (to open, to trade) despite my absence. Imagine that! I should post a time or two more before I leave. I likely will miss several weeks of increasingly bullish market behavior while away, if I have correctly identified the market's true trend. Continue to check the building base (or top, for the bears) for the subtle clues that will announce its breakout, whichever direction, before the actual event occurs.

My holiday will include a few days of sightseeing in Spain, a trek of the Camino de Santiago, and several days in London.

Self-Portrait
by Mary Oliver

I wish I was twenty and in love with life

   and still full of beans.

Onward, old legs!

There are the long, pale dunes; on the other side

the roses are blooming and finding their labor

no adversity to the spirit.

Upward, old legs! There are the roses, and there is the sea

shining like a song, like a body

I want to touch

though I'm not twenty

and won't be again but ah! seventy. And still

in love with life. And still

full of beans.

© Beacon Press, 2008. Reprinted with permission.

The poem above adequately describes me, I suppose -- although I am full of something other than beans, and decidedly not 70! The image below is a striking visual of me while trekking...

I will be in London the week of 4 October, staying in the City. Please contact me, if you would like to get together for a pint or two and good conversation.

Otherwise, I will see you upon my return on Monday, 12 October. I hope to have ready the new website soon after. Thank you to Dan Hung, for his invaluable assistance in the creation of the new site.
-- David M Gordon / The Deipnosophist

[UPDATED] Important notice re The Deipnosophist

My original intention was that The Deipnosophist site not be an investments-only site, but instead a reflection of whatever was on my mind at that time. Based upon numbers of readers and their participation, it is clear that I fail to attract the audience I seek.

So, after 4 1/2 years of posts and many consultations with friends and colleagues, I have decided to make the following changes:

1) This site (The Deipnosophist) will remain largely as is -- a mix of topics drawn from my own broader interests, but will specifically exclude investment recommendations.
2) Reader comments will be disabled. This is done to simplify the management of the site, since this feature is sadly underused and takes up an undue amount of time relative to the participation of readers.
3) I will initiate a new site, which will include my up-to-date investments, be available only to subscribers, and will have comments enabled so that subscribers can ask questions of me and of each other.

If you wish to be notified when my new site goes live, please contact me.

UPDATE (8.28.2009)
1) Thank you for your many indications of interest re the new site
2) The new investment site will have a subscription fee, though not especially dear
3) The new site will not go live until late-October (after I return from Spain and London)
4) New posts will occur here (and soon), but placement will be under this post, which will remain at the top, so scan down the page;
5) I will continue to post here re investing, but not investments

I welcome your questions and comments.
End UPDATE.

Thank you,
David M. Gordon / The Deipnosophist

Hiatus

This blog is on hiatus due to personal matters.

Thank you for your understanding and patience.
-- David M Gordon / The Deipnosophist

ZepInvest

Introducing ZepInvest, a new website of possible interest to you.
-- David M Gordon / The Deipnosophist
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ZepInvest is an aggregator of paid financial information that empowers users with access to over 80 premium investment publications in one searchable, easy-to-use Web site. It’s aimed at any investor who wants to get the best advice on how to invest money. And let’s face it, that’s all of us right now.

ZepInvest aggregates content from over 80 different publications, and offers them at a far more reasonable price than they would cost if bought yearly and individually. ZepInvest costs $600 a year as an introductory price, as opposed to over $30,000 a year if users were to buy content separately. Many of these publications were previously rarely available to consumer investors – and many cost hundreds of dollars per year. ZepInvest includes well-known publications such as The Motley Fool, Morningstar, Walter Frank’s Money Letter and CABOT.

It’s the first time that the simple Google-esque search model has been applied to premium investment publishing. Any consumer who wants advice and information that has otherwise been limited to investment professionals by price and availability can now gain access.

This is particularly critical in today’s market as people need to empower themselves with sound financial advice from multiple sources to be sure they have the best possible grasp on their investments.

Wikinvest

Hi David,

Thanks to you and your contributions, the New York Times just wrote a feature on Wikinvest in their Technology section. Check out the article for the Times' review, comments from a few of our contributors, and to catch a glimpse of Wikinvest headquarters.

Special congratulations to Sr. Directors Avi Gandhi, Robyn Bergeron, and David Turetsky whose significant contributions were noticed by the NY Times staff and specifically mentioned in the article.

Keep up the great work.
The Wikinvest Team

Market update

Well, not really, as this post is devoid of my market comments because, and as you know, I await your thoughts. The more time before you share is that much longer before I write and post a market-related commentary.

This position is no coy game on my part. I view this website as a method to share (my) understanding re the markets and to teach that understanding; my thoughts shared here re the markets' (then-) current trajectory are incidental. That people do not participate (in any manner) bothers me; how will I know you get it if you say nothing? I cannot move on beyond the rudiments until I know you understand them; four years after I began this blog seems an auspicious moment to show you do understand.

Please consider this post an open thread to speak your mind on whatever topic strikes your fancy, though I admit I am keen to read your comments re the markets.
-- David M Gordon / The Deipnosophist

Sponsor an Executive

I have been a tad under the weather of late, not to mention behind the 8 ball on tasks; have no doubt, though, I watched the markets while away.

Obviously, I have a lot to catch up on, although only one reader comment. Thanks, Steve.

Anyway, some yucks for the weekend so you can leave with a smile...

Back anon.
-- David M Gordon / The Deipnosophist

CES 2009

This Thursday is the first day of this year's CES; I will attend on Saturday, and possibly either Thursday or Friday. While there purportedly on business ("What's next...?"), I really will walk to, through, and around the various exhibits, mouth agape in amazement.

Please contact me






so we can meet up, if you too will attend.

This interactive map will help you find many items of interest, whether in town for CES... or your next visit.
-- David M Gordon / The Deipnosophist