The blog discusses current affairs and development of national economic and social health through unique idea generation. Consider the blog a type of thought experiment where ideas are generated to be pondered but should never be considered definitive as a final conclusion. It is just a pathway to understanding and one may equally reject as accept ideas as theoretical dribble. New perspectives, new opportunities, for a new generation. “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.”—Thomas Jefferson
Justice and liberty are two concepts that are or should be sacrosanct in our society. There is always room for improvement in any system and because these systems touch the lives of nearly everyone in a highly diverse body they are valued and important.
There are a number of institutions that are foundational to democracy and the justice system is one (banking, education, etc. are others). These systems are responsible to wider societal stakeholders so it influences the health of the whole. Serious leaders and serious commitment to their health is necessary.
Where corruption is allowed, racial and religious bigotries persist, or political partisanship rampant then there is likely room for improvement. While most may function as intended there are a minority of people who will misuse these systems for improper gain and we should ensure proper checks, balances, and corrections are present to mitigate and remove the harmful impact of such individuals.
Thank you to the men and women who diligently work with integrity to keep these systems growing, adjusting, and functioning. Thank you to those who are finding ways to improve them in a reasonable and helpful way.
Self actualization is a long road and is fostered throughout one's life. As one develops a sense of genuineness to the world they also find more harmony with that world. They also begin to develop their skills as a person and practitioner beyond what can happen without intentionally trying to understand the world and one's place within it. It is the process that defines and molds the outcomes. You can't buy it and if you were given much you are unlikely to obtain it. The person and the environment develop off of each other. It is the choice in roads that define one's character. The Road Not Taken
There are natural benefits to wisdom in giving it back to improve organizations and society. The pathway and blueprint to development is different for each person and that path is an individual stamp. You never really know when you make it to the end but I suspect that end never truly happens. The process will continue on but in new ways. Each being a milestone to greater understanding and greater responsibilities.
One can learn from the many different types of people they have met throughout their lives if they pay attention and accept the lessons with a level of grace. One can learn from from Christian monks respect for education and the divine, from Sheiks the power of fate and belief, from Rabbis the beginning and the end, from writers the power of words and images, from politicians the necessity of power (good and bad), from hate groups the danger of ignorance and blindness, from the poor the diligence and hope in worst case scenarios, from other peoples cultures the flavor of life and the essentials of existence, from the pacifist forgiveness and patience, from the artist creativity and truth, from corruption the necessity of challenge and change, from the military strength and honor, from the scientists logic and fact, from the dreamers the possibilities and the goals, and from the philosophers a way to tie it all together and untie it again. If you learn all of that does that make one self-actualized? Have you arrived at your destination? Probably not but hey you learned a lot and didn't have anything else to do! 🤷
Engaging in different sports is part of life and I have enjoyed sports in one form or another most of my walking time. However, I'm not stuck with a single sport but like variety as much as possible. There are many advantages and disadvantages to that in terms of body and skill development. What you might find interesting is that equestrian sports not only improve things like balance and agility but also have some cardio impact.
If you are more of a business person you might be interested in the market size itself. The U.S. has a fairly strong equestrian market. Much of this appears to be relatively small. I have a small part-time philanthropy business of which I try and give 50% to charity so I also try and understand the market. Likewise, I'm an amateur polo player, rider, and equestrian enthusiast for many reasons.
-"Overall 98.3% of those surveyed agreed that rider fitness had an impact on performance, however only 56.9% considered themselves to be athletically fit and only 63.88% took part in any form of cross training." Fitness Habits of Riders.
"Peak Metabolic Equivalent of Task (METS) of Reining and Cutting were similar to those of jogging and rugby." Horse Riding as Fitness
There was discussions on solar and on historic districts. I won't go into the policies and discussions but will mention the advantages of considering diversifying the electric grid. There is a lingering conversation on allowing some type of solar farming in the area. If it is done wisely, in consideration of the environment and end users such systems can improve the electric grid. There is solar and wind that could be available in the area (Maybe some grants available as well). What they are talking about in the meeting is hook up and shutting of electric for snow birds (our vacation destination) but what I'm thinking about is enhancing the grid for rural communities to attract new interest in investment and protecting from rolling blackouts from not upgrading the regional system.
Go long and go short sounds more like catching a fly ball in baseball than an actual stock investing strategy. However, there is some research to support that returns could be higher if one pairs short term investment with long term investment value of similar stocks. All things being relatively equal one would expect eventual parity which would mean you could theoretically select undervalued stocks (short and long position pairing) for future growth and sell those that moved to higher than historical average value to reallocate resources to new prospects (adjusted strategy possibility). Fidelity has a fairly easy to follow explanation. Stock Pairing Strategy. You can also review a definition on Stock Pair Trading
My Working Strategy Not Finished: I will keep adjusting and tweaking until I get something good. Seeking to create a funnel.
1. Find a range of value to look at in terms of stock price. I'm looking at lower priced stocks that have room to grow. Low-Risk Anomaly
2. Use current and future market trend projections to determine whether they fit in an upward swing. Look around for industry reports.
3. Diversify among multiple stocks in different industries versus a single type of stock to protect the whole portfolio. Investing in multiple industries.
4. Look for stocks that hedge each other. When stocks are declining in some arenas, they may grow in others. Watch how they counter each other and seek to mix a balance so as to benefit on total stock portfolio returns beyond individual stock performance.
5. Seek out possible pairing of long and short selling and consider selling stocks consistently over average when compared to similar stocks. If a company appears well managed and run well then hang onto it. Pairing Strategy Bi-Objective Optimization
5. Buy and hold if in alignment with market trend. A few other weaker predictors include Fourth-Quarter Growth Rate in Personal Consumption Expenditures (gpce), Aggregate Accruals (accru), Credit Standards (crdstd), The Investment Capital Ratio (i/k), Treasury-bill Rates (tbl) 46 Stock Strategies. Thus if you want to delve more into the stats these may work.
6. Undefined...still thinking about it. That is as far as I got. :) To be continued.....
-May 16th, 2024 I had a poor performing stock that was sitting in the abandoned account so I just sold it to clean it out so all stocks are newer as related to when I started formulating a strategy. My growth is 7.9%. That doesn't include the 3.4% current inflation rate. Its still a little under the average Average Stock Market Return 2024
-May 23, 2024 Most of the stocks are in a slump in the past few days but overall the portfolio is growing. The days gain was down but rests at about 4.91%
*This is not stock advice at all. Go talk to your advisor. Its just an exploration of a topic.
Recruiting firefighters from a diverse and wide background in order to tap new pools of candidates and improving compensation/benefits can help slow or reverse the trend. That may mean adjusting the jobs a little to improve pay but without doing this it is unlikely people are going to make long term careers.
Perhaps ensuring free online education (which you can do from your phone or laptop, while people are serving, etc. could sweeten these jobs for younger people. One might add improved retirement funding even though the pay isn't very high or housing vouchers to help mitigate personal costs.
Improving compensation increases cost and money and that will be hard to come by until we deal with our national debt issues so these issues are likely to grow. If fires and other issues grow, full time and volunteer firefighters decline, then there will be a push to change.
If you attract motivated whipper snappers when they are young a higher percentage will stay in the field much of their lives. There are also new immigrants looking for work so pairing this with some benefits might help. Just a thought as more than 1/4 of wild fire jobs are vacant.
Its not an easy job but it is a rewarding one. Service to ones country can take many forms. New generation, climate issues, and lots of motivation. Finding a way to attract and funnel that is important.
*I'm seeking grants, corporate and other donations for a local fire department in the Upper Peninsula so feel free to contact me to the right and I will point you in the right direction. Tax deductible. An investment in a great team doing great things.
Justice and integrity in justice is very important because people believe in those systems and rely on them for a sense of safety and order. Supporting the principles of justice is important for social stability, communities, the economy, and for personal development. There are times when ulterior factors come into play and it makes justice a little more difficult. While most systems work fine we do find places where systems do not work as stated and there is room for correction. Sometimes that is opposed by those who have a stake in maintaining the status que or who have ulterior motives.
Let me give you a hypothetical example for learning purposes only. A group of extremists connected to a few officials were targeting minorities, enriching off of crime/corruption, abusing the poor, manipulating the elderly, and disdain for "out group" members (the specific race can be any) for religious motivations (any religion) and political purposes (any party). While numerous people came forward they were quickly silenced through street justice. Good officers were bullied and afraid of this embedded extremist group and because there were no checks and balances the system became warped. Hate rumors that encourage mistreatment and exclusion continue forward once criminal behavior became apparent and was given a free pass because they were afraid future violence would expose them to a wider justice correction.
In this situation we know that it is immoral and against just about anything any justice system should be believe in. That same metric applies to any country or any place on the planet. Personally, I feel that systems should always strive to be the best they can be and improve when the need for improvement is apparent and fix what they broke in order to ensure strong future support. The better these systems are, the better any other system that touches them is also likely to be. Nothing is in a vacuum. If allowed to persist they are signs and cracks in the wider system.
I'm a big time supporter of justice, 100% good officers, 110% civil rights, good systems, respect for cultural and racial differences, protecting moral authority/integrity, etc... There is always a balance to everything. Some are not so supportive but that is the way life is. I found this article interesting because while it refers to Federal courts it nevertheless highlights some standards that I think are beneficial. Preserving Public Trust, Confidence and Misunderstanding.
You may be interested in research on those who seek to uphold principles of justice empathy and motivation for justice. Empathy and Motivation for Justice
*This is for learning purposes only and is part of a thought experiment on freedom of religion and speech. Take with a grain of salt and feel free to discard.
