phyllostachys eleven: Do you hear the winds of change?

Change is coming...can you hear the surf recede, with the fish flopping on the beach of your life?

How do you encourage your peers that saving all that they can versus spending all that they can is the course of action they should be pursuing? I don't know...I think we each have to come to that realization in our own time...constant reminders from friends and media can begin to be somewhat nagging. But that realization must be there - hopefully sooner than later.

I hear the winds blowing in my ears: Greenspan is retiring, metals and oil are priced way high, China and India need more energy resources...as the industrial focus moves across the Pacific and Indian oceans, Western religion is on the wane (just as it was 1700 years ago), Eastern religion is as strong and thriving as if the past 1300 years had not just passed, the earth is slowly warming up, with polar caps shrinking and water levels rising...and we're continually discovering more Solar System objects which may cross Earth's future path.

All we can do is continue to learn, and exhort others to do the same. A friend has issues with alcohol and cardiovascular disease...a dangerous combination. As a friend, I can just support and encourage more water intake vs. alcohol...something we all should strive for.

I picked up a used book last night for 50 cents, at the used book shelf at Apple Hill Playhouse in Delmont, PA (just before the curtain rose on Neil Simon's "The Sunshine Boys"): "The Interpretation of Financial Statements," by Benjamin Graham and Charles McGolrick (1955). This is a cool little book intended to privide any investor or teacher with standard insight into how a company's financial statements should read...and as a possible introduction to the more in-depth analysis of investments in Graham's "Security Analysis." One of my primary gauges for the health of a company is the "current ration," or current assets to current liabilities. Graham points out "When a company is in a sound position, the current assets well exceed the current liabilities, indicating that the company will have no difficulty in taking care of its current debts as they mature." Graham takes it a bit farther by excluding inventory (depending on how an enterprise treats inventory) in what's call an "acid test" of the "quick assets" (exclusive of inventory).

Knowing your way around a company's balance/income/cashflow statements can provide quick insight (though only a snapshot) into the apparent health of a company, Enron or Francisco d'Anconia (of San Sebastián Mines fame) notwithstanding. My favorite place to review all aspects of a company is Yahoo!'s Finance site, http://finance.yahoo.com. Check it out. :-)

..phyllostachys.