Instant Gratification: That Inner Beast That Threatens To Overwhelm Us

     One of the things we as Americans struggle with most is our need to be instantly gratified.  Whether it is wanting someone to answer their phone each and every time we call, or complain because our fast food dinner took 2 minutes instead of the 60 seconds they promised us, we just have to have what we want right that instant.

     As I went through college I suffered from this greatly, and even well after school.  I would always go for the job that paid a high amount of tips, but would never take a job that paid a minimal amount.  I wanted the immediate gratification of the money being in my pocket that instant.  In retrospect, it would have been far more beneficial to sacrifice a few years of lower pay in return for greater rewards in the future.

     Cell phones are a great source of gratification and also a great source of stress.  I would like you to think about the following for a few minutes.  Have you ever called someone you really care about, and they don't answer?  What is your first thought?  Maybe, 'I know they have their phone on them.  Why don't they answer!'  So you let it go for 10-15 minutes and then you call again and there is still no answer.  At this point you begin to feel a little irritated, and the next call will follow in about 5 minutes now.  If no answer at this point your mind begins to entertain wild imaginations of what may be happening on the other end of the phone.  Now the calls begin to happen every minute until there is finally an answer.  When the phone is finally answered you have worked yourself up so much that you're convinced; a) They were having an affair, b) they died in a horrible car crash, or c) they are mad at you and avoiding your calls.  Lol.  And don't pretend you have never been there, because some of you have called my phone and done that exact thing!

     If we really analyze this need for immediate satisfaction of our needs it is a little embarrassing.  Before we had cell phones what did you do?  You would simply tell someone you would call them when you got home and then you let the matter drop, and most likely didn't think about it until it was time for them to call.  As with many things in our lives, we need to control that beast within us that is constantly on the prowl for the next fix.  Because as technology evolves and we are available to everyone at every time possible, it will begin to tear us apart if we feed these desires.  So next time your wife or husband doesn't answer, just leave a message and fight the urge to call back.

By Jeffrey Brandon Lee

Quote of the Day: Haggadah

Quote of the Day:

From the Haggadah

"This is the bread of affliction which our fathers did eat in Egypt.  Let all who hunger come and eat.  Let all who are in need come and partake of the paschal lamb!  This year we are here; Next year-in the Land of Israel!  This year we are slaves; Next year-free men!"

Quote of the Day: Josephus (Regarding Nephilim)

Quote of the Day:
Josephus:


"For many angles of God coupled with women, and begat sons that proved unjust, and despisers of all that was good, on account of the confidence they had in their own strength; for the tradition is, that these men did what resembled the acts of those whom the Grecians called giants."

It's interesting to hear it out of the mouth of a Jewish scholar, alive at the time of Christ, that they believed the Nephilim of Genesis 6 were the offspring of angels and women.

Huge Market Correction Coming? Oil Headed Lower?

     A few months ago I predicted that the DOW would experience a several thousand point pull back within the next year, and it appears that may be around the corner, as the market dips over 229 points at the time of this writing.  Many are giving reasons such as; the market is getting ahead of itself, or the earnings are good, but not great.  The reality is what most of us know, and feel, and that is the economy has never really recovered to anything that resembles the recent past.  So why would the market surge from just over 6000 to over 15000 during Barak's administration?  Quoting Alan Greenspan, 'Irrational Exuberance'. 

     When we see companies like Cisco laying off workers, and Walmart missing earnings estimates by a couple billion dollars, it is a sign that things are much worse than the market has shown.  Our government has been printing money as if it really did grow on trees, but none of it has made it to the lower-end consumer.  Jim Cramer of CNBC said, "We have to deal with the four walls of the corporate canvas, and they are simply not able to turn this macro positive into micro earnings gains."  This from the former hedge fund trader who is never shy about sharing his opinion.

     If I was to make an educated guess, I would say that the government paper that is entering into the economy through the banks, is actually flowing from the banks into commodities and other hard assets.  The banks have been unwilling to lend to the average consumer, and it is well known that banks don't like to leave money just sitting pat, so oil and other necessities of life seem to be the only good investments.  The chart to the left shows that since Obama took office, when government spending began to skyrocket, the price of a barrel of oil went from $66 in January 2009 to over $107 today.  

     With my own money, I would put it in Gold, Silver, or another hard currency.  The longer we put off the needed huge correction, by voting in huge spenders, the worse it is going to be when we are forced to face the reality.  Think of your kids.

By Jeffrey Brandon Lee

Quote of the Day: Earl of Darthmouth and Samuel Adams

Quote of the Day:
From: Paul Revere's Ride
by David Hackett Fischer

"Keep the measure secret until the moment of execution, it can hardly fail of success...Any efforts of the people, unprepared to encounter with a regular force, cannot be very formidable."

-Earl of Dartmouth to General Gage







"We may all be soon under the necessity of keeping Shooting Irons."

-Samuel Adams to Stephen Collins