There is a wonderful OpEd in the New York Times from David Brooks on Happiness and Success and I highly recommend you read it. Here are some snippets I really liked:
“The daily activities most associated with happiness are sex, socializing after work and having dinner with others. The daily activity most injurious to happiness is commuting. According to one study, joining a group that meets even just once a month produces the same happiness gain as doubling your income. According to another, being married produces a psychic gain equivalent to more than $100,000 a year.”
and
“The overall impression from this research is that economic and professional success exists on the surface of life, and that they emerge out of interpersonal relationships, which are much deeper and more important.”
Here is the link to the article: Sandra Bullock and Happiness
If memory serves, studies have shown that relative wealth and income have more of an impact on happiness than absolute numbers. Same is probably true of socializing. Take someone with a calendar full of parties and events with friends and add that monthly group and the psychic benefit probably won’t be so high.
OT, but what’s your view of the market here? Seems to be a big disconnect between it and the real economy. Are you hedging here? Adding short positions? Still adding to long positions?
I’m really frightened about the debt the governments of the world are taking on and I think the level of money printing will lead to some kind of financial catastrophe. When that happens, I’m not sure, but the risk grows every day.
That said, I have not really changed any of my positions all that much and haven’t added much in short sales, because the market is awash in liquidity.
Re the sovereign debt, I’ve been meaning to write a blog post about that. I think there may be a way out of that that’s starting to get more attention.
Re shorts, I plan to add some shorts and puts next month, as Q1 numbers start getting worked into my screener. Bought a few index puts last week, as well as a few puts on an oil royalty trust I own that seems a little over priced now.
Sandra certain is the most beautiful celebrity on planet! I really like her shows, particularly the preferred ninety’s movie – “The Net”!