Journal

 I have doubled my liquid assets, i.e. savings. It took 3 years, and the "secret" is Nvidia, a stock that rose 2,000%. On the other hand, my favorite ICL caused me a 50% loss. Israel Chemical exploits the minerals in the Dead Sea, but the fertilizer markets are apparently agonizing. Australia and Canada have opened new mines, the war in Ukraine did not harm their production, and prices are decreasing. Moreover, the Eilat-Red Sea route to India and China has been closed by the Houthis. These are small mountain tribes in Yemen, they conquered half of the country and are funded and armed by Iran. The Israeli company changed its focus and promoted itself as a specialty chemicals business: food preservatives, texturizers, and so on. My method is to read everything, buy stable companies' shares, and hold them forever. 

My wife was hospitalized two weeks ago and underwent a coronary procedure. She says it was nothing, I  suspect they installed a stent, and she is constantly tired and frightened of travel. 

I had a period of low blood pressure, did not work, and slept in the mornings, but now I take fewer pills and consume salty food. I had a few projects gone bad, it is very depressing. 

HAMAS shortened my life by 8.4 months

 

According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, male life expectancy is 81.0 years. If not for the October 7 2023 massacre, it would have been 81.7 years. Hamas stole 8.4 months from me. Statistically. 

The Artist at 5 y.o.

 

Marx in China

 

“These people are promoting traditional culture,” quipped one, referring to one of Mr Xi’s pet projects. “Dragons give birth to dragons, phoenixes to phoenixes, and a rat’s son knows how to dig.”

From The Economist. 

שנה טובה! (שולח מהממ"ד)

 

Shaatnez Panic in Jerusalem

 

Hundreds of students at the Old Seminary, an ultra-Orthodox school in Jerusalem, removed their shoes and walked barefoot after discovering their TOMS footwear contained Shaatnez, a forbidden mixture of wool and linen, BeHadrei Haredim and Mynet reported.

In a display of religious observance, the incident began when a student reported finding Shaatnez in her shoes, prompting the school’s principal, Rabbi Yisrael Levin, to announce the discovery over the PA system. Within moments, hundreds of pairs of shoes were removed as students chose to observe the halachic ruling by walking barefoot, BeHadrei Haredim reported.

The origins of the prohibition of shatnez in Jewish tradition is considered chok, an unexplainable law. The prohibition of mixing wool and linen is called kilayim. “The word shatnez is not actually a real word.”  Shatnez comes from combining three Hebrew words that refer to the different steps of garment production: combing, spinning, and weaving.

Basically, Judaism is a religion of purity and hates all kinds of mixing, like meat and milk. It must come from Egyptian priests, who shaved their whole body and had all sorts of impurity tabus. 

The Temple of the God of Money