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Messages - hOMEr_jAy

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1
Off-Topic / Re: Let's talk business...
« on: 13-02-2019, 15:02:47 »
Lucky, I´m not sure how the situation is where you´re from, but in the past years ETFs became a really big thing in Germany. Almost all brokers offer a whole host of them (I wouldn´t be surprised if there´d be ETFs that replicate the water level of the nile) and at costs that are almost zero.
I´d not just focus on Vangouard, though it´s a bit of a holy grail, but there are other well-established and well-stocked ETFs available from different European countries. In fact, both of my funds are from Luxembourg. Maybe you´ll find a for an investment even in a fringe part of Europe? ;)

The reason I prefer ETFs over single-issue investment is risk allocation. The more you spread the risk the easier it is for you to avoid losing too much money. There were some really shady investment deals going on in Germany in the early 2000s and that scared off alot of people, especially those who´ve put "all of their eggs in one basket", as we say. If you have saved enough money to deal with daily financial issues (car maintenance, household equipment that might need replacement, a short-notice move etc.) then I´d find some broad investment that yields good returns and builds your wealth over time. If you then still have some "play money" left I´d find an interesting single investment where a complete loss wouldn´t hurt too bad. But not earlier.

Real estate. Boy, don´t get me started. It´s also a lottery game where the risk of loss can be quite large. Besides, it´s THE most concentrated form of risk I can think of. I know, it´s probably not a popular argument, but I see more risks in RE than benefits, atleast for most folks with a normal income.

2
Off-Topic / Re: Let's talk business...
« on: 11-02-2019, 20:02:16 »
I did some reading on this whole thing and (atleast here in Germany) there are alot of black sheep among young start ups. Quite a few pitch a "fantastic new idea" to investors yet they don´t survive their first five years burning lots of investors money while going down.
There are also quite a few peer-to-peer money lending services where you can invest in cool projects. When it comes to this I wonder what kind of business tries to get a high-interest loan on these websites while it´s extremely easy to get regular business loans from traditional banks? Most of it sounds shady...therefore I stay away from any of that stuff. I´m not a bored billionaire with too much money to spare, but a normal income earner who wants to see good results.
If you´re just interested to invest some spare money of yours I´d suggest reading up on ETFs that replicate broad economical indices like the MSCI World or such. It´s less exciting than finding the next Facebook, but over time yields these shpuld yield solid returns.

3
Off-Topic / Re: Revolting Uniting
« on: 11-03-2018, 21:03:42 »
Not war-related, but the video Game Museum in Friedrichshain ist pretty neat. It contains many interesting bits and pieces from video game history, like old GDR-computers and even a rebuilt arcade where you can play arcade games for free. The museum won´t occupy for a whole day, but it´s a nice place to spend an afternoon. There´s also a cheap and really good "colonial" Vietnam restaurant nearby which is great for lunch.

4
Off-Topic / Re: Total Solar Eclipse in America Today!!
« on: 23-08-2017, 20:08:35 »
I was 5 years then, I don't remember that much of it, sadly. But for the goggles, you're better off going to a store and buy welder's goggles. Same effect, but better and more comfortable. And those cardboard goggles indeed sell out, even at ridiculous prices.
My cousins used a welders mask to look at the sun, since they couldn´t find any cardboard goggles anywhere. I remember my dad doing a little road trip to find two last pairs at an optometrists store.

It was quite a spectacle and I´m glad there was another one that people could witness. The next one that can be seen is in nine years, so quite some time to wait...

5
Off-Topic / Re: Total Solar Eclipse in America Today!!
« on: 22-08-2017, 18:08:30 »
I experienced the one in 1999, big deal back then.
Same here. I remember stores selling those cheap protection goggles made from cardboard. People were buying them like crazy and it was nearly impossible finding some as they were sold out everywhere.

6
Off-Topic / Re: Picture of the Day
« on: 20-07-2017, 19:07:04 »
French soldiers surrendering in Switzerland?

7
Off-Topic / Re: The Book Club - 2017
« on: 21-03-2017, 21:03:49 »
Currently reading Dune for the first time. I started yesterday and it´s quite intriguing, I have to say. Before that I read Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design by Charles Montgomery. The book is about mostly about city planing, but also about how urban design can influence peoples lifes and especially their happiness. It´s a manifesto against urban sprawl, traditional zoning and modern-day (North American) city planing. The book reads really well, offering an interesting mix of anecdotes, psychological statistics and historical information about the developments that lead to sprawling Suburbia.

8
Off-Topic / Re: The Book Club - 2017
« on: 30-01-2017, 16:01:43 »
Yep, I´ll watch it. Atleast in Germany, they´re actually going to broadcast it live on TV and for free on the internet. In recent years more people started being interested in the sport and several games are being shown on TV and the web each week during the season. Also the there´s a growing fan base that is being mobilised by social media, which helps spreading the word about the game. Germany actually has several leagues and incidently there´s a club in my town, which means I´ll get to watch some live games in the coming months.

BTT: Currently reading "A Line in the Sand" by James Barr. The book tells the story of how the Middle East was divided between the French and the British after WW1. Quite intriguing, well written and with lots of informations from diplomatic and political sources. Helps explain the modern history of the Middle East and why certain conflicts never seem to be extinguished.


9
Off-Topic / Re: The Book Club - 2017
« on: 24-01-2017, 19:01:45 »
I´m currently also struggling with "On War", myself for quite a while now. Which is quite sad because it´s not a bad book, but it´s just tough to read.
This year I actually did something I´ve never done before: I read books about sports. About American Football, to be precise. On my holiday to Canada last year I caught the Football-bug and followed the current NFL season very closely, so in order to get into the intricacies of the game I read "Football for Dummies" by Howie Long, which is a quite good beginners read. Long introduces the game, the rules (and differences between college and professional sports), tactics and strategy basics, some lists of legendary players and other interesting stuff in an easy-to-approach way. The books structure is quite useful in order to re-read different chapters.
Also I´ve read "Take Your Eye Off the Ball 2.0: How to Watch Football by Knowing Where to Look" by Pat Kirwan and others. Except for the clumsy title it´s a good step into the more professional topics since it covers advanced tactics for the different roles etc. Kirwan tries to make the reader aware of all the other stuff that goes on in the pitch after the snap BESIDES the quarterback and he manages to do just that. Good read.
Lastly I´m currently reading "The Art of Smart Football" by Chris B. Brown which focuses on more specific topics, such as certain tactics and strategies different teams field. It´s rather short-ish with not quite 200 pages, but then the Kindle version was quite cheap and it´s a good read because it makes you understand more than "QB throws the ball!".

Go sports!  :P

10
Off-Topic / Re: About Last Night...
« on: 10-11-2016, 21:11:26 »
I graduated from a German university two years ago and can pretty much agree with what TS said. Though there´s a rising influence of what´s called political correctnes, mostly in the humanities, especially when there´s a strong (=loud) Gender Studies department on campus. Most students aren´t really falling for their bait, though. Despite German universities having the image of being the breeding ground for revolutionary leftists, mosts students are either not interested in politics at all or even have varying political views, with some being conservative, others being "green", social democratic or liberal/libertarian. Infact, atleast at my university most students really don´t care about politics at all.
Colleges of Education are supposed to be a whole ´nother level, from what I heard. Political correctness is supposed to be rampant there...what this means for the future generation of teachers being trained there, I don´t know...

11
Off-Topic / Re: Visiting Italy
« on: 02-10-2016, 22:10:28 »
My family spent our holidays in Italy, when I was younger, since it´s just a few hours by car from where we live. Nice pictures, Zoo! If you can do it, make your way up to the southern (Italian) part of Switzerland, which has some very nice spots, too, like Lugano, Locarno etc. If the entry into Switzerland is somehow problematic with your passport (is it?) you can also visit Como which is north of Milano.


12
Off-Topic / Re: Picture of the Day
« on: 10-08-2016, 21:08:37 »
The rear part is (for me) impossible to decipher, due to the images quality. It´s something like this:
"[...] auch so meckern,
[...] werden sie nicht erklettern."

I guess you could translate the fragments loosely like this: "[However?] they bleat, they can not conquest [illegible]."

The side I can translate though:
"Panzer bauen, auf den Führer vertrauen, die Feinde verhauen, so sind die Söhne aus Ostmarks Gauen!"

Translation: "Building tanks, trusting the Führer (Hitler), beating up the enemies, that´s how the Ostmark (Eastern Prussias) sons are!"

The front plate says: "Für Deutschlands Sieg und Ehre!", which means "For Germanies victory and honor!"

13
Gaming / Re: Battlefield: Korea
« on: 11-07-2016, 16:07:16 »
Wow, nice to see you´re back finishing Zefan and Serigs work, Anthony! Good luck with your endeavor and I really hope you´ll be able to create a good public release vesion. I´ll definately play it, once it´s out.

14
Gaming / Re: Battlefield "1"
« on: 04-07-2016, 20:07:55 »
They should´ve just ported Battlefield 1918 to the new engine, but I guess that wouldn´t be hip enough for a wider audience.

15
Off-Topic / Re: Post something happy that happened to you
« on: 28-04-2016, 19:04:10 »
Luftwaffe, 12 years, Instandsetzung, Feldwebel.
Plan B is to go back to my normal job, Plan C is still unclear yet,
Will start in August in Heide, it's planned to start my duty as a Feldwebel 2019 in Büchel.
That sounds solid, as you will work in a fiekd that is likely profitable after you´re out, especially on the Meister-level and up. The military is nice if you can do a job that you either learned or will be able to use afterwards. Being a 30-something ex-Feldwebel who has to go back to vocational school after 10 years of service in the army is tough. Good luck with your AGA and remember not to stick out too much.

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