How The Economic Machine Works by Ray Dalio

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You are getting screwed and why you should enjoy it. 

Recently I have been doing a fair amount of travel. I flew from Seattle(SEA) to Dubai (DXB) and then from there to Cape Town, South Africa (CPT) This has occurred to me on other trips but I thought I would share a mindset that has helped me remain relaxed in the face of travel challenges.
A big part of travel is the in between, and by that I mean the airport and hotel transfers, the taxis, buses, trains etc. It is the law of averages that from time to time on one of these parts of travel you are going to get screwed. By that I mean you will end up having your time gone, your money taken, your belonging lost etc. It just happens.
    Rather than let the stress and anger build, the more things that become bad the more you can take it in stride. If something bad happens to you and provided you are willing to learn from it the less likely you are to have it happen to you in the future! So that cab driver screwed you out of ten bucks? Laugh!
The universe is more likely to let that not happen to you again because of your learning. So next time the hotel transfer was late and cost you an extra half hour of waiting take it in stride. You got screwed! But it is on average less likely to happen to you the same way again. The goal in life is the PATH to the top of the mountain. Not the top of the mountain itself. Remain calm and enjoy the path.


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Table Mountain South Africa

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Russia in the spotlight

The Ruble is falling like a stone and the price of oil cut in half. How is this going to play out not only domestically inside Russia but the larger interconnected world we live in. While there are many lenses one could look at it is instructive to follow the money and then ask questions. Here are some current resources that are excellent references to what is going on.

Articles
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-17/putin-s-secret-gamble-bet-on-ukraine-backfires-in-ruble-crisis.html
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-19/russia-expanded-gold-holdings-for-eighth-month-amid-ruble-rout.html
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-15/russia-increases-key-interest-rate-to-17-to-stem-ruble-decline.html

Following sampling of Russian Equites that have been badly beaten up. Maybe a time to buy?
LUKOIL ADR SHARE PRICE
GAZPROM SHARE PRICE
Market vectors Russia ETF

Books that are definetly worth reading that lay out the current environment.

The Colder War: How the Global Energy Trade Slipped from America's Grasp

The Death of Money: The Coming Collapse of the International Monetary System
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