comment on Scolded by wife for thinking about financial freedom

thinking further, the assi reader is not scolded for thinking about financial freedom but for not having the aspirations and looking to escape.

upcoming comment on http://singaporeanstocksinvestor.blogspot.sg/2016/08/scolded-by-wife-for-thinking-about.html

my personal opinion is both sides (only investing/career matters) are equally extreme.
though to be equally focused on both is an art in itself.
nothing wrong to have aspirations on both fronts.
but the more important thing I would ask myself is: are my reasons behind investing more aspirational or more of an escape?
and very often, for a lot of people, they find it to be the latter.
if we find that to be the case that we are looking to escape, then we need to question our mentality.
i find it important to find the courage not to back away from challenges.

Keep going for the wins until you get the experience to make it easier the next time around

you have to keep going for the wins until you get them.

then it becomes easier. because you did it before.

http://joefahmy.com/2011/09/28/michael-jordan-on-tiger-woods/

The following is an article from ESPN the Magazine written by Michael Jordan back in May 2001. He talks about Tiger Woods, the killer instinct, and performing in the clutch. When I read this, I find so many similarities to stock trading. I hope that you also see the correlations, as we all strive to become better traders.

The ability to perform in the clutch comes from having the confidence to know that you can. Where does that confidence come from? From having done it in the past. Of course, you have to do it that first time, but after that, you’ve got a model you can always relate back to. It gives you comfort doing something you’ve done before.The athlete today with more of that kind of confidence than anyone is Tiger Woods. Look at his record. If he’s got a lead, he keeps it. If he needs a big shot, he makes it. And the more he does it—the more he comes through when he has to—the more confident he is he can do it again.Of course, Tiger’s an athlete for golf, nothing else. I can take him to a basketball court and bet him I can beat him 7 out of 10 times shooting left-handed, and he wouldn’t have a chance. That’s because my confidence is so strong. I wouldn’t feel any pressure.Golf? It’s the other way around. One time we played, he spotted me 5 shots a side. I go out and shoot 75. Guess what he shoots? 65. He didn’t beat me, be he didn’t lose. I’m pretty sure if he’d given me 12 strokes he’d have shot a 63. Fifteen strokes? I don’t know. I think I’d win that bet. But I’m not sure.The key to hitting a golf ball is the same as for shooting a jump shot. You just do something repetitively, until it works consistently. A golf swing or a basketball shot doesn’t have to be technically perfect to work for you. There are guys on the Tour who don’t have perfect swings like Tiger, guys with big loops in their swings, or somebody like Jim Furyk. But their swings work for them.Putting is not too far from a free throw. Just you and the technique. Very comparable. You’re doing something you’ve done a million times before. But you have to block everybody and everything from your mind. If you let yourself think “What if?” as you’re doing it, you won’t.What it gets down to is confidence and pride. Confidence is based on having done it before. Tiger’s confidence is so high because of his work ethic and his past success. And he performs the way he does in the clutch today because he has such confidence. If he wants to hook it around the damn tree, he’ll do it. The rest of us don’t have that confidence, or that past success, so when we hook the stupid ball, it hits the tree.Tiger’s pride is such that he won’t allow himself to be caught off guard. He always has to stay two or three steps ahead of his competitors. That’s why he won’t take a day off. I was that way too. There were days when I didn’t want to work out, practice, whatever, but I did it because I didn’t want that next guy catching me.That’s why, if the game is tied in the last two minutes or down the stretch, I feel I have an advantage over everyone. Tiger feels the same way. But if you fail in the closing minutes, if you’re unable to make the big play, it can work against you in the future. The funny thing is, I don’t remember ever failing.

The shot I made to win the NBA Championship against the Jazz in 1998—the shot people think was my last one ever—is probably my best-known clutch moment. But the biggest shot I ever made, the one I always go back to, the one that started it all, was in the NCAA Finals in 1982. The game-winner against Georgetown. And the truth is, I didn’t realize the magnitude of taking it, because I’d never had the experience before.

You see, I’d never taken the big shot. High school? Shoot, my team never got out of the sectionals. I can’t remember any really big shots or big plays early in my career. None. The only thing that was close was in the 1981 McDonald’s All-American Game at Wichita State, when I think I made a late steal or a free throw to win. But I don’t put that on the same page with real clutch.In that Georgetown game, I had no time to think. The play was designed for James Worthy, not me. We’d called time-out and Coach Smith said, “We’re going to try to get the ball into James. But James, if you can’t get it up, swing it around. Michael should have a wide-open shot.” I knew I was the second option, so it wasn’t as if the weight was on me. By the time the ball got to me, I just had to react. Maybe that helped.If we’d had a different play set up, or if I’d thought about it in the time-out? I don’t know, maybe things would have turned out different. I imagine I would have tried to stay calm and say to myself, “Hey Mike, it’s not the end of life,” and hope for the best. I know that at really clutch times, some people try to con themselves into thinking none of it matters. But I also know that’s just a rationalization, because it does matter.My whole NBA career I always thought back on 1982. I’m not saying you can’t be confident in the clutch if you’ve never made the big play before—obviously, I was already confident before that shot. But that one moment initiated so much. Every shot after that, I felt I could make. I responded so well in those situations because I had such positive thoughts. I thrived on last-second shots. It became a trait for me.Against Cleveland in the playoffs in 1989, we could have finished the first round in Game 4, but I missed a free throw with nine seconds left. Now everybody expected us to lose Game 5 and the series. But all I wanted was another opportunity, and when we had the chance to finish them off, I did, hitting that shot over Craig Ehlo.

Why did I miss that free throw in the first place? I think I didn’t focus. I may have let negative thoughts creep in. It’s not the only time I didn’t come through. In Game 1 against the Lakers in the 1991 Finals, our first title year, we fought back to go up by two. Then Sam Perkins hit a three-pointer to put them up by one. I took what I knew was the game-winning shot—I was sure I made it, but it went in and out. It’s in the IMAX movie. The shot goes all the way down and then comes out. We lost Game 1 but swept the next four. Why did the shot come out? It wasn’t meant to be.What happens to clutch guys in the big moments is that everything slows down. You have time to evaluate the situation, and you can clearly see every move you need to make. You’re in the moment, in complete control. It’s hard to get there, something has to have you thinking that you can do no wrong. But once you do get there, you can just come out at the start of a game and generate the feeling.Being the best means winning. In college, I never averaged more than 20 points a game. If I got hot, the other team would go to a zone and take away my individual performance. But we’d find a way to win, so who cares?So many young kids in the NBA don’t think that way. Now, as the Wizards president, when I look at some of the young guys out there, I’m not sure I’d draft them, because they haven’t developed that winning attitude. A kid like Kobe? In hindsight, yeah, I’d take him. But when he first came out, I can’t say that I would have.If we have the first pick this year, I may trade it instead of running the risk with some kid who still needs so much more education, so much more experience. There are no shortcuts. You can’t just “think” you can be clutch.My comeback…well, it may not even be a comeback. But here’s the thing: You’re a great player, you’re going to play the game you love—somewhere, somehow. I know the media isn’t going to leave me alone until I decide about my comeback. But for now, right now, I wish that kid Tiger would keep everybody off my back.Just watch him win.

Attitude to Life

•  work hard
•  be positive 
•  be generous 
•  share credit 
•  earn trust 
•  stay teachable 
•  show gratitude 
•  dream big

Don't shy away from your feelings - Ed Seykota

http://jonboorman.com/an-evening-with-ed-seykota/

which is someone will shut down or pout, or walk away… the most proactive thing in most situations is tell the other people in the situation how you feel, and that seems to be hard for people to do, that unwinds most of the problems someone has, tell the person how you feel and ask them how they’re feeling and get that information to flow with rapport and without judgment. That solves 90% of everything.”
“Most people can’t do it, they say ‘well it won’t work in this case, ’cause I just can’t talk to that person’ but that’s the solution to most problems and most medication. It has to do with shutting down the ability to tell what you’re feeling, and when you stop telling yourself how you feel and you start to medicate…
“We find most people will shut down because they had some pattern or person in their life that they saw shut down, or be abusive. If you have an abusive father and a mother that puts up with it and she says look this is the way to get along in this family you just shut up let him beat you for a while and he’ll go away, the pattern gets expressed that way. After a while anytime something gets tough that person is just gonna shut down and go to sleep.

Iceland football team - doing what you can the best you can

When you have no confidence, focus on doing the best thing you can the best that you can and take pride from that to build your confidence.

https://sports.vice.com/en_us/article/how-icelands-two-managers-built-its-greatest-team-ever

"We can be that even if we don't have the best individuals," Lagerbäck said. Organization—acting as a structured, cohesive unit on the field—is something they work on constantly. By focusing on being the best-organized team in the world, the players were absolved of the inferiority complex that hamstrung Iceland in Bjarki's day.

Rent in United States: it's too damn high!

In Brooklyn New York, rent costs 49.9% of your typical household income. 

In Singapore, buying a home (as long as you don't overbuy) costs less than a couple's combined CPF-OA account.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/05/25/how-much-a-decent-apartment-costs-you-in-every-county/

Singapore against corruption

Hand in hand with catching corruption, the implementation of clear transparent rules and the no-delay in bureaucracy in allowing business to take place are key.

One of the top reasons for allowing corruption by business people, other than getting ahead, is to incentivise speediness in business process.






http://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/fight-against-corruption-singapores-experience

The story is told of a businessman who visited Singapore from an Asian country used to different operating norms. He left puzzled and disturbed that he could not discover the going rate for bribes to officers at different levels of government. He concluded wrongly that the prices must be very high.

Singapore has achieved some success eradicating corruption, but we are under no illusions that we have permanently and completely solved the problem. Corruption is driven by human nature and greed. However strict the rules and tight the system, some individuals will sometimes still be tempted to transgress. When they do, we make sure they are caught and severely dealt with. Two years ago, we charged an assistant director from the CPIB itself with misappropriating $1.7 million.

http://blog.moneysmart.sg/opinion/singapores-top-5-corruption-cases-so-far/

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/singapore/corruption-rank

Singapore is the 8 least corrupt nation out of 175 countries, according to the 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index reported by Transparency International. Corruption Rank in Singapore averaged 5.24 from 1995 until 2015, reaching an all time high of 9 in 1997 and a record low of 1 in 2010. Corruption Rank in Singapore is reported by the Transparency International.

Malls are already and will be more discerning of their tenant mix

http://investmentmoats.com/money-management/dividend-investing/buy-crap-reits-investment-properties-fundamentals-bubble/

The biggest hearsay is that REITs create an artificial environment where the fundamentals are non-existent. They are a bubble waiting to burst. I find this way of thinking really absurd.

agree with lots of points in the post above. but when you look into it, he is not really arguing against retail malls facing competition. but against biasness against REIT malls. (I see no discussion about commercial or industrial.)

Moving on, going towards online shopping and in-person retail, let's review a bit.

1. we know online shopping takeup in huge in the US.
2. we know online shopping is getting big in Singapore.
3. we know singapore plans for nationwide parcel delivery.
4. we know they are launching last mile delivery for malls. (why?)

I feel some of the stores that depend more on in-person sales of physical goods will lose out in rental paying capability to those that are able to generate more from in-person purchase of services (playgrounds, movie theatres, salons, entertainment outfits, F & B, and other new forms).

In tight times, people pinch pennies and spend less and I feel physical goods sales in malls will suffer. The reverse may be true for better times. I don't have the figures for that.

I think there is a case for a entry in REITs when you notice a changing mix in malls.

but of course, we will be considering the macro: interest rates, availability of credit ...etc.

The only way to defend is to attack

Never defend your diminishing moat but attack into others' expanding moat.

Reach your goals by Panicking early

The beauty of panicking early.

"Now, will we actually be able to achieve volume production on July 1 next year? Of course not," he said on Tesla's earnings call. "In order for us to be confident of achieving volume production of Model 3 by late 2017, we actually have to set a date of mid-2017 and really hold people's feet to the fire, internally and externally."

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-09/elon-musk-s-tesla-strategy-win-big-by-falling-short

The way you say it matters

http://itsthewayyousayit.com/quick-tips-for-sounding-intelligent-powerful-polished-articulate-and-confident/

To Sound More Intelligent:Speak just a bit slower than you normally do to give yourself time to select your most appropriate vocabulary and to give the impression of thoughtfulness.
To Sound More Powerful:Use short, simple declarative sentences. You say what you mean and you mean what you say. Cut out any useless connectors, adjectives and adverbs, especially superlatives (Fantastic! Outstanding!, etc.).
To Sound More Polished:
Avoid answering a question with a blunt “yes” or “no”. Append a short phrase of clarification.  For example, “No, I did not see it.”  “Yes, I know Mary.” Doesn’t that sound more courteous?
To Sound More Articulate:Make a special effort to pronounce the final sound in a word and use its energy to carry over to the following word. Readers of my book will recognize the principal of ‘linking’.  Pay special attention to final “t”. (I can’t_ever count_on him.)
To Sound More Confident:Carry your body in an upright posture. Hold your head as if you had a crown on it. Don’t let your arms and legs have side to side motion when you move. Keep your elbows and knees close to the midline of your body. Think “CEO” or “King” and you’ll probably get it right.

Bonus joke:

Woman: I would like a beef pudding with extra cream and anchovies, please.
Waiter: Madam! oh you can't have all those ingredients together in a pudding!
Woman: yes I can.
Waiter: no you can't.
Woman: why I never been so insulted!

Deadlines are the only cure for Procrastination

Everybody procrastinates, out of fear, out of laziness, out of instant gratification.

But really, the only cure I have found are deadlines. Deadlines put about a certainty to the limit of which we can procrastinate. Deadlines help trigger the panic monster.

credits: https://www.flickr.com/photos/urbanthreads/2871267389

When you don't have an natural deadline for completing a task, starting on a journey, fulfilling a dream. Or simply, something that feels important but that you can put off again and again, I found it helps to create a deadline. 

And this is how I do it:

I cross out a calendar 

credits: http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/video/womans-hand-crossing-out-days-on-wall-calendar-stock-video-footage/85704126

Crossing out a calendar helps mark the passage of time.

Crossing out a calendar helps you recognize the approaching end of the month.

Crossing out a calendar helps you notice how much of a year has passed and how much you have left.

Crossing out a calendar tells you: YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING!

But what if you have a huge goal or a dream you have not started on?

Make a bigger calendar to cross out.

Not much time left 

Optimize Your Life By Optimizing your Phone in 2016 part 2

this is a loose followup to http://shiohmekiah.blogspot.sg/2014/01/optimize-your-life-by-optimizing-your.html

I am still using note 2 and my phone is still faster than most newer samsung phones. (i happen to have a larger set of friends who are samsung flagship phone users).

our HCIs are increasingly dominated by mobile phones so these are some of the tips I use personally:

1. limit yourself to only 80 apps.
2. keep only 1 game app - don't play so many games.
3. install nova launcher - optimise nova launcher
4. install advanced task killer - set to aggressive and screen off kill.
5. use only static wall paper.
6. uninstall twitter and facebook apps. - use chrome for twitter facebook. or use iphone.
7. keep notifications only for needed communications - I only keep for email/whatsapp 
8. uninstall all bloatware updates - or don't install them. samsung a lot.
9. remove autoupdate for google play apps - I update when needed.
10. uninstall clean master and iswipe and all the stuff that is promoted.

the following optimisations are specific to note II, you should be able to find your phone's equivalent:

Speed Up from Home Button - 
Double tap the home key > Press menu > Settings > Open via home key. It will remove the delay caused by the S Voice on using the home key between apps.

Stuttering Animations - 
Go to Settings > About device > Tap the build number 7 times > Go back and select Developer options > Turn off the Animations Scale options. This will disable the animation whenever you open apps on your device.

The Experience Conundrum

comment at http://createwealth8888.blogspot.sg/2016/04/are-we-frugal-when-we-need-medical.html

the important thing is: after an experienced doctor is already treating you and you are feeling better as a result, don't let another eager young doctor keep examining you and adjusting your medication.  

Yes, they are eager to learn and it is kind of a conundrum where they don't get experience without you giving them the chance. the question then becomes: do you want to be their experience?

Water - The Stuff of Life pt 2

Water scarcity increasingly is driven by three major factors: Global warming is forecast to create more severe droughts around the world. Meat consumption, which requires significantly more water than a vegetarian or low-meat diet, is spiking as a growing middle class in countries such as China and India can afford to eat more pork, chicken and beef. And the world’s population continues to grow, with an expected 2 billion more stomachs to feed by 2050.

A classified U.S. cable from Saudi Arabia in 2008 shows that King Abdullah directed Saudi food companies to search overseas for farmland with access to freshwater and promised to subsidize their operations. The head of the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh concluded that the king’s goal was “maintaining political stability in the Kingdom.”

“The effects of water scarcity will leave the rich and powerful largely unaffected,” Seche wrote in the classified 2009 cable. “These examples illustrate how the rich always have a creative way of getting water, which not only is unavailable to the poor, but also cuts into the unreplenishable resources.”

“Nestle thinks one-third of the world’s population will be affected by fresh water scarcity by 2025, with the situation only becoming more dire thereafter and potentially catastrophic by 2050,” according to a March 24, 2009, cable. “Problems will be severest in the Middle East, northern India, northern China, and the western United States.”

source: https://www.revealnews.org/article/were-running-out-of-water-and-the-worlds-powers-are-very-worried/


Investing in Water

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/04/18/3-best-stocks-to-invest-in-water.aspx
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/investing/11081169/Forget-gold-investing-in-water-could-generate-far-greater-returns-over-time.html
http://www.energyandcapital.com/report/water-investing-101-the-best-water-stocks-to-buy/190
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/06/water.asp

Culture - a clarification

I have, very early in my life, realised the difference having a distinct culture makes in a group of people. Very obviously, in an informal setting, you do not set it out upon 2 slabs of stone. 

Still articulating it, saying it out, defining the limits of what we do and what we do not do are very important in maintaining a cohesive, strong and focused group.

A very expansive instinctive imprecise semi-empirical discussion is found in Culture is Destiny: a conversation with Lee Kuan Yew.

I recall, being urged by the Singaporean government, as a youngster, to do well in mandarin and learn the chinese culture. Yet instead of the focus being on the language, I remember more vividly various speeches by the Singaporean government to pick up on the Chinese culture. Here, Chinese with a capital C, as in China, instead of the chinese worldwide ethnic group as a whole. 

Many people were flabbergasted: we have here, an admittedly multi-racial country whose government were openly perennially concerned with racial harmony and has a often enforced Sedition Act, urging one ethnic group to focus on its culture?

People around me were stumped, some condemned the open message, some questioned the absurdness of learning how to write chinese calligraphy, tea ceremony, chinese poems and so on.

The truth is: Singaporeans are always Pragmatists. and so are our government. So it had never been about the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively as so eloquently put by the google definitions engine.

It had always been about connecting on a deeper consciousness with a group of people who were about to become the biggest significant population in the world.

Principles and firm lines you would not cross

Sometimes there are lines you would not cross and sometimes, there are things you must do.

Stolen from Ray Dalio's Principles (have a read, it's really good):

1) What are principles? Your values are what you consider important, literally what you “value.” Principles are what allow you to live a life consistent with those values. Principles connect your values to your actions; they are beacons that guide your actions, and help you successfully deal with the laws of reality. It is to your principles that you turn when you face hard choices. 

 2) Why are principles important? All successful people operate by principles that help them be successful. Without principles, you would be forced to react to circumstances that come at you without considering what you value most and how to make choices to get what you want. This would prevent you from making the most of your life. While operating without principles is bad for individuals, it is even worse for groups of individuals (such as companies) because it leads to people randomly bumping into each other without understanding their own values and how to behave in order to be consistent with those values. 

 3) Where do principles come from? Sometimes we forge our own principles and sometimes we accept others’ principles, or holistic packages of principles, such as religion and legal systems. While it isn’t necessarily a bad thing to use others’ principles—it’s difficult to come up with your own, and often much wisdom has gone into those already created—adopting pre-packaged principles without much thought exposes you to the risk of inconsistency with your true values. Holding incompatible principles can lead to conflict between values and actions—like the hypocrite who has claims to be of a religion yet behaves counter to its teachings. Your principles need to reflect values you really believe in.

4) Do you have principles that you live your life by? What are they? Your principles will determine your standards of behavior. When you enter into relationships with other people, your and their principles will determine how you interact. People who have shared values and principles get along. People who don’t will suffer through constant misunderstandings and conflicts with one another. Too often in relationships, people’s principles are unclear. Think about the people with whom you are closest. Are their values aligned with yours? What do you value most deeply?

 5) How well do you think they will work, and why? Those principles that are most valuable come from our own experiences and our reflections on those experiences. Every time we face hard choices, we refine our principles by asking ourselves difficult questions. For example, when our representatives in Washington are investigating whether various segments of society are behaving ethically, they are simultaneously grappling with questions such as, “Should the government punish people for bad ethics, or should it just write and enforce the laws?” Questions of this kind—in this case, about the nature of government—prompt thoughtful assessments of alternative approaches. These assessments in turn lead to principles that can be applied to similar occasions in the future. As another example, “I won’t steal” can be a principle to which you refer when the choice of whether or not to steal arises. But to be most effective, each principle must be consistent with your values, and this consistency demands that you ask: Why? Is the reason you won’t steal because you feel empathy for your potential victim? Is it because you fear getting caught? By asking such questions, we refine our understanding, and the development of our principles becomes better aligned with our core values. To be successful, you must make correct, tough choices. You must be able to “cut off a leg to save a life,” both on an individual level and, if you lead people, on a group level. And to be a great leader, it is important to remember that you will have to make these choices by understanding and caring for your people, not by following them.

Water the stuff of life

Nobody leaves without water. And worldwide, clean water is not a bountiful resource. Yet us Singaporeans have grown very accustomed to water on demand.

When it comes to water, Singapore may be a victim of its own success, says world renowned water expert Asit Biswas. Water supplies are drying up at an unprecedented rate. But with the authorities here so efficient at making such effects invisible at the turn of the tap, Singapore residents continue to take a free flow of fresh, clean water for granted, Professor Biswas believes. - See more at: http://ifonlysingaporeans.blogspot.sg/2016/03/singapores-water-success-has-h2o-expert.html#sthash.Ljvr5X9U.dpuf

It wasn't very long ago that water is not bountiful as it is now.

1950s & 1960s.  Singapore was hot.  There was no rain for a few months.  The government imposed water-rationing.  At about 8.00a.m, all taps in our flats were turned off.  There was no water!  We had to go to a pipe downstairs with a bucket and queued for water.  The water is for the day's use, as water will only come on at about 9.00p.m.  No bathing, no cooking, no flushing of toilets etc.  Unless you stock up water.  There is water in pails, pots, containers etc as my mother filled up every available container in the flat.  There were 9 of us then.  Every drop of water counts, so please don't waste water.
http://www.singaporememory.sg/contents/SMB-e6adf2f0-5bb0-4c20-84c5-2cf0034c080a
1970s.  Every family had to fill up pails and pots of water. We were not allowed to wash our hair on the rationing day.
http://www.singaporememory.sg/contents/SMB-4bee0485-16bd-42ae-a045-c96244dc645a

Interesting side note, Michael Burry of The Big Shorting of housing mortgages in the 2008 financial crisis fame is investing in water.

The last line of the movie, printed on a placard, is “Michael Burry is focusing all of his trading on one commodity: Water.” It sounds very ominous. Can you describe this position to me?
Fundamentally, I started looking at investments in water about 15 years ago. Fresh, clean water cannot be taken for granted. And it is not — water is political, and litigious. Transporting water is impractical for both political and physical reasons, so buying up water rights did not make a lot of sense to me, unless I was pursuing a greater fool theory of investment — which was not my intention. What became clear to me is that food is the way to invest in water. That is, grow food in water-rich areas and transport it for sale in water-poor areas. This is the method for redistributing water that is least contentious, and ultimately it can be profitable, which will ensure that this redistribution is sustainable. A bottle of wine takes over 400 bottles of water to produce — the water embedded in food is what I found interesting.
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/12/big-short-genius-says-another-crisis-is-coming.html#

Positive Relationships makes you Happy

The clearest message that we get from this 75-year study is this: Good relationships keep us happier and healthier. Period. 

•  The first is that social connections are really good for us, and that loneliness kills. It turns out that people who are more socially connected to family, to friends, to community, are happier, they're physically healthier, and they live longer than people who are less well connected. And we know that you can be lonely in a crowd and you can be lonely in a marriage, so
• the second big lesson that we learned is that it's not just the number of friends you have, and it's not whether or not you're in a committed relationship, but it's the quality of your close relationships that matters.
•  And the third big lesson that we learned about relationships and our health is that good relationships don't just protect our bodies, they protect our brains. It turns out that being in a securely attached relationship to another person in your 80s is protective, that the people who are in relationships where they really feel they can count on the other person in times of need, those people's memories stay sharper longer.

Is Buy and Hold "Buy & Hold"?

Given the likelihood of a return of significant market volatility, periods of downward pressure will continue to be associated with price overshoots and undue contagion. For investors willing to stomach lots of mark-to-market risk, these gyrations will offer an opportunity to gain exposures at attractive prices to names possessing solid economic and financial fundamentals. And during the periods of upward retracement, these same investors will have the opportunity to accumulate cash, while continuing to upgrade the quality of their holdings.Anchored by the notion of “buy and hold,” many long-term investors will naturally resist adding a tactical component to their investment approach. But failing to do so could also cause them to risk losing sight of a larger reality that volatile markets are now signaling increasingly consistently.

- from Market Calm May Be Short-Lived - Mohamed A. El-Erian

Buy and Hold is not really "Buy & Hold".

Here's a more local example.