Surfing the Coppock Death Wave.

I have just returned from one of the most depressing mornings of my entire life. I attended a seminar held by the Investors Chronicle magazine which is probably the most reputable investment magazine in the world. As you read what follows you should realise that this company makes its living from private investors and speculators and its current advice seems to be- do not even think about it.

I have attended a number of such events and the first thing I noticed was the exhibitors appeared to be refugees from a survivalist seminar and not a finance meeting at all. First off we had a guy from Deutsche Bank who mainly wanted to talk about gold and the end of the world. According to him the dollar is finished, the pound is finished and the Euro is a joke destined to collapse into chaos. He even seemed a little unsure about his own bank when he pointed out his gold was directly owned by investors and not the bank. Such concerns could only occur to a man who had imagined his own employer failing.

Next we covered the risk of hyper inflation and tax raids from a bankrupt government. Something akin to the Alpha Strategy was suggested by an attractive French woman in the form of wine that she would look after for us all.

Break for coffee and cookies and I was told by a fellow participant that someone had stolen the swans from his village pond- presumably to eat them.

Finally a talk on the Death Wave- a truly horrible series of technical indicators facing Britain and the US. In short we are all f***ed.

Remember that this seminar was paid for by the finance industry who presumably want us to invest. Maybe the real situation is even worse.

Remember that there are always a few adaptable souls that do well out of any disaster. Strangely, one of the most reliable indicators of a recovery is that all of the market commentators turn negative. The chaps at the IC showed us a graph indicating this has not happened yet in the UK but if I were to judge by the guys at the conference I would expect a recovery starting yesterday.

Seducing with style.

I am becoming more and more drawn to the philosophy of the Seducing with Style blog- and not just for the obvious reasons. Every man has a style- a message he continually transmits to the world by his clothing and movements. The majority of men are completely unaware of what these messages might be while the majority of women are extremely aware of everything they do. This accounts for a great deal of the social power women have and men must start thinking about these things if we are ever to close the gap.

There is also a personal development aspect to this as well. People with high self esteem generally express this by spending money on themselves if they have it and one of the best ways to develop self esteem is to behave as if one has it. I have always held that success with women is only the icing on the self development cake. In other words it is possible to walk through life being oneself and not consciously running game at all. As one develops as a man and as a human being women will appear in ones life to tell us that we have these qualities.

Getting your personal branding right can even save you money in the longer term. You may buy a single, high quality item and then wear it out by wearing it every day. This will not appear cheap to other people because the item is your trademark- part of who you are.

Style comes from being in touch with ones real self. It is not a matter of fakery or fashion. It is a matter of expressing ones inner self through outer appearance. This says many good things about a man. Firstly it tells others that we consider ourselves worthy of attention. Second, it denotes a degree of worldly success. Not everyone can dress according to their wishes- some people dress according to budget. Thirdly (if done right) it shows the world that we know who we are.

Developing style is a two step process.

1) Find a style that suits the real you (or the person you are becoming).

My on preference is for three separate 'costume changes' for different purposes. This may sound  superficial but what sucessful busisness does not advertise?


2) Live the style. Each style comes with a lifestyle.

If you dress as a rebel without a cause then go your own way. The English Gentleman should be interested in the finer things of life and the New Age guy should have an interest in the hidden world. There are of course many possible images to adopt. These are simply three that apeal to me.

To give you an ideal of what I am talking about I will discuss the three 'costume changes' that I intend for my own life. Your own choices will of course be different and you should realise that each of these outfits actualy opens up a new world for the wearer. Let me explain.

Rebel without a cause.

This is a cheap look and a practical one. It consists of a brown leather jacket, black jeans and comfortable brown shoes or boots. Wear with a brown belt.

It is important not to wear black leather because this has gay associations and because you may frighten old ladies. Brown is more subtle and requires even less maintenance than the black. Brown boots actually look better the more scuffed and dusty they become. This suggests the free spirit and the rolling stone rather than the mere scruffiness. You may pull this look off for as little as one hundred pounds and you may expect them to last for many years.

This look gives you permission to go your own way in life.

The English Gentleman.

The English Gentleman is not a wimp. He is a man of power who does not abuse his position in life. This look is difficult to pull off but absolute dynamite. Go for quality and it will last for many years. Tweed is as resilient as leather while traditional wooden block English shoes will last many many years provided you have rubber soles. Aim for James Bond rather than Prince Charles.

Take an interest in art and culture. Enjoy fine wine and go to every free event going. Urban gentlemanly pursuits cost nothing (galleries, festivals and so on).

New age survivalist guru.

This is a hybrid of many things. Outdoor clothing (which you should have for survivalist purposes) and an interest in the hidden world. The countryside is always open and it is always free.

The little sister test.

Game is largely about comfort. This is not the state of comfort between a man and a woman but between the man and himself. When a man is comfortable with the ethics of his own actions a woman is likely to trust him. This (ironically) is why jerks and sociopaths are so successful with women. They have a clear conscience because they have no conscience.

Assuming that we are not sociopaths this means we must be clear about our personal ethics. My own test is the 'little sister test'. In other words would I be happy with my little sister dating someone like me?

This is not an abstract notion. Imagine your sister with Ross Jeffries. What is your gut response? There is something weird and megalomaniac about the guy even if you leave out the Satan worship. This gut distrust comes from the fact that RJ is a manipulator. He may be a good one but somehow we always know this is what he is.

The same applies to Mystery. I would trust him to entertain me but no more than that. In fact in each case our gut reaction is correct. Ross is alleged (by his rivals) to abuse women emotionally while Mystery has mental health issues and puts his fist through doors (according to Style).

Tyler is the only Pick Up Artist who would slip under my radar. Some people call him a sociopath but I believe his ease with himself comes from the fact that his true aim is not maneuvering women into bed. He is trying to transform himself into some idea he has of the perfect man and women are his means to achieve this.This may be a little self absorbed but there are many worse things to be.

The question I must ask myself is 'would I pass the little sister test?'

I believe that I would and for this reason I suffer little approach anxiety. I am an old man and my sex drive is not what it was. I am drawn to game because I envy men who can have authentic, friendly relationships with women. I actually seek out the 'friend zone' and flit from girl to girl throughout the day being their gay best friend. Men such as myself get a much better sort of shit test. I am sixty and yet twenty year old Polish beauties will brush their breasts against me by accident in order to see how I react. Naturally I treat this as any other shit test and remain unreactive. Polish, Romanian and Ukrainian women marry young and generally remain faithful. Where can they practice their seduction skills if not with their gay best friend? On and on it goes with the slow sexy walk, the meaningful glances the frequent glimpses of cleavage- and the flattery! You probably have no idea how pleasing it is for an old man to be flattered by a twenty year old beauty and receive home made fudge, vodka and back rubs.

One reason I appreciate my mini daily romances is that I expect nothing from my women. In many cases these women have fathers still in their 40's meaning that I am actually old enough to be their grandfather. They are getting plenty of sex from their husbands. My role is to appreciate them and to enjoy their seductive natures which I find very easy to do.

The future of loyalty (there is none).

It came to me just now that customer loyalty programmes are a product of the past. This may seem a strange thing to say when new currencies are being launched almost every day and when the entire industry was spawned by new technology. It is the Internet that made it possible for so many companies to launch their own schemes at such a low cost. There is no need to print vouchers or issue plastic cards to customers any more- simply do the whole thing online.

It was also technology that enabled some schemes to magic apparent value out of thin air. Modern airlines know exactly how many tickets they have sold and they can predict which seats are likely to remain unsold. This allows them to issue a 'free' £200 ticket at very little real cost to themselves.

Loyalty schemes have become a way for second rate companies to push their stock. Truly competitive operations such as the Aldi supermarket chain offer low prices and high quality while strong brands such as Apple do not need loyalty points either.

The Internet is bringing in an age of truly transparent pricing. Customers will no longer be impressed by 'free' £200 flights that may be bought direct from a discount airline for £10. Tesco (market leading supermarket) in the UK was the first to introduce a loyalty card but have recently halved the number of points given.

Loyalty points are fun. Enjoy them but start to wind them down. Many will not be around in five years.

FURTHER READING
The coop
Tesco Clubcard
Nectar
Open Table (ChodeCard)

Live better and more cheaply.

Living more cheaply is easy- simply eliminate everything that makes life worth living. Living cheaply while living well requires creativity.

There is a paradox to living cheaply. In order to be successful one must discover new pleasures in life. If your focus is on eliminating everything you enjoy then you will fail in your quest because you will be in conflict with yourself on one level or another.

What do you enjoy at present? Do you like eating out? Learn to cook and have a similar experience at home. Do you socialise a great deal? Do not reduce this but find some way to combine this with useful activity such as learning new skills.

Learn to enjoy the great outdoors. It is cheaper than the gym and often more social.

Educate yourself for an uncertan future.

Education is far more than the piece of paper you have that qualify you to do your job. Education is something you do for yourself, not  for your employer and certainly not for the sake of state regulation.

What follows is a list of skills I believe every human being should possess. It is quite possible to stumble through life without them but it is likely to be a shallow experience.

MAKE PEACE WITH THE OPPOSITE SEX.
If you are a man you should learn some game. This is not so that you can manipulate women but so that you can understand them. It is quite possible to remain fully authentic while knowing the dynamics that occur between the sexes. Ideally a man should have friends of both sexes but generally they will serve different purposes for him.

If you are a woman you will need to abandon feminism. In particular you will need to drop the 'zero sum' mentality that comes with it. This basically holds that life is a see saw with men on one end and women on the other. If women are up then it is because men have gone down and so on. This means that you will always be on guard against any man who is doing to well in life and you will tend to sabotage him even when you believe you love him. It will rob you of intimacy. Victim hood is terribly alluring and toxic. It eats the soul with its resentments and can cause self sabotage.

GET SURVIVAL TRAINING.
There is a particular kind of confidence that comes from knowing that you can be placed in a wood or an open field and find all you need to survive there. This does not mean you particularly expect this to happen but the skill is educational in the widest sense. It makes one a different person. I find that Game has a similar effect. I am not seeking a girlfriend right now but the knowledge that most women enjoy my company changes the way I carry myself and the way I feel about myself.

FIND JOY.
Learn to be happy for no particular reason. Value this quality in others and associate with them daily.

BE INTERESTED.
Find a hobby. This can be as strange and obscure as you like. Maybe you are strangely drawn to the study of beetles or Eastern philosophy. Go for it!

TRAVEL
If you cannot travel then associate with people different to yourself.

Inflation proofing your future.

Inflation is the ultimate stealth tax because almost nobody realises it is created by governments who create credit from nothing. This accounts for its great popularity (among governments). All governments- even those with central planning- use inflation in this way.

Inflation has the effect of nibbling away at your real wealth so that you hardly notice it. Your stock portfolio and the price of your home may rise and so you feel that you are doing OK but in reality your wealth is undergoing a gradual confiscation by the state and their best friends the bankers.

How do we inflation proof our lives?

1. Get rid of cash and paper assets such as bonds. Everything that promises to give you a set sum some time in the future is subject to inflation because you have no idea how much that money will buy you when it arrives.

2. Invest in useful stuff- anything that makes your life better or saves you money is not subject to inflation. Suppose you insulate your home and save ten percent of your energy bills as a result. We will assume that the cost of energy doubles from £100 to £200 a month. This hurts everyone who invested in bonds and annuities but it does not hurt you. In fact you benefit from it in a way because your ten percent energy saving doubles in value from £10 to £20.

3. Invest in education- particularly education in disaster.

4. Buy gold and possibly wine.

The real adventure.

We are all wealthy to the extent that we can amuse ourselves.

Imagine two individuals.

One person has money (which he inherited) but cannot amuse himself. He needs to be entertained by others in order not to be bored and spends money continuously to avoid this. None of these things have lasting value to him and he experiences life as an emptiness filled with light and sound.

Such a person will not be rich for long. They are likely to die young.

The second person is born poor but has a genuine interest in life. Everything around him is an adventure and people fascinate him. When he has money he is likely to save it simply because he has no fear of boredom. He enjoys his work however humble and finds ways to do it better. One day he realises he has become wealthy, almost by accident.

The most valuable thing we can do in life is become the second guy and help others do the same.

FURTHER READING.
The man who owned the sun.
The duty to be happy.

We must not miss this train.

I attended the St Pauls protest in London today. I took some photographs and made some new friends. What I found may surprise you.

Everywhere I looked Austrian and Conservative ideas were triumphing over socialist solutions.

The entire event was surprisingly individualistic and right wing. Note the slogans on this tent that could easily have been found on a Fathers 4 Justice event.

The demonstration has developed into an instant university where brilliance and complete nonsense may be heard in equal mesure. This guy is some sort of tax haven expert who advocated a whole raft of regualtion and extra taxation (wrong wrong wrong).

There was a carnival atmosphere with plenty of interesting art.

Anonymous was always going to attract conspiracy minded individuals. Many of these people believe anything no matter how absurd provided that the government say it is wrong. The fact that 'they' do not want us to believe it is proof enough.

It is refreshing to see that most people on the demo seem to have a more sceptical and pro science attitude as you will observe from the graffiti on the anti vaccine poster.

Meet Robin Smith, articulate and thoughtful former Conservative councillor who now promotes land value taxation. I will interview him on another date as I am broadly in favour of land value taxation. The object is to tax unearned income and while allowing everyone to enjoy the fruits of their labour. Income tax is a tax upon work and tends to discourage production. Employers payroll taxes are taxes on employing people and also come out of the wages of working people one way or another. Taxing the 'free ride' that some people get on the increasing value of their homes on the other hand does not have this side effect and is socially just.

The cheese crate survival kit.

I have recently returned from Fortnum in London where I buy artisan cheese. This is practically the only luxury in my life and it comes in a very nice little cheese crate.

The crate costs £60 (fully filled) but the pasta costs only 18p a bag as it is supermarket value fare.

This is actually quite a good investment as the price of food is increasing at around 6.5% a year. In addition to this there is also some survival value in having dried food and I intend to give these little cheese crates to my friends as a sort of portable survival kit.

This is an Alpha Strategy project that is paid for in Alpha points. This means that the investment is intended to help my community of readers as much as it helps me.

The Plan? Spooky but thrilling.

The infamous Sharon Osborne castration clip.

Anonymous embrace Austrian Economics?

£6.91 Yay!

Quidco sent me an email early this morning to say that they were sending me my first payment- for £6.91.

I am far happier about this than I really should be. £6.91 is not much. So what is Quidco? It is a website that allows you to make online purchases and receive the sales commission to your own bank account. Everyone should be a member and you may join free of charge.


My own policy is to treat Quidco as a business. I only buy products that benefit me in some definite way (idealy by saving money). I therefore benefit three times over. Firstly I get to use the products. Second, I generally get the initial cost back again in some way. This may be through the saving of energy or through some combination of factors. Thirdly I receive commission on what I have used.

How to stay in credit.

Most of us have enough to live on. The only reason we finish the month with a thumping great overdraft is that we cannot resist temptation.

So what is the solution? Are we to rely upon self denial and will power? How well has that gone so far? Probably not very well. The solution is to find ways to make us want to behave sensibly.

One way I do this is to reward myself when my bank account is in credit. These treats are very cheap- only about one hundred pounds a month- and yet the thought of losing them motivates me to stay in credit.

1. Chocolate. I only buy chocolate when my current account is in credit. If I have some chocolate in the fridge when I go overdrawn I am free to eat it but I can buy no more until I am back in the black.

2. I love Horlics and hot chocolate. These are also off limits when I am overdrawn. Both are heavy on milk which makes them expensive and fattening.

3. I like to buy Tesco 'finest' meals for two. These consist of a main course, a starter or pudding, a side dish and quite a nice bottle of wine. I am free to pick and choose which items suit me best. Although these meals cost £10 they can be made to last three or four days. I have the soup one day, the main course the next and so on. The soup is intended only to be a starter for two people but will make a complete meal for one. This treat is forbidden when I am overdrawn as I can eat very well at Aldi for almost nothing. Aldi food is of good quality but it is of limited variety. An interesting alternative to the Tesco meal deal is the original meal deal from Marks and Spenser. M&S offer a less fussy but more filling alternative for the same price. While Tesco give you a fully prepared meal in a metal tray that you simply place in the oven, M&S give you an entire chicken. This means that an M&S meal for two can often feed an entire family.  The packaging is less flashy and the meals themselves tend towards the English rather than the French. On the down side we should note that M&S offer no loyalty scheme and the £10 meal deal is not always available. The wine also tends to be less good than the Tesco alternative.

Tesco also inflate the price of their 'finest' offerings so that they look good value in a meal. The last Tesco £10 meal I had contained £20.99 worh of products while the M&S alternative contained £17.99. Make of this what you will.

4. There are also a variety of cafe chains that I like to visit when I am in credit. Each of them offer value in their own way.

a) Weatherspoons. Certainly the best value UK chain for food (though not the cheapest.) It is my long term aim to cancel my home personal broadband connection and use the WiF here. It is possible to enjoy around seven Weatherspoon meals for the price of a mobile Internet connection. Help yourself to some sauce sachets.

b) Starbucks. Starbucks creates bizarre sweet and milky liquid puddings that it calls coffee. These are not bad- but they are not coffee. It also offers free WiFi and the occasional good offer through the Starbucks card.

c) Subway. Good for breakfast. No WiFi.

In short each of these small luxuries has hidden benefits that go some way towards making them self financing. Eating out saves time, which is something security guards do not have much of. It also means I do not have to eat at home which partialy offsets the cost of the eating out.

Every time I am tempted to spend I realise that it will mean living without these small treats for a couple of weeks. This usually stops me.

A visit to the Apple Store.

I visited the Apple Store today as my iPad (6 weeks old) no longer works. It was an educational experience. Outside of the shop two groups were gathered to the right and to the left of the front door. One group was somberly dressed and stood around a makeshift shrine to Steve Jobs. The other was dressed as furry animals and they were getting ready to queue up all night for the chance to be among the first to buy the latest (slightly disappointing) iPhone.

This is the power of the Apple brand. The strongest in the world.

After being messed around by my telephone company apple were very good. I was given a replacement unit and sent on my way.

This taught me that my primary relationship was with apple and that I should buy from them if possible.

The best way to do this is to join Quidco first (though this site) so that you receive cash back.

This has other advantages too. Apple will have the best supplies and they can offer products that are available nowhere else such as the 'RED' range. These are limited edition versions of standard apple products that come with a donation to AIDS charities at no extra cost.

In addition to this it is possible to have most apple products engraved free of charge- but only if you buy directly from them.

Spanish. Why and how.

Why Spanish?

1. The two most useful languages to have in the world are English and Spanish. Chinese is spoken by a great many people of course but it is not really a single language and it is difficult to learn. In any case it will be some time until westerners really wish to compete in the Chinese job market.

2. Knowing at least one foreign language is necessary if one is to teach English abroad. This opens a world of freedom and sexual opportunity that few can even dream of. You will earn very little hard currency by travelling the world in this way but you will live quite well despite this. You may well have a maid and a cook provided by the school.

3. There is some evidence that bilingual people maintain brain function into old age.

4. It is good to have an overseas base in case of crisis at home.

5. It is possible to earn an A level or a GCSE (UK school qualifications) in what is basically a practical skill. This makes one more employable even when Spanish is not required for the job.


How Spanish?

1. Immerse yourself as far as possible. Use the widget on the website to learn a word a day but keep at it. Try to find a Spanish speaker to talk with. It is amazing how far three hundred words will take you. Once you have the basics your brain will acquire the rest quite effortlessly because all it needs to do is slot additional words into an existing frame. Most people who believe they cannot learn languages have simply given up before it becomes easy.

2. Do not pay for anything unless you must. There are many very good podcasts to teach Spanish. These may be downloaded free of charge via iTunes. Link your learning to physical actions such as touching objects as you name them. The more real a thing is the easier it is to remember. If you are learning foods try to look at a picture of the item. Imagine the flavour and the smell. Make it as real as possible and these images will return when you need them. Learning a language is hard work and should be done in short bursts.

3. Visit Spain or Mexico. They are still cheap.

The Misers Bathroom.

A few days ago I did something very unusual. I spent some money.

I bought myself a huge black blanket towel along with a matching bathmat and one of those funny rugs that go around the toilet cistern.

I expect each of these items to save me money one way or another. The blanket towel (£28) replaces a couple of mismatched towels that I am currently using. These now reside under my bath where they have insulation value. The bathmats (£10 each) also have an insulation value as my floor is cold.

It is unlikely these items will pay for themselves- but it is possible.