HandsOn

Re: Investfest

retmd — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 02:37:20 GMT

Thanks much for the information, Homer.

I will give it a look. February in Florida sounds good.

I use Firefox almost exclusively, and recommend it. On rare occasion it fails to load or suffers a glitch, but re-starting the computer usually resets it. There may be the occasional site that recommends Internet Explorer, but this seems to be less than it once was.

Thanks again.

Re: Investfest

hfelknor — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 02:05:57 GMT

retmd, go to

www.valueforum.com and sign up.

You can sign up for as little as 1 day.

Then look at the banner across the top of the screen and on the far right you will see a tab for InvestFest.

That explains all.

Bsically it is an annual gathering of some of the VF members. The last few events have attracted 100/200 folks of the 2000 members we have.

This one will commence on Feb 6 and end on Feb 10.

Some folks will only come for part of this time.

The event is being held in conjunction with The World Money Show in Orlando.

The World Money Show has over 400 presentations scheduled.
Most are offered for free.

But there are quite a few presentations and guest speakers that will be done by us and for us at the Radisson Resort and Hotel in Kissimmee.

For instance we will have Hilary Kramer with Infrastructure and Water Resources, One of our own Hedge Fund managers with Exit Strategies, Gary Dorsh with Global Money Trends, and several of our own experts on Alternative Energy, China, Gold, Deep Value, Option Strategies, Technology investing, and Health Insurance options for the early Retiree.

Socially we will have a golf outing on Feb 6 AM, with check in at the Hotel from 3-5 PM,and there will be alot of people at the bar and at various restaurants in the area.

On the 7th there will be additional check in in the AM, some presentations over at the money show and an optional dinner at the Mandarin for VFers with a Texas Hold em game after for those who are feeling lucky...

On the 8th there will be a buffet lunch for the VFers in attendance and then there will be program events until that night when there will be a sit down dinner (included in your conference fee).

On the 9th there will be a full day of Presentations with our guest speakers and our own experts.

On the 10th there will be a half day of presentations and panel discussions....

There is a TON opf other things going on and we all try to meet and greet everybody.

These guys are almost all millionaires.

I wasn't when I joined.........

It's not for everybody.

There are several retmds.

Of those who join, a huge percantage renew their membership every year.

Note: I am just a member and am not an "officer" or affiliated in any way with VF except as an occasional volunteer.

In fact, I don't think we have officers.

I did volunteer and helped with the organization of InvestFest 2006 in Sarasota. To give you some idea of how we do these things, I was in charge of the sit down dinner. Other people were in charge of getting other things planned and implemented.

The dinner was held in front of the Shark Tank at Mote Marine Laboratory and was catered by a 4 star restaurant.

Hope this answers you question and I hope...........

This Firefox allows me to post this.............

Homer

Re: Hi Dennis

ben egbert — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 01:40:28 GMT

Thanks for your good wishes.

Is your eye problem enough to keep you out of photography? I certainly hope it was temprary.

Macular degeneracy runs in my family, but if it hits me, I expect it will be another 5-10 years. Loosing my vision would be a really big hit.

Other than prostate I have very good health, low blood pressure, good cholestoral, and low blood sugar. I exercise, and before my doc took me off exercise, I was doing 90 push ups each morning, I should be able to resume in a couple more weeks.

My dad and grandfather both dies at age 65, I just turned 67, and I never expected to live this long. But here I am and expecting at least 80.

Good to get to know each other here, thanks for youyr post.

Ben

Re: As a retiree

Limoman — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 22:53:29 GMT

Sorry to hear about your med problems Ben.. It reminds me of when I go thru something like that( Loss of Eye vision for a couple of Months, called Reitnopathy and Back surgeries) just about everything else just isn't important and more a Drugery.. even Making Money isn't that important.. (and Photography has been my 2nd Career for many yrs , doing Weddings to make money at it and Outdoor Work for artisitic reasons and had a few shows made some money at it and was planning to do it Full Time after retiring... so much for that idea..) Prior to get this eye Problem, I was Commissioned tod Historical work for my Fair Town and just finished it up when started having eye problems ) but an Ansel Adams I will never be...

My Father had Prostate surgery at age 75 and he Died from Asbestoes cancer..

but at age 87.... and my Uncle on my Mother's side had Prostate surgery, And he Died, 18 yrs later..of Heart Failure... of course he was about 100 lbs over weight, which coincides with his being a Big Italian guy, as my mother was..

here's hoping you have at least 20+ more yrs.. and the worst is behind you ( Sorry, couldn't resist the pun )

Keep the Faith

Dennis

Re: It works

ben egbert — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 21:27:12 GMT

I recently loaded Firefox because it is color aware (important to photographers). I am still using IE most of the times out of lazyness.

Ben

Re: to all

hfelknor — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 16:46:45 GMT

Here's a test using Firefox.

I have been trying for several days to get in using Safari.

Sometimes yes and sometimes no.

I have notified M*, but that is a total waste of time.

What a bunch of knuckleheads.

I use safari all over the web. Most sites cater to the browser that runs on the system that recently outsold all other systems.

If this works I will answer retmds question.

Homer

to all

ben egbert — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 01:41:20 GMT

glad I did not offend. I tend to be pretty open about stuff, which is a family trait, say whatever is on your mind and let the chips fall where they will.

Homer, your last one came through. Like you, I have a hard time forcing myself to come here with this format. It is just unfriendly. But I have not had your problem, maybe its your browser. I have other problems with text that are related to a large high def monitor that I use for photo efiting.

Jim, I find that I spend as much time on the computer as I did at work. It is not bad, at least it is suiff I want to do. And I can stop anytime and go outside and prune roses, or work my compost bin, or go down to the river and look for hawks and owls to photograph.

Re: Investfest

retmd — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 23:41:42 GMT

Homer,

How can I learn more about the February Investfest?

Thanks.

Re: No offense at all

retmd — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 23:29:45 GMT

Ben,

I can understand how posting the last message to a thread might make one think their note somehow put an end to a conversation, but I haven't found that to be the case with your replies over the years.

When I first read your earlier response I was a little stunned because not too many folks will post a health problem such as yours on these forums, and yet you did, and I can tell you that the story had a pretty big impact on me.

I am moving up my retirement date by several months, and probably my biggest concern is my health, and my wife's health. Luckily we are well, but the concern still looms in my mind.

Also, like you, I would like to simplify my portfolio so that I can detach myself from the computer and get a life in retirement. But being a control freak to some extent, as well as enjoying investing, I haven't gotten nearly as far as I would have liked in reaching a set and forget portfolio.

To me, you have your priorities right. Better yet, you are living it.

I, too, wish you good health. I hope that you continue to post since I have learned a lot from them. (that goes for you, too, Homer and Santa Cruz).

A little contrary to Homer, I am getting used to this new format. At times pages won't fully load, so I simply quit Morningstar and browse elsewhere. Sometimes just a few minutes later, Morningstar pages will load properly, so I browse here more during those moments. It's a bit clunky, but since the majority of folks I enjoy reading still occasionally post, I think it is worthwhile to plug away.

Re: Ben, sorry to hear about your health issues

hfelknor — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 23:11:07 GMT

Yes, mme too. Wish your health matters would clear up.

There is someting about this format that just pisses me off on a fairly reg basis.

I tried to respond to you Ben. Several times.

And I get a message that says something about "Inputting text" to the message.

Once that happens I am screwed. I cannot reply.

And of course I HAVE ALREADY inputed text!

This probably won't make it.

What a screwed forum.

Homer

Ben, sorry to hear about your health issues

jbingham1 — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 22:53:49 GMT

I haven't been forced into retirement yet, but expect to have some of the same problems. I already spend way too much time looking at my portfolio, but really don't make changes that much anymore. I really think you can have a portfolio that doesn't take constant monitoring so you can do much more with your life.

Ben, enjoy you hobbies and those important to you.

pax

Sorry if my reply offended

ben egbert — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 19:12:30 GMT

Either the bean counter statement which in hindsight I realize may have sounded like a put-down rather then the friendly rivalry between engineers and accountants, or the medical account.

I have noticed a tendency for my replies to stop a thread in its tracks, That is one reason I cut way back on my replies about 3 years ago.

Ben

As a retiree

ben egbert — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 17:59:41 GMT

I had to figure out what to do with my 401K. Fist convert it to an IRA, then slowly convert that to a ROTH. Works for me because of my special tax status.

As an ex workaholic, I had to find a hobby. So far, photography and gardening is doing the job.

So far as managing my money, it’s a hateful job; I do as much as necessary and no more. It’s a bean counters job, and I don’t have the mentality for it.

One thing that stands out to me is good health or lack of it. After a life of robust good health, I had my first taste of the dark side. In October, I had a procedure on my prostate called Turp, where they removed a portion the size of my thumb. It is an easy thing, overnight hospital stay, and then 4 weeks of taking it easy.

But, they found cancer in the removed tissue. It was a small amount, and since they took so much of the prostate they may have gotten it all. Prostate cancer is usually not considered life threatening, but it is still a sobering thing to hear from your doctor.

But 4 weeks after the procedure, I started heavy bleeding and passing clots to the point I had to go to the ER. They shot me with morphine, worked on it for an hour and gave up admitting me to the hospital for another two days.

The doctor finally decided the hospital was not going to fix me so he sent me home. After a tough 3 days at home, I finally got past this and have been good for the last 2 weeks.

It is a passing deal, I will probably have no more issues for the next 5-10 years, but I have a whole new perspective for health.

Re: Old Folks, Smart Money

hfelknor — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 16:10:46 GMT

Thank you for the graphic illustration of why Value Forum makes sense.

Forbes is a financial magazine. They report on Financial things. They do not own Value Fourm.

Value Forum ownership is explained on the site.

It's owned by two young entrepeneurs.

They own the site, they get the membership dollars.

They pay contest winners out of their profits.

Yes. I recommend it for people who are serious about their business.

I have no comment about YOUR statement, after all it is your statement,not mine.

Again, thanks for demonstrating the need for a Value Forum.

This place has sure gone downhill.

Homer

Re: Old Folks, Smart Money

Limoman — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 11:45:05 GMT

Re: VALUE FORUM site:

Sounds Good Homer, but...

Some RED FLAGS ....makes me suspicious

Left out > Membership fees

24-Hour Trial: $4.99
3-Month Pass: $74.99
6-Month Pass: $129.99
12-Month Pass: $219.99

Is this Forbes run this For Profit business

And who gets this $?

And who pays the $ from the Contests?

And I love this part> I heartily recommend it to those who are serious about their business.

Like nobody else is that doesn't join? LOL