end of year rollercoaster

The stock market is down one day then down some more then starts to bounce... could be the summary of '18. Jobs exist. Unemployment is low, so pain isn't abundant. Speculation abounds... the Fed hiking rates means market unease.
The first tax return checks from the tax cut have yet to cut, so I expect a stimulus for much of the country. 2020 Census will create jobs as well.
Nancy Pelosi being speaker again, will give Trump a foil. Trump had no one to attack aside from the media and cop killing illegal immigrants, so any economic malaise will be blamed on Pelosi.
Finalizing trade deals will linger. When they resolve... another stimulus will be unleashed.
Price of fuel has dropped drastically. The Middle East, Russia, and Venezuela aren't benefiting.
The price of gold hasn't gone up drastically like it did immediately after Brexit, so there's a certain stability in that we're nowhere near the economic climate of  its peaks in '11.

thoughts about Miami falling into the ocean from rising ocean and hurricanes

My wife was watching something on engineering with relation to Miami being in danger of rising sea levels and hurricanes.
They glossed over hurricanes as waves originating from the coasts of Africa and turning violent from the change in water temperature of the Gulf of Mexico.
Perhaps there would be less hurricanes if there were land masses between Africa and the Gulf of Mexico or if the latter's water temperature was less of contrast to the waves originating from the African coast.
Not sure how to regulate the temperature of the Gulf of Mexico, but canals to the Pacific Ocean could be made and the displaced dirt could be dumped into the ocean to disrupt those currents from the African coast.
Rising sea levels is interesting since it suggests ice melting at the poles.
Perhaps displacing existing ocean water towards inhabitable deserts could lower the sea levels?

will Pelosi news further crash the markets?

The markets shrugged when Trump was on indictment watch back in August. Ever since the beginning of 2018, the markets has been up and down in drastic cycles of weeks. Nancy Pelosi was Speaker of the House during the entire "Great Recession," so I wonder if the recent plunges relate to the house being "blue" the next couple years. A significant number of candidates ran opposed to having her being Speaker again, but she seems to be converting a few to her side.

I have a dilemma. Do I sell off SPHIX and buy more FSAGX? I still expect the latter to swell, while SPHIX has been falling. The dividends of SPHIX make the value dip a moot point at the moment. I might sell FSAGX sooner if it hits marks I consider safe returns rather than mere greed expectation. A 25% return may be my new target, since I expect the market to rebound once the benefits of the tax cuts are truly felt in February into Spring.

Systems vs Goals

It's been a couple years since I read How to Fail, perhaps I need to re-read it? I'm not quite the same person, but I am very much the same in many ways.
I had hoped I could be followed by Scott Adams on Twitter, but no one follows me beyond my static 74 followers I've had since forever ago. I am, as of Tuesday, connected on Linkedin with Mr. Adams.
I admire Scott. He is wealthy and famous regardless of his mostly humble beginnings. Probably one of the few people I would ever think it would be cool to meet.

new insurance is same as the old insurance

When we got married, we had Grange. I didn't have a car, but the wife did. She had the same insurance company as everyone in her family. We got renter's insurance and then added another car. Home insurance wasn't much.
Everything was fine until I totalled her car. Rates for auto jumped a bit. Home owner's kept going up as well.
Three years after my accident, I shopped around and saved a ton on both. A few years later, rates were up again but they jumped after we made a claim for our roof after a storm. We switched companies, and again we saved a ton. Rates were reasonable for auto but home rates crept up. After we made a claim for the auto, rates stayed same but went up after another accident. Nothing major at first, but the rates jumped two years later.
I normally wait until 3 years after an accident to consider switching, but unreasonable hikes mean I have nothing to lose thus no reason not to shop.
Got a couple quotes from plugging info into sites, and got calls from one place.
I was going to check more sites but one guy I contacted to followup when I couldn't get a home quote online saved me some leg work since he reps multiple companies.
He ran my info through 6 companies and the one I expected was the one he quoted me
I'm back with my last insurance company. Considering my auto rates were going up $400+ a year and my new rate is $400 less a year than what it was, I'm happy. Happier that my home owner's insurance is $600 less a year, so I am saving $1,000 from just last year.
It's like giving myself a Christmas bonus.

spending money to make money

Ibotta and Checkout 51 are 2 of my hobbies. Tracking the cashback rewards from my various credit cards is another.
I will never get rich by spending money and getting rebates/cashback, but it is money I get for doing nothing taxable.
I will be credit card debt free one day. We've carried a debt long before we bought our house. It has gone down a lot, but stuff happened and it bounced back up.
I think we're technically still paying off our trip to Disney from '11.
No interest, since I take out new cards and can transfer without fees most of the time.
I sweet the small stuff now so I can work towards something grand.
I will break down our cash flow one day for it amazes me how easy it is to have opportunity to make more cashback.

accusations and truth aren't always the same

Accusations of rape are serious.
A friend of mine once told me about being at a college party and waking up to a guy trying to get into her pants. I was appalled and asked if she was okay. She didn't seem too bothered. Said the guy was more afraid of having his coach finding out.
I had known her since she was in HS. My dad had me run with her while I was home on spring break my freshman year. Something about the way she spoke made me think she was different from most people from my hometown. I had my dad give her my address and we soon started writing each other.
I still have the letters. They're well over 20 years old now. She ceased writing after she had an AOL account.
I used to write quite a bit. I loved getting mail. Not sure what I wrote, but I would get replies to which I replied.
I miss writing, but I associate the act with smoking. I think I used to smoke my camels mostly when I wrote. I didn't smoke much beyond a half a pack a day at most.
I never smoked around my parents. Sometimes I miss smoking, but I think I miss the solitude I associate with it.
Regardless, my friend was 16 when I got to know her. I forget when it happened, but I was visiting her once and her mom went nuts. Turned out my zipper was down, so she thought she walked in on something. Frustrating, given I had no sexual intentions toward her daughter. I had an obsession with someone else and was a virgin.
I was always passive with regards to kissing and such. I was content with being a guy friend. I never dated. I just went along with circumstances. I had no idea what I wanted from a partner until I found myself someone who knew me better than I knew myself. Life isn't perfect, but we have a fair understanding of each other.
I quit smoking and consuming alcohol because of my wife. She frowns upon those habits.
People who know me know would never guess I ever drank like I did during my college days.
I don't think I should be considered the same person, either.