This week's written snapshots.
jade
We went to the Clark County Museum’s historical park for their annual “Heritage Holidays” celebration. It’s been four years since our last visit, a completely different world ago.
I presume he enjoyed it a lot more than when he was twenty months old!
This photo was taken in a tiny two bedroom house, originally constructed in Henderson, Nevada around the Second World War.
,
,
,
,
,
,
We have been extremely cautious about the pandemic so we still aren’t eating out. As such, much of this info is out of date, but I wanted to mention a few favorite Vegas places, but please do your own research.
Vegas Restaurants
- Ramen was just becoming a craze and hadn’t made it to Houston before we left. So when we arrived, we went straight to Monta. It was still our favorite before the pandemic hit, though I’m not sure it’s totally worth the long wait.
- Pacific Island Taste was a favorite at my office. My co-worker still vouches for it and we had them cater our holiday potluck a month ago. Get some Hawaiian flavors at the 9th island!
- If I was going fancy on the Strip, I guess I’d pick the Bouchon at the Venetian. Strip restaurants are usually money grabs by celebrities so it lacks the passion you find with chefs at their original passions. But we’ve had a couple memorable Easter brunches with friends up at the top of this hotel.
Vegas Coffee Shops
- Tony Hsieh’s Downtown Project wasted a ridiculous amount of money, but one of its legacies is the sunken courtyard with Mothership Coffee Roasters in the old Ferguson Motel in Downtown.
- Nearby is Publicus, an independently owned coffee shop that has maintained a stellar reputation.
- Le Paris Coffee and Pastry is an off strip gem on Decatur and Desert Inn. It was the place I’d take folks to show them the “real Vegas”.
Quirky Places in the Desert
- The Clark County Museum is a great deal with general admission at $2.00. We should go there when the sun is out, I’ve heard there is more there to be enjoyed.
- Cactus Joe’s is a nursery and variety store. Given that it’s primarily outdoors, this was one of our first visits when we started coming out of our shell. It’s a fun shop, even if none of the stuff matches our aesthetic tastes.
- Calico Basin is on the outside of the famous Red Rock Canyon. It’s free and won’t involve a long wait to visit.
- If you want to check out a big piece of civil engineering, the Hualapai Lot Trail Head gets you right there. It’s wild to hike in the hills overlooking the city, turn a corner and feel like you’ve disappeared into the desert.
- Las Vegas Books is a used bookstore that opened a couple of years ago by owners who moved here from Minnesota. This is the quintessential Las Vegas story. Come here and work hard, and you will establish a reputation in no time.
And if you want decade-old tips for Houston (we left in 2013) here are few highlights.
- We loved walking through the Menil art collections. It was our last stop before leaving the city.
- The quirky Orange Show is an inspiring testament to what one determined person can make.
- The Port Authority offers a super cool, free 90 minute boat tour of the shipping channel.
- If you have time for a full day detour, run up to the Kimbell Art Museum at Fort Worth. This building is a required visit for any architect.
Houston Nostalgia in Restaurant Form
- Cafe Brasil is where I started a Friday morning caffeine and contemplation routine, with a shot of espresso and a scone.
- Wandering around the neighborhood, we discovered La Guadalupana and fell in love with their pastries (almond croissants!), vampiro (beet, carrot, and orange juice), and their mojarra frita.
- Our favorite breakfast plate was the migas (Mexican style egg scramble with tortilla strips) at Baby Barnaby’s. This American posh fusion took it this TexMex breakfast plate to another level.
- In Bellaire (Chinatown), we would get the Spicy Fried Tofu at Star Snow Ice in the Dun Huang Plaza. It paired great with their sweet Hot Tofu soup. Sometimes we would start a meal run with Fried Tofu as an appetizer, go to another restaurant for the entree, and return for Hot Tofu as dessert.
Hopefully I didn’t steer y’all wrong in with the food, but I can vouch for the other stuff. And I’m always happy to chat about my towns. I hope you have fun in the desert (or swamp!)
13 Jan 2024
~
Money Multiplication Matters
Tangents from a few books about money. I heartily recommend the one by Harry Browne; the rest are OK.
,
Fail Safe Investing, Lifelong Financial Security in 30 minutes, Harry Browne, 1999
If you’re a wimp (like me) this is the best book on investing. And if you get interested in Risk Parity style portfolios, check out Frank Vasquez’s “Risk Parity Radio” for up to date opinions and advice on this style of portfolio construction.
- If you want to speculate, look elsewhere. Harry Browne advises that your profession will be your primary source of wealth and warns against taking risks like investing on margin.
- Clean, clear advice. Some specifics are outdated (such as how to purchase investments) but his conservative concepts are solid.
- I plan on revisiting this book every year. I’ve taken a more aggressive approach than his “Permanent Portfolio” (more stocks, less gold and bonds). Still, I thank him for introducing me to Gold. It’s a controversial asset but a game changer for me. It added a third uncorrelated asset class to ballast the portfolio, which made me more comfortable with investing heavier in stocks.
,
Explore TIPS, Harry Sit, 2010
Gotta start somewhere and I was curious about Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities when I started my investment journey in 2022. I’ve gone with a different investing strategy.
- TIPS are bonds with inflation insurance. Harry is a fan of going heavy on TIPS relative to nominal bonds. (I believe a properly diversified portfolio will compensate for inflation with the other asset classes, so I don’t like the extra cost of the inflation insurance).
- Purchase them at auction, the secondary market or via ETF’s. Harry Sit is open to all investment avenues.
- I-bonds are more like CD’s since they can’t be sold on the secondary market. Harry Sit is not a fan.
,
Value Averaging, The Safe and Easy Strategy for Higher Investment Returns, Michael E. Edleson, 1993
An optimized way to pour cash into the investment market.
- “Value Averaging” is setting a goal for how much you want an investment to increase over time and purchasing accordingly. Unlike “Dollar Cost Averaging”, Value Averaging pushes you to buy more when the markets are down and less when they’re up.
- If you want to be awesome, the book gives a bunch of math to optimize the investment curve.
- As a retail investor playing with small sums, I believe optimization is a waste. After learning the basics, the smallest edge requires a ton of study. Any such such bet will be overwhelmed by the capricious whims of the gods. Better to enjoy the finer parts of life.
,
Die Broke, Stephen M. Pollen and Mark Levine, 1997
I found the book in a random giveaway pile in Berkeley, maybe in lower Sproul Plaza. Two cities (and decades) later, I finally read it.
- Great title and interesting provocation to reevaluate our relationship to money, work, and retirement.
- I love books with unique structures. Part 1 is a short self help mindset manual. Part 2 is an alphabetical list of chapters with practical advice. (Since this book is almost thirty years old, I lightly skimmed the second part since I presume most of it is out of date.)
- I enjoyed Part 1, partly because I already agree with their four key maxims. I view employment as a transaction not fulfillment, believe in avoiding debt, and doubt the positive good of leaving a large bequest. I’m not totally sold on the maxim of “Don’t Retire” but I appreciate their skepticism of the modern retirement paradigm.
,
make
money
grow
invest
digits
on a
screen
.
10 Jan 2024
~
Thanks for reading!
Justus