Sheep to Chic: North Ranch Sheep Herding Pictures From January 1983

Photographer Scott Harrison took these wonderful pictures of Mario Palomino of Peru and 800 sheep he was tending in the hills of North Ranch before it was fully built out in January 1983. Palomino lived in a trailer along with his two sheep dogs. I don't see too many sheep around North Ranch these days! For more pictures and commentary from Scott, visit his website at www.harrysonpics.com.  Thank you for bringing us baa-ck in time, Scott!

Is the Dow Jones Industrial Average Still Useful?

This was originally posted in February 2008.  I decided to move it back up to the top of the list given that the DJIA is being changed again.  This time Citigroup and General Motors are being removed from the list, effective June 8, 2009, to be replaced by Travelers (insurance carrier and previously a division of Citigroup) and Cisco Systems.

PREVIOUSLY POSTED FEB 2008:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is an index of 30 of the largest blue-chip American companies.  It was created as a list of 12 stocks in 1896 and grew to 30 in 1928.  The editor of the Wall Street Journal is responsible for periodically changing DJIA components in an effort to better match the average with the overall economy.  Yesterday it was announced that two companies on the list, Altria Group and Honeywell, would be replaced with Bank of America and Chevron.  The changes will take place next Tuesday, the 19th (2008).

Although the DJIA is arguably still the most watched market index, a number of points can be made that the index is outdated:

1. The index is somewhat arbitrary.  DJIA components don't necessarily accurately represent the broader market.  Why hasn't Bank of America been on the list before?  Disney, McDonald's, Coca-Cola and Home Depot are on the list, but Apple, Google, Cisco and Starbucks are not.  How come?  Even Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, a Fortune 20 company, is not on the list.

2. The index is price-weighted.  This means they simply add up the stock prices of the 30 components and divide it by a factor that takes into account stock splits, changes in the index, etc.  As a result, a change in a $100 stock is treated the same as in a $20 stock. 

As an example, let's say IBM is at $100 and Intel is at $20 per share.  IBM is down $5 today while Intel is up $5.  The DJIA doesn't change because the +$5 is offset by the -$5.  However, if you owned $100 worth of each stock (1 share of IBM and 5 shares of Intel), you would be up by $20 (IBM down by $5 and Intel up by 5 shares x $5).  So you are up 10% on your investment but using a price-weighted average says you are break-even.

3. Why just 30 stocks?  30 stocks may have been adequate 80 years ago, does it really represent a reasonable cross-section of the 11,000+ stocks currently traded in the U.S.?  Seems to me that the S&P 500 and other major market indices better reflect our economy.

4. The DJIA ignores dividend payments.  This is not unique to the DJIA average but certainly is an important aspect to investing in stocks.  According to Stanford researchers, DJIA dividend payments have averaged nearly 5% since 1928, ranging from under 2% to nearly 10%.  The DJIA does not give a complete reflection of total shareholder returns as a result.

Still, I will continue to check out the day to day gyrations of the DJIA out of sheer habit and interest as will most of you!

Kids and Teenagers on the Internet - Should You Use Internet Filtering Software?

So yesterday I spoke at a local elementary school "Career Day" about Conejo Valley Guide.  It was a lot of fun and there was a large range of presenters...including firefighters, a dentist (actually, MY dentist), a shoe designer, jockey, creative director, ad salesperson, x-ray technician, project manager and a whole range of others.

Anyhow, it was no surprise to me that ALL of the 25 students in my sessions use the Internet.  But what WAS surprising to me was how many, probably 80% to 90%, of the 4th, 5th and 6th graders in attendance, are avid users of YouTube and other popular websites.  A few of the kids mentioned "Webkins" and other kid sites, but a lot of the kids are on the Web all the time on all sorts of sites.

Not that YouTube is bad or anything; there's a lot of great stuff that kids can learn from in there.  But the Internet as we know has a virtually endless supply of stuff we rarely got exposed to as a kid...pornography, chat rooms, hate sites, social networking, shareware, personals/dating, drugs, weapons, violence, etc.

I know some parents that rarely let there kids on the Internet, and others who allow it under close supervision.  However, can be hard to do.  I know it is in my household, with 3 boys ranging from 3 to 15.

So I strongly advise taking a look at one of the various Internet Filtering Software products out there.  We've used, with success, a product called Cybersitter. Among other things it allows you to block dozens of different website categories as well as specific sites chosen by you.  Cybersitter costs about $35 to $40 but is worth it for peace of mind.

Net Nanny one of the most popular and well known Web filtering software products and sells for $30 to $40.  This website: http://internet-filter-review.toptenreviews.com/ has a great summary and reviews for all of the top products, including Net Nanny and Cybersitter.  Worth checking out!

FREE Viagra, Lipitor, Zoloft and Other Pfizer Drugs for the Unemployed!

On May 14th, Pfizer announced a new free drug program called MAINTAIN™ (Medicines Assistance for Those who Are in Need) for the unemployed. The program covers over 70 "primary care" drugs, which just so happens to include Viagra. So now you can maintain your sex life by MAINTAIN™ing your supply of Viagra!

All right, enough of my weak attempt at humor. Now for the details of this worthy program:

1. Program starts 7/1/09 and ends 12/31/09 (must enroll during this period)
2. You must reside in the U.S.
3. You must have become unemployed on or after 1/1/09
4. Must have been taking a Pfizer drug for 3 months prior to termination
5. Must have no medical coverage or prescription drug coverage
6. You can't pay for the drug due to unemployment and lack of insurance
7. Must provide proof of unemployment
8. Must attest to not not being able to afford the drugs due to unemployment and uninsured status

So if you pass all of the above tests and they accept you into the program, they will ship you your drug in 90 day quantities for up to a year (or until you get a new job or obtain insurance coverage).

I think that maybe 11 people will be eligible for this program based on the above requirements. Think about it...you must have been taking the drug before. So if you didn't have medical insurance prior to your unemployment, you probably weren't taking the drug in the first place.

But...if you DID have medical drug coverage and became unemployed in 2009, the Feds are subsidizing 65% of your COBRA premiums through 12/31/09! You are crazy not to take advantage of this temporary Federal COBRA subsidy if you are indeed unemployed. And if you do have COBRA, you would be ineligible for MAINTAIN™.

So the people best positioned to benefit from MAINTAIN™ are those unemployed who were paying cash for the Pfizer drugs for at least 3 months. All 11, maybe 12 of them.

For more information about the MAINTAIN™ program, visit www.pfizerhelpfulanswers.com to download an application or call 866.706.2400 with questions.

Pritchard, Potts, Pavarotti and, uh, Bolton, Sing Nessun Dorma

From that overseas show "Britain's Got Talent" many of you may have seen hotel waiter Greg Pritchard's male soprano rendition of Nessun Dorma a few weeks back.  Interesting but if you ask me, downright painful to watch.  Nessun Dorma, from Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot, in English means "no one shall sleep."  I had a hard time doing so after seeing this.

So of course I couldn't stop there.  Paul Potts, my personal favorite Britain's Got Talent performer, belted out this version of the aria in his first audition in March 2007.

Here's the master Luciano Pavarotti singing Nessun Dorma.

Last but not least, Michael Bolton does a respectable job with Nessun Dorma in this performance.  Not my favorite, but not bad!

Hmm, no matter what Bolton sings, all I hear is "How Am I Supposed To Live Without You."

How to Beat the May Gray? Cook a Warm Salad of Lentils and Walnuts!

How to beat the May Gray (or June Gloom for that matter)? Cook up a warm salad of lentils, bacon and toasted walnuts with ingredients from your local Trader Joe’s. The fog is lifting already…

Warm Salad of Lentils and Walnuts

2 cups T.J.s prepared lentils

¼ cup sherry vinegar

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

¼ cup olive oil

3 Tbsp walnut oil

Salt and pepper

1 cup chopped walnuts

¼ lb bacon, cut into ½” dice

½ cup slice green onions

2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 350F. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, olive oil, 2 Tbsp walnut oil and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

In another bowl, toss the walnuts and the remaining 1 Tbsp walnut oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread nuts on a baking sheet and bake until lightly golden and hot, 5-8 minutes. Set aside.

In a large frying pan over medium heat, fry the bacon until light golden, about 8 minutes. Turn off the heat and, while the pan is still warm, add the lentils, dressing, walnuts and green onions to the bacon and drippings. Toss to mix. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with parsley. Serves 6.

Jill Fisher, a good friend of mine going waaayyyyy back to high school, has a B.S. in Food Science and Nutrition and is a licensed Personal Chef. She teaches cooking classes at Conejo Valley Adult School and Williams Sonoma in Thousand Oaks. Jill has also written articles for local food magazines such as 805 Living.  To contact Jill, let us know!