Here is a shot of the front of the Van:

The left side (this is actually the passengers side):

The rear:

The right side - the drivers side!:

A shot of the rear inside with the Crystal Lite roof open:

Here is a photo of the underside, showing the condition of the diff and frame:

Here is a picture of the drivers console. Yes, it is a right hand drive:

Here is a look at the gauges, the mileage is high for a Japanese import, but it is a Diesel:

Here is a close look at the mag wheels. 4 Wheel Disc brakes on this vehicle:

I have decided to name my Delica Starbug. Starbug should be in my possession in mid April.

I ordered a 1995 Delica Royal Exceed from Amazing Auto Imports. I should get it in roughly a month. I will be posting pictures on here soon.

Gary Goodyear must step down. He is not competent to fill the role of science minister and must be removed immediately.

I shall be writing a dead-tree letter to Parliament as soon as I find the appropriate people to write to (aside from my MP).

I am reminded as I read it, of Richard P. Feynman and his book “Surely you are Joking Mr. Feynman.” While the topics are different the authors view of the world is the same. That is, they both break down topics that initially appear to be complex into their simplest components. Boiling down a subject into the easiest pieces is both the best way to understand it, and the fastest.

Feynman also said that if you can’t explain a topic to someone in 60 seconds, then you don’t really understand it yourself.

While reading Buffett’s work I came across something I had read in his financial reports before (they are all well worth reading) and it struck me just as strongly as I had read it the first time. Currently, the market is falling badly, and bank stocks in particular are taking a hit. Some of them should be taking a huge hit as they are in danger of a collapse, others should not as they are fundamentally strong.

And that brings me to Buffett. Everyone is panicking and selling bank stocks, regardless if the bank is actually strong or not. In fact, the stronger banks are falling in price, and the ones in serious danger of collapse have their share price going UP. So, in light of that, I reprint the Buffett Quiz:

A short quiz: If you plan to eat hamburgers throughout your life and are not a cattle producer, should you wish for higher or lower prices for beef? Likewise, if you are going to buy a car from time to time but are not an auto manufacturer, should you prefer higher or lower car prices? These questions, of course, answer themselves.
But now for the final exam: If you expect to be a net saver during the next five years, should you hope for a higher or lower stock market during that period?
Many investors get this one wrong. Even though they are going to be net buyers of stocks for many years to come, they are elated when stock prices rise and depressed when they fall. In effect, they rejoice because prices have risen for the “hamburgers” they will soon be buying.
This reaction makes no sense. Only those who will be sellers of equities in the near future should be happy at seeing stocks rise. Prospective purchasers should much prefer sinking prices.

There is another full market panic on today, I bought some stocks in a US based bank yesterday, and wish I had more capital to do the same again today. Are there risks associated with this purchase? Yes. Have I taken steps to mitigate this risk? Of course. Still, everyone is panicking, and bank stock prices are in free fall mode.

Strangely, no one seems to remember the “buy cheap, sell dear” advice. Everyone seems to be selling their shares to “protect” themselves. They are taking a loss so they can buy the shares back at a higher price when things are more “stable”. The funny thing is, 10 years from now, everyone will look back at stock prices today, and wish they had bought.

There is indeed blood in the streets, some big banks are in trouble and it is serious. So what to do? I say listen to Baron Rothschild.

That is just what is going on here. I wrote on Garth Turner’s Greater Fool Blog: here, I said pretty much the same thing. I am not going to list the equities I currently hold on my blog, as I am still trying my best to buy up as many of the shares as I can at these bargain basement prices. I don’t want to encourage others to buy the same equities I am, I need to keep the prices down.

And that brings me to the other thing. If you are going to be buying equities, then make certain you are reinvesting the dividends. This gives you a massive tax break, and in times when share values are low (like now) you end up with a considerably larger number of overall shares. When the market recovers (as it will, but it takes time) you will have a larger number of great shares in a good company paying strong dividends, and a wonderful form of passive income. The catch is, you have to buy those equities now.

This stuck with me, and always seemed to me to be obvious.

Now, that I am older and I use critical thinking all the time I am still shocked at how many people around are incapable of this basic skill. In fact, I only know a few people who I would consider to be extremely skilled at using critical thinking.

This does not mean that my critical thinking skills are always correct. You can get things wrong of course. Still, that goes right back to the scientific method again. If you get something wrong, that is good! And people don’t understand that. It is as if they are afraid to fail. Yet, the entire scientific method is bolstered by failure. Each failure is recorded and remembered. The things that work are the things that don’t fail. These are the things that remain, and science advances.

I published this back in 2006, and I knew at the time it was total BS. How did I know? Critical thinking and a basic understanding of thermodynamics. Could I have been wrong? Sure, but I would put the odds of thermodynamics being wrong being much greater than winning 10 different lotteries at once. And now, 2 years on? It turns out that I was right. It was a hoax.

Still, it is not the only one. There are so many others around, and people just don’t see them. I think it is because they don’t want to. They are afraid of being wrong, afraid of feeling stupid. 24 years ago I felt stupid in biology class because it took me a week to learn the scientific method. Others in the class had memorized that material in minutes. Yet, now I feel like I was one of the few who still remembers how it works after the test was over. Don’t be afraid to be wrong, or feel stupid because you don’t understand something, it will work in the long run.

The timing was awful, as I was all prepared to go kayaking on the Ottawa river with Liquid Skills. I have been wanting to do that course for the last 5 years. I had signed up for it, paid for it, and the week before going I broke my collarbone.

The recovery has been slow. Due to the fact that the bone was not splinted, exercise was pretty much out of the picture. Walking at a semi-normal pace was painful, and sleeping quite difficult.

It is later now, and the bone has healed. Still, my left arm is quite weak I have almost all my mobility back, but in certain ranges of motion my arm suddenly ‘tweaks’. For example, a few weeks back I was moving some furniture, I could feel the stress on my collarbone and the muscles. It was not pleasant, but not painful. Then, the other day, I picked up a cup of coffee with my left arm and felt terrible pain in my shoulder. I guess I just had the angle to make it hurt.

To top it all off I have been neglecting my Physio. So, last week I started it up again. I had hoped to run in some MOMAR races this year, but with my arm the way it is I can’t get trained up in time.

I will be ready for some trail races like the Gunner Shaw though. Well, that is if I don’t head off to South America during that time, but we will see about that.