My First 8 Bagger

The traditional investment advice is that you should steer clear of "penny stocks," those low-priced, speculative securities of small companies. However, like most investors, I have dabbled in my fair share of them over the years, hoping to get lucky at least once.

Earlier this year I came across a company called Air Transport Services Group, Inc. (ATSG) that was trading at $0.25 per share at the time. ATSG through its subsidiaries, provides air cargo transportation and related services in the United States. It offers package handling and other cargo related services; airlift services to other airlines, freight forwarders, and the U.S. military; freight transportation and supply chain management services; passenger transportation primarily to the U.S. military; and package sorting and handling services.

I use an online stock broker called Share Builder, which offers trades for as low as $4 per transaction. The primary drawback is that they only place buy orders on Tuesdays. One of the major benefits is that you can purchase partial shares (you can select to invest a dollar amount rather than a certain number of shares).

Anyways, I am a pretty small time investor, so I threw $25 at this company. To date, I have earned a 800.46% return on my investment. That makes this my first 8 bagger! My annualized gain is an unrealistic 11,419.02%! The toughest thing now is deciding how long to hold on. On The Motley Fool, the stock is ranked as a CAPS 4 star and more than 90% of the users there believe that it will continue outperform the market. I guess the final question I have is when I get filthy rich from this $25 investment (I am obviously joking), who should I hire as my accountant and tax attorney?!

Here's to hoping that ATSG continues its meteoric rise!

Polishing Hovno

My dad, brother, and I started a real estate investment business about five years ago. We own a triplex, four duplexes, and two single family homes that we rent out. All but one of the single family units are in low income areas where we have had success renting to Latinos. For the most part, the majority of our tenants have been pretty good to work with. However, we do have two sisters who live side-by-side in one of our properties. These two ladies are nearly impossible!

For instance, tonight we had to go check out one of their BRAND NEW refrigerators because she claimed it wasn't working correctly. When we got there she explained that it wasn't cooling right because her sister's had a knob that went all the way to nine and hers only went to five! She literally thought that because her temperature selector didn't have as many numbers that somehow it wouldn't keep her food cold. She had unplugged it and expected us to come and take it away and replace it with another one!

By the way, we have a special term that we use when we go out to work on the properties. If you translate the second word of the title of this blog from Slovak to English, you will find out what it is...Just remember that no matter how much you polish hovno, it's still hovno!

Here is the link to a good Slovak translation site: http://free-translation.imtranslator.net/English-language_Slovak-English_Translation

Is There a Better Fireworks Song?

The family and I went to a Salt Lake Bees game over the weekend. When it was over, they put on a really good fireworks presentation. During the show they were playing a variety of patriotic songs over the PA system. My point of this post is to ask the question, "Is there a better 4th of July fireworks song than 'Proud To Be An American' by Lee Greenwood?"

It seems like no matter how many times I hear that song played (whether for fireworks, part of Navy boot camp, or just in passing on the radio), it always gets to me.

If tomorrow all the things were gone,

I’d worked for all my life.

And I had to start again,

with just my children and my wife.

I’d thank my lucky stars,

to be livin here today.

‘ Cause the flag still stands for freedom,

and they can’t take that away.

And I’m proud to be an American,

where at least I know I’m free.

And I wont forget the men who died,

who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,

next to you and defend her still today.

‘ Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,

God bless the USA.

The 4th of July

Tomorrow we celebrate the 4th of July, but how many people really know or understand exactly why we do? Is it just about the parades, fireworks, and barbecues?

On July 4, 1776, the thirteen colonies claimed their Independence from England, an event which eventually led to the formation of the United States. Each year on the 4th of July, which is also known as Independence Day, Americans celebrate this historic event. The Continental Congress actually began meeting in early June of 1776 to begin discussing the possiblity of breaking away from the British Crown. It took them until the 4th to actually pass the resolution. Interestingly enough, of the 13 colonies, nine voted in favor of the Declaration, two - Pennsylvania and South Carolina - voted No, Delaware was undecided and New York abstained from the vote.

One of the most famous lines from the Declaration of Independence states that, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." I hope we all take a moment tomorrow to reflect on how grateful we are for the rights and freedoms provided to all of us in this great country.

With that said, here are some of my favorite 4th of July memories of all time:

1. Going to visit Aunt Julie and Uncle Lorin in Rexburg, Idaho.
2. Watching the Rexburg parade.
3. Playing golf at Teton Lakes Golf Course after the parade.
4. Dropping M-80's into the irrigation canal across the street from Aunt Julie and Uncle Lorin's.
5. Making tin can rockets.
6. Going to watch the West Jordan parade.
7. Watching the West Jordan fireworks from Westvale Elementary school.
8. Watching Mia play with sparklers for the first time.
9. Watching or getting ready to watch the start of the Tour de France.
10. Spending time with family.

The 4th of July has taken on an even greater significance for me over the past six years, beginning with the birth of my daughter, Mia. I am so glad that I am able to raise my family in such a wonderful place full of opportunity. She will be able to be and do whatever her heart leads her to.

The second major event was when I enlisted and was later commissioned in the Navy Reserve. I am so proud to wear the uniform of our great nation. I can hardly describe the feeling that overcomes me everytime I stop and realize that as a citizen soldier I am doing my part to defend the principles and freedoms that make this country great. I am proud to be an American!

The Other Side

Alright, so I have been blogging for almost a month now on another blog that I set up for the family. I have realized how much I enjoy writing and coming up with pictures and information to post. However, there are things that don't necessarily relate to the family story that I am going to start sharing here. I will probably end up writing about my own personal experiences, thoughts, passions, hobbies, obsessions, work, and fun.

Again, I don't promise that everything will be always be interesting to everyone, but it will always mean something to me. Feel free to make comments or suggestions.