On the Trail II

Yesterday the market gods continued their "symposium" - in the ancient Greek sense of a drinking party - as the steady rally ground higher. Gold rose, too. Copper is close to cracking through $3 per troy ounce upward. The trading seems to rotate from group to group, but the resource stocks are pushing to recovery highs, hence must be considered leaders. I suppose some financials are "leaders", too, but I have a very hard time seeing significant further growth there as the recovery continues to gain steam.

The action didn't seem to be a blow-off, rip up that would certainly cause me to sell some of the calls options in the 1-2-3 Fund. Fido Fund's resource stocks are doing very well. Thus, I continue to sit.

Europe is up this morning. Europe and the emerging markets continue to lead the recovery in both the markets and in the real economy. Thanks, Obama & Congress, for giving us a wasteful, ineffective stimulus plan. What knaves !

Tomahawks

On the trail one needs a good, sturdy, sharp tomahawk. That was proven by centuries of trappers and mountain men in exploring and opening up the North American wilderness. I suppose many people do not realize that the American Indians did NOT have the ability to manufacture their own tomahawks. The American Indians before the white man were a neolithic* [Word of the Day] culture with no metal tools or weapons - not even copper or bronze - and no horses or any other draft animals. They did not use the wheel for transportation. The tomahawk was sold by the white man as a trade good - it was a simple, useful iron hand ax that the Indians quickly adopted and extended its uses.

What are the characteristics of a useful, modern tomahawk ? Light, sharp, a hammer rear head, and a simple, easily replaceable handle. Lightness is important as one must lug it over portages or when backpacking. I have a special replica tomahawk crafted by and to replicate one found in Virginia and used in the French & Indian War. My paternal ancestors fought the Indians then (circa 1764) on the frontier, which was then the eastern Appalachian mountain areas, hence I treasure this particular model which I purchased based on a review in Muzzleloader magazine years ago [see http://www.muzzleloadermag.com/ ]. I took it on the canoe wilderness trip and found it very, very useful. BUT its handle is rather well crafted as a true replica and would not be easy for me to replace.

After the trip I began looking for a more common but effective tomahawk that I could use without fear of loss or damage, being easily replaceable. I found one quickly from another review in Muzzleloader magazine. They are both available from http://www.octobercountry.com/ [mine is the "Ft Turner Camp tomahawk"]. I see the tomahawk is handmade in the US and also available from the manufacturer at http://www.fortturner.com/index.html for the same $60 price - see "Camp Tomahawk".

I bought the version named "Ft. Turner Camp Tomahawk" and the related sheath. It came yesterday and I am very, very happy with it. It's just a bit heavier than my exact replica, but the extra weight is in the head and would add to chopping power. I'm going to buy another one today and some replacement handles, too, as I like to practice throwing it.

Word of the Day

"Neolithic" - adjective [$10]
Neolithic means of or denoting the cultural period beginning around 10,000 B. C. in the Near East and later elsewhere and marked by by the invention of farming and the making of technically advanced stone implements.
Sentence: In 1492, American Indian culture and technology was neolithic, far, far behind the culture and technology of western Europe, China and India. For practical purposes, at best the more advanced Indian cultures in the western hemisphere were roughly at the level of 3,000 B.C. in the Near East, hence were 4,500 years behind the most advanced Eurasian cultures. Isn't it odd how modern revisionists forget this simple fact when assessing the impact and migration of the white man to the New World?

Le Mot du Jour

"Sortilége" - noun, masculine
Le sortilége means a (magic) spell.
La Phrase: Parfois pour rire, je jete un sortilége vaudou influencer les marchées. Quelquefois, il marche, quelquefois, il ne marche pas.
Sentence: Somtimes for fun, I cast a voodoo spell to influence the markets. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't work.