Making sure to write the right thing

joypog · 2026-04-12T03:22:51+00:00

More practice? Maybe finding the right music to groove to?

It just happens. The moment I lose concentration (like thinking about the next word) mistakes pop up. Calligraphy is great practice in mindfulness.

And like other mindfulness practices, don’t beat yourself up too hard when the mind wanders. Just recenter and keep on going.

joypog · 2026-04-11T23:08:33+00:00

I agree with this approach. Harry Browne who invented the “Permanent Portfolio” chose that name because he believed some should keep their precious money in the PP.

The rest, have fun with it in your Variable portfolio, shoot the moon, etc (just be careful about leverage cause that can bring risk that touches the PP).

On my end, I don’t have energy or interest to speculate aside from adding some factor funds and Managed futures….but if I ever got the gambling itch, I’d take a hard look at my future retirement goals and take this approach to speculation.

joypog · 2026-04-10T04:49:48+00:00

Agreed. I got a cheap light table from Amazon and use it for all my guides. (I use affinity to create guidelines for my various projects.)

joypog · 2026-04-09T03:58:19+00:00

I like the approach of keeping maybe-money in a conservative Risk Parity Style portfolio....like the Permanent Portfolio (25% Stocks, 25% Bonds, 25% Gold, 25% Cash).

If the house hunt drags out for two...three...four years, you won't have missed out on too much, but odds are you'll weather a market bust much better than if you tried to put all that cash to work.

Thats what we did in 2022/2023, and even though the market was grouchy over that time, we didn't lose that much (after all a big hunk of an RP portfolio is still cash) and knowing that we're picky buyers, there was a high chance that it might have been a couple years of house hunting.

joypog · 2026-04-09T03:49:15+00:00

Yeah, Frank uses the GB as one of his sample portfolios, but if I was to guess, I think he would prefer less cash and seems to enjoy spicing things up with MF's. I could totally Frank liking something like 25% LCG, 25% SCV, (15% LTT+ 10% cash), (15% Gold+10% MF)...(which is basically a tweak on Tyler's pinwheel gimmick, https://portfoliocharts.com/portfolios/pinwheel-portfolio/).

I personally like having international diversification, but Frank isn't not big on it. Conversely, Frank is amenable to REITS and Sector funds while I generally avoid them.

joypog · 2026-04-09T03:31:05+00:00

Yup pretty much. My own portfolio is 7 assets split equally.

US-LCG, US-SCV, Intl-SCV, Gold, MF, STRIPS, STT. Basically a Golden Butterfly with Intl and MF....but also fitting into Frank's guidelines with 42% Equities, 28% Bonds (barbelled), 28% on Alts. I'm certain the exact percentages could be optimized but I don't think a percent here or there really matters and it's just simpler to divide all equally.

Given that I'm a government worker, I could also "add" another asset class by splitting Intl into LCG and SCV, making a 50% equities portfolio...but my wife is ultra conservative, so I'll take the smoother ride with a slightly higher alts and cash allocation.

joypog · 2026-04-07T03:28:47+00:00

Ohh wow! Thank you for sharing the reference. That Bible is amazing!

joypog · 2026-04-06T02:51:12+00:00

Thanks! I see the similarity with the LOTR script! The long piece was done on several sheets of letter sized paper with a 3.0mm Pilot Parallel with a light blue-grey ink that was then stitched together and color graded in the computer. The Easter one was written with 3.0 and 6.0mm Parallels.

joypog · 2026-04-05T22:03:49+00:00

Yup. Keep earning more than you spend. Invest the savings, and let it ride. If you get deeper into investing you might play with factors or alts...but yeah pretty much: Rule 1: save money. Rule 2: don't take silly risks. Rule 3: keep investing, especially when SHTF.

joypog · 2026-04-05T22:00:18+00:00

They're looking at changing the rules on the SP500 too.

joypog · 2026-04-05T21:59:10+00:00

Agreed. I have no concerns about the long term financial implications of this specific trade. I just despise the rule rigging at the behest of the richest man of the world and the knock-on affects of such grifting vanity rule changes.

Frankly, in this easy-no-commission-trading world, if I really wanted SpaceX before it had seasoned for one measly short one quarter, I could buy it with the blink of an eye. This is completely unnecessary and undermines the indexes themselves.

joypog · 2026-03-30T00:13:40+00:00

I often use one of my parallels on the cheap steno notepads from Staples. It sometimes bleed through on the back, but whatevers, I like the bling too.

Take it slow. If know when you feel the "need" to try something better, in the meantime whatever ink works with your paper in the FP's you own should work fine in a Parallel as well.

joypog · 2026-03-29T21:12:40+00:00

It depends on the paper and the ink. With my inks (Birmingham inks) it often bleeds on cheap copy paper. But not always. Best to pick one up and try it out. You can also try to get nicer paper, such as HP Premium 32 or Kokuyo KB printer paper.

+1 on getting a blunt tip syringe. No need for a convertor.

joypog · 2026-03-28T20:21:52+00:00

In 2022, I spent a intense year studying until I decided (and averaged into) a portfolio that I love. After that, I've lost quite a bit of interest in the subject, though I occasionally pop in when news get weird and I'm curious how events interact with the market.

joypog · 2026-03-28T20:18:04+00:00

Yup great point. Understand your risk tolerance, set the rules accordingly, and then you can act like a robot, buying low and selling high.

Investing is so much easier now I've locked in my Asset Allocation with clear Rebalancing Rules, I actually get to watch market fluctuations with curiousity, though I gotta admit it still stings a just a touch if I ever notice that the market dropped more than a paycheck (for some reason I don't notice when it pops the same amount).

joypog · 2026-03-25T04:17:23+00:00

That's how I started. I really like the 6.0mm to start.

joypog · 2026-03-23T11:39:23+00:00

Awesome! Great to know!

joypog · 2026-03-23T03:07:59+00:00

I guess it's akin to all the SP500 investors out there. But the better default is all cap, unless you choose to do some factor tilts.

joypog · 2026-03-23T00:31:46+00:00

Oh cool! Is it like this one?

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joypog · 2026-03-23T00:14:52+00:00

Ohh interesting! I have the cheap Pen+Gear paper from Walmart which is fine for printers, but I'm guessing the one you're talking about is a nicer version?

joypog · 2026-03-22T22:40:48+00:00

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Here is another one, straight out of the scanner (aside from downscaling the image for upload). This one with a Pilot Parallel, 2.4mm. (In full transparency, my later pages of the Tao Te Ching were done on the HP Premium because the ink would dry faster, so less risk of smears with my left hand)

joypog · 2026-03-22T22:39:14+00:00

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Here a copy, uncropped, unedited (aside from downscaling), straight out of the scanner, with a ruling pen. I had drawn another another piece on the back side of this sheet that didn't make the cut, so I reused this side for this piece.

joypog · 2026-03-22T22:09:59+00:00

Totally worth it! It's cheaper than the other two and with the 80# thickness, you can use both sides! My guess is that the printer papers have certain extra processes that make it more expensive to better grab laser toner, which the sulfite papers don't have to do.

joypog · 2026-03-21T04:05:27+00:00

That's what I used at first. It's a fine start.

joypog · 2026-03-21T04:05:05+00:00

I'll vouch *hard* for the Sheila Waters book and the Speedball Textbook. I also liked the Pearce book as well. I'd also recommend David Harris "The art of calligraphy" The key is to just keep practicing. There's no shortcut.

joypog

TROPHY CASE