Winterizing Your Home - Tips to Save Energy and Money

Here in North Texas we are not immune to cold & freezing temperatures, so take a minute and follow these quick and easy tips to winterizing your home. As my friends have described, disaster can happen especially after a freezing temperature:

I hope everyone made it safe through the winter storm. I had a faucet freeze that is leaking now after the thaw and a fallen tree branch to get cleared. Please stay warm and safe.

To begin with, here are a list of winter weather precautions to be taken:

• Set the heater on at least 65 degrees and leave it on until threat of freeze is over
• Leave all hot and cold interior faucets dripping
• Leave cabinet doors under any sink open so warm air can circulate around pipes
• Please do not walk outside unless you are sure there is no ice on the ground
• Watch for falling ice and snow from the roof tops
• Do not use dishwashers, washing machines etc. until you are certain the water and drain lines are thawed

 

Look up: 

Check out your roof to make sure it is in good shape. Not only can lose or missing shingles allow heat to escape, but they can also give water a path into your home to cause damage. Similarly, check to make sure your gutters are clear of debris. If water can’t flow freely away from your home, it may freeze and flow into your home as it thaws.

 

Service your Water Heater: 

Our water here in North Texas is naturally hard. This means that over time, particles and sediment can collect in your water heater, making it less efficient. Have your water heater drained in order to clear out the build-up. Your heater will regain efficiency, have a longer life and save you time and money.

Wrap Exposed Water Pipes: 

If water pipes run through an attic, garage, or crawlspace, be sure to insulate them with foam or fiberglass insulation. Insulated spigot covers likewise protect outside faucets from potential freeze once hoses are disconnected.

In the event of freezing temperatures, make sure you keep your sprinkler systems turned OFF to avoid hazardous conditions on roads and sidewalks.

Keep it Clean! 

Regularly replacing your filters will help protect your furnace and the air quality of your home. But it is a good idea to have a professional out to clean and inspect your furnace at the start of the season to ensure it is running properly.

Keep it Moving: 

We all know that hot air rises, so set your ceiling fans to turn clockwise and drag that warm air down from the heights, and back to your feet.

Stay warm, and remember, you’ll be back in those flip flops before you know it!

And I Love You So ― Don McLean

And I love you so
The people ask me how
How I've lived till now
I tell them I don't know

I guess they understand
How lonely life has been
But life began again
The day you took my hand
And yes, I know how lonely life can be
The shadows follow me
And the night won't set me free
But I don't let the evening get me down
Now that you're around me

And you love me too
Your thoughts are just for me
You set my spirit free
I'm happy that you do
The book of life is brief
And once a page is read
All but love is dead
That is my belief
And yes, I know how lonely life can be
The shadows follow me
And the night won't set me free
But I don't let the evening get me down
Now that you're around me
And I love you so
The people ask me how
How I've lived till now
I tell them I don't know

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling

Lyrics

There's a tear in your eye

And I'm wondering why

For it never should be there at all

With such pow'r in your smile

Sure a stone you'd beguile

So there's never a teardrop should fall

When your sweet lilting laughter's

Like some fairy song

And your eyes twinkle bright as can be

You should laugh all the while

And all other times smile

And now, smile a smile for me

When Irish eyes are smiling

Sure, 'tis like the morn in Spring

In the lilt of Irish laughter

You can hear the angels sing

When Irish hearts are happy

All the world seems bright and gay

And when Irish eyes are smiling

Sure, they steal your heart away

For your smile is a part

Of the love in your heart

And it makes even sunshine more bright

Like the linnet's sweet song

Crooning all the day long

Comes your laughter and light

For the springtime of life

Is the sweetest of all

There is ne'er a real care or regret

And while springtime is ours

Throughout all of youth's hours

Let us smile each chance we get

When Irish eyes are smiling

Sure, 'tis like the morn in Spring

In the lilt of Irish laughter

You can hear the angels sing

When Irish hearts are happy

All the world seems bright and gay

And when Irish eyes are smiling

Sure, they steal your heart away

Currency Carry Trade—Learning the Basics

Based on a latest Bloomberg report on 08/01/2023, traders using USD/JPY pair for carry trade purposes may see big changes coming, hopefully slowly:^[7]

Seven years since Japan embarked on a highly unorthodox monetary experiment that helped pin down borrowing costs on Wall Street and beyond, the nation’s central bank is loosening its vice-like grip on domestic bond yields — with potentially profound consequences for high finance and households across the US (hint: think Japanese buyers bringing their huge pools of overseas investments back home for higher returns).

Note that this article was originally posted in 2017 for learning the basics of currency carry trade.

What is a yen carry trade? (YouTube link)

Both retail and institutional investors want to acquire an asset in anticipation of its price appreciation. However, the institutional investors is more complicated:

It is not only about the asset that is to be purchased, but it is also about how the purchase is funded. A low returning asset is a drag, but if the funding costs can be reduced, a low returning asset may still be attractive.

In the capital markets, securing cheap funding is accomplished by selling a low yielding (and ideally a low volatility) instrument and using the proceeds to purchase a higher yielding or a better performing asset.

Funding Currencies

US Dollars 

In the foreign exchange market, the dollar is the ultimate funding currency. Americans are the marginal buyer of global equities. They sell dollars and buy foreign equities, and largely on an unhedged basis. Foreign companies and countries borrow dollars and frequently convert the proceeds back to their own currency.

Japanese Yen and Swiss Franc

Besides US Dollars, levered accounts also often use the Japanese yen and/or Swiss franc as funding currencies. That is to say, those currencies are borrowed and then sold to buy another asset that is expected generate a higher yield than being paid for the funding.

Carry Trade Considerations

When a low yielding instrument is sold for an asset that is expected to offer a higher return, it is often called a carry trade. A carry trade is a trade in which one is expected to profit from the interest rate differential:

Currency carry trades materialize when the funding currency is weakening because it is expected that it will be cheaper in the future to pay back the currency borrowed now to fund other investments.

Because currency depreciation happens infrequently, many investors or speculators cannot resist the temptation of arbitraging interest rate.

Interest Rate Differential

When it comes to the value of one currency against another, short-term interest rate differentials often determine the path of least resistance for a foreign exchange instrument.^[6]

When the interest rate is higher in one currency than in another, it usually reflects a higher inflation rate in the former, which would lead to its depreciation against the latter. The interest rate difference reflects the inflation difference and the former's depreciation. 

Currency Volatility

Besides interest rate differential consideration, volatility is another factor to consider for carry trade:

• The funding currency needs to have low volatility to make a carry trade practical.
• In times of heightened anxiety or a spike in volatility, the carry trade is unwound, which is to say that the purchased asset is liquidated and the funding is replaced (bought back).

Case Study

In [2], currency expert Marc Chandler has used the following case study:

Is The Yen Or Swiss Franc A Better Funding Currency?

to make clear the considerations of a potential carry trade on 08/16/2017.

Consider that currently, one can borrow yen for about -3 bps annualized for three months. That yen can then be sold, and dollars bought and put in a three-month time deposit and earn about 130 bps annualized for the three months. One earns 133 bps over the three months adjusted for the change in the value of the yen over that period. Over the past three months, the yen has gained 2% (not annualized), which is some multiple of the carry earned.

Moreover, look a bit closer at that carry, 125 bps annualized. That turns out to be about 10.5 bps a month. This year, the dollar has moved on averaging almost 1.3% a month so far this year. On the other hand, the euro rose around 14.5% against from mid-April to early August. The carry earned is overwhelmed by the price appreciation. Some participants may have bought the euro for yen and said it was about the carry, but it was really a momentum trade.

To reiterate, the use of the Swiss franc and Japanese yen as a funding currency is not limited to the currency market, where the volatility, as we have shown, is frequently too great to make a carry strategy practical. The issue is then which currency is a better funding currency now, the yen or the Swiss franc?

The Swiss franc offers more negative short-term interest rates and is less volatile than the yen. Specifically, three-month franc LIBOR was fixed at minus 72.5 bps today. Three-month yen LIBOR was fixed at about minus three bps today. Three-month implied volatility is 7.5% annualized for the Swiss franc and 8.7% for the yen. Both countries are experiencing little price pressures. Japan's July headline CPI was 0.4% year over year, while Swiss inflation was 0.3% (0.6% in the EU harmonized methodology). The Swiss economy growth is weaker but less volatile than Japan. Japan's economy grew 1.0% in Q2 after 0.4% growth in Q1. The Swiss economy grew by 0.3% in Q1. When it reports Q2 GDP in early September, it is expected to have risen by around 0.5%.

On balance, these fundamental considerations suggest that the Swiss franc may be a better funding currency now than the yen. Technical considerations suggest some caution. The franc has depreciated by around 5% against the yen between July 10 and this past Monday. This left the technical indicators a bit stretched. Yesterday's big advance of the franc over the yen helped lift the RSI, and the Slow Stochastic has already turned up. Minor bullish divergences are evident. The MACD looks poised to cross higher before the weekend.

The cross fell into the lower end of the range seen in the second half of Q2 (~JPY112.50). A move above JPY114.30, last week’s high, is needed to confirm a franc low is in place. The JPY114.65-JPY114.75 area houses the 38.2% retracement objective of the last leg down that began on July 25 near JPY118 and the 20-day moving average. The franc has not closed above its 20-day moving average against the yen since July 21.

References

1. Should You Prepare for the Yen Carry Trade Rewind?
2. Is The Yen Or Swiss Franc A Better Funding Currency?
3. The Demise of the Dollar: Don't Hold Your Breath
• There are three basic uses for currency
• International payments
• Foreign reserves
• Debt
4. Is A Recession Coming?
• During the previous recession, the dynamics of Swiss franc was better than that of U.S. dollar and some other currencies. In that regard, CHF-denominated assets could be an attractive option.
5. The Outlook For The U.S. Dollar In 2018
• Stronger global growth and higher commodity prices are providing support to emerging market currencies.
6. The Dollar Stalls At The Highs
7. Wall Street Is Gaming Out Global Spillover Threat From BOJ Shock

Save Our Dying Planet

Before the Flood 

The Temperature-CO₂ Connection

Why Mega-fires are Rising

An Inconvenient Truth (1/10)

"25 Things About Life I Wish I Had Known 10 Years Ago" by Darius Foroux

Dalai Lama's Prayers and Wishes on His 82nd Birthday

I would like to thank everyone who sent kind greetings on the occasion of my 82nd birthday and who joined in celebrating the day in many parts of the world.

As you are probably already aware, my life is guided by three principal commitments — 

1. To contribute to bringing about a more compassionate world
2. To encourage inter-religious harmony, and 
3. To work to preserve Tibet’s Buddhist culture, which is a culture of peace and non-violence, 

while also drawing attention to the need to protect the natural environment of Tibet. Since the Tibetan Plateau is the source of Asia’s major rivers, more than one billion people depend on the water they provide.

Tibet’s Buddhist culture is derived from the traditions of India’s historic Nalanda University, which encouraged dependence on reason and logic over reliance on mere scriptural authority. It adopted an empirical approach, like science, which included a thorough knowledge of the workings of the mind and emotions that remains extremely relevant today.

These are commitments by which I abide myself, but I often ask brothers and sisters who show me affection and respect to consider joining me in upholding them.

In short, may I request you please to help others whenever you can and if for some reason you can’t do that, at least to refrain from doing anyone any harm.

With my prayers and good wishes,


The Dalai Lama

Leh, Ladakh, 9 July 2017

Funny Pictures

Many US animal shelters offer free dog and cat adoptions. Check out map here: 

http://www.cleartheshelters.com

What are we doing?

Waiting for our master and 

it's Kiddie's turn to do the lookout.

What's up?

Stop waiting and live your life now!

Einstein: "Reflecting my political views"

Horses: "Reflecting our views of human"

Amen!

Say, Ah... Please

The Cutest Backseat Driver

Wisdom of Ratan Tata

Ratan Tata was the chairman of Tata Group, a Mumbai-based global business conglomerate from 1991 till 2012 and again from 2 October 2016 for interim term, and continues to head its charitable trusts.  He is the recipient of two of the highest civilian awards of India–Padma Vibhushan (2008) and Padma Bhushan (2000).

Don't educate your children to be rich. "Educate them to be Happy" .
So when they grow up they will know the value of things not the price

"Eat your food as your medicines. Otherwise
you have to eat medicines as your food"

The One who loves you will never leave you because
even if there are 100 reason to give up they will find one reason to hold on

There is a lot of difference between "human being"and "being human".
A Few who understand it.

You are loved when you are born. You will be loved when you die. In between You have to manage...!


If you want to Walk Fast, Walk Alone..!
But if you want to Walk Far, Walk Together!

Six Best Doctors in the World:
1. Sunlight
2. Rest
3. Exercise
4. Diet
5. Self Confidence
6. Friends
Maintain them in all stages of Life and enjoy healthy life


If you see the moon .....
You see the beauty of God ..... 
If you see the Sun .....
You see the power of God ..... And .. 

If you see the Mirror ....
You see the best Creation of GOD .... 

So Believe in YOURSELF.... 🙂.


We all are tourists and God is our travel agent who
already fixed all our Routes Reservations and Destinations.
So! Trust him & Enjoy the "Trip" called LIFE...