Stocks

I joined CNBC's stock picking contest. They give you a million dollars and you buy and sell stocks and whoever makes the most profit wins! Nothing new here but it does seem to me that most people, me included, don't really have a chance "picking" in the stock market. We rode the rising tide in the 80's and made a few bucks from Mickey Mouse, Bill Gates, and Intel. the truth is though that many people made money in those stocks. I tried to follow Peter Lynch's advice and invest in "what you know" and hold on for the long term. It worked well then but we lost a ton while "holding for the long term" in 2000. The average guy doesn't have the time to get the knowledge needed to invest as an individual so mutual funds are the answer. I no longer have confidence in the integrity of the system since so many have been "gaming it." Will invest in good old boring government bonds and that's it. Saw an article in today's local paper how they want to keep kids in school until they are 18 in an attempt to increase the graduation rate. Yet another social problem that public schools are suppose to fix. People drop out of school for many reasons and what happens in school is only part of the picture. What happened to apprenticeships for kids? Just college kids can have them? Where's the community in the "education" process? Oh well, enough of that. Was real cold here last night, warmer weather on the way. Off to the range to propel some 9mm projectiles towards a piece of paper that looks like a person. See ya