My idea for acknowledging the recurring gatherings expected on my driveway this year is to give the place a name...The MapleCrest Social Club...MCSC for short. In addition to the patio heaters for members' comfort, I'm thinking that a small wine refrigerator in the garage may be in my future as well. Qualifications for membership will be at a low bar. Wanting to be there may be the most relevant item.
Today is the 100th anniversary of the opening of Wrigley Field. That's a lot of games with no WS flag to show for it. My pal Pete and I will be going into C-town for a Cubs' game in June. We may even go into the ballpark.
Moving on...
Individual data security in the investment business has arched into the borderline-absurd. I now have a couple of bank trust departments and at least one broker-dealer who will only email through an enrollment-protected secure portal...even for routine messages. Most recently, I received an email from a vendor where I had placed some client money several years ago. After my broker-dealer switch late last year, my recurring emails from the vendor decreased, but never fully ceased. An email from them last week instructed me to log in the check monthly performance.
When I did try to log in, the system rejected my previous user name/password. I sent an email to the sender stating this fact. The response was, "We have no record of your email address on file". After several back-and-forths trying to get the sender to realize that they had, in fact, sent me the email, they requested that I call in to resolve the issue. It then took a number of calls for them to sort out the disconnect. Long story short, they had essentially purged my information when the broker-dealer change was processed. Except for one email address that had escaped their updating effort. Whatever.
My reading on the traditional investment securities business is that the Compliance function is driving the focus of every element within an office. Nobody wants to be in the line of fire from an investor lawsuit, or from a government inquiry/audit. And with the high profile hacking episodes that make it on to the evening news shows, who can blame them? Investor fraud is still out there. It's amazing what promoters will do and say to induce people to invest in various projects/opportunities. Money makes people do stupid things.
The new bike is a keeper. It actually fits my body better than the now-trashed Lemond titanium. I'm guessing that the Trek geometry is slightly more favorable to me, as my original road bike, also a Trek, was a good fit too. It's nice having a working computer on the bike as well. I hadn't had a functional computer on my prior bike for at least a couple of years. This one is not GPS or that sort of hi-tech gizmo, but it has speed, mileage, time and all of the basic stuff that I might need. It's wireless with the computer getting a signal from the spoke-reader on the front wheel.
Speaking of gizmo's, I learned just last week of the "fit bit" device. Not sure I'd want to know that much data about myself. I'm betting there are hackers out there mining fit bit signals for retail trade purposes. A less-specific version of the Hy Vee gas card? Below radar not an option.
All for now. What day is it?
BCOT
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