Joe Withrow, Author at Zenconomics

Hope For the Green Revolution

If you’ll permit me, I am trying something new here.

I am following up last Friday’s communication – my first journal entry in over three years – with a light-hearted piece of a different format.

I’ve been about as unplugged as one can be for the last five years. I would skim through the headlines on Zero Hedge… and I would update the plug-ins for Zenconomics.com, but that’s about it.

For all other extents and purposes, I have been disconnected from the world.

In fact, one of my crowning achievements came a year or so ago when my publishing network asked me to interview a gentleman they were considering hiring as an analyst.

After I agreed to do so, I guess they wanted to give this guy some background on me. Apparently, the common protocol for this is to send over LinkedIn profiles ahead of time.

I don’t think this way, but it makes sense. They figured this gentleman should have a basic picture of who he would be speaking with. And LinkedIn would provide that picture.

Except they couldn’t find me anywhere on LinkedIn. Or Facebook. Or any other mainstream social media platform.

So when I get on the call with this guy he gave me the full scoop. “Yeah, they said they were going to send me your LinkedIn info, but they couldn’t find it. They told me you must be pretty dark. I wasn’t sure what to make of that.”

I was so proud.

The joke’s on them though. Had they searched MeWe, they would have found me.

The Secret of Green Energy

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Journal of a Wayward Philosopher
The Secret of Green Energy

July 22, 2022
Hot Springs, VA

“By their fruits shall you know them.” – Jesus of Nazareth

The S&P closed today’s trading session at $3,961. Gold closed at $1,721.50 per ounce. Crude Oil closed at $94.65 per barrel. The 10-year Treasury rate closed at 2.78%. Bitcoin is trading around $22,625 per BTC today.

Dear Journal,

It has been over three years since I’ve last written… and boy does the world look different.

In fact, I would wager that 2019 feels like a lifetime ago for many of us. It seems like we’ve experienced a fundamental shift since then.

For example, Bitcoin was trading around $8,000 when I last penned a journal entry. And we were seeing signs that momentum was picking up.

Fast forward to today and Bitcoin has crashed by over 70%. In just eight months. It now trades at just $22,625.

Imagine that headline three years ago: “Bitcoin crashes to $20k!”.

Yes, dear journal, the world sure is different these days. And I have great news – what they call “green” energy is now viable. Check it out:

That’s right – I now have my home office fully outfitted with solar energy. I call it the solar shed.

And it’s 100% off the grid. We are producing all of our own electricity up here. Pretty cool.

What’s more, this process taught me a thing or two about electrical systems. I shadowed the brilliant gentleman who installed it for me… and it’s really not as complicated as it appears. Though don’t expect me to do it myself.

Here’s a look at the power center that makes it all go:

The Moral Value of Money

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Journal of a Wayward Philosopher
The Moral Value of Money

June 7, 2019
Hot Springs, VA

“No action can be virtuous unless it is freely chosen.” – Murray Rothbard

The S&P closed today’s trading session at $2,873. Gold closed at $1,345 per ounce. Crude Oil closed at $54.10 per barrel. The 10-year Treasury rate closed at 2.08%. Bitcoin is trading around $8,034 per BTC today.

Dear Journal,

Spring is in full bloom here in the mountains of Virginia.

The forest is green and lush. The wildflowers sprawl out, claiming their territory. The cardinals sing overhead… While the blue jays scrounge for sunflower seeds below. And the forest critters emerge, in search of a quick meal…

Yes, nothing brings perspective quite like spring in the mountains.

As you observe nature, you realize it doesn’t care much for your thoughts or plans. In fact, your plans look rather silly to it.

For example, we thought our bird feeders were just for birds. Nature didn’t care.

That’s because nature operates in survival mode. The only thing that matters is the next meal.

If the history books are to be trusted, humans once operated that way too. We hunted and gathered what we needed to survive… Often competing violently with other humans in the process.

Ban Bitcoin?

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Journal of a Wayward Philosopher
Ban Bitcoin?

May 23, 2019
Hot Springs, VA

“Bitcoin is the most subversive technology on the planet. This is a system that is growing around the entire world. But Bitcoin is just math. The government, no matter how many guns they draw, cannot change a mathematical problem. They can point their guns at 2+2 but it’s always going to equal 4.” – Erik Vorhees

The S&P closed today’s trading session at $2,822. Gold closed at $1,283 per ounce. Crude Oil closed at $58.12 per barrel. The 10-year Treasury rate closed at 2.29%. Bitcoin is trading around $7,819 per BTC today.

Dear Journal,

Spring gradually gives way to summer up here in the mountains of Virginia.

And while the outside world frets over geopolitics… trade wars… wealth gaps… elections… and whatever else the news puts in front of them, I quietly admire the brilliance of nature.

You see, the seasons represent change. Unstoppable change. They turn with nature’s cycles whether we want them to or not.

Each season comes with its own beauty. And its own drawbacks.

The choice we have to make is whether to focus on the good… or the bad. That’s it.

And I believe that choice is what determines the course of our life.

Contentment or anger… love or hate… success or failure… it’s all in how we view the world.

Einstein said that there are only two ways to live. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is.

Was he right? I don’t know. But I bet there’s some wisdom in there somewhere.

The Truth About Education

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Journal of a Wayward Philosopher
The Truth About Education

May 17, 2019
Hot Springs, VA

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Lao Tzu

The S&P closed today’s trading session at $2,859. Gold closed at $1,277 per ounce. Crude Oil closed at $62.70 per barrel. The 10-year Treasury rate closed at 2.39%. Bitcoin is trading around $7,126 per BTC today.

Dear Journal,

It has been nearly two years since I’ve written. And time goes by fast.

As I write to you today, nothing has changed about my outlook or philosophy. Yet, everything has changed about my world.

My knowledge of financial markets continues to grow. As does my understanding of where finance is going.

Your neighbors haven’t noticed yet… But we are on the brink of historic change.

Traditional institutions are crumbling. Traditions and customs are being questioned. Entrenched hierarchy is being challenged. The old way is fading into the new…

The Future of Banking

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Journal of a Wayward Philosopher
The Future of Banking

September 23, 2017
Hot Springs, VA

“The biggest disruption of Bitcoin is that banks are no longer needed. Every major financial institution has made this technology its focus… but they say Bitcoin is a fraud. It’s the blockchain, they proclaim. They can utilize the technology ‘behind Bitcoin’ to make themselves smarter, better, faster, bigger. But Bitcoin’s fundamental use-case is to remove the banking function entirely from the equation. When banks come to terms with this, they will contact their congressmen and spend millions… maybe billions to slander Bitcoin.” – Erik Voorhees

The S&P closed yesterday’s trading session at $2,502. Gold closed at $1,300 per ounce. Crude Oil closed at $50.66 per barrel. The 10-year Treasury rate closed at 2.26%. Bitcoin is trading around $3,780 per BTC today.

Dear Journal,

I have ventured back down to south Florida to see what Irma left behind… and maybe do a little more work in the publishing arena. Continue reading “The Future of Banking”

Of Bitcoin, Bankers, and Tulip Bulbs

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Journal of a Wayward Philosopher
Of Bitcoin, Bankers, and Tulip Bulbs

September 14, 2017
Hot Springs, VA

“At its core, bitcoin is a smart currency, designed by very forward-thinking engineers. It eliminates the need for banks, gets rid of credit card fees, currency exchange fees, money transfer fees, and reduces the need for lawyers in transitions… all good things.” – Peter Diamandis

The S&P closed yesterday’s trading session at $2,498. Gold closed at $1,326 per ounce. Crude Oil closed at $49.34 per barrel. The 10-year Treasury rate closed at 2.20%. Bitcoin is trading around $3,616 per BTC today.

Dear Journal,

“I just want you to know that I actually like my Bitcoin shirt!”, wife Rachel said to me after reading my last journal entry.

“Have you worn it in public yet?”

“Well, no…”

Keeping with our Bitcoin theme, the honourable Jamie Dimon – CEO of JP Morgan Chase – shared his thoughts at an event hosted by Barclays this week:

“It’s worse than tulip bulbs. It won’t end well. Someone is going to get killed… it will blow up.” Continue reading “Of Bitcoin, Bankers, and Tulip Bulbs”

A Season for Change

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Journal of a Wayward Philosopher
A Season for Change

September 12, 2017
Hot Springs, VA

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven… Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?” – Ecclesiastes 3

The S&P closed yesterday’s trading session at $2,487. Gold closed at $1,335 per ounce. Crude Oil closed at $48.07 per barrel. The 10-year Treasury rate closed at 2.06%. Bitcoin is trading around $4,288 per BTC today.

Dear Journal,

It has been ten months since I have last written to you… and this world is far different from what it was before.

For starters, Little Maddie is no longer a toddler. She is a little lady. And like all ladies, Maddie knows best… about everything.

“Daddy, that’s not how you do it!”, she exclaims with absolute confidence. “Here, let me show you! Okay, daddy. You try…”

Her father just smiles and obeys… but his mind wanders in amazement. There was no Maddie four years ago. She didn’t exist. Continue reading “A Season for Change”

The Individual is Rising – Third Edition

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Journal of a Wayward Philosopher
The Individual is Rising – Third Edition

November 18, 2016
Hot Springs, VA

Dear Journal,

A specter is haunting the modern world…

Society has undergone a massive change over the past several decades – the type of change from which there is no return. This change has been the transition from the Industrial Age to the Information Age; a transition which is still in its infancy. Most people may not know this yet, but they can feel it.

The rules have changed, and many are rapidly falling behind because they still cling to the old paradigm. Yet a world of opportunity awaits those who understand what is taking place.

Continue reading “The Individual is Rising – Third Edition”

Transcending Politics

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Journal of a Wayward Philosopher
Transcending Politics

October 20, 2016
Hot Springs, VA

“Just as the technology of printing altered and reduced the power of medieval guilds and the social power structure, so too will cryptologic methods fundamentally alter the nature of corporations and of government interference in economic transactions… And just as a seemingly minor invention like barbed wire made possible the fencing-off of vast ranches and farms, thus altering forever the concepts of land and property rights in the frontier West, so too will the seemingly minor discovery out of an arcane branch of mathematics come to be the wire clippers which dismantle the barbed wire around intellectual property. Arise, you have nothing to lose but your barbed wire fences!” – Timothy C. May

The S&P closed out Wednesday at $2,144. Gold closed at $1,270 per ounce. Crude Oil closed at $51.72 per barrel, and the 10-year Treasury rate closed at 1.75%. Bitcoin is trading around $630 per BTC today.

Dear Journal,

Today is little Maddie’s birthday! I still remember, two years ago to the day, witnessing her first breath of life. I can see it in my mind’s eye just a clearly as I see the computer screen in front of me. She has become a fantastically sweet and clever young lady in two years time, and her father’s cup runneth over with pride and joy.

Due to scheduling constraints, we actually celebrated her birthday on Tuesday. A few months back I asked Madison what she wanted to do for her birthday. “I want to ride Leo the horse!”, she responded without hesitation. So that’s exactly what we did. Continue reading “Transcending Politics”