robbecker.com

It’s hard to believe it’s been only three short years since I began blogging on robbecker.com (formerly robbecker.net for those who can remember that far back). It’s been another great year for my website, and I’m happy to report that I’m enjoying the site more than ever.

While 2006 was a year of big changes, things really settled in this year, and I was able to focus my energy on adding content while improve the site with lots of small tweaks. I also got the ball rolling on two new sites — greenstrat.com and thekindwine.com — which I hope will come of age in 2008. Yes, my web empire is growing and soon it will take over the world!!! Mwaahaha!

And even though this is all a hobby for me, it’s you — all my friends and family, and all those strangers out there — who validate and support what I do here. Just this past December, robbecker.com received over 800 visitors and 7000 page views! That boggles my mind. And financially, the earnings I made through quasi-donations from my Amazon.com Associates Program grew 83% from 2006! That money has gone a long way towards covering my website expenses over the past two years.

And so, with a bow of my head and a tip of my hat I say, with the immortal words of those Bartles and James guys, thank you for your support!

At the end of every year I select a photograph of myself to be added to my Biography in Pictures. I had a lot of good times this year, and with those good times came a lot of great photos. But one stood out from the rest, making this years selection surprisingly easy! So without further ado, I present my photo for 2007…

I love this picture. Why, oh why, can’t I pick two pictures for my Biography in Pictures for 2007? Me and my stupid rules!

2007 will go down in the annals of Rob Becker history as the year I started investing in the stock market. Hopefully, twenty years from now, I’ll be able to look back at this year as the beginning of my journey towards early retirement and that elusive something know simply as the good life. But in the hear and now, I’m just getting my feet wet in this sacred rite of capitalism. I’m very much learning as I go, continuing to devour books on the subject and just absorbing the feeling — the ebbs and flows — of the market. I have so much more to learn, but in the short term I’m pretty pleased with job I’ve done this year. But the market is a game of numbers, so here are the numbers from year number one:

S&P500 Stock Market Index Performance for 2007: 3.7%
Rob’s Stock Portfolio Performance for 2007: 23.5%

What follows is rundown of my first year in stocks — my successes and mistakes and the thinking behind them. Enjoy!

Read More »

Another random photo from this summer…

On a dark and desolate block, buried in between the warehouses and factories of Long Island City, one little house has been transformed into an eye-popping Christmas display.

Wondering what ever happened to K.I.T.T (a.k.a. the Knight Industries Two Thousand, a.k.a. the coolest car ever) since his popular 80s T.V. show was cancelled years ago? Apparently these days he’s living a quite life out of the spotlight in Stamford, Connecticut. I was at my local Shell gas station yesterday having an emissions inspection performed on my car when I spotted him. The car, I mean. Michael Knight was nowhere to be found.

… I wonder what kind of emissions you get from using turbo boost. Do you think it meets federal E.P.A. standards? Just asking …

For the full Knight Rider effect, look at the picture while listening to the Knight Rider theme music.

Want to know more about replica Knight Rider cars? Check out the Knight Registries and Knight Replicas.

See pictures of the new K.I.T.T. from the upcoming T.V. series.

Best of all, buy an original K.I.T.T. from the 80s T.V. show on eBay! Read the news article for more info.