Postcards to BB, Dell, and HP, and Amazon, and Cerberus

I have to stop sending these silly postcards with even sillier ideas.

And I would have not sent any postcard to Cerberus but I liked what its CEO and co-founder Steve Feinberg once said: "In general, I think that all of us are way overpaid in this business. It is almost embarrassing."

I was about to contact Lenovo as well, but after I read they had a smartphone called ... LePhone that is doing very well (2nd in China) I thought they would not be interested in BB, but it seems I was wrong (not that it matters anyhow) Lenovo may be eyeing BlackBerry as well.


So these are my silly ideas (not all of them fit on the back of the postcard):

1. Upgrade Z30 to come with Linux/Windows that will be used when a device (display + keyboard) is plugged to the phone.

'The notebook is dead, long live the notebook!'

2. Buy www.britannica.com and provide free access to anyone with a BB device (Wikipedia is the 6th most visited website, so you can see what I am getting at).

3. License BB10 to Chinese/Indian companies that can sell only to the respective markets (lose 2 billion customers but can you imagine the 'stampede' to create apps for BB10, no more of 'there aren't apps for BlackBerry')

4. Make the cheapest e-reader that works with only BB.  No charger, no big storage, after all you can read only one book at a given tim, and other no's just to make it as cheap as possible.

5. Other sillier ideas that I cannot bring myself writing them.

Here are real ideas: The Future of BlackBerry is RIM

Dear Mr. Dell,

Your company should buy BlackBerry and:
1. Upgrade Z30 to come with Linux/Windows that will be used when a device (display + keyboard) is plugged to the phone.
'The notebook is dead, long live the notebook!'
2. Dell to buy www.britannica.com and provide free access to anyone with a BB device (Wikipedia is the 6th most visited website, so you can see what I am getting at).
3. a few other ideas no space here
Mike (disgruntled BB investor that thinks BB is worth much more)
@curbexcitement

Dear Mr. Ali,

HP should buy BlackBerry and:
1. Release a new phone that will have Linux/Windows installed to be used when a 'device' (display + keyboard) is plugged to the phone.
'The notebook is dead, long live the notebook!'
2. HP to buy www.britannica.com and provide free access to anyone with a BB device (Wikipedia is the 6th most visited website, so you can see what I am getting at).
3. other ideas, but no space here

Regards,
Mike (disgruntled BB investor that thinks BB is worth much more)
Twitter:@curbexcitement

Dear Mr. Feinberg,

Cerberus should buy BlackBerry and:
1. Upgrade Z30 to come with Linux/Windows that will be used when a device (display + keyboard) is plugged to the phone.
'The notebook is dead, long live the notebook!'
2. Cerberus to buy www.britannica.com and provide free access to anyone with a BB device (Wikipedia is the 6th most visited website, so you can see what I am getting at).
3. a few other silly ideas but not enough space here
Regards,
Mike (disgruntled BB investor that thinks BB is worth much more)

Twitter: @curbexcitement

Google Closes $1,011.41 +122.61 (13.80%) on Friday 18 Oct

I remember the day I bought Google on borrowed money. I had read the week before how Google allowed employees to dedicate 15% of their time to personal projects and I was impressed. I must invest in this company I said so I cashed some Visa cheques (special offer 3.5% interest for 6 months). I could not wait the week-end to be over and on Monday I was up at 6 AM PST. I thought the exchange would open at 9 as I had in my mind, from some movie, the image of the opening bell rung at that time. But the exchange opened at 9:30. Anyway I bought 5 shares at around $700 (it was Nov. 2007). Almost right away the stock started its descent. I didn't care, as I considered myself the buy and hold investor, and I had high hopes in the rumored Google mobile phone. However, the mobile phone turned to be only a mobile phone operating system (the Android) so after a while I no longer could stomach its downward march. I sold the stock at around $500.

I was taken by the hype and bought Facebook shares at its IPO (around $40). It was my first IPO purchase so I had to take it down :). At some point the stock reached $20 and I was highly tempted to double my position but I remembered the sage of Omaha's rules:
Rule no.1: Never lose money.
Rule no.2: Never forget rule No.1.
He did not say: Make up the lost money.
So I did not buy any FB shares.
And a few weeks ago the stock went above $40, sold half of it at $43 and the other half at $50. I had a feeling the stock would go higher (it closed on Friday 18 Oct at $54) but I did not want to take any chances.
Once bitten, more than twice shy! I still have the mental scars of 2008.

I am quite curious what would happen to Apple Single-Handedly Stopped Apple!

Mega Uranium and STEC

Unfortunately I own both of them.

STEC is being acquired by Western Digital (bought at around $13 and I will get some $6, should be grateful as the last price was around $4) and Mega is changing its' name to Uranium Capital Corporation as it was nothing mega about a penny stock worth $0.08/share down from the $3 I bought at and from a maximum of $7.4 in 2007.

The name change won't make any difference like in this case From Olympus Pacific Minerals to Besra.
The stock dropped -75% from when they changed the name. It is now $0.055 and yes I own this one too.

UPDATE:
"TERMS AND CONDITIONS:

We have been informed that the merger between sTec Inc. and Western Digital Corporation is effective. As a result, holders will receive approximately $6.85 USD for each common share of sTec Inc. held."

I cannot be bothered to check the exact purchase price, it was around $13 but it does not matter as the stock was in a registered account. And what is this sTec starting with a small letter? They just wanted to be more interesting.

How BlackBerry (RIM) Failed to Adapt

Today I have read an interesting article in the Globe and Mail: Inside the fall of BlackBerry: How the smartphone inventor failed to adapt

Very sad for everyone who works there and for shareholders like me also. I mean like me because I bought at $120 and $55 and $13.

Not so sad for Thorsten Heins: Thorsten Heins' "Punishment" For Destroying BlackBerry: A $55 Million Golden Parachute

And some other executives will get nice packages if the company is sold and the new owner fires them.

I was curious to see the ad they mentioned in the article:

"The marketing campaign was confusing and vague: An ad that ran during the Super Bowl failed to explain what made the product distinct. A source close to the board said directors weren’t shown the ad before it ran, and some didn’t understand the content or the slogan, “Keep Moving.” 

Neither I liked it nor I understood it.

Will Z30 start the revival of BB or perhaps it is only a swan song?

http://crackberry.com/blackberry-z30-unboxing-video

and

My TFSA Anti-bragging Story

And the stories behind the ill-fated purchases:

BIOEXX www.theskepticalinvestor.net/2013/06/protein-for-world.html

CELM www.theskepticalinvestor.net/2012/11/no-more-chinese-companies.html

EGL www.theskepticalinvestor.net/2012/12/the-eagle-that-turned-out-to-be-turkey_20.html

HYX recommandation from beatingtheindex.com, I mean Mich the guy behind the site put the money where his mouth is and bought it himself so no hard feelings here, only the facts

REM I read somewhere about it

XHY, XSB, XRB I bought bonds as I'd thought they are safer than stocks, it doesn't seem so

LONGTOP www.theskepticalinvestor.net/2012/11/no-more-chinese-companies.html

MQL same as HYX

MKP If the people pay their mortgages I should be doing o.k. and they seem to be paying them, don't know why the stock is down

PDL Doctor Stock from www.investinthemarkets.com

PBR In 2009 the stock was $51, how much could it go lower especially as the price of oil has gone up in the past 4 years? But it did.

RWX my love affair with real estate

TMC same as MKP

Steve Ballmer's Last Stand

"From: Steve Ballmer

To: MS FTEs
Date: Sep. 2, 8:00 PM PDT (Sep. 3, 6:00 AM EET)
Subject: Accelerating Growth

We announced some exciting news today: We have entered into an agreement to purchase Nokia’s Devices & Services business, which includes their smartphone and mobile phone businesses, their award-winning design team, manufacturing and assembly facilities around the world, and teams devoted to operations, sales, marketing and support. ....."

Reuters: "Two years after hitching its fate to Microsoft's Windows Phone software, Nokia collapsed into the arms of the  U.S. software giant on Tuesday, agreeing to sell its main handset business for $7.2 billion....
Nokia's Canadian boss Stephen Elop, who ran Microsoft's business software division before jumping to Nokia in 2010, will return to the U.S. firm as head of its mobile devices business - a Trojan horse, according to disgruntled Finnish media."

I bought Microsoft and Nokia around 2 years ago. Haven't sold any MSFT but sold 75% of NOK until last week. Today Tuesday 3 September, MSFT is -6% and NOK +30%. I cannot catch a break.

MSFT went up 7% when Ballmer announced his resignation. "So you are happy I am leaving!" said Ballmer to the investors. "He who laughs last, laughs best." added he. And the stock went down 5% after he announced MSFT would buy Nokia phone business. 

I dream all day and night about someone, anyone, buying Blackberry (formerly Research in Motion).

I have no hope I will get back the $120 I bought it at long time ago or even the $65 my wife bought it at, but I think in my loser's opinion around $25 for a share would be a fair price.

So who could buy Blackberry, just my list:

• the Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim who owns America Movil

• a billionaire from China

• a billionaire from India

• Facebook 

• Amazon

• someone, anyone.

Carl Icahn's Tweets Boost Aple Stock

I am very pleased with Mr. Icahn's tweets.

Both of us could make a very good team. I would be the one who Single-Handedly Stopped Apple! and he would increase the stock at the right moment after he has loaded with the shares that I have driven down.

Initially I wanted to send Mr. Icahn the postcard I sent to Apple as they would listen to him if he would care to pass on my message but how many postcards shall I send?

An email would suffice not that anyone would read it either (even fewer chance to be read than a postcard).