New blogs. Really, this time.

Yeah, I can't believe it either. The day has finally arrived. We're moving on up to Wordpress.

For occasional posts about specific securities, with a focus on the tiny, obscure stocks I've blogged about here, see Shadow Stocks. No rush to look there right now though, as I've been too busy for the last several hours trying to figure out Wordpress to think much about any specific securities.

For pretty much everything else, see Steam Catapult. See you over there.

Templates for the new blogs

Yes, there will be new blogs. The job is now in the hands of my crackerjack project manager Matt from Simande, who sent this list of 100 free WordPress themes to look at (he'll add logos and graphics the logo designer created). I have a theme in mind from this list, but I thought I'd see if anyone else had any favorites from the list.

On charitable donations for Haiti

It occurs to me that some of my better comments appear on other blogs. Via Disqus (which will be added to my new, much-delayed blogs), here is a comment I made on Fred Wilson's blog on the big outpouring of charitable donations in response to the earthquake in Haiti:

I am curious where all of this money will go. It seems like absolutely enormous amounts of money are being raised for Haiti right now (Whole Foods has its cashiers soliciting donations, for example).

Ideally, Doctors without Borders and other respected charities will get to keep some of these donations for future disasters. There is, in a sense, an inefficient market for charity, and organizations ought to be able to keep some of the surge money they raise for future contingencies (and be honest about that). I remember the controversy after 9/11 when the Red Cross planned to use some of the huge amount of money it raised to build blood banks (if memory serves), but public outcry forced them to spend it all on 9/11, even though government aid was already flooding in. I remember hearing about the challenges the Red Cross had in trying to donate all that money.

Haiti, as a perennial failed state, presents challenges of its own. Once the survivors have been pulled from the rubble, treated and fed; once the dead have been buried -- then what?

The editorial cartoon above, by Peter Brookes, is from the Times Online.

A couple of updates

There are still some good people in the investment industry, and I was fortunate to speak with a few real gentlemen this week: Bill Singer of RRBD Law, Marc Mayor of Inside ALPHA, and Mark Sullivan of First Trust. All offered some excellent suggestions, some of which I will be implementing soon. Herewith, a couple of updates:

- The new blogs. Sometimes it's harder to find people to do the simpler jobs than the more complex ones. Things didn't work out with the previous vendor and I have requested a quote from another one. Hopefully, these blogs will be up and running soon. I'd like to start the comment contest soon, because the first prize gift certificate is for dinner at a restaurant chain that has an Altman Z"-score in the distress zone. If I had more time and patience, I'd set these blogs up myself. I may end up doing that.

- Portfolio Armor. We are putting the finishing touches on it. I am excited. I think this will be a useful tool for a lot of investors, myself included.