What a shit show.

The stock market has been on a wild ride lately, resulting in plenty of predictably irrational behavior. But for all that is holy – toilet paper hoarding?

The restaurant / bar down the road has done an impressive conversion to a take out / delivery joint with items on take out menu including take away drink kits with pre-measured booze and mixer, and rolls of toilet paper for 3 bucks each.

The internet has even more examples of this nonsense: here and here as just a couple of the many examples of hysteria.

I’m definitely not a medical professional and I certainly don’t have expertise in the coronavirus, but I know enough (and my wife IS a medical professional) to know that if you get the coronavirus, goddamn toilet paper isn’t a cure and won’t fix your breathing problems, so all of this is nonsensical. Also, if you are shitting that badly already see a doctor and invest in a bidet.

Another hoarding is example is this dumb-ass getting upset because a store is limiting the amount of Mountain Dew he can buy at once, and not letting him buy 552 CANS at once. First of all, no, you know what – I don’t need to explain it, it is absurd on so many levels. You are hoarding literal poison.

Why all of this hoarding behaviour? It is simply fear and the worst of group thinking. “People are buying toilet paper, I need to stock up too before it is out!” The mass hysterial is driving obnoxious behavrious. It’s kind of like the stock market!

The substantial value of the underlying companies in the beloved VTSAX index fund have not materially changed in the big picture, but everyone is scared that everyone else is going to sell, so they sell too, driving volitility and the price of the stock market down.

Meanwhile, people like us (long term investors) are putting more money into the stock market – we actually put in ~$48k in the past couple of weeks and bought stocks at a massive discount to the price just a month ago!

On a final note of this random and rambling blog post, it was a beautiful day here and I enjoyed 2 walks, 2 bike rides (one solo and one with the whole family), a delicious home cooked meal, and the security to know that no matter what happens I’ll always have enough.

Right?