> > From: Michael Lorrey <retroman@together.net>
>
> > GBurch1 wrote:
> >
> > > In a message dated 98-03-01 11:52:02 EST, Michael Lorrey wrote:
> > >
> > > > The reason why I think developing sea based enclaves now is a good idea is
> > > > that it
> > > > is an excellent and low cost test bed/training center for long term
> > > > habitation/colonization in space. For example the figures I believe that
> > > > John
> > > > Clark contributed of supertanker costs indicates that these are relatively
> > > > cheap.
> > > > A couple tens of millions for a whole supertanker? wow.
> > >
> > > Actually, I think John was saying that he thought it might cost ten times the
> > > approximately $100 million figure I supplied to make a supertanker liveable.
> > > I don't know if it would be that much, but the all-in cost of acquiring and
> > > converting a very large tanker would surely be more than $200 million and
> > > probably at least $300 million. To my subjective sense of economic
> > > proportion, this seems like such a high threshold of investment that the
> > > benefits offered by such an extra-national enclave would have to be VERY great
> > > in comparison to continuing a business within the confines of existing
> > > national territories.
> >
> > I was talking with a freind of mine today who is an oil wildcatter. He said that
> > the reason tankers are in such demand today isn't for their transportation
> > capability, but merely for their storeage capacity, due to the present glut
> > overextending the present capacity of land based storeage for crude. He said that
> > a short three day war in Iraq would completely dry up this glut, and send tanker
> > prices down again.
>
> So you're suggesting that we wait until there's a week-long war in
> the mideast, then invest in firms that own & rent out tankers?
>
A possibility, or if funds are available, wait til prices crash to buy several tankers,
then sell all but one when prices stabilize. Utilizing commodity price behavior to
discount your own final cost is just good sense. I did that with RAM, when 16 meg stick
prices crashed to $15 ea a month or so ago, I bought 480 megs. When prices doubled a
week later, I sold them all, but 4 sticks, which I got for free plus some profit.
-- TANSTAAFL!!! Michael Lorrey ------------------------------------------------------------ mailto:retroman@together.net Inventor of the Lorrey Drive MikeySoft: Graphic Design/Animation/Publishing/Engineering ------------------------------------------------------------ How many fnords did you see before breakfast today?