Bitcoin, Gym, SP 500 and Tbilisi

18 April, 2022 | Living in Georgia | 14 seen

Another interesting week has started here in Tbilisi. At the night I woke up I placed a long position on Bitcoin futures at $40,017, later in the morning before going to the gym I noticed Bitcoin in but under $40,000. Once I was at the gym Bitcoin tumbled another 1000 points, and I had a chance to think a lot about liquidity issues.

Post-processed a few photographs and made a short movie about our Easter adventures. 

I know Bitcoin correlates with SPX 500, so I was waiting for the futures market to open and quite frequently refreshed CNBC. during the day Bitcoin bit recovered and I placed a few more trades with a long position. 

At 15:20 left for the QSI school, with Ramaz, our new driver. At the school noticed the Latvian flag was finally raised. Happy Made a selfie with daughter. i have been asking for the flag since mid-January.

Bitcoin recovered a bit more, the stock market opened - I sold one call option on TLRY. As we are planning a trip to Batumi this Wed, I guess I will have a very fun Friday with options.

Life is good! Talk soon,

5-min chart Bitcoin Trading Strategy with Parabolic SAR, RSI and Heikin Ashi candles

12 April, 2022 | Crypto | 171 seen

For the past two months, I've been experimenting with trading Bitcoin and Ethereum futures on the Deribit platform. So far I can report mixed success.

For most of the time, I was trading a 1-min chart, as it seemed to offer more trades, more excitement, yes it worked quite well, even profitable, but in the end, I always ended up blowing up my account, because of some open overnight trade e.t.c. For now, I can say 1-min candle charts are too noisy. 5-min candle charts take away some noise, at least I believe so. 

This is not trading advice. Investments in stocks, funds, bonds, or cryptos are risk investments and you could lose some or all of your money. Do your due diligence before investing in any kind of asset.

I stopped trading for a few weeks until one lovely Sunday afternoon sipping cappuccino at one of the posh Tbilisi restaurants I decided to give bitcoin trading another chance. Again I went to the 1-min charts and again I almost blew up my account. I watched a YouTube video about trading a 5-min chart with Parabolic SAR, RSI, and Heikin Ashi candles.

I decided to give it a try. After the first day of trading, I was really…

Top 20 Best Selling Hexa Core laptops

11 April, 2022 | Laptop Reviews | 123 seen

When referring to computer processors, hex-core is a term used to describe a multi-core CPU containing six cores. Six cores are even faster than four or quad cores.

Hexa core processor laptops are a popular choice both for gaming and business usage as mostly they come with better graphics cards and more RAM memory.

In this article have listed TOP 20+ bestselling Hexa Core laptops on Amazon. 

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This article contains affiliate links to Amazon.com, by clicking on links on this page and by making a purchase on Amazon site, I will earn an affiliate income at no cost to you. Prices for laptops listed on this page are retrieved using Amazon Product  Advertising API and is updated daily. For actual prices please refer to the product page on Amazon.

• Boost Clock 1485 Mhz & Max Graphics Power of 75W
…

March 2022 Dividend Income Report - $154.58

6 April, 2022 | Stock Portfolio | 17 seen

Welcome to the fifty-ninth (#59) dividend income report, covering earnings I've made from dividend-paying stocks in March 2022.

Last month we spent both in Georgia and Latvia. We had a Spring break from QSI school in Tbilisi and we decided to visit Latvia, my daughter had a chance to pick up some Latvian, and I had a chance to install floors at our Vilgåle apt. Also, we bought an old Mercedes Benz ML 400 SUV car, so we have transport next time when in Latvia. Rental cars add up in the end.

Buying a car in Riga

From the perspective of dividend income - Last March was nothing to brag about, some humble $154.58 from a few dividend-paying stocks.

From the dividend stocks I got the following income last month:

DOW

$53.54

PFE

$40.80

WBA

$36.53

INTC

$15.51

ARCC

$3.82

AWP

$3.40

BAC

$0.54

GOLD

$0.44

Total: $154.58

Most stocks are from the DOW Jones list, these are the stocks I additionally sell covered calls on to boost our total income

Top 10 Best Selling Laptops April 2022

1 April, 2022 | Laptop Reviews | 42 seen

In this article, I've listed the top 10 best selling laptops in April 2022 on Amazon

Lenovo, ASUS, Acer, Apple, and HP are the brands of the month. As a proud owner of the Apple 2020 M1 chip macbook, I find it not surprisingly being listed among the best sellers.

A quick note: This article contains affiliate links to Amazon.com, by clicking on links on this page and by making a purchase on Amazon site, I will earn an affiliate income at no cost to you. Prices for laptops listed on this page are retrieved using Amazon Product Advertising API and is updated daily. For actual prices please refer to the product page on Amazon.

• Powerhouse performance from AMD Ryzen 5 5500U mobile processor, 8GB DDR4 RAM, 256GB SSD storage, and AMD Radeon 7 Graphics
• The IdeaPad 3 14-inch laptop has 4-side narrow bezels that let you see more of the FHD (1920 x 1080) screen for wider viewing angles and less clutter
• Quieter and cooler with…

Goldigen Room Artisan Pizza In Kuldiga

31 March, 2022 | Restaurant reviews | 36 seen

Welcome to another Kuldīga Restaurant review - today I will write about a lovely pizza place located just in heart of Kuldīga town - Goldingen Room Artisan Pizza.

The family restaurant Goldingen room, located in the heart of the old town of Kuldiga – Town Hall Square, is a story about the taste and mood of Italy. The restaurant offers to discover flavors of Mediterranean cuisine, complete with topping-up local produce and matching wines from Italian, French and local producers, and other soft drinks. You can also enjoy real Italian pizzas here, fried in a wood-burned pizza oven, delicious Italian pasta, and more. The interior of the restaurant is designed in an industrial romantic way. Every detail, original furniture, and the dish is thoughtful.

Turns out this article has been in my draft section since early April 2015, so long we have been visiting this place once in a while, and what's best - the quality and service still feel as it was back in the days.

Summer patio - a glasshouse at Artisan Pizza

You probably will notice Goldigen Room by seeing this glasshouse, what actually is a summer terrace/patio, just in front of Kuldīga…

Installing laminate flooring, painting walls

29 March, 2022 | Home Remodeling | 19 seen

During the weekend I did a lot at our Vilgāle apartment, fixed some electric plugs, painted walls, and installed the floor, but first things first - it was agreed to save huge on the floor by choosing laminate instead of parquet.

We paid less than EUR 9/m2 for laminate and saved on installation as I did it myself. Parquet would cost about EUR 40-50/m2.

I chose DEPO store in Riga to buy the floor and tools

In total paid EUR 378 for about 32m2 laminate, figure saw and wooden fiber boards (the green ones)

Before proceeding, I had to remove 9 bags of trash from the room

Looks quite cozy already. Unfortunetly that afternoon there was a very heavy storm and our village was cut off from the electricity so I had to pause any works (figure saw needs electricity)

Unbelievable, the room looks very good. There are still some details to finish, but I'm already very happy

Later i will add tiles for the kitchen area

I'm looking to resume works here in June 2022

Cost so far:

• Water plumbing: EUR 60
• Sadales Tīkls: EUR 60
• Electrician: EUR 155
• Architect: EUR 800
• Removing…

How to Fix Apache Configuration Error AH00558: Could not reliably determine the server's fully qualified domain name

28 March, 2022 | Servers | 130 seen

Not the biggest Apache fan here, but today working on a server while setting up Apache as a reverse proxy for the JBoss application, after trying to restart the apache service I faced the following issue Apache Configuration Error AH00558: Could not reliably determine the server's fully qualified domain name.

Luckily, a quick Google helped to find the solution: 

Long story short (For Debian / Ubuntu)

sudo nano /etc/apache2/apache2.conf

Add a line containing ServerName 127.0.0.1 to the end of the file

Polishing, Painting and some cable works

25 March, 2022 | Home Remodeling | 11 seen

I spent another day at our Vilgāle apt, today's plan was to polish the ceiling and wall (I yesterday plastered) and add the base layer of paint for the living room and hallway.

In the morning we went to Majai un darzam store in Kuldīga, where I bought a bucket of paint, some plugs, and switches, special screws for drywall, so I can properly install the lamp from IKEA, and the day started.

Yesterday I decided to apply more plaster on kitchen wall (under the window) today Ibpolished it and applied freh layer of paint

More paint will be applied here later

Looks quite light

Now, looks really nice already - like a qualitative rental location

Living area, kitchen and hallway. I hope to trade stocks some day from this apartment

Spent some time, figuring it out, how to connect switch the right way. 

Wall Plastering, Ceiling Paint, Some Electricity works

23 March, 2022 | Home Remodeling | 10 seen

It has been a while since the latest update from the Vilgale apartment, in fact, it has been 3 months since I last visited it. Now, having a Spring break from QSI school in Tbilisi, we decided to visit Latvia for some 2 weeks and do some things - like continuing with the renovation works at the Vilgāle apt.

I bought some materials back in Riga at the Depo store and was the very happy and enthusiastic starting day today at Vilgāle.

This is where we were left before the New Year of 2022. Today I decided to plaster walls in the hallway.

After couple of hours I was done. Saved a few hundred euros I guess.

Most of the plasteting works should be done now

After plastering works, I decided to apply the second layer of paint for the ceiling

We bought this lamp at the end of 2021 in IKEA store. 

Indeed I feel I have saved at least a few hundred euros today.

Cost so far:

• Water plumbing: EUR 60
• Sadales Tīkls: EUR 60
• Electrician: EUR 155
• Architect: EUR 800
• Removing walls and floor: EUR 775
• Chalk removing, / wiring: EUR 500
• Wall plastering/frame for…

Svan Tower in Tbilisi (Turtle Lake)

22 March, 2022 | Tourism objects | 114 seen

Svan Tower near Turtle lake is a well seen, but less visited tourist attraction in Tbilisi. Best reached while hiking near Turtle lake.

• Hiking Trails in Tbilisi - Turtle Lake (Kus Tba) - Tskneti
• Hiking trails near Turtle lake, Tbilisi in Winter

We visited the Svan Tower again in Tbilisi at the end of February 2022 and had a lovely picnic in the footsteps of the tower. See this short video I made: Hiking trip near Turtle Lake

The hiking route towards Swan tower from the Turtle lake, shouldn't take more than 20 minutes 

To visit the real Svan towers, you should consider a trip to Svaneti and especially the town of Mestia.

Buying a car in Riga

21 March, 2022 | | 42 seen

A few years ago I wrote an article on how to buy a used car in Georgia, now it is time to write about our experience buying a used car in Riga Latvia.

For the past couple of years, we were using mostly car rentals and enjoyed it a lot - I mean no headaches about servicing the car, someone brings your car to the airport, you drop it at the airport. Quite nice, also quite expensive. It was agreed we could buy some used car and use it for some two years to come and then let's see what happens. 

A few years ago we had a reliable Honda CRV car here in Latvia, we used it a lot during the Summer months and the car suited well during winter months too, unfortunately, the investment the car asked for was too high and in the end car ended in a car cemetery. 

For looking cars in Latvia - ss. lv is a way to go. I opened SS.lv looked for a few Honda CRVs (younger models) made a few phone calls and made appointments. I should note it happened on Sunday.

The first Honda we were looking for was listed for EUR 2,100, the other I looked at was EUR 3,300. This was our approximate budget Something reliable for not a huge money. To make it…

Diaries from Tbilisi or Fun Friday with school, office, options trading and flying

18 March, 2022 | Living in Georgia | 6 seen

The day started with a lot of snow here in Tbilisi, yesterday we parked our VW Touareg at Archi Tower paid underground parking (paying about GEL 200 / month), and decided to rely on taxi service until Friday's flight to Riga.

A few days ago my personal Driver David refused to make a trip to the QSI international school and back to our apartment for GEL 20 (roundtrip). Well what to do, now we need to rely on BOLT or drive ourselves. Sad our area is not served by school bus. 

We dropped kiddo at school and drive to the office in Vake. I installed one PC with Windows and MS products, had a nice chat with office personnel, and at the end of the day talked to Shorena, a smart Georgian girl helping us with PC equipment. I counted we now have about 15 machines. Intel i3 and Intel i5. Ram ranging from 4 GB (for the older models) to 16GB (never)

I wanted to return the old look on my blog, the one you are currently reading, the Bootstrap look, there were some system errors after I did the Drupal 7 to Drupal 9 upgrade last Summer. Now I decided to investigate and fix that. Had to get my hands dirty, using Siri as an assistant and ssh terminal on MacBook too.…

Buying Amazon stock on margin (NASDAQ:AMZN) before stock split to sell covered calls

17 March, 2022 | Stock Portfolio | 33 seen

On March 17, 2022, I assisted in buying 1 share of AMZN stock for my fiancee. She paid USD 3,101.99 for 1 share.

Our goal is to have 5 shares by June 6, 2022. My fiancee is having her birthday on June 10 and by that time I hope I will be able to assist her in selling the first covered call on AMZN stock as well.

Book my Covered Calls Course | How to Generate Income from Options

Now, long story short AMZN stock is doing a 1:20 stock split on June 6, 2022:

On March 9, 2022, the Board of Directors of Amazon.com, Inc. (the “Company”) approved a 20-for-1 split of the Company’s common stock to be effected through an amendment to the Company’s Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Amendment”). The Amendment will also effect a proportionate increase in the number of shares of authorized common stock.

The stock split and the proportionate authorized share increase are subject to shareholder approval of the Amendment at the 2022 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the “Annual Meeting”), which is currently scheduled to take place on May 25, 2022. The Company’s definitive proxy statement relating to the Annual Meeting will include additional…

Gudaleti Monastery Complex

15 March, 2022 | Churches and Monasteries | 30 seen

Gudaleti monastery complex is located in the village of Gudaleti on an elevated spot, on the edge of a high gorge on the river Gudaleura. The church is located about 1 hour and 20 minutes drive from Tbilisi. The complex includes the Church of the Assumption and a tower fortress.

We discovered this church by chance while driving through the village of Gudaleti to visit a friend who has bought a house in the same village.

Seems the church is under renovation and is being completely rebuilt (2022)

The Church of the Mother of God is a cross-domed building, built at the turn of the XIII - XIV centuries, built of cut stone, cobblestone and bricks are also used. 

I was able to find some additional info about this church in Georgian here

I guess it is just a matter of time, when a good asphalt road will be laid also in the Gudaleti village, making this place an attractive spot to visit.