Marco den Ouden
Bio
Marco is the published author of two books on investing in the stock market. Since retiring in 2014 after forty years in broadcast journalism, Marco has become an avid blogger on philosophy, travel, and music He also writes short stories.
Stories (62/0)
Treasure on Your Bookshelf
When I was a kid growing up in Montreal, we lived two doors down from an elderly couple in the antique business. Besides antiques, they also had a lot of old books. When I say old, I mean old! We're talking books from the mid to late 1800s.
By Marco den Oudenabout a year ago in FYI
The Original King of Barter
A couple of days ago (Dec. 14, 2021) a woman from San Francisco named Demi Skipper made the news because she had bartered her way from a bobbypin to small house in Tennessee. But she wasn't the first to accomplish such a feat. She was inspired by a fellow named Kyle MacDonald who did much the same thing in 2005. I wrote up that story in June 2006 for Lesley Scorgie's Rich by Thirty newsletter. At the time, Kyle was one trade away from getting his house, which he did one month later. So I've added the ending and a few other details as well. Here's the story!
By Marco den Oudenabout a year ago in FYI
Songs About Stupidity
In late 2005, Dorian Lynskey, a music writer at the Guardian, started a new Friday feature in the newspaper. Every week he would post a topic on the Guardian website's music blog. He asked readers to suggest songs on that topic. Then he would go through the suggestions and put together a 10 song playlist accompanied by an article threading the songs together. The feature was called Readers Recommend. His goal wasn't to create a list of the best or most popular songs but "to create a diverse and engaging listening session."
By Marco den Oudenabout a year ago in Beat
Trains of Yore
One of the many old books we got when some elderly antique shop owner neighbours retired many years ago was a 1917 Encyclopedia called The Wonder Book of Knowledge. It was a bit beaten up and battered but it was a treasure that I pored over many times. And one of the fascinating items was a picture gallery of steam locomotives and other vintage railroad lore.
By Marco den Oudenabout a year ago in FYI
A Quaint Mill Town on the Sunshine Coast
Since our friends Paul and Cheryl retired to Powell River a few years ago, we have visited them several times. A lot of people think the Sunshine Coast is just the Sechelt Peninsula, but that’s only about half of it. It actually extends all the way to Lund, about a half hour north of Powell River. When you take the ferry from Earl’s Cove, there’s a big sign greeting you at Saltery Bay that says, “Welcome dude, you’ve like totally made it up to the Top of the Sunshine Coast!” Yeah, the Sunshine Coast is pretty laid back, dude!
By Marco den Oudenabout a year ago in Wander
Christmas Toys for 1962
Quite a few years ago my wife and kids and I were visiting her family in Alberta and we decided to take a look at the old homestead where she spent some of her years growing up. It was smallish house on large farm. The house was abandoned and in poor repair. But explore it we did and in the basement I found treasure. Three Eaton's Catalogues from 1962. The large Spring and Summer Catalogue and the thinner Summer Catalogue and Christmas Catalogue.
By Marco den Oudenabout a year ago in FYI
The Largest Railroad Trestle in the British Empire
If you’re a railroad buff and visiting Vancouver Island, you might want to check out the historic Kinsol Trestle. It is a restored railroad trestle on the old abandoned CN Rail line and now part of the Trans Canada Trail.
By Marco den Oudenabout a year ago in Wander
Friendly Rivalry Led to my Blogging
In days of old when knights were bold and blogs weren't invented... Well, maybe not that long ago! But back in 1963 when I was 14 I started what would have been a blog if the personal computer and the Internet had been invented.
By Marco den Oudenabout a year ago in Humans
The Creative Renewal of the Steel Industry
Recently I published a piece here on Songs About Iron and Steel, originally published at The Guardian. It was part of a weekly game called Readers Recommend. The blog posts a topic every Thursday and readers recommend songs that are about that topic. A volunteer "guru" listens to the nominations and compiles a playlist, writing a column to thread the songs together.
By Marco den Oudenabout a year ago in The Swamp
Songs About Iron and Steel
There is a Youtube Playlist of the songs listed here embedded at the end of the article. Iron is the most abundant element by mass in the Earth’s crust, just ahead of oxygen. Not surprisingly then, it has been used as an industrial metal since ancient times. But pure iron is a soft metal ... in practice, it is almost always mixed with carbon to produce steel.
By Marco den Oudenabout a year ago in Beat
When a Man's Home Really IS his Castle!
They say a man’s home is his castle but it is rare that a home really is a castle. We generally think of European royalty, but there is a distinctive group of wealthy industrialists who built homes that resembled castles. The Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California is one notable example. Another is the Boldt Castle in the Thousand Islands.
By Marco den Oudenabout a year ago in Wander
A Short History of Deflation
This is a follow-up to my previous post called Why Not Deflation? I argued that inflation, even the modest two percent targeted by the Bank of Canada, strips wealth from people, particularly those on fixed incomes, and was a form of taxation. I cited an interesting article from former Tory MP Maxime Bernier in this regard, as well as speculating on what a deflationary environment might mean. That sparked a comment in Facebook that bears examination.
By Marco den Oudenabout a year ago in The Swamp
