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To: James Thompson who wrote (15933)	1/22/2000 7:59:00 PM
From: Mark Peterson CPA	Respond to of 19700

Jim, you're absolutely right about your assessment re the evolution of investing psychology. A reaffirmation in core beliefs has occurred that has been adopted more rapidly than the ones in 1849, when gold was discovered in California at Sutter's Mill. People back then weren't trying to "strike it rich", although that's what the movies would have you believe. They were trying to make a better living and get out from job jail where they worked 60 hours a week for someone else and still could not make ends meet. And land, housing, and food was all inexpensive back then. All you had to do was claim it, build it, and either hunt or grow it. Hell, if you had $3M, you could have stepped in and done the Louisiana Purchase yourself. Entrepreneurial core beliefs are not so different today, even after 150 years. At the root of all this today is the belief that investing through the application of technology, information, and the Internet can make a difference in each of our lives. Enough of a difference where we'll notice the change and our lives will be made better in some way because of the risks we took. Yep, some of those motherlodes are going to peter out. Others are going to cave in on themselves once the short-term investors leave. And there will be no medals or rewards issued as consolation prizes to those who took excessive risks or just made bad investments and lost their entire grubstake. But I think that in some ways, each of us understands that if we take $20 and stick it in a jar in the darkest corner of our closet, a year later, we'll still have the $20. But that's all. No risk? Well fella, no return, either... And this is a particularly profound lesson and one not so difficult to see for many of us who worked decades at a "real" job, delta neutral as it were, incorrectly thinking it would make a difference in our lives. During the last several years of investing, we've all worked harder, longer, but also smarter than we did in other careers. And as sure as those '49ers of 150 years ago, we've welcomed risk and the way it has changed our view of the horizon. Yes, this certainly is a different world we live in today. The only losers are the ones unwilling to change and embrace it. Mark

To: James Thompson who wrote (15933)	1/22/2000 8:28:00 PM
From: LOGAN12	Respond to of 19700

James, thank you for taking the time to wade thru all those posts. We all can learn things from what we read here, even if we disagree! linda

To: James Thompson who wrote (15933)	1/22/2000 10:10:00 PM
From: JavaGuy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 19700

Jim, You stated my own thoughts on the subject much better than I. You are correct that there will be a huge drop someday and others to follow. But I can't time the market, the last few years have proved that to me. I full expect to see 50%+ of my portfolio vanish in a matter of hours or days. I've seen many of my individual stocks do just that several times. Imagine the opportunity cost of not investing over the last 5 years (hell, 2 years) had this fear ruled your life. It is part of the game. When the big corrections do happen, a lot of cash will be raised. I believe as you do, that eventually this cash comes back to the greatest (tech) stocks because that is where the dynamic growth is. I am 31, should I just cash out and buy CD's? Nah, I'll just ride out the storms and strengthen my iron gut. -JG