Browsing: Society

A Brief History On April 9, 1388, at the Battle of Näfels, a military force of the Old Swiss Confederation fought a much larger force representing the Austrian royal family, the Habsburgs.  In a stunning example of David beating Goliath, the Swiss soldiers won a rousing victory, an indication of why other powerful European countries have been leaving Switzerland alone for many years now. Digging Deeper At the Battle of Näfels, the Swiss fielded a modest troop of only about 400 or so fighting men against a superior Austrian force numbering around 6500 soldiers.  The attacking Austrians at first forced…

A Brief History On April 8, 2006, the bodies of 8 people murdered by gunshot wounds were found in a field a couple of miles (5 kilometers for the metric oriented) North of Shedden, Ontario, Canada, an event labeled as the “Shedden Massacre.”  The bodies were found inside 4 cars by the local farmer.  (If you were a fan of Sons of Anarchy on television, perhaps you have a bit of a clue as to the nature of motorcycle clubs.) Digging Deeper Canada, a particularly friendly nation (as this author can attest, having gone there probably close 100 times over…

A Brief History On May 30, 727 or 728, we mourn the passing of one of the great characters in history, one of our favorite Saints, Saint Hubert, also known as Hubertus, the first bishop of Liège in what is now Belgium. While a number of Merovingian Kings and Queens actually became saints, such as Balthild, Clotilde and Dagobert II, some of the subjects of the Merovingian dynasty also became saints as well and arguably the most famous of such people is St. Hubert, the patron Saint of Hunting and so much more.  In fact, the true greatness of St.…

A Brief History On April 3, 1981, the Osborne Computer Corporation unveiled its latest creation, the Osborne 1, the first portable computer to be commercially viable.  The grand daddy of all the laptops, tablets, pads and smartphones we have today started with this 24.5 pound chunk of electronics.  Despite the pioneering nature of the company, Osborne went out of business only 4 years later. Digging Deeper Costing a whopping $1795 (or equivalent to over $5000 today), the Osborne 1 had to be plugged in to a wall socket for power as it had no internal battery.  Although you could not…

A Brief History In these uncertain financial times, investors of all shapes and sizes are looking for a combination of asset growth and security. As the “gold standard” of investing over centuries, gold bullion is often considered a quality investment for protecting value over time. As a growth investment, gold coins can be successful, depending on a number of market factors. In this article, Rory Brown, Lydian founder discusses some of the major advantages and disadvantages of using gold coins as a part of a solid investment plan.  Note: This post is sponsored by Rory Brown. Digging Deeper Advantages Permanent…