Author Archives: ASAAD ALAM

Being a New Yorker is an interesting experience. There are so many things that make this city great. Everyone knows about the plethora of different monuments, buildings and locations in New York, they make this city famous. By far my favorite part about being a New Yorker is that there are so many different people, here from distinct parts of the world. This exposes us New Yorkers to what these cultures are. The city gives them the ability to share their culture with the rest of New York. For example great restaurants in both Manhattan and Brooklyn and clothing stores in Queens. One of the best places I’ve found to see these distinctions clearly is in the subway system. So many different people regardless of race, religion, and social class (up to a point) take the subway, and its almost as if there was an even playing field.

Despite this city being amazing there are countless things that definitely hinder the city from being better. Of course the subway system and the trains run much smoother. Also the trash which is annoyingly piled up on the block waiting to be collected. The endless amount of littering is one of the problems that bother me most often. It is easy for one to take their trash with them when they eat at a park or anywhere else. In the city there are trash cans on almost every block and they should be used more often. There are so many good reasons as to why you shouldn’t litter; its bad for the environment, its illegal, it contributes to bad health and overall it makes the city look worse. Obviously the easy fix would be to use the trash cans more, and if it isn’t available, hold onto your trash until it is. Despite this I think why people litter is because they are lazy. So I believe the easiest way to combat this would be to implement more trash receptacles on city streets (it would be a step ahead if they were recycled too). In order to do this New Yorkers should advocate to their government officials and help reduce the littering and making the city much more beautiful for the millions that travel here every year.

My favorite watch of all time is the Jaeger leCoultre Duomètre Unique Travel Time in rose gold. It is absolutely stunning, especially in person. The watch functions on 498 pieces which are masterfully put together, and can be seen from the back of the watch. (which is one of my favorite parts). The back is also attributed with cities and each with their corresponding 24 hour time zone. Probably one of the most distinct features on the watch is on the watch face, which is marked by the globe at the 6 o’clock position. It allows you to tell the time zones, as well as the suns current position on the globe. The watch face also allots for the user to tell time for two distinct time zones simultaneously. Perhaps after a flight from New York to Japan you wanted to call your partner, but was unsure about the time in New York. The watch would be able to tell you New York and Japans individual times at a glance.

As you may already know, this watch is for travelers. The attention to detail on the crown and watch face are thoughtfully refined and easily one of my favorite components. I first saw this watch online a few years ago, and found it so distinct and interesting. Ever since, it has become my favorite watch to date. This watch in the specific variant I want is $43,500 excluding taxes. Which I admit is pricey, but it would be completely worth it. I cant wait for the day that I will look down on my wrist to see this beautiful timepiece.

https://www.jaeger-lecoultre.com/us/en/watches/duometre/duometre-unique-travel-time/6062420.html

I found Dea’s post on the D.E.A. and its failure to protect the American people from the opioid epidemic particularly interesting. When the president was asked about the opioid crisis in America he of course blamed Mexico, but we know that this isn’t the case. The opioid addiction has risen in America because, as Dea’s post suggested there had been a significant increase in the D.E.A.s production quotas for opioids. My question was why the Drug Enforcement Agency (specifically tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution) didn’t do its job and prevent this from becoming a crisis in the first place? The D.E.A. claims in the video that  “the D.E.A. does not capture sufficient data, to detect emerging drug trends or suspicious orders in a timely manner” as a possible explanation for their failure as an agency. However it seems to me that, possibly big pharma companies such as Cephalon, Insys, and Teva Pharmacetucals might have had a role to play in the D.E.As alledged inability to detect emerging drug trends. After all, they have admitted to bribing doctors to overprescribe the medication even when it was not needed. Perhaps these same drug companies might have placed incentive or lobbyed the D.E.A. to turm a blind eye to the opioid crisis so they would be able to turn a profit. Irregardless of how it came to be it is a significant problem in America which has took thousands of lives.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUR1GGeFN1Y

Patriot Act V4: E2 “Fentanyl”

I own a few hundred shares in this company and personally think it will either preform quite well over the next few months or be bought out by a bigger player in the cannabis market. The company Harvest One Cannabis was the first cannabis stock I purchased and during the first few months had been doing very well. It is only until recently that the stock price did not match the companies performance level. As of today the price is $0.35 and it is severely undervalued. The company so far has been expanding through acquiring facilities and brands like Dream Water which is carried in a plethora of stores worldwide including 7/11 and Walmart in America. Not only on the business side but in management as well, recently adding Andy Bayfield who has worked previously with brands like Cocoa Cola, Cadbury, and Dr. Pepper. This is a great move because adding someone such as Mr. Bayfield to the team means for better products (being that he had a background on consumer packaged goods). Harvest One is a great company and I know it is very much undervalued at this point which is why it is my biggest investment. Over the few months I had owned shares they were able to reach the goals they set for this year and even surpassed a few of them.  My estimate is that in a few months it would be able to recover or at least begin a reversal period. However this could also be next week (a young company such as this one) is very unpredictable. This company should be valued at least at the $1.50 -$2 range. This range is about 5 times the current stock price but it is one of the few cannabis companies doing CONSITENTLY well and very much deserves a higher stock price.

https://www.harvestone.com/news/2019/index.php?content_id=184

https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/HRVOF?p=HRVOF

After reading both articles I found that I wrote my first drafts according to both authors ideas. However when it came down to the key ideas and storyline I was sure to make it as clear as possible, which is why I would choose George Dilas philosophy of writing over Lamott (generally speaking). Lamotts ideas I would only follow for the nitty gritty; punctuation, spelling, order, etc. It helped me to keep my writing to flow. It also allows me to get my ideas out on the paper before I forget them. Then I would find myself unable to go on without being sure that my idea, what I wanted to say, is exactly what I wrote. So in the end and for the sake of simplicity I would side more with George Dilas idea of writing as opposed to Lamotts.

The well known cannabis company Tilray may end its losing streak. Over the past few quarters they consistently missed their earnings estimates. They also lost more than half their share price in the previous 6 months. At one point almost a year ago a share in this company was about $214. As of today it is priced at $32, and I believe would continue to fall. This drastic change in price was due to the fact that it was a new company in a completely new sector. With this it showed that there was a lot of hype (potential) resulting in a $214 stock price. This is why they had been priced so exclusively and reasonably so, fell dramatically. During this past year the company was able to successfully use this inflated stock price to partner with the Anheuser- Busch company. This might mean for new cannabis infused beverages, among other products in the next few years. Also the company had grew this year despite its stock price, which shows that things might not be all bad.

In the end, TLRY stock is overvalued and as a result the price will continue to fall until it shows signs of a reversal, which might not take place for another few months. Despite this, there is still promising potential.  The TLRY stock had captured much attention in the market and definitely established its name in the cannabis sector because of it. Getting attention is crucial for any company in the market especially when it is a young company such as this one. They can use this to establish their name as a key player, as well as use it to differentiate themselves from all the other new young cannabis startups in the sector. 

I would wait until November or early December to see whether or not to buy shares in TLRY

Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/TLRY?p=TLRY

This photo was taken when I was a few months old. The context of this photo hadn’t been known personally to me therefore I had to investigate by asking certain members of my family. This photo was taken in 2002 which makes sense since I was born in November of 2001. At this time we recently moved to New Jersey. The photo was done by a professional photographer, and there are also a number of other professionally taken photos that had been taken on the same day. All of which sit in an album in the basement. I chose this photo specifically because, for whatever reason this is the photo I had the most contact with. I didn’t ask my mom why she decided to go to a professional photographer in New Jersey to take a number of photos of me as a baby.  My assumption is that my mom had recently moved to a new house and wanted to hang new photos on the walls. Perhaps it could have been that she felt that there was a certain milestone that had been achieved when she moved into the new house with a newborn child, and she wanted to remember this point in her life.  In the end, we didn’t stay at this house for very long and eventually moved back to New York by 2004.