First of all I want to make it clear I now own a whopping 20 shares of SLI versus the 8,000 I once held. I kept 20 shares because I had given 5 shares each to my son, daughter, and son in law as Christmas gifts when people on the board were talking about the Tesoro maybe bringing in as much as $300 a share when it was sold. I told the kids I would hold the shares for them until the time to sell and then get their money to them that way. I kept 5 shares for myself just to round off to 20 shares.

I also want it known the 8,000 shares I owned were all purchased in the $2.20 some cents a share range so I lost approx. 90% of my investment when I sold at 24 1/2 cents a share.

Why did I sell? Because I saw that this thing could go on forever, that it had come to a standstill as it has, and I am 65 years old. I felt it best to sell and use what little money I had left to reinvest and hopefully by doing so someday gradually recoup my losses. I no longer invest money in the stock market save for this little dab of seed money I had left over from my SLI investment.

That is my background and I post it that you may know where I am coming from as I state what I have learned from my experience with SLI and especially with doing DD. When I invested I knew nothing about gold exploration, mining, etc. but I found some men on agoracom that were very well versed on what it seemed SLI had in the ground. I read every post. I write this not to knock those guys but here is where we fell short--I think all of us--with the #1 item listed (a list of things I have learned).

1. The very first thing a person ought to look at in evaluating a gold exploration company or any mineral exploration company is not what is likely to be in the ground but management. Has the CEO ever brought a company to completion and sold it? If not my opinion now, a result of my experience here with SLI, is you don't go anywhere within a hundred miles of the company. I will never again be led into a company based on what is thought to be in the ground as a first consideration. DD begins with the experience of your CEO. Every CEO has to start somewhere and have their first success but not with my money. What background did Lori have in proving up and selling mineral exploration companies?

2. The second thing I learned was never allow yourself to lose your seed money. I knew this for I had read a book or two on investing and it is also common sense. One guy said, as I recall, when a stock drops 10% you sell no matter what or else you face the prospect of what has happened to all of us in SLI except those who bought in years ago for 5 or 10 cents a share. I understand selling at 10% is probably selling too quickly but make it 20% or whatever but you get the idea. You don't allow yourself to lose your seed money.

3. Never get married to a stock, never get emotionally involved in it.

4. Don't get greedy and allow that to enter into decision making. We have to profit or else there is no point in investing and we would all like to hit the big one but greed can override common sense. I am not accusing any investor of being greedy but I think I was. I even told one or two people (relatives) that this stock was going to make me a millionaire. Think I am a little embarrassed?

5. Time is a commodity as well as money. I read either here on the other board (no not stockhouse) where one poster said even if you oust Lori immediately and start over he thought you might now be looking at another possibly one to two years to get ramped up again to where you could have hopes of selling. I would think that is a best case scenario. And who knows whether or not this may end up in the courts and possibly slow things down (maybe Sculpin knows, not me). Age is a factor here but time does matter.

6. Potential doesn't count. It is what the drills show. (Yeah, I know there may be things we do not know but the bottom line is until it is reported as fact that there is a massive deposit that drills have proven up one only has hope, that is all.)

One thing that SLI did for me though on a positive note is that it made me a far better investor than I once was. Am I a basher? I am what you are, just a guy that has lost a lot of money to his great regret and I can promise you as long as Lori is the CEO and management is what it is I would not buy back in even at 5 cents a share so seeing the share price drop does me no good at all. As for you guys you may as well hold on to your shares for most of you are younger than me and have time to wait it out.

I do not wish ill to anyone but I do hope you can oust Lori and the present management for the sake of the investors. Lori has enough other enterprises going she will do okay no matter what as long as she stays legal.

I realize I may be banned for this post. It no longer matters. I only posted this because I hear so much about DD, DD, DD. That is where we failed in my opinion. We did DD on the property and overlooked Lori's lack of experience and success as though it was of little significance. That was the great error. (If you ask why I still take an interest in SLI after selling I can only say you will do the same thing if you sell and lose 90% of your investment. Wait and see.)