But on the finest of notes, you do know what the strike price is. It is the cash from the maturing bond. True, you do not know what the yield will be. But that is the same for buying a call right now.

So, the call scenario is somewhat flawed in that you can only buy the bond, at the strike price.. either way,

You do not have to go to far back to the drawing board -

A bond ladder would be a "synthetic" bond. It would have characteristics similar to a single bond, just behaves on those characteristics in the aggregate. While it is created from the actual instrument so,,, synthetic?? I would say, could be. Because you end up with a "bond" that has charateristics you could not get with a single bond.

It would be a variable rate as interest rates go up and down, you would of course be lagging the end of the yield curve that you buy in at (say ten year bonds)

And if you left the money in - it would be perpetual

A synthetic variable-rate prepetual bond!

DrTarr