Saturday Mixed Bag

I finally have a few minutes this evening after doing stuff all day.

Asked and Answered
On Thursday night I welcomed all questions from anyone and promised to answer them all as best I could. Here we go.

StockSage1 (you can visit his site here) asked:
Which will come first S&P 1100 or 1300?
I think 1300, and not just because of Friday. As an aside, I also do not think the S&P will ever go below 1000 as long as the FED is so actively in market watch mode.

Loyal reader Watchtower asked:
Is Ag going to touch $25, move sideways, or resume it's climb
I was hoping for more than a few minutes of silver at $25-$27 to add some (I hold physical gold/silver in long term portfolio) but it did not happen. If market improves and fiat money bombs keep coming, silver will run up again but I think anytime it gets near $40 will be a sell as the memory of the last drop will be too strong.

Stagflationary Mark was wondering:
How many total fruit flies can 3 pounds of bananas (bought at Sam's Club) generate?
143 , +/- 5 flies

Jennifer Hillier asks:
What's your favorite thing about being a scientist? And what's your least favorite?
I love solving difficult problems. For years if the group is having an issue with a project, I am the last line of defense. I have yet to be unable to clone any gene in 13 years of doing it. The times when I have to get creative are the best.

The worst thing is the monotony of my job sometimes. I have to make DNA preps all the time and it's not glamorous or fun or interesting. Gets boring.

The Sovereign Bohemian asks:
What was the first stock you ever sold for a profit?
Back in 1999 I was at a hot biotech firm. Biotech was super hot and I bought stock in a competitor of my firm, Human Genome Sciences (HGSI). I bought some stock in fall 1999 around $40 I think and sold early 2000 around $100. Wild times, and I had a ton of stock options at my firm that I sold then too.

Reader Gawains asks:
As a geneticist, how much do you really know about DNA?
Too much.

Going further:
Do you actually believe in random mutation? I don't. It seems to me that transposons allow for a DNA molecule to not only determine which genes are transcribed and when, but also can affect the structure of the protein coded for.
Smart observation. It it believed that the system my which mammals make antibodies through gene shuffling was directly stolen from the transposon mechanism of action. Fascinating stuff, but that's a LONG blog post!

Thanks for the questions and always feel free to ask anything anytime.

San Francisco Financial Field
In March 2010 my friend Jake of EconomPic was looking for a new job in the San Fran area. He is still looking as of now and so I renew my request that if any readers are in a position to offer an opportunity I would look at it as a personal favor and would owe you one.

EconomPic's general resume can be seen here.
You can grab his contact information on his site. Here is his post about this from yesterday:
EconomPics of the Week: Get Me a Job in SF Edition
Thanks!

Coins
I am an old coin lover. I prefer Mexican and South American coins from before 1900. Just something about them. I buy certain kinds to have them, not for profit later. I enjoy holding them and thinking about where they have been and what they have seen.

When I do trading homework I usually have my 1869 Peruvian Un Sol coin in my hand. It's been a lucky coin for me. Here is what one looks like as my pictures of coins always come out terrible:

My favorite coins are the Mexican Zacatecas 8 Reale coins. I usually will only buy ones from the Zacatecas mint. Here is an example:

I have several and the earliest is an 1860 coin.

Have a good night.