The Big Reveal Show

I cannot believe it is Sunday evening already. Whole weekend went by in a blur of staining and beers after. I have to go to work tomorrow???

The Week Ahead
I should do some market homework tonight but I am probably too tired. Tomorrow night I have plans so that may be out as well. I am still getting set to try my short idea (detailed before) using ETF's should my target of S&P 500 1280 roll around. Seems like I may not be the only person looking at this:
How Barry Ritholtz Just Went Short The Market Using ETFs
Hey Barry, just rip my ideas off already! LOL.

The maximum Boom Boom man himself Bernanke will be speaking tomorrow. Some think he may sound a nice tone for a snapper rally, but I think at this point he is going to try and make an attempt to say the FED is all done. They might be, for now. Tomorrow could be a dangerous day for any large bets long or short so be mindful folks. More later if I do some homework.

The Big Reveal Show
My very best advice for staining a deck is to hire the job out. It was a ton of work and my back and hands are really messed up from two long days of effort.

On Friday when I went to Lowe's I was lucky because the representative from the company Cabot Stains was there doing information tutorials. Cool! Of course I went with all Cabot products, they are based here in Newburyport Massachusetts.

I wanted to go with a white semi-solid stain for the railings and posts. I felt the see through to the grain look would make the staining look aged, sort of rustic. I went with Ultra White semi solid. For the main boards I went with a semi-transparent stain in Redwood. I washed the deck on Friday using, of course, Cabot deck wash.

Ok, you want to see some pictures right? Here we go. I tried to get pictures of the deck from the same angles before and after but it is not exact. Click for larger view:






Looks pretty good I think. Not bad for like 16 hours of work, right?

That should be the last project I have to do myself this summer. It is now fishing time! I need to get my rigs and Kayak ready to roll.

Today is MOINK Day
I forgot in all the work stuff, but today is MOINK day!! I only cooked some hot dogs today because my hands are so cramped I can't do anything complicated. No worries though, my BBQ mentor Zydecopaws of No Excuses BBQ has us covered.

Going above and beyond the regular again, you MUST READ this post:
Teriyaki MOINK
I got permission to repost this mouth-watering picture:

Oh, that would be so good right now. Great stuff.

Have a good night.

Best Deck Staining Tip of All Time

Ok folks, here is the very best deck staining tip of all time. Are you ready?

HIRE SOMEBODY TO DO IT.

I just finished up the white railings and post section. It took from 9am this morning to 6:30pm and my wife is still doing touch ups. The rest will have to be done tomorrow. Gawains was 100% correct, hire this job out! Unreal.

For the Boxing Fans
A little something for the boxing fans.

In 1975 Muhammad Ali mercilessly beats Joe Frazier in rounds 13 and 14 during "The Thrilla in Manila". Frazier's trainer Eddie Futch sees enough after round 14 and gently tells Joe "that's it son" and stops the fight before round 15. Skip to the 4:00 mark for round 14:

Brutal.

Have a good night.

THE HORROR!!!!

Ok, my internet is crap due to crazy harsh thunderstorms. An actual tornado made landfall in southern Massachusetts (Springfield) and there is substantial damage. I am on the north side of the state, so hopefully things will quiet down soon.

Deck Staining
My last major house project that I will be doing myself before I reserve weekends for mainly fishing will be staining my deck. It is now weathered in enough to take stain (second year). I am overwhelmed with all I have read so if you have some simple advice and ideas, by all means HELP ME!

THE HORROR!!!!
Sometimes I think this stuff gets too funny, pure comedy even.

By now most readers will be aware economic data has been getting softer and showing signs of a real slow down. A real slow down from a mediocre level to be sure, but still a slow down. The housing market is still a mess and will be for years as I have written about many times. This impairs the banks, and the banking sector (XLF) was murdered again today. I cannot cover all the data, you know where it is.

A while back I wrote my plan to trade this market should my idea that a serious correction in stocks was on the way. I postulated in this post what the levels I am watching are. It's all there. Today's action feeds that story, but the S&P still closed above 1307, where I was going to get very interested in going short. My trigger is far lower, at S&P 500 1280.

So some flaccid data and a one day drop in the markets are enough to make the safety pin holding Wall Streets diaper up come undone. This CNBC story is something you are going to have to get used to; that and lower stock prices to get the FED to do "something":
Horror for US Economy as Data Falls off Cliff
That is NOT a Zero Hedge headline, but a CNBC lead off. A cliff? Really? Anyways, relevant section from Mike Riddell, a fund manager at M&G Investments in London. :

"And right now, the economic data is suggesting that however measly you may think a 3 percent yield is on a 10-year Treasury, the yield should probably be a fair bit lower given what’s going on in the US economy," said Riddell.
"You’ve also got to wonder at what point the markets for risky assets start noticing, too."
"QE3 anybody?" asks Riddell.

It is already starting.

There are a number of writers that I respect very much that feel the FED is done. Some think politically they cannot keep on with QE. There may be other reasons, even that it is not needed. I cannot disagree more. Quantitative easing has always been a outright promise to back speculation (not just in silver) but across all asset types. It has worked. Now it once again at the end and that support is really taken as a given here. If the FED is all done and explicitly says so, my 10% down targets are going to be conservative. How much off the top does a finished and on the sidelines FED take from markets? I don't think it can or will happen. What do you think?

Have a good night.