You all are going to love this. My new fall project at work is to be trained on, coordinate installation, and be in charge of......a huge robotic system! You cannot make this stuff up. How will I cope? I feel I am betraying my own kind. Going to be a long Autumn.
On the Shelf
August will be gone and I don't think any market players are going to miss it much. It's been a wild mess, and plenty of hits taken and given.
There was more FED hints today, more volatility, more confusion. More of the same.
While I have not placed a trade since the beginning of the month (two losers YMG and OCZ) I had planned to try GME and NI this week. Both would have been ok winners, but various things kept me out of the market. The most important one was that I felt I would really have to keep an eye on any position very close, and that is not always possible with a real job. As is, August likely would have carved me up anyway so maybe it was for the best.
Some important economic numbers are set for tomorrow and Friday (ISM and Jobs number) and then it is the long weekend. Been on the shelf for August, why not a couple days in September too?
Vote for Best Sci-Fi TV Theme Song
Go and vote at io9 tonight:
Vote for the greatest science fiction theme song of all time
I had to go Knight Rider!
Hayabusa Project a Wild Success
Japan launched a space probe in 2003 that was tasked with returning a sample to earth of an asteroid. The return capsule landed in June and information is now just coming out. Very exciting project, read about it here:
Hayabusa
Have a good night.
Showing posts with label Robots shall inherit the earth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Robots shall inherit the earth. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
Shelter from the Storm
Wild pop up thunderstorm right as I was set to drive home. Have I ever told you how much I love my Infiniti G35X? Makes an impossible ride home possible.
Shelter from the Storm
What's left to talk about in the markets? Another ugly day. Still no real panic or capitulation, but it has to be coming.
After the last month you need to get some shelter if you have been taking hits and forcing losing trades. As guidance I can recommend two stops to keep you centered.
Josh Brown, The Reformed Broker has been a great voice for keeping out of trouble. Today he opines on how to survive a market crash. You should read the whole thing and scroll through the posts as of late, plenty to learn:
Downtown’s Rules for Surviving a Crash
I rely on charts in trends for short term trading, but it always pays to be aware of macro issues especially if you are a long term investor. Inflection points are by nature very difficult times. As data changes and slows one cannot fall into a trap of thinking it will all be fine no matter what. You have to be aware of the entire landscape. More and more I find the work done by my friend Tony over at Macro Story to be a must stop for me. Check back over the last two months of Macro Updates, you will see what I mean. Here is the site:
Macro Story
No questions from open thread night, so that's it for the week for things economic.
Friday Night Entertainment
Needed now more than ever.
Obligatory Robot Warning
This headline via Geekologie is all you need to know I am losing the war against robot domination:
That's...A Really Terrible Idea: Army Considers Building Autonomous Robots Own Base
Still I endeavor to persevere.
Comic Scenery
For a chuckle.
What kind of weather is that?:
see more funny videos, and check out our Yo Dawg lols!
Enjoy the summer, I am hitting the beach:
see more WTF Pictures and WTF videos by Picture Is Unrelated
Film Clips
Stuff to watch.
I loved the first "Underworld" film so very much. The second was just ok, and I did not see "Rise of the Lycans". There is a new film upcoming, and the trailer looks pretty good. "Underworld Awakening":
Will have to see.
After all the beatings the market has handed out, lets get in shape for when things change by training with Balboa in "Rocky II":
Not the full clip, sorry.
Rock Blogging
Bringing the hits since 2007.
Wanted to give a happy birthday shout out to loyal reader and published author Jennifer Hillier who celebrates hers on Monday!:
As is custom JH has asked for a song by Adele, but did not specify. Let's try a live show of "Someone Like You":
Wow, that's a good one.
Traders across the world went out early today to grab at least "One Bourbon, one Scotch, and One Beer" requested by Sovereign Bohemian:
Sounds good!
Best wishes for my friend Soleil and she was looking for Florence and The Machine with "Dog Days are Over":
Excellent pick.
Watchtower alerts me to a 1980's movie I HAVE NOT SEEN!! Stop the presses! I have never seen "Heavy Metal", bizarre I know. Anyways I will check it out. Until then let's try Blue Oyster Cult and "Veteran of the Psychic Wars":
For the AC/DC maniacs, "Back in Black":
Never gets old.
Two songs left, two gems to find.
A little Ramones goes a long way. "Somebody Put Something in My Drink":
Last call. Grab a drink and a lighter!
It's getting late in the summer. That means it's time for Don Henley's "Boys of Summer":
Love that one.
Have a good night.
Shelter from the Storm
What's left to talk about in the markets? Another ugly day. Still no real panic or capitulation, but it has to be coming.
After the last month you need to get some shelter if you have been taking hits and forcing losing trades. As guidance I can recommend two stops to keep you centered.
Josh Brown, The Reformed Broker has been a great voice for keeping out of trouble. Today he opines on how to survive a market crash. You should read the whole thing and scroll through the posts as of late, plenty to learn:
Downtown’s Rules for Surviving a Crash
I rely on charts in trends for short term trading, but it always pays to be aware of macro issues especially if you are a long term investor. Inflection points are by nature very difficult times. As data changes and slows one cannot fall into a trap of thinking it will all be fine no matter what. You have to be aware of the entire landscape. More and more I find the work done by my friend Tony over at Macro Story to be a must stop for me. Check back over the last two months of Macro Updates, you will see what I mean. Here is the site:
Macro Story
No questions from open thread night, so that's it for the week for things economic.
Friday Night Entertainment
Needed now more than ever.
Obligatory Robot Warning
This headline via Geekologie is all you need to know I am losing the war against robot domination:
That's...A Really Terrible Idea: Army Considers Building Autonomous Robots Own Base
Still I endeavor to persevere.
Comic Scenery
For a chuckle.
What kind of weather is that?:
see more funny videos, and check out our Yo Dawg lols!
Enjoy the summer, I am hitting the beach:
see more WTF Pictures and WTF videos by Picture Is Unrelated
Film Clips
Stuff to watch.
I loved the first "Underworld" film so very much. The second was just ok, and I did not see "Rise of the Lycans". There is a new film upcoming, and the trailer looks pretty good. "Underworld Awakening":
Will have to see.
After all the beatings the market has handed out, lets get in shape for when things change by training with Balboa in "Rocky II":
Not the full clip, sorry.
Rock Blogging
Bringing the hits since 2007.
Wanted to give a happy birthday shout out to loyal reader and published author Jennifer Hillier who celebrates hers on Monday!:
Wow, that's a good one.
Traders across the world went out early today to grab at least "One Bourbon, one Scotch, and One Beer" requested by Sovereign Bohemian:
Sounds good!
Best wishes for my friend Soleil and she was looking for Florence and The Machine with "Dog Days are Over":
Excellent pick.
Watchtower alerts me to a 1980's movie I HAVE NOT SEEN!! Stop the presses! I have never seen "Heavy Metal", bizarre I know. Anyways I will check it out. Until then let's try Blue Oyster Cult and "Veteran of the Psychic Wars":
For the AC/DC maniacs, "Back in Black":
Never gets old.
Two songs left, two gems to find.
A little Ramones goes a long way. "Somebody Put Something in My Drink":
Last call. Grab a drink and a lighter!
It's getting late in the summer. That means it's time for Don Henley's "Boys of Summer":
Love that one.
Have a good night.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Pump Down the Volume
Huge rain storm today here! Many streets in Cambridge were under water. Luckily the ride home was not too bad. No need to water the grass this week.
Pump Down the Volume
One of the things I really pay attention to is volume in the markets. Buyers and sellers vote with their feet and will run into or out of a stock at various points. One of the more frustrating things the "new" market since 2009 features is a real lack of volume, especially in uptrends. Zero Hedge had this headline up today that many were calling whining:
Market Stages Tremendous Rally.... On 40% Of Recent Volume
To be fair, all the heavy action the last couple of weeks was on very high volume so a drop off is not strange in and of itself.
So is volume important anymore? It's a good question. I still will base a buy on volume backing up something I see. With all the money that has left the markets over the past couple of years maybe volume is not that big a deal anymore. Surely as it relates to the major index trackers it's all but useless.
The rally from last Thursday to now has been large, but is there anything behind it? Here is a chart of HRL, note the volume at the bottom of the chart:
It is clear the recent bounce has come on less shares being transacted.
I wrote in my trading notebook (yes I still write stuff like in the dark ages) last Friday:
"Worst case is a huge bounce on no volume; not tradeable"
Yup, and here we are.
The chart for the S&P 500 shows the same, and note the levels I have marked off for the index as the moves seem to find old levels. This is where charting is helpful:
I had figured a close over 1200 would come this week and I was thinking of getting involved should it do so. Of course it did it today. Another V shaped blast off on the way? I would not be shocked, but this time the technical damage is so bad it would be far better and constructive for the market to base sideways for a time. A furious run up from here is not going to have a calming effect. Turnaround Tuesday is on tap, will see how it goes.
Robots On the Rise
My friend Mark seems to think his post tonight is funny, but it's just another sign of human handing the keys over to the robot overlords:
The Future American Worker
President Obama gave a speech at a robotics manufacturer and said:
Have a good night.
Pump Down the Volume
One of the things I really pay attention to is volume in the markets. Buyers and sellers vote with their feet and will run into or out of a stock at various points. One of the more frustrating things the "new" market since 2009 features is a real lack of volume, especially in uptrends. Zero Hedge had this headline up today that many were calling whining:
Market Stages Tremendous Rally.... On 40% Of Recent Volume
To be fair, all the heavy action the last couple of weeks was on very high volume so a drop off is not strange in and of itself.
So is volume important anymore? It's a good question. I still will base a buy on volume backing up something I see. With all the money that has left the markets over the past couple of years maybe volume is not that big a deal anymore. Surely as it relates to the major index trackers it's all but useless.
The rally from last Thursday to now has been large, but is there anything behind it? Here is a chart of HRL, note the volume at the bottom of the chart:
I wrote in my trading notebook (yes I still write stuff like in the dark ages) last Friday:
"Worst case is a huge bounce on no volume; not tradeable"
Yup, and here we are.
The chart for the S&P 500 shows the same, and note the levels I have marked off for the index as the moves seem to find old levels. This is where charting is helpful:
Robots On the Rise
My friend Mark seems to think his post tonight is funny, but it's just another sign of human handing the keys over to the robot overlords:
The Future American Worker
President Obama gave a speech at a robotics manufacturer and said:
"You might not know this but one of my responsibilities as Commander in Chief is to keep an eye on robots, and I am pleased to report that the robots you manufacture here seem peaceful, at least for now."Total slip! He gave it away but acted like it was a joke!
Have a good night.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Patience Can be Boring, but It Doesn't Cost Much
The NASCAR race at the Watkins Glen Road Track was rained out today. I love watching that race as the NASCAR guys have to take all kinds of turns and not just drive in circles. It is on tomorrow morning at 10am, bummer.
Patience Can be Boring, but It Doesn't Cost Much
I went over both market index charts and about 30 single names this evening. Not much is jumping out at me, a few good looks here or there. This week should answer some questions about the Thursday/Friday rebound days and whether they will have staying power.
It gets boring being on the sidelines. It's more fun to be placing trades and making moves. You have to know your own style here; a daytrader may be having the best few weeks of his/her year while a swing trader either has been chopped up a bit or has been in cash watching the drama.
Patience can be boring, but it doesn't cost much. Getting involved in a volatile tape that still has a real chance of breaking down is just going to cause frustration. Going short right here has headline, FED, and face ripper rally risks.
ChessNwine notes tonight:
"Better to be boring than an Idiot."
True.
Tony of Macro Story has a good run down of big picture items tonight, why not take a look at what is facing the markets:
Macro View August 15, 2011
The tug of war between bulls and bears has been a tough go. Reminds me of a scene from the film "Once Bitten" where Jim Carrey's character is torn between his high school sweetheart (in white) and the dark vampire (in black, played by Lauren Hutton):
Nice. Which one would you go with?
Free Courses on How to Help Robots Take Over the World
Sharp eyed reader Watchtower alerted me to a disturbing development in my personal war against the coming machine age.
Just look at this (via Mish):
Stanford Offers Free Robotics and Artificial Courses; 10,000 Already Sign Up
Here is the deal:
So what's the problem? Usually cutting edge breakthroughs come in the controlled atmosphere of a University or a technology company proving ground. Now an untold number of eager and energetic maniac will have Stanford University AI and robotics training? Anyone see the problem here?
The machines are upping the ante here by multiplexing their advancement across multiple users. The rate of progress will likely go up geometrically now! Well played robos, well played. We are all doomed.
Have a good night.
Patience Can be Boring, but It Doesn't Cost Much
I went over both market index charts and about 30 single names this evening. Not much is jumping out at me, a few good looks here or there. This week should answer some questions about the Thursday/Friday rebound days and whether they will have staying power.
It gets boring being on the sidelines. It's more fun to be placing trades and making moves. You have to know your own style here; a daytrader may be having the best few weeks of his/her year while a swing trader either has been chopped up a bit or has been in cash watching the drama.
Patience can be boring, but it doesn't cost much. Getting involved in a volatile tape that still has a real chance of breaking down is just going to cause frustration. Going short right here has headline, FED, and face ripper rally risks.
ChessNwine notes tonight:
"Better to be boring than an Idiot."
True.
Tony of Macro Story has a good run down of big picture items tonight, why not take a look at what is facing the markets:
Macro View August 15, 2011
The tug of war between bulls and bears has been a tough go. Reminds me of a scene from the film "Once Bitten" where Jim Carrey's character is torn between his high school sweetheart (in white) and the dark vampire (in black, played by Lauren Hutton):
Nice. Which one would you go with?
Free Courses on How to Help Robots Take Over the World
Sharp eyed reader Watchtower alerted me to a disturbing development in my personal war against the coming machine age.
Just look at this (via Mish):
Stanford Offers Free Robotics and Artificial Courses; 10,000 Already Sign Up
Here is the deal:
Stanford has been offering portions of its robotics coursework online for a few years now, but professors Sebastian Thrun and Peter Norvig are kicking things up a notch (okay, lots of notches) with next semester's CS221: Introduction to Artificial Intelligence. For the first time, you can take this course, along with several hundred Stanford undergrads, without having to fill out an application, pay tuition, or live in a dorm.Enrollment is over 56 thousand right now.
So what's the problem? Usually cutting edge breakthroughs come in the controlled atmosphere of a University or a technology company proving ground. Now an untold number of eager and energetic maniac will have Stanford University AI and robotics training? Anyone see the problem here?
The machines are upping the ante here by multiplexing their advancement across multiple users. The rate of progress will likely go up geometrically now! Well played robos, well played. We are all doomed.
Have a good night.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Wrap the Week Up
For a 4 day week it sure seemed long!
Market Observations
Of course the day after I show a bunch of possible reversal candles the action today filled out a bunch of real clear ones! The abandoned baby setup is very rare and I saw it all over the place today after the big gap down. Normally this pattern is really powerful, but I would wonder how strong it is when it was so common after today? Not sure what to make of it all.
The jobs number was a total miss and at this stage of a robust recovery like we are supposed to be having, makes no sense. Main Street is not Wall Street though and market players want this stuff higher so bad it's amazing. Next week will be very interesting, especially if some volume can find it's way back to the markets.
Friday Night Entertainment
Some lighter things for a weekend setup.
Book Contest
I am going to run the Jennifer Hillier "Creep" giveaway contest on Sunday so that it will not get lost in a usual Friday night post. Stop in then for your chance for a free copy, there are 6 up for grabs.
Evil Robots Pretend They are here to Help
"Hello, I am a robot and I am here to help!" - famous last words
In what seems like a great way for a dental student to practice techniques without hurting someone, there is now a dental practice robot! Why risk a lawsuit by training when the robot feels no pain, cannot be reasoned with, and will not stop! Via Geekologie, here she is all nasty creepy:
We should destroy them.
Today in Financial History
From the great site, Little Bits of History, I learned that today in 1932 the DOW reached it's lowest point in the entire Great Depression. Nifty:
Bear Market
Thanks!
Visual Aides
Because seeing is easier than reading.
Seems about right:
see more Historic LOL
This could work:
see more Very Demotivational
Star Wars Huge News
After many twists and turns, there WILL be a novel about Darth Plagueis coming at years end! If you don't know, Plagueis was the master of Darth Sidious (The Emperor) and found a way to create life using the midichlorians. There has been much speculation that Plagueis created Anakin Skywalker using this sith lore. We shall see! Here is the proposed book cover:
I can't lie, I already pre-ordered and really want to read this book.
As if that was not enough, a novel about Darth Revan (from The Knights of the Old Republic Game) is also on the way!
Film Clips
Serving as a Netflix puppet for free is so sad.
Sometimes a great car is worth more than gold and jewels. In the third Indiana Jones film, "The Last Crusade" Nazi gold was not worth much to the Sheik, but the newest Rolls Royce? Well, we have a deal:
"And I even like the color!".
The film "The Expendables" was actually better than I figured it would be. The action film torch was passed to Jason Statham in the film. In this scene he finds out his long time love was hit by her new boyfriend and, well, it's pretty freaking cool:
HE SHOULD HAVE SAID "FRIEND-O!"
Rock Blogging
Pandora has nothing on either an Ipod or YouTube.
Reader C-T, being a metal head, wanted some Led Zeppelin. It's funny but much like the band that cannot be named, I don't think their stuff is that great. Still, "No Quarter" is by far my favorite tune:
Chilling.
Gawains knows music and I was glad he requested some old school Jim Croce. Let's try "Working at The Car Wash Blues":
Nice.
One hit wonder? When I heard the tune "Freechild" by the local band Must I figured these guys would be HUGE. Bought the album, checked the whole thing out and, well, not so much. Have not heard from them since. Still, I like this song:
Almost Big Wreck like and "That Song". Ugh.
I always have mixed feelings for the song "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi. I love the song itself, but hate it because they played it right before the Daytona 500 in a biopic about Dale Earnhardt before the race at Daytona where he died. I always associate the song with that. Anyways, here it is live:
Two songs left and what will happen?
Ok, this is a film/music blend but when The Vampire Louis goes on a revenge rampage (using the darkside of the force no doubt) you don't want to miss the action nor the stellar music that shapes it:
No embed available, you will have to click over. Sorry.
Bye bye Santiago.
Last call, get a drink and whatever else you may require.
A little Diane Lane, I mean Fire with "Nowhere Fast"?:
Love it.
Have a good night.
Market Observations
Of course the day after I show a bunch of possible reversal candles the action today filled out a bunch of real clear ones! The abandoned baby setup is very rare and I saw it all over the place today after the big gap down. Normally this pattern is really powerful, but I would wonder how strong it is when it was so common after today? Not sure what to make of it all.
The jobs number was a total miss and at this stage of a robust recovery like we are supposed to be having, makes no sense. Main Street is not Wall Street though and market players want this stuff higher so bad it's amazing. Next week will be very interesting, especially if some volume can find it's way back to the markets.
Friday Night Entertainment
Some lighter things for a weekend setup.
Book Contest
I am going to run the Jennifer Hillier "Creep" giveaway contest on Sunday so that it will not get lost in a usual Friday night post. Stop in then for your chance for a free copy, there are 6 up for grabs.
Evil Robots Pretend They are here to Help
"Hello, I am a robot and I am here to help!" - famous last words
In what seems like a great way for a dental student to practice techniques without hurting someone, there is now a dental practice robot! Why risk a lawsuit by training when the robot feels no pain, cannot be reasoned with, and will not stop! Via Geekologie, here she is all nasty creepy:
Today in Financial History
From the great site, Little Bits of History, I learned that today in 1932 the DOW reached it's lowest point in the entire Great Depression. Nifty:
Bear Market
Thanks!
Visual Aides
Because seeing is easier than reading.
Seems about right:
see more Historic LOL
This could work:
see more Very Demotivational
Star Wars Huge News
After many twists and turns, there WILL be a novel about Darth Plagueis coming at years end! If you don't know, Plagueis was the master of Darth Sidious (The Emperor) and found a way to create life using the midichlorians. There has been much speculation that Plagueis created Anakin Skywalker using this sith lore. We shall see! Here is the proposed book cover:
As if that was not enough, a novel about Darth Revan (from The Knights of the Old Republic Game) is also on the way!
Film Clips
Serving as a Netflix puppet for free is so sad.
Sometimes a great car is worth more than gold and jewels. In the third Indiana Jones film, "The Last Crusade" Nazi gold was not worth much to the Sheik, but the newest Rolls Royce? Well, we have a deal:
"And I even like the color!".
The film "The Expendables" was actually better than I figured it would be. The action film torch was passed to Jason Statham in the film. In this scene he finds out his long time love was hit by her new boyfriend and, well, it's pretty freaking cool:
HE SHOULD HAVE SAID "FRIEND-O!"
Rock Blogging
Pandora has nothing on either an Ipod or YouTube.
Reader C-T, being a metal head, wanted some Led Zeppelin. It's funny but much like the band that cannot be named, I don't think their stuff is that great. Still, "No Quarter" is by far my favorite tune:
Chilling.
Gawains knows music and I was glad he requested some old school Jim Croce. Let's try "Working at The Car Wash Blues":
Nice.
One hit wonder? When I heard the tune "Freechild" by the local band Must I figured these guys would be HUGE. Bought the album, checked the whole thing out and, well, not so much. Have not heard from them since. Still, I like this song:
Almost Big Wreck like and "That Song". Ugh.
I always have mixed feelings for the song "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi. I love the song itself, but hate it because they played it right before the Daytona 500 in a biopic about Dale Earnhardt before the race at Daytona where he died. I always associate the song with that. Anyways, here it is live:
Two songs left and what will happen?
Ok, this is a film/music blend but when The Vampire Louis goes on a revenge rampage (using the darkside of the force no doubt) you don't want to miss the action nor the stellar music that shapes it:
No embed available, you will have to click over. Sorry.
Bye bye Santiago.
Last call, get a drink and whatever else you may require.
A little Diane Lane, I mean Fire with "Nowhere Fast"?:
Love it.
Have a good night.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
What a Relief!
It is actually kind of cold here now! Mid fifties and very wet makes it feel even colder. May have to turn back on the heat for tonight, wow!
What a Relief!
Turnaround Tuesday delivered the goods, and a big rally occurred today in just about everything. I had reset my bounce picks for last night, and had on standby orders for ALIM, SNCR, and BKH but of course 2/3 of the jump today was right at the open so unless you were in yesterday or got in pre-market a a good price most of the gains went off in 1 second at the open. What can you do.
So is that it? Is the monster (kidding) 6-7% move down in the markets over? Reading around it seems consensus is that it is for a while. Whatever the markets were pricing in downside wise must be all set if a multi week rally is at hand. Today's action did damage to my short plays of SH and PSQ. There are plenty of charts that look much better after today on the long side. I figure to sit tight until after Thursday's action and decide what's next trading wise then.
Big picture I still see a slowdown in progress, and the removal of QE which served as a tremendous psychological boost is at an end. If there was a one off shock, like Japan, I would be more apt to call an end to the trend change and look for much more upside. As economic data comes in slower and FED stimulus is weened off, I don't think the overall trend can be switched as of now. A break and close over 1300-1305 on the S&P 500 may change my mind.
Welcoming the Robot Era With Open Arms
It concerns me that Economic Disconnect is perhaps the only voice of reason and discussion about the certain takeover of the Earth by Robots in the near future. While many feel their Roomba is a nifty tool to clean the floors, I see the start of humanity's demise. Maybe it's just me.
My friend Downtown JB of TRB sent me an interesting story via Laughing Squid:
Shanghai Man Wears Homemade Mark I Iron Man Suit To Work
Here it is:
Your first idea about this maybe:
-What a dork!
-I LOVE IRON MAN, WOW!
-Too much time on his hands...
And those are all reasonable reactions. Allow me to tell you what I see.
I see a guy trying to mimic what he sees as robotic superiority. Call it robot envy.
In the classic novel World War Z ,the Zombie War, there was a section where remaining humans were so shocked and traumatized by the zombie apocalypse, they started to behave like zombies and even tried to roam the streets as zombies, hoping to fit in to the new gruesome era. Made no difference, the real zombies just ate them up.
So lets just get something straight right now; there will be no chance to 'fit in' with the robot era. No AI enabled machine is going to see your old Facebook page, notice you wearing a suit like this one, and calculate "Oh, that carbon is so cool, trying to go all silicon gangsta! We should allow him a place in the new world!". It is not going to happen. In fact the robots will look on humans trying to become more machine like with concern, as cybernetic human hybrids may threaten them. No, all will be dismissed with extreme prejudice.
Here ends the lesson.
Have a good night.
What a Relief!
Turnaround Tuesday delivered the goods, and a big rally occurred today in just about everything. I had reset my bounce picks for last night, and had on standby orders for ALIM, SNCR, and BKH but of course 2/3 of the jump today was right at the open so unless you were in yesterday or got in pre-market a a good price most of the gains went off in 1 second at the open. What can you do.
So is that it? Is the monster (kidding) 6-7% move down in the markets over? Reading around it seems consensus is that it is for a while. Whatever the markets were pricing in downside wise must be all set if a multi week rally is at hand. Today's action did damage to my short plays of SH and PSQ. There are plenty of charts that look much better after today on the long side. I figure to sit tight until after Thursday's action and decide what's next trading wise then.
Big picture I still see a slowdown in progress, and the removal of QE which served as a tremendous psychological boost is at an end. If there was a one off shock, like Japan, I would be more apt to call an end to the trend change and look for much more upside. As economic data comes in slower and FED stimulus is weened off, I don't think the overall trend can be switched as of now. A break and close over 1300-1305 on the S&P 500 may change my mind.
Welcoming the Robot Era With Open Arms
It concerns me that Economic Disconnect is perhaps the only voice of reason and discussion about the certain takeover of the Earth by Robots in the near future. While many feel their Roomba is a nifty tool to clean the floors, I see the start of humanity's demise. Maybe it's just me.
My friend Downtown JB of TRB sent me an interesting story via Laughing Squid:
Shanghai Man Wears Homemade Mark I Iron Man Suit To Work
Here it is:
Your first idea about this maybe:
-What a dork!
-I LOVE IRON MAN, WOW!
-Too much time on his hands...
And those are all reasonable reactions. Allow me to tell you what I see.
I see a guy trying to mimic what he sees as robotic superiority. Call it robot envy.
In the classic novel World War Z ,the Zombie War, there was a section where remaining humans were so shocked and traumatized by the zombie apocalypse, they started to behave like zombies and even tried to roam the streets as zombies, hoping to fit in to the new gruesome era. Made no difference, the real zombies just ate them up.
So lets just get something straight right now; there will be no chance to 'fit in' with the robot era. No AI enabled machine is going to see your old Facebook page, notice you wearing a suit like this one, and calculate "Oh, that carbon is so cool, trying to go all silicon gangsta! We should allow him a place in the new world!". It is not going to happen. In fact the robots will look on humans trying to become more machine like with concern, as cybernetic human hybrids may threaten them. No, all will be dismissed with extreme prejudice.
Here ends the lesson.
Have a good night.
Friday, June 10, 2011
I Am A Believer
Market Observations
I was thinking after yesterdays rally my short ideas via SH and PSQ might get blown out today. The charts for being short took a hit, even as the volume was super low as usual. Still, the late day sell off gave me some reason to think it was still the way to go. Then today's drop really had legs to it. If not for the banking sector getting a late day pump (never on purpose right?) by some rumors that Basel Capital requirements might get lowered things could have been really ugly.
My thesis remains the same; a big drop in oil, food costs, and stocks will be needed if QE 3.0 is to happen. Looking around I see some think another FED induced ramp up is needed RIGHT NOW as the markets are down like 6%. Not good enough. David Tepper agrees with this line of thinking.
Today could be THE bottom, a bottom, or just a start of some really nasty action. Right now is a good time to review risk in play as well as how to get moved should hot money start chasing the market down instead of up. It does work both ways you know. Be careful out there!
Soapbox speech begins here
What is funny is that I think if the FED would just come out and say "No more QE and we are raising rates in two months, you are on your own!" things would get ugly for a bit, but then that bottom would be something we can build on. I am not against markets or want things to go down, I just want all support taken away and to let the market work. We have a great country filled with the best people in the world, I know we can figure a way out of this and back where we want to be. If the fast money types would have to go to real work for their cash (they can do it) instead of hoping to play the next bailout/handout angle, they might start allocating capital to business that will build America and create jobs. This will bring the economy back. 30 Billion for a coupon sharing site so you can go out to eat with friends is not going to add anything to the real economy other than monster gains for Groupon share holders. Well, for a few weeks anyway.
I am a believer in America. Get the dreams of easy money off the table and lets get to work.
End soapbox speech
Friday Night Entertainment
No worries, Friday night fun is on and has been since 2007.
Game of Thrones - Your Guide
I have not been watching HBO's "Game of Thrones" but I do have them recorded and hope to catch them. If you are into this show or the books, you need to stop over at David Batista's place for his episode reviews, which are detailed and hilarious:
Ep. 8 Reactions: "The Pointy End"
Robots Now making Cookies?
This has to STOP!!!:
Robot Can Make Cookies From Scratch
Massachusetts Tornado
This was pretty severe and we are not used to such things up here:
2011 New England tornado outbreak
You can see the path in this picture (long brown line):
Scary.
Picture Funnies
Visual cues.
Hopefully this look will catch on, yes?:
see more After 12
A new baby brother, so cute.....:
see more This is Photobomb
Creepy.
Film Clips
Some clips to get you watching some good stuff.
The film "Legend" was bad overall, but Ridley Scott did manage some wonderful scenes, like "Proposal of Darkness". Skip to the 2:55 mark and this one is a gem:
Great music as well. The Darkside always beckons.....
One of my favorite new era films is "Constantine". Just a sick as all get out movie, I highly recommend. Check this scene out Lucifer confronting the angel Gabriel:
You will have to see it to get the context.
Rock Blogging
Keeping you rocking at all times.
Plenty of requests this week, lets see what I can do.
Lead off spot is set for Pat Benatar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" for my good friend Soleil, who takes every hit she gets and keeps on fighting. Courage to make you feel really small in that girl!:
Live version too, NICE! All my best Soleil!
Great request by reader Gawains for Bad Company's wonderful "Shooting Star":
Nice new live version!
My full apologies to reader Watchtower, but when I hear a remake that beats the old song, it's all I can hear. Let's roll "Detroit Rock City" by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and make sure you stay for the sick sax solo:
LOVE that one. This KISS performance is my favorite.
I caught this over at Dinosaur Traders Mixtape section at TRB. Try out Ty Segall and "It's #1":
Funky, rocky, nasty, bluesy. I likey!
Ok, only two songs left! What will hit the playlist?
Speaking of a Tepper, in this case Robert, in case you are doign a workout or just want to drive over 100mph, just play "No Easy Way Out":
AWESOME!!!!!!!!!
Last call! You have a drink? No? Geez.
We shall close LIVE with Billy Idol's classic tune, "Eyes Without a Face":
Have a good night.
I was thinking after yesterdays rally my short ideas via SH and PSQ might get blown out today. The charts for being short took a hit, even as the volume was super low as usual. Still, the late day sell off gave me some reason to think it was still the way to go. Then today's drop really had legs to it. If not for the banking sector getting a late day pump (never on purpose right?) by some rumors that Basel Capital requirements might get lowered things could have been really ugly.
My thesis remains the same; a big drop in oil, food costs, and stocks will be needed if QE 3.0 is to happen. Looking around I see some think another FED induced ramp up is needed RIGHT NOW as the markets are down like 6%. Not good enough. David Tepper agrees with this line of thinking.
Today could be THE bottom, a bottom, or just a start of some really nasty action. Right now is a good time to review risk in play as well as how to get moved should hot money start chasing the market down instead of up. It does work both ways you know. Be careful out there!
Soapbox speech begins here
What is funny is that I think if the FED would just come out and say "No more QE and we are raising rates in two months, you are on your own!" things would get ugly for a bit, but then that bottom would be something we can build on. I am not against markets or want things to go down, I just want all support taken away and to let the market work. We have a great country filled with the best people in the world, I know we can figure a way out of this and back where we want to be. If the fast money types would have to go to real work for their cash (they can do it) instead of hoping to play the next bailout/handout angle, they might start allocating capital to business that will build America and create jobs. This will bring the economy back. 30 Billion for a coupon sharing site so you can go out to eat with friends is not going to add anything to the real economy other than monster gains for Groupon share holders. Well, for a few weeks anyway.
I am a believer in America. Get the dreams of easy money off the table and lets get to work.
End soapbox speech
Friday Night Entertainment
No worries, Friday night fun is on and has been since 2007.
Game of Thrones - Your Guide
I have not been watching HBO's "Game of Thrones" but I do have them recorded and hope to catch them. If you are into this show or the books, you need to stop over at David Batista's place for his episode reviews, which are detailed and hilarious:
Ep. 8 Reactions: "The Pointy End"
Robots Now making Cookies?
This has to STOP!!!:
Robot Can Make Cookies From Scratch
Massachusetts Tornado
This was pretty severe and we are not used to such things up here:
2011 New England tornado outbreak
You can see the path in this picture (long brown line):
Scary.
Picture Funnies
Visual cues.
Hopefully this look will catch on, yes?:
see more After 12
A new baby brother, so cute.....:
see more This is Photobomb
Creepy.
Film Clips
Some clips to get you watching some good stuff.
The film "Legend" was bad overall, but Ridley Scott did manage some wonderful scenes, like "Proposal of Darkness". Skip to the 2:55 mark and this one is a gem:
Great music as well. The Darkside always beckons.....
One of my favorite new era films is "Constantine". Just a sick as all get out movie, I highly recommend. Check this scene out Lucifer confronting the angel Gabriel:
You will have to see it to get the context.
Rock Blogging
Keeping you rocking at all times.
Plenty of requests this week, lets see what I can do.
Lead off spot is set for Pat Benatar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" for my good friend Soleil, who takes every hit she gets and keeps on fighting. Courage to make you feel really small in that girl!:
Live version too, NICE! All my best Soleil!
Great request by reader Gawains for Bad Company's wonderful "Shooting Star":
Nice new live version!
My full apologies to reader Watchtower, but when I hear a remake that beats the old song, it's all I can hear. Let's roll "Detroit Rock City" by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and make sure you stay for the sick sax solo:
LOVE that one. This KISS performance is my favorite.
I caught this over at Dinosaur Traders Mixtape section at TRB. Try out Ty Segall and "It's #1":
Funky, rocky, nasty, bluesy. I likey!
Ok, only two songs left! What will hit the playlist?
Speaking of a Tepper, in this case Robert, in case you are doign a workout or just want to drive over 100mph, just play "No Easy Way Out":
AWESOME!!!!!!!!!
Last call! You have a drink? No? Geez.
We shall close LIVE with Billy Idol's classic tune, "Eyes Without a Face":
Have a good night.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Side Tracked
I am so sore today. Deck staining is for younger and/or in better shape people than I. Home late after dropping cars off for service.
Side Tracked
I did have an outline for a post ready for tonight. Another down day and things are setting up for a real move down, as predicted here. It is so funny but in 3 days of selling more and more come out of the woodwork saying they saw it all along. Really? Must have missed those posts.
Another thing to keep in mind: After 2 years of the never ending Bernanke Melt Up Market many hedge funds and traders look like brilliant craftsmen. If we get a prolonged move down or more sideways action, pay attention to returns in that environment. What may have been smarts could just be trend riding. Great traders and market operators do well in all markets, not just straight up or down ones.
Anyone seen the stock OMEX as of late? I still own some at $3 and it is over $4 now, HA! Buy and hold is not dead. It actually looks good enough to add some here, I will have to see.
Anyways, as I am sidetracked I will put up random stuff.
I Told You
Submitted with no comment:
Humans become 'pets' in rise of the machines: Apple co-founder
Funny Guy
This guy thinks he found a base on Mars using Google Mars:
Too funny.
Get Him a Body Bag.....YEAH!
I have to figure out a way to get this clip on the sidebar:
Love it.
1969 Plymouth GTX
A numbers matching classic, one of my favorites. Some day....
Indeud.
Iron in Your Words
Josey Wales meets Ten Bears:
The Grayrider.
Greetings Professor Falken
Classic flick:
Finally Found
My favorite part of the film "Glory" on YouTube. Walking out to go after the Confederate Base in South Carolina, the men of the 54th Regiment are cheered on by the same men that were against having them in the army at first (switches to some home made thing at the 1:00 minute mark though):
"GIVE EM HELL 54th!"
Have a good night.
Side Tracked
I did have an outline for a post ready for tonight. Another down day and things are setting up for a real move down, as predicted here. It is so funny but in 3 days of selling more and more come out of the woodwork saying they saw it all along. Really? Must have missed those posts.
Another thing to keep in mind: After 2 years of the never ending Bernanke Melt Up Market many hedge funds and traders look like brilliant craftsmen. If we get a prolonged move down or more sideways action, pay attention to returns in that environment. What may have been smarts could just be trend riding. Great traders and market operators do well in all markets, not just straight up or down ones.
Anyone seen the stock OMEX as of late? I still own some at $3 and it is over $4 now, HA! Buy and hold is not dead. It actually looks good enough to add some here, I will have to see.
Anyways, as I am sidetracked I will put up random stuff.
I Told You
Submitted with no comment:
Humans become 'pets' in rise of the machines: Apple co-founder
Funny Guy
This guy thinks he found a base on Mars using Google Mars:
Too funny.
Get Him a Body Bag.....YEAH!
I have to figure out a way to get this clip on the sidebar:
Love it.
1969 Plymouth GTX
A numbers matching classic, one of my favorites. Some day....
Indeud.
Iron in Your Words
Josey Wales meets Ten Bears:
The Grayrider.
Greetings Professor Falken
Classic flick:
Finally Found
My favorite part of the film "Glory" on YouTube. Walking out to go after the Confederate Base in South Carolina, the men of the 54th Regiment are cheered on by the same men that were against having them in the army at first (switches to some home made thing at the 1:00 minute mark though):
"GIVE EM HELL 54th!"
Have a good night.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
This and That
I am not sure where the time is going this week, but I am short on it again!
Market Operations
I made some buys this morning:
-OCLR
-LF
-WNR (I know, again?!)
-SOFO
Will see how it goes.
Villains Answers
Reader David was pretty close! The rundown:
1. Anton Chigurh (No Country for Old Men)
2. Grand Moff Tarkin (Star Wars)
3. Sho'Nuff (The Last Dragon)
4. Christine (Christine)
5. Leo Balmudo (Grease)
6. Rexor (Conan the Barbarian)
7. Colonel Strelnikov (Red Dawn)
8. Nurse Ratched (One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest)
9. The Kurgan (Highlander)
10. Johnny (The Karate Kid) and Chong Li (Bloodsport)
11. Master Vampire Barlow (Salem's Lot)
12. Patrick Bateman (American Psycho)
Fun stuff.
Great Trading Posts
Greg Harmon runs the site Dragonfly Capital and I now stop in there every day. Mr. Harmon has skills across all kinds of charting and trading styles, one can learn a lot by reading his posts.
Here are two well worth a look:
Four Guys Walk up to a Copper Mine Field…
How about looking at copper through:
-Point and Figure Charts
-The way cool Andrew's Pitchfork
-Elliot Wave
-Fibonacci
Amazing.
A fun post is:
Picking The Car Company That Fits Your Style
Depending on if you are a daytrader, swing trader, or a position trader Mr. Harmon has a car company for you!
Robotic Baby!
To make you more of a mind to accept your robotic overlords, they are now making robotic babies! We get closer every day:
Full story:
Japanese university can’t stop building robotic babies
Have a good night.
Market Operations
I made some buys this morning:
-OCLR
-LF
-WNR (I know, again?!)
-SOFO
Will see how it goes.
Villains Answers
Reader David was pretty close! The rundown:
1. Anton Chigurh (No Country for Old Men)
2. Grand Moff Tarkin (Star Wars)
3. Sho'Nuff (The Last Dragon)
4. Christine (Christine)
5. Leo Balmudo (Grease)
6. Rexor (Conan the Barbarian)
7. Colonel Strelnikov (Red Dawn)
8. Nurse Ratched (One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest)
9. The Kurgan (Highlander)
10. Johnny (The Karate Kid) and Chong Li (Bloodsport)
11. Master Vampire Barlow (Salem's Lot)
12. Patrick Bateman (American Psycho)
Fun stuff.
Great Trading Posts
Greg Harmon runs the site Dragonfly Capital and I now stop in there every day. Mr. Harmon has skills across all kinds of charting and trading styles, one can learn a lot by reading his posts.
Here are two well worth a look:
Four Guys Walk up to a Copper Mine Field…
How about looking at copper through:
-Point and Figure Charts
-The way cool Andrew's Pitchfork
-Elliot Wave
-Fibonacci
Amazing.
A fun post is:
Picking The Car Company That Fits Your Style
Depending on if you are a daytrader, swing trader, or a position trader Mr. Harmon has a car company for you!
Robotic Baby!
To make you more of a mind to accept your robotic overlords, they are now making robotic babies! We get closer every day:
Full story:
Japanese university can’t stop building robotic babies
Have a good night.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Wednesday Filler
I am getting a bit stressed out with all the finishing up at work I have to do. Always more than you think. It will be there when I get back I am sure. Two days to go.
Sad News
When I was in college it was a tough time. The last two years were very long. After my father died we had some family issues and my mother (my parents were long divorced) decided a long trip on the road was in order for her. Sounded good. With limited time to work at night (a biotech degree has tons of lab courses) I had no money. I mean none. I would stop over at my cousins when she got her food stamps and child support from the state and play all nice and grab something to eat. That was good for twice a week. I was at my old boxing weight (136 lbs) without trying to do that.
One night I was out and met up with two brothers who grew up not even 2 miles from me but just over the town line so we never went to the same schools. We hit it off big time. I started hanging out with them all the time and we would go out Thursday night through Sunday night and rip it up at the college bars and clubs. They both worked full time and had plenty of cash. They also never asked me about my situation. We all went out and things got taken care of no questions asked. I might never have seen a bar in college if not for them. It was not about the help though, they became MY brothers. We became very close and still are to this day. When we go out now (and for the last 7 years) I insist on paying for everything we do (they hate it!). Karma, you know.
One of the brothers called me last week and told me how sick his father was. I offered what help I could and all my support. My friend's father died last night. No matter what kind of distance one has from their parent, this is a terrible time and I only wish I could say more than cliches and a mess of "I'm sorry's". I know my adopted brothers can believe I am here for them. Just like they have always been for me.
Wednesday Filler
Assorted stuff for a distraction.
Earnings News
Besides a few names that missed, most firms are ripping the cover off the ball. The Apple (AAPL) train keeps on rolling. Pragmatic Capitalist (and some others) poke fun at the AAPL earnings game:
Long time readers know I hate the cult of Apple but they continue to be a monster profits machine.
20 Questions by Macro Man
You need to swing by Macro Man and read the 20 questions with multiple choice selections, it's epic. Two samples:
Robots - American Made
Readers know I am so way out in front of the bubble to be that is robots. Not one single leading writer has even come close to calling this trend, but I have. Reader Anon sends this video post of robots going into the Fukushima Nuclear plants to look around and test. Here is the video:
Robots Search Plant
At the 1:56 mark we learn that Japan got these robots from......The United States! Anon comments:
Magazine Covers
My man David Batista had a post up about magazines and I think the point was to see if people still subscribed to magazines but I got sort of lost at the cover shot of the new issue of Rolling Stone:
For the record, I only subscribe to In-Fisherman Magazine (best in the wold); the rest I read online.
Of course any magazine that has Lil Kim, my favorite, is a sure fire buy. Here is a Maxim Magazine picture:
Now that the restraining order has expired (just a misunderstanding really) maybe Kimmy dear will call me? What do you all think? Call me Kim!
Have a good night.
Sad News
When I was in college it was a tough time. The last two years were very long. After my father died we had some family issues and my mother (my parents were long divorced) decided a long trip on the road was in order for her. Sounded good. With limited time to work at night (a biotech degree has tons of lab courses) I had no money. I mean none. I would stop over at my cousins when she got her food stamps and child support from the state and play all nice and grab something to eat. That was good for twice a week. I was at my old boxing weight (136 lbs) without trying to do that.
One night I was out and met up with two brothers who grew up not even 2 miles from me but just over the town line so we never went to the same schools. We hit it off big time. I started hanging out with them all the time and we would go out Thursday night through Sunday night and rip it up at the college bars and clubs. They both worked full time and had plenty of cash. They also never asked me about my situation. We all went out and things got taken care of no questions asked. I might never have seen a bar in college if not for them. It was not about the help though, they became MY brothers. We became very close and still are to this day. When we go out now (and for the last 7 years) I insist on paying for everything we do (they hate it!). Karma, you know.
One of the brothers called me last week and told me how sick his father was. I offered what help I could and all my support. My friend's father died last night. No matter what kind of distance one has from their parent, this is a terrible time and I only wish I could say more than cliches and a mess of "I'm sorry's". I know my adopted brothers can believe I am here for them. Just like they have always been for me.
Wednesday Filler
Assorted stuff for a distraction.
Earnings News
Besides a few names that missed, most firms are ripping the cover off the ball. The Apple (AAPL) train keeps on rolling. Pragmatic Capitalist (and some others) poke fun at the AAPL earnings game:
Only a Wall Street analyst could be shocked by the fact that Apple beat estimates and guided lower. I don’t mean to downplay the enormous quarter by Apple (it’s an outrageously good quarter), but how in the world is anyone still fooled by this guidance game they play? I know, I know…this is every analyst’s pet rock, but when your estimate is a full 20% off the mark you have to seriously consider another line of employment. You can’t be this wrong every single quarter and claim to be “analyzing” anything. The value added here by the analyst community is worse than negative.Too funny.
Long time readers know I hate the cult of Apple but they continue to be a monster profits machine.
20 Questions by Macro Man
You need to swing by Macro Man and read the 20 questions with multiple choice selections, it's epic. Two samples:
3. Is it true that the Chinese reserves of 3 trillion dollars would:Go check out the rest.
(a) Stretch 3 times around the planet.
(b) Take 48 years to withdraw from a ATM in $500 tranches.
(c) Weigh the same in $1 bills as the total number of potatoes processed last year in Belgium?
18. Is it true that the date 19th April 2011 (yesterday) was:
(a) 13/4/7DB in hexadecimal.
(b) The day that the Machines in Terminator became aware as Skynet went active, in preparation for its attack against humanity tomorrow.
(c) Together with (b), why the algos trashed USDs and sent Tech Equities higher this morning.
Robots - American Made
Readers know I am so way out in front of the bubble to be that is robots. Not one single leading writer has even come close to calling this trend, but I have. Reader Anon sends this video post of robots going into the Fukushima Nuclear plants to look around and test. Here is the video:
Robots Search Plant
At the 1:56 mark we learn that Japan got these robots from......The United States! Anon comments:
Are you kidding me? The UNITED FRIGGIN STATES??? COME ON JAPAN - you guys are obsessed with robots, and yet you dont have anything domestic to deal with Fukushima???Indeud. This could start a globalization robot war, which is what Skynet wants!
What do you think Get? Dont you think the japanese people would be up in arms about foreign robots taking "our robots jobs"? I cant believe they would stand for this :)
Magazine Covers
My man David Batista had a post up about magazines and I think the point was to see if people still subscribed to magazines but I got sort of lost at the cover shot of the new issue of Rolling Stone:
For the record, I only subscribe to In-Fisherman Magazine (best in the wold); the rest I read online.
Of course any magazine that has Lil Kim, my favorite, is a sure fire buy. Here is a Maxim Magazine picture:
Now that the restraining order has expired (just a misunderstanding really) maybe Kimmy dear will call me? What do you all think? Call me Kim!
Have a good night.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Random Stuff for Fun
It was a tough day at work and I ran out of gas big time after lunch. Still not feeling all that well, but getting better. Only 4 weeks to go until I will be in Antigua for a week getting warm and tan. So soon.
Good Position Day
Had a pretty good day in the markets with some of the positions I took last week:
YGE
TAN
RPM
Even a stopped clock is right twice a day!
The Robots are Still Marching
I have not had a robot story up for a bit, but here is your regular warning about humans being taken over very soon.
A robotic bird?
THE HORROR! This thing is creepy!
We have talked about the Uncanny Valley here before. Here it is in chart form:
All I know is that as I watched the video I wanted to shoot that abomination out of the sky with a huge shotgun.
Small Crowd
From Geekologie, the countries that do not use the metric system:
Wow, I actually had no idea it was that bad.
Taxes Suck
The accountant called today and told me where we stand tax wise. Seems between raises at work for the wife and I, and the killing I made on the SLV trade last year, we have moved up to the next tax bracket! Well that's just aces really. Wunderful. Anyways, it put me in a mind of a film from way back, Kidco.
I wrote this last year about this time, but it still fits:
Paying taxes on money I made when it is done using after tax money I already paid on reminds me of a scene from an obscure film "Kidco". The set up is the owner of the all kid fertilizer business is taken to court on a charge of not paying sales tax on his product, which is horse manure. The lead kid represents himself and calls as a witness the man that sells hay and oats to his father to feed the horses that make the manure he uses as fertilizer. The exchange goes like this, but it is from memory so I may be off:
All There Is?
I still cannot believe the only copy of Craig T. Nelson's speech in the film "All the Right Moves" is this cruddy quality one. Must be copyright issues. Ugh.
Have a good night.
Good Position Day
Had a pretty good day in the markets with some of the positions I took last week:
YGE
TAN
RPM
Even a stopped clock is right twice a day!
The Robots are Still Marching
I have not had a robot story up for a bit, but here is your regular warning about humans being taken over very soon.
A robotic bird?
THE HORROR! This thing is creepy!
We have talked about the Uncanny Valley here before. Here it is in chart form:
All I know is that as I watched the video I wanted to shoot that abomination out of the sky with a huge shotgun.
Small Crowd
From Geekologie, the countries that do not use the metric system:
Wow, I actually had no idea it was that bad.
Taxes Suck
The accountant called today and told me where we stand tax wise. Seems between raises at work for the wife and I, and the killing I made on the SLV trade last year, we have moved up to the next tax bracket! Well that's just aces really. Wunderful. Anyways, it put me in a mind of a film from way back, Kidco.
I wrote this last year about this time, but it still fits:
Paying taxes on money I made when it is done using after tax money I already paid on reminds me of a scene from an obscure film "Kidco". The set up is the owner of the all kid fertilizer business is taken to court on a charge of not paying sales tax on his product, which is horse manure. The lead kid represents himself and calls as a witness the man that sells hay and oats to his father to feed the horses that make the manure he uses as fertilizer. The exchange goes like this, but it is from memory so I may be off:
Kid: Mr. Jones, does my dad buy all his feed from your store?A funny film if you can find a copy.
Mr. Jones: Yup.
Kid: Does my Dad pay you sales tax on said items?
Mr. Jones: Yup.
Prosecutor: Your honor, the question is not whether the defendants father paid sales tax....(interrupted)
Kid: Good. Good. Your honor, you see all Kidco sells is manure, which used to be hay and oats! Don't you see!? We are getting taxed at both ends!!!
Court erupts with laughter.
All There Is?
I still cannot believe the only copy of Craig T. Nelson's speech in the film "All the Right Moves" is this cruddy quality one. Must be copyright issues. Ugh.
Have a good night.
Friday, January 28, 2011
What Would Get Me Excited as a New Technology?
Having Thursday's off should be standard procedure. Today was so easy!
On Egypt
In a former life EconomicDisconnect was a serious student of things foreign policy and a heavy duty reader of strategic items. Sites like StratFor and The Strategy Page were regular looks. That died out over time. As such, I am unprepared to offer anything but my opinion on the crisis in Egypt, but I feel the moment is important enough to get something down.
We have no idea what is really causing this revolt. I am uneasy with how staunchly the US has always sided with the Mubarak regime and of course now our policy makers would have you think they are all for "freedom" or whatever. This (along with Tunisia) is linked directly to free money the word over that the US supplies. Consequences be damned, as long as it is someone else. I am watching with interest but also concern. You never, ever know what will come about after a real revolution.
Quick Market Take
No idea why everyone got all scared today, but I would not read into it much. I am excited as this will provide me with an actual down day to run my oversold screen. I don't think a serious correction is at hand unless things really get bad over the weekend. We shall see.
What Would Get Me Excited as a New Technology?
I have been skeptical about new age companies that are believed to make quadrillions in cash going forward for all time because most do not make sense to me longer term. I am not stuck in the stone age though, I can see new ideas that will actually matter.
While most are obsessed with finding the next big way to post pictures and talk to people (Facebook, Skype, etc) or a way to get 50% off useless crap one time (Groupon, etc) some are actually looking to break barriers and invent a new way forward.
I have spoken at length about Natural Products and their application for therapeutics. Linked molecules are also a novel idea whose time has come (WHEN Avila Therapeutics goes public you WILL WANT to be in that name!). But perhaps nature has tricks we have not even begun to take advantage of.
A write up over at Io9 should wet your appetite for what I am talking about:
Scientists Make Next Generation Computers with Gold and DNA
Stop, I know what you are thinking. This is the EconomicDisconnect Holy Grail! DNA and gold, he is biased! Read on Grasshopper:
While science has looked for years into superconductors for quantum applications, here we have a new way to think about the next generation of computing. This could be big but obviously it will take time. And money. Money better spent than on the Facebook IPO.
Here is the research paper:
DNA-controlled assembly of a NaTl lattice structure from gold nanoparticles and protein nanoparticles
I have read the complete paper 3 times and this will work. I can actually do this kind of work and if an opportunity comes up for a job in this field my resume will be at the door on fire. It is beyond the scope of this blog to get too into this but be sure this is a great new idea that has me excited. See, I can do tech!
Friday Night Entertainment
After a hard week, you know you need some fun. Here it comes.
Robot News
It has been a while without a robot update, but maybe I was trying not to scare you. Here you go, a robot that can tie ties. Creepy.
Top Ten Catch Phrases
Another Io9 find, Top Ten Catch Phrases You Swore You'd Never Use (and when you used them).Sample:
Did You Know?
Time to play Did You Know?
-What the heck a capsid even is?
-Jupiter is thought to have acted as a solar system comet and asteroid picker upper (due to enormous gravity field) and may have allowed Earth to remain relatively unharmed by impacts? It is still going on. Thanks big guy!
-There is debate on just how Indian technology was able to fashion the Iron Pillar of Delhi?
-This is what chicken nuggets are?
-Amarillo Slim once won a bet he could hit a golf ball a mile distance?
Film Clips
Load your Netflix list with a couple of gems.
I have featured "Fat Man and Little Boy" before but here is another shot. My man Josh Brown was discussing Uranium this week and this put a scene in my head. While doing a criticality experiment on the Demon Core an accident happens that almost became the first atomic detonation quite a bit ahead of schedule:
Great film.
Dustin Hoffman is one of the finest actors of all time and this scene from "Tootsie" is a standout in my mind:
Too much.
Rock Blogging
Some tunes to send you off on a good note.
I have had the final song in Rocky I in my head all day so here it is, "Going the Distance":
2:20 -2:40 mark is pure AWESOME!
Loyal reader Gawains wanted some Black Sabbath, and you know that's just fine with me. Take a listen to "Wicked World":
Nice pick!
I have seen many 'Walk like an Egyptian" videos today! Why that one (Egypt obviously) when you can run "Hazy Shade of Winter" by The Bangles instead?:
ROCK ON ladies, especially Susanna!
Two left, I gotta run.
With all the problems Charlie Sheen is having, it put me in mind of the film Cadence, which I love. Great film and great singing. Check out this clip of a Church song:
Wow on the last 30 seconds.
Last call!
Closing with Dragonforce for all you Guitar Hero fans! "Through the Fire and the Flames" should get you all riled up:
Have a good night.
On Egypt
In a former life EconomicDisconnect was a serious student of things foreign policy and a heavy duty reader of strategic items. Sites like StratFor and The Strategy Page were regular looks. That died out over time. As such, I am unprepared to offer anything but my opinion on the crisis in Egypt, but I feel the moment is important enough to get something down.
We have no idea what is really causing this revolt. I am uneasy with how staunchly the US has always sided with the Mubarak regime and of course now our policy makers would have you think they are all for "freedom" or whatever. This (along with Tunisia) is linked directly to free money the word over that the US supplies. Consequences be damned, as long as it is someone else. I am watching with interest but also concern. You never, ever know what will come about after a real revolution.
Quick Market Take
No idea why everyone got all scared today, but I would not read into it much. I am excited as this will provide me with an actual down day to run my oversold screen. I don't think a serious correction is at hand unless things really get bad over the weekend. We shall see.
What Would Get Me Excited as a New Technology?
I have been skeptical about new age companies that are believed to make quadrillions in cash going forward for all time because most do not make sense to me longer term. I am not stuck in the stone age though, I can see new ideas that will actually matter.
While most are obsessed with finding the next big way to post pictures and talk to people (Facebook, Skype, etc) or a way to get 50% off useless crap one time (Groupon, etc) some are actually looking to break barriers and invent a new way forward.
I have spoken at length about Natural Products and their application for therapeutics. Linked molecules are also a novel idea whose time has come (WHEN Avila Therapeutics goes public you WILL WANT to be in that name!). But perhaps nature has tricks we have not even begun to take advantage of.
A write up over at Io9 should wet your appetite for what I am talking about:
Scientists Make Next Generation Computers with Gold and DNA
Stop, I know what you are thinking. This is the EconomicDisconnect Holy Grail! DNA and gold, he is biased! Read on Grasshopper:
Optical computing technology, a growing field in the tech sector, involves computers that send data using beams of light. In order to expand the capabilities of optical computing, engineers are required to find materials that manipulate light very precisely. Photonic crystals are one such helpful material. A photonic crystal can block very precise wavelengths of light, making it a great optical tool. But creating such a crystal is a challenge. Now scientists have tested a new method for making them, and they have done using the coolest materials possible: Gold and virus parts.BOOM!
Tiny gold nanospheres and pieces of virus were hooked together using strands of DNA. The DNA pieces were created specifically for the experiment. Small spheres of gold attach to certain base pairs and form part of the lattice. Gold, while malleable for a metal, is relatively heavy and rigid for such a small structure. The lattice is made more bendable by its organic component, capsids, which are what make up the protein shells of viruses. These bits of virus 'skin' string together the tough gold spheres.
A mix of all of these components - DNA, capsids, and gold spheres - self-assembles into a lattice. The structure of that lattice can, with certain materials, be made into a photonic crystal. No one would have to build a crystal to use in optical computing, mixing together the right ingredients could make it build itself.
While science has looked for years into superconductors for quantum applications, here we have a new way to think about the next generation of computing. This could be big but obviously it will take time. And money. Money better spent than on the Facebook IPO.
Here is the research paper:
DNA-controlled assembly of a NaTl lattice structure from gold nanoparticles and protein nanoparticles
I have read the complete paper 3 times and this will work. I can actually do this kind of work and if an opportunity comes up for a job in this field my resume will be at the door on fire. It is beyond the scope of this blog to get too into this but be sure this is a great new idea that has me excited. See, I can do tech!
Friday Night Entertainment
After a hard week, you know you need some fun. Here it comes.
Robot News
It has been a while without a robot update, but maybe I was trying not to scare you. Here you go, a robot that can tie ties. Creepy.
Top Ten Catch Phrases
Another Io9 find, Top Ten Catch Phrases You Swore You'd Never Use (and when you used them).Sample:
"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."Nice.
What it's from: Princess Bride
When you say it: Twenty minutes after you saw The Princess Bride. With a ruler in your hand, and your only pair of boots while your very-much-alive father shaves in the bathroom down the hall. Oh please, like you weren't all dying to say this one as soon as you heard it.
Did You Know?
Time to play Did You Know?
-What the heck a capsid even is?
-Jupiter is thought to have acted as a solar system comet and asteroid picker upper (due to enormous gravity field) and may have allowed Earth to remain relatively unharmed by impacts? It is still going on. Thanks big guy!
-There is debate on just how Indian technology was able to fashion the Iron Pillar of Delhi?
-This is what chicken nuggets are?
-Amarillo Slim once won a bet he could hit a golf ball a mile distance?
Film Clips
Load your Netflix list with a couple of gems.
I have featured "Fat Man and Little Boy" before but here is another shot. My man Josh Brown was discussing Uranium this week and this put a scene in my head. While doing a criticality experiment on the Demon Core an accident happens that almost became the first atomic detonation quite a bit ahead of schedule:
Great film.
Dustin Hoffman is one of the finest actors of all time and this scene from "Tootsie" is a standout in my mind:
Too much.
Rock Blogging
Some tunes to send you off on a good note.
I have had the final song in Rocky I in my head all day so here it is, "Going the Distance":
2:20 -2:40 mark is pure AWESOME!
Loyal reader Gawains wanted some Black Sabbath, and you know that's just fine with me. Take a listen to "Wicked World":
Nice pick!
I have seen many 'Walk like an Egyptian" videos today! Why that one (Egypt obviously) when you can run "Hazy Shade of Winter" by The Bangles instead?:
ROCK ON ladies, especially Susanna!
Two left, I gotta run.
With all the problems Charlie Sheen is having, it put me in mind of the film Cadence, which I love. Great film and great singing. Check out this clip of a Church song:
Wow on the last 30 seconds.
Last call!
Closing with Dragonforce for all you Guitar Hero fans! "Through the Fire and the Flames" should get you all riled up:
Have a good night.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Patriots win and More Robots
Well that was a long night of watching football!
New England Patriots Win
A stunning 45-3 win last night by the New England Patriots over the rival New York Jets! Tom Brady was in full command of the game, and as I have written before, when he is on like that it is good night.
It was a huge win but no one should get crazy here. The Patriots have a defense with tons of holes and they are much better at home than on the road. The Patriots are a very good team playing good football. The Jets seemed overwhelmed and all the hype before the game may have spooked them. I do not think the Jets are anywhere near as bad as they looked last night.
I want to eat crow about the Randy Moss trade a while back. I thought that move would hurt the Pats, but they have been more dynamic on offense ever since. Moss just goes straight down the field, Deion Branch is able to run all kind of routes to drive cornerbacks crazy. Branch burnt Antonio Cromartie repeatedly last night, while Cromartie usually shuts down Moss. I was wrong.
Real Steel Film
Seems I am not the only one who thinks robots will take over the Earth! In a new film that I am very interested in seeing the future boxers are high tech robots! Sounds interesting indeed:
io9 has a nice round up of news as well:
Have a good night.
New England Patriots Win
A stunning 45-3 win last night by the New England Patriots over the rival New York Jets! Tom Brady was in full command of the game, and as I have written before, when he is on like that it is good night.
It was a huge win but no one should get crazy here. The Patriots have a defense with tons of holes and they are much better at home than on the road. The Patriots are a very good team playing good football. The Jets seemed overwhelmed and all the hype before the game may have spooked them. I do not think the Jets are anywhere near as bad as they looked last night.
I want to eat crow about the Randy Moss trade a while back. I thought that move would hurt the Pats, but they have been more dynamic on offense ever since. Moss just goes straight down the field, Deion Branch is able to run all kind of routes to drive cornerbacks crazy. Branch burnt Antonio Cromartie repeatedly last night, while Cromartie usually shuts down Moss. I was wrong.
Real Steel Film
Seems I am not the only one who thinks robots will take over the Earth! In a new film that I am very interested in seeing the future boxers are high tech robots! Sounds interesting indeed:
Real Steel
Hugh Jackman plays Charlie Kenton, a washed-up fighter who lost his chance at a title when 2000-pound, 8-foot-tall steel robots took over the ring. Now nothing but a small-time promoter, Charlie earns just enough money piecing together low-end bots from scrap metal to get from one underground boxing venue to the next. When Charlie hits rock bottom, he reluctantly teams up with his estranged son Max (Dakota Goyo) to build and train a championship contender. As the stakes in the brutal, no-holds-barred arena are raised, Charlie and Max, against all odds, get one last shot at a comeback.
io9 has a nice round up of news as well:
We were already excited for Real Steel, Hugh Jackman's movie about robot boxers pounding each other to scrap — but now we've read the script, and we're twice as stoked. This is the robo-rumble you've been waiting for. Spoilers below.Click on over for more details.
Have a good night.
Friday, November 12, 2010
I am Ambivalence
Thanks to many for the kind words in the comments last post and a few very nice emails. I can assure you I am ok and that the break I need is not due to burn out or being frustrated by markets or policy. Sometimes personal issues require attention and that is all I want to say. Thanks again.
I am Ambivalence
A few not-quite-poetry verses to sum up ambivalence.
Stocks have raged 80% since the lows;
The market is never wrong so I should buy;
Should I hedge that position or go all the way long?;
Do that.
Silver and gold are real money;
Always have been and always will be;
Get physical or keep paper shares?:
Indeed.
I am worried about retirement;
Everything is so volatile;
What can I do to protect what I have?;
Wear a cup.
The Republicans won the election;
Only 48% of voters are happy about a GOP majority;
Why isn't anyone excited about this?;
I missed the question.
QE adds no new money to the system;
Commodities were flying until margin increases;
If there is no new money, why is this happening?;
Yup.
If it is best to be contrarian;
But a contrarian will know the contrarian view;
Is it better to be the second contrarian in the chain?;
6th would be best.
The I-phone rules;
The I-pad is genius;
Apple is god?;
The dinosaurs are extinct, killed by a huge meteorite.
I have doubts;
I have fears;
Will it always be this way?;
So.
Friday Night Entertainment
Ok! After that it may prove difficult to salvage a post, but here goes.
Quantitative Easing Cartoon
This was making the rounds and these things crack me up to no end. Enjoy this one, it is a classic:
"What is 'The Deflation'? Its not two funny it's three funny.
Pump and Dump
This could be a news story, but I find it more in the realm of comedy. As Kid Dynamite likes to say "Sold to you, SUCKA!":
David Tepper Dumps 20% Of Financial Holdings During Quarter Of Infamous CNBC Speech
So fitting.
Robotic Sponge Baths?
Submitted without comment:
A Sponge-Bathing Robot
Nothing is sacred.
Comic Relief
Turn that frown upside down!
From FailBlog, maybe the best (worst?) ever:
see more funny videos
Wow.
So true:
see more Very Demotivational
Film Clips
A few movies you may have seen or not but should.
Not too many Stephen King novels translate well to film, but "The Dead Zone" certainly did. Big scene:
You can catch a young Jason Gedrick in the touching film "The Heavenly Kid":
I have always loved this film.
Rock Blogging
Even in bad times, rock and roll is good. That is good for something.
Watchtower, the longest running reader of Economic Disconnect was interested in Journey's song "The Party's Over" so it leads off the show:
I think I heard this song one time before. Not bad.
Scharfy noted a neat Johnny Cash tribute that you can check out here. I wanted to run a Cash clip, so let's go with "Sunday Morning Coming Down":
I love that one.
From the film mentioned above, enjoy "Out on the Edge" by Jon Fiore:
Not bad.
Pardon the dark selection, but "Down in a Hole" is a great one by Alice in Chains:
Ouch.
I have had this up before, but I was in the mood for The Cranberries and their heavy duty tune "Zombie":
Nasty good.
Last two for the night. What's on tap?
Found a sick as all get out live video of No Doubt and "Don't Speak" that is well worth the time:
Wow.
Last call.
Look, it's my blog and I am sorry to replay but the writer was going to watch "Streets of Fire" in a bit so you get "Tonight is What it Means to be Young". Sorry:
Nice.
Have a good night.
I am Ambivalence
A few not-quite-poetry verses to sum up ambivalence.
Stocks have raged 80% since the lows;
The market is never wrong so I should buy;
Should I hedge that position or go all the way long?;
Do that.
Silver and gold are real money;
Always have been and always will be;
Get physical or keep paper shares?:
Indeed.
I am worried about retirement;
Everything is so volatile;
What can I do to protect what I have?;
Wear a cup.
The Republicans won the election;
Only 48% of voters are happy about a GOP majority;
Why isn't anyone excited about this?;
I missed the question.
QE adds no new money to the system;
Commodities were flying until margin increases;
If there is no new money, why is this happening?;
Yup.
If it is best to be contrarian;
But a contrarian will know the contrarian view;
Is it better to be the second contrarian in the chain?;
6th would be best.
The I-phone rules;
The I-pad is genius;
Apple is god?;
The dinosaurs are extinct, killed by a huge meteorite.
I have doubts;
I have fears;
Will it always be this way?;
So.
Friday Night Entertainment
Ok! After that it may prove difficult to salvage a post, but here goes.
Quantitative Easing Cartoon
This was making the rounds and these things crack me up to no end. Enjoy this one, it is a classic:
"What is 'The Deflation'? Its not two funny it's three funny.
Pump and Dump
This could be a news story, but I find it more in the realm of comedy. As Kid Dynamite likes to say "Sold to you, SUCKA!":
David Tepper Dumps 20% Of Financial Holdings During Quarter Of Infamous CNBC Speech
So fitting.
Robotic Sponge Baths?
Submitted without comment:
A Sponge-Bathing Robot
Nothing is sacred.
Comic Relief
Turn that frown upside down!
From FailBlog, maybe the best (worst?) ever:
see more funny videos
Wow.
So true:
see more Very Demotivational
Film Clips
A few movies you may have seen or not but should.
Not too many Stephen King novels translate well to film, but "The Dead Zone" certainly did. Big scene:
You can catch a young Jason Gedrick in the touching film "The Heavenly Kid":
I have always loved this film.
Rock Blogging
Even in bad times, rock and roll is good. That is good for something.
Watchtower, the longest running reader of Economic Disconnect was interested in Journey's song "The Party's Over" so it leads off the show:
I think I heard this song one time before. Not bad.
Scharfy noted a neat Johnny Cash tribute that you can check out here. I wanted to run a Cash clip, so let's go with "Sunday Morning Coming Down":
I love that one.
From the film mentioned above, enjoy "Out on the Edge" by Jon Fiore:
Not bad.
Pardon the dark selection, but "Down in a Hole" is a great one by Alice in Chains:
Ouch.
I have had this up before, but I was in the mood for The Cranberries and their heavy duty tune "Zombie":
Nasty good.
Last two for the night. What's on tap?
Found a sick as all get out live video of No Doubt and "Don't Speak" that is well worth the time:
Wow.
Last call.
Look, it's my blog and I am sorry to replay but the writer was going to watch "Streets of Fire" in a bit so you get "Tonight is What it Means to be Young". Sorry:
Nice.
Have a good night.
Monday, November 8, 2010
How Much Room to Run?
The bad weather has come to Massachusetts with some wet snow falling a bit west of here. It will not be long now.
How Much Room to Run?
I have been looking at markets quite a bit as of late and wanted to touch upon a dynamic that should be coming into play fairly soon.
By now most are aware that huge runs in equities, metals, and commodities have been reflected in a weakening dollar. The QE 2.0 talk that started this summer initiated a melt down in the buck and assets soared. It may be helpful to take a look at where we are. Here is a dollar index chart going back to 2008:
It should be readily apparent what we are looking at:
-the March 2009 lows in stocks were a top in the dollar
-the dollar was smashed during the run up in asset prices
-the buck was king kong again at the height of the Euro concerns and the summer slowdown
-QE 2.0 hopes have taken the dollar down once again
That's nice, but what does it mean?
Looking at the charts the dollar has found a continual bottom around 74, and maybe has touched 72 a few times over the years. I have seen discussions about the dollar breaking down under 70 and what that may mean. While I have little doubt the FED could lose control, I just do not see it happening. 74 or 72 will hold and by then the Euro mess may come back to the front pages.
Recent history has shown that a stronger dollar will be bad for stocks and most everything else. We are sitting at about 77 right now, so another 5% move can be expected to the downside for the dollar. This may not correlate to a 5% upside in other assets, it may well be more than that. What I am trying to show here is that the upside will be limited going forward. Unless.....
Asset classes decouple from the dollar dynamic that has been in play for some time. This is not impossible but I do find it unlikely. Still, this is something I am watching right now and will make plans accordingly. You will want to be watching at the 72-74 range for the dollar if a shift occurs. Many trades right now are very crowded and upon a reversal the exits could be jammed.
I am Not an Alarmist
My long held vision that the world will be over run with robots is not new, yet I am sure we have never been as close as we are now! Take a look at this wishful thinking from long ago:
News Article from 80 Years Ago Warns of the Impending Robot Age
Here is the scary vision from way back:
I think this was a bit premature. Now, not so much!
Have a good night.
How Much Room to Run?
I have been looking at markets quite a bit as of late and wanted to touch upon a dynamic that should be coming into play fairly soon.
By now most are aware that huge runs in equities, metals, and commodities have been reflected in a weakening dollar. The QE 2.0 talk that started this summer initiated a melt down in the buck and assets soared. It may be helpful to take a look at where we are. Here is a dollar index chart going back to 2008:
It should be readily apparent what we are looking at:
-the March 2009 lows in stocks were a top in the dollar
-the dollar was smashed during the run up in asset prices
-the buck was king kong again at the height of the Euro concerns and the summer slowdown
-QE 2.0 hopes have taken the dollar down once again
That's nice, but what does it mean?
Looking at the charts the dollar has found a continual bottom around 74, and maybe has touched 72 a few times over the years. I have seen discussions about the dollar breaking down under 70 and what that may mean. While I have little doubt the FED could lose control, I just do not see it happening. 74 or 72 will hold and by then the Euro mess may come back to the front pages.
Recent history has shown that a stronger dollar will be bad for stocks and most everything else. We are sitting at about 77 right now, so another 5% move can be expected to the downside for the dollar. This may not correlate to a 5% upside in other assets, it may well be more than that. What I am trying to show here is that the upside will be limited going forward. Unless.....
Asset classes decouple from the dollar dynamic that has been in play for some time. This is not impossible but I do find it unlikely. Still, this is something I am watching right now and will make plans accordingly. You will want to be watching at the 72-74 range for the dollar if a shift occurs. Many trades right now are very crowded and upon a reversal the exits could be jammed.
I am Not an Alarmist
My long held vision that the world will be over run with robots is not new, yet I am sure we have never been as close as we are now! Take a look at this wishful thinking from long ago:
News Article from 80 Years Ago Warns of the Impending Robot Age
Here is the scary vision from way back:
I think this was a bit premature. Now, not so much!
Have a good night.
Friday, October 29, 2010
It Is Friday After All
Well today was more New England like with blustery winds and colder temperatures! A literal ton of work to do in the yard tomorrow so you can guess how excited I am about that!
Could Have Skipped Friday
I don't have much to say about things economic tonight. I am in weekend mode already.
I think today the markets could have been closed as the NASDAQ ended right where it started (0.00% change) and both the DOW and S&P ended up 0.04% which is really creepy how they all were moving in identical patterns all day. Almost fractal like, or computer generated. Weird stuff.
Friday Night Entertainment
An extended dose of the "other" stuff as I am not really into a groove yet for the heavy duty stuff.
Macro Man Does Comedy
A great stop in finance is Macro Man and he had a very funny post up titled:
You Know QE Expectations are Getting Out of Hand When....
The whole thing is a must read, but a sample to get you to click over:
They Are Already Arming Them!
First they are teaching the robots how to hurt a human in the best way, now they are handing out guns!:
Robots with Guns are the Pentagon's Equivalent of Booth Babes
Just wonderful.
Reddit Not so Great Here
I always see little tags for Reddit but I had no idea what is was. I am going to say it is safe that this poor guy will not be using it again (click for larger view):
Indeed.
In Case You Need One
As I am horrible at math I often resort to calculators for assistance. Here is a great online one if you need to do some crazy math:
Online Calculator
It does most everything.
Corrected, Project Azorian
Last November I highlighted a wild story about the CIA project to recover the sunken Soviet submarine K-129. I thought the project was called Project Jennifer, but a new book I just finished that was just released (Project Azorian by Polmar and White) details it was really called Project Azorian:
Added right after I posted:
Had to show this picture (click for larger):
via Geekologie, the graphic shows where various films were based in the US states! Too cool. "Children of the Corn"!
Film Clips
I will stick with the horror genre due to the approaching holiday.
My all time scariest movie? Easily "The Exorcist". I still cannot watch this thing and go to bed anytime soon that night. Here is the original trailer:
No, I am not watching that any time soon again.
Best scene from "Halloween"? The Lonnie scene:
Hee hee.
"The Blair Witch" film creeped me out and the ending was shocking and terrifying:
He's in the CORNER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rock Blogging
While the music never leaves, the songs have returned to Friday night!
Watchtower wanted some Billy Squier and "In the Dark" and I had never heard it before! I like it very much:
Nice!
Let's go with "Born on the Bayou" for a CCR fix:
Always nice.
Play this one for the kids before Halloween night! Iron Maiden's "Fear of the Dark":
They can pull anything off. Bruce Dickinson is the greatest. Great live version here with a great crowd. A real show.
How I came to know the Del Shannon song "Runaway" was through the theme for the show "Crime Story" and someone was nice enough to post it on YouTube:
Love it.
You know you love the "Chariots of Fire" song, admit it:
One of the comments on the song at the Tube was "makes me want to run in slow motion!". Too funny.
Two songs left, what will it be?
"Under the Bridge" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers is up:
Wonderful tune.
Last call! One more song and I am gone.
Ok, in my dreams I can play guitar! Seeing as I cannot, here is exactly what I would do if I could! Play the middle acoustic section of the Metallica song "To Live is to Die" right off the cue:
The studio version of the band is at the 4:50 mark of this video. Great job dude!
Have a good night.
Could Have Skipped Friday
I don't have much to say about things economic tonight. I am in weekend mode already.
I think today the markets could have been closed as the NASDAQ ended right where it started (0.00% change) and both the DOW and S&P ended up 0.04% which is really creepy how they all were moving in identical patterns all day. Almost fractal like, or computer generated. Weird stuff.
Friday Night Entertainment
An extended dose of the "other" stuff as I am not really into a groove yet for the heavy duty stuff.
Macro Man Does Comedy
A great stop in finance is Macro Man and he had a very funny post up titled:
You Know QE Expectations are Getting Out of Hand When....
The whole thing is a must read, but a sample to get you to click over:
You know QE expectations are getting a bit out of hand when...There are 10 more at the link.
1. Goldman calls for $2trn.
2. Rumours fly around that the Fed may eventually do $4trn.
3. China starts complaining that the Fed is about to purchase $1trn of USTs despite buying a similar amount themselves.
4. Xerox is up 36% since Jackson Hole.
5. Your Mom calls you asking what QE is.
6. The BoJ buys a promissory note from TMM for $1bn whose principal is equal to their combined yearend bonuses price in Gold today.
7. IBM issues a super long bond.
8. Mexico issues a really super duper long bond.
9. You find out that both of these organisations have a guy who had Bernanke as a thesis advisor in their Economics PhD program before joining their respective Treasury departments.
10. Greek tourist-tat shops sell QE wallets three times the size of normal ones.
They Are Already Arming Them!
First they are teaching the robots how to hurt a human in the best way, now they are handing out guns!:
Robots with Guns are the Pentagon's Equivalent of Booth Babes
Just wonderful.
Reddit Not so Great Here
I always see little tags for Reddit but I had no idea what is was. I am going to say it is safe that this poor guy will not be using it again (click for larger view):
Indeed.
In Case You Need One
As I am horrible at math I often resort to calculators for assistance. Here is a great online one if you need to do some crazy math:
Online Calculator
It does most everything.
Corrected, Project Azorian
Last November I highlighted a wild story about the CIA project to recover the sunken Soviet submarine K-129. I thought the project was called Project Jennifer, but a new book I just finished that was just released (Project Azorian by Polmar and White) details it was really called Project Azorian:
"AZORIAN" (erroneously called JENNIFER after its Top Secret Security Compartment by the press) was the code name for a U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) project to recover the sunken Soviet submarine K-129 from the Pacific Ocean floor in the summer of 1974, using the purpose-built ship Hughes Glomar Explorer. The 1968 sinking of the K-129 occurred approximately 1,560 nautical miles (2,890 km) northwest of HawaiiI love this kind of stuff.
Added right after I posted:
Had to show this picture (click for larger):
via Geekologie, the graphic shows where various films were based in the US states! Too cool. "Children of the Corn"!
Film Clips
I will stick with the horror genre due to the approaching holiday.
My all time scariest movie? Easily "The Exorcist". I still cannot watch this thing and go to bed anytime soon that night. Here is the original trailer:
No, I am not watching that any time soon again.
Best scene from "Halloween"? The Lonnie scene:
Hee hee.
"The Blair Witch" film creeped me out and the ending was shocking and terrifying:
He's in the CORNER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rock Blogging
While the music never leaves, the songs have returned to Friday night!
Watchtower wanted some Billy Squier and "In the Dark" and I had never heard it before! I like it very much:
Nice!
Let's go with "Born on the Bayou" for a CCR fix:
Always nice.
Play this one for the kids before Halloween night! Iron Maiden's "Fear of the Dark":
They can pull anything off. Bruce Dickinson is the greatest. Great live version here with a great crowd. A real show.
How I came to know the Del Shannon song "Runaway" was through the theme for the show "Crime Story" and someone was nice enough to post it on YouTube:
Love it.
You know you love the "Chariots of Fire" song, admit it:
One of the comments on the song at the Tube was "makes me want to run in slow motion!". Too funny.
Two songs left, what will it be?
"Under the Bridge" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers is up:
Wonderful tune.
Last call! One more song and I am gone.
Ok, in my dreams I can play guitar! Seeing as I cannot, here is exactly what I would do if I could! Play the middle acoustic section of the Metallica song "To Live is to Die" right off the cue:
The studio version of the band is at the 4:50 mark of this video. Great job dude!
Have a good night.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Back Home Again
Obviously I have returned!
I usually go to the Bahamas in late April and I would say the weather then is a bit more settled. The mornings while we were there had quite a bit of rain and clouds. By 10am things cleared up for the day but a slow start most mornings. As always I love the Bahamas! I had a great time and got plenty of rest.
When I go on vacation I do not bring anything with me. No computer, no cell phone (which would have worked, Verizon is online down there now), and I do not watch TV. OK, I did catch the last 5 minutes of the wild Patriots vs. Chargers game and saw the San Diego field goal attempt clang off the upright! Go Patriots! This way I get plenty of distance from the usual stuff and I can relax and chill out. We forgot to take any pictures as well! We are not big picture people anyway, but we both totally forgot, what can you do.
Anyways, I am back and the yard here is showing that fall is in full effect. It is going to be a LONG weekend of yard work this weekend for sure, yuck.
Just a few light items tonight, I need to get back into things and it may take a few days.
Robots Learn to Break First Rule of Robotics
The first rule of robotics (via Asimov) was that a robot cannot harm a human or allow it's actions to harm a human. No worries, scientists now are already teaching the robots to either hurt human or just torture them:
Not to be outdone, now when you are chatting up that smoking hot young lady online and think you are making moves like a true player, it may just be a computer program stringing you along:
Book Review for "The Force Unleashed II"
Warning Star Wars content coming up!
As a hard core Star Wars fan I can stay silent no longer!
Understand that I do not play computer/video games in any format. No XBox, no Wii, nothing. What I do is read Star Wars material. Any and all of it in the expanded universe. What has been going on as of late is disgusting and I can only hope the Star Wars community gets their head on straight soon.
I let the original "The Force Unleashed" novel go by because I understood that they were trying to tie in a game they wanted to sell. Fine, whatever. There were so many things wrong with the book it would take way to long to cover, but a few issues:
-In the book/game Galen Marek is found as a boy by Darth Vader and taken as a "secret" apprentice. In some way his training by the sith lord allows him to be about 4 times as powerful as Vader!? How does that work? He can use force lightning, but Vader cannot, so who taught him that? His name becomes "Starkiller" (how dumb) and he can tear entire Star Destroyers out of the sky which seems funny because Vader could not stop the Millennium Falcon from leaving Hoth. A total mess. Ad to this by the end Starkiller fights BOTH Vader and Darth Sidious and about kills them both. So this guy was the most powerful force user ever it seems? What a joke.
Anyways, I let it go even though I thought the entire crap show should not be true Star Wars canon.
The new game/novel, The Force Unleashed II goes even further in it's stupidity and silliness. In this one it is not clear if the original Starkiller was cloned or what and it does not matter. Now in addition to being the most powerful force user ever, get a load of all this stuff:
-Force powers that can disintegrate people by the crowd size
-Starkiller can enter the atmosphere of a planet on the outside hull of a starship and not get burned up due to his "force bubble"
-During the story Starkiller goes to Dagobah and sees Yoda, yet this makes no sense in any way as Yoda never speaks of it
-Again, Starkiller is so powerful he beats Vader easily and then even imprisons him for transport to Dantooine?? What a freaking joke as in the novel Princess Leia knows about this but it never comes up anywhere else
I could go on and on but the story remains the same:
In the expanded universe the move has been to show both Darth Vader and Darth Sidiuos as total lunatic idiots incapable of much of anything. Both are inept and weak and only luck allows them to remain in power. This makes them both silly looking and flies in the face of all other work in Star Wars.
There I said it. Can Darth Sidious, the master that took over the Republic, hid himself in front of the jedi using sith sorcery, killed jedi by the score and outlasted Grandmaster Yoda in a fight be practically a buffoon? I hate this stuff so much.
Get your heads on straight Lucas Arts, you are killing a great story with this pandering to game sales and liberal invention of force powers never before seen. What a joke.
Sorry for the side track, back at the regular stuff soon!
Have a good night.
I usually go to the Bahamas in late April and I would say the weather then is a bit more settled. The mornings while we were there had quite a bit of rain and clouds. By 10am things cleared up for the day but a slow start most mornings. As always I love the Bahamas! I had a great time and got plenty of rest.
When I go on vacation I do not bring anything with me. No computer, no cell phone (which would have worked, Verizon is online down there now), and I do not watch TV. OK, I did catch the last 5 minutes of the wild Patriots vs. Chargers game and saw the San Diego field goal attempt clang off the upright! Go Patriots! This way I get plenty of distance from the usual stuff and I can relax and chill out. We forgot to take any pictures as well! We are not big picture people anyway, but we both totally forgot, what can you do.
Anyways, I am back and the yard here is showing that fall is in full effect. It is going to be a LONG weekend of yard work this weekend for sure, yuck.
Just a few light items tonight, I need to get back into things and it may take a few days.
Robots Learn to Break First Rule of Robotics
The first rule of robotics (via Asimov) was that a robot cannot harm a human or allow it's actions to harm a human. No worries, scientists now are already teaching the robots to either hurt human or just torture them:
Robot arm punches human to obey Asimov's rulesFamous last words if I ever heard them!
ISAAC ASIMOV would probably have been horrified at the experiments under way in a robotics lab in Slovenia. There, a powerful robot has been hitting people over and over again in a bid to induce anything from mild to unbearable pain - in apparent defiance of the late sci-fi sage's famed first law of robotics, which states that "a robot may not injure a human being".
But the robo-battering is all in a good cause, insists Borut Povše, who has ethical approval for the work from the University of Ljubljana, where he conducted the research. He has persuaded six male colleagues to let a powerful industrial robot repeatedly strike them on the arm, to assess human-robot pain thresholds.
It's not because he thinks the first law of robotics is too constraining to be of any practical use, but rather to help future robots adhere to the rule. "Even robots designed to Asimov's laws can collide with people. We are trying to make sure that when they do, the collision is not too powerful," Povše says. "We are taking the first steps to defining the limits of the speed and acceleration of robots, and the ideal size and shape of the tools they use, so they can safely interact with humans."
Not to be outdone, now when you are chatting up that smoking hot young lady online and think you are making moves like a true player, it may just be a computer program stringing you along:
Meet Suzette, The Chat Program that Convinced an Expert She was HumanAgain, you have been warned.
Have you met Suzette? If you have, you might not know it — because Suzette has passed the Turing Test. This chatbot convinced a judge that she was a human.
The Loebner Prize is given out every year for the machine that can fool a judge they're talking to a person for the space of a conversation. The judge chats to both a human and a machine about a few subjects - such as "What is a hammer for?" - and at the end of the time period, the judge has to pick which is the bot. After a twenty-five minute conversation with Suzette, a judge picked wrong.
Book Review for "The Force Unleashed II"
Warning Star Wars content coming up!
As a hard core Star Wars fan I can stay silent no longer!
Understand that I do not play computer/video games in any format. No XBox, no Wii, nothing. What I do is read Star Wars material. Any and all of it in the expanded universe. What has been going on as of late is disgusting and I can only hope the Star Wars community gets their head on straight soon.
I let the original "The Force Unleashed" novel go by because I understood that they were trying to tie in a game they wanted to sell. Fine, whatever. There were so many things wrong with the book it would take way to long to cover, but a few issues:
-In the book/game Galen Marek is found as a boy by Darth Vader and taken as a "secret" apprentice. In some way his training by the sith lord allows him to be about 4 times as powerful as Vader!? How does that work? He can use force lightning, but Vader cannot, so who taught him that? His name becomes "Starkiller" (how dumb) and he can tear entire Star Destroyers out of the sky which seems funny because Vader could not stop the Millennium Falcon from leaving Hoth. A total mess. Ad to this by the end Starkiller fights BOTH Vader and Darth Sidious and about kills them both. So this guy was the most powerful force user ever it seems? What a joke.
Anyways, I let it go even though I thought the entire crap show should not be true Star Wars canon.
The new game/novel, The Force Unleashed II goes even further in it's stupidity and silliness. In this one it is not clear if the original Starkiller was cloned or what and it does not matter. Now in addition to being the most powerful force user ever, get a load of all this stuff:
-Force powers that can disintegrate people by the crowd size
-Starkiller can enter the atmosphere of a planet on the outside hull of a starship and not get burned up due to his "force bubble"
-During the story Starkiller goes to Dagobah and sees Yoda, yet this makes no sense in any way as Yoda never speaks of it
-Again, Starkiller is so powerful he beats Vader easily and then even imprisons him for transport to Dantooine?? What a freaking joke as in the novel Princess Leia knows about this but it never comes up anywhere else
I could go on and on but the story remains the same:
In the expanded universe the move has been to show both Darth Vader and Darth Sidiuos as total lunatic idiots incapable of much of anything. Both are inept and weak and only luck allows them to remain in power. This makes them both silly looking and flies in the face of all other work in Star Wars.
There I said it. Can Darth Sidious, the master that took over the Republic, hid himself in front of the jedi using sith sorcery, killed jedi by the score and outlasted Grandmaster Yoda in a fight be practically a buffoon? I hate this stuff so much.
Get your heads on straight Lucas Arts, you are killing a great story with this pandering to game sales and liberal invention of force powers never before seen. What a joke.
Sorry for the side track, back at the regular stuff soon!
Have a good night.
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