QOTD

"Nerf torture"
- Dennis Miller description of water-boarding

Or maybe the soft cushions, the comfy chair... he he.

• www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSe38dzJYkY - "Biggles! Fetch the soft cushions"
  
• www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWS8Mg-JWSg - "Who would cross the bridge of death, must answer me these questions three"
  

"Cardinal Fang! Fetch the comfy chair."
nerf... yow, bill

Labels: politics, qotd, video

1. Get off the phone
No, I didn't watch hours and hours of the NFL draft. Thank you.
Ty and I did watch a few picks in the first round.
This same scene was repeated for nearly every player; let's call him Joe Football:

• ESPN had cameras following Joe, wherever he was, home or whatever.
• Joe was watching the draft on TV (ESPN) and was surrounded by friends and family.
• Upon receiving notice that he had been drafted, soon to be anointed with millions of dollars, fame, success, etc... Joe's family would jump up and down and yell and scream and try to hug and kiss Joe.
• And Joe's reaction? Joe's on his dang cell phone. I presume Joe's talking to his agent.

The uniformity was eerie. It seemed a pretty joyless moment for each Joe. I can't understand it. After a couple of these, Ty joined me in yelling at the tube, “Get off the phone!” It got sadder and weirder as each Joe ignored the shiny reality of his situation to talk on his stupid phone.

2. The book
Book: “The Informers” by Bret Easton Ellis
Review: 2 bill-stars (out of 5)... not worth it.

I've read a couple Ellis books, most notably “American Psycho”. He's got a very readable style, very light. He's very into a surreal, ultra-violent, urban-apathetic setting for his books.

Well, this book was surreal, but not very interesting. Ellis tried something a little weird; each chapter has a different first-person narrative, and you're supposed to try and figure out who is “talking” at each point. It doesn't work well at all because all the characters are so similar. And there is this weird vampire plot pasted on the end. Vampires. Yawn.

3. The movie
Movie: “The Informers”
Review: 1 bill-star (out of 5)... gawd awful.

The highlight of this movie was my sighting of a 1978 (I think) Honda Accord in the first 10-15 minutes of the film. My second car was Mozy's 1978 Accord that he let me borrow for a year in North Carolina. What a great car!

Otherwise, the movie is pretty much without redemption, excepting all the hot chicks. Ellis did the screenplay adaptation of his own novel. So, it seems weird that he gutted most/all of the surreal stuff, and it's flat as a pancake. The book was kind of different, but didn't really work. The movie is neither different nor good... and boring and bad acting and direction and ending. Phew, what a stinker!

I really enjoy the book/movie double-shot... even with a buster like "Informers". It's fun.

4. An honest pol
Repub senator Arlen Specter switched over to the dem party. This wouldn't be notable other than the honesty of his reason for the switch.

QOTD

“[I] have found that the prospects for winning a Republican primary are bleak. I am not prepared to have my 29-year record in the United States Senate decided by the Pennsylvania Republican primary electorate.”
- A Specter, on why he's switch to the dem party

I think Specter is pushing 80 years-old and is a recent cancer survivor. He is hanging on to this senate gig as if it were life itself. That's the point... these senate jobs are so lucrative and intoxicating that it's worth anything to keep it. Power.
unlimited pow-ah... yow, bill

PS - 1978 Honda Accord... excellent!

Labels: 1star, 2stars, books, movies, politics, qotd, sports

Good one... QOTD

SB: I hate you, Patrick.
PS: I hate you too.
SB: I hate you no matter what.
PS: I'd hate you even if I didn't hate you.
SB: I'd hate you even if that made sense.
PS: I'd hate you even if you were me. That's how much I hate you.
- Spongebob last night

Spongebob is usually a coin toss... about half the episodes have enough adult-level fun in them.

Book: "Too Fat to Fish" by Artie Lange
Review: 2 bill-stars (out of 5)... not worth it.

The book was light reading, alright... and that picture on the cover is pretty funny. The rest of the thing just wasn't very funny though. Dop.

Best story... some studio sent Artie to rehab as a condition of doing some movie. There was no way Artie was going to finish the program, that is, stay drug-free. His counselor/sponsor was pushing Artie to put more time and effort into rehab... all concerned and such. So, Artie mentions that he might be able to make a donation to the place if they pushed his paperwork through. Done. So, he bribed his way out of rehab and into his movie role. Excellent.

The worst part of the book was Artie's persistent "I'm an addict" excuse.
Ya know.
I'm selfish. I'm violent. I'm rude. I'm a slob. I'm a jerk. I'm smelly. I'm insulting. I'm late. I'm a liar. I'm unhealthy. I'm a burden.
No, wait!
I'm an addict. That's it! That's the problem. Oh, and throw in... I've got personal problems, too.

It's the ultimate hall pass, right.
not fat, not fishing... yow, bill

Labels: books, fun, qotd

A couple investing quotes du jour...

QOTD1

"Trading is now the new asset choice"
- Scott Jacobson of Capstone Sales Advisors... whoever he is

BofA stock dipped about 25% yesterday on this little contribution.

QOTD2

"Make no doubt about it. Credit is bad and will eventually get worse before it stabilizes and improves."
- Ken Lewis, BofA CEO, source: BofA Spoils the Banking Party

I stole this from the WSJ too... a little bout of inflation in Zimbabwe, where they humbly present their $100 trillion bill.

How much did you say those M&M's were?

QOTD3

"Your eyes are the same color as my Porsche"
- Pickup line

Mirror-mirror-mirror-irror-irror-rrrrrr
put the mirror on you... yow, bill

Labels: fun, investing, qotd

QOTD

"I just want to scream, Hello!
My god, it's been so long
Never dreamed you'd return

But now, here you are
And here I am
Hearts and thoughts they fade... away"
- Pearl Jam, "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town"

Getting ready for the most bogus day of the year... tomorrow, Earf Day.
burn her anyway... yow, bill

Labels: fun, politics, qotd

QOTD

"Whatever the process, it will be the time-honored and ordinary process of soliciting public input."
- The EPA on further regulating our lives, from article above

So difficult to be positive. Constructive. Trying though.
Government is making our lives better... via regulation!

1. Smoking, second-hand smoke
2. Seat belts
3. Bike helmets
4. Warning labels on, well, everything
5. Fat in foods
   
6. Cop cameras: intersections, highways, subways, etc.
7. I-Pass
8. Mandatory drug tests
9. All manner of government health care and welfare for seniors, et al
10. Mandated government preschool, kindergarten, etc.
    

Government control. Regulation. Socialized everything.
As the EPA declares your very exhaling a dire environmental risk, worthy of the attention of the federal government of the United States of America.

It's the new religion. You get that, right?
It doesn't matter how silly or destructive or what... it's "green", so it's in.
Tyranny isn't religion or some militaristic coup... it's a government nabob protecting you form me and me from you.
Political correctness and, now more and more, "the law" await you and your BBQ grill or cigarettes or SUV or plastic shopping bag or incandescent bulbs, or, or, or...

I saw mayor Daley (can't find the quote on the web) talking about how they're going to do random drug and alcohol tests of cops. This is in response to some stupid cop DUI, car thing. Daley extrapolated... as is always the case, but seldom verbalized (Daley has the loose lips and bravado that accompany a "tenured" position):

• Everyone should be drug-tested.
  
• Hey, people doing drugs or alcohol cost taxpayers money (presumably because they're all on Medi-whatever)
• And (the kicker), if you aren't doing these drugs, then you shouldn't have a problem.

I have this silly fantasy.
Some day, one... just one... of these people who believe in this stuff will tell me... "Hey Bill, ya gotta trade some freedom for safety or uniformity or whatever." Please just acknowledge that you're trading your (and my) freedoms for something. OK.

It's a fantasy because it will never happen.
It's a fantasy because I'd tell that person, "Ya know. I think I'll decline trading any more freedoms away for now. Why the heck are you so eager, poindexter?"
And I have a feeling, deep down, that's a question they don't want to answer.

QOTD2

"It's all part of the new way, brotha"
- from "A Clockwork Orange" by Anthony Burgess

Get your bike helmets on droogies.
sigh... yow, bill

Labels: politics, qotd

QOTD

"Nobody gets up to get a beer during a fight."
- Don Cherry on hockey fights, source: Why the Red Wings Don't Fight

Huzzah!

Great name: Dr. Larry Brilliant.
Well, pretty good.
I just imagine Dr. Larry's birth. The doctor hands the swaddled newborn to his mother, "What are you going to name your son, Mrs. Brilliant?"
"Um, I like the name Larry, actually."
"Larry. Really? Larry. Hmm."

Anyway, Dr. Brilliant is a Google (well, now ex-Google) genius who's starting some $100M do-gooder fund to "raise awareness" on 5 issues: climate change, water scarcity, pandemics, nuclear proliferation, and conflict in the Middle East.

QOTD

"We have, I think, five to 10 years to get ahead of these problems."
- Not Larry Brilliant, but some guy working with him, source: link

5-10 years, huh. Maybe Larry's not so brilliant after all.
Nothing warms my cockles like geniuses doing dumb things.

Great night last night... karate practice with the big boys, then mini-burgers at the Buffalo Wild Wings reading my (excellent) investment book. On one of their littlest (of many) TV's, they were showing a replay of a 1989 Bull playoff game against Cleveland. 20 years ago. Sigh. It was the game where Michael Jordan hit the buzzer beater over Craig Ehlo. It was MJ's most important shot as a pro to that point and the first, of many, important Bull playoff victories.

I looked around and wondered what percentage of the patrons had any memory of the game... or the Bull 1990's experience. And Michael Jordan. I wondered if they had an inkling of what they missed. Michael Jordan. The best basketball team of all time. Shoot, the best sports fan experience of all time.

I swigged my beer, smiled, and then wondered if maybe I'm just a sentimental, doddering fool.
Probably a little of both, eh.
silent sunday... yow, bill

Labels: politics, qotd, sports

QOTD

"Swisher Out-Pitches Wang"
- Rotoworld headline, source: link

Dang, that's funny.

Swisher was the only Yankee pitcher to not give up a run: boxscore.

Also funny, as of today Apr 14 2009, Swisher leads the Yankee in homer, rbi, run, and batting average.
A-Rod come home!

Cub win.
I heart Lou. What a difference a leader makes!

QOTD2

"Rat-tat-tat
Ka-boom-boom"
- Punkins, "XYU", live, and video from the Constantine soundtrack

wang... yow, bill

Labels: music, qotd, sports, video

QOTD1

"Buy one, get one killed"
- PETA ad ostracizing people who don't buy dogs from shelters

Story #1
Some lady's a dog breeder; I'll wager she's a goofy dog-lover. Vice-president Biden buys a mutt from her (well, a pure-bred German Shepherd mutt), and she is the target of all kinds of abuse, including harassment from local government officials.

Here's the story, which is a wonderful Ayn Rand-ian metaphor for the tyranny of the left: Biden's Puppy Breeder: "Never, Never, Never Again"

Story #2
Here's an incredibly moving article on victory in Iraq and sacrifice of our troops and their families: I've Lost My Brother, Too

I gots no problemo being against the war or protest or anything. But try this some time... mention to someone who is/was against the war in Iraq:

1. How incredible the performance of our military has been,
2. How we have freed a nation of 20+ million from tyrrany and oppression and given them a chance at freedom, and
   
3. How we have won the war in Iraq
   

The response is uniform. Eerily so.
Why can I debate you on the merits of going to war, yet you can't acknowledge its outcome, or the valor of those who fought it?
And if you really want to fan the flames of political correctness, you might note how W and General Patraeus acted as true leaders to emply the "surge" in the face of cut-and-run mantra that dominated the media and both sides of the political fence at the time. Quagmire.

QOTD2

"Those five words changed Dan's life. He had been living in a chasm of grief for Mike, and suddenly his perspective opened up. He was able to look beyond his personal grief and recognize all who have fought for freedom in our country, in Iraq, and around the world."
- Grieving response to "I've lost my brother too"

Contrast
I'm not in the business of telling people what to care about. But you can contrast a group that villifies and harasses some lady breeding German shepherd with our soldiers and their families who safeguard this country and have provided an opportunity at freedom for millions of others.

And I guess that's the contrast: substance over silliness.
Making a difference in the world versus pretending.
victory... yow, bill

Labels: politics, qotd

Hey,

Great site: www.dshort.com


Some of my fave articles on the dshort blog...

1. Bear market history
This post has tasty charts on each of the 9 bear markets since 1950:

I'll snarf the current bear market chart for posterity.

Source: www.dshort.com

2. S&P regression to long-term trend

In this post, they calculate a long-term linear regression of S&P returns and show the market bouncing higher and lower over time... but always returning to the gravity of "average" long-term returns.

Here's the cool chart from that one:

Source: www.dshort.com

3. Market timing using moving averages
I've written about using moving averages to time investing. The moving average is just the average of prices over some time period, like the average daily price over the last 50 days.

Here's the really fascinating article, and there are lots of good links in there too:


I mean look at this "money" chart below. They use the 10 month average price to make timing decisions. The 10 month moving average is that red line. 1) You buy when the market is above its moving average (the red line), and 2) you sell when it's below:

Source: www.dshort.com

Super simple. Super results.

4. Wrap
As I spend my hours, I am more and more convinced that the next 10 years will be an era favoring smart investing, rather than buy-and-hold. I know. Duh. But the trick will be agile asset allocation and timing and smart guys analyzing the market on how best to make these decisions will win. We shall see.

Bear market, bad.
But it's never boring, eh.

QOTD

"Not just lawyers... but human beings."
- Radio commercial this morning

"Bikini Law Firm" (review)... I haven't seen it, but sounds like a must rent. He he.
grrrr... yow, bill

Labels: investing, movies, qotd

QOTD

"From getting rid of Saddam, to reducing violence, to stabilizing the country, to facilitating elections -- you have given Iraq the opportunity to stand on its own as a democratic country. That is an extraordinary achievement."
- President Obama to the troops in Iraq, source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123914573569198811.html

Extraordinary, indeed!
huzzah... yow, bill

Labels: politics, qotd

QOTD1

"Action and reaction, ebb and flow, trial and error, change - this is the rhythm of living. Out of our over-confidence, fear; out of our fear, clearer vision, fresh hope. And out of hope, progress."
- Bruce Barton

Gay marriage ban struck down in Iowa, good op-ed: Why Gay Marriage Matters

QOTD2

"... the sanctity of all religious marriages celebrated in the future will have the same meaning as those celebrated in the past. The only difference is civil marriage will now take on a new meaning that reflects a more complete understanding of equal protection of the law."
- Iowa Supreme Court, ruling on gay marriage

That's a quality compromise, right? Religious marriage can discriminate against anyone... gay, lesbian, black, white, Catholic, Jewish, etc. But you can't discriminate in the civil part of the union of two people.

Now, that's a nice common sense solution, but I don't really know if this is the Iowa Supremes acting in fiat or if the state law actually supports them.

QOTD3

"When you're through changing, you're through."
- Bruce Barton

Still changing like a mother over here, so I guess I'm not through.
change this... yow, bill

PS - How did I miss this? The LG Bikini cell phone. What the... viva la marketing!

Labels: fun, politics, qotd

QOTD

"There are transition difficulties, a culture shock upon entering a school where you're expected to pay attention, learn, do homework. But these results fit a pattern that we've seen in other evaluations of vouchers. Benefits compound over time."
- Some dude on the positive impact of vouchers/school choice, source: Democrats and Poor Kids

Liberal bastion, the NY Times, doesn't walk the walk on labor/unions. They're threatening to close the Boston Globe unless the union succumbs. Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123880909538689055.html.

Wrap:

• School choice = freedom
• NY Times does not walk the walk.
• Nice and simple on this beautiful snowy day.
• Cub opener today. Sock already snowed out.
• I heart new Bear QB Jay Cutler.
  

all good... yow, bill

Labels: politics, qotd, sports

QOTD

"We finished a very productive summit that will be, I believe, a turning point in our pursuit of global economic recovery,"
- President Obama, source: World Economy at Turning Point

Sounds similar to "Mission Accomplished"... we'll revisit this in a year. We shall see.

The market is so Great Depression-y with its massive jolts up and down. "The Dow Jones industrial average is up 20.4 percent since March 9, its best four-week run since 1933" (source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3683270/). Again, we shall see, and let's hope the 1930's analogies fall into a distant memory.

You want to invest in this mutual fund?

• Top returns,
• Dramatically reduced exposure to losses,
• Almost no work... 5 trades in the last 20 years
  

Here's the magic... 20 years of the S&P 500.


The algorithm:

1. Buy when the EMA( 13 weeks) crosses above the EMA( 34 weeks)
2. Sell when the EMA( 13 weeks) crosses below the EMA( 34 weeks)
   

EMA is "Exponential Moving Average" and is basically the average price of something over a time period. So, the EMA(13 weeks) in this chart is the average weekly closing price of the S&P over the past 13 weeks. Any charting package will have it, like www.stockcharts.com: www.stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=$SPX&p=W&yr=3&mn=0&dy=0&id=p11898256574

The current readings are EMA(13 weeks) = 850 and EMA( 34 weeks) = 932. These are slow moving indicators, so a future cross is months away.
run faster... yow, bill

Labels: investing, qotd

He he... I love this one.

QOTD

"Anarchists Organize to Spread the Word"
- WSJ headline today

Such a great day.

1. F You Bill Ayers - Naperville North and Anderson Bookstore both told Bill Ayers to take a hike. Good for them! Almost as great is Bill Ayers whining about it. Source: www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=283107
2. I'm 20 years-old - I was carded last week at Buffalo Wild Wings by a waitress younger than Holly. Ty and I cracked up.
3. Play (fantasy) ball - Fantasy baseball is the best. We have a wonderful league with fathers, sons and even girls (yuk): www.williamt.com/fantasy/baseball/index.htm. Best fantasy team name ever: Fairydust Kittens. I can't even type it without laughing!

Crinkly and hot 45 Marisa Tomei:


I wonder if she's a whack job Hollywood-type. Ah, no I don't.
smile... yow, bill

Labels: fun, politics, qotd