A good article on the state of the Naperville castle market:

A Tale of Two Housing Markets: No Recovery at the High End

Define a "castle" as a Naperville house listed for $1M or more... stats list:

• 132 of 844 Naperville houses for sale are castles
  
• Castles have been on the market an average of > 500 days
• Only 10 of 174 contracts pending are for castles
  
• Only 28 castles have sold YTD

And the cherry on top... 23 mega-castles are listing for > $2M, only 1 of those has sold YTD
Yikes.


Book: "Skylight Confessions" by Alice Hoffman
Review: 3 bill-stars (out of 5)... OK

OK, interesting and all... but very girlie.
not a girl... yow, bill

PS - Tiger Woods with this repellent, sloppy brunette. Oh, brother.
www.nationalenquirer.com/tiger_woods_cheating_rachel_uchitel_exposed_source/celebrity/67747

Labels: 3stars, books, fun, myphoto

QOTD

"Rousted"
- The winning 67-point bingo in Thanksgiving Scrabble

Book: "Separation of Power" by Vince Flynn
Review: 4 bill-stars (out of 5) ... outstanding!

Another boffo Mitch Rapp book. Another great manly read.
I think this was the best one yet, and I've ordered my next one on Amazon chop chop.

QOTD2

"You're having a heart attack, Senator. Just try and stay calm, it'll all be over in a minute... By the way, Senator, my name isn't Mitch Kruse, it's Mitch Rapp."
- Mitch Rapp dispensing some justice to Senator Clark, who ordered a hit on Rapp

Excellent.
rousted... yow, bill

Labels: 4stars, books, fun, qotd

Man, I'm all over robot pets.
I'd buy a robot dog or cat today.
All the good stuff without the poop and having to be there all the time and everything.
Hopefully we'll see it by the time I'm old(er) and gray(er)... shit, couple-a decades and I probably won't be able to tell the difference. He he.

The hottest toy this Christmas is supposed to be these crappy robot hamsters:


QOTD

"Out of these, [a live] hamster is the one parents least like getting. So we figured a toy substitute would have some value."
- Marketing girl at Zhu Zhu, on why they chose to sell a robot hamster rather than a fish or a dog, source

Oh, I'd love a robot turtle.
Great idea.
getting merry... yow, bill

Labels: fun, qotd

QOTD

"Oh, I know someday you'll have a beautiful life
I know you'll be a sun
In somebody else's sky
But why
Why
Why can't it be
Why can't it be mine"
- Pearl Jam, "Black"

I'm on board with one leftie agenda... Michelle Obama is hot hot hot.

Jeez.
happy thanksgiving eve... yow, bill

Labels: fun, qotd

QOTD

"I often get in trouble for saying this, but I actually think it's true—that collaboration and consensus-building and all those things are, quite frankly, overrated. None of you CEOs run your companies by committee. So why should we run a school district by committee?"
- Michelle Rhee, DC schools, An Educated Work Force

That is a great quote.
I heart Michelle Rhee... school choice, taking on the teacher's union, competition.

Movie: "Pan's Labyrinth"
Review: 4 bill-stars (out of 5)... outstanding!

Different and good... that's the money.
Different = lots of weird fantasy stuff with fairies and monsters and such.
Good = compelling, exciting drama with outstanding performances and direction.
This is a 4+ star movie that I struggled to keep out of the 5-star category.
It's in Spanish with subtitles. Si.

Maribel Verdú (right) is one of the the stars of the movie... and she is incredibly beautiful.
muy caliente... yow, bill

PS - Too cool monster from Pan's:

Labels: 4stars, movies, qotd, schoolchoice

1. Hi-YA!
Hey, President Obama is a karate brother. Hi-YA!

Source: O-bam-a! U.S. President shows off his martial arts skills on visit to South Korea

Labels: fun, politics, qotd, sports

Awesome photo... totally snarfed from some site on sunspots and, oh, the world isn't warming and blah blah blah.


Book: "The Third Option" by Vince Flynn
Review: 4 bill-stars (out of 5)... excellent!

First, you consider diplomacy.
Second, you weigh using the military.
But the third option is the money... have Mitch Rapp waltz in and blow everyone's head off.

This is another great book in the Mitch Rapp series. Easy to read guy stuff.
sunspots rule... yow, bill

Labels: 4stars, books

1. Fake Media
It feels like prohibition or something... we're mired in some stupid, nonsensical period that you figger has to end sooner or later. Hopefully, sooner.
This fake media nonsense has to end, right?

1. Newsweek hit piece on Sarah Palin with a sexist photo on the cover: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20091117/pl_ynews/ynews_pl984
2. MSNBC uses fake Palin photos from the internet: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/scott-whitlock/2009/11/13/msnbc-uses-fake-sexy-photos-sarah-palin-air-will-network-correct-apo
   

Newsweek and MSNBC are completely illegitimate. Hacks.
Not FoxNews, journalism with righty commentary. No. Complete hacks.

And where is the feminist left on these Palin attacks. The women's groups.
Oh yeah, forgot... the feminist left is a joke as well.

2. W, then Obama Video
I'll take my own, little-to-no substance, cheap shot.
W greets the Marines a ways back. Then, President Obama.


I post this mostly because it's just a great video.
Also, it's jarring to hear W's forthright, heartfelt talk... stark contrast to the last 10 months.
yow, bill

Labels: politics, video

Nerd definition, source: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nerd

1. a stupid, irritating, ineffectual, or unattractive person.
2. an intelligent but single-minded person obsessed with a nonsocial hobby or pursuit: a computer nerd.

A little more elegant, descriptive definition...

QOTD

"... smart at school and dumb on the bus"
- description of a nerd in "The Third Option" by Vince Flynn

Nice.

Speaking of nerds... here's a fun article describing a supercomputer coming in the not-so-distant future:


QOTD2

"...the next milestone now getting attention from planners is something that can reach an exaflop, or a million trillion calculations per second, (one quintillion)"
- 2018 goal, source

Exaflop. Quintillion. Excellent.
dumb on the bus... yow, bill

Labels: fun, myphoto, qotd, technology

John Sullivan RIP... killed in Iraq 6 years ago today.


I can't believe it's been 6 years. Never forget, baby.

1. Dislike
I dislike Yahoo.

Yahoo circulates their "news stories" pretty frequently.
This IMPORTANT FUCKING BREAKING NEWS story has lasted almost 24 hours on their top 5 list of stories at www.yahoo.com.


I have noted this phenomenon before: Arabs pooped rubies out of a flying pig's ass
Same old, same old... just so irritating to deal with these fakers.

2. Hate
I hate the AP.

Under the guise of a news service, the AP generates partisan BS like their little "FACT CHECK" (the caps are theirs) story above. The AP has 11 bogus "FACT CHECK" items. Here are my three favorite:

1. Sarah claims frugality... FACT CHECK - she spent (brace yourself) $3,000 on a trip to NYNY as governor of Alaska.
2. Sarah correctly attributes that President Obama said that cap and trade will cause electric bills to "skyrocket"... FACT CHECK - Obama has now changed his mind, sort of, on this and will give people some money to offset some of the, um, skyrocketing.
3. Sarah dares to claim that she is in politics for altruistic reasons... FACT CHECK - AP proclaims this a lie as all politicians are only in it for the power and the dough. Oh, really. I'd like to read the AP article on what bullshit "hope and change" is and how the Obamas are merely interested in power and prestige.
   

AP, you fucking liars.
I don't mind the HuffPo, Daily Kos, MSNBC, or any other partisan venue for doing what they claim to do. But the AP claims to be a non-partisan news service.
That's an out and out lie. How's that for a FACT CHECK.
F U AP. Punks.

3. Love
I love Sarah Palin.

I have a Sarah Palin fantasy.
No, not that fantasy.

I'm talking about the fantasy where Palin isn't changed by all this fame and fortune. Where she doesn't bend to all the political advisers and talking heads and wannabes. Where she stays in your face and gives crappy interviews and doesn't water it down and keeps her goofy "Great White North meets Fargo" voice affectation. The one where she runs for president in 2012 against the current faker-tourist in the office just as herself... and rolls the dice.

But Sarah will change, if she hasn't already.
I'll wager that she'll be less creepy than the average pol, but she'll change.

And F U AP.
and thank you john... yow, bill

Labels: politics

QOTD

"There was never a person born since Adam who's been luckier than me. Nothing has happened to me that hasn't been perfect. And I'm not being facetious. There's never been a time when I was penniless and down, when something wouldn't arrive. Over and over and over again. Enough to make you superstitious."
- Cormac McCarthy, source

Wonderful interview of McCarthy in today's WSJ: Hollywood's Favorite Cowboy
I started reading the interview, and it seems like McCarthy was going to be the typical caricature of the cranky, intellectual writer. A curmudgeon. Nothing more boring than that.
But he's not. I

I gave McCarthy's book "The Road" 4 bill-stars (Desolate Desolation). It was a completely unique book. Different + good... that's the money.

I relate to that first QOTD. I just feel incredibly lucky in my life.
Every day.
And yeah, there's a little looking over my shoulder... waiting for the bus to hit me. What you gonna do? F the bus, and ride the wave, I say.

I have great empathy with the second QOTD below as well. I'm not that smart, but I understand what he's saying and agree with his sentiment. Be a better person. Be good!

QOTD2

"I have a great sympathy for the spiritual view of life, and I think that it's meaningful. But am I a spiritual person? I would like to be. Not that I am thinking about some afterlife that I want to go to, but just in terms of being a better person. I have friends at the Institute. They're just really bright guys who do really difficult work solving difficult problems, who say, "It's really more important to be good than it is to be smart." And I agree it is more important to be good than it is to be smart. That is all I can offer you."
- Cormac McCarthy

peace... yow, bill

PS - Shit. Just one more, I promise.

QOTD3

WSJ: But is there something compelling about the collaborative process compared to the solitary job of writing?

CM: Yes, it would compel you to avoid it at all costs.

He he.

Labels: fun, qotd

Book: "Transfer of Power" by Vince Flynn
Review: 4 bill-stars (out of 5)... excellent!

I heart Mitch Rapp.
I think this is the first book with Mitch Rapp in it.
Doesn't matter... it's just a crazy shoot 'em up, manly spy novel.
Not as good as the last one... blah blah of honor or something. But still fun and enjoyable guy reading.



smoking... yow, bill

Labels: 4stars, books

QOTD

"I'm so tired, I haven't slept a wink
I'm so tired, my mind is on the blink
I wonder should I get up, and fix myself a drink
No, no, no"
- The Beatles, "I'm So Tired"

I heart www.stockcharts.com

Here's 3 years of S&P 500 ($SPX) for you:

I drew that blue line in the middle... at 1,125.
Here's the math:

• The $SPX high was $1,575 in Oct 2007
• The $SPX low was $675 in Mar 2009
• That's a 900 point dip in $SPX.
• My 1,125 line marks a recovery of half of our 900 point (vomit-inducing) drop.
  

So, huzzah to 1,125 on $SPX... and beyond!

QOTD2

"I'm so tired, I'm feeling so upset
Although I'm so tired, I'll have another cigarette
And curse Sir Walter Raleigh
He was such a stupid git"
- The Beatles, "I'm So Tired"

pandora fun... yow, bill

PS - Swear to God... found this (grizzly) bear post a couple hours after my post. He says the halfway recovery point is as high as we go, for a long, long time or forever or something.

QOTD3

[hitting this halfway point] "...means if this was the short term top, then it was the intermediate and long term top, probably a top we may not see in our life times."
- Atilla the xtrends bear, source

We shall see.
Fundamental difference with me... I'm staying with the trend until it breaks.
When the trend breaks, I'll give back some dough, and then sit in cash or short or something.
Until then, I'm comfy, cozy long.

Labels: investing, qotd

QOTD1

"Our diversity, not only in our Army, but in our country, is a strength. And as horrific as this tragedy was, if our diversity becomes a casualty, I think that’s worse."
- General George Casey, source

I am big military guy. I know General Casey ran the show in Iraq for a while.
I don't know a lot more about him, but buddy, if I'm president... you're fired.

Of course, I guess the guy's just saying what he thinks the president and people want to hear.
I guess. 13 people gunned down in cold blood by this murderer, and Casey is concerned about diversity and political correctness.

I don't personally know the level of tragedy and grief that the families of the 13 people who were killed are going through. But Casey's comment is one of the most callous quotes I've ever... just a head-shaker. Hard for me to even believe.

QOTD2

"I’m concerned that this increased speculation could cause a backlash against some of our Muslim soldiers. And I’ve asked our Army leaders to be on the lookout for that."
- General George Casey

You're on the lookout for a "backlash"?
How about a little attention to something like this never happening again?

You know, I guess I'm an ignoramus.
How many Muslims have been hunted down and killed in the streets of America by radical, racist Muslim-haters?
13?
Any?
Have you heard of a single case? In the 8 years since the 9/11 attack by Muslim terrorists, have you heard of a single case of a Muslim guy being pulled out of his house or car or whatever and killed by an angry mob of Muslim haters?
ONE FUCKING CASE!

No.

We need a word, an adjective, to describe when things in reality get substantially (hyperbolically) more ridiculous than an Ayn Rand novel.
I'll work on that... once I can clear my head of this new level of nonsense.
peace... yow, bill

PS - And yes, irony of ironies... Happy Veteran's Day

Labels: politics, qotd

QOTD

"My attitude is, that since you are paying my salary as taxpayers, you should have health care that is at least as good as mine."
- President Obama, source

Um, actually President Obama, none of Medicare/Medicaid recipients will have health care as good as you and the members of Congress... your vaunted "public option" excludes your health insurance plan or the plan of any other federal employees. Funny how that works out.

Faker.

Bull Market Bikini
I should stop reading bear market blogs, but it's pretty much for entertainment purposes only. This is a classic whining, blathering post at one of them: The Distressing Tally. That Slope of Hope blog is like so many other bear blog offerings: when the market goes up, don't buy... just bitch about it. I prefer to ride the wave... up or down.

We're heading up, so I humbly present a bull market bikini.
sell higher... yow, bill

PS - Have you seen this crazy shit? I heard about these fancy, custom mouthguards watching some NFL game on the tube. What are these guys promising if you use their mouthguard? Oh just... "immediate improvement in posture, range of motion, flexibility, balance, and strength". OK.

Labels: fun, healthcare, investing, politics, qotd

Argh, my head.
Mr. Spock over here doesn't like direct contradiction.
He he.

1. First and most important
Why are there still crazy, fucked-up places in the world without water or basic sanitation?
All these foundations and charities and organizations, and we can't build a well somewhere?
Well, we are on the verge of diverting trillions of $ away from helping people and to global warming.

QOTD

"Getting basic sanitation and safe drinking water to the three billion people around the world who do not have it now would cost nearly $4 billion a year. By contrast, cuts in global carbon emissions that aim to limit global temperature increases to less than two degrees Celsius over the next century would cost $40 trillion a year by 2100."
- Bjorn Lomborg, source

I heart Lomborg: Global Warming as Seen from Bangladesh

2. Tough Economic Times
What a bear market for the last 9 years. Argh.

QOTD2
"U.S. companies' IPO activity has so badly lagged behind the pace of stock delistings in the past decade that the number of publicly traded businesses has dropped 39% over the past 11 years"
- WSJ today, source

The number of publicly listed companies peaked in 1997 at 8,823. Now, it's at 5,401. Eee-yikes: Great Depression of Listings

I wonder if President Obama's tax cuts and vast increase of fed spending will help this in the future. Yikes, again.

3. Tough Economic Times?
Things are tough and yet people scoop up the new (expensive) shit like it's going out of style.

QOTD3

"Demand is so strong for the Nook that Barnes & Noble has begun telling new customers not to expect delivery of the soon-to-be-released e-reader until the second week of December."
- The Nook is B&N's flavor of the Kindle, source

10% unemployment and people a lining up for B&N's latest POS gadget.
I can't figure it out.

4. My head
Two really big head-squeezers:

1. Health care - The House passes a health care bill that is the worst legislation I can recall in my lifetime. Gibberish. Cross our fingers on the Senate. Dop. Save your money people... or suffer bureaucratic fools deciding your medical treatment.
2. Muslims terrorists - On this Muslim loser who killed 13 people at the military base... I read a fucking toxic article with quotes about how shithead didn't feel warm and fuzzy because he's a Muslim. I am unaware of 13 Muslims killed in the US because they were Muslim.
   

Commenting on these two is pointless. If you can't follow along with... ah, forget it.

The biggest contradiction of all, I reckon, is the contrast between all-good personal life (what a great weekend!) and the all-fucked-up-all-the-time public existence you hear about. I can't figger that one out at all.
peace... yow, bill

Labels: globalwarming, myphoto, politics, qotd

QOTD

Charlie: "Hey, here's a fun fact. You're sleeping with a girl who was born when you were in Junior High, and yet there's a good chance she lost her virginity before you did. And here's another fun fact. I'll bet she's had sex with more girls than you too."

Alan: "That is a fun fact!"

- Two and a Half Men

Voting in NYNY
This site is too cool. It's an interactive map showing how neighborhoods voted in the recent NYNY mayoral race. I typed in Brother Brad's address for fun.



Real Health Care Reform
This article isn't all that well-written (why don't these guys use lists... one, two, three), but it does spell out some of the obvious solutions on improving health care in the US.


Or in (better) list form:

1. Allow competition between health insurance companies across state lines
2. Decouple employment and health insurance... allow employees to use employer cash to find their own policy and give people the tax advantage to buy their insurance, not employers.
3. Tort reform
4. Provide tax credits and vouchers to the poor who can't afford health insurance.
   

Pelosi (dolt) is promising to jam socialized health care through the Congress this weekend. I hope she gets this whole thing jammed up her ass. Pardon my french.

Braun, RIP.
My wonderful, old, reliable coffee maker dies this morning. I loved that beat-up old Braun.


Oh well.
RIP, sweet prince.
sniff, sniff... yow, bill

PS - I have this thing about Peru lately. Dang.

Labels: fun, politics, qotd

QOTD

"It's like this competitive thing we have with other women."
- WSJ article today on the crazy shit that women wear, Shapewear has Women Bent Out of Shape

Jeez, I'm glad I'm a guy. Every dang day.

These days, I call them "Robs Rants moments"... in my head, of course. My own rants at every day annoyances rarely bubble to the surface or even to this blog, but internally I seem to hear Rob (quietly) ranting away in my head. Yes, this is somewhat distressing. (he he)

Yesterday at the Potbelly:

Girl: What would you like on that sir?
Bill: Just lettuce, thank you.
Girl: We have tomato and ranch sauce.
Bill: No thank you. Just lettuce would be great.
Girl: And would you like the ranch sauce as well?
Bill: [pause... compose... smile] No thank you. Just the lettuce is fine.
Bill's inner monologue: Dolt.

Come to think of it, Rob isn't really ranting in my head... he's smiling.
And two seconds later, I'm cracking up and smiling, too.
Oh, I'm cracking up alright.

I heart Peru.
raven-haired beauty... yow, bill

Labels: fun, qotd

Repubs win in Virgina and Jersey.
Can this off-year nonsense cause a sliver of doubt, a moment of hesitation, in the minds of the dem Congressmen before a vote on socialized health care?
Crossing my fingers... that this butterfly wing will topple this BS for another decade.
We shall see.

That up there is Chris Christie, the new repub governor of New Jersey.
I like that he's a big, fat guy. I like that his opponent made fun of his size in ads. I wish he was a smoker too. Anything to tweak the faker pol-correct norm.

Book: "Pursuit of Honor" by Vince Flynn
Review: 4 bill-stars (out of 5)... very good!
Website: www.vinceflynn.com

Really good. The ending was rushed, but really good.
This is super manly, butch stuff, and it was a fun, fast read.
The hero (Mitch Rapp) is supposedly the template used for the "24" guy, Jack Bauer... or vise versa, I don't know.

QOTD

"Rapp could hear someone shouting from inside the immense space. He had a moment of indecision. Should he stop and assess the situation or rush headlong into it and keep surprise on his side? He decided on the latter and..."
- some trigger-happy Mitch Rapp goodness from "Pursuit of Honor"

"Pursuit of Honor" is like the 5th or 6th in a series, so back I go. The first "Mitch Rapp" book is... let's see... looks like "Transfer of Power".
Sold!
rushing headlong... yow, bill

Labels: 4stars, books, politics, qotd