Posts

Showing posts from December, 2008

Fatigue

Tree falling without a sound burned limbs tearing off no sound as they hit the ground somewhere you relax your shoulders breathe control Close your eyes Hear the gulls waves against the shore one more mile twenty to go hunting the tiger hunting you rust never sleeps blacklight beauty patterns only show up later muscle memory pictures from an exhibition each myosin every actin on fire and crossing the line they wrap you in a space age blanket that wasn't so bad, was it? now try walking down the stairs

1931

The market devaluation of 36.2% this year was exceeded only by the drop in 1929, where the markets erased 40% of their value. As I wrote earlier, the market may bottom at 8200. What I wanted to add today, however, is that won't stop the depression. Alot of what we see in America is , as they say in Vegas "betting on the come out" line. Alot of people put their investments up front for a quick bang out of the market - they bet on an active, buying public that essentially sheds their anxieties through the act of shopping. Absurdly huge shopping centers have resulted in part to this type of market analysis. Christmas had to be commercial in order for them to keep that kind of momentum (it really has to be relatively huge momentum to maintain these types of stores). Inventory taxes are steep for themed you-will-have-fun mega-shopping plexes if they can't shed their inventory before January 1st. And they won't. The retailers have attempted a veronica, leaving

 

Image

Under the Bridge - Red Hot Chili Peppers

Sometimes I feel Like I don't have a partner Sometimes I feel Like my only friend Is the city I live in The city of angels> Lonely as I am Together we cry.. I drive on her streets 'Cause she's my companion I walk through her hills 'Cause she knows who I am. She sees my good deeds And she kisses me windy I never worry Now that is a lie I don't ever want to feel Like I did that day Take me to the place I love Take me all the way It's hard to believe That there's nobody out there It's hard to believe That I'm all alone At least I have her love The city she loves me Lonely as I am Together we cry I don't ever want to feel Like I did that day Take me to the place I love Take me all that way Under the bridge downtown Is where I drew some blood Under the bridge downtown I could not get enough Under the bridge downtown Forgot about my love Under the bridge downtown I gave my life away Open up your eyes

Solsbury Hill - Peter Gabriel

The Road

The sun casts a golden , warm light upon the field The tips of the grass feel soft to the hand We walk slowly as the wind blows our clothes dust floating in the air like stars I remember her eyes looking directly into mine I remember her face, the way the light caught her hair I remember her voice, I remember her smile her light, magical hand in mine the field of space and time where all life began it seemed I closed my eyes and remembered the delivery room where you were born I heard from the waiting room an electronic greeting card "Linus and Lucy" / the Charlie Brown theme every detail of the delivery room the sound, the sight - burned into my mind I can see it now I open my eyes again and I see, flash forward our family the picnic in the field peanut butter - jelly - one for you and one for me It feels good to remember what the sun felt like The day the darkness began I had just pulled out of the driveway, to take you to school and I noticed

Attorney General John Ashcroft

Lyrics: "She soars above freedoms lamp" , "This eagle is sad for what we've done to her". (para)

The Fall of Second Life

Image
Second Life is writing its own doom. Key to the fall of Second Life, is the company that runs it - and their administration of the game. Linden has given in-world residents the right to build, act and transact as they see fit, however, they have not given them the right to govern themselves. They cannot really manage risk in currency, nor have any voice in legal issues, or otherwise be represented in any meaningful way. Linden is dangerously disconnected from the social experiment it created. The key to this is the disconnect between Linden Lab's view of what is known as a "Linden" transaction. Essentially, a micropayment. In-world the transaction is not governed by any tax, not regulated in any way. Vendors sell to buyers, buyers purchase from Vendors or other players. The beat goes on. The basic engine of the economy is an automated vendor that is placed on virtual land. That micropayment is then backed out of the game using a currency "exchange". So

Introducing the Pinto

Proudly launched on 9-11. Taken off the market years later when people found out it was , in fact, a car bomb.

Revenge of the Nerds

Democrats are, how can I say this tactfully..? Nerds. They're into finding solutions to problems, and doing things the right way. Checking their steps. Finding repeatable solutions. They get worried about Global Warming. Wonder about civil union. And they keep asking pesky questions about foreign policy. They don't support pre-emptive self defense. And with the election of President Obama, they're taking lobbyists out of power (Obama came to the office with the least amount of money from lobbyists as a percentage of total campaign funding - in 40 years). And unfortunately for your less than honorable friends, being kind of a bunch of nerds means that if your friend is cheating you raise your hand and tell the teacher. Obama wanted Valerie Jarrett, a really good person - to take his Senate Seat, in Chicago. He phones up the Governor and informs him of his recommendation. This is the transcription of the taped conversation that the Governor of Illinois made with his fr

Rally in the Dark

The short players are covering, we will get a bounce out of this for maybe two or three days. And then it will be quiet for the end of year. Markets usually drift sideways and don't make very big moves either way at the end of the year - the Asian New Year celebrations take most of people's focus in the East, while in the West - Hannukah, and Christmas tend to replace priorities. The so called 'Santa Claus Rally' is a standard rally at the end of the year, when the volume is very, very light and the markets walk upward a bit. I am happy with my work done on 8200, as a market bottom. The call was made on my part due to a series of statistical triggers being fired - the first being a tightening band of trade volume and price momentum at around 8200, the second being a correct study of short call pressure and finally the third being that I am probably just plain lucky and figured it out before anyone else. But this rally is occuring in the dark. Thats the next dange

8200 Final Test

What I learned in my brief stint on the markets , was that the markets themselves don't actually trade on information that we, the public, are receiving. Which is why I was happy about 8200 holding a few weeks ago - the data we're getting today has been leaked 70 times since then. And so today is the final test of my predicted market bottom. Let me explain how things are going to work, today, at 4:30. There was short interest last week - that is - people who are betting the markets will crash, loading up. A short buyer always looks innocuous at first, because the market shows activity at a certain price range but his order to actually buy doesn't go in until he sees the price go down. So there's money in the markets when the short players are there. But it will snap up the stock maybe two weeks later or so. Alot of what pushes markets up quickly are these people covering - a short investor has an unlimited downside - the stock can go through the roof and whateve

Amber - Becoming a Sound

I still have the dream that I am missing a class. It is an english class. I never went, the entire semester. And now I am going to fail the course. Or at least I am truly worried that I will fail the course. I go to meet the professor. She says." You passed." For some reason the last time I dreamt it, I caught myself just before started to say something like how I understood so much of the course material already, how I am studying these different forms of literature, etc. and instead, I turn and listen to her. And I listen so intently that the shock of it wakes me up. Maybe there are no other forces in this world except those that can be rationally explained. Maybe the assumption that those forces exist, is the first step to seeking out a rational explanation. We've all had the dream we missed class. We've all awakened with a start. What was it we were really thinking about? At night we turn things over and over in our minds - searching for something. A

It all becomes clear

Image
I was leaving the focus group this morning, a cool 200.00 in hand for one hour of semi-informed discussion ... when it hit me. Suddenly I knew exactly what to do with my life. A person such as myself makes a certain set of known transitions. First, your career focusses on technical work. You hone your skills on existing systems and structures, and make them work better. Then you're called upon to design large, complicated systems that work well together - you get a piece of the larger picture and you make sure it works with everything else. And then comes the bone chilling reality of finished software product. This is the hardest, and most painful moment for a person in my field. To let the software stand on its own - no consulting, no hourly billing, no requirements, no specifications, no deadlines, no maintenance, no glitches to be resolved. It either runs, or it doesnt. They either like it, or they don't. Trust me, this is the hardest moment for a computer programmer (