Saturday, January 1, 2011

1/1/11 Under My Thumb



Under my thumb
The girl who once had me down
Under my thumb
The girl who once pushed me around

Under my thumb
The squirmin' dog who's just had her day
Under my thumb
A girl who has just changed her ways

It's down to me, yes it is
The way she does just what she's told
Down to me, the change has come
She's under my thumb

2011- The year I tamed the market.  Riight.

25 comments:

  1. Good. Looks like no ones here. Like politicians, I'm going to release this when the press is gone.

    Remember ADXM? Well, it's bankrupt as far as I can tell. Finally took the lose @.03. Cost me $10K. Stupid.

    REDF. When David, TOF and I took another shot @ it about a month ago, I didn't sell it. I never said I did, but kinda laid low as it spiraled down hill. At one point I was underwater by about $7K on it. I wasn't really to concerned about it, as the rest of my port was going great. But I should have taken a reasonable loss on it. Then it spiked up hard that day and I took the $1K loss at that point. Seemed like a windfall for me. That was @ about 3.80.

    So, sorry about the lies by omission. You guys are the best and I wasn't straight with you.

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  2. ADXM? Wasn't that the company X+3B loaded up on?

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  3. Yep. I'm guessing he might have lost a couple 100K on that one.

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  4. Trying to figure out something fun to do today with the kids...

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  5. Hit the cineplex earlier in the week. The older kids (and I) enjoyed True Grit + The Fighter. Younger one enjoyed Narnia (last week) + Tangled (this week). When it rains, it's all indoors.

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  6. Yeah, after a couple of weeks with the flu for everyone, I'm not interested in getting them wet and cold. Patricia is checking out the movies you listed. Thanks.

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  7. We saw True Grit Thursday. I enjoyed it. I think Hailee Steinfeld carried the movie. It's really her story. Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon (both do a good job) end up being supporting roles.

    I was struck by how it captured the typical attitude and suspicion of Americans to individuals that are literate and knowledgeable.
    It is more or less used as a humorous tool to speak to people in recent modern (?) history where some seem to want to discredit those who they label "elites".

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  8. "You and Mark actually ended up in the 'ballpark.' I feel kind of bad about the 12%."

    2nd_ave, you achieved that with NO drawdown in your port in 2010, while I had a 10% drawdown in 1H2010. So your Sharpe Ratio is much larger than mine, and any hedge fund would clearly choose your strategy over mine, since with sufficient leverage your strategy can generate much better returns than mine with the same amount of risk.

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  9. Here's to wishing all of you healthy and profitable new year!!!

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  10. "It is more or less used as a humorous tool to speak to people in recent modern (?) history where some seem to want to discredit those who they label "elites". "

    Are you referring to civil servants who look the other way while having their palms greased, or just the general approach inside the capitol beltway?

    I've lived deep in their midst, so I know a bit about what goes on. It's not difficult to understand how many outsiders just can't bring themselves to comprehend the mentality, it's really something you have to experience first hand to fully appreciate and even then it's not an easy task.

    Just don't count it out. ;)

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  11. FF/CP- What in the world are you guys talking about? I haven't seen the movie, but I should be able to follow along.

    I think the last movie I saw in a theater was Silence Of The Lambs.

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  12. Random 2011 predictions as they cross my psychic wire..

    TOF calls off wedding!!!!...After overhearing his bride tell her father at the rehearsal diner, "Yeah, I'm worried about this little trading thing he does also. Don't worry, I'll put a stop to that faster than you can say, 'I have a headache'."

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  13. I'm not necessarily talking politics, although it does sometimes apply.

    I'm talking about the general suspicion of "regular people" to those that are highly educated or recognized experts on various topics.

    A good example was/is the attitude toward science the last decade in the effort to reach certain political conclusions or business goals.
    Name the topic....stem cell research, CO2, "cloning", whatever science 'average people' have trouble understanding. We question science but not politicians, at least in proportion.

    The main character in True Grit is a young girl that is quite smart and people attempt to dismiss her because of her age and they doubt her intelligence and command of certain facts, yet it is her intelligence and literacy (along with her tenacity) that is her greatest strength.
    The same is true for Matt Damon's character, who is a Texas Ranger but who has a vocabulary and command of language that Jeff Bridges character finds annoying.
    More or less the same as we see in our society.
    What do we pay homage to? Athletes or scholars?

    What do we pay teachers and scientists and what do we pay athletes? Athletes get multiple millions to play children's games and we question the paltry sums we pay teachers, while scientists have to appeal for grants and scrap for funds to do their work. Then we criticize and deny the results and listen to corrupt politicians that attack them because the science obstructs the wishes of their corrupt masters of industry.

    Our priorities are screwed up.

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  14. Mark - I haven't seen True Grit in quite some time, John Wayne was one of the greats, IMO.

    Don't remember Jeff Bridges in that one but I know I've been to the theater to view other classics like The Poseidon Adventure as well as Deep Throat...

    Really kinda fuzzy on the rest of it all.

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  15. So CP, to answer your question.
    It's not so much looking the other way, it's more outright attacking and aggression toward certain factual findings that might obstruct the agenda of those who grease political palms.
    It's more overt than passive.

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  16. It's the remake of True Grit with Jeff Bridges playing The Dukes part. A Cohen Bros remake and it's pretty good.

    You guys gotta get out more.....LOL!

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  17. At one time, science was a top priority in public schools but for some reason all that changed.

    Perhaps it would help to backtrack and see where changes began to derail education and I have several avenues for exploration of this particular subject.

    I'm pretty sure religious beliefs fit somewhere in the picture, along with other special interests. It's fascinating to also note the teachers union is the largest, all this in light of the fact that Michelle Rhea failed at implementing her reform ideas throughout the DC public school system.

    I should say, a voucher system not only applicable to the public school system but to many other facts of life, makes sense to me just for the simple fact that I believe US citizens need more opportunity for choice in order to break through the barriers constructed by special interest and lobbyist groups.

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  18. And, here's the latest example... How in our public schools does something like this happen?

    http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/curriculum/the-rich-irony-in-virginias-hi.html

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  19. I went to a Shell gas station today?

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  20. I actually really like movies. I just prefer to buy them. I have a really good system/screen (THX certified) at home, so I doubt I'm missing much of the 'experience'.

    I'm surprised how much I liked "Waterbends". Kinda corny, but it IS cute.

    Penn St's got a chance here in the 4th.

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  21. "You guys gotta get out more"

    Maybe so, my programming is obviously in serious need of update.

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  22. Wow, that was quick. So much for Penn St.

    Education... I'm pretty sure I told you guys about our experience with Kendra. She was in a charter school that focused on the development of the "whole" child. Learn at their own pace type of thing. I don't know. Sure didn't work well with Kendra. She's catching up at her new school, but has a long way to go.

    I'm a pretty simple guy, and perhaps that system would work well for some kids/parents, 2nd comes to mind, but not for us.

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  23. San Francisco wins bid to host 2013 America's Cup newSubmitted by 2nd_ave (5116 comments) on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 16:59 #76954
    http://tinyurl.com/246hedn

    'The city was chosen Friday to host the next America's Cup in 2013, heralding a potential renaissance in competitive sailing and a boon of more than $1 billion to the local economy.

    'The city beat out Newport, R.I., and Italy to host sailing's premier regatta, an international sporting event whose projected economic benefit is eclipsed only by the Olympics and soccer's World Cup.

    'San Francisco had been the early front-runner to host the 34th Cup after billionaire Oracle CEO Larry Ellison's team captured the trophy in February off the coast of Valencia, Spain. The team, Oracle Racing, is sponsored by San Francisco's Golden Gate Yacht Club, and the winning syndicate selects where it will defend the Cup.

    'Part of the attraction for race organizers is San Francisco's unique position to grow the sport of sailing.

    'Rather than holding the races miles offshore, which was the case in Valencia, San Francisco Bay offers a natural amphitheater. Spectators in high-rises, along Crissy Field, on Angel Island and in the Marin Headlands will be able to view the action.'

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  24. 2nd- I can't wait. It will be a blast.

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