So this morning the husband and I went down to central Jersey to my youngest son's school to help celebrate Halloween. We got to his classroom and apparently one of the other parents had bailed so the husband got shanghaied into helping out.
So we ran some science experiments involving pumpkins and other assorted vegetables. The experiment consisted of seeing which ones floated and which ones sank. Oh and we used a penny as well. Essentially we conducted an Archimedes in the bathtub scenario. Water displacement. At the end there were two questions they kids had to answer. It was all I could do not to laugh because the first question was "does size matter? Explain." That and the husband was wearing low riding jeans and I told him after we left the other adults must have thought he was a crack dealer as every time he bent over to take the vegetables out of the tub of water.
Got home, read some of the latest book on The Wheel of Time series (totally psyched it arrived yesterday), took a nap. The husband made dinner and that was the extant of our day off.
Tomorrow I am off to central Jersey again for a bowling birthday party for my youngest son. His birthday is actually Sunday.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
I thought political correctness was dead?
SO the bad chest/head cold I had a few weeks ago pretty much knocked me out of my workout groove. I lost my discipline. This week I started to get it back. A bit of background here; I foolishly and stupidly agreed to do another fucking tri with the husband. The boys have spring break with their mom this coming April. So the husband and I are going to go to Miami and do the South Beach Tri- just the sprint race. So now my workouts will consist of swim on Mondays and Wednesdays, lifting and biking on Tuesdays, lifting on Thursdays, biking on Fridays and the running on Saturdays and Sundays. I will also be attempting to hit the dojo Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights. This may kill me.
I have tomorrow off. I am going down to central Jersey to attend my youngest son's 4th grade Halloween party, um let me correct that- Pumpkin Day. What the fuck is that all about? Since when did Halloween start getting called Pumpkin Day in public schools? The cool thing is the husband is taking the day off as well and going down with me. He is concerned the ex might be there also but I am fairly certain she will be at the barn riding her horse and is attending the parade of costumes in the afternoon instead. The husband and the ex have issues between them that are not worth getting into her, suffice to say he does not have any desire to see her. That means we need to be on the road by 7:15 AM to get there in time. It should be fun.
Last night I had dinner with my bond friend. He finally freaking got divorced after years of going through that horror show. He thanked for being there through the entire time and I told him there was no need for it as he had been there for me as well. I told him he now has to start getting laid and that paying for a high class call girl counts and he makes enough he can afford it. We then got talking about the economy and market and he admitted he thinks I may be right that we are entering a Japanese like lost decade which seriously depresses him.
I noticed VZ finally wised up and has not combined their FiOS, internet, land line and cell phone service together. Granted it is their basic cell plan- only 450 minutes- but it is pretty damn smart. They may actually start taking subscribers from cable companies now without having to shell out $150 per sub.
Funny how yesterday- on the anniversary of the Volstead Act- the California Assembly has decided to consider and discuss the possibility of legalizing marijuana and taxing the shit out of it like they do alcohol.
I really have issues with Barney Frank and his complete lack of memory and two faced actions regarding the causes of the housing implosion. Four years ago he is touting how it is the government's job to help low income people achieve home ownership. We know how that ended. Today he was applauding he establishment of a trust fund to help low income people afford renting homes since not all people can afford nor should they buy a house. Of course said fund has to to be given any money by the government...
Turbo Tax Timmy got raked over the coals today by House members. I loved it. Seriously- how the fuck is he still the Treasury Secretary when it was he who signed off on paying off AIG's CDS counter parties one hundred cents on the dollar? And he has the balls to assign blame to his predecessor.
Tonight I had dinner with the boss and the head of another desk who I have known for fifteen years and is a great guy and friend of mine. We just exchanged notes on trends int he business and whatnot.
When I got home I had a text from the boss. He and his wife have a costume party to go to tomorrow. The theme is musical performers. He texts me saying costumes done, wife is Joan Jett, he is Snoop Dog. I asked him how he intends to pull of Snoop Dog as he ia mick like me.
I have tomorrow off. I am going down to central Jersey to attend my youngest son's 4th grade Halloween party, um let me correct that- Pumpkin Day. What the fuck is that all about? Since when did Halloween start getting called Pumpkin Day in public schools? The cool thing is the husband is taking the day off as well and going down with me. He is concerned the ex might be there also but I am fairly certain she will be at the barn riding her horse and is attending the parade of costumes in the afternoon instead. The husband and the ex have issues between them that are not worth getting into her, suffice to say he does not have any desire to see her. That means we need to be on the road by 7:15 AM to get there in time. It should be fun.
Last night I had dinner with my bond friend. He finally freaking got divorced after years of going through that horror show. He thanked for being there through the entire time and I told him there was no need for it as he had been there for me as well. I told him he now has to start getting laid and that paying for a high class call girl counts and he makes enough he can afford it. We then got talking about the economy and market and he admitted he thinks I may be right that we are entering a Japanese like lost decade which seriously depresses him.
I noticed VZ finally wised up and has not combined their FiOS, internet, land line and cell phone service together. Granted it is their basic cell plan- only 450 minutes- but it is pretty damn smart. They may actually start taking subscribers from cable companies now without having to shell out $150 per sub.
Funny how yesterday- on the anniversary of the Volstead Act- the California Assembly has decided to consider and discuss the possibility of legalizing marijuana and taxing the shit out of it like they do alcohol.
I really have issues with Barney Frank and his complete lack of memory and two faced actions regarding the causes of the housing implosion. Four years ago he is touting how it is the government's job to help low income people achieve home ownership. We know how that ended. Today he was applauding he establishment of a trust fund to help low income people afford renting homes since not all people can afford nor should they buy a house. Of course said fund has to to be given any money by the government...
Turbo Tax Timmy got raked over the coals today by House members. I loved it. Seriously- how the fuck is he still the Treasury Secretary when it was he who signed off on paying off AIG's CDS counter parties one hundred cents on the dollar? And he has the balls to assign blame to his predecessor.
Tonight I had dinner with the boss and the head of another desk who I have known for fifteen years and is a great guy and friend of mine. We just exchanged notes on trends int he business and whatnot.
When I got home I had a text from the boss. He and his wife have a costume party to go to tomorrow. The theme is musical performers. He texts me saying costumes done, wife is Joan Jett, he is Snoop Dog. I asked him how he intends to pull of Snoop Dog as he ia mick like me.
Monday, October 26, 2009
VCA Antech
So yesterday afternoon I dropped the boys off at their mom's house and drove back- as opposed to walking or running I guess. I had on my SIRI and I heard an ad fr one of their stations and they mentioned someone who is supposedly an psychic intuitive. What the fuck is a psychic intuitive? I mean is that basically admitting you are a fake and just make really good guesses based on reading a person's mannerisms and body language?
Last night we had JD and JW over for dinner. They had not seen our new home and we always enjoy spending time with them. We ordered in Chinese food and had a very nice evening topped off with left over pumpkin pie (and the awesome creamy, artificial goodness of Cool Whip).
So apparently over the weekend there was a decathlon of sorts held to determine the best athlete on Wall Street. I saw the article on BBRG on Friday and sent it to the boss and asked how we missed getting the nod? Anyhow, so this morning BBRG had the winner on and all I could say was VCA Antech!!! (That is a geeky Wall Street type joke, go look up the ticker for the company.) One Kyle Peterson one it. So of course I checked him out on BBRG- not quite google staling but close enough. Honestly he had a very inspiring back story and that helped his hotness even more.
I read a great article from Scientific American about how the problem with economics and economists not predicting the current crisis is that economics don't adhere to the laws of physics. The best line was "Neoclassical economics is inconsistent with the laws of thermodynamics." It was totally the kind of work I was taught to do at college. I forwarded it to JW as he is actually in grad school for economics (which I tried to warn him away from doing) and he and I agreed the problem with most economists is they really think they are scientists. They are not. They all seem to forget economics is a social science and they have completely turned their back on the social aspect. JW's comment is they based all of their scientific processes on 19th century physics and science and the whole notion of equilibria, etc. Well hello you guys- the 20th century saw a completely new paradigm for science. These guys never updated their scientific basis. So not only did they fail on the social aspect, they failed on the science aspect too.
Today's action speaks volumes of how fragile this 65% run the equity market had really is. I am also willing to bet that with Capmark filing for bankruptcy protection and the mainstream press starting to focus on Stuyvesant Town's owners about to default that everyone will now start getting worried about the CRE bomb that is about to explode on the bank balance sheets. I also find it telling that you are starting to see the feds lay the ground work for seizing failed financial institutes. Something tells me they are getting ready for a worst case scenario.
We got a new floor lamp. It is pretty cool and the husband mentioned to my youngest he likes it because it looks like a giant snake that has eaten someone and the body is still in it. We are almost done with furnishing the new place. We are getting delivery of a new sideboard this Friday- and lamps for it. After that all we have left are some shades for the master bedroom but that is going to have to wait until the spring.
It will be a busy week.
Last night we had JD and JW over for dinner. They had not seen our new home and we always enjoy spending time with them. We ordered in Chinese food and had a very nice evening topped off with left over pumpkin pie (and the awesome creamy, artificial goodness of Cool Whip).
So apparently over the weekend there was a decathlon of sorts held to determine the best athlete on Wall Street. I saw the article on BBRG on Friday and sent it to the boss and asked how we missed getting the nod? Anyhow, so this morning BBRG had the winner on and all I could say was VCA Antech!!! (That is a geeky Wall Street type joke, go look up the ticker for the company.) One Kyle Peterson one it. So of course I checked him out on BBRG- not quite google staling but close enough. Honestly he had a very inspiring back story and that helped his hotness even more.
I read a great article from Scientific American about how the problem with economics and economists not predicting the current crisis is that economics don't adhere to the laws of physics. The best line was "Neoclassical economics is inconsistent with the laws of thermodynamics." It was totally the kind of work I was taught to do at college. I forwarded it to JW as he is actually in grad school for economics (which I tried to warn him away from doing) and he and I agreed the problem with most economists is they really think they are scientists. They are not. They all seem to forget economics is a social science and they have completely turned their back on the social aspect. JW's comment is they based all of their scientific processes on 19th century physics and science and the whole notion of equilibria, etc. Well hello you guys- the 20th century saw a completely new paradigm for science. These guys never updated their scientific basis. So not only did they fail on the social aspect, they failed on the science aspect too.
Today's action speaks volumes of how fragile this 65% run the equity market had really is. I am also willing to bet that with Capmark filing for bankruptcy protection and the mainstream press starting to focus on Stuyvesant Town's owners about to default that everyone will now start getting worried about the CRE bomb that is about to explode on the bank balance sheets. I also find it telling that you are starting to see the feds lay the ground work for seizing failed financial institutes. Something tells me they are getting ready for a worst case scenario.
We got a new floor lamp. It is pretty cool and the husband mentioned to my youngest he likes it because it looks like a giant snake that has eaten someone and the body is still in it. We are almost done with furnishing the new place. We are getting delivery of a new sideboard this Friday- and lamps for it. After that all we have left are some shades for the master bedroom but that is going to have to wait until the spring.
It will be a busy week.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Beware the sleestak
Thursday I actually wore a suit and tie to work, mainly because I was too lazy to figure out an actual outfit and I also had a business dinner. So before dinner the boss,I and one of our favorite portfolio managers (who is also a great guy and friend) went to an Italian restaurant that had outdoor dining. Thursday was such an awesome day weather wise we decided to sit outside, have some wine and antipasto. I then went to dinner and after met the husband and DR for drinks at the Strip House. The best part of that was our former hot neighbor was there and remembered us.
You have to love that Mexicans love their tequila so much that two of them discovered you can use it to create synthetic diamonds. Apparently it can be used in PLI-CVD to form them. The only better thing would be if the Irish found a way to do it with Guinness or whiskey...
Friday was looking like crappy weather so I figured my oldest son's last fall baseball game would get canceled. It did. So I picked them up and we stopped at TGT to pick up a movie to watch. We decided on Land Of The Lost. I remember watching the t.v show as a kid and I loved it. The movie was pretty damn funny. I laughed a lot and there were some really good scenes.
Today I got up and made my first pumpkin pie of the season- from scratch. I kind of screwed up though and used whole wheat flour for the crust. I told the husband it was more authentic that way because the Pilgrims did not have bleached white flour.
MP and her bf canceled on us to a miscommunication between themselves about their schedule. No big deal. I went ahead and made the lamb stew I had planned anyway. The funny thing is my oldest does not like lamb. My youngest went with me to do the grocery shopping and knew I bought lamb. I had to make him pinky swear not to tell his older brother. The lamb stew was a big hit and half way through dinner my oldest asked what kind of meat it was. I couldn't lie to him and told him it was lamb. He finished it anyways which surprised me.
This afternoon we went and saw The Vampire's Assistant. It was a pretty good flick. The boys liked it and so did I and the husband but the husband thought it was edited poorly. The good thing is we found out it is based on a book series. So now I have some gifts for my youngest for Christmas.
My oldest was supposed to have a make up game tomorrow afternoon but thanks to the massive amount of rain that hit the east coast today that game got canceled as well. So it looks like tomorrow we will have a nice lazy day.
You have to love that Mexicans love their tequila so much that two of them discovered you can use it to create synthetic diamonds. Apparently it can be used in PLI-CVD to form them. The only better thing would be if the Irish found a way to do it with Guinness or whiskey...
Friday was looking like crappy weather so I figured my oldest son's last fall baseball game would get canceled. It did. So I picked them up and we stopped at TGT to pick up a movie to watch. We decided on Land Of The Lost. I remember watching the t.v show as a kid and I loved it. The movie was pretty damn funny. I laughed a lot and there were some really good scenes.
Today I got up and made my first pumpkin pie of the season- from scratch. I kind of screwed up though and used whole wheat flour for the crust. I told the husband it was more authentic that way because the Pilgrims did not have bleached white flour.
MP and her bf canceled on us to a miscommunication between themselves about their schedule. No big deal. I went ahead and made the lamb stew I had planned anyway. The funny thing is my oldest does not like lamb. My youngest went with me to do the grocery shopping and knew I bought lamb. I had to make him pinky swear not to tell his older brother. The lamb stew was a big hit and half way through dinner my oldest asked what kind of meat it was. I couldn't lie to him and told him it was lamb. He finished it anyways which surprised me.
This afternoon we went and saw The Vampire's Assistant. It was a pretty good flick. The boys liked it and so did I and the husband but the husband thought it was edited poorly. The good thing is we found out it is based on a book series. So now I have some gifts for my youngest for Christmas.
My oldest was supposed to have a make up game tomorrow afternoon but thanks to the massive amount of rain that hit the east coast today that game got canceled as well. So it looks like tomorrow we will have a nice lazy day.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Pre-emption
There are times I hate how efficient our Nazi maid is at her job. I had notes from yesterday and did not get to write so left them on the counter. Of course she threw them out.
Hedge funds. I worked at one for five years. You are always trying to find that bit of information can give you an edge over everyone else. Hedge funds do talk with each other and exchange information. Material, non-public information is not easy to come by and if you do get it but don't trade with the intent of making money you are in the clear.The problem is what exactly qualifies as material, non-public information. I am saying that every hedge fund at one point or another comes close to that line and often crosses it. Catching and proving intent are difficult because hedge funds have such high turnover (trade a lot in the same names very frequently) that it can be attributed to that turnover. What can be the silver bullet though is if someone is paid money in exchange for information that may be material and non-public. Hell, even now I am trying to find information others don't have so I can have an edge.
So currently the Federal government has oversight of banks in all situations if and when need be, it is called pre-emption. Each state also has their own regulatory body for banks within their jurisdictions. The current debate is when there is a financial reform bill passed who gets final say. States say they should have it as they did not sleep on the job like the Feds did. I can't disagree with them on that point. However, unintended consequences could be the big banks leave states that more onerous regulations than others. Then what? How do you get credit flowing when certain states don't have the banks that can lend. Do we want banks having to have 50 different regulators?
The next thing this leads me to is the whole TBTF (Too Big To Fail) issue and its corollary about banking capacity in the United States. Quite honestly this country probably still has way too many banks. So getting rid of some of the banking capacity is not a bad thing. But that could lead to a smaller number of larger banks. We then run into the issue of TBTF. Which leads me to think heavier regulation would be needed if we cut banking capacity.
So this weekend we have the boys again- just part of the horse trading that goes on between the ex and me. It is also the last weekend of fall baseball- thank God. I think Saturday in the afternoon we are going to go see Cirque de Freak: The Vampire's Assistant. We are also having MP and her bf over for dinner so I will have to make dessert in the morning.
I keep seeing ambulance chasing lawyer ads advertising a phone line called 1-800-BAD-DRUG. I am thinking of calling to see if there are any drugs I have used recently that can get me lots of money from a lawsuit. Speaking of lawsuits, I can't believe people are suing MCD for knowingly selling cancer causing chicken. Apparently when you grill chicken a naturally occurring chemical gets changed into PHiP. Well then why the hell does anyone eat grilled chicken let alone order it?
Hedge funds. I worked at one for five years. You are always trying to find that bit of information can give you an edge over everyone else. Hedge funds do talk with each other and exchange information. Material, non-public information is not easy to come by and if you do get it but don't trade with the intent of making money you are in the clear.The problem is what exactly qualifies as material, non-public information. I am saying that every hedge fund at one point or another comes close to that line and often crosses it. Catching and proving intent are difficult because hedge funds have such high turnover (trade a lot in the same names very frequently) that it can be attributed to that turnover. What can be the silver bullet though is if someone is paid money in exchange for information that may be material and non-public. Hell, even now I am trying to find information others don't have so I can have an edge.
So currently the Federal government has oversight of banks in all situations if and when need be, it is called pre-emption. Each state also has their own regulatory body for banks within their jurisdictions. The current debate is when there is a financial reform bill passed who gets final say. States say they should have it as they did not sleep on the job like the Feds did. I can't disagree with them on that point. However, unintended consequences could be the big banks leave states that more onerous regulations than others. Then what? How do you get credit flowing when certain states don't have the banks that can lend. Do we want banks having to have 50 different regulators?
The next thing this leads me to is the whole TBTF (Too Big To Fail) issue and its corollary about banking capacity in the United States. Quite honestly this country probably still has way too many banks. So getting rid of some of the banking capacity is not a bad thing. But that could lead to a smaller number of larger banks. We then run into the issue of TBTF. Which leads me to think heavier regulation would be needed if we cut banking capacity.
So this weekend we have the boys again- just part of the horse trading that goes on between the ex and me. It is also the last weekend of fall baseball- thank God. I think Saturday in the afternoon we are going to go see Cirque de Freak: The Vampire's Assistant. We are also having MP and her bf over for dinner so I will have to make dessert in the morning.
I keep seeing ambulance chasing lawyer ads advertising a phone line called 1-800-BAD-DRUG. I am thinking of calling to see if there are any drugs I have used recently that can get me lots of money from a lawsuit. Speaking of lawsuits, I can't believe people are suing MCD for knowingly selling cancer causing chicken. Apparently when you grill chicken a naturally occurring chemical gets changed into PHiP. Well then why the hell does anyone eat grilled chicken let alone order it?
Monday, October 19, 2009
Recompense without injury
So I finished my latest book on the PATH ride in to work this morning, The Magicians. I really enjoyed it because I am a huge fantasy/sci-fi geek and it had a lot of references to The Chronicles of Narnia and some classic D&D references as well.
So this morning before I got into the shower I was of course reading emails, checking out the top stories on BBRG, etc. I was thrown a bit when I read about the terrorist attacks in Iran by some Sunni group. I immediately thought about the story I read on zerohedge about the unusual options activity in crude. Something is going on but I don't really know what as of yet.
The other thing that caught me by surprise was the CME now accepting gold as collateral for trades. That made me immediately realize all the protesting of the USD not being replaced as the reserve currency any time soon is wrong. It is going to happen a lot sooner than we all believe.
Last night after I got home from dropping the boys off at their mom's house the husband and I caught up on our dvr shows. Supernatural was good. We then went to watch Fringe when we found out we screwed up somehow (not we really- the husband) and canceled the recording. No big deal, missing one episode won't matter and I am sure we'll be able to catch it in reruns.
I am not a Fox News fan but I have to say I think the President and his Administration are making a big mistake of overtly singling them out and casting aspersions about it not being a news channel. Yes Fox has an agenda but so does every other news organization. MSNBC could be viewed by many as the policy arm of the DNC. So calling Fox the policy arm of the RNC is really like throwing stones in a glass house. By publicly ostracizing Fox it will just draw even more viewers to them in the middle of the country. To also say Fox is only in the business of selling advertising- well DUH. Does anyone really think MSNBC or the NY Times is not trying to sell advertising? All large media corporations are trying to sell ads. The holier than thou attitude is not going to play well with a lot of people who don't live on either coast. It makes me realize even more that The X-Files was right- the truth is out there. You just need to actually seek it out instead of waiting for it to be fed to you by some large corporation with an agenda.
What the fuck is wrong with Massachusetts? Today a judge in Mass said that cancer free smokers can sue tobacco companies. That is where the title today comes from. When did it get tot he point in this country that cancer free smokers can sue the companies that make cigarettes. I would like to sue the cell phone makers because I am sure 50 years from now I may get brain cancer and it will be their fault. So let me get this straight- you are cancer free, a long time smoker and worried that the warnings on your Marlboros may be right that smoking can cause lung cancer? So instead of quitting smoking, you are just going to sue pre-emptively? And this is allowed why?
So this morning before I got into the shower I was of course reading emails, checking out the top stories on BBRG, etc. I was thrown a bit when I read about the terrorist attacks in Iran by some Sunni group. I immediately thought about the story I read on zerohedge about the unusual options activity in crude. Something is going on but I don't really know what as of yet.
The other thing that caught me by surprise was the CME now accepting gold as collateral for trades. That made me immediately realize all the protesting of the USD not being replaced as the reserve currency any time soon is wrong. It is going to happen a lot sooner than we all believe.
Last night after I got home from dropping the boys off at their mom's house the husband and I caught up on our dvr shows. Supernatural was good. We then went to watch Fringe when we found out we screwed up somehow (not we really- the husband) and canceled the recording. No big deal, missing one episode won't matter and I am sure we'll be able to catch it in reruns.
I am not a Fox News fan but I have to say I think the President and his Administration are making a big mistake of overtly singling them out and casting aspersions about it not being a news channel. Yes Fox has an agenda but so does every other news organization. MSNBC could be viewed by many as the policy arm of the DNC. So calling Fox the policy arm of the RNC is really like throwing stones in a glass house. By publicly ostracizing Fox it will just draw even more viewers to them in the middle of the country. To also say Fox is only in the business of selling advertising- well DUH. Does anyone really think MSNBC or the NY Times is not trying to sell advertising? All large media corporations are trying to sell ads. The holier than thou attitude is not going to play well with a lot of people who don't live on either coast. It makes me realize even more that The X-Files was right- the truth is out there. You just need to actually seek it out instead of waiting for it to be fed to you by some large corporation with an agenda.
What the fuck is wrong with Massachusetts? Today a judge in Mass said that cancer free smokers can sue tobacco companies. That is where the title today comes from. When did it get tot he point in this country that cancer free smokers can sue the companies that make cigarettes. I would like to sue the cell phone makers because I am sure 50 years from now I may get brain cancer and it will be their fault. So let me get this straight- you are cancer free, a long time smoker and worried that the warnings on your Marlboros may be right that smoking can cause lung cancer? So instead of quitting smoking, you are just going to sue pre-emptively? And this is allowed why?
Sunday, October 18, 2009
That is the definition of irony
Thursday night's concert was awesome. I had never been to Webster Hall before Thursday night. It's was a great space for the concert.
The PM I work with and I stopped by his apartment and had a drink before we met the rest of the crew at a restaurant. His dog loved me and of course tried to hump my leg.
One of his friend's who joined us is ostensibly straight. He is married- not that that means anything- but I don't know of any straight guy, married or single, who gets his eyebrows done. I asked the woman who works with us what she thought and her comment was there is definitely a vibe about him and she could not figure it out until I pointed out he gets his eyebrows done.
Airborne Toxic Event was an amazing live show. The band is from Los Angeles and they rock. I would definitely see them again if they are back in town any time.
Friday brought the dreaded nor'easter. I have to say I was sorely disappointed. I remember the Storm of The Century- that was the 1993 nor'easter. I was living in a basement apartment in Hoboken that when I got home I found flooded because it had rained so much.
The good thing is my oldest son's fall baseball games for the weekend got canceled. I picked the boys up Friday night and we got home at a reasonable hour. I still let them stay up kind of late.
Saturday was just cold and not all that nice so I and the husband decided to make sauce and meatballs for dinner. It simmered all day and around 5 when I realized how much food we had we decided to invite PS and SP (our friends who live across the street and told us about our new building) for dinner. They showed up at 7 PM. We sat down to candle light rigatoni and meatballs with garlic bread. PS told us it was very nice of us to remember Diwali (she and SP are Indian).
Last night the four of us stayed up to watch Trick 'R Treat- the second time for us and the first time for the boys. I was a bit concerned that the usual would happen- around 3 AM in the morning I would be woken up by my oldest because he couldn't sleep and didn't know why (i.e had a nightmare). On cue there he was- but it was my youngest this time! He was in tears so I took him back to bed and he asked me to sleep with him. I laid down holding my little guy. I told him nothing would happen to him in my house and he had nothing to be scared of. He and I fell asleep and I woke up about a hour later and went back to bed. On the way home I explained to my oldest that was an example of irony.
The cool thing today was seeing whitecaps on the Hudson River.
The PM I work with and I stopped by his apartment and had a drink before we met the rest of the crew at a restaurant. His dog loved me and of course tried to hump my leg.
One of his friend's who joined us is ostensibly straight. He is married- not that that means anything- but I don't know of any straight guy, married or single, who gets his eyebrows done. I asked the woman who works with us what she thought and her comment was there is definitely a vibe about him and she could not figure it out until I pointed out he gets his eyebrows done.
Airborne Toxic Event was an amazing live show. The band is from Los Angeles and they rock. I would definitely see them again if they are back in town any time.
Friday brought the dreaded nor'easter. I have to say I was sorely disappointed. I remember the Storm of The Century- that was the 1993 nor'easter. I was living in a basement apartment in Hoboken that when I got home I found flooded because it had rained so much.
The good thing is my oldest son's fall baseball games for the weekend got canceled. I picked the boys up Friday night and we got home at a reasonable hour. I still let them stay up kind of late.
Saturday was just cold and not all that nice so I and the husband decided to make sauce and meatballs for dinner. It simmered all day and around 5 when I realized how much food we had we decided to invite PS and SP (our friends who live across the street and told us about our new building) for dinner. They showed up at 7 PM. We sat down to candle light rigatoni and meatballs with garlic bread. PS told us it was very nice of us to remember Diwali (she and SP are Indian).
Last night the four of us stayed up to watch Trick 'R Treat- the second time for us and the first time for the boys. I was a bit concerned that the usual would happen- around 3 AM in the morning I would be woken up by my oldest because he couldn't sleep and didn't know why (i.e had a nightmare). On cue there he was- but it was my youngest this time! He was in tears so I took him back to bed and he asked me to sleep with him. I laid down holding my little guy. I told him nothing would happen to him in my house and he had nothing to be scared of. He and I fell asleep and I woke up about a hour later and went back to bed. On the way home I explained to my oldest that was an example of irony.
The cool thing today was seeing whitecaps on the Hudson River.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Awesome
So I caught up with Supernatural. It was great because Paris Hilton was in it as the villain. She was great and used all her known lines.
Sunday we finished moving the art and cleaning the place up. There is nothing like the imminent arrival of company to make you finish unpacking. Mr. Clifford and Mr. Barrett arrived around 6 PM on Sunday. We ordered in pizza and actually used the dining room table for the first time in the new home. We have no lighting in the dining room though so it was pizza by candle light with a lot of wine. Then it was time to watch a movie. We watched Trick 'R Treat which was excellent. I highly recommend it especially during the 31 Days of Halloween.
Monday night the husband had a business dinner. The rest of us went to Gym Bar and had drinks pre-concert where we met up with PF and DR. It was good to see them as we had not seen them since the weekend out at the beach. We then cabbed it up to the Hammerstein for the Kylie concert.
We met up with the husband and took in the show. I am not really a fan of Kylie. I have to say though she puts on a great show and can actually sing. It was an excellent concert and very entertaining. I have to say I was impressed and I commented to PF (who is a HUGE Madonna fan) that I thought Kylie put on a hell of a better show than that old hag Madonna.
So now I have seen Kylie, Madonna and Bette Midler. If I can see Beyonce, Brittney and Cher (assuming she doesn't retire yet again) before I die then I will be totally gay.
The husband is now sick with the virus/cold I had.
I am starting back at the gym tomorrow morning.
I don't have anything to say about the tape mostly due to the fact I have been so dead wrong since the bottom. I will say though that any bank who has a cost of zero for capital that cannot make money is run by morons. Once all the government support is removed I wonder what will happen to all these companies.
Tomorrow night I am going to another concert. I am going to see Airborne Toxic Event. One of the PMs I am friends with likes the band as well and found out about the concert. He, I and several others are going, I believe they are playing at The Bowery.
Sunday we finished moving the art and cleaning the place up. There is nothing like the imminent arrival of company to make you finish unpacking. Mr. Clifford and Mr. Barrett arrived around 6 PM on Sunday. We ordered in pizza and actually used the dining room table for the first time in the new home. We have no lighting in the dining room though so it was pizza by candle light with a lot of wine. Then it was time to watch a movie. We watched Trick 'R Treat which was excellent. I highly recommend it especially during the 31 Days of Halloween.
Monday night the husband had a business dinner. The rest of us went to Gym Bar and had drinks pre-concert where we met up with PF and DR. It was good to see them as we had not seen them since the weekend out at the beach. We then cabbed it up to the Hammerstein for the Kylie concert.
We met up with the husband and took in the show. I am not really a fan of Kylie. I have to say though she puts on a great show and can actually sing. It was an excellent concert and very entertaining. I have to say I was impressed and I commented to PF (who is a HUGE Madonna fan) that I thought Kylie put on a hell of a better show than that old hag Madonna.
So now I have seen Kylie, Madonna and Bette Midler. If I can see Beyonce, Brittney and Cher (assuming she doesn't retire yet again) before I die then I will be totally gay.
The husband is now sick with the virus/cold I had.
I am starting back at the gym tomorrow morning.
I don't have anything to say about the tape mostly due to the fact I have been so dead wrong since the bottom. I will say though that any bank who has a cost of zero for capital that cannot make money is run by morons. Once all the government support is removed I wonder what will happen to all these companies.
Tomorrow night I am going to another concert. I am going to see Airborne Toxic Event. One of the PMs I am friends with likes the band as well and found out about the concert. He, I and several others are going, I believe they are playing at The Bowery.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Chinatown
Mucinex rocks! I used that Thursday and it totally helped with the sore throat and hacking cough. I also kept gargling with warm salt water and used the netti pot again before I went to bed.
Last night we went down to the farm to celebrate ST's birthday. I had baked, frosted and decorated a birthday cake for the dinner Thursday night before I went to bed. The husband and I also moved some artwork that we don't have wall space for down to the farm.
We got there at 8 and moved the art work into the storage area of ST and PJ's gallery. We then had drinks and ate an amazing dinner. Dessert was a hit. The husband and I spent the night at the farm. This morning we got back up and brought back two pieces of art that will fit on the walls of our new home. We dropped them off, walked the kids, showered up and then went into the city to meet the sister-in-law and some of her friends from college. The girls wanted to see Chinatown so we met them there, had a really good lunch at Joe's Shanghai and then walked around Chinatown. The girls wanted to find knock off bags. We were walking along when an older Chinese man walked up to us asked if we were interested in purses and handbags. The girls said yes so he motioned for us to follow him. He led us through the crowds and to a seemingly closed store, unlocked the door and ushered us in. It felt like we were part of some vast, international crime conspiracy. Tons of fake Gucci, Prada, Coach and every other label you could think of sitting on the walls. The girls actually bought wallets. I told the kind Chinese gentleman I had enough hand bags so was good. I did tell the husband though that we should come back and get something for my mom for Christmas at one of these scurrilous places as she would love it and the whole story of how we got it.
Tonight we have no plans other than hanging the rest of the art and catching up on Supernatural, Fringe and Fast Forward on the dvr.
Tomorrow is going to be a bit busy. We are actually taking the rest of the art work we don't have room for back down to the farm. Then we have to get back here and make sure the place is clean as we have guests arriving in the late afternoon/early evening. Mr. Barrett and Mr. Clifford are coming up form D.C. Monday night we are all going to the Kylie Minogue concert (along with PF and DR). I really only know her from her cover of Do The Locomotion back when I was in high school. Mr. Barrett tells me she is much more than that and much more fabulous. I'll have a better sense after the show if I agree. I am doing pretty well when it comes to the gays' icons; I've seen Bette Midler and Madonna (Bette was great Madonna SUCKED). I ideally hope to see Cher before she retires yet again. That will leave Brittney and Beyonce.
I was a bit shocked that President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. It would seem I was not the only one as the President himself seemed stunned. I would have to say plain and simple this was one last kick in the ass for the previous Administration as opposed to anything President Obama has done. Speaking of what he has done I was laughing at the fact that one news services took it upon themselves to actually fact check the SNL skit that lampooned the President. It is a bit scary that some media people think that comedy poking fun at the President deserves fact checking. Seems almost cult of personality like.
Golf is now an Olympic sport? Seriously? What the fuck is the IOC thinking? I think rugby is a great pick to add. Golf though? I believe I heard that Rio does not even have a golf course long enough for professional play.
Last night we went down to the farm to celebrate ST's birthday. I had baked, frosted and decorated a birthday cake for the dinner Thursday night before I went to bed. The husband and I also moved some artwork that we don't have wall space for down to the farm.
We got there at 8 and moved the art work into the storage area of ST and PJ's gallery. We then had drinks and ate an amazing dinner. Dessert was a hit. The husband and I spent the night at the farm. This morning we got back up and brought back two pieces of art that will fit on the walls of our new home. We dropped them off, walked the kids, showered up and then went into the city to meet the sister-in-law and some of her friends from college. The girls wanted to see Chinatown so we met them there, had a really good lunch at Joe's Shanghai and then walked around Chinatown. The girls wanted to find knock off bags. We were walking along when an older Chinese man walked up to us asked if we were interested in purses and handbags. The girls said yes so he motioned for us to follow him. He led us through the crowds and to a seemingly closed store, unlocked the door and ushered us in. It felt like we were part of some vast, international crime conspiracy. Tons of fake Gucci, Prada, Coach and every other label you could think of sitting on the walls. The girls actually bought wallets. I told the kind Chinese gentleman I had enough hand bags so was good. I did tell the husband though that we should come back and get something for my mom for Christmas at one of these scurrilous places as she would love it and the whole story of how we got it.
Tonight we have no plans other than hanging the rest of the art and catching up on Supernatural, Fringe and Fast Forward on the dvr.
Tomorrow is going to be a bit busy. We are actually taking the rest of the art work we don't have room for back down to the farm. Then we have to get back here and make sure the place is clean as we have guests arriving in the late afternoon/early evening. Mr. Barrett and Mr. Clifford are coming up form D.C. Monday night we are all going to the Kylie Minogue concert (along with PF and DR). I really only know her from her cover of Do The Locomotion back when I was in high school. Mr. Barrett tells me she is much more than that and much more fabulous. I'll have a better sense after the show if I agree. I am doing pretty well when it comes to the gays' icons; I've seen Bette Midler and Madonna (Bette was great Madonna SUCKED). I ideally hope to see Cher before she retires yet again. That will leave Brittney and Beyonce.
I was a bit shocked that President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. It would seem I was not the only one as the President himself seemed stunned. I would have to say plain and simple this was one last kick in the ass for the previous Administration as opposed to anything President Obama has done. Speaking of what he has done I was laughing at the fact that one news services took it upon themselves to actually fact check the SNL skit that lampooned the President. It is a bit scary that some media people think that comedy poking fun at the President deserves fact checking. Seems almost cult of personality like.
Golf is now an Olympic sport? Seriously? What the fuck is the IOC thinking? I think rugby is a great pick to add. Golf though? I believe I heard that Rio does not even have a golf course long enough for professional play.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Catching up on a sick day
Last week was pretty damn busy and I did not have much time to post, so I am going to try and catch up with all my notes.
Mr. Clifford again is right. He made the comment years ago that it seems all construction guys are either fat and ugly or smokin' hot. I was walking back from picking up lunch I passed a construction site and there was this hot young guy- just my type, dark eyed and dark haired. He definitely checked me out too.
BBRG was running a story all day about UFC. Apparently they are coming out with action figures- since they are for guys they can't be called dolls. I want the Ryan Jensen action figure- ideally life sized.
I am kind of annoyed the government will no longer issue revisions and final figures for GDP. That is such a disingenuous way to manipulate the economy.
Apparently one of my favorite movies- Kickin' It Old Skool- made it on to the Rotten Tomatoes top 100 worst movies for the past decade. I think it is totally unjustified. I also went through the list and noticed a lot of movies I, the husband and the boys have watched and enjoyed made the list.
I am impressed with the tax code reform California has on the table. The only thing I can say is I hope it passes as is and that the rest of the States will follow. Although Maine is already ahead of everyone on tax code reform.
I have heard the song Fireflies a lot on AltNation lately. It's by Owl City. It's a catchy little tune but after the second time I am over it and am thinking it will go the way of John Mayer- actually more hoping.
Friday night the husband and I went and saw Zombieland. It was awesome. Let's pretend the husband and I are Men on Film (I am not the one wearing the little top hat, that would be the husband), we would give it the secret Zorro snap. There was a great extended cameo by one of my favorite comedians but that is all I can say.
Saturday I drove down to central Jersey to pick up the boys and take my oldest to his fall baseball game. They won and he did well. He got beaned his first pitch and took it like a man- I was very proud of him.
We then drove up to the in-laws house. We spent the rest of the day there and stayed over. The husband and I were going out to the beach house to close it down and move all of our stuff back over into his mom's crawl space. We did not re-sign the lease because the realtor and owner felt no increase was fair. We told them no we are thinking a 15% discount as the place is kind of falling apart. They declined, we walked. The coda to this is about two weeks ago the realtor called and asked if we were still interested in the house at our stated price. We said no. So next year we are just going to find a half share. I and the husband are a bit tired of always being the hosts for friends and family and having to run a house. It will be nice to meet new people and not be responsible for the house, gas, maid, pool, etc.
Saturday night my oldest and I stayed up and watched Wrong Turn 2, Dead End. It was sucha a cheesy flick but very gory. Of course I left the bathroom light on when we went to bed and my oldest came into the room around 2:30 AM to say he couldn't sleep.
On the way home I had a tire blow out in Staten Island right as I was exiting for the Outer Bridge Crossing. I called Mr. Buffet's company and they were excellent at getting someone to come repair my flat. I also now know how to get the spare down from under the truck. The guy who fixed everything told me I am about 3/4 done with my current tires and should get new ones. So I am doing that today later this afternoon since I am home sick.
I am in agreement with Paul Krugman that all the people who are busting President Obama's balls for going to Copenhagen to try and get the Olympics. One article I read put it in such a good context: Obama did not really have a normal college experience. So this was a road trip for him. Good for him. I can tell you though from experience that doing a road trip to support your team only to have the team lose makes for a shitty ride home.
A pretty well know hedge fund manager made a great comment about what I do for a living- trading. HE basically said PMs hire traders so they can shift the blame if they are wrong and that is what makes trading such a "treacherous job."
So don't call it stimulus but stimulative. The White House is probably going to do a stimulus 2.0. They are playing semantics though and saying that it is not a new stimulus package but an extension of the current one. They fail to mention that there will be new programs in the "extension" though so that to me makes it a new stimulus bill.
I took the PATH from Hoboken the other morning just because I was up kind of early and thought I might see some good morning eye candy. It was not worth it sadly. Yesterday afternoon I took it home as I was fairly certain- because I was drinking water all day yesterday- I would have to pee once I got off the PATH and Hoboken Station has bathrooms whereas Pavonia does not. I was right.
Have some kind of viral infection after consulting with my brother the doctor. Very sore throat, runny/stuffy nose, no headache. Mucus was clear. When I got home I used the netti pot, gargled with warm salt water, took my temperature (100.1) and went to sleep. The husband got home with chicken noodle soup for me. We had dinner, caught up on Fringe, took Nyquil and went to bed. I got up this morning and still had a slight fever so I called in sick. Have been sleeping all day with the kids on the bed- they are in Heaven. Got up, had the rest of the soup, more grapefruit juice and water and am no caught up on my posts.
Mr. Clifford again is right. He made the comment years ago that it seems all construction guys are either fat and ugly or smokin' hot. I was walking back from picking up lunch I passed a construction site and there was this hot young guy- just my type, dark eyed and dark haired. He definitely checked me out too.
BBRG was running a story all day about UFC. Apparently they are coming out with action figures- since they are for guys they can't be called dolls. I want the Ryan Jensen action figure- ideally life sized.
I am kind of annoyed the government will no longer issue revisions and final figures for GDP. That is such a disingenuous way to manipulate the economy.
Apparently one of my favorite movies- Kickin' It Old Skool- made it on to the Rotten Tomatoes top 100 worst movies for the past decade. I think it is totally unjustified. I also went through the list and noticed a lot of movies I, the husband and the boys have watched and enjoyed made the list.
I am impressed with the tax code reform California has on the table. The only thing I can say is I hope it passes as is and that the rest of the States will follow. Although Maine is already ahead of everyone on tax code reform.
I have heard the song Fireflies a lot on AltNation lately. It's by Owl City. It's a catchy little tune but after the second time I am over it and am thinking it will go the way of John Mayer- actually more hoping.
Friday night the husband and I went and saw Zombieland. It was awesome. Let's pretend the husband and I are Men on Film (I am not the one wearing the little top hat, that would be the husband), we would give it the secret Zorro snap. There was a great extended cameo by one of my favorite comedians but that is all I can say.
Saturday I drove down to central Jersey to pick up the boys and take my oldest to his fall baseball game. They won and he did well. He got beaned his first pitch and took it like a man- I was very proud of him.
We then drove up to the in-laws house. We spent the rest of the day there and stayed over. The husband and I were going out to the beach house to close it down and move all of our stuff back over into his mom's crawl space. We did not re-sign the lease because the realtor and owner felt no increase was fair. We told them no we are thinking a 15% discount as the place is kind of falling apart. They declined, we walked. The coda to this is about two weeks ago the realtor called and asked if we were still interested in the house at our stated price. We said no. So next year we are just going to find a half share. I and the husband are a bit tired of always being the hosts for friends and family and having to run a house. It will be nice to meet new people and not be responsible for the house, gas, maid, pool, etc.
Saturday night my oldest and I stayed up and watched Wrong Turn 2, Dead End. It was sucha a cheesy flick but very gory. Of course I left the bathroom light on when we went to bed and my oldest came into the room around 2:30 AM to say he couldn't sleep.
On the way home I had a tire blow out in Staten Island right as I was exiting for the Outer Bridge Crossing. I called Mr. Buffet's company and they were excellent at getting someone to come repair my flat. I also now know how to get the spare down from under the truck. The guy who fixed everything told me I am about 3/4 done with my current tires and should get new ones. So I am doing that today later this afternoon since I am home sick.
I am in agreement with Paul Krugman that all the people who are busting President Obama's balls for going to Copenhagen to try and get the Olympics. One article I read put it in such a good context: Obama did not really have a normal college experience. So this was a road trip for him. Good for him. I can tell you though from experience that doing a road trip to support your team only to have the team lose makes for a shitty ride home.
A pretty well know hedge fund manager made a great comment about what I do for a living- trading. HE basically said PMs hire traders so they can shift the blame if they are wrong and that is what makes trading such a "treacherous job."
So don't call it stimulus but stimulative. The White House is probably going to do a stimulus 2.0. They are playing semantics though and saying that it is not a new stimulus package but an extension of the current one. They fail to mention that there will be new programs in the "extension" though so that to me makes it a new stimulus bill.
I took the PATH from Hoboken the other morning just because I was up kind of early and thought I might see some good morning eye candy. It was not worth it sadly. Yesterday afternoon I took it home as I was fairly certain- because I was drinking water all day yesterday- I would have to pee once I got off the PATH and Hoboken Station has bathrooms whereas Pavonia does not. I was right.
Have some kind of viral infection after consulting with my brother the doctor. Very sore throat, runny/stuffy nose, no headache. Mucus was clear. When I got home I used the netti pot, gargled with warm salt water, took my temperature (100.1) and went to sleep. The husband got home with chicken noodle soup for me. We had dinner, caught up on Fringe, took Nyquil and went to bed. I got up this morning and still had a slight fever so I called in sick. Have been sleeping all day with the kids on the bed- they are in Heaven. Got up, had the rest of the soup, more grapefruit juice and water and am no caught up on my posts.
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