I skipped the dojo tonight. I am 41 now and I have finally realized there are times you need to listen to your body. I was sore and tired so decided to blow it off. I took a nap with the kids and when I woke up I straightened up the apartment since our Nazi maid is coming tomorrow and for some reason the husband thinks the place needs to be tidy before she comes- go figure. The husband is at his book club tonight. He will be surprised that I actually tidied up.
I won't be going to the dojo tomorrow either as I have my oldest son's back to school night. Thursday night I have a business dinner. Friday night I believe we are going to go see Zombieland. Saturday we are closing the beach house. But first I have to go to central Jersey for a baseball game. Then we will drive straight to the beach. We have a lot to pack up so we will be spending the night there.
SGU premieres Friday night. We will have to set the dvr to record that.
I am finally getting back into the pool tomorrow. The husband is going to start back at the dojo I believe next week. We are thinking of dong a triathlon somewhere warm come spring. The boys will be with their mom for spring break so we are looking for a sprint.
Quarter end is always fun in the market. I am not looking forward to Q4. The move the FDIC pulled today is just furthering the shell game that is going on in our economy.
I am a bit disheartened with how the mainstream media swept under the rug the police state tactics that went on at the G-20 in Pittsburgh. I saw some YouTube videos of what occurred to college students who were just observing a confrontation between police and demonstrators. The ended up getting surrounded by police and tear gassed in their dorm. Seriously- what the fuck is up with that and how can a free press not report it?
It would appear that health care reform is dead. Nuff said.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Hmmm- the slap chop
I have had this debate with the husband in the past. Thumb rings. On men. He says no it does not automatically mean they are fellow church goers. He says it is a grunge thing. I disagree and PF comes down on my side of the debate. Which is a good intro into the guy I saw on the PATH this morning. He was very hot, tight graphic tee, tight jeans, Puma sneaker and really nice guns too. His mug was pretty easy on the eyes as well. None of those things in and of themselves indicate he kneels in the pews at my church. Then I saw the thumb ring. Silver. I thought oh yeah, he drinks the wine at Mass.
The whole Iran situation makes me very nervous and it seems to me like someone has asked the mainstream media to keep the coverage/stories/comments to a minimum. Seriously, these guys test fired a bunch of missiles. It seems to me that what is going on is pretty much like this: The new kid at school who everyone thinks is way cool (President Obama) has become the target of the bully (Iran). So he decides to confront the bully with two of the more experienced guys he has become friends with when he arrived (France and the U.K.). The bully looks at them and laughs and knocks their books out of the new kid's hands (test fires a bunch of missiles) and says what are you gonna do now? As a op-ed in the WSJ stated he really doesn't have many choices.
JW made an excellent point about Malthus in one of our email exchanges today. The guy was right about a population explosion causing all kinds of economic and social distress but he was a bit narrow in his argument. However, as JW pointed out, if one were to take his theory and apply it to finite resources as a whole and not just arable land it is pretty spot on. I am going to bet you see a resurgence of interest in good old Tommy-boy and his theories.
Another point JW made was that everyone believes science will save us but no one knows what kind of science and when and how and the cost. So we all go along doing what we are doing expecting some great discovery to help us out of a jam. That by the way was a large undercurrent of the plot for Pandorum.
The other possibility- which ties in with Iran- is there are constantly externalities that occur throughout history that most of the population does not foresee coming. Things like the Black Plague, the Spanish flu, a meteorite striking the earth, nuclear war, etc. I have often wondered if those are not some kind of Malthusian relief valve built into us and the whole ecosystem. It is all moot anyways as the Mayans say we are all dead come 2012. I wonder what that externality will look like.
Vince from Shamwow is now selling the Slap Chop. He is a good sales guy even though he beats up hookers. He told me my life could be exciting if I had a Slap Chop. I gotta admit it looks pretty cool for the kitchen.
The whole Iran situation makes me very nervous and it seems to me like someone has asked the mainstream media to keep the coverage/stories/comments to a minimum. Seriously, these guys test fired a bunch of missiles. It seems to me that what is going on is pretty much like this: The new kid at school who everyone thinks is way cool (President Obama) has become the target of the bully (Iran). So he decides to confront the bully with two of the more experienced guys he has become friends with when he arrived (France and the U.K.). The bully looks at them and laughs and knocks their books out of the new kid's hands (test fires a bunch of missiles) and says what are you gonna do now? As a op-ed in the WSJ stated he really doesn't have many choices.
JW made an excellent point about Malthus in one of our email exchanges today. The guy was right about a population explosion causing all kinds of economic and social distress but he was a bit narrow in his argument. However, as JW pointed out, if one were to take his theory and apply it to finite resources as a whole and not just arable land it is pretty spot on. I am going to bet you see a resurgence of interest in good old Tommy-boy and his theories.
Another point JW made was that everyone believes science will save us but no one knows what kind of science and when and how and the cost. So we all go along doing what we are doing expecting some great discovery to help us out of a jam. That by the way was a large undercurrent of the plot for Pandorum.
The other possibility- which ties in with Iran- is there are constantly externalities that occur throughout history that most of the population does not foresee coming. Things like the Black Plague, the Spanish flu, a meteorite striking the earth, nuclear war, etc. I have often wondered if those are not some kind of Malthusian relief valve built into us and the whole ecosystem. It is all moot anyways as the Mayans say we are all dead come 2012. I wonder what that externality will look like.
Vince from Shamwow is now selling the Slap Chop. He is a good sales guy even though he beats up hookers. He told me my life could be exciting if I had a Slap Chop. I gotta admit it looks pretty cool for the kitchen.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Ben Foster- no clue who he is but he was good (and hot) in Pandorum
Thursday I met up with CC and had coffee with him. He is doing well other than he just got over a staph infection and I found out he is now legally domestic partners with his bf of 3 years. I told him if he moved to Jersey he could get the separate but equal civil union if he wanted.
I then had to run down to Union Square for drinks with a friend in the business. It was funny because I had my iPod on and was walking like a typical New Yorker near Union Square when I saw RK and just yelled out to him and waved but kept walking- I did not have time to stop as I was almost 30 minutes late for drinks with JG.
JG is doing well and is at a new firm helping build out the U.S. operations. He is a very bad man; I finished my last beer and told hi it was my last, went to take a leek and came back to say good bye when he pointed out we weren't done with our beers- the fucker had ordered two more for each of us. I really was in no position to decline as he waited 30 minutes for me to show.
Friday the ex called to discuss the weekend- I had the boys this weekend. My oldest is playing fall baseball- Babe Ruth league- and had an away game that night. He also had a game Saturday morning. She thought it made more sense for me to just pick up the boys Saturday morning and go to the game and then go home. I am always wary when she makes suggestions like this because I wonder what her real agenda is. I told her no but we can ask the boys their thoughts about it. The boys both thought it made sense as we would not get home until around 11 PM and then have to drive right back down at 7:30 in the morning. I said fine.
I got to the ex' house Saturday morning a half hour before my oldest had to be at the field and the only person up and about was my youngest. I told him to go wake his brother up as we had to get moving. We finally got out of their mom's house and off we went. The coach likes the kids there a hour before the game to get some practice. We dropped my oldest off and then my youngest and I went to grab some breakfast. We came back about 5 minutes before the first pitch. I was supposed to work the snack bar but it was closed and locked up so I got to watch the entire game. My oldest had three at bats. First one he got walked. Second one he hit a single, got and RBI but also got thrown out at first. I sent his mom a text telling her we need to work on his running speed and she agreed. His third he hit a single and was safe. He ended up being the last RBI for his team. They won handily.
We got home and I baked a cake for Ragnar's birthday. The plan was for the four of us to go into the city to Ragnar's and celebrate his birthday with JW, JD and Umberto. The husband picked up a sandwich platter, I made the cake, we brought champagne and JW and JD brought some appetizers. We ate,sang Happy Birthday, had cake and champagne (the boys had Sprite) and went to the movies. We saw Pandrum. Yes, I know it is rated R but it was for gore and violence. They boys play freakin' Halo and Call of Duty and a host of other games that have just as much gore and violence so I did not think it would be a big idea. Just to be safe though I made both of them pinkie swear they would not tell their mom.
The movie was pretty good. My oldest was totally psyched when I told them they were going to see it and my youngest thought it looked very similar to Aliens. I wasn't sure what to expect but it looked cool and scary. At several points during the movie I noticed my youngest (he will be 10 November 1st) covering his eyes. After the movie I asked him if he was scared and he said not he just thought maybe the monsters would be scary looking so he was doing it just in case. My oldest said aliens don't scare him; neither do vampires or werewolves. Ghosts however do. I told him the true test if he was scared by the movie would be if he got up in the middle of the night and came into our room saying he couldn't sleep and didn't know why. He was not scared by the movie as he slept through the night.
The husband and the rest of the crowd went out for after movie drinks. I took the boys home.
The weather today sucked so we all slept in later than usual. We went to a diner recommended by PS. It was good but packed. We had to wait twenty minutes to be seated. by the time we finished and got home I got the boys showered up, helped clean up a bit and then got in the truck and took them back to their mom's house.
My younger brother is in my line of work but on the other side of the Force. He had interesting plans for the weekend. He was taking an account to a Blackwater- yes that Blackwater- training facility. There they would undergo small fire arms training and defensive/evasive driving classes. I told him it was good for when the upcoming revolution occurs and the masses rise up against the Wall Street machine.
A lot of interesting economic data out last week. I think they all point to we are so not done with this "recession." This week should be fun too.
The one thing that made me laugh was King saing the British financial system was hours away form collapsing last year. The thing that made me laugh was BBRG title describing it as a "bombshell." Seriously, how could that be a bombshell to any person who has read a newspaper or the Internet over the past year.
I then had to run down to Union Square for drinks with a friend in the business. It was funny because I had my iPod on and was walking like a typical New Yorker near Union Square when I saw RK and just yelled out to him and waved but kept walking- I did not have time to stop as I was almost 30 minutes late for drinks with JG.
JG is doing well and is at a new firm helping build out the U.S. operations. He is a very bad man; I finished my last beer and told hi it was my last, went to take a leek and came back to say good bye when he pointed out we weren't done with our beers- the fucker had ordered two more for each of us. I really was in no position to decline as he waited 30 minutes for me to show.
Friday the ex called to discuss the weekend- I had the boys this weekend. My oldest is playing fall baseball- Babe Ruth league- and had an away game that night. He also had a game Saturday morning. She thought it made more sense for me to just pick up the boys Saturday morning and go to the game and then go home. I am always wary when she makes suggestions like this because I wonder what her real agenda is. I told her no but we can ask the boys their thoughts about it. The boys both thought it made sense as we would not get home until around 11 PM and then have to drive right back down at 7:30 in the morning. I said fine.
I got to the ex' house Saturday morning a half hour before my oldest had to be at the field and the only person up and about was my youngest. I told him to go wake his brother up as we had to get moving. We finally got out of their mom's house and off we went. The coach likes the kids there a hour before the game to get some practice. We dropped my oldest off and then my youngest and I went to grab some breakfast. We came back about 5 minutes before the first pitch. I was supposed to work the snack bar but it was closed and locked up so I got to watch the entire game. My oldest had three at bats. First one he got walked. Second one he hit a single, got and RBI but also got thrown out at first. I sent his mom a text telling her we need to work on his running speed and she agreed. His third he hit a single and was safe. He ended up being the last RBI for his team. They won handily.
We got home and I baked a cake for Ragnar's birthday. The plan was for the four of us to go into the city to Ragnar's and celebrate his birthday with JW, JD and Umberto. The husband picked up a sandwich platter, I made the cake, we brought champagne and JW and JD brought some appetizers. We ate,sang Happy Birthday, had cake and champagne (the boys had Sprite) and went to the movies. We saw Pandrum. Yes, I know it is rated R but it was for gore and violence. They boys play freakin' Halo and Call of Duty and a host of other games that have just as much gore and violence so I did not think it would be a big idea. Just to be safe though I made both of them pinkie swear they would not tell their mom.
The movie was pretty good. My oldest was totally psyched when I told them they were going to see it and my youngest thought it looked very similar to Aliens. I wasn't sure what to expect but it looked cool and scary. At several points during the movie I noticed my youngest (he will be 10 November 1st) covering his eyes. After the movie I asked him if he was scared and he said not he just thought maybe the monsters would be scary looking so he was doing it just in case. My oldest said aliens don't scare him; neither do vampires or werewolves. Ghosts however do. I told him the true test if he was scared by the movie would be if he got up in the middle of the night and came into our room saying he couldn't sleep and didn't know why. He was not scared by the movie as he slept through the night.
The husband and the rest of the crowd went out for after movie drinks. I took the boys home.
The weather today sucked so we all slept in later than usual. We went to a diner recommended by PS. It was good but packed. We had to wait twenty minutes to be seated. by the time we finished and got home I got the boys showered up, helped clean up a bit and then got in the truck and took them back to their mom's house.
My younger brother is in my line of work but on the other side of the Force. He had interesting plans for the weekend. He was taking an account to a Blackwater- yes that Blackwater- training facility. There they would undergo small fire arms training and defensive/evasive driving classes. I told him it was good for when the upcoming revolution occurs and the masses rise up against the Wall Street machine.
A lot of interesting economic data out last week. I think they all point to we are so not done with this "recession." This week should be fun too.
The one thing that made me laugh was King saing the British financial system was hours away form collapsing last year. The thing that made me laugh was BBRG title describing it as a "bombshell." Seriously, how could that be a bombshell to any person who has read a newspaper or the Internet over the past year.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Triscuts with cheddar and carrot sticks with veggie crudite
So tonight I did not go to the dojo as I had Back To School Night for my youngest. I got to meet all three of his teachers. Yes three because he is in advanced level reading and advanced level math so he leaves his regular classroom for those two subjects. His main teacher seemed really nice. The ex and I both thought the math teacher was a bit weird but liked his reading teacher. I signed up for the pumpkin day- apparently these days the schools can't call it the Halloween party.
I left right after work so did not have time to grab dinner. You have to love the PTA though; they had kindly provided a table of snacks and lemonade. So I ate half the plate of the Triscuits with cheddar on them then moved to the fresh veggies with crudite. The principal caught me almost finishing the Triscuits. I must have looked guilty because she told me to keep eating.
The husband is having dinner in the city with TK and the couple who hosted us out in Park City this past Christmas. I would have liked to been able to dine with them but my sons come first.
The Fed did nothing and said nothing- whoop dee fucking dooh. The tape did not like it apparently though. We'll see what tomorrow brings.
I left right after work so did not have time to grab dinner. You have to love the PTA though; they had kindly provided a table of snacks and lemonade. So I ate half the plate of the Triscuits with cheddar on them then moved to the fresh veggies with crudite. The principal caught me almost finishing the Triscuits. I must have looked guilty because she told me to keep eating.
The husband is having dinner in the city with TK and the couple who hosted us out in Park City this past Christmas. I would have liked to been able to dine with them but my sons come first.
The Fed did nothing and said nothing- whoop dee fucking dooh. The tape did not like it apparently though. We'll see what tomorrow brings.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Slow train wreck- hot tranny mess; you say to-may-to, I say to-mah-to
So the weekend up at the alma mater was fun. I got to BB's lake house Friday around 5 PM. I did not leave until after I put together our new bed and got the new box spring delivered so I was on the road at noon. I was the first to arrive and got to spend some time with BB. He is a pledge brother- that is we pledged the fraternity at the same time- and ended up as the president of the house our senior year, living across the hall from me in the house. He has recently changed jobs due to office politics and I find out is getting divorced (no he is not gay like me). I was a bit shocked as he had married his high school sweetheart and has three kids. I expressed my regret he was going through it and sympathy for him. I asked who all else knows and was told other than you, no one currently but they will be told this weekend.
Friday not was not a big crowd but we did the usual wings and beer. We ended up playing a dice game and breaking into the really good wine BB had removed from the marital residence.
Saturday we headed up to the alma mater for a noon game and of course roadies were involved so were drinking at 11 AM. The game was fun and we met up with more brothers. The school now has freakin' cheerleaders! That was a big shock. I also don't remember the football team being as hot. After the game (we won) we hit the school store and bought some paraphernalia. Just what I needed- more baseball hats. I called the husband and asked if he wanted any and he said gym shorts (like we need more of those too) and a thong. So I asked the queen running the cash register if they sold thongs. JN almost died laughing as he did not believe I would do it. They do but I was directed to the flip flop type of thongs as opposed to the underwear kind.
We then headed up to the house and met the brothers. They are a really great group of kids. We of course started drinking with them and we all pointed out the rooms we had and the changes i the house. We got asked a lot of questions regarding when we were pledges and brothers for which we had most of the answers. Then we sent some of the brothers out to get more beer. They came back with a case at which point we said that was not going to work. I took one of them out and bought some kegs. Kegs are apparently a big no no at this point in time at the alma mater. Whatever...
No dinner and drinking until 1 AM at my age is not what it used to be when I was in college and I foolishly tried to keep up with the younger brothers. I was a complete horror show, lol. Security did show up at which point we alumni decided it was time to leave.
The drive home Sunday morning was painful and long.
Last night my oldest was texting me harassing me about getting a new cell phone still. He used one line that I almost died laughing about and showed to the husband. The husband said that is such a you line, he is your son. He even offered to help pay for it. I told him it is not a conversation to have over text messages.
Heroes two hour premiere last night was pretty damn good. I am dying to know what the compass is used for and how. Some of the new characters I am not quite sure f they are villains or heroes.
So apparently railroad traffic is down huge. I don't see how that can bode well for any recovery and how it confirms the start of growth Turbo Tax Timmy was talking about today but I have been so wrong and fighting the tape since the low that who cares what I say.
Nemazee- not sure his first name- is indicted for running a Ponzi scheme. Ok, no big deal. He also happened to be a huge fund raiser for the Democrats forthe past six or so years. It happens. I imagine that is where the government has gotten the idea of how to save the FDIC. The Treasury lends dollars to the banks, ostensibly making them healthy. Then the FDIC borrows money from said healthy banks to deal with the unhealthy banks. Wouldn't that then make the healthy banks unhealthy now that they no longer have the money from the Treasury? I am thinking huge circle jerk/daisy chain. Wait, now the FDIC won't borrow the money, it will just make the healthy banks re-pay their assessments. WTF? Isn't that essentially the same thing?
Friday not was not a big crowd but we did the usual wings and beer. We ended up playing a dice game and breaking into the really good wine BB had removed from the marital residence.
Saturday we headed up to the alma mater for a noon game and of course roadies were involved so were drinking at 11 AM. The game was fun and we met up with more brothers. The school now has freakin' cheerleaders! That was a big shock. I also don't remember the football team being as hot. After the game (we won) we hit the school store and bought some paraphernalia. Just what I needed- more baseball hats. I called the husband and asked if he wanted any and he said gym shorts (like we need more of those too) and a thong. So I asked the queen running the cash register if they sold thongs. JN almost died laughing as he did not believe I would do it. They do but I was directed to the flip flop type of thongs as opposed to the underwear kind.
We then headed up to the house and met the brothers. They are a really great group of kids. We of course started drinking with them and we all pointed out the rooms we had and the changes i the house. We got asked a lot of questions regarding when we were pledges and brothers for which we had most of the answers. Then we sent some of the brothers out to get more beer. They came back with a case at which point we said that was not going to work. I took one of them out and bought some kegs. Kegs are apparently a big no no at this point in time at the alma mater. Whatever...
No dinner and drinking until 1 AM at my age is not what it used to be when I was in college and I foolishly tried to keep up with the younger brothers. I was a complete horror show, lol. Security did show up at which point we alumni decided it was time to leave.
The drive home Sunday morning was painful and long.
Last night my oldest was texting me harassing me about getting a new cell phone still. He used one line that I almost died laughing about and showed to the husband. The husband said that is such a you line, he is your son. He even offered to help pay for it. I told him it is not a conversation to have over text messages.
Heroes two hour premiere last night was pretty damn good. I am dying to know what the compass is used for and how. Some of the new characters I am not quite sure f they are villains or heroes.
So apparently railroad traffic is down huge. I don't see how that can bode well for any recovery and how it confirms the start of growth Turbo Tax Timmy was talking about today but I have been so wrong and fighting the tape since the low that who cares what I say.
Nemazee- not sure his first name- is indicted for running a Ponzi scheme. Ok, no big deal. He also happened to be a huge fund raiser for the Democrats forthe past six or so years. It happens. I imagine that is where the government has gotten the idea of how to save the FDIC. The Treasury lends dollars to the banks, ostensibly making them healthy. Then the FDIC borrows money from said healthy banks to deal with the unhealthy banks. Wouldn't that then make the healthy banks unhealthy now that they no longer have the money from the Treasury? I am thinking huge circle jerk/daisy chain. Wait, now the FDIC won't borrow the money, it will just make the healthy banks re-pay their assessments. WTF? Isn't that essentially the same thing?
Thursday, September 17, 2009
It's Friday for me
So I was not aware of this but it would seem skunks can exist and thrive in an urban setting. How do I know this you ask? Last night when I was walking the kids we walked by one of the exhaust/ventilation buildings for the tunnel. There are a bunch of trailers around it. The younger one (our crazy daughter) started going bonkers (that was a fun game from Milton Bradley). I look over under the trailer and there it is- a skunk. I have had experience with dogs and skunks before so I immediately got the three of us out of there ASAP. Of course tonight she was looking for the damn thing again.
So I had drinks after work today with a broker who I don't actually do business with but have known for about 15 years. Yesterday he called me and told me he'd be in jeans and asked if that was okay with me. I laughed and said you've known me how long and have I ever been a stickler for details like that? So of course this morning I decided to suit and tie it for the day, lol.
The government is doing it's darndest to make everyone believe that all is well now and it is time to get back into the deep end of the risk pool. They are touting how the household wealth has increased by $2 trillion. Ok but the debt levels are still huge and credit is still contracting at a record pace.
What I think is happening is that a lot of PMs are think it is a bigger sin to not make money than it is to lose money. So they chase the performance. The credit spreads have tightened to pre-Lehman levels and that is making them all sit up and think with the spread at that stocks should be higher. It is going to end poorly.
Tomorrow I am off from work. I am off to hang out with my fraternity brothers in upstate New York. We are actually going to go to the alma mater and take in a football game too. The husband is going to the beach with the kids.
So I had drinks after work today with a broker who I don't actually do business with but have known for about 15 years. Yesterday he called me and told me he'd be in jeans and asked if that was okay with me. I laughed and said you've known me how long and have I ever been a stickler for details like that? So of course this morning I decided to suit and tie it for the day, lol.
The government is doing it's darndest to make everyone believe that all is well now and it is time to get back into the deep end of the risk pool. They are touting how the household wealth has increased by $2 trillion. Ok but the debt levels are still huge and credit is still contracting at a record pace.
What I think is happening is that a lot of PMs are think it is a bigger sin to not make money than it is to lose money. So they chase the performance. The credit spreads have tightened to pre-Lehman levels and that is making them all sit up and think with the spread at that stocks should be higher. It is going to end poorly.
Tomorrow I am off from work. I am off to hang out with my fraternity brothers in upstate New York. We are actually going to go to the alma mater and take in a football game too. The husband is going to the beach with the kids.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
The day was bookended
So this morning when getting my coffee I saw a hot, scruffy, muscly, inked skate boarder. Thank God I had my Oakleys on and I did not get caught staring. He had a buzz cut too. It was a nice way to start the day with my coffee.
According to Ben the recession is probably "technically" over. I can't help but feel he is trying to talk his own book up and has been designated Cheerleader in Chief. Then you get the other side of the argument from one Lewis Raneiri. This guy is basically the granddaddy of securitization. He said the problems are not gone and that the financial system "only looks fixed." I have to agree with the guy. Those toxic assets are all still sitting on the bank balance sheets, the rule how they account for them just got changed not the assets themselves.
Speaking of rule changes if you think the CRE market is not about to blow up or become a huge problem for the banks then ask yourself why the U.S. Treasury changed the rules for them. Now bans will not incur certain tax penalties for modifying commercial real estate loans. Funny how that happens when CRE delinquencies basically double, no? I also have issue with how it was done in a almost stealth manner.
I kept thinking about the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off yesterday and Ben Stein's role especially the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. One of the main causes of the Great Depression was protectionism. President Obama imposed 35% tariffs on Chinese tires. Several points here: President Obama is not the first President in recent history to impose tariffs. Reagan did it with steel. Bush the second did it with steel too. I believe even Clinton did but I am not positive. The difference is that they all did it in a growing global economy and a super-bull market. President Obama is facing a dramatically different global economic scene.
Judge Rakoff rules! The guy basically told BAC and the SEC to shut the fuck up and stop trying to screw the shareholders. He is going to get to the bottom of this mess, let's just hope it doesn't end up like a plot to a Grisham novel.
On the way home at the PATH station there was a hot cop randomly stopping passengers and checking packages. I was hoping he would stop me so he could examine mine but no such luck.
Karate tonight was good. I was partnered up with a relatively new student who is big and beefy and very cute. Classes again tomorrow night and that is it for the week.
According to Ben the recession is probably "technically" over. I can't help but feel he is trying to talk his own book up and has been designated Cheerleader in Chief. Then you get the other side of the argument from one Lewis Raneiri. This guy is basically the granddaddy of securitization. He said the problems are not gone and that the financial system "only looks fixed." I have to agree with the guy. Those toxic assets are all still sitting on the bank balance sheets, the rule how they account for them just got changed not the assets themselves.
Speaking of rule changes if you think the CRE market is not about to blow up or become a huge problem for the banks then ask yourself why the U.S. Treasury changed the rules for them. Now bans will not incur certain tax penalties for modifying commercial real estate loans. Funny how that happens when CRE delinquencies basically double, no? I also have issue with how it was done in a almost stealth manner.
I kept thinking about the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off yesterday and Ben Stein's role especially the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. One of the main causes of the Great Depression was protectionism. President Obama imposed 35% tariffs on Chinese tires. Several points here: President Obama is not the first President in recent history to impose tariffs. Reagan did it with steel. Bush the second did it with steel too. I believe even Clinton did but I am not positive. The difference is that they all did it in a growing global economy and a super-bull market. President Obama is facing a dramatically different global economic scene.
Judge Rakoff rules! The guy basically told BAC and the SEC to shut the fuck up and stop trying to screw the shareholders. He is going to get to the bottom of this mess, let's just hope it doesn't end up like a plot to a Grisham novel.
On the way home at the PATH station there was a hot cop randomly stopping passengers and checking packages. I was hoping he would stop me so he could examine mine but no such luck.
Karate tonight was good. I was partnered up with a relatively new student who is big and beefy and very cute. Classes again tomorrow night and that is it for the week.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Social clubs are so...Philly
Thursday evening I had a business dinner. It was downtown right off Washington Square. Very old school, walk down to the garden level of this town house, ring the door bell and someone will let you in. I arived at the same time as two of the guys I was dining with that evening. We were led through a dining room and the kitchen into the garden. Served drinks, relaxed with some parm and sopresetta. Then moved into the dining room. I asked the host for the evening what the story was with the place. It is a social club. That means you have to be a member to join. Apparently as a social club there are more relaxed regulations and laws in regards to serving food and booze. I understand them being big in Philly as the city has much more restrictive laws regarding hours of operations.
Friday the husband and I decided against going out to the beach. We had the boys, my oldest had a fall baseball game scheduled to start at 6 PM and the weather looked like it was going to be shitty all weekend. We also needed to get more stuff done on the unpacking front.
There was a cute guy on the PATH in Friday morning however.
Friday the weather was shitty, the game got cancelled and we stayed in town.
Saturday the boys got to be couch potatoes while we finished unpacking, organizing and hanging more art. Living right on the river we have realized how active New York Harbor is. Saturday we saw a battleship/destroyer/cruiser going up the Hudson. There were also two massive CCL ships leaving. We also saw two cigarette boats racing around. The husband and my youngest swore they also saw a pirate ship. Sunday there was actually a powerboat race in the morning and that explained what the cigarette boats were doing Saturday. IT was really loud.
We then took in a movie. We were debating between Whiteout, final Destination 3D and 9. the first two are both rated R but solely for violence and gore-which the boys see tons of when they play their xBox at their mom's house. We went with 9 anyways. 3 out of 4 of us liked it. It was a pretty good flick. When we got home my oldest made me make good on a promise I had made to him. We watched Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay. It was pretty funny and for a 7th grader not all that bad. I don't know if he mentioned it to his mom but I have not heard from her lawyer yet so I will go with no.
Sunday we had friends who live across the street from us over.. They are the ones who told us about the new home. We rushed around cleaning up and hanging even more art, laying down some rugs we have, etc. I also had to get the boys showered up and back to their mom's by 4 PM. Wen we were leaving they bot commented on my autumnal facial hair. They said it looks like a cop's mustache especially when I am wearing my Oakleys. I really hope they are not referring to Officer Dan.
I think I made it in record time. I got home around 5:15 and our guests had not yet arrived. We had some wine and appetizers and gave them the tour. We were discussing the local restaurants and they raved about a place called Taqeria. We decided to check it out. It was really good and we could not argue about their raving about the place.
I did not swim this morning- go figure. We are short three people on the desk this week so I just went into the office. It was fairly busy and the day flew by. I did not even get to lunch until 1:30. The husband told me the waterfront walkway from our building to Hoboken is open. So, since it is a short walk from the Hoboken PATH to our building now I decided to take that route home. I have to say the Hoboken PATH has all the serous talent/eye candy.
I did go to the dojo tonight. Hit both classes. After the first one sensei asked me how I was feeling. I told him old. He laughed and asked how old I am. I told him 41 which he was surprised about and then told me he is older.
Friday the husband and I decided against going out to the beach. We had the boys, my oldest had a fall baseball game scheduled to start at 6 PM and the weather looked like it was going to be shitty all weekend. We also needed to get more stuff done on the unpacking front.
There was a cute guy on the PATH in Friday morning however.
Friday the weather was shitty, the game got cancelled and we stayed in town.
Saturday the boys got to be couch potatoes while we finished unpacking, organizing and hanging more art. Living right on the river we have realized how active New York Harbor is. Saturday we saw a battleship/destroyer/cruiser going up the Hudson. There were also two massive CCL ships leaving. We also saw two cigarette boats racing around. The husband and my youngest swore they also saw a pirate ship. Sunday there was actually a powerboat race in the morning and that explained what the cigarette boats were doing Saturday. IT was really loud.
We then took in a movie. We were debating between Whiteout, final Destination 3D and 9. the first two are both rated R but solely for violence and gore-which the boys see tons of when they play their xBox at their mom's house. We went with 9 anyways. 3 out of 4 of us liked it. It was a pretty good flick. When we got home my oldest made me make good on a promise I had made to him. We watched Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay. It was pretty funny and for a 7th grader not all that bad. I don't know if he mentioned it to his mom but I have not heard from her lawyer yet so I will go with no.
Sunday we had friends who live across the street from us over.. They are the ones who told us about the new home. We rushed around cleaning up and hanging even more art, laying down some rugs we have, etc. I also had to get the boys showered up and back to their mom's by 4 PM. Wen we were leaving they bot commented on my autumnal facial hair. They said it looks like a cop's mustache especially when I am wearing my Oakleys. I really hope they are not referring to Officer Dan.
I think I made it in record time. I got home around 5:15 and our guests had not yet arrived. We had some wine and appetizers and gave them the tour. We were discussing the local restaurants and they raved about a place called Taqeria. We decided to check it out. It was really good and we could not argue about their raving about the place.
I did not swim this morning- go figure. We are short three people on the desk this week so I just went into the office. It was fairly busy and the day flew by. I did not even get to lunch until 1:30. The husband told me the waterfront walkway from our building to Hoboken is open. So, since it is a short walk from the Hoboken PATH to our building now I decided to take that route home. I have to say the Hoboken PATH has all the serous talent/eye candy.
I did go to the dojo tonight. Hit both classes. After the first one sensei asked me how I was feeling. I told him old. He laughed and asked how old I am. I told him 41 which he was surprised about and then told me he is older.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
The summer is over- shaggy time
So there are some cute guys in the new gym. I went this morning and noticed Blue Devil- no not the funny, irreverent DC comic from the late '80s- but the guy wearing the Duke shorts all the time. Very lean, have to imagine a distance runner. Cute, dark haired boy. There was also a cute Mediterranean looking guy- nice guns and shoulders doing plyometrics. I finished lifting and went and rode the bike for only 5 miles. Got to the locker room and was undressing to get in the shower when I noticed the plyometrics guy in the same bay and I catch him sneaking peeks at me. It was quite the ego boost to start the day as he had to be in his late twenties. Plus the rest of his body was nothing to sneeze at either, lol.
Yesterday marked the official start of shaggy season for me. Usually I go with the goatee until the first day of winter and let the hair get long but this year I am acquiescing to the husband's wishes ad going with the '70s porn 'stache. Not sure how it will look but what the fuck. When I go to the dojo tonight sensei mentioned she liked the scruffy look, I told her I have been lazy and will be shaving going for the previously mentioned look. She burst out laughing and high fived me.
This past weekend at the beach was fun. I did feel bad though as Saturday night he husband was in desperate need of a cigarette. SO he whored me out, making me ask all the smokers if I could bum a cig. The cute guy who actually gave me his last and a light and then I turned around and handed it to the husband was a good sport about it. We chatted with him and he was a real interesting guy and had very cool ink. Works in television production for a channel I think is underrated and very cool. I may have led him to the wrong conclusion when I walked up to him shirtless and sweaty from dancing with the line "Can I bum a cigarette from you?" It has to be a classic pick up line for gays on Fire Island...
So back in the immediate aftermath of WWII, the pound sterling lost it's role as the reserve currency of the world to the USD. It was quick and relatively painless. My point is all these people saying the USD will take a long time to be replaced I think are smoking crack. China's actions speak a lot louder than its words. In case you missed it they issued yuan bonds over i Hong Kong. Don't forget either the statement from a Chines Communist Party official stating that they are concerned the Fed is printing money and monetizing debt like both are going out of style. Hello? How can our government be so naive as to not seeing the USD losing its reserve status sooner rather than later?
I am totally biased to public education. Dad did it his entire career and it afforded his family a comfortable middle class life and sent 5 kids through college. So when I see President Obama telling kids to stay in school, work hard, accept responsibility for your education and what you put into is what you get out of it I think that is great. I cannot believe the furor this raised on the right. Seriously, shouldn't we want the youth to be educated and find something they are good at doing? Give the guy a break for trying to instill in kids a desire- and God forbid, even a love- for education as a means to improve themselves.
SO this morning on the PATH ride in I read MS is saying to get long U.S. banks but only the ones with no commercial real state (CRE) exposure. Really? No, really? WTF banks could they be talking about as all of them have it! The unstated implication is the insurance companies are totally fucked as that is most of what they have and own.
The dojo changed the class schedule so I will not be swimming tomorrow morning. I will be able to do it going forward though as from now on on Tuesday nights I will be done by 9 so getting to the pool by 6 AM should not be an issue.
First day of school tomorrow for the boys. My oldest is going to be a 7th grader and his younger brother will be in 4th grade. Neither of them is excited but they never are for the first day of school.
Yesterday marked the official start of shaggy season for me. Usually I go with the goatee until the first day of winter and let the hair get long but this year I am acquiescing to the husband's wishes ad going with the '70s porn 'stache. Not sure how it will look but what the fuck. When I go to the dojo tonight sensei mentioned she liked the scruffy look, I told her I have been lazy and will be shaving going for the previously mentioned look. She burst out laughing and high fived me.
This past weekend at the beach was fun. I did feel bad though as Saturday night he husband was in desperate need of a cigarette. SO he whored me out, making me ask all the smokers if I could bum a cig. The cute guy who actually gave me his last and a light and then I turned around and handed it to the husband was a good sport about it. We chatted with him and he was a real interesting guy and had very cool ink. Works in television production for a channel I think is underrated and very cool. I may have led him to the wrong conclusion when I walked up to him shirtless and sweaty from dancing with the line "Can I bum a cigarette from you?" It has to be a classic pick up line for gays on Fire Island...
So back in the immediate aftermath of WWII, the pound sterling lost it's role as the reserve currency of the world to the USD. It was quick and relatively painless. My point is all these people saying the USD will take a long time to be replaced I think are smoking crack. China's actions speak a lot louder than its words. In case you missed it they issued yuan bonds over i Hong Kong. Don't forget either the statement from a Chines Communist Party official stating that they are concerned the Fed is printing money and monetizing debt like both are going out of style. Hello? How can our government be so naive as to not seeing the USD losing its reserve status sooner rather than later?
I am totally biased to public education. Dad did it his entire career and it afforded his family a comfortable middle class life and sent 5 kids through college. So when I see President Obama telling kids to stay in school, work hard, accept responsibility for your education and what you put into is what you get out of it I think that is great. I cannot believe the furor this raised on the right. Seriously, shouldn't we want the youth to be educated and find something they are good at doing? Give the guy a break for trying to instill in kids a desire- and God forbid, even a love- for education as a means to improve themselves.
SO this morning on the PATH ride in I read MS is saying to get long U.S. banks but only the ones with no commercial real state (CRE) exposure. Really? No, really? WTF banks could they be talking about as all of them have it! The unstated implication is the insurance companies are totally fucked as that is most of what they have and own.
The dojo changed the class schedule so I will not be swimming tomorrow morning. I will be able to do it going forward though as from now on on Tuesday nights I will be done by 9 so getting to the pool by 6 AM should not be an issue.
First day of school tomorrow for the boys. My oldest is going to be a 7th grader and his younger brother will be in 4th grade. Neither of them is excited but they never are for the first day of school.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
It's scary good.
Last night we had dinner with MP in the city. She is off to FLA today. Apparently a friend of hers is meeting a guy through the Internet and MP felt going solo was not a smart move. We agreed wholeheartedly as it sounded like a future episode of America's Most Wanted. The funniest part is she and my older brother are friends and reconnected through facebook. He totally busted our balls by telling her to ask if we've ever been to Tampa. I laughed when she asked.
I did not swim this morning as we did not get home until around 11 PM. I did however work out last night before dinner and realized I had a charley horse form the dojo the night before. So I put some Icy Hot on did my lifting and cardio.
I saw my first hottie on the PATH ride home tonight. He was probably around 5' 11", buzzed hair (probably a #2 razor), gray tee shirt and shorts- nice guns too.
So the America consumer is acting in a rational manner. Cash For Clunkers shows that they are taking the free money from the government and using it to buy new cars. The unintended consequence though is they are not buying American cars only. Yesterday's SAAR showed that U.S. consumers are avoiding GM and Chrysler- the two government/UAW owned companies that went bankrupt- and buying Fords, Hondas and Toyotas. I have to ask again what happens if GM and Chrysler still make cars no one wants to buy? We wasted billions on saving them.
The big rumored cause of the sell off yesterday was a large U.S. bank was going under. First off I don't think there are any U.S. banks not already saved/owned by the government that would qualify as large. So that leads to the second rumor- a European bank is going to default. Now that rumor makes a lot more sense especially if you consider what is going on with the Spanish banks. They are basically zombie banks extending further credit (which they don't have) to zombie construction companies.
The other issue that finally seems to be coming to the forefront is the whole issue of toxic assets still on the balance sheets of a lot of financial companies. It started on suppositions that a privately held property company that paid top tick for two large rent controlled complexes in NYC is writing them down and about to default. The great state of Florida actually was a junior investor in the deal and admitted they are carrying the investment at zero. The reason they cited is a lack of liquidity. I really can't give countenance to such an argument. I have come to realize in my career there is no such thing as a lack of liquidity- it all comes down to price- you can sell anything at any price; it's a question of if you can accept the price you can sell it at.
So I was supposed to go to the dojo- Kobra Kai never die!_ tonight but when I got home I couldn't find my uniform. Just for shits and giggles I checked the dirty laundry. Yep, that is where it was. The cleaning lady apparently did not finish the laundry. So no classes tonight. The husband went to the U.S. Open. I am watching Chiller- it's scary good.
I did not swim this morning as we did not get home until around 11 PM. I did however work out last night before dinner and realized I had a charley horse form the dojo the night before. So I put some Icy Hot on did my lifting and cardio.
I saw my first hottie on the PATH ride home tonight. He was probably around 5' 11", buzzed hair (probably a #2 razor), gray tee shirt and shorts- nice guns too.
So the America consumer is acting in a rational manner. Cash For Clunkers shows that they are taking the free money from the government and using it to buy new cars. The unintended consequence though is they are not buying American cars only. Yesterday's SAAR showed that U.S. consumers are avoiding GM and Chrysler- the two government/UAW owned companies that went bankrupt- and buying Fords, Hondas and Toyotas. I have to ask again what happens if GM and Chrysler still make cars no one wants to buy? We wasted billions on saving them.
The big rumored cause of the sell off yesterday was a large U.S. bank was going under. First off I don't think there are any U.S. banks not already saved/owned by the government that would qualify as large. So that leads to the second rumor- a European bank is going to default. Now that rumor makes a lot more sense especially if you consider what is going on with the Spanish banks. They are basically zombie banks extending further credit (which they don't have) to zombie construction companies.
The other issue that finally seems to be coming to the forefront is the whole issue of toxic assets still on the balance sheets of a lot of financial companies. It started on suppositions that a privately held property company that paid top tick for two large rent controlled complexes in NYC is writing them down and about to default. The great state of Florida actually was a junior investor in the deal and admitted they are carrying the investment at zero. The reason they cited is a lack of liquidity. I really can't give countenance to such an argument. I have come to realize in my career there is no such thing as a lack of liquidity- it all comes down to price- you can sell anything at any price; it's a question of if you can accept the price you can sell it at.
So I was supposed to go to the dojo- Kobra Kai never die!_ tonight but when I got home I couldn't find my uniform. Just for shits and giggles I checked the dirty laundry. Yep, that is where it was. The cleaning lady apparently did not finish the laundry. So no classes tonight. The husband went to the U.S. Open. I am watching Chiller- it's scary good.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)