So this weekend we were down at the cottage doing yard work. I actually removed 20 stumps. It got easier once I bought a pick. Yesterday I took out half of them with just a shovel and my trusty Sawzall. I finished up around 1:45, cleaned up and stored all the tools and started walking over to PJ's house to watch the US/Ghana game. The husband and ST had go to the nursery to get some kind of organic top soil crap to blend in with the soil that formerly held the shrubs. They pulled up as I was walking up the driveway. I noticed quite a few plants in the bed of the truck looked at the husband and he immediately said the plants were ST's and he did not buy anything other than the soil.
We watched the game and I have to say Ghana just wanted to win more than the US did. My lowly opinion was there was a coaching error by the US. Lazy Altidore was useless. He should have been pulled much sooner or possibly not even start the game. Also- why the hell wasn't Ben Feilhaber starting? The guy is a great player. Demerit may be the star of the defense but I have to say Bornstein is a solid player and I am surprised he does not get more attention or ink from the press.
Saturday night ST and PJ took us out to dinner to The Frog and The Peach. The food there was excellent. PJ though complained the food was not interesting enough.
This morning we got up and immediately went and removed the rest of the stumps. I was doing well until I cracked the shovel I was using. Not the wood handle but the actual shovel blade. I told the husband not to mess with me as I can break steel. I then went and got a pick and a tempered steel shovel and the remainder of the stumps came out with no issues.
We went and grabbed some lunch then I took a nap. The husband dropped me off at the train station; he is staying down there to meet with the electrician who is rewiring the bathroom tomorrow.
Friday was the last day of school for the boys. they are officially now on summer vacation.
I have a bunch of trades in Asia tonight, most of it is on auto pilot thankfully. Swimming tomorrow morning and then the dojo- sweep the leg!- after work.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Done for another year
So Saturday was the race. It was not one of my better ones and I have no one to blame other than myself as my training schedule became rather haphazard in the last month. I did beat the husband though- he skipped it this year. The antibiotics he was on to deal with his spider bite really threw him off and he missed a lot of training so he decided to pass this year. i.e. he is a quitter.
Friday night I picked up the boys for the weekend. I told them that I would be doing the race Saturday morning and would be gone before they got up. My oldest said he wanted to go and watch me race; I then told him that meant he'd have to get up at 4:30 AM and he decided he'd rather sleep. We got home kind of late, I had no dinner and couldn't sleep well, the husband was tossing and turning and not sleeping well at all.
I got up at 4:30, packed the truck and drove out to the race. There was the usual amount of serious triathlete eye candy. #539 being one of my favorites.
I finished the race in 2 hours and 19 minutes. My bike leg sucked as usual, the swim was ok and my run I did at about 9 minutes I think. Regardless, I finished it, it's done and the bike and wetsuit are back in storage for another lonely year of storage. Thank God.
Saturday night we went and saw Jonah Hex- to much resistance from three quarters of the crowd. Of course the crowd after the movie all concurred that it was actually a good flick. The only complaint was it was too short to which I commented not really as if it had been any longer the flimsy coherence to the plot would have evaporated and it would have become a bad, long movie.
Sunday was Fathers Day and it was the best one I have had since being a father. My oldest made a clock in woodshop and actually gave it to me for Fathers Day. I was stunned. In most cases anything made at school goes right to his mom and I am barely an afterthought. I frackin' love this clock. He was so proud of it and that he had made it himself. He spent a half hour explaining to me how he built it, used the table saw to make the mitre cuts, glued and nailed the wood together, used a nail set to sink the nail, covered them with putty, sanded it and then polyurethaned it. He was most proud that the hands actually moved.
My youngest gave me coupons for four, separate, individual weekends of super, awesome behavior. Also a great gift.
I had read on MSN that there are some gifts not to give dad ever for Fathers Day and two on the list were hand made things and coupons. I totally disagree and think whoever wrote that article is not a father or not a very good one to consider something like that from his children worthy of gifts for Fathers Day.
Sunday the husband watched the world cup games while I and the boys watched Anchorman. I am a big fan of Will Ferrell but have to say the movie was a disappointment. The funniest scenes were the cat fashion show with Whiskerus Maximus and the news team gang fight scene.
Sunday night I was trading in Japan again.
The whole news about the PBOC revaluing the yuan had everyone in a tizzy. Hello- it is not a good thing for us as the bottom line is china is ending its vendor financing for us by doing this.
It took the markets most of the day yesterday to figure that out and that is why we had a shitty close. Today's housing numbers did not help either and with housing going down again I am still a firm believer we are already in the double dip as opposed to heading that way.
The Fed is meeting today and tomorrow- who gives a fuck? They cannot and will not say anything meaningful. The only thing they could say or do is change the language in the statement or actually raise rates. Neither is gonna happen so the Fed meeting is a completely superfluous non-event.
Ahh, the first major French bank got downgraded today. We are starting to see the core smoldering....
So the thing this past weekend that kind of threw me was my youngest stating that he wanted to join the band when he got into middle school. I have nothing against the band, I was in the band from third grade until sixth grade, I played the trombone. It is a good thing to do to learn how to play a musical instrument and helps with math skills and makes you a well rounded student. When he told me the instruments he wanted to play I had to punch his older brother's thigh to stop him from making a comment that would cause a problem. His first choice is the flute, followed by the clarinet then percussion. I told him he should go for percussion because then he can become a drummer in a rock band, become famous, make lots of money and get all the girls. He informed it percussion is very difficult to get into.
Friday night I picked up the boys for the weekend. I told them that I would be doing the race Saturday morning and would be gone before they got up. My oldest said he wanted to go and watch me race; I then told him that meant he'd have to get up at 4:30 AM and he decided he'd rather sleep. We got home kind of late, I had no dinner and couldn't sleep well, the husband was tossing and turning and not sleeping well at all.
I got up at 4:30, packed the truck and drove out to the race. There was the usual amount of serious triathlete eye candy. #539 being one of my favorites.
I finished the race in 2 hours and 19 minutes. My bike leg sucked as usual, the swim was ok and my run I did at about 9 minutes I think. Regardless, I finished it, it's done and the bike and wetsuit are back in storage for another lonely year of storage. Thank God.
Saturday night we went and saw Jonah Hex- to much resistance from three quarters of the crowd. Of course the crowd after the movie all concurred that it was actually a good flick. The only complaint was it was too short to which I commented not really as if it had been any longer the flimsy coherence to the plot would have evaporated and it would have become a bad, long movie.
Sunday was Fathers Day and it was the best one I have had since being a father. My oldest made a clock in woodshop and actually gave it to me for Fathers Day. I was stunned. In most cases anything made at school goes right to his mom and I am barely an afterthought. I frackin' love this clock. He was so proud of it and that he had made it himself. He spent a half hour explaining to me how he built it, used the table saw to make the mitre cuts, glued and nailed the wood together, used a nail set to sink the nail, covered them with putty, sanded it and then polyurethaned it. He was most proud that the hands actually moved.
My youngest gave me coupons for four, separate, individual weekends of super, awesome behavior. Also a great gift.
I had read on MSN that there are some gifts not to give dad ever for Fathers Day and two on the list were hand made things and coupons. I totally disagree and think whoever wrote that article is not a father or not a very good one to consider something like that from his children worthy of gifts for Fathers Day.
Sunday the husband watched the world cup games while I and the boys watched Anchorman. I am a big fan of Will Ferrell but have to say the movie was a disappointment. The funniest scenes were the cat fashion show with Whiskerus Maximus and the news team gang fight scene.
Sunday night I was trading in Japan again.
The whole news about the PBOC revaluing the yuan had everyone in a tizzy. Hello- it is not a good thing for us as the bottom line is china is ending its vendor financing for us by doing this.
It took the markets most of the day yesterday to figure that out and that is why we had a shitty close. Today's housing numbers did not help either and with housing going down again I am still a firm believer we are already in the double dip as opposed to heading that way.
The Fed is meeting today and tomorrow- who gives a fuck? They cannot and will not say anything meaningful. The only thing they could say or do is change the language in the statement or actually raise rates. Neither is gonna happen so the Fed meeting is a completely superfluous non-event.
Ahh, the first major French bank got downgraded today. We are starting to see the core smoldering....
So the thing this past weekend that kind of threw me was my youngest stating that he wanted to join the band when he got into middle school. I have nothing against the band, I was in the band from third grade until sixth grade, I played the trombone. It is a good thing to do to learn how to play a musical instrument and helps with math skills and makes you a well rounded student. When he told me the instruments he wanted to play I had to punch his older brother's thigh to stop him from making a comment that would cause a problem. His first choice is the flute, followed by the clarinet then percussion. I told him he should go for percussion because then he can become a drummer in a rock band, become famous, make lots of money and get all the girls. He informed it percussion is very difficult to get into.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Villa Straylight
Yesterday morning I got up early and did a 5.3419 mile run. I now the exact distance because I used Gmaps Pedometer when I sat down at the desk. The husband tells me GOOG Earth says a different distance- whatever, I was happy with the run.
The bus ride was interesting. The preppy blond reading the FT on one end of the hot scale and then the short, muscled punk with the shaved head, muscles, ink outline on his inner bicep who had to hurriedly finish his cigarette before he got on the bus at the other end of the hot scale. Very bad boy versus good boy.
So Steve Jobs has been invited by the morons in Congress to speak with them. He is getting set up for an antitrust suit. The thing is the guy is really nuts. I could totally see him going the Tessier-Ashpool route. Lady 3Steve Jobs and the whole shebang orbiting Earth in his satellite. Hell for all we know all the iThings out there are already some kind of collective Wintermute waiting for Jobs' Neuromancer to get on line...
I am a bit confused. So know all the banks may have to take realized gains on certain securities. So let me get this right; when the markets go against the banks' holdings, the banks can use mark to make believe but when they turn the can use mark to market? What is th epoint of having GAAP if it gets used whenever convenient and ignored when inconvenient?
I loved how the EU is out saying Spain has no problems and all is well yet Spain's Treasury Secretary admits there is a liquidity freeze affecting Spanish banks. The more they deny there is anything wrong the more I don't believe them.
The husband was off to the cottage this morning to do some landscaping. I am jealous as he got to borrow ST's chainsaw to take down a bunch of shrubs in the back yard.
Tonight should be interesting as I have to trade in Egypt. Yes, they actually have capital markets in the land of the pharaohs. The opening is at 3:30 AM our time. I just finished trading in Korea which was interesting. Last night I traded in Switzerland, Germany, London, the Netherlands and over night in Israel. Fun, fun, fun, global capitalism really never sleeps. Thankfully I do.
The bus ride was interesting. The preppy blond reading the FT on one end of the hot scale and then the short, muscled punk with the shaved head, muscles, ink outline on his inner bicep who had to hurriedly finish his cigarette before he got on the bus at the other end of the hot scale. Very bad boy versus good boy.
So Steve Jobs has been invited by the morons in Congress to speak with them. He is getting set up for an antitrust suit. The thing is the guy is really nuts. I could totally see him going the Tessier-Ashpool route. Lady 3Steve Jobs and the whole shebang orbiting Earth in his satellite. Hell for all we know all the iThings out there are already some kind of collective Wintermute waiting for Jobs' Neuromancer to get on line...
I am a bit confused. So know all the banks may have to take realized gains on certain securities. So let me get this right; when the markets go against the banks' holdings, the banks can use mark to make believe but when they turn the can use mark to market? What is th epoint of having GAAP if it gets used whenever convenient and ignored when inconvenient?
I loved how the EU is out saying Spain has no problems and all is well yet Spain's Treasury Secretary admits there is a liquidity freeze affecting Spanish banks. The more they deny there is anything wrong the more I don't believe them.
The husband was off to the cottage this morning to do some landscaping. I am jealous as he got to borrow ST's chainsaw to take down a bunch of shrubs in the back yard.
Tonight should be interesting as I have to trade in Egypt. Yes, they actually have capital markets in the land of the pharaohs. The opening is at 3:30 AM our time. I just finished trading in Korea which was interesting. Last night I traded in Switzerland, Germany, London, the Netherlands and over night in Israel. Fun, fun, fun, global capitalism really never sleeps. Thankfully I do.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Odds and ends
Short post tonight as I have no notes.
The euro is still fracked, just look at all the deposits in the ECB backstop facility. European banks would rather get paid squat leaving it at the ECB than make more lending it over night to each other.
Credit markets are telling you the equity markets need to lay of the crack and put the pipe down. Like any addict though they aren't listening...yet.
Rich Franklin- totally forgot how hot he is and really hope he beats Lidell.
Last night I attended my youngest son's spring concert. I was psyched when I got there and my oldest had saved a seat for me. He and I had fun and he even scolded me for reading my BBRG messages at the beginning of the concert. Told me to pay attention.
I admit the there is something really sweet and great about fourth graders singing songs. My favorite two songs were a Haitian version of Frere Jacques and Old Dan Fletcher, an old American folk song.
We have the summer intern. He started last week and the boss put him next to me- again. I am not complaining, the interns have been good kids but I at times have to check myself on my comments about various topics.
I was supposed to have drinks with a fraternity brother who works in my building but he had to reschedule so the husband and I hit the local taqueria.
The husband is on an antibacterial antibiotic as he got bitten by some kind of bug last weekend and has been feeling like crap all week. It's not Lyme's disease, I think it was some kind of spider bite and my husband being the delicate flower he is did not react well. He finally listened to me and went to the doctor yesterday. He is definitely feeling better already.
Work on the house this weekend. We got a fertilizer spreader as the yard needs both weed killer and nutrients. The husband will be spreading the ferts tomorrow, I told him to only do the backyard just in case the INS does a sweep and he gets mistaken for a Mexican day laborer. He took that sort of well....
The euro is still fracked, just look at all the deposits in the ECB backstop facility. European banks would rather get paid squat leaving it at the ECB than make more lending it over night to each other.
Credit markets are telling you the equity markets need to lay of the crack and put the pipe down. Like any addict though they aren't listening...yet.
Rich Franklin- totally forgot how hot he is and really hope he beats Lidell.
Last night I attended my youngest son's spring concert. I was psyched when I got there and my oldest had saved a seat for me. He and I had fun and he even scolded me for reading my BBRG messages at the beginning of the concert. Told me to pay attention.
I admit the there is something really sweet and great about fourth graders singing songs. My favorite two songs were a Haitian version of Frere Jacques and Old Dan Fletcher, an old American folk song.
We have the summer intern. He started last week and the boss put him next to me- again. I am not complaining, the interns have been good kids but I at times have to check myself on my comments about various topics.
I was supposed to have drinks with a fraternity brother who works in my building but he had to reschedule so the husband and I hit the local taqueria.
The husband is on an antibacterial antibiotic as he got bitten by some kind of bug last weekend and has been feeling like crap all week. It's not Lyme's disease, I think it was some kind of spider bite and my husband being the delicate flower he is did not react well. He finally listened to me and went to the doctor yesterday. He is definitely feeling better already.
Work on the house this weekend. We got a fertilizer spreader as the yard needs both weed killer and nutrients. The husband will be spreading the ferts tomorrow, I told him to only do the backyard just in case the INS does a sweep and he gets mistaken for a Mexican day laborer. He took that sort of well....
Monday, June 7, 2010
Things change when you go global
So the summer kicked off with a great Memorial Day weekend with the boys at the in-laws house. I and the boys got out there Friday night around 9:45. My sister-in-law had already started a fire on the beach and had the makings for s'mores. I of course was happy my step-father-in-law is always happy to share his wine. The husband and the kids got there around midnight.
The boys had a blast. The husband commented on how great it was that the boys were totally engaged with his family. The husband's older sister was really great with them. She taught them how to play dominoes. By the end of the weekend they were playing poker for change!
It was quite a movie weekend too. Saturday night we hit the local theater and saw Prince of Persia. Jake was hunky in it of course but the better part was the popcorn/concession guy. He had to be 19 or 20- definitely his summer job. Totally woofy though and chatty about the movie. The ticket taking guy was quite cute too.
I was not expecting much from the movie but it actually wasn't that bad. The best was I had to drag my oldest kicking and screaming to see it and as soon as the lights went back on he looked at me and said it was actually a pretty good movie. The best part of the night was walking out of the theater looking over and seeing two extras from The Big Bang Theory commenting on how the movie would have been good or ok if you had never played the video game, lol.
Sunday night was a double feature night at the in-laws. We watched Daybreakers on dvd followed by Ninja Assassin. The boys liked Daybreakers. Ninja Assassin was ok but the gore level was pretty amazing. My youngest decided he'd rather go play on his laptop than watch it.
Saturday the in-laws had a bunch of guests over for a barbecue. I got to man the grill. I made ribs, burgers and dogs. all of them were a hit. I also grilled asparagus and eggplant- the eggplant was used in a salad the husband made and it was awesome.
Sunday the boys went clamming- manually. My oldest came out of the bay with the pockets of his cargo shorts full. He caught four dozen clams, We steamed them all up and had them for dinner that night and I have to say I think my oldest was a bit proud of the fact that he caught dinner for everyone.
The past week and a half has been kind of crazy at work. Apparently corporate decided to roll up a different division into us. No big deal but we are now trading on a global basis. So last night I was actually trading in Japan. Today I was trading in Brazil along with my usual U.S. trading. It is all about IOF taxes, conversion ratios, f/x rates, holidays, how things settle. I have not traded outside the U.S. (Canada doesn't really count) before but I am a firm believer that trading is trading and it does not matter what country you are trading in. Yes there are nuances and eccentricities but whatever deal with it. It is exciting and fun.
Speaking of the markets I will just say again that according to my Magic 8 Ball all signs are pointing to deflation. Everyone is trying to be a cheerleader and ignore it but when you see things like materials shitting the bed, steel companies idling blast furnaces and asking ferro-chrome producers for price decreases I don't know what else to think. A lot of pundits are doing what a lot of people in this business (I have been guilty of it too) do when they might be wrong' they try to force the data to match their investment thesis instead of changing their thesis to match the data. It never ends well.
The Euro is going to at least 1.15- that is the first stop on the way to parity. Not good for our companies as when a country devalues its currency it makes their products much more competitive. We really can't do anything to stop it. Sadly my children and grandchildren will most likely have a lower standard of living than I and my parents.
This week is a busy one. Tomorrow night the husband and I are going to a charity event- Voices In My Mind I think- with MP. She invited us and it is business attire so I'll be suited up for it. Wednesday night is my youngest son's spring concert. Thursday I am having drinks with a fraternity brother (we also were pledges at the same time) who actually works in my building and is the general counsel for a company there. I have not seen him in 20 years so it should be fun. Friday it is down to the cottage to do some non-gutting work.
My oldest son's summer reading list is out. He was not excited with any of the four choices but I am! There are two books on there I really like- The Hobbit and Ender's Game. I know my oldest- The Hobbit is a non-starter but Ender's Game is right up his alley. SO I will be re-reading Ender's Game this summer. I have to credit my excellent liberal arts education with exposing me to that book. I read it my sophomore year as part of an English class titled Science Fiction For Non-Majors. Ahhh the beauty of varied requirements at a liberal arts school.
This morning on the bus was fun. The hottest guy by far was Wire Rim Glasses. I have not seen him before but totally hot! Scruffy, nice guns in his polo shirt, jeans that fit well in all the right places, dark hair and wire rim glasses- hence his nickname.
I am breaking my facial hair tradition. Normally I go with autumnal facial hair. However this year I am going with the summer (porn) 'stache. The husband asked me to do it the weekend we were at the beach with TK and I acquiesced.
The boys had a blast. The husband commented on how great it was that the boys were totally engaged with his family. The husband's older sister was really great with them. She taught them how to play dominoes. By the end of the weekend they were playing poker for change!
It was quite a movie weekend too. Saturday night we hit the local theater and saw Prince of Persia. Jake was hunky in it of course but the better part was the popcorn/concession guy. He had to be 19 or 20- definitely his summer job. Totally woofy though and chatty about the movie. The ticket taking guy was quite cute too.
I was not expecting much from the movie but it actually wasn't that bad. The best was I had to drag my oldest kicking and screaming to see it and as soon as the lights went back on he looked at me and said it was actually a pretty good movie. The best part of the night was walking out of the theater looking over and seeing two extras from The Big Bang Theory commenting on how the movie would have been good or ok if you had never played the video game, lol.
Sunday night was a double feature night at the in-laws. We watched Daybreakers on dvd followed by Ninja Assassin. The boys liked Daybreakers. Ninja Assassin was ok but the gore level was pretty amazing. My youngest decided he'd rather go play on his laptop than watch it.
Saturday the in-laws had a bunch of guests over for a barbecue. I got to man the grill. I made ribs, burgers and dogs. all of them were a hit. I also grilled asparagus and eggplant- the eggplant was used in a salad the husband made and it was awesome.
Sunday the boys went clamming- manually. My oldest came out of the bay with the pockets of his cargo shorts full. He caught four dozen clams, We steamed them all up and had them for dinner that night and I have to say I think my oldest was a bit proud of the fact that he caught dinner for everyone.
The past week and a half has been kind of crazy at work. Apparently corporate decided to roll up a different division into us. No big deal but we are now trading on a global basis. So last night I was actually trading in Japan. Today I was trading in Brazil along with my usual U.S. trading. It is all about IOF taxes, conversion ratios, f/x rates, holidays, how things settle. I have not traded outside the U.S. (Canada doesn't really count) before but I am a firm believer that trading is trading and it does not matter what country you are trading in. Yes there are nuances and eccentricities but whatever deal with it. It is exciting and fun.
Speaking of the markets I will just say again that according to my Magic 8 Ball all signs are pointing to deflation. Everyone is trying to be a cheerleader and ignore it but when you see things like materials shitting the bed, steel companies idling blast furnaces and asking ferro-chrome producers for price decreases I don't know what else to think. A lot of pundits are doing what a lot of people in this business (I have been guilty of it too) do when they might be wrong' they try to force the data to match their investment thesis instead of changing their thesis to match the data. It never ends well.
The Euro is going to at least 1.15- that is the first stop on the way to parity. Not good for our companies as when a country devalues its currency it makes their products much more competitive. We really can't do anything to stop it. Sadly my children and grandchildren will most likely have a lower standard of living than I and my parents.
This week is a busy one. Tomorrow night the husband and I are going to a charity event- Voices In My Mind I think- with MP. She invited us and it is business attire so I'll be suited up for it. Wednesday night is my youngest son's spring concert. Thursday I am having drinks with a fraternity brother (we also were pledges at the same time) who actually works in my building and is the general counsel for a company there. I have not seen him in 20 years so it should be fun. Friday it is down to the cottage to do some non-gutting work.
My oldest son's summer reading list is out. He was not excited with any of the four choices but I am! There are two books on there I really like- The Hobbit and Ender's Game. I know my oldest- The Hobbit is a non-starter but Ender's Game is right up his alley. SO I will be re-reading Ender's Game this summer. I have to credit my excellent liberal arts education with exposing me to that book. I read it my sophomore year as part of an English class titled Science Fiction For Non-Majors. Ahhh the beauty of varied requirements at a liberal arts school.
This morning on the bus was fun. The hottest guy by far was Wire Rim Glasses. I have not seen him before but totally hot! Scruffy, nice guns in his polo shirt, jeans that fit well in all the right places, dark hair and wire rim glasses- hence his nickname.
I am breaking my facial hair tradition. Normally I go with autumnal facial hair. However this year I am going with the summer (porn) 'stache. The husband asked me to do it the weekend we were at the beach with TK and I acquiesced.
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