Quote of the day
The perfect man uses his mind as a mirror. It grasps nothing, it rejects nothing. It receives but does not keep.Â
Chuang Tzu
The perfect man uses his mind as a mirror. It grasps nothing, it rejects nothing. It receives but does not keep.Â
Chuang Tzu
My wonderful old computer had slowly fallen behind the times. I was in desperate need of an upgrade. I don’t remember what got me started on this, but I decided I wanted to build my own rather than buy a ready made one.
So, I got a how-to book at Borders and began researching the project. After many false starts, I finally got up the nerve to order the components online at NewEgg.com. A few days later big boxes began arriving at the door.
I immediately had second thoughts. What had I gotten myself into? What if it didn’t work? There were so many wires, it was all very intimidating. Deb was a huge help, calming me down, reading instructions, pointing out important facts. I couldn’t have done it without her.
Then came the magic moment, turning it on for the first time – it fired right up. Amazing. What a beautiful thing. Of course, now I’m happy I did it this way. I know what’s in it and I know how it’s put together. I hand picked every component and they are all top notch blazing fast. Not a bad price either.
Grand total  $1,186 after shipping and rebates.
I just cashed out $415.87 from the InTrade prediction marketplace.
I deposited $100 there earlier this year so I could play in the election markets. I made a series of plays on big favorites, slowly building my stake from $100 to $146. In the primaries I shorted Fred Thompson (he was pathetic). I shorted Rudy Giuliani (he was scary). I bet against a US/Israeli air strike on Iran. I made a small profit going long Ron Paul in the early days of his campaign.
Then I put everything on Hillary Clinton to win it all. I figured she was a lock to beat anyone the Republicans would run. But her share price began to fall. I booked a small loss and moved to the sidelines for a week to try and figure out just what was happening.
That was the first time I took notice of Obama. He looked good. Here was a real candidate. I put everything on Obama to win the presidency. At the time his share price was $32.20. I held him all the way and last night he closed at $100 a share. I love politics.
Barack Obama won last night, and the whole world breathed a sigh of relief. For the first time in eight years I feel good about America. For the first time in eight years I saw a flag and didn’t cringe. For the first time in eight years I heard the word patriotism and didn’t immediately think of Joseph McCarthy. Change is in the air. The headline in the London Daily Express reads A New World Dawns. I couldn’t agree more.
O brave new world, That has such people in it!
————
August 28, 2010 – Looking back on this post now, and of course I’m embarrassed. You can tell Pete Townshend that we did get fooled again. At least I did. I had such high hopes, but it turned out he was just another empty suit, all style, and no substance.
I just got a check from PokerStars for $374.83.
I hadn’t played there for a year or two. Several months ago I logged in just to see what was going on. I noticed that I had an unearned bonus there. So, I deposited $100 and starting playing a little in my spare time.
Last week I finally played enough to clear the bonus. I won $174.83 playing, earned a $100 bonus, together with my $100 deposit I was able to cash out $374.83. Sweet.
from Clay Bennett of the Chattanooga Times Free Press
Ok, it’s official, the bottom is in.
Once something hits the cover of Time, you know it’s over. (at least temporarily)
I swear, if the S&P 500 can break above 1020 I’m jumping in. (maybe just a little toe’s worth)
PS – October 22nd – two and a half weeks later – the S&P still has not broken above 1020 – I guess we are still searching for the bottom – Oh My.