Hitting The Road

Was busy last week or so with the paganized holidays....

Now I am about to hit the road to Naples for the month of January.

Will be back blogging by Friday.

Marginalizing What Morons Consider "Christmas"

Have you ever gotten your spouse, significant other, or life-partner to wrap their own Christmas present?

Well I have! A few ears ago I manipulated Mrs. C-Nut into wrapping the gift that I bought for her.

I haven't been successful since. It's kind of hard to sneak a box into her pile when I no longer buy a plural amount of gifts. That's right I'm done. This year, Mrs. C-Nut will receive a single $40 gift from me....in addition to the donation I made in her name to the Human Fund.

As for my kids, well, they're lucky they have a mother and plenty of aunts, uncles, and grandparents. The idea that they need another bevy of new toys is not only ludicrous, it's injurious to their mental and spiritual development.

Yeah, that's right....I read the book (i.e. the study Bible) I got for Christmas last year and morphed into a real Grinch.

Christmas has been co-opted by materialistic pagans and I am having much difficulty shielding my kids from this perversion.

Addendum - I must say that getting my wife to wrap her own gift wasn't that hard. She's a volume doer. You put something in front of her and you can consider it done. Also, she's a bit of a martyr. This summer when we were *out East*, she baked herself a birthday cake, sat down, lit the candles, and sang Happy Birthday to herself . I have it all on tape video!

Googling That Wacky Other Species

The new rule of life must be:

When in doubt or if you're curious....just google it.

Check out these illuminating Google Search Suggestions:





The first search suggestion on *men* took me by surprise. I've never pondered that one in the slightest.

And, the last one for the *women*, I found absolutely hilarious. I never wasted time wondering why....I just channeled my energies to that end!

Hangover Finalists 2008

Click here for full gallery.

Thanks to West Coast Tom for the link. This subject is most certainly his métier!

Barry Don't Know Logic

You young'uns probably don't know the Bo Knows slogan.

Here's Barry Ritholtz waxing illogical:

What a terrible sham the no "regulation cry" has been. It is really a vote for no rules against illegal and/or criminal behavior....

No rules against *illegal* behavior?

Barry, if it's illegal, by definition there has to be an extant *rule against* it!

The same holds for *criminal behavior*....only an existing law could deem it a crime.

Click that link above to read the rest of his weak-arse post. His attempts to capture the moral/intellectual high ground are utterly laughable. Again, he's great at reading the tape - and ought not to diversify.

See also:

Marginalizing Barry Ritholtz,

Barry Ritholtz We Beg You To Stick To Stocks,

and Barry Ritholtz Called Me An Idiot.

Pride Cometh....

...before a fall.

The Gov't Throws Knives....And Morons Try To Catch 'Em

Should politicians rightfully be trying to deliver a *soft landing* for our economy?

I say no. All they've done with their *bailouts* is prolong AND aggravate the agony.

Take for instance the housing market. They have tried everything they can (lower interest rates, expand conforming loan limits, banning foreclosures in many states, etc.) to slow the pain of a housing market that wants to revert back to economical prices. Along the way, while they're *softening the blow*....all they really accomplished was to suck in more people at unsustainable prices. All they've done is sow the seeds for future foreclosures.

Take for instance the house above which is not far from me. This dilapidated shack sold for $249,000 in April of 2008. It needed a complete renovation. New floors, windows, walls, appliances, roof, siding. Quite frankly it looked like a house from Appalachia. All this has to cost at least $100,000, does it not?

Now here the kicker....it's only 858 square feet!

Furthermore, it's not only on a busy road....it's on the train tracks!

So this house is small, on an undesirable location, and with a $350,000 price tag it'll cost $2,100 per month to enjoy.

Meanwhile, for the same price, one could rent a brand spanking new townhome ON THE OCEAN at the Hingham Shipyard.

This Avalonbay Community has it all: pool, gym, boat slips, next to the commuter ferry and shopping, AND you'd get 1,400 square feet.



So who bought that dilapidated shack? I don't know. But I've twice seen a woman high up on a ladder painting it (in the rain both times!). Eight months later the house is still not renovated, still not inhabited.

[Taylor, you're not supposed to paint in the rain.]



Note that the flippers were by no means limited to the *low end*. Above find the South Shore's Cary Estate. As the Boston Globe describes it today:

While the South Shore has fewer luxe mansions on the market than the North Shore, Cohasset's Cary Point estate is listed for $14.75 million. On the market since late 2007, the white stucco structure with a red tile roof was originally listed for $19.5 million. The mansion juts majestically into the Atlantic, providing a panorama of two private beaches and two deep-water mornings.

Built in the early 1900s, the house was once the summer haven of Henry Bigelow, a founder of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. When the current owner, Tom Sullivan, the young founder and chairman of Lumber Liquidators, purchased it sight unseen for nearly $5 million in 2004, "The house was rustic. It was very much a purist summer cottage, like an Adirondack fishing camp," said listing broker Tom Hamilton, of Dean and Hamilton Realtors.

As soon as he took ownership, Sullivan began a massive gut-renovation of the house. While retaining its original Mediterranean-style exterior, he infused the house with custom contemporary elements. In a sharp contrast to the frozen-in-time Wyck estate, Cary Point exudes modernity. "It feels very South Beach," said Hamilton. "The interior is eclectic and hip."

Eclectic and hip? In Boston?

What do y'all think?



How about over-priced and butt-ugly?

The clown has it listed at $14,900,000.

The latest plan to prop up housing is so-called quantitative easing and the fixing of long term government interest rates at super-low levels.

That won't work either.

Related post - Our Speculator Takes His Loss.

Taxing Consequences

I was stopped at a railroad crossing near my house the other day. The commuter train (empty!) that went by had one of its cars painted. It was one big picture of a gas pump with the question "Why pay for gasoline?" or something.

What a joke. Remember, they just upped the price of parking from $2 to $4 per day at the train station lots. A working stiff will pay $1,000 to park over the course of a year now IN ADDITION to between $2,400 and $3,000 in total monthly train passes.

See my prior post - Stealth Inflation.

Just Friday night I met two people who are now riding their bicycles to the train station. Another said they were going to buy a moped for $2,000 and pay for it essentially through the $4 per day savings on parking.

I can see the headlines now, "Secretary Run Over While Biking To Train Station...Was Trying To Save $4".

I don't really want my wife riding a two-wheeler down a road full of harried, coffee-juggling, thumb-typing wage slaves in their BMWs.

Do you?

Christmas Bargains

Some Moron paid $1,200 apiece for a couple of these chairs two years ago.

I bought both of them last week from the Moron for $500 apiece!

They go nicely with my liquidation shelves.

You gotta love Craigslist...especially in a Depression.

Since my back had just went out and since my four year-old son fell asleep in the car....I had to ask the seller, an early 40s *Mom* to help me carry and load my new chairs. A thousand bucks cash ought to get me a helping hand, no?

I made some small talk. The woman had just moved within this very wealthy town (Weston, MA) and no longer had room for the chairs. From that, and the unshoveled driveway, I deduced that she was manless. She most likely just got divorced and downsized locally to keep her girls' social lives education unimpaired.

Carrying the chairs she proved quite healthy. So I asked if she *worked out*....

She smiled and turned beet red.

Haha! I was just spreading around the holiday cheer....that's what I do.

Though, regrettably, I should have turned on the charm before I unsuccessfully bid her $900.

The Kingdom

This one's worth watching. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.



Ari Gold, the foul-mouthed putz (or is it schmuck?) was also well cast in The Kingdom.

Click on his hyperlinked name for a hilarious 10 minute compilation of his best lines on Entourage. [Warning - Viewer Discretion Advised]

George Bush Co-Opting As Much Failure As He Can

Here's President George Bush justifying his last minute (of his term) *bailout* for General Motors and Chrysler:

Under ordinary economic circumstances, I would say this is the price that failed companies must pay, and I would not favor intervening to prevent the automakers from going out of business. But these are not ordinary circumstances. In the midst of a financial crisis and a recession, allowing the US auto industry to collapse is not a responsible course of action.

My economic advisers believe that such a collapse would deal an unacceptably painful blow to hardworking Americans far beyond the auto industry. It would worsen a weak job market and exacerbate the financial crisis. It could send our suffering economy into a deeper and longer recession, and it would lead the next president to confront the demise of a major American industry in his first days of office.

I would say that under EXTRAORDINARY circumstances, Presidents have to make tough decisions and show leadership.....any spineless turd can pander, triangulate, and boot today's problems down the road.

So while Bill Clinton was selling pardons in his final hours....George Bush is lucubrating on how to get his name emblazoned on as many failures as he possibly can!

Saturday Scat

I love it! See, we're all curious about the same stuff.

I may have to make this *google search suggestions* a regular feature.

Related post - Who Wouldn't Appreciate A Good Suggestion?

My Aching Cold Bones

There are drifts of up to 2 feet at my house here on the South Shore of Boston.

I chipped off 6 inches last night before braving the hazardous roads for a Christmas cocktail party. Today I shoveled the rest - though it's still snowing and the forecast looks bad:

Today...Snow showers likely. Snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches. Highs around 20. North winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph. Chance of snow 70 percent.

Tonight...Cloudy. Snow showers likely in the evening...then a chance of snow after midnight. Additional snow accumulation around an inch. Near steady temperature around 18. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 60 percent.

Sunday...Snow in the morning...then snow with rain likely in the afternoon. Total snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches. Not as cool with highs in the mid 30s. East winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph. Chance of precipitation near 100 percent.

Note that my driveway is enormous AND I also had to climb up and shovel off my *flat roofs*. People say, "Get a snowblower..." or "Get it plowed..."

I say, "Do you know how enjoyable it is to spend 6 hours out by myself away from the kids/wife at the end of a long week?"

This storm will be particularly hard on many New Englanders who've been without power since LAST Thursday.

But you know what? Everyone will survive. We have soldiers in Iraq carrying 100 pound backpacks, sleeping on the ground, and eating Spam for crying out loud.

Snowstorm Levity

This one reminds me of my South Philly gumbas!

Proof that Men Have Better Friends

Friendship among Women:
A woman didn't come home one night. The next morning
she told her husband that she had slept over at a
friend's house. The man called his wife's 10 best
friends. None of them knew anything about it.

Friendship among Men:
A man didn't come home one night. The next morning he
told his wife that he had slept over at a friend's
house. The woman called her husband's 10 best friends.
Eight confirmed that he had slept over, and two said he was still there.

Sexing Up A Fringe Sport

I was taken aback by this bumper sticker I saw on the highway yesterday.

We were pretty much stopped in traffic, but when I got the chance, I pulled up next to the car, honked, and made a *gesture* to the tool driving.

[Note that if it was a Subaru Forrester....I would have refrained.]

Turns out, the bumper sticker is for SCUBA people.

The Good Sheppard

Despite its star-studded cast, The Good Sheppard was a snoozer.

I give it 2.5 stars out of 5. It was way too long and the plot went nowhere.

Angry Trades

While I ride out big losers in DXO, OIH, TBT, SRS, and SKF....



I took profits in my last remaining *longs* today.

I sold Stillwater Mining at 5.14 today. I had bought it two months ago (way too soon) at 3.87.



And I also dumped my Suntech Power Hlds at 10.81 this afternoon. I had bought it about a month ago for for 5.80.

The Suntech was easy to let out. It had almost doubled and I have plenty of *long oil* exposure in DXO and OIH.

The same goes for Stillwater Mining. I am still long palladium in my futures account so I can afford to let it go. Palladium is trading at near $175 an ounce a multiyear low (I got long around $390 or so). Methinks SWC is only rallying with gold miners as its fundamentals (i.e. spot price) are lagging the yellow metal's.

I messed up on these metals. I, like more than a few others, was discouraged by gold's reluctant, slow drift up in the runaway commodity bull market. So, when commodities weakened, I nibbled on palladium instead of gold or silver. Palladium, though possessing better supply/demand fundamentals, is proving to be a very *industrial* metal. It sold off hard with the collapse of the auto industry.

Meanwhile, gold has held up really well relative to the entire basket of commodities in this *deflationary* environment. Gold's probably going to go a lot higher considering the fact that after 12 years of being a goldbug....I have no exposure whatsoever to gold.

Propping Up 'Old Coots'

Not to be outdone by the Phillies signing 46 year old Jamie Moyer to a two year contract.....

Penn State just re-upped 'old coot' Joe Paterno for another 3 years. The fossil will turn 82 next week!

"If we can work out something that they are comfortable with and I'm comfortable with before the bowl, fine," Paterno said. "I just get tired of recruits asking me, 'How long are you going to be there?' But most of them are fine."

I know football players, particularly 18 year old ones, are pretty dumb, BUT that's a pretty stupid question.

After 82 years on this overheated planet, I'm right sure that Joe ain't *all there* right now.

C'mon already.

I can just see JoePa on life support, in a puddle of drool, ten years hence as STILL the head coach of the Nittany Lions because *recruits want to play for him*.

Joe staying on is an act of supreme arrogance. He should step aside and give another guy a chance.

A Friends And Family Bailout

Y'all just watch. They are going to *bailout* Bernard Madoff's investors victims...

They'll say that his $50 billion Ponzi scheme ripped off pensions, endowments, and charities.

You just watch the media spin on this one. Madoff's investors victims will be helped because they are the *right* people, if you know what I mean.

On The SRS

Here's a good article on the UltraShort Real Estate ETF - SRS.

In the case that you are one of the thousands of non-Morons out there piggybacking my trades these days....you might want to check it out.

Click here for my most recent trading update.

Jesse "The Mind" Ventura

Interesting interview with former Navy Seal, pro wrestler, and Minnesota governor Jesse "The Body" Ventura":



I guess I kind of knew the CIA had no authority to operate within the United States. And in the video (watch it!) Jesse offers evidence they do so anyway. I guess what's to be surprised? Every arm of Big Government has become a mandate-enlarging, self-perpetuating monster, right?

I just read some of Jesse's Wikipedia entry. It's pretty interesting.

Note that from the 3 min 50 sec mark to the 5 min mark in that clip Jesse discusses how the CIA interrogated him after his election victory. "How did you get elected?", they wanted to know. *Independent* governors are hardly welcome in our political duopoly. And this point gives credence to that weird Alex Jones video I posted in On The Elite.

If you remember, in that clip he talked about the two parties propping each other up.

Independents aren't welcome anywhere in the realm of Big Government - not even in grade school classrooms!

Please Prop Up Our Pathetic Competition!

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Detroit's Big Three aren't the only automotive companies that want to see the government step in with some much needed financial help.

Overseas automakers, most notably Toyota Motor, all endorse some form of federal aid to keep General Motors (GM, Fortune 500), Chrysler LLC and possibly Ford Motor (F, Fortune 500) out of bankruptcy.

The Senate killed an effort to get the automakers a stopgap loan last week and now the Bush administration has said it is looking at providing the automakers help from the $700 billion approved to bailout banks and Wall Street firms.

"We support measures to help the industry," said Toyota Motor (TM) spokeswoman Mira Sleilati. "We just want a strong, competitive healthy industry."

Sure they do!

Here's the link to the full article.

Forget this nonsense that Toyota fears *disrupted production* from a Big Auto bankruptcy, the REAL STORY, their REAL MOTIVES are articulated here:

The final concern for the overseas automakers is a longer-term problem. If a U.S. automaker fails, that could open the door for a Chinese or Indian automaker to buy up the assets of the failed automaker and create a new low-cost competitor in the U.S.

"You could open the door for foreign companies to buy distressed assets at rock bottom prices," he said. He pointed to India's Tata (TTM) and China's Geely, as two automakers in the developing world that are already on record as being interested in expanding into western markets like the United States.

"Tata and Geely would be incredibly open to brownfield sites," he said, referring to the term used to describe companies that buy discarded industrial facilities.

A Sober Look At The Bailout

Watch, and enjoy this:



The last part reminded me of this unfunny joke I came across on curmudgeon Don Luskin's blog:

Christmas = when kids ask for stuff and adults pay for it.

Deficits = when adults ask for stuff and make their kids pay for it!

I was paraphrasing there as I couldn't find the specific hyperlink.

Funny, Yet Misdirected

Back in 1929 Financial Crash it was said that some Wall Street Stockbrokers and Bankers JUMPED from their office windows and committed suicide when confronted with the news of their firms and clients financial ruin......Many people were said to almost feel a little sorry for them ......

In 2008 the attitude has changed somewhat:



The anger is *misdirected* because we need Congress to fall on their swords more than Wall Street.

Sifting Through

Right now, I am short long term Treasuries, short REITs and homebuilders, and long oil.

Seemingly everything I read today tells me I am Moronic.

That the worldwide demand for oil is evaporating.

That the Fed is going to start buying long dated Treasuries, so-called *quantitative easing*.

That Big Government is going to bailout commercial real estate by accepting CMBS as collateral.

That Bernanke is going to literally turn the printing presses on. That Obama is going to promulgate a $1 trillion spending program.

And, most of all, the memory of the painful July and September short squeezes....altogether the rumors and my worst fears are weaving a web of doubt in my head. I'm having trouble sleeping again.

This is the tortured, everyday mental state of a trader. So, to all you people who keep telling me I have your *dream job*....

I say you know not what you ask for. You'd never be able to pay your monthly bills with my gig.

There's a reason why probably less than 5% of the traders I first met 13 years ago are still in the business.

Actually, there are plenty of reasons.

By The Way - This marks my 1,000th post!

The Three Horses

Here they are.

Apple's iPhone:



RIMM's Blackberry Storm:



Google's upstart Android:



Each has a lock on a carrier: AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile respectively.

And the first two have huge leads over Google's Android.

But I wouldn't count out the upstart. Even if the Android doesn't supplant the leaders, it could very well wreak havoc on their margins.

Remember, here was a time not too long ago when EVERYONE had AOL dial-up internet service.

I suspect that at some point, there'll be so much *free* bandwidth in the sky that these phones will become untethered from cell service providers.

In technology, the long run has always been about *cheap* and *open source*, i.e. Google.

If I were to ever NEED a geeked up phone, I'd probably go with the one with the best web surfing capability. Is that the Android? I messed around with a couple Androids over Thanksgiving and they seemed pretty functional.

I need good web access so I can read blogs, write blogs, and enter trades when I'm out at the park, the library, or ballet class with the *moms*.

My Verizon contract isn't up for 11 months so I'm going to wait a bit.

Raw Footage In Mouthage - Barney Frank

Barney Frank was just on 60 minutes. Here's a *money* excerpt below:

Leslie Stahl - We're now faced with taxpayers having to prop up companies that made bad decisions consistently.

Barney Frank - No, we're not propping up companies. That is your mistake! We're propping up individuals. The world doesn't consist of companies. The world are people. (sic) The country is people. And, uh, yes, it is possible to argue that the government can stay out...

Leslie Stahl - Then you're talking about welfare.

Barney Frank - Yaaaah. I'm for welfare. You're not? Are you for letting people starve?

You can read the entire interview here or watch it below:



My favorite part was this:

Stahl - So what are you saying about secretary Paulson?

Barney Frank - At first I thought he was focused too much on the financial community's tender feelings and NOW I think he's focusing almost exclusively on them.

Can one of y'all parse THAT logic for me?

Here's a *WARNING* map. In this gerrymandered district you'll find some of the dumbest people alive on planet Earth:



I've written quite a bit on this Moron. For a rough search click here.

Though my favorite post is still Dodging Barney Frank.

Should We Bailout Moral Superiority?

Right now, Chevy offers more models than Toyota or Honda with mileage of 30 mpg or better. This year, Consumer Reports rated Ford’s quality on par with Toyota and Honda. Last week, it was announced that Ford has more vehicles with five-star safety ratings than any other manufacturer. And while Moore paints a picture of the domestics as terminal losers, the vehicle with the biggest increase in sales last month was actually the Chevy Malibu (the vehicle with the biggest decrease in sales was the Toyota Prius.)

Prius sales are the biggest casualty in this market??? (link)

I love it! It just shows that eco-paganism is a trust-funded religion of the wealthy.

Oil gets cheap and in the course of an economic plunge, Daddy's funds run low....and they all hypocritically go back to the dirty combustion engine.

The difference between me and these Pluming Prius Putzs is that my coefficient of self-righteousness doesn't fluctuate no matter how much money I make or lose!

Their moral superiority may in fact be *too big to fail*. In which case Congress ought to act.

Gee, I wonder how that Pagan Pizza chain is doing?

Who Wouldn't Appreciate A Good Suggestion?

So in writing my most recent post I was googling "plus-size" (I mistakenly thought the term was "plus-sized")....

And Google, friend of mine that it is, added its usual *search suggestions*:



Meticulous professional that I am, I was compelled to click on *plus size lingerie*.

Now if that lady above looks plus-size to you, you're either a native Ethiopian or a Moron.

To me it's absolutely astounding how out of touch the corporate elites are. From the news they deliver, the politics they advocate, and the labels they put on clothes.

They have their own bizarro reality; their own argot.



Here's some more fun with Google Search.

Do you think the above fellow is happy with his *suggestions*?



They say it's an urban myth, but does that really matter if so many people all over the world still equate Richard Gere with *gerbilling*?

[Sorry, WestCoastTom. This is a *family site*. I couldn't post a link to that Richard Gere spread.]

Michael Moore - A Plus-Size Moron

Is Big Government's failure to *bailout* Big Auto (thus far anyway) an assault on blue collar workers as Michael Moore has posited? He used the expression blue collar blood.

Let's take out that abacus:

$70 per hour X 40 hours per week X 50 weeks per year....

= $140,000 in annual wage and benefits.

I guess we're going to have to redefine *blue collar*.

Here is a good summary of Michael Moore's appearance on Larry King:

Moore's preferred solution is that "President-Elect Obama has to say to them, yes, we're going to use this money to save these jobs, but we're not going to build these gas-guzzling, unsafe vehicles any longer. We're going to put the companies into some sort of receivership and we, the government, are going to hold the reins on these companies"

"There's a catastrophe about to happen," Moore emphasized, "and the government has to step in and say, just like Roosevelt did, this is what you're building. This is how it's going to be built. We're going to have a mass transit system in this country. We're going to bring back light rail. We're going to build more subways. We're going to build more buses. And we're going to employ not only the people that are currently employed, but a lot of the people who have lost their jobs. ... That's what the country needs. That's what the world needs."

One centrist defender of the free market took objection to Moore's central argument that the automakers had failed because they weren't building the fuel-efficient, well-engineered cars Moore believes Americans want. "Those gas-guzzling vehicles (SUVs and large trucks) have been the only thing propping up the U.S. automakers," argued Alan Carl Stewart. "Until gas hit $4.00 this summer, American’s loved their gas guzzlers and GM and Ford were the companies meeting the market’s demand."

"What Moore is suggesting is a step away from nationalization of industry," Stewart continued. "What’s really amazing is that he’s advocating that the government should do exactly what he says caused GM to fail in the first place. Read this quote from the interview ... 'Their attitude was we’ll build it and you buy it. We’ll tell you what to buy.' ... But I guess it’s different if the U.S. government is telling people what’s good for them."

Bigots In Cambridge, Massachusetts

Holiday season (Kwanzaa, etc.) is in full swing.

As such, my family schedule is pretty hectic. Yesterday my wife had two *cookie swaps*, one right after the other, and 20 miles apart to boot. At the later one, Mrs. C-Nut and her college friends also did a so-called yankee swap. That's where everyone buys a gift; they throw them in a pile; and randomly redistribute them.

One of her friends got a pack of Corporate Flashcards:

Have you ever wished you could speak like a suit? Corporate Flashcards will get you multisyllabizing like a results-driven tycoon in mere days. Study alone or with a team player, then embrace your golden handcuffs as you blamestorm your way up the ladder!

• The perfect present for anybody who’s unemployed or overemployed
• Packed with all the emptiest jargon
• 5 x 7 inches, 60 cards per package

This *swap*, I guess, is somewhat of a gag-gift event. Nonetheless the one girl who received the Corporate Flashcards was sullen. My wife inquired:

Mrs. C-Nut - Well, don't you know someone in the corporate world whom you can re-gift the Flashcards to?

The question was sarcastic....and the answer was negative.

This girl was typical Cambridge, Massachusetts - where she lives. She works in the Government Economy as a teacher. And has nary a friend in corporate America. [Dad pays for a lot of things.]

So, as for the question at the bottom of the graphic above:

Do you have a job or know someone who does?....

For this young lady, the answer was essentially NO!

And my wife just had to taunt her about her *lack of social diversity*.

Almost four years ago, when we were moving up from Charlotte to Boston, this same friend of my wife's introduced us to a friend of hers in Cambridge who was looking to rent his house out.

I did a walk-through. It was pretty nice. This single guy was also a public school teacher so I wondered how he could afford a $500,000 house.

Answer - his Daddy.

So I wanted to inquire how much rent he wanted for his sweet pad but he couldn't answer. In fact, his ladyfriend (Flashcard recipient) asked me not to broach the subject of money with him at all.

This guy, this Moron was apparently incapable of even throwing out a number. Well, then, what the heck was the point of looking at it? The retard probably had to ask his *Dad*.



Why was this clown even renting out the house?

Well, he was going to take two years off (from life, apparently), move up to Maine, and go to *kayak making* school. You know, where they handcarve the boats from wood.

What a HANDJOB!

Take this guy and the corporate world bigot saddled with the flashcards....multiply by tens of thousands and you'll have a pretty good idea what Cambridge, Massachusetts is like.

C-Nut Defying The Odds, Once Again

There's a 7% chance Mrs. C-Nut and I split up in the next 5 years.

That's according to this divorce calculator.

I have to say that when I came across that link I was expecting more probative questions like:

Have you ever hit your spouse?

How necessary is alcohol in your weekly diet?

Rate your MIL (Mother-in-Law) on a scale of -5 to 10.

Alright, I've just got to post this appalling pic again:



That was from my previous post - Ambulance Chasing At Bear Stearns.

The Hilarious Tragedy Of Newspapers

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Clusterf#@k to the Poor House - Final Edition Edition

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

I'm not a fan of Jon Stewart but I had to weigh that against the high entertainment value of this clip.

Plus, I learned a new term *Height/Weight Appropriate*!

Though, in my younger days, we used a somewhat kindred *TA ratio*.

Americal Idol End-Around

Who wants the shackle of that exclusive contract from Americal Idol anyway?

I've watched it 3 times and can't discern any lip-synching. Am I mistaken?

Someone has already bought the domain rinontherox.com and put it up for sale!

That's such a good idea. Right now I am going to go reserve WestCoastTom.com in hopes of selling it to him after he becomes a star.

Something Different

I did have a few hours at my PC tonight but didn't write any blog posts. I figured I'd mix it up a bit. I power-read numerous blogs and comment threads.

In my race to rev up my output (106 posts in November!) I've fallen behind in my research.

We're, ideally, supposed to listen a whole lot more than we talk, right?

And since I talk A LOT....

Cold And Dumb....It's No Way To Live

After a 24+ hour rainstorm, there's over 2 feet of water in my slab basement. In fact, although it's elevated, my hot water tank got *taken out*. The pilot light (I think) was extinguished and I am having real trouble re-igniting it. And I can't very well call my jerk of a landlord.

West and north of Boston, this monsoon showed up as far more pernicious ICE.




My mother is sitting in her Worcester, MA house without power and heat - while my dad is boozing and golfing in Myrtle Beach this week!

Governor Deval Patrick is trying to get Federal disaster money.

That line for Federal bailouts handouts is getting pretty long these days...



The *most emailed* story on the Boston Globe's website is, as you can plainly see, storm photos sent in by readers.

These newspapers are essentially bankrupt because they've been too slow to incorporate and capitalize on the wealth of user-generated content in today's digital age. It's a shame too because never before has it been so cheap to produce content. They got stuck playing the old command-and-control game. Today they'll let Massholes send in storm pics and pictures of their pets in costumes....but they won't let Captious bloggers write guest columns; they filter blog comments; Etc.

And, of course, the Boston Globe's profound ideophobia is no help either!

Nascent Morons

Do you think Alex Rodriquez is a dipsh*t for choosing to play for the Dominican Republic even though he's a born and raised American citizen???

Then what do you think of Clippers center Chris Kaman who opted to play for Germany in this past year's Olympics because his great-great grandparents were German?

"My dad is not so thrilled," Kaman said. "My mom has always supported me, she's great. My dad is kind of negative about it. He's like: 'You're not German, you're an American citizen.'"

These clowns remind me of when I was a kid. The whole class would be home-team Boston fans. BUT, there was always at least one whack-a-do who insisted on rooting for the Yankees, the Lakers, or the Cowboys for no reason (like parental roots) whatsoever.

These obtuse Morons were always destined for lifetime unpopularity, if not unhappiness.

Broke-Ass Liquidation

Click to enlarge.

I was thinking about driving over to Quincy and bidding this guy $375 or $400 for his chair....

But that one line in his ad hints that he mightn't have much wiggle room on the price:

In your email, just indicate a time when you can come to Quincy and see it..If you wish to leave a number I will contact you at 9pm when my phone minutes are free...

When his phone minutes are FREE???

I should call him *collect* just to mess with him.

Santa Claus Trading Update

After a bad week or so my accounts finally had a decent day with SKF and SRS both rallying almost 20 points apiece.

Since my last trading update - Got Squeezed....

On Monday I bought more SKF at 106.16.

I also wrote more calls against my Dell position, selling the January 12.5s for .90.

And on Wednesday, after the close, I added to SRS at 76.90.

Today, I took a loss on my December 25 puts in Wells Fargo. I had bought them 6 days ago for 1.25....today I dumped them at .77 figuring I had plenty of short bank exposure through SKF.

I am strongly thinking about taking some of my SKF and SRS off the table right now after the close....

But am leaning toward letting it ride. Hopefully this pig won't get slaughtered!