Even ***IF*** a recovery is coming...

This stock market rally is premature

Employment Data from ADP, stock index prices from Yahoo

The "Useful Links" Post

This is an ongoing list of links that I find useful, and you may too

Google Calendar Text Wrap - your G-Cal event titles will display sans clipping
S&P 500 Earnings Estimates - issued by Standard & Poors analysts. Keep tabs on US corporate profits as a way to gauge the economy
Wall Street Journal Crossword - weekly crossword that I struggle to get 20% complete... weekly

Foreshadowing?

This is meant in no way to be scientific, but it is pretty interesting. Below are two charts of the S&P 500 Index - on top, the past 14 hours, and on bottom, the past 3 years. It's creepy how similar the patterns are, and suggests that it's not at all out of the realm of possibilities for this market to revisit the lows. (I personally think it will breach the March low)

Traffic

The purpose of this post is to provide me with the traffic cameras I need before heading out the door. But, feel free to bookmark it yourself if you find yourself constantly curious about Atlanta traffic conditions :)

Twitter

A common question I hear from friends when talking about Twitter is, "What exactly is Twitter? What's the point??" I think anyone that puts 5 minutes into actually seeking an answer to that question will find that Twitter is simply a quick way to keep people up to speed on what you're doing. You're limited to 140 characters per 'tweet' and can update your status from any computer (twitter.com), phone (sms text), or hybrid thereof (smartphone application, etc).

www.twitter.com/mk32

Oh.. and I brought home a Macbook the other day. I guess I've done a 180 from a year ago - just call me the US Republican Party.

Edit - added a gadget to the left, hooray for technology

A song good enough to put you in a good mood...

...all by itself



I stumbled upon this band, Nightwish, while cruising wimp.com the other day and they've become my taste-of-the-week. It's a blend of heavy metal (just lost a few people), classical, and even a little Irish traditional.

Just goes to show that while one may think that all the possible music has been listened to, there's plenty out there yet to be discovered.

Marketing gets personal

EA Sports has always been a pretty 'cool' company, but even for them this is pretty un-corporate. Check it out-

Someone on Youtube finds a glitch in EA Sports' Tiger Woods 2008 (I was personally addicted to the 2002 version of the game on Playstation 2 while at Young Harris and UT)

And EA responds with this funny clip

I like where the internet is taking business, even if only for a few companies so far.

Which is worse: Being cliche, or going out of your way to not be cliche?

I ordered a refurbished iPod shuffle (now that the new model has come out, the old ones are deeply discounted) and started pondering... I surely don't want to be one of the millions of white-earbud wearing Apple loyalists, do I? Yet, if I go out of my way to find other headphones to use with it, is that any better?

I guess we'll find out when it arrives in a couple days. 

I remember there was a time that I said I would never buy an Apple product. My tune has certainly changed, now that I use an iPhone and have a Shuffle on the way. I still despise the Apple culture though... me and elitism don't mix.

(photo credit)

I haven't been this excited about music in a long time

Phish has returned to stage - my Friday night has been spent watching the setlist come in and now due to the wonders of modern technology I'm about to listen to a concert that only finished about an hour ago. Life is good

Here's a link for anyone that would like a listen

An Experiment: If it comes wrapped in plastic, don't buy it

Video

Eye-opening, yes?

A little dremeling is good for the soul

Decided to make an iPhone dock out of my desk - check it out here

No applicable title

I've been woefully lacking with posts lately, due to a myriad of issues running through my head at a sprinters pace with marathon stamina. But, I did want to post this link - it's the Federal Government's total outstanding debt.

Treasury Direct

By supporting bailouts, we citizens encourage this number to get even larger, and with that growth comes the increased (and very real) possibility of political instability as we owe the world more and more money.

And, on a lighter note, I stopped by my Mom and her boyfriend's new house on Lake Lanier - beautiful place.

From 2008.12.21 - Mom and Tom's new house

Google, DC, chess...

Does it get more random? Doubtful.

First up - Google chat is malfunctioning today and throwing me on mental spin-cycle. I'm getting messages such as these...



Yet the actual chat function seems to be working just fine - messages are being delivered. The problem is on both ends though, so we are constantly asking each other, "hey, did you get that? Google told me you didn't". Amazing, that personifying a search engine is now acceptable.

Next up... DC - as in Washington, DC. What better way to kick-start a new career than by actually looking for a new job? I'm looking into Best Buy retail opportunities at the moment. Seems to be right up my alley.

And finally... chess. Chess on the iPhone, specifically. My latest obsession has spread virally throughout my contact list and I'm now in the midst of no less than eight chess matches with friends who also own iPhones.

MK

Phew

Awesome weekend in Minnesota for Thanksgiving - photos will be posted on my Picasa site in the next few days.

And, the most encouraging mainstream-media article that I've read in a long time. It seems that credit card companies understand what Paulson seems to not: Excessive credit is the problem, not the solution.

It's the little things

Taking a step back from politics and what's going on in the country, I've taken some pleasure in some 'little things' lately...

Helping my roommate redecorate around his new Macbook Pro


Lunchtime visit to Circuit City with coworkers in the search of hot deals... none were to be found though. I guess it's no wonder CC is going out of business, when I can't find anything to buy even when every item in the store is marked down at least 10%


Post-midnight run to McDonalds


A little productivity-enhancing tea (tea name nonwithstanding)

Is that snow? I wish.. but it's only some dust that was being flung about by the recent windy conditions in our carport. Only days away from seeing some real-life white stuff though - Minnesota on Wednesday

Taking note of the clearcoat swirls that have accumulated on my hood... looks like I have a new weekend project


Grocery shopping - I'm loving the feeling of accomplishment knowing that I won't have to stop by a fast food joint on the way to work for at least a few days

Fox News airs a substantative piece...

...Satan reaches for his overcoat

Jokes aside, this guy is right-on. Yet, what can we do about it? The entire democratic system has been made a mockery of. Congress passed a law, and Paulson rewrote it on his own.

Watch this video

MK

Ugh

So, the way to fix the over-lending and under-saving problem that lead to the current crisis is... drumroll... to lend more?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/13/business/economy/13bailout.html

I just don't get it. People overextending themselves is what got us here. Now the head of the nation's official bank is telling us to spend more. Ludicrous.

Politics of Emotion

Moments of realization come at strange times. To make things stranger, I personally just had a moment of realization about such moments. It occurred to me that everyone has them, but their environment largely dictates what they do with these new profound thoughts. One such instance occurred some four years ago when I decided to switch my major from Engineering to Finance. My epiphany was that while my Dad was successful with his engineering degree, basing my decision solely on his success would be a naive move. Luckily I was in an environment that nurtured life-changing decisions such as this, and with the help of family and friends (and my Dad's Financial Advisor), I decided that a change in study would be prudent.

Which brings me to the point of this example. Today's political environment is one of emotion. Our two candidates running for president got to where they are because they appeal to the people - not for their policy so much, but because people feel good when they listen to them. It's a trap that we've fallen into and will be the real barrier to the latest political buzzword, "Change".

Have you ever sat in a classroom in school and not followed what the professor was talking about? Were you discouraged, to the point of not enjoying yourself? I certainly have - senior year Physics in high school confounded me, and I despised the class to the point of not even wanting to try to learn. 

That's what has happened to our country. When we actually get someone who knows the problems and wants to inform the public, we would rather tune them out and listen to the people that make us feel smart and good about ourselves. So when Peter Schiff gets on CNN to explain what is happening, many people don't immediately understand and would rather ignore the problem.

So, when a knowledgeable presidential candidate finally rose to the attention of the American public and attempted to explain what was wrong and how he would fix it, most people didn't understand and tuned him out. In reaction, the mainstream media stopped covering him, and we instead get the two candidates that make the populous feel warm and fuzzy: McCain and Obama.

If you watch last summer's Republican primary debate, Ron Paul makes educated, logical arguments on all of the topics (especially the economy), but is laughed at by his fellow Republicans on stage and tuned out by the American public. In contrast, the others on stage stay within Washington's generally accepted 'conservative' positions that the American citizens feel good listening to. 

What is this Federal Reserve that Ron Paul keeps talking about? If people don't know, they would rather just not listen than seek some self-education. But what Ron Paul talks about is real, and this country's people need to know that the government funds itself literally by printing more money. Literally. 

Allan Greenspan even admitted recently that his Federal Reserve policies did indeed contribute to the current recession. He says that the free market failed to assess the inherent risk in the mortgage investments that collapsed in value and lead to the financial mess that we're in. However, he says that more regulation is the answer. Careful though... greater regulation, or greater accountability? I believe in the latter.

Ron Paul sees through all of this and calls for an end to targeted interest rates, which I also agree with. Why not target money supply instead, and let the market determine interest rates? We could peg money supply to GDP and the dollar would then have a constant, reliable value. 

But, as long as people are not willing to learn about issues that they're not currently knowledgeable about, we will have the same ole same ole in Washington, with the dollars in your savings being worth less and less and you having to work longer and longer to be able to retire.

I hope (in the deepest meaning of the word) that our citizenry takes the time to understand what is going on and puts competent people in Washington to reform how we deal with the issues of our time. 

Bernanke and the Great Depression

It is well known that Ben Bernanke is a student of the Great Drepression. He has studied it extensively and seeks to use its lessons to help stave off a crisis in modern times. He has tried, I'll give him that. But, he simply hasn't succeeded.

In 2002, he stated:

"Let me end my talk by abusing slightly my status as an official representative of the Federal Reserve," he said. "I would like to say to Milton and Anna: Regarding the Great Depression. You're right, we (the Federal Reserve) did it. We're very sorry. But thanks to you, we won't do it again."

We haven't heard *that* on CNN, now have we?

Determined not to let past mistakes repeat themselves, Bernanke and the Fed has acted in the most appropriate way possible in their eyes. However, they failed to realize the complexity and interrelativity of the current, modern banking system. One example is that they allowed Lehman Brothers to declare bankruptcy. While this in and of itself is not bad (that's capitalism - companies do go out of business), the critical fact is that the Fed chose to bail out numerous other institutions, citing that they were "too big to fail". This means that a bank is so big, their collapse would have severe adverse effects on the banking system as a whole, and subsequently the American and World economy.

Well, in that sense, Lehman was, in fact, too big to fail. Bernanke didn't realize it:
Millions of dollars were invested in Lehman's short-term commercial paper by money market accounts.
Liquidation of assets as dictated by bankruptcy filing caused the already beaten-down mortgage market to further deteriorate.
Any company that did business with Lehman experienced the worst kind of counterparty risk: default.
Farmer Mac owned $48 million of Lehman debt - $48 million now worth $0.

Does that mean that I think the Fed should have bailed out Lehman? Absolutely not. The Fed acted properly in letting Lehman declare bankruptcy - as it should have acted in the cases of Bear Stearns, Fannie, Freddie, and AIG. The effects on the economy would have been disastrous, of course - but, at least we might be seeing some light at the end of the tunnel by now. Instead, our country is trillions more in debt and we still have companies struggling to stay afloat. It is the Legal System in this country that should handle whether or not these companies misled people into investing in them. Do you feel, as I do, that Lehman's exposure to nonperforming mortgages was not accurately presented in company filings with the SEC? Bring suit. It's the natural recourse of the citizens of this country. Don't expect to be bailed out by the government's financial system. But if a bankrupt company is successfully sued, where do the damages come from? I would say that the personal assets of those at the top would certainly be fair game.

Departure of one smart hedge fund manager

Below is a letter published by Andrew Lahde, who ran Lahde Capital Management until just recently. Here's a quick synopsis, and the brilliant letter is as follows:

Today I write not to gloat. Given the pain that nearly everyone is experiencing, that would be entirely inappropriate. Nor am I writing to make further predictions, as most of my forecasts in previous letters have unfolded or are in the process of unfolding. Instead, I am writing to say goodbye.

Recently, on the front page of Section C of the Wall Street Journal, a hedge fund manager who was also closing up shop (a $300 million fund), was quoted as saying, “What I have learned about the hedge fund business is that I hate it.” I could not agree more with that statement. I was in this game for the money. The low hanging fruit, i.e. idiots whose parents paid for prep school, Yale, and then the Harvard MBA, was there for the taking. These people who were (often) truly not worthy of the education they received (or supposedly received) rose to the top of companies such as AIG, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and all levels of our government. All of this behavior supporting the Aristocracy, only ended up making it easier for me to find people stupid enough to take the other side of my trades. God bless America.

There are far too many people for me to sincerely thank for my success. However, I do not want to sound like a Hollywood actor accepting an award. The money was reward enough. Furthermore, the endless list those deserving thanks know who they are.

I will no longer manage money for other people or institutions. I have enough of my own wealth to manage. Some people, who think they have arrived at a reasonable estimate of my net worth, might be surprised that I would call it quits with such a small war chest. That is fine; I am content with my rewards. Moreover, I will let others try to amass nine, ten or eleven figure net worths. Meanwhile, their lives suck. Appointments back to back, booked solid for the next three months, they look forward to their two week vacation in January during which they will likely be glued to their Blackberries or other such devices. What is the point? They will all be forgotten in fifty years anyway. Steve Balmer, Steven Cohen, and Larry Ellison will all be forgotten. I do not understand the legacy thing. Nearly everyone will be forgotten. Give up on leaving your mark. Throw the Blackberry away and enjoy life.

So this is it. With all due respect, I am dropping out. Please do not expect any type of reply to emails or voicemails within normal time frames or at all. Andy Springer and his company will be handling the dissolution of the fund. And don’t worry about my employees, they were always employed by Mr. Springer’s company and only one (who has been well-rewarded) will lose his job.

I have no interest in any deals in which anyone would like me to participate. I truly do not have a strong opinion about any market right now, other than to say that things will continue to get worse for some time, probably years. I am content sitting on the sidelines and waiting. After all, sitting and waiting is how we made money from the subprime debacle. I now have time to repair my health, which was destroyed by the stress I layered onto myself over the past two years, as well as my entire life — where I had to compete for spaces in universities and graduate schools, jobs and assets under management — with those who had all the advantages (rich parents) that I did not. May meritocracy be part of a new form of government, which needs to be established.

On the issue of the U.S. Government, I would like to make a modest proposal. First, I point out the obvious flaws, whereby legislation was repeatedly brought forth to Congress over the past eight years, which would have reigned in the predatory lending practices of now mostly defunct institutions. These institutions regularly filled the coffers of both parties in return for voting down all of this legislation designed to protect the common citizen. This is an outrage, yet no one seems to know or care about it. Since Thomas Jefferson and Adam Smith passed, I would argue that there has been a dearth of worthy philosophers in this country, at least ones focused on improving government. Capitalism worked for two hundred years, but times change, and systems become corrupt. George Soros, a man of staggering wealth, has stated that he would like to be remembered as a philosopher. My suggestion is that this great man start and sponsor a forum for great minds to come together to create a new system of government that truly represents the common man’s interest, while at the same time creating rewards great enough to attract the best and brightest minds to serve in government roles without having to rely on corruption to further their interests or lifestyles. This forum could be similar to the one used to create the operating system, Linux, which competes with Microsoft’s near monopoly. I believe there is an answer, but for now the system is clearly broken.

Lastly, while I still have an audience, I would like to bring attention to an alternative food and energy source. You won’t see it included in BP’s, “Feel good. We are working on sustainable solutions,” television commercials, nor is it mentioned in ADM’s similar commercials. But hemp has been used for at least 5,000 years for cloth and food, as well as just about everything that is produced from petroleum products. Hemp is not marijuana and vice versa. Hemp is the male plant and it grows like a weed, hence the slang term. The original American flag was made of hemp fiber and our Constitution was printed on paper made of hemp. It was used as recently as World War II by the U.S. Government, and then promptly made illegal after the war was won. At a time when rhetoric is flying about becoming more self-sufficient in terms of energy, why is it illegal to grow this plant in this country? Ah, the female. The evil female plant — marijuana. It gets you high, it makes you laugh, it does not produce a hangover. Unlike alcohol, it does not result in bar fights or wife beating. So, why is this innocuous plant illegal? Is it a gateway drug? No, that would be alcohol, which is so heavily advertised in this country. My only conclusion as to why it is illegal, is that Corporate America, which owns Congress, would rather sell you Paxil, Zoloft, Xanax and other additive drugs, than allow you to grow a plant in your home without some of the profits going into their coffers. This policy is ludicrous. It has surely contributed to our dependency on foreign energy sources. Our policies have other countries literally laughing at our stupidity, most notably Canada, as well as several European nations (both Eastern and Western). You would not know this by paying attention to U.S. media sources though, as they tend not to elaborate on who is laughing at the United States this week. Please people, let’s stop the rhetoric and start thinking about how we can truly become self-sufficient.

With that I say good-bye and good luck.

All the best,

Andrew Lahde

Media Meddling by The Pentagon

Somehow I had never run across the full article that appeared on April 20, 2008 in the New York Times until now, but here it is. Pretty eye-opening, to say the least.

Some funny SNL material

Sarah Palin makes an appearance on SNL - entertaining stuff.



I still wouldn't vote for the ticket... but entertaining.

It's official - we're a Korean company now

Sign of the times - with a weak US Dollar comes foreign companies buying American companies on the cheap. $900 Million changed hands a few months ago for my employer, but rest assured that given the exchange rate, LS Cable got a much better deal than it sounds.

Save gas

Shell's tips - special attention to number 1.

Economy of Abundance

The following is a purely theoretical scenario.

What if the monetary economy as we know it were replaced by an economy that was based on the efficient use, management, and abundance of Earth's natural resources? Ideas of compensation, taxes, crime, greed - all out the door. People would live their lives doing what they are good at for the greater good of humanity. I would probably fix used BMWs and be part of a race team. It would be a *true* labor of love, because monetary compensation is obsolete. Instead, I know that I can get what I need to eat and live simply because of Earth's abundant resources. This would release the stranglehold that profit-seeking has on technology and soon make my job of fixing automobiles obsolete. Rather than be upset that I have no source of income, however, I would simply find something else that I love doing. Technology would enable us to develop means of transportation that require tiny fractions of the amount of energy that current means require.

An example using oil: Oil companies want profits, so they buy patents from inventors who come up with new advances toward electric cars, then put them on the shelf - never to be heard from again. This way, electric cars never get efficiently developed and oil companies retain the demand for the scarce resource that we all need.
If you take profits out of the picture, technology would be constantly developing by the most qualified people on Earth, and there would be no incentive to hold anything back.

Food for thought:
Zeitgeist Addendum - This movie will come across as a bit 'conspiracy theory'-ish and may turn some of you off. However, I politely urge you to take two hours and watch it all.
The Venue Project - featured in Zeitgeist, this site outlines the nonprofit's beliefs, goals, and means to attain them. (somewhat ironic is that they have an online store where you may buy their goods - a bit off base for an organization seeking to eliminate the need/want for profits, but then again, they are a nonprofit)

MK

The Revolution: A Manifesto

I picked up Ron Paul's book at lunch today and as I'm working my way through it, I came across a section that I really felt the need to post. With all of the questions about the bailout these days, I think this especially holds true:

"According to the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution, all powers not delegated to the federal government by the states (in Article I, Section 8) and not prohibited to the states in the Constitution (in Article I, Section 10) are reserved to the states or to the people. It was a guarantee that the experience Americans endured under the British would not be repeated, and that political decisions made by their local legislatures rather than by a distant central government that would be much more difficult, if not impossible, for them to control....

The limitations the Constitution placed on the federal government had to be taken seriously if we expected to maintain a free society. There would always be a powerful temptation to allow the federal government to do something many people wanted, but that the Constitution did not authorize. Since the amendment process is time-consuming, there would be further temptation: just exercise the unauthorized power without amending the Constitution. But then what is the point of having a Constitution at all? 

I sometimes hear the objection that certain phrases in the Constitution give the federal government more power than what is listed in Article I, Section 8. The "general welfare" clause is often cited.... I have already noted that common law held lists of powers such as the one in Article I, Section 8, to be exhaustive, a point that refutes the idea of qualifying phrases like "general welfare" could give an open-ended character to the powers themselves...

James Madison wrote... "With respect to the words general welfare, I have always regarded them as qualified by the details of the powers connected with them. To take them in a literal and unlimited sense would be a metamorphosis of the Constitution into a character which there is a host of proofs not contemplated by its creators."

Now, isn't our Constitution a "living" document that evolves with experience and changing times, as we are so often told? No -- a thousand times no. If we feel the need to change our Constitution, we are free to amend it.... But this is not what advocates of a so-called living Constitution have in mind. They favor a system in which the federal government, and in particular federal courts, are at liberty -- even in the absence of any amendment -- to interpret the Constitution altogether differently from how it was understood by those who drafted it and those who voted to ratify it....

A "living" Constitution is just the thing any government would be delighted to have, for whenever the people complain that their Constitution has been violated, the government can trot out its judges to inform the people they've simply misunderstood: the Constitution, you see, has merely evolved with the times. Thus, as in Orwell's Animal Farm, "no animal shall sleep in a bed" becomes "no animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets," "no animal shall drink alcohol" becomes "no animal shall drink alcohol to excess," and "no animal shall kill any other animal" becomes "no animal shall kill any other animal without cause.

That's why on this issue I agree with historian Kevin Gutzman, who says that those who would give us a "living" Constitution are actually giving us a dead Constitution, since such a thing is completely unable to protect us against the encroachments of government power." 

What a mess

The Constitutionality of the recent actions taken by the Federal Reserve and subsequently the Federal Government comes into serious question when things are looked at objectively. Many of you may know that I have been a staunch supporter of Ron Paul ever since I first heard about him about a year ago. His strong belief in the US Constitution and the limits it imposes on the Federal Government is unmatched, and thus some of his ideas come across as radical and have been portrayed as unpatriotic. However, years ago he correctly predicted that a financial bubble was forming and that action was needed to keep it from getting to the point of implosion, which we are seeing today.

However, this isn’t a political ad. Rather, I wanted to highlight what it is exactly that the Federal Government has done recently, and whether or not these actions are supported by the document on which this country was founded.

Since its founding in 1913 Federal Reserve, through the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee), has regulated interest rates through the buying and selling of US Treasury notes to and from its member banks. For more on how this works see this page.

One can argue that the presence of a Monetary Policy system where government controls the amount of money in the economy is by definition unconstitutional. But, there are many positives to having such a system, so that debate will be left for another time.

However, it is much easier to see that in the past decade, the Federal Reserve has acted irresponsibly in the interest of Wall Street by setting rates low, providing for the easy borrowing of money. While this was good for corporate America (capital projects become cheaper, investment banks have access to cheap money for creating lucrative investment products, etc), it painted an unrealistic picture for prospective homeowners. People bought homes that they could just barely afford (if they could at all) under the assumption that mortgage rates would remain low. Well, we all know what happened here. The low interest rates also weakened the US Dollar in terms of Foreign Exchange, the long-term affects of which can be extreme political instability. Finally, low interest rates hurts everyone with a savings account – I’ve seen my rate drop 50% since opening my “High Yield Investor Checking” at Schwab.

With the recent actions by the Federal Government to not allow Bear Stearns, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and AIG to fail, we have entered a historical turning point. While one should be cautious with throwing around the word ‘socialist’, that is becoming a more and more accurate description of actions taken in 2008 by the government in response to the financial meltdown in this country.
Let’s look at what has transpired:
Most recently, with the AIG bailout: (taken from a lawsuit filed September 18, 2008 by a New York resident against the the Fed)

• On Tuesday, September 16, 2008, Defendants agreed to an $85 billion bailout that would give the Defendants control of the troubled insurance company American International Group, a private corporation.
• Under the Agreement, Defendants will make a two-year loan to A.I.G. of $85 billion and, in return, will receive warrants that can be converted into common stock giving the United States about 79.9 percent ownership of A.I.G., if the existing shareholders agree.
• In effect, the agreement puts billions of dollars of taxpayer money at risk to protect bad investments made by A.I.G. and other private institutions it does business with as providers of esoteric (unregulated) financial insurance contracts to private investors who bought privately held debt securities. The agreement requires the United States taxpayers, in effect, to cover losses suffered by the buyers in the event the securities default. It means the taxpayers are on the hook for billions of dollars’ worth of private securities.
• On information and belief, Defendant Treasury Department sold $40 billion of special supplementary Treasury bills on Wednesday, September 17, 2008 and will sell $60 billion more today, Thursday, September 18, 2008.
• Defendants are set to give or lend public money and public credit to A.I.G.

These are the legal Facts presented in the case, and I think they speak for themselves. Cliff’s Notes: the US Government is using taxpayer money to buy a private company and assume its risks.

The (lack of) constitutionality of this seems obvious. As taxpayers, we vote for representatives to choose how to spend our money, and we surely have never approved of our money going to buy a private company. Congress simply doesn’t have this authority.

We’ve seen this before though. As James K. Hickel, of the Heritage Foundation so accurately pointed out in 1983: "In the case of the Chrysler bail-out, a big chunk of taxpayer money was committed to a shaky and inappropriate venture. Every American became an involuntary and uncompensated partner in a company whose future is still in doubt. On top of this, the bail-out even failed in its purpose. The precedent established is extremely dangerous."

So now here we are, our government has bailed out four giant financial companies, and now they’re talking about something that would dwarf their actions to date. $700,000,000,000 of taxpayer money may be used to purchase the toxic mortgage assets that US financial institutions have accumulated over the past decade.
One Jim Cramer has come out in support of the plan, and he makes some…interesting points. He thinks that once this legislation has passed, housing prices will stop declining and the foreclosures will stop. I disagree:

• Let’s say that I am on the brink of defaulting on my mortgage, currently owned by Merrill Lynch. Now the Federal Government comes in and purchases that mortgage and tells me to ‘pay what I can, when I can’ and not to worry about the possibility of moving out. First of all, what about all of the people that have already had to foreclose on their homes? This surely isn’t fair to them. But that’s not the main issue. The issue is that the government has effectively written a blank check to distressed homeowners. This may stop the foreclosures, but it also means that the government’s return on their investment (remember, $700,000,000,000) becomes miniscule with no definite term of repayment. To deal with this (fund itself), the government will be forced to increase the money supply, thus increasing inflation, and thus creating additional hardships for Americans. Buying a new home will be the last thing any average American will want to do when they are worried about $7 gas and $5 bread. Proponents will argue that the bailout will restore health to credit markets, giving homebuyers access to low-rate mortgages with which they can go out and buy up existing housing inventory on the cheap. Haven’t we seen this before?

But, the point of this is not Mike’s opinion on whether or not it will work. The point is that the Federal Government has absolutely no authority to do this. Show me where the Constitution gives government the authority to use taxpayer money to buy companies or their assets. Our money is supposed to be going to programs that give us citizens a return – whether it be Education, National Parks, national defense, etc.

NPR has a great article on the subject of constitutionality. Here are a couple main points:

• Checks and Balances - The language in the measure sent to Congress would make the Treasury secretary's decisions "non-reviewable" — including by "any court of law or any administrative agency." That would give the Treasury secretary powers that are not only extraordinary but, some would say, also unconstitutional because of the lack of accountability.
• Public Losses – the point of a free market is that private companies take risks and either see rewards or losses. This bailout makes the resulting losses the responsibility of taxpayers.

Here is what Ron Paul has to say about the whole deal. I would summarize it, but every word of the article is worth reading.

So we have the unchecked power of Treasury and the use of taxpayer money to bail out private companies and homeowners. Constitution be damned.

Google Chrome

Firefox may have finally met its match in the browser wars - Google's all-new Chrome has reared its simplistic and elegant head.

Screenshot

Notice the dry humor on the incognito warning - few things on the internet can make me laugh out loud at my desk, but this was one of them... and I wasn't even 'on the internet' 

Keep it up GOOG-

MK

Today, on C-SPAN2

Ron Paul followers gathering for own convention


C-SPAN is doing us a great service by providing full coverage of the Rally for the Republic - check it out

Two things everyone should check out

NASA's image of the day gallery

And, on a much more serious note, I.O.U.S.A. the movie. I'll even go so far as to say that I will pay for the first 5 people that email me to go see it. Ron Paul has been talking about this stuff for a long time, and now that it has hit the big screen Americans will hopefully take note.

MK

Cell Phone interfering with your Speakers?

Have a GSM cell phone? Have computer speakers? Then you probably know what I'm talking about.
If you're tired of having GSM waves getting all up in your speakers' grill, give this a try:

1. Procure an aluminum can
2. Cut off the top and bottom of the can, leaving just a sheet of aluminum
3. Cut sheet to a size slightly bigger than your phone's footprint
4. Wrap edges with electrical tape (step 4 is optional, for those of you who like to live on the edge)
5. Place cell phone on your new aluminum phone holder


My desk, before


Miller Lite, the cell phone shield of choice


Clean aluminum on the back


My desk, after


Hope this works for everyone who tries it as well as it did for me

-MK

Vegas Photos

Are up on my Picasa page (link to the left)

Now this really is ridiculous

My post about our representatives being on our side? Nonsense, as it turns out. Here Republican Representative Ron Paul (TX) talks about a bill that just passed Congress to bail out the housing mess. Also noted by Dr. Paul is that the bill contains verbage making it required for credit card companies to report all transactions to the IRS.

This is an invasion of privacy of epic proportions - this means that the government now has access to full information about every non-cash transaction we make. It's never been more clear to me that our country really is slipping away from our roots in Democracy and that our liberties are being compromised so that government can try to fix problems that have arisen from failed foreign and domestic policy.

I may sound bearish on the US Government... and I am. I have nothing to hide and will continue to use my credit cards for everything that I used to, but it's principle here. People used to come to the United States to escape their government's interference in their daily lives. It seems that the trend is about to reverse.

MK

Stories like this make me pause my morning

Ex-cop may be charged in case of man Tasered to death

Here's the Cliff's Notes, if the facts are presented truthfully: Police detain a man for cocaine possession and handcuff him on the ground. When asked to get in the Police car, the man was slow to respond so the Officer used the Taser to speed up the process. After six shots with the Taser in three minutes, the suspect was in the car. After three more Taser shots at the police station, the suspect was dead.

My question is: Once a suspect is in handcuffs, why would a Taser be used? The Officer's lawyer: "He's fighting, wrestling with an individual who weighs 100 pounds more than him," he said. "His partner had just come back to the police department from triple bypass surgery and could not assist Officer Nugent."

Well, why was another officer, who was incapable of fulfilling his employment obligations as a police officer, even on the job? I know that if my shoulder were injured and I couldn't pitch, my manager wouldn't just stick me out there for the hell of it.

Errors in judgment at multiple levels resulted in a man's death, a death he did not deserve. He was in possession if illegal drugs, yes, but certainly did not deserve to die for it.




Unrelated - another great Ron Paul video

Maybe they really *are* on our side

Heard back from Saxby Chambliss following my email last week about rising energy prices. It's obviously a standardized letter, which is to be expected, but he sounds genuine and knowledgeable about the issues and dedicated to finding solutions.
Now let's just hope that he actually follows through on this.

--

Dear Mr. Kerfeld :

Thank you for contacting me about the impact of high fuel prices and, in particular, speculation in the energy trading markets and the impact these issues are having on U.S. consumers and airlines.

I share your concerns about the numerous factors affecting the price of crude oil, including supply and demand, the weak dollar, the need for increased conservation, and the development of alternative sources of energy.

Moreover, I am particularly troubled about any role that speculation is having in unduly inflating the price of oil or any commodity for that matter.

I am working with my colleagues in a bipartisan manner to develop real solutions to many of these issues. They include increased supply through discovery and environmentally sensitive exploration, improved conservation, and a common-sense assessment and application of regulations necessary for investors, traders, and speculators in all commodities including the energy markets.

With respect to the energy markets, I am leading a bi-partisan effort to develop legislation to ensure that American consumers, Congress, and the regulator of the futures markets, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), can more accurately determine the impact of speculation in the energy market.

One of the major issues in determining how speculation affects the price of crude oil is understanding which market participants are truly speculators investing in paper and which investors are investing in the commodity.

For example, because dealers/brokers often conduct business for a variety of market participants, we must insist that the CFTC segregate and re-classify data to ensure that trades on behalf of truly commercial interests, such as airlines, are not classified in the same category as those trades (perhaps initiated by the same dealer/broker) for index funds.

Additionally, we must seek to ensure that the CFTC has the proper tools to better monitor and enforce any wrong-doing in these markets, and we should ensure that boards of trade located outside of the United States that conduct business on computer or video screens in the U.S. have adequate position limitations and reporting requirements.

Your comments are important to me. As we develop the legislation in the Agriculture Committee and other Committees in the Senate and as the legislation goes to the Senate floor for debate and votes, I will keep your views in mind.

Why are we paying $4 per gallon?

Have a read

#7,480

Are you a republican at heart, but can't see yourself voting for John McCain? Check out this site. I'm #7480 on the list..

http://www.lettertogop.com/

Obama, continued

Some good points were brought up here to counter my arguments for Obama. Keep in mind, I'm all for a consumption-based tax and Ron Paul's plan of no income tax. But, I believe that in a country where either McCain or Obama will become president, Obama is the better choice. But, I'm still writing in Ron Paul and I hope you do too.


----
Mike,

I love these kinds of conversations. If you want to have more of these with me, please feel free to e-mail any time. I may come across as forceful in my explanations sometimes, but that is just because I'm so passionate about it.

My main point that you and Barack don't seem to understand. NO ONE is entitled in America or anywhere else. NO ONE, just because they were born here, should be entitled to anything more than freedom, education, and a clean environment from this government. If everyone is entitled, then there is no incentive.

-(name omitted)



1. Did you even read the article?
"I not only have pledged not to raise their taxes, I've been the first candidate in this race to specifically say I would cut their taxes. We are going to offset the payroll tax, the most regressive of our taxes, so that families who are middle-income individuals making $75,000 a year or less, that they would get a tax break so that families would see up to $1,000 worth of relief."


Yes, I read the article. First, NONE of our taxes are truly regressive. The social security tax is regressive once you make more than $102,000, but guess what....if you make more than that you won't end up getting social security in the first place (because they tax it). They are all progrssive. The only government policies that are regressive are our drug and tobacco policies, because lower-income individuals use thse things.

Families making $75,000 or less? This is redistribution of wealth from families making $250,000 or less to families making $75,000 or less. Guess what....a family making $100,000 (this is total gross income for a family) is middle-class. 25% of all families in the US fall in the > $75,000 category. Now, you are going to take money from the top 25% and redistribute it to the bottom 75%. Imagine if they did that at GE or Proctor and Gamble. Lets take the top 25% of employees in our company and punish them for their hard work, and then lets make it easier for the bottom 75%. Our nation can no longer be competitive with policies like that. There is no incentive to achieve.

Also, I am against income taxation all together. If we had a fiscally responsible government, then we would not need an income tax.

What you don't realize is that Barack Obama will hurt these families in the long run when he establishes money-sucking social programs like unviersal health care. These programs will balloon just like social security and medicaid have. People are smart. They can take care of themselves. Eventually we won't be able to afford it, and everyone will have to pay higher taxes, because the majority of society will be living off of the government.

I have no idea where he is going to get the money to pay for his programs unless he taxes the shit out of the top 25% of American families (as far as income goes)....which is not fair.

2. Yes, I agree, raising capital gains tax sucks for investors like us, but it does close the loophole for hedge fund managets et al, as mentioned in the interview. This should be a more complex area of taxes, whereas people whose primary source of income is investment management would pay normal income tax on capital gains, while investors such as you or me would pay the lower rate.

I disagree. We should stimulate investment in this country any way we can. The lower the corporate income tax and the lower the capital gains tax, the better. If your primary source of income involves giving other people money to create jobs and new products, then you should be compensated for that.


3. I agree, the death tax sucks

4. Well, I don't see this as a problem when the top 5% of Americans hold 68% of the financial wealth in the country (link)


There is a reason that they hold that wealth. Do you want them to leave? Remember the "American Dream". We are going to kill it. There will be no incentive to excel in life if the government hands us everything. Also, these people give much more to charity than the rest of the country. What would happen to their charity. I believe that the charitable organizations are much better at charity than the government. It is not the government's job.


5. Dude.. 'hard working americans'... are the people in the factories, etc, that make this country run. I have no problem with those people making $25-30K a year, paying a smaller percentage of their income back to the federal government than the people running the companies, making $500K+ a year - do you? Seriously? Think about what it costs to live, and whether that can really be properly accounted for with a flat-rate tax system.


Yes, I have a problem with it. They make this country run, but so do the people running the companies. And the people running the companies are getting more income b/c their skills are unique and can not be duplicated by the "people running the country". So guess what, you are going to alienate the talent that has made this country so great (and allowed those "hard working americans" to have great jobs in the first place, you are going to abandon the free-market system that has allowed us to thrive, and you are going to force the people we can not do without (those running the companies) to leave our country.

Why do americans enjoy such a great life.....its not because the government gave it to them. If we taxed the hell out of the people with the ideas, the risk tolerance, and the determination, we will lose jobs and income growth, and we will sacrifice it for sub-standard Government care in every area of our life. Socialism doesn't work....it just doesn't!

So abolish the income tax. Why should we have a progressive tax? In a free market society you are compensated for your skills. I just don't understand why I should pay more taxes because I took the risk to become a physician and will be compensated for that risk.

The government can help these people in only one way....by maintaining freedom...them I can give to them through Charity. It is not the government's job to take your income and give it to them. That is not related to "interstate commerce" last time I checked. There is no charity clause in the constitution.

Lets face it. If we live in a world where the person who cures cancer isn't properly compensated, there will never be a cure for cancer. There's no incentive. The free market offers the perfect incentive. Curing cancer is more important than picking up my garbage. If no one picks up the garbage, then I'll do it for $200,000/year. But lots of people can do it. If 5 billion people can't do your job, you shouldn't be paid as much.

In fact, if we want to be fair, taxes should be flat to regressive, because those making less money are going to be using more government services such as medicaid and social security.

I have a better idea. Abolish income taxes and base taxes on consumption. Tax life's necessary items less. Then, someone making $30,000 a year won't buy an iphone and depend on me for healthcare (and yes, we are paying for those in DeKalb county to get free healthcare from Grady right now through our property taxes).

It's not about redistribution of wealth; it's about recognizing who makes this country run and treating them with financial respect.


If the government respected the people, it wouldn't try to run our lives. Most of the people making 25-30K/year can take care of themselves, and the ones who spend every drop of that money shouldn't get saved by the gov't. There should be no safety net. Where is the personal responsibility. We are incentivizing our population to become less educated, more risk averse, less charitable, and more dependent.

Charity and the government should take care of those who truly can't help themselves, such as the mentally retarded or the physically disabled.

Whenever I hear someone say... "I don't know what I would do without Grady?", but then see them pick their iphone out of their Louis Vitton bag (yes, this happened), I think to myself....I know what they do without Grady....they would learn to take care of themselves, eat better, eat less, exercise, buy health insurance, and do without the Louis Vitton bag and the iphone to pay for their antibiotics.

Barack Obama's policies are the macrocosm to the microcosm that is Grady. Mark my words. The population in Atlanta is not better off for the free, reactive care they get at Grady....because it incentivizes the wrong behaviors....and the population of the United States will not be better off for the free, reactive assistance they get from the Government....because it incentivizes the wrong behaviors. Grady broke last year, when will the US break?

More on Obama

Had (am still having..) a good debate with a friend over Obama's policies, and thought some good ideas were exchanged. As such, I'm posting them here.
-------
MK to ****

I actually like a lot of what I just read here. Worth a look

http://www.ontheissues.org/Economic/Barack_Obama_Tax_Reform.htm
---------

**** (Name omitted) to me

Why should "wealthy people pay more taxes" Its not the government's job to redistribute wealth or to provide charity. But I absolutely HATE Barack Obama's viewpoint.

Here's some reasons why you should hate this article:

He wants to:

1.) No tax increases for people making $250,000 or less is misleading...he just wants to let Bush's tax cuts expire.

2.) Raise capital gains tax - we already have high capital gains taxes in the US, he is going to stifle investment.

3.) He is for the estate tax...I think that is bull****....it kills family businesses. The government shouldn't be able to tax your estate b/c you made more than someone else in your lifetime. If you've amassed more than 1 million in your lifetime and you want to leave it to your kids....the government is going to get some of it. That INCLUDES land and other assets.

4.) Obama's viewpoint is twisted. Tax system skewed, but not in the way he says...its skewed in the other way...the top 5 percent of taxpayers in america pay 50% of the taxes.

5.) He wants to tax the shit out of hard working American's to pay for "universal healthcare and other initiatives" What happened ot personal responsibility. Get your own health insurance and take care of yourself. Its not my job to pay for your problems.



You are getting sucked into what I call the "Barack Hole". He's real charismatic, but his policies will turn this country to a socialist shithole akin to Cuba, etc. where technology flounders, investment is absent, and all the great minds leave because they know they will be more fairly compensated for their skills elsewhere in the world.

---------

MK to ****

1. Did you even read the article?
"I not only have pledged not to raise their taxes, I've been the first candidate in this race to specifically say I would cut their taxes. We are going to offset the payroll tax, the most regressive of our taxes, so that families who are middle-income individuals making $75,000 a year or less, that they would get a tax break so that families would see up to $1,000 worth of relief."

2. Yes, I agree, raising capital gains tax sucks for investors like us, but it does close the loophole for hedge fund managers et al, as mentioned in the interview. This should be a more complex area of taxes, whereas people whose primary source of income is investment management would pay normal income tax on capital gains, while investors such as you or me would pay the lower rate

3. I agree, the death tax sucks

4. Well, I don't see this as a problem when the top 5% of Americans hold 68% of the financial wealth in the country (link)

5. Dude.. 'hard working americans'... are the people in the factories, etc, that make this country run. I have no problem with those people making $25-30K a year, paying a smaller percentage of their income back to the federal government than the people running the companies, making $500K+ a year - do you? Seriously? Think about what it costs to live, and whether that can really be properly accounted for with a flat-rate tax system. It's not about redistribution of wealth; it's about recognizing who makes this country run and treating them with financial respect.


And I'm not getting sucked into anything... I'm still voting Ron Paul.

---(end emails)

So, I suppose my conclusion is that Barack wouldn't be as bad for the country as I had previously thought. I still think raising social security funding is a terrible idea (instead of first repairing the system, or replacing it altogether) and worried about Obama's stance that we need to actively "stamp out the anti-American sentiment in the Middle East" (from CNN interview last night). In my opinion, Ron Paul's stance on those two issues would be far more effective at managing the problems and providing real solutions.
I'm also a realist and know that Ron Paul will not be our next president. But that won't keep me from voting for him and his cause, which is larger than him - as he readily states time and time again - something you certainly don't hear every day out of a presidential candidate.

MK

Well hey, look at that -

I've been e-published

(direct link in case the front page is changed)

Subject matter is probably fairly uninteresting for most people, but for a Blackberry addict like myself, the review was most entertaining to do.

MK

Italy

Had an amazing week in Italy May 15-21. I've been tremendously busy at work since getting back but did find time to upload my photos - have a look

MK

Great summary of the Global Warming debate

How It All Ends

Thought Provoking

The war on Greed

Blackberry Bold

Research In Motion has issued a press release announcing the introduction of its newest and best model to date, the 9000 series (or Blackberry Bold, as is its creative name). The release mentions an official site at www.blackberrybold.com, but as of this writing, that site is blank. I'll be checking with relentless obsession throughout the day for an update to that site, as I am eagerly awaiting official images and documentation of this long-rumored device that may replace my current 8300 that I've been in love with for over a year now.

RIMM stock is up a few bucks on the news, and worth noting is that the press release mentions a release date of "around the beginning of the summer", dispelling the rumors spread by Fortune magazine (and Apple iPhone proponents) that the device was to be delayed until August.

Cheers, RIM, I look forward to holding and possibly purchasing your latest and greatest.

MK

Smart

Within a half mile on my way to work this morning I saw two Smart cars - something I had hardly ever seen in the US before. I smiled - what a perfect thing to bring to the US, where commutes so often never exceed 40 mph and a high-efficiency, low power runaround makes all the sense in the world. Starting at $13,500.. might be worth a look, although I might have a hard time fitting my entire body in one.

MK

Couple things

First off, I have been watching the NBC show 30 Rock pretty religiously lately, and am 4 episodes into the first season in an attempt to 'catch up' before the next new episode airs. It is a brilliant show, and has led me to develop a full-on childhood-style crush on Tina Fey. Remember Topanga from Boy Meets World, or Kelly Kapowski from Saved by the Bell? Yeah, that kind of crush. Tina is beautiful, hilarious, and many times has the same responses to certain situations that I would. Of course, this is all in a TV show, so she could be very different in real life, but that's a risk I would be willing to take. So Tina, if you ever get sick of your husband, shoot me an email and I'll be on the next flight to NYC.

Next, and totally unreleated, is the subject of waste and how it relates to my notion that just paying close attention to one's surroundings can have a profound impact on all sorts of things.
In the kitchen here at work this morning, one of my coworkers brewed a fresh pot of coffee at 9:15am, right after she filled her mug up. I didn't bother to ask, but I can't imagine that many people would be still wanting coffee, as most people are here in the office by 7:30am. But, I could very well mistaken and that wasn't the point. This occurrence did make me think about the issue though - how many times is pure waste produced just because we do things out of habit? Last night I needed a new toothbrush, so I went to CVS and picked one up. Then, about an hour later, I decided to grab some dinner at McDonald's after justifying the activity to myself by thinking about the healthy breakfast and lunch I had. So, I got back in my car and got my food. Pure waste - two trips that could have easily been consolidated, but because I didn't think about it, I ended up making two trips. The habit of just coming and going whenever I please trapped me, and I was caught violating one of my most closely held principles.

So I gave myself a few lashings and moved on.

Point being - escaping our habits can be the beginning of a positive and impactful change on everything from wasteful garbage to climate change.

MK

Oil, Alaska, and how President Bush won back some of my respect

While I do not have access to a television at work, I am able to watch live CNBC through stock broker thinkorswim's trading platform, and today I am especially thankful for that ability. President Bush gave what was his most passionate, meaningful, and (dare I say it?) sensible press conference that I have seen him give in years. He addressed the issues facing Americans, and called on Congress to stand by him as he works to solve the problems in a dutifully Conservative way.

Now, I do not view Bush's second term in a very positive light. He has made questionable decisions and at times has danced around the media's questions that follow. Through his actions and orders, he does not seem to understand where the real threats are to America, and how they should be properly dealt with. He has also been one of the most liberal Republican presidents in history in terms of government spending, which has driven the value of our currency down. All of this from somebody who voted for Bush twice, not that I am proclaiming that proudly.

So, when Bush took the podium and passionately appealed to Congress to consider and pass these initiatives that would tangibly help this country, I was taken aback. This was a president that, for the first time since I can remember, was speaking candidly with our nation and was displaying knowledge and eloquence. This was a president to hold in reverence, not in hate as so many have for so long.

On to the main point: drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The case that President Bush presented was both compelling and statistically correct, from what I have read. I'll use most of my statistics from the above wikipedia link, so absolute accuracy may come into question, but the main ideas are supported by many other sites.
Sufficient oil exists within American borders in Alaska to cover our nation's entire demand for oil for as long as 525 days (high estimate), or 215 days (low estimate). A rough average says that we have about a year's worth of oil in our own country. Keep in mind, should we take advantage of the opportunity, we would not seek to satisfy 100% of our country's oil demand from this supply. Such a proposition wouldn't even be possible. A more realistic look shows that we could essentially take Saudi Arabia off of our 'oil grid' and obtain the 11.5% instead from Alaska. Doing so would mean that our Alaskan oil supply would last between 5 and 12.5 years. Imagine that - a decade during which we cut out our second largest contributor and instead keep those dollars in the United States. Thousands of jobs would be created, new profits for domestic oil companies, more tax revenue for our federal government, and reduced dependence on OPEC.

The catch is that we would be destroying many square miles of beautiful wilderness and forcing a village to adapt to huge changes in lifestyle and diet, as their dependence on bowhead whales would come under jeopardy with the new petroleum business around. Even so, a 2000 survey showed 78% of the village was in favor of allowing oil drilling in ANWR.

Let's look at this ethically.
From a utilitarian point of view, more good will be done for more people by allowing drilling in ANWR.
Kant would say not to drill in ANWR - if we did, we should be prepared to drill everywhere else in the world where oil may exist without regard to externalities
Economics would say to drill.. see above
Machiavelli would... wait, let's not go there

It is my opinion that we should drill. I have a sneaking suspicion that I have left out some of the environmental consequences of such a decision, so I would be interested to hear any of your concerns in that regard.

MK

Big weekend

Got my car back Friday evening after almost 3 weeks in the body shop. During lunch at Gordon's grandmother's house, the neighbor across the street failed to give a rearward glance before shifting his Toyota Tundra (large, large truck) into reverse and applying what must have been a generous amount of throttle, given the damage to my left fender.
$4,000 (thanks State Farm) and 3 weeks later and I have a new fender, bumper, headlights, turn signal, and wheel well lining. After it's all said and done, I'm actually glad it happened - new parts on an 11 year-old car are always a good thing.

Hockey game last night at 9:40 - we lost 5-3, but it was another fun one against the Red Wings and I was granted the opportunity to play left wing for the entire game - a change from my usual position on defense. I need to work on my puck handling and self-positioning, but the game is definitely more fun from the forward end of the ice.

On to stocks.. my favorite green company, Fuel Tech (Nasdaq: FTEK) has been approaching the point of break-even in my portfolio over the last few weeks, as an average-down in the 16's worked to my advantage. Shares were killed when they announced conservative guidance for 2008, but I (and many other hopeful investors) believe it's a case of under-promise, over-deliver.
And, for a less-happy story, Silicom (Nasdaq: SILC) continues to just kill me. Every time they announce earnings, they're beating estimates and showing continued success. Yet, their shares continue to tumble.


Federal incentive checks are supposed to be coming, so I'll be looking for my direct deposit today as the IRS timeline suggested. I plan on taking it all and putting it into stocks, as I think this is the beginning of another long bull market. A report I just saw on CNBC said that when you take financial institutions out of the picture, S&P 500 earnings are actually up 10% (I missed if that was quarterly or yearly) That doesn't sound recessionary to me-

MK

Will your next car run on hydrogen?

Probably not, but General Motors is spending millions on R&D for its Hydrogen Fuel Cell, most lately adapted into the Equinox SUV body. Check it out here
If anyone from GM reads this, please pass along the word that Atlanta would love to be the next test market for these.. and yours truly would be first in line

MK

It's The Economy, Stupid

Did my part this weekend by spending about $100 in the retail sector. Slowdown in consumer spending? What slowdown?

Almost pulled the trigger on a Sony book reader at Borders too, but decided to walk away in favor of doing some research online about which has the best reviews, as well as to think about whether or not I would actually use the device.

Anyway, the ionizing fan is working great and the Umphrey's McGee live double-CD is everything I hoped for. I haven't bought a CD in ages (in favor of digital format downloads), but my policy is that if Umphrey's puts out a release, I buy it.

MK

Bottled Water Taboo

Yale's Sustainability Office presents its opinion on bottled water

I've thought the same for awhile, but they have the statistics and facts to make it a compelling point. Good read

MK

Israel, the Arab world, and the US Presidential Election

This is a great article/interview regarding the current election and its effect on the Arab-Israeli conflict, by my former commissioner in the Israel Baseball League. Such a complex issue cannot hope to be summed up in anything less than a lifetime of reading, but I have tried to learn as much as I can and grasp the deep-rooted emotional foundations of each side. One particular area that I take great interest in is the issue of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Some of the most beautiful scenery in the region can be had in this area of Arab-controlled land, and many Israelis feel entitled to experience it on a daily basis. It goes beyond a simple border war chest-beating match - the holy area of East Jerusalem physically lies in the West Bank, thus bringing into question the entire legitimacy of an Arab-controlled West Bank, in the minds of many.

But enough of the history - my opinion is that a lot of conflict could be avoided if Israelis would cease their provocation and stop building these settlements. The existing state of Jerusalem that I experienced last summer is actually quite healthy, with Arabs and Jews living in peace amongst each other. It exists as a 'middle ground' where the holiness of the place circumvents violence and petty conflicts... for the most part. If Israel would forcefully outlaw the building of new settlements and encourage existing ones to move back within Israel's borders, and Arabs would agree to an undivided district of Jerusalem (which would serve as the official, universally-recognized capital of Israel), a compromise could possibly be reached.

Problems exist, too many to innumerate, with a proposal like this. They have been well-documented and are voiced almost daily through violence in the Gaza Strip. A leader needs to emerge from the region - somebody that both sides can relate to and support. Sounds impossible, right? So too sounded movements such as civil rights and the resistance to German oppression during the World Wars. Leaders emerged and people came together for the greater good. Whites and blacks, British and French stood side by side after centuries apart.

While the religious, ideological, and methodical difference between Arabs and Israelis may seem like an impenetrable wall, the amount of effort that peace would justify is infinite.

This is an area in which I believe Barack Obama could make a positive impact. Hillary Clinton and John McCain make little mention of Israel on their respective websites, whereas Obama presents a comprehensive outline (pdf). I do not support many of Obama's stances on policy, but this one hits close to home and is deserving of close consideration.


MK

Really, Fed? Really?

Inflation Becoming a Big Problem for Economy, Fed

And we wonder why inflation is happening - I learned in my basic International Finance class the relationship between interest rates and the value of money - as rates go down, so follows the value of local currency. I surely hope that the people running our country's money supply know this subject a bit deeper than I, but evidence would suggest otherwise. For months I've been saying that this incessant rate cutting is just a patch over the problem, and that the weak dollar and impending inflation will kill us long-term. It sickens me to think that the people paid to do that sort of thinking and reasoning wouldn't realize it first. So, what now to curb inflation? Raise interest rates? It wouldn't be that bad of an idea, with investment banks safe from liquidity problems now that the discount window is open to them. It would hurt anyone that just refinanced into an adjustable rate mortgage, but given recent history, I would hope that not too many people would have done that.
This is all very basic analysis done by yours truly, who has not much practical credibility in this arena, except for my education. So, I could very well be totally wrong with all of this. But then, somebody should have a talk with some of my professors.

MK

Perspective

I found the following website to contain some of the most thought-provoking photography that I've seen on the internet. There is a lot of material, but I kept finding myself going back to make sure I saw every single one.

Chris Jordon Photography

Sobering and awe-inspiring at the same time

MK

Linus and Lucy

After a long and arduous internet search I finally found what my heart desired this early Sunday afternoon: sheet music for the Charlie Brown classic theme song, "Linus and Lucy" by Vince Guaraldi. So, I thought I would save any of you the trouble and post a direct link, just in case there are any piano players out there that would like to learn this bit of musical genius: Here ya go

MK

AT&T's weasley plan

Since May, 2007, I have enjoyed what is referred to as "push" email on my Blackberry. Anything sent to my @gmail.com address was sent instantly to my phone, allowing me to get it right away as long as I was within the reach of a cellular tower. To say that I loved this ability would be an understatement.. no longer would I come back to my computer with 20 emails waiting, and no longer would I miss an important 'Latest Specials' notification from our local Mexican restaurant.

Well, I guess it was all too good to be true, and AT&T has decided to no longer offer this 'push' service for external email accounts. About two weeks ago, I noticed emails arriving in 'clumps', instead of instantly. For example, if I was at work and having an email conversation with my roommates over our house Google Group, 5-6 emails may be exchanged between the five of us over a matter of minutes. In the past, these emails would come instantly as soon as they were sent. Lately, however, my phone sits dormant for up to 15 minutes, followed by a barrage of vibrations (or tones if I have the speaker on) all in a row. So, it would appear that the phone is only checking for emails every 15 minutes.
WHAT? This cannot be... that's exactly the delay that I wanted to get away from (and succeeded in doing so for 10 months) by switching from Treo that I had with Verizon. I'm sure it seems ridiculous to many of you that a 15 minute delay could really matter at all, but it's the difference between being able to have an email conversation over the phone (free using the data plan) or having to use text messages to communicate via the written word (15 cents a pop).

So, tonight, after an hour on the phone I finally got the Blackberry specialist on duty for AT&T to fork over the info: They have indeed changed the way emails are forwarded, and the Blackberry Internet Service only polls email accounts every 15 minutes for new messages. If one is found, the time interval is reduced to 10 minutes, and that happens again and again down to 8, 5, and 2 minutes. But, if there are no new messages found during one of the polls, the interval goes back to 15 minutes. This means that I could get an email, send my reply right away, and not get the reply until 10 minutes later. How rude.

This is just another effort to save costs, and I don't exactly blame AT&T for it, but I do hold a high level of contempt for their perceived attempts to cover up this new policy. I even had to go through the trouble of switching out my device last week because the local AT&T store didn't know what was going on. As a member of a few different Blackberry online forums, I have seen more and more posts regarding this issue, with no resolution found. Now that this new 'policy' of AT&Ts has been made clear to me, maybe a public outcry will elicit a reversal back to the glory that was true push email.

And, that's my rant for the night.

MK


And now for an update... I've corrected the problem with the following procedure:
Just set up your Gmail/Yahoo to forward to your @(carrier).blackberry.net address. In BIS, set up your blackberry.net address with a 'reply-to address' as the same as your Gmail/Yahoo. Works perfect again, true push, and recipients don't know any difference.

Market-beating returns

So while my personal dingy of stocks has been tossed about by the credit hurricane of the past 6 months, one area of the investing community has prodded steadily along, producing market-beating returns - but wait.. you're not about to read about a hedge fund or hot stock pick.

Last night I attended a Microfinance event at the business school and learned quite a bit about that emerging industry. If you haven't heard about it before, check it out on Wikipedia - very cool idea, and philanthropic to boot. We were presented with a detailed and convincing pitch for lending money on a micro-level to entrepreneurs in poor and developing countries. The debt portion of the loans (as opposed to equity) was headlined by an 8% yearly return, and access to capital after one year. If that sentence means nothing to you, consider this: As I write this, the S&P 500 stock index is 12% lower than it was on October 11, about 6 months ago. (I refuse to use the Dow Jones Industrial Average as a metric for our economy on a macro level, but I won't get into that right now). So, if you invested $10,000 in US stocks on October 11, your investment would now be worth only $8,771 - $1,229 less than you started worth. That is not successful investing. But, if you had that same $10,000 and would have invested it in an 8% annual yield bond, your investment would now be worth $10,400 - $400 more than you started with. While not exactly lucrative, $400 is always better than -$1,229.

Now, Microfinance is not without risk. In fact, there is huge risk in lending money to people with whom you have had and will have no face-to-face contact with. In addition, Microfinance institutions tend to lend mostly to women, who often face cultural challenges to making money that could bankrupt them - and leave the lender out to dry. More risks exist, but the point is that while no return is guaranteed, funds such as Gray Ghost aim to manage that risk in a way that gives the investor a steady, dependable return. I talked at length with a director from Gray Ghost last night about this very subject - managing risk - and I believe that can be managed ('hedged' for you finance types) not only through collateralizing and securitization, but also geographically and even by understanding the groups to which one is lending. These are people who are driven to succeed like nobody we have seen before, for one simple reason: if they don't, they don't eat that day.



So, I encourage you to look at Microfinance, if for no other reason than to learn about the generous and caring people that genuinely want their borrowers to succeed. The presenters at the event last night were quite obviously not Wall Street Financiers who were only looking for money. They were people who have spent years overseas, working with local villages and their businesses, and finding places where American money could improve quality of life. I walked away hugely interested in the industry and even considering if I might see what employment opportunities exist.

So, to wrap up, I even made it out of the event with half of a case of free Michelob Ultra, as is tradition around school (alcohol seemed to always be over-provided, which yielded my roommate and I plenty of free booze last year) This post started as an email response to my Aunt who was kind enough to email me last night with a general family update - which I love reading (so send me a note if we haven't talked in awhile!)

MK

An unexpected forward

The following is an email that I received last night and thought that posting it here would be a nice 'option 3' per the end. There are some people that would read this and find it cheesy, but I am not one of those people, and think that this sort of story should be a first reference in most decisions throughout one's day.

-----------------
Two Choices

What would you do? You make the choice. Don't look for a punch line, there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the same choice?

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question: 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?'

The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.'

Then he told the following story:

Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.'

Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.

The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.

Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball ... the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.

All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'

Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third! Shay, run to third!'

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team.

'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world'.

Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.

If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person who sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little bit colder in the process?

A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.

You now have two choices:
1. Delete
2. Forward

May your day, be a Shay Day.
-------------------

Reading this makes me feel bad about being rude to the State Farm insurance adjuster earlier this morning on the phone.. but that feeling is somewhat mitigated when looking at what I've paid in premiums over the past few years combined with their unwillingness to help me with my current situation. Still, rudeness is almost always not a productive behavior, and reading the above makes me realize its uselessness.

MK

E-Networking

Everything we're taught in business school tries to prepare us for the 'real world' in terms of getting out there, making a good impression, and successfully finding a job that's right for you. In other words, networking. With the massive success of Facebook in the past 4 years, the internet became a new way for people to connect on a social level, giving a channel for people to communicate, share photos, and even meet new people.
Does this type of electronic frivolousness that is so prevalent and enjoyable for high school and college aged people really belong in the professional world? A site called LinkedIn was the first mover (that I encountered) in terms of a 'professional Facebook', if you will. You create an account, update your professional profile (even if still a student) and look to network and make connections. That's fine, I suppose, but I cannot imagine too many professionals that would take time out of a busy day to log in to their LinkedIn account to see that 300 college students had reached out to try and network. One can work through the entire LinkedIn signup process in a matter of minutes, so it really does not take too much effort to network in this way. Rest assured, the one on the receiving end of the E-ReachOut knows this too. They also know that they'll receive phone calls and even people showing up in person to try to network, and they know that those channels take much more effort and initiative.
So, you ask what my point is.

This all was prompted by an email I just got with an invitation to join Doostang.com, sent by one of my friends still at Emory. While her intentions are undoubtedly pure, it made me start thinking about the relationship between electronic communication channels and networking, and I have concluded that there is simply no replacement for a phone call; or even better, a face-to-face meeting.

I do have an account at LinkedIn, but have found it to be a monumental waste of time. When I find someone that I might like to get in touch with, I look a little harder and find that more often than not I could have just found their email address or phone number through their company's website.

Does that mean that one shouldn't even bother with sites such as LinkedIn and Doostang? Well....who am I to tell you what to do. Personally, I won't spend any time signing up for a site with a name that to me sounds like Asian profanity.

MK

Hope For America lives on

While Ron Paul may be out of the race for Presidency to ensure he keeps his Texas House seat, former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr is considering presidential candidacy. Barr would have the official support of Dr. Paul, which has prompted me to look into this Barr character a little deeper. Initial indications are that if Ron Paul is a fan, I too would be a fan.

MK

Google: the best at everything?

I'm starting to think so. Even April Fool's day - check out their pranks from past and present. (alliteration, yessss)

MK

Earth Hour 2008

Google is participating, are you?

Public Service Announcement

On interstate highways (all roads, really, but the problem and its effects are most amplified on interstate highways):

The Left Lane is for Passing

If you are in the leftmost lane (HOV lanes do not count as leftmost here), you had better be passing or planning on passing somebody. Put another way, if you are in the left lane, and there are no cars to your immediate- and forward-right (that's starboard for you sailors), you should not be in the left lane, and instead should move over into that right lane.

Put another way, your default lane choice on the interstate should be a lane other than the leftmost lane. That way, if you need to pass somebody, you can change lanes to the left and complete the pass.

Put yet another way, by defaulting to a non-leftmost lane, you leave the left lane open for idiots like myself to travel at a.... 'reasonable and prudent' (as Montana would put it)...speed when running a bit late for work.

Thanks for listening to this public service announcement.

MK

Stepping back into politics

Read a couple articles on NPR's Economy RSS feed provided graciously by Viigo on my Blackberry (how's that for free marketing), and was struck at the good old fashioned juxtaposition of Hillary and John McCain. Here are the articles:

McCain Opposed to Housing Bailout
Clinton Calls for More Aid for Struggling Homeowners

It's a beautiful thing, directly opposing viewpoints. I only wish the election could be boiled down to this single point - McCain would be the easy choice for me. While Hillary's stance has been cheered by Wall Street, it is a fundamentally poor choice for two reasons:
It rewards the irresponsible lending and subsequent home-buying practices that took place over the past decade
It takes the risk of toxic mortgage investment products that are currently held by the investment banks who were predatory enough to create them, and places it in the hands of the federal government. What happened to Bear Stearns 2 weeks ago? Well, let's just put that scenario on the US Treasury's balance sheet. Good idea.

In other news, I went OCD on the wires under my desk today, due to the fact that I kicked my power supply off twice in two days. My spastic leg muscles will be a bain to my electricity supply no longer:


MK

Nobody better lay a finger...

I just bought a Butterfinger from the vending machine here. It tastes incredible... you know how long it's been since I've had one of these bad boys? Neither do I.. but this is damn good

MK

I keep on waiting... waiting on the world to change

John Mayer says it best

I'm still at work, Thursday before a long weekend, because of this:



That southbound red part is my commute home, and it is usually sparkling green around 5:30. But, here I sit, because I refuse to drive in heavy traffic. The weekend will have to wait just a bit longer.

Here's an image from GA-400 from right now.

This picture makes me sick - we need to improve this ridiculous situation. It seems so incredibly silly to me that urban humans have no better solution for transportation than to all cram onto a 100-foot wide piece of asphalt with individual energy mongering internal combustion engines.

From wikipedia:
"The efficiency of various types of internal combustion engines varies, but it is nearly always lower than electric motor energy efficiency. Most gasoline-fueled internal combustion engines, even when aided with turbochargers and stock efficiency aids, have a mechanical efficiency of about 20% ^[1][2]. The efficiency may be as high as 37% at the optimum operating point. Most internal combustion engines waste about 36% of the energy in gasoline as heat lost to the cooling system and another 38% through the exhaust. The rest, about 6%, is lost to friction. Rocket engines can approach 70% efficiency at some parts of a flight"

I am no better than anyone else in this respect, as I drive a car and I get about 25 miles per gallon, which as far as cars go is about average. I'm thinking about taking a foray into the recycling business for my next job, so maybe that'll lead to developing the next big thing in terms of transportation.

Ski

Photos from our recent trip to Park City. Awesome trip.

MK

Heads should roll

Wednesday,March 12: Bear Stearns CEO: Liquidity is Strong
Friday, March 14: Bear Stearns admits its liquidity 'significantly deteriorated'

If I were a Bear Stearns shareholder, I would be a bit angry. The CEO of the company goes on record as saying that "Everything is fine", then less than 2 days later signs off on a 28-day rescue line of credit to try and clean up a mess that apparently happened only after his statement. For the week ending March 14, shares of BSC lost 55% of their value.

It wasn't entirely CEO Alan Schwartz's fault though. Earlier this week the chairman of the stock-market governing Security and Exchange Commission made similarly positive comments regarding Bear's liquidity situation. Credit agencies made no changes to their ratings of Bear Stearns' debt. Then, all of a sudden, a light bulb goes off and everyone realizes that the company is actually in the midst of a crisis? It took until late Friday for ratings agencies to change their minds and drastically degrade their offical opinion of Bear's ability to pay its lenders. What are these companies paid to do? Are they paid to watch CNBC and adjust their ratings accordingly? I would think that they would issue ratings changes before this sort of crisis would happen.

Finally, it seems like somebody knew about this situation earlier in the week, when they bought 55,000 far out-of-the-money put options that expired in less than 10 business days.


All told, it looks like regulation, Sarbanes-Oxley, and the good people on Wall Street (there are some, I assure you) all failed to forsee what good old fashioned human greed could accomplish. Bear Stearns employees may have just seen their retirements vanish, and one of the people to thank is probably a quick elevator ride away.

MK

oof

Running on 2 hours sleep really isn't all that fun. My struggle against troubles falling asleep continues, last night reaching epic proportions. Some news though..
Computer arrived yesterday. Had it up and running in about 10 minutes - beautiful screen, computer is blazin' fast, and best of all - no real evidence that they are "outlet" items. A couple minor scratches on the body of the computer are all - the chassis may have been a floor model at a Dell store. Perhaps my best budget pickup in quite some time.. although my $100 Zune still holds top honors until I have more computer-hours under my belt.
We won our hockey game on Sunday, and I scored my first-ever goal.I played left defense and was hanging out at the blue line in their zone when the puck squirted toward me out of the pack near the net. It was as if the clouds opened up and God smiled down on me, presenting me with a clear shooting lane and even Kevin in perfect screening position. I collected the loose puck, wound up, and let loose my version of a blistering slap shot. A little divine intervention and a nice goalie-screen later and I had put a perfectly aimed, glove-side slapper in the back of the net. The ref grabbed the puck for me and put it on the bench, and it now sits proudly on my dresser. Full photographic essay to follow.
Speaking of photography... the Canon 100mm f/2.0 is one hell of a lens.

MK

Just got a call...

From the Atlanta Falcons, notifying me that my name had made it to the top of the waiting list for season tickets. I remember putting my name on quite a few years ago, probably when I went to school at Young Harris. I guess now that the team's main attractions have all been either traded away or incarcerated, the demand for season tickets has dwindled to the point of buoying my name to the top.
The argument is pretty weak for me personally to get Falcons seats, so if anyone is dying to get them, let me know and I'll see if I can yield mine to you.

MK

Attention, Merriam-Webster

My cousin Jeff (soon to be made a proper man out of) and myself have invented a word: verocity (\və-'rä-sə-tē\). A combination of velocity and ferocity, the word came about from a discussion of the increased audible aptitude of my newly relocated horn under the hood of my car. Moved from behind the bumper to inside the engine compartment, it has more air to resonate and basically acts like a speaker in a ported container, letting people know my intentions with alarming efficiency.
Another reason I love my car - this is just one of my two, count 'em two, horns. Sometimes things were really done better 11 years ago.


MK

Zune continues to amaze

Little things about this device (going on a 1.5-year old design now) keep amazing me. Today's discovery:



See the circular indentation on the back here? (don't mind the 'orange peel' effect - that's just a protective casing; not my photo) I'm not entirely sure if Microsoft intended this, but that indentation actually makes the device much safer by creating a pocket of air as it is set down on a hard surface, slowing the device down and not allowing it to 'slam' down. I tested by setting it down with the indentation hanging off the edge of my desk, so just the flat part of the back was hitting the table, and the difference was readily apparent - no more soft landing.

Kudos, MSFT.

And, to keep from sounding like a total Microsoft fanboy and Apple hater, let me say this: I am not at all thrilled with Office 2007, and find no tangible improvement over Office 2003. At the same time, I've spent more time with an iPhone recently (thanks, Gordon) and it is a pretty cool little device. It's just not for me, with the touch keyboard and lack of real customization.

MK

Thank you, Fatwallet

Thanks to this coupon and several days of poking around on Dell Outlet, I found a great deal and pulled the trigger on a new desktop and refurbished 20" monitor. Some specs for you computer junkies:

-- Inspiron Desktop 530 Mini-tower: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E6550 (4MB L2 Cache,2.33GHz,1333 FSB)
-- 500 GB SATA II Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
-- Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
-- 3 GB DDR2 NON-ECC SDRAM 667MHz (4 DIMMs)

So, to spite Kevin's recent Macbook Pro purchase, I've obtained a system with 150% the ram, 250% the hard drive space, and 133% the screen space, for 33% of the price..... but with 0% of the portability.

Wear it, Steve Jobs.


MK

Tax trickery?

At the recommendation of a coworker, I used www.taxact.com to do my return. Only at the end did I find out that I couldn't e-file for free with this site... unlike many others of the smattering of sites on the web clamoring for my business.

Well wait... what's this? I can file for free! If I upgrade to Deluxe, I get one totally FREE E-file for only $12.95! What a deal!

Each day seems to scare me a bit more as to the state of our country.

MK

Musings

Have you ever seen the man in the electricity outlet? While not as well-proportioned or widely known as the man in the moon, he carries himself with a quiet dignity that doesn't shout "look at me!" like the moon does every night. I'm no opponent to moonlight - I always enjoy the spring night under a full moon. But a lesson could be learned from the unassuming stance of the outlet, who sit in wait for us to plug in whatever contraption that we need powered.

Unrelated,
Why is it that people simply cannot handle driving in the rain? My commute this morning took 50 minutes - 30 minutes longer than usual. I understand that speeds will be slower when conditions are wet, but that should apply only above a certain speed. People will not drive 80mph in the pouring rain, obviously. Still, I think moving along at 20mph is a task that should be well within the realm of the average driver.
Perhaps I should just turn this into a blog of rants about how I am the best driver on Earth (or entire universe, should intelligent life exist elsewhere... assuming they haven't developed fully automated transportation), and everyone else doesn't deserve to be on my roads.

MK

Georgia to Declare War on Tennessee

No, surprisingly I'm not talking about college football (we all know who would come out on top of that battle, as they have 3 of the past 4 years), but much more literally than that: link

0-2

Amidst the ferocious roar of the double-digit crowd packed into the Duluth Ice Forum, Breakaway Grill C could not muster a victory as the Fire were simply too hot to handle.
Not even the taunting of our loyal friends in the stands could cool off the Fire.
I found myself burnt on the defensive end quite a few times by players from the Fire.
One might even say, the Fire left us in a pile of smoking ruins.

Pick whichever cheesy-as-hell line you like - fact remains, we've got some work to do. Being the rather competitive type, I may have offended a few with my refusal to take questions or even give a post-game interview with ESPN's Barry Melrose after the game. However, I venture to guess that what I would have had to say would not have made it past the censors in the production truck.

Confused yet? I suppose the lines of fantastical media coverage and reality have been a bit blurred.. but ambiguity has always been a favorite of mine.

Quite unrelated.. I entered the dark side today by buying some shares of SDS, the ultrashort S&P ETF. If the preceding sentence meant nothing to you, don't worry about it. If so.. not to worry - I haven't taken a bearish stance on the market (that sound you hear is institutional managers everywhere breathing a sigh of relief), but rather I've decided to hedge out about 20% of my market risk due to the market conditions of late. Hopefully things will turn around by summer, but I want to (partially) cover my ass if the market continues its relentless selloff.

MK

Dang...

Look at that.. almost a week since my last post. The silence is deafening..

We lost our hockey game 2-1, but it was incredibly fun. As my first competitive hockey experience, I was a bit frantic with the puck, and conservative on offense - now with a little better feel for the game I hope to actually take a shot or two on Sunday. Three hours of practice on Wednesday yielded an entire-body soreness experience (which lists just below the Richard Petty Driving Experience, according to the National Registry of Experiences)

So, 1:20pm on Sunday - we play The Fire, a team that clearly doesn't understand that heat melts ice, and without ice we cannot play hockey. Something has to give... hopefully we'll be able to cool them off.

MK

"Feels like the first time..."

It's here: opening night. Thousands will pack the arena as Breakaway Grill C takes to the ice to take on the Red Wings C, a perennially tough team who has dropped down from the CC league to play this season. Always nice to start off with a challenge...

Game is at 9:50pm at the Duluth Ice Forum. Tickets may be tough to come by, but if you're interested in some.... interesting... hockey, come hang out and we'll definitely put on a good show.

MK

Another argument for hydrogen fuel cell development

Recent studies show that "biofuels" can actually pollute more than petroleum fuels when production byproducts are taken into account.

But, until scientists perfect the energy-yielding union of hydrogen and oxygen, perhaps we should all make a more conscious effort to drive more smoothly, make fewer trips, even consider ditching the SUV. Need space for the kids? BMW has a solution... I might pick one up myself in 10 years - assuming my savings rate picks up considerably.

MK

Not to turn this into a Ron Paul blog...

But there is more to say. Obviously the poll numbers nationwide are saying that Congressman Paul doesn't have much of a chance of winning the Republican nomination. However, I'm sure the throngs of Paulites would join me in urging him to run as an independent candidate. He has successfully gotten his name out there through the mainstream debates, but not to the extent that it needs to be. The majority of people that I come across still have not heard of Ron Paul, and upon hearing the mainstream media's "one liner", immediately dismiss him.

We need people to give him a chance - learn about what he stands for. And, even if you do not agree with him on every individual issue, do not use that as basis for dismissing him as 'radical' or unelectable. Instead, understand that this man has the guts to say what he truly believes, and has never wavered from it while in Congress.

Some of his ideas can come across as unrealistic at first, and that is what the mainstream candidates want to happen. For instance, take the abolishment of the federal Department of Education. This shocks most people into simply writing off Paul as another radical, unelectable deviant who stands no chance at winning a national election; or, that does not belong in office in the first place. What most people fail to realize is that Dr. Paul is not proposing to simply do away with "federally-funded public schools" - he is proposing only to do away with the first word in that phrase, and replace it with "locally". With local money (state and city taxes) funding schools, each locale would have the power to spend as it sees fit, instead of having to conform to federal guidelines that attempt to standardize the education needs of 50 states.

The point is - if one of his ideas seems too radical for you, look deeper. He probably has a proposal that makes sense.

If you find his solution to an issue simply too radical or offensive, do not base your final judgment of Paul on that single issue. Take a broader look - do you want our President that has a track record of unwavering conservative values, even if it means standing on the other side of the aisle from most other "conservatives" on some issues?

Think of it as a physics problem. Right now, our government is akin to a heavy couch on a carpeted floor. To move it takes a considerable amount of force - much more force than to simply keep it moving once started. (this is static versus kinetic friction) Other candidates that promise "change" would certainly apply some force to the couch, but most likely not enough to cause some real change that our country needs. I believe Dr. Paul has the values to apply the necessary force to overcome the static friction in Washington, even if each of his individual ideas cannot be fulfilled.
An example: Paul wants to abolish the IRS - admittedly, I do not think this can happen. But, with his stance being so "out there", he may shake things up enough in Washington to see some real change in how much and how fairly U.S. citizens are taxed. Other candidates that promise tax cuts (how many times have we heard that before in a campaign...) leave me quite uninspired; I think it takes a man like Paul, who wants to abolish federal taxes altogether, to get some real change implemented.

I think that this can be said for most issues - even if you don't agree with Dr. Paul on the final destination of his stances, you may be able to agree with the direction in which they are headed - and if he is elected President, he will be able to get things going in his intended direction, even if not to his intended end. I do not believe that any other candidate can claim this.

So then, it comes down to this: if you agree with Ron Paul's direction but not with some of his ends, do not let that stop you from voting for him.

MK

Just one of many reasons why I am voting for Ron Paul on Super Tuesday

At the MTV debate earlier today, Congressman Paul provided the most excellent and concise summary of what is wrong in the Middle East that I have heard in a long time - you can see it here, around the 7:00 mark. It's simply appalling to me how much sense he makes.

Another of my favorites from Congressman Paul - link

MK

He Shoots..... He.................... Falls!

What a night - a good 2 hours of organized practice and scrimmage, followed by another ~1.5 hours of just skating and messing around, getting the feel for the game. Hockey is unbelievably fun - if I had known just how great it is, I might have skipped baseball altogether and began this journey in high school.
Among the falling, mis-hits, and yelled expletives could be found a few bright spots - it looks like I will be able to be a fairly adept defensive player, given my natural height advantage. I was able to poke check with the best of 'em ("em" here being the C-level adult hockey players) and even block a couple shots. Offense was another story - usually any sort of scoring opportunity was met with either, 1. Skating too fast with the puck not able to keep up, thus drifting between my legs into an unreachable position, save for the defensemen who took possession and marched the other way, or 2. Getting into a fairly decent shooting position, winding up to shoot, starting the stick's downward trajectory toward the puck, and instead having my entire body follow suit right down onto the welcoming ice.

Still - the most fun I've had in months, and I eagerly look forward to my next meeting with the beckoning ice.

MK

Green with Envy

Saddled with no real work to speak of, I decided to embark upon a recycling expedition around the office this afternoon. It was a resounding success, as we now have years worth of report covers and backings that we no longer have to buy, as well as paper tabs to reuse. Reams of paper were also recovered and recycled, paper that was sitting in drawers and bound for the garbage at some point.

Here's what I started with:



And the end result - raw paper to be recycled...

...and all the covers/backings we'll need for years to come



Can't wait until hockey tonight

MK

Entrepreneur

Literally in French, "contractor", or even more literally, "enter taker". Whatever the meaning, this word that carries so many hopes, dreams, and business school buzz-phrases may begin to describe yours truly in the not-so-distant future. The idea remains in infancy, with location and name still to-be-determined, but our coffee house will hopefully be open for business in an amount of time not to exceed 8 months.

This is one way to find out if anyone at my office reads.

After many hours of deep thought, I believe that I have found my calling - and it is not financial reporting, or even the more lucrative career path that may lie ahead of such an entry-level position.

Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
`Surely,' said I, `surely that is something at my window lattice;
Let me see then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore -
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore; -
'Tis the wind and nothing more!'
-Edgar Allen Poe

Is this coffee house just the latest wind to tap at the window of my mind? Insofar as I can see, absolutely not. Obstacles lie ahead - loans to be extended, real estate acquired, equipment purchased, caffeine consumed - but this is one plan that I... plan... to see through to the end (rather, beginning).

MK

Funniest thing I've seen on the internet in quite some time

Apparently this has been around for quite awhile, but it's new to me.

Quick thought on oil

Reuters reported that oil fell more than $1 Monday to $89 a barrel on "economy concerns", citing that a recession in the US could drag down other economies and hurt global demand for Texas Tea.
Funny.. I thought I remembered hearing on TV and reading all over the place that the recession that we seem to find ourselves in was in large part caused by high oil prices. Yet, OPEC has so far refused to increase production to ease upward price pressure.

So we have:
High oil prices (among many other things) leading to recession
Recession leading to lower oil prices
OPEC refusing to increase supply leading to ____?

Somewhere there lies an equilibrium where the price of oil is high enough to satisfy the Middle Eastern thirst for profit, but low enough to keep global business operations flowing smoothly. But where is it? There's obviously a disconnect right now - hopefully with a new administration will come an Energy Secretary who can successfully negotiate with our favorite monopolistic cartel - or better yet, make this country independent of foreign oil altogether. Good luck with that...

MK

China gets Blackberries

Link

Good time to own China Mobile and Research in Motion (maker of Blackberry devices)-

Arrogance Sells

Or at least Steve Jobs seems to think so. After watching the keynote from Macworld 2008 and reading this article, I am fully committed to never buying an Apple product, unless mortal illness comes over me and iCure is the only thing that can save me. And even then, I would think twice about it.

Apple products are owned by many types of people, most of which I am sure are decent, likable people. But what is it they say about a silent majority? Well, Apple's very vocal minority owners can be described as cultish in every sense of the word. Many blindly support the company's products through purchase and outspoken communication, without stopping to think about if these products are truly groundbreaking.
One example - during the keynote, Jobs introduces a revolutionary new feature to the iPhone: SMS Texting to multiple recipients.


Wait.





Get outta here Steve, more than one recipient?


(Sarcasm over)

I have owned three phones in the past 2 years: a Nokia (forget the model, but it was quite basic), Palm Treo 700p, and now a Blackberry 8300. All three have been able to send SMS messages to multiple recipients right out of the box. The Treo and Blackberry are able to do so while keeping the 'conversation' in order - like a chat.
The best part of it? None of the three advertised this feature. Why? That should be self-explanatory by now.

But, as soon as those magical words left Jobs' tongue at Macworld, they were met by the awestruck cheering and applause of hundreds of Apple fans. Not sarcastic cheering and applause - as my roommate and I enthusiastically performed soon after - but genuine, "What an awesome feature!" applause. So either, a) these Apple fans have never had a phone that could do such a thing, which strikes me as a bit odd given the state of technology these days and Apple-fans' constant claims to be at the forefront, or b) they were just happy to see a feature that should have been on the iPhone in the first place. Either way... seems to me that these people need to open their eyes a bit.

On to the article (linked in the first sentence) - well, reading it just gives me a flat-out sick feeling. Close-mindedness really bothers me, and that is exactly what Jobs and the fanboys who comment on the article below are exhibiting.

"MacDailyNews Take: It's possible that Apple sold more iPods in the last 90 days than the total number of Zunes Microsoft will ever sell in the entire life of their derivative product line."

Probably not. This fact is not directly relevant to my argument, but I will point out that my RSS reader was full of news stories about the Zune being out of stock over the holidays, something I observed myself while at Target and Best Buy. The blatent non-truth of the above quote is not the point though - the point is that this website would even think to make that statement. It is childish exaggeration that sounds plain foolish.
The article also links to a piece by a CNBC analyst, which contains:

I told Jobs that I had sat down with Microsoft's Robbie Bach last week at the Consumer Electronics Show. I mentioned that Bach was particularly optimistic about the new Zune, that it was now a worthy alternative to Apple's iPod.Asked Jobs: "Was he inebriated? Do you even know anyone who owns a Zune?"

Immature, arrogant, pick your adjective - yeah, Steve, I own a Zune. I've owned two, in fact. My first one got stolen out of the library at Emory, and you know what? I bought another one. Most people that give it a test drive find it very intuitive, easy to use with no thumb-circle nonsense, and the large screen is great for watching videos. But, once again, these are but central to my point. I like the Zune more than I like the iPod, and that is my opinion. I certainly don't parade around like an idiot telling everyone that I come in contact with. In essence, that is what these vocal Apple fans do - they try to make you feel dumb unless you agree with them and buy Apple products. That sounds eerily similar to the policies of many fascist world governments that I have learned about in history classes over the years...

Historical parallels aside, I really do think Apple makes some great products. The iPhone is an amazing little device - excellent build quality and it performs beautifully as a media player and phone. It's just not what I want - I would rather have the customizable nature and communications abilities of the Blackberry. Who knows - maybe in a few years I will end up holding an iPhone to my ear. That would contradict my opening statement, though...But twice again, it is not the products that are in question here - it is the methods and tone with which they are presented to us by their company, CEO, and cult owners. Take a step back from your foggy, apple-shaped glass and see life from some different perspectives.

MK

Gaps all over the place

Could have sworn on the way to work today that, even though traffic was unusually bad, there were more people practicing my style of driving - slow and steady wins the race, right?

Changing topics... keeping up with the Vols of late has been tough, and there seems to be precious few games televised from Knoxville. I believe I remember hearing on ESPN that the UT/Vandy game will be available, in full HD glory, tonight. As fate would have it, previous plans had been made to attend the Thrashers game, also tonight. Thanks to wondrous modern technology, though, I'll be able to record the game on my DVR and watch after the Thrashers' victory, meanwhile staying up to date on the score during the hockey game via sportsfury. Hooray for innovation-
Time for lunch.

MK

I do my best thinking in the shower and on the way to work

While the above is certainly not 100% true, there are many many times I become enveloped in a thought at just the wrong time - when I cannot document it for further review. Some sort of shower white-board may be the solution, although running water can wreak havoc on the written word (ever try using a newspaper in a rainstorm?). I'm still waiting for the new Blackberry operating system to come out, which purportedly includes a voice note program.

So, what are these earth-shattering, innovative thoughts that I am having? What leads me to believe that I should employ a full-time scrivener? Unfortunately, nothing of the sort - yet, at least. But I will share a few works in process-

First-
The general level of 'consciousness' of this country needs to be elevated, exponentially. I am talking about in every facet of life - energy use, driving, politics, stereotypes, you name it - I think we could all benefit from simply paying more attention to who is around us and what is going on around us.
Take a hockey player for instance - he (or she--- almost thought you had me, didn't ya) is constantly aware of the other players around him, both on his team and the opposing team. He uses this awareness to construct an ever-changing, continuously updated mental map of the ice, information from which he uses to make the correct pass, shot, move, etc. The same can be said for great quarterbacks - "field awareness" is something that we hear commentators talk about, and often we do not know what they mean. Basically, knowing where something or someone is, without actually knowing where they are. Anticipation, knowledge of past tenancies, observations of seemingly external influences (is the linebacker jumping up and down, trying to rev up the crowd? Might want to keep an eye on him for a blitz) - all of these and more combine to create a set of data that the quarterback then uses to move in the pocket, make the pass, scramble, etc. It is when the defenders can defeat this data by doing something either unpredictable or overpowering that they are able to make the sack or force a bad throw. (I am starting to remind myself of Charlie Eppes from NBC's Numb3rs... scary) This idea works for pretty much all things athletic (yes, even pitching), as well as the more demanding careers out there such as law enforcement, military, etc.

Yes, so what the hell is my point?

What if every human in the United States of America started to carry with them this same state of heightened awareness? What if everyone suddenly became astutely aware of everything that was going on around them? Would this be a good thing?

Absolutely. Take driving, for example. What causes traffic jams? The most obvious (and largely correct) answer is simply more volume than the roads can handle. When there is high volume, intersections become living purgatories for anyone that needs to get somewhere. Stop signs, red lights - necessary implementations, for sure - become the bottlenecks. There's no way around them, right?

Right. However, last time I checked, there's no way around gravity, but that didn't keep us from developing the airplane.

I would venture to guess that, on average, only about 60% of total possible capacity makes it through a green light - that is, if a light stays green for 15 seconds, that should be plenty of time for 15 cars to get through an intersection - but my experiences tell me that usually only 8-9 cars would get through such a stoplight in heavy traffic. Why? Inattentive, wandering minds - I am surely guilty of this at times, but I try not to be. It comes down to keeping the interests of others in mind while making decisions - a sort of empathy. How likely is the average driver to, upon seeing a light turn red, hit the gas and try to scoot through the light before the other direction gets the green? Now... how likely is the average driver to, upon seeing someone approach the end of their driveway looking to leave, slow down a bit and allow them space to enter traffic flow? The first scenario depicts the me-first attitude of so many of us that leads to accidents, road rage, spilled coffee...
Imagine if people consistently made the conscious effort to move through intersections as quickly as possible, for the benefit of those behind in line. More time would be saved, less gas would be wasted sitting in traffic, and I imagine the general mood of the country would be much improved upon reaching home 30 minutes earlier.

This overly elaborate traffic example illustrates my general point pretty well. If we take the same mindset used by athletes to try and defeat the other team, make it a habit to remain in that state of mind, and used it for the benefit of other people - well, if we did that, the world might just collapse upon itself. Nerdy humor aside, I think we can all agree that this country could stand to benefit from people paying more attention and using the extra knowledge for a common good.

Briefly back to traffic - do you ever notice instances where someone will speed up when a traffic jam starts to move, only to slam on the brakes as it halts again? Stop and go traffic, we all know it. What I have realized is that it doesn't have to be this way. Every morning we hear traffic reports of "stop and go congestion" - there's no way around this, right?

This time, absolutely not right.

Stop and go traffic is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Try it next time you're sitting on the interstate in such a situation. You're stopped, along with everyone else you see around you. Then, the Ford Excursion ahead of you starts to go (getting 6 mpg as it trolls along). Let's say the Excursion gets up to 10 miles per hour. Up ahead, we see that traffic is still heavy, so there's obviously nowhere to go, and no benefit to going as fast as possible. (the opposite, of course, is true on open highways, but that's for another workless morning) So while our soccer mom ahead has sped up to 10 mph, let's try coming off the brakes but only moving forward at about half that speed. So, we're moving at half the speed of the car in front. Obviously, a gap will form in front of us. Now, a few seconds later, our Excursion hits the brakes and comes to a stop, only to repeat the process a few seconds later. Meanwhile, we're trolling along at 5 mph or so, watching the ridiculousness ahead of us with a grin on our face, having never touched the brakes or applied any more gas. So, not only did we save precious gasoline and brake pads, but as also allowed those of us behind us to do the same. Paying attention, yielding benefit for the greater good, not spilling coffee... all great things.

So that wasn't so brief. Apologies.


So, it seems like I have contradicted myself - first I talk about trying to get through an intersection as quickly as possible, then I talk about moving basically as slow as possible through traffic. The difference is written on the wall - one is for intersections, and the other for highways (where we don't have to worry about people behind us not making any lights). The ability to switch 'strategies' uses more attentiveness than people might be used to while driving.

Now, let's expand this attentiveness to all facets of life.

Working in a service industry - do I really look like I might want a cinnamon coffee cake or crumpet with that? I asked for a grande coffee latte, to go. I appear to be in a hurry. Use some judgement - pay attention.

Being a customer in a service industry - was the guy behind the counter friendly and prompt, dodging "the ghosts of mediocrity" (Dr. Bob Nichols, Young Harris College) that often come with a job with little variation of tasks from day to day? Thank him, wish him a good day; do both even. This morning as I picked up my breakfast from McDonald's, (instead of going through the drive-through, the line of which which I observed to be quite long, while inside there was nobody), I said "Have a good one" to the gentleman who served me. The tone with which he replied "You too, man" suggested that he hadn't heard such friendliness in days. Obviously there are economic differences in this world - we have become accustomed to hearing them referred to as "classes" (which I find awfully feudal sounding) - but that is no reason for someone not to extend such a simple offering of warmth.
Far too often I see a customer, obviously well-paid and affluent, pay no attention whatsoever to the equal-in-matter individual that just provided their food/coffee/(insert service here).

We are all human. As with any species, there will be dominant figures and subservient figures and everyone in between. When it comes down to it, though, we are a species that needs to survive. This isn't meant to be a climate change argument, but maybe if we all start paying attention to each other more, we can save enough resources to extend this planet's usable life. Just a thought.

So, I've basically developed points in two areas: traffic and service industries. It took 1,583 words. It becomes glaringly apparent to me that I should maybe consider writing a book instead of something meant as a quick read such as a blog. But, until I find a publisher that would not only do so for free but also do so without being driven up the wall by my strange and random thoughts, I will remain here.
--




Somewhere about a thousand words ago I pretty much accepted that I was just writing for my own pleasure and that nobody would actually take the time to sift through my mental fallout. I wanted to get this down on paper, or at least a start, and I think that has been accomplished. So, if you have made it this far... wow. I feel like I owe you something. If you're in Atlanta, let me take you out to lunch or maybe a Starbucks, and we can be in a hurry and see if they still ask if we'd like anything else with that.

MK

RON PAUL 2008

More on this tomorrow night (I need to go to bed now), but I cannot emphasize enough how much I support Dr. Ron Paul for president in 2008. Please take a few minutes (if not more) and check out his website at www.ronpaul2008.com to familiarize yourself with this great gentleman who has positions that I believe will save this country.

The biggest challenge facing him right now is the simple fact that people have not heard about him. That is why I just placed a $50 order on his website for bumper stickers and signs. If you visit his site and disagree with his positions, I have no qualms. But, the biggest injustice to him (and me... yeah, I'm making this personal) would be to not learn even a little bit about our hopeful next president.

MK

Season's Greetings

After a great Christmas weekend spent in Chattanooga and at Chateau Elan with my respective parental groups, I'm met with the brutal reality of returning to work tomorrow morning, instead of having another 2 weeks to relax and do nothing until school starts again. It is a bit troublesome, but at the same time I accept that I am growing up and was able to spend five exceptional years in this country's university system having the time of my life.
Josh, my teammate on the Netanya Tigers, sent me this link of a nice video from Israel. I appear a few times in the scenes from one of our games against Modi'in Miracle. From the looks of the highlights, we lost that game, but the memories are no less fond. I find myself longing to return more and more as my time away from the Holy Land grows longer and longer. Hopefully next summer will yield an opportunity to rekindle my love of the game of baseball and the country of Israel - but, I fear, my career aspirations here in America will prevent that. I'll just have to see what fate, my personal goals, and status at my company have in store for me come June.

MK

Tis the season

For hockey - after having attended 7 Thrashers games this winter and playing countless games of NHL08 on the Xbox, my roommate Kevin and I have decided to join the AAHL (pending the successful completion of a crash course in ice skating)
We can think of no better way to relieve post-workday frustration and stress than to head north to The Cooler and deal out some hits in the name of victory on the rink. I am hoping that I haven't entirely forgotten how to skate, as it's been many years since playing on the Braun's back yard pond in Minnesota. So, we plan to depart for the frozen tundra here in a few minutes for a reality check and to see exactly where we stand on the totem poll of Atlanta-area skaters. If all goes well, a few hundred dollars of my paycheck will soon go to some new hockey gear... as well as increasing my Accidental Death and Dismemberment coverage through my employer.

MK

Sparse

Work, weekend trips, and the ensuing lack of idle time has left me with an embarrassingly empty blog - with an appropriately lacking hit counter. I hope to turn that around, but can make no promises

First - Honda's latest and greatest robot, displaying stunning realism in movement and communication. Watch for yourselves... pretty amazing. Soon entry-level jobs will be given to these mechanical wonders, who require no medical benefits and drink no coffee. Watch out, Flavia

Next - made a trip to L.A. this weekend to see a John Mayer concert and see a new city with a couple good friends - photos can be found on my facebook. (I'm sadly finding that I am no different than anyone else - I'm fully addicted to adding photos, tagging them, and watching for comments to come in. I also refer to the site as "my facebook" - another area that I can simply find no other way to deviate from the norm. Damn)

Finally - well, that's it actually. Maybe more tonight, as I am forbidden to go to the gym today after donating blood this afternoon. This should leave me with some energy and maybe even motivation to set out for a Tuesday night on the town

MK

Thanksgiving

Spent a great Thanksgiving week with my cousins Thomas and Jennifer in Washington, DC - here are some photos from the trip - these are the more 'artistic' shots. More social shots can be seen on my facebook.

Apparently I'm not the only Kerfeld involved with (the) IBL...

http://www.licor.com/bio/video/index.jsp - all the way at the bottom. Interesting... sort of.

Great read

http://www.mkaku.org/articles/physics_of_et.html

Cubicle v Office

Anyone who has held an entry-level position knows about the holy grail of post-graduate income generation: the cubicle. I've been able to get over the initial reality-slap-in-the-face of working in the likes of a 3.5-side carpeted box and spruce mine up a bit to the point of actually feeling a bit cozy. However, one obstacle stands in the way of feeling totally comfortable: the inability to position my computer monitor (a nice Dell LCD, if I might add) such that I have a bit of privacy should I need it. Occasionally I will be checking emails or carrying on a quick Google chat with a friend, and my boss will walk right up, check out what I'm doing, and start conversing with eyes still fixed disapprovingly my screen.
I believe myself to be a hard worker, probably spending less than 5% of my time doing 'personal' things like the above. So, I'm not really worried that I am giving off the wrong impression - rather sometimes I would like to face the other way and not have my mid-morning trading schemes with Gordon exposed to the prying eyes of my co-workers. After all, what good is an investing idea if everyone finds out about it?
These problems all go away with the acquisition (well, more like an indefinite lease) of an office. In an office, one has the ability to face one's door with one's computer screen facing the other way, thus increasing one's privacy level by an even 100% (that's one zero zero per cent, to complete the pentfecta of "one")
So, my new goal for tomorrow is to locate an available office within the friendly confines of 150 Interstate North Parkway and negotiate my way into its occupation. Progress report to follow... but not until I am safely at home (or in my new office)
MK

Sour Cream Cheese

While at Publix just now I had to stop and think unusually long about what it was that I intend to spread on my bagel tomorrow morning - cream cheese, or sour cream? I must not be the only one that mixes up this biovular pair. Obviously I would not consider eating the famed baked potato spread on a bagel, but the names sometimes present a clear and present danger of doing just that. Luckily their consistencies are different enough to give me adequate warning, so I always end up with my bagel properly dressed.
Tomorrow is Halloween, and there is a costume contest at the office along with employee-provided snacks all day. Yours truly will not be dressing up, as my favorite costume, Will Ferrell during the Snoop Dogg scene in Old School, would simply not be appropriate for somebody that has been with his company for just 3 weeks. Perhaps next year... but could make for a chilly walk through the parking lot.

As the amount of clam chowder remaining in the stainless steel pot on my desk approaches zero, so too does this post. (Extra credit for anyone who writes the above statement into mathematical language in the form of a convergent limit) Good Evening,

MK