Weekend Open Thread - Speak Your Mind
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JonBoySC @ 16th Oct 06:34PM:
Football
Go gamecocks beat bama!!!
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Omega @ 16th Oct 06:38PM:
Where's Justin?
justin last seen 2009-09-03 22:12:18!
Did fatness and Karl Bode conspire to get rid of him! I think so.
--
Whats smells like blue?
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Duramax08 @ 16th Oct 06:40PM:
Re: Where's Justin?
The next thing we need is gossip here at bbr.........
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Laughing Man @ 16th Oct 06:42PM:
Re: Where's Justin?
I noticed that's he been gone two and a half weeks ago when I was checking the mod section around the console tech forum. Anyone know where justin got off to?
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Jovi @ 16th Oct 06:44PM:
The weather this whole weekend..
sucks if you live in the Northeast. But be thankful it wasn't a snow filled Nor'easter.
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"Some people have no respect for logic." :(
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tvtek @ 16th Oct 06:53PM:
Happy Weekend
Have a great weekend everyone! :)
--
Alumni "Mental State"
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ARGONAUT @ 16th Oct 07:24PM:
Re: Happy Weekend
said by tvtek :
Have a great weekend everyone! :)
You as well tvtek :)
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TKJunkMail @ 16th Oct 07:26PM:
Re: Where's Justin?
said by Omega :
justin last seen 2009-09-03 22:12:18!
Did fatness and Karl Bode conspire to get rid of him! I think so.
Uh, Oh. The inmates are running the asylum with Nurse Ratched out of the picture. :D
Clip with Danny DeVito playing Karl Bode and Nicholson playing fatness. »www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fanv5vjdDds
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My BLOG .. .. Internet News .. .. My Web Page
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Jeffrey @ 16th Oct 07:31PM:
Re: The weather this whole weekend..
Man, if it was we'd have a ton of snow right now.
I can't believe I had to put the heat on today here. It's the middle of October and I drove to work in 38 degrees.
--
"Honesty may be the best policy, but it's important to remember that apparently, by elimination, dishonesty is the second-best policy." - George Carlin
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StudioTech @ 16th Oct 07:36PM:
Swine Flu in Mexico?
Anyone else notice with all the coverage here in the US regarding H1N1, there are been little to no followup coverage of what's been going on in Mexico since earlier in the year?
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Duramax08 @ 16th Oct 07:37PM:
Re: Happy Weekend
said by ARGONAUT :said by tvtek :
Have a great weekend everyone! :)
You as well tvtek :)
You as well ARGONAUT :)
--
One day, High speed internet will be down my road! Willing to put DSLAM's or cable plants on my yard. Contact me AT&T or TWC to set up an appointment =]
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Mactron @ 16th Oct 07:44PM:
Re: The weather this whole weekend..
94F today. 2"s of rain day before yesterday. Crazy Fall so far...
Great weekend all. :)
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zenafu @ 16th Oct 07:45PM:
Re: The weather this whole weekend..
Same here. Looks like November's been canceled this year, we're going straight into December.
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amigo_boy @ 16th Oct 07:50PM:
Re: Swine Flu in Mexico?
said by StudioTech :
Anyone else notice with all the coverage here in the US regarding H1N1, there are been little to no followup coverage of what's been going on in Mexico since earlier in the year?
I haven't seen anything about Mexico. But, saw the news today that some pigs in Minnesota are believed to have contracted H1N1 from some kids:
quote:
Pigs in Minnesota may have tested positive for the H1N1 virus in a preliminary test, the first potential U.S. cases in swine, Agriculture Department officials said Friday.
The officials cautioned that further tests were needed to confirm that the pigs had been infected with H1N1, also known as swine flu virus. The pigs did not exhibit signs of sickness and may have been infected by a group of children with the virus, they said.
--»news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091016/ap_···wine_flu
Mark
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TKJunkMail @ 16th Oct 07:52PM:
Re: Swine Flu in Mexico?
said by StudioTech :
Anyone else notice with all the coverage here in the US regarding H1N1, there are been little to no followup coverage of what's been going on in Mexico since earlier in the year?
»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_flu_p···n_Mexico
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60529262 @ 16th Oct 08:04PM:
Re: Where's Justin?
Probably was site-banned.
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me1212 @ 16th Oct 08:21PM:
Weird week
I got an A++ on my tv log. And teh noob took over for a few hours 2day. Then there is the stuff that scared me for life, ok so only one truly scared me but a few other things gave me a WTF moment.
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KrK @ 16th Oct 08:26PM:
Re: The weather this whole weekend..
Even here in the middle of the country the weather's clock seems at least a month ahead of schedule.
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KrK @ 16th Oct 08:26PM:
Re: Swine Flu in Mexico?
said by StudioTech :
Anyone else notice with all the coverage here in the US regarding H1N1, there are been little to no followup coverage of what's been going on in Mexico since earlier in the year?
Once it got here we no longer cared. :D
Actually that's probably true. :/
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"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power." -- Benito Mussolini
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KrK @ 16th Oct 08:28PM:
Re: Football
Here's hoping for a miracle. That somehow, somehow, the banged up/down and out Sooners can beat strong-looking Texas in the Red River Rivalry this weekend.... !
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"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power." -- Benito Mussolini
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jjeffeory @ 16th Oct 08:31PM:
Re: The weather this whole weekend..
Same out West. It is currently 88 degrees right around Los Angeles. LOL
Well, it was really cold for three days earlier this week... I'll be suffering on the East coast at the end of next month, so I have to rub in the current warm weather while I can... I'm sure it won't last.
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evgray @ 16th Oct 08:31PM:
Small town life
We live in a small town of 8000 and it seems like the H1N1 is all around us. But then again it seems like you know everyone.
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N3OGH @ 16th Oct 08:36PM:
Gordon Gekko Vs. Stewie
Buddy sent this to me tonight. FUNNY!
»www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVkmr8wk9N8
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Petty people are disproportionably corrupted by petty power…
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tvtek @ 16th Oct 08:37PM:
Weather Balloon in Colorado
I think it was just a giant ad for Jiffy Pop popcorn!
--
Alumni "Mental State"
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mdaddyrabbit @ 16th Oct 08:46PM:
Early Weather
It appears that the cold for some folks started earlier this year, in fact it is unseasonly cool here in North Carolina. I wonder what the long term look is for cold weather and frozen liquid throughout the United States?
Any who, I hold my glass up and salute you. Have a great weekend.
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N3OGH @ 16th Oct 08:47PM:
Re: Weather Balloon in Colorado
Knew that was a hoax while it was in progress.
Then the kid (Falcon) boots this morning on The Today show!
»www.youtube.com/watch?v=buKA2bD9mM0
This thing so stinks.....
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Petty people are disproportionably corrupted by petty power…
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KrK @ 16th Oct 08:49PM:
Re: Weather Balloon in Colorado
The Cover Up begins :D
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tvtek @ 16th Oct 08:49PM:
Re: Weather Balloon in Colorado
Not only that, they were on ABC's wife swap TV show a few years ago!....It defiantly stinks.. They also called a TV station and the FAA first!
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Alumni "Mental State"
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N3OGH @ 16th Oct 08:50PM:
Re: Where's Justin?
What a great movie.
DeVito is really an underrated talent. He's hilarious on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia".
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Petty people are disproportionably corrupted by petty power…
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jeffhambone @ 16th Oct 09:08PM:
Re: Early Weather
Looks like the southern tier and eastern seaboard are going to be colder and wetter/snowier than normal:
»www.accuweather.com/news-weather···ear=2009
I guess I should get moving on that pellet stove I've been planning to buy. :o
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Sarcasm is the Body's Natural Defense Against Stupidity
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rawgerz @ 16th Oct 09:09PM:
Re: Weather Balloon in Colorado
Now that I think about it, there's no way in hell a balloon that small could lift a kid
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fatness @ 16th Oct 09:33PM:
terrible singing
I'll start. :)
»www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg7uGL6Ku20
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Jeffrey @ 16th Oct 09:49PM:
Re: The weather this whole weekend..
said by jjeffeory :
Same out West. It is currently 88 degrees right around Los Angeles. LOL
You guys really love rubbing that in. :) I would too, if I lived out there.
Enjoy that shit man. Seriously. If family, friends and work didn't keep me on Long Island, I'd me moving to where you're at.
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"Honesty may be the best policy, but it's important to remember that apparently, by elimination, dishonesty is the second-best policy." - George Carlin
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Jeffrey @ 16th Oct 09:57PM:
Re: Weather Balloon in Colorado
The body language of that guy to me screams lying. The kid throwing up was just icing on the cake. It's a hoax, and I hope this guy pays for some of the "rescue" effort costs. My opinion.
All of us have lied at one time or another. With that said, you know when you're telling the truth, and if someone accuses you of lying when you're emphatically telling the truth, then there should be no issues or qualms about you taking a lie detector test.
I always like it when people are put under the lie detector. Although I hear it's not admissible in court, it does make for some interesting conversation.
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"Honesty may be the best policy, but it's important to remember that apparently, by elimination, dishonesty is the second-best policy." - George Carlin
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Jeffrey @ 16th Oct 10:02PM:
Re: Early Weather
said by mdaddyrabbit :
I wonder what the long term look is for cold weather and frozen liquid throughout the United States?
I'm not sure how much I really believe those long term forecasts. Sometimes they are wrong 2 or 3 days out. Excuse me, sometimes the computers are wrong 3 days out. :) With that said, I'm not sure I'd believe a long-term forecast like that.
The first I heard about the upcoming Winter 6 weeks ago was that the Northeast would experience much colder than normal temperatures and much wetter days as well.
About 2 weeks ago I heard that they didn't get quite as dramatic about the cold as they previously were, but the wet weather was still up there.
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"Honesty may be the best policy, but it's important to remember that apparently, by elimination, dishonesty is the second-best policy." - George Carlin
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IT Guy @ 16th Oct 10:49PM:
Re: Swine Flu in Mexico?
Mexico has bigger problems than H1N1
»www.lcsun-news.com/ci_13546518?I···news.com
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Don't worry, scrote. There are plenty of 'tards out there living really kick-ass lives.
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KrK @ 16th Oct 10:57PM:
Goldman Sachs huge bonuses.... Typical!
Did you see the news about Goldman Sachs? Some of the largest bonuses ever.
»www.nydailynews.com/money/2009/1···m_g.html
At the same time, we have the financial lobby fighting reform.
»news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/axepkeia7xx8
It's pretty disgusting. These guys wouldn't exist if it weren't for society bailing them out. Now they're getting big bonuses and using their profits to fight regulation which could help prevent the kind of social intervention that they benefited from.
--
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power." -- Benito Mussolini
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amigo_boy @ 16th Oct 11:31PM:
Lunacy in Las Vegas Housing
Interesting article about the real estate market in Vegas.
quote:
Just when you think you've heard it all in today's housing market, along comes a story that takes all those statistics and all those monthly foreclosure reports and all that testimony to Congress and just drop kicks them all out the window.
I'm going to tell you about a nice young woman named Katie. Last week Katie tried to buy a house in Las Vegas, and got a lesson in real estate reality that she will never forget.
[Unbelievable story]
-- »www.cnbc.com/id/33310096/
Mark
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amigo_boy @ 16th Oct 11:43PM:
Re: Goldman Sachs huge bonuses.... Typical!
said by KrK :
Did you see the news about Goldman Sachs? Some of the largest bonuses ever.
It's hard to relate a "bonus pool" of $23bil into real-world terms. The Yahoo article may help:
quote:
Goldman Sachs, which repaid $10 billion it received from the U.S. Treasury last year, also reported a surge in third- quarter profit. The company has set aside $16.7 billion to pay employees so far this year, enough to pay each worker $527,192 for the period.
That was apparently written before today's news that Goldman beat analyst estimates, and added even more to the bonus pool, making it $23bil.
So, it's more like "enough to pay each worker $730,000."
Millions thrown out of jobs because the financial system seized. Taxpayer bailouts to keep the system alive. And Goldman employees will receive, on average, $730k bonuses?
Unbelievable.
Mark
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jjeffeory @ 17th Oct 12:18AM:
Re: The weather this whole weekend..
LOL, I'm moving to where you are! There's not much work around here...
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KrK @ 17th Oct 12:26AM:
Re: Goldman Sachs huge bonuses.... Typical!
More likely certain employees will receive millions and others nothing.
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tvtek @ 17th Oct 12:54AM:
Re: terrible singing
Someone actually used up bandwidth to place that on Youtube!.... Was that from the 700 Club?...lol
--
Alumni "Mental State"
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Noah Vail @ 17th Oct 02:46AM:
Dvorak, The EULA and SideKick Meltdown
said by John Dvorak :
EULA licensees you must agree to are fluid. Almost all of them say that you are agreeing to allow the company to do whatever it wants to do, and you can't do anything about any changes, nor do you have any recourse.
The EULA is the problem; it lets companies be lax about their products and services. And why not? We say it works. We advertise that it works. We charge you money. You sign a document (essentially) saying that it doesn't really have to work as advertised, and guess what? It doesn't work as advertised. Too bad. (I still like to highlight the ridiculous EULA that I use on my own blog. As crazy as it is, it's still a legal document by today's standards.)
The Microsoft Sidekick fiasco may result in some interesting lawsuits that could get these idiotic and onerous EULAs changed forever. I can assure you that if Microsoft knew it would be liable for everything from time lost to God-knows-what, this catastrophe would not have happened.
Of course, the courts, the government, and everyone who is supposed to look out for the consumer is complicit in all this by defending the EULA and other dubious documents that have been developed to hold the giant corporation blameless no matter what happens. And, yeah sure, there is the class action suit filed now and again by lawyers to scam some money. I've signed on to a few of these and get a check in the mail for $15 a few years later. Fantastic.
The EULA has got to go.
From time to time, John Dvorak brings brilliant points of view to the table. I felt this was worth a read.
NV
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In my perfect religion, a giant hole appears and sucks up all the lousy people.
I call it the Crapture.
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Jeffrey @ 17th Oct 09:02AM:
Re: Swine Flu in Mexico?
said by amigo_boy :
I haven't seen anything about Mexico. But, saw the news today that some pigs in Minnesota are believed to have contracted H1N1 from some kids:
Good. That will show those fucking pigs. The give us swine flu, we'll give it right back to them. :)
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"Honesty may be the best policy, but it's important to remember that apparently, by elimination, dishonesty is the second-best policy." - George Carlin
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stevennb @ 17th Oct 09:12AM:
Re: Swine Flu in Mexico?
Gotta love the Idiocracy quote.
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GhostDoggy @ 17th Oct 09:17AM:
Re: Goldman Sachs huge bonuses.... Typical!
If they took monies in a bailout and then repaid it I do not see what the problem is. Are these companies not suppose to be profitable at someone else's cost? Of course they are as no one can make money unless if comes from somewhere.
BTW, trying blame last years financial crisis on people living above their means and the first sign of a softening economy they went belly up causing monster foreclosures.
Look at your former neighbors and see what happened.
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GhostDoggy @ 17th Oct 09:18AM:
Re: Swine Flu in Mexico?
America has bigger problems than H1Ni, and it was called Mexico. Now its called the 51st state.
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N3OGH @ 17th Oct 09:51AM:
Re: The weather this whole weekend..
While it may be sunny and warm on the west coast, we lack things like mud slides, earthquakes and wild fires.
We pay as we go, and they get balloon payments when it comes to paying mother nature her due freight.
I'll take what we have here.
Oh shit, the heater just kicked over!
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Petty people are disproportionably corrupted by petty power…
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N3OGH @ 17th Oct 09:57AM:
Re: Weather Balloon in Colorado
OMG, you're right.
I KNEW IT I just knew it. As a mater of fact, I saw an alien corpse doing the news at 9PM on CNN.
Oh wait, that was Larry king.....
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Petty people are disproportionably corrupted by petty power…
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N3OGH @ 17th Oct 09:59AM:
Re: terrible singing
Tha-that's terrible, I'm sorry.
Is there any way I could use tool points to request having my ears gouged out?
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Petty people are disproportionably corrupted by petty power…
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fatness @ 17th Oct 10:15AM:
Re: terrible singing
It's from some public access TV station somewhere. I found it on this guy's channel on youtube.
»www.youtube.com/user/drbpony#p/u
Here's another wonderful one. I think it may be a message from space aliens.
»www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXkBzTLO···=related
--
"That blast came from the pants! That thing's operational!"
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MRCUR @ 17th Oct 11:20AM:
Google Wave
Anyone get an invite? I'm still waiting. One of my friends just got one, but I don't think he has any invites available...
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amigo_boy @ 17th Oct 11:59AM:
Re: Goldman Sachs huge bonuses.... Typical!
said by GhostDoggy :
If they took monies in a bailout and then repaid it I do not see what the problem is. Are these companies not suppose to be profitable at someone else's cost?
To me, the problem is that these institutions (unregulated Wall St. banks, not accredited and regulated national and state banks) went wild with speculation and leverage using derivatives (MBSs, CDOs, CDSs). They designed ways to hide risk, and sell mortgages on the market like mutual funds, making Alt-A and subprime loans look like AAA-rated securities.
They paid themselves extraordinary bonuses while times were good. When their house of cards fell apart, they expected society to bail them out. The same society that was losing jobs, etc., due in large part to their charade. As part of the emergency measures required to rescue them, they were treated as NA/SA (regulated) banks (even though they'd been allowed to operate unregulated because "free markets are better.").
Now that they're out of the woods (although the rest of the country isn't), they're paying themselves even larger bonuses than those heady days preceding the collapse (2004-2007).
I think everyone's glad that the bailout worked. From what I've read, the government made about 25% interest on the TARP (troubled-asset) loans. I think most people recognize that an environment which encourages risk-taking and entrepreneurialism is beneficial.
But, back at the beginning of the meltdown (late 2008) all we heard was that we can't regulate the financial industry at that time because "when you have a fire, you focus on putting it out. After the fire's under control, you focus on how to reduce the risk of future fires."
Now that the financial fire is [relatively] under control, these guy's are acting like there was no fire. They're using their improved, rescued state to fight any changes to the fire code.
said by GhostDoggy :
BTW, try blaming last years financial crisis on people living above their means and the first sign of a softening economy they went belly up causing monster foreclosures.
Look at your former neighbors and see what happened.
You can't eliminate the responsibility of the investors who lent their money with little regard to whether it would be paid back.
The question is why that happened. It comes back to Wall St.'s creative mix of derivatives which allowed:
1. Mortgages to be bundled into "bonds" (MBSs), allowing investors to diversify across thousands of mortgages (seemingly spreading risk).
2. Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs), allowing low-quality mortgages to be bundled together within the larger bundle.
3. Credit Default Swaps (CDSs), allowing risk to be sold via an "insurance" policy.
4. Ratings agencies, which would rate the CDO higher due to the CDS making it appear the security was as riskless as an AAA security.
Two other factors played into the above creative finance tricks:
1. Improved global economies raised the wealth of foreign populations, leading to more cash sloshing around looking for returns.
2. The Japanese "Yen carry trade." Investors borrowed the Yen at near-zero interest, and invested in higher-yielding investments. It was free money for the taking.
3. Low interest rates caused investors to seek for higher-yielding investments.
The finance tricks described above made mortgage-backed securities (MBSs) look like safe investments paying above-average yields. They payed high yields because they contained high-risk mortgages, where borrowers paid a premium for the money. But, the visibility of that risk was obliterated through the tricks described above. MBSs looked too good to be true, and they were.
Getting back to the borrower, consider it from their perspective. Everyone's bombarding the borrower with offers to lend money -- even without documentation (income statements, proof of a job, or even a credit report). Why should the borrower worry more about their ability to repay than the person who's begging to lend his own money? If everyone lending money was so confident that the house of cards would continue, why shouldn't the borrower?
I'm not defending borrowers. I personally know of some ugly cases of borrowers clearly scamming the system.
But, I wouldn't focus exclusively on borrowers. Everyone was mislead by what were opaque investment vehicles which brought in tons of money looking for anyone willing to borrow it.
Mark
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TKJunkMail @ 17th Oct 12:26PM:
US gives up soverignty when sign climate treaty in Dec
On October 14, Lord Christopher Monckton, a noted climate change skeptic, gave a presentation at Bethel University in St. Paul, MN. In this 4 minute excerpt from his speech, he issues a dire warning to all Americans regarding the United Nations Climate Change Treaty, scheduled to be signed in Copenhagen in December 2009.
»www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMe5dOgbu40
Lord Monckton served as a policy adviser to Margaret Thatcher. He has repeatedly challenged Al Gore to a debate to which Gore has refused. Monckton sued to stop Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth" from being shown in British schools due to its inaccuracies. The judge found in-favor of Monckton, ordering 9 serious errors in the film to be corrected. Lord Monckton travels internationally in an attempt to educating the public about the myth of global warming.
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amigo_boy @ 17th Oct 12:47PM:
Re: US gives up soverignty when sign climate treaty in Dec
said by TKJunkMail :
a dire warning to all Americans regarding the United Nations Climate Change Treaty, scheduled to be signed in Copenhagen in December 2009.
I thought the US could only enter a treaty with the consent of 2/3 of the Senate. (U.S. Const., Art. 2, Sect. 2.).
They usually get around that requirement by calling it an "agreement" (free-trade agreements like NAFTA, etc.). But, those don't have the same binding force as a treaty.
So, I get the impression there's some fear-mongering occurring (about this superseding the Constitution, and sovereignty)?
Mark
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TKJunkMail @ 17th Oct 12:53PM:
Re: US gives up soverignty when sign climate treaty in Dec
said by amigo_boy :said by TKJunkMail :
a dire warning to all Americans regarding the United Nations Climate Change Treaty, scheduled to be signed in Copenhagen in December 2009.
I thought the US could only enter a treaty with the consent of 2/3 of the Senate. (U.S. Const., Art. 2, Sect. 2.).
And you are confident that 2/3rds of the Senate won't agree to give up US sovereignty in the name of some global world government. I am NOT so sure.
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odreian615 @ 17th Oct 01:23PM:
Re: US gives up soverignty when sign climate treaty in Dec
The same Lord Monckton view on AIDS
»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christophe···_on_AIDS
The guy sounds like a Quack
Can we post political BS BBR but on Daily Kos, LGF, Freerepublic, Huffpost, or Strormfront
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jjeffeory @ 17th Oct 02:09PM:
Re: Google Wave
Got one two days ago.
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truth @ 17th Oct 03:37PM:
Re: Goldman Sachs huge bonuses.... Typical!
Let's not forget the awesome techniques they use to get these returns. High frequency trading, which basically just makes them a parasite because it screws everyone else over, like the 'investors' here, mutual funds, your retirement plan. So just remember if you defend these bonuses and goldman's profit as legit, that the profit comes from actively fucking you over, whoever you are (unless you're goldman).
What about death bonds? Oh so fitting for this group of people. Profiting off people dying quicker? Let me guess this same group (elite bankers) will also lobby against health care reform. Making sure people die quicker.
Its bonuses like these that make me not care at all if the rich are taxed highly (I mean like 50%). These guys add very little to society, yet take the lions share of the benefit.
It's a little dishonest just to talk about the TARP funds (unless AIG was mixed in with those?) when bailing out AIG was also a government handout to goldman. Why else do you think goldman had a seat during the AIG talks? Goldman would of been gone likely if it weren't for the AIG bailout as well. If theres one thing you can take away from all this its that Goldman doesn't lose.
Any wonder why the income disparity in the US continues upwards, resembling a third world country more than a first world country?
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truth @ 17th Oct 03:51PM:
Re: US gives up soverignty when sign climate treaty in Dec
said by TKJunkMail :said by amigo_boy :said by TKJunkMail :
a dire warning to all Americans regarding the United Nations Climate Change Treaty, scheduled to be signed in Copenhagen in December 2009.
I thought the US could only enter a treaty with the consent of 2/3 of the Senate. (U.S. Const., Art. 2, Sect. 2.).
And you are confident that 2/3rds of the Senate won't agree to give up US sovereignty in the name of some global world government. I am NOT so sure.
Yes, I'd make a $1,000 one sided bet that it wouldn't happen with the current senate makeup, and at least the next three terms.
The fact you actually think it could happen makes me wonder if you are actually paying attention to the senate's current actions. Especially by way of climate treaty, you couldn't even get 2/3rds of the senate to agree that climate change is real, despite facts, much less sign a treaty to work on it.
I know glenn beck has been hammering on this all week, but calm down, no one is going to try and take your SUV.
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TKJunkMail @ 17th Oct 04:01PM:
Re: US gives up soverignty when sign climate treaty in Dec
said by truth :
I know glenn beck has been hammering on this all week, but calm down, no one is going to try and take your SUV.
I have a Camry Hybrid - not an SUV.
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FastiBook @ 17th Oct 04:21PM:
The art of hayride.
I work at a seasonal job at a hayride every october, a job that simply requires you to show up, listen, and have people skills. Sounds great, however, this year we're being socked by back to back storms this weekend, normally the 2nd busiest for us. That's all well and god and things happen you might think, however, i have bills to pay. 2 are due monday, and if this weekend is a washout, i won't have enough to cover them both since this is my only employment and has really been for 9 years.
Please, no more rain, just tonight and tomorrow, the rest can be average turnout, no need for some blockbuster season, but i really need these 2!
- A
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LETS GO METS!
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anon @ 17th Oct 04:45PM:
Re: Goldman Sachs huge bonuses.... Typical!
Why isn't high frequency trading considered insider trading with the same penalties?
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amigo_boy @ 17th Oct 04:59PM:
Re: Goldman Sachs huge bonuses.... Typical!
said by truth :
High frequency trading, which basically just makes them a parasite because it screws everyone else over, like the 'investors' here, mutual funds, your retirement plan.
We may not be talking about the same thing, but so-called "scalping" or swing-trading creates liquidity in the market. I don't believe it hurts anyone. Buy-and-hold investors aren't harmed since they're not placing trades throughout the day.
said by truth :
when bailing out AIG was also a government handout to Goldman.
To me, that's the most remarkable part of the rescue. I can understand the necessity of the rescue. But, it was presented as a rescue of the financial system from deteriorating asset values caused by falling real estate prices, foreclosures, etc. This causes the average person to think of hard, tangible assets (property) dropping in value.
It was really a rescue of the insurance system (Credit Default Swaps), and derivatives created from it.
CDSs were used to "insure" mortgage-backed securities, making them appear to be risk-free because someone purportedly would pay if some number of mortgages defaulted. (Purportedly pay because the CDS underwriters weren't regulated like insurance companies to ensure they could pay claims.).
Banks could make their books look better, reducing their capital reserve requirements by using CDSs to transfer the risk to someone else. The healthier their assets, the lower their reserve requirement. When the real estate market began to collapse, the ability of CDS underwriters to pay claims became a critical issue. If they couldn't pay, a bank's books could come unraveled due to risk which was now about 100 times worse than it was when the CDS position was taken at the height of the "bubble" (the good times).
Each bank knew the trouble it was in, and could only speculate how other banks were living off cooked books too. So, suddenly the overnight REPO market dried up (where banks lend each other money). No bank trusted any other bank to be in business the next day.
In that sense, CDSs were a lot like leverage. The more the underlying hard asset deteriorated the effect on a bank's balance sheet was 10 fold. Not only may the bank have to assume the original risk. But now, what was an Alt-A security (transfromed through financial wizardry to Triple-A), but with the collapse of the market it was rapidly becoming Triple-b.
But, even worse: Wall St. banks (and hedge funds) had been trading "Synthetic CDOs." These were derivatives of hundreds of CDSs. They would create $2 Cayman Island business with a few charities as officers. Charities agreed because it was legal and they could use some cash obtained from officer's fees. These corporations were called Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs).
The bank then created a CDS between itself and the SPV referencing at least 100 companies (instead of hundreds of mortgages for a CDS against an MBS). The CDS is written as an insurance policy. A wager. If 7 of the 100 companies defaulting, the SPV will pay a third of the money. If 8, half the money. If 9, all the money. In return for taking this position, the SPV receives 1 or 2% per anum of the contracted sum.
The bank then gets the SPV rated by the ratings agency (which used a circular mathematical formula to assess the SPV's exposure to those odds. The formula essentially said that if everyone trading these derivatives believed the risk was low, then it was low. "The market is always right." Voila! Magic Triple-A dust sprinkled on the SPV.).
Now bonds representing shares in the SPV were sold as Triple-A rated securities. These were traded on the Structured Investment Vehicle market (SIV, short-term bonds that were represented to the wealthiest individuals as good as cash) through weekly auctions.
Even further removed from reality, CDSs were taken out against the SPV (which itself represented an entity completely unable to pay its own CDS positions) and traded among institutions.
When Lehman was allowed to fail, it set in motion the circumstances for the financial industry to wonder if CDSes were going to have to pay. Additionally, it raised the realization that nobody could honestly assess anyone's ability to pay, nor who should be paid (or be paid).
As that happened, AIG's credit rating fell due to its exposure to more traditional CDSs against MBSs. This reflected immediately on bank balance sheets, requiring them to raise capital to meet reserve requirements due to the lower quality of assets on their balance sheet.
That's why everything hit the fan mid- to late-September, and the Federal government had no choice but to bailout AIG, and agree to buy "troubled assets" (all the derivatives floating around for which there was no longer a market, and couldn't be valued, and underwritten by shadier characters than AIG).
So, it was much more like a bailout of a gambling system than the more straightforward problem of direct ownership in real property (who's value was falling).
I can understand the rationale. If anyone had a chance of living through the meltdown it was the government. This created a condition similar to when investors buy US bonds because they're "backed by the full faith and credit of the government." If the government tookover the now worthless derivatives they could receive the premiums, keep the counterparties (banks and investors) alive, and perhaps be able to liquidate the positions at a later date when the named entities (which had been bet against) were healthier.
I think it was the right thing to do. But, I think few Americans have any clue how much this resembled a bookie operation, and how the American public was shaken down.
That's what's so distasteful about Goldman Sachs' bonuses. This is just more of the shakedown. We need them to be successful so we can have a chance at unwinding the "troubled assets." The bonuses are their "vig." The "juice." What a loan shark or bookie skims off the top.
Mark
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truth @ 17th Oct 05:12PM:
Re: Goldman Sachs huge bonuses.... Typical!
»market-ticker.denninger.net/arch···cam.html
»online.wsj.com/article/SB1249086···293.html
It's basically just making sure people pay of high of price as they're willing to, by being able to pay huge bucks to NYSE to locate servers in their server farm. Gives them the advantage of speed/lowest ping time. Basically it in no way helps anyone except goldman by allowing them to leech a bit of risk-free profit. Scalping is a bit different, as you don't have the advantage of a server in the exchange, etc.
Yeah I don't deny AIG bailout was sadly needed, but its only fair to look at what they paid to goldman as part of goldman's bailout.
The killer part is monthly there will be articles about how banks are taking on the same risk as before the crisis to make their obscene profits. Its like literally nothing has changed except they feel even more empowered because they have no doubt the government will back them up. We're really in no better position than we were before the crisis, I'd actually argue worse because the banks are even bigger than before.
edit; added wsj link
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m80 @ 17th Oct 05:19PM:
Re: terrible singing
myrna is kinda hot...
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amigo_boy @ 17th Oct 05:27PM:
Re: Goldman Sachs huge bonuses.... Typical!
Thanks. I understand now. I agree it's not right. But, based upon the description, the automated traders (who get to see the buy orders before anyone else) could be gamed. Start floating some buy interest, if the automated traders begin buying, just sell into them using the shares you just bought at a lower price.
There's always a problem with "iceberg" orders. Even if the groups with early visibility to orders ignore them, the rest of the market can see them and begin buying against them. The guys getting an early glimpse don't cause that problem. They just beat everyone else to it.
I don't believe the market can be manipulated that much. Especially when it concerns a company with high average volume. If you trade in a stock that only trades 50k shares per day, then you can be screwed in a variety of ways. Otherwise, I don't think too many groups (even hedge funds) can really drive the price of a stock too far.
Someone's always going to be screwed due to imperfections in the market. There's always someone who will place a "good-till-canceled market buy order" at the end of the market, and get hit by a shark who submits a "good-till-canceled limit sell order" that's about 50% higher than the market close price. Due to the lack of liquidity after hours, that guy becomes the proud owner of overpriced stock.
Stuff happens like that. I agree that everyone should see the ticker at the same time. But, I have a hard time believing that people seeing orders a fraction of a second sooner can make that much difference.
Mark
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Elcabong @ 17th Oct 05:45PM:
Social Networking, the Media of Now and the Future
»www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8
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Elcabong @ 17th Oct 07:08PM:
Re: US gives up soverignty when sign climate treaty in Dec
said by TKJunkMail :said by truth :
I know glenn beck has been hammering on this all week, but calm down, no one is going to try and take your SUV.
I have a Camry Hybrid - not an SUV.
rofl!
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truth @ 17th Oct 06:37PM:
Re: Goldman Sachs huge bonuses.... Typical!
said by amigo_boy :Stuff happens like that. I agree that everyone should see the ticker at the same time. But, I have a hard time believing that people seeing orders a fraction of a second sooner can make that much difference.
Mark
It's not a person seeing it. It's the specialized software they have that is able to make that fraction of a second into a huge advantage.
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menumorut @ 17th Oct 06:49PM:
Re: US gives up soverignty when sign climate treaty in Dec
Indeed!
What is troublesome that one of these lunatics that advocates to this or that to 1,5-3 million people one day will succeed.
One can only speak in tongs so many times before landing on a perfectly working spell that could turn anyone in to a frog. :D
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Give the world changes at a pace it can absorb.
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KrK @ 18th Oct 01:28AM:
Re: Weather Balloon in Colorado
LOL. That's just wrong, but still LOL. :D
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heat84 @ 18th Oct 02:44AM:
Re: Weather Balloon in Colorado
Anyone who watches Mythbusters, knows that was a hoax. It would take 30 or 40 of those to lift that boy. I can't believe nobody covering this considered that.
Does anyone know if the government passed another stimulus package while this was all over the news? It reminds me of when Michael Jackson died. Its really scary actually how this showed how easy it is to seduce and distract the media.
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Bit Torrent is my DVR.
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patcat88 @ 18th Oct 03:37AM:
Re: Social Networking, the Media of Now and the Future
And how many of those numbers include spam accounts and sockpuppetry?
Fake blogs, comp'd reviews from bloggers ( »mhpbooks.com/mobylives/?p=9340 ), social networking spam, PsyOps on Digg, botnets, etc. Alot of new exploitation methods have come out.
There is also the aspect of a voluntary surveillance society. What you put online lasts forever, like a tattoo or plastic surgery, unless you want to do a C&D or DMCA, but then you'll wind up on Digg :D
»www.youtube.com/watch?v=MugO7UhKmkc
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patcat88 @ 18th Oct 04:00AM:
Re: The weather this whole weekend..
said by zenafu :
Same here. Looks like November's been canceled this year, we're going straight into December.
Global warming :p
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jeffhambone @ 18th Oct 09:08AM:
Re: Weather Balloon in Colorado
said by heat84 :
Anyone who watches Mythbusters, knows that was a hoax. It would take 30 or 40 of those to lift that boy. I can't believe nobody covering this considered that.
(snip)
That would have required some fact-checking effort and some actual engineering "common sense" on the part of the news media. Much easier just to play up the "poor widdle kiddie" part of the story.
Personally, I hope the FAA fines the crap out of that dimwit for a few FAR violations, in addition to whatever criminal charges the county sheriff is considering:
»news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091018/ap_···loon_boy
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Sarcasm is the Body's Natural Defense Against Stupidity
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N3OGH @ 18th Oct 10:35AM:
Re: Weather Balloon in Colorado
Take me to your leader!!!!
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hayabusa3303 @ 18th Oct 11:06AM:
Hope everyone had a good weekend.
:o
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amigo_boy @ 18th Oct 03:42PM:
Re: Social Networking, the Media of Now and the Future
said by Elcabong :
(youtube clip)
If more people are reached by the internet, that raises some interesting issues, such as in the area of campaign rules. For example, how do you enforce a rule concerning "this ad paid for by..." when banner ads aren't paid for until someone clicks them?
I just saw an AP article giving that example, and others. It's thought-provoking.
Related to the topic of campaign rules, I think they're a clumsy attempt to deal with corporations being treated as "people" and allowed to contribute to campaigns just like any other "person."
I think we should abolish most campaign rules (except a requirement that candidates disclose their major backers). And pass legislation to undo the legal concept that corporations have the same rights as individuals (which developed after the 14th Amendment).
That's really a perversion of justice. A corporation is a legal (yet fictional) "person" created by social fiat (state legislators who passed laws saying that, for $500 and filing proper paperwork, the state will create a "person" for you.). It seems like it shouldn't be that difficult for society to place limits on these "people," considering they are the product of society.
I believe if we fixed that problem, the necessity for 90% of campaign rules would disappear. Greater freedom in the election process. And, more influence by normal, naturally-born "people."
Mark
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patcat88 @ 18th Oct 07:59PM:
Re: Weather Balloon in Colorado
said by jeffhambone :
That would have required some fact-checking effort and some actual engineering "common sense" on the part of the news media. Much easier just to play up the "poor widdle kiddie" part of the story.
Book learning isn't american.
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amigo_boy @ 18th Oct 08:09PM:
Re: Weather Balloon in Colorado
said by patcat88 :said by jeffhambone :
That would have required some fact-checking effort and some actual engineering "common sense" on the part of the news media. Much easier just to play up the "poor widdle kiddie" part of the story.
Book learning isn't american.
I know it's popular to beat up on the media. But, the family called the FAA too. You'd think folks at the FAA would have realized that size balloon wasn't capable of lifting a 50 lb object long before graduates who majored in communication.
The media's job is just to report what's making news. The FAA didn't call BS on this. The media reported it exactly that way.
Mark
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heat84 @ 19th Oct 12:21AM:
Re: Weather Balloon in Colorado
said by amigo_boy :
The media's job is just to report what's making news. The FAA didn't call BS on this. The media reported it exactly that way.
Mark
Have you ever heard of INVESTIGATIVE reporting?
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Bit Torrent is my DVR.
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amigo_boy @ 19th Oct 12:32AM:
Re: Weather Balloon in Colorado
said by heat84 :said by amigo_boy :
The media's job is just to report what's making news. The FAA didn't call BS on this. The media reported it exactly that way.
Mark
Have you ever heard of INVESTIGATIVE reporting?
Don't those pieces involve days or weeks of gathering evidence about the story? Not something that occurs in the midst of breaking news?
I do agree that the media focuses more on titillating, sensational "news." I hate to be in a position to defend them. But, I'd blame the FAA or law enforcement for not detecting the physical contradiction before I'd blame a bunch of communication majors (who probably got their jobs by being the last person in the cafeteria eating a Danish.).
Mark
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heat84 @ 19th Oct 01:16AM:
Re: Weather Balloon in Colorado
Sombody in the newsroom could've Googled "How many balloons to lift a person" or "How much Helium to lift a person".
--
Bit Torrent is my DVR.
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amigo_boy @ 19th Oct 01:47AM:
Re: Weather Balloon in Colorado
said by heat84 :
Sombody in the newsroom could've Googled "How many balloons to lift a person" or "How much Helium to lift a person".
I agree. I just believe someone with loads more analytical skills at the FAA or in law enforcement would have had that bright idea long before most media folks.
And, that's probably what the media folks believed too. They simply reported what the FAA and law enforcement reported to them. During breaking news like that, I don't believe it's the media's responsibility to perform more investigation than the FAA or law enforcement.
Mark
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heat84 @ 19th Oct 02:24AM:
Re: Weather Balloon in Colorado
Your probably right, but what about WaterGate?
--
Bit Torrent is my DVR.
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IT Guy @ 19th Oct 11:41AM:
Re: Swine Flu in Mexico?
LOL, I love that movie. I just hope in 500 years (or less, even) the country isn't the spitting image of that movie, as hilarious as that might be.
--
Don't worry, scrote. There are plenty of 'tards out there living really kick-ass lives.
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Noah Vail @ 19th Oct 11:30PM:
Re: Google Wave
Fishing around for one.
NV
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