Master of None

"Senator Obama’s attempt to introduce the next American cycle should include, at minimum, three..."

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:45:34 -0400

“Senator Obama’s attempt to introduce the next American cycle should include, at minimum, three elements. National security requires a new, expanded, post-cold-war definition. America must transition from a consumer economy to a producing one. And the moral obligations of our stewardship of the planet must become paramount.”

- Gary Hart, Former US Sen. (D-CO)
NYTimes

"Luck ran out for about a dozen pigs that escaped their flooded farm, swam through raging floodwaters..."

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 08:51:42 -0400

“Luck ran out for about a dozen pigs that escaped their flooded farm, swam through raging floodwaters and scrambled atop a sandbag levee in southeastern Iowa. Des Moines County sheriff’s officials shot the pigs, saying they were worried the pigs would weaken the levee.”

- Top story at CNN.com

"If you have trouble controlling the amount and frequency of your credit card purchases, try putting..."

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:20:22 -0400

“If you have trouble controlling the amount and frequency of your credit card purchases, try putting your credit card in a glass of water and putting it in the freezer. This makes it so every time you want to use your credit card, you’ll have to wait for the credit card to melt.”

- Consumerist.com
Really, I think if we get to this extreme scenario you’re better off with the scissors.

"It would not be an exaggeration to say that the Democrats’ nomination of Obama as their candidate..."

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 10:09:16 -0400

“It would not be an exaggeration to say that the Democrats’ nomination of Obama as their candidate for president has done more to improve America’s image abroad — an image dented by the Iraq war, President Bush’s invocation of a post-9/11 “crusade,” Abu Ghraib, Guantánamo Bay and the xenophobic opposition to Dubai Ports World managing U.S. harbors — than the entire Bush public diplomacy effort for seven years.”

- Thomas Friedman, NYTimes

How to Make $100,000 by 11am*

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 13:39:00 -0400

This morning someone sold a few shares of BRK-B, the B shares of the Berkshire Hathaway company, Warren Buffett’s investment empire. This itself is not extraordinary, as there are around 70,000 shares traded every day, representing about $300 million of notional value.

What makes this morning trading activity this morning is that when that person went to sell his stock, instead of getting the quoted price of $4,448 per share, he received $2,147, about 48% of what he expected.

This happened several times this morning; all told about 50 shares of BRK-B were sold at a 52% discount. The reason this happened is that somewhere a trader put in a limit-buy order for 50 shares at $2,147, with full knowledge that the trade would likely never get filled. These types of trades are usually protective measures to prevent paying too much for a stock or selling for too little. On the off chance, however, that the day’s sell orders burn through other, higher, limit orders, and the brokers aren’t actively trading, these ‘protective’ trades can become predatory, allowing someone to buy 50 shares at a 52% discount, making $115,050 over the course of a few minutes, simply by selling them back into the market at the higher, normalized price.

*Though usually legal (technically it’s simply bid/ask arbitrage), this is a pretty unethical way to make a buck. While one can argue that the seller should have protected himself with his own limit order, at the end of the day this is essentially a legal way to steal. It’s worth noting that I’m not the one on the buy side of this trade; nor am I saying that I wouldn’t be, given the opportunity.

SO CONFUSED

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 11:37:47 -0400

Gotta love CNN

"No one on Wall Street believes the official economic data anymore. Jobless number, spending numbers..."

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:04:15 -0400

“No one on Wall Street believes the official economic data anymore. Jobless number, spending numbers and job creation numbers are consistently revised in ways that show economic reality to be more gruesome than the original numbers showed. Inflation seems to be calculated according a formula that nets out anything with higher prices.”

- John Carney, Dealbreaker.com

"There’s no community service requirement in the outside world; no one’s forcing you to..."

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 09:42:46 -0400

“There’s no community service requirement in the outside world; no one’s forcing you to care. You can take your diploma, walk off this stage, and chase only after the big house and the nice suits and the other things that our money culture says you should buy. You can choose to narrow your concerns and live life in a way that tries to keep your story separate from America’s.”

- Barack Obama at Wesleyan University’s 2008 Commencement

I really want this spaceship analog juicer

Fri, 30 May 2008 10:38:03 -0400

Although I’m not sure where I’ll find the counter space…

Elessi

Sometime in July, I will be moving here.

Thu, 29 May 2008 10:44:25 -0400

Sometime in July, I will be moving here.

Popcorn. Pasta. Children.

Mon, 26 May 2008 21:19:00 -0400

Via Gizmodo

The Answer? Kitty Hell

Fri, 23 May 2008 15:39:03 -0400

Seen on 5th Ave

Disaster of Epic Proportions

Fri, 23 May 2008 15:37:06 -0400

I wonder if this addition to the summer line at Bergdorf’s was a practical joke. I mean, it has to be, right?

To: Hill-dog

Fri, 23 May 2008 11:42:36 -0400

Dear Hillary,

Please don’t take this the wrong way, but it’s really time now for you to stop talking — mid-sentence if needs be — and just go away.

You are not only embarrassing to yourself, your family, your party, your gender, your country and possibly the entire world, you’re embarrassing to ameobic life forms that haven’t even been formed yet.

Best of luck with future projects though.

Yours sincerely,

The United States of America

Commenter whiskeybaby at Wonkette.com

Food Sculptures: Cute or Creepy?

Tue, 20 May 2008 19:50:01 -0400

NY Times via Meg. Find more of these here.

Senator Obama’s response to the latest in political...

Mon, 19 May 2008 17:24:21 -0400

Senator Obama’s response to the latest in political hackery.

There is one word that can summarize John McCain over the last 4...

Mon, 19 May 2008 14:41:45 -0400

There is one word that can summarize John McCain over the last 4 years: Panderer.

Eric Hopkins is one of Maine’s great artists and a friend...

Mon, 19 May 2008 14:07:16 -0400

Eric Hopkins is one of Maine’s great artists and a friend of the family; I found this bag of potting soil at my local grocery featuring one of his works.

Dark Harbor 20’ off the coast of Islesboro, MEOriginally...

Mon, 19 May 2008 13:56:29 -0400

Dark Harbor 20’ off the coast of Islesboro, ME

Originally built in 1932, these 31 foot daysailers have been taunting me from Camden Harbor for more years than I can remember. My first sailboat will not be a Dark Harbor 20’, but I could do worse having it be my last.

"However, over the past two years, Brattleboro, pop. 12,000, has experienced sporadic outbreaks of..."

Mon, 19 May 2008 07:12:36 -0400

“However, over the past two years, Brattleboro, pop. 12,000, has experienced sporadic outbreaks of naked bicycling, naked hula-hooping, and nakedness in general. That, in turn, triggered a period of civic navel-gazing, both literally and figuratively.”

- Page One, The Wall Street Journal