fivehead

Economic Predictions

2009-02-04T19:23:24Z

Betting on the series of disasters that currently comprise our 'economy' has become something of a past-time where I work.

So here are my short-term predictions for the 'Big Picture'

- The 'Official' Government Unemployment Numbers due out Friday (The U-3 series... Which doesn't happen to count people who are unemployed but can't find work after x number of months or people who are underemployed) will show 700k jobs lost for January. The expected figured is 500k, I am getting my numbers from some funny math matching ADP's past reporting and Forbes reported figures for publicly held companies and correlating it to the past U-3 numbers...

-Bank of America will be 'nationalized' (Perhaps not in name, but in actuality.)

- China starts buying Gold using its dollar reserves.

(These last two not by this Friday, but in the next quarter)

Bets anyone?

As a followup...

2009-02-04T00:13:16Z

Since I owe money to the IRS now perhaps I can get a Cabinet position?

Just a thought...

Great Business Idea

2009-01-30T20:46:50Z

So while at the dentist I had a business idea suitable for this 'new economy':

1) I form a Bank Holding Company.

2) I 'buy' a credit default swap covering my student loans from the bank, and pay $1 per year recurring for this.

3) My loans default triggering a payout event, the bank has no assets to cover the payout, so the 'bank' applies for TARP funds from the government.

That should get me about 10-20 years right there I think :)

LJ Archiving Options

2009-01-06T18:44:04Z

Obviously I'm not the most prolific blogger, but there are some options to pull your blogs for local storage should the worst happen:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/ljarchive/

LJ community for this is at: http://community.livejournal.com/ljarchive/

I haven't used this, as it is windows only and I have very few entries :)

A better yet more techie option might be to use wget or curl to recursively grab your stuff from LJ. I will give that a shot tonight and if I can come up with a decent wrapper script suitable for LJ for either of them I will post it here.

Bad News For LJ

2009-01-06T16:37:47Z

Looks like a majority of the development staff is gone and only the 'money' people are left:

http://valleywag.gawker.com/5124184/the-russian-bear-slashes-a-social-network#c9835590

See what happens to other blog sites with no techs left:

http://journalspace.com/this_is_the_way_the_world_ends/not_with_a_bang_but_a_whimper.html

:(

A Sobering Link...

2008-12-12T16:50:05Z

This link has been making the rounds today:

http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%22layed+off%22+OR+%22laid+off%22+OR+%22layedoff%22+OR+%22laidoff%22

Not exactly a 'morale booster'

Congratulations California!!!

2008-11-08T23:39:04Z

How you can vote for Obama , and recognize this as a historic moment paid for with the blood and tears of generations, yet with the next stroke of your ballot pen rip away the rights of another group that has had the crap kicked out of them on a regular basis is unbelievable.

Banning gay marriage removes homosexuality in the same way that banning basketball stops tallness.

So why are people...

2008-11-08T23:24:01Z

still concerned that Obama will usher in an age of Socialism while conveniently forgetting that under President Shrub we have already nationalized banks,insurance and any other business who needs a buck...

Perhaps these people believe Socialism is defined by funneling tax dollars into the pockets of people who you DON'T play golf with?

The Candidate I am Least Disgusted With

2008-10-15T00:00:12Z

Favorite quote from "The Princess Bride" (thanks to wildcard9)

2008-10-14T01:00:00Z

When you see this, post in your own journal with your favorite quote from The Princess Bride. Preferably not "As you wish" or the Inigo Montoya speech.

(Ok, basically anything from Vizzini. )

"You only think I guessed wrong! That's what's so funny! I switched glasses when your back was turned! Ha ha! You fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders! The most famous is never get involved in a land war in Asia, but only slightly less well-known is this: never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha..."

Cubs Epic Fail

2008-10-09T02:23:15Z

So I commented to Carrie the other day that the Sox had 'pulled a Palin'... ie they performed in such a mediocre fashion that just showing up and not being destroyed by the opposition was considered a victory.

The other part of the analogy would be to compare the Cubs to Biden...If Biden had suddenly dropped his pants on national television during the debate and started to masturbate in front of a live TV audience, thus destroying any chance at an otherwise easy victory, and leaving his supporters in a state of shock and disappointment

A state of shock and disappointment Cubs fans must be very familiar with by now.

More Good Times

2008-10-09T02:02:19Z

So the government's strategy of handling our current financial meltdown has yielded some promising early returns... At least if you are an AIG executive enjoying a refreshing $440,000 dollar trip to the spa after getting a nice $85 BILLION 'It's-A-Bridge-Loan-Not-A-Bailout-Really-Nudge-Nudge-Wink-Wink' from the Fed.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27086714/

It's refreshing to note that the Whitehouse Press Secretary referred to this as 'pretty despicable'... So despicable in fact that AIG is now dipping into the Fed's coffers for another $37.8 BILLION. ('Borrowing' securities and putting up cash as collateral is just a bailout in an Enron prom dress...)

http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/press/other/20081008a.htm

They must have a pool party coming up or something...

So Obama and McCain Both Agree on Something...

2008-10-02T03:23:13Z

Unfortunately that something involves printing lots of imaginary money for the purpose of purchasing assets of an indeterminate value thus causing the dollar to be crushed even further and leading to an even worse eventual economic collapse.

Here is some light reading from the OMB to get started:

(But keep in mind this is from 2007, when our debt was 9 trillion, not on the verge of being pushed to ~11 trillion...)

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/financial/reports/citizens_guide.pdf

For those wanting some more cheerful reading, look around on the 'net for what happens when our debt payments exceed our total tax revenue...

A Big Thank You To:

2008-10-02T03:05:12Z

Ken
Tanya
Luke
Sara
Matt

You all made the apartment move possible this past weekend, so thanks for exposing yourselves to the toxic dump wherein I formerly dwelled, and helping me into a much nicer living situation :)

Birthday Stuff

2008-09-09T03:29:36Z

Just wanted to say thanks again to everyone for an awesome surprise birthday party.

It REALLY blew me away in a good way :)

An Eventful 6 Months...

2008-09-07T19:45:09Z

Ok, so I am rather slow with posting to LJ... Make that VERY slow with posting.

This week I hope to catchup, so a brief outline of the past many months to be filled in this week:

1) I proposed to Carrie, Carrie accepted.

2) We set a date of May 30, 2009.

3) Mom is not doing well, and her boyfriend is literally at death's door. Will most likely be looking in to getting her moved out here.

4) Set a record at my workplace by returning after leaving twice. (To borrow/misuse a quote: "It is better to rule in Hell then to serve in Heaven.")

5) Dragon*Con was fun, aside from me having brought the Con Crud this year for all to enjoy :(

Do Not Stay At The Hyatt

2008-08-30T05:45:58Z

So here's the story:

We are at Dragon*Con in Atlanta, and prior to departing we had requested a fridge for the room to store Carrie's insulin.

No problem, I was told, it would be noted that this was for medical reasons.

We arrive Thursday at the hotel, and receive confirmation at the auto-checkin that a fridge has been requested.

Upon arrival to our room, there is no fridge, and the 'helpful' folks at the Hyatt don't believe we were on 'the list' but we were 'added' three times at least.

So now we are in the wee early hours of Saturday, and our plans to keep feeding the cooler ice have backfired and her travel case is ruined.

If we don't get a fridge by Sunday, she won't be able to keep what is left of her insulin for the trip back.

So long story short:

The Hyatt does not appear to give a damn about your medical needs, but they will ensure you have an iPod dock in the room for you...

Don't stay at the Hyatt.

One Last Saving Throw

2008-03-05T03:17:39Z

Gary Gygax, co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons passed away today at the age of 69.

I like to think he didn't really die, he's just stepped away from the game table to roll up another character.

Thanks for everything Gary...

1st Marscon

2008-03-05T03:13:44Z

I went to my first Marscon this past weekend.

Lacking my usual verbosity and ignoring basic grammar skills I can reduce the experience to one word:

ItWasFuckingAwesome

Off to the Library I guess...

2008-01-30T04:02:40Z

6 Months

2008-01-22T01:05:45Z

This past Sunday marked the 6-month anniversary of Carrie and I officially being a 'couple'.

I can't think of any other period of my life that has changed me so dramatically, and so much for the better:

I was focused on my job(s) to the exclusion of everything else.

I was emotionally closed off and distant.

I was focused on the 'now' and not thinking about the future.

I was focused on me and not anyone else.

In these past 6 months she has helped me become a better person, and I look forward
to what awaits us in the months and years to come.

Carrie, you have made me the luckiest guy on the planet.

I love you.

2008 Presidential Quiz

2008-01-08T01:08:16Z

Nothing like the smell of burning laundry in the morning...

2007-12-19T05:27:16Z

So I am sitting in my apartment waiting for my last load of laundry to get done in the drier when I hear a faint whining sound.

I go outside to investigate and it sounds like it is coming from the direction of the laundry room which is two floors below my apartment.

Being the smart guy that I am I recognize the sound of a smoke detector and instead of continuing to be smart , I open the door only to be greeted with a wave of smoke rolling out of the room.

I go into the smoke filled room, which is precisely what you are supposed to do. (extra points if it is dark and you can't see anything except for smoke.) I manage to shutdown the two driers from whence the smoke is presumably coming from, and wait for the landlord to show up... which he never does.

Eventually the smoke clears out of the room, the alarm goes silent and I retrieve my laundry and shamble upstairs.

The moral of the story is apparently if there ever is a real fire in this building, I am a dead son of a ****...

YAQ (Yet Another Quiz)

2007-12-15T00:07:36Z

Six Months Ago

2007-11-16T02:26:36Z

Was the day that Carrie and I first met at the 'Nerds At Heart' event ( http://www.nerdsatheart.com/ ).

I am VERY fortunate to have her in my life. :)