The Stock Market: A Legal Ponzi Scheme?

 Politics  6 Responses »
Mar 132009
 

OK, maybe Ponzi Scheme isn’t exactly the correct term to use, but if you’re not yet convinced the stock market is rigged, and designed to facilitate the transfer of wealth from the middle class to the wealthy, you might just be after watching this interview with Mad Money’s Jim Cramer on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

Be sure to watch part 2 and part 3, for the really enlightening stuff!

Now don’t get me wrong, there is still money to be made in the stock market. Just don’t think of the stock market as a form of investing, it’s really nothing more than a legalized form of gambling. For every dollar someone makes, someone else loses a dollar, but the big boys always take their cut off the top of both transactions.

A new member of the family

 Life  No Responses »
Mar 112009
 

cimg0469That’s Chloe, our new little kitty. (Edie’s had her heart set on a new cat for awhile.)

It’s been a long time since we’ve had an 8 week old kitty around the house, so I have a feeling this is going to be a real learning experience. I’ve already discovered kitties are much more needy, and she likes to follow me around the house a lot.

I did manage to get these two pictures. The one on the left, Edie had to pose her on her scratching post, and I quickly took a shot. It seems kitties don’t like to sit still for very long either.

cimg0473

The second was pretty much luck. She turned just as I snapped the picture, and she pretty much got the bejeezus scared out of her when the flash went off.

As for Morris, he’s not taking things very well. We’ve tried to keep them apart mostly, but the one time they did meet, Morris hissed at her, and then stormed out of the house. He did come back though.

It’s just may take some time for them to get used to each other, but I’m sure Morris will come around. He’s a good cat.

 Posted by at 6:38 pm

Is it just that I’m getting old, or…….

 Diagnosis  2 Responses »
Mar 112009
 

Here it is 6 AM Wednesday morning, it’s 48°F outside, and it’s still dark.

I remember just last week at this time, the sun was starting to rise, and I was already preparing to meet the group at 7 AM for a bike ride, but now it’s an entirely different story. It will barely be light at 7 AM when I get to the marina, and it will definitely still be dark when I have to leave the house to meet the group.

So here I am, drinking my tea, having already gotten up late, and instead of starting to get ready for my ride, I’m blogging.

How depressing!

 Posted by at 5:12 am

To go or not to go to work?

 General Health  1 Response »
Mar 052009
 

Last night after dinner, I realized my throat was starting to feel sore, so I decided to go to bed a little early, hoping that might help. (I usually like watching Lost on Wednesday night, but I figured I could record it and watch it Thursday.)

That didn’t seem to help much. I didn’t sleep that well, and I ended up  getting out of bed at 3 AM to make some tea with lemon and honey.

So here I sit wondering whether I should go to work or not. I don’t really feel that bad, but my throat is still sore and annoying (the tea didn’t help), and I don’t want it to get worse, as it seems everyone at work is sick as well. I can probably get away with not going in today, as business has slowed some what, but I know as soon as I decide not to, someone’s going to need me.

Then of course there’s the thought of sitting around the house doing nothing which isn’t that enjoyable either, but neither is the thought of an 80 mile drive to work and then the same drive home.

Oh well, I just don’t know what to do. Either way I’m going to feel bad. I just wish there was someone I could call, and ask, but at 4:30 AM, there isn’t anyone else awake, and by the time there is someone available, traffic will be too bad to go in.

I still have some time to decide, so I’m going to take a shower, and see how I feel after that.

Update 5:00 AM

Well, ultimately the shower didn’t help. In fact it might even have made it worse, as now I have a head ache, so I’m going to stay home. Hopefully everyone at work will understand. Besides, they can always call me if they need something.

 Posted by at 4:35 am

Thank goodness for Mondays

 Cycling, Life  2 Responses »
Mar 012009
 

This has been another tough week. It wasn’t as stressful as last week, except maybe for the near crash, when I inadvertently touched wheels in the hammer zone on Saturday, reminiscent of the crash involving Levi Leipheimer and Lance Arstrong in the 3rd stage of the Tour of California this year.

Fortunately I didn’t crash, and take down any riders around me. That would have made for a really lousy week.

Anywaze, I did manage to get my first full week of cycling in, since my hand surgery, riding about 200 miles, which is pretty good for February. My hill climbing ability is still lacking though, as is most every other aspect, and I really struggled on today’s ride, especially on the way back, as speeds easily exceeded 27.5 mph, the point at which I had to drop off, and watch everyone just ride away from me.

I ended up having to time trial [myself], into a slight head wind at about 22 mph, until I was able to catch back on to the back of the group, thanks to some favorable traffic lights.

Oh well, I’ve heard it said, at my age, it takes about 3 weeks of training for every week off, to regain your previous form. Translating that into the one month I was off the bike, means I’ve got another 2 months to regain my previous form, that is assuming I can regain it at all.

But for the rest of today and tomorrow, I’m planning on getting a lot of rest!

The only thing I want to know is, why do I torture myself so?

 Posted by at 2:12 pm
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