Midday

Yesterday a Wired blog provided this unsettling update on New York's preparations for election season: New York state is in the process of replacing its lever voting machines with new voting equipment, but the state revealed recently that it has found problems with 50 percent of the roughly 1,500 ImageCast optical-scan machines…that Sequoia Voting Systems has delivered to the state so far &#

Jason informs me we had 303 visitors from Nebraska last month. To you all, then: here is something to vote for: After winning an impressive 70% of the vote in a four-candidate Democratic primary Scott Kleeb is running to represent Nebraska in the US Senate. He is a 32-year old father of two girls, a college history professor, and a former rancher, and also holds a PhD in History (with a focus on

Yesterday, from Think Progress: Recently, Sen. John McCain has been reaching out to Sen. Hillary Clinton’s (D-NY) supporters by lavishing praise on Clinton. But a “news article” posted on McCain’s website may undermine those efforts. The “article,” which is actually a reader’s comment made at Andrew Sullivan’s Daily Dish, refers to Clinton as “the B*tch": "Fred Thompson is good b

Though the equation above draws scorn from most journalists, and a large segment of the U.S. population sneers at the title of "blogger," the profession (occupation? (hobby?) (pass time?)) occasionally gets some credit. Most often this share of praise falls upon foreign shoulders, where blogging is a much riskier endeavor. Por ejemplo,Yoani Sanchez, a Cuban blogger, was given a prestigious Spanish press award. Indeed, both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal have run prominently placed articles on Sanchez, who writes a blog Generacion Y, based in Havana. As I said, this sort of recognition eludes bloggers in the US, largely because our media here is "free." "What need is there for bloggers when we have a robust media acting as the government and corporate watchdog?" many reason.

TOKYO: Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 0.9 per cent on Wednesday to hit its highest point in nearly four months as easing concerns about the credit crisis boosted financial shares such as... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Ever vigilant in its role as protector of the poor, the tired and the huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the United States is urging Arab nations to make good on their pledged aid contributions to Palestine. US officials say that of $717m promised by Arab League members, only $153m of Arab pledges have been delivered, all from three countries: Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Algeria. Their failure to deliver has tangible consequences: British aid agencies warned that ordinary life in Gaza was becoming "intolerable". "Only a trickle of medicine, food, fuel and other goods is being allowed in," warned a statement from agencies including Oxfam and Christian Aid. "It has made people highly dependent on food aid, and brought the health system and basic services such as water and sanitation nea

Raul Castro announced today that he is commuting all death sentences in Cuba (with the exception of 3 individuals charged with terrorism) to lesser sentences, citing humanitarian reasons. Cuba has faced pressure from human-rights activists to abolish its death penalty, which is still administered via firing squad. The commutations are the latest in a wave of populist reforms introduced by Raul Castro since his older brother Fidel Castro retired and handed him power. Over the weekend he announced he's raising pensions for retirees as well as salaries for some government employees, while earlier this month he lifted long-time bans on Cubans owning cell phones and staying in hotels reserved for foreigners. From the Miami Herald: The pay increases — which will affect almost one in five C

Our good friend Art Levine will be on BlogTalk Radio right now discussing the underreported voting problems in Tuesday's Pennsylvania Primary and the possibility (or not) for voting reform that will make our mechanisms of democracy accessible and secure. Tune in and listen to the show! And while you're at it, what's on your mind?

Pakistan's new civilian government is moving forward with its plans to talk to and negotiate with militants and insurgents, but the EU would like the government to avoid talks with Al Qaeda. Meanwhile, the government have finalized an agreement with the Mehsuds to "end militant activity" in exchange for "prisoners and gradual withdrawal of the military" from Pakistan's South Waziristan region. Things are looking up if Pakistan's military continues to cooperate with the civilian-led government. The PPP (Zardari) and the PML-N (Sharif) have set up a committee to oversee the reinstatement of Pakistan's deposed judges. These judges hold the key to Musharraf's future — either by making his presidency legal, or by sparking popular uprising against him. Heavy casualties continue in t

Wearing a cute and covering ensemble, Britney Spears made a midday trip to East West Bank in Beverly Hills with her father Jamie Spears by her side on Tuesday (April 22). The Gimme More singer’s father remains in control of her life and wallet until a July 31 hearing - and Brit has big legal fees [...]

From the Miami Herald: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said his government is working to create a NATO-like South America defense council along with Brazil and other countries… "I once said that if NATO exists - the North Atlantic Treaty Organization - why couldn't SATO exist? The South Atlantic Treaty Organization," Chavez said. "We've placed it on the table for Latin America once again." I think the answer to his "why not?" question would be "there is no unifying enemy, like the Soviet Union, to motivate a defense pact." Then again, perhaps Chavez doesn't feel that way. After all, he made these comments in a speech marking the sixth anniversary of his attempted ousting, in a coup some believe was backed by the U.S. Thoughts to share, Seminal readers?

11:50 04/10 (CEP News) – The key releases in the U.S. Thursday morning included jobless claims, which moderated from a previous spike, and the U.S. trade deficit, which unexpectedly grew in February. Overseas, the Bank of England cut its benchmark rate by 25 bps to 5.00% while the European Central Bank held its rate at 4.00%, both as expected.While U.S. initial jobless claims pulled back in the week ending April 5 to 357k from its 2.5-year high reached the week before of an upwardly revised 410k, economists say the overall trend is still creeping up into recession territory. Forecasts were looking for a total of 383k claims. The four-week moving average of initial claims increased to 378,250 from 375,750."As far as we can tell, companies are increasingly taking the view that the slowdown

The Contentious French have their go at the Beijing Olympics, protesting at several sites along the route that the Olympic torch took through Paris. It certainly isn’t the first time there’s been a protest or boycott of the games. A court in Zimbabwe has said that it will rule to force the release of the results of the recent Presidential election, in which opposition leaders claimed they have won. The ruling will come down tomorrow. Iranian Labor Leader, Mahmoud Salehi, was released Sunday after serving a year-long prison term for union-organizing activities. Salehi, who was supposed to be released on March 23, had been on a hunger strike after Iranian authorities refused to release him, accusing him of “communicating with those outside prison for the purposes of issu

Hugo Chavez announced plans to nationalize Venezuela’s cement industry. As justification, he accused the companies of polluting, and restricting local supply to boost prices while at the same time increasing foreign exports to boost profits. He said the state would pay “whatever it costs” to nationalize the industry, which join the telephone, oil and electricity industries under the Venezuelan government’s thumb. The French government is becoming more and more active in their fight for the release of Ingrid Betancourt, a FARC hostage who has dual Colombian / French citizenship. Making good on the importance placed Sarkozy placed on Betancourt’s release, his government offered to freed FARC prisoners refuge in France. The prime minister, Franocis Fillon, said &

Unsurprisingly, the U.S.'s NATO allies have just about turned down requests to deploy additional troops to Afghanistan: Afghanistan loomed as the summit's No. 1 topic, a point of contention between some Europeans who see the NATO mission as largely a humanitarian effort and the Bush administration and others who see it as a central front in the fight against terrorism. Canada had threatened to pull its troops from the front lines in southern Afghanistan unless other allies sent an additional 1,000 combat troops to help. NATO has about 47,000 troops in Afghanistan, but commanders are pleading for more troops in the south, where Taliban insurgents are wreaking the most havoc. With the Pentagon admitting it doesn't have enough troops to send to Afghanistan because it is refusing to draw down

In Baghdad, the curfew has been partially lifted after al-Maliki's government came to an uneasy agreement with Muqtada al-Sadr and his al-Mahdi army. al-Sadr has proclaimed "We have decided to withdraw from the streets of Basra and all other provinces," al-Sadr said in a statement released on Sunday. "We want the Iraqi people to stop this bloodshed and maintain Iraq's independence and stability." al-Maliki responded in kind, calling al-Sadr's statement a "step in the right direction." Hopefully there's more negotiations within the country instead of the U.S.'s "shoot first, ask later" policy. In Zimbabwe, the country is still tense after preliminary results show Mugabe's party and the opposition MDC are neck-in-neck. There have been some initial victory celebrations as the MDC claims

Foreign Policy dug up this article about foreign policy by John McCain from 1996 and made it accessible online for free. Surprisingly, over a decade later, many of the points are still relevant. U.S. forces have stepped up their military offense against Sadr's militia. According to the International Crisis Group, this decision is not the best course of action. Clashes between radical Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims have intensified in Pakistan's northwest terriroties. Also in Pakistan, rising food and fuel prices may lead to a looming economic crisis, the World Bank informed the National Assembly. Commenting upon the state of the economy worldwide, France's President Sarkozy told reporters that he thinks the Euro is too strong. Though his reasoning may be too simplistic, I have to say I agree w

This is a really sucky trading day for my way of trading. I am up $23 in stocks and $15 in futures. I have a doctors appointment this afternoon and a bunch of things to do after. My results may not be posted until very late or tomorrow.

The 4,000th American life has been claimed by the Iraq war, according to the AP's count. Of those 4,000, 97% occurred after May 1, 2003, after Bush declared major combat organizations over. Where has the anti-war movement gone? Cindy Sheehan? Anyone? Note: I was just about to publish this when I got an email citing Senator Robert Byrd's denouncement of the resolution authorizing war over five years ago. This is the Tonkin Gulf resolution all over again. Let us stop, look and listen. Let us not give this president or any president unchecked power. Remember the Constitution. Of course, no one really takes the Old Byrd seriously anymore.

China has been in the news a lot recently… From the BBC today, as part of its excellent coverage of China: A prominent activist who publicized human rights abuses across China has gone on trial in the capital, Beijing. Hu Jia, 34, is accused of “inciting subversion of state power and the socialist system”. The charges relate to interviews he gave to foreign media and political articles that he wrote for the internet, his lawyer Li Fangping said. Human Rights Watch say’s Hu Jia’s trial “has become emblematic of Beijing’s broad attempt to suppress dissent ahead of the Olympic Games:” Human Rights Watch is concerned that Hu is being prosecuted simply for exercising his rights to freedom of opinion and expression as guaranteed by the Chinese constitu

So…what’s worse than a huge, expensive wall on the border that doesn’t actually work? What about a moat: Faced with high-levels of crime and illegal immigration, authorities in Yuma are reaching back to a technique as old as a medieval castle to dig out a “security channel” on a crime-ridden stretch of the border and fill it with water. “The moats that I’ve seen circled the castle and allowed you to protect yourself, and that’s kind of what we’re looking at here,” said Yuma County Sheriff Ralph Ogden, who is backing the project. I hope they fill it with alligators. And pour boiling oil on the immigrants trying to swim across. Perhaps the immigrants will bring their catapults and siege engines to the party. Seriously folks, we̵

Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.The smallest Malay rabbit deplores this foolish habit.--Noel Coward. A group of economists say the US should... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

After shifting 3 blogs over from Blogger to WordPress, I've decided to keep this blog as it is over here. Never mind importing posts, that's the easy part -- it's the image links I'd have to manually go through and fix one by one.I *could* of course, start the whole blog over, but I'd rather not (I might fiddle around with the .css file here more freely though...).I initially wanted to feature items according to the holiday/season, starting from this year. However, I guess I'm just the sort of person that isn't into the whole "commercialized" aspect of, well, things in general. This doesn't mean I don't like stuff -- but if I may say so, it's kind of...unimaginative, to feature a wholeeeee bunch of "romantic gifts", just because "V Day is approaching"...I know this blog focuses on gifts --

Beautiful Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif launched Mid-Day Website.She wore a light pink and black bubble dress. She is looking so hot in that Dress. Katrina Kaif is one of the most photogenic actresses in recent times. The 23-year-old actress has had a good year in films. She notched up consecutive box office success with Namastey London, Apne and Partner. These days Katrina Kaif is all busy

TOKYO: Japanese stocks erased earlier gains on Monday as profit-taking emerged, though retailers such as Mitsukoshi managed to hold firm despite the prevailing bearish mood. The... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

TOKYO: Japanese stocks rose by more than 1 per cent on Friday, buoyed by increasing hopes for a US rate cut and a slight retreat of the yen against the dollar, which boosted exporters such as... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

This market is so frustrating. I like to try to buy things calmly but this is a one way market. I am assuming we will continue to rally today and start out with a rally tomorrow.-Once we get to Friday and next week we will have to reassess the market action. This could be just month end window dressing.

TOKYO: Japan's Nikkei average fell 2.1 per cent on Tuesday, with exporters such as Canon Inc bearing the brunt of the selling following sharp gains in the yen against the dollar and an overnight... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

TOKYO: Japan's Nikkei rose 1.3 per cent on Monday, buoyed by Wall Street gains and erasing some of the previous week's losses on the back of strong performances by bank, automaker and high tech... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

TOKYO: The Nikkei average tumbled to a 16-month low on Tuesday and the Topix to a two-year low, battered by a Wall Street slide on renewed credit worries and concerns about US economic strength,... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

TOKYO: Japan's Nikkei average edged up on Monday on rises in bank shares such as Mizuho Financial Group and exporters boosted by a softer yen, but gains were capped by lingering worries about US... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

TOKYO: The Nikkei average rose 0.3 per cent on Thursday, with Daikin Industries Ltd climbing on an outlook lift, helping the index extend its gains despite an overnight fall on Wall Street. ... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

TOKYO: Japan's Nikkei average fell to a 15-month low on Monday, hurt by exporters including Honda Motor Co Ltd following the yen's sharp rise against the dollar and big losses on Wall Street. ... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

TOKYO: Japanese stocks extended losses on Friday to hit the lowest point in nearly three months, with exporters such as TDK Corp hit by a stronger yen and a fall in the Nasdaq after tech giant Cisco... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

TOKYO: Japanese shares tumbled 1.71 per cent in morning trade on Friday, hit by sharp losses on Wall Street as investors fretted that the fallout from the sub-prime loan crisis is far from over,... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

We all have heard of that one before. Napping for around 15-20 minutes at noon-time can actually refresh us and help us concentrate better on the tasks in hand. Yes, you do love taking that short nap, but you are afraid that you might end up tossing and turning on bed and counting sheep at night. Don’t fret. Recent research indicates that napping has little effect on sleep onset -- and that a nap

Three Big Mouth stocks from last night. None of them popped at the open and with the Dow and Market looking down, one should have shorted them as soon as the main exchange was opened for them. Trade 500 shares in each - take down about $800-1000 and go do something else for the day. Damn - I looked at them and walked away without doing anything.-The rest of the day has been super boring.

Does this ever happen to you? It’s midday, lunch is over and done with and there is still an hour or two before dinner. You’re working away at your job, busy with school or with the kids when you start feeling tired and begin to lose focus on what you’re doing. Or maybe you get a headache and the “little things” begin to get on your nerves. This is what is known as the midday slump and it’s usually caused by a rapid drop in blood sugar. Combine this with a lack of proper rest and you have a recipe for weight gain. What you do between the hours of 2pm and 4pm can have a dramatic impact on your weight loss efforts. There is a twofold effect that happens: 1.) When the slump hits your first instinct is to eat, eat, eat and your cravings are usually not for some health fruit or vegetables either. 2.) If you’re like me you make poor decisions when you’re hungry and that leads to pizza for dinner or a trip out to your local restaurant. So how do you stop this from happening?

advertising Does this ever happen to you? It's midday, lunch is over and done with and there is still an hour or two before dinner. You're working away at your job, busy with school or with the kids when you start feeling tired and begin to lose focus on what you're doing. Or maybe you get a headache and the "little things" begin to get on your nerves. This is what is known as the midday slump and it's usually caused by a rapid drop in blood sugar. Combine this with a lack of proper rest and you have a recipe for weight gain. What you do between the hours of 2pm and 4pm can have a dramatic impact on your weight loss efforts. There is a twofold effect that happens: 1.) When the slump hits your first instinct is to eat, eat, eat and your cravings are usually not for some health fruit or vegetables either. 2.) If you're like me you make poor decisions when you're hungry and that leads to pizza for dinner or a trip out to your local restaurant. So how do you stop th

The rumors will be flying fast and furious over the next five hours or so until the trade deadline, which is 4 p.m. EST. Will Dye get dealt to the BoSox? Where will Gagne end up? Any big blockbusters on the horizon? Feel free to talk about any trades, rumors or possibilities here. As for the Cubs, I think they're standing pat. But with Trader Jim, you never know. He might have a trick or two up his sleeve. He's already said Pie is going nowhere; that's a good thing, because unless it would have netted Griffey or Andruw Jones, then that trade would have been horrendous as far as the future is concerned. If the Cubs do have a trade in the works, I pray they'll be sending this guy: Or either one of these two jokers: But, please, not this guy:

Carlos Zambrano and Optimus Prime meet for the first time. The topic for today: Can Zambrano win the N.L. Cy Young, as he predicted in spring training? Here's a look at his numbers: Wins: 13 (First) Strikeouts: 122 (Fifth) ERA: 3.65 (19th) WHIP: 1.26 (15th) Walks: 62-ranks third, and not in the good way To me, his biggest competition right now is Brad Penny (12-1, 2.42 ERA) and Cole Hamels (11-5, 3.69 ERA, 129 Ks). So, can Z overtake those two? What's it going to take? How many can he afford to lose? Talk about this, or whatever else you feel like.

I'm up to three four tiny crickets.... and no idea how or why. I talked to Coffeegirl but she swears not one little cricket got out while she was feeding the lizards. She was sure of it. I've checked for obvious holes or spaces in the cricket house and the lizard container and although I've not seen any, those crickets are about 1/2 inch long at best and tiny as can be so I suspect they can

No links or video today; I'm devoting this to the one guy who is well-deserving of some credit. That's right, I'm talking about Lou Piniella, aka "The Pinstripe Ruler." Piniella probably wondered what the hell he got into in the first few months after taking this job, with bullpen implosions, numerous baserunning mistakes by multiple players and an inability to win close games. Then came the "player's-only meeting" in which it was implied that Lou had "lost control of the team." Really, the meeting was for whiny-ass bitches like Matt Murton to complain about not getting playing time. Lou's response? Simple. "And if somebody wants a lot of playing time, boy, swing the bat, and I'll be happy to write their name in the lineup." Some followed instructions (Theriot); some didn't (Cedeno, Izturis, Murton). And now, the latter group is either pulling pine or in Iowa. Then came the defining moment for the Cubs this season so far, Piniella's ejection against the Braves. The team had h

Both coming back into your lives soon So, the Cubs are playing the best baseball of the season, and all you peeps want to talk about is wizardry and sorcery?!? Well, I guess there's worse things to talk about, like hotness of players and such. Anyway, if you feel like escaping from the world of Harry Potter, that's what this space is for. Here are a few topics, both baseball and non-baseball related: I'm sure everyone's read or heard this by now, but apparently, there's some controversy a'brewin with Joe Torre and how he treats some of his players. Still trying to figure out this line: When Kremer told Sheffield that "The Yankees' most prominent player is black," referring to shortstop Derek Jeter, Sheffield replied that Jeter is not "all the way black." Aug. 16-19 is when Sheff and the Tigers come back to Yankee Stadium. Might want to pack some extra body armor, Gary. Barry Bonds says he's "an embarrassment" right now and also wants everyone to "go away." Maybe a disguise ma

This is largely thanks to a spurt in M&A speculation in the steel sector. I managed to catch a good chunk of the U.S. Steel (X) rise and have already dumped out of the June 120 calls but still holding other strikes as well.

Oil and gas stocks caught their stride midday Wednesday, making solid gains as rising crude-oil prices helped the sector shake off early pressures from a China-inspired pullback in the broad market.After tipping lower in opening trades, the Amex Oil Index (XOI: 1,370.63, +22.20, +1.6% ) was firmly in the green, up 0.9% at 1,361 points. The move recaptured all of the

Oil and gas stocks caught their stride midday Wednesday, making solid gains as rising crude-oil prices helped the sector shake off early pressures from a China-inspired pullback in the broad market.After tipping lower in opening trades, the Amex Oil Index (XOI: 1,370.63, +22.20, +1.6% ) was firmly in the green, up 0.9% at 1,361 points. The move recaptured all of the

Alcoa Inc. shares hit a five-year high Wednesday, rising to the biggest midday gain on the Dow Jones industrial average after rival Alcan Inc. said its shareholders should turn down Alcoa's takeover...

The Options Scanner has been fairly quiet with most of the stuff coming up on it being weeded out. One thing that is striking is the activity in Fifth Third (FITB) calls with big volume in the 45 strikes across much of that chain. No news but a brief entry on theflyonthewall.com noting the heavy options as well. OptionsDoggy has been on top of it as well http://optionsdoggy.typepad.com/

The Options Screener has been quiet today. There were a number of x-dividend plays like CVX and MMM that have been taken out. HSBC (HBC) calls have been active in the aftermath of the company's US results - UPDATE 1-HSBC says on top of US mortgage problems.Alltel (AT) Jan08 options in the 70 and 75 strikes have seen heavy volume today. AT has been a long talked about candidate for takeover.

The options scanner has picked up on a few things that you would expect it to, like the very heavy Alcoa (AA) speculation. Now that AA is making a bid for Alcan (AL), most folks are wondering if someone like a BHP will make a run for either AA, or AL. It's going to be interesting in that space. Wendy's (WEN) is popping up as it assess strategic alternatives, but not so excited by the WEN calls

A quick midday screen of options shows a few interesting little things. Someone really likes American Tower (AMT) June 40 calls. There has been vague takeover speculation surrounding Boston Scientific (BSX)DR Horton (DHI) June 22.5's are activeMastercard (MA) active following earningsMedco, Newmont, SPX, SPY, SPW and NRG all active, no comment from me. JDS Uniphase (JDSU) very busy ahead of

Consumers shaky is the headline at Marketwatch for the U of MI consumer sentiment data. Thanks to strength in names like MRK, GE and MCD you'd hardly know what was going on in that glum consumer sentiment report. Tech, however, is weak with the NDX pulling back. For two days running EDS (EDS) calls have been active... especially the 30 strike in Apr, May and June. I have no clue as to why

Oil stocks slip as crude falls below $62 by Jim JelterEnergy stocks bounced through a rocky session Monday, with sharply weaker crude-oil prices taking a late-day toll on the oil sector. Natural gas stocks fared better, managing to gain ground despite the late sell-off. At the close, the Amex Oil Index ($XOI :1,238.20, -4.39, -0.4% ) was down 0.4% at

SOLDMidday Bells in Vannes.20cm x 20cm. 8in x 8in.Oil gesso board.The cathedral towers over the streets of Vannes, timbered buildings, bending like old men. The bells strike midday and the streets become empty as people scurry for lunch. The centre of this busy town is empty and silent as the ritual of lunch is observed.60 pounds (UK) 116 dollars (USA) and 85 euros (Europe). This includes the postage.

I am back from a bunch of morning meetings.As the Yen continues to make upside progress against both the Dollar and the Euro, we're seeing slippage and dippage in the stock market. Some large -1000 NYSE and Nasdaq ticks just went flying by and advance/decline has been on the heavy side through out the day.New Century (NEW). As Bob Grant, one of my all time favorite talk radio hosts used to say, "what a bunch of fakes, phonies and frauds." NEW pulled a Freemont (FMT) last night by delaying its annual report. This must be the new thing in subprime corporate-dom in the aftermath of the total lack of mercy Novastar (NFI) was shown the week before when it was cut in half a 2nd time for fessing up - simply delay. NEW is only down 5% today, but the options crowd can smell a rat a mile away. A big spread play has been going on where April 5 puts have been heavily sold while May 5 puts have been heavily bought.While NEW teeters on the brink of whatever, it's also interesting to note that impl

Gotta love this volatility. I'm standing pat on my VIX calls and a variety of other put plays going out to August (Aug because I had to escape crazy nearer month volatilaties). The remaining VIX calls I have are at the expense of the house's money after the ones I sold on Tuesday had mostly quintupled and in a few rose by nearly 7 fold. In other words, I can afford to wait and see what happens in these extraordinary market conditions. Remember, this is 2007. There are a lot of newbies out there and I'm not talking on the message boards, or blogs - I'm talking newbies running money at hedge funds who aren't used to things like bear-0-ramas and corrections. This morning's spike in the VIX again is telling me that some guys and perhaps gals with lots of money - maybe too much - are in over their heads with too much leverage. There's a certain growing element of contagion that I'm going to stick around and watch with morbid amusement while hopefully further profiting. Quite frankl

Reduction in Heart Attack RiskWorking men in study reduce risk of dying from heart attack by 64%Feb. 12, 2007. Researchers have confirmed what others have suspected, a little siesta in the middle of the day can decrease your chances of a heart attack. And, these midday naps make a significant difference - up to a 64 percent lower risk of dying from heart disease than those who do not take midday napsPrevious evidence has suggested that in countries where siestas are common, rates of death from heart disease tend to be lower. However, the few studies that have assessed the potential relationship have not controlled for other factors that may influence heart disease risk, such as physical activity and age, according to background information in the article.Androniki Naska, Ph.D., University of Athens Medical School, Greece, and colleagues studied 23,681 Greek men and women ages 20 to 86 who did not have a history of heart disease or any other severe condition when they enrolled in the st

***Copyright. 1999 by asparkle2@aol.com now asparkle2@yahoo.com*** Morgan's hands shook as she hung up the phone. She would be there, with him, in only a few short hours. Her hands gripping the bag tightly, she took a few steps toward the gate, drew a deep breath, and held her ticket out to the agent. Her head against the edge of the seat where it met the window, Morgan closed her eyes,

As selling begets selling not only in stocks, but in commodities, I took the opportunity to dump the metals futures positions across the board to lock in recent profits... no sense in ruining an overall up day from profits in VIX calls, BIDU puts, etc on losing profits in metals, especially gold and silver. The run back to $690 in gold earlier was a gift today.