2008.05.19
Posted in Personal, Econ at 12:51 by requiem
A quick lunchtime update, since I have a few posts marinating in draft form. My reading list has ballooned; I’m trying to finish The Omnivore’s Dilemma whilst simultaneously working my way through the last of the Honor Harrington books and starting on Robert Greene’s works.
This rally in the markets has been running for almost two months now; I’ve been staying mostly clear of it, but did dip my toes in at a few points before being stopped out. For the S&P 500, I’m looking for it to spend a little time above the 200 MA and for the RSI to match the highs of last October. It feels almost played out, and if that’s the case, the turn should be in the next few weeks.
The fundamentals continue to deteriorate. It was only last week I saw a Financial Times article suggesting the ECB is starting to suspect banks are using them as a dumping ground for toxic securities. The Fed (in concert with the ECB and the Swiss) is now accepting auto loans and credit card debt as collateral. This buys only three or four more months before the Fed runs out of balance sheet.
My Mandarin classes finished up earlier this month, and that frees up some time for reading and other projects. I haven’t seen much in the way of summer classes (in any field) that appealed to me, so I’ll likely find something to study on my own. Travel also remains likely.
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2008.03.30
Posted in Personal at 21:45 by requiem
When I received an email from Moa (my friend from Sweden) inviting me to meet up in Chicago, it was the perfect excuse to run off for a weekend. The trip was quite wonderful, even if I didn’t pack earmuffs.
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2007.10.31
Posted in Personal, Econ at 23:30 by requiem
On this high holiday I have some minor links and musings to present.
First, from Reason magazine, Ronald Bailey in “Our Intangible Riches” interviews World Bank economist Kirk Hamilton about his team’s investigation into wealth and capital. The team’s results are published in Where is the Wealth of Nations?, available from the World Bank site. In short, the wealth of nations lies primarily in intangible capital; the education of the populace and the quality of social institutions.
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Observations suggest inflation pressures on the working classes continue to grow. Consumer staples giants Procter & Gamble, Kimberly-Clark, and Colgate-Palmolive have all announced the need to pass along price increases in oil and raw materials. Consumers should expect to see prices increase from 3-12%. Health, education, and childcare costs also continue to rise. Low official inflation numbers also permitted the Fed to slip another knife into an already wounded dollar.
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I finished reading Iain Bank’s The Algebraist the other week. It’s not a Culture novel, though still quite fun. I also picked up a copy of Sandworms of Dune, the conclusion to Frank Herbert’s famous cycle. As expected, only in the treatment of Duncan Idaho is Frank Herbert’s touch clearly visible. The writing style was pedestrian and the story had all the subtlety and depth of a Michael Bay film.
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Finally, we had a small earthquake yesterday. Nice rolling waves, almost like being on a boat.
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2007.08.21
Posted in Personal at 23:52 by requiem
A colleague, starting her masters program, takes unexpected leave. It’s the latest leave-taking; it seems so many have left this season. I’ve found a program I like, I can almost imagine how that announcement will be taken.
Seeing people off,
being seen off–
autumn in Kiso.
Is it no surprise I find myself reading Basho?
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2006.09.19
Posted in Personal at 23:41 by requiem
I was very careful to cover all the usual spots with sunscreen before going out in the sun last weekend. Tips of ears, sides of neck, etc. Of course, I then completely forgot that wearing sunscreen might just be a good idea on Monday, when my work had its 30th anniversary celebration. Today, I’m slowing fading from a bright red to a still-painful pink.
The party was a blast, of course. It’s hard to go wrong when you supply thousands of people with unlimited food and drink. It started off with some testimonials by our patients, and short speeches from Art, Herb, and James Watson (of “& Crick” fame). Musical entertainment was provided by the Foo Fighters, Bob Dylan, The Black Eyed Peas, and the Eagles.
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2006.09.11
Posted in Education, Personal at 18:10 by requiem
I was walking home from Saturday’s Cal game when I had the strangest idea. I’ve always assumed that I would go back to school, but even when I was in school I had a general idea of what direction I would go. My strange idea came from the realization that I hadn’t taken much in the way of science classes. Sure, there was one or two, but for the most part my work involved writing papers or programs.
This is why I’ve been browsing the biology offerings in the UC Berkeley Extension catalog. While typing this, I’ve signed up for an introductory biology course. I’ll try it out, and if all goes well, follow up with the offerings in chemistry, o-chem, and human physiology. In case you’re wondering, no, I have absolutely no idea what I’ll do with the classes. This is for fun!
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2006.08.28
Posted in Style, Personal at 18:21 by requiem
I’ve spent a few years running around with a pair of Oakley M-frames for sunglasses. They weren’t particularly dressy, being more suited for pairing with Heckler & Koch than Hugo Boss. So, when I was at the mall with my fashion-guru friend the other weekend, we took the time to stop and see what was available.
After trying on a few pairs and finding only one plausible candidate, I was persuaded to try on a pair of brown tinted Ray-Bans. I normally shy away from colors that remind me of the 70s, but in this case I’m glad I didn’t.
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2006.08.12
Posted in Personal at 01:26 by requiem
My roommate has acquired DVDs of the show Medium, and we’ve been slowly working our way through episodes. The show is a drama about Allison DuBois (played by Patricia Arquette), a psychic who consults for a District Attorney’s office, and apparently is loosely based on an actual person. Ms. Arquette recently won an Emmy for her role in the series, an award which I must reluctantly concede was likely well-deserved.
Allision Dubois is portrayed as a mother, wife, and (initially) law student in Arizona. Upon growing acceptance of her paranormal abilities, she chooses not to pursue law school, and instead finds herself using her abilities as a special consultant to the DA. As the series progress, we see her struggle to come to terms with the impact of her dreams and visions both in her family life as well as in her profession.
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2006.04.29
Posted in Personal at 13:50 by requiem
Soccer season is back, our first practice was last Thursday! I had to stop by a couple of stores to find shoes in the right size. Apparently the average soccer player wears a size 39, because that was the one size decently represented on the shelves. (You might think the opposite, but the shelves were quite well stocked. It wasn’t a case of a gaping hole where the 45s should have been.) I managed to find a single (1!) pair that fit; a pair of blue Adidas boots that cost far too much.
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2006.04.06
Posted in Personal at 16:31 by requiem
We have a Giants fan at work. This is a man with Giants paraphernalia in his office, on his walls, and season tickets in his pocket. He’s also been on Sabbatical for a number of weeks, and is this very afternoon attending the Giants’ opening game in San Francisco.
It would be unseemly for a coworker to be gone so long without receiving some sort of welcome, and sure enough, certain others in the department took it upon themselves to decorate his office with streamers, posters, a piñata, a signed t-shirt, and sundry other articles.
I should at this point mention that the Chief Decorator is a fan of the LA Dodgers.
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