Skram

I worked for INO for a long time, so it took a while, but I have been back to loving their burgers again. 5 Guys does nothing for me, overpriced and greasy. I had a Habit open near me and I have to say I have been impressed. Good food and friendly service.

I was just watching CNBC a few days ago when billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn was trying to trump up his Apple stock. He has huge stakes in Netflix and Transocean (stock symbol: RIG). His Transocean stock is doing even worse than what happened to Netflix, check out the chart on that one. I think he is doing his best to help close the wealth gap in America with those stock selections.

Well, I am not a conservative investor. I just think there is a correction coming, and corrections are brutal. The psychology and dynamics of the market always lead to the market being oversold and creating a buying opportunities, which is exactly what happened in 2008 and I have enjoyed the 17% return since then. Historically, after any kind of government QE program ends, the stock market drops..alot, and not just in the US. I follow this stuff pretty closely so I am not afraid to try to get out early because I know I am willing to get back in even when the market looks brutal. I imagine myself getting back in too early, and not too late. I wouldn't advise this for everyone though, if it is your retirement money, and you have a long window, then I have no doubt the stock market will be higher 10+ years from now. I have no love for precious metals. They are a commodity, they are defensive, they do not produce anything and are based solely on supply and demand (and they have been brutal over the past year.) If you believe the collapse of the financial system is coming, then I doubt any investment will really pay off, even gold. The people who have gained truly gained wealth in this country did it believing in the power of our economy. I just want to try to sit out the correction this time around.

I don't think there is much to keep the market propped up with the Fed ending QE. Reality is starting to set in that this market has been held up by over a trillion dollars of easy money. Brace for some rough months ahead on your 401k's. Now with the price of oil dropping, earnings dropping on several companies, the dollar getting stronger, Europe and Asia looking pretty weak, there is just not much for the market to be optimistic on. My guess is there is probably a S&P 500 in the 1700's in our future. I rode the 2008 crash to the bottom, I don't feel like doing it again. I am not a bear, and I generally believe in riding the ups and downs of the market, but I don't see much upside here. It is an overpriced market with a lot of bad news on the horizon. I am taking my gains and going defensive for a while.

Wow, that video was scary. I have heard some of the horror stories before, but to see it all laid out like that, and to know the average person doesn't have the legal means to fight it, is pretty sobering.

The left loves free speech as long as you agree with them and never mention the words sin, evil or Bible.

Well, I am sure they know I feel this way, but I will say it publicly, Stradling and Splint are 2 of the most awesome human beings on the planet, Stradling being my best friend for what, almost 25 years now Scott? I love them like brothers. When I met Scott I was a fan of both the Dodgers and Angels (my father is a passionate Dodger fan) and Stradling helped me see the error of my ways. Great interview, I loved reading it, although I might have mentioned the tripod thread among the favorites threads all time, and I think the interviewer may have been a little generous in assessing his softball skills.

The Triple Crown?

I played from beta to Wrath of the Lich King. Had to get out at that point. When the Kung Fu Panda expansion came out, I was done. It was a fantastic game, but the amount of playing time and commitment it takes is off the charts. I was stuck on a crappy server, if Blizzard would have allowed me to move servers for fee I might have kept playing.

I thought it was interesting that as they made the announcements the stock price for Apple started rising. Then when they said it will only work with the iPhone and won't be out till next year the stock price fell. I think investors felt that they were limiting the scope of the product, and weren't happy it wouldn't be out for Christmas. Anyone thinking they will get this? I just have no interest in a smartwatch.

I liked this one better "Season isn't done but this is not a playoff team, not even close to it"

You just forgot to sell high in the mid 90's. Speaking of which, I think your pog collection is probably a little down in value, too.

Hey Stradling, do you still have like 50 of his rookie cards?

What if people get confused and vote for Gwen Stefani?

I usually don't get involved in threads about is Sosh a good manager. In any sport, it takes me a long time to criticize a manager or coach, I just in general think coaches/managers get too much credit for wins, and too much blame for losses. But whenever I talk about the issue, I say the number one issue in whether a baseball manager is perceived as good or not is his bullpen performance.

There are some horrible people in this world. Glad they get caught sometimes.

I did Harp a while back. There was really no downside to it. I wasn't asked for any upfront money. I was disappointed I couldn't fold a higher interest rate second into it, which in my case would have helped me a lot more. The other downside for me was when I did it interest rates were just above 5%. So I couldn't do it again when they fell down to the 4% range. (They only allow one HARP refi, period. It did save me some money overall though. On a personal note, I finally got the LTV I needed so I was able to recently refi into a good rate and get rid of the second. I went through American Capital in Aliso Viejo and was treated very well, not like a number and I have no problem recommending them. If Quicken makes you nervous, email my friend Sean at sean@acchomeloan.com

I agree Nate. I was trying to figure that part out, too.

A $4M salary and a .3 WAR. Not much of a surprise Chicago was done with him.

I like this comment from that link: "His best pitch is probably a curveball. After all, no one can Bend it like Beckham"

Can he pitch?

Did anyone else think that Markakis at bat was going to be the last at bat of the night? Good job Rasmus with an ump f&$%ing squeezing you!

Nevermind, pretty hard to predict that outcome! haha

Predictions? 3 or 4 pitch strike out?

Here comes a lefty to face Hamilton