value redux

In addition to my life long obsession with the 3 b’s(books, broads and booze),I am also hopelessly addicted to the value line research service and am constantly looking for ways to use the vast amounts of information provided to improve my investing and even trading results. Take away my quote machine and computer but hands off the value line. I t is, hands down, the finest research service available to investors.

Whilst wiling away the hours on the beach last week, enjoying the sun, surf, sand and bevy of barely dressed shapely adorables parading at lands edge, I spent a lot of time reviewing approaches and methods of investing, always looking for the edge that provides superior returns. I developed several ideas that were scribbled on post its and bought home to test out. As I am always surprised when my tiny brain produces something that works, I was gratified to find that several methods appear to over results superior to the mkt as a whole. I share them now in hopes of ideas, comments and criticism.

First is a classic value+yield approach that has been talked up by authors such as O Higgins, shaugnessy and even our own senator. Looking from 1986 though the end of 2004, I screened for stocks that have a return on total capital of at least 8%, A dividend yield of at least 3% and a price to book value of less than two.In addition to avoid deeply troubled companies we only selected stocks ranked 1,2 or 3 from the VL service in hopes of avoiding the dividend slashing book writing off disasters frequently found among 4 and 5 ranked stocks. It finds solid stocks, earning decent returns and paying out cash to shareholders that have not made huge runs in price. Simple conservative stuff, and it delivers simple conservative returns that do in fact beat the market handily..an average of 16% a year over the 18-year period versus the markets 12. More importantly it only has 2 losing years in 18, with the max year over year loss being just 8% along with fairly shallow drawdowns intra-year. By the way, I rebalanced once a quarter in all the tests.

In the second test I look at a classic value screen stocks selling below book value. One of the biggest problems with stocks that sell below book is that many of them are deeply flawed, unprofitable companies with no hope of recovery. To try and eliminate some of this, I added the criteria of selecting only those companies who earned at least 8% on net worth. Again we find market beating returns of 17% a year over 18 years to the markets 12.Deeper draw downs and more overall losing years here, so dropping the dividend requirement and buying deeper asset discounts hardly seems worth the extra percentage point.

Next, for comparative purpose I wanted to look at “growth” stocks, a bit far afield from my usual value bent. But first to decide on a true definition of growth. I wanted to avoid the pure momentum stocks that are so often confused with growth stocks.I also felt that stocks with managed earning ala the west Virginians company or the enron types. I looked for companies where not only were reported earnings growing rapidly..At least 20% annually over the past 5 years, but the earnings were reinvested in the enterprise successfully producing book value growth of at least the same over the time frame. To my mind this showed that not only was the business growing but also profits were being used to improve the corporation and were “real”, not just accounting mirages or temporary. To further insure that these were true growth stocks, only those ranked 1 or better by the value line service were included. And the results are..Drum roll please…it smokes almost everything else I ve ever looked at. 21% compounded over 18 years versus the markets 12. For comparison the entire list of 1 ranked stocks averaged 17..Not bad but 20% less than those who grew their company as fast as their earnings? This strategy beats the market in 15 of the last 18 years. As a value guy I checked to see if screening further by pe ratio helped improve returns, In fact, it degraded them horrible if you put an upper pe limit on the list.

There it is. MELVIN SAYS GROWTH BEATS VALUE. This akin to Darwin cavorting with adam and eve, abelson being bullish, taleb selling premium,buffet finally confesses to being a short term trader.

Uh..not quite. Performing even better than that were stocks that met multiple criteria. Less than 1.5 times book, pe less than 12,debt less than 50% of capital, earnings over past 5 years of at least 5% and projected earnings growth of at least 5%. What we are looking for here are sound companies, good solid balance sheets, growing at some rate equal to or better than the underlying economy. We pick up two types of companies for the most part. Sound business hit by what the chair calls a one-off event, earning miss etc that have plunged, or super cyclicals entering the rapid growth phase that causes pes to contract. This year for instance it would have had you long homebuilders and energy companies for the most part.

REWRITE: MELVIN SAY THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GROWTH AND VALUE. In the end there is only growth, growth bought at a low right price and momentum.

The only better performing screen was one I have talked about at length in years past. Value Line 1 and 2 ranked stocks priced below 10. This thing rocks. It is the rocket ship of investing strategies producing an eye popping 25% annualized. HOWEVER, it has draw downs and loss years that might make the baseball maven or the late lamented mr e have sleepless nights.40 and 50% drawdowns are not only not unusual..They are the norm. This screen catches small cap stocks that value line has affirmed are starting to turn the corner. They are mostly unprofitable and are considered turnarounds. Removing loss companies from the list reduces returns to market level without decreasing risk in any measurable manner. If one forms a strong opinion that small cap growth is about to rebound however, this list of stocks explodes into the stratosphere and has several 80% plus years in the past 18.

I view screens such as this as a starting point and have never been able to just buy the list blindly, preferring as chris browne of tweedy browne once said, act like an insurance company..underwrite by the numbers(run the screen) and then investigate(look for insider activity,read the reports).However, if one could develop reasonably reliable market entry and exit strategies for,growth,yield and small cap, they can be a powerful starting place.

that time of year

In what has become an annual ritual, I was jarred from contemplating the universe of stocks bonds and other such assorted instruments by a holy Sh** what was that roar. I looked out the window to see a flight of 6 F18 fighters thundering past, engines in high rev as they executed a tight turn roughly 500 feet from the window..flying in low and in tight precise formation, they are close enough to see the hot exhaust as they kick in the afterburners to screech back form whence they came. These attacks will continue for the next several hours as they always do. Its graduation week at the United States Naval Academy and the Blue Angels are back for their demonstration of aerial feats and acrobatics .My office is less than a mile from the Severn River and from my fourth floor perch I can see much of the display. They do things with airplanes I don’t think airplanes were built to do, flying a couple of feet from each other’s wings..It is truly an amazing show. Both of my children’s birthdays are this week ad when they were younger and more gullible I had them convinced daddy ordered the airplanes just for them!
It is also a reminder that Memorial day weekend is fast upon us and it will the official opening of summer here in the Mid Atlantic. The “season” as it were will open on Kent Island as well. Lest you think of it as “the season” on the Hampton or Newport, allow me to quickly disabuse of such a notion. We are nowhere near that refined. But is sure as h@@@ is fun. There is a pattern to summers on the island. By official decree…I am not sure who decreed it exactly but we do all follow it..Weekends start on Thursday evening right after work. Thirsty Thursday. The Crab Decks famous or infamous Happy Hour.(crabdeck.com) No one is quite sure how it became the gathering place as all the bars have a happy hour. But the Deck is right on the narrows with great views, they have dollar drafts and lay out a great buffet. Do not however entertain visions of getting to the buffet. It’s free. The island seniors and retirees discovered thirsty Thursday as well. From the way they attack the dishes of crab balls, shrimp, sandwiches and Swedish meatballs you would think they were homeless instead of well off retired folks with million dollar condos in Oyster Cove. My sister was hip checked by a dollar beer drunken little old lady in a walker over the last bit of shrimp..Which she then wrapped in napkin and stuck ever so carefully in her Gucci purse for a late night snack. There will be beach type music of the slightly redneck variety, heavy on the Jimmy Buffet, Kenny Chesley and Toby Keith, cold beers, a few gin and tonics glistening in sweaty plastic cups. Old friends, new friends and with luck a great waterfront sunset. This ritual will continue unchecked every Thursday from now until late October. And if I am in town, I ll be there.
Sun Down, its probably time to head to the Jetty Dock (jettydockbar.com) bar. Thursday night is after all Karaoke night. The place will be packed with the sound of really bad singing intermixed with dance music cascading about across the narrows. On a clear night with no wind you can hear the caterwauling clear out to eastern bay. But the Jetty fills up every Thursday. A few specs have seen this incredible microcosm of society in action and one or two of them didn’t even suffer any lasting effects. But the ladies are all there singing Shania twain and Sheryl Crowe. and where the ladies are..Well, we are going to follow. There’s even a couple of regulars who are pretty damn good..Theres one older black gentleman who can perfectly mimic, of all people, David Allan Coe and merle haggard. Mostly it is socializing, hanging within the guys, checking out the girls, possibly lining up a suitable companion for the weekend..Although it could be said that may be a case of bringing Sand to the beach. Early finish to the night as there is still one day of labor and speculation to be dealt with before we get serious.
Friday has no clear-cut rules. On Friday night, who has the best band with the most girls are were those of us without dates (or wives but that is a dwindling list) will be. Those with dates get the date out of the way for the weekend because Saturday is coming.
Red eye Dock Bar (redyedockbar.com). Memorial Day Weekend kicks it all off for the summer. The big grills will be fired up, the smell of pit beef and simmering Italian sausages will fill the air with clouds of smoke wafting around the two outdoor bars. The beer tub girls, that blessed sight of summer, will at their stations ready to serve your every need as long that need can be filled by the products of Anheuser Busch or Adolph Coors brewery. All the outside bar girls will back, smiling blondes and a dazzling redhead with quick service and tiny little shorts and halter tops. This Saturday Great train robbery will be on the early stage pounding out southern fried rock and roll from the palm tree surrounded stage. The growl of 1000 horse power engines in the massive speedboats will come to life as they all gather in the same place for the first time this summer. It’s loud, raucous and just flat out fun. Old friends, fast boats , cold beer and rock and roll. It’s a pretty diverse group but a great bunch of people. we have a few stock and bond guys, several business owners, the odd accountant(but then again to run with this bunch it helps to be a little odd). We all work hard and we all play hard and memorial day kick off the official fun season. On Sunday it’s a repeat but we add the scantily dressed girls of the bikini contest.
No question. Summer is here and it should be a great one. Thundering over the bay at 80 miles+ an hour in speedboats. Watching the Wednesday Night sailboat races at the Annapolis yacht Club with the fleet knifing their way to the finish line, colorful spinnakers filling the harbor usually right around the start of sunset. The mouth-watering aroma of steaks on the grill. Sweet corn from farmer johns. Spectacular sunsets. Dancing under star filled skies on the docks. Good friends. Great times. Fabulous memories.
But at sometime this weekend I will raise my glass in a silent toast to the reason for the weekend, those who gave their lives in the service of their country. They fell on the green at Lexington, at Trenton on Christmas Eve and in the snow at Valley Forge. The gave up their very lives in the peach orchard at Gettysburg, the cornfield at Antietam, the wilderness outside Petersburg and at Shiloh and chancelorsville. They left their future behind in the beleau woods, at château thiery and at ephey. They lie fallen on the beaches of Anzio, Normandy, Guadalcanal and Tarawa. They died at the frozen reaches of Korea at chosin and Pusan. They paid the ultimate price in the jungles of Khe Sahn and Da Nang. They are buried in Arlington and veterans cemeteries all over the country..or in graves in France, Belgium or some obscure south pacific island.
They are the reason I have the right and ability to work hard and play hard. Because of them and the blood they shed, we all have the right and freedom to work for own destiny, to be that which we would aspire to become. Because of them we can trade for a living, write books, study numbers. It is their sacrifice that allows us to enjoy our lives and our loved ones. And Although I suppose this is more so for those of us in the United States, their sacrifice made it possible for many other nations to enjoy unprecedented levels of freedom and democracy. Memorial Day. Remember them as you celebrate the start of summer. Some enlisted willing. Some were drafted kicking and screaming. But in the end they wore the uniform of their nation and died fighting under that flag that we may continue to be free and prosperous. I raise my glass to them in a salute of their honor and the sacrifices a grateful nation can never repay. To fallen comrades. We remember you.

the alphabet of happiness

A is for alcohol, the cause of and solution to most of our problems
B. is for books..or broads..or booze. all three necessary for life
c is for coffee. how the hell do you think I maintain this pace?
d is for divorce,the best although most expensive way to correct all those little mistakes one tends to make while drunkenly standing in front of an altar
e is for excess
f is for..well we all know what f is for..do it often
g is for gin naturally
h is for horseracing. bet on them and everything else you can as often as possible
i is for imbibe
j is juniper berries, the key ingredient to gin
k is for knowledge, gain lots of it as it pisses everyone else off
L surely not love as that causes more unhappiness than anything else I can think of.lets make it libido ot lust..
m is for music. note music not that rap crap that is passed off as music
n is for numbers. understand these and everything else starts to make a lot more sense.of course it also stands for napalm, very handy for ridding ones self of pesky enemies and spouses
o to be yelled loudly followed by phrases such as yes, god and whats your name again while indulging in F
p is for poker, porno, and that which men spend all of their time and resources pursuing
q is for quixotic.life is after all
r..RUM
s sex (Didnt see that one coming did you?) sports,scotch and stocks
t tonic. goes well with g
u is for uncommon. be this always
v is for vasectomy. one of my favorite little surgeries
w is for wine. drink with meals, after meals, whenever. just drink it
x try not to have too many of these.they are expensive
y is yesterday. forget about it its over. lots of G and f can assist in this task
zzzz...you ll need a lot of naps to keep up this level

open roads,windshileds,old friends and baseball

I spent a good part of today driving up into the mountains of Western Maryland, on the way to the wake of an old friends father. I had think I only met Phil’s father once before but Phil was a friend, I am an Irish Catholic, it was a wake and I was going. For some reason among those of us born to the inner city catholic tradition showing up for wakes has a critical importance and I ve never been able to overcome the genetic programming. I am not fond of them but there is a feeling that it one that it is a duty of friendship to offer respects and condolences at such time. It was a lengthy drive, some three hours up and the same back (naturally) and I had to arise early from my slumber to get on the road. Those of you that know are aware that the phrases Tim and early Sunday morning are not often found together in the same sentence. Nevertheless armed with coffee, cigarettes, and some John Prine and Bob Dylan cds I was up and on the road.It was a beautiful day for a drive. I am normally more of a beach than a mountain guy but the mountains were just starting to break into springtime and hints of green were seen among the gray starkness of the forests spread on the hillsides. There were signs of much activity on the rolling farms spread out amongst the foothills of the eastern Appalachians, with the sights and sounds of spring planting in evidence. Livestock was being moved into the meadows from winter quarters and newborn calves and colts were much in evidence. One could see and hear the birds of spring breaking into song on this near 70 degree day and I spotted several deer now safe from the long guns of winter deer season in the low lying fields along the roadway This sort of bucolic scenery is of course best viewed by me from the windshield as I wish to get no closer to the farm life than farmer Johns produce stand and my idea of wildlife has a lot more to do with long legged blondes and well chilled martinis than the great outdoors. Still it was a pleasant drive and I enjoyed the roadside view.

As Prine sang of the way the world goes round and Dylan was tangled up in blue I drank my coffee, smoked my smokes and engage in the kind of deep and yet somehow trivial thinking I tend to engage in while driving. I had of course to review one of my latest oops, did I really do that moments. Once I had reviewed all the evidence, coming again to the conclusion that when it comes to my personal life I am predestined to be an idiot, I quickly moved to other more productive thoughts. The arrival of winter purging away the dark damp gray of winter brings to mind the ever-present ecology of life and markets. The old purges away the new, even the most painful bear market ends and the pruning of excess set the stage for new highs. There is a point where the landscape must be laid bare and the easy profits disgorged so that the mistress may remind us that although she can be had, she’s not easy. We see the pattern in the market as a whole, in industry groups and especially in investing styles as the horde chases alpha, pumping more cash into an investment discipline that it can possibly handle, destroying returns in much the same fashion that winter depletes the foliage and undergrowth leaving a tangle of bare limbs and empty underbrush. In the last 5 years we have seen stat arb, risk arb, distressed and several other disciplines go though the cycle. We have seen tech stocks; utilities and drug stocks go through the harshest of winters, taking out all the easy money investors and momentum funds before the green of spring began to poke through the carnage of winter. In markets as in life it has always been such and I suspect always shall be. The mistress continues to be harshest on those who try to grow the trees too tall and the kindest to those who seek hope in the snowstorm. That’s not of course to say that she won’t throw the occasional case f frostbite at you just to keep you honest.

Any though of spring that runs through my mind must bring forth thoughts of baseball. Tomorrow is opening day..I refuse to consider the made for TV event that is the Sunday night game opening day. To me, the season starts today when Livian Hernandez and the nati0onals face glavine and the mets at Shea Stadium. The Orioles have the Devil Rays in what should be a case of the two worst teams in the best division seeing who can manage to give the game away and it what looks like the game of the day The Yankees will face Oakland tomorrow night in a battle of two preseason candidates to win it all. Johnson against Zito has the makings of a great game. Shame it isn’t on until 10 so I ll only catch an inning or two. Baseball again and at last. Innings after inning of advancing runners, holding guys on first, hitting the cut off man, sacrificing guys across, getting ahead of the hitter, doing all the things you have to do to stay in position to win, to benefit from a fast furious rally in the late innings of just grind out enough runs to win a game by a run or two, doing all the things day in and out to win more games than the other guy and get to the final prize the playoffs.Hmm..Sounds a little like living and lot like trading to me. Doing the little things each day, adjusting your approach to each game, each hitter. Shifting the outfielders because of one guys propensity to hit to the right. Cheat the infielders in because the speedsters liable to bunt. Take an extra lead as the pitcher has a poor move to first. Each situation, each day evaluated, studied and executed according to where the exploitable edge lies.

As I pulled into Frostburg, a scenic little mountain country town with its rolling streets, old stately homes lining main street, the streets basically empty against the cal quiet of a Sunday morning, I took notice of this quaint little town that started life as a stagecoach town along the National Pike, later as a coal town and now primarily home to a state college that churns out teachers, set amidst the backdrop of the nearby mountains and thought as I always do “ How in the heck do people live out here”. The quaint little shoppes with mandatory extra p and e, the rustic looking little bars and coffee shops..All closed. Although I am sure there is much to recommend it, the rural lifestyle holds no attraction for me. I have trouble fathoming how one can dwell somewhere where it is not possible to get Asian dumplings and a burger at midnight if ones so chooses and the lush sounds of crickets and songbirds jar me from sleep far more than a traffic jam ever has.Much is made of the beauty of the simple life, particularly on the Hallmark Channel but I am afriad that I am not a fan.Currier and Ives and weal as Norman Rockwell may paint a great canvas of this way of life but i suspect they dont know where to get a decent pizza at 2am.

I put in my appearance, expressed my condolences with the classic celtic "I am sorry for your troubles" and made my exit. A couple of other old friends and I stopped for a bite to eat before heading back over the hills to home and reminisced for a bit about the old days when we all ran around together as part of a large civic group, playing politics, giving speeches, running elections and building our lives and careers all those e years ago. Now as mark, a long time friend and my attorney to this day remarked, "it seems now we only see each other at funerals."

This led to much of the drive home spent ruminating about old friends and the seemingly inevitable falling out of touch over the years. This group of friends was one that back in my mid thirties I spent the vast majority of my time with. We were in meeting together, traveling to conventions together, partying, practical joking and enjoying the heck out of life. As time went on and e got older, we went to each other’s weddings, the came to my divorces, we toasted each other when we were each inducted in the International JCI Senate as a sort of lifetime achievement award. Phil was once a roommate; mark was the best man at my wedding and the lawyer for all my divorces. There was a group of 10 or so of us that were seemingly inseparable. Now perhaps a Christmas card, a few funerals a year is all the contact we have. I thought of other old friends who have fallen away over the years. My first business partner Bob. We spent five years together, made a pile of money twice and lost said pile three times, he who still owns the most optimistic line I ve ever heard when we tapped out the last time.” Its not so bad, Tim. It’s actually an upgrade. We came to a town in a $30,000 Cadillac and we re leaving on million dollar bus” That was 23 years ago. I think I ve spoken to him three times since then and have no idea where he is today after 5 years of sweat, struggle, more high times and good times than I can count. The guys I trained with in the brokerage business some 15 years ago. 12 hours a d ay together in the bullpen cold calling, sharing ideas keeping each other pumped up enough to deal with 300 phone calls a day and the attendant rejection and frustration. With one exception I have no idea where these people are today.

Some of this is normal and just part of the grand cycle of life. Part of it however is sheer neglect and lack of effort on our parts as we progress through life. Acquaintances may well come and go and pass though our lives as will more causal friendships. But those friendships that touch our lives and are an integral part of them, those who stand by us when we fall and celebrate when we succeed, who are part of the best and worst memories of our lives, perhaps we should not let them fall away so quickly. In this day and age of free long distance and the Internet there really isn’t an excuse anymore not to drop a line, make a call. Perhaps you wont be a close as you once were for reason of distance or even lifestyle. Many of my old friends have now married while I have specialized in getting unmarried. My lifestyle probably doesn’t fir too well into their backyard bbq and I can’t really see them out until all hours with me unless I want a new roommate. Not an excuse for not making a phone call to say how are you what’s new, just wanted to touch base. Upon arriving home on this Sunday evening I thought about that list, friends who were just too important to let slip away. I made a few calls, wrote a few emails just to say hi. I am gal I did. There is a cycle to life and people will move in and out of it over the years of the journey. Some however should not be allowed to slip away completely. What the hell. Its worth a phone call

ted turner is trying to kill me

Ted Turner is trying to kill me.

I am an old movie buff and always have been. A major disappointment over they years has been the movie line up on American Movie Classics the alleged old movie channel. Rarely is there anything on that would constitute a classic. It tends to run to all the truly bad b movies of the 70s with lots of Charles Bronson. The real powerhouse is Turner Classic movies. The cable system on the island was falcon cable, a fierce competitor of Mr. Turners back in the good bad old days of cable television. Hence no Turner classic movie channel for. Last year falcon sold the system. Two months ago Turner classic was added. I discovered this happy fact by accident one Friday night, sipping a scotch and checking the sports news. Having been sipping said scotch for some time I punched in ESPN news, channel 221.Or so I thought. I actually punched in 212, the new home of Turner Classic movies. Instead of basketball highlights, free agent signings and spring training reports I was staring at Bogart and Hepburn in the African queen. This was followed by Casablanca. Mind you it was already eleven at night. I stayed awake through those two and fell asleep halfway through High Sierra. The next morning I awoke to She wore a yellow ribbon.

Normally in my house, the television of for two things sports and news. Now however I got in the habit of checking channel 212 each night along with espn news, cnbc and cnn. It started harmlessly enough, an old classic here, a western there. Soon my Saturday morning lineup of the comedians on the fox morning money shows was replaced by musicals and westerns. I couldn’t help myself. Each night something new to watch. The Cincinnati kid one night with Steve McQueen dueling Edward g Robinson to be the greatest poker play of the day one night, Kirk Douglass and john wayne battling the Japanese and their inner demons in the classic wwii movie In harms way.Our town, Brigadoon, come blow your horn,12 angry men,42 nd street, no name on the bullet. Its constant, there’s almost always something great and classic on the damn channel. Soon I was hooked, watching all the time. William Holden,John Wayne, Ava Gardner, Frank Sinatra, Jamese Cagny,Spencer Tracey, Audrey Hepburn,Audie Murphy…good god man this stuff is worse than crack!

So I have found myself watching John Wayne and Lee Marvin conspire to aid their old friend on the Doc in hiding his mixed race children in the post wwii south pacific while having raucous barroom brawls with the Australian navy, falling in love with the oh-so proper Bostonian and learning that in live and family there can be no shame. I watched him again in the Quiet Man portraying Trooper Thornton a man running from his demons and towards his memories learning that for life to go on demons must be tackled..or in this case beaten senseless through the streets of Innisfree with a stop for a proper mid fight porter..Before life and love can blossom. Interestingly in both of them Wayne finally wins over the girl and breaks down her reluctance by throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her off to marital bliss. A technique that would be frowned upon today but one that cause on to sigh nostalgically for the good old days of male female relationships.

I have seen both versions of The Philadelphia Story, both incomparable original with Katherine hepburn at the top of her form and pinnacle of her beauty and Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart delivering an over the top performance as a serious writer turned scandal sheet journalist. It is a story of love lost and regained with many twists and turns along the way. Canceled weddings, late night drunken almost affairs (hey-I can relate), pre-teen matchmakers and happy endings. This amazing film, which was nominated for six Oscars and won two, is even more amazing when you consider that it was shot in six weeks with not a single retake. Having watched that one blustery Saturday afternoon I had to stay up the next night for the remake of the movie as a musical with an equally incredible cast of Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly and Bing Crosby. Louis Armstrong shows up to jam at one point in the movie. I particularly am fond of this movie as grace Kelly gets off a line at one point that describes the vast majority of my persona relationships when she says Yes, isn't she? Ah, but we're afraid she has a homicidal streak." This was Kelly last film before she retired to marry the Prince of Monaco and was the first film the incomparable Cole Porter had scored in seven years. Both classics and among the greats of all time.

Naturally this comes just as life has gotten very busy. After a January and February where free time was primarily devoted to trips to Chicago and new york, running with da boys here on Kent Island, doing the usual reading and card playing with a few side journeys to see if I could possibly find another incantation of the one true love of my life (for those of you playing along at home note on the scorecard that yup I m without again. Too bad I cant just John Wayne some beauty back to the cave). Now of course just as the addiction of old movies sings through my veins turning me into a back and white Technicolor junkie I have two major projects starting in addition to all the regular market and family stuff that has to be attended to. I find my self having to force my sweaty hands to abandon the remote and step away from the couch each evening until the day’s work is done later in the evening..But about 10 or so most nights its click and watch at least one of these gems before bedtime.

I thought perhaps I had begun to break this addiction as the last two nights I haven watched at all. Now of course I did stay up Sunday night to watch Sean Connery in one his best ever films, Robin and Marion. The film was Audrey Hepburns return to the screen and featured both Richard Harris and Robert Shaw in supporting roles. It is a classic love and adventure tale with the older robin Hood unable to face the facts of aging and trying to continue the fight until Marion, having forsworn her vows as a nun to return to his side poisons them both o that his legend and memory remain beloved. Great file. But I digress. The last two nights I had managed to escape the clutches of my fast growing addiction. Truthfully much of it has been nelson eddy and Jeanette McDonald and they are not one of my favorites. Then I looked a tonight’s schedule. The out of towners at 8. Plaza suite at 10. And what sadistic bastard scheduled James garners wheeler-dealer for midnight? I mean any movie that has stock promotion, oil scams and the uneven course of true love must be watched, right?

There has been much discussion of films and their lessons for speculators on the list in recent weeks. I find that the older movies have many of the things speculators treasure, much more so than todays blood spattered, animatronics films. Individual heroism, the fall grace and regain of glory, personal belief and honor, breaking into song while the world falls around your ears, all are themes I find running throughout the older films. There is romance and seduction rather than semi pornographic scenes representing the concept of love. The violence is not so gore spattered that sam peckinpah would retch. They capture so much more of the glad to be alive, all is possible nature of life that is a key ingredient in living well. If you have the channel on your cable network I suggest you try it. But beware-If you have the slightest trace of romance in left in you, you might be better off with a needle full of smack or a bottle of rebel yell bourbon. Far less addicting.

Turner owns the largest library of classic films. The liberal namby –pamby bastard is trying to kill me

almost perfect

The first almost perfect weekend of the spring has come and gone. The weather in the mid-atlantic was spectacular. One saw the first sign of life in the marinas that had been moribund and empty since late October. As I made my traditional stop by Castle marina on saturday morning, there was the sound of activity, rigging being checked, motors flushed, shrink wrapping being removed in anticipation of the Chesapeake bay summer that was tasted on the spring like breezes that floated across the island. Golf courses were jammed as the fair weather players once again joined their heartier brethren who played on through the winter any time the temperature was above 30. The whole island began to climb out from under the heavy weight of winter. Although I am sure that there will be some of those nasty cold blustery days in the weeks ahead, Spring has been foretold and we are all feeling the tinglings of anticipation for unfurled sails, growling engines, dock bars, bikini clad beauties, swimming in hidden coves along the Wye river, Red Eye Sunday afternoons Jellyfish Joels, The Crab Claw and all the pleasures of summer along the Chesapeake bay.

It was incredible to be out again at the dock bars in shirt sleeves, drinking cold beer with hot shrimp, catching up with people we haven’t seen since the first frost.The Jetty was like a magnet for kent islanders on Friday evening. To stand out in the sun with friends watching the sunlight dance across the narrows and feel the breeze off the bay, no longer hawkish and bitter, but carrying instead salt laced aroma that foretells of good weather, grand adventures and great friends ahead was semi-spectacular. It would have been criminal not to be there for that Friday Happy Hour.

Combine the weather with the other events of the weekend and it was just a great weekend. Watching the ACC tournament outside it is an unusual occurrence and one all local fans seem to have taken advantage. All the outside joints were jammed by tip off all weekend. As usual the tournament did not disappoint. Maryland was, as predicted out early, Wake Forest almost cinderellaed, Boston College showed that they are in fact, more than ready to be a full fledged member of the toughest conference in college hoops, knocking off the tarheels on their way to a final against the $%^&*&^% dukies. I would love to be able to disparage Duke basketball but it is in fact, not possible. They are well coached, they are talented and they play smart-every year.The faces change as players graduate..and by the way their graduation rate is one of the best in college basketball..or leave for the NBA but every year Duke is right there, a constant threat to win the ACC as wel as the NCAA championship. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that this year JJ Reddick has come inot his own in a spectacular fashion. He makes shots that he just should not be able to make. He sinks 40 foot 3 pointers like they were lay ups,.Every time Duke was pressed this weekend, here came JJ sinking a series of bombs, finding Williams or McRoberts wide open underneath, making plays and shots the crushed Miami, Wake and then BC for Dukes record setting 16th ACC championship.Reddick is the Niederhoffer of college hoops, routinely doing things that are thought to be improbable, if not impossible. Warm Weather, cold beer, and ACC championship basketball.A great way spend a weekend in March.

I would be remiss if I did not mention here the Colonial Players of Annnapolis production of Enter the Guardsman, a rendition of Fernec Monlars play The guardsman. Like many small theatre companies, Colonial Players production can be hit or miss. This one is a solid hit. The comedic tale of love, fidelity and the lack therof is well done, the musical adaptation sparkles and the cast hits the right notes of comedy and drama. Renowned sailing instructor Duncan Hood is spectacular in the machiavellian roll of the playwright who so carefully orchestrates the birth and death and rebirth of the actress, actors and guardsmans love triangle. He plays the role right on the verge of over the top as it should be played. The production runs through April 8th and if you are in the area, you could do worse for an evenings entertainment.

So with thoughts of warm days, great nights and exciting college hoops, I return to the office and the land of no volatility markets. Although I am sure the footstep of winter is not completly off the land, it weight has lessened. And I am also aware the market can continue to drift like this for long periods of time, I take heart in the there are still a few decent liquidations and option selling opportunities available to keep food on the table and the bar fully stocked. I am certain that summer will return to the Chesapeake Bay and we will have a string of weekends like the one past, and eventually the stock market will give the type of trading opportunities we have had in months and years past. Until then, we savor the anticipation created by this past weekend.

life

One often sits and wonders, in silent contemplation..best accompanied of course by a perfect glass of scotlands finest by the side to lubricate the thought process and make sure it flows in an orderly fashion, as to the meaning of life. I mean surely there is one…10 million..or ten thousand whether one is listening to a scientist or a cleric..of creation and evolution had to be for something? There is enough catholic left in me..the celtic catholic of course, still clinging tightly to the odd mix of mysticism and sensuality that the pre roman Irish were known for…to still believe that something or someone created us for some purpose other than mere existence upon the planet…After all if we are just a slightly higher form of base animal life..explain poetry to me..or Beethoven, degal,Picasso, brahams,shakespeare,..can such beauty be created by a creation of random chance..I think not.
So what then, is the meaning of it all? The views espoused by the church, that this a foreshadowing of eternal life meant to be lived in a mean form of subservience to a greedy angry god?..hmm..I doubt that. Somehow I suspect the she ( God just seems more female than male to me..perhaps just a matter of perspective) did not intend the blind humility and total unapprecaition of the beauty of life that protestant and even now catholic alike preach every Sunday from cherry wood pulpits in glass palaces built by the dimes of the faithful. The humanistic viewpoint…don’t thin so. To believe there is no purpose what so ever is to be dead inside I think. The socialist?..Again no, otherwise why would we all have the innate spark and desire to create and achieve, to better the lives of not only ourselves but those we love?
Indeed a very curious question. I have no answers that can be written in script from on high and perhaps the answers) that I have found are the wrong ones. I have watched many live life’s of relatively safe obscurity, going from birth to death without collecting the scars and hurts of a more adventurous life..but they also have no memories of mountains climbed, stolen moments of pure passion, faraway beaches, love won and lost, victories celebrated, defeats endured. It seems to be an entire unsatisfactory way to live.
So what then, is the meaning of it all. I think perhaps the meaning is to live it and live it well. To experience all the incredible capacity for romance and wonder that the benevolent being has thrown before us.To develop the mind that has been given us, to use it to explore, to dream, to risk, to venture,to create. To enjoy the cornucopia of beauty, in nature, in words, in music, to watch sunsets,, stare at the crashing surf in amazed and amused wonderment. To win victories, to suffer defeats, bind the wounds and enjoy the wonder of achievement.
And most of all, I think to celebrate the in born sensuality we were born with and given as what I thin is perhaps a prelude to any sort of heaven that may exist. The sex drive and appreciation of each other that we were given is I think a gift..one misunderstood and misused by most..either denied and turned into some inset part a into slot b procreation rite, or a sweaty twisted pile with someone whose name we won’t recall in the morning. Both I think are equally wrong. But when it’s a melding of minds and bodies, both there for the same reasons, the same pleasures. Searching, exploring, enjoying..then perhaps we have some idea of why we were given these bodies and these mind in the first damn place.Why is there wine if not to drink it, music if not to play it?
The only answer I have to it all is that life is to live, to experience to enjoy. The defeats with the passing of time are almost as sweet as the victories. The music and the poetry recalled long after the sweat and the blood have dried and faded..the memory of lovers joined through body and mind, eyes locking souls together tighter than the bodies ever could be remain long after the ending…..live is to live, to celebrate, to risk, to dance, to make love, to not just listen to the music but be a part of it
But that’s just me

march madness and a touch of sadness

So here we are again, one of the greatest three or four weeks of sports fan is fast upon us. Most of the smaller NCAA league tournaments have been played and we await the Thursday start of the big guys. The big east, the big 10,the big 12,pac-10 and the granddaddy of them all, the ACC tournament all begin in earnest tomorrow and Thursday. There are some potential monster college hoops battles coming up as we come to the wire in determining the selections and seedings for next weeks 64 strong NCAA battle royale. Some of the conferences are just powerhouses with great teams battling for the regional crown. The Big East is a monster with 5 teams having over 20 wins including the number 1 and no 2 teams overall (Connecticut and Villanova). The Big 10, the ACC and the big 12 al have at least 4 20 game winners and 3 national top 25 rankings going into the weekend. The southeastern conference is perhaps a little weaker than usual this year but would anyone really be willing to bet against tubby smith and the UK wildcats going on a tear to get back into the dance after on off year? Can the year’s big surprise George Washington continue its romp through the Atlantic 10? Gonzaga and the shaggy haired wonder boy are in having won their tourney last night with a come from behind win over Loyola Mary mount? But next week all eyes will be on the tiny school with the big time program. Is this the year they finally break through and go deep into the dance? How cool would a JJ-Adam final four game be?

The granddaddy for the mid Atlantic begins Thursday. Every thing in the entire state of North Carolina virtually freezes and even lesser state such as Maryland and Virginia slow a bit come Thursday noon. This year we have Miami, Boston college and Virginia tech in the toughest tourney (and toughest ticket) in college basketball. Everyone knows how good duke is, but they have lost to two Acc teams, UNC and Florida State this year. Speaking of the despicable tar heels, didn’t they see the preseason reports that said that after losing their top 6 scorers to the NBA last year, they really weren’t supposed to be very good? Yup, second in the ACC, 10th in the nation. Terrible year for the Carolina Blue. The wolfpack of NC State, although they finished poorly have proven they can play with anybody in the league. My much-maligned twerps are always capable under Gary Williams of riding sheer tenacity deep into the rounds. Of course, they are also capable of stinking up the joint and blowing out in the first round. Their only hope for overcoming a lackluster, inconsistent year is to run deep into the ACC finals.

Tip it up. Let em play.

This is the time of year when college hoops take on meaning. For most of the teams its one and done. One loss, go home. There are only 32 at large spots and most of them are spoken for. In the big tintack and Big East alone you have at least twelve teams that will not win their league tournament but will make the dance on an at large bid. Win or go home. It often reminds me of training, this two-week stretch of the year.

Bring you’re a-game and A-effort or you re out.
Prepare and practice or the tide will roll over you before the first half is over.
Get down too far too early and the clock will kill you no matter how strong you come back late in the second half.
The opponent you thought would be a walkover is the one most likely to put your back to the wall. Take nothing for granted.
If you re offense is shut down early, you better be able to adjust on the fly.
No defense, you lose.
Your game plan better be tied to the team you re playing and the situation you win.
Offensive Rebounding, or correcting your mistakes, is crucial.
Defensive rebounding, or taking advantage of opportunities is also critical.
To win it all, you will have to play great on consecutive days. The regular season is over. Win, or go home


The other big on-going event of the next several weeks is major league baseball spring training and World baseball classic. So far the classic has not generated a lot of buzz, but this perhaps is because the US team has not played yet. That situation is changing as we speak, as team USA is about to play Mexico in the opening round. Interest will pick up I suspect, as we get closer to the final rounds.

Around the camps the usual intrigue develops. Barry and the roids(what a great name for a rock band!) are back in the headlines, The Nats finally have a stadium deal, rookie sensations are popping up all over the place and opening day is firmly in sight. Fantasy players are scrambling to arrange their draft picks, cleaning crews are sprucing up the yard while mets fan pray to their respective gods and goddesses that this is the year all that money actually translates into victories. It’s just about here. Opening Day. Full of hope, every team has a shot, and glory is a split fingered fastball away.

A sad note from the diamond is the passing away at a shockingly young age of Kirby Puckett the hall of fame outfielder for the Minnesota twins. Puckett was one of those throwbacks who played the game with obvious joy and desire leading the unlikely Minnesota Twins to two world championships. His career cut short in 1995 by an errant Dennis Martinez fastball. After his eventual retirement and enshrinement in Cooperstown it came to light that Puckett had personal and health problems that have worsened steadily leading to his death from a stroke yesterday. Whatever his difficulties off the field, on it he was a career .310 hitter with six golden gloves and 10 all start selections to his credit. He strove to be his best every game and drove his teammates to achieve the same level. I can recall many times groaning as Kirby would step up to the plate late in a game with the Orioles leading by a slim margin as Puckett was an absolute oriole Killer during in tenure in the show. He played with greatness, he played with heart and he made the team and the game itself better. Would that we could all play with the same effort, desire and dedication. Good-bye Kirby.

A tear
Where the fuck did that come from
A trace of last nights gin, or perhaps last years sin?
A thought of a girl that got away
More likely a memory of one that chose to stay
Who the fuck knows
Rain falls, the feeling grows
A whirling vortex,days of falling prices
Nights of appeasing degenerate vices
Traces of thoughts of wasted chances
Mixed with up recall of the horizontal dances
That would lead once again to my demise
A blur of cards and broads and booze
Not very wise

A tear
A wet trial of formerly unfelt remorse?
Regret over the path of lifes course?
Fuck that, I don’t have the time for it
Just one day,one moment that’s tastes like shit
After all markets usually rally ,.and prices rise
and bars always open, a true degenrate never cries
fuck a tear

shakespeare in the pits

Mr. Ryans eloquent words on the bard got the brain cells tumbling around a bit as I have long had an enjoyment of Shakespeare’s writings and beautiful weaving of the English language. I have always thought there was much to learn from old Willie and I gave some though to just what life and market lessons we might learn from the eloquent Englishman.

To be or not to be

Far more just the tongue in cheek to buy or not to buy..although that is of course the central question we all deal with day in and day out. Both our own Dr. Brett and Ari Kiev both touched on the central to be or not to be in their highly suggested books on trading and psychology. To define yourself as a trader is not enough. What type of trader should you based on your own personality and psychological traits? Long term, short term, trend, counter trend. Each of us is wired a different way but genetics, life experience and belief systems. I can’t trade like lackey and he considers what I do the equivalent of watching paint dry. To trade or not is an important question; perhaps how do I trade is even more so.

Suggested reading:


The Psychology of Trading: Tools and Techniques for Minding the Markets (Hardcover)
by Brett Steenbarger

Trading to Win : The Psychology of Mastering the Markets (Wiley Trading) (Hardcover)by Ari Kiev

Oh, I am fortunes fool.

Romeo utters these words of dismay after killing Tybalt in angry vengeance for slaying mercutio. They apply equally to those who daily toil in the markets. There will be times when fortune in the form of the alluring mistress shall make fools of us all. No matter how much we run the numbers, count it out, study the Qs and Ks, read the charts and tea leaves, there will be some times when the fair lady just slaps the pure hell out of us. Unlike Romeos case this does not need to mean the end of everything and a poison kiss. If we are mentally prepared for the fact that dealing in probabilities means that at times we will be wrong and we will lose, we are able to deal with the inevitable setbacks that come our way. If we are truly studious and a little lucky we can learn to detect dame fortunes changing moods and lean back far enough to only be struck a glancing blow.

We are such stuff as dreams are made on.

Not to sound like a Pollyanna positive thinking guru, these words apply to traders more than many written by many of the so-called experts. What is it you dream about, that your are passionate about? Whatever it is if you learn to focus on the making the dreams a reality and are willing to learn the tools and take the risks, you can achieve it. Don’t think so? consider:

The son of a Brooklyn policeman grew to become our own Chair, a trader and businessman of extraordinary accomplishment. Others on the list grew up in housing projects, were high school dropouts, deep woods Virginia hillbillies, tank drivers,horse gamblers and poker players. Yet here they gather on the list having attained some measure of personal and intellectual success.

The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,But in ourselves

I have taken this slightly out of context,but only slightly and the bard is far too dead for too long to quibble with my doing do. But truly the fault is ALWAYS within ourselves. It’s not the market makers fault, the counter parties fault, our girlfriend/wife/parents partners fault. It’s not even the bartender’s fault. The blame rests not on the planetary alignment, the fibbonacci count, the super cycle or the failed head and shoulders. It is our own. We made a bad trade, a bad choice, a mistake, an error in judgment. Those who endlessly blame others for their shortcomings are doomed to worsen those very negative attributes that caused them harm. It is important to recognize our weaknesses and lapses and LEARN from them


All that glisters is not gold; / Often have you heard that told. / Many a man his life hath sold / But my outside to behold. / Gilded tombs do worms enfold."

It is these words in the golden casket that since the Prince of Morocco from the side of a relieved Portia in the Merchant of Venice. They are ever more true with the passage of time. They ring I suspect truest in the financial markets. Guaranteed returns. Sure thing stock tips. Infallible chart patterns. Nothing down real estate riches. Hers a few off just ONE of the popular trading websites

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Nothing can come of nothing: speak again."


There will no success if you don’t work for it. Learn,study,absorb,express and act. Do nothing, learn nothing, and achieve nothing. Even a lottery ticket costs a dollar.



Cowards die many times before their deaths,The valiant never taste of death but once

I have a very good friend who runs a good size value oriented hedge fund. He is wicked, wicked smart. In the early days he rang up mind-blowing numbers as we aggressive and independent. Now, overly influenced by the sage of Omaha he has become fearful and reluctant to take any risk less he lose his fund. He’s losing it anyway as investors leave unhappy with paying 20% of t-bill returns in fees. The whole concept of risk adjusted returns and high Sharpe ratios combined with single digit returns are absurd memes that constrain profits. One of the most important concepts I have learned on the list is to embrace risk and make it work for me in the markets as well as I have in life. Intelligent thoughtful risk taking is at the base of every great fortune and every grand achievement in the history of mankind. To be risk adverse is to miss the most important aspects of life.

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

I speak here not of the ghost of the late, lamented King of Denmark but of thoughts and ideas that are not your own. Here is a news flash, dear reader. You don’t know it all. Yours is not the only methodology that works, yours are not the only values with merit. To continue to learn and grow as a trader and person one must be willing to be exposed to different schools of thought. You don’t have to accept them of course, but it is wise to consider them before dismissal. There are a lot of truly bad ideas out there. There a few good ones. I am a value guy as everyone knows. I have learned more from the growth guys, short term traders and options junkies I vet met on the list than I ever could if I joined my close-minded value brethren and dismissed them before contemplating conflicting ideas and philosophies. I have learned more form his conversation and writings from the chair than anyone I ve ever met in my life and we all know his feeling on value. Read, discuss,study.Daily spec shows us that there are lessons ion ecology, crocodiles, the growth of trees, baseball and music that will add to our trading and our lives. You don’t know it all. Celebrate that fact.

The course of true love never did run smooth

Not love nor life nor markets runs smooth. There will be bumps and bruises along the way. (See, Melvin, marital history thereof for further proof of the statement) It will not always go our way. How we react to the upsets determines our eventual destination.

Oft expectation fails, and most oft there, where most it promises; and oft it hitsWhere hope is coldest, and despair most fits

Can you say reversion to the mean? When the crowd is the most excited, ala 1999, we are most likely set for a fall. In the depths of depression like 2002 it is probably time to bring out the canes. There are books written on this including two by the chair and others including list members so I ll expound no further.

Reading suggestions

The Education of a Speculator
Victor Niederhoffer
Practical Specualtion
Victor Niederhoffer and Laurel Kenner
Paving Wall Street
Ross Miller
The Winners Curse
Richard Thaler


This above all: to thine own self be true".

Be true to your beliefs, your values. Life live in such a fashion that at the end, you would consider it a work of art worthy of leaving to others. Sculpt you life as what you would have it be and life by your core beliefs and values.

Delays have dangerous ends.

Procrastination kills, especially in the markets. The ability to act and act quickly is crucial to success. Continual delay to rethink and study further leads to inertia and inactivity leads to failure

Small things make base men proud".

Take your joys in grand fashion. Leave reality television for the unwashed masses. Great music, great books and fine wines are the things that inspire us. To embrace the cheap and tawdry lessens us and does not teach nor inspire.

What 's gone and what 's past help should be past grief

Dwelling on past mistakes and failures is a fruitless pursuit. Study them learn from them and dismiss them. I once read of a study of elderly nursing home patients who were asked what they regretted out of their past. The vast majority regretted not their mistakes or errors but the things they had not tried. There is no shame in falling, nor in trying and failing. There is only shame in not rising again.

It occurs to be that I could do this for hours and end up with a book rather than a post. Perhaps at some point I shall do exactly that. In a most unlikely segue I ll close with a quote from Charles Bukowski that’s seems apropos for the traders life well lived

We are here to constantly defy the odds and live in such a way the gods tremble to take us.

There is much in the words of the bard to benefit our trading as well as our living. Thanks to Tom for kicking the brain into gear as well as suggesting the saccio lectures. I am ordering them posthaste

Ive got a luxury sedan,acartons of cigarettes and a radr detector..Im not scared

Im not scared........


Through a series of unfortunate adventures that go beyond even those of the much maligned Lemony Snicket, a very close and long time friend found himself living in what had been intended to be a vacation home in Naples Florida with most of his personal property scattered between new jersey and naples, the most valuable being the car(bmw525I), the boat (Irwin 46 ketch) and the leftover bar inventory (mostly gone now having been left in my custody) were here in Maryland under the tender car of yours truly.As reestablishing himself in a gainful occupation until the notes from the sale of his bar in Annapolis begin later this year kept him unable to obtain sufficient time to get his car back down to florida and his live in girlfriend was threatening bodily harm to bodily parts he wished to remain in relatively good condition if he didn’t stop using her car, I volunteered to bring the car down this past weekend.

Now lest one think this is a totally chivalrous and kind act on my part, you should know that I LOVE to drive long distances especially in a good car. I drive to New York every time I go simply because the elapsed time of the drive is similar to going to the airport, clearing security and finding a cab into Manhattan and I prefer to drive. I ll pick an off hour and just go..marland to parked in midtown in under 3 1/2 hours. When I had more time on my hands back in the days of my misspent youth I drove cross country just for kicks on several occasions. When I have something on my mind, or just need to get away..I drive.This was not exactly an imposition is my point. Driving down to florida in Feb was the joining of two of my favorite ways to send a self manufactured long weekend.

So at noon Thursday I set south. Leaving earlier would have meant dealing with the vestiges of the Dc rush hour and having to find an appropriate detour to avoid the mess that is the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. By delaying my departure, I avoided traffic hassles and was comfortably south of Dc in less than 35 minutes. I had all necessary supplies for the first part of the voyage, 3 packs of cigarettes, two large coffees, a diet coke a radar detector and some classic rock cds.Once through the mess that is Richmond, that fine southern collection of tobacco factories and gothic catholic churches( I assume they were catholic…your average protestant avoids worshiping in buildings that look like draculas weekend getaway) jammed right up next to the freeway, I settled into the I95 daytime rhythm, pacing myself to the fastest collection of trucks ,staying in the left lane and keeping an eye out for Virginias finest. I left the radio on news for the most part in the daylight hours so the rock and roll beat didn’t influence the gas petal and lead me to trouble too early in the voyage.The beamer rolled along at a leisurely 85 mph relaxed into the pace of traffic and I blew through Virginia in less than 2 and half hours into the comfortable confines of North Carolina.

for those of you have never done the drive through the fair tarheel state, it is a unique journey through the American mind. It is a toss up as to whether there are more Jesus loves you billboards or firecracker stands and all nude, all the time , open 24/7 combination diners and erotica boutiques. One assumes then that outside of time spent at basketball games worshiping either the heels, the wolfpack or the damn dukies, your average north Carolinian spend all his time either

In church

Blowing thing up

In nudie joints.

As tempting as the all nude, all the time open 24/7,breakfast served 24 hours place was, my only stop was at JRs discount cigarette outlet to replenish my supply at the lowest prices in the country.I loaded up on the nasty little things along with Tylenol…driving south in mid afternoon means the sun is ALWAYS in your eyes and can make for a killer headache…quick burger, gas and a large diet and back down the highway.

As the sun began to set I shifted into I95 night driving mode. This uses basic tools of deception and betrayal to wring the maximum speed out of the car. I settle into the pace of traffic and wait for the first “breakaway pack” to come by. It never takes along and here they come. A pack of 4 or 5 cars running together at a high rate of speed,usually with new york, new Jersey or Pennsylvania plates. I hit the pedal and drive the beamer right into the middle of the pack,theory being the cops will get the first or the last of the pack, but not all of us. Further I have a radar detector so at the first shrill warning that lasts more than 10 seconds, I drop out into the right lane and allow my fellow travers to take the tickets. Then its just a matter of settling in at pace..usually around 80..until the next breakaway comes along.
In this manner we raced along into south Carolina where speed limits are really more of a gentle suggestion anyway. The original plan called for taking a leisurely pace to the trip and stop halfway though the palmetto state breaking the drive into two even halves. Bu not now..I still had two cartons of cigarettes, plenty of gas, a radar detector and the greatest hits of Kiss rocking me down the road. I was set to rock and roll all night if need be. My only comment on south Carolina is that although I know it to be a beautiful state, by night on the highway it is as featureless as the surface of some far off planet that advertises new condos and gated communities every 7 and a half feet. They also have developed a way of hurling advertising at you without disturbing the local fauna. They simply build the billboards taller than the pines and palms and shine enough lights on them to shame a Hollywood premiere. Rather than stop I decided to keep going right on into florida before stopping for the night.

Passing through Jacksonville was a very nice surprise. I spent a lot of time there back in the late 70s and early 80 and recalled it a grubby, rundown north florida redneck kind of town. Viewed from the highway at least the town has revitalized nicely. They have outlined the bridges and building in muted colored lights, a mixture of blues,tropical greens and soft reds. The downtown waterfront area appeared to be alive with lights and activity I don’t recall from years gone by. I made a note to get back there at some point and spend a weekend to just to see how much it has changed.

I stopped for the night in st Augustine florida, a great little town of which I have many fond memories. I jumped off the road grabbed a room at country suites. Naturally, I selected the only exit containing only one open eatery, something called a huddle house, and no tavern where a thirsty traveler could seek respite from the road.For the less prepared this could be a problem. After a heary plate of steak and eggs at the aforementioned house of huddle..very similar to a waffle house the greatest chain of good eatin known to all mankind , except the signs are red instead of the traditional waffle house yellow, I returned to my room,cracked open the portable supply of potables, poured a famous grouse and spent a relaxing hour or two reading before drifting off to sleep.

The next days travel was uneventful for most of the first part of the trip, down to Daytona beach and then cutting over on interstate 4 through Orlando and into the greater tampa area. I did however provide some observations about the current state of the state of florida. The entire orange state economy rests on one of 5 pillars
The cocaine trade
Nascar
The bodily functions and healing thereof of thin blooded aging northerners
Golf
A certain mouse

They are building on every possible surface in central Florida.The state bird is the construction crane and the official vehicle is a backhoe. Orland now begins a good 40 miles west of downtown and is possibly the ugliest suburban sprawl in the united states today. The western side consists of cut rate motels for those who have to get the rug rats to Disney or never sleep with both eyes open again until the little snots go off to community college, the military or prison and office parks full of insurance agents peddling long term care fraud, holistic healing universities, medical parks and virtually every type of faux shaman and peddler ones mind could conjure. The west side of course is the home of the almighty mouse. Luxury hotels line the interstate on the west side..they are painted in every possible garish colors known to man and some beg the question of the possibilities of adding one more color without the collapse of the very building itself. They are garish, tacky, expensive…and full to capacity.If the economy is danger of slowing, someone forgot to tell the mouse chasers. The parking lots were jammed to capacity. The Disney influence shows even from the highway as even the support structures on overpasses and exit signs are all done up in a space or castle motif and the signs for fantasy land, waterparks and other places of great fun abound.The mouse and his minions rule west Orlando and you are not allowed to forget this fact for a millisecond.

The rest of the drive west was uneventful but I will pass along one warning. Never speed through lakeland florida. In the span of 10 miles in and around this fair town I counted 11 people pulled over being given tickets. It is the worlds largest speed trap. Apparently unable to generate the revenues of mousetown, they settle for picking the pockets of mouse bound travelers and returnees.

Along the trip down south 75 I did managed to work a little spec related activity into the trip. I met with esteemed fred crossman for a coffee break in Sarasota where he was down from the windy city visiting relatives and chatted about the markets and various trades that were and were not working,ways of adjusting methodologies to capture movements, particularly to the downside in overblown issues with enduring the colon removing agony of fighting the tape and the dimsonian drift..a very nice discussion of credit spreads for bear moves and selling puts on value issues under the palms outside a scenic checkers burger stand.

An hour or so down the road, I stopped in Cape coral for an hour or so to visit the lackey clan . I got a chance to sit canal side with james Lackey, the kerouac and Odysseus of the list. He talked of his plans to embrace his inner redneck and leave his little slice of heaven in Florida to relocate to Nashville in the future. Not sure I see it but to each his own. Talking to lack is best described as a hopeful experience. He posses an enthusiasm and excitement about life, and a happy determination to make his way through life on his own terms surrounded by the people he loves. One leaves lighthearted and aware of lifes possibilities.

Into Naples for a great weekend of fine dining and great drinking with an old friend. Long talks of days past and future plans, a little fishing off the pier and all too soon time to fly home from a great weekend..olots of driving, eating smoking, drinking and seeing some of my oldest, newest and greatest friends on the planet in deep florida in febuary.

Some observations from the road

I95 south of Virginia exists for only two purposes. To get the snowbirds to florida and turn as much of that Yankee money into the property of former members of the confederacy as possible Virtually every exit has an attraction, mini park, historic district or shopping outlet that I the worlds finest, states largest, lowest priced, grandest and greatest something or another that the weary traveler simply must see. Billboards for restaurants of dubious distinction, buffets of undefined quality and safety, strip joints, fireworks, cheap smokes, new condos, resort living, tumbledown motels..all are advertised and available virtually every mile along the way.

Naples Florida is one of the pretiesest towns in the united states. Beautiful beaches, wonderful dining establishments, interesting architecture and just a great atmosphere. All of this has combined to cause what will surely be serious issues in the future. The infrastructure simply cant handle the number of people in season. I would love to be a roads and highway contractor in southwest florida right now as they are feverishly trying to widen and improve roads.
However, building continues at a torrid pace.Every spare piece of ground in and around naples in under construction.I wont call for a burst in the bubble but the activity level reminds very much of the mid to late 80s in San Francisco

Property prices have gone from the absurd to the ridiculous..to the point that attracting service workers..bartenders, waitress, retail shop clerks and the like is becoming very difficult as they simply cannot afford to live within commuting distance of naples.

They are serious about the cigarette lighter thing on airlines. I had my zippo given to me by my son and threw it in my bag on the bottom without another thought. Naturally I ended up being drug out of line and subject to a bag search. I offered to retrieve it for them..but nope…all my dirty laundry was scattered on the tables so they could retrieve it.The little girl working the place treated as osama bin Melvin, calling the airline to make sure I did not check it through, although Im pretty sure that’s legal. My only alternative was to leave the secure area and go to the fed ex stand. Naturally..no envelopes. The guy working there was nice enough to offer to send it when he got to work tonight so hopefully hes hones. I have a tracking number so it will be interesting to see.next time I am wearing a turban, carrying a copy of the Koran and shout racial profiling the first time someone looks at me funny.Having ones unmentionables and dirty socks spreads in front of god and everybody is not a happy experience.

There is nothing like a long drive and good friends to clear ones mind and return the sense of optimism and love of life.Further, should you ever have a chance to sit and visit with crossman or lackey I advise you not to miss the chance. These two gentleman posses a wealth of knowledge and experience that has been of great benefit to many.

current spec list land speed record, annapolis to Naples
12.5 hours total elapsed driving time
average speed 90.34 mph

trip report

It started as these things with the simplest of statements, pure of intention and seemingly a wonderful idea.The current incantation of the one true love of my life ( for those of you following along at home, yes she’s back. Each time we split for a period, I patiently and resolutely stand my ground explaining all the logical, rational reasons we should not be together. Half an hour later I am drunk and naked and we are reunited once again Somewhere there is an explanation for this but I ll be damned if I have one) suggested we trip on down to the beach this past weekend to spend a little time hanging out enjoying a relaxing weekend. She wanted to visit some old friends who now lived down there, one of whom had heart surgery a few weeks and she promised the guys wife we d stop by to see them. Ok ay, I can go with this. I love the beach in the winter. Ocean City is fairly deserted, but the better eating and drinking establishments stay open. A couple of nice nights on the town, drinks by the fireplace at one of the beachfront establishment watching the eternal dance of sand and foam as the ocean crashes to shore, perhaps a little romance and hanky-panky. Perfect. Just what the doctor ordered for a cold winters weekend. Then. After I agreed that this indeed sounded like a wonderful idea she produced the hook, the buzz killer, the killjoy, the downer. By the way, she smiled sweetly, I found a place where we can take the dog with us.

THE DOG. The damn dog

Dog is too simplistic a term for this beast. How does one refer to a 130 pound spoiled rotten rottweiler with a temperament somewhat reminiscent of the offspring of a chance encounter between Attila the Hun and bozo the clown? She thought he was so cute when we adopted him from the pond fours years ago. I recall looking at this fur ball with paws the size of Amazonian snowshoes and thinking this dam dog is going to be big enough to eat a small village. And indeed he has. But in lieu of villages he has over the years developed a taste for steak, medium rare, seafood Norfolk, as well as turkey and dressing, hold the cranberry and eggs (scrambled) with bacon. I confess heartily and mightily to you, gentle reader,this is entirely my fault. She feeds him, at home, good old Alpo and pedigree and doggie treats.. Albeit by the forklift full. I have discovered however that a well fed dog will tend to sleep leaving me free to indulge my taste for non canine involved activities.I am not now ,nor ever have been, a pet person. Walking a dog first thing in the morning regardless of weather or hangover level does not make Tim’s list of really great things to do. The one and only time I ever had a dog I found myself in the air over the Midwest on a spur of the moment Vegas trip before I remembered that I forgot the dog.$125 of air phone minutes later I found someone to walk and feed him for the weekend. Upon return home I found him a more normal home where canines and their lack of opposable thumbs that leave them unable to operate a can opener or doorknob are more appreciated than in my humble abode. She,on the other hand, thinks that no home is complete without a dog and a cat in attendance. What in the hell it is about dog hair everywhere and a littler box that completes her sense of home escapes me, but nonetheless where she goes the rottenwilder goes. The dog is her protector and in the grand tradition of rotties loyal to her and her alone. If I want to argue with her while the rottenwilder is in a attendance I must go in the other room and close the door lest he be tempted to take her side and forcefully make the point that I am an idiot. She does so quietly. He does so in the manner and character of a 130 pound rottie. Much safer on the other side of the door. Lest I paint too bad a picture of the beast I confess that some 61.3% of the time I am fond of the slathering slack jawed terror and take amusement at his antics. He’s a good dog. I am not however a dog person but have learned to adjust…sort of.

So off we go on our grand adventure, piling into her expedition for the hour and a half trip to the beach. An uneventful journey on a late Saturday afternoon, a pleasant journey through the eastern ashore of Maryland arriving just about dinnertime. I am looking forward to checking in getting the dog settled and a nice steak and adult libation or two. We were staying at the Clarion resort and I really liked the place when I stayed there some years back for a convention. As a bonus, the Ocean Club with a nice bar and grand views of the rolling surf is in the hotel I am looking forward to a nice evening in spite of the winds that had started to gust and howl down the beach at rather impressive levels. I note as we cruise up Coastal highway that most of the hotels are virtually empty this colds winters night so it should be fairly easy to check into the hotel with our rottenwilder. This would of course be another time when such sunny optimism would be bitten squarely in the buttocks by the fickle jaws of fate. As we pulled into the clarion, the place was packed. The only place to even park was in the overflow lot on the other side of coastal highway. Two..count them folks, two conventions were in attendance at the only hotel in Ocean City that allows dogs over 25 pounds. To make it more interesting one was a gathering of faux bikers, a Honda gold wing club with little leather vests stretched tight over middle aged paunches, complete with various patches and pins like the real Harley riding types..as well as a gathering of sales reps for a well known cable company. True to form I felt fates teeth sink in deeper as virtually everyone in the hotel s was in the lobby for some fool reason. Now, the rottenwilder is not really mean but he does scare easily in crowds and he looks menacing as hell. The crowd parted in form that recalled a fellow named Moses and the red sea as I dragged the beast..and I must say that watching me at 155 pounds try to drag and cajole this mountainous animal anywhere is a scene funny enough to be worthy of a Jim Carrey movie.. but we did make it to the elevator without too much effort. A crowd of ladies in full evening apparel stepped off the elevator and stopped in a frozen second of shock and awe at the grand sight that greeted them. On their way to an elegant evening out they step to find themselves confronted by the hellhound of the youthful dreams. They tippytoe around our fair rocky the rottenilder and with a heave and ho worthy of a pyramid laborer of ancient Egypt I drag my current incantations faithful companion into the elevator while praying no one else gets on. Up to the sixth floor, into the room and sigh with great relief. Mission (temporarily) accomplished.

Now, to feed the monster who has settled in on the bed watching his favorite football team (for reason I cannot explain the dog favors the redskins..no accounting for taste), a quick change and down to the ocean club for dinner and drinks. I look forward to a pleasant evening. In doing so I have, naturally, again exposed my bare backside to the snarling jaws of the fates and furies.As we leave the room from the hallway we can hear it begin..the whimpering whine of our faithful rottenwilder upset at being left alone in unfamiliar circumstances building in tone and tempo until yes, there it is the culmination the full throated bark of a scared rottenwilder. Loud enough to equal the sound of intense artillery barrage, intense and consistent in nature. Loud enough surely to get us kicked out of a crowded hotel with thin walls. We will have to take him with us. So we replay the lobby scene of hustling the beast through a crowd of cable salesman and middle aged rice burning pretenders who view rocky as one might view the lost city of Atlantis or perhaps bigfoot showing up to sip martinis at a park avenue cocktail party.No wonder the dog has issues. Out to the truck dashing through temperatures dropping faster than Dorothy parkers knickers after the 4th martini and winds beginning to howl off the ocean with gusts of force equivalent to one of my ex wives tirades about what a worthless ne'r do well I am, we jumped into the truck and headed off to find an open dining establishment with the dogbeast settled comfortably in the back head on the center consol, a big old happy dog, where we going grin on his canine face. We both want a steak so we head to the Bonfire, park near the back. For his part Rocky settles happily in the back snuggled in his blanket and awaits our return. While we never leave him alone in the truck during warm weather, it’s nowhere near warm and the interior of the truck is fairly comfortable for him so it’s off to dinner. A decent steak and an Irish martini or two I’m feeling a little better about the evening.
Back to the truck, two satisfied diners and a happy rottenwilder. Now however comes the sweet smile and new idea. Lets take the dog down to the inlet for a quick walk on the beach. We ll just bundle up and it will be fine. He loves the beach, the cold and the exercise will wear him out. I’m a little dubious on this one, but you will note that this gentle suggestion contains no option to refuse. It has, in other words the force of one General Patton’s orders to advance upon Bastogne. No choice but into the breach for my little skinny Irish Butt.
We arrive at the pretty much deserted inlet and I bundle up to hop out and walk the beast. I note that she is fiddling with the heat and putting her Bon Jovi cd in the player. I ask her if she wants her coat and she gives me that look that women give their men when we say something incredibly stupid. I ll just wait here in the truck while you walk him..It looks like the wind might have picked up again. And indeed it has complete with sleet being blown sideways by gale force winds giving it the velocity and feel of charging a machine gun nest. But, ours is not to reason why. Ours is to walk the damn dog.
Out we go across the sand and the dog initially is overjoyed. He does love the beach and is impervious to cold. I move along behind him, taking furious fire from the blowing sleet and sand wondering if I ll least get a silver boyfriend star of perhaps even the coveted congressional medal of really good guy out of this when the dog takes off for the truck at light speed. My arm rips from the socket with a pop that is audible over the howling wind and I have to run full speed to keep up with him. He caught a wind driven burst of sand full in the face and does not wish to play any longer. So back to the hotel and play the lobby game again. At least now he doesn’t fear the elevator and it’s an uneventful trip.

Back to the room, feed the dog his leftover steak. Mix drinks. She turns on a movie and settles in. I sigh knowing this means I m going to miss the late game. She cashes in my medal earned in the fierce beach encounter and sends me off with her blessing to watch the football game down in the Ocean Club.FREEEEEDOM.

While sitting happily at the bar, Irish and water in hand, a nice bowl of peanuts and the Patriots losing to the Broncos ending the wearisome dynasty talk everytime they step on the field, I fell into conversation with a near retired high school technology teacher from central Maryland. As we talked, one he found out I’m involved in the markets he told me the typical tale of gruesome losses in 2001. He has since reinvested in and pyramided ocean city condos,. He proudly told me he now owns 4 of them. Rather than pay a property manager for seasonal rentals he rents year round. I figure this little move has saved him about 3 grand a year in fees and cost him about 10,000 annually in rentals. He confesses it is a negative cash flow situation. The words make me flinch internally as I cannot conceive of owning a rental property that didn’t cover the basic costs of ownership.He is not, in other words, a math teacher. More the kind of guy who cashes in his successful fund to do it himself at ameritrade and is thrilled by the low fees he is paying to lose all that money.We have a nice conversation but I cannot help but think that with the forest of for sale signs I saw along coastal highway earlier in the day and the 6 or 7 new condo projects in town that Ocean City was on the verge on a serious supply demand problem..one which happens here every decade or so…counting on appreciation to bail one out a negative cash flow condo empire is very,very close to owning The Internet Fund in 2001.Counting on the unlikely to continue forever seems to me to be a precarious retirement plan. He asks for no advice however and I offer none, content to enjoy the game and cocktail before me. I wont predict a dire real estate crash, but at least in ocean City , Maryland I think the basic laws of supply and demand will very soon spell the end of the bull market in vacation homes. Simply put the market is glutted with for sale and new offerings.


Back to the room. Guess who wants to go outside? Well..its not me, lets just put in that way. She of course is asleep. Off we go. Through the lobby out into the howling ocean winds. At least, the sleet has stopped. Replaced of course by snow. Down to the beach, run in frantic happy circle, do the necessaries, back to the room. At last sleep. Of course not. The hotel has run down in recent years and the sliding glass door is shaking and pounding in its frame due to the high wind it sounds like a small town theatre group doing the third act of rent. At long last however, sleep does indeed come. Until the 7am dog nose in ear that means its potty time again. I have never understood how the dog has always made the choice to wake me for his morning constitutional. IT”S HER DOG. But..no she sleeps blissfully unaware while I take the beast out into the cold morning. By now however, we re pros at this. Zip down to the beach back to the hotel. The rottenwilder does everything but push the elevator buttons . He has this down to a doggy science. He knows where the elevators are and which room is his.

The rest of the day is uneventful. We go to visit her friends, with the beast of course. He hangs out in the truck while I sit in a doublewide vacation palace that these folks sold a huge house in southern Maryland to move into , preferring to simplify and be near their kids. Who are over visiting. With all the grandchildren There are 17 people in the doublewide this day happily munching, chomping and chomping on everything in sight. I sit with the husband watching the colts game with a smoke and doggy walk break every hour or so. I am grateful I have to walk the dog. The noise level in the doublewide is akin to the Old Cole field house during a Maryland duke game. I start to get the feeling that there is perhaps too much blood in my alcohol system to withstand too much more of this. Happily after a brief 5-hour visit she is ready to go.
Repeat hotel and beach walk. Get dressed. Repeat lobby. Load dog , off to dinner. Not much open on a Sunday night in the resort down but happy surprise we trip across Fresco a very good Italian place still open. The food is top rate, the service first class. A very nice surprise. Even rocky gave his leftover penne with crab two paws up. Down to Duffy’s tavern to watch the bears game and then home again to out hotel.Monday was uneventful except for a nice stroll down the boardwalk in the now warmish winter sun with a surprisingly well behaved rottenwilder before departing for home.

Some weekend observations:

The Indianapolis Colts once again proved that the avoidance of risk is often not the right solution. By resting their starter for the last few games, they basically went a month without experiencing the fierce competition that is NFL football, They lost an edge that cannot only be obtained in games, not practice. They were flat, they made mistakes they had not made all season. By sidestepping injury, they instead gained rust.And as Neil young pointed out rust never sleeps especially in the playoffs.

The Steelers also came very close to proving that abandoning a steady aggressive approach that works in order to play not to lose is also a bad idea. After punishing manning the first 3 qtrs with a powerful pass rush from 4 down lineman, they went to a nickel back and 3 down lineman. Manning almost beat them because of it. One shoestring tackle missed and the Colts would have come back from down 21-3 to win the game. On the last drive Cowher wised up and went back to 4 down lineman and played not to win rather than not to lose forcing Indy to try a long field goal to tie.

Bringing us to the point..Sometimes it just not going to go your way. Indoors there was no way Vanderjagt misses the field goal 99.7% of the time. But the .03 does have a way of biting you sometimes.Indoors,at home the best kicker in the NFL missed it. Nothing you can do about it except be aware it happens, pick up and move on. They are a great team and next year awaits.Bad trade? It happens. Move on or you will surely suffer more of the same in rapid fashion.

When its crunch time the great ones step up. The Carolina Panthers did not beat the bears. Steve Smith did. He was unstoppable and the bear defense, the best in the league all year simply had no answer for him. After losing the NVL mvp and top runner in Shawn Alexander, matt hasselback stepped in the void and simply outplayed the redskin defense.

If like the bears you intend to win by great defense and low risk offense, falling behind means having to alter your game plan in such a way that defeat is inevitable. Once again playing not to lose may get you to the playoffs. It will not however win championships. To lift the Lombardi trophy on the field, in the market or in life one must be prepared to risk it all occasionally. In upsetting the colts, the steelers went for several 4th down attempts..something the conservative cowhers never does. But this was the playoffs.

Don’t bother with the Clarion resort in Ocean city unless traveling with a large canine forces you to do so. They seem to have the attitude that since they have a conference center they will attract business regardless of amenities or upkeep. The rooms are not kept up, the beds are undersized and horrendously uncomfortable. There are several other conference centers in town and a new one being built by Hilton. I suspect they begin to lose business rather rapidly with a resulting overhaul of property and managers. Having a near monopoly does not mean you will always hold the market if you don’t satisfy the customers.

Do go to Fresco if you re ever in OC. In the midst of all the all you can eat buffets and hamburger joints this place is a delightful surprise. So if you re a t the beach take one night and treat yourself.

Those who do understand the basic concepts of their investments and merely chase the current fashion are doomed to failure. My school teacher friend from thre ocean club would be cashflow positive and better able to withstand a slowdown had he been willing to pay a property manager to handle his rentals. Likewise owning all tech funds in your retirement plan in 2000 indicates that one follows the herd and expects ths lion to never show. Lions like to eat. They always show up

Lastly…Never let your girlfriend go to a pound where they have cute rottenwilder puppies unless you like 6 am walks on a snowy beach.

from a list sent out suggesting purchase on nov 21 I suggested the following stocks for the yr end rally..they were slected using the criteria laid out in greenblatts book and then rerun through my valuation and insider/institutional activity screens
bebeclctcttdhbftdkfyntgrpbhpmd
return so far is 10.05 on a dollar wieghted purchase..triple the nasdaq 3.02 since then,4 times the sp 500.Using the concept of selling options on these type value situation, they are ll still above the next strike down I would have sold at.....
naturally the market was in a much better spot for buying in late novemebr than we have here after the mini rally of december so a tad more caution is called for but I do have an interest in selling the following to establish longs
kfy..sell the march 17.50 puts for .4
ceco sel the feb 30 for 1.3
ftd feb 10 for .5(take some patience for this to happen)
chk feb 30 for .6
stocks from the value line 1-2 under 10 that I think we should write on as well( another highly volatile stellar year for this strategy last year with +22% with puke inducing drawdowns along the way....I think makes perfect for put selling strategy...get put the stocks in vomitus period,sell ensuing rally
sell the io feb 7.5 for .6
would like to open positions in skil,scmr and arba off this list but need pullback to do so..picking my spots carefully here as i think the straight up rally since first of yr leaves us vulnerable.
would be a buyer of remc liquidation below 1.25 as I think there is at least 1.50 in the deal

Gmail is now blocked from our office computers as it consumes toomuch bandwidth, so it was not until I arrived back at my abode I foundthe ridiculous email being circulated entitled 50 things girls need toknow about guys..A veritable laundry list about whatsecretly,sensitive touch feely types men really are, who could neversurvive without the aid of a woman.I was so inspired by this genderblending pyscho-babble, I decided to share my true feelings and listmy own version of things women need to know. Being male and able tostate a point without useless verbage, heres the 25,down from 50,things women really need to know:

1. be naked often
2. bring scotch
3. make sure its the right brand
4. no talking during the game unless its a request for wild sex
5.I dont want to know your friends.
6. my friends dont like you but I dont care as long as you zealously practice #1
7. You re still not coming with us when we go drinking.
8. Inviting me to one of your family gatherings is an invitation todisaster..unless they are all literate drunks as well
9.No, I dont think I drink too much.
10. If you dont like the fact that I smoke, the door is at the bottomof the stairs. Please give your key to the next girl
11.If you hear me talking about margin calls the proper response is tostrip and make me a drink.
12. same with getting kings cracked by aces.
13. I dont care if your mother likes me..in fact I d prefer she didnt.
14.Yes, you look fat in that dress..take it off and get over here.
15.do not put light beer in my refrigerator
16.If Im hungover..you re on top
17.there is no such thing as too much sex.they dont wear out ya know.
18. Acording to the actuarial tables, I only have around 11,315 moredays to go.Why are you still dressed?
19.Please do not invite your sister and her newbaptist/mormon/temperance union founder over for dinner.It wll not endwell no matter how nice a guy he is.
20.Yes, I really bet the house.get busy packing would you.
21.Oral sex is not yucky or for special occasions. It is mandatory and now would be a good time to start.
22.Yes, in fact I am having another drink.
23.When my friends call drunk at 2am, I am going to answer it. I do itto them all the time.
24.If you suffer from PMS,please go visit friends until it passes
.25.The proper way to discuss your feelings and our relationship is to be nude and proffer a drink before commencing.That way I can stare atyour nether parts and drink enogh to drown out your whining.