1/16    Test 123?

1/16    Here's an amusing piece: "Ten Recurring Economic Fallacies"
        http://www.mises.org/story/1568
        \_ He does well up until his final paragraphs, where he goes off
           the rails.
           \_ Yeah, I actually stopped reading there. -op

1/16    Resume question:
        I worked for a company which is publically traded now, but was not
        when I worked there (it has grown a lot). Around the time it went
        public it changed names. Should I list it on my resume as what it
        was called when I worked there or what it is now (which would be
        more recognizable)? Same with companies that merged.
        \_ Just list both. X (formerly Y), X (now Y), or whatever floats
           your boat.
        \_ Resumes become a blur after a while.  Unless I know the company
           name I don't care.  I look for skills and specific projects
           completed.  If I see someone was at a company for 2 months but
           claims a long list of stuff, eh.  If they were at a company for
           many years and claim nothing, eh.  Unless you built the company,
           the name doesn't matter much (to me).
           \_ You just contradicted yourself: "Unless I know the company
              name I don't care." That would imply using the better known
              company matters, not that you don't care.
              \_ Where is the contradiction?  You pulled one line completely
                 out of context.  Did you skip everything else just looking
                 for a nitpick fight?  Rather than assume you're evil I'll
                 keep it simple for you: put the big company name on there
                 somewhere but it won't matter if you didn't do anything
                 interesting or valuable no matter what company it was.
                 \_ Now, now. Don't be a bad sport.
                    \_ Resumes are not a sport.
                 \_ Read your second sentence. Read your last sentence.
                    Notice a contradiction?
                    Notice a contradiction? Hint: Assume you do know the
                    company name of the post-merger company and not the
                    name of the pre-merger company.
                    \_ Read the whole thing in context.  You're still picking
                       out lines.  I've said what I had to say.  It will or
                       will not help the OP.  We're done.
                       \_ Picking out lines that contradict even within
                          the context. Do you care about the company names
                          or not?

1/16    Motd post count:
        2004: 6634
        2005: 5540
        2006: 4331
        2007: 3355
        At this rate, motd^H^H^H^Hsoda will cease to exist by year 2010. Motd
        is dying.
        \_ What about line counts?
           \_ Yeah, heaven knows we get some long winded rants these days.
        \_ So, what else is new?  I can't believe I still post here, but I
           don't have a good alternative.  Really, how many people post on the
           motd these days?  10? -jrleek
           \_ I'd guess 9.5
              \_ Can we get a 9?  How about an 8.5?  Is there an 8.5? 8.5!
                 8! 8!  Is there a 7.5? 7.5?  Going once... twice... 8!
           \_ At least 20, according to Kevin's tracker at http://csua.com. -ausman
        \_ Evidently, any remnants of csua sysadmining ability is dying,
           based on soda's uptime.
           \_ When uptime < downtime... sigh.  I'll bet the office ps2 is
              working though.
        \_ Quality not quantity is where its at.
        \_ It's obvious that the MOTD and wall don't connect with current
           undergraduates.  They probably should be replaced by something
           that does.  -tom
        \_ Current undergrads are too busy writing in their blogs.
           \_ ^blogs^facebook

1/16    Soda still down. (9:54am)
        \_ Why is it so unreliable? Hardware? A Linux system should not be so
           fragile.

1/16    ok i have date with hot 30 year old Mormon.  I say 'HOLY CRAP'
        and 'GOD!!!!' a lot.  I want to avoid saying such offensive
        blasphemous things.  What are some good Mormon-safe
        interjections?  ok tnx.
        \_ Monkeyballs
         \_ Hey, that's my word.  Make up your own damn words.
        \_ frack
         \_filger-carb
        \_ GM Chrysler! Holy Smith! (see what I did there?)
        \_ Good thing soda came back up! What did you trolls do while it was
           down?
        \_ Uhm, how about simply thinking before opening your mouth?  If maybe
           you scorched your hand on the stove and let out a few instant
           curses, well hey, your hand just got charred, but during normal
           conversation why are you cursing if you don't want to?  Just don't.
        \_ I occasionally use 'oh, bother', from Winnie-the-Pooh.   I think it
            gets shock value from its tame-ness.
        \_ Oh, golly, if that doesn't put the shaz in shazam.
           \_ SHA-ZAM!!!!  Ker-pow!  THOK!  WAMMO!
        \_ Why is 'GOD!!!!' offensive to Mormons?
        \_ "Oh my wives!"
           \_ Taking the Lord's name in vain.
        \_ "Oh my Wives!"

1/6     They Dare to Speak Out: People and Institutions
        Confront Israel's Lobby
        http://tinyurl.com/3cxpte

1/16    Nikkei 225 back to lows of 2001-2005 and 1986.  Dang.  I thought
        stock markets of developed countries were supposed to return more
        than a savings account over 22 years!
        \_ If you cherry pick your dates, then no it won't.  If you cherry
           pick the other way you'd be a zillionaire.
           \_ i guess we're supposed to wait 40 years?
              \_ No, you're supposed to not cherry pick the dates.  Or better
                 yet, just put your money in your piggy bank.
        \_ If you are really interested in this topic, I suggest that you
           read _Stocks_For_The_Long_Run_ by Siegel. Plenty of developed
           countries stock markets have gone all the way to zero, usually
           after they lost a war. If you held German stocks from 1933 to
           1945, you were pretty unhappy. On the other hand, if you bought
           the Nikkei back in 1950, you are still sitting on a very impressive
           gain. The Nikkei is *still* not back to where it was in 1989, so
           yes, you can cherry pick dates and demonstrate practically anything.
           Diversification and a long term view are essential for success
           investing, especially passive investing, like the stock market.
           You should not have money in stocks that you need in the next
           20 years. -ausman
        \_ Guys, conventional wisdom is that you should invest in a market
           index and hold x years, and you're virtually guaranteed to do okay.
           What is "x" for returns better than a savings account / CD / bonds?
           -op
           \_ Wrong assumption.  The stock market gives you likely better
              returns than a more conservative option like a CD, with
              a probability curve that starts at x and rises towards 100%
              over time.  -tom
              \_ Also you have to diversify to prevent being really
                 screwed when one sector/company/country tanks for 20 years.
              \_ what do you estimate the probability of a market index
                 outperforming CDs is for x = 30 years?  do you have a sweet
                 spot for x?  let's also assume we are moving from stocks
                 to bonds/safety as we get older, also as CFPs suggest.
                 to bonds/safety as we get older, as CFPs suggest.
                 \_ You could estimate this by looking at historical
                    30-year returns and seeing how many of those
                    periods resulted in returns less than 5%/year
                    average.  I expect that probability is very low, less
                    than 10%.  -tom

1/16    http://eastbayhousingbubble.blogspot.com/2008/01/sfh-2007-data.html
        Housing Bubble in 2008! Watch it go down!
        \_ good thing I bought my East Bay house for $265K in 1999.
           \_ $297K in 2000 and $460K in 2003.  Both in Fremont.
        \_ Where can I find similar info about The City and Peninsula?
        \_ It's interesting that the average prices per sqft are high for some
           places because they are good neighborhood (e.g. Fremont), while
           they are high for other places because they are densely populated
           (e.g. Berkeley).

1/16    enough about Mormons.  here have a Scientology Katie Holmes
        Kanye West no bra jacket NYC marathon conspiracy!:
        http://harlemrunner.blogspot.com/2008/01/katie-holmes-dave-letterman-nyc.html
        \_ She needs a bra?  She doesn't look like there is much that needs
           support.
           \_ I haven't seen the url, but she recently had a baby, right?