10/5    This American Life has a great (and extremely scary) podcast on
        the commercial paper market, credit default swaps, and the current
        financial armageddon.  Worth an hour of your time...
        http://www.thislife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=365
        \_ one important mistake early in the program:
           the host says no one wants to buy MBS/CDO.  This is not correct.
           the banks don't want to sell them at market prices, because then
           they wouldn't have assets to mark to model with.  so, the govt
           gives them free money and everyone's golden.
           \_ Most of the program was about CDS, not MBS.  This is an
              important distinction.
              \_ true.  but he can't fuck up the MBS/CDO intro.
        \_ also, if you have iTunes go look up Bloomberg on the Economy
           podcast, the one with Nouriel Roubini last week.  It's even better
           IMO.
           \_ Is that the NYU economist who thinks we're all headed for
              the Stone Age next year?  That guy is really depressing.  I
              hope he's not right.
              \_ Stone Age?  He said in the show that he's long equities and
                 does not believe in timing the market.  Go listen.  What have
                 you learned about trading stocks if not:  Don't get emotional.

10/5    http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aQdenm7JAur8
        35-year-old former Goldman VP Neel Kashkari to head new dept in charge
        of $700B bailout fund - known as The Office of Financial Stability
        \_ ob he worked in the IT department! -op
           \_ did he really?
              \_ http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE4950BS20081006
              \_ No. He worked in IT investment securities.
           \_ He should hire Angry Sysadmin to help him.

10/5    Sandstorm:
        http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-104761
        \_ Reminds me of Burning Man.

10/6    Jim Cramer:  All Your Stock Are Belong To Us
        http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27045699
        \_ Any money you need in the next five years does not belong in the
           stock market. This is always true, not just today.

10/6    Does Scotland need sysadmins?

10/6    Stock tip 3:  Ask your professional financial advisor how "LEH CDS
        settlement this Friday might affect my portfolio".  If he doesn't
        know what you're talking about ...

10/6    This golfer's gotta be putting on a show to promote himself among the
        rich and gaymous.
        http://preview.tinyurl.com/3jzrtp (Yahoo News photo)
        \_ Wow aren't you clever.
        \_ Wow aren't you clever.  Dude is a professional athlete with
           good looks so in your jealousy you decide he is some effeminate
           freak and not a "real man" so you can feel better about your lazy
           slovenly life.  Your homophobia is as ugly as your jealousy.

10/6    Hannity doesn't mind anti-Semites, as long as they don't like Obama!
        http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/10/05/hannitys_witness_exterminate_j

10/6    I heard on the radio this morning that the bailout was to help banks
        and not to help my 401(k).  Why didn't they tell me this LAST WEEK?
        </troll>

10/6    Prosper update: right now I have 15 delinquent loans. If they all
        go into default, my profit this year will be 0.3%, which will make
        this my best performing investment.
        \_ How many loans do you have in total?
        \_ Look at /tmp/prosper* if you're interested in some analysis I did
           earlier this year.

10/6    How do i get in on the Office Of Financial Stability?
        \_ Call Barney Frank or George Soros.
        \_ http://www.buymyshitpile.com
        \_ Give $2000 to Bush for President and get your wife to do it too:
           http://tinyurl.com/4dm6ft
           http://preview.tinyurl.com/4oex87
           (I can't believe this guy lives in Redwood City...)
           \_ Which Bush?  Jeb Bush?
              \_ Did you look at the URL? It is pretty clear.
                 \_ Oh, it's year 2004.  I see.

10/6    Why is drafting behind semi trucks dangerous?  I'm thinking it's not
        dangerous because my car's brakes should perform better than the
        semi's.  So if the semi hard-brakes for whatever reason, my car should
        be able to slow down quickly enough.  OTOH I think a semi following me
        is more dangerous, because if I hard-brake, the semi probably can't
        slow down quickly enough.
        \_ Trucker is higher than you, and can see danger up ahead, while
           blocking YOUR view of the road ahead.  He can react.  If he reacts,
           you have a high risk of getting in an accident.  Don't tailgate
           big trucks.
        \_ Because you can't see around the truck, your reflexes are not
           as good as think they are, the truck is wide enough that an
           emergency swerve around the truck is harder, and if you it
           emergency swerve around the truck is harder, and if you hit
           a truck at speed you pretty much go splat.
        \_ Truckers hate it when you do this. -son of a Truck Driver
           \_ Did your parent explain why?  Thx.  -- OP
              \_ obviously because you are a low visibility
                 tailgater and are now yet another variable
                 in their "defensive driving". no doubt also
                 truckers are irritated when they keep extra
                 braking distance between themselves and the
                 car in front and other aggressively cut in
                 front into the gaps. i have sympathy for
                 truckers. but not for say people driving other
                 low-vis vehicles like humvees ... i am a lot
                 less likely to let one merge in front of me.
                 \_ Roger that. -TDS
           \_ Having seen cars squashed by trucks, I'm not interested in saving
              a few gallons.
        \_ I totally support drafting behind trunks. FIRST you'll save
           a lot of gas and save the environment. SECOND if you die
           doing so you'll stop polluting the environment completely
           as well as erasing your dumb gene. Go for it.

10/6    McCain: "Who is the real Barack Obama?" Crowd: "TERRORIST!"
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buyVS9fRqkw
        \_ The GOP has become its own self-parody.

10/6    http://tinyurl.com/3nx4j8
        Objectivist titan smites American CEO at gym

10/6    Crazed lefties hassle perfectly fine American CEO:
        http://preview.tinyurl.com/53haac

10/6    A question for the Mac geeks out there. I bought a new SDHC Card for my\
        camera and find that my card reader will not read it. Its identical in
        size and shape to smaller cards (.e.g. 1G) which are read just fine.
        I checked the Belkin web site to no avail. I am guessing that this
        is just an update to the driver involved ?
        \_ Does your card reader claim to support SDHC? SD and SDHC have the
           same form factor but your hardware needs to physically support it.
           IOW, no, it may not just be a driver update.
                 No it does not say SDHC on it. I assumed (wrongly) that since
                I bought it from the Apple Store two weeks ago that it would
                at least support the format. I guess I am SOL since I opened
                the packaging too. (Grumble). Thanks for the info

10/6    I was only 9 when Obama's friend tried to kill me.
        http://www.city-journal.org/2008/eon0430jm.html
        \_ Either you believe this attack has any validity and are therefore
           too stupid to breathe or you reek of desperation and flop sweat.
           Which one is it?
        \_ So what are you conservatives going to say when a friend of the WU,
           a reknowned Marxist and the most liberal member of the Senate wins
           the Presidency in a landslide? Will you finally admit your ideology
           a Marxist and the most liberal member of the Senate wins the
           Presidency in a landslide? Will you finally realize your ideology
           is destined for the junk bin of history?
           \_ Funny words from a guy who has to keep pulling his ideology
              out of the dustbin.
              \_ That was non-responsive, but I can answer the question for
                 you, if you like, because I have spent the time and effort
                 to figure out what makes Conservatives tick.
        \_ How old were you when Ayers co-authored an Annenberg grant that
           netted nearly $50m over five years for the ailing Chicago school
           system? How old were you when he became a Distinguished Prof at
           UI Chicago?
           \_ So murder is okay in your eyes if you get some grant money?
                \_ Murder is always OK so long as you're one of the wealthy
                   elite.  OJ Simpson and the Bush Administration are proof.
              \_ No one was killed or even hurt by Ayers.
                 \_ So attempted murder is okay?
                 \_ Tell that to Diana Oughton
                    \_ "Oughton died in an explosion on March 6, 1970, in the
                        Greenwich Village townhouse explosion in New York
                        City, when a bomb she was constructing with Terry
                        Robbins accidentally detonated, destroying the
                        building and killing her, Robbins, and Ted Gold."
                        Waiting for explanation of Ayers' guilt here.
                        \- Nice of Hillary Clinton [the extreme liar]
                           to lay the groundwork for MCCAIN INC on this
                           one ... rewatch the PA Debate [sic] ...
                           "Barak, people died".
           \_ The $50M went to typical radical causes.  And even CNN has called
              Obama a liar on this.  Check out Anderson Cooper:
              http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvROBLortBQ
              \_ CNN's called Obama a liar on what?
           \_ $50 mil he completely wasted which did no good for any student.
              There's a recommendation!
              \_ Dude, he raised the money; if it was squandered, look to the
                 Administrators.
                 \_ You mean Obama?
                    \_ You mean you think Obama was the Superintendent of the
                       Chicago Unified School District?
                       \_ No, he was the chairman of the Chicago Anneberg
                          challenge.  He decided when the money went.  Sorry,
                          we've been over this before, and I don't have time
                          right now.  Go look up where Obama spent the $100
                          million.  It's very interesting.
                          \_ Yeah it is interesting and it looks like it was
                             a good experiment. How many billions get wasted
                             every week on Bush's little "experiment" in Iraq?
                             I would rather spend the money here, trying to
                             improve Chicago schools, but this is an area where
                             we obviously differ.
                             \_ Nice red herring.  In any case, those who
                                are stupid in small things, are also stupid
                                in large things.
                                \_ You mean like the Bush/McCain/Palin ticket?
                                   \_ No, like you apparently.  Sheesh. Bush/
                                      McCain/Palin ticket. Really.
                                      \_ You are right, I forgot Cheney.
        \_ Dittohead Desperation Level: Red
           \_ what is the level beyond Red?
             \_ There's a Paranoia joke here, but I'm too drunk to make a
                good one.  Damn you beer.