10/9    Obama got the Nobel Peace Prize for:
        -not starting a war?
        -promising to not start a war?
        -for doing nothing?
        -rand()
        \_ Holy christ!  I voted for him and I like him and everything, but
           what has he finished doing that deserves the Prize???
           \_ he hasn't started a war. Peace out!
        \_ http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/10/09/so_what_did_obama_do_to_get_the_nobel_peace_prize

10/9    Will Glen Beck's head explode?
        \_ Oh, I'm sure he'll rant and rave.  What else is new?
           Of course, giving Obama the peace prize is dumb, but it's a step
           up from Al Gore.  At least a dozen steps up from Arafat.
           \_ Kissinger beats them all.
              \_ Kissinger stunk, but worse than Arafat?  I dunno. That's close.
                 Granted, Kissinger was well before my time.
                 \_ I think massive secret bombing of Cambodia is a lot
                    worst than anything Arafat may have done.
           \_ Arafat, Peres and Rabin shared the prize in 1994 for bringing
              an end a 50 year long war between Egypt and Israel and finally
              bringing lasting security to Israel. Two of the three were
              assassinated by extremists from their own country in the next
              decade. Arafat himself was the subject of an assisnation attempt
              decade. Arafat himself was the subject of an assassination attempt
              for his work. It was actually one of the clearest cases in history
              where the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to people to really
              deserved it. The wing-nut brigade in the US hates the award,
              but they hate the idea of Peace period.
        \_ Which one do you want to go away if you had just one choice:
           Glenn Beck or Ann Coulter?
             \_ Michelle Malkin
           \_ I love them both. "Never interrupt your opponent when he is
              making a mistake."

10/7    So the value of my aggregate retirement accounts is at an all
        time high. How are the rest of you doing, did you ride out the market?
        \_ I haven't checked after this week's activity yet, but I'm probably
           down about 20% from my peak.  Still happy with pretty much
           everything I own.  -tom
           \_ I am about the same, A little over 20% down from my peak,
              However, I am not happy with everything I own.  Tom, what
              are you holding these days?  Any inflation hedges? -crebbs
              \_ I've put a fair amount of money into overseas stocks;
                 doing quite well with EWZ (Brazil index).  That's a dollar
                 inflation hedge, though not a world inflation hedge.
                 HRP has been doing very well, and my long-term big holdings
                 as well (AAPL, AMZN, GOOG).  I really haven't bought or
                 sold anything of significance.  -tom
                 \_ Yeah I have some CH (chile) which  has done o.k. for similar
                    reasoning to your EWZ.  I foolishly sold my HRP. -crebbs
                    \_ Just checked: I'm down about 19%.  -tom
                 \_ You know that EWZ is 23% PBR and 15% VALE, right? -ausman

10/9    http://deals.venturebeat.com/2009/10/09/university-of-california-grows-its-incubators
        It's about time you pathetic U.C. incubators

10/9    "Iconic Hummer brand sold to Chinese manufacturer - Yahoo! Finance"
        http://www.csua.org/u/p9c
        Now the Chinese has blueprint of the workhorse vehicle of our military.
        \_ You know what?  It's a stupid workhorse.  We shouldn't be
           using hummers for strikes anyway
           going
           \_ I heard what's good about the HMMWV is that it's highly
              configurable, and perhaps only the Unimog is better in this
              regard.  To me, it doesn't even have a level front hood that can
              be used as a table, which was a requirement for the MJ's.
              \_ Mind you, milspec Hummers are great for breaking up kidney
                 stones. Those shock absorbers? Definitely an after-market
                 add-on.