Omakase

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Study: Politicians Are Abnormally Good Stock Pickers. Hmmmm....

House representatives are up +6% annually over the market in a study of 16,000 trades over 16 years. Senators were even better.

+6%/yr is ludicrous performance. How can it be that people who can't balance the budget can pick winning stocks?

Hmmmm........is it that they're trading on insider info, steering federal spending towards their favorite stocks, or getting 'hot tips' whispered in their ear?

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Another picture show n' tell

Here's one of my favorite shots from my frequent trips into the Blue Ridge mountains. This particular shot is a view southeast from Calvary Rocks in the Shenandoah National Park. (Click to enlarge)

Even today, I can't tell definitively how many ridges are in this picture. Infinity might not be inaccurate.


The view is accessed from the Riprap Trail - one of my favorites having done it at least 3 times (including at least 1 full 10 mile circuit where I saw 6 different black bears, getting to within ~50 feet of a family of bears, as you can see in this pic:

With my new friends on the Great Wall of China

With my new friends on the Great Wall of China
Click to go to my online photography

World sun clock

Uncommon Man's Creed

"I do not choose to be a common man. It is my right to be uncommon -- if I can. I seek opportunity -- not security. I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by having the state look after me. I wish to take the calculated risk; to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed. I refuse to barter incentive for a dole, I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existence; the thrill of fulfillment to the stale calm of utopia. I will not trade freedom for beneficence, nor my dignity for a handout. I will never cower before any master, nor bend to any threat. It is my heritage to stand erect, proud, and unafraid, to think and act for myself, to enjoy the benefit of my creations, and to face the world boldly and say, "this I have done." All this is what it means to be an American." -- Anonymous