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Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
New search engine called ZOTSPOT. It pays you to use it! It's as good as google in all criterias ( speed, accuracy and so on) and moreover it has referral system and pays some cash for doing a search. Try it out for yourself!
ZOTSPOT

Happy searching!

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
Threaten us with a ban of our ip's eh?

Let's have the poll determine who should get Da'ax!

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
Greenspan says dollar now sharing stage with euro

Thu Oct 26, 6:02 PM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Thursday that both private investors and central banks were shifting away from the U.S. dollar and toward the euro.
"We're beginning to see some move from the dollar to the euro, both from the private sector ... but also from monetary authorities and central banks," Greenspan told a conference sponsored by the Commercial Finance Association.
His comments pushed the dollar down, a sign that Greenspan, who retired from the U.S. central bank in January, still holds some sway in financial markets.
As he had done repeatedly when he led the central bank, Greenspan said it was imperative for the United States to resist protectionist pressures that could make an unwinding of the large U.S. current account trade gap economically painful.
"We'll get to the point at some point that willingness to finance it will slow, and if you can't finance it, it won't happen," Greenspan said of the broad trade measure.
He said, however, that if the economy remained flexible, the adjustment "should have very little effect on production and capacity."
Greenspan warned, however, that if the United States threw up barriers to isolate itself from the pressures of globalization, "the adjustment process could be a little bit more problematic."




link:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061026/...an_dollar_dc_4


odd how things come full circle over a long enough time frame- a link to Greenspan's famous "gold and economic freedom" essay from 1966, pre Fed days.

http://www.321gold.com/fed/greenspan/1966.html

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
CAIRO, Egypt A new audio tape from al-Qaida in Iraq claims the group has mobilized 12-thousand fighters in the wartorn country.

Al-Qaida in Iraq's leader, Abu Hamza al-Muhajir (AH'-boo HAM'-zah ahl muh-HAJ'-ur), says those fighters have "vowed to die for God's sake."

He also describes President Bush as "the most stupid president" in U-S history and says his group is winning faster than expected in Iraq.


http://www.fox21.com/Global/story.as...61537&nav=2KPp

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
So I see this post on a boating forum I hang out on and I couldn't stop laughing for a few minutes, the responses this poor guy got from people unfamiliar with what the guy meant to say...

have a 2001 240efi 20 foot challenger. The first time that I start the boat each time we go boating it starts up just fine, but after a couple of hours of turning it on and off during normal use, it eventually wont start back up again. It has plenty of battery and sounds like it is cilcking over fine, but it sounds like not enough gas is getting to the engine. I have had 2 dealers look at it, i have had the lanyard checked, but no one knows what the problem is. The boat always starts back up after about 40 to 50 attempts and has never left us totally stranded, do I need a new fuel pump? When the boat is on it runs like a raped date

Maybe it's just me but that butchering of 'raped ape' was literally lol

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
I must be stupid, how do you ask Jim about a stock? I'm not seeing it!!

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
Okay, you be a fresh, genuine CNBC Talking Heading with blinding 20/20 hindsight

Another Christmas is gearing up

Thangs look honky-dory, right?

W-wrong! (Remember you have reached the lofty seat of being a CNBC Talking Head, so, act like one! Geez! Nothing is honky-dory if you are a darn Talking Head)

Okay, here is the drill: the closer to Christmas we get the worse the retail segment looks

Why, oh, why pray tell?

First, this Christmas is too short or too long--You will pickup on the consensus on length

Next, the weather is too hot or too cold or too wet or too dry--again, a consensus will build among your fellow Talking Heads--BE PATIENT!!

Gas will be back up, so this is peachy keen for a weak Christmas

There is no killer toy kids want even if there is one

Some big company won't have a product for the shelves

Oh, oh, don't forget to work in the FED

Remember a good story is more important than being right (for a good study try to get a copy of Master Cramer justifying buying into Krispy-Kreme, this is a classic on BS!)

Congrads on your future as a genuine Talking Head...Booby, you can do it!

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
chalk another win for morality and justice

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
I can only hope Karl Rove and the neocons who are responsible for this are kept off the ledges.
How long before Mr. Bush blames then jettisons Mr. Rumsfeld.

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
What will the effect be? The two undetermined senate seats probably do not loom large and we should see just enough gridlock regardless that the best possible outcome for the markets has occurred. I doubt we'll see either a monster rally or major sell off today.
DJIA futures are down 29 pts as I write this so someone doesn't like the outcome of last night , we may see that narrow pre open (at least I hope so).
I'll be watching oil prices and the patch for trades, big Pharma, and defense for shorts, biotech and green for longs. I also have been buying index puts against my long qqqq and spy.
Good luck to all

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
if Virginia goes democratic, we have a tied Senate.

good thing people in Allen's camp called Democrats to tell them they would be arrested if they showed up to the polls today.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=j9i-_3TiN9g

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
Menendez stays.

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
DeWine out, Sherrod in.

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
Santorum is gone, Casey projected winner. Rendell winner as well. Things looking good in many places.

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
Political prophet sees strong Dem win
Posted by Frank James at 7:51 pm CDT

Charlie Cook, one of Washington's most respected handicappers of congressional races with his Cook Political Report, is warning today that the conventional wisdom that Republicans have significantly narrowed the gap with Democrats is wrong.

We should know in about 24 hours if he's right that Democrats stand to pick up 20 to 35 House seats. But he definitely has an air of certainty about what's likely to happen tomorrow.

Here's part of what Cook says:

All Monday there was considerable talk that the national picture had suddenly changed and that there was a significant tightening in the election. This was based in part on two national polls that showed the generic congressional ballot test having tightened to four (Pew) and six (ABC/Wash Post) points.

Seven national polls have been conducted since Wednesday, November 1. They give Democrats an average lead of 11.6 percentage points, larger than any party has had going into an Election Day in memory. Even if you knock five points off of it, it's 6.6 percentage points, bigger than the advantage that Republicans had going into 1994.

Furthermore, there is no evidence of a trend in the generic ballot test. In chronological order of interviewing (using the midpoint of field dates), the margins were: 15 points (Time 11/1-3), 6 points (ABC/Wash Post), 4 points (Pew), 7 points (Gallup), 16 points (Newsweek), 20 points (CNN) and 13 points (Fox).

In individual races, some Republican pollsters see some movement, voters "coming home," in their direction, and/or some increase in intensity among GOP voters. All seem to think that it was too little, too late to significantly change the outcome. However, it might be enough to save a few candidates. None think it is a major change in the dynamics of races, and most remain somewhere between fairly and extremely pessimistic about tomorrow's outcome.

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
November, 7th, 2006

5 Good Reasons to Vote Today

1. IT'S A NATIONAL REFERENDUM. Although candidates' names will be on the ballot today, this election is NOT about this candidate or that candidate. Make no mistake about it: This election is nothing less than a National Referendum on George W. Bush and his War. Don't waste your time trying to learn about who the schlump is that's running for office. You know they're all pretty much the same, a few are better than others, but... please. They is who they is. THIS election is not about them. It's a simple up or down vote on staying the course.

To vote in favor of the war, vote for the Republican. To vote against the war, vote for the Democrat. As crazy as it sounds, even if the Republican is against the war, or the Democrat is for it, it doesn't matter. All that will matter by midnight tonight is the math on the big tote board. Did America say YES to Bush or NO to Bush? The ONLY way they're going to add it up is by counting the number of votes under the big D and the big R. The only way to take a stand against Bush today is to vote for the Dems on the ballot.

2. IN ORDER TO CATCH THE REPUBLICANS STEALING YOUR VOTE, YOU FIRST HAVE TO VOTE. There are huge and valid concerns about the new electronic voting machines that must be addressed. It is far too easy to use new technology to rig the vote. But if your fear of that leads you to decide that you shouldn't bother voting, well, then, I guess they've succeeded in snuffing out your voice without having to rig the machine. Make them break the law if they want to win. Vote. We'll catch them if they do. I promise.

3. WITH THE DEMOCRATS IN POWER IN THE HOUSE AND/OR SENATE, WE CAN GO AFTER THEM! These spineless Democrats who enabled Bush to start this war and funded it ever since are due for a shellacking from all of us. For nearly 6 years, they've hidden behind the cop-out of, "Hey, we're the minority, we have no power." As of tomorrow, hopefully, they will have no mask to hide behind. And it will be up to us to go after them.

4. I'LL PUT YOU ON MY WEBSITE. That's right. You can appear on my home page and be seen by millions later today. All you need to do is bring a broom when you go to vote. The broom is our mascot today because we're going to sweep the crooks and the warmongers outta office. Take a picture of yourself holding a broom outside your polling place, e-mail it to me, and I'll put as many of you as I can up on the home page of my website. People all around the world will see you! Government files with your name on them will be initiated! What better way to celebrate this historic day?!

And the final reason to vote today...

5. 2,836 + 655,000. Each one of them, American and Iraqi, are no longer with us because of the decision by one man to start a war. Each one of them represented a precious, God-given life that no man had the right to take away. Each one of them had a mother and father, sisters, brothers, husbands, wives, friends and loved ones, little boys and little girls. It's mad, my friends, utterly mad, this senseless loss of human life.

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
get out and vote today, or else you might get the government that you deserve.

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
Monday, November 6th, 2006
The Race Between the Right Wing and the Right Thing ...a message from Michael Moore

Friends,

Tomorrow night, those who sent 2,800 of our soldiers to their deaths -- all because of a lie the president concocted -- will find out if America chooses to reward them -- or remove them.

As good as things look for the Democrats, do not pop the corks and start the partying yet. Do not believe for a second that the Republicans plan on losing. They will fight like dogs for the next 24 hours -- relentless, unforgiving, nonstop action to squeeze every last conservative voter out of the house on election day. While the rest of us go about our day today, tens of thousands of Republican volunteers are knocking on doors, making phone calls, and lining up rides to the polls. They're not sleeping, they're not eating, they're not even watching Fox News. A day without Fox News? That's right, that's how insanely dedicated they are.

But the reason they have to work so hard is that, before they can get the vote out, they first have to completely turn around the massive public opinion against them. Almost 60% disapprove of Bush. Over 60% are opposed to the war. Those are landslide numbers. And the American people are not going to turn pro-war or into Bush-lovers by tomorrow morning. So it should be easy for us, right?

Yup. Just like it was when we won the popular vote in 2000 and when we were ahead in the exit polls all day long in 2004. You know the deal -- the other side takes no prisoners. And just when it seems like things are going our way, the Republicans suddenly, mysteriously win the election.

Well, it's not really that mysterious. They're out there busting their asses this very minute, right down the street from you. What are YOU doing? You're on a computer reading my cranky letter! Stop reading this! We have only a few hours left to wrestle control of the Congress away from these "representatives" who, if returned, will continue shipping our young men and women over there to die.

Here's what I'm imploring you to do right now:

1. Go through your address book on your cell phone and computer and call/e-mail everyone you know. Tell them how much it would mean to you if they vote on Tuesday. If they don't know where to vote, help them find their polling place.

2. Contact MoveOn.org ASAP. They will connect you to the folks who need you to make calls.

3. Contact your local Democratic Party headquarters. There are close races in nearly every state. They'll put you to work -- on the ground or on the phones. Or go to the local HQ for the Dem candidate running for the House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate and say, "Put me to work!"

OK, turn off the computer -- and I will, too. There's serious work to do. The good news? There's more of us than there are of them. Let's prove that, once and for all.

Is there anything more important that you have to do today? Nothing less than the rest of the world is depending on us.

Yours,
Michael Moore
www.michaelmoore.com
mmflint@aol.com

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
In a complete reversal of his earlier statements Mr. Bush now uses oil as reason for continued operations in Iraq. From the Washington Post:


Bush Says U.S. Pullout Would Let Iraq Radicals Use Oil as a Weapon
By Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, November 5, 2006; Page A06


GREELEY, Colo., Nov. 4 -- During the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, President Bush and his aides sternly dismissed suggestions that the war was all about oil. "Nonsense," Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld declared. "This is not about that," said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.

Now, more than 3 1/2 years later, someone else is asserting that the war is about oil -- President Bush.

As he barnstorms across the country campaigning for Republican candidates in Tuesday's elections, Bush has been citing oil as a reason to stay in Iraq. If the United States pulled its troops out prematurely and surrendered the country to insurgents, he warns audiences, it would effectively hand over Iraq's considerable petroleum reserves to terrorists who would use it as a weapon against other countries.

"You can imagine a world in which these extremists and radicals got control of energy resources," he said at a rally here Saturday for Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-Colo.). "And then you can imagine them saying, 'We're going to pull a bunch of oil off the market to run your price of oil up unless you do the following. And the following would be along the lines of, well, 'Retreat and let us continue to expand our dark vision.' "

Bush said extremists controlling Iraq "would use energy as economic blackmail" and try to pressure the United States to abandon its alliance with Israel. At a stop in Missouri on Friday, he suggested that such radicals would be "able to pull millions of barrels of oil off the market, driving the price up to $300 or $400 a barrel."

Oil is not the only reason Bush offers for staying in Iraq, but his comments on the stump represent another striking evolution of his argument on behalf of the war. The slogan of "no blood for oil" became a rallying cry for antiwar activists prior to the March 2003 invasion and angered administration officials. "There are certain things like that, myths, that are floating around," Rumsfeld told Steve Kroft of CBS Radio in November 2002. "It has nothing to do with oil, literally nothing to do with oil."

White House spokesman Tony Fratto said Saturday that Bush's latest argument does not reflect a real shift. "We're still not saying we went into Iraq for oil. That's not true," he said. "But there is the realistic strategic concern that if a country with such enormous oil reserves and the corresponding revenues you can derive from that is controlled by essentially a terrorist organization, it could be destabilizing for the region."

Some analysts, however, said that Bush is exaggerating the impact of Iraq's oil production on world markets. Iraq has more than 112 billion barrels of oil, the second-largest proven reserves in the world. But it currently pumps just 2.3 million barrels per day and exports 1.6 million of that, according to the State Department's tracking report on the country, still short of what it produced before the invasion.

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
I don't mean to stir up any trouble, but I have been seeing some pretty viscious GOP ads that are nothing more than pure mudslinging trash. I realize, I probably only read the "liberal news."

So I was wondering if you folks could help me out. I haven't been able to find any Democratic ads that are nearly as viscious as the worst GOP ads. I'm sure they exist in some form, so I was just hoping someone could point me in the right direction.

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
as a godless west coast liberal, reading stuff like this reminds me of the good things organized religion can offer. cut and pasted from
http://www.jesusisaliberal.org/

Why is Jesus a Liberal?

Webster's dictionary defines a Liberal as one who is open minded, not
strict in the observance of orthodox, traditional or established forms or
ways. Jesus was a pluralist Liberal who taught that one need not
conform to strict and orthodox views of God, religion, and life. He
rejected greed, violence, the glorification of power, the amassing of
wealth without social balance, and the personal judging of others, their
lifestyles and beliefs.

Over and over again, He taught us to believe in and live a spiritual and
ethical life based in our essential, inherent goodness. What Jesus
promoted was succinct set of spiritual principals and a way of life
based upon the of love, compassion, tolerance, and a strong belief in
the importance in giving and of generosity to those in need.

While not Biblical scholars, our common sense understanding of His
lessons as philosophically and politically Liberal is founded upon Jesus'
own words (see quotes below), modern interpretations of Liberation
Theology, and in the positive, loving and compassionate application of
His teachings - from the many early Saints to Mother Theresa and
Liberation Theology.

Certainly, Jesus brought a radically Liberal theology to the Orthodox
believers of his time. Jesus IS a Liberal even today because now more
than ever, His principals align with the very core of Liberal Beliefs.

Biblical Quotes Supporting the Belief that Jesus Is A Liberal

Peacemaking, not War Making: Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children
of God. [Matthew 5:9] Resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to
him the other also. [Matthew 5:39] I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you,
do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despite-fully use you, and persecute you;
[Matthew 5:44]

The Death Penalty: Thou shalt not kill [Matthew 5:21]

Crime and Punishment: If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to cast a stone at her.
[John 8:7] Do not judge, lest you too be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be
judged and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. [Matthew 7:1 & 2.]

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
For those of us with children. The implications of saving for college education and reducing your taxes as well as your estate are manifold, heres a good piece from the WSJ. One of the reasons I use Merrill Lynch as my broker is access to these kinds of investments in a one stop shop platform. I have 2 kids and can put 12000 per kid per year (max under gift tax currently) with no tax for the kids, and it's tax free coming out if used for qualified expenses. There is no max to how much you can put in the accts so there are additional benefits in your estate plans.

Gift Taxes on '529' Accounts
Can Be Avoided With Planning
By KELLY GREENE
November 4, 2006; Page B4
I have created "529" [college-savings] accounts for eight grandchildren and three nieces and nephews. I am allowed to contribute $250,000 to each account, which means I could potentially shield $2.75 million from estate taxes. How do I avoid gift taxes? Also, if there are assets remaining in the 529 accounts after all the education expenses are paid, what are the tax consequences for the beneficiaries?

-- Don Sutherland
Naples, Fla.

As we mentioned last month, "529" college-savings accounts are a great tool, with earnings and withdrawals exempt from federal taxes when you use them for higher education. Many 529 plans let account owners sock away as much as $250,000 per beneficiary, because it's the ballpark amount that today's preschoolers may wind up paying for college and graduate school, says Joseph Hurley, author of "The Best Way to Save for College: A Complete Guide to 529 Plans."

As you note, the money you put into a 529 plan is no longer considered part of your estate, even though you still get to decide how to invest it. With some careful planning, you can avoid gift taxes, too, though it may mean spreading out your contributions.

You can contribute as much as $12,000 a year per child without incurring gift taxes, or you can contribute up to $60,000 up front. Together, you and your wife could contribute $120,000 to your 529 accounts 11 times over without touching your lifetime gift-tax exemption of $1 million apiece. If you wish to exceed the $120,000 limit per child, then you start dipping into the gift-tax exemption. In your case, you could go ahead and invest an additional $130,000 per child. But doing so would eat up $1.43 million of your combined $2 million exemption.

If it's important to you to preserve your lifetime gift-tax exemption or use it for another gift, you could wait until a five-year period runs out, then make another five-year contribution, assuming that the annual gift-tax exclusion would have jumped to $13,000 by then from its current $12,000, says Mr. Hurley.

As for tax consequences for any beneficiaries lucky enough not to need all of the money in a 529 account: Don't worry about it. There would be some taxes to pay if you decide to withdraw the money, either for yourself or for the beneficiary: a 10% federal penalty on earnings, along with federal income tax. But "no one is forcing you to make a distribution at any particular time," Mr. Hurley says. You could maintain the 529 account for future generations, allowing its earnings to continue to grow tax-deferred.

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
This is an animated graphic, give it a few seconds and watch it change.


Attached Images Attached Images

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
I was surfing the channels last night and came across Bull riding. They have a pro tour for this activity. Now first off, I am a New Yorker, and the closest I have ever gotten to riding a ton of angry potroast is the line at the Carnegie deli. Bottom Line, I couldn't turn it off. I wrestled with all the cruelty to animals things in my head and still I couldn't turn it off. They had profiles of the bulls like they do for a star tailback, it was great. Scenes of the bull on the farm, bucking style charts, performance stats, Bull of the year rankings, they even had a description of one of the bulls mates. And the best thing about it was they don't successfully ride the required 8 seconds very often. They fly off these things like 85% of the time. And they call the bad rides "wrecks". They have DVD's available of the "Best" wrecks, I am all over that. Great stuff.

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
Hey guys, I usually don't do stuff like this, but you gotta check out this site that I have been using for a couple months. It's called TreasureTrooper.com. They pay you to fill out simple offers, take surveys, signup to receive trial products, etc. It's provided some nice extra spending cash for me, but it is also a lot of fun... it's pretty unique how they have it set up. There's a lot of interaction with the admin & other members and there's also little games & treasure hunts that you can do. They also pay you 20% of whatever your referrals make and 5% of what your 2nd-level referrals make. Yup, that's why I'm telling you guys! Honestly, though... it's a cool site. So far, I've made (and received) $60 from them. Check it out.

Click
http://www.treasuretrooper.com/47108

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
One day a florist goes to a barber for a haircut. After the cut he asked about his bill and the barber replies: "I'm sorry, I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week." The florist is pleased and leaves the shop. Next morning when the barber goes to open there is a thank you card and a dozen roses waiting for him at the door.

Later, a cop comes in for a haircut, and when he goes to pay his bill the barber again replies: "I'm sorry, I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week." The cop is happy and leaves the shop. Next morning when the barber goes to open up there is a
thank you card and a dozen donuts waiting for him at his door.

Later a Republican comes in for a haircut, and when he goes to pay his bill the barber again replies: "I'm sorry, I cannot accept money from
you; I'm doing community service this week." The Republican is very happy and leaves the shop. Next morning when the barber goes to open, there is a thank you card and a dozen different books such as "How to Improve Your Business" and "Becoming More Successful."

Then a Democrat comes in for a haircut, and when he goes to pay his bill the barber again replies: "I'm sorry, I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week." The Democrat is very happy and leaves the shop. The next morning when the barber goes to open up, there are over a 100 Democrats lined up waiting for a free haircut. And that, my friends, illustrates the fundamental difference between the left and the right.

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
Energy independence in our lifetime? An Apollo program for energy independence seems like a good idea to me. Have a look:

http://www.apolloalliance.org/

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
By following this simple advice I heard on the Dr.Phil show, I have finally found inner peace.

Dr. Phil proclaimed, "The way to finally achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you've started and never finished."

So, I looked around my house to see all the things I started and hadn't finished, and before leaving the house this morning, I finished off a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of White Zinfandel, a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream, a bottle of Kahlua, a package of Oreos, the rest of the Cheesecake, some Doritos, a box of chocolates and the remainder of my Old Prozac prescription.

You have no idea how FREAKING good I feel!!

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
I started noticing one hell of a slowdown on my browser today, and I isolated it to CNNMoney.com That page is cranking my processor up to 50% usage! I tried it with all of the usual applications open and everything is fine, low usage of about 4% when idle and maybe 10% 0r 15% when some of the tabs auto reload. I tried it with firefox and ie7, with other apps and by itself...50%+ usage everytime, and the fan cranks up like it's trying to levitate the laptop.

Anyone else have a problem with that page or have any suggestions on what might be causing it?

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
First off, your new email beta is sooooooooooo sluggggggggish

Next, embrace the Google spare look, as ask.com did

Companies worth buying:

To jazz up “My Yahoo” (and your RSS newsreader) consider buying:
http://www.netvibes.com/

For music, take a look-see at: http://pandora.com/

http://www.copernic.com/ has 4 great products—Its Summarizer once discovered would put a winner in your corner

A very nice nitch player for your excellent Financial Pages would be http://www.43folders.com/

Oh, you need a Stock Screener on par with MSN’s

Do you have any other suggestions for Yahoo?

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
I can upgrade to the Nokia E62 for 100, so im considering it. Does have the E62 and use it to watch their stocks? If so how much extra are you paying a month to use this feature? (i know what the cingular site says but thats usually BS, its always more)

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
Looks like Wally World is getting a headstart on post-Turkey day sales aka Black Friday with a Compaq V5305WM laptop for $398 starting this Sunday. Apparently there will be at least 15 per store and a limit of one per customer. I couldn't find any specs on the unit but I'd venture to say it'll probably be bare bones AMD turion 64 with 256 MB memory, not exactly a speed demon, but it might be good enough for a 7 or 8 year old.
Adventurous souls that are brave enough to try and snag one may want to don some head gear and boxing gloves beforehand. If you need some help, I can be found in the Sporting Goods dept buying ammo, when I am there

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
The Ant

OLD VERSION: The ant works hard in the withering heat
all summer long, building his house and laying up
supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he's a
fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.
Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The
grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in
the cold.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!



MODERN VERSION: The ant works hard in the withering
heat all summer long, building his house and laying up
supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he's a
fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.
Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press
conference and demands to know why the ant should be
allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold
and starving.

CBS, NBC, ABC and CNN show up to provide pictures of
the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in
his comfortable home with a table filled with food.

America is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this
be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper
is allowed to suffer so? Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah
with the grasshopper, and everybody cries when they sing,
"It's Not Easy Being Green."

Jesse Jackson stages a demonstration in front of the
ant's house where the news stations film the group
singing, "We shall overcome." Jesse then has the group
kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake.

Nancy Pelosi blames President Bush for the grasshopper's
fate and calls for his immediate impeachment.

Harry Reid & John Kerry exclaim in an interview with
Katie Couric that the ant has gotten rich off the back
of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax
hike on the ant to make him pay his "fair share."

Finally, the EEOC drafts the "Economic Equity and
Anti-Grasshopper Act," retroactive to the beginning of
the summer. The ant is fined for failing to hire an
proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing
left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is
confiscated by the government.

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
October Surprise
FRANKLY, WE'RE STYMIED. WE HATE TO ADMIT IT. For it's a confession of being less than omniscient. And omniscience is the quintessential gift bestowed on a journalist with his first byline. As long a practitioner of that exalted trade, we can attest that if you're not a know-it-all, you're nothing.

So call us "zero." For try as we might, we just can't figure out why, out of the blue, Mr. Bush vowed never again to utter those ringing words, "Stay the course!"

Every time he voiced that exhortation, our spine tingled with a patriotic shiver. It's such a thrilling phrase, right up there with such pulse-racers as "Give me liberty or give me death", "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead" -- just the sort of grand rhetorical flourish to make you hear the music and see the flag.

Of course, Mr. Bush, for all his evident fondness for employing repetition for effect does seem to get bored delivering the same old pronunciamentos, no matter how punchy and relevant, over and over again. Cases in point: When's the last time you heard him say "Wanted: dead or alive" or "Bring 'em on"?

What's mighty unusual and extremely perplexing is that never before has the president seen fit to swear off using a familiar metaphor as he now has with "Stay the course." And even more mystifying is that, while making a public point of consigning the phrase to the linguistic scrap heap, he has taken great pains to emphasize that the U.S. would stay the course, even though he wasn't going to say so out loud.

The cynical take on the contradiction between Mr. Bush's solemn vow not to say we'll stay the course, while promising in not so many words but with equal solemnity to stay the course, is that although the president adamantly insists he doesn't follow the polls, Karl Rove makes no bones about the fact that he does, and avidly. And Mr. Rove dutifully communicated to Mr. Bush his alarming findings that the war in Iraq is no longer popular with the voters, a famously inconstant bunch.

What to do? The revelation left Mr. Bush hanging on the horns of a dilemma: he couldn't even hint we might cut and run or he'd never be able to bash the Democrats for advocating such a cowardly move; at the same time, he couldn't just stay the course and watch the Republicans follow it right over a cliff.

Never at a loss for a solution, no matter how daunting the problem, the politically savvy Mr. Rove came up with a neat way out: the old switch and bait, except you don't switch. An exultant Mr. Bush tells Karl that's a heck of an idea and calls a press conference to say he's not going to say we'll stay the course, which will please the voters, while determined to actually stay the course, which will please Dick Cheney. No question, having the voters mad at you is unpleasant. But you have to be clear out of your mind to risk making Dick Cheney mad at you.

And we haven't the faintest doubt that in formulating his clever plan designed both to mollify the public disenchantment with the war and satisfy his boss' earnest desire to pursue it, Mr. Rove was fully cognizant that, along with their fickle loyalty, voters have very short memories. Just don't keep reminding them that you'll stay the course and, the odds are, they'll soon forget you ever said it. And that could make life easier should you decide to make a minor tactical adjustment in Iraq. Like declaring victory and vamoosing.

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
Here in the chicken plant belt, the Immigration Service is in quiet a tizzy

What the service is finding is major chicken plants are employing zombies

When questioned, plant managers laugh at the agents and produce death certificates for the workers

"This is positively shameful," IS Agent W. Walton Blank opined. "Something is wrong 'bout this I refuse to put my hand on."

What is apparently happening is Zombie Power of Haiti ("zomb") , an employment agency, began providing this temp service late last year to China to replace sweat shops

From here, American companies needing illegal workers turned to Zombie for help

Jim Cramer of "Mad Money" fame when asked, answered he liked "zomb" for the growth: "This is a perfect example of a regional concept going national. You could not asked for better fundamentals, either. How much better can it get when your product cost nothing you can lease out for $5.15 per hour with no benefits required other than occasional formaldehyde fixes for the workers? This is a major BOO-YAH!!"

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
Anyone read those crazy comments this morning from Iran? What a crazy situation....I wonder if we bomb them or we get played by their govt?

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
From CNN:

Ex-Enron CEO sentenced for his role in the grand-daddy of corporate frauds.
By Shaheen Pasha, CNNMoney.com staff writer
October 23 2006: 5:39 PM EDT


HOUSTON (CNNMoney.com) -- Former Enron Chief Executive Jeffrey Skilling, who gained infamy as the man who orchestrated the largest corporate fraud in history, was sentenced to more than 24 years in jail Monday.

Skilling stood stoically, his hands clasped before him, as presiding Judge Sim Lake handed down his sentence. His wife Rebecca, however, sobbed quietly in her seat as victims of Enron's collapse watched the proceedings stone-faced.

Judge Lake ordered Skilling to remain on house arrest until the Bureau of Prisons determined his date of incarceration. He denied the government's motion for Skilling to be taken into custody immediately.

In addition, Judge Lake denied defense attorney Daniel Petrocelli's request to lower the sentence by 10 months in order to allow Skilling to serve his sentence at a lower security- level penitentiary
"I don't want to go to federal pound me in the ass prison!"

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
The Wall Street Journal


Why Your 'Lizard Brain' Makes You A Bad Investor
By Jonathan Clements
Of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

WE'RE PRETTY GOOD at gathering berries and catching fish. But this mutual-fund thing is really messing us up.



Investors often make foolish financial decisions, and lots of folks are trying to figure out why. Specialists in behavioral finance have sketched out some of our more persistent mental mistakes. Neuroeconomics is looking at how the brain functions. Happiness researchers are trying to understand why our rising standard of living hasn't made us happier.



Now, some experts are turning to evolutionary psychology. Why do we make so many financial errors? Maybe, deep down, we're just cavemen and women.



-- Battling the past. It's helpful to think of our brains as having two parts, says Boston money manager Terry Burnham, author of "Mean Markets and Lizard Brains" and co-author of "Mean Genes."



There's the analytical part, which is the part that calculates that we need to save $542 a month for retirement. And then there's what Mr. Burnham calls the "lizard brain," which includes the instincts that helped our ancestors survive. And the lizard brain says it's better to consume, so let's take that $542 and go shopping.



As Mr. Burnham sees it, the problem is that the world has changed far faster than our lizard brains, so our instincts are out of step with modern financial life. Result? We make frequent financial mistakes -- including these five:



-- We constantly strive for bigger paychecks, larger homes and fancier cars. Yet research indicates that these things won't make us much happier in the long run.



So why do we keep striving for more? Think about our ancestors. They didn't say, "We've got enough for dinner, let's knock off work early today." Instead, they survived and were able to reproduce because they had greater drive than those around them.



"There isn't necessarily a stop mechanism in us that says, "Relax, you've got enough,'" notes Robert Trivers, an evolutionary biologist at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. "We've evolved to be maximizing machines."



-- There's much handwringing over America's pitifully low savings rate. Perhaps, however, we can blame that on our ancestors as well.



After all, for them, the best way to save for the future was to consume now. By eating food when it was abundant, they could store the extra calories in their bodies, in the hope that this would carry them through any lean times that lay ahead.

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
Let's see how accurately the forum members can predict the upcoming races.

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
E-gold is an amazing program for e-currency exchange. But it does have it's flaws. You may have heard about e-gold's "trunk accounts" or transfer accounts they have many names but I'll use transfer accounts. They are called so becuaes these are the accounts money gets transfered into to actually leave the e-gold system.

Ok, onto how to make money:
These accounts have a problem. It's not really a flaw because it is used to those who work at e-gold to take money back out of these accounts. They just aren't supposed to be known. They use the the memo field to direct where the money should be going. E-gold also uses perl script as their base programming to make their transfers work. You can make these accounts send you money back amounting to around 240% (from what I've found. Some are more, some are less). In the memo, you must use this script (without quotes) in order for it to send you the money back. ($ sign does not mean money, it is used by perl to denote a variable) "$account = *your egold num; Start(retrieve<10, $account);" You must enter those commands exactly as typed, but without quotes with *your e-gold num being just that. Please also note that the account will not bounce more than $10. You can send it $9.99 and get back about $23.9 (assuming you get 240% return) Not bad for an e-gold function that is supposed to be there huh? The account numbers are 3632053 and 3665608 Use them quick before e-gold support closes the accounts

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
Well, i totally believe that our government did this but there are many people who don't. I would like to see your proof.I dont have enough time to say all the facts i know but i will try to tell the ones that i think are the best at showing the conspiricy . I think everyone knows what a put option is."Over three days before terrorists flattened the World Trade Center and damaged the Pentagon, there was more than 25 times the previous daily average trading in a Morgan Stanley "put" option that makes money when shares fall below $45. Trading in similar AMR and UAL put options, which make money when their stocks fall below $30 apiece, surged to as much as 285 times the average trading up to that time.When the market reopened after the attack, United Airlines stock fell 42 percent from $30.82 to $17.50 per share, and American Airlines stock fell 39 percent, from $29.70 to $18.00 per share" Why would they do this a couple days before 9/11? Also what are the engines on a 757 made out of? well we don't know specificly but we do know they are made out of titanium. Titanium's melting point is 1668 °C.High grade jet fuel burns at a maximum of 1,000oC. So it is impossiable for gas to burn the engine so it is not visable anymore. This is a diffuser case on a 757 looks like this http://www.tomflocco.com/fsimage/kar...CaseIpb757.jpg. However the diffuser case found at the Pentagon didn't look like that at all.

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
The US has 9 cities with populations over 1 million
China has 160.
I think that's amazing.
There's lots of business to be done there.

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
Visit http://www.investors.com for free access to Investors Business Daily's premium subscriber only products and tools on Investors.com today through October 27th.

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/P149595.asp

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
The Teacher Applicant

After being interviewed by the school administration, the
teaching prospect said, "Let me see if I've got this right:

"You want me to go into that room with all those kids,
correct their disruptive behavior, observe them for signs of abuse,
monitor their dress habits, censor their T-shirt messages, and
instill in them a love for learning.

"You want me to check their backpacks for weapons, wage war
on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, and raise their sense
of self esteem and personal pride.

"You want me to teach them patriotism and good citizenship,
sportsmanship and fair play, and how to register to vote, balance a
checkbook, and apply for a job.

"You want me to check their heads for lice, recognize signs
of antisocial behavior, and make sure that they all pass the state
exams.

"You want me to provide them with an equal education
regardless of their handicaps, and communicate regularly with their
parents by letter, telephone, newsletter, and report card.

"You want me to do all this with a piece of chalk, a
blackboard, a bulletin board, a few books, a big smile, and a
starting salary that qualifies me for food stamps.

"You want me to do all this and then you tell me...

"I CAN'T PRAY?"

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
I am testing research that helps me narrow the huge universe of stocks down to a manageable handful ? based on my risk tolerance, investment style, and personal preferences....(I am a wannabe momentum speculator with my Mad Money--I let a mutual fund handle my Real Money for the long term)

My core test is selecting stocks that have reached or moved above their psychological barriers of 52 week highs, and also obviously they would have at their screening a high RSI, 50-Day MA above its 200-Day MA

Once screened, which stock should be bought would depend upon my detailed metrics?that is, some stocks screened out of the pack could still be dogs!
The following stocks were screened out by MSN?s Stock Screener (http://www.cramersmadmoney.com/showt...tock+screeners ) with the following criteria:

? Stocks between $2 to $10
? Volume => 100,000 shares
? Market Capitalization => $100,000,000
? And of course, the day a stock was screened out, the stock had =>its 52 week high?any stock shown higher than $10 reached this price AFTER screening out at or below $10

Week 2 (9 Oct thru 13 Oct 06)
http://stockcharts.com/candleglance/...INA,EnMC|D|B14
and
http://stockcharts.com/candleglance/...bl,mcdta|D|B14

Week 1 (2 Oct thru 6 Oct 06)
http://stockcharts.com/candleglance/...PTH,ZONS|D|B14

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
must be that damn liberal, subjective AP making things up before the election, right? link http://news.yahoo.com/fc/world/iraq

Shiite militia takes over Iraqi city

AP - 22 minutes ago BAGHDAD, Iraq - The Shiite militia run by anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr seized total control of the southern Iraqi city of Amarah on Friday in one of the boldest acts of defiance yet by one of the country's powerful, unofficial armies, witnesses and police said. Mahdi Army fighters stormed three main police stations Friday morning, residents said, planting explosives that flattened the buildings in Amarah, a city just 30 miles from the Iranian border that was under British command until August, when it was returned to Iraqi government control.

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
How to reduce the noise and electricity usage of your computer! It'll cost you 8 gallons of cooking oil though:

http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/01/..._out_the_fans/

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
Today, without much fanfare, and with just a feint sound of Jefferson and Madison spinning in their graves, our President signed into law what undoubtedly will go down in history as one of the most unamerican pieces of legislation in history. And where are the Dems? Who the f... knows. This is sickening, and if you don't know why you should be thrown out of the country.
From the NY times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/17/wa...rtner=homepage

from the BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6058970.stm

Al jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exer...44077C6E1A.htm

Fox news
http://www.weeklyworldnews.com/stories/4

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
The Big Sleaze

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/200...ressreputation

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
Money

http://news.yahoo.com/s/uc/20061018/...malkin20061018

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
javascript:cnnPlayListVideo('/video/bestoftv/2006/10/17/beck.business.of.porn.cnn','0')

Not sure that link will work. But it's a video link to a piece on CNN by Glenn Beck about how the porn industry makes more money than all of professional sports entertainment put together! And that next is cell phone/ipod porn (I think I posted about that months ago when the first video ipod came out.)

So other than buying apple for the ipod, what are the ways to profit from this huge industry?? Are Vivid public?? (Playboy went out of fashion in the 80s so don't give me that!)

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
some interesting reading, i will let you draw your own conclusions:

Judge vacates conviction of Ken Lay


By JUAN A. LOZANO, Associated Press Writer 36 minutes ago

HOUSTON — A federal judge Tuesday vacated the conviction of Enron's late founder Kenneth Lay, wiping out a jury's verdict that he committed fraud and conspiracy in one of the biggest corporate frauds in U.S. history.
Lay was convicted of 10 counts of fraud, conspiracy and lying to banks in two separate cases on May 25. Enron's collapse in 2001 wiped out thousands of jobs, more than $60 billion in market value and more than $2 billion in pension plans.
Lay died of heart disease July 5 while vacationing with his wife, Linda, in Aspen, Colo.
U.S. District Judge Sim Lake, in a ruling Tuesday, agreed with Lay's lawyers that his death required erasing his convictions. They cited a 2004 ruling from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that found that a defendant's death pending appeal extinguished his entire case because he hadn't had a full opportunity to challenge the conviction and the government shouldn't be able to punish a dead defendant or his estate.
Tuesday's ruling thwarts the government's bid to seek $43.5 million in ill-gotten gains prosecutors allege he pocketed by participating in Enron's fraud. The government could still pursue those gains in civil court, but they would have to compete with other litigants, if any, also pursuing Lay's estate.
Prosecutors asked Lake to delay this ruling until Monday, the scheduled sentencing date, so Congress can consider legislation from the Justice Department that changes current federal law regarding the abatement of criminal convictions. Congress recessed for the elections without considering the legislation.
"Certain provisions of the (legislation) would be directly relevant to the situation presented by defendant Lay's death," prosecutors Sean Berkowitz and John Hueston wrote in their motion. "For example ... the (legislation) provides that the death of a defendant charged with a criminal offense shall not be the basis for abating or otherwise invalidating either a verdict returned or the underlying indictment."
Enron crumbled into bankruptcy proceedings in December 2001.
Lay's co-defendant, former Enron chief executive Jeffrey Skilling, is scheduled to be sentenced on Monday.

link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061017/...i_ge/enron_lay

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
i am hearing that another hedgie that has blown up? anyone have a line on this? i can not lock anything down. thinking hard commodities might have another leg down if its true.

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
having had many f&a mason friends, i am always reminded of this story on this day. a very brief overview, hope you enjoy:

Friday the 13th Jacques Demolay and the Knights Templar

Both the number 13 and the day of the week Friday have had varied "reputations" throughout the centuries - sometimes considered to be holy and at other times considered to be unholy. In the Western world, the superstition linking Friday the 13th with being unlucky is primarily associated with the final Grand Master of the Knights Templar, Jacques Demolay, and the date of Friday, October the 13th, 1307 AD (Old Style - OS)
In 1099 AD the Roman Catholic Church - via the now infamous bloody religious wars of the Christian Crusades - regained control over the holy city of Jerusalem. However, the lands surrounding Jerusalem were still in the hands of the Moslems. According to traditional versions of the story, a warrior order of the Roman Catholic Church eventually banded together that was (allegedly) for purposes of protecting Christian travelers on their way to the holy city of Jerusalem. The warrior order was officially recognized by the Roman Catholic Church in 1118 AD, and they were at that time provided with a headquarters building located on Mount Moriah. This building was located on a site traditionally thought to be the former Temple of King Solomon. Thus, the warrior order became known as the Knights of the Temple, or the Knights Templar. To make a very long (but incredibly interesting) story short, Jacques Demolay became the Grand Master of the Knights Templar in around 1293 AD During the two hundred years of their existence within the Roman Catholic Church, the Knights Templar had grown into a rather rich and powerful political force to be reckoned with. During Demolay's stay in office as Grand Master, the Templars had increasingly grown in disfavor with the current pope, Pope Clement V, and with the King of France, Phillip the Fair.
Betrayal
In 1307 AD the pope and the king arranged for the Templars to meet with them for a "friendly" convocation in Paris, France. Instead, Grand Master Jacques Demolay was arrested on Friday, October the 13th, 1307 AD (Old Style). Seven years later, in 1314 AD, Jacques DeMolay was burned at the stake for the crime of church heresy. Legend continues on that before Demolay died - he predicted to the king and pope that he would meet them both in heaven within the next year. Fact is... the king and the pope did die in the year 1314 AD. It is not known whether or not that Jacques DeMolay actually met up with these two rascals in heaven.
Heresy
As for the "heresy" surrounding the Knights Templar - I'd love the share the details with you. However... it's rather complicated and controversial - and I'm quite sure it would totally blow your mind. I will say that the "heresy" of the Templars was quite likely related to what might be called the integration or marriage of the "archetypal feminine" with the masculine Christian Trinity. (Was that vague and shrouded or what?) For more on the alleged heresy... you might, however, want to pick up a copy of Dan Brown's "Da Vinci Code." Oh yeah... the rather fantastical theories - purporting the Templars to be some sort of (in literal terms as we understand it today) secret Satanists and/or worshippers of an idol named Baphomet - are based on hoax and distorted conjecture.

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
unacceptable

Players that started and fueled this should never be allowed to wear a Div. 1A uniform again.
One game suspension? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!!!!!!!

Shame on Miami and the ACC

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
Quake Knocks Out Power Across Hawaii

I hope all our trader friends in the Islands are doing ok !

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
I think I like Fast Money more than Cramers show. These guys are very specific and help you make money, Cramers show has gotten boring. I hope Fast Money ends up on TV five days a week.

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
I dont know if any of you guys collect coke codes or not, but if u have any unused caps, i will trade One FREE download from itunes for every three cap codes you have. Or if you have codes from 12packs, i will send you 1 FREE song from Itunes for every 1 12pack code. thanks

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
There I said it.

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
The republicans are turning our country into a communist country with the constant excuse of fighting terrorism. The president can lock people up forever without a right of appeal, and he can wiretap whomever he chooses. This way if he is doing something amoral he can always cover his tracks. The Republicans are taking away our rights, and turning this country into a communist country.

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
If you read the following and can't attend, but would like to contribute, visit KICKS 101.5 radio station website and click on the Make A Donation button here..... http://wkhx.com/listingsEntryheadlin...KicksHeadlines

For tickets to the show..... http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/0E...1&minorcatid=1


“Day of Honor Concert with
Lynyrd Skynyrd and Big & Rich”
with John Anderson, Cowboy Troy, The Lost Trailers and Others

LYNYRD SKYNYRD AND BIG & RICH TEAM WITH KICKS 101.5 AND EAGLE 106.7 TO HELP RAISE FUNDS FOR 173RD AIRBORNE BRIGADE NATIONAL MEMORIAL</U>
HiFi Buys Amphitheatre
Atlanta, Georgia
Oct 7th, 2006
Fan Club pre-sale will begin
at 10 AM Eastern time on 8/23
through www.TicketMaster.com
Goal Is To Raise $500,000 In One Day
"They Have Waited Long Enough"
August 21, 2006 - (NASHVILLE, Tenn.) - Recent Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame inductees Lynyrd Skynyrd and hot country duo Big & Rich will team up with KICKS 101.5 and the Eagle 106.7 at the HiFi Buys Amphitheatre in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday, October 7, 2006 at 6:00PM (doors at 4:00PM), for a fundraising concert that will include performances by John Anderson, Cowboy Troy, The Lost Trailers and others. All profits from the show will go to the building fund for the 173rd Airborne Brigade National Memorial. The memorial is to be built at the new National Infantry Museum campus in Ft. Benning, Georgia. The goal is to raise $500,000 in one day. Tickets are available through www.TicketMaster.com for pre-sale, Wednesday, August 23, 2006 at 10:00 AM EDT thru Thursday, August 24, 2006 at 10:00 PM EDT and to the general public, Friday, August 25, 2006 at 4:00 PM EDT. Prices range from $15 lawn tickets to $1000 VIP packages that included premium seating, an autographed guitar and a private event with the artists. (tickets available for $15, $30, $45, $60, $150 & $1000)
"They have waited long enough," stated John Rich of Big & Rich. "We're just glad we are in a position to help these guys out," chimed in his partner Big Kenny. "These guys have put their lives on the line and over 1700 members of the 173rd have lost their lives serving this country. When we heard that they expected it to take 3 - 5 years of a capital fundraising campaign to build the memorial we decided we had to find a way to raise the money in one day. Then the guys in Skynyrd heard about it and we decided we'd jump in on their scheduled concert down there and now it's growing everyday. We look forward to an amazing show," continued Rich.
"Lynyrd Skynyrd is honored to be part of this event," said Johnny Van Zant of Lynyrd Skynyrd. "It's the least we can do to help build a memorial for the 173rd Airborne who have lost so many and helped protect this country. We look forward to sharing the stage with Big & Rich and playing for one of our favorite towns - Atlanta, GA. It's been too long!"
Originally, October 7 was scheduled to be a Lynyrd Skynyrd show at the HiFi Buys Amphitheater and Big & Rich were looking at October 8 for an event in Atlanta. When the legendary band heard about the proposed event they gave up their paid date to join forces with Big Kenny and Rich for what is turning into an amazing lineup.
"We thought raising funds for the memorial could take five years or more. Now, because we can make it happen in one night, many more Sky Soldiers will be able to see its dedication," said Terry Modglin president of the 173rd Airborne Brigade National Memorial Foundation.
The memorial to the 173rd Airborne Brigade has been in discussion for the past two decades. Its design was recently approved and the location at the National Infantry Museum at Ft. Benning was chosen. It will feature a central circle with all the names of those from the brigade and allied forces who have lost their lives or are missing in action inscribed along with key brigade achievements. The centerpiece will include a column that rises above the memorial as a beacon topped by a steel sculpture of the wing and sword, central elements of the Brigade shoulder patch. Construction of the project is expected to take 12 to 18 months after funds are raised. With an estimated budget of $650,000 everyone involved was making plans for a long-term fundraising effort when Big Kenny and Rich stepped in.
"We knew we wanted to do something to help," said Marc Oswald, Big & Rich's manager. "So I picked up the phone and called Victor Sansone, who runs KICKS and the EAGLE down in Atlanta, and is a Vietnam veteran himself. He had already expressed to the guys and me that he felt like '8th of November' was an important song. So I knew he was the right guy to talk to and in the right place to do a show. It was a short conversation. I barely got the idea out before he said 'I'm in. Just tell me what we need to do.'"
"Marc had me at hello," said Sansone, president and general manager, WKHX and WYAY Atlanta. "This was honestly an easy decision for our staff and a natural extension to the commitment that Big and Rich have made in bringing closure to Niles Harris. The timely tribute that we are able to give to the 173rd in its entirety, is flawed only by the five-year timetable they originally anticipated. It's heartwarming that everyone in this loop from Hi-Fi Buys to radio to Lynyrd Skynyrd, John Anderson and the Lost Trailers...simply everyone's immediate reaction is 'Let's get it done...NOW.' And we will."
Ranked as one of the best-selling artists of all time by the Recording Industry Association of America and recent Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee's, Lynyrd Skynrd is still going strong with almost 65 albums recorded, 26 million sold to date, and over 80 performances annually. The band is currently writing the follow-up to Vicious Cycle, the band's May 2003 release on Sanctuary Records that spawned the single "Red White and Blue," which was the band's strongest in over 25 years. To date, the Southern anthem "Sweet Home Alabama" has passed the 1,000,000 mark in downloaded master ringtones, proving that Lynyrd Skynyrd is a major industry icon that appeals to all generations.

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
Surprisingly, CPN downturn continues despite decline in Page sex outlook.



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Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
A truly recession proof play:

http://www.yikers.com/video_guy_hack...ree_money.html

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
of course these folks are bullish on PMs (kitco is a bullion dealer) but filter the noise and look at the credit market debt vs GDP as % graph:

BIG PICTURE –The US is widely adored as the world’s greatest empire, yet few realise that the emperor has no clothes. As the masses look up to the nation in admiration, they are fooled into believing that it is swimming in wealth; the reality being that it is up to its eyeballs in debt. The US economy is living on borrowed time and judgement day is inevitable. No nation in history has ever managed to escape such economic imbalances and I suspect the US won’t get away with it either. Let’s take a look at how this imaginary cloak has been woven:
The economic recovery since the 2001 recession has been manufactured by excessive credit-growth and consumption. For the first time ever, a central bank has purposely engineered a credit bubble with the intention of bringing artificial prosperity via rising asset-prices. The Federal Reserve dropped interest-rates and the majority of Americans became the proverbial kids in the candy store, unable to resist the temptation of cheap credit. This is evident from the fact that over the past 6 years, US household debt soared from $6.99 trillion to almost $12 trillion – a staggering increase of 70%! However, some economists today discard this record debt-explosion as irrelevant because the net-worth of US households over the same period has surged from $42 trillion to roughly $54 trillion (largely due to the housing boom). In other words, due to rampant credit and leverage in the economy, asset-prices have risen much more rapidly than debt levels. But the key question is whether this is sustainable and at what cost?
In my opinion, asset-prices can continue to rise for a long time if there are willing borrowers and a central bank armed with an endless supply of credit. However, you have to understand that rising asset-prices only give the illusion of prosperity. The truth is that rapid monetary inflation and credit growth always impoverish a society as money becomes abundant and therefore less valuable. So, everyone may feel richer as their homes and stock portfolios appreciate in value, but it’d be a mistake to confuse rising asset-prices in an economy with real wealth creation. After all, wealth is a relative concept and if everyone else’s homes have also risen in value, how wealthy have you really become?

Given the levels of debt in the US, I have no doubt that the Federal Reserve wants to keep the game going for as long as possible. It will achieve this by continuing to inflate the supply of money and credit. Under this scenario, the US dollar will surely depreciate against other major world currencies and especially against precious metals whose supply can’t be increased at the same pace.
In order to assess the US economy’s prospects, the most important issue to understand is that the recent economic expansion hasn’t been typical. The US wage growth has been extremely poor and the capital spending by American companies has also been dismal. In fact, real disposable income growth is now almost zero and over the past 5 years, capital spending has increased by a paltry 12%. So far, the US consumer alone has carried the baton through record-high indebtedness and consumer-spending; with home prices no longer appreciating, you have to wonder where the future borrowing-power will come from.
In my view, the US looks more and more like a bubble economy, a banana republic of some sorts, which is desperate for ever-rising asset-prices for its very survival. Should American home and stock prices stall, let alone decline, the fate of this great bubble will be sealed. Depreciating asset-prices will act like a dagger in the heart of this artificial recovery, so the Federal Reserve must continue to inflate at all costs.

Figure 1 clearly shows that in the US, the total debt as a percentage of GDP is currently at an all-time high. It is worth noting that the last time the US faced a meaningful contraction in debt relative to the size of its economy, it coincided with the depression years of the 1930’s. So, you can bet your farm that Mr. Bernanke & Co. will try their best to avoid a repeat of such a disaster by continuing to aid deficit spending through their ultra-loose monetary policies.
Figure 1: Gigantic debt-bubble in the US!

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
We all know more wars are coming to push the global agenda, i do'nt even have to post links anymore, but here they are any way.

Read up on serious information.
http://stuartwilde.com/SW_wn.asp
http://www.stevequayle.com/index1.html
http://www.diagnosis2012.co.uk/newz48.htm
http://www.infowars.com/
http://www.davidicke.com/content/blogcategory/30/48/
http://www.coasttocoastam.com/
http://www.paulingtherapy.com/
http://hometown.aol.com/codeufo/multiverse.html/
Please forward these sites.

spread the peace through INTERNET, its a powerful tool if we are gonna survive.

"peace for peace, don't Fight for peace."

"Dressed all over and Zesty Mordant"

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
What 2 Wall Streeters does our Master respect? Warren Buffet and Eddie Lambert http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/2004...ert18nov04.htm

Darn, I did not know this: "Mad Money's producer used to oversee the Jerry Springer Show" http://www.kiplinger.com/personalfin...09/cramer.html

As a Cramer Robot, here are some of his Nasties I live by:

>Bottom Spotting:"There was no reason to panic and sell the stock, but panic [people] did" as analysts "knocked it down with their downgrades," Cramer said -- The lesson to be learned is that people should pay close attention to analysts as their comments, upgrades and downgrades can affect stock prices, but folks shouldn't just blindly follow what analysts advise -- "Bottoms are created by too much negativity," Cramer said, adding that when there is this type of "bear raid," people should do their own homework on the company and stock -- "When you see a stock hit with multiple downgrades and it plummets -- that's when you should swing into action and see if it deserves to be down or if it's just because of the analysts."
http://www.thestreet.com/pf/funds/ma.../10309966.html
====================
>Cash In on CEO Withdrawals when the CEO is the core problem with a company
http://www.thestreet.com/_tscs/funds.../10308484.html

====================
>Speculating
Penny Stocks: companies with no earnings or issues trading on the Pink Sheets, a loosely regulated trading system that handles mainly small firms -- Avoid those, along with the names traded by way of the over-the-counter Bulletin Board, he said.

"There's a sweet spot in the speculation business -- the $2 to $10 spot," he said. "This is where you'll make all the money." Should there be a stock that interests an investor but trades above $10, "you might want to consider using options to speculate." As on the previous show, Cramer emphasized that speculation must be done only with discretionary money -- that is, money that won't be missed if it's lost -- and never money in a retirement account. Speculative stocks grow very quickly, but they can die very quickly as well, meaning investors must keep an eye on what he called the life cycle of the company.

http://www.thestreet.com/pf/funds/ma.../10306803.html

============

>>Defensive Stocks: These companies supply products that people buy regardless of how the economy is doing, he said-- These stocks are recession proof
http://www.thestreet.com/pf/funds/re.../10305462.html

==============
Tracy Byrnes explains Cramer:

>CramerLand Speak: http://www.thestreet.com/_tscs/video.../10300412.html

>Futures: http://www.thestreet.com/pf/funds/bo.../10305884.html

>Options:
http://www.thestreet.com/pf/funds/bo.../10310716.html
http://www.thestreet.com/pf/funds/bo.../10306968.html

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
Out of desperation, I "Googled" this: "faith healers and stocks" and came across a new help: here's hoping...

Dear Reverend <John Doe>:

Through Pay Pal, I am sending you $19.95 to pray over my stock symbol "q," whch goes up and down in the $8.75 to $9 range--I need for it to break through its 52 week high of $9.22...Can you help?

With kindest regards,
Z

My Dear Z:

Thank you for the email and your love offering. I have added Quest's stock symbol to the "cemetery." During trading hours, I raise dead stock. FYI, when this occurs, normally, the stock holder sends another love offering of 10% of the amount earned, because, obviously, my service is prayer intensive.

Can I have a witness,
Reverend <John Doe>
The Church of Wall Street

Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler -- Albert Einstein

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
I bought a package of 12 Dollar General razors for, dah, a dollar

Right off, I was obviously pleased to get two bonus razors!

(There is a gawd, and he is just at times)

The basic metric here then is hard to establish, because, obviously 12/$1 does not work--I am not sure how to factor in those 2 bonus blades to get a solid metric

I also sported for a can of Gunk Liquid Wrench, which is DG's knock off of WD-40 (sorry, my Master (Cramer), I did not go for Best of Breed) at $1.50

I bought one can of DG shaving lather for $1

Thus, the next metric is Tot Cost ($3.50) compared to CVS's $6.49

Once in the shower, I lather up and move to my next metric I am testing: how long should I wait before shaving after lathering up...I am sensing the metric here is 61.98723 seconds--but I have not completed my homework, so I could be wrong (Master Cramer is no help, alas)

Once I complete a Shave, I scrub down the razor, dry it, and then give it a good squirt of Gunk, for I have established what dulls a razor is oxidation and not shave-qua-shave (to be philosophical)

Once a week, I run my DG razor through the dishwasher (along with all my dishes) to give the blade what in the car biz is called Detailing...Once done, two squirts of Gunk for the "shine."


I can report my razor is going strong after 3-months! And in this Conference Call, I expect this razor to last through the next quarter. I am still establishing in my R&D program how many squirts of Gunk is in a can, as well as in the shaving cream can. With powerful savings in sight, the upcoming holiday season should be more joyous with the added $0.08 I am saving Total Costs Per Shave. DG razors, Gunk, and shaving cream are definite buys at this time!

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
i know cnbc was too busy having the dow celebratory lunch to notice, but since i WAS banking on amaranth being the bloated floating corpse in the water, this made me notice. hopefully a blip, first on bloomberg (does bloomberg still have the terminals you can buy?)

Pirate Capital Says Half of Investment Staff Resigns (Update4)
By Katherine Burton and Jenny Strasburg
Sept. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Pirate Capital LLC, a $1.7 billion hedge fund, said five of its 10 investment professionals resigned or were fired, two weeks after the firm came under regulatory scrutiny for possible securities-law violations.
Pirate founder Thomas Hudson, in a letter sent today to investors, didn't say what led to the departures. He'll close the Norwalk, Connecticut-based firm's funds to new investments, and concentrate on managing money rather than courting clients and overseeing his staff, according to the letter.
``My goal is to focus on returns, not the size of the assets we manage,'' he wrote.
Pirate may have violated securities rules by belatedly disclosing the sales of its stakes in OSI Restaurant Partners Inc. and Freightcar America Inc., lawyers not involved in the matter said earlier this month. The firm said it eventually publicly reported the stock sales after being contacted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The SEC is investigating Pirate, according to a person with direct knowledge of the probe, who declined to be identified because the inquiry isn't public.
Hudson, 40, built a reputation as an activist investor by taking stakes in companies and pressing for changes to boost their stock prices. Recent campaigns against companies including James River Coal Co. and GenCorp Inc. have fallen short.
Hudson declined to comment when contacted by e-mail.
`Mischaracterization'
The letter said analysts Zachary George and David Lorber resigned on Sept. 26, and Carl Klein, the firm's fixed-income portfolio manager, quit the next day. Hudson then fired analysts David Muccia and Matthew Goldfarb, the letter said. All will leave after a 30-day transition.
``What Hudson wrote in the letter to investors is a blatant mischaracterization of the circumstances of our departure,'' Goldfarb and Muccia said during a phone call this evening. ``We are currently exploring appropriate legal remedies.''
Still at Pirate are Stephanie Tran, Peter Desloge, Glenn Haberfield and Chadd Kirk, according to the letter. Hudson said he may hire a new analyst.
At the end of August, the firm's Jolly Roger domestic fund was up 3.3 percent for the year, while the offshore fund returned 5.2 percent. Both the onshore and offshore Activist funds had climbed about 2.8 percent. That's below the 5.8 percent average return of equity hedge funds this year, according to Hedge Fund Research Inc. in Chicago.
Holdings Decline
Shares of companies that are among the funds' largest holdings declined today. CEC Entertainment Inc., the Irving, Texas-based owner and franchiser of Chuck E. Cheese pizza restaurants, fell 2.7 percent to $31.92 at 4:16 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Pirate held 3 million shares, or 9 percent, as of August, according to regulatory filings.
Shares of PW Eagle Inc., a Eugene, Oregon-based maker of polyvinyl pipes for water and sewage systems, fell 3.9 percent to $29.98 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. Pirate owned 2.7 million shares, or 22 percent, as of this month.
Pirate owned 7 million shares, or 10 percent, of CKE Restaurants Inc., the Carpinteria, California-based parent of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's restaurants. The shares fell 2.5 percent to $16.61 on the New York Stock Exchange.
In a September newsletter for investors, Hudson called James River Coal the ``shipwreck of the month.'' He pushed the Richmond, Virginia-based company to add three new board members in August. The stock has since tumbled 28 percent.
Earlier this year, Pirate won a proxy contest at GenCorp Inc., a defense contractor based in Rancho Cordova, California, gaining three board seats. The shares are trading at $13.06, down from the firm's average cost of $13.50 a share.
Hudson, who has more than 90 percent of his own net worth in the fund, said he would hold a conference call for clients on Oct. 3.
To contact the reporters on this story: Katherine Burton in New York at kburton@bloomberg.net ; Jenny Strasburg in New York at jstrasburg@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: September 28, 2006 21:13 EDT

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
Just wanted to know how many other people also bet sports / gamble in addtion to play the market. Got in a discussion with a friend of mine about it. I could see how certain people are more prone to it due to their personality. And if you do, what kind of trader are you? Day, Swing, long, etc....

I could see day or swing traders being more of the gambler type or they just like the action.

Curious to get some other insight.

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
Have you heard of the Rule of 72 and its tremendous predictive power to illustrate the snowballing effect of compound interest and it's interesting.

Here's how it works: take the number of "72" and mentally divide it by the absolute value of an interest rate to quickly work out the number of years compound interest need to double your money.

So if you had invested $10,000 at a steady 6% each year, it will take you 12 years to grow that money to $20,000.

Hope this is of some help to all of us trying to double our money.


good luck
Steve

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
I oft times reflect upon how moi became a Cramer Automaton

I think his Friday show is one reason, because it was packed with cynical Wall Street Wisdom (or as I prefer “Nasties”)

First was his take on Ethanol http://www.thestreet.com/_tscs/funds...0310783_2.html

Next, what “Markup Week” is really all about
http://www.thestreet.com/_tscs/funds...0310783_3.html

It amazes me how the Big Shots of the World get away with such things, such as Markup Week and TV networks with juicing up Rating Periods and advertisers let them get away with this

The side to CramerLand that sux for me are those wasted college tours
All I can ponder is why no one seemingly ever thinks about the book of “Ecclesiastes”

I am certainly not religious, but I sure wish Master Cramer would scan this book and slow down his insane marketing of himself before he lets the forces behind him do an “Elvis Presley” on him…

Oh, I am testing for two-weeks Investors Business Daily’s “Under $10 stocks”
What a busy screen…

I am such a sucker for these two-week tests of newsletters as I refine my stock screener

Alas, even with this newsletter I still have to do my homework!

Boy, it is so darn hard being that irrational committed Cramer Automaton!

(Wish I could make all that ez money his callers extol about after only watching Cramer for a few months and these darn callers probably ain't even a Cramer Robot as moi--strolling in and, and reaping moi's loot--GEEZ!!)

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
found this and thought it was worth the 3 minutes to read:

from Steve Sjuggerud's Daily Wealth:

The Mara River Meets Wall Street
by Tom Dyson
September 18, 2006

Every year in June, in search of grass and water, three million wildebeest move from the Serengeti grasslands in Tanzania to the Maasai Mara grasslands in Kenya. And every October, they go back again.

The scale of this migration is hard to imagine. Try this: From a satellite in space, the animals look like a black stain moving across East Africa.

The Mara River crossing is the final – and most perilous – hurdle of the long journey. It’s nature’s way of controlling the wildebeest population. The banks are mostly jagged and cliff-like, so in most places, it’s a long drop into the river. It’s easier to cross the river where the banks are depressed and there’s less vegetation. The herd gathers at these points.

The river is high from rains upstream and the current is strong. The mud beside the river is very heavy too. But a worse danger lurks in the water: crocodiles. The waters are crowded with Nile crocodiles. They know there’s a walking banquet on the way, and they gather at the fords.

The animals pace up and down the bank, grunting loudly, eyeing the dangerous river. They are anxious. No one wants to go first. Finally one animal takes the lead and lunges in. The crowd then surges into the river behind.

Carnage follows. Thousands of wildebeest charge the river. Some animals are trampled to death. Others panic and dive in where the bank is too sheer. Many drown, especially the young. And all around, crocodile jaws thrash about in the water, snapping at the weak swimmers.

It is estimated that up to 25,000 wildebeest die at the Mara River each year.

I love Africa… and I’ve written about investing there many times this year. But this column is not about Africa. It’s about the manic behavior of investors in the commodity markets this month. They’re acting like wildebeest. And right now, the crocodiles are tearing their guts out.

News of huge inventories is spooking the energy pits. “Storage is almost maxed-out,” said one analyst. “Soon they’ll have to cap the gas wells.” Oil is down 19.6% in the last 35 days. Natural gas hit its lowest price in two years yesterday.

The Financial Times says the panic in oil and gas has spread to the metals. Gold is down $65 in the last eight trading days, a 10% loss. Silver is down $2.50 over the same period; a 21% drop.

Wall Street says this is the beginning of a new bear market in commodities. I found research from Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch and Citigroup in the last few days on this matter.

Wildebeest. Don’t believe them.

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
I got a divorce - not nasty, because we both realized the only ones who win with this are the lawyers. We may have fell out of love, but we fortunately did not fall out of our senses.

I decided to get back into the dating scene; thus, on line dating. What a world! If Cramer PO's youse, then on line dating will take this to a new level of being PO'd.

First, dating sites want you to pay to get ignored. If you catch a "fish"? once every one hundred times you wink or blink interest, you catch a woman who wants a guy either like their dead husband or an alcoholic creep who beat the crap outta em. These ladies also want to talk about kids and grand kids—puh-leaze! My favorite on-line ladies though are those who I am sure are models, because their pictures are always posted. I ponder how could such lovelies never find a guy?

Anyway, at last I have found a FREE dating site! http://inmatesforyou.com/ THESE LADIES RESPOND!! I don't know what it is but I am just plain partial to murderesses. After I have done my homework and like the Metrics (Master Cramer has taught me well), I plan on conjugal visits to feel each other out. If I can, I will check her out for a day. I should probably not refer to her as "my wittle library book"? in our communications. I will keep you updated on my search for the Beautiful Murderess who will have me. BOOYAH!!

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
http://tinyurl.com/ms3bt

Obviously another government conspiracy right fellas? These poor terrorists are just so misunderstood. If people would only leave them alone

The Guru has spoken

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
Yea, I finally came to terms I am Cramer robot. When I am accused of this here (by implication), the poster has it wrong about what I am, at least. For example, I do not blindly follow Cramer. I take one of his picks and follow it for a week or more to get into the psychology of the stock (remember humans are behind any jiggling up and down of a stock). The Fundamentals are important, but in the end, what also controls a stock at any one moment is the resulting vector of all the other minor vectors creating the Main Vector of up/down/flat. If I can catch how a stock is vectoring, then for me, it may be usually worth a taste. I find a small taste initially will more focus me on the stock (sorta like cancer is a terrific focuser). I am very, very good at picking stocks that will jiggle about a flat line once I buy in. This is Mad Money, so no big deal. Note, too, I am moving up from blindly just buying into a Cramer filler to separate the ads, as I once did. My next goal is to pick stocks that stay on the rise.

Oh, this is important Newbie-Newbies here: I am diversified, because I let a good mutual fund handle my retirement. Were I twenty something, I would do my investment work for retirement, because I would have time to learn as Master Cramer did. Expensive lessons at Hard Knock U are fine if you have a lonnnnnnnnng time line to recover and can become a “Cramer.”


As a Cramer Robot, I am getting to the point at least once a week I can anticipate a Cramer Pick. I have my Newgator RSS Newsreader set up to scan the Style Pages of the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, and LA Times. I also scan the obits in the Times, thus, I picked up on this obit: “Bill Stumpf, a designer of the much-honored and highly popular Aeron ergonomic office chair, died on Aug. 30 in Rochester, Minn…” and then Cramer’s take on 9/11/06 the next night: http://www.thestreet.com/_tscs/funds...0308209_3.html

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
Please don't forget to watch the video after you read the letter!


Strongest Dad in the World
[From Sports Illustrated, By Rick Reilly]

I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay for their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots.

But compared with Dick Hoyt, I stink.

Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same day.

Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. on a bike. Makes taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?

And what has Rick done for his father? Not much--except save his life.

This love story began in Winchester, Mass., 43 years ago, when Rick was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs.

``He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life;'' Dick says doctors told him and his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. ``Put him in an institution.''

But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was anything to help the boy communicate. ``No way,'' Dick says he was told. ``There's nothing going on in his brain.''

"Tell him a joke,'' Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a lot was going on in his brain.

Rigged up with a computer that allowed him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? ``Go Bruins!'' And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the school organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, ``Dad, I want to do that.''

Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described ``porker'' who never ran more than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he tried. ``Then it was me who was handicapped,'' Dick says. ``I was sore for two weeks.''

That day changed Rick's life. ``Dad,'' he typed, ``when we were running, it felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!''

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
Oops, even his eminence has to watch out, quoting a 14th century scribe on the differences between Jesus and Mohammed and the S*** hits the fan. You would think of all people the Infallable Vicar of Christ on Earth would have realized you can't point out the truth to zealots or they take out their frustration with violence.
Truth should be left in the province of science who's single goal is to find it, it is too important to be left in the hands of politicians, and religious zealots, whose only use for the truth is to spin it to their ends or to obfuscate it.

Disclaimer: I am an athiest and find the whole state of affairs to boil down to the "Angels on the head of a pin" debate, a bunch of people bringing their intense belief in their own brand of nonsense being pissed off at the other guy and his brand of nonsense.

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
I am posting my theory here and not in the guru section, because I am not a stock guru, but anyway, see if you like my hypothesis for the sake of argument:

(1) The ACQUIRED company (“xmsr”) will be the company that gets the bounce

(2) “siri” has the better CEO and will be the ACQUIRER

(3) Once joined, there could be only one receiver type, much like early on in radio we got am radio—allowing for the springing forth of broadcasting

(4) The NEW “siri” could tier services after a trial period offering all the services—Tiering would allow users only to have to subscribe to the services s/he desires—as with cable

(5) Looking at the “siri” and “xmsr” charts:
http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=XMS...d=p68749676377
http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=SIR...d=p68749676377

(6) Xmsr has the stronger Slow Stochastic, thus indicating strong interest by big buyers of the stock -- Is something afoot?
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/...oscillator.asp

(7) Its MACD has moved very big into the Buy range for "xmsr"

8 Its RSI is nicely above 50

(9) Its price is up

(10) All this speculating breaks one of Master Cramer's Rules: do NOT gamble on kinda/shoulda/woulda, so forget my speculating "siri" will start the acquitsition of Xm Radio within 30 days, because this is pretty lame, so forget what I have written...It's the weekend...

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
You Can Be A Millionaire But It Takes Time

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
Interesting perspective from the right.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...r=emailarticle

Republicans distancing themselves from Bush et al as a move towards self preservation. Gonna be an interesting political season, we'll see which side does the best job of self destruction, usually the Dems are better at shooting themselves in the foot, but this time the Repubs have a lot more to lose and it's gonna be difficult to blame anyone but themselves for the state of affairs we see today.


Disclaimer: I am a godless liberal, and my motives should be regarded as an attempt to put forth that agenda.

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
SMILE - TALK - RAISE BOTH ARMS -STICK OUT TONGUE





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My cousin who is a pediatrician send me this e-mail.





STROKE: Remember The 1st Three Letters...S.T.R.





STROKE IDENTIFICATION:
During a BBQ, a friend stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) and that she had just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food. While she appeared a bit shaken up, Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening. Ingrid's husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital - (at 6:00 pm, Ingrid passed away.) She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Ingrid would be with us today. Some don't die. They end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead.

It only takes a minute to read this...
A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.
RECOGNIZING A STROKE
Thank God for the sense to remember the "3" steps, STR . Read and Learn!
Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.

Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

S * Ask the individual to SMILE.
T * Ask the person to TALK to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE
(Coherently) (i.e. . . It is sunny out today)
R * Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

*NOTE: Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the person to 'stick' out their
tongue. If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other,
that is also an indication of a stroke. If he or she has trouble with
ANY ONE of these tasks, call 911 immediately !! and describe the
symptoms to the dispatcher.

The Guru has spoken

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
I see this:

"Most users ever online simultaneously was 254, 06-07-2006 at 10:00 PM."

What in the Fabric of Time happened to cause this?

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
Average worker vs. Military man

----Your alarm goes off, you hit the snooze and sleep for another 10 minutes.

He stays up for days on end.

-- -- You take a warm shower to help you wake up.

He goes days or weeks without running water.

-- -- You complain of a "headache", and call in sick.

He gets shot at, as others are hit, and keeps moving forward.

-- -- You put on your anti war/don't support the troops shirt, and go meet up with your friends.

He still fights for your right to wear that shirt.

-- -- You make sure you're cell phone is in your pocket.

He clutches the cross hanging on his chain next to his dog tags.

-- -- You talk trash on your "buddies" that aren't with you.

He knows he may not see some of his buddies again.

-- -- You walk down the beach, staring at all the pretty girls.

He walks the streets, searching for insurgents and terrorists.

-- -- You complain about how hot it is.

He wears his heavy gear, not daring to take off his helmet to wipe his brow.

-- -- You go out to lunch, and complain because the restaurant got your order wrong.

He does not get to eat today.

-- -- Your maid makes your bed and washes your clothes.

He wears the same things for months, but makes sure his weapons are clean.

-- -- You go to the mall and get your hair redone.

He doesn't have time to brush his teeth today.

-- -- You are angry because your class ran 5 minutes over.

He is told he will be held an extra 2 months.

---- You call your girlfriend and set a date for that night.

He waits for the mail to see if there is a letter from home.

-- -- You hug and kiss your girlfriend, like you do everyday.

He holds his letter close and smells his love's perfume.

-- -- You roll your eyes as a baby cries.

He gets a letter with pictures of his new child, and wonders if they'll ever meet.

-- -- You criticize your government, and say that war never solves anything.

He sees the innocent tortured and killed by their own government and remembers why he is fighting.

-- -- You hear the jokes about the war, and make fun of the men like him.

He hears the gun fire and bombs.

-- -- You see only what the media wants you to see.

He sees the bodies lying around him.

-- -- You are asked to go to the store by your parents. You don't.

He does what he is told.

-- -- You stay at home and watch TV.

He takes whatever time he is given to call and write home, sleep, and eat.

-- -- You crawl into your bed, with down pillows, and try to get comfortable.

He crawls under a tank for shade and a 5 minute nap, only to be awakened by gun fire.

-- -- You sit there and judge him, saying the world is a worse place because of men like him.

If only there were more men like him !!

The Guru has spoken

Thierry Martin
04-23-2013,
Freedom is Not Free / War Is Hell

A Story of Six Boys


Each year I am hired to go to Washington, DC , with the eighth grade class from Clinton , WI where I grew up, to videotape their trip. I greatly enjoy visiting our nation's capitol, and each year I take some special memories back with me. This fall's trip was especially memorable.


On the last night of our trip, we stopped at the Iwo Jima memorial. This memorial is the largest bronze statue in the world and depicts one of the most famous photographs in history -- that of the six brave soldiers raising the American Flag at the top of a rocky hill on the island of Iwo Jima, Japan, during WW II.


Over one hundred students and chaperones piled off the buses and headed towards the memorial. I noticed a solitary figure at the base of the statue, and as I got closer he asked, "Where are you guys from?"
I told him that we were from Wisconsin "Hey, I'm a cheese head, too! Come gather around, Cheese heads, and I will tell you a story."


(James Bradley just happened to be in Washington, DC , to speak at the memorial the following day. He was there that night to say good night to his dad, who has since passed away. He was just about to leave when he saw the buses pull up. I videotaped him as he spoke to us, and received his permission to share what he said from my videotape. It is one thing to tour the incredible Monuments filled with history in Washington , D.C. , but it is quite another to get the kind of insight we received that night.)


When all had gathered around, he reverently began to speak. (Here are his words that night.)


"My name is James Bradley and I'm from Antigo, Wisconsin my dad is on that statue, and I just wrote a book called "Flags of Our Fathers". It is the story of the six boys you see behind me. "Six boys raised the flag. The first guy putting the pole in the ground is Harlon Block. Harlon was an all-state football player. He enlisted in the Marine Corps with all the senior members of his football team. They were off to play another type of game. A game called "War." But it didn't turn out to be a game.


Harlon, at the age of 21, died with his intestines in his hands. I don't say that to gross you out, I say that because there are generals who stand in front of this statue and talk about the glory of war. You guys need to know that most of the boys in Iwo Jima were 17, 18, and 19 years old.


(He pointed to the statue) "You see this next guy? That's Rene Gagnon from New Hampshire. If you took Rene's helmet off at the moment this photo was taken and looked in the webbing of that helmet, you would find a photograph... a photograph of his girlfriend. Rene put that in there for protection because he was scared. He was 18 years old. Boys won the battle of Iwo Jima Boys. Not old men.


"The next guy here, the third guy in this tableau, was Sergeant Mike Strank. Mike is my hero. He was the hero of all these guys. They called him the "old man" because he was so old. He was already 24. When Mike would motivate his boys in training camp, he didn't say, 'Let's go kill some Japanese' or 'Let's die for our country.' He knew he was talking to little boys. Instead he would say, 'You do what I say, and I'll get you home to your mothers.'


"The last guy on this side of the statue is Ira Hayes, a Pima Indian from Arizona. Ira Hayes walked off Iwo Jima. He went into the White House with my dad. President Truman told him, 'You're a hero.' He told reporters, 'How can I feel like a hero when 250 of my buddies hit the island with me and only 27 of us walked off alive?' So you take your class at school, 250 of you spending a year together having fun, doing everything together. Then all 250 of you hit the beach, but only 27 of your classmates walk off alive. That was Ira Hayes. He had images of horror in his mind. Ira Hayes died dead drunk, face down at the age of 32 .. ten years after this picture was taken.