Arizona Senate Bill 1070 – evil or commonsense
Posted By RichC on May 7, 2010
How draconian is the new Arizona illegal immigration law? Read for yourself below:
Trading glitches & unrest in Europe making it tough on investors
Posted By RichC on May 7, 2010
If the whipsaw moves in the stock market didn’t make you sick to your stomach today, then you’d make a great bluewater sailor. I’ve followed the market as an investor and occasional daytrader since the crash of 1987 and I don’t ever recall as rapid a selloff as we saw Thursday 
afternoon.
As I was driving between sales calls and checking the market on my Palm Pre (screenshot below), I notice the market going south at about 2:40 p.m. Minutes later the DOW took a breathtaking 998- point drop as I pulled over to tune into the financial news on my computer. 
By the time I could log in the collapse below 10,000 saw buy orders push the oversold panic back to levels bring the market close to “just another lousy day for investors.” Markets all closed down, but not as bad as it could have been.
Most pointed their fingers at the situation in Greece where rioting continues in protest – link. Today’s action inflamed protestors even more as their parliament passed a package requiring deep cuts to government services, government paychecks and government controlled retirement pensions — one of the many problems with over promising socialist political system (don’t get me started on the road the U.S. is ‘currently’ heading down!).
The last few days has seen selling in the face of unrest in Europe, but today it was near panic … or what many on Wall Street are blaming on “trading glitches.” (part of WSJ article below)
The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said they were working with other regulators to review "unusual trading activity." The major U.S. stock exchanges said they were looking for trading glitches and examining potentially erroneous trades in multiple stocks. Major exchanges said they will cancel erroneous trades that occurred during the selloff.
Multiple stocks, ranging from Accenture PLC to Boston Beer Co., momentarily lost nearly 100% of their value, changing hands for just one penny. Exchange-traded funds, which are index funds that trade like stocks on exchanges, were also temporarily vaporized. The $9.5 billion iShares Russell 1000 Value Index Fund went from $59 to around 8 cents in the blink of an eye.
"It happened so quickly, it was like a torpedo," said Scott Redler, chief strategic officer at T3 Capital Management, a hedge fund. "It was mayhem."
Unnerved traders frantically searched for an explanation, scouring the trade blotters for clues to the cause. Many pinned the blame on an erroneous trade for a basket of stocks which caused shares for companies such as Procter & Gamble Co., one of the market’s most stable blue-chip stocks, to fall 35% in two minutes.
Solo sailor Abby Sunderland sails into Cape Town
Posted By RichC on May 6, 2010
Sixteen year old solo sailor Abby Sunderland has sailed safely into Cape Town South Africa in her circumnavigation adventure. She was met by her father and brother who took the same trip last year.
Although I’m an advocate for those who cruise and sail oceans (Jessica Watson and previous post), the record seeking trend to be the youngest has me concerned as to how young is too young. In Abby’s case, she is well equipped and experienced having support from sponsors and family, but others may not be as ready. (video of her arrival below)
Newt Gingrich on the illegal immigration problem
Posted By RichC on May 6, 2010
Here’s Newt Gingrich in a one minute MP3 sound-bite offering clear, concise and commonsense solution for our SW border problem. His short talking points would make a great template for those in Washington DC who are suppose to be securing the borders, addressing illegal immigration and protecting the citizens of this country.
The short audio snippet was part of a longer question and answer of his interview with Greta Van Susteren Wednesday night.
Sunsets in Ohio have been beautiful this Spring
Posted By RichC on May 5, 2010
The ping.fm app failed to post a photo from my Palm Pre to the blog last night … so I’ll ‘tweak it’ and manually add it today. It could have been my fault, but with so many posting options I’m not sure I’ll spend all that much time using it. It was a beautiful evening.
What a car is worth: $30-40 million?
Cinco de Mayo – few celebrating know why they do
Posted By RichC on May 5, 2010
As the population of the United States continues to expand, particularly with those of Mexican ancestry, Cinco de Mayo celebrations are becoming more and more popular in all parts of the United States. Not a single American I asked knew why May 5th has become such a popular day of celebration for all Americans (me included). Most ‘guessed’ that it was Mexico’s independence day … no, that would be September 16, 1810 …and none guessed that is was due to the Battle of Puebla (what???). Add to the mix that it was against the French forces and most admitted that they were clueless that the French were even in Mexico – one friend said, “you mean a battle against the Spanish forces?”
The date May 5th is celebrated because on that day in 1862, much larger and better equipped French army was defeated by the Mexican army, lead by General Ignacio Zaragoza Sequin in the Mexican state of Puebla. 
The victory really wasn’t the beginning of success for the Mexican army, but one which just delayed the French from advancing on Mexico City. The French invaded Mexico after President Benito Juárez refused to make interest payments their nation’s debt. Eventually the French went on to occupy Mexico and put a puppet leader in control in 1864, Maximilian I, Emperor of Mexico. It wasn’t until 1867, pressured by the U.S., that the French removed their forces which saw Benito Juárez return to power (executing Maximilian I).
What makes the Battle of Puebla impressive is that the odds were stacked 2 to 1 against the Mexican army, yet they still defeated the well-equipped French army, something that hadn’t been done for 50 years. Interestingly in Mexico, Cinco de Mayo is a regional holiday limited primarily to the state of Puebla. 
For the most part the celebrations combine food, music, and dancing.
In the United States, the holiday has expanded over the years and is celebrated by Americans of all cultures; it has become a day much like St. Patrick’s Day, Oktoberfest and the Chinese New Year which celebrates the culture and experiences of Americans with a particular ancestry. All I know is that I love Mexican food and hospitality … and that I’ll be celebrating even closer to home every week of the year!
🙂
BP oil disaster is affecting thousands and will cost billions
Posted By RichC on May 4, 2010
According to an Associated Press report, the casualties are starting to show up on the Gulf of Mexico. Experts are hesitate to point to the oil spill as the cause of death for every specie, but it is easy to speculate that oil is a contributing factor for many of the fish and birds. Sea turtles are also being found and although they don’t have noticeable oil on their carcass, it is likely they are being affected too.
Besides the environmental damage, the economic impact will also be felt far and wide. Everything being shipped in and out of the ports as well as the obvious tourism industry in the gulf shore areas will be impacted. BP has pledged to “it would compensate people for legitimate and objectively verifiable" claims from the explosion and spill,” but many may have a difficult time figuring out how to seek compensation … especially those who businesses and jobs may be impacted for more that a single season.
The AP also stated that “The new image found oil covering about 2,000 square miles, rather than the roughly 3,400 square miles observed last Thursday, said Hans Graber of the University of Miami.
The new image also shows that sizable patches have broken away and are moving to the north and east, Graber said.
Crews have been struggling to stop the more than 200,000 gallons a day spewing from the sea after an offshore drilling platform blew up and sank last month in a disaster that killed 11 workers. The accident is the worst U.S. oil spill since the tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground in Alaska, leaking nearly 11 million gallons of crude.
Chemical dispersants seemed to be helping to keep oil from floating to the surface, but crews haven’t been able to activate a shutout valve underwater. And it could take another week before a 98-ton concrete-and-metal box is placed over one of the leaks to capture the oil.
More ominously, it could take three months to drill sideways into the well and plug it with mud and concrete.”
American Express marketing USB gadget – Safe?
Posted By RichC on May 3, 2010
American Express continues their rich and creative advertising using USB technology computer technology to entice card members 
and ‘would be’ card members to apply for one of their credit cards. I started to ponder the safety of popping the little fold out USB plug into a waiting computer … wondering just who made the card and what might be included on the circuitry? I regularly read that many of the USB memory chip devices coming from China are laced with programming other than what was intended for the product. Electronic photo display frames have been especially a problem.
I’m not doubting the integrity of American Express or its marketing division, 
but suspect these kinds of low cost advertising items are produced overseas where ‘who knows what’ can be unscrupulously added to the USB circuit. Still, the temptation was too much and I plugged the website launching redirect in to my Mac … chose not to plug it into my Windows notebook.
I dissected the foam credit card just to see what was actually included in the little USB plug. This can’t cheap to produce, but on the other hand a annual fee paying American Express customer must be worth the marketing?
🙂
Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee
- lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
- digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.