Behold The Beast Man

Moving Sale

2008-07-03T21:22:00.003-04:00

i'm now at

http://misterman.wordpress.com

check me out over there. time to grow it up a little bit.

View of a Fading Giant

2008-06-30T21:31:00.000-04:00

Gloom and Doom? Nah; Just for the U.S. - Barrons.com: "You continue to be very bearish on the U.S. But haven't there been other times when there was lots of negative sentiment toward the U.S., only to see another era of prosperity emerge? Such as the late 1980s, when there was concern that Japan would take over the U.S. economy. Look at how that turned out.

Yes, but we haven't been through anything like what we are going through now. The United States has really been living in a fool's paradise, or a phony economy, probably for more than 20 years. But our economy has been growing and getting bigger and bigger. We have been able to convince the world to lend us money and to provide us with goods that we don't produce and that we can't afford to pay for with exports. And it has gotten to the point now where the problem is so big, especially since the real-estate bubble. We've now borrowed so much money from abroad. Our trade deficits are now very big, and our industrial base and our infrastructure have been allowed to decay for so long, that we are now at a point that we can only survive as an economy thanks to the charity of the rest of the world. They have provided us with all the goods that we can no longer produce because we lack the industrial capacity. And they have to lend us the money because we don't have any savings"

I think this is a very hard point to argue against. After reading a little bit of the intelligent investor this weekend, I feel like forecasts can be deeply subject to time horizon. With the cheapness of many sectors of the United States economy right now I feel that one can't ignore large companies. One can almost dig for them like that treasured DVD at the bottom of the Wal-Mart bin, yet the cheap ones seem everywhere.

Nonetheless, the majority of my recommendations lie in multinational and international companies.

But isn't there an argument that once we clean up this housing mess -- along with the credit bubble, whenever that occurs -- the U.S. will be a lot closer to a bottom, where the outlook begins to improve?

I don't think that's true. The resolution to the housing problem is going to mean housing prices are going to be a lot lower than they are now, and most Americans are not going to have any home equity. It's going to mean that trillions of dollars will have been lost by the lenders. When the home equity is gone, Americans are broke, as they don't have any savings. All they had was their home equity. They were counting on their home equity, without which they will be unable to pay off their credit cards

I think this is not crystal in ball at this point. The while we are a nation of consumers, we are quite good at it. I believe that very many people are about to become very wealthy in the country because of the transfer of assets from the baby boomer retirement. The true test in my mind, will be if the middle class will exhaust this capital or ride the wave of international growth. The upper classes are growing as the defensive sectors like health care and utilities are strong. There are some good ideas in US Stocks as well as new the bond market.

Money interviews personal finance guru Suze Orman - Jun. 19, 2008

2008-06-26T14:13:00.000-04:00

Money interviews personal finance guru Suze Orman - Jun. 19, 2008: "A. No. I think it's absolutely possible you could see oil go to $150 or $160. I'd never tell you to put 100% of your money into anything. But I think in this economy you need to manage your money more actively."

Oh Suze Orman ye that defecates so effortlessly where you eat. You shun passive management in favor of vehicles designed to be actively traded?

Variable annuities can be an incredible deal when utilized properly. There is nothing wrong with paying an insurance company to insure you money. It is done for your house, your car, your health, why not your retirement? How else do you combat market risk in retirement, bond ladders?

I'm with you on the Target funds, their performance is poor matched with a poor strategy.

How can you find an adviser you can trust? Her answer sucks, don't gauge them on some set answer criteria. My answer?

Simple. Find someone you can trust, someone that will always take your calls. Someone that will explain things to you so that you can understand, and wants you to be educated. If you would feel awkward introducing said person to your family members, or talking to them in general then you've got the wrong adviser. Spend some time with him or her, do lunch. Ask them what they invest in, where they are from, what their goals are. Build a relationship, ask them to introduce you to other planners that will second their advice. Any adviser that you think you'll never see again with the exception of MAYBE fee based, steer clear.

Magazine Preview - Smoking, Drinking, Writing, Womanizing, Smoking, Drinking... - Mad Men - Television - NYTimes.com

2008-06-20T12:51:00.000-04:00

Magazine Preview - Smoking, Drinking, Writing, Womanizing, Smoking, Drinking... - Mad Men - Television - NYTimes.com: "“I love to be surrounded by perfectionists, and part of the problem with perfectionism is that by nature, you’re always failing.”"

That is the creator of the show Mad Men, one of the only things I'll watch on television these days. This quote is especially true for me.

In case you missed it

2008-06-14T08:25:00.002-04:00

IRB Try of the year for 2007

We have the fastest man in world rugby

Dream girl

2008-06-04T20:18:00.003-04:00

I am an athlete. My life is consumed by my sport. I spend it eating six or seven times daily, training a couple of hours per day, and doing copious amounts of cardio. I make sure I get my eight hours of sleep, and carry a gallon of water wherever I go.

I love motivation, what a beautiful and powerful woman. Apparently there are some women out there that have it all. Now if I could only find one.

Doom and Gloom

2008-06-02T23:50:00.002-04:00

International / Europe
Water Is a New Battleground in Spain
By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
Published: June 3, 2008
Spurred on by poorly planned development, swaths of southeast Spain are turning into desert.

"Climate change means that creeping deserts may eventually drive 135 million people off their land, the United Nations estimates. Most of them are in the developing world. But Southern Europe is experiencing the problem now, its climate drying to the point that it is becoming more like Africa’s, scientists say."

This, I believe is how the world will begin it's gradual decline. War brought on by a struggle for resources. We are running out.

Interesting Stuff

2008-05-27T08:35:00.002-04:00

"The highest corn prices since at least the Civil War mean U.S. feedlots are losing money on every animal they sell … Cattle prices haven’t kept pace with the grain used to feed the animals. Corn surged to a record $6.39 a bushel on May 9 from $3.6625 a year earlier.”

Also

“I’ve been lifting weights since I was 12 years old and look at me,” he said. Dr. Thompson is small and wiry with not a bulging muscle on him. He speculated that he must have a genetic inability to build muscles, no matter how hard he works at it.

I want these

2008-05-23T13:58:00.002-04:00

I just can't help but think, they are only going to improve the technology behind these blades. Soon everyone will want to run like this.

Interesting

2008-05-02T14:23:00.002-04:00

I called a potential client today and he adamantly refused to subscribe to any modern investing methods what so ever calling them a rip off, etc.. He said the only things that were worth investing in were Gold and Real Estate.

While the recent market cycle might have proven him wrong, over time he has seen relative appreciation. He offered to send me a video to explain to me the reason for these beliefs. Check it out.

There will be more blood

2008-04-29T10:16:00.001-04:00

"But the International Energy Agency estimates that current investments will be insufficient to replace declining oil production. The energy agency said it would take $5.4 trillion by 2030 to raise global output. Otherwise, it warned that a crisis before 2015 involving “an abrupt run-up in prices” could not be ruled out."

The cover of NYT today.. So where should we invest, alternative or more oil?

I'm back dear readers

2008-04-23T21:00:00.001-04:00

With some fearful news!

These men are savages...

"It's real. Just yesterday here, there was a man who was a victim. We saw. What was left was tiny," said 29-year-old Alain Kalala, who sells phone credits near a Kinshasa police station."

War

2008-03-04T19:56:00.001-05:00

On Thursday, the Joint Economic Committee, chaired by Senator Chuck Schumer, conducted a public examination of the costs of the war. The witnesses included the Nobel Prize-winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz (who believes the overall costs of the war — not just the cost to taxpayers — will reach $3 trillion), and Robert Hormats, vice chairman of Goldman Sachs International.

Said Mr. Stiglitz: “Because the administration actually cut taxes as we went to war, when we were already running huge deficits, this war has, effectively, been entirely financed by deficits. The national debt has increased by some $2.5 trillion since the beginning of the war, and of this, almost $1 trillion is due directly to the war itself ... By 2017, we estimate that the national debt will have increased, just because of the war, by some $2 trillion.”

Go Bush...

What I've become

2008-02-26T17:45:00.003-05:00

Because of the way I look I belong to a demographic, but that demographic is not mine. I am like a budhha, with arms rooted in everything, but a soul that lives alone.

I heard today that no one can take away your integrity, you have to give it away. Also, that you if you don't know what your passion is, you have to reassess your values.

What are my values?

Made me think..

Amy is so good

2008-02-08T09:48:00.001-05:00

It is just so sad that she is a crack head. I love this song

If my breakthrough role was a gay cowboy

2008-01-23T18:36:00.000-05:00

I might find it rough to deal with life as well...

Tragic..

Disease and Man on Man action

2008-01-14T21:56:00.000-05:00

Looks like it just got a little bit worse to be homosexual...

I remembered when I was younger and I used to follow my father into the hospitals where he worked. I remember asking him why there were so many gay men always in the waiting rooms.

He explained to me, between utilizing his massive brick car phone that they all were there usually because of urinary tract infections from routine e. coli exposure.

That can't feel good.

Moving to Africa

2008-01-10T15:31:00.000-05:00

Because of great men such as this..

Good WSJ Read

2008-01-02T10:40:00.000-05:00

Jared Diamond is the man, one of my favorite scientists.

"Real sacrifice wouldn’t be required, however, because living standards are not tightly coupled to consumption rates. Much American consumption is wasteful and contributes little or nothing to quality of life. For example, per capita oil consumption in Western Europe is about half of ours, yet Western Europe’s standard of living is higher by any reasonable criterion, including life expectancy, health, infant mortality, access to medical care, financial security after retirement, vacation time, quality of public schools and support for the arts. Ask yourself whether Americans’ wasteful use of gasoline contributes positively to any of those measures."

Good Read

2008-01-01T22:45:00.000-05:00

Although the women always started encounters with a stranger with many classical solicitation behaviors, after a few minutes their actions started to reflect their real feelings. Importantly, the women also seemed to control the encounter - what the women did had a direct effect on how the men behaved next.

"You can predict male behavior from female behavior but not the other way round," says Grammer. A woman's nod, for instance, kept a man talking.

Here is a FACT:

About 5.5% of the male population in America never marries.

Of this group, about 50% of these men are homosexuals.

Ok, so i'm a wikipedia junkie

2007-12-29T18:20:00.000-05:00

I always find fascinating stuff like this little morsel on NLP

"You need only three things to be an absolutely exquisite communicator. We have found that there are three major patterns in the behavior of every therapeutic wizard we've talked to — and executives, and salespeople. The first one is to know what outcome you want. The second is that you need flexibility in your behavior. You need to be able to generate lots and lots of different behaviors to find out what responses you get. The third is you need to have
enough sensory experience to notice when you get the responses that you
want..."

Evolutionary Psychology

2007-12-29T18:06:00.001-05:00

The brain is a physical system. It functions as a computer. Its circuits are designed to generate behavior that is appropriate to your environmental circumstances.

Our neural circuits were designed by natural selection to solve problems that our ancestors faced during our species' evolutionary history.

Consciousness is just the tip of the iceberg; most of what goes on in your mind is hidden from you. As a result, your conscious experience can mislead you into thinking that our circuitry is simpler than it really is. Most problems that you experience as easy to solve are very difficult to solve -- they require very complicated neural circuitry

Different neural circuits are specialized for solving different adaptive problems.

Our modern skulls house a stone age mind

--from wikipedia

Hooray Beer

2007-12-20T12:56:00.000-05:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3266819.stm

It looks like I am go no for beer tonight.

Who cares

2007-12-14T12:08:00.001-05:00

Does anyone really care if you used steroids or not? No, no one really cares. The NFL wouldn't be as cool with out them. I don't really like baseball, but same deal. All these old fogies and historians complaining about records being tarnished. So what, did you think they'd stand forever? What is a record but a memory in the minds of men, that exists only because people choose to remember it. What happen when people forget or die. I am sure Babe Ruth, wherever he might be right now could give a damn about how many balls he hit out of a park.

If people want to jack themselves up, by all means it shouldn't be illegal. Isn't this a free country? If you could shoot up for a chance at millions of dollars, to become an icon, or break records I am sure given the opportunity most would do it. Just enhancing what is already apparent, it isn't like these people are getting grafts of new genetics.

Not that I take any gear or would ever. It is kind of like weed, it should be decriminalized. I know there is stuff that makes you go nuts, get aggressive, and grow boobs. Well news flash, people will abuse it if it's legal or not.

Stuff annoys me. Oh and my previous post was kind of a rant, and yes it is far fetched. It was a fun thought though.

Long Asia, Short NY

2007-12-11T19:34:00.000-05:00

Much to the chagrin of every JAP that I know I am posting this.

RandomSouthFloridaPrincess: Uggh, I just have to get back to the city, I miss it so much
Me: Yeah, I've never been to New York
RandomSouthFloridaPrincess: mouth drops WHAT? Are you serious? serious tone Oh my god you have to go..

Well, sorry to say, but an empire never lasts forever. I think Asia which has more people, more resources, more room to grow, most importantly cheaper labor and human capital.

If you are an economics nerd, like I so happen to be, then you would argue that certain areas in Asia have a surplus of relative factor endowments. True, the growth in Asian economies has been fueled by our excessive marginal propensity to consume, but our consumption will collapse with the downfall of our greatest asset in mortgage equity. With the slowdown in domestic investment coupled with the fall in the value of the dollar, NY will suffer and the financial industry will immigrate. Leaving the city fueled entirely by entertainment. A menagerie of fashion and freaks, a permanent circus attraction. Well, I've never been there so maybe I'm not qualified to say so, but I am anyway.

Five people just left the blog for good after reading all of that.

``We still are negative on the dollar relative to most major currencies, so we bought stocks in companies that earn their money in other currencies,'' Buffett said Oct. 25. Buffett, 77, is chairman of Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

`Moving to Asia'

Jim Rogers, a former partner of investor George Soros, said last month he's selling his house and all his possessions in the U.S. currency to buy China's yuan.

``The dollar is collapsing,'' Rogers said last week in an interview. ``I'm moving to Asia because moving to Asia now is like moving to New York in 1907 or London in 1807. It's the wave of the future.'' -- Bloomberg

Pretty soon, it'll be "OMG you haven't been to HONG KONG? you have to go!"

Great Article

2007-12-11T10:39:00.000-05:00

“I’m no demographer, but I think what’s happened in the U.S. is the normalization of the Jew,” says Leon Botstein, who, as the president of Bard College, has seen all sorts of students cross his field of vision. “They’ve become as complacent and culturally undistinguished as the average, suburban, white middle-class American.”

A bit heavy on the genetics, might want to keep wikipedia open if you don't know what a heterozygote. I read NY times and NY magazine, you would think that I should be living there. I think the city must be slowly dying at this point however, I am probably on the tail end of it's reign. Like Tom Wolfe said recently, pretty soon NY will just be a Disney Land.

Getting close to the end

2007-12-09T19:42:00.001-05:00

What more can I liquidate to keep myself above water. I think about these past few months and it amazes me that I have made it this far.

I am not a gambler, but I take huge risks. With God's help I hope this one will finally pay off, because I am running out of options. If innovation is the key to success, then I need to get real creative, real quick.

Guliani

2007-12-09T14:30:00.001-05:00

I watched the dude on Meet the Press this morning. I admire him because he is a successful unabashed capitalist. I dislike him because he is a dirty man that thinks a legacy of shady action can be overshadowed by his politics. He is a less calculating Dick Cheney, obviously not much more intelligent than George Bush (apparent when he repeatedly stumbled while questioned about his questionable liaisons).

I'm not trying to turn this into a political blog, but I just keep finding myself defending my choice not to vote. All of the candidates thus far have proven sad. It seems that this year will be the lesser of the evils decision for America yet again.

I did see a great movie yesterday, Irreversible, with Monica Bellucci. Italian subtitles, indie, art house, viceral, thought provoking.. Check check check.

A great answer or a great orator

2007-12-03T15:08:00.001-05:00

I've heard a lot about Huckabee's on evolution, and his glorious straight talk. He did not answer the question; a straight answer would have been saying no, I don't believe in evolution. I like the man because he is a passionate, and a good speaker. I don't like anyone however who refuses to believe that which is proven. We are 99% related DNA wise to Chimpanzees, and what makes us Homo sapiens is less than 1% of our code. IMHO, I think that to say we are not related to that which mirrors us is idiotic. That does not rule out God. God and evolution do not contradict each other. The hundreds of African cichlids that spawned from a single stranded fish in Lake Tanganyika didn't just appear.

I don't think that people who wrote the bible thought it would be a good idea to go into great detail about how people were created, it never mattered. Even if they did know we were molded from the clay of primates, I'm sure they wouldn't want to tell everyone. What matters is that we are here, we didn't just appear, we were created, and that process took a time. Evolution is not something to believe in, evolution is an observation and it is observed everywhere. Even though I am not voting, if I were to vote, it would not be for Huckabee. He is like a vestigial appendage, believing the knowledge passed on to him simply because his forefathers taught him such. Just open your eyes, evolution is everywhere.

John McCain and the rest of them

2007-11-28T21:32:00.000-05:00

Watching the guy in this Youtube debate just annoys me further. Look at him, his tattered skin draped upon a frame weakened from age. His neck draped over his collar like a turkey the pilgrims long forgot. He is exactly what bothers me about this 100 million strong mass of people retiring right now. So many of them believe that age equals wisdom and that change is forever cyclical.

Technology has changed the face of society many times . Yes, while our behavior has produced many predictable sequences, history does not always repeat itself. Things change. We lost in Vietnam. If we were still occupying Vietnam, or we didn't pull out when Vietcong were flooding the streets of Saigon, I might agree with you. A war that begins with thousands of pounds of laser guided missiles destroying a city as old as time is not the same as Vietnam.

You know, if there was a candidate that came out with some serious plans and vision. If there was a candidate that had ideas that weren't just carbon copies of the rest. If there was a candidate that didn't just lie. Then, it wouldn't be politics.

P.S If I hear one more time that Clinton was the greatest president, I'll kill someone. Clinton was good because he didn't screw shit up (generally), that said, he didn't do much. He surely isn't responsible for the bull run of the 90's. Just my 2 cents.

Worth getting hurt

2007-11-19T19:44:00.000-05:00

Yes, I think the game is, although sometimes I question that affirmation. I played in the Florida cup this weekend, we lost. I love game, such a testament to what can be done through teamwork. Ironic for me that I wound up playing rugby, the penultimate team sport when I consider myself such an individual. I counter all the what if questions with what if I got killed tomorrow. I believe fate is a destination, the road maybe modified but the course remains constant.

I have always been against tattoos. My thoughts were that the body is a canvas, painted by that which gave life. Any modification to it is disrespect, like adding something to a timeless painting. Yet lately I've been toying with the idea of getting my favorite saying embroidered upon my flesh (the first noble truth). A close friend made me consider it when she mentioned the implausibility of my direction after death being determined by the condition of my skin. We agreed that it would have to be in another country, just to add to authenticity and value.

Self Portrait

2007-11-10T19:26:00.000-05:00

Saturday night finds me not so inclined to venture out to the chilly Tampa streets. I am content to allow my laptop to slowly roast my sperm to death on my lap while listening to the Music Choice Jazz channel.

I realized that the name of this blog is misspelled not to long ago when my Chef friend was making a dry spice rub(Turmeric). I was less disturbed by this, and more so by the fact that no one else has mentioned it.

I have this insatiable hunger for data, as I was computer savvy at a young age. I was among the earliest of Google adapters, and am an extreme utilizer of social networking. Does no one else seek instant knowledge gratification, or learn about new things like they are rubies in the Sahara? I remember the age of x486 architecture and Grolier's encyclopedia on like 12 cds?. I suppose this has much to do with my women issue.

Watching this Californication show on Showtime with my friend revealed an oft discussed dichotomy between us regarding our feelings toward the opposite sex. I love women, I like to be around them, I like to look at them and talk to them. I can appreciate beauty in all of them. I believe my friend hates them. Not in the literal since but more the psychological sense. There are certain traits however that I just can't stand to see in them. Not to digress to deeply.

When we were chatting this afternoon relating this to the dating scene. My friend is very successful at opening up a conversation with a group of girl strangers, whereas I am less inclined. In seconds their smiles are stretching their faces and any onlooker would notice developing what more often than not I would call intrigue. He can usually carry on this charade of clever banter and sarcasm until such point when the marks usually begin to complement the discussion, where I come in.

I am great at carrying the bulk load of conversation, I posses a cornucopia of information about almost everything(worthless), and I am readily able to participate in discourse on any subject. I can be Mr. Right, Mr. Right Now, or just asshole, my usual visage.

The point of all this is that I lose interest quickly, because no one really wants to engage in small talk, who cares about your job or where you take your long walks. No one intrigues me lately, so I just scurry off. Herein lies the issue with my initiating conversation. Being the planner and futurist that I am, I foresee the pointlessness of the whole interaction and justify just watching.

So we discussed this afternoon how this applies in greater detail, how every one of my female encounters has been me just selecting what comes my way, rather than going out to get what I really want. I'm more a scavenger than a hunter was the comment. I attribute this to the fact that I believe the rules of the game are not equivalent to the absence of rules on the Serengeti. I'm talking about the jungle, where I have been favored by evolution and could command greater selection based upon my superior traits. Alas, this is the way the world works. Socioeconomic factors take precedence to your ability to club and spear better than your competitor.

I suppose I'll have to start hunting.

Thursday

2007-11-01T12:06:00.000-04:00

It's been a slow week. I just came back from lunch, I got some tomato bisque on my shirt. This tide pen would be a great idea if it worked. I win the slob of the office award today.

I can see the bay from up here, Tampa is a grimy, dirty city shrouded in fog and superficiality. I like to work with my lights off even though there is little sunlight most days.

One thing that never ceases to amaze me, no matter how many times I realize it is the fact that people are people. No matter if they are your boss or your co-worker, everyone has vices, everyone has weaknesses. My quest is to defeat every one of mine, the way of the superior man.
I have always lived my life in the valleys looking at the cusps, and the next cusp is always the largest. The next one for me is extreme profitability and it comes on fast.

I was talking to someone last night regarding graduate school. More and more, I look at is as a method of avoidance. You have to start at the bottom, no matter what. People want to stave the real world away, staying in school to waste time and party.

You know it's hard out there for a Pimp

2007-10-23T17:32:00.000-04:00

St. Clair is hardly alone. Escorts, strippers and Asian massage specialists are all hurting because of Wall Street’s aversion to securities backed by mortgages from people with dodgy credit. Business is off almost 50 percent throughout the city, according to the New York Association of Sex Workers.

It appears that everyone is feeling the Credit Crunch... ;)

Figs

2007-09-18T23:52:00.000-04:00

Something about them that I just love. The color, the concept, the taste.. check it out.

The coolest commercial ever

2007-09-04T22:23:00.001-04:00

Chug a lug

2007-08-28T18:48:00.000-04:00

So I'm going insane not having a job and steady income. Living off savings is not fun, especially for money hungry (war mongering) obsessive people like me. I've been rather bipolar lately, enjoying alpine apexes and cavernous valleys of emotions. My homeys came to town this week and we did it rather large, went to a few swanky spots to check out the local vagina scene. My Spanish has been very valuable lately here.

So I'm looking for a serving job, dropping of resumes and such. Studying for exams, first one next Tuesday. More homeys are coming through for labor day this weekend. Should be big.

Brief Respite

2007-08-15T12:43:00.001-04:00

Been in Tampa for a few days now and I am starting to acclimate. Went to dinner last night at Pelagia Trattoria and the sous chef sent out the best appetizer. Figs, buffalo mozzarella, veal stuffed queen olives, and Kalamata pate. I had a charming young Malbec from Argentina to accompany my paper thin veal and haricot verts.

Graduation was fun, enjoyed some great food and felt the glow of proud parents. I have been extremely blessed. My father says an old man only speaks of what he has done, where as a younger man speaks of what he has yet to do. I am much more the former than the latter and continue to age rapidly.

Onward to Sky tower ;)

Inspirational

2007-07-20T20:48:00.000-04:00

People hate managers, but they will die for leaders. I turned my head towards him when I heard this phrase, I then began to pay closer attention. Took a deeper look at the ragged man I later would understand to be worth millions. His clothes did not fit, they seemed to hang on his frail aging body. The ability to exclaim spontaneous wisdom such as this so effortlessly him a made a permanent fixture in my mind for these past two days. Mr. Greenberg, the company's self proclaimed top agent.

He sat with us at the conference dinner, eager to share every vivid detail of his personal life. His tales made piquant by his scratchy grandfather speech. Confident in the fact of his excellence he exuded a slight braggadocio that transfixed not only myself but all of my peers. I sat next to him, not allowing anyone else a chance to pick his brain until I could eat my fill. I implored him for his secrets, "what is your day to day like? what sets you apart? how can I make it there?" Our Jewish Plato, sporting his Golden Lion polo filled us all with less of the concrete we craved and left us hungry.

He spoke of the things that one hears his entire lifetime, but only the giants of the world can truly teach. Integrity and the hundred fold return of kindness, the power of knowledge, and hard work. His secret was that he worked harder than everyone else, and still does. Yet it was not all garlands and triumphs. As he recounted his youth and his failed marriage I could see that the millions meant nothing to him, as the locomotive of his mind instantly derailed at the sight or mention of his daughter, his true jewel.

He inspired us all, as we commented moments later with glazed eyes and threw back the complementary alcohol. As I gnawed at his presence in my mind, I thought about my father describing his new big screen television as, "yeah, there is one bigger."

I pondered how I could follow in his methods and ideas. He is in bad shape from his vices, I will never allow myself that disease. The main thing is that Mr. Greenberg is happy because he loves what he does, and not even a failed marriage can take that away from him. I finally think I might have positioned myself to be in a similar circumstance, now about the hard work.

But you already knew that

2007-07-03T23:08:00.000-04:00

In the year 1900, between one in thirty and one in fifty people would die of cancer. Today it's one in two and rising fast.

In the year 1900, the amount of organic food being consumed was dramatically higher than it is today. In the year 1945 they sprayed 200,000 pounds of pesticides and herbicides on American farming soil. In the year 2002 they sprayed two billion pounds, yet crop losses were double what they were comparatively in 1945. This shows the cure isn't working; it's failing yet they continue to use the same leverage to sell the chemicals.

Scientific studies show that hands-down, bar none, not only is there far more nutrition in food raised organically, but there are detrimental effects to the consumption of any commercially raised food.

One research study showed that today, to get the same nutrition from one head of lettuce as you did 50 years ago, you'd have to eat 20 heads of lettuce from the commercial farms.

There was no nutrition degree in the United States until General Mills started the first nutritional programs. Almost every major nutritional program in major universities is funded by a food processing corporation.

It takes an average of eight hours of sleep per night for the human immune system to kill down the bacteria population to a safe level, because every single bacterium in your body is urinating and defecating in your body 24/7.

They produce a toxin called endotoxin LPS. If your body doesn't get enough sleep at night, you will progressively be poisoned by the bacteria in your own intestinal track.

Paul Check... Really cool guy.. google him

Power

2007-06-28T09:58:00.000-04:00

Dave, you can put the $5 billion away," he told News Corp. CFO Dave DeVoe. He consulted with three advisers about whether to withdraw: group general counsel Lon Jacobs and corporate-affairs chief Gary Ginsberg, who were in the room, and his son and News Corp. heir apparent James Murdoch, the CEO of News Corp.'s European satellite-TV system, who called in from a yacht near Valencia, Spain. Murdoch wanted to jolt the Bancroft family back to reality, and if the deal was going to die, he wanted to be the one to kill it. "If we clean this up to our satisfaction, the family will reject it. So why don't we just reject them? - Rupert Murdoch Speaks

Wow, on a yacht? Anytime I hear about yachts I get excited, I just visualize effective sovereignty on the high seas. Dark fendis with white robes that have my name embroidered on the lapel, Ridel glass holding my morning mimosa.. Aspirations begin with dreams.

A ha!

2007-06-24T21:33:00.000-04:00

I read an interesting albeit opinionated article today. Do read.

i'm a changling, see me change

2007-06-18T22:02:00.000-04:00

I love the movie The breakup. Beside the fact that it is tremendously funny, I found it refreshingly realistic. I was thinking about it today because there was more drama in my life. My friend tells me that he thinks the road I walk down is a dangerous one (regarding relationships), that I will end up unhappy because of my perspective. I tell him that I have never been one to settle. I'll just keep changing.

It is a strange relationship that I have with fate and destiny, I never try to fight it. The permanence of life makes it precious, and I feel that I can't waste time. Einstein says time is relative and I agree, but I don't think that it should be underutilized. So many are complacent to just waste it, tug along with whomever or whatever is familiar in their life. I am not one to lament over the past, but I will regret it.

Watching the movie Viva Zapata, I heard Brando (Zapata) say, "I am resolved to struggle against everyone and everybody." I think that I personally am resolved to struggle as well, but against anyone who holds me back. The reason being I have spent so much time holding myself back, all I can see is forward.

Innovation

2007-06-06T22:04:00.000-04:00

I have to start thinking harder, harness this new found focus for profit. Providence is whispering wisdom, and I am glad to be all ears. I was doing one of my final research papers today and I read a quote from a whacked out director. I find it so interesting how some people can become so wrapped up in making a difference the lives of others that their own lives are left unfulfilled.

The quote was "Innovation is the precursor for success." This screamed at me from the page, just like the comment of a cook did today, "You'll never make it working for anyone else."

I see it every day, the work it will take to build my empire. I am so excited for a change, I love change and I need it. Lifting heavy as often as I can. A new city with new people, less distraction and nothing but focus and goals. The hard road makes me stronger, the next exit is up ahead to a bigger road.

Winds of Change

2007-05-30T21:21:00.000-04:00

Starting to blow by as events continue at their feverish pace. Two midterms down and undergraduate will soon be a memory. I was watching the kudzu along the side of Ocala street that engulfs the trees, remembering how it was the first thing I ever noticed in this city upon my initial visit, it seems so long ago. It was an ethereal rugby match played at night, I still remember watching the coin flip and agreeing to play in the icy rain following the captains meeting. Ideal rugby conditions. My hand was smashed by a cleat spike that night and I clutched it as I walked off the field. Less than six months later I would call this city home.

Now, as I am posed to leave I think about how much I have grown here, matured in my ambitions and desires. It goes in circles, as I left a small town for a large one, then came here to a small, and now I am on my way back to a large. I have aged here rapidly, much older than the years that I can count. Motivation burns stronger now, I feel more focused and wiser.

Now about that retirement in my mid thirties.. :)

As the world turns/burns

2007-05-16T00:30:00.000-04:00

Lately it almost seems like my decisions are being made for me. After a long weekend of debauchery intermingled with glimpses of possible futures it seems like Tampa is where my compass points to next. Interviews have never been a problem for me ever since I began overcompensating insecurity with arrogance, and feelings of superiority. I am so confident at times I feel hot flashes of fear trickle down my spine, I know this is always a mistake.

I am great under pressure because I don't really fear failure, and I feel that I will not stop until I reach success. If I am to fail now, then I will succeed later because I will spend all effort in this world doing so. I am a subscriber to destiny, and sometimes I think that the ribs and spine of our lives can be seen for short instants if you pay attention.

One of my last classes is a bullshit anthropology, I knew there was a reason why I never took a class in it before. However it is not completely void of new knowledge, a drug which I can never be inoculated from, a life long addict. The samurai philosophy is one that is always fascinating to read about.

Some Selections :

Singlemindedness is all-powerful.

Tether even a roasted chicken.

Continue to spur a running horse.

A man who will criticize you openly carries no connivance.

A man exists for a generation, but his name lasts to the end of time.

Walk with a real man one hundred years and he'll tell you at least seven lies.

To ask when you already know is politeness. To ask when you don't know is the rule.

Wrap your intentions in needles of pine.

One should not open his mouth wide or yawn in front of another.

Do this behind your fan or sleeve.

A straw hat or helmet should be worn tilted toward the front.

Those who choose to remain nameless

2007-05-08T15:45:00.000-04:00

So this happens every so often, someone stumbles on my blog and decides to comment without leaving their name and critiques me harshly.

First off, let me say I am glad that you found your way here, my thoughts entertaining, and yet I am sad that you, whomever you are, disliked them. I think that we are all entitled to our opinions, and granted I am very opinionated.

You posted various quotations from great men. I spent a few moments searching my previous posts searching where I purported to be a judge of truth and knowledge. I think it is never a mistake to look to far ahead, as I believe the cliche success is half preparation half showing up. Destructive selfishness? I was taught that fortune favors those who help themselves rather than relying on others. I think of myself a very kind man, rarely turning away those who would enlist my aid. Again, all my opinions.

Your Einstein quotes while impressive, led me to great struggle in discerning their relevance to my posts and opinions. I have been deeply influenced by Adam Smith, who makes a great case that when everyone operates to the best of their ability society as a whole benefits. It is the natural state of man to work in his self-interest.

Call me self-righteous to focus on my own personal success rather than the affairs of others, to highlight my strengths that I may garner greater appreciation for my hard work, and to dream of success. I will respectfully disagree.

I will agree that I have a great weakness in humility, but who are you to cast stones? Are you so wise that you are able to critique my thoughts? To me this is an inherent contradiction. Wise men have achieved success in a variety of ways, fortune, education, brute force etc.. There is no set pattern on how to arrive at such a destination. I believe that the most important trait is a desire to reach such heights. Many men have reached ruin focusing on helping their fellow man rather than taking care of their own affairs.

I have never been a selfish person, and God has smiled upon me for such reasons. I like to master things because I was given the ability to do so, not to prove anything. I would think it very rare for someone to actually have a plethora of interests and merely refine them for the sake of flattery.

Nonetheless, thank you for your comments and in the future I would love to know who you are. I don't think I meant depression is my sole motivating factor, I think depression is a great motivator in general. My true conflictions are a healthy fear of failure and a desire to utilize what providence has bestowed upon me, rather than waste it like so many around me.

Determination

2007-05-06T21:57:00.000-04:00

Human beings were designed to operate under high levels of stress. If it be hormones, temperament, or a combination of both, some people just do not deal well with it. Drug companies are made rich because people are not able to cope. However we are designed for it, and I thrive in it.

I remember when I was a child and I went to a waterpark with my father. There was a kneeboarding ride that was quite difficult for me to get. One would sit in the appropriate position and an advanced system of high overhead pulleys would yank you along at terrific speed. I failed at it repeatedly, as the handle was yanked from my hands or I was ripped from the board into the water. Resigned to never complete the ride, it remains a prevalent memory for me as a defeat. I was afraid of the ride because I could not complete it, but I kept trying because I wanted to conquer everything.

Most lecturers on the subject maintain that visualization is the most powerful force. I am inclined to agree, however I believe that discipline has a large role to play in acquiring success. These last few days have been busy without much rest. I am up late researching on the computer, up early exercising, and working. Slowly returning to the basics, the practices that gave me the few successes that I now enjoy. I am determined to succeed because I have wanted it for many years now. It was personal drive that goaded me to take loads of classes a semester, to work multipule jobs, to control my diet to a science.

When all diversions from the core are said and done, I always return to that which has made me who I am. The foundations of success, hard work and preparation. I was on myspace looking at some hyper muscular female bodybuilders. How alienated they must be, shunned by both men and women at times yet they still craft themselves and harness their abilities. One quotation stuck out at me from Romans chapter 12: Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

There are so many that act simply because their peers do so, because it seems to be what everyone else does at 'that age.' I reject those that hide behind the guise of social service because they are too afraid to realize their failure in helping themselves, and I equally dislike those that revel prosperity as if it were of substance, almost as if it were divine right. I reject all notions of following the status quo, for to me it is inconsequential what the prototypical college student does, it only matters what I do.

Now begins the countdown to some major decisions, stress will aid me in making better choices. Stress will not inhibit my function.

We aren't built to be happy. Rather, we are built to survive and reproduce.
We wouldn't be here today if our ancestors didn't struggle mightily to protect
and feed their families. The promise of happiness, meanwhile, is just a trick to
jolly us along.

I could not agree more, as I am so frequently quesitoned by my mantra
that I am most productive when depressed.

My days are now filled working every second I can, reading for advancement, and enhancing myself to my former physical glory. I will not fail because I dwell on success like an owl dwells on the twilight.

Wisdom

2007-05-03T19:47:00.000-04:00

In the eyes of empire builders men are not men but instruments”
Napoleon Bonaparte

Some of the best lessons we ever learn are learned from past mistakes. The error of the past is the wisdom and success of the future.
Dale E. Turner

the tiger

2007-05-02T01:05:00.000-04:00

It is one of those animals that's more respected than feared. It is not only agile and intelligent, but fierce and powerful.

I am the type of person that likes to learn from patterns, always have been. I would look at calendars on the walls of my elementary classes and form geometric shapes in my mind based upon the days. I pick up math quickly when I see numerous similar examples, and comprehend them. This is the main reason I am disturbed when I notice my greatest deviation. I stray from my goals when spending large amounts of time with those whom I know are not my siblings in motivation. This is especially true for women.

I fear that I am confusing and befuddling my inner tiger. Clouding my mind, not focusing on constant improvement, being lazy.

The urge is always there, however many times it my enter dormancy. It reared again when conditions with the fox ended for good. Many say I lack tact, but I believe that if tact is rearranging the truth to sound more agreeable, and thereby risking true meaning, then call me brash.

It is because I am locked in the rungs of the ladder. My weakness is an inability to begin again therefore I must go forward at all times. This must be a total feeling for me as I am absorbed in it and I cannot be involved with people on a level greater than colloquial that do not share this value.

In the words of a great man:

For me, life is continuously being hungry. The meaning of life is not simply to exist, to survive, but to move ahead, to go up, to achieve, to conquer. -Arnold Schwarzenegger

Entropy

2007-04-23T17:00:00.000-04:00

So final exams this week, one tomorrow, two on Wednesday, and one on Thursday. Regularly scheduled blogging has been disrupted because of such, as well as my working excessively to prepare myself for whatever drastic paradigm shifts I will endure in the coming days.

The BBMC (Big Beef Man Compound) is now where I am basing my operations, my roommates are very cool guys and we all seem to get along very well. We have a nice little dog that is full of energy and listens very well..

The fox is still around, making her presence known by visiting when able. We act almost exactly the same as we did before the break up, however I believe there are some differences in shared opinions on the relationship at this juncture. We are no longer boyfriend and girlfriend for one, yet this appears to be only a superficial alteration.

The iron furnace of pain beckons to me again these past few days as I have an increased desire to move metal and reform my body in the mold of David.

So wish me luck on my finals~!

After a brief respite

2007-04-18T08:48:00.000-04:00

It would seem the trajectory has been altered dramatically yet again. The fox and I are no more, thanks to a candid conversation the other night highlighting our irrevocable differences. Simply incompatible was the judgment that we both agreed upon. It deeply saddens me because I am certain her statement of i was nothing but sweet to you is undeniably true, as I returned such sentiments with my regularly scheduled ass-hole commentary. Her good nature will give someone nothing but happiness. A shame I suppose as this person is not, and probably was never me.

So the cycle is restarting again. I am getting back to the routine, again with the motions. The bedtime becomes earlier, the gym becomes a more permanent fixture. I am moving out of my current place slowly, to a new place with male roommates that appears to be a much more agreeable environment than my current. I have final exams next week to finish my final full semester as an undergrad, six weeks of summer then estoy terminaste.

I think the difference in this most recent relationship failure is that I am making an attempt to forecast, rather than just act how I so desire. I know this one would have been harder to end if it continued any longer. sigh..

Interview's next month ranked according to desire of employment:

Ameriprise Financial (Ft. Lauderdale)
ING (Tampa)
Edward Jones (Tallahassee, laugh..)

Creativity

2007-04-14T08:54:00.000-04:00

Is it not amazing people what people can come up with for the sake of criminal activity? I think the criminal mastermind is so interesting..

Infinite Regress

2007-04-13T10:51:00.000-04:00

The principle proven by Aristotle that not all knowledge can be proved, that sometimes a an explanation is composed of the original problem. I feel like some knowledge emanates from ones presence, felt almost like an aura. In the presence of giants, one can and will feel so not by words alone.

I think, a few years back I was very comparable to those whom I have a specific distaste for these past few weeks. I see myself in their words, their comments on life, advice and opinions. My mother would've (and still, annoyingly enough) pointed out to me my simple progress on the ladder of life, arguing that I am not old enough to make such statements regarding my velocity. She still tells me this, however at this point I can agree more often then not.

I hear the indicative statements made around me, and I am annoyed with the fact that I feel those who utter them are not qualified to speak so definitively. I suppose the next stage in my specific evolution would be to harness the ability to let the opinions and actions of others be rain on my windshield.

Noodles anyone

2007-04-06T11:59:00.001-04:00

Nice Setup

2007-04-06T11:37:00.000-04:00

I wish they could of told us how they were caught...

And Ye Shall Recieve

2007-04-05T12:56:00.000-04:00

Tri-vocational once again! I like the new job (serving at Mozaik) thus far, which I will be working days, in tandem with my day position, as well as my night job at Z-Bardhi's.

I was musing with a comrade the other day about the educational system. He asked if I had any doubts about the seemingly insurmountable feat of economics graduate school. I told him that if at any point I actually put in the recommended effort for any class, I would be a Rhodes scholar. I have never encountered any subject that I was unable to grasp, merely ones that I deeply dislike (speech, psychology to a certain degree, information theory). I have procrastinated along, and would welcome a true challenge.

So the situation is at Def-Con something in my current living situation, I have been taking frequent refuge at the Fox compound. In the latest rampage of my aggressors over a misunderstanding on who owned a red wire basket, a box of my strawberries and prune juice were thrown away. I am now issuing an informal declaration of war on her and her slovenly shrew sympathisers. I will not act in the near future, I will wait for the perfect moment, say three months from now.

All confrontation is based on deception (Sun-Tzu) and I will deceive them into thinking I have forgotten that which I will stew upon until I am tepid like lobster bisque. They will pay for their transgressions against my food supply and personal items, very dearly.

Leaving for Orlando friday night to begin Easter festivites, and I will return on Sunday for Sopranos!

Waisting Time

2007-04-02T15:11:00.000-04:00

I really need a new day gig. I want so desperately to be productive, however I have lost all desire to perform at my current occupation. I find it utterly void of interest as the Internet and wikipedia entertain me for the majority of my day.

I am coming to realize that the surefire way to be really successful at whatever one endeavors to do is to really enjoy what one does. I find that this commonly held belief is so true lately, as I still tend to gravitate towards the restaurant industry. A place where tender is callous and cold yet still warms the pockets on the way home, where speculation is rampant, work is fast paced, and the most proficient usually reap the greatest rewards.

More and more I am believing that I am really going to have to find something I like to make large sums of money rather than merely performing some task that pays the most.

The fox keeps asking for a pet, a small annoying dog that she can coo at or some sort of feline. We can't agree on the most desirable breed, and I really have no desire to aid in such decision anyway. I think these things are sources of great dismay when situations go sour, and my past experience has led me to keep as many options open as possible. That said, things continue to go swimmingly as I am taking her home for Easter this weekend.

We got into an argument this weekend and she blurted out quite comically "Not everyone gets up at the crack of dawn to exercise and buy stock!"
Yes my pet... but they should :)

Funny for some reason

2007-03-29T13:02:00.001-04:00

“Security is mostly superstition.”
– Helen Keller

Didactic

2007-03-27T12:26:00.000-04:00

I recently got in a tiff with the fox about her frequent habit of using an instructional tone. She told me to think outside myself, as I am the king of doing such. She was right.

Things that my parents say seem so much more pertinent these days then when I was younger. My mother always told me to pick my battles. Quarrelling over how hard I work, or who works harder is a futile exercise. Be about it rather than talk about it she would say.

My friend in Vegas has a saying, pure positivity. I like it because in my almost natural state of critical pessimism (that I liken more to objectivism) I sometimes stray from the fact that positive thinking can manifest itself in the physical form. That those who wish to shine like summer must glow more often than not. God is helping as always, success has made me think lately the clouds aren't as great as clear sky.

Had a presentation today, went well I suppose. Never before have I been so optimistic about my future. I saw a picture of bill grant, and old school bodybuilder. He looks damn good for 60.

I found this through Claire, I really liked it.

Never aspire to be fashionable. Fashion is the foolish imitating the arrogant. Being cool is fear of change dressed in designer clothes. Following fashion is a sure way to prevent any kind of breakthrough in your life. Free yourself from barriers like this. Be who you are, not who everyone else is pretending to be.

Sentiment

2007-03-25T15:15:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite people to learn from is Victor Neiderhoffer, not because of his successes but because of his perseverance in the face of such great losses.

I think that when someone achieves great successes, they become established and accustom to a certain level of life. What happens when success is taken away and the finish line becomes the starting line once more? I remember when I was in basic training and we would pass the calendar of events every night. Soldiers would line up to peer at its obscure inscriptions detailing phases and training events. For me the only important dates were the tests that determined succession, and the graduation date because my greatest fear was always having to start over. I remember in elementary school hearing about kids that had to repeat grades, I was terrified of such practices, unable to fathom how horrid falling behind my peers would be.

Later in life, as more and more fall behind it becomes more acceptable to lose ground. Many simply quit, or veer off in alternate directions and the road of life becomes delineated. These past few years for me have been a catch up, not to where I think I should be, but to where I want to be.

As a child I have always been quick to consider the consequences of loss. I became fascinated with the spider and her web. I would seek them out in their glimmering corners of the world and find them hard at work, fashioning such masterpieces of symmetry and strategy. Distinctive colored banana spiders, posed aggressively in the centers of their webs motioning to any would be interloper.

Upon an encounter I would study them for a few moments at first, then readily destroy them indiscriminately. The spider is eternally unscathed, she knows not defeat but only duty. It is her duty to refashion a web, begin again as her life skills will never tarnish, and she will never cease utilizing them. This always fascinated me.

I was at work last night finishing up while I overheard my boss detailing the wine order for the restaurant. She indicated that she was ordering four bottles and then corrected herself to six, jibing her mother about the fact that she usually drinks two bottles. The mother added dryly that it was either that or anti-depressants. Rather than chalk this up to the sometime negative correlation between success and happiness I wondered if she were to lose her brand new Mercedes and nice wardrobe, would she be happier starting over?

I think many people live life in the fear of loss, as they are defined by their material equity rather than human capacity. Ask yourself what would you do if you lost everything you had, would you give up, or start over?

Younger bones, older mind

2007-03-22T12:01:00.000-04:00

I twisted my ankle playing racket ball yesterday. To anyone who has never done such, it is a really annoying injury, I find myself shuffling and limping along like the kindly old black janitor.

Wow, I really am not indestructible as I used to be/feel. Back to back rugby matches don't seem within my grasp without some considerable cardiovascular training. Summer usually means a slim down for me so I'm looking forward to that at least.

Jobs, school, future, relocation, money, relationships. Oh these concepts are forever tumbling and swirling around my mind. I have been doing considerable reading on polymath's these days. I feel like their gift might be almost something of a curse as well. Never truly experiencing the pull of one discipline, instead delving into so many. Must be easy to lose yourself in endless cognition.

My friend Mike says arrogance and self-awareness rarely go hand in hand. I agree whole heatedly. While there are those that are great due to their self promotion, I have never styled myself a member of their ranks. Even those whom I think unworthy of critical language in my reference are quick to make observations regarding my brazen demeanor.

To start over, to embody the meek and hard working, traits my father likened to gold. Sometimes I worry that I am running out of chances to start over, that I am cementing foundations that I do not desire.

The fox's words keep replaying like a scratched CD: If you don't share so much of your person, they will have nothing to say.

Ouch... Sights and Sounds

2007-03-20T10:11:00.000-04:00

I was stung by a jelly fish when I was a child. It is one of those painful memories that will always be with me, like shattering bones in my hands or nose.

Exam in a little bit, I should be studying instead of blogging. I keep finding myself researching and reading about the markets. I wish wish wish I had more money to invest. Again the frugality issue rearing it's ugly green head. Need to stick to the plan.

I've been toying around the moving idea for some time now. Since my current living situation is going to end next month, I'll need to stay somewhere for the six weeks of summer school that I have left before I graduate.

I think I definitely need to continue with Spanish, and I also need to learn some Chinese. I saw a man scribbling on a whole blank sheet, rendering it full of characters this morning. The icons were very elegant even in their unrefined lines. I watched this program on travel channel about a chef that eats weird things. So cool, I thought it a shame that he could not speak any native languages of the countries he traveled.

The fox offered up her homestead for the six week summer term, but I think that will pretty much ruin our relationship because of my early habits and ass-holishness. I am such an atypical college student, mainly because I am so ready to be done with it. I am beginning to notice how similar we are, especially in the toot your own horn department. The fox always points out what she perceives as her behavior traits; she gave me some good advice regarding being a more closed book in social situations. I have difficultly taking advice from people these days yet at times she helps me realize how annoying I really can be.

Atlanta, that not so far off land of opportunity and culture that I came to adore in the few instances I frequented. I feel as if it might be my next destination this summer. How nice would it be to be alone in a huge city, not knowing anyone or glancing at a face that I know I've seen before.

Does anyone else ever get annoying with running into people that they know? Small talk is rather pointless, I usually employ the African American method of salutation known as the head nod. Much more effective than asking about what you are or aren't doing.

Swan Song

2007-03-19T13:17:00.001-04:00

The wild swan's death-hymn took the soul

Of that waste place with joy

Hidden in sorrow: at first to the ear

The warble was low, and full and clear; ...

But anon her awful jubilant voice,

With a music strange and manifold,

Flow’d forth on a carol free and bold;

As when a mighty people rejoice

With shawms, and with cymbals, and harps of gold...

The Mason

2007-03-19T10:49:00.000-04:00

The never ending attempt to build a foundation upon which to prosper. My forward sentiments are looking choppy as unexpected things are coming my way.

My friend came into town over the weekend, he is doing very well for himself and his frugal nature is a shining example of that which I am easily capable and not doing. As the usual shit talking pursued between old childhood friends he made a great point in highlighting the fact of his financial prosperity, that which I cannot answer too. No denying at his current pillar in life, it is an accomplishment which stands on its own merit.

The roommate situation has reached gritty confrontation. Tears and screaming are a routine occurrence, along with uncomfortable guests, and secret sharing. In the past I would volunteer that my arrogance was the spring from which conflagrations flow yet the childish actions on the part of my aggressors merely reinforce the idea that I should live alone.

I saw Zodiac this weekend, rather long and horribly edited however solid acting and characterization.

I recently pondered a great contradiction in my current affairs, how I am full of knowledge on proper financial action yet I am not able to efficiently manage my own account. Not by lack of effort, but through an uncanny ability to discount. Saying 'fuck it' has led me in many areas of my life to great discord and unhappiness. The disparity of my capabilities and my realized actions has lead me to depression.

I have been told that a solid future is built with stones, not with shifting sands. I have realized that efforts to rectify my aims in focusing on secular aggrandizement rather than satisfactory performance in all areas is the key to my personal success.

Onward.

Been Busy

2007-03-16T13:56:00.000-04:00

Coming back to regularly scheduled programming next week.

Had a birthday, whoopee I'm an old bastard
School is boring
The transition from winter to summer is advancing
Daylight savings is retarded, it gets late much too soon
Picked up some summer classes, done June 15
Happy Saint Patrick's
300 was the shit, however I was left with a feeling that it was rather drawn out and could of been shorter. Did however inspire some working out.

Noise Correction

2007-03-08T12:17:00.000-05:00

It struck me as curious how errors are called noise in statistics. What some people deem musical brilliance is offensive air polution to others. Noise, the imperfect periphery surrounding the goal, the wilderness of potential caveats outlining the path to the core.

So much noise lately in my life it seems... Is the impregnable resolve which appeared so cast iron merely paint on an aluminum frame? These questions flicker in my mind as I feel the puppeter of peer inspired assimilation holding more tension on the strings, more so than my own perception of just action.

My father wrote me a letter for my birthday in which he posed the question, always ask, what have I learned from the situation? I asked that of myself numerous times on my ride back to Tallahassee from Orlando, pondering my recent extreme detour from the path of the disciplined. My body is falling from its former state of turgid muscularity. My mind is clouded by the constant application of altering substances.

Guilty by association? I think I have long reveled in the company of underachievers, yet I felt not stymied by their influence. With the fox in exile at her home down south I feel as if I must return to my cave and ponder. How am I to return to the path which I have chosen? The path of success and achievement.

Where is the exit from this wilderness that I have self imposed. Sunday, the last of the break, I will start slashing with a machete.

Financial, Mental, Physical. I must regain, and evolve further.

Thoughts for Tuesday

2007-03-06T12:29:00.000-05:00

In fact much of modern mathematics has reached the point where it is sufficiently far divorced from everyday experience that common intuition is counterproductive, and leads to false conclusions. If you think that sounds silly then consider that modern physics has also passed this threshold — few people can claim quantum mechanics to be intuitive. Our experience of the world is actually remarkably narrow, and thus so is our intuition.

More on Beauty and Success

Those Crazy Japanese

When choosing a recreational drug, it is important to pick one widely used by people whose personalities most closely resemble your own. This makes it easier to score your shit.

Monday Monday

2007-03-05T12:50:00.000-05:00

“If you break up with someone, you may want to get as away from them as possible in your next relationship. You don’t want to be connected to them in some way by dating someone with a close relationship,” Moody said.

Kind of interesting to read about.

Lava Lamp

2007-03-02T10:54:00.000-05:00

I just noticed that my lava lamp died on my desk in my office. It has been running continuously for months and I guess it finally decided to give.

Today is the last day of classes before spring break. I went out last night and had a nice dirty martini at the stylish Tantra lounge with some acquaintances. I was home with the fox by one, exploring the depths of infatuation with that one.

Something about today feels different, besides that apparent absence of all my fellow students. I awoke with a great deal of happiness and now, augmented with coffee high I suppose I should get some concrete work done.

I realize that there are only six weeks after spring break left, the time accelerates like a new sixteen year old in a new mustang. Change is the only constant.

I am such a blogoholic. I love exploring the webs of my contacts, searching out their friends and expanding my network. Never dull to discover some other interesting life.

I finished Blink today. I was disappointed, as it was mostly the same repetitive concept: We make the best decisions subconsciously based on experience, and handle information most efficiently when we 'thin slice' it (analyze data in small fragments rather than in entirety). I am starting to feel like many of the books on the NY Times best sellers list aren't so indicative of quality, more so mass appeal.

My next book is going to be entirely in Spanish, in efforts to accelerate my knowledge of the language. 100 years of solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, supposedly a classic. I'll let you know how it turns out. I also picked up a cook book by Marcella Hazan.

What is everyone doing this weekend? I can't wait for 300 next Friday!

Glug glug glug

2007-02-28T18:43:00.000-05:00

Jacobson showed reporters an appetizer offered by Uno Chicago Grill that he said contained 2,050 calories. It was a cross between a pizza and stuffed potato skins, with a deep-dish pizza crust crammed with mozzarella and cheddar cheese, mashed potatoes, bacon and sour cream.

Self Study

2007-02-27T14:05:00.000-05:00

I believe I have come to the realization that a large flaw in my personality is derived from my almost consistent propensity to preach. If god would only grant me the discipline to keep my mouth shut and merely be in accord with prevailing opinions rather then rail against them so. Even if I do not agree, which opinionated I seldom do.

I was attacked on numerous levels last night about my personal beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. Rather than truly examine what the issues were, I think the greater issue, the thing that I have been replaying in my head so frequently today is the public availability of my opinions.

Everyone knows what I think, because I make it my practice to tell them. I wish I could change this, I wish I could keep more into the shadows about my beliefs and not be such a braggart.

It always leads to conflagration.

Must be nice

2007-02-27T13:50:00.001-05:00

I can't live with girls anymore I have decided. Attempts at logical argumentation are met with emotional pleas and unrelated idiocy.
I'm in negotiations to move into the big beefy man compound
I hate being sick, because I hate the doctor, and I never want to go because he is a waste of time
I got into an argument with the fox last night regarding the relative level of prestige in the legal and business environments. It was my opinion that lawyers are intrinsically workers, students of business (following my personal path and ambitions, I.E MBA) are administrators and thus climb a ladder with higher rungs to greater status
220 kgtu. racecar from 0 to 100 km/h in only 3.00 seconds and with 800 bhp available, it accelerates very quickly to its 360 km/h top speed.
Mmmm, Black and Bleu cz burger. Albiet no bun or condiments and water...
Spring? We don't have that here, we have cold then the next day people are in bathing suits.. Oh Floridians how backwards you truely are...

August 4th, 9 am. The end of struggle, the beginning of domination

2007-02-26T12:15:00.000-05:00

It will be a day that will live in infamy, the hearts and minds of the many men and women whom have aided in my climb through higher education will be vindicated. In the face of adversity, bleeding on as ambition goaded me along the road less traveled. The more difficult road, the one that began at University Elementary School in small town suburbia and will end upon the red bricks of Florida State University.

Be there, when the heat of the searing sun shall be defeated by an impregnable cloak of black graduation shrouds, when crowns of distinction will illuminate the heads of the learned, and where the cogs of the machine of destiny shall smile upon me.

Graduation.

I have made all the calculations; fate will do the rest.
Napoleon Bonaparte

Weekend Reading

2007-02-25T12:51:00.000-05:00

"According to a survey of more than 200 Wall Street professionals who took home at least $2 million in cash from their 2006 bonuses, respondents are spending 11% of their payouts, on average, on watches and jewelry. For even the lowest-paid bankers in the survey, that's a bling budget of more than $200,000."
"A suicide bomber struck Sunday outside a college campus in Baghdad, killing at least 41 people and injuring dozens as a string of other blasts and rocket attacks left bloodshed around the city. The blast left cement walls pockmarked by shrapnel and twisted parts of the metal gate and turnstile. Parents rushed to the site and some collapsed in tears after learning their children were killed or injured. Students used rags and towels to try to mop up the blood."
Expected MBA Earnings - After Graduation

Women 86,805

Men 94,710
#2 MBA Employer - Google
"Pay expectations are high: Candidates expect to take home average salaries of $88,087 in their first year after graduation, up from $81,658 the previous year -- and a hefty $167,052 five years down the road.
There was a nearly $8,000 gap in expected salaries between men and women, with men expecting $94,710 and women expecting $86,805.
"This is an almost self-inflicted salary gap, because it's what they're expecting to get," said Tattanelli. "It has increased from last year. Part of it is because women gravitate to the consumer goods industries that don't always have top salaries."
For return on investment, the best home renovation is to upgrade an old bathroom. Kitchens come in second.

Viernes

2007-02-23T10:24:00.000-05:00

Good thing it is Friday, because my cash flow surely isn't where it needs to be and I work both tonight and tomorrow.

I've come to the realization that much of my intermittent depression is caused from a distinct lack of motivation, or rather the belief that my motivation should be greater than its current level.
I'm really happy lately however, so oh well. The fox is bliss, and school grinds on, approaching an ever increasing termination.

Plan for the weekend
Saturday:

Wake up, clean/laundry
Shopping
Utilize Herb and get a pedicure
Lunch at nice restaurant

Sunday

Watch news programs and read paper
Study for Multinational Business Operations exam II

Making dinner at the fox's house, Chicken Curry with Basmanti rice, garlic naan bread, a quaff able fabulously sweet and chewy Viognier

New Rome!

Spring is coming, I need to loose some weight so I can look good in a bikini...

Make Money

2007-02-21T13:06:00.000-05:00

I am a market addict.

Television? Oh, you mean CNBC.

News? Oh, you mean The Wall Street Journal... what, whats that? We are at war?
Great for the economy.

Ben Bernake? Dats my fucking nigga dawwg.

Erudition

2007-02-20T13:04:00.000-05:00

Why is it that I can spend copious amounts of time doing everything but working. I like to learn and Wikipedia is Satan. I can spend hours upon hours reading and learning, recovering lost information from the various manifestations of neurotoxicity that plague my mind via various college inebriants.

Nevertheless, every animal species examined to date has been found to have cannabinoid receptors in the brain.

and...

Four case histories were reported which indicated that the level of physical activity increased immediately after smoking ganja, as did caloric expenditure, but not productivity. It seemed to be that after smoking ganja the workers engaged in more intense and concentrated labour, but this was done less efficiently, especially by heavy users. Contrary to the hypothesis that cannabis use produced an impairment in motivation, they concluded: "In all Jamaican settings observed, the workers are motivated to carry out difficult tasks with no decrease in heavy physical exertion, and their [mistaken] perception of increased output is a significant factor in bolstering their motivation to work." (p79).

Interesting stuff. I'm tackling some math problems and watching the market, what is everyone else up to today?

Successful Traits

2007-02-19T16:46:00.000-05:00

I've said it time and time again. Jews are the race I hold in the highest esteem. I have seen numerous examples of the tenets of their culture ingrained with such discipline in their lives. This passage struck me as I was reading about the Russian-Jewish founder of google, Sergey Brin:

As we talk at the bagel shop, Michael keeps careful watch on the time. Every so often he leaps from his chair and dashes outside. This isn’t just for a smoke, although he does light up. He’s also keeping close tabs on the parking meters, his and mine, and takes care when the time runs out to drop in more quarters.

This man never has to work again he is worth so much, yet still he avoids petty expenses. I think the Montessori method is really superior as well.

“From my parents, I certainly learned to be frugal and to be happy without very many things,” Sergey tells me. “It’s interesting—I still find myself not wanting to leave anything on the plate uneaten. I still look at prices. I try to force myself to do this less, not to be so frugal. But I was raised being happy with not so much.”

Profound indeed.

Adderall

2007-02-19T14:51:00.000-05:00

This stuff is so handy, I can't even begin to list all of the things that I have accomplished today and it is only 3pm. My focus capitulates to no stimulant other than that which I desire. Popped a 30mg XR tablet this morning with my oatmeal. I'm on five hours of sleep and I feel amazing.

I feel it mostly in my eyes, as my pupils are so dialated, and the waves dopamine and norepinephrine into the extraneuronal spaces of my brain are like new dawns, coming consistently every few moments when I stop and think about the effects of the drug, which isn't often considering my lazer-like focus. I feel like a predator on the serengeti, and every task I set to conquer is a gazelle.

The fox said I could make a million dollars if I took them for a week straight, I doubt that is something I will ever try however.

I'm not hungry at all, but i've been eating any way because after all it is a hobby of mine..

Run little creatures, run!

Oh yeah,

2007-02-16T11:20:00.001-05:00

This should be damn near required reading for all you would-be parents out there. V again beautifully describes an essential aspect of my mantra. Read up.

Good show old boy

2007-02-16T09:51:00.000-05:00

I think that I have been given a gift, much like clairvoyance or telepathy. I think of it as a glimmer, and ability to detect issues or hairline fractures in the surfaces of life. I always seem to get an inkling when something will fail.

My grandmother had something similar, albeit scientifically explainable. She could sense the weather, but that was probably just her joints expanding to the fluctuations in the barometric pressure. My gift is a little different, and I believe that it is firmly rooted in the one true and uniform principle that I have noted in my travels through life. My ability was reared in the acknowledgement that eventually, everything turns into shit or a fuck up.

Call it pessimism, call it negativity, call it a distinct lack of faith. I call it the ability to discern, and it is becoming almost like a game for me. What is going to be the problem with this situation? How is it going to fail? I dissect relationships and events like a botanist, separating stamens and carpels while ignoring the blossom, because the flower is what everyone else sees.

The flowers are facts that begin with phrases like "the majority of," or "most people." The flowers are blanket statements that people issue in attempts to normalize, so all can be assimilated into the norm. I resist the norm simply because I am fundamentally outside of its realm.

I knew that my living situation would never work out the minute that the country simpleton came into kitchen hissing from her pale lip less mouth about her intent to brute force her way in. Her loud, country demeanor of mispronounced words and uncivilized loud talking just never rubbed me, well, any way at all.

My car was towed this morning and she told me she would take me to get it in a little while, as she needed more sleep (10:30 am). Then then she asked me for gas money, and complained incessantly in her pig Latin about the cold. Such a miserable human specimen. She plans to move in with her boyfriend after we end our nice little social experiment together. Good night, and good luck.

I have noticed that the fox gets annoyed with me when I go on my rants, labeling me cranky and irritable. I think this honeymoon stage of our relationship is going to end when she realizes I am always irritable, and a big asshole. Not the happy, funny, and mildly inebriated older guy she fashions she has polished out of the coal mine.

I am the coal, and I won't settle, no matter how tired I get of failure and error. The demon that goads me to perfection will not allow me to calm my sensibilities and cease my complaining.

And another week passes by, another week in the desert. How did Jesus count the days, or did he even care what day it was. He was probably just worried about temptation, that which he did not succumb to, and I in all my multitudes of discipline, have.

Happy Valentines Day

2007-02-14T13:22:00.000-05:00

Man, I really wish I didn't ask off, I should be working tonight...
Went to Macaroni grill last night with the fox which was rather good, had portobello chicken and she had Canneloni.. Yum!
Today is payday, and so is tomorrow~! Ah the joys of multi employment
I got a new Perry Ellis wallet, some playboy coasters, and some silk boxers, nice!
I bought her two hours at the spa, she said I did really well, not bad for a first valentine ;)
Make up your mind weather, cold or hot... I think I am ready for it to get hot, strangely..

For Sale:

2007-02-12T12:22:00.000-05:00

Bass Guitar

Slow Cheetah

2007-02-09T11:07:00.000-05:00

this song is just amazing....

Listening to the red hot chili peppers make such great music after all these years is really impressive. Their latest CD to me is definitive. It reminds me of the smashing pumpkin's Melancholy and the Infinite Sadness. Not so much an album, but a definitive statement on their belief expressed in a musical language, every song a separate emotion and the whole work a journey.

Waking up dead inside of my head
Whenever never do there is no med
No medicine to take
I’ve had a chance to be insane
Asylum from the falling rain
I’ve had a chance to break

It’s so bad it’s got to be good
Mysterious girl misunderstood
Dressed like a wedding cake
Any other day and I might play
A funeral march for Bonnie Brae
Why try and run away

The Best Of Tumeric

2007-02-07T11:54:00.000-05:00

Some of my greatest hits...

Clepsydra

Humbled the Consumate Contrarian

Thoughts of a Predicate Felon

economics-of-drugs

Great Words

Wow

God, this man is my hero

Gay names and female eating habits

2007-02-06T15:20:00.000-05:00

/rant/
1. OK, now for some apparent reason, I know a few couples that are in the process of conception. Let me first say how much fun that must be. Seriously, you get an excuse to get laid and you are actually, like accomplishing something. You get yelled at for abandoning ship, instead encouraged to man batten the hatches and weather the storm. Anyone who has ever been in a birth control relationship knows the joys of oral contraceptives.

But to the point, baby names.

Please please please do not banish your child to the plight of eternal gaydom by giving him a retarded contrived name. What is wrong with the names that people have been using for years? It has been economically proven that giving your child a contrived name sets him up for less prosperity. He will be looked upon more favorable by his peers if his name is Samuel, John, or Paul. So what if there are three other Michael's and Maria's in his class and his initials aren't pretty, other people had the right idea as well!

Black people, are you listening? You live in America now, you don't have to invent some African name that isn't even African to feel that you are following in kind with your culture. Look at other cultures.. How many messed up Asian names do you hear, you don't see them giving their children Asian names in America.. How many Harry Woo's and John Kim's do u know....

You are securing not only his/her sexuality but, his/her future lively hood. You are investing when you make babies people, don't waste your livelihood.

2. Women, eat your damn food. Please stop pulling of bread, exploring sauces and eating only the meat and not the lettuce. The menu does not say:

A large patty of meat, served in a delectable prearrangement that is easy reconfigured for maximum flavor, suggested reconfiguration in burger form

Order it, eat it. That simple. If you want to loose weight, eat healthy, eat less more often, and get of your ass and take the stairs. Stop picking at food like birds, its just UN-damn-civilized.

/*rant*/

I'm sorry, this is just funny

2007-02-06T14:10:00.001-05:00

http://wbztv.com/topstories/local_story_031135507.html

everything bagel extra garlic and coffee, black

2007-02-06T13:53:00.000-05:00

I am starting to love coffee, it dosen't keep me awake at all but every so often it jolts me into action. A shot of espresso is always welcomed, albiet with no sugar or creme which are horribly fattening. It supposedly makes you smarter and speeds your metabolism, awww yeaah..

So lets hear it for the Colts one more time, and the surgery that is The Payton Manning offense.

They are moving my office upstairs which I am not happy with, I would much rather be downstairs where I can make calls and be unproductive.. Maybe it is a good thing however, I need more motivation in my life. Not working out (just cardio) because of my hand has robbed me of some resolve. I have decided to make to do lists every night on the suggestion of the fox, who swears by them.

Listening to Stadium Arcadium, by the RHCP. Such a great band, amazing to me after all this time they are still so tight and putting out great music.

My mother had a long talk with me last night on the merits of successful life choices. She instructed that it is better to complete things first before skipping around as I often do. She told me to build with bricks, not with shifting sand. I like that. I noticed and mentioned that I always skip up stairs when i'm am ascending. We agreed that I need to stop skipping, however I don't have to walk. I can run.

MBA i'm gunning for ya, but lets get this degree first.

Ayn Rand and That new book smell

2007-02-05T13:24:00.000-05:00

I dislike Ayn Rand, I was reading something about her on a friends blog and decided to rant my responce to such:

I just got blink from Zooba, how exciting. I love that new book smell.

While one can hardly argue with the tenents of Rand in such observations about sexual interaction, her objectivist argument I feel is flawed fundamentally. Be careful not be so taken with a view of human nature that is askew from that which science represents and presented in a mere fiction novel.

Rand attempts to argue that the only productive human action is by nature in pursuit of personal progress. Those who do not follow this pursuit, are what she deems dependent, and society as a hole is divided by those who are dependent and those who are productive. Her treaste for the book is that if the productive citizens 'shrugged' the whole world would feel it, however I feel that this is not in accordance with science.

Populations throughout time have proven to be most successful when functioning in successive cooperation, building upon the ability of specialized production. This principle is illustrated in life numerous times and it is the highly evolved compartmentalized aspect found throughout nature.

The organelles of the cell, plebeians and the patricians, the lion pride, even a bee hive..Think of all the behaviors in society that would be proved impossible if practiced universally. The engineer, the novelist, the farmer, all occupations based upon societies and economies of scale. Capitalism is based in complex organizations home to vast inequalities existing between the productive and the less so.

Societies will always be composed of inequalities, and to write as Rand does that lassiez faire capitalism is in the highest accord with human nature, and then to follow with a theory so contradictory to such claims in my humble opinion is difficult.

And they called it stormy monday..

2007-02-05T11:03:00.000-05:00

Nice day, but a bit chilly as to be expected. My glorious superbowl champion Indianpolis Colts are now supreme, as I envisioned so long ago.

Super 14 started this week, to take the place of my beloved football weekends now I have glorious high octane Australian rugby to watch.

Spent most of the weekend with the Fox, and we are still getting along so well. We went to lunch on friday, shopping at the mall, and had sleepovers. Ah Bliss.

Man I am so tired today, I am beginning to loathe Spanish class, as it isn't very interesting. I want to take a Spanish literature class next, as I think I would pick it up much more quickly that way.

Got an excellent letter of reccomendation from an old finance professor, he had great things to say about me and I really felt good about myself. This grad school thing is going to work out swell I think...

My lips are bleeding

2007-02-02T11:44:00.000-05:00

And I love the cold, I enjoy the naked look on the trees, with their last few leaves clinging to life. They are ever fooled by this sudden cold weather. The blue jays are having a blast in it, as blue jays often do anywhere, they are the life of any season.

I am much the contrast. I think people can just read the look of boredom on my face, as last night of course not drinking I sat around people watching at the bar, and went to watch a friend play with his hideously loud band at some squalid alcoholic location (a frat house.) The frat house was much like I'd imagined a frat to be, full of women asking to get date raped, men holding cheap beer cans, and camouflage regalia.

What? That huge confederate flag? Oh, I'm sorry.. 'rebel battle flag.' Come now, thats pride..not prejudice. Yet is still makes me uneasy as the only brown man walking into the lair of the white institutional masses. So funny how young white adolescents all look the same to me, and funnier still how even though I exclaim to be so culturally a-sensitive and androgynous, I am aware of the fact that America still considers me black. At least some people are having fun.

So I just "ahem" acquired John Digweed's new cd, Transitions Volume 2. It is excellent as usual, an elaborate journey of trance music laced with beats and sound. Highly recommended.

Random Thoughts

2007-02-01T14:20:00.000-05:00

I love rainy days, it is almost like a vacation for the earth.
I really want to go on a cruise, I feel like I can afford it and won't feel bad about spending the money..
Who wants to go with me?
Stock Market is doing very well
I was able to find sources for three letters of reccomendation, now if I can get excellent grades, i'll have a nice G.P.A and be a shoe in for grad school next year
I saw a black card last night, it's power haunted me like an apparation. I want one someday
Work is so much fun (second job) there is nothing better than making money
Spending it is fun too ;)
I want to go shopping on sunday, before the superbowl I think. I deserve it

I'm the Motherfucking Flash

2007-01-31T11:33:00.000-05:00

Damn, I guess I need to relinquish another victory to my mother. I am in need of an alarm clock. My internal alarm clock is highly functional, and I do awaken before the sun more often than not, but this particular morning I decided to go back to bed. Not such a good idea when I had my first spanish test.

Mornings like this I relish the fact that I am a man, able to get ready in fifteen seconds and be out of the door sprinting down the stairs in sandals. Damn, I love my zippy new car, down the street, snuck in behind a teacher in the teacher parking lot and able to make it to class a mere 16 mins late. Wow, that is about 8 mins flat from waking up and realizing I was late to writing my name on the page.

Diet diet diet, just getting into it. I really wonder how it is going to be when I am at week 3 or 4, after the exact same thing every day. I love the challenge and relish in it.

I am opening another bank account today with Wachovia to take advantage of their $50 sign on bonus. That will bring my total number of bank accounts to 5. Washington Mutual, Bank of America, Suntrust(through school), Wachovia, Emigrant Direct. That isn't counting paypal, and Citi, which handles my credit cards.

Wow, I love the bank such a great instution. I have a small position in Bank of America, the best one in my opinion. I like having lots of them because, well there is no harm in it, only greater utility. I never have to search around for a bank, and I keep most of my money in the one that pays the most interest. I can cash a check anywhere, and if I need credit services I am alreay an account holder and can shop around. Ole!

Damn I love finance.

Great Story

2007-01-30T13:52:00.000-05:00

Oh this is how I want my life to be! Incessantly writing about my wine exploits and fine french food. Cavorting around the globe with the bourgeoisie and the aristorcracy.

What a great story, what passion. I loved every word of it. Funny how sometimes my mind reads things at a pace that denotes my intersest. I might skim a school book at best, skipping lines and probing for the essentials. When I am intersted, I read ever so slow and delberiate.

My new favorite activity is to stop at ABC and pick up bottles for my collection, often fine Bordeaux's in writing I can barely decipher.

Women

2007-01-30T13:36:00.000-05:00

Women don’t dress to impress men. Men are just as happy to see you wearing one of their shirts than in a smart pants suit. Women dress to impress other women. Women also compete with other women in terms of popularity and prestige. They gather friends and worshipers around them like little status symbols.

My mother once told me this and I didn't believe it, but it is so true.

Michael Pollan, Food Warrior

2007-01-29T16:51:00.000-05:00

He has a great new article in the NYTimes Magazine about food. I am a disciple. Here are the key points he makes:

1. Eat food. Though in our current state of confusion, this is much easier said than done. So try this: Don’t eat anything your great-great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food. (Sorry, but at this point Moms are as confused as the rest of us, which is why we have to go back a couple of generations, to a time before the advent of modern food products.) There are a great many foodlike items in the supermarket your ancestors wouldn’t recognize as food (Go-Gurt? Breakfast-cereal bars? Nondairy creamer?); stay away from these.

2. Avoid even those food products that come bearing health claims. They’re apt to be heavily processed, and the claims are often dubious at best. Don’t forget that margarine, one of the first industrial foods to claim that it was more healthful than the traditional food it replaced, turned out to give people heart attacks. When Kellogg’s can boast about its Healthy Heart Strawberry Vanilla cereal bars, health claims have become hopelessly compromised. (The American Heart Association charges food makers for their endorsement.) Don’t take the silence of the yams as a sign that they have nothing valuable to say about health.

3. Especially avoid food products containing ingredients that are a) unfamiliar, b) unpronounceable c) more than five in number — or that contain high-fructose corn syrup.None of these characteristics are necessarily harmful in and of themselves, but all of them are reliable markers for foods that have been highly processed.

4. Get out of the supermarket whenever possible. You won’t find any high-fructose corn syrup at the farmer’s market; you also won’t find food harvested long ago and far away. What you will find are fresh whole foods picked at the peak of nutritional quality. Precisely the kind of food your great-great-grandmother would have recognized as food.

5. Pay more, eat less. The American food system has for a century devoted its energies and policies to increasing quantity and reducing price, not to improving quality. There’s no escaping the fact that better food — measured by taste or nutritional quality (which often correspond) — costs more, because it has been grown or raised less intensively and with more care. Not everyone can afford to eat well in America, which is shameful, but most of us can: Americans spend, on average, less than 10 percent of their income on food, down from 24 percent in 1947, and less than the citizens of any other nation. And those of us who can afford to eat well should. Paying more for food well grown in good soils — whether certified organic or not — will contribute not only to your health (by reducing exposure to pesticides) but also to the health of others who might not themselves be able to afford that sort of food: the people who grow it and the people who live downstream, and downwind, of the farms where it is grown.

“Eat less” is the most unwelcome advice of all, but in fact the scientific case for eating a lot less than we currently do is compelling. “Calorie restriction” has repeatedly been shown to slow aging in animals, and many researchers (including Walter Willett, the Harvard epidemiologist) believe it offers the single strongest link between diet and cancer prevention. Food abundance is a problem, but culture has helped here, too, by promoting the idea of moderation. Once one of the longest-lived people on earth, the Okinawans practiced a principle they called “Hara Hachi Bu”: eat until you are 80 percent full. To make the “eat less” message a bit more palatable, consider that quality may have a bearing on quantity: I don’t know about you, but the better the quality of the food I eat, the less of it I need to feel satisfied. All tomatoes are not created equal.

6. Eat mostly plants, especially leaves. Scientists may disagree on what’s so good about plants — the antioxidants? Fiber? Omega-3s? — but they do agree that they’re probably really good for you and certainly can’t hurt. Also, by eating a plant-based diet, you’ll be consuming far fewer calories, since plant foods (except seeds) are typically less “energy dense” than the other things you might eat. Vegetarians are healthier than carnivores, but near vegetarians (“flexitarians”) are as healthy as vegetarians. Thomas Jefferson was on to something when he advised treating meat more as a flavoring than a food.

7. Eat more like the French. Or the Japanese. Or the Italians. Or the Greeks. Confounding factors aside, people who eat according to the rules of a traditional food culture are generally healthier than we are. Any traditional diet will do: if it weren’t a healthy diet, the people who follow it wouldn’t still be around. True, food cultures are embedded in societies and economies and ecologies, and some of them travel better than others: Inuit not so well as Italian. In borrowing from a food culture, pay attention to how a culture eats, as well as to what it eats. In the case of the French paradox, it may not be the dietary nutrients that keep the French healthy (lots of saturated fat and alcohol?!) so much as the dietary habits: small portions, no seconds or snacking, communal meals — and the serious pleasure taken in eating. (Worrying about diet can’t possibly be good for you.) Let culture be your guide, not science.

8. Cook. And if you can, plant a garden. To take part in the intricate and endlessly interesting processes of providing for our sustenance is the surest way to escape the culture of fast food and the values implicit in it: that food should be cheap and easy; that food is fuel and not communion. The culture of the kitchen, as embodied in those enduring traditions we call cuisines, contains more wisdom about diet and health than you are apt to find in any nutrition journal or journalism. Plus, the food you grow yourself contributes to your health long before you sit down to eat it. So you might want to think about putting down this article now and picking up a spatula or hoe.

9. Eat like an omnivore. Try to add new species, not just new foods, to your diet. The greater the diversity of species you eat, the more likely you are to cover all your nutritional bases. That of course is an argument from nutritionism, but there is a better one, one that takes a broader view of “health.” Biodiversity in the diet means less monoculture in the fields. What does that have to do with your health? Everything. The vast monocultures that now feed us require tremendous amounts of chemical fertilizers and pesticides to keep from collapsing. Diversifying those fields will mean fewer chemicals, healthier soils, healthier plants and animals and, in turn, healthier people. It’s all connected, which is another way of saying that your health isn’t bordered by your body and that what’s good for the soil is probably good for you, too.

Cold

2007-01-29T10:55:00.000-05:00

Wow, I didn't realize how cold it was this morning. Claire said it was 22, I shouldn't of worn sandals, I almost starting running between buildings
It is great having a cuddle buddy
I love my new whip, pictures coming soon
I hate the fact the driving drunk on Saturday night caused me to break the side window already
I started my diet today, someone saw me walking down call street eating a broccoli floret and gave me a strange look
Funny how no one ever eats raw vegetables any more
First day back in the office in a while, and my toes are cold
My genius international business professor is really starting to get on my nerves, I feel like all he does is pontificate with the sole purpose of demonstrating his knowledge.
He really lectures about nothing, funny how you look around and you see no one taking notes.. That is a sign that you are telling too many stories about all the languages/places you know. So annoying. Today he gave a lecture on the misspelling of Hor d'oeuvres, how to ask if one if from Berlin in German correctly, and his ability to give speeches in both French and English. What does that have to do with business?

I'm an Ass

2007-01-25T22:50:00.001-05:00

El Presidente

2007-01-25T13:28:00.000-05:00

The thing that really gets me about the whole situation is how he must feel every night. His approval is lower that Rush Limbaugh on a day without prescription meds and even Republicans are turning their backs on him. The mouthpiece of big industry he has done little throughout his reign, and what will his legacy be? A debt larger than anyone before him that I will have to pay for the rest of my life, and thousands of disabled veterans from a war that should have never been fought.

Sorry, but reading Moody's post about it got me thinking..I suppose there are worse leaders in the world..

In other news, the fox and I are getting along swimmingly. She is so prophetic and her prose bleeds into her speech at the most admirable instants. She tells me things that make my heart smile like "I love black and white movies, they are so much fun to figure out."

She has great taste in movies and is always smiling, she seems very honest and we share an unapologetic love for material things. She makes use of complex conversational metaphors that I love to ponder in the time when she isn't around. I am infatuated... but still I am keeping my eyes open.

Women	86,805
Men	94,710