HopsGuy

I like Rachel Ray, but I agree that the folks at Maxim did a bang-up job. She's got Crisco and no chest. Doesn't make her a bad person, though. Her show is great and I'm not sure I'd trust any chef/cook that was skinny anyway. Then again, there is that gal from "Everday Italian"... Giada De Laurentiis I like Samantha Brown of the Travel Channel Samantha Brown I'd add the tertiary women from the West Wing, too. Especially Kim Webster and Melissa Fitzgerald.

Every defense has a nickname (Monsters of the Midway, Purple People Eaters, etc.). I think we can call our pass rush "Desperate Housewives". This Brady kid is pretty good when he has time.

BrandSmart prices are always ALWAYS lower. The problem with the place is being there is a horrible experience. The set up doesn't allow you to move around, and the sales people are relentless in their attempt to upsell. Kick the tires at Best Buy and then go to BrandSmart and buy it. I bought a little 20" color TV for 78.88 (everything ends in 0.88) a couple of months ago. The next week it was still in the flyer, but $30 higher.

By Superstring theory? Probably not. We'll need some breakthrough technology to test some of the axioms of relativity so that it can be properly debunked. A superconducting supercollider would help to model the big bang so that we'll know what what the primordial particles were (if there really was a Big Bang as background radiation suggests). It's just that there are things that are more in need of tax dollars right now, I guess. Plus, a grand unification theory won't help us make cars that run on seawater, so there's no real finanacial incentive for the private sector. Maybe Ron Artest can work on it in the off season?

US ARMY 1993-2002

The ISE has been the leader in equity option volume for quite a while now. They have even beaten the CBOE a couple of months including index contracts. The CME simply ownes the futures world right now with the ES and NQ e-minis, so it's not surprising how well their IPO worked out. The proprietary products that the CBOE have (SPX, OEX, DIA) keep traders coming back, so it might work out for them. ISE wants the SEC to come in and allow all 6 exchanges to trade those contracts, but I don't think they will. If they did, then you could probably say goodbye to the pits. Then there's the whole penny increment argument, but that's another thread...

Yup, that's him. Let us know how it comes out.

Do you know Tom Sasnoff (sp?)? I caught a seminar he and his partner (whose name escapes me, but he did mention that he still trades in the XEO pit) at the CBOE last summer. Seems like those guys like to push the Iron Condor selling, but "only at the right price". They did let slip that odd lots (like 3 contracts) submitted at the theoretical price (split the bid-ask) have a decent shot of getting filled just to clean up the book. The BOX has done alright, but the price improvement thing hasn't taken off quite like I expected. I figured by now they would have eaten everyone's lunch. PCX and PHLX can't have much left, though.

We hire trainees, not brokers.

Oh that's 100% true. I took the 3 a few years ago, and I hardly do anything with futures anymore. I answered a futures data question wrong today (I thought you only needed CBOT data for treasury bond futures, but the 13 week T-bill trades on CME... oops). After studying like crazy for the 7, I knew the whole syndication/take down structure of bringing a company public. I'd be lucky to get a 40 on that test today. I don't even want to think about the material on the Series 55.

A friend sent me this story. It's from 2002, but it's as a good a read today as 2 years ago. Blake Hurst column

I have the Series 4 (Registered Options Principal). I designed an options trading system for my company, so I'm pretty well educated on the subject. What do you want to know?

That would be about $4385, but that seems awfully high. Was this note pre-devaluation? I gotta believe it was. If not, enjoy. I've avoided the horrible human being thread, but now I'm actually interested in how this one turns out.

I have to agree. I'm quite sure that Marv (or even Gregg for that matter) would have had two plays called. Planning for contingencies is one of those axioms of leadership.

I had to drag my butt to the sports bar yesterday to watch the game. The Fish-Cards game (Clash of the Titans in AP Keaton parlance) was on local TV, so the Steelers-Eagles game wasn't on either. The owner is from Long Island and usually wears a Jets jersey, but not this week for some reason. There were about 15 people there in Jets garb, but just me and some 21 year-old kid from North Tonawanda rooting for the Bills. Anyway, there was some guy with a Pennington jersey that was about 5-7, 260 lbs. He was your typical loudmouth most of the first 3 quarters. Around the start of the 4th quarter, he walks by me and now he's wearing a Giants' Tiki Barber jersey. I note to the kid that he may have stolen the jersey and eaten Barber. That got a good chuckle from the Steeler fans around us. I left after the first quarter of the 2nd games. Chad/Tiki was in good spirits with the Giants up 14-0 on two Barber TDs ("That's my BOY!" he bellowed several times before 5 PM). I was tempted to go back after seeing the Bears comeback. So there you have it. I firmly believe the football gods want you to pick one NFL teams and stick with it. You will be rewarded for your loyalty someday.

Or "Protect me from my broker!" Then again, you should hear some of the inane questions we get each day. Someday I'll post a list. Many are along the lines of "I want to buy this if it goes up, but if it goes down I want to cancel the order."

How about Kalsu, #61? Can't go wrong there.

Since he's probably going to expire in a hospital, does he get the virgins and figs, or do you have to use the bomb jacket in order to get the girls?

In case you hadn't seen this... MY VIEW I tried to tell you . . . Democrats repel voters, who put faith in freedom Published on: 11/04/04 America's faith in freedom has been reaffirmed. With the re-election of President Bush, America recommitted itself once again to expanding freedom and promoting liberty. Only the 1864 re-election of Abraham Lincoln, the 1944 re-election of Franklin Roosevelt and the 1980 election of Ronald Reagan rival this victory as milestones in the preservation of our security by the advancement of freedom. This election validated not just freedom, but also the faith our Founding Fathers placed in average folks to navigate the course of this great nation. By weighing the greatest issues at the gravest times and choosing our path, ordinary people have again accomplished extraordinary things. With courage and caution, rather than fear and timidity, the voters chose a path to ensure others would enjoy the same freedom to set their own path. This election outcome should have been implausible, if not impossible. With a litany of complaints — bad economy, bad deficit, bad foreign war, bad gas prices — amplified by a national media that discarded any pretense of neutrality, a national opposition party should have won this election. But the Democratic Party is no longer a national party. As difficult as the challenges are — both real and fabricated — Democrats offered no solution that was either believable or acceptable to vast regions of America. Tax increases to grow the economy are not a solution that is believable or acceptable. Democratic promises of fiscal responsibility are unbelievable in the face of massive new spending promises. A foreign policy based on the strength of "allies" such as France is unacceptable. A strong national defense policy is just not believable coming from a candidate who built a career as an anti-war veteran, an anti-military candidate and an anti-action senator. Democratic Party policies haven't sold in large sections of America in decades, and the only success of Democrats in presidential elections for 40 years was when they pitched themselves as pro-growth, low-tax, strong-defense, fiscally responsible, values-oriented candidates. Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton hummed the tune but never really sang the song, and that's why Democrat prospects have gone south in the South. In 1980, the South had 20 Democrats and just six Republicans in the Senate. As recently as 1994, the Senate had 17 Democrats and nine Republicans from the South. A decade later, the number had reversed to 17 Republicans and nine Democrats. With this election, it is 22 Republicans and just four Democrats from the South. When will national Democrats sober up and admit that that dog won't hunt? Secular socialism, heavy taxes, big spending, weak defense, limitless lawsuits and heavy regulation — that pack of beagles hasn't caught a rabbit in the South or Midwest in years. The most recent failed nominee for president stands as proof that the national Democratic Party will continue to dwindle. The South has gone from just one-fourth of the Electoral College in 1960 to almost a third today. To put this in perspective, that gain is equal to all the electoral votes in Ohio. Yet there was not a single Southern state where John Kerry had any real chance. Would anyone like to place bets on the electoral strength of the South by 2012? Maybe they should tax stupidity. When you write off centrist and conservative policies that reflect the will of people in the South and Midwest, you write off the South and Midwest. Democrats have never learned from the second or third or fifth kick of a mule. They continue to change only the makeup on, rather than makeup of, the Democrat Party. And so we have a realignment election. For the first time, in an "us vs. them" election and in the toughest of situations, Republicans have been re-elected to the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Confronting an opposition that can win a divided electorate in the worst of times and that has a growing electoral base, the national Democratic Party has a choice: continue down this path toward irrelevance or reverse course. As the last Truman Democrat, I hope my party makes the right choice but know I will not be allowed to be part of it. Such is the price you pay when you love your nation more than your party. And so while I retire with little hope for the near-term viability of the party I've spent my life building, I retire with a quiet satisfaction that after witnessing the struggle of democracy over communism and fascism, the fear I once held that America might not rise to meet this new challenge of terrorism has vanished like a fog under the radiance of a new dawn. While the threat is still real, the shadow looming across a promising future is gone. And the credit for that goes to one man. Like the last lion of England, Winston Churchill, George W. Bush has stood alone and risked all to give the world a new, clearer path to the advancement of freedom. Abraham Lincoln, in his second annual message to Congress, stated: "In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom for the free — honorable alike in what we give and what we preserve. We shall nobly save or meanly lose the last, best hope of earth." George Bush has injected into a region of enslavement an incurable dose of freedom, and thus nobly saved that "last, best hope of earth" — free men. — Zell Miller is Georgia's Democratic U.S. senator.

Wow, I saw this thread and I was already puffing our my chest at the chance to endow the author with some solid investing advice. Then I read the response and realize (yet again) that this forum is filled with some very well-informed folks. You'd do well to heed the advice from these guys. AD quoted Peter Lynch. I would suggest you pick up a copy of "One up on Wall Street". It was published in 1989, but his assertions are as valid today as ever. If after reading that you're still in the mood to do some stock picking, read "Reminisces of a Stock Operator" by Edwin Lefevre. That one was written in the 20s. It's based on the life of the 'notorious' short-seller Jesse Livermore. It's a great read. Basically you should come away with the notion that you shouldn't invest in a company unless you really know the ins and outs of that particular business. Otherwise you may as well bet the Bills' games. They're getting 1 1/2 right now!

I voted. My story is in this thread.

I voted for Badnarik and I live in FL. Here's the skinny: I tried to do the early voting thing 3 times at the place near work. Each time the line was way too long for my taste (3+ hours for this past Saturday). So I waited until after work today. I was prepared to wait as long as it would take (brought a book and some bottled water), but there was practically no line. I walked right up and presented my ID to some lady that probably began volunteering during the Johnson administration (Andrew not Lyndon). She was interrupted by some other old gal about not sending people to the wrong line. I signed near my name and got my "ticket". I made my way over to the new computer booths and just sort of waited to be noticed. Methuselah's brother came over and led me to an open screen. He put the key and showed me how it worked just like he's supposed to, but he didn't take my "ticket", so I just held onto it. I was thinking to myself that there might be problems so they want you to hold it until your vote was registered. Since I had my cheat sheet with me, I was able to motor through all of the referendums and I was done in about 3 minutes. I reviewed my picks and hit the red button. I turned around and took a couple of steps. Methuselah came over and said, "Are you all set?" I said, "Yup!" and presented my "ticket" and he starts to lead me back to the machine. That's right! I could have voted again! But my good side wouldn't let me do it and I said, "No, I just voted. I'm okay." He gave me a sheepish look and some other lady put the "I voted" sticker on me. That's democracy in the Sunshine State. Anyway, that's my story.

The Baldwins have a Syracuse connection. There is an electrical wholesale distributor there that still bears the name (Baldwin-Hall), although the family sold their stake years ago.

I'd like to point out (again) that there was a picture of SDS with some Hooter's girls at last year's TBD party right up until the Sunday night game against Miami. The Bills were 2-0 at the time of the change. The Bills are 5-15 since. BRING BACK THE HOOTER'S GIRLS!

Dave, Where are you seeing the Cards favored? Most places I look I see the Bills 3-3 1/2 point favorites.