Learning How the Stock Market Works

Have you ever wondered how financial markets work?  Just what is it those “financial wizards” are able to do that you and I can’t (I mean, besides make a lot of money from people like you and I)?  This should be a helpful illustration:

http://picayune.uclick.com/comics/nq/2008/nq081109.gif

Enjoy!

Unspoken Communication

What can I say?

Enjoy!

How Thirsty are You for Bottled Water?

I don’t always make the best choices.  In college, I had a friend invite me to join him in a new start up telecommunications company.  I thought who could replace Ma Bell (it was 1982)?  The company? Sprint.  He’s now a V.P. 

When the Starbuck’s craze was still in it’s infancy, I wondered who would pay more than fifty cents for a cup of coffee… little did I know it would be me.  I thought the same about music videos. 

Bottled water was also just making itself known (at least to me) through Sparklett’s and I remember thinking – who would pay for water, it’s free!  Again, little did I know… (I’m really not much of a prognosticator [obviously], but I’m doubting this Internet thing is ever going to catch on).

Lucid Lunatic recently (today) wrote about alternate automobile fuels and the costs (both commercially and ecologically) associated in producing them.  It reminded me of the process involved in bottling water:

http://uncommonpics.com/pic-2818-Usefulness-of-bottled-water

Enjoy?

Election 2008 – Post Halloween Fright

I happened across this a few days late, but it’s still close enough to be relevant:

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoons/HorseD/2008/HorseD20081023_low.jpg

Enjoy?

School for the Gifted

One of my favorite Far Side cartoons (an oldie, but goodie):

http://www.spreeblick.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/05/schoolforthegifted.jpg

Enjoy!

Dive Into The Public Library

When you dive into your public library, do you dive deep or shallow?  I frequent the mystery section – I assume I’m somewhere around the 4′ deep (or shallow) section of the pool.  I also enjoy swimming in the classics and biography (but not celebrity biography) – I assume I’m enjoying my swim somewhere in the middle of the pool.

Enjoy!

A Day in the Life of a Procrastinator

I was going to post this earlier, but decided to do other stuff first.  After a bit of diddle daddle, I couldn’t decide whether to linger or lollygag, so I moseyed back into the house (I’d forgotten how to sashay).  At any rate, here (finally) is – How to Wander through Life, better known as A Day in the Life of a Procrastinator (brought to you by blurburger.com): (I might goof off later, if I have time).

http://www.blurburger.com/shoebox/toons/albums/toons/toon_procrastinator.gif

Enjoy!

Rules for Writing Wicked Good Papers

Writing seems to be a minor theme this week.  I found these wicked good rules at the Union College site.  They were posted by the Biology Department.  I hope they will help:

1. Shun and avoid the employment of unnecessary, excess extra words.
2. Make certain all sentences are full and complete. If possible.
3. Avoid cliches like the plague.
4. Take pain’s to spell and, punctuate correctly.
5. BE Consistent.
6. Don’t approximate. Always be more or less precise.
7. Sedulously eschew obfuscatory hyperverbosity or prolixity.
8. Avoid pointless repetition, and don’t repeat yourself unnecessarily.
9. Always try to remembr t he/E extreme importance of being accurit; ne at, and carfful.
10. Don’t use no double negatives.
11. Don’t never use no triple negatives.
12. All generalizations are bad.
13. Take care that your verb and subject is in agreement.
14. A preposition is a bad thing to end a sentence with.
15. Don’t use commas, which aren’t necessary.
16. “Avoid overuse of ‘quotation’ marks.”
17. Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided.
18. And don’t start a sentence with a conjunction.
19. Reserve the apostrophe for it’s proper use and omit it when its not necessary.
20. Avoid run-on sentences they are hard to read.
21. Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.
22. Never use that totally cool, radically groovy out-of-date slang.
23. Avoid those long sentences that just go on, and on, they never stop, they just keep rambling, and you really wish the person would just shut up, but no, they just keep on going, they’re worse than the Energizer Bunny, they babble incessantly, and these sentences, they just never stop.

Good writing!

Writing to Intimidate (or Academia, Here I Come!)

I had a professor during my teacher education days who loved to use many obscure words (I really do mean many) in very long sentences, then summarize what he just said by saying “…in other words,” and then use about five or six (simple) words to summarize.  Now, I realize that he was likely trying to increase our vocabulary by adding context to unfamiliar words, but I couldn’t help but think, “couldn’t you just use the other words?”

Although I believe the vast majority of professors really do have the best interest of their students in mind, I do believe there are some academic bullies out there as well.

 

The cartoon below seems to capture my thinking:

Enjoy!

Bailout Blues (or Greens)

Ok, one more bailout cartoon.  This is (sadly) funny:

http://cagle.msnbc.com/news/WallStreetBailout/3.asp

Enjoy!