Rant: 5 years ago today I lost my best friend (my cousin) suddenly and unexpectedly Bigger Rant: which in turn reminds me (again) that in the last 5 years I've lost him, my older sister, my last grandparent, and that my son (well, my ex-wife and her husband, along with my son) relocated to another state. Rave: I'm not a raging alcoholic Rave?: bourbon...sorry, but it does help a tiny bit ???: those last two may one day conflict each other
Rave: Got my girlfriend into hiking. I took her on a relatively short hike through Multnomah Falls, and she's hooked. The dog liked it too. Rave: Job is happily paying as much overtime as I'm willing to do. The only rule is that you can't do any 7-day workweeks. This is a good thing, as I have a whole bunch of shit I want to buy but can't justify going into debt for. Rant: When school starts, I'm probably going to be too busy to do either of these. I have Fridays off, but I'm probably going to end up doing a metric shit-ton of homework.
RANT: Being excited about a package delivery, watching the UPS tracking online that it is to be delivered the "the end of the day", only to finally give up hope at 8 PM that I am just not going to get that package today. Yep, first world problems. But now a serious rant, I work at a college, so I know that my patient population is "at risk", but I had my first patient that I was seeing commit suicide this week. I found out Monday, I can't even wrap my head around it yet.
RAVE: Had a big software update yesterday/today... my team's day started at 8am, we ended at 4am this morning. It was a complete refactoring of our entire app, and invovled huge amounts of data migrations and major "under the hood" rewiring. We went home, slept for a couple of hours, then went back to work only to wander around in a fog for most of the day. BIGGER RAVE: Not a single customer support call, and everything looks fucking solid. You IT types will know what I mean. BIGGEST RAVE: I'm now at home BBQ'ing a monster steak and garlic mashed potatoes, and have cracked open a big, expensive bottle of wine, and will be passed out, in bed, belching garlic and red wine, in under an hour.
Rant?/Rave? - The rollercoaster ride for the interviewing process for a potential new company continues. It has only been a couple of weeks, but it's still nerve wracking not to hear anything........and then see the job get reposted on LinkedIn. Just as I had lost faith, I get an email from the HR person asking if I could come in for one last (presumably) interview. I'm really hoping this job pans out. I've heard this company pays pretty well and if I can get enough of a pay bump to at least cover my increased living costs, I'd be pretty happy. Plus, this would be more corporate accounting which would suit my personality a little better. I like property accounting fine, but having to constantly deal with field members who have little to no grasp of accounting does wear a little thin.
Rant: Jesus Christ, how does the jeweler fuck up my wedding bands 2 weeks away from my wedding? And then have the nerve to tell me that the new ones might be ready by our date? At least they have been kissing my ass ever since, but it doesnt change the fact that the bands I paid for might be ready. No, I dont want a "loner" band. I want the one I wanted. Rant: I would like to thank my brokerage for fucking my address yet again. Any time I want to make a withdrawal, some how the check gets lost in the mail. Rant: Fuck Comcast. I do a trial upgrade to my plan, and then they tell me I cant revert and Im locked in for 2 years or I have to pay a $250 penalty. Fuck that company.
Rave: Won the poker tournament. Not a big one, but after taking half a year off, it's nice to win one after a few weeks of being back in it.
I can't think of any other thread in which this story might belong. So, I guess... Rant: We just interviewed a guy for a job and I lost count of how many times he said he nearly got into physical altercations with former supervisors. Made out every person that has ever fired him, a lot of people I know, to be huge assholes that didn't want smarter people around. It's impressive, seeing with one's own eyes that amount of delusion.
Rave: My son's band - A Will Away has signed with Triple Crown Records! They are on their way to the big leagues . http://www.underthegunreview.net/20...ecords-signs-a-will-away-rock-and-roll-lives/
Rant: Here is an excerpt of my notes for an investments class I'm taking to get my CLU/ChFC: Spoiler Parameters for a Two-Security Portfolio Formula: Expected Return = Weighting of asset i times ER of asset i + Weighting of asset j times ER of asset j ER = WiERi + WjERj SD of portfolio = Square Root (for two asset problem) of [(Wi^2 x SDi^2) + (Wj^2 x SDj^2) + 2WiWjCOVij] COV = CoVariance Sample Problem 2 assets ERi = 15%, ERj = 6% SDi = 15% SDj = 10% COVij = -75% squared (which doesn’t mean you actually square the 75 in a problem, use the -75% or whatever number they give you) If Wi = 60% and Wj = 40%, what is expected return and standard deviation of the portfolio ERp = 11.4% SDp = 7.8102 Correlation Coefficient Measure of co-movement tendency of two variables, such as returns on two securities NOTE: CC is properly called “Rho” and the Greek Letter looks like a capital P CC = COVij/(SDi x SDj) Relationship of the movement of two variables, do they go up together, opposite, unrelated? Lowest CC you can have is -1, highest is +1 -1 = exactly the opposite, +1 = perfectly correlated, Uncorrelated = somewhere in the middle Three Special Cases - Graphs CC of +1, perfect positive correlation Remember, a CC of +1 does not mean they necessarily have the same risk to the assets CC of -1, perfect negative correlation There is a place on the graph where the same risk has two different ERs, so pick the higher ER portfolio mix CC of 0, Totally uncorrelated Also has places with two ERs for the same risk LEast risky portfolio is at “MVP” - Minimum Variance Portfolio Where on the graph it is least risk Efficient Frontier - Trying to get portfolio mix that maximizes return for risk Set of risk - expected return Tradeoffs Most people will choose a higher risk if they can reasonably expect a higher return EF offers highest expected return for a given risk and least risk for a given expected return CC +1 = Will be anywhere on the line CC -1 = Will be along top line of graph somewhere CC 0 - Will be somewhere along top of curve Class 3 Chapter 3 continued Indifference Curves - “Risk Tolerance Curves” The higher your risk tolerance, the more horizontal your line/curve Line representa what an investor needs in E/R to justify the risk X axis - Risk Y axis - Return, E/R What determines shape? Wealth Income Stability of Income Age Personal Experiences Born with it Optimal Portfolio to HOld When CC = -1, plot indifference curve over the CC graph and see where it intersects. Go for the efficient frontier, the higher E/R intersection if more than one Why low correlation coefficients are desirable NOT because they produce portfolios with least risk Because they allow an investor to achieve highest possible indifference curve Negative correlation coefficients (or covariances) are the best Minimum Variance Portfolio (MVP) Lowest risk for the asset mix (all the way to the left on the multi asset graph N-Asset Portfolio Efficient Frontier is the upper curve between MVP and top of that line going up and to the right. Overlay indfference curve over it, find intersections, those are optimal portfolios Adding a risk-free security to the mix Efficient frontier straightens out instead of a curve hanging in mid-air Zero risk now has an E/R to it MVP is now that 0 risk spot on the frontier “Rf” = Risk Free rate Market Portfolio Hypothetical portfolio representing each investment asset in the world in proportion to its relative weight in the universe of investment assets Capital Market Line (CML): Better Efficient Frontier - it has a formula Meaning of the CML Defines expected return for fully diversifed portfolios Every portfolio on this line is a combination of the risk-free asset and market portfolio Always preferred to any combination of risky portfolios Slope is the “market price of risk” - investor being compensated with higher E/R for taking on more risk So higher your slope, the higher your E/R for each unit of risk Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) A more general relationship between risk and expected return From an individual securities standpoint, what is E/R for that security based on other parameters in the market “Rm” - return on the market “E(Rm)” - Expected return on the market (Often S&P 500 as market prozy) When “i” is used as a sub, it’s the security (investment) “Ri” = Return on investment Market Risk Premium - what is investor getting to compensate for risk Beta Parameter that relates stock or portfolio performance to market performance Example: with x percent change in market, stock or porfolio will tend to change by x percent times is beta Beta of the market = 1 Beta of a security is greater than one = More volatile than market Less than one = less volatile than market Beta of less than 0 = opposite of the market Beta equals 0 = independent of the market Market Model Ri = Y-intercept value (Alpha) + Beta of investment times Return of Market + Eta (Random error term) Multifactor (arbitrage pricing) Model Used to explain stock pricing and expected return based on multiple betas and multiple factors in place of CAPM’s market index Conceptually superior to CAPM, but no empirical support, so little used Still has single Alpha MPT - Modern Portfolio Theory (Does it matter?) Uniform Principal and Income Act Prudent man has evolved to prudent investor, and MPT is the basis for this Defines how most professionals think Simplifies a complex world Basis for evaluating performance Model is better than no model No predictive value Now, the rant isn't the material, it's how often clients will say "Well, I talked to my uncle/cousin/randomfriend/every other unqualified stooge in my life" and then ignore recommendations. Sure, good luck with that.
Rant: Well this is going to be a fun argument tomorrow. So one of our vehicles had a slow leak in the tire so i take it to the dealer that one of my good friends works at and tell service that only my friend is to work on it. I get them to drop me off at home so i can grab my bike so i dont have to bum rides. After work i drive to the shop pay for it and come home and will pick it up after. My dumb ass never checked the rim before i paid for it, and when i picked it up this evening, the scratched the shit out of my rim(20" aluminum stock).
Rant: I've been laid up with a headache, fever, diarrhea-grenade-and-nuclear-bombing shit-hose and sore throat causing virus for two days. Rave: Only two days of horseshit. Rant: Fucked up my circadian rhythm so now I'm going to have to un-fuck that all up.
Rant: Installing new granite counters in bathrooms and kitchen. It's making a fucking mess and is giving me a heart attack that one of the large pieces is going to break. Rave: New granite counters!!! Rant: Still have to install backsplash, then new tile for bathrooms. Rave: This will keep my wife quiet for a while
Rant: Yesterday was easily in the top five of worst days of my life. I did something colossally stupid at work that ended up with a significant amount of damage caused to some items and my name is mud at work for a decent amount of time. About the only good thing that can be said about yesterday is that no one died as a result.
Rant: Sinus infection. Thanks, granite powder for exacerbating it. I told me wife this granite counter installation was going to suck. Rave: Steroid shot. Rant: Steroid shots hurts like a fucker. Rave: I've been coughing so much my toddler son is imitating me (/mocking me?). It's really cute.
Rant: What is it with people trying to find excuses for everything. Yes, you can always construct some kind of situation where your shitty behaviour would be excused (i.e. tailgating on the highway - But maybe the other driver has an emergency!) , but 99% of the time it's just you being a shitty human being/not doing your job/etc. I'm so sick of this. No one wants to own up to anything. Is it so hard to say that something was maybe your fault or a dumb idea? God, it's making my blood boil sometimes.
Rant/Rave: Coming back on the bus from the airport(our airport is on another island have to take a ferry to get to it) and one of her coworkers sit behind her on the bus and they start talking. So they got talking and bitching about work, something my wife normally doesn't do outside the house. When the guy in front of us turns around and says "i heard you saying something about grain, do you work at the elevator?" they go "yes". Then he replies "nice to meet you, i am NAME president of the company". She has worked there for 4 years and maybe has met he once, he doesn't live here, he lives far away by the other elevator that company owns. It was priceless the look on my wife's and coworkers face.
Rave: After five years of using OKCupid pretty consistently, I finally had my first date with a girl whom I met off the website! We went out for coffee yesterday morning and I really had a nice time with her. Rant: I am 99% sure that she is not interested in seeing me again. But I think that I am okay with that; I have learned that one date is better than zero dates. Rave: I've started doing kickboxing. It's been two months now and I am really enjoying it. I did it for about a year back when I was 14, but I didn't stick with it. I am actually doing it with the same instructor, and he is happy to see me doing it again, fifteen years later. I could never stick with anything when I was a kid, and that is something that I feel really guilty and stupid about now. It feels so gratifying to be finishing something that I started and never should have stopped. Rant: Roommate problems. I'll put this in spoilers: Spoiler I think that I am going to look for a new place to live. I don't want to; I like the location of where I am, and the rent is fairly cheap, but I've come to realize that my roommate is an idiot. Ever since she got with her boyfriend back in January or February she has been leaving for absurd amounts of times and leaving me to take care of her dog. I probably should have known that it was only a matter of time before she began exploiting my nice guy ways. Now to top things off, our dryer has been broken for 2 months now. It took her 3 or 4 weeks to get someone out here to look at it to begin with, and it still isn't fixed. On Wednesday someone is coming to "fix" it for the fourth time. The damn dryer is 11 years old, one of the repairmen told her that those things usually only last for 10 years, and yet she still refuses to get a new one! Of course she is able to do laundry at her boyfriend's place; she doesn't have to shell out $17 a week at the laundromat like I do. I really don't want to go through the trouble of moving for the second time in a year--especially when I am working full time and taking three graduate classes--but I am just fed up with her.
Rave: Had a really great first date. Awesome girl, super cute, bit of a goodnight kiss. Smart, funny, low stress, should be a good thing.
Rant: Been a busy few weeks, and I haven't been around as much as I like to be. I sort of missed you guys. Well, some of you. Ok, the boobie thread. Rant/Rave: Got a new car, an Audi A3. Holy fucking shit, it is fast. Got the 2.0T Quattro. The first time I got into it, I went to put the key in, except no key hole. Whoops. The car is like a fighter jet, a screen comes out of the dash. It's the biggest leap forward technologically I've ever taken in a car (my last one was a 2003. I'm going to miss my 2003 Ford. I got laid in that car. Good times. Rant/Rave: My reputation for walking dogs in Philly has spread. Considering I've been trying to get out of it, a part of me keeps wondering if this is 'what I'm meant to do.' I have no idea, and it's confusing. My clients constantly tell me 'oh, so and so saw you and said how awesome you are with the dogs.' I'm good at my job, but 7 years of post high school education feels wasted. I'm torn. Plus, realistically, the money ain't great and I'm not building a future. Rant: The Popacalypse is coming. I have to get out of town for four days. The wife and clients aren't happy, but I want no part of the insanity. Rant: I'm busy as hell walking dogs and this heat is killing me. Rave: A client is an investigative reporter for Nat Geo and he invited me and my wife over for the premier of his documentary. Watching him try to figure out twitter while the doc was on was hysterical. Smart guy, but totally clueless with social media. As I am. He's also given me good tips on writing and breaking into writing as a career. Rant: I have little time to write due to my burgeoning dog walking empire. Yikes.