Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Me 1 ; Grouse Grind: 0

Yes folks, that's the final score. Don't ask me how long it took to make it to the top. Let's just say it was about average for a person who doesn't train. I was just happy to make it to the top. On some level, that tells me that I'm not as out of shape as I've been leading myself to believe. So, that's positive.

On the work front though, things are not going as well. Despite last week's successes, I have not been able to repeat them so far this week. Plus, I really need to experiment more. Thus far, I've been focusing on my scalping skills. Until I can make some consistent returns though, I will probably feel I need to keep honing those skills. I would be interested in doing research to try and pick winners, but when I get home, I never feel like putting in the time. I am also interested in getting a faster news feed, but I'm not sure if I'm willing to pay $70+ a month yet.

Commentary on the Situation in Israel/Palestine

Also, on a more political note, I read a great article on the situation in the middle east here. I agree, both sides need to abandon their dreams. The truth is right before the eyes of the citizens of both countries, but they are almost all self-deluding. Provocation only plays into the hands of the hawks. Israel needs to accept that it cannot keep (most of) its settlements in the West Bank. "Greater Israel" is an arrogant dream. It is perhaps ironic that it is almost identical to the Nazi ideal of the "breathing room" of "Greater Germany". At the same time, the Palestinians need to accept that there is a narrow window for a negotiated settlement. Israel's unilateral actions will soon create the facts on the ground. Once the security barrier is completed, Israel's hold on the settlements that will then fall within its territory will be "fait accompli". Palestinians will need to abandon the ideology of "right of return".

I guess I hate to admit it, but I guess I do favour the Israelis to an extent. The concessions IMHO they need to make for peace are significantly less than what the Palestinians need to make. As for the current situation, I'm not sure what to make of it. Israel has overreacted, and yet so much of what it says makes sense. Negotiating for the release of the hostage is giving in to extortion and will only encourage more audacious attempts. Still, there are provocative and humiliating actions going on behind the scenes. How many Palestinians does Israel jail every month? How many of those are justified? Seriously, I'd like to know the truth and not the distortions. Was is really necessary to detain Palestinian legislators, or to attack Ismail Haniya's offices? Obviously the civilian and terrorist infrastructure is next to impossible to separate, but was it really necessary to knock out Gaza's power grid and bridges? Also, on some level, the current crisis seems almost engineered by Hamas. Before the hostage crisis, Hamas and Fatah's feuding seemed to be tearing apart the fabric of the remaining PA institutions. Now they are forced into the same boat. I can't help but think of the movie, Speed. In which Keanu Reeves' character suggests shooting the hostage so the hostage taker can not longer use the hostage as leverage. On some level, a better, and more heartless response to this crisis would have been to write off their captured soldier and done nothing.

R

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Holiday!

Apparently the New York Stock Exchange is open a half day on July 3rd and closed for Independence Day. It was not the most pleasant day at work because the market was so thin. I could sit in a queue of 50-100 share orders and still not get filled because there were so few buyers and sellers. When I did get filled it was inevitably from larger participants, such as mutual fund managers or the specialist, swiping the bid or offer.

On the plus side, I hope to do something different for my day off. I want to go up to Grouse Mountain in the afternoon. I mean, really, God knows I see enough nature every morning as I hike 40 minutes along Burnaby Mountain Parkway to the bus stop to catch the first bus of the day. Not only that, I have an irrational fear (irrational because it is extremely unlikely) of getting attacked by coyotes or bears along the road. My biggest annoyance is avoiding stepping on slugs in the dark. That reminds me that I ought to buy a rechargeable flashlight before it gets too dark at 4 AM to see what slimy creature I'm squishing. Another annoyance is the fact that my computer is still in the shop and I haven't changed the music on my iPod for like 2 months. I love Copland and Beethoven, but I can only listen to his 9 symphonies so many times before I start to bore ... but I digress. While I've never had a lot of stamina, I would like to try the Grouse Grind. I don't care how long it takes me. I'm undaunted by a 2.9 km hike. I do that or more every morning (though downhill).

Frankly, one of my biggest problems now is too much free time. When I had my new computer around, I could waste hours playing Civ 4, Gal Civ 2 or AOE3. Instead, I soak up a couple hours of television and maybe play some old Playstation games. I have things I should do, like study for the CSC and finish it, though that's not very pressing. I should read more, since I have so many books, but I can't seem to get into it lately. Then there's net browsing, at which I waste the other time which isn't used watching TV, cooking, eating, commuting and working. I've been spending a startlingly large amount of time read online personals on Craigslist and sending propositionary messages to girls on LavaLife. Really, I would like to meet someone. None of the women I have contacted seem interested in meeting me though. Maybe I'll get lucky yet.

R