Where's a Gravol When You Need One?

After a strong start to the week, the markets have taken a turn for the worse once again, as profit takers took their early week gains and the remaining panicked lemmings continued to dump their investments at what in many case, are likely losses.

While the credit markets remain frozen, there is some evidence that there is some thawing around the edges. The US rescue package will need some time to work, but this will be the main issue that needs to be addressed.

What is bothering me most is the market reaction to the word - recession. Recessions are a painful, but necessary part of the economic cycle. Even prostate exams don't last, and neither do recessions. Both the IMF and the Conference Board of Canada are predicting that Canada will avoid a recession, but that has done little to quell investors' fears. Since Canada has not experienced a recession since the early 90s, I think that most Canadians have forgotten that the world didn't end back then and are now overreacting to all the drama that the media has created.

We're very likely nearing the bottom of this market crash/correction but it will be some time before we see true stability. If recession fears are realized, the next few years won't produce a new bull market, but it still should generate a number of very good bargains. For those who have the courage and patience, this crisis could be a gold mine. Be cool, everybody be cool.

Until Next Time

The results from Quebec West aren't in yet, but no surprises on the Canadian election to this point. Barring some major unforeseen event, Harper's Conservatives look to be on their way to winning a second minority. Not that he'll be all that happy - the Conservatives flirted with majority territory early in the campaign, but after a few small gaffes and the plebs blaming their government for the American financial crisis, his chances of winning a majority have all but disappeared.

During the past two years, Harper was able to manage the country fairly well from a minority position. His mistake was calling an election two years too early when the opposition parties really hadn't done anything to disrupt his mandate. I guess Harper felt that there was no better time to go for the kill against the Liberals, considering how weak and ineffective Dion has proven himself.

Some people will be happy, others upset...but all in all, I don't think Canadians have much to worry about. None of the opposition parties will be too anxious to trigger another early election and unless Harper shows tremendous strength in three or four years time, I don't think we'll see him repeat this error. Next time around, it's very likely the Liberals will have a new leader and if we're lucky, we won't have the NDP chihuahua around next time.

Yawn. In comparison to the American election extravanganza, ours is really pretty boring. Not that it's a bad thing...but it is boring.

Obama vs. McCain - Round Two

I didn't make updates after last weeks VP debate because I was goshdarn laughin' too hard and feelin' all mavericky inside. And I was lazy and to be honest, I didn't think the Disasta' from Alaska really deserves any more attention here.

Last night's presidential debate was a decent affair, once again McCain performed reasonably well, even though I disagree with his platform, and Obama, who wasn't supposed to be a strong "town hall" debater, did extremely well, held his own under attack, and looked a lot more comfortable than his counterpart. The real loser of last night's debate was the format. It stifled what could have been some interesting exchanges...and as I have a biased opinion, I think it would have allowed Obama to really call out McCain on some of the bullshit his campaign has been behind.

Some issues are gray, while others are black and white. The sad reality for John McCain is many of the stands he takes are simply the wrong ones. I know he's been trying his hardest to spin his tax policy as a good one, but it's just stupid. Rich people do not need tax breaks. Multi-billion dollar profit generators don't need them either. The middle class, on the other hand, does. This isn't rocket science, people. Same with health care. In a First World nation, people should not lose their homes and life savings because they needed their appendix out. That is ridiculous and it's shameful. As for foreign policy, Obama is dead-on once again and only an ostrich with their head buried in the sand would miss this. If Osama bin-Laden is in the target scope in Pakistan...damn right you take him out! You don't need to invade Pakistan to do it...a cruise missile would suffice, and not one country in the entire world (Pakistan excluded) is going to complain. And Iraq......McCain is stuck on the "surge" working. Yeah...great. Bribing the insurgents with money and adding tens of thousands of more troops isn't a brilliant strategic maneuver. I'm sure Obama knows that yes, fewer people are being slaughtered daily in Iraq, but his point is what the hell were any of those troops doing in Iraq in the first place??!?!

Anyway, a 10-8 round to Obama...no knockdowns, but I'm giving Obama an extra point after seeing how fast McCain fled the debate hall. He knows it, you know it...hell, even GOP whores like Rush Limbaugh know it. The strategy now? I don't think any of us want to know.

Are We Really This Simple?

If you've been following the recent market turmoil closely, a big headline today was the united actions of several international central banks to lower their prime lending rates. The Bank of Canada lowered its overnight lending by half a percent, while the charter banks only dropped theirs by a quarter. This has sparked outrage from the usual suspects, namely those Canadians who love to bitch yet know nothing about why any of this was done.


I'd probably have more luck convincing my living room wall, but once again, it seems very few people actually understand what is happening and why...and even fewer people seem to have any interest in finding out. After all, trashing banks seems to be a typical Canadian passtime. Banks aren't charity organizations and no one is forcing anyone to borrow money...and if borrowing money at 4.5% rather than 4.25% is going to cause you to lose sleep at night, you've all got problems.

In the meantime, I and the millions of Canadians who have directly invested in Canadian banks and indirectly through their pensions/RRSPs owe a debt of gratitude to the Canadian banking sector for not falling into the same trap as many international banks fell into. Our "fat cat" CEOs are bargains with their few million dollar/yr salaries as opposed to gentlemen like the CEO of Lehman Bros. who grossed nearly half a BILLION dollars in a few short years.

Quit your whining people....it's tiresome. If you don't like it, vote for the NDP. Taliban Jack is going to take on our banks and make them and our economy as unprofitable as possible. Won't it be nice to all be poor?

McCain vs Obama - Round One

Just a quick commentary on the first Presidential debate which finished just over an hour ago.

I didn't see any knockout punches thrown by either candidate and didn't see a lot that surprised me from either one.  McCain looked weak, as expected, on the economy and was unable to give any specifics on what he'd do to improve life for the average voter and what he'd do to help solve this economic crisis.  Obama, on the other hand, did seem to be more comfortable on the topic and made it clear that his plan will benefit the American middle class...a demographic that McCain made no reference to during the entire debate.

When it came to foreign relations, McCain looked far more comfortable and was more assertive in his answers.  Obama more than held his own, but it was clear that the two men have definite differences in opinion.  I personally agree with Obama's position on the majority of the issues, although I wasn't comfortable with either candidate's blind allegiance to Georgia, who in my mind, had a great deal of responsibility for instigating their recent conflict with Russia.

At any rate, I score this round 10-9 Obama....thus far, it appears that some of the immediate reaction following the debate scored it the same way.  Next week's Biden-Palin debate should be called a no-contest already...I wouldn't be surprised if Palin's trainers throw in the towel before she even gets in the ring.

Let Them Eat Cake

I don't know why Marie Antoinette's infamous line came to mind...but it seems to me that Republicans on Capitol Hill seem to have that attitude today. The proposal to bail out Wall Street seemed to be a go today...that is, until House Republicans turned their meeting today at the White House into a circus.

There are various schools of thought on whether or not the US government should prop up the failing banks on Wall Street. Some oppose the idea of using public monies to save them from collapse while others think it critical to protect the American financial industry. I personally support the bailout proposal as long as there are safeguards in place to protect the necessary public investment, which is huge at 700 billion dollars. The way I see it, if taxpayers don't want to foot the bill now, they will certainly foot it later when they see their retirement savings and pension plans evaporate. That may not mean as much to younger voters, but for anyone planning to retire in the next few years, it could be devastating. And not only to Americans, but to investors worldwide.

What I can't understand is why House Republican, John Boehner, decided to stir up dissent now. President Bush, who has done very little right in his eight years in office, now is unable to even rely on the support of his own party in moving forward on the one of the few correct decisions he's made. My only theory is that this is a staged response, one that will allow John McCain to waltz in and take credit for bringing the dissidents to the table.

Sadly, this is utter bullshit. McCain, who has been a strong supporter of bank deregulation has zero credibility when it comes to battling this crisis. His "suspension" of his campaign was nothing but a political stunt after seeing his poll numbers sliding and watching his VP pick continue to flail around like an elephant in a china shop. I don't buy into comments suggesting he's scared to debate Obama, but I don't doubt that he'd like to delay the confrontation. Worse yet, suggesting rescheduling this debate on the date that the VP debate was supposed to fall was an even larger gaffe. Whether intentional or not, it gave the appearance that McCain's campaign is desperately worried about watching Palin drag down their support even further.

By all accounts, McCain said very little today aside from commenting that the US economy was in crisis. Uh...yeah. No frigging shit, John. You just figured that out? Barack Obama, while not an economic genius either, at least contributed to the discussion and had a few important points that will likely be included in the final proposal, if it ever comes to light.

In the meantime, while President Bush and his administration and Democrats attempt to solve this crisis in a timely manner, McCain sits silent, unable to offer anything useful, and House Republicans have chosen to politicize our retirement. Let them eat cake, eh? Thanks for putting the country first, jerkoffs.

Laugh Before Bed

Even Mad T.V. isn't this funny. The Palin trainwreck continues. Yikes.



Watch CBS Videos Online

Commitment to Quality

I've recently discovered that my incoherent ramblings have actually been read by a few people who live outside of my postal code.

After the initial shock wore off, I realized that it might be a nice idea to try and keep this blog updated fairly regularly and keep the content fresh, innovative, and relevant. I also thought that I should tone down on coarse language, but I don't want to get too radical. One step at a time.

At any rate, I will attempt to mimic the "saintly" figure displayed here and be a good blogger. Both the American and Canadian elections will be over in the next couple of months, so please bear with me if my halo tarnishes every now and then.

G'night all!

Stop the Bleeding Already!

More bad news from Wall Street again, followed by the usual frenzy of a sliding market. Both New York and Toronto, as well as other world markets, have experienced some major dips in the past couple of weeks, making investors even more nervous and worried than they already were.

There's no question that the bailout of the world's largest insurer, the collapse of the fourth largest investment bank in the U.S., and woes suffered by a number of others is clear evidence that there are some serious issues in the American banking industry. Unfortunately, the punishment for their sins is being passed on us...in our investment portfolios, retirement plans, and pension funds.

As with every other period of market turbulence, eventually it must come to an end, and if history repeats itself, world markets will be at record high levels within the next five to ten years. It is critical that investors do not lose their cool and make rash decisions that simply add more gas to this fire. Already, hundreds of companies who have very little connection or correlation to the financial services industry are trading at 52 week lows and have seen their market capitalization hammered. Has anything changed in the last week that would cause a pharmaceutical company to be worth half what it was seven days ago? The answer is no, and believe me, once the aftershocks start dissipating...large institutional and personal investors will start shopping for bargains...and that's a train I want to be on.

Stay cool....everybody stay cool.

Rants on Music

Just a few minor issues to get off my chest.

Is it just me or does Rihanna suck? Back when her first single hit the airwaves and I had no idea who it was, I remember asking friends why radio would give someone with no vocal talent airplay. I'm no music expert, but I do know that singers with bad voices tend to sound more nasal or whiny to disguise their lack of ability. Lo and behold, I actually know what her name is and now that I've heard a few more of her "songs", I'm blown away that this is what passes for music today.

Then again, I say the same thing about Canadian supergroup, Rush. Even though they get more radio airtime than they deserve due to CRTC rules, every minute they do get makes me wonder when strangling cats was legalized. Terrible vocals and the most un-melodic music ever arranged. And to top it off, I'm 35 and I've never met a single person who likes them...or actually has a single Rush CD...or music on their IPod. Yeah, Rush sucks too...period.

I guess the bottom line is that there's a lot of music that sucks. That record labels convince 12 yr olds is cool, that peer pressure in university convinces 19 yr olds is cool, and that dumb-ass music award shows convince forty somethings is "hip". My simple rule is that as far as music is concerned, it should be played with instruments...not synthesizers or mixers. There should be musicians....people who play instruments and don't necessarily dance. The music should have some sort of melody...and not just be a bunch of different notes and chords jammed together because it's hard to do. And unless you're the lead singer of a band, where band members actually have some talent, don't consider yourself a vocalist if you can't really sing. And shouting out "rhymes" while waving your hands around....uhh....not singing....not music.

I can score a 99% on Rockband on easy or medium....but I am not a singer or a musician. But if Sony Records wants to sign me, I'm game.

Laugh Before Bed

If you want to some more opinion on the upcoming election, that's more detailed and more biting, check out my brother's blog.

However, for another laugh before bed...from last night's Saturday Night Live.

You Know It's Bad When...

I have no love lost for Karl Rove, the architect of the modern American election campaign, where bullshit, lies, and groin kicks are more important than little things like the issues. That's why I was shocked when CNN reported today that even Rove thinks McCain's campaign has gone too far with the lies and mistruths in their ads. Amazing when the stench of bullshit prompts the bullshit master to make a comment.

Hopefully, the Big Lie technique will remain a relic of the past and die a quick death in modern election campaigns. Enough is enough.

Thar She Blows - Part 2

The upcoming American election is sadly more interesting than the Canadian one...and for all the wrong reasons. The Republican ticket of John McCain and Sarah Palin has taken the old Bush strategy of misleading the public one step further by flat-out lying. Lying about their own records, lying about Barack Obama's and lying about pretty well everything they can lie about.

You can't just make shit up!

I repeat, you can't just make shit up!

Up to this point, the media has been pretty lax in holding them accountable, but Paul Krugman of the New York Times had a pretty good op-ed piece out today. According to the GOP ticket, not only did Sarah Palin not support the Bridge to Nowhere (bullshit), and not only did she not go after earmarks (bullshit), but Obama supports giving sex-ed to kids (bullshit) and plans on increasing taxes to 95% of Americans (also bullshit). The recurring theme of bullshit stinks. And what's worse is that Republican strategists think this is a good way to run a campaign...and what's even worse than that is that some Americans are actually falling for this.

How can two candidates running for the most powerful office in the free world be allowed to get away with this? How can their supporters tolerate this insult to their intelligence? Considering the utter failure of the Bush regime in nearly every area from the economy to foreign relations, it is unbelievable that a Republican ticket that is this out of touch with reality is even in the game. I sincerely hope and pray that the American people are not this easily manipulated and make the right decision. At this point, conservatives and liberals, Democrats and Republicans, whites and blacks, men and women, and rich and poor need to get past these stupid labels and in a collective voice, tell the GOP to stop making shit up.

Thar She Blows!

The big news today, of course, is the impending landfall of Hurricane Ike. We're in the midst of the busy hurricane season and we've probably got a few more to go before it's all over. From where I'm sitting, in a nice dry living room in Eastern Canada, it looks like the poor folks in Texas are going to be in for one hell of a night.

What I can't understand are those people who insist on staying put, knowing full well that if they're lucky, only their homes will be lost and not their lives. Having survived Hurricane Juan several years ago...and considering that was only a Category 1 storm and our lives were not in real danger, I can't even imagine sticking it out through one of these. I guess people who live along the Gulf Coast are more accustomized to this sort of thing, but I still wouldn't test Mother Nature. Godspeed.

Hate to State the Obvious

I know, I know. I'm a bad blogger. I get excited for a day or two...sometimes only for the odd hour, and then you don't hear from me for a month. Not that I have a huge audience to begin with, but my brother claims that keeping your blog up to date is one way to attract readers.

I've had a few things on my mind, so I won't waste anymore time and will get to it!

Phelps Wins 18th Gold!!!

You know, perhaps I should be less sarcastic, but unfortunately the Olympics bring out the worst in me. As many of you know, by this time next week, American swimmer, Michael Phelps, will likely have won more medals than 90% of the countries competing in the Games. So, to put that in perspective, Phelps will have more medals than a country like...say....Nigeria. That wouldn't be a big deal if Nigeria were the size of the Cayman Islands, but Nigeria is actually the eighth most populous country in the world with a population of 140 million people.

I've seen enough of Phelps on TV to know a couple of things. One, he seems like a really nice guy...someone who you would cheer for to do well, and two, he's the best swimmer in the world today and is certain to be a legend in the sport. But eight gold medals? Come on. Why not ten...or fifteen...or twenty? The Olympics has become such a marketing juggernaut that it has lost it's soul. When a team of athletes (ie. basketball, water polo) or an individual (ie. boxing, tennis) has to endure a grueling two week competition to win ONE medal...doesn't it seem a little unbalanced that one athlete can come home with eight? Obviously, if you're Michael Phelps, you're a damn good swimmer....but do we really 100 meter, 200 meter, 400 meter, medleys, team relays, butterflies, freestyle, etc., etc., to prove it again and again? Some people will disagree, pointing out that you'd train differently for each event, but it doesn't seem to make much of a difference to a multi-medalled Olympian.

Personally, I hope Phelps wins his eight...and I hope they add a 150m race for him to win a ninth...why not? He's a great swimmer, a great athlete, and he deserves to take pride in his accomplishments. But the IOC really needs to take a hard look at itself and decide if the Olympics are to be a world showcase of amateur sport...or a commercial venture designed to ensure mass numbers of medals going to a few select nations with near professional athletes fighting to be Coca Cola's next ad campaign.

The Damn Wife Comment

Back on my July 9th's post, I made reference to the damn wife. That may have been unfortunate as the damn wife has insisted that I do not refer to her as the damn wife anymore. In fact, I am to refer to her as Her Majesty or Her Royal Highness to give proper respect to her position. In referring to Her Majesty as the damn wife, I nearly forfeited my privileges at court and was forced to work very hard to obtain an audience with her where I could apologize for my improper syntax. Afterwards, I was taken to a dark room and beaten. Severely.

In all fairness, my damn wife of just over two months is indeed a true princess and did not deserve such an uncouth reference. On a sidenote and to update that post, I finally did finish Assassin's Creed and am now working on an oldy, but a goodie, GTA: Vice City!! So, I'll let you know how that works out when I finally finish it in early 2011!

Laugh Before Bed

I had a few really good things to bitch about this week, but I've been stuck doing home renos and haven't had any quality to sit down and tell you about them. I did see Miami Vice last night for the first time and it sucked. It really sucked. I don't know what the hell Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx were thinking when they signed up for that mess.

At any rate, here's a laugh before bed - another classic Kenny Rogers skit.

Damn You, Bill Gates!!!

I think we can agree with very little argument that Microsoft's founder, Bill Gates, is one smart dude. In fact, I think it's safe to say that not only is Bill one smart dude, but he's a really nice, smart dude who changed personal computing forever, made a fortune from it, yet had the good heart to give a lot back though his charitable works. Bill is the kind of guy that I'd like to have over for supper some evening, maybe a BBQ, and listen to his take on the future of home electronics and maybe have a few laughs about the good ole days when the Commodore 64 ruled homes everywhere and kids like me simply didn't see a need for a better machine.

But somewhere along the way, I'd have a few too many drinks and start talking about the good ole days of Windows XP, maybe even go back in history to Windows 98. Bill would rightly tell me we've moved beyond those ancient operating systems and I drunkenly would beg for his charity in putting Windows Vista out of it's misery. After all, if I wanted my Windows to crash unexpectedly, lag my computer to death, be completely incompatible with software and be incompable of netwkorking with any degree of ease...hell, I'd go back to Windows 95. At least in 1995, I had a blue screen of death to worry about...not pretty looking Vista screens that give me faint hope that something might be working. I've never had a version of Windows that looked so good, yet that is so frustrating to work with. Granted, I'm no IT expert and don't claim to be, but with previous versions, I just bashed the hell out of it until I got it working the way I needed it to. Vista, on the other hand, just seems to want to bash the hell out of me until I accept that sooner or later, it's going to ruin my computer and all of the files that are important to me.

Mr. Gates, I respect you immensely, but please tell me that better days are coming...that the three times I had to boot up my computer in the last two hours because of one, my network not working; two, my mouse not working; and three, new Windows Update...tell me that this will all be worth it. Because right now, the old fashioned pen on my desk is looking awfully good.

Hours I'll Never Get Back!

In complete honesty, one of the reasons why I've been behind on everything since the honeymoon is that Rockband is completely consuming my life. Instead of unpacking, paying bills, giving my new wife quality time, etc., I've been on road playing gigs all over the world with my band, and sadly, in many cases, by myself. If I'd devoted half the time I've been playing this bloody game to real guitar...or real drums, I might actually be able to make some money in the music world. Rather than make money, I've been spending it on many of the downloadable songs that are available and despite recognizing this as the addiction it is, I'm salivating knowing that Rockband 2 will be available this fall. Yeah, and I haven't even finished Assassin's Creed or Oblivion, have Drake's Fortune still in the plastic, and also plan on getting GTA IV asap. All things that a married man working a full-time job really needs to be concerned about. I'd be playing it now, except the damn wife is hogging the TV for something else. Grrrrr.