The tactical/strategy discussions on this thread has effectively grounded to a halt with 9984 portfolio and management in a state of maximum disorder, many portfolio parts in triage, on life-support, or silently slipping below the waves.
Raging Bull’s SFTBF thread has admirably and usefully transformed itself from a momentum cheer leading to a public service minded 9984 news thread.
There will be more and more dormant threads. Talking about the potential of Xerox bonds or the killing in Bank of America stock does not seem nearly as fun as how Yahoo! Is going to take over the next world.
What is to be done with all the Community dotted with ORCL organized storage capacity from EMC and NTAP hooked up to all the serving power from SUNW routed via boxes made by CSCO? SI can become an archeological store of data in the public domain of a slashed era, and community shared storage of diary material on any and all thoughts, kept for as long as we keep the thread alive or as long as SI lives. As long as we collectively keep the threads alive, SI will generate enough advertising $ to keep the equipment air-conditioned and fibre bundles of fiber strands lighted, and we will not lose our expensive chronicling system.
I had recently obligated myself to YHOO at 37.5, its January 35 Put and 40 Call for combined short premium of 10. I was early in pulling the trigger. The trade was done to finance a platinum watch. May have to settle for a steel one, or even a plastic Swatch. Swiss made, same precision, just different heft.
2000 saw 9% of my eggs turned to eggnog. An aggressively managed theoretical portfolio blew up by 46%. Inexpensive lesson to remind me genius have naught to do with me.
I will devote 2001 to income enhancement, capital preservation, and egg recovery from the nests of others (in order of priority stated).
Income enhancement will have to be by the traditional method of diligent work; having already discovered the secret of perpetual motion but do not have the resources to fund execution as yet.
Capital preservation will be via cash, cash and more cash, and platinum and gold; not that I believe in the intrinsic value of gold but that I believe others may see matters in that shiny light, and now looking at some SE Asian sovereign bonds denominated in US$ yielding north of 13% (not excited yet as 26% would be better).
Egg recovery will have to be opportunistic; probably to occur during short bursts of frenzied preying and aggressive praying, or the other way around – aggressive frenzy and praying for a preying. The MO and CNC type of plays will happen.
Spare time, as now, will be filled with hiking, reading, swimming and, of course, Unreal Tournament.
Found a new on-line game server with a 3-D scenario modeled after someone’s bathroom. It is difficult to have a 12 combatant jumping around a bathroom room throwing grenades at each other, occasionally interrupted by a wire-guided nuclear tipped Redeemer shot scoring a multi-kill, but the problem is solved by shrinking all combatants to Lilliputian scale of around half a tooth brush bristle. Diving into the toilet for a health pack and the face basin for a machine gun is part of staying alive. Hiding in the shadows of the doorknob working a sniper rifle is part of keeping others staying inanimate.
I used to daydream based on Star Trek stories of space conquest and terminology of Enterprise machinery. Now I look at bathrooms in a whole different light and shadow. Where to hide and camp, how to run and evade, and from what high point to jump into a melee.
Glad 2000 is over. Health, wealth and thus happiness to all in 2001. Chugs |
