All Now Mysterious...

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Science Fact of the Day

"An interesting historical aside in the concept of the wave-particle duality of matter is that the first person to show that the electron was a subatomic particle was the English physicist Sir Joseph J. Thomson in 1895, and then his son, Sir George P. Thomson, was among the first to show experimentally in 1926 that the electron could act as a wave. The father won a Nobel Prize in 1906 for showing that the electron is a particle, and the son won a Nobel Prize in 1937 for showing that it is a wave."

Isn't quantum mechanics fascinating?

--
McQuarrie, D. A.; Simon, J. D. Physical Chemistry: A Molecular Approach; University Science Books: Sausalito, CA, 1997; p 18.

Monday, August 29, 2005

Early = Late ?

Last Wednesday was the first day of my last semester at the University of Utah. (More on that later.) On Friday, I left the house at 7:45 to catch the #5 bus to school. The bus, according to the printed schedule and many months' worth of experience, turns the corner a block west of my house and hits the nearest bus stop at 7:48 each morning. So I walked out the door, locked up, and descended the stairs to the sidewalk in front of my house. It was then that I saw my bus turning the corner.

I tried to sprint and catch the bus, but to no avail. It's the third day of the semester, and I'm going to be late for my 8:15 class. Wonderful.

I've used the Utah Transit Authority off and on for most of the last fourteen years. The idea of a UTA bus arriving at—and consequently departing from—a scheduled stop early is a thought that would never have entered my mind. Live and learn, I guess.

Instead of turning around and heading back for the house, I kept walking. I knew that the next #5 wouldn't roll around for another half an hour. So I headed toward 21st East, where I know that route #13 passes my cross street every half hour. And wouldn't you know, I made it to the stop just as the bus pulled up. So I made it to my class only ten minutes late, which was much better than the twenty-five minutes I would have missed had I waited for the next #5.

I guess those two points I spent on AK: UTA Bus Routes (General Skill, 11-) really paid off.

Sunday, August 28, 2005

Why do you lie to me, Jeebs? I hate it when you lie.

I am the trainer of all new employees at work. Part of my duties in this area involves explaining to the newbies what the expectation is for interviewer productivity, and what the consequences are for failing to meet those standards. In my explanation, I point out that a consistent failure to meet the standards is typically caused not by a lack of talent, but by a lack of effort. As such, those interviewers who seem to have the hardest time meeting the necessary productivity rates are not the new people, but the ones that have been there forever.

There is one such interviewer with whom I had a problem this weekend. She has worked there for almost five years now—which is about two years longer than I have.* She, like a lot of our long-timers, operates under the assumption that because she's been there a long time, she doesn't have to follow all the same rules the 'new people' have to follow. Yes, she's a Princess. Actually, since she's of Eastern European extraction, some of us refer to her as The Tzarina.

Well, I was helping out on the Saturday shift when we got the call from downtown to pull one of the two projects we hadn't finished yet. This meant we had to send home everyone that was on this project, and the Tzarina was one of them. She whined a little about being sent home early. This was no surprise; she whines about pretty much everything that doesn't go exactly her way. As I said, Princess.

Anyway, I was checking the computer a few minutes later to make sure everyone had logged off the project so I could start doing reports. It showed there were two people still on it. One of them was an interviewer who was finishing up a survey. The other one was—you guessed it—the Tzarina.

Now, she usually sits in one of the small side rooms where we have interviewing stations rather than in the main interviewing area. But that particular side room has a couple of large windows, so it's possible to see her station from the outside. And I saw that she was still sitting at her station. She was logged out of the interviewing program, but had not yet signed out for the day. She was, in fact, sitting there reading and talking to someone on her cell phone. She continued to do this for the next two or three minutes, apparently unaware that I was paying attention to her.

There are two problems with this. First, we don't allow cell phones on the call floor. Period.** Second, I know the owner well enough to know that he'd not be thrilled with the idea of paying someone when they're not actually working. Fortunately, these problems were easily solved. I signed her out for the day.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, she came into the supervisors' office and asked if I had signed her out 'early' for the day. I told her I had and told her why I had. Her response to this was that she had been 'cleaning her station' and that we 'always' allowed people five minutes paid time to do this. Well, yes, we do, and I'd have been happy to do so. But, as I rather pointedly explained to her, she wasn't cleaning. I knew this because I'd watched what she was doing instead. That led to the following rather interesting conversation:

Me: We don't pay people to sit around and talk on their cell phones.
Tzarina: But I was calling here to find out about work tomorrow.
Me: You were calling our voice mail?
Tzarina: Yes.
Me: So, if you hit the Redial button on your phone, our number would come up?
Tzarina: Yes.
Me: All right, let's see it.
[a moment of stunned silence]
Tzarina: No.
Me: Then this conversation is over.

Bluff called.

She came back at me a couple of minutes later with a bunch of talk about "I didn't show you my phone because I don't feel like I should have to prove anything" and "You should trust me" and a bunch of other self-justifying, obfuscatory carp. I just smiled grimly and said, "Look, I'm trying to run end-of-shift reports here. Go home. I've got work to do."

And yes, I know that teaching high school will be a lot of the same kind of thing. Good times.

--
*The fact that she's worked there that long and has never been offered a position as a supervisor really says something.

**This is one of those policies form which she feels she is exempt, presumably by virtue of her many long years of exemplary service to the company.

Monday, August 22, 2005

Monday's Feast

Friday's Feast, 22 August 2005.

Appetizer Do you get excited when the season begins to change? Which season do you most look forward to?
I'm rather excited that we're actually having an NHL season this year. I've been looking forward to that. ::huge sigh of relief::
Seriously, though, I think I look forward to fall the most. Summer is nice, but I can only endure so many days in the 90s.

Soup What day of the week is usually your busiest?
I'm guessing that for the next sixteen weeks, Wednesday is going to be the busiest. I've got a solid block of classes from 8:05 to 11:40 a.m., followed by training new employees for the first half of the semester and a lab from 12:55 to 5:00 p.m. for the second half.

Salad Would you consider yourself to be strict when it comes to grammar and spelling? What's an example of the worst error you've seen?
Yes, being a grammar nazi purist is a trait I got from my mother (the now-retired middle school teacher). Actually, being strict about spelling and grammar is part of my job. We administer a test to all prospective employees. The error that really sticks out to me is when people don't end a question with a question mark. How can people not know to do that.

Main Course Who has a birthday coming up, and what will you give them as a gift?
My brother Sam has a birthday next month. I have no clue what I'm going to get for him yet. I'm a guy.

Dessert If you could have any new piece of clothing for free, what would you pick?
A Team USA hockey jersey would be nice. But a pair of nice dress pants would probably be more practical.

Friday, August 19, 2005

Friday Music Meme Thing

This week's Top Five on Friday from The Music Memoirs:

Top five "colorful" songs

Five? Only five? I can do much better than that.

Red Tide, Red Sector A, or Red Barchetta (all by Rush)
Orange Blossom Special (Johnny Cash)
Yellow Submarine (The Beatles)
Green Grass and High Tides (The Outlaws)
Joe's Blues (Todd Snider)
Purple Haze (Jimi Hendrix)
Fade to Black (Dire Straits)
White Sister (Toto)
A White Sport Coat and a Pink Carnation (Marty Robbins)
Beggar on a Beach of Gold (Mike + the Mechanics)
Silver Rainbow (Genesis)
Lavender (Marillion)
Under the Olive Tree (Lana Lane)
Sweet Georgia Brown (Louis Armstrong)
Rainy Days and Pastel Greys (Rocket Scientists)

Have a colorful weekend, everyone!

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Easy as L-M-N

This week's Take Me Back Tuesday from The Music Memoirs:

It's as easy as ABC this week folks.
Choose a letter of the alphabet.


Okay, let's give the old 30-sided die a roll . . . 12. That would be "L".

Name three songs that begin with that letter of the alphabet.
1. "Luck Be a Lady Tonight" From the musical "Guys and Dolls"
2. "Life In the Fast Lane" by The Eagles
3. "Lovely Rita" by The Beatles

Name three artists that begin with the next letter of the alphabet.
1. Mike + the Mechanics
2. Marillion
3. Micky and the Motorcars

3. Name three albums that begin with the letter that follows the second letter.
1. "Neck and Neck" by Chet Atkins and Mark Knopfler
2. "Now That's Awesome" by Bill Engvall (It's not all comedy routines, there are 2 songs on it.)
3. "Not of This Earth" by Joe Satriani

This post brought to you by the letter "R".

Monday, August 15, 2005

Tough Guy



You scored as Colossus. Colossus is the strongest X-Man physically. His love for his family and his sister Illiana make him strong. Although he can be prone to fits of rage, he has a big heart under that organic steel skin. Powers: Can change his skin into organic steel making him nearly invunerable and exponentially increasing his strength.















Colossus

80%

Beast

75%

Jean Grey

70%

Cyclops

70%

Storm

65%

Wolverine

60%

Nightcrawler

60%

Rogue

60%

Iceman

55%

Gambit

35%

Emma Frost

35%



Most Comprehensive X-Men Personality Quiz 2.0
created with QuizFarm.com

Sunday, August 14, 2005

ISM



Taken on the shuttle bus at the Park City Arts Festival, 6 August 2005.

Saturday, August 13, 2005

Screwing It Up For Everyone Else

I never feed trolls and I never eat spam...
-"Weird Al" Yankovic, "It's All About the Pentiums"

Just as Allen was forced to learn a harsh lesson about troll-feeding in recent days, so I have had to learn about the unpleasantness of spam-eating.

I'm generally a pretty easygoing and trustworthy kind of guy. I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt, at least until they prove that they don't deserve it. So for the past year and change, I've allowed anonymous posts on my blog.

But no more.

Some jack@$$e$ idiots decided to use the Comments section of my blog as a billboard for a big, useless advertisement about the virtues of certain penny stocks. In the ad, the 'authors' warn that, "All statements made are our express opinion only and should be treated as such." But the never reveal whose opinions 'ours' are. The lowest form of life that walks or crawls is salespeople who won't even reveal who they are. Cowards.

So that's it. As of now, I will no longer be allowing anonymous posts. I don't need the spam, but more to the point, I don't need the aggravation.

So, if you want to post here from now on, you're going to have to get a Blogger identity. But be careful...that's how I got started, after all....

Friday, August 12, 2005

Kill The Mascots! (Part 3)

Let it never be said that this forum isn't forward-looking. Prophetic, even.

Remember how I suggested back in Part 2 that one day someone like PETA would get involved in the whole sports mascots thing? Well, today is that day.

"The animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent a letter to Brand on Wednesday asking the NCAA to stop South Carolina and Jacksonville (Ala.) State from using the nickname Gamecocks.

"The letter, a copy of which was given to USA TODAY by PETA, says Gamecocks 'are named after the birds used in cockfighting, a hideous 'blood sport' that, like spousal abuse, bank robbery and driving while intoxicated, is illegal in both South Carolina and Alabama.'"

Hey, even I couldn't make this stuff up. Two more colleges are now being asked to change their mascots because they promote a blood sport that rivals spouse abuse, drunk driving, and robbing banks in seriousness.

One ticket for the Apocalypse, please.

Fun Link of the Day

Stolen from Thoughts from an Empty Head:

If Bloggers Had Been Around Throughout History

That's history for ya!

Friday Music Meme Thing

This week's Top Five on Friday from The Music Memoirs:

In honor of the Space Shuttle's successful landing this week...
Top Five "Space" Songs (Interpret as you like...)

* Across the Universe by The Beatles

* Secrets of Astrology by Lana Lane

* The Eye of Ra by Arjen Anthony Lucassen's Star One+

* Earthshine by Rush

* Major Tom by Peter Schilling

--
+Based on the movie "Stargate"

Friday's Feast

Friday's Feast, 12 August 2005.

Appetizer Did you sleep good [sic] last night?
"No, I made a few mistakes." -Steven Wright

Soup What is your current computer desktop image?
Nancy, myself, and several friends sitting in/on The Dreadnought, watching the Pioneer Day parade in downtown Salt Lake.

Salad When was the last time you planted something, what was it and where did it go?
I seem to remember helping to plant trees as part of a service project several years ago. I presume they haven't gone anywhere since then.

Main Course What's your favorite condiment?
BBQ sauce, or maybe honey mustard dressing. Sometimes I'll combine the two—the combination makes an excellent marinade.
And remember to practice safe eating. Always use a condiment.

Dessert Share a quote that you like, for whatever reason.
"I have been complimented many times, and they always embarrass me; I always feel that they have not said enough." -Mark Twain

Thursday, August 11, 2005

Kill The Mascots! (Part 2)

In a Fark.com discussion thread about the whole "hostile and abusive mascots" issue, someone raised the point that now it's just a matter of time until someone (PETA*, maybe) decides that the use of animal nicknames is also hostile and abusive, and animal mascots will also be outlawed.

This got me to thinking. Having looked at the various mascots and team nicknames that are out there, I've found literally dozens that could be considered offensive for various reasons. So I present here, as a public service, a comprehensive list of offensive nicknames for teams in major North American professional sports. This includes the NFL, NBA, NHL, CFL, MLS, and MLB.**

(There was no reason to include any college teams, of course, since the NCAA has already called for the removal of the most offensive mascots. Those beyond Native American names will certainly be following soon.)

The List:

Kansas City Chiefs, Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves, Chicago Blackhawks
Offensive to Native Americans

Washington Redskins
Extremely offensive to Native Americans

Edmonton Eskimos
Offensive to Native Canadians

Boston Celtics
Offensive to Gaelic Americans

Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans, Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs, Portland Trail Blazers, Texas Rangers, Calgary Stampeders, Ottawa Renegades, Saskatchewan Roughriders
Supports those who oppress Native Americans

Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens, Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos, Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons, Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams, Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks, Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Bobcats, Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Hornets, Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays, Florida Marlins, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, Arizona Diamondbacks, Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins, Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Phoenix Coyotes, San Jose Sharks, Chivas USA, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, British Columbia Lions
Promotes exploitation of animals

Toronto Maple Leafs, Atlanta Thrashers
Promotes exploitation of plants

Green Bay Packers, New Jersey Nets
Promotes the harvesting and consumption of animals

Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars, Carolina Panthers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Tigers, Florida Panthers
Promotes exploitation of endangered species

Toronto Raptors
Promotes exploitation of an extinct species

New England Patriots, New York Yankees, Washington Nationals, Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks, New England Revolution
Promotes jingoistic nationalism

Sacramento Kings, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Kings
Promotes oppressive nondemocratic forms of government

Philadelphia 76ers, Ottawa Senators, Washington Capitals
Supports government bureaucracy

New York Jets, Golden State Warriors, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Promotes war as a non-peaceful means of resolving conflict

Edmonton Oilers, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Seattle SuperSonics
Promotes the use of non-renewable fossil fuels

Oakland Raiders, Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Los Angeles Clippers, Seattle Mariners, Pittsburgh Pirates, Toronto Argonauts
Promotes looting, piracy, and crime on the high seas

Cincinnati Reds
Promotes communism, also potentially offensive to Native Americans

Buffalo Bills, San Diego Chargers
Promotes excessive consumer debt

Tennessee Titans, New York Giants, San Francisco Giants
Offensive to short people; also potentially offensive to tall people

New Orleans Saints, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, San Diego Padres
Offensive to atheists

Carolina Hurricanes, Tampa Bay Lightning, Colorado Avalanche, Miami Heat, San Jose Earthquakes
'Acts of God', so also offensive to atheists

Orlando Magic, Washington Wizards, Kansas City Wizards
Promotes study of the occult

New Jersey Devils, Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Promotes Satanism

Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Denver Nuggets
Promotes environmentally-destructive mining

Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns, Houston Astros, Philadelphia Flyers, Dallas Stars, New York/New Jersey MetroStars, Los Angeles Galaxy
Promotes the diversion of funds from necessary social programs to space exploration

Calgary Flames, Chicago Fire
Promotes arson

Cleveland Cavaliers, Buffalo Sabres
Encourages the carrying of weapons

Los Angeles (originally Brooklyn) Dodgers
Encourages jaywalking

Milwaukee Brewers
Contributes to alcoholism

Utah Jazz, St. Louis Blues
Promotes musical elitism

Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Columbus Blue Jackets
Promotes fashion elitism; may also contribute to jingoistic nationalism

Well, you get the idea. It's amazing how crass, uncaring, and generally insensitive we sports fans are, isn't it? Shame on us.

It's a good thing we have the NCAA to show us the way.

--
*In this context, PETA does not stand for "People Eating Tasty Animals". Sorry, Curtis.

**I haven't included the WNBA because I figured there's no way a women's sports league could be using offensive nicknames or mascots. They're so much more sophisticated and sensitive than we men are.

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Kill The Mascots! (Part 1)

It was inevitable, wasn't it? In our time of runaway political correctness, it was simply inevitable.

Last Friday, the NCAA issued a mandate prohibiting the use of "hostile and abusive racial/ethnic/national origin mascots, nicknames or imagery" at any NCAA postseason tournament. In addition, schools that are in violation of this mandate will be barred from hosting any such tournaments in the future.

In other words, pretty much any school that uses Native American nicknames and/or imagery is now under orders to change their mascots, or failing that, to change their uniforms (as well as the uniforms of their mascots, cheerleaders, dance teams, and bands) if they expect to compete in events like March Madness.

Of course, the NCAA didn't present it as a mandate. Quoting from the press release:

"Colleges and universities may adopt any mascot that they wish, as that is an institutional matter," said Walter Harrison, chair of the Executive Committee and president at the University of Hartford. "But as a national association, we believe that mascots, nicknames or images deemed hostile or abusive in terms of race, ethnicity or national origin should not be visible at the championship events that we control."

Deemed hostile of abusive by whom? Why, the brain trust at the NCAA, of course! It boils down to Henry Ford's classic choice: You can have any color car that you want, as long as you want black. It's the NCAA's way or the highway.

Included with the article is a list of those schools in violation of this new policy. Included on this list are Florida State University (Seminoles), University of Illinois (Illini), University of North Dakota (Fighting Sioux), and my soon-to-be alma mater, the University of Utah (Utes).

Okay, I can understand the desire to be accommodating and to avoid giving offense. And yes, it's hard to consider the nickname for Southeastern Oklahoma State University (the Savages) as anything other than derogatory.

But a blanket condemnation on all Native American nicknames and mascots? That's excessive.

The states of Illinois and Utah are named after the Illini and Ute tribes respectively, so it's only natural that the nicknames would follow. And Florida State has permission from the Seminole Tribe of Florida to use the name.

I have a co-worker who's a full-blooded Ouray Ute. I asked him about this issue. He has no problem with the nickname whatsoever. He said he thinks it's cool that the University of Utah uses the Ute moniker to pay tribute to the tribe. Another of my former co-workers was a member of the Sioux tribe. She loved the fact that the University of North Dakota has the Fighting Sioux as their mascot. In both cases, the choice of the mascot has significant historical ties to the area and to their tribes. Neither felt offended by the choice in mascots.

I also found it interesting that both of these people, when describing themselves and their ethnic heritage, frequently use the word "Indian". How can this term be "hostile and abusive" if the people using it to describe themselves don't find it offensive?

Here's another highlight from the article:

"Model institutions include the University of Iowa and University of Wisconsin, who have practices of not scheduling athletic competitions with schools who use Native American nicknames, imagery or mascots. "

What the...? The last time I checked, Iowa and Wisconsin were both still members of the Big Ten Conference, whose membership includes the above-mentioned Fighting Illini. I checked the 2005 football schedules for Iowa and Wisconsin, and both teams have Illinois on their schedule for 2005. Double standards, anyone?

Then again, this policy is full of double standards. Take, for example, the list of schools that the NCAA determined had "removed all references to Native American culture or were deemed not to have references to Native American culture as part of their athletics programs". Included on this list is fellow Mountain West Conference member San Diego State University. So, the use of the term "Utes" is offensive, but "Aztecs" is apparently okay.

Whatever. In four months or so I'll be graduating as a Utah Ute. But I suppose that in future days I'll be getting calls for donations from the Utah Sparrow-Hawks Alumni Association or something similarly warm and touchy-feely.

Doesn't the NCAA have better things to do?

Monday, August 08, 2005

Puckhead's Lament

Derek razzed me a couple of weeks ago, saying that "Colorado isn't really a hockey friendly town. Wait until the Avalanche go in the tank for a few years," he said, "and watch the attendance dwindle."

Well, I guess we're about to find out.

Over the past decade, the Colorado Avalanche have had one of the deepest and most consistent teams in the NHL. This was, in no small part, because the owners were always able and willing to spend top dollar to attract and retain the best available players.

With the advent of the new collective bargaining agreement and the salary cap, this can no longer be the case. And as predicted, the Avs are one of the teams hardest hit by the new system.

Peter Forsberg will be skating for the Flyers this season. Paul Kariya has moved on to Nashville. (Yes, Nashville has a hockey team. Scary, isn't it?) And Adam Foote opened the free agent frenzy by signing with Columbus for three years.

The loss of Kariya isn't unexpected. He only signed with the team—for salary lower than his market value, mind you—to get a shot at the Stanley Cup. But Forsberg and Foote are career Avs. It's hard to imagine either of those two playing elsewhere. The first time I turn on SportsCenter and see Peter in orange and black, I know I'm going to say to myself, "That's just not right." It would be like seeing Jerry Rice in a Broncos jersey.

Oh, wait....

Sunday, August 07, 2005

Friday Sunday Music Meme Thing

This week's Top Five on Friday from The Music Memoirs:

Not to long ago I asked for your top 5 sun songs...well it's time to go the evening route!

Top 5 "Moon" Songs

Bad Moon Rising by CCR
A big favorite on the Misunderstood Song Lyrics list ("There's a bathroom on the right") as well as the theme song for a Champions character I played several years ago.

Big Bad Moon by Joe Satriani
Satch is not a great vocalist by any means, but this song is a lot of fun nonetheless.

Sister Moon by Sting
Soft, sweet, and very relaxing.

Satyr's Moon by Lana Lane
One of Lana's more memorable performances, with the soaring lyrics she does like nobody else.

Blue Moon with Heartache by Rosanne Cash
Just another example of how country music generally does sorrow and loneliness more effectively than rock.

Feasting on a Sunday Afternoon

Friday's Feast, 7 August 2005.

Appetizer Briefly describe your living room.
Messy. Is that brief enough?
Seriously, though, the walls are blue, the ceiling is tan, and the carpet is greyish. We have a blue couch, a blue loveseat, and a blue bean bag about 2 meters in diameter. The 27" TV, PlayStation, DVD/VCR combo, and my roommate's stereo are all housed by a small black entertainment center.

Soup List 3 things you'd like to accomplish before the end of 2005.
1. See "Batman Begins", "Fantastic Four", "Sky High", and "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"
2. Spend some time out of state with family
3. GRADUATE!!!!!

Salad When you're online, what do you spend the most time reading/playing/doing? Suggest a site for us to visit.
I spend most of my time reading friends' blogs. But I like to look at the news, too, and one of the most interesting takes on the news comes from Fark.com.

Main Course What would the title of your autobiography be?
"How To Get A College Degree In Only 19½ Years"

Dessert What time do you usually go to bed?
Normally, about 10:30 to 11:00 p.m. Over the last few weeks, anywhere from 9:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.

Friday, August 05, 2005

Girly-Man Brain

Stolen from Diesel120.





Your Brain is 73.33% Female, 26.67% Male



Your brain leans female

You think with your heart, not your head

Sweet and considerate, you are a giver

But you're tough enough not to let anyone take advantage of you!


Thursday, August 04, 2005

Thursday Music Meme Thing

I know I'm late. Sorry.

This week's Take Me Back Tuesday from The Music Memoirs:

It's all by the numbers this week.

1. Name three songs with numbers in the title.
1. "1985" by Bowling for Soup
2. "Tomb 19" by Kansas
3. "Class of '57" by the Statler Brothers

2. Name three groups or artists with numbers in their names.
1. Five In Love With Betty
2. .38 Special
3. The Beatles (aka The Fab Four)

3. Name three albums with numbers in the titles.
1. "2112" by Rush
2. "90125" by Yes
3. "The Seventh One" by Toto

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

SML9: That's My Final Answer

After nine exciting and generally unpredictable weeks, the end of the virtual stock market game has arrived. Here are the changes from last week:

Aetna: +0.95 to 77.40
Barnes & Noble: -0.32 to 41.02
Motorola: +1.18 to 21.18
Safeway: +0.55 to 24.3
Lockheed Martin: +0.40 to 62.40

And here are the overall results:

Aetna: -2.35 (-2.95%)
Barnes & Noble: +2.83 (+7.41%)
Motorola: +3.44 (+19.39%)
Safeway: +1.78 (+7.90%)
Lockheed Martin: -2.66 (-4.09%)

Overall Portfolio Value: $105,503.40 (+5.51%)
S&P 500 Index: 1234.18 (+3.19%)

Along with these final results, I have to turn in some calculations and the answers to a few questions. I have included these for your reading pleasure. You're welcome.

1. How did you select your stocks?
I tend to be pretty conservative where my money is concerned. I'm not a big risk-taker in general, and I typically think of gambling as a tax on people who are bad at math. So in choosing my stocks, I took four things into account. First, I stayed away from companies in high-risk industries such as airlines and pharmaceuticals. Second, I looked for established companies, those with recognizable names and a long history. Third, in looking at these stocks, I looked at the year-to-date performance figures listed in the Wall Street Journal and chose stocks that had performed well since January 1st. Finally, I made it a point not to choose stocks in any company for which I have previously been employed. There are emotional connections there that might cloud my rationality.

2. What is the Beta of your portfolio? (Include the calculation.) Did your portfolio behave as Beta would have predicted?

ßPortfolio = (WAET × ßAET) + (WBKS × ßBKS) + (WMOT × ßMOT) + (WSWY × ßSWY) + (WLMT × ßLMT)
ßPortfolio = (19.94% × 0.95) + (20.05% × 0.95) + (19.96% × 1.30) + (19.82% × 0.90) + (20.23% × 0.70)
ßPortfolio = 0.96

This Beta rating would tend to suggest that my portfolio would be slightly less volatile than the market. Given that the market experienced a gain of 3.19% over the past nine weeks, and that my portfolio gained 5.51% over the same period, I would have to say that my portfolio performed better than predicted by the Beta rating.

3. Did you beat the market on a risk-adjusted basis? (Include the calculation.)
The 3-month T-bill rate quoted in the 1 August 2005 issue of the Wall Street Journal is 3.38%. All other figures are as listed above.

Alpha = Rp - (Rf + ß × (Rm - Rf) )
Alpha = 5.51 - (3.38 + 0.96 × (3.19 - 3.38) )
Alpha = 2.31

This answer suggests that I did better than the market on a risk-adjusted basis. This makes sense, since I had a portfolio that was less risky than the market and still experienced a higher growth rate.

4. What did you learn, and what would you do differently given your new knowledge?
The main thing I learned from this class is how complex the financial world can be. When I chose my stocks, I used only very rudimentary criteria to choose stocks that I felt might perform well. I did very little research and looked only at a few easily accessible numbers. I've learned that a lot of research and calculation goes into having a successful portfolio. If I were doing it today, I would do a lot more research. I would look at financial statements, long-term past performance, and industry trends to choose my stocks. Still, having gained over five per cent in just over two months, I feel very comfortable with how this portfolio has turned out.

Monday, August 01, 2005

As Time Goes By

August 1st marks three significant anniversaries for me. First, it is Colorado Day. Colorado became a state on August 1st, 1876.
Colorado flag
I was born and raised in Colorado, and despite having lived in Utah for so long, a part of me will always consider it home.

August 1st also marks three years of working for my current employer. I started off as an interviewer, calling people on the phone to do surveys. After about seven months, I applied for a position as a supervisor. I was promoted and began working Quality Assurance. Last winter, I was promoted again and began managing the shift one night each week. Then, just after the first of the year, I was given the additional position of Trainer. So at present, I manage the shift two nights per week and hold training sessions three times every two weeks. That works out pretty much perfectly with my school schedule.

The final anniversary has to do with my living arrangements. I have now lived in my current place for one year. The move itself was extremely unpleasant, more so than moving usually is for me. But it was not as unpleasant as the reason for having to make the move, about which I've gone on at length in previous posts.

It's amazing how much can change in a year, or three years, or 129 years. It makes me wonder what next August will bring. We'll see.

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Colorado flag image courtesy of 50states.com.