The $35,000 Blog Comment!

Look up in the sky, it's a bird, it's a plane, .....






No, it's the NBA and they've got a fine for you Dwight Howard!


Say it isn't so!

I'm a little late to the party but let me pile on anyway. I was scrolling through my Blackberry today looking for a distraction from the "Helter Skelter" stock market ride and I rolled across this story about Dwight Howard being fined for a Blog comment.

I had to read the story twice - and I couldn't believe it either time. Yes, the "freakishly big" Dwight Howard, who plays basketball for the Orlando Magic and sometimes doubles as Superman, was fined $35,000 for a comment he made on his own Blog! I guess he's not too big for the NBA to beat up.

Here's part of the comment:

"Ya’ll know that that series against Charlotte drove me crazy. I mean it was almost comical at times how I was getting fouls called on me. There was nothing I could do our there and I felt like I couldn’t even move without getting that whistle blown on me.

I’m not looking to say anything to get myself in trouble with the league, but I just don’t see other star players getting called for fouls the way I get them. No star player in the league is outta games the way I am. I even talked to Pat Ewing about his career and he said he never had foul trouble like what I’m going through.

I gotta say this is the most frustrating stretch of my career. I’ve never been through four games in a row like that. But hey, we won the series and we’re moving on. I’m so so so hoping that things will be different next series against ATL or Milwaukee."

(Follow this link to read all of Dwight's comments on his Blog: click here:)



Wow. I don't quite know what to say about this event. Frankly, I didn't find his comments that offensive.

But get this; this was the second fine on Howard for comments he made on his Blog. Back in November he was fined $15,000 for similar comments he made on his Blog.

Just goes to show you, Blogging can be an expensive habit!

After all of that, here's some light entertainment for your viewing pleasure.

Now watch as Dwight Howard Dunks on a 12 foot rim.

The Rebel Yell!

When I was a kid, I rode on what was touted as the biggest, baddest, fastest, scariest roller coaster of the time - The Rebel Yell - at the Kings Dominion theme park in Doswell, Virginia. What a thrill..... I remember racing off the the ride and running to get back in line to ride it over and over again. Yes, I found the speed and the sheer terror of the seemingly endless drop purely exhilarating. The twisting and turning just added to my excitement. It didn't matter if I had a stomach full of Carmel candy, M & M's, and soda, I just powered through the day from arrival time to departure time. Never thinking about the chance of getting sick to my stomach. The summer heat and humidity - merely a minor inconvenience. It was all about the adrenalin rush. The possibility of injury or death never entered my head. It was just fun. Those were great years.


(The years 1974-1980 saw the most roller coasters built in the United States since the 1920's.)


It was all the rage! My friends and I stood around and discussed theme parks and described the adventures in great detail; second by second as others looked on. And when the season ended and the parks closed, we thirsted for summertime so that we could do it all again. Those were the days!

The Rebel Yell - Kings Dominion

This week I lived the antithesis of those good old days. I rode the mother of all financial roller coasters without as much as a seat belt. Each twist slammed my head into the side rail leaving me bloodied. The reverse turn leaving me choking and gagging in my own serum. The upside downs and ins and outs making me scream and cry like a child. When the ride was over I didn't race to the line but stood still and vomited on my shoes! I crawled to sit down on a lonely bench and clung to it praying for my headache to cease. I watched the experts - baffled, discombobulated, stupefied staring at the stars looking for answers. Every analyst offering a simplified answer to this very fragile yet erratic market. I listened to Presidential candidate John McCain praise the strength of our economy - blunder - recount - and then blunder again! Instilling confidence ------ I witnessed our national infrastructure stuff billions of dollars into the leaky holes in the dyke. I played two rounds of golf, enjoyed a lovely dinner with some friends, watched some classic westerns and longed for the careless days of my youth and the thrill of the Rebel Yell!

This weekend I'll be practicing my pibroch and working on a battle cry of my own. And Monday morning, I'll be leading the charge with my sabre in hand! Slashing the Dow, Ripping the NASDAQ, and Mangling the S&P. Wish me Luck! (And do the prudent thing - protect your savings!)





Cause that's how I roll!


Have a great weekend!

Bad Investments

What's up with the Stock Market? I can't figure it out. Up one day and down the next. Way up still another day and then way-way down the following day. This volatility is crazy. Anyway, I ran across this article in the China Daily newspaper last June when I was in Beijing. Just recently when I was throwing away some junk mail I found it. I thought it was pretty funny when I read it. But of course I wasn't on the receiving end of the shoe!




East Asia Economy and Trade News

According to the article, a woman was so angry with her husband after finding out he had used her money to buy stocks that she beat him viciously with one of her high heel shoes in the street in Changchun, Jilin. The man later admitted that he was addicted to stock trading and had lost money on bad investments.

Let's just hope she doesn't find out about his blogging addiction!

An Apple a Day Helps to Keep Cyberspies Away!

I Trade - (Courageous Trades)


When you hear the word apple do you still think of something to eat? You know, like Granny Smith, Washington, or Fuji. All delicious apples and wonderfully nutritional. I'm a big fan of apples. They're great convenient snacks and are loaded with fiber and vitamin C.

But let's talk about another kind of apple. More specifically, the company Apple. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about: Ipod, Mac and Itunes fame! I'm sure you're all familiar with these products. Well, based on these products, I offer you my Dauntless investment advice for the month. If you're wondering where your next great stock market investment idea will come from, look no further because here it is:


Wait until the end of the week and buy Apple stock! Last year about this time the stock was about $85/share. Friday it closed at $193.91. Approximately a 225% gain. Wow! If I had only put all of my money in apple last year. Whine, Whine, whine! Here's my chance again this year to capitalize and here's why I like Apple:

The Ipod, with it's accessories will continue to post profits for the company. It's trendy, it's available, and it's more reasonably priced. Count on Itunes to contribute it's fair share to the bottom line. Followed by the Iphone. But I really like what's happening in the Macintosh world. The United States Army recently endorsed the MAC product. The US Army has quietly been working to integrate Macintosh computers into its systems to make them harder to hack. That's because fewer attacks have been designed to infiltrate Mac computers, and adding more Macs to the military's computer mix makes it tougher to destabilize a group of military computers with a single attack. (See Forbs) So by diversifying their platforms the Army will ultimately have a more secure environment. And look for corporate America to follow this lead. Many of the defense sector companies will emulate this strategy. This equates to more Mac's selling off the shelves. And that means bigger profits for Apple and upward movement in the stock price.


So buy some Apple shares and hopefully one year from now we'll be sitting around with extra goodies in our stockings!

Enjoy!

I- Trade (Courageous Trades)

Traders work the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York City.

It's no secret, I do a little trading in the Stock Market! Today's news:

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks dropped sharply on Wednesday, with the S&P index briefly falling more than 2 percent, as fear of more credit market turmoil heightened worry about prospects for the economy and profits.

Wow! More worry in the Marketplace. And another down day in a very fragile market.

As I pen this post.... The Dow is down more than 240 pts., the NASDAQ down 50 pts. and the S&P 500 down about 30 pts. Do I have your attention? A very schizophrenic market indeed. What should the small investor do?

1. Sell off and go to cash
2. Sell off and buy foreign equities
3. Stay the course, the market will rebound
4. Buy like crazy.... The market will go up
5. Other

Help me out here. Leave a comment and let me know what your thoughts are.

Make a few Dollars in the Market:

For those of you who know that the "I" in "I-Trade" stands for Intrepid! Here's some Dauntless advice for the day:

Cisco Systems - CSCO, Parker Drilling -PKD and American International Group, INC - AIG, will report earnings today.

With that said.... The buzz is that CSCO and PKD will report stronger earnings and we'll see some upward movement. AIG will report weaker earnings and will move lower. This has been a consistently strong quarter for PKD so it's my best pick. Please do your own research and make an educated play. But either way, expect some movement in these three stocks after the bell and early tomorrow morning. Long - PKD and CSCO - Short - AIG.

Short term thoughts: Plan to sell and be heavy into cash before December 1, 2007.


Just some thoughts. I welcome your feedback if you have any.