Slope of Hope Blog Posts

Slope initially began as a blog, so this is where most of the website’s content resides. Here we have tens of thousands of posts dating back over a decade. These are listed in reverse chronological order. Click on any category icon below to see posts tagged with that particular subject, or click on a word in the category cloud on the right side of the screen for more specific choices.

Slope Highlights 2014 (Part 3 of 3)

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Here is the third and final part of my retrospective with links to what I believe are the best posts of 2014 at Slope of Hope:

  • Technical Tools Tale – my “pre-Prophet” job experience was at a little startup in Los Altos called Technical Tools, which included a stint with a famed market wizard.
  • Mojave’s Story – I have three dogs now, and this is the story about how I found my third dog, Mojave, during the summer and adopted him into the family.
  • The King of Sooth – explaining my obsession with the deceased art instructor Bob Ross
  • My Town’s Transformation – what’s happened to my little college town of Palo Alto?
  • A Change in Tone – in which I pledge to try to be more balanced and less permabearish (ummm, it didn’t work)
  • Pity the Sub-Genius – definitely one of my favorite posts of the year, if not the entire history of the blog. It’s hard to explain; just read the damned thing.
  • Zachary – the tale of a severely-deformed man who spends his time on University Avenue here in Palo Alto
  • Shifting Sands – a post that predicted oil would follow the same stumbling tumble as gold and silver had, which it did.
  • In Perpetuity – the shock and awe from the surprise Abe announcement in late October
  • Revisiting Truth’s Moment – comparing the pickup in volatility from 2007 to what we’re seeing today
  • My MarketMax Tale – a dream job becomes a disaster for me, and I’m ultimately kicked to the curb
  • Clinkle is New Color – some high-tech startups are really stupid. Like, say, this one.

That’s it, my friends! The best of 2014! Be safe tonight, and unless you work for the Fed, please make sure you’re sober behind the wheel.

Slope Highlights 2014 (Part 2 of 3)

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(Part One from yesterday can be seen here). As 2014 sputters to its termination, I wanted to share some of what I consider to be the best posts of the year. I am immensely proud of this blog, which – – incredibly – – turns ten years old next year, and I am exceedingly grateful to those of you who has chosen to spend part of your days here on a regular basis (for some of you, almost as long as the blog as been in existence). Here is the second part of my retrospective: (more…)

Slope Highlights 2014 (Part 1 of 3)

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As 2014 wheezes and coughs to its termination, I wanted to share some of what I consider to be the best posts of the year. I am immensely proud of this blog, which – – incredibly – – turns ten years old next year, and I am exceedingly grateful to those of you who has chosen to spend part of your days here on a regular basis (for some of you, almost as long as the blog as been in existence). Here is the first part of my retrospective: (more…)

Insight on Automation

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A Sloper sent me an email, which I liked so much that I asked if I could make a post out of it; he kindly agreed to this, so here you are:

I read your post Pity the Sub Genius and agreed with a lot of what you wrote. However you missed what I think is the biggest killer of middle class jobs, and that is technological innovation. For sure many companies moved production overseas for the cheaper labor but I do not believe that to be the biggest reason for job loss. I can remember all through the 90’s up until today that one of the main drivers of corporate profits was the steady, incremental increases in productivity. Many interpreted that to mean employees were working harder or faster or becoming more efficient. What it really meant was that employees were being displaced by technology and that made the work flow more efficient while bringing costs down. (more…)