(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 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 1 of 3)
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…)
The Cradle of Democracy Rocks the Autocrats
The StealthFlation Blog
On the old continent, this December 29th, a succinct political showdown is scheduled to take place which may well become a defining moment for our entirely unsettled new millenium. What is at stake is none other than the prosperity of the common man pitted against the privilege of concentrated power. Lamentably, this deliberate dogmatic divide has relentlessly defined human civilization for the ages. (more…)
Khristmas Krap
It’s hard for me to imagine a more appropriate way to celebrate the birth of the redeemer of our sins and the lamb of God than the shameless purchase of a bunch of useless crap that no one wants or needs. Having done a bit of flying recently, I took the opportunity to once again peruse the SkyMall catalog, from which I humbly offer these last-minute ideas:
Darth Vader Toast -“As the two suns rise over Tatooine (or just that single one over Earth), you’ll 
make your toast and marvel at Star Wars logo branded into it. Be the first of your friends to place this on the countertop: Darth Vader’s helmet, dispensing perfectly prepared breakfast bread.” OK, look – I’m a Star Wars kid. I first saw it in 1977 and was hooked for life. But this is one of those kinds of gifts I can’t stand, because it is basically interesting and amusing for, oh, about one piece of toast. No one actually wants this. Certainly no one needs this. There are countless better ways to spend $45 than a device that will burn a logo onto your bread. (more…)
The New Boremal
This market has had the “market” beaten out of it. If I had any sense – – or, more precisely, if I had the sense to not have any sense – – I’d just throw charts and reason out the window and dump my entire net worth into SPY calls so I could spend the next ten years cleaning out my nostrils. But I’m not dumb enough to be smart, so I can only sit back and watch, slack-jawed.
Take the chart below, for instance, from which I’ve removed the price bars; I merely show a trio of exponential moving averages (50, 100, 200) against the S&P 500 index.
