Ideas

  • Japanese Gadget Innovation

    Chindōgu is the Japanese art of inventing ingenious
    everyday gadgets that, on the face of it, seem like an ideal solution to a
    particular problem.

    When allergies bother you, why carry tissue?

     Hay-fever-hat

    When you’re a busy parent and don’t have time to clean, why mop?

    Babymop

    When you’re in the mood for a hot quickee, what you need is a good blow.

    Chopstix Chiller

    Don’t be a slave to fashion, be a salaryman.

    Portable-office-tie

    Here are a few other links to see more of these. (Linkinn.net and Picdit)

    While you are at it, translate your name into Japanese.

    080801 Japanese Translation of Name

  • Japanese Gadget Innovation

    Chindōgu is the Japanese art of inventing ingenious
    everyday gadgets that, on the face of it, seem like an ideal solution to a
    particular problem.

    When allergies bother you, why carry tissue?

     Hay-fever-hat

    When you’re a busy parent and don’t have time to clean, why mop?

    Babymop

    When you’re in the mood for a hot quickee, what you need is a good blow.

    Chopstix Chiller

    Don’t be a slave to fashion, be a salaryman.

    Portable-office-tie

    Here are a few other links to see more of these. (Linkinn.net and Picdit)

    While you are at it, translate your name into Japanese.

    080801 Japanese Translation of Name

  • Market Commentary from July 25th, 2008

    Last week’s rebound off the lows held-up, and still might prove to be an important turning point for the Markets.  The internals contiune to look better; and from a technical perspective there are nice positive divergences forming. 


    080725 Dow


    One big down day spoiled the party for the Bulls this week.  However, seasonally, this is about the time to start looking for a rally.


    Here are a few of the posts I found interesting this week:

    • Exchanges (like the CME, which is down 43%) were hit hard by credit crisis (WSJ)
    • Amazon’s Profit Doubles with rise in web services business (Seattle Post)
    • Apple and Google are down; is this a buying opportunity? (WSJ)
    • Trading Places: Long Energy and Short Financials – or the other way around?(Bespoke)
    • CFTC study finds oil prices pushed up by supply/demand – not speculators (MarketWatch)
    • The Garage Sale Indicator – Listings up 100% in May from a year ago (Bespoke)
    • The Fundamentals of Market Bottoms (Aleph Blog)

    And, a little bit extra:

    • Is Facebook your next Portal? – They think so (BusinessWeek)

  • Market Commentary from July 25th, 2008

    Last week’s rebound off the lows held-up, and still might prove to be an important turning point for the Markets.  The internals contiune to look better; and from a technical perspective there are nice positive divergences forming. 


    080725 Dow


    One big down day spoiled the party for the Bulls this week.  However, seasonally, this is about the time to start looking for a rally.


    Here are a few of the posts I found interesting this week:

    • Exchanges (like the CME, which is down 43%) were hit hard by credit crisis (WSJ)
    • Amazon’s Profit Doubles with rise in web services business (Seattle Post)
    • Apple and Google are down; is this a buying opportunity? (WSJ)
    • Trading Places: Long Energy and Short Financials – or the other way around?(Bespoke)
    • CFTC study finds oil prices pushed up by supply/demand – not speculators (MarketWatch)
    • The Garage Sale Indicator – Listings up 100% in May from a year ago (Bespoke)
    • The Fundamentals of Market Bottoms (Aleph Blog)

    And, a little bit extra:

    • Is Facebook your next Portal? – They think so (BusinessWeek)

  • Word Cloud Text Toy

    The image on the left is a Word Cloud of Bernanke’s speech from last week. I used it in the prior Weekly Commentary.

    The Word Cloud is more than just a text toy.  It is a data visualization tool that gives emphasis to frequently used words.

    I used one from Wordle (and yes, you can make your own there).

    Click the image to see the full version on the website.

    I liked the result on Bernanke’s speech.  So, I tried it on my list of goals and plans.  Here is the result.

    080720 HMG Bigger Future Word Cloud 820p
     

  • Is It Bush, Or the Recession?

    American-flag
    Today is July 4th.  And as my son and I were driving into our neighborhood, we noticed how few flags we saw waving.

    A few years ago, at least two-thirds of the houses had flags.  Today I would get estimate that number being 15% to 20% of the houses.

    In our neighborhood, there is a $75 per year service that provides flags for patriotic holidays (like Independence Day, Memorial Day, etc.).

    So, did the economy make the $75 outlay feel too extravagant?  Or did the collective level of patriotism drop significantly? 

    My guess … a little of both; but it probably has more to do with the economy.  What do you think?

  • Is It Bush, Or the Recession?

    American-flag
    Today is July 4th.  And as my son and I were driving into our neighborhood, we noticed how few flags we saw waving.

    A few years ago, at least two-thirds of the houses had flags.  Today I would get estimate that number being 15% to 20% of the houses.

    In our neighborhood, there is a $75 per year service that provides flags for patriotic holidays (like Independence Day, Memorial Day, etc.).

    So, did the economy make the $75 outlay feel too extravagant?  Or did the collective level of patriotism drop significantly? 

    My guess … a little of both; but it probably has more to do with the economy.  What do you think?

  • The Only Constant is Change

    Change is constant.  Learning to respond and adapt faster and better is
    one of the foundational keys to success.

    Bill Gate VideoOne of the best illustrations of that in business has been the story of Bill Gates and Microsoft. 

    This week, was Bill’s last as a full-time Microsoft employee.  So, there was a lot of hoopla.

    This video is interesting, and puts his contribution in perspective. 

    It is worth watching.

  • The Only Constant is Change

    Change is constant.  Learning to respond and adapt faster and better is
    one of the foundational keys to success.

    Bill Gate VideoOne of the best illustrations of that in business has been the story of Bill Gates and Microsoft. 

    This week, was Bill’s last as a full-time Microsoft employee.  So, there was a lot of hoopla.

    This video is interesting, and puts his contribution in perspective. 

    It is worth watching.

  • “It’s About Time” — Or, Isn’t it?

    There is a difference between working on a problem and focusing on a solution.  Thus, trying to improve performance is different than focusing on limiting losses. 

    Einstein said: "We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them."

    It got me thinking. Most trading charts are time-based (meaning that price change is measured against time).  But maybe looking at price change in other ways would provide a different perspective.

     
    There are several interesting techniques gaining favor among technical traders.  These include measuring price change based on a certain volume traded or a constant range of directional movement.  Here is a link to a brief article about this in StockCharts.com.
     
    In some respects, these are "smoothing" techniques.  Nonetheless, they present a different picture of the market, and are something worth investigating.
     
    Here is how the S&P 500 Index looks like in one of these charts.
     
    080613 SPX Renko Chart