Big Butt Saddles

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When I came across yet another "America's so fat" news stories, this one about dude ranches having to use draft horses and large saddles to accomodate their extra-large clients, it reminded me of a vacation experience from about 10 years ago.  My family and I were lucky enough to spend a week at a dude ranch in Wyoming and when we showed up at the corral the folks working there took one look at me (6'2", 210 lbs) and assigned me to Big John, a rather imposing draft horse that seemed to be almost twice as big as the other horses.  When the wrangler brought him out she mentioned that Big John was used for their bigger clients and then blurted out, "I'm not saying you're fat or anything, but you're just too big for the other horses." I wasn't offended but it had me wondering if I might want to cut back on dessert. That was 20 pounds ago so I'm not sure what they'd put me on these days.

For the record Big John and I got along great, although the fall we took on the last day of riding was a strong reminder of just how tough horseback riding can be.  I was sore for a week and felt lucky to not have shattered any bones.  Maybe my extra padding saved me.

Happy New Year!

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For Christmas this year our daughter put together a photo album called Meet the Lowders. This picture is of one page of the album that features photos of our family through the years. The bottom picture was taken at our son's graduation from West Forsyth HS in June.

Happy New Year from our family to yours!

Imag0735

Why Every Kid Wishes School Schedules Ran Like Congress

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As many holidays, teacher work days, snow days, spring breaks and summer breaks as school kids get I think they'd still be thrilled to switch schedules with Congress.  Especially on days like yesterday (Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011) when Congress said the Pledge of Allegiance and promptly adjourned for three hours. Apparently the Republican leadership didn't want to hear what the Democrats had to say. (Even more interesting, they shut off C-SPAN!):

The incident occurred mere moments after the House went into session. Hoyer made a motion for a vote on the Senate’s payroll tax cut extension, which would extend the lower rates for another two months, but the Republican presiding over the House did not acknowledge the motion. He instead adjourned the House, then got up and walked out.

“As you walk off the floor, Mr. Speaker, you’re walking away, just as so many Republicans have walked away from taxpayers, the unemployed, and very frankly, as well, from those who will be seeking medical assistance from their doctors, 48 million senior citizens,” Hoyer can be heard saying.

“We regret, Mr. Speaker, that you have walked off the platform without addressing the issue of critical importance to this country, and that is the continuation of the middle class tax cut, the continuation of unemployment benefits for those at risk of losing them, and a continuation of the access to doctors for all those 48 million seniors who rely on them daily for help.”

And that’s when the audio cut out. Seconds later, footage faded to a shot of the capitol from outside.

Here's the video:

 

Krampus

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I've unwittingly stumbled upon a goal for 2012: start a Krampus tradition in Lewisville.  What's Krampus?  I just learned about it from the excellent, free, Now I Know newsletter:

A goat-man creature bound to service by the Devil, Krampus’ origins trace back to Germanic traditions from before the advent of Christianity. Per the myth, Krampus goes from home to home (in some places, along with St. Nick), seeking naughty children. Some get off with a stern warning, but for the truly bad children, you better watch out. Krampus throws these children into his sack (or, in some traditions, into a washtub he drags behind him) and carries the child off, to be made into Christmas dinner.

Been rotten this year? No need to get nervous on Christmas Eve; if you’ve made it that far, you are in the clear. Krampus makes the rounds on the night of December 5th, being the eve of the feast of St. Nicholas. As is customary, many people dress up in Krampus costumes that night (as seen above) and take to the streets that night, going home to home “scaring” children. The custom further suggests giving these false Krampuses a drink (schnapps is recommended) to make them go away.

Krampus

Now I just need to figure out how to get myself one of these masks before 12/5/12.

 

Inside Moves

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Did you see the 60 Minutes story on our duly-elected Congresscritters potentially profiting by using information they gleaned from their work on the Hill to inform their investment decisions?  Well, according to this Wall Street Journal story many big-time investors are profiting from information they glean directly from members of Congress and Congressional staffers.

"Hedge funds and other investors have found that Washington can be a gold mine of market-moving information, easily gathered by those who are politically connected," according to Sanford Bragg, CEO and president of Integrity Research Associates, an independent group that analyzes research providers…

Wall Street firms have for years hired lobbyists to scour Congress and the White House for news that could affect stock prices. Now, investors want to hear from decision makers firsthand.

Many turn to William Williams, president of JNK Securities, a firm that brings lawmakers and investors together "to bridge the information gap between Washington and Wall Street," according to a recent news release.

Mr. Williams used to charge clients as much as $10,000 for meetings with lawmakers. That changed last year after a reporter from the publication Inside Higher Ed asked the office of Sen. Tom Harkin (D., Iowa) about an email from JNK showing it was charging to attend a possible meeting with the senator. Mr. Harkin refused to attend.

Now, hedge funds don't pay fees to JNK Securities. If they use information gleaned at these face-to-face meetings they are expected to execute their trades through the brokerage firm, which collects commissions.

There's more, but you get the picture.  I seriously doubt this kind of inside information is restricted to the federal level – I'm willing to bet it goes on at the state and local level as well – and as the reporters point out it's not illegal activity, but I think this is exactly the kind of thing that has escalated the level of mistrust of our public and business institutions to astronomical levels.

If you were to talk to the folks involved in these meetings, both on the government side and industry side, you'd probably get an earful about this dialogue being necessary to make sure the government fully understands the issues so they don't unnecessarily burden industry with misaligned regulation or some such thing.  Sure, it makes perfect sense for government representatives to fully understand the industries they are proposing to regulate, but I'll be darned if I can understand why those discussions can't be publicly broadcast so that everyone is on the same playing field. (Truth be told I can't think of a reason why investors would need to be included in the discussion at all, but for now let's just assume they have a place at the table). Let's put it this way – why shouldn't I, as an individual investor, have access to this information at the same time as a hedge fund investor?  If Congress was a public company and members of Congress were board members of the company then this behavior would be considered insider trading.  It's ironic that because they are essentially board members of USA Inc. their behavior is perfectly legal.

The article goes on to mention some proposed legislation that would prevent this type of inside information trading, but I'm not sure how effective any legislation can be until the entire culture in the halls of power changes. If the people in power can't perceive that it's wrong to play favorites in the public sector, to create a favored class, then there's not a piece of legislation that can be passed that will fix the problem because they'll simply find a way around it to help their friends. 

Long ago some wise people realized that our entire society is constructed on a foundation made up of one element – trust.  Without trust financial markets collapse, bank runs happen (why do you think we even have an FDIC?), government collapses (usually after a bout of totalitarianism) and civil society disappears.  If our leaders don't begin to reestablish trust with the people I fear what my children will inherit.  This probably seems like an over reaction to a relatively minor financial story, but I think this story perfectly highlights what's wrong with our country right now and I very much want to see this fixed before it's too late.

Did a Bear Raid on Citigroup in 2007 Crash the Economy?

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A paper (PDF) from a group called New England Complex Systems Institute seems to make the assertion that a "bear raid" on Citigroup in 2007 may have triggered the economic meltdown that led to the Great Recession:

A paper from the New England Complex Systems Institute claims that they have found evidence that traders executed a "bear raid" on Citigroup in 2007, precipitating the financial collapse. A "bear raid" is a market manipulation technique in which short sellers conspire to dump huge quantities of borrowed shares into the market all at once, driving the price down (short selling is a stock-trading technique in which shares are borrowed for sale; the short seller makes money when the value of the borrowed shares declines).

"Bear raids" have been considered a risk to markets since the Great Depression, and a financial regulation called the "uptick rule" was instituted in 1938 to prevent the tactic. The uptick rule was repealed in in July, 2007, and the alleged bear raid took place in November, 2007.

The paper's authors offered these comments about deregulation in their conclusions:

Within the resulting deregulated environment, it is still widely believed that the crisis was caused by mortgage-related financial instruments and credit conditions, and that individual traders did not play a role [32{35]. Our analysis demonstrates that manipulation may have played a key role. Methods for detecting manipulation and its eff ects are necessary to both inform and enforce policy.

When the SEC repealed the uptick rule on July 6, 2007, one of its main claims was that the market was transparent, and that such regulations were not needed to prevent market manipulation [6]. Our results suggest that, not long after the uptick rule was repealed, a bear raid may have occurred and remained undetected and unprosecuted. Our analysis reinforces claims that lax regulation was an integral part of the financial crisis [30].

In response to requests for reinstatement of the uptick rule after the fi nancial crash,the SEC underwent extended deliberations and fi nally implemented an alternative uptick rule, which allows a stock to fall by 10% in a single day before limitations on short selling apply [36]. This weaker rule would not have a ffected trading of Citigroup on November 1, 2007, as its minimum price was just 9% lower than the close on October 31. Subsequent day declines until November 7 were also smaller than 10%.

The authors go on to recommend some policy changes (adopting preventive measures instead of current retroactive penalties, regulatory agencies investigating individual events like this one, improve access to data, etc.) but given our government's reluctance to go after these folks I'm not confident that their advice will be heeded.

Christmas and Flying Spaghetti Monsters

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Remember our little local dust-up about flying the Christian flag at the veteran's memorial in King?  Imagine how nutty folks around here would get if, like Leesburg, VA, we had the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster vying for space with the traditional manger scene.

For the better part of 50 years, a creche and a Christmas tree were the only holiday displays on theLoudoun County Courthouse grounds.

Then came the atheists. And the Jedis. And the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster – each with its own decorations. A skeleton Santa Claus was mounted on a cross, intended by its creator to portray society's obsession with consumerism. Nearby, a pine tree stood adorned with atheist testimonials.

Flying Spaghetti Monster devotees are scheduled to put up their contribution this weekend. It's a banner portraying a Nativity-style scene, but Jesus is nowhere to be found. Instead, the Virgin Mary cradles a stalk-eyed noodle-and-meatball creature, its manger surrounded by an army of pirates, a solemn gnome and barnyard animals. The message proclaims: "Touched by an Angelhair."

Given our recent debates about the Christian flag and the controversy over the right (or not) to carry concealed weapons in local parks, there's a little part of my brain that would love to see what would happen around here if we had a similar setup to Leesburg's.  In that juvenile little part of my head I picture this scene:

Bible-quoting sharpshooters taking aim at spaghetti-eating atheists and agnostics who dive for cover, sending sauce and meatballs skyward during their panic, asking Mama Celeste for help since God's out of the picture until their own contingent of pistol packers can get their firearms unholstered and de-trigger locked to return fire.  Thankfully no one's hurt since none of the participants ever served in the military and thus never received truly effective arms training, although two bullets do somehow hit something – one Christian is saved by the lucky (divine?) presence of a condensed pocket-sized King James and one innocent bystander who picked a wildly inopportune time to squat for a meditation is spared when his tattered copy of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance takes a direct hit. Eventually cooler heads prevail when the Occupy Wall Streeters, who were minding their own business in their designated protest box, step across their chalk line to broker a truce in which the atheists and agnostics provide a spaghetti supper for everyone at the park free of charge, the Christians put on their Christmas production, collection plates are passed and everyone splits the proceeds.

I'd pay to see it.

Online Confessional

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If you follow any of the media outlets on Facebook or Twitter you've probably noticed how they use social media to find interview subjects for their stories.  One of my kids was interviewed for a story a while back because I saw a local business writer's post on Facebook asking if anyone had teenagers who were having a hard time finding work, and if they'd found a job how they'd done it.  Nothing earth shattering about reporters using social media to find story subjects, but I have to say I was somewhat surprised by this post on AP's Twitter feed:

Have you stolen from a grocery store or other retailer to get something for the holidays? If so, contact@sarahskidmoreap for an interview.

Why would anyone actually reply to this?  Even if you weren't worried that it was a setup wouldn't you be horribly embarassed to admit something like this?  Well, maybe not.  Given some of the things I've seen over these last few years on social media I'm certain there are plenty of people out there who are totally devoid of shame and crave any kind of attention they can get, so this would be right up their alley. 

Sign of the times I guess.