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.

May It Please the Court…..

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0603-courtier Greetings from beautiful Sundance Resort. Believe it or not, I'm wearing the fancy get-up you see to the left. The reasons are a bit too peculiar to explain at this point. Maybe after a few drinks tonight I'll share more.

I'm off to a big dinner/party right now, so I must take my leave. I shall do a post later tonight about the market, although given my projected inebriated state, I may lapse into ludicrous pontifications and make you think you've happened upon the wrong blog.

Fare thee well.

Songs from Liquid Days

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I am flying off to corporate headquarters in Utah, and there's a big celebratory dinner tonight, so I'm going to be offline for a number of hours (possibly until midnight………) It was a good day, and I'll share some market thoughts later.

In the meantime, please enjoy this marvelous Philip Glass piece. It's a favorite of mine. Those unfamiliar with his work may find it tedious, but try to open your mind up to some unfamiliar music; and if you like it, it's worth playing (over and over again…………)
 

A man wakes up to the sound of rain
From a dream about his lovers
Who pass through his room.

They brush lightly by, these lovers.
They pass. Never touching.
These passing lovers move through his room.

The man is awake now
He can't get to sleep again.
So he repeats these words
Over and over again:

Bravery. Kindness. Clarity.
Honesty. Compassion. Generosity.
Bravery. Honesty. Dignity.
Clarity. Kindness. Compassion.

Throwing the Lottery Under a Bus

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I'm trimming way back on my 401-K (misnamed here often as my "IRA"). I have a mere eleven positions in this account now, with the twelfth being a large position in DZZ (doing nicely today) to balance things out. My percentage change in this account for 2009 so far is about 50%.

My lottery longs have served me well, providing very healthy percentage returns and pushing my account almost to my end-of-year goal. But holding onto crapola stocks isn't really my bag from here on out. I think lottery longs were wonderful in mid-March. My belief is that such instruments have worn out their welcome, so I am saying "thank you" and sending them on their way.

In another account, here are some shorts I am executing along with these stop prices:

ADBE 29.76
ARO 37.97
ASH 29.11
AVP 27.83
BWA 35.33
CAKE 18.54
CBRL 34.28
CCJ 29.61
COG 37.65
DIOD 16.47
GG 40.83
GYMB 39.70
NFX 38.75
PRGO 27.84
SPLS 21.96
TMK 41.24
TRA 30.76
WDR 26.59
YUM 36.76