14 years ago – Slope of Hope with Tim Knight

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.

American Idol Can Go to Hell (by Nathaniel Goodwin)

By Tim Knight - 14 years ago (12, Jan 2010 10:54:37 PM)

Well after a nice bearish day, I was really disappointed after hours. I have been auditioning for American Idol every year since 2004, and this year I finally got a golden ticket to Hollywood thanks to my sweet molasses smooth angel-like pipes. I had my family and entire WOW clan glued to the TV tonight to watch my audition that was supposed to air. Unfortunately, it was cut…

(I'm 5' 9", note Seacrest's dwarfish proportions)

I called one of the producer’s assistant’s assistant, and was told that I was disqualified from further competition due to a CD release by my high school band in 1993 "The Bloated Gunts". I told them that we only sold 11 copies, but apparently that was enough to disqualify me.

Screw them, and wait until Simon Cowell leaves next year. Here is an ugly chart of CKXE.

I read that the Four Horsemen of the Banking World are going to take a break from doing God's work and will instead be appearing in front of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission tomorrow. I urge you to read the Sorkin article (linked herein), as it has some superb questions for these ~~crooks~~ gentlemen.

The Triumphant Return of Salt

By Tim Knight - 14 years ago (12, Jan 2010 11:07:46 AM)

Last March, a comment was posted that I will never forget. It was by a Sloper named Salt who hardly ever posts here – maybe a few times a year – but on March 5th, 2009, he wrote the following………..

The reason the comment made such an impression on me is that it was clear, bold, and long-term. I also remember thinking in the back of my head, "My God, what if he's right?", because I had been making so much money on the short side, and I was really enjoying it. Hearing that the party might be over was a bit of a bummer (even though my October 2008 chicken scratch agreed with his disposition).

Well, as we all know now, he bought at precisely the bottom.

I was very excited to see last night the following post (remember, Salt hardly ever posts a comment, so any time he says anything, he's got my attention………..)

I wrote to Salt to thank him for his contributions to Slope, and I asked him how his other positions worked out. He responded, and he gave me permission to publicly post his reply:

Hello Tim, thanks for writing. First let me say that picking "the day" of the March bottom, or any top or bottom, is only a novelty, anyone could have made big money going long weeks before and days after that day. I did load up on calls, but sold 90% of them at the July top. Even with selling early, they still paid 5X to 15X+. I was sure there would be a short term correction along the way with a 15 to 20% pullback, had there been one I would have reloaded and would be sending my plane to pick you up. Unfortunately, chasing a nonexistent correction cost me about half of my previous profits. As I have mentioned, most of my account is handled more conservatively and is up about 3X. As sure as I was with that earlier call, I am now almost as sure that we are entering a whipsaw bear market that will last at least 18 months and end with the S&P under 500. This will include gold and related mining stocks. I will post here "near" the next bottom, this next bear market rally is where I think gold will really shine.

I want to again thank Salt for being part of Slope, and I welcome him back – with open paws – to the bear camp.