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.

Swann Suxx – Dropcam Roxx

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I live with my wife and children in a very safe neighborhood, but since we live near East Palo Alto, which is a shithole ethnically-diverse community with different socio-economic characteristics, there is some property crime on occasion.

For instance, we once have a virtually-worthless cell phone stolen from the glove compartment of our unlocked car in the driveway. After this happened, I decided to put in some home security, so after visiting Fry’s, I bought some security cameras and a DVR manufactured by Swann, which seems to be the vendor-of-choice around here. (more…)

The Importance of Not Being Earnest

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I just wanted to talk for a moment about conviction bulls and bears today. I’m not one to disparage anyone’s religious convictions, but that being said, it is a firm rule that any genuine chartist will consider the price data before forming any conclusions from that data, and those conclusions will always be a matter of relative probabilities, never absolutes. Any chartist who doesn’t do that isn’t a chartist at all. What they are is something between preachers and public entertainers, without either the long term incentives offered by the first, or the amusing antics of the second. There are a couple of quotes that say this better than I can: (more…)

Bull vs Bear vs Right vs Wrong: And Does it Really Matter

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Currently there is a great debate within the financial media on the who’s right – who’s wrong, as both sides stare at a financial market that seems to go ever higher with every morning bell.

In actuality, it’s both, and neither. While I am being somewhat cheeky, I do believe I’m not that far off the mark. However, the consequences of this dilemma is where the broader argument is getting lost on far too many.

Currently the macro economy is being expressed via circumstances resulting from a myopic view of participation. i.e., The financial markets. (more…)