Self-help always has its fads, and one of the biggest fads ever came along in the form of TED Talks. These things absolutely swept the world, peaking about eight years ago. Since then, it’s been a hard and steady slide.
No More Easy Answers
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.
Throwing the Car in Reverse
That sure didn’t last, did it? After weeks of languishing, the volatility index finally blasted higher on October 10th, moving from a 16-handle to a 22-handle. A few days later, it was almost up to 30, which is a near doubling of the VIX in a matter of just days. Between Friday and Monday, however, just about all the air left the balloon, and we’re back into the teens again, just like before. I wonder to myself if we will ever see a market again in which volatility lasts longer than a day or two.
Q-Anon
Even though the market was rocketing higher all-day Monday, the sector I mentioned before we opened that was looking vulnerable – – quantum computing – – continued to take it on the chin. I’m not sure why the public is suddenly turning their back on this highly speculative sector, but it’s ugly:
My Own Farewell
On Friday, tastytrade had a farewell party for Tom Sosnoff and Scott Sheridan. Here was my own contribution to the good-bye video.
The Perpetual Website
I have a special place in my heart for America Online. My history with them dates back to when they were a startup and weren’t even called AOL: they were calling Quantum Computer (believe it or not!) and I met with Steve Case personally to figure out their relationship with my employer, Apple. I hadn’t thought of them in years until I just saw this graph, which really surprises me. I can’t imagine any reason to go to aol.com, but apparently, it’s still a big deal.
