Getting ready

I’m getting ready for my trip to NYC, and am pretty excited about it.  It’s going to be great to get the hell out of here for awhile.  I’ve been so bad about answering calls, e-mails, and regular daily maintenance.  Perhaps this trip will clear my head….I certainly hope it lightens my pocket book. 

 

 

There’s a swell building up in the gulf, and there should be good, surfable waves by early evening.  If we get waves, I’ll be all over them.  Surfing, music, my art, and books seem to be my only pleasures these days.  Perhaps, after myable vacation(s), I will be able to reclaim my edge. 

 

I did go over to play poker at a friend of a friend’s house last night.  The game was rather impromptu, and nobody at the game was any good at all.  I played a passive-aggressive game, and made sure that I was the second biggest winner at the table….I had to dump a couple of hands to do that.  I don’t like to go into a new game and play hard, as when I do that, I tend to not get invited back.  My thoughts on poker….if you don’t know, or can’t figure out the odds on every permutation and combination of every possible hand or draw, you have no business being in the game.  Poker is a game of skill and money management, with the money management part often overlooked.  I don’t like to gamble anymore, and poker is one of the last games around that’s not a gamble.

 

Jeff

Interesting piece

Check out the article I wrote over at Daily Speculations on Proposition Bets.  You can catch the link to Daily Speculations on my blogroll, and it’s a decent article.  I’m starting to think coherently again.

 

New York City awaits me later this week.  I’m going to the Impressionist auction at Sotheby’s, and also having a little vacation.  After that, I’m going to Colorado for a week, then on to San Blas, Mexico for some waves.  My sister is going to stay at my house and will telecommute from there.  She laughed when she realized that my computer network she will be using is better than the one where she works. 

 

Jeff

Nice picture

 

I just had to snap this picture this evening.

 

Jeff

OK day

I woke up at the crack of dawn, and noticed that there were small waves out back.  I fired up the coffee maker, did the crossword puzzle, then went out for a few waves.  The water was really nice, and I had a good time.  I came in and wrote a piece that may or may not show up on DS. 

 

Yesterday, I really freaked out.  I was sleeping in bed, in that beta sleep that happens right before you awake.  In my semi-dream phase, I thought Denise was lying next to me.  I could hear her breathing, smell the hint of her perfume, and felt her presence.  In that phase, I thought that all of the crap that’s gone on for the last year and a half was just a horrible nightmare and I was glad that it didn’t happen.  I was glad that the nightmare was over, and  just as I was going to wake her up to tell her how much I loved her,  I opened my eyes and realized this nightmare is just beginning.

 

Jeff

Took the hit.

I took the hit on my wheat spread, and am flat in the grain market.  I’m staying out until I get my edge back, or I find a slam dunk.  I still have my covered sugar position, but it’s going nowhere.

 

Jeff

Spreads

My wheat spread whacked me for 15 cents today.  Sugar took a huge hit today, and I’m lucky to be covered up with options.  I still am confused about the markets, and shouldn’t be trading very much. 

 

Jeff

Update

My wheat spreads really moved in my favor yesterday, while my sugar position remained flat.  I’m slowly getting back into the rhythm of the market and finding my cadence.  I’ll probably end up doing OK. 

I was looking at the Pope’s visit and mass at St. Patricks cathedral this morning, and reminiscing about the time my lovely wife and I saw John Paul in Chicago back in 1979.  We aren’t Catholic, but still ended up getting an audience with him.  I might exaggerate when I say audience, as there were 500 people in the room, and we got within 15 feet of him at the closest.  Still, I thought that was pretty cool. 

 

I’ve been playing with my ham radio station the past couple of nights.  I don’t talk much about it here, but I’m an avid ham radio operator, and have been for years.  I primarily like to operate CW (morse code), and look for distance.  I don’t go crazy and have a real big station or antenna system.  My antenna system consists of a vertical for hf, a dipole for 40-80, and a 2-Meter antenna for local work. I have an Icom Transceiver, and a cheap little 2-Meter rig.    I’ve been finding solace in the ether of the radio spectrum as of late.  There have been good openings to Africa in the early morning, and I’ve tried to take advantage of them.  As much as I like to work DX, I still will work anyone that wants a ragchew.

 

I’m excited about my trip in a couple of weeks.  I’ve decided to go to Colorado right after New York, to visit some friends there.  From Colorado, I’m going to San Blas, (Nayarit) Mexico to chill for awhile.  I found a place there that offers a decent room, internet, and isn’t too funky.  I’ll probably spend a great part of my time just decompressing at the beach and surfing one of the world’s longest waves.

 

Have a good weekend.

 

Jeff

 

 

 

 

Auction Fever

Sotheby’s Impressionist auction is on May 8th, 2008. They sent me their catalogue(I got the online version last week), and I found several things I might be interested in.  I called a dealer friend of mine in New York, and he arranged for me to get into their preview, party, and the auction.  I plan on bidding on three pieces, none of which I’ll disclose, as I don’t want to put the price up on myself. 

 

I went on Orbitz, booked a flight on the 5th, returning on the 12th.  I booked a room at the St. Regis in Mid-Town Manhattan, and rented a car.  The entire trip took about 10 minutes to book, and pay for.  I figure a week in New York, spending lots of money, and visiting John in New Haven should do me some good.  Returning with some art would be a plus, but this trip should be a good thing.  I haven’t spent much time  in NYC in the last couple of years, and it should be good.  The only bummer is that I have to fly into Newark, as that’s the only non-stop from Sarasota.

 

I’ve been to a couple of art auctions live before, and find them to be markets similar to any other market like the MGEX, CBOT, or any other floor.  However, I realize it’s impossible to get the best prices for myself, as I’m not a local there, just like one of the art dealers couldn’t go on the floor on the MGEX and get the best price on three million bushels of May wheat.  The good thing about buying at an auction is that I get to pay wholesale, as I hate to pay retail.  I buy most of my art retail, from galleries, and find some benefits but  also some pitfalls.  One of the benefits of buying from a gallery is that they do all the work and all I have to do is write a check and get the piece.  The pitfall is that I have to pay retail, and as I said before, “I hate to pay retail.”

While I’m in NYC, I’ll look up some old college friends, hit some clubs, and just walk around.  The weather should be pretty good, and I’m going to try to find some time to hit the track while I’m there.

This trip also works out perfectly, as my sister wants to come down and stay at my house for that week.  Now, I won’t have to worry about any security issues.  I like using house sitters, and my sister is perfect….she also cleans up after herself.

Now, to let John know I’m going to be up in his neck of the woods.

 

Jeff

Back at it

My free sugar position struggles along, making a few ticks, then losing a couple of ticks.  I’m roughly 20 ticks in the money, give or take a couple of ticks.  Oh well, I have a few months of a free, no hassle position, where the worst thing I can do is break even.

 

I put on some grain spreads this morning.  I’ve been watching the spreads for awhile, talked to some floor traders I respect, got their floor perspective, and pulled the trigger.  I didn’t put on a huge size, but my positions are big enough to make some money if right.  I might add to the spreads if things move in my favor, but do also have a good exit point if things don’t go so well.

This afternoon, I’m looking at condos to rent.  I really gotta get out of this place.

 

Jeff

Making it happen

I need to find a way to make this happen.

 

http://www.sothebys.com/app/live/lot/LotDetail.jsp?lot_id=159445344

 

Jeff