Rob's Window

POTW Update, Week 31, Day 2

2008-07-30T00:28:00.003-04:00

Sirtuck takes the lead in the Pick of the Week contest. His pick for week 31, Visa Inc. (NYSE: V), jumped 7.68% today as analysts forecast solid Q3 earnings for the credit card processor.

Click to see larger image.

One of My Childhood Heroes Has Died

2008-01-19T15:38:00.000-05:00

Robert James “Bobby” Fischer died on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2008 at his home in Reykjavik, Iceland, after an extended illness. He was 64 years old. Yes he was a certifiable nut job in his later years, but it will likely be a long, long time—if ever—before the chess world will see another player with Fischer's ability. He was one of my childhood heroes and the one who more than any other inspired me to learn the game of chess.

You can read a nutshell version of his most interesting life story on Wikipedia or any of a number of other Web sites, so I won't bother to repeat it here. But I would like to put up a copy of a very famous game he played. It was Oct. 17, 1956, and Bobby Fischer was only 13 years old when he faced off against Donald Byrne in the Rosenwald Memorial Tournament in New York. Byrne had won the U.S. Open Chess Championship three years earlier and was awrded the title of International Master in 1962. This game came to be known as “The Game of the Century” and has been disected and discussed thousands of times in chess circles.


   Donald  Bobby
   Byrne   Fischer
   White   Black

1   N-KB3  N-KB3
2   P-B4   P-KN3
3   N-B3   B-N2
4   P-Q4   O-O
5   B-B4   P-Q4
6   Q-N3   PxP
7   QxP    P-B3
8   P-K4   QN-Q2
9   R-Q1   N-N3
10  Q-B5   B-N5
11  B-KN5  N-R5
12  Q-R3   NxN
13  PxN    NxP
14  BxP    Q-N3
15  B-B4   NxQBP
16  B-B5   KR-K1+
17  K-B1   B-K3!!! (sacrificing the queen)
18  BxQ    BxB+
19  K-N1   N-K7+
20  K-B1   NxP+
21  K-N1   N-K7+
22  K-B1   N-B6+
23  K-N1   PxB
24  Q-N4   R-R5
25  QxP    NxR
26  P-KR3  RxP
27  K-R2   NxP
28  R-K1   RxR
29  Q-Q8+  B-B1
30  NxR    B-K4
31  N-B3   N-K5
32  Q-N8   P-QN4
33  P-R4   P-R4
34  N-K5   K-N2
35  K-N1   B-B4+
36  K-B1   N-N6+! (here it comes!)
37  K-K1   B-N5+
38  K-Q1   B-N6+
39  K-B1   N-K7+
40  K-N1   N-B6+
41  Resigns

"I regard Bobby Fischer as a mythological combination of sorts, a centaur if you will, a synthesis between man and chess."—Garry Kasparov

Aloha, Bobby.

“Pick of the Week” Stock-picking Contest

2008-01-02T21:12:00.000-05:00

Would anyone be interested in trying their hand at a weekly stock-picking contest? Well I've been running one for the best part of two years on an internet stock forum called “$$$Mr. Market Is HUGE!$$$” I just moved the contest from that board to a new one I set up, and so far there are only three other players besides myself. I expect a few more of the regulars will be coming along eventually. It's fun! It's educational! It just might be very profitable too! So check it out. I call it the “Pick of the Week” contest.

2008 Holiday Schedule for the NYSE, NASDAQ and AMEX

2007-12-24T09:27:00.000-05:00

2008 Holiday Schedule for the NYSE, NASDAQ and AMEX
Tuesday	January 1	New Year's Day
Monday	January 21	Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday (Observed)
Monday	February 18	Presidents' Day
Friday	March 21	Good Friday
Monday	May 26	Memorial Day
Friday	July 4	Independence day*
Monday	September 1	Labor Day
Thursday	November 27	Thanksgiving Day*
Thursday	December 25	Christmas Day*
*The markets will close at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday,July 3, 2008; Friday, November 28, 2008; andWednesday, December 24, 2008.

FDA Members Alleged to Be Involved in Scandalous Ethical Violations

2007-12-23T08:20:00.000-05:00

This story provides a revealing look into the mechanics of the FDA drug approval (or disapproval) process, and the picture is not pretty. If the allegations are true, it would appear that doctors serving on the FDA advisory panel have voted against granting approval to market potentially life-saving drugs largely—if not solely—for the reason that they have large financial investments in companies that produce rival treatments. Does it get any uglier than this?

IBM Updates Free Symphony Suite

2007-11-14T08:32:00.000-05:00

For those of you who like to try low-cost (or no-cost) alternatives to Microsoft Office, you might want to try IBM's free Lotus Symphony suite. IBM released an update to this suite yesterday, though it is still in beta testing.

Illegal Immigration in Small-town America

2007-09-19T06:43:00.000-04:00

I see in the news that the little township of Riverside in Burlington County, New Jersey—where I lived briefly as a child in the early 60s—has voted to repeal a law that was voted in in July 2006. The law would penalize employers or landlords $1,000 to $2,000 for hiring or renting to illegal aliens. Riverside’s population of about 8,000 is estimated to be nearly half comprised of residents who are here illegally, many of whom come from Portugal and Brazil.

And why did this little township repeal this common-sense law? Because they don’t believe they can afford to defend the legal challenges in federal courts! What an outrage! On the one hand the federal government demonstrates that it is absolutely willing to look the other way and not enforce its own immigration policy, and on the other they’re populating the courts with “justices” who will sometimes rule in favor of illegal immigrants—as happened earlier this year in Hazelton, Pennsylvania—thus stifling the efforts of small-town America in making and enforcing policy that is the federal government’s responsibility in the first place!

In the words of former Ohio congressman, Jim Traficant, “Beam me up!”

EBAY

2007-09-14T10:18:00.000-04:00

I was just going to do an update on my EBAY stock post, because I see it has been doing rather nicely as of late. But then I discovered I didn't post when I took my EBAY position, and I'd have sworn I had. Oh well, you'll just have to take my word for it I suppose. I purchased a long position in EBAY on April 19 at 34.80 per share. Since then the position has been under water for most of that time. There was a nice spike up in the first half of August that topped out above 37, after which it proceeded to sink back to the high 32s toward the end of that month. Since then, however, it has been riding up nicely again and as I type, the price is 38.25, a gain of 9.91% from my entry price.

Redneck Humor

2007-09-05T22:49:00.001-04:00

This one was just too good to pass up. I happened to spot this photo on the Internet and couldn’t resist posting it here. Recently having done some exterior work on my own humble abode I had to construct some homemade scaffolding also, but it certainly did not resemble this!

Obnoxious Bicyclist

2007-09-03T07:30:00.000-04:00

Here’s another one of those bicyclists who has no problem at all with the fact that he’s violating the law and impeding the normal flow of traffic on a public road. (See my blog post of May 28 for further info.) It’s not easy to tell from this cell phone photo, but he’s riding right in the middle of the lane, and as you can see, I was the fourth in a line of vehicles being held up by this inconsiderate scofflaw. This happened to be westbound on West Riverside Drive between Twelve O’clock Knob Rd. and Mill Ln. in Salem. The speed limit there is 30 MPH, and we couldn’t have been travelling faster than 20 MPH.

The Minnesota Bridge Collapse

2007-08-02T07:18:00.000-04:00

What a shocking news story! A 40-year-old bridge in Minneapolis suddenly collapses underneath bumper-to-bumper traffic at 6:05 p.m. local time last night. I used to live in Eagan Township not too far from there in the early 70's, and I know I've traversed that bridge a number of times. That's about the extent of my personal link to the incident, but something like that does always give one pause to realize how unpredictable life can be at times.

Google map of the bridge location

Gas Prices in Southeast Roanoke

2007-07-31T19:07:00.000-04:00

Wow! Regualr gas is “only” $2.55 cents a gallon at the 7-11 on the corner of 9th St. & Buena Vista in Southeast Roanoke!

So I guess that means they’ve done it. They’ve conditioned me enough so that I’m actually happy to pay more than 2½ bucks for a gallon of gas.

Here’s a picture I snapped with my cell phone camera on the way home from work this evening.

Bicycles, Common Courtesy, and the Law

2007-05-28T10:21:00.000-04:00

It's been too long since my last post to this blog.

Here's what's on my mind this morning: bicycles, or more particularly, bicyclists.

I've been seeing a lot more bicyclists riding around the Roanoke Valley and environs lately. This is fine. I love bicycles and should probably ride more often myself. However! ... I have a bone to pick with some of you bicyclists.

A few days ago I was driving westbound on Harborwood Road in West Salem, a few miles east of Poor Mountain Road, and there were a dozen or so bicyclists traveling the same direction on the same road. Most were courteous enough to ride on the the far right side of the pavement, allowing motor vehicle traffic to pass, but one in particular was discourteous and inconsiderate enough to stay right in the middle of the lane, travelling well below the posted speed limit, and preventing the car behind him (in this case, driven by me) from passing.

The very next day I was driving across Mill Mountain toward Roanoke, and as I was on the downhill side approaching the beginning of Walnut Ave., I observed three bicyclists riding abreast, travelling the opposite direction (i.e. going uphill). Directly behind them were three cars, unable to pass due to the solid yellow line. I would estimate the speed of the bicycles at approximately 10 to 15 miles per hour. Though the speed limit there is 30 miles per hour, the cyclists acted as though they had the perfect right to impede the progress of the three cars behind them and made no attempt whatsoever, at least for the time that I saw them, to move to the right in single file.

Like any sensible and responsible human being driving a car, I always slow down and exercise caution when passing bicycles on any road. But what makes you bicyclists think you have the right to ride in the middle of the lane and impede the normal flow of motor vehicle traffic? I'm not talking about when there's no one behind you. I'm talking about when there is an automobile right behind you, forced to decelerate, travel below the speed limit and is unable to pass because of your desire to pretend you have the right to ride your bike in the middle of the road. I have a news flash for you: You do not have that right, as this page from the Code of Virginia clearly states.

That law is there to facilitate the coexistence of bicycles and motor vehicles on our roadways. Responsible citizens observe these laws rather than criminally disregard them.

New Job

2007-05-09T07:23:00.000-04:00

I’m happy to report that I was offered an IT position with a local company and that I have accepted. Nice company. Nice benefits package. Good people. I’m looking forward to putting my geeky computer skills to work and learning all kinds of new and wonderful stuff ... and, oh yeah, getting a paycheck again. That will be nice.

How Political and World Events Affect the Dow Jones Industrial Average

2007-05-06T22:31:00.000-04:00

Here's a little study I put together that illustrates how the Dow Jones Industrial Average fared in response to world events and the changing balance of power in U.S. government.

Quote of the Day

2007-05-06T09:30:00.000-04:00

"Superiority is always detested."—Baltasar Gracian

Insourcing? Now There’s a Concept!

2007-05-01T15:38:00.000-04:00

Here’s something interesting. I was just reading a blog article written by a guy named Munjal Shah, the CEO of a company called Riya. In this article he describes setting up an office in Bangalore, India, in 2002 for a company called Andale, “because,” as Shah explains, “India provided us with a less expensive pool of talent than Silicon Valley did.”

This is the same, very familiar reason given in recent years by countless companies for their need to control costs by outsourcing their IT work to overseas markets. But guess what. If Riya serves as any sort of useful barometer of the outsourcing situation, then that tide may be turning.

Here are a few excerpts from Mr. Shah’s article:

Bangalore wages have just been growing like crazy. To give you an example, there is an employee of ours who took the first 5 years of his career to get from 1% to 10% of his equivalent US counterpart. He then jumped from 10% to 20% of his US counterpart in the next 1 year. During his time with us (less than 2 years) he jumped to 55% of the US wage. In the next few months we would have had to move him to 75% just to “keep him at market.”

[. . .]

However, this huge run up in the wages has destroyed the ROI I referred to earlier. So today we decided to consolidate all of our engineering and research efforts back to our HQ in California. We are relocating many of our key folks back to the US, but there are some that we are not bringing back. Our goal was to keep the payroll costs the same before and after the move. Because wages are still higher in the US we couldn’t bring everyone.

Interesting turn of events, is it not? It brings to mind the efficient market theories and visions of the ol’ inverse supply and demand curves, establishing market equilibrium, that I had to burn into the grey matter in Economics classes.

Articles such as this one are quite welcome and encouraging to out-of-work IT people in the States, among whom I am one (although I did have what I thought to be a productive interview today; we shall see where it leads).

Gov. John Corzine's Hypocrisy

2007-05-01T14:37:00.000-04:00

Did you see New Jersey Governor John Corzine’s emotional statement to the press as he exited Cooper University Hospital in Camden yesterday? In part of that statement he said, “I understand I set a very poor example for a lot of young people, a lot of people in general. I hope the state will forgive me. I will work very hard to set the right kind of example.” I thought, Well, at least he’s big enough to take that responsility and to admit, in so many words, that what he did was pretty stupid.

In case you’ve been living in a cave for the past three weeks, Gov. Corzine was seriously injured on April 12, when the SUV in which he was traveling—in the passenger seat—at 91 MPH and without a seatbelt—lost control and struck a guardrail on the Garden State Parkway in Galloway Township. The governor was on his way from Atlantic City to the governor’s mansion to be present at a meeting between fired radio personality, Don Imus, and the Rutgers University women’s basketball team.

Anyway, as I was saying, I thought: Wow! I’m really glad to hear Mr. Corzine say that, about setting such a poor example and all. I could learn to like this guy. At the time it didn’t even dawn on me to consider whether he really meant it. I just felt so sorry for him, his having been so traumatically injured and very nearly killed, I assumed he was quite serious when he said he will “work very hard to set the right kind of example,” and I thought that maybe something good can come out of this tragedy after all.

That was all before reading in the New York Times today that as the governor’s motorcade transported him to Drumthwacket it at times sustained speeds of up to 70 MPH, where the posted limits are 55 and 65. This has to rank right up there among the most quickly broken promises made by any politician anywhere. And if I may say so, it’s one of the stupidest, most assinine things I can recall anyone doing in a long, long time. Working very hard, my eye! Governor, if you had spent one tenth the effort at working to set the proper example in this instance as you do at building yourself up in the press, you might have really had a shot at making a bit of a difference. As it is now, everyone sees you as the unabashed hypocrite that you are.

IMCL Showing Some Strength Today

2007-04-26T11:41:00.000-04:00

At precisely 11:32:55 this morning, IMCL broke through its multi-year high. As I type this it is trading at 43.91. As Martha might say, “this is a good thing.”

Dow Jones Industrial Average Crosses 13,000 for First Time

2007-04-25T10:34:00.000-04:00

In case you weren’t watching, the Dow Jones Industrial Average crossed 13,000 this morning for the first time in history.

As you can see, it crossed the 13,000 line three times by just a few minutes after 10:00. Of course, this market is based on 2007 dollars, which are fairly weak. If you were to index this to the high in 2000 based on the value of U.S. dollars in 2000, we probably still have some ground to cover. But psychologically this is good for the markets in general.

CNBC’s Jim Cramer is predicting that the DJIA will be above 14,000 by the end of the year. I like that kind of optimism, and I hope he’s right, but I wouldn’t bet the farm on it.

Roanoke Roots—Mine Run Pretty Deep

2007-04-24T13:13:00.000-04:00

Can I brag just a little bit about my Roanoke roots? Thanks. I knew you’d understand.

Here is an article that appeared in the Roanoke Times on July 3, 1954, the day before my great-grandfather, Timothy Preston Sisson, turned 100 years old. The article, besides being of interest to any of his living relatives and to those who like stories of human interest in general, also would be of interest to people who like to learn about the history of the Roanoke valley, as it has an interesting little tidbit about life in the valley as it was a century-and-a-half ago. I have corrected a few typos and added bold-type emphasis as well as a footnote and some additional information.

Shawsville Family Reunion To Be 100th Birthday Party

Princeton, W. Va., Resident Will Mark Anniversary Today at Gathering

PRINCETON, W. Va., July 3-Timothy Preston Sisson seated himself in a comfortable chair on his son’s farm just north of Princeton and rested for a few minutes this week.

“I’VE WORKED hard all my life and enjoyed it,” he said, “but I’m taking it easy so that I will be in shape for a trip to Shawsville, Va., on July 4.” On that date Sisson will celebrate his 100th birthday with a family reunion as part of the big event.

Lowery Bowling, clerk of the Mercer County Court, says that Sisson is the oldest living person in the county. He was born on July 4, 1854, in a little settlement of one store and five houses known as Big Lick, Va., and now named Roanoke.

Sisson was raised by his grandfather, Ludlow Sisson, who was born in England and settled near Natural Bridge in Virginia.¹

“My grandfather was a John Wesley Methodist and a man of stern character,” Sisson explained. “He took me to church every Sunday as long as he lived and I’ve never quit going. For 30 years I was an active church worker and I preached for five years.”

Presently a member of the Church of the Nazarene in Princeton, Sisson still attends services often. On Friday, July 16, the Nazarene churches in Princeton, Athens and Bluefield will honor him with a birthday party at Glenwood Park. Singing, preaching and a good country dinner are planned.

The amazing inventions of science during the last 100 years have impressed Sisson, but the one that has left its mark was the stove. He remembers driving six miles with an uncle in a wagon to bring the first cooking stove into the neighborhood. All the cooking before that memorable day had been done in the fireplace.

Sisson remembers that most of the Confederate War activity in the neighborhood came as fights between deserters and the regular Confederate soldiers who were sent after them. All his relatives were members of the Confederate Army, one of them attaining the rank of colonel.

Recounting the romance leading up to his marriage, Sisson said he thought he’d never win his bride, the former Lucy Smith of Floyd County, Va. “We lived together for 71 years without a cross word being spoken,” he said. “Maybe it’s because I always minded her.”

Mrs. Sisson died in 1947 at the age of 91.

A FARM at Shawsville and trading in livestock and horses kept him busy while the couple raised nine children. Six children are still living.

“When I was 82, my son, Robert, made me give up farming; said I was too old,” Sisson continued. “Five years ago he bought this 370-acre farm and we moved here from Bluefield. I cleared most of the chinquapins and brush off the land. I was 95 then.”

Sisson related the events of his life as he rested in his chair. He’d just taken a pail of milk down to feed his pigs.

A lifelong Republican, Sisson has voted for 18 presidents of the United States beginning with Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876. He missed voting in last years presidential election because his change of residence had not been recorded with the county clerk.

When the family gathers at Shawsville Sunday, the old gentleman expects to see his other five children besides the youngest, Robert, with whom he lives. Twenty-six grandchildren, 54 great-grandchildren and seven great-great-grandchildren are also expected. He has never seen some of the great and great-great-grandchildren.

Sisson has never smoked or tasted alcohol in his life. He did take a chew of “old brown twisted tobacco once and became deathly sick.” He never tried it a second time.

HE HAS never been sick in his 100 years of active living, never used any medicine and has seen a doctor only twice for treatment of injuries. He believes he’s lived so long because he “has had a strong faith and belief in God which have kept him from worrying himself to death.” But he says he would not want to be starting life now and face it for 100 years.

“There’s too much confusion and uncertainty,” he says. “All the calm, easy-going days of the past are gone. They were the best.”

¹ I don’t know where the “born in England” claim originated, but it can be proved beyond doubt by existing records that Ludlow Branham Sisson’s American ancestry goes back four generations at the very least and possibly even two more to Thomas Sisson, a London haberdasher who took the oath of allegiance to the crown in Jamestown, VA in 1624. Ludlow Sisson was born in Rockbridge Co., VA on Feb. 3, 1797.

Here’s a scanned image of the article. You can click on it for a larger view:

Actually my Roanoke roots go even deeper than this, as Ludlow Sisson’s father-in-law (my great-great-great-great-grandfather), Mathias Grisso, settled near Back Creek on Sugarloaf Mountain some time in the late 1700’s. Ludlow’s father, Stanley Sisson, also secured a grant for property on Back Creek in the Starkey area in 1797. (Stanley moved on to Gallia Co., Ohio, some time between 1828 and 1830, though Ludlow stayed.)

That’s my mom’s side of the family. On my father’s side, my great-great-great-great-grandfather, John Broadwater, was born Feb. 28, 1788 on the property adjoining that of Samuel Harshbarger near the corner of present-day Hershberger & Plantation Roads.

There may be a few people in Roanoke who can claim local roots deeper than mine, but not very many I’d venture to say.

What a Woman!

2007-04-23T09:13:00.000-04:00

This is a great story:

82-year-old Venus Ramey of Lincoln County, Kentucky, confronted three men who had been stealing machine parts off of old metalworking equipment she had stored in a building. Balancing on her walking stick, this no-nonsense lady pulled out a snub-nosed .38-caliber pistol and shot out a tire on the thieves’ truck so they could not get away. She then flagged down a passing vehicle and had someone call 911 to send out the police to have the men arrested. All three were arrested, one at the scene, and the other two walking on a nearby road.

Recounting the story, Ramey said, “I didn’t even think twice. I just went and did it. If they’d even dared come close to me, they’d be 6 feet under by now.”

The thing that makes this story even more interesting is the fact that Venus Ramey was crowned Miss America in 1944, representing the District of Columbia in the contest. Wow! What a woman!

Venus Ramey's page at missamerica.org

Are “Gun-free Zones” Barrels of Fish for Shooters?

2007-04-19T07:56:00.000-04:00

Tennessee Moves to Allow Guns in Public Buildings

NASHVILLE — In a surprise move, a House panel voted today to repeal a state law that forbids the carrying of handguns on property and buildings owned by state, county and city governments — including parks and playgrounds.

“I think the recent Virginia disaster — or catastrophe or nightmare or whatever you want to call it — has woken up a lot of people to the need for having guns available to law-abiding citizens,” said Rep. Frank Niceley, R-Strawberry Plains. “I hope that is what this vote reflects.”

Personal Reflections

2007-04-17T09:08:00.000-04:00

Some personal reflections:

I was just thinking about the time I spent working at the Owens Dining Hall at Virginia Tech. I looked up some information and discovered that "the Hokie Grill" located there reopened in Aug. 1997 after being renovated. I'm sure that is the time I was there.

If you go to this link and look around the inside of the room, you can see the salad bar I and a few others installed that was built by the shop I worked at at the time. We actually did quite a lot of work in there that you can't see--all the countertops, all the cabinetry behind the counters and at the checkouts, butcher blocks in the kitchen, decorative trash can enclosures, trim mouldings, etc.

I liked working at that place because it's so attractive, so beautiful, and (ironically today) so peaceful. Also I happen to know that my grandmother's first cousin, who was a stone mason extraordinaire, was a foreman on the crew that built some of the many stone exteriors of the buildings on that campus.

Obviously my connection to the campus is not as strong as that of many others, but I can't help thinking about that stuff anyway. I guess I'm still just trying to digest the enormity of this horrifying incident, and I can't imagine the emotions that must be going on within those who have lost loved ones in this tragedy.

An Incredible Story of Survival

2007-04-16T19:38:00.000-04:00

From the Collegiate Times comes this incredible story of survival:

Monday, April 16th 2007 5:27PM
Students react to the tragedy
T.Rees Shapiro, CT Staff Writer

Erin Sheehan was one of four people able to walk out of her 9:05 German class in room 207 Norris Hall.

"It's a small class, about 25 people," she said. "And I would say no more than 2 people didn't show up, were absent. And of those of us that were in there today, only four of us walked out of that room, but two of us had been injured during the shooting," Sheehan said.

"It seemed so strange," Sheehan said. "Because he peaked in twice, earlier in the lesson, like he was looking for someone, somebody, before he started shooting. But then we all heard something like drilling in the walls, and someone thought they sounded like bullets. That's when we blockaded the door to stop anyone from coming in."

"He was just a normal looking kid, Asian, but he had on a Boy Scout type outfit. He wore a tan button up vest, and this black vest, maybe it was for ammo or something."

"I saw bullets hit people's body," Sheehan said. "There was blood everywhere. People in the class were passed out, I don't know maybe from shock from the pain. But I was one of only four that made it out of that classroom. The rest were dead or injured." She described.

"My professor, Herr Bishop," Sheehan said, "I'm not sure if he's alive."

Philip Kai Seward, who started a Facebook group back in August about the William Morva incident described his closeness to the events of today.

"I started phoning around to some of my friends," Seward said, "And eventually I got in touch with Erin."

"She told me she was one of just a few people to make it alive out of a class room that got attacked."

"I picked her up from the Blacksburg Police Department just a while ago, but when she first told me what had happened I thought it was all a bad joke," Seward said.

"It was all just a surreal moment," Seward said. "When I realized it wasn't."

According to a CNN report by Jeanne Meserve, Erin Sheehan survived by lying on the floor, playing dead.

More Unconfirmed Details Trickling Out

2007-04-16T14:59:00.000-04:00

From Sky News:

“Witnesses said he entered the college looking for his girlfriend. According to one, he had an ‘ungodly’ amount of ammunition on him.

“He reportedly lined up students and opened fire at them. He was said to be a young Asian.”

VA Tech Notices

2007-04-16T14:09:00.000-04:00

Evidently the VA Tech server is down, but you can find their notices posted here.

Correction: These postings are from the college's newspaper.

This Just Keeps Getting Worse

2007-04-16T13:41:00.000-04:00

It is now reported that the number of confirmed dead in this horrible shooting is 32.

More on the Blacksburg Shooting

2007-04-16T12:49:00.000-04:00

Fox News Channel is reporting that a student told them one gunman came onto the campus looking for his girlfriend, lining up the students and shooting some of them execution style. This is absolutely unbelievable.

Also, the reports are now saying that at least 22 are dead, including one of the gunmen.

Shooting in Blacksburg

2007-04-16T12:26:00.000-04:00

The local television news is reporting on a tragic shooting in Blacksburg on the campus of VA Tech, which will doubtless bring national news coverage. I'm in shock as I'm listening to the current reports of 20 students dead in an apparent random shooting. That count may or may not increase as the news reports progress. It is also being reported that one gunman has been apprehended and that they are still trying to apprehend a second gunman. This is unbelievably tragic, horrifying.

Edit: Correction: I just heard reported that one of the gunmen is dead, though it is unclear whether he shot himself or whether he was shot by the police or someone else.

Back Into IMCL

2007-04-13T12:36:00.000-04:00

Investing note: I reopened my long position in ImClone Systems (NASDAQ: IMCL) today @ 40.50. The negative effect from the news release earlier this week wasn't nearly as strong as I thought it was going to be. My expectation is that there is going to be a healthy run in this stock at some point between now and mid June, and after struggling with this one for so long I just don't want to miss it. Naturally there is risk, but we already know IMCL will be moving into 2nd and 1st line colorectal cancer treatment, so the downside risk is somewhat mitigated.

Thoughts on the Don Imus Firing

2007-04-12T16:48:00.000-04:00

NBC news is reporting right now that radio “shock jock” Don Imus, having just recently been dropped from MSNBC's TV broadcast, is now being let go by CBS, meaning that his radio show is going to be cancelled altogether.

I have mixed feelings about this whole situation. I used to watch Don Imus on MSNBC early in the morning before going to work. I think his acerbic wit is hilarious; however, I used to get really perturbed at his use of certain slang terminology with reference to certain body parts. It really used to bother me. If he was knocked off the air for that, I would completely understand and probably be in favor of it.

This whole tempest that has blown up over his passing reference to the Rutgers women's basketball team as “nappy-headed ho's,” though, if you ask me, is just way overdone. Do I think it's okay to make such a reference? Absolutely not! But the guy was really only satirizing the type of talk that is prevalent in the hip-hop community, and everyone knows full-well he didn't really believe the literal meaning of those words. Nevertheless, Imus deeply and sincerely apologized over and over, and he was obviously sincere about it. I think the two-week suspension he was originally given would have been commensurate with his tasteless and senseless remark.

But, looking at the bright side, his foul mouth is now, at least temporarily, off the airwaves. Personally I'd much rather see Howard Stern shown the door.

Avastin Quarterly Sales Up 34% Year Over Year

2007-04-12T09:10:00.000-04:00

Sales of Genentech's (NYSE: DNA) Avastin in the first quarter this year are reported to have increased 34% over the same quarter last year from $398 to $533 million dollars. When they file their form 10-Q with the SEC, I believe you will find that Avastin sales in metastatic colorectal cancer over that period are more-or-less flat, while the lion's share of that increase comes as a result of Genentech's having received FDA approval of for its use in combination with chemotherapy agents carboplatin and paclitaxel for first-line treatment of patients with unresectable, locally advanced, recurrent or metastatic non-squamous, non-small cell lung cancer. That FDA approval came on Oct. 11, 2006. While not yet FDA approved for treatment of breast cancer, I believe an increasing number of oncologists are also using Avastin off-label in this indication, which also contributed to the increase. Additionally, opthamologists are using Avastin off-label in the treatment of choroidal neovascular membrane (CNV) in age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Avastin (bevacizumab) is an anti-VEGF humanized antibody approved for use in combination with intravenous 5-fluorouracil based chemotherapy as a treatment for patients with first- or second-line metastatic cancer of the colon or rectum. VEGF is an acronym for “vascular endothelial growth factor,” a protein that stimulates the growth of new blood vessels from pre-existing vasculature.

Baker Hughes, Inc.

2007-04-11T10:31:00.000-04:00

I just opened a long position in Baker Hughes, Inc. (NYSE: BHI) this morning for $69.40.

This Houston based company is a supplier of products and technology services and systems to the worldwide oil and natural gas industry, including products and services for drilling, formation evaluation, completion and production of oil and natural gas wells. It's showing a very healthy 27% profit margin and a relatively low multiple of 10, with a forecast of 15% growth in earnings in its next fiscal year.

ImClone Drops on Negative Pancreatic News

2007-04-10T13:08:00.000-04:00

ImClone is trading between 7 and 8 percent lower this afternoon as I write this and here is why:

NEW YORK, April 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ImClone Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq: IMCL) and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) today announced that a Phase III study of ERBITUX(R) (Cetuximab) plus gemcitabine (a chemotherapy) in patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic pancreatic cancer did not meet its primary endpoint of improving overall survival.

Link to the whole story.

Needless to say I'm really disappointed by this news. I was so hoping for positive results out of this trial, not only for the obvious reasons of price appreciation to a stock that I happen to own a lot of, but also for the fact that tens of thousands of people who are diagnosed with this particularly hard-to-treat form of cancer will now not receive a more powerful weapon with which to fight it.

On an investing note, I sold all my shares early this afternoon for an average price of $39.181. I am considering either buying some Aug. $40 call options or else perhaps simply buying back the shares I sold—hopefully at a lower price. I do still believe the data to be released at ASCO the 1st week in June will drive the price higher, but things are just a bit too dicey right now to be making any hasty moves. I've decided to wait for the dust to clear somewhat.

Don't Top Off Your Tank Just Yet

2007-04-09T22:37:00.000-04:00

The May price for a barrel of light sweet crude on the NYMEX fell 4% today.

The Analysts Finally Begin to See the Light of Day

2007-04-08T20:42:00.000-04:00

Some excerpts from an article by Adam Feuerstein on ImClone for TheStreet.com, Apr. 7, 2007 (all emphasis mine):

[. . .] I have had a love-hate [emphasis on the word “hate”—Rob] relationship with ImClone for years. I've done some of my best work on the stock and, sadly, some of my worst.

[. . .]I think ImClone has a very good stretch ahead of it.[. . .]

At next week's annual meeting of the American Association of Cancer Research, ImClone will be presenting positive survival data from a study of Erbitux in third-line colon cancer as well as positive data from a study combining Erbitux and chemotherapy in second-line colon cancer.

[At the ASCO meeting in June] we'll get more good Erbitux data, including first-line colon cancer data combining Erbitux and chemotherapy (the so-called Crystal study) as well as new and positive data on Erbitux in head-and-neck cancer.

[Referencing a Southwest Oncology Group trial, there is also] Erbitux data from a big pancreatic cancer trial any day.

[. . .] I also think some of the new colon cancer data we'll get in the next few months will help Erbitux gain share in the second-line colon cancer treatment market.

I don't think Erbitux is powerful enough, necessarily, to go after Genentech's (DNA) Avastin in front-line colon cancer, [I disagree.—Rob] but ImClone still wins if doctors see Erbitux as the go-to second-line drug for their colon cancer patients.

This stuff Feuerstein is now (mostly) saying is the stuff I've been preaching for a couple years now. Note the hallowed reverence with which Mr. Feuerstein still prostrates himself before the Avastin juggernaut. I guarantee that behind closed doors Genentech management is not taking a light view of Erbitux about now.

Take Me to Your ... Cave?

2007-04-06T18:11:00.000-04:00

From Science Daily:

Scientists suspect Mars might have caves

Excerpts:

“U.S. scientists say images of black spots taken by NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter might be caves rather than impact craters as initially believed.

“[. . .]‘If there is life on Mars, there is a good chance you'd find it in caves,’ said [Jut] Wynne, project leader for the United States Geological Survey's Earth-Mars Cave Detection Program.”

Okay, first let me say that I love that Science Daily Web site. Now, I can go along with the idea that there may be caves on Mars, but life? You can put me on record right here as saying they will never find life on Mars. That’s National Enquirer and Weely World News stuff as far as I’m concerned.

Watch IMCL (ImClone Systems)

2007-04-05T14:30:00.000-04:00

Keep an eye on IMCL. 43.08 is the intraday high going all the way back to Mar. 4, 2005. If it manages to bust through with any kind of momentum and volume, the next level of serious resistance should somewhere in the 46 area. When that one falls, next stop: 55.

Faces in the News

2007-04-05T12:18:00.000-04:00

When I first saw this photo of Hillary Rodham Clinton, I thought: “This must be her reacting to the news that the Barack Obama campaign has raised $25 million in the last 3 months.”

AP Photo (with call-out added by me)

Update

2007-04-05T10:07:00.000-04:00

An update on my position in CNBC’s “Million-dollar Portfolio Challenge”:

As you can see, I did make a couple of poor trades that whacked my score down to size. Due to the nature of this contest, one is practically forced into going all in on one stock and hoping to find ... what? ... “serendipity”? ... “fortuitousness”? “Luck” is not part of my vocabulary. We’ll see where it goes from here.

Here are the trades I made those few days that killed me:

3/21:
Bought 16,850 shares of MLHR at 37.84
Bought 14,185 shares of CHL at 46.18

3/22:
Sold 16,850 shares of MLHR at 33.43 (-11.65%)
Sold 14,185 shares of CHL at 46.29 (+0.24%)
Bought 49,054 shares of JBL at $24.93

3/23:
Sold 49,054 shares of JBL at $22.26 (-10.71%)

Why Would Google Want AOL?

2007-04-01T22:16:00.000-04:00

Here's one from the rumor mill. I was reading a post in Susan Mernit's Blog, in which she writes:

I got an email from a friend who spent this evening on one of NYC's top restaurants. He said "I was seated near some people from Google and AOL who were celebrating some sort of deal. They'd signed papers and wanted to sit off by themselves so no one could hear them talk."

I don't know what to think of this. Although Google, I believe, already owns a 5% stake in AOL (a division of Time Warner), I can't imagine their wanting the whole thing, unless they've got a very creative and aggressive plan to turn it around.

According to Time Warner's latest 10-K report, AOL's subscribers in Europe and the United States dropped by 10 million to 15.5 million between Dec. '05 and Dec. '06, and 52% of that loss occurred in the last three months. That's a very serious problem, and as a Google shareholder myself, I'm not too thrilled at this prospect.

Google's latest 10-K reports $13 billion in total current assets. They certainly have the wherewithal to acquire the sinking ship, but why would they?

A Balanced View of Technology

2007-03-30T08:30:00.000-04:00

I was just reading an interesting blog post at NBRI called 5 Factors That Affect Your Employee’s Productivity. The 4th item on the list, entitled “It’s the Tech Tools, Stupid,” starts off by stating: “All the feel-good, psychological methods of improving employee productivity are great, but they’re useless without the right tools. And the right tools mean the right technology.” As a techie guy myself, I couldn’t agree more. Technology is advancing so rapidly nowadays that it has become a challenge not to fall behind, and I think good management understands this.

As always though, it’s a question of balance. Obviously management cannot simply give a perpetual blank check to the I.T. dept., but at the same time it must constantly make sure their competitors are not outpacing them due to their own outdated technology. This can become a problem where management presonnel must rely on the I.T. personnel to keep them apprised of current technology needs vs. wants and where the I.T. personnel have a hard time making that distinction. Just because something is new doesn’t mean it’s better. (As I write this it occurs to me that I’m typing on a laptop computer I bought in 2000 and that is running Windows 98; it serves its purpose well in that for which I use it.)

Anyway, it is food for thought, and that blog post was an interesting read.

ImClone (IMCL) Sharply Higher

2007-03-23T04:19:00.000-04:00

Shares of ImClone (IMCL) traded sharply higher in extended hours trading yesterday. Here's the reason:

“Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) today announced that it has discontinued Vectibix(TM) (panitumumab) treatment in the PACCE trial evaluating the addition of Vectibix to standard chemotherapy and Avastin® (bevacizumab) for the treatment of first-line metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). [. . .] ‘ We had hoped that adding Vectibix to the current U.S. standard-of-care for patients newly-diagnosed with mCRC would improve outcomes without excessive added toxicity. Unfortunately, it appears that adding Vectibix to Avastin, when used in combination with oxaliplatin- or irinotecan-based chemotherapy, increased toxicity, without improving efficacy,’ said Roger M. Perlmutter, M.D., Ph.D., executive vice president of Research and Development at Amgen.”—Business Wire

Vectibix is seen to be Erbitux's chief rival in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. Having followed closely its development, I have always been of the opinion that the level of optimism for Vectibix's success has been poorly-founded.

ImClone (IMCL) closed at $33.88 yesterday before the above news broke at around 5:30. In after-hours trading it sold as high as $39.32 (+16.06%) and finished at $37.61 (+11.01%). The extended-hours volume for IMCL was 592,230 or 36.5% of its 3-month average volume for the regular trading session.

Here's a snapshot of the intraday chart from yesterday, which I made at 6:28 p.m.:

CNBC’s “Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge”

2007-03-22T03:22:00.000-04:00

I'm an investor, and I love to play the stock market. I may (read: “probably will”) share some of my ideas about certain stocks on this blog in the coming days, weeks, months, etc.

Perhaps you’ve seen where CNBC is running a twelve-week contest called the “Million Dollar Portfolio Challange.” Entrants are given an imaginary portfolio of $1 million to invest in stocks. In each of the first ten weeks of this contest, the player whose portfolio gains the greatest percentage in value wins $10,000 in real money and becomes a finalist to compete in the final two weeks. Ten more finalists are determined by the top 10 portfolio gainers overall for the whole ten-week span. Those twenty individuals then start anew with a $1 million portfolio and compete for the final two weeks. At the end of those two weeks the player whose portfolio has the highest value wins a grand prize of a real one million dollars.

Well, I love a challenge, so I thought I’d have a go at it. Yesterday was the third day of the third week in the contest, and here is my standing so far:

Number 1,996 may not appear to be wonderful, but when you consider that there are at least a quarter million contestants, it’s not too shabby either: (1,996/250,000 = 0.8%). I’ve managed to do well I believe, but I’m obviously going to have to do much better if I expect to win anything. My high water mark (in terms of rank) so far was after the end of trading on Monday this week, when my score looked like this:

Anybody else like the stock market?

Graffiti

2007-03-21T15:51:00.000-04:00

Someone is defacing our community.

While driving past the corner of Albemarle Ave. & 4th St. in SE Roanoke this afternoon, I noticed this:

... and I don't think it was there yesterday.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if a disincentive could be created that is actually strong enough to prevent such vandalism? Such as, for example, a reward fund made up of voluntary contributions, for anyone who could anonymously provide information leading to the apprehension of the perpetrators? I know I would donate to it.

Excitement on the Parkway

2007-03-20T18:36:00.000-04:00

Today I was driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway southbound between the Mill Mountain Spur and Route 220. The time was probably about 11:45 a.m., give or take a few minutes. As I approached the turn-off to take 220 north, I noticed a number of vehicles parked on the shoulder of the Parkway on the northbound side. As I got closer I could see that four of the vehicles were Sheriffs' cars, and the fifth one was a blue SUV.

I rubber-necked a little bit, but I could not see what was happening. It must be something serious, I thought, to have four police vehicles responding. I mean, how often do you see that?

Does anyone reading this have any idea what was happening out there?

How to Contact Me Via Email

2007-03-20T08:57:00.000-04:00

If you wish to contact privately via email, please use this handy, dandy, easy-to-use form. Thanks!
web form

Still Seeking Employment

2007-03-19T14:49:00.000-04:00

If you read my profile then you already know I'm a summa cum laude graduate of a two-year I.T. program at Virginia Western Community College. I'm proud of that 4.0 GPA I earned, because some of those courses were quite challenging, and I worked hard to maintain that rating.

Nevertheless, I'm now in my third month of seeking employment in the Roanoke/Salem/Vinton area in Virginia. I'm finding that I.T. is a tough field to break into. The problem is, I think, that there are only so many companies large enough to even have an I.T. department, and of those, practically all of them have a small, core group of individuals that fulfill the company's needs. And when the rare opening does materialize, likely it goes to someone with some sort of connection; at least it surely seems that way.

Anyway, an old workmate of mine called me today and asked if I would be interested in a small job, replacing a kitchen counter top in a rental house that he owns. I told him I am.

Isn't that rather ironic? After all the expense and effort I put into my college-level I.T. studies, and graduating with a flawless academic record, here I am going back to my old carpentry bailiwick. So tomorrow I will go with him to look at the job and give him a price I hope he can live with.

Here I am, Carilion! Here I am, Norfolk Southern! Here I am, State Farm! Here I am, G.E.! Here I am, Appalachian Power! Here I am, Roanoke City and Roanoke County! Here I am, all you other concerns in the valley who need I.T. people! My resume is out there, and many of you have already been given one directly by me! I can do what you need done, yet here I am pricing counter top replacements and steel-wooling the rust off my saw blades! I'm just waiting for one of you to give me the opportunity to put my computer skills to work! Let's go!

A Curious Scriptural Passage

2007-03-19T00:21:00.000-04:00

I was reading in the Bible today an account about Jesus’ healing of a certain blind man, and it struck me as unusual. Here is the passage, Mark 8:22-25, as it appears in the New American Standard Bible:

And they came to Bethsaida And they brought a blind man to Jesus and implored Him to touch him. Taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?” And he looked up and said, “I see men, for I see them like trees, walking around.” Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly.

Isn’t is strange that after the first attempt at healing him, the man was only partially healed? I recall reading other accounts where people were healed completely and instantaneously of all sorts of maladies, and some of these just by their touching the fringe of Jesus’ garment in the midst of a crowd.

In still other cases it is related that Jesus healed people without ever even seeing them. For example in Luke 7:1-10 Jesus healed a centurion’s slave, who was about to die, without even entering the house where the slave was.

So why was the healing of the blind man done gradually, in two steps? Since accounts such as these usually give only few details and no explanation as to why something is done this way or that way, we are left to our own speculation. Perhaps Jesus did it this way purposely to make it easier on the man, allowing him time to adjust, rather than thrusting him from total darkness into the bright light of day in a fraction of a second. Who knows?

Hewick

2007-03-17T22:45:00.000-04:00

If you love Virginia history, as I do, and are looking for a place to stay in the eastern part of the commonwealth, there is a wonderful Bed & Breakfast I visited just north of the town of Urbanna in Middlesex County. This house, known as Hewick, was built originally in 1678 by Christopher Robinson. That's right, folks, when the Declaration of Independence was signed, this house was already 98 years old!

That's me standing in front of the place on the morning of Feb. 11, 2001. As you can tell by the long, sprawling shadows, the sun was pretty low in the sky. You can deduce that this beautiful old house, this surviving witness to colonial Virginia, has a sunny, southern exposure. Its exterior walls are constructed of Flemish bond brick and are 18 inches thick on the first floor. (No wonder it's still standing!) The house is alleged to be haunted by a spirit known as the "Pink Lady," but I never heard or saw anything out of the ordinary while I was there—nor did I want to.

Welcome to Rob's Window

2007-03-17T18:14:00.000-04:00

I was going to use this first post to introduce myself, but that's basically covered in my profile, so let me just use the occasion to say hello, and welcome to my blog.

I will post my random thoughts here as they occur to me and try to keep them interesting enough for you to enjoy reading. Many unrelated subjects are likely to be addressed, so I will attempt to categorize them in a meaningful way. Feel free to post your comments—in fact please do so—as long as you keep them suitable for public consumption and maintain an air of civility.

I call this blog Rob's Window, because basically it's a window into my fecund mind; also because some other genius already took the name Rob's Place. This "window," however, is not 100% transparent, because I do have some thoughts I would prefer not to broadcast to the world.

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