Another Round Of Selling RIMM Calls

The Research In Motion (RIMM) December $75 calls expired worthless a couple weeks ago. I held off on selling more calls thinking that maybe the stock might move up more following its strong earnings report. That didn't happen, and so here I am selling calls on the last day of the year.

Sold RFY January 2010 $70 calls for $1.08 covering the entire position.

Effective cost basis for RIMM shares now sits just under $63.50.

Absolutely Fantastic 5-Year Old Movie

How is it that I made it to the end of 2009 without ever having seen Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind? On a whim, I decided to watch a movie from my sister's DVD collection, and this is the one I chose having vaguely recalling that it was good.

Needless to say, I thought it was more than good. I thought this movie was simply fantastic. It's really a bit abstract, but wow, it's just very well put together and I felt that it was generally moving. I liked everything about it, and I was surprised at Jim Carrey's performance, which I thought was quite strong. It's definitely a romantic movie, but it's not the mushy kind that most guys shun.

So, if you haven't seen it yet (though, it seems that everyone I've talked to has), you want to watch this. You don't want to make the mistake that I almost made... that is, letting this one pass you by forever. I really can't believe that it took me 5 years to watch it.

Chromatic Trickery

Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. A friend posted this up on their site, and I thought it was pretty cool. And, in case you don't believe the illusion is real, I did extract the individual frames of the animation and found that there's nothing phony about this at all. It is definitely a real perception phenomenon that is taking place.

Go here: Perception Image.

Duke Nukem For Never

If any of you were gaming in the good ol' days of 3-D shooters, you'll definitely have remembered and played Duke Nukem 3-D. It was just a really fun game with cool weapons, fun maps, and just all around good multi-player gameplay. And, I'm sure those of you who played the game (and loved it) were at one point eagerly awaiting their sequel, Duke Nukem Forever.

We all know that it never did make it out to market and it was just an epic failure. But, what really happened? Just recently, Wired came out with an article that seeks to answer this very question.

Enjoy: Wired's Story -- Learn to Let Go: How Success Killed Duke Nukem

Unintentional Traffic Humor

So, I was sitting in some minor traffic yesterday on my way to work when I glanced at my rear view mirror. I had to do a double take when I saw a female driving the car behind me that had a vulgar word for a part of the female anatomy pasted across its windshield. I turned around quickly to learn that she was apparently a Looney Tunes fan.

The full message was: I TAWT I TAW A PUDDY TAT!

Due to the symmetry of the individual letters, TAWT sure does look funny in a mirror. I wonder if this ever crossed her mind before she put the stickers on her windshield... my guess is not.

Edgar Allen Poker Poe-try

This is just too good not to share. Before you can fully appreciate the awesomeness contained in this poem and its reading, you need to know a bit about the history of Bing Blan Blaow. Some time earlier this year, some online poker player named ch3ckraise created a song that he would copy-and-paste into the chat box whenever he took his opponent's money in a head-up match.

It went like this, and somehow it got popular (a Google search gets over 400,000 hits on the exact search phrase). Just a silly, silly thing to say.

ch3ckraise: BING BLANG BLAOW
ch3ckraise: CH3CK RAISE IN THA HOUSE
ch3ckraise: I JUST WON $50.00 FROM YOU
ch3ckraise: U COULD HAVE USED IT TO BUY SOME FOOD
ch3ckraise: BUT YOU CANT NOW
ch3ckraise: CUZ IMMA CASH IT OUT
ch3ckraise: AND RUB IT ON MY TITT1ES

The original song can be found on YouTube here: Bing Blang Blaow.

But, this poetic interpretation is pure genius.

Quick Update

Today, I sold the Wet Seal (WTSLA) shares that I picked up on December 1st. Had an all-or-none order filled at $3.42 (+17.5%). If for some reason shares go back down to the $3 mark, I will gladly repurchase them. I'm still holding onto my core position, which is still significant; it remains my largest single stock position.

I have also sold my small Citigroup (C) position at 3.91. I'm just not willing to hold onto it with the uncertainty of the dilution shares will face with respect to the TARP money repayment. Couple that with the government's eventual sale of its shares, and it's just too much risk for me. Gladly taking profits on that one, though I could have had a lot more if I had dumped it in the $5's not long ago.

RIMM Calls Sold

Research In Motion (RIMM) has been on a bit of a tear since their Blackberry distribution deal in China was announced. With shares now trading near $66, I sold the December $75 Calls (RFYLT) for 0.55. This brings the effective cost basis of my RIMM position to about $64.50.

My belief is that even if their earnings report is better than anticipated, I don't see too much upside risk above $75 given that expiration is the very next day. And, I suppose that if I did get called away due to a serious explosion in the stock price, I can't really complain about the exit. In the case that I do part with my shares, I will be looking to re-enter, as I am still bullish on the company.

The Road, A Great Feel Bad Movie

We went to see The Road tonight. It's a film based on the novel with the same name. The story is about a young boy and his father on an uncertain journey set in a bleak post-apocalyptic world. It was a really good movie, but at the same time it's probably the most 'feel bad' movie that I can remember watching.

Anyway, the movie is definitely worth checking out. Just don't go in expecting sunshine and roses.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

I've never seen them, and I had never even heard of them until I saw a commercial recently selling tickets to one of their events. It just so turns out that my sister and her boyfriend went to one of their shows, and I just happened to find their very negative reviews somewhat amusing.

For that reason, I will share.

My sister's review of TSO
Her boyfriend's review of TSO

Added to RIMM

I just added to Research In Motion (RIMM) at 58.82, more than doubling my position. I'm done with this one, as I what I have now is sizable. Average cost basis for all shares is now just above $65. They release their earnings soon (December 17). I guess time will tell if this turns out to be a disastrous move.

Rebought Some Wet Seal

During yesterday's trading session, I bought back some of the Wet Seal (WTSLA) shares I sold. Got filled at 2.92, which is a large discount from the original ~$4 selling point. I will consider buying more shares back if the stock stays at these prices, and that I have free funds (damn you, property tax).

Acquire

There's this game called Acquire that I had heard a lot about before, so last Christmas I bought it for my sister. It was not until this past weekend that we got a chance to play it. I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed the game, and I think there is a ton of strategy to it.

I was surprised to learn that the game had been around since the 1960's having been originally developed by 3M. Although I have played this game exactly one time, I think that it's a lot more fun and more thought provoking than Monopoly, and an entire game can be played out in a lot less time.

I don't have the time to go over all the rules, but I will say that the game is all about making money by growing hotel chains via M&A. So, it all comes down to making strategic business decisions. Lots of fun. If you haven't played it before, and you like strategy-based board games, then I highly recommend this one.

Punk Bands and Homemade Sushi

I went and saw a friend's punk band, Culo a Boca, perform over at the Retox this weekend. Ya, ya, I know what you Spanish-speaking people are thinking... and ya, I agree that it's a fairly vulgar name for a band. I mean, would you want it any other way? To add to your horror, one of their songs is titled Two Girls, One Cup. Ha ha.

Anyway, it was a good show, and it was definitely a fun night out especially given that beers were cheap there ($2 PBR, $3 for other domestics). Though their band was headlining that night, we got there a little early to check out a couple of other bands that played... the Formaldebrides and hmm, I can't remember what the name of the other one was.

Saturday rolled around, and we attempted to make some of our own sushi. Neither of us had any experience, but JC had the required tools already, so that was nice. All I can say is that I now know that making good looking sushi is harder than you'd think. After a few failures, we managed to make an Unagi cut roll that didn't look like a kindergarten art project. And, we also made some Uni pieces, because it just tastes awesome.

Here are a couple of pictures showcasing the results of our effort.

Smell, I Mean, Spell My Finger

I am digging this fast-paced action word game called Spell My Finger on AdultSwim.com. My current best is 23,660, which was good enough to make the top 100 scores.

If you like word games, you might enjoy this one. So, check it out.

Bought Gamestop

Picked up a small number Gamestop (GME) shares at 24.13.

Wildcat Spotting

I've seen a lot of different wild animals around my place... coyotes, wild hogs, deer, etc. But, today is a first. We spotted a wildcat from our bedroom window. It's very well camouflaged, but we managed to get a few shots of it.

Math Joke for Today

I saw this math joke on someone's Facebook, and I thought it was pretty good. Here it is. Enjoy!

A bunch of functions are hanging out at a bar. There are trigonometric functions, logarithmic functions, polynomials, all different kinds of functions just hanging out and drinking. Suddenly the door flies open and a differential walks in. The functions are all terrified. Some dive behind the bar, some jump out of the windows, and others hide under their tables. Everybody is generally trying to get the hell away from this differential.

However, there's this one function that just sits calmly at the bar sipping his drink. The differential walks up to him and says "What is this? You should fear me like everyone else. Why aren't you running away?" The function shoots the differential a nasty look and replies, "I am e^x, bitch! You can't touch me." The differential just looks at him and says, "Who said I differentiate with respect to x?"

Halloween Weekend

We had a blast out in Vegas. It was pretty wild and crazy, but it makes me wonder just how much crazier things get when Vegas is actually doing well. In any case, we stayed out there a day longer than usual, so at least we got in some relaxing on our final day there.

We met up with two different groups of friends that were out there the same weekend by coincidence -- we only found out about them in the couple weeks leading up it. Friday night was fun, as we went out drinking and dancing at the side bar of the Wasted Space nightclub. There were lots of wild people ready to party dressed scantily and slut-worthily just as you would expect from Vegas.

The next night a high school friend of mine, JC, I all found ourselves at a super low-limit poker table at the Mandalay Bay. It's a lot of fun when you play well below your usual limits. I got to splash around a lot while doing my pre-party drinking. Basically, I get to enjoy myself rather than be forced to play seriously.

Finally for Halloween night, we started off at a bar at the MGM and eventually made our way over to Studio 54 once it got less crazy. Apparently, one of the "Girls Next Door" stars (Holly Madison) was the host for the night, and when she left things got less hectic. It was a good thing to wait, since I don't think I was really up for fighting crowds to enjoy the night.

Both JC and I dressed up as vampires, and surprisingly, it was not as popular a costume as we were initially fearing. The costumes worked well, and I had my fair share of randoms that wanted me to bite them, etc. But, those stories will have to stay in Vegas... it's the rule after all.

On Sunday night, JC and I went to watch the Cirque du Soleil show, Zumanity. I had seen Mystere and O before, and I would say that Zumanity would rank third of the three. But, it was still highly entertaining -- definitely not something you should go see if you're conservative and opposed to adult conversations and themes. While many of the acts were impressive, I was not as big a fan of the music as I have been of the other shows.

Later on, we ate at an overpriced Japanese restaurant at Planet Hollywood called Koi. The quality was perfectly fine. I felt the salmon was par at best, but most everything else I had was decent quality, but not worth the prices they were charging. After our meal though, as we were about to take off, a nearby table blurted out that they saw a rat. Turns out that JC also spotted it. We did not try to get any refund or anything... seems like poor form when we were very much done with our meal. Still pretty gross though. In short, I wouldn't recommend Koi to anyone.

Since I'm too lazy to put up pictures of the food at Koi, I'll share a picture I took of some non-alcoholic Berry Fizz drink that JC at some cafe in one of the hotels.



Then, on Monday we went over to the downtown area and grabbed a lot of souvenir chips for JC's collection. Also, we did some gambling, but overall it was a more relaxing day of recovery. I also have a silly story about getting tricked to tell.

So, we are walking out of the El Cortez and we walk towards the intersection, and we decide to turn around since there were no more hotels in the direction that we were walking. A cop then tells us to halt and tells us that we had been tagged for jaywalking by a police car. We are in disbelief, because we hadn't even set foot on the street let alone jaywalked. The officer then talks on his radio saying that he has secured the suspects, and as we verbalized (loudly) our incredulity, he started laughing and said, "I got you guys." He sure did.

The End.

Halloween in Vegas, Badugi, and Sports Betting Update

The bad news is that I've been incredibly busy at work recently. The good news is that I get to party it up a bit this coming Halloween weekend as JC and I are meeting up with a few friends in Vegas. We'll be dressed up, but there aren't any hard plans regarding where we'll be going. On Sunday, we're going to see Zumanity, the adult-themed Cirque du Soleil show. It's been a long time since I've seen a show in Vegas, and JC has never been to one... so hope it's a good one.

Now, it's time to talk briefly about this poker game called Badugi. PokerStars has it available online for as low as 25 cent/50 cent stakes. I've mostly been playing 0.25/0.50 through $1/2. Anyway, it's a lowball triple draw game where you try to make a badugi, which is a 4 card hand with 4 different suits and 4 different ranks. A 4-Card Badugi will beat any 3-card hand will beat any 2-card hand, etc.

For example, a Jh 5d 3c Ah is a 3-card hand: Ah 3c and 5d play. The Jh won't play since it copies the heart. This would beat someone who held 7d 6c 2s Ac, as they would play Ac 2s 7d for a 7-high 3-card hand. Any badugi, say Kh Qc 8d 7s, would beat both of these 3-card hands.

Well, to make a long story short, I've been semi-hooked on this seemingly simple game. The players at the lowest limits are horrible... at least that's what it seems so far. I don't think I'm simply getting lucky though it's certainly possible given that I haven't put in a ton of hands yet. I am up roughly 120 bets so far... we'll see if this trend continues.

And, a quick update on the sports betting. Basically, I'm very close to break-even after 81 bets. I'm up a whopping $25.20 with an average wager of $17. So, it's not good, but I guess it's not horrible either. Hehe.