Texas Trip Report

Okay, it's time for my Texas trip report. I'm pretty much going to ramble, so don't expect any of what I'm about to say to be in any sort of logical order.

So, I had a lot of fun out there and it really was different. The locals definitely talk with a bit of a Southern accent, and they all seem to have a very strong sense of identity. Seriously, they absolutely LOVE their state (the mantra Don't Mess with Texas definitely comes to mind). I have never seen so many state flags being flown in my life. And, I definitely saw a few locals wearing Texas shirts.

I mean it's sort of borderline ridiculous... there's so much Texas pride. I mean, check this out. Here's a standard can of Bud Light from Texas.


Anyway, I spent most of my time in a few cities outside of Houston, namely Spring, Tomball, and Magnolia. These were all fairly small towns, but it wasn't so bad. There were plenty of normal stores. That's a good thing, because during the trip I had to go to Kohl's in Tomball to pick up some pants. I rushed my packing, and I packed the wrong set of pants to go with my suit jacket.

While I was out there I tried a couple fast food joints that were new to me. First, I had a burger from Sonic Drive-in. It's not really a Texas chain or anything, but I had never been. The closest one to my home is about 40 miles away. I also had a burger from Whataburger, which is a fast food chain that started out in Texas. I liked Whataburger more than I liked Sonic, but I'll take California's In-n-Out over both any day of the week.


I should also mention the weather. It was hot and humid. Most days were in the 90-100 degree range with very high humidity. You'd leave any air conditioned building and you would instantly start sweating. And, the power went out for a few hours at the house I was staying at. It didn't take all that long for the house to heat up to an uncomfortable level. Apparently power outages are a common occurrence out in that particular neighborhood (just outside of Tomball). The power goes out something like once a month. This time it went out because some branch fell off a tree and took down some nearby power lines. Not fun... I don't recommend it.

One thing that caught my attention was the gasoline there. Okay, so it was cheaper out there... the 87 octane was $3.85 (by comparison, the gas station near my place was charging $4.40). But, that's not what caught my eye. Their premium gasoline isn't 91 octane. Instead it's 93. I heard it had to do with some California regulations that required some more fuel additives, which lowers the octane level. Not sure really, but that's what I heard.


I might as well talk a bit about the non-fast food I had while I was out there. So, on the first night, we ate over at a Texas Roadhouse in Conroe. There's actually one location not too far away from me in Union City. I have always enjoyed their food, and this time was no different.

There was a nice rehearsal dinner consisting of some good Texas barbeque over at The County Line in Houston. The meal was mainly meat, but there were a few side dishes (beans, slaw, and potato salad). I also learned that you are typically served pickles and onions along with your meat out there. And, I should make it clear that the food was damn good. I kept on grubbing, and reluctantly stopped when I noticed that no one else was eating any more. In any case, I'd definitely go here again.




The lady and I also had a nice dinner over at a local seafood restaurant called Babin's, which is owned by Landry's. Anyway, the food was New Orleans style, and it was pretty much delicious. We started out with some fried alligator and fries. Then, for the main course I had the Crawfish Étouffée and she had the Chicken Evangeline, of which I only had a small bite.




I better talk about the wedding... after all, it's why I was there in the first place. The wedding took place at the Ashelynn Manor in the town of Magnolia. The chapel was nice, as was the estate. The wedding ceremony was lovely, too. The reception was then held on location at the Carriage House. There were two cakes at the wedding reception. I learned that it was common in the South to have a Groom's cake in addition to the standard wedding cake.



After the wedding and reception was over, a bunch of us (including the bride and groom) went over to this sports bar out in Spring called The Stadium. There was a lot of drinking and a good amount of drunken karaoke fun that night. Lots of wild pictures and videos were captured, but unfortunately, people would kill me if I were to put them up here for all to see. Ha ha.

We also took a drive around one of the more upscale neighborhoods in Tomball. Some of the houses were straight up baller with tons of land. And, what's actually kind of gross was that they cost a tiny fraction of what a similar house would cost out here. There was one absolutely gorgeous house that was up for sale. We checked online later and found the owners were asking only $725K for it. Amazing. It was a magnificent house sitting on 2 acres of land... a whopping 6600 sqft and chock full of upgrades. Man, we seriously get jacked over here.

Here are some animal pictures that I was able to take when I was out there. The deer in the pictures were totally chill. They weren't startled at all, and let me take as many shots as I wanted. And, I had never really seen any Texas longhorns before, so made sure to get one of them.




I've got one more odd thing to mention. I heard through the grapevine that there's this underground casino out in this gas station/convenience store. It is basically a room with a couple slot machines and some gaming tables. What's funny is that the room is marked "Broom Closet -- Keep Closed." I thought that was pretty funny. And, no, I didn't go check it out for myself, but my source is a good one, so I will believe it.

Okay, I've rambled for long enough. So that's it... my Texas trip.

Back in Cali

I'm back in California, and also back at work. I'll put up a short trip report later along with some pictures.

The market sold off a bit while I was away... the Wet Seal (WTSLA) came down a fair bit and sits in the 4.60's. Citigroup (C) also fell quite a bit during my absence. It sits in the 17's now. Fortunately, at least one of my three largest positions went up... Manitowoc (MTW) is now trading around $30 after announcing its estimate beating numbers.

Space City

Well, I am off to Houston for a few days. I've never really been to Texas before, so it'll be interesting to see if there really is that distinct cultural difference that I've heard so much about. Thus far in my life, I've only driven through the state.

The only major event is a wedding to attend, which means I should be able to check out some of what the city's got to offer while I'm out there. Anyway, it's way too early for me. Time to catch my flight... later!

Oh, and before I jet... I did put in a sell order on that Sandisk (SNDK) spread in case I can get a reasonably good price on it while I'm not able to watch the market. Maybe it'll hit, I guess I'll know later.

Quick Update

Well, what started off as a fairly ugly day for the market has now become a much more pleasant one. Anyway, my order to sell some calls on the buy-write portion of General Electric (GE) shares was filled.

Sold Aug $29 GE Calls (GEWHC) at 0.41.

This particular lot of shares now has an effective cost basis of $30.37.

So, Manitowoc (MTW) was initiated at a Buy by Longbow with a $43 price target. I don't have any of the details though. Anyway, despite that and the strong Caterpillar (CAT) earnings report, shares are lower. Boo.

And, Sandisk (SNDK) really tanked hard today, extending losses it had incurred in yesterday's afterhours session. At the present my spread can be cashed out for $2.15. But, I am going to wait a bit to see if I can squeeze more out of it. I don't think I'll hold it until expiration, as chances are I should be able to get very close to full value for it before then.

Quick Update

So, to add some spice in my life, I picked up a bear put spread $15-$17.50 on SanDisk (SNDK) for 0.87.

Sold Aug $15 SWQTC at 0.53.
Bought Aug $17.50 SWQTW at 1.40.

They announce tonight, so I'll find out pretty quickly if this is going to cost me money or make me some. With my luck, I'll probably lose the first time in quite a while that I jump onto the dark side of the trade. Ha ha. It's a really small bet, so it won't hurt me too badly if I'm wrong.

In other news, the Wet Seal has fallen quite a bit today, down about 8%. Haven't seen any specific news, but most other retailers are also falling today, albeit not quite as much. Anyway, nothing for me to worry about. Just wait and see what happens.

I might sell some Citigroup (C) calls at some point to reduce my exposure a little bit. But, I'm not quite ready to do that yet. I will likely sell another round of calls on General Electric (GE) soon though.


*** Edit #1 ***

Well, as gaamblor already mentioned, SNDK missed its numbers (both top and bottom) by a huge margin. I am surprised at the size of the miss, as well. I guess this means that I'll probably be making money off of the spread barring some hidden good news in the conference call that'll start in about half an hour.

Shares traded as low as the mid-15's, and now are hovering in the $16 - $16.50 range.

Iceman Documentary

I just spent a couple hours watching an older HBO documentary on a rather scary contract killer named Richard Kuklinski. This guy is just plain scary. He was known as the 'Iceman' to the authorities after it was learned that he sometimes froze his victims as a means to alter the time of death.

As far as cold-blooded for-profit killing goes, this guy was the best. I found the story to be scary, yet fascinating. It is amazing he was able to keep his family in the dark about all of his activities. At least most of his victims were shady criminal types. Though, there was at least one that was just random.

Anyway, if you're interested in this sort of thing, here are the links:

Iceman Part 1
Iceman Part 2
Iceman Part 3
Iceman Part 4
Iceman Part 5
Iceman Part 6
Iceman Part 7
Iceman Part 8
Iceman Part 9
Iceman Part 10
Iceman Part 11
Iceman Part 12

Quick Update

Today was a good day for me despite the Nasdaq selling off some following the poor Microsoft and Google earnings reports.

First, Citigroup (C) didn't do as poorly as Wall Street expected, and so the stock jumped a bit. Now, I'm down less than 15% on that position, which is a f-ton better than being down nearly 40%.

Mattel (MAT) came in with better than expected top and bottom line numbers. Plus, they won the first battle in the lawsuit against MGA Entertainment. Those of you with young daughters might be familiar with the Bratz line of dolls. That line is the strongest direct competitor to Mattel's Barbie.

And, the Wet Seal (WTSLA) didn't give back too much of its recent gains. Its share price did reach my the range in which I intend to sell a piece of my position, but I haven't yet pulled the trigger. Hopefully, I will get an opportunity soon.

General Electric (GE) shares closed at $28 flat, which hit the strike price of the covered calls on the dot. Even with the new one penny automatic exercise rule, my shares should not be called away. I'll probably sell another round of calls next week. We'll see.

Wacky Converse Sites

Okay, this is so weird and wacky to me... Converse has a series of odd sites. Start here, and you can go left or right through some pretty random sites. They range from totally ridiculous to somewhat interesting. I have no idea what the point is, but I thought it was nice to share.

*** Edit #1 ***

Just to be clear, you can click on the left and right arrows to traverse through a bunch of really random (wacky, imo) sites. Don't ask me what it's all about... it's just totally weird to me.

Market Update

Finally, we get a good day in the markets with a huge surge in the financials after the Wells Fargo (WFC) numbers came out. Despite today's big move, a lot of positions are still hurting. I think we'll get a better idea of whether or not this is the start of a real rally or just another false alarm when Citigroup (C) reports its numbers this Friday.

I'm still very long Manitowoc (MTW) and Glatfelter (GLT); both are underwater at the moment. And, I guess we'll see how General Electric (GE) closes this week. If shares stay below my $28 strike price, I will probably sell another round of calls for the next month.

The super-performer of the portfolio, Wet Seal (WTSLA), touched 5.25 earlier today. I have been telling myself that I'd unload another chunk in the 5.50-6.00 range. We're definitely getting close to that range now. So, maybe I will need to start thinking about whether or not I want to add to existing positions, or if there are some other companies out there that I want to start positions in.

A friend of mine thinks Wellpoint (WLP) is entering value territory. Almost all of the healthcare companies got clobbered on the passage of that Medicare bill recently. Anyway, I am a bit hesitant to throw money at that sector. But, I'll probably keep that company along with a couple others (Aetna (AET), Coventry Health (CVH)) on the close watch.

Three Flavors of Corn

I learned a couple new words over the weekend, and I thought I'd share. I now present to you the three corns: Unicorn, Bicorn, and Tricorn.

Time Travel Game

This game is pretty cool... definitely thought-provoking. You basically control this spaceman and you use your past actions to help you in the current time, by making use of a time travel machine. Just like in Back to the Future, the characters could see themselves perform actions of the past, you do the same in this game. But, be careful of paradoxes (I think they start becoming a problem around Level 6 or so).

Anyway, check it out: Chronotron

*** Edit #1 ***

OK, stuck on Level 16 for now. Time to take a break.

Chess Position

It's been a while since I have made any post about chess. The weekly games with Jim stopped working out, and we've tried to get back to it, but so far it hasn't happened. I really want to start again, because he's taken the last 4 games from me.

Anyway, I still play a fair bit on RedHotPawn. I played a game recently that wasn't really all that interesting, except for the following position to think about. So, here's we are in the game after 10 moves. I'm White, and my opponent is a good 200 rating points below me on that site (~1325).


What's my best move?

Camouflaged Revisions and an Update

Same store sales figures were released today, and the Wet Seal (WTSLA) continues to do fine. It basically came in with in-line numbers (-2.9% vs -3.0% estimate). The Wet Seal division came in at -0.8%, and the laggard Arden B division came in at -10.7%.

There was a positive release today from the company. However, you wouldn't know it if you only read the headline reported by AP... Wet Seal lowers 2nd-quarter profit forecast.

So, it turns out there was a non-cash interest related charge due to investors converting debt in the form of notes into shares. I can't say I really understand all the nitty-gritty accounting details, but what I do know is that based on what was said in the actual press release, the company effectively boosted their earnings estimates. Excluding this extraneous interest charge, previous estimates were in the 0.08-0.10 EPS range, and now they have been upped to a range of 0.09-0.11. Analysts had a consensus of 0.09.

As a result of this, the Seal moves up higher. It traded above $5 for a good part of the day, closing at 4.98. Today's move is a really nice one considering almost all teen retailers saw their shares fall today... check out ANF, ARO, HOTT, etc.

And, for the quick update. I sold General Electric (GE) July $28 calls (GEWGB) for 0.67 covering the shares that I had added for the recent (losing) buy-write trade. The cost-basis of that lot of shares is $31.45, so that takes us down to $30.78. The company announces earnings tomorrow morning, and since I already hold a decent sized position, I figured I'd reduce my risk just a tad.

Flobots

A couple of months ago, a friend of mine let me listen to this one song that I thought was pretty catchy. I didn't think much more of it until I heard it again recently, and I decided I really liked it. The song is Handlebars by the Flobots.

Here's a YouTube video for your entertainment. And, before anyone judges me based on the band's political views, I wanted to say, I don't care all that much about it... I just like the music.

Mutiny, Cookies, Dinos, and More

As I mentioned previously, I was sick over a good part of the holiday weekend... many miles away from home down in LA. Still, despite my less than prime condition, I had fun and managed to do a few things other than relax and sleep.

I baked some cookies from scratch for the first time in my life. Turns out it's really not that hard to make cookies. It makes me wonder why there's such a thing being sold at grocery stores as cookie-making mix. In the spirit of our country's independence, I created a George Washington cookie. It may not look like much, but I assure you, it is indeed our country's first president.


I also made some progress on my Academy Award Winner Quest. I watched the 1935 Oscar winner, Mutiny on the Bounty, starring Clark Gable. The movie was good and did a decent job developing the characters. Long ago, when I was pretty much still a kid, I had read a book about the Bounty. But, for some reason, I never realized it was a true story.

I also got to grub on some Risotto with Peas and Squash, as well as a tasty apple crêpe. I did have some Potato and Leek soup too, but I forgot to take pics.



After I felt a bit better, I took a long walk and ran into a scary carnivorous dinosaur. Lucky for me, I was able to blind him with my flash and escape unscathed.


Talk about a big scare. Anyway, that's it.

Quick Update

Well, I'm back in the Bay Area again. I was pretty sick for a couple days over the long weekend, but I'm back to being OK now. Can't say the same for the markets, hah.

Anyway, I put in my final buy on Manitowoc (MTW) at $27 even earlier today, taking my cost basis down to the 32.70's. That's the last money I'm putting into it... let the chips fall where they may. In any case, I'm down significantly on that position thus far, and I know I'm making a good-sized bet here, but looking into the company more, I have to agree with those analysts that say that the sell-off is over done.

I guess, as always, time will tell me if this was a boneheaded decision or not.

Neon Game

So, I started playing this game called Neon Layers. Starts off pretty easy, but it seems to get hard pretty quickly. I'm on Level 15 right now, and I think it's time for me to take a break from it. Okay, so I was going to embed the game here, but it's too wide for my page. So, here's a link: Neon Layers.

*** Edit #1 ***

OK, taking a break now... got to Level 19. I better stop. I feel the OCD in me ready to jump out.

*** Edit #2 ***

OK, I guess gaamblor beat me to it, but I just finished the game. I guess it wasn't quite as tough as I thought (like that Spin the Black Circle game). But, it still wasn't super easy... took a lot of attempts on the last level.

Quick Update

Market's been sucking as all of you know. Manitowoc (MTW) outbid Illinois Toolworks (ITW) for Enodis, and as a result it has taken an additional hit. I do think they overpaid, but I can't say that I really know that for sure. I am not sure I completely believe management as to how quickly that acquisition will add to earnings, but I do believe that it was a purchase that strengthens the company over the long-term. And, since I'm in it for the long-term, and I had some money to put to work, I've averaged down on the position. My cost basis is now in the mid-35's.

Vegas

I'm still dead tired, and I'm just about to head in to the office. Surprisingly, I played zero poker over the weekend. Two of my friends played in the $1500 NL WSOP Event (the one that Gaamblor took 5th in... good job, btw). One of them busted out early running into Aces twice (his bustout hand was QQ vs AA). The other one suffered a bad beat with about a hundred or so players to the money (2700 players to start down to about 400, and 270 spots paid). He had an average stack and re-raised all-in with KK. He was called by a slightly bigger stack's AK, and he lost. Gross, but that's poker.

I lost a chunk playing Texas Hold'em Bonus... ya, ya, it's -EV, but the house edge isn't gigantic. All in all it was a fun trip. Barber and I ended up in a really nice room at the Wynn with a view and all. Unfortunately, there was only one King bed since they ran out of the Queen rooms, and so they rolled in another bed for him. Managed to make it out to the pool for a change as well.

Anyway, here are some pictures from the weekend with plenty of food, as you can imagine. Five of us went to dinner at Alizé atop the Palms for a 7-course meal.

Corner Room at the Wynn

Golf Course View

Wynn Pool

Lump Crab Stuffed Piquillo Pepper

Spinach and Black Truffle Salad
and Duck Confit Topped with Quail Egg

Pan Seared Foie Gras

Dover Sole

Palate Cleanser - Passion Fruit Sorbet

Veal Medallions
with Sweetbread in Fondue and Country Ham

Three Cheeses - Manchego, Blue, and Gouda

Dessert Trio - Banana Cream and Cake,
Black Cherry Cheesecake, and Chocolate Bar

Free Wet Seal Tank Top

Of all my stocks that are getting pummeled recently in this crappy market, Wet Seal (WTSLA) has been doing alright. They recently had some deal going on with some young teen music duo called Prima J. Anyway, the company is giving away free tank tops sporting the newly coined term, "Chilosa." While I won't have any use for this, I thought that maybe some of you might (for your kids).

Here's the link to the online coupon: Free Chilosa Tank Top from Wet Seal.

Taking My Lumps

Sold off the American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) trading position for a 12% loss. I was wrong, and so that's that.

Anyway, off to Vegas today. Time to forget about the brutal week I've had in the markets and do some relaxing... and pokering.

Quick Update

Market's been brutal lately, but today's slightly positive for me. Today's move hardly helps, but I guess every little bit counts. Picked up a block of American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) at 16.01. As much as retailers are hurting, I don't quite believe that AEO should be trading where it is trading, especially when considered relative to its peers. Anyway, this is a medium-sized position, and I will play it by ear. If it moves quickly against me, I am ready to take my losses.

Bomomo: Abstract Art Maker

My friend sent me this link to an online tool to create abstract art called Bomomo. I played with it a bit, and I created a few pieces. Only one of them was to my liking. I also performed some color adjustment, and I think it worked out well.

Here is the original version followed by the final one after I tweaked the colors a bit. It's pretty cool how the colors dramatically change how the piece is perceived.



And, here's the same image after running it through an edge detector. Pretty cool looking.

The Godfather

Every now and then I mention how I hang out with the Godfather. Most of you have no idea who he is, and that's not a good thing. I'm correcting that by putting up a picture of him. Don't cross him. You just might wake up next to a horse's head.

Quick Update

Sold all of the remaining Wynn Resorts (WYNN) at 88.35. This batch of shares resulted in a small profit of $1.05 (including the premiums for the covered calls sold). I guess small profit is better than any loss.

Vitus and the Weekend

Over the weekend, I had a pretty busy time. While I mostly hung out with JC, there was a little bit of everything. First, there was a failed attempt to get Mexican food... so, we settled for In 'n Out. Then, there was a quick shopping trip to pick up some stuff for the birthday dinner event, which went fairly well. Finally, yesterday, my cousin (another JC) and her friend and Barber went to play some bocce ball. Our team started off really strong, then we almost lost the game, but we were able to pull through.

Mixed in there some was also a fair bit of running, which I'm getting a bit better at doing. We mostly ran late at night, so there were some random wild animals to be seen. There was a deer (which, I missed), a screech(?) owl, and also an opossum. Screech owls are pretty loud... at first I didn't know what the heck was making the sounds, but then the owl flew out.

Anyway, we also caught a movie on cable called Vitus. It's basically about a super genius kid that is an incredible pianist. His parents really push him to be great, and as you can imagine, this leads to some complications. In any case, the story is decent with a few unexpected paths. I can't say that most of the twists aren't predictable, but in the end, it was still an entertaining movie and one that I would recommend for most people.

TGIF

Today sucked. The market went down huge, and I basically had 100% of my positions in the red. I really should learn to short more, but I try not to trade too much, and I generally don't short for the longer-term. Maybe I need to rethink that at some point.

Anyway, at least the weekend is here... some peeps are coming in this weekend. There's a birthday party celebration thing for my uncle tomorrow night, so there should be some good seafood to be had.

And, all options sold expire worthless today, which is only a very minor consolation given how badly beaten up various positions have gotten since the covered calls were sold. The plan is to get rid of Wynn early next week... with some luck, I should be able to get out above my effective cost basis of 87.30. The GE position I picked up for the buy-write trade I am likely going to keep, which adds more shares to my existing GE position. Too bad for me, since GE has taken a serious pummeling over the last few months.

Glad that it's Friday. I need to chill a bit. I didn't quite get my fill of relaxation in Tahoe last weekend.

Okay, time to wrap up here at work and then head to the airport. Have a nice weekend, and if you got hurt today, then I hope that you subscribe to the 'misery loves company' school of thought.

Quick Update

Added to Glatfelter (GLT) today at 14.50. The position is fairly large now after quite a few purchases starting in March 2007. The cost basis of the shares now sits in the low 14's.

--- Edit #1 ---

The market was down today, and most holdings fell... no biggie, that's just the way things work usually. But, one thing was a bit odd with Wet Seal (WTSLA) today. It was trading lower for pretty much all of the last half of the trading session, when in the last 5 minutes of trading, it spiked higher on decent volume.

I consolidated some Time and Sales data, so here it is:

Time - Volume Weighted Price - Volume
3:56-3:57PM - $4.819 - 5000
3:57-3:58PM - $4.831 - 800
3:58-3:59PM - $4.883 - 78103
3:59-4:00PM - $4.908 - 46460
4:00-4:01PM - $4.962 - 113413

No idea if it matters much, but I suppose it's better to see a last minute spike up than a last minute sell-off. I guess we'll see what happens tomorrow.

Quick Update

Yes, I'm a market addict. I'm back on the top of this hill accessing the internet near the registration office.

Anyway, I just sold June $95 Calls (UWYFS) on Wynn Resorts (WYNN) for $0.90 apiece, which is covered by the entire remaining trading position. This brings the cost basis on the remaining shares down to $87.30.

Well, that's enough of the market for this morning... time to go to the lake. The plan for the morning is to rent one of those SeaDoo personal watercrafts and just have some fun. Later, everyone.

Lake Tahoe

So, here I am sitting high up on some mountain accessing the free wi-fi up here in South Lake Tahoe. Went on a pretty nice hike earlier in the day... went out to Fallen Leaf Lake and Lily Lake. These lakes don't touch Lake Tahoe, but they're connected by streams of some sort, I think. I've been to Tahoe plenty of times, but this was the first time I'd ever gone out this way.

Here are a few pictures I took while I was out there hiking around.

This one is of Lily Lake. It was really serene, and there weren't many people out there. Definitely a nice isolated spot.


Here's a random shot near Fallen Leaf Lake.


And, here's some waterfall nearby.


Good thing I didn't get attacked by wild animals... here's a coyote.


I might go play some cards tomorrow. I lost a chunk of change last night playing some -EV games (Blackjack and Pai Gow poker). Okay, it's getting scary up here. I'm outta here.

Quick Update

Sold half Wynn Resorts (WYNN) at $91.20 for a $3 gain... not too large percentage-wise, but in absolute terms it was decent. The position was a bit large, so I figured I had better lighten up. As for the rest of the shares, I might sell calls on them at some point, but for now I'm just going to hang on for the ride.

Defending My Word Cubes Crown

I'm going to toot my own horn here... I just got notification confirming me as the official winner of the June '08 Word Cubes tournament. Top prize was a tidy $789, which should cover the expenses of my upcoming Vegas trip.

The game at the bar is played on one of those touch screen kiosk machines, so it helps to have quick hands as well as the ability to use both of them. And, while I've never found an exact version (with same scoring rules and bonuses), here's an online version of the basic game.

Happy Friday the 13th!

Quick Update

Market tanked pretty hard yesterday, and as expected, most of my positions were clobbered. The Wynn Resorts (WYNN) trading position actually held up amidst the market sell-off, and closed up for the day.

Today, the market started off really strong, but then the rally fizzled. Fortunately, it was still a very good day for me. My portfolio gets a huge boost whenever Wet Seal (WTSLA), the largest holding, moves up a significant amount. I'm still waiting for mid-$5's to $6 before I sell off another chunk of that one.

Anyway, on a different note, I don't put very much weight on insider selling, but I believe that insider buying is worth keeping an eye on. Today, I noticed that a new SEC filing for Wynn regarding insider buying was posted up. It looks like one of Wynn's directors, Alvin Shoemaker, picked up a thousand shares at $88.68 yesterday. I hope this bodes well for the near-term, because this is a substantial trading position for me, as I've already stated in my original posting.

Catching Falling Knives -- A Trade

Picked up a piece of Wynn Resorts (WYNN) at 88.20. This is purely a trade. I don't intend to hold this for that long. I'll likely be out of it before the end of this month. Let me say that I really don't follow technicals much, because I'm sure that all the technician types out there think I'm a nut trying to buy a stock that is in a bit of a free fall. Shares have fallen 20% in less than a month.

I can't call the stock cheap, but I also don't quite believe that size of a haircut is justified based on a decrease in activity due to fuel and economy problems or on new fears related to the increases in their Macau operation costs due to larger junket commissions. Maybe there are other factors, but based on watching this stock in the recent months, it seems that these two factors are responsible for the most recent leg down.

It's a big enough piece that I will have to be careful and keep a watchful eye. Anyway, I guess that's all for now.

Weekend in LA

I was down in LA over the weekend... I mostly kicked it with the JC and my sister, but I also got a chance to meet up with Duke, and some other peeps, including the Godfather.

Anyway, on Saturday morning, a bunch of us went to the Royal/T in Culver City. It's an art place that recently opened up a cafe. The cafe is inspired by the maid cafes in Japan, but apparently it's not anything close to the real thing. Maid cafes of Japan cater mostly to the anime geek subculture and also other fetishists, and they really pamper you. At this place, it was mostly bubbly personality waitresses dressed up in maid outfits.

The food was nothing to really write home about, but I heard the teas were excellent. I had a small taste, and I would have to agree. Anyway, there was a lot of interesting art, including quite a few Louis Vuitton art pieces by Takashi Murakami. After reading a bit about him, I have to say that his art definitely fits the venue.

Here's a pic of some of the art that was there.


The next night, JC and I went to Shiro in South Pasadena. They are famous for their signature dish, which is a whole sizzling catfish served in ponzu sauce and cilantro. Before I get to the food pics, let me just say that the service was excellent, and the ambience was nice.

We started with a shared appetizer, the Chinese Ravioli Stuffed with Shrimp in a Shiitake Mushroom Sauce. This dish was absolutely delicious. It was so rich and so creamy. It was just warm goodness all over. If I could eat this as a main course, I totally would. It was really that good... makes me hungry just thinking about it.


JC had New Zealand Lamb Chops with Mint and Garlic. I had a small taste, and I have to say it was very good. Nothing extraordinary, but it was definitely well prepared and tasted great.


I am not usually a catfish fan, but I figure it would be a shame if I didn't go for their signature dish. So, I ordered up the extra large catfish. It was excellent. The sauce and the cilantro went very well together, and the ginger that they stuffed between the meat really added to the flavor. I can understand why people rave about it, because I don't think I've ever had catfish that tasted this good before. It was also a good amount of food, so I definitely left there feeling quite full.


And, finally, here's the restaurant's popular dessert. It is a sweet dessert made of wonton skins and yuzu custard, topped with poached pears and also included some fresh berries. It was a bit sweet for me, but anyone that loves sweet desserts is sure to love it. I liked it, but I can't say it's my favorite, but I am the wrong person to ask about it, since it's just not the type of dessert I prefer.

Anyway, here's the final photo.


So, Sunday rolls around, and a few of us went to the Baja Cantina for some drinks. That place is always packed when we drive by it, and none of us had ever been there. It was pretty chill, and the margaritas were tasty. Other than that, it was just a pretty normal place to have a drink not too far from the beach.

And, then... the weekend ended.

MMA for Bugs

If you like Mixed Martial Arts, you might also be interested in the arthropod equivalent. I am now presenting to you the coolest set of MMA videos ever... Japanese Bug Fighting!

Some of the coolest matches involve some really nasty looking centipedes. Anyway, here's one of a mantis fighting a spider.

Quick Update

Market is selling off pretty good today. Last couple of days were awesome for the Wet Seal (WTSLA) with shares closing at $5 yesterday, but it's selling off a fair bit today along with the entire market. Today, Credit Suisse reiterated their Outperform rating and increased their target price to $6.

A snippet from their report:

With Wet Seal’s recent top line momentum in this challenging retail environment, we have further confidence that the co. has earnings upside driven by expense initiatives and easy sales and gross margin comparisons (especially in 2H08). Trading at 10x our F09E (and even less when considering the $1-$2/share in cash/NOL), the stock is attractively valued.

Also, I realized I neglected to mention this, but not long ago, I averaged down on Citigroup (C) and my updated cost basis is 22.60. I am not looking to add any more to that one. I'm willing to hold it for a while. Today's not so good though, as now it's trading in the 20.30's.

--- Edit #1 ---

The pain is over... for now. What a sick sell-off. Not cool when oil spikes like it did, and the jobs data hurts instead of helps. Brutal day for me. The Seal gave back most of its gains from the last two sessions. At least it's up for the week, moving from 4.48 to 4.65.

All but one of my holdings was red today. Talk about swimming in a sea of blood. The one bright spot was Manitowoc (MTW), which managed to go up by about two-thirds of a percent.

Anyway, not a good way to end the week, but it is what it is. Have a nice weekend.

--- Edit #2 ---

If I'm going to give an update, I might as well update on everything.

Stifel Nicolaus started Mattel (MAT) at a Buy and Hasbro (HAS) at a Hold.

They say that the toy industry, while mature, is profitable with generally favorable underlying trends, including modest pricing leverage, share gains, improving demographics in the U.S., as well as opportunities in emerging markets. The research note mentions that these should lend support to low to mid single digit revenue growth for industry participants. Specifically to Mattel, the analyst says that the company is well-positioned to benefit from in the preschool category over the longer term and that its profit margins are expected to rebound going forward. They also mention the company’s operating leverage being significant.

The board at General Electric (GE) authorized the quarterly dividend today. The ex-dividend date is June 19, which is two days prior to the options expiration. Given how much GE has fallen since we entered our buy-write position, the dividend date doesn't really play much of a role any more. Anyway, I'm out of here (for real this time).

Guess I Should Cash Out

The Guess? (GES) earnings roulette trade I made has paid off handsomely. Got in at 37.98 with less than 15 minutes before the market closed yesterday, and just now I exited at 42.67 for a lovely 12.3% gain. Even for a small position, that's a good chunk of change. Yay!

It looks as though the large short interest was causing a bit of a squeeze in the stock. So, I probably could have put in a trailing stop of some sort for even more gains, as now the shares are up above $43. But, I'm not that greedy. So I took profits while the taking was good.

And, at least for now, the Wet Seal (WTSLA) is moving higher for an added portfolio bonus. Anyway, have a great day!

--- Edit #1 ---

Well, the day got real good with the Seal closing at the high of the day... $4.77. This is a real nice surprise given that teen retailers are generally lower today. And, the broader market (S&P 500) is flat. Gotta love it.

The only real stinker for me today was Citigroup (C). Might need to throw in the towel on at some point, but I remain hopeful that this financial sector trouble will pass.

Earnings Roulette

Pretty steep mid-day sell off in the market today. Too bad I didn't hold onto any Lehman (LEH) shorts. I only fooled around a little with small shorts over the past few trading days, but didn't make a killing or anything.

Anyway, since I'm in the gambling mood...

Picked up a small piece (tiny, actually) of Guess? (GES) at 37.98 ahead of today's earnings announcement. I believe there's a fair chance that it will move higher just based on the current pessimistic view. I would think that even a neutral report would push it higher, but I obviously don't feel that strongly about this hence the size of the trade.

Current estimates are for $0.46 on revs of $451.6MM in Q1, and $0.47 on $456.3MM revs in Q2.

If this turns out to be a J. Crew (JCG) earnings call, then I lose... simple as that.

--- Edit #1 ---

Looks like GES came in well ahead of the Q1 estimates. $0.51 EPS on $465.7MM. Also, it seems that their guidance is in line for Q2.

Shares are trading above $40 now. So, barring a disaster on the actual call, looks like I'll be getting out of this one for a small, but decent, gain.

Binaural Recording

Okay, this is just freaking cool. You need headphones, and don't worry it's not some weird prank thing with loud noise to scare you. This is a special type of recording method called binaural recording that apparently dates back to the late 1800's.

Anyway, turn up your sound a little bit and put on headphones. Close your eyes when you listen to the recording. It really is amazing.

The algorithm used for this particular recording is called Cetera.

Here's the audio in YouTube video format. Remember, close your eyes and use headphones.


And, here's one that tries to demonstrate the difference between stereo and binaural.

Patrick McGovern

So, before today, I didn't really know much about Patrick McGovern. He's not a household name despite being one of the richest people in the world. He is the founder of International Data Group, and he seems like a fascinating character in addition to being a straight up badass.

Anyway, I read the transcript of interview with him from August 2000. I thought it was interesting, so I figured I'd share: PATRICK J. MCGOVERN ORAL HISTORY.

Wet Seal On The Move

Shares exploded higher today in Wet Seal (WTSLA) after coming out with a strong earnings report and a solid call. Despite their mixed guidance (guided higher on earnings, and slightly light on revenues), shares are up 13.5% to 4.85 after hitting an intraday high of 5.12 earlier on very heavy trading (over 7MM shares, and it's not even 10am here).

Some analyst activity today following yesterday's announcement... JP Morgan upgraded the company from Neutral to Overweight, Brean Murray reiterated their buy rating and also upped their price target to $6 while continuing to aggressively recommend the stock, and Roth Capital also reiterated their buy rating.

I was so busy yesterday that I didn't have the chance to write up my thoughts on the earnings call, and now it's time for me to get to work. Have an awesome day everyone!

Go Seal Go!

--- Edit #1 ---

The Seal couldn't hold on to most of its gains... closed end of day up 4.7% at 4.48. I'm not complaining, but sure would have been sweet to sell off a chunk at $5 and buy back in for a 10% discount. Hindsight's 20/20, so I can't kick myself. Still looking for a nice longer-term move in the stock. Nearly 9.5MM shares traded today. That's just HUGE for this stock... roughly 10% of the shares outstanding.

I should also note that Roth Capital reiteration also came with a price target increase to $6 a share.

Anyway, nice to end the week on such a nice note. Have a good one, everybody.

Upcoming Wet Seal Earnings

Wet Seal (WTSLA) is going to release its earnings numbers tomorrow afternoon. Not sure why this time around the call is happening after the bell, because they have typically done it before the market open. In any case, I'm not too worried about the quarter's numbers given that the company pre-announced just a few weeks ago better than expected earnings (estimating 0.07-0.08 EPS on roughly $142MM in revenue).

I am very interested to hear what the management team has to say about their Arden B division. The new look for Arden B is highly anticipated, and the full rollout should be happening soon... next week, I believe. It's nice to know that the flagship Wet Seal stores are doing just fine, if not great. Only recently has the company broken down their numbers for its two divisions separately. Today's stock price move was very much welcome by me, but as always, anything can happen during an earnings call.

Much of today's stock move was probably driven by analyst comments. Brean Murray came out saying that it believed that the company was making material progress with its business model. Based on their research note, they continue to believe that material upside opportunities remain the Wet Seal management further improves the business model and drives solid returns. And, while they expect to see some costs incurred due to the clearing out of unpopular merchandise at Arden B, they are expecting a strong showing by the Wet Seal division. They sum it up saying that they believe that the cash balances will remain healthy, and they continue to find attractive the risk/reward of WTSLA shares.

I also heard that Merriman Curhan Ford came out with a reiteration of their Buy rating, but I am unsure of the reliability of the source.

Anyway, that's all for now. But, I will leave you with this outfit that can be yours for only $79.99.

Recap of Recent Weeks

I said in a previous post that I was down in LA not long ago... anyway, while down there we got to hang out with my buddy, Jorge, and his wife in Dana Point. We started off with some drinks at their place, then headed over to this wine and cheese bar called Purple Feet. Though I'm not too big on wine and don't know much about it or cheeses, it was hard to really appreciate the finer details of the evening. But, I must say that I was able to pick out which wines and which cheeses I enjoyed the most. And, I guess that's what really counts.

After our wine experience, we hit up a normal bar and had some more drinks and some feed before heading back to their place. We all had a nice night out, and it was really good to see them again. We talk all the time, but we rarely find the time to meet up. The next time I'm down in SoCal, I'm going to have to call up the GZA, since I'm way overdue to see him... and, I still haven't seen his baby daughter.

Okay, so this past weekend, my sister and Duke showed up along with my special guest, and we mostly didn't do anything but lounge around. We did get to play a lot of Rockband, and I still suck at it royally. I did pick up a new style of playing the guitar, because the normal style started causing my arms and fingers to cramp up. So, now I play the instrument as if it were a steel guitar. And, to think that I thought I had invented the new style of playing... I had dubbed it my 'piano' style. Ha ha.

In continuing my Best Picture Quest, I watched An American In Paris (1951 winner) tonight. It's a movie built around Gershwin's piece with the same name. I was entertained, and I felt the movie was lively. I suppose that it's considered a musical, but there wasn't a whole lot of singing in it. I mean there was definitely singing in it, but if dance-ical were a word, then that'd be a much better category.

There was a whole lot of dancing, and Gene Kelly, who played the lead role, is one hell of a dancer. That guy's got some serious skills, and he's very charismatic. I would think that he would definitely be the Brad Pitt of his generation. Anyway, if you enjoy musicals, I think you'd probably find the movie enjoyable. The plot is really quite simple, so it's a good one to watch if you're a bit tired and want to occupy yourself for a couple of hours.

I guess that's it for now, but before I end this... several people have been warning me about Lehman Brothers (LEH), and a couple have recommended it as a potential short (especially, if it rallies from here). Not sure if I will act on their recommendations or not, but it is now on my list of potential trades. Just figured I'd throw that out there for anyone who wants to do their own research on the situation.

Rock Band and License Plate Game

You all read before about how much I suck at Guitar Hero. So, it comes as no surprise that I also suck at Rock Band. I think I am best at the singing and worst at the drums. And, for anyone that has ever seen me do karaoke, you have a pretty good idea of how bad I am at this game. I guess I simply have no rhythm. I should stick to word games.

Now, speaking of word games, here's a game I invented long ago to help pass the time on long drives. It's really quite simple, and I think it's pretty fun. You can also come up with various ways to score.

First, the game only works with license plates with 3 letters in a row. For you California folks, this is easy to find... since all the auto plates have the format #LLL###. Okay, so here's what you want to do. You want to find a word that contains those 3 letters in that order (but, they need not be consecutive). As you would expect, some patterns are really easy, others are really tough, and some are just impossible.

If we have a plate that read 1AFG123, then we're looking for AFG in that order, but not necessarily consecutive. One legitimate answer would be crAFtinG. Now, you can just play this for speed against friends, where the first person that produces a legitimate word wins the point. Or, you can play the more advanced and more challenging version where the goal is to get the shortest valid word. Everyone gets a chance to improve upon the current word and it's not turn-based... it's a free for all. If you can improve upon the best, then you just blurt it out to stake your claim.

Like, say we have a few players in the game. I could start with say deAFeninG (9 letters). I could then blurt out an improvement... crAFting (8 letters). Another player can then shout out rAFtinG (7 letters), and someone else could come back with AFGhan (6 letters). If no one else can't find one shorter, then whoever said it wins that point.

Of course, you should alter the rules where you see fit. One good rule is that if the 3 letters form a word already, then it's pointless and shouldn't be used. There are lots of ways to tweak the game to make it more enjoyable.

Anyway, if you like words, give this game a try some time.

West Is Best Screw The Rest aka WIBSTR

I was down in LA over the weekend... more on that in a future post.

Anyway, while I was down there, Day 2 of the College Jeopardy Finals was aired. A young kid from Harvey Mudd College named Andrew Chung had made it to the finals. (Congratulations!)

By the time they got to the very last question, I guess he had drawn a blank and was resigned to the fact that he would be coming in third place, so instead of giving a real answer (err, question), he submitted a shout-out to HMC's West Dorm. For the curious, here's a link to HMC dorm descriptions.


All I can say is... that's just awesome.

Even more awesome than this Mudder's 15 seconds of fame.

GE Buy-Write Trade

I followed CoryBear into this one. I opted for a slightly different trade, only because GE fell to $32 today.

My Buy-Write trade on General Electric (GE) just executed. I put in a limit at 31.45, and it just hit.

Bought GE at $32.01.
Sold GE June 32.50 Calls (GEFZ) at $0.56.

First, let me say that I think it's worth buying GE below $32. That said, let's get to some of the details. So, ignoring commissions, each 100 shares costs us $3145. The hope is to get called away at 32.50 next month. I do not believe the ex-div will be prior to the June expiration, unfortunately.

If called away, we sell 100 shares for $3250. That represents $105 gain on $3145, which is a tidy 3.34% for 5 weeks. This is roughly 40.7% annualized return.

If not called away, then I basically bought more GE at a cost basis of $31.45, which I feel is a fine price. If we aren't called away, and the price of GE hasn't dropped significantly, then we can go ahead and sell the July calls at a similar strike and price to further reduce our cost basis, and ultimately provide a nice return when shares are finally called away.

The worst thing that can happen is a GE crash, but if it did, I am more than willing to hold on to the GE shares, as I feel the price I'm getting them for ($31.45) is more than satisfactory.

That's all for now. Enjoy the weekend!

Quick Update

Sold Manitowoc (MTW) May 40 Puts (MTWQH) at 0.35. Equal number of shares to cover my current position. If put to me, then I will have doubled my position, but if that happens, I will be looking to sell the new shares. I'm already full in MTW. Otherwise, it doesn't hurt too much to pocket 0.8% in a day (actually quite a bit more than that due to actual margin requirements being a lot lower).

Today's a good day... two main movers for the portfolio are:

Wet Seal (WTSLA) now up to 4.13. Go Seal Go!
EMC up a nice 6.3% today to 17.75.

I thought a bit more about Citigroup (C), and I think that at the very least I'll at least hold a piece of my current shares for longer. But, if any opportunity arises for me to exit partially, I would probably take it. Anyway, I guess this means I'll add C to my official list.

Quick Update

Sold the Apple (AAPL) bull call spread for $9.95, just a nickel less than the max value. The May 160's (APVEL) sold for 29.90 and the May 170's (APVEN) were bought at 19.95. Excluding transaction costs, this was good for a 140% gain. Guess it's time to finally buy that damn LCD HD I've been talking about for who knows how long.

And, of course, I can't neglect mentioning my current obsession... The Wet Seal (WTSLA) is up nicely today, but it is running into what looks like a barrier at $4 barrier today. Let's see if it can get past that magic number so I can sell off a piece.

--- Edit #1 ---

Something might also be going on with Mattel (MAT). The stock is up solidly in a down market on no apparent news, and Briefing is reporting that its May 20 calls are seeing interest with 1350 contracts trading compared to an open interest of 2060.

--- Edit #2 ---

The mf'ing Seal did manage to break past the $4 mark, and so I sold 20% of my WTSLA at 4.07. Holding the remaining 80% with no current plans on further selling. The remaining shares still represents a really large position for me, so don't think that I've lost any confidence in this beast.

--- Edit #3 ---

Got some of the details from the Brean Murray report, which was likely the reason for today's 6% move in shares of Wet Seal (WTSLA).

Brean Murray mentions a scheduled full-rollout of the new Arden B, which offers a more balanced selection of clothing as compared to its previous 'all or nothing' approach. They say that the Wet Seal management remains highly encouraged by the new looks, and believes the chain will eventually return to profitability. Brean Murray also believes that Arden B will either show real progress or be closed down. They believe (as do I) that either of these alternatives would be seen as a positive.

Wet Seal earnings are scheduled in a couple more weeks on May 29. We should hear a lot more about what's going on then. For now, let's enjoy our gains.

Santa Clara Traffic Cams

I had no idea that there were so many traffic cameras in Santa Clara County providing live streaming video.

Check this out... you can access each camera individually and pull up a live stream. Santa Clara Traffic Cams.

Here's a direct link to one of the live streams. This is a camera that is showing the Montague Expressway and Great Mall Pkwy/Capitol Ave intersection in Milpitas. Anyone from around these parts knows this spot. But, did anyone know that you're on camera when you're there?

---- Edit #1 ----

More traffic camera fun... here's a live stream (updated every 2 seconds) of the Las Vegas Blvd / Flamingo intersection in Vegas. (Bah... you have to click the image, which takes you to the main web site to view it. Still pretty cool though.)

Poker Bots

I don't play very much online poker these days. Games are generally many times tougher than they used to be, and I guess I just don't have quite as much time as I used to have. Anyway, a friend of mine sent this my way, and I thought that it might be an interesting read for those who do (or did) play online.

How I Built a Working Poker Bot

Quick Update

Grabbed a piece of Citigroup (C) at 23.69 today. While I might want to hold this longer-term, there's still a fair bit of uncertainty so I'll keep it off of my long-term portfolio list for the time being. I could easily be wrong about this company and be viewing the current situation incorrectly, but I believe that the measures that the company is taking to reduce its exposure to potentially value-destroying assets, businesses, accounts, etc. are a good thing. Maybe I am putting too much trust into Vikram and his words.

On a related note, I've been accumulating (perhaps too early) shares of the Financial Sector SPDR (XLF) in the retirement account this year, and I'd say that I'm about halfway done with that. Even if I'm early, I think that with a long enough time horizon, today's prices can't be so bad as to produce a horrible return. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Boom Goes The Seal and More

Today, all of the retailers reported their same store sales figures. For the most part, retailers came in with numbers that were ahead of expectations.

My number one position, Wet Seal (WTSLA), did not disappoint. The company's Wet Seal division came in with SSS at +3.1%, and its flailing Arden B SSS came in at -17%, which resulted in a -1.9% overall comp. This was well ahead of the expected -5.8% SSS comp. The company's total net sales for the month rose 7% (Wet Seal division sales +15% and Arden B sales -18%).

The news gets better... the company increased its fiscal Q1 EPS estimate to 0.07-0.08 from 0.04-0.06 due to efficiency improvement/cost cutting. This is a solid boost... a whopping increase of 17 to 100% (using the midpoints, we get a 36% increase). And, it seems that their CEO continues to clean house, as the company reported the resignation of their Chief Merchandising Officer from the Wet Seal Division.

Anyone who saw the trading today knows that today was a very good day for me. The stock closed up 0.25 (+6.9%) at 3.85 on heavy volume (3.4MM shares vs. 1.4MM shares average). It is now within striking distance of my first sell point. When it does get there, I do not believe I will be selling more than 25% of the overall position.

In other news, Manitowoc (MTW) has jumped back into the 40's again. Recall that they recently announced their intention to acquire Enodis (London: ENO). Anyway, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) announced today that they bid more for Enodis, and that their bid was going to be accepted. I guess we'll see how this plays out. Seems like the market is glad to have ITW relieve MTW of its ENO obligation.

That's it for now. Let's hope that tomorrow brings us more of this good stuff... gotta love it!

Weekend in Tahoe

Over the weekend, I found myself in North Lake Tahoe (Incline Village) with a sharpshooter, her co-workers, and their significant others. Everything about the trip was taken care of by her company as a team reward for meeting project milestones. Sweet!

When I've gone out to that area in the past, I've pretty much been in South Lake Tahoe, where all the casinos are located. I don't typically do much skiing or snow sports, so I also rarely find myself out there during this time of the year. For those of you not in the know, there's still snow out there. It was still pretty cold with overnight lows in the high 20's.

Anyway, the sharpshooter (we'll get to why she's a sharpshooter in a minute) and I stayed at a condo with one of her co-workers and his girlfriend. A bunch of others stayed over at a semi-baller fully loaded (multiple plasma TV's, full-sized pool table, etc) five bedroom vacation house nearby. We hung out at the house a fair bit, and just drank beers and played a couple of interesting card games.

One was called Wizard, and another one was called Mü. Wizard was fun and simple. I won when we played. Mü was really complex, but it was really a fascinating game. There were 5 natural 'suits' but a 6th suit would be generated from the High and Low trumps, which would vary based on an auction process. It's a bit too complicated to explain here, but if you like strategy card games and know a few others who do as well, I think would likely enjoy the game tremendously. I tied for first in that game, which was pretty coincidental. I would imagine that it's pretty rare to end up in a tie.

Besides being lazy and staying in, we also made a quick trip out to Reno to do a tiny bit of gambling and playing carnival games at the Circus Circus Midway. One of the games at Circus Circus was a Bottle Cork Pistol game. You load up an air gun with a small cork and you'd shoot the cork at empty soda cans. You get 3 shots for a buck. She nailed 2 cans with her 3 shots and won a nice stuffed bear. I played twice, but I only managed to score 0 and 1 (good for a tiny prize). After playing that and other games for a while, we had won a small collection of stuffed animals, including two frogs.


Then, I lost $100 playing blackjack for maybe half an hour. Nothing eventful really. Up $60 at the peak, down $100 at the nadir.

And, what good is a trip without good food? On Sunday night, 11 of us went to do some fine dining at the Lone Eagle Grille. The food was fantastic, and the service was great. I finally got to try some elk, which I've been wanting to try for some time now.

Here are the food pictures...

Duck Breast with Bok Choy and Blackberry Gastrique

Saffron Clam Chowder with Crab Fritter

French Onion Soup

Elk Tenderloin with Vegetables

Buffalo Tenderloin with Foie Gras

Mud Pie

Truffles

That's it... and, now here I am still at work (but, taking a short break).