It's a New World

Bic Lighter

2006-01-23T04:19:00.000-08:00

Call this "How Occ Got His Groove Back".. Rebec, you inspired me to return to my web-logging activities (man, isn't there a portmanteau or something we can use to shorten that phrase? Ah well.), so madd props to you.

Anyway, I just noticed I actually had comments on one of my posts, and heres what cracks me up: one of them was essentially an advertisement for a "stock opportunity". Heres the beginning of the text:

"Make no mistake: Our mission at Tip Top Equities is to sift through the thousands of underperforming companies out there to find the golden needle in the haystack. A stock worthy of your investment. A stock with the potential for big returns. More often than not, the stocks we profile show a significant increase in stock price, sometimes in days, not months or years. We have come across what we feel is one of those rare deals that the public has not heard about yet. Read on to find out more."

Now, I certainly don't want to make a mistake -- I regret making mistakes as much as the next guy. But I can't fathom why one would be mareting a stock opportunity in the comments of my highly-underpublicized blog. Let me quote a little more of this comment, here --

"Nano Superlattice Technology Inc. (OTCBB Symbol: NSLT) is a nanotechnology company engaged in the coating of tools and components with nano structured PVD coatings for high-tech industries."

Now, I just looked this up on, er, whatever the hell this "OTCBB" exchange is. The current stock price for "Nano Superlattice Technology" is $1.90. Hence, this qualifies as a "penny stock". Here's the problem with penny stocks: they're easily manipulable. And, no offense to the company in question, but it sets of plenty of alarm bells. First of all, they're claiming to be involved in something thats "cool new technology". I mean, who can argue with the potential of nanobots, and all that?

But here's the problem. This company is trading on a no-name exchange, and its share price is peanuts. After browsing the exchange's site (which apparently stands for "Over-the-counter-bulletin-board", a non-sequiter if I've ever heard one) it seems that the majority of their securities (fancy word for "stocks") are all glamorous-sounding companies with tiny share prices. This sets off two alarm-bells in my mind: one, that many of the companies listed are involved in great-sounding, yet unproven technology. The second is the share prices themselves.

Take the stock in question, listed under the symbol "NSLT". Current share price is $1.90. What this means is, if I were to drop, say, $50,000 into it, the share price would skyrocket. I would then, of course, immediately sell my shares to whatever rubes were foolish enough to buy them. Before I ramble too much on this, let me just boil it down to this: stocks trading at such low prices are extremely easily to manipulate (in terms of share price) to be worth investing in. Nanotechnology is certainly a valid area of research, will eventually change the face of medicine, etc. But theres no way in hell that "Nanno Superlattice Technology" is going to play any part in this. If they had legitimate financial and scientific backing, they wouldn't be selling on a no-name exchange for less than two dollars a share.

So, to wrap this up: when you get an email promising you untold riches from some Amazing New Thing, which just HAPPENS to be trading on a stock exchange you've never heard of, and the share price is a dollar or two -- don't buy it. It's not gonna amount to anything. If the company even has an office, its a second-story walk-up with a couple of uncertified "brokers" who will try to sell you on the IDEA of their supposed product or service. Cure for AIDS, an end to world hunger, a better mousetrap -- whatever. Penny stocks are for suckers, and they're listed on no-name exchanges for a reason. The only potential for profit here is if you, yourself, buy up all the shares, causing the share price to artificially inflate, and then sell it off to whatever suckers you can find. And, shit, do you really wanna be that guy?

*For the full text of the advertisement-cum-comment, click here.

Commodore 128

2004-10-21T13:24:00.000-07:00

Well, I was thinking about -- wait, nothing. Frankly, I'm kind of embarassed, because I don't have a witty topic with which to espouse upon.

Wait, IRC: [16:25] <_occ_> someone give me a topic

I'm fully open to any suggestions -- hopefully, there'll be one soon.

Alright, fine, 'group identity'. There's a natural urge in the human brain to identify oneself with a group. This has an evolutionary basis, and I can't knock it, until now. So! Listen, I'll be honest: fuck your heritage. Fuck your religious traditions. You're yourself, and that's it. Do you really want to carry some sort of grudge currentl? Let me explain this.

Occasionally, it's best for one to take a pragmatic position. By this, you can evaluate every decision based on whether it will better one's situation, or worsen same. What do you think living by a past "honorable grudge"? Hehe. Let me tell you: you, or someone else, may die for it. You want to fight for X vs Y? Who the fuck cares? How do you think this will move you towards a modern paradise? Trust me, it won't. Oh, sure, it'll motivate you to a certain degree. You'll feel some good cameraderie, which, I'll be honest, can be a good feeling. However, this is a means to an end, and nothing more -- and not a positive end.

What's my solution, then? Drop your past grievances. Treat yourself as an individual, and base your life decisions on this. Realize that your best course of action is often to say, "Fuck it. This isn't worth my time.". Work towards paradise on earth, and realize that this is the best usage of your resources. Oh, and realize that this future will come about throughout neurology -- but that's another story.

Athletic Shoe

2004-10-18T01:09:00.000-07:00

I was just watching that show "Taxicab Confessions", and I kind of got to think about Las Vegas, since I think this is where it's based. Las Vegas gets too much street cred. Oooh, the heart of sin in America! What the hell does Las Vegas have that most other cities don't have? Gambling. Uh, large number of escort agencies. Inexpensive buffets. That's fucking *it*. Shit, despite what you've heard, prostitution ain't legal in Las Vegas. The way the laws were written, they refer specifically to counties with a population under X. In other words, every county that doesn't include Reno or Las Vegas. And on that note, you think its so awesome that you can, in theory, get legally-tolerated prostitution in Nevada? You go to one of those fucking "ranches", you pay like, $300 bucks, and you get to have sex for 5 minutes. Truly, worth airfare and lodging expenses.
Beyond all this, I have to stress one more factor -- gambling isn't *that* fun. Is it kinda fun to have the "thrill" of wagering money? Yeah. I've been to a casino exactly once. Foxwoods, Ledyard, CT. World's largest casino (oh, surprised?). Did I enjoy it? Yeah, I had a decent time. I lost a hundred and fifty bucks, I got to play poker for a little while, which was fun. The stores and all that other "let's pretend you didn't come here for the gamblin'" stuff was pretty much closed. Shit, I didn't even get a fucking free drink -- it was too late(early?) to serve 'em. Even the "VIP Room" was hokey as hell -- come on, $WHATEVER minimum bet and all you get is a cheesy wall mural and the dealer wears a bow-tie? (Christ, I hate murals. More on this later.)

Anyway, lemme wrap this up: casinos and strip clubs can be minorly fun, but they're designed to take your money via psychology. If you go more than twice, you are an asshole. Asshole.

Elitism

2004-10-03T19:47:00.000-07:00

I like trying foods that people either love or hate. This usually means the food has a strong flavor, which can mean a stimulating eating experience. Also, you're cooler if you like things that are controversial, since it adds to your (n)on-(c)onformity (f)actor (see the way I pointed out the acronym? That's a great example of how to up your NCF). This is why I like circus peanuts.

Hey

2004-09-20T21:06:00.000-07:00

You know what I was just thinking about? Remember back in the late '80s, there was the cartoon "The Real Ghostbusters"? Well, do you remember that there was also a show called simply, "Ghostbusters" - and it was totally different? There was that tall skinny guy with some camera-like thing, a fat guy whom I'm remembering as being proportionately the same ratio as Danny DeVito, but I may be misremembering. Also, there was a large ape that wore shorts and a fisherman's-style hat. What could have led to two major programs using the same name concurrently? There must have been some kind of odd legal battle, in which both parties retained part of the name, or something like that.

2004-09-20T15:57:00.000-07:00

Boring test post. Eez gone, yes!

First

2004-09-18T21:46:00.000-07:00

Here we are. It's September, circa the middle of the month. You might consider this the
beginning of some sort of, how you say, "medium". I must shortly move towards the dream-space; therefore, I leave you with the following:

It is truly a new world.