An article released Monday by the WSJ marks a slight hiccup during the opening 3 minutes of trading at the NYSE.  Apparently an options market maker based in Chicago was streaming live quotations across different stocks while using a bad data feed.  Many traders making the transition into electronic markets have felt the roller coaster of emotion that has come with this very situation.  It goes something like this:

Bell rings.  Screen lights up with trades flowing through the system, hedges flying at a faster rate that you can comprehend.  On the open indexes are lining up based on the opening rotation of thousands of stocks, and for a minute there is some question about where things should be, where people have there implied vols, forwards, and underling prices implied.  

On Friday, when a trader at Ronin Capital saw 31,000 options contracts along with the hedging stock positions fly through his machine without a doubt the initial reaction is “Holy shit!  Somebody is off.  Are you seeing all this stuff go up?”  Most likely followed by a conversation with another trader about whether he saw all those trades at such great prices.  The feeling reminiscent of the glory days in which customers would pay the offer and sell the bid resulting in money falling out of the sky for most market makers.  Now this is usually not the case, if you get that good old fashioned feeling, you are probably wrong.

In this case there was roughly a 3 minute ride to the top of the roller coaster followed immediately by a sharp drop when he realized it was in fact his trades that were off.  This dramatic drop probably lasted for 20 or 30 minutes as he and others at the firm scrambled to figure out what the fuck just happened.  Then the next drop, actually logging how many trades they made, and what the net loss of those trades was.  The rest of the ride is apparently still coasting along as they are now trying to adjust prices and reconcile hedges.

It’s certainly not a perfect system, but somebody’s got to do it.  

Another Great Kickstarter Project

I love the simple solution to the decaying old bars of soap that are so frustrating to use, to clean up, and to be thrown away.  This short video shows how STACK provides a solution to the madness.  While other soap manufacturers introduces soft soaps and soap dispensers, STACK with a little engineering change has reinvented the bar of soap as a viable neat way to use soap-no plastic bottles or dispensers, just a simple bar of soap.

This Just doesn’t look like a good idea…But damn it looks fun!!

Credits to go to wehavemorefun 

Corruption in Chicago????

A recent study conducted by the University of Illinois made national headlines revealing the top ranked Federally corrupt jurisdictions around the country.  Guess which ranked number one?  

Over the last 36 years the greater Chicago district has racked up more than 1,500 Federal corruption convictions, while the state of Illinois (the most corrupt of the 50 states) had a total of 1,828.  These are not charges we are talking about, these are convictions.  That’s about 3.5 convictions/month for those playing at home.  The best part is how much that must cost the state in court, processing and legal fees. 

This is obviously nothing of a surprise, (the numbers were a bit shocking to me), but I’m not exactly sure that anything at this point is going to change it.  

The woman in the picture above is Theresa Mintle, the current Chief of Staff to Chicago’s new Mayor, Rahm Emmanuel.  Oh yea, and she’s Daley’s cousin.  Her husband (also pictured) is the owner architectural firm VOA that has received over $20 million in payments for city projects over the last ten years.  Mintle who is now in charge of overseeing the allocation of public funds for new projects had previously received criticism for creating an early retirement plan while working for the Chicago Transit Authority (one of the pensions she now collects by writing small changes to the plan allowing her to cash in before spending the necessary time in that position).  

Since taking office, a new law by Emmanuel prohibits VOA for bidding for city funding, 

VOA “cannot go after contracts so long as she’s in the Office of Mayor,” Drew said of Mintle. “I’m sure they would have [stepped back] voluntarily, but the personnel rules [remove] any ambiguity and doubt.”

So the game continues, and so it will for now, at least until everybody getting robbed comes to their senses and moves out!  (My state income taxes just doubled and after filed my return, found out I owe them more money still, thieves!)

The UX Paris

Somewhere between the Wild Vikings and Ninja Turtles lie these Parisian pranksters.  While hardly just pranksters the group that calls themselves urban eXperiment (UX) has formed around living and preserving a forgotten Paris, one that exists below ground, and out of sight.  The group was founded around 30 years ago by a few, then teenagers who had a knack (and a rush) for sneaking into old buildings.  Today the  group has over 100 members, and they have used an “underground system of telecom, electricity, and water tunnels, sewers, catacombs, subways, and centuries-old quarries” to complete over a dozen projects and restorations throughout the city.  While taking pride on being able to gain access to “every government building in Paris”, the group has used their knowledge and understanding of the cities inner vessels to aid and protect the places that are a part of what they call home. 

UX’s most famous project was the restoration of an old clock in the Pantheon which hadn’t chimed in decades. 

A cadre spent months infiltrating the Pantheon, the grand structure in Paris that houses the remains of France’s most cherished citizens. Eight restorers built their own secret workshop in a storeroom, which they wired for electricity and Internet access and outfitted with armchairs, tools, a fridge, and a hot plate. During the course of a year, they painstakingly restored the Pantheon’s 19th- century clock, which had not chimed since the 1960s. Those in the neighborhood must have been shocked to hear the clock sound for the first time in decades: the hour, the half hour, the quarter hour.

The group uses the tunnels for a great number of ventures including discussions, art shows, and film festivals complete with full bars and dining areas.  UX is composed of six different groups, each providing their specific expertise: Infiltration, Messaging, Database, Photography, Underground Shows, and Restoration.  In its current structure the group has been considered to be an avant garde hacking network that utilized the cities physical connections to gain access to restricted areas.  They are maybe one of the first to adopt a growing concern for the greater good than many being paid to do so today.  Their likeness to a hacking organization would place them in a similar peer group as those who created the Anonymous. 

All of the above mentioned groups are growing voices in a changing discourse about our current society and the inherent flaws that have been written into the system.  While none of these retorts to current law my be completely without flaw, they are modernizing and effectively vocalizing many plights of our current society. 

SKOL VIKINGS!! 

These modern day vikings are in a desperate attempt to complete the last leg of their journey from the Arctic Circle to South Pole, where they intend to find their wrecked ship Beserk II which they lost during their last adventure.  

Leaving the Aukland Harbor in haste, the crew of the new ship Nilaya accidentally picked up an extra member—a marine mechanic who was working on their anchor at the time. The Captain of the ship Jarle Andhoy set sail as the New Zealand authorities were serving them deportation papers for attempting to sail to the site where they last had to be rescued.  

The adventures of the self proclaimed Wild Vikings have taken Andhoy and a number of different crew members through some of the most extreme parts of the world and back (sometimes in handcuffs).  Upon completing the original North West Passage route navigated in 1906 by Roald Amundsen the crew was escorted off of their boat while staring down the barrels of Canadian authorities.  This was to prevent them from crossing the Bering Sea and to land in Russia before continuing on to comolete Amundsen’s famous discovery of the South Pole. 

This was in 2007, and the group was able to complete their mission (a little behind schedule after two near deaths-seperate events, separate countries, both involving drinking and local cultures). At the end of their voyage, they ran into terrible weather amidst enormous swells and giant pieces of ice.  The ship was broke down and sunk in the storm giving up the lives of three of the crew members while Andhoy others were saved by New Zealand rescue teams. 

As of right now Andhoy, and three crew members (well four now) are in search of the wreckage of Berserk II (pictured above).  Against the wishes of both New Zealand and Norway, they have pressed on to reach their destination.  They have removed all tracking equipment from the vessel in an attempt to eliminate the potential for a rescue mission (also probably resulting int jail time-which they reportedly treat as vacation from finding their own food and having no heat).

“Yes, its over,” said David and walked toward the chopper with both hands above his head as two snipers were aiming at his chest. Fred was next. The complete crew met again in Cambridge Bay prison. Along with drunken inuits in every cell it was like a great reunionparty for the wildvikings. Ironically the prison was like a five star hotel for the gang of sailors as they were given 3 microwave TVdinners a day. “This is absolutely fantastic” said David munching his meal, but nobody was content with the brutal ending of the cruise through the Nortwestpassage.

But the destiny of expedition didn’t end there.

A crew of pirates boarded Berserk, hoisted the Jolly Roger and sailed the ship to open waters away from Canadian authorities, but soon Captain Jarle went back and boarded ship again. The destination of the expedition was to sail Amundsens wake to Nome.

You’ve Gotta Love the Government

Lamar Smith (R-TX) was found in violation of his own bill, apparently not understanding what he was in fact doing so long as the $50,000 check from his corporate sponsors cleared into his account (I hope it was at least that much, although it wouldn’t surprise me if he was being paid in gum). 

The recent movements to regulate the internet have become somewhat of a parallel to the Occupy movement.  Both in reality are centered around the monetary influence of the business world over the underwriting of rules and regulations.  Both however have taken different forms.  Occupy, taking up physical space in a somewhat archaic 1950’s throwback to sit-ins and protests, while the PIPA and SOPA protests have taken action online, and through direct contact with government offices. 

The success in knocking down the internet censorship acts has come from the ability of all those affected to clearly voice their concerns in a coherent argument.  Those who created the bill clearly only saw dollar signs and paid little attention to the effect of what they were doing which became apparent as the arguments, and attention to the bills surfaced. 

Thank God we escaped another close call from those paid to serve our interests.

An Unfortunately Short-Lived Campaign for North Dakota Tourism

Read here about it’s short existence 

America’s Oldest Brewer Projected to Be the Largest in the US with a 1.2% Share of the Market

Yuengling, a favorite of many Pennsylvanians would rarely be thought of as a dominant national brand, yet it is projected to deliver slightly more barrels of beer than its competitor Boston, maker of the Samuel Adams brand, which would make it the largest American owned brewer.  Great job for Yuengling, not so great for what used to be a market dominated by American owned companies.  Yuengling’s sales are estimated at 1.2% of the US market which is dominated by Miller brewing (now SAB Miller) and Anheuser-Busch (now A-B InBev) both now foreign owned. The estimated combined market share of the two companies is in the ballpark of 80%. 

So where can the two beer giants go if they already control the market?  They can convince people to spend more of their budgets on beer, not a bad proposal for anybody… there were rumors of a takeover earlier this year, but where is the growth from there?  What we can hope for now is that there are American brands once again in a position to grow.  The two now foreign giants while battling for market share may be missing market segments where these companies can still flourish, and continue their growth.

A Piece of Wood Dating Back 8,900 Years Was Recently Found at a Reaserch Site at the Bottom of Lake Huron

Ancient Forests Unearthed Along the Oregon Coast

The 2012 Trans-Territorial Canoe Expedition

Led by who else than a couple of Minnesotans, the group will consist of nothing more than four friends in two canoes, who have met through their shared love of the rivers and the wilderness.  The expedition will begin in early spring and hopefully for them, be complete by the time winter rolls in.

Our expedition is the first to undertake this 4000 kilometer route. Our journey will take us from one ocean to another, through mountain valleys and into barren tundra. It involves arduous upstream travel, dangerous lake crossings, and exhilarating whitewater. We begin on the Pacific Ocean, at the historic Chilkook Pass, where during the Klondike Gold Rush prospectors began to make their way into the interior. We will journey down the Yukon River then ascend the Pelly and Ross Rivers to the height of land where we portage onto the legendary splendors of the Nahani River. As the Nahani rushes into the lowlands, we resume upstream paddle on the Mackenzie River, canoe across The Great Slave Lake, and on the eastern extreme of this enormous lake portage onto the Thelon River. Now in the treeless tundra, we paddle through the traditional hunting grounds of the Caribou Inuit until our expedition ends on the shores of Hudson Bay.

The best part of this story is that one of the four members of this journey Pete Marshall, actually made a similar journey in 2005 with only his brother Andrew.  Their previous expedition took them from Northern Minnesota all the way to the Arctic Circle.  It took them 122 days in an old beat up 105lb canoe which they portaged through all kinds of situations. Their experience can be read in brief article form, or longer canoeing journal.   

The 2012 expedition is intended to bring awareness to the vast wilderness in the Northern territories, the threats to it, and all that it has to offer. 

A Brief History of the Financial Industry (Billy Joel Style)

I was sent this video today from a fellow trader.  Having read countless articles on the changes in risk, leverage and the current state of Wall St., none have done a better job summarizing the last 20 years than this video.

Uploaded from thedopeycowboy (website currently down), this video uses Billy Joel’s wonderful historical semblance of his generation and takes a look at the transformation of a culture which has created a fire in our current society.  

We Didn’t Start the Fire has always been a nostalgic favorite of mine from the late 80s growing up in New York and listening to it cruising to the beach.  For anyone who hasn’t taken a closer look into the brilliance of the song (like myself) I would suggest checking out the Wikipedia page.  Unfortunately for me I wasn’t taught history this way, but Billy tried to do his part anyway.  Maybe if he had gotten through to me I wouldn’t have ended up on the trading floor.  Ha!

The Industry Response to an Adopted Jewish-American Tradition

Just too funny not to post.  Happy Holidays!

(via Boehner’s office cuts off C-SPAN cameras as GOP takes verbal beating | The Raw Story)

I need to look into exactly what happened with this…it does seem like a bit of a left wing attack, however it does concern me that the control of information flow to the public (exactly who these people are supposed to be representing, or at very lease who foots the bill for their salaries and decisions) is being taken away.  If control of the internet is also handed to the government, we wouldn’t have even known the cause of the interruption in the broadcast.