ParkTwain's Parlor

[IIC]

Disappear, as in disappear from detection by the economics data-gatherers.

Oh...Now I get it...The "economic data-gatherers" track illegals in California...But not in other States...No wonder all those big fancy casinos in Vegas are rollin' in the dough...

[ParkTwain]

Seen today among the comments at Techdirt.com

//
The RE industry is so full of corruption and unethical behavior that it is laughable for ANY group involved to claim some sort of superiority over a completely automated process. Kickbacks and under-the-table deals are the norm, not the exception.

Don't believe me? Try disputing the appraisal you receive as part of a loan application. I did - my appraisal on a re-fi came in low by at least $30K. Houses don't sell all that often in my neighborhood. One of the comps that was used was a foreclosure sale for the same model home one street over. The property had been trashed by the previous owner - yards dead, concrete poured down the drains, light fixtures and toilets stolen - the works. When I complained about the low appraisal, the loan company sent out a second appraiser. The second appraiser gave an identical value. When I questioned the second appraiser, she said that the loan company had sent the first appraisal to her, and that the first appraiser was the president of the local appraiser's association and "a close personal friend". The first appraiser told me that I could appeal to the state board, but "good luck, you still won't get the loan because there are only two appraisers approved by your loan company for this area". No way he was going to admit his mistake - he wouldn't even admit that using a trashed foreclosure sale as a comp without any correction factors was unreasonable. Dickhead cost me about $15K that I had to put into the deal to get the loan closed. In the long run it was still worth it to get the lower rate on the re-fi, but it was still very wrong.
//

Structural inefficiencies keep popping up in our almighty "free market" economy!

[ParkTwain]

Oh...Now I get it...The "economic data-gatherers" track illegals in California...But not in other States...No wonder all those big fancy casinos in Vegas are rollin' in the dough...

Uh, Doug, what if they don't "show up" in the Oregon data either, but rather one of its towns' police blotters. The national economy ain't going to expand forever.

[IIC]

Uh, Doug, what if they don't "show up" in the Oregon data either, but rather one of its towns' police blotters. The national economy ain't going to expand forever.

Wonder if they have guns?

[riverbabe]

Park, thank you for bringing those exotic photos here! They are breath-taking! What photography!

I had pictured in my mind those mountains in the Pakistan tribal areas. But I never thought I'd have the opportunity to see at least a part of them!

And, I had never imagined that Albania had mountains that spectacular! It was hard to tell just by cruising by.

You are a joy. Thank you. Riverbabe

[ParkTwain]

Exotic Photo(s) of the Day - Extravaganza!

Homes, churches, and entire towns, built into rock formations ...

Kandovan, Iran:

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=159973369&size=o

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne...9972901&size=o (interior of home)

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=159975033&size=o

Goreme, Turkey:

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=273836967&size=o

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=199529711&size=l

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=221410845&size=l

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=88629942&size=l (monastery)

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=120915079&size=l

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=71711283&size=o (cave church interior)

Ortahisar, Turkey:

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=222226163&size=l

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mal1/127544460/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mal1/126547536/

Uchisar, Turkey:

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=24700004&size=o

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=435483154&size=o

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=422954631&size=l

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=120938536&size=l

Elsewhere ...

"Fairy Meadows" with view of Nanga Parbat (world's 8th tallest peak), northern Pakistan:

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=142058146&context=photostream&size=o

Sheer rock towers in Baltoro Muztagh Range, northern Pakistan:

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=311604973&size=o

"Oldest wooden church" in Europe, Kiev, Ukraine:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kozzak/52382411/

Temple at Garni, Armenia (probably the northernmost and easternmost extant Roman temple of Greek style, 1cAD):

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=256895711&size=o

Ishakpasa Palace, Turkey:

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=66158976&size=o

http://www.flickr.com/photos/richardsouder/64209148/ (view from palace)


Remote monasteries ...

Tsminda Sameba Kazbegi Alaverdi, Republic of Georgia:

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=127672122&size=o

Khor Virap, Armenia:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24674184@N00/359953303/ (Mt. Ararat in distance)


Africa ...

Mosque among palms, Sudan:
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne...9615356&size=o (FABULOUS!)

Kassala, Sudan, very unusual nearby mountains, near border with Eritrea:

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=266937549&size=o

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=278381683&size=l

http://www.anasudani.net/kassala1.gif

Siwa Oasis, Egypt:

http://home.hiwaay.net/~jalison/siwa.html

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=60779484&size=l (ruins of old fortress city)

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=60776339&size=l

White Desert, Egypt:

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=437805782&size=l

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=40575405&size=o

http://www.flickr.com/photos/n0mad/218047718/

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=87435123&size=o

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=87434924&context=photostream&size=o

Namibian desert:
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne...1315593&size=o (FABULOUS!)
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne...0395783&size=o (STRIKING!)
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne...7784508&size=l (AMAZING!)

[ParkTwain]

One-week results for last weekend's picks

Each of these is no more than 5% above its all-time high (of at least 30 days prior) with uptrending RSI between 65 and 75 as of end of last week. I'm looking for good near-term appreciation for each of these.

Looks to me that MCD is the ticket to ride right now for the risk-averse among us, based on its current chart strength and how it made a new ATH last week. Very impressive comback the last several years. Next earnings announcement is this Friday, Apr 20. I would be surprised if there isn't lots of "talk" in the financial media about this achievement for the remainder of this month. Despite the reporter's claim in the following article, according to chart data available for free at StockCharts.com, 47.00 (or right at it) was the high price for the period 1998 to 2001, but the April 13th close was 47.64.

http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/070413/mcdonalds_outlook.html?.v=9

Lower PE candidates:

DCO (PE: 19.2, leading PEG: 0.89)
HWCC (PE: 19.8, leading PEG: 0.85) issue is younger than 1 year
MCD (PE: 16.8, leading PEG: 2.11)
SXT (PE: 18.8, leading PEG: 4.45)
TEX (PE: 19, leading PEG: 1.62)

Higher PE candidates:

CF (leading PEG: 3.14) nitrogen fertilizer company
DLB (leading PEG: 1.92)
FLIR (leading PEG: 1.48 )
FLO (leading PEG: 2.07)
MTW (leading PEG: 0.81)
MYE (leading PEG: 0.65)
NIHD (leading PEG: 0.87)
PORK (leading PEG: N/A)
SWHC (leading PEG: 0.9)
THQI (leading PEG: 1.46)
VCLK (leading PEG: 1.82)
WMS (leading PEG: 1.48 )

By end of the same week, here are the results:

DCO - 26.67, 29.33, +10.0%
HWCC - 29.65, 28.33, -4.5%
MCD - 47.64, 48.36, +1.5%
SXT - 27.04, 28.00, +3.55%
TEX - 73.95, 77.55, +4.87%
Avg of low-PE group picks: +3.1%
Avg of low-PE group picks (throw out best and worst): +3.3%

CF - 44.30, 44.00, -0.7%
DLB - 36.82, 37.00, +0.5%
FLIR - 38.30, 39.75, +3.8%
FLO - 31.45, 32.53, +3.4%
MTW - 65.87, 67.17, +2.0%
MYE - 19.59, 20.96, +7.0%
NIHD - 79.26, 77.94, -1.7%
PORK - 21.84, 22.00, +0.7%
SWHC - 15.19, 13.95, -8.2%
THQI - 36.16, 35.23, -2.6%
VCLK - 29.50, 29.60, +0.6%
WMS - 41.85, 41.74, -0.3%
Avg of high-PE group picks: +0.4%
Avg of high-PE group picks (throw out best and worst): +0.57%

For the week ...
DJI: +2.8%
NASDAQ composite: +1.4%
S&P 500: +2.2%
Russell 2000: 1.2%

[IIC]

BTW Park...Those are nice photos...It was kinda funny on Friday night I was outside and this neighbor was walking by and took a pic of me...She said she enters the flickr contests all the time. I mentioned that you had some nice flickr's on the web...Doug

[ParkTwain]

I'm glad you're enjoying those photos. Flickr is a goldmine of images. There are a couple of others out there as well. When I search Google on particular city or location names, I find them. It can be such an education.

I've been doing research on the Silk Road in central Asia and have been reading some short history subjects. So I've been looking up sites in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, western China, etc. Did you know that the extreme western region of China named Xinjiang is heavily Muslim (city of Kashgar, etc.)? Have you heard of the ancient region of Gandhara that straddled present-day northwest India, northern Pakistan, and eastern Afghanistan? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Buddhist) Check out the history of of the city Taxila. This was a region where early Buddhism flourished before the time of Christ, spreading along the Silk Road into China and its offshoots elsewhere between India and western China, then after Alexander the Great passed through, Macedonians and Greeks were left behind to settle and rule. In the overall course of history, the Greek dominance was not long-lived (about 300 years at most and in only some of the locales), but what resulted in the material culture was an incredible combination of Greek and Buddhist artifacts, statuary, etc. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Buddhist_Art ; http://www.screenbox.net/files/Gandhara.pdf) There were eventually minor kings of Macedonian/Greek descent ruling as far east as northeast India (Patna) ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Greek ). See this story of the Heliodorus column found in north-central India (http://www.gosai.com/chaitanya/saran...cheology.html), a very early case of a Greek having specific knowledge of Vedic religious texts. This is incredible to me and something I never learned in my earlier history studies.

The founding and destruction of the Greek city of Ai Khanum, a timespan 329 to 135 BCE, less than 200 years, found in what is now extreme northeast Afghanistan, is an amazing story (http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexandr...dria_oxus.html ; http://www.zharov.com/dupree/chapter29.html ).

I have also learned that Zoroastrianism is much more important historically than I was taught as an undergraduate. Practitioners today are being harassed in Iran and elsewhere. Many have moved into India where there is a significant ongoing Zoroastrian community. Their practice of the preparation of the dead is quite unique for our day. They don't practice burial, as they believe it defiles the earth, but rather build enclosures (called a dokhma, or "tower of silence"), often on high ground, where the remains are dealt with "naturally." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Towers_of_Silence ; http://www.deathonline.net/disposal/...roastrians.cfm ; http://www.wired.com/culture/lifesty.../2001/05/43436 ) There are ancient dokhmas all over Iran (http://www.flickr.com/photos/35615581@N00/209995443/ ; http://www.flickr.com/photos/andygilham/7387463/ ).

[IIC]

When I first saw your pics some of them reminded me of Mesa Verde, the old cliff dwellings in SW Colorado. Have you ever been there? Very interesting place. I was there circa 1966 and 1975.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=mesa+verde+photos

[ParkTwain]

Doug, no I haven't visited Mesa Verde, but I have visited Montezuma's Castle in northern Arizona. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montezu...ional_Monument ) It's a very nice little stop on the way north from Phoenix to Sedona or to Flagstaff.

[ParkTwain]

Exotic Photo(s) of the Day - Uruguayan horsemen

Incredible set of photos of gauchos breaking horses

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bombeador/sets/72057594139351575/

[ParkTwain]

Tpx, Tra, Hwcc

Making $$$ lately on these three. TPX pulled back on its earnings day recently, but its uptrend is intact. MCD continues to act really well. I have a long "ready to buy" list that I'm winnowing for next week.

[ParkTwain]

Exotic Photo(s) of the day - Dunhuang China

Location of Dunhuang:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Dunhuang_location.png

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunhuang

//
For centuries Buddhist monks at Dunhuang collected scriptures from the west, and many pilgrims passed through the area, painting murals inside the Mogao Caves or "Caves of a Thousand Buddhas." A small number of Christian artifacts have also been found in the caves (see Jesus Sutras), testimony to the wide variety of people who made their way along the silk road. Today, the site is an important tourist attraction and the subject of an ongoing archaeological project.
//

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=69184636&size=l

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=218987455&size=l

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=144317701&size=o

http://asia.cnet.com/i/r/2005/dc/39254474/sc024.jpg

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=320240212&size=l

This photos shows at least five distinct groups of people in front of and on the dunes:

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=282160423&size=l

[IIC]

.........Cool