Another 750 Pound Shark Tale

750 Pound Shark Caught

Finance 101 - Creating Profit From Debt

I came across a word today that gave me better understanding of a banking practice that was partly to blame for the financial crisis in the banking world a year ago. The word:

SECURITIZATION

The Meaning: A structured finance process that distributes risk by gathering debt instruments in a pool, then issuing new securities backed by the pool.

Wikipedia Example: XYZ Bank loans 10 people $100,000 a piece, which they will use to buy homes. XYZ has invested in the success and/or failure of those 10 home buyers- if the buyers make their payments and pay off the loans, XYZ makes a profit. Looking at it another way, XYZ has taken the risk that some borrowers won't repay the loan. In exchange for taking that risk, the borrowers pay XYZ a premium in addition to the interest on the money they borrow. XYZ will then take these ten loans, and put them in a pool. They will sell this pool to a larger investor, ABC. ABC will then split this pool (which consists of high risk loans and low risk loans) into equal pieces. The pieces will then be sold to other smaller investors, (as bonds).

Investopedia explains Securitization
Mortgage-backed securities are a perfect example of securitization. By combining mortgages into one large pool, the issuer can divide the large pool into smaller pieces based on each individual mortgage's inherent risk of default and then sell those smaller pieces to investors.

The process creates liquidity by enabling smaller investors to purchase shares in a larger asset pool. Using the mortgage-backed security example, individual retail investors are able to purchase portions of a mortgage as a type of bond. Without the securitization of mortgages, retail investors may not be able to afford to buy into a large pool of mortgages.

Article: The Problem With Securitization

Golden State Warriors Light It Up

Kalenna Azubuike (31 pts scored)

The sluggish start of the 2009 NBA season just picked up speed for the Golden State Warriors. Going into last nights game against the Minnesota Timberwolves the Warriors needed a win just to look like a team interested in playing out the season schedule. With one win and four losses the Warriors came out last night and lit up the scoreboard for 146 points and a win, bringing their early season record to 2-4.

Kalenna Azubuike had 31 pts to lead the Warriors in scoring. Amidst rumors of Stephen Jackson wanting out of the Warriors camp, the team played like a damn team for a change. Nobody's crowning them winners just yet, but last night's display of running offense gave Warriors fans a little something to hope for this season. If nothing else, they'll be athletically entertaining with all the young talent.

Final Score
Warriors 146
T'Wolves 105

Still Believing!

Bay Bridge S-Curve Claims First Life

A truck traveling 50 mph, 10 mph over the posted speed limit, crashed over the rail of the bay bridge S-curve and plunged 200 feet landing on its wheels on Yerba Buena island below. The driver did not survive the crash.

This is the 44th accident on this new section of the bay bridge since it reopened on September 8th, with the newly civil engineered S-curve in place. Though authorities all point to driver error and excessive speed as the common denominator in these accidents many are questioning the S-curve design's safety.

I've questioned whether the civil engineer designing of the S-curve considered the habit of drivers traveling above the posted speed limit and using devices such as cell phones while behind the wheel. They claim the S-curve is safe at 40 mph with an alert and cautious driver behind the wheel. Well, pre S-curve driver habits across the bay bridge did not fit this spec of 40 mph, so why would they assume that post S-curve drivers would change their driving habits? Did they think drivers would know the S-curve becomes potentially deadly at 50 mph?

Bottom line, somebody screwed up. They allowed a deadly bridge design to be approved and put in place without including one important criteria in their safety study formula; human habit.

All it would've taken before S-curve implementation is to have put one of those fancy cameras in the prior curve, with radar like the one that catches you zooming through yellow stop lights. I've been traveling the bay bridge for years and experience tells me that cars travel above 50 mph on average over the bridge. I do not hold an engineering degree but the cautionary centrifugal pull of the old curve was enough to warn against making it sharper and/or adding a second curve.

So sure, the design might be flawless in a cyber world where cyber people abide by the laws and rules of the game. But the S-curve exists in the real world people, and in the real world real people sometimes ignore the laws and rules that are put in place for their protection. If this were not so then we wouldn't need cameras at traffic lights now would we?

So how do you fix a design that has attributed to 44 human mistakes resulting in accidents?

1. Toll Booth handouts to drivers to change their driving habits when crossing the curvy bay bridge

2. Post flashing 40 mph caution signs on the bridge in hopes that drivers will abide by them

3. Redesign the S-curve after performing a thorough safety study which includes driver habit

4. Put a radar camera in the S-curve with posted warnings of a $275 speeding fine

Its not about pointing the finger at who did what wrong or saving tax payer dollars. Its about saving lives. If the S-curve becomes a permanent structure, we might as well start the fatality counter just as the Golden Gate bridge once counted suicide jumpers. As of today the bay bridge fatality count stands at 00001 and counting.

See Article by Yobie Benjamin:

Poor Driver Judgement & Bad Design Is Deadly

Oakland Raiders Are A Dismal 2-wins And 6-Losses. Who's There Left To Blame?

The Difference Between Heaven and Hell

I found this paragraph written in one of my old books collected when I was in search of spiritual enlightenment. Its been years since I peeked its pages for healthy spiritual knowledge. This morning I rediscovered why I, and I'm sure many other readers, keep books we hold dear to our hearts on dusty shelves, awaiting our return to their pages. In revisiting a place we once frequented, such as a cafe, a town or a book, we find new meanings and receive different understandings of the place. It is us who have changed, hopefully evolved, and not the place.

Here is the paragraph that I revisited with this morning after first reading its wisdom some fifteen years ago or so:

The word heaven means harmony. The word hell is from the old English hell, meaning to build a wall around, to separate; to be helled was to be shut off from. Now if there is such a thing as harmony there must be that something one can be in right relations with; for to be in right relations with anything is to be in harmony with it. Again, if there is such a thing as being helled, shut off, separated from, there must be that something from which one is held, shut off, or separated.

In Tune With The Infinite
by Ralph Waldo Trine

The Astronaut Farmer - Not Bad!

A film that makes you reflect on your own dreams or the dreams of your loved ones. This movie, though a bit of a corny, family entertainment piece, touches something childlike in us. To be shown a man who holds onto his childhood dream while friends, community and the world are saying its time to let go of it, makes for a magical viewing experience. The fact that his family sticks through it with him, even though at times their belief in him is tested, was what I thought the bigger lesson in this movie. To support those in your family in attempting to fulfill their dream, through accomplishment and/or failure, is the sign of a healthy and happy family. A beautiful movie with real people in excitingly unreal roles. Billy Bob Thornton, Virginia Madsen and the three kid actors capture the essence of a family living with an unfulfilled dream and the loving sacrifice to see that dream fulfilled. Grandfather, husband, wife, son, daughter, they all have so much to lose and gain by one's fulfillment of the dream. The southwestern landscape adds to the magic. If you can remember watching a movie as a child that held you spellbound in a theater or in front of the television, this film can bring you back to that time and place. Wonderful!

Yankees Win World Series

They're Supposed To Win The World Series

New York Yankees Salaries - 2009
Player Salary (US$)

1. Alex Rodriguez 33,000,000
2. Derek Jeter 21,600,000
3. Mark Teixeira 20,625,000
4. A.J. Burnett 16,500,000
5. CC Sabathia 15,285,714
6. Mariano Rivera 15,000,000
7. Jorge Posada 13,100,000
8 a. Johnny Damon 13,000,000
8 b. Hideki Matsui 13,000,000
10. Robinson Cano 6,000,000
11. Andy Pettitte 5,500,000
12. Nick Swisher 5,400,000
13. Damaso Marte 3,750,000
14. Jose Molina 2,125,000
15. Jerry Hairston Jr. 2,000,000
16. Melky Cabrera 1,400,000
17. Joba Chamberlain 432,575
18. Brett Gardner 414,000
19. Phil Hughes 407,650
20. David Robertson 406,825
21. Alfredo Aceves 406,750
22. Phil Coke 403,300
23. Francisco Cervelli 400,000

Total Team Salary: 208,097,414


Team Payroll (US$)

1. NY Yankees 208,097,414
2. NY Mets 145,367,987
3. Chicago Cubs 134,058,500
4. Boston 122,435,399
5. Detroit 119,160,145
6. LA Angels 118,964,000
7. Seattle 112,053,666
8. Philadelphia 111,209,046
9. Houston 102,996,414
10. Chicago Sox 100,598,500
11. LA Dodgers 100,008,592
12. Atlanta 94,313,666
13. St. Louis 87,703,409
14. San Francisco 82,616,450
15. Kansas City 81,384,553
16. Milwaukee 80,182,502
17. Cincinnati 73,558,500
18. Arizona 73,516,666
19. Texas 73,439,238
20. Toronto 72,563,200
21. Colorado 72,428,000
22. Tampa Bay 68,230,934
23. Minnesota 67,634,766
24. Cleveland 66,757,366
25. Washington 62,001,000
26. Baltimore 61,885,566
27. Oakland 56,089,250
28. San Diego 37,800,800
29. Florida 35,774,000
30. Pittsburgh 25,197,000

Note:Team salaries do not represent full team payroll. Amount listed includes current salary for all players currently on the roster.

Raider Nation Mutiny - Al Must Walk Plank

Click To Sign Petition

Well its finally come to fruition. Disgruntled Raider Nation fans have put together an on-line petition of protest asking the Raiders organization to immediately implement a four-point plan, or else!

At the top of the proposed list is removal of Al Davis as General Manager of the Raiders. Of course we all know Al won't bat an eye toward this fan petition. But let this petition and protest grow to its projected 50,000 strong fan base with billboard Ads featuring "Mutiny In The Black Hole," and Al just may have to pay attention or risk losing revenue big time.

Just this week Cleveland Browns fan "Dawg Pound Mike" and one other dog pound pup met with Browns owner Randy Lerner to discuss the future of Browns Football. The Browns fans have planned to show up late to games as a sign of their disapproval and disappointment with the organizations years of ineptitude. I don't see this type of protest causing the owner any loss of revenue, but at least it got his attention and he's talking.

As for Al Davis being forced into retirement, I believe the article about the petition said it best:

"Only way he will surrender control will be when he is lowered into the ground by the undertaker."

As of this posting, 1,124 people have signed the Raiders fan petition. Many more pall bearers will be needed to guarantee change .

Ease The Pain