Serial Game Movie

1998 vs 2009

A few weeks ago James Kwak noted that Goldman had only $270 billion of assets in 1998, and asked, half-rhetorically, whether that was big enough, since Goldman was "probably doing a perfectly good job of serving their clients at the time." I thought the answer to this question was obvious, but I guess its not, since this meme has apparently persisted. The answer, of course, is that capital markets have exploded upwards since 1998. The international bond markets rose 157%, from $32.5 trillion in 1998 to $83.5 trillion in 2008; bond issuance rose 272%, from $654 billion in 1998 to $2.4 trillion in 2008; etc., etc. I dont have a lot of time, but I think these charts drive home my point. Asking whether banks, which serve as market-makers in capital markets products, need to be bigger than Goldman was in 1998 frames the issue exactly wrong. The issue isnt how big market-makers need to be in order to provide adequate liquidity to the capital markets of 1998. The issue is how big market-makers need to be in order to provide adequate liquidity to the capital markets of 2009 (and beyond).

Available link for download

2009 The Year of the Updated Myspace!

In an unprecedented flurry, I am about to write my second post this week. This can only be due to my new-found dedication and motivation, and is nothing to do with the fact that I dont have anything with which to fill my time because I am a) jobless and b) penniless.

Ben has lent me his loop pedal, which I have fitted to my pre-amp and then my amp, so I have been practising this evening. It was all going wonderfully until I decided to see whether I could make new effects by pressing and twisting the "flange" (yes) and turning the volume up. The effect created was one I shall henceforth call "Torment And Pain In The Belly Of The Underworld". It scared me so much that I turned everything off and scampered off into the other room, to cower at my computer for a bit. It made the room vibrate so much that a copy of Woman And Home slipped off the table (n.b. this belongs to my Grandmother, although I sometimes do still read the problem pages, so that when my children leave home or I become incontinent I will know what to do).

In other music news: I have finally updated my myspace page! After only two years I have made some changes, and added another song. It is one of the songs I recorded straight onto my computer, just layering up vocal tracks on top of one another. It was recorded in my bedroom in Brixton, so the only sound you can hear apart from my voice is that of the buses rumbling, and the sounds of people spilling out of the Brixton Academy across the road. It is not a new song, in fact I recorded that in 2007. It is still the most complex a cappella one that I have ever done.

See what you think, and please tell me. Bear in mind that I am not, nor can I ever imagine being, a producer, so the levels/length, etc, are unspeakably amateur and horrible.

It is called Do Something, and it is HERE on my myspace.

Ben has gone to Cumbria for a week, to do a week of hermit-like re-writing of his one man show. He toured with it last year, but he wants to change it, and apparently he cant do it at home, because the cat distracts him. So off he went this morning, having made me some hummus to take home with me. I was not allowed to take the cat, which I deem very unfair.

I have been making continued efforts to find gainful employment. This has involved trawling round cafés, walking up to the counter smiling in a way that I hope is not threatening and/or manic, and tacitly begging for a job. Most of them have seemed very positive, but I am wise enough to know what this means, so I am going around tomorrow, and the next day, and the next until someone lets me make coffee and tell them jokes. Today I was chatting with a friend and he mentioned that there were some jobs going. I asked what they were and he said, oh, its just on the phones, in some office, but... I cut him off. No office work. Not a chance. I will find something else. Thank you.

I have found a choir to join, which is cool. I have never been one for choirs, but the idea of singing regularly and meeting lots of people is an appealing prospect at the moment. I am also going along to the Social Media Café, which is a bit intimidating, because I know nothing about computers, not really. Im going because I am curious, and I would like to know what other people in Manchester do with their online obsessions.

It is frozen up here. The sky hangs, grey and weighty. It feels like the daylight is so fleeting, and the minute I leave the house my fingers and toes lose all feeling.

Today, though, I was walking from Bens house in Rusholme to get the bus into town. There is a tiny piece of park that serves as a shortcut, and I took it. The path was bright white amid the silver-topped scrub land. The dim light that leaked from the sky bounced from it onto my face, becoming bright and comforting. A man was coming the other way, black hood pulled up, hands pushed into his pockets. He was singing loudly, his song Indian-sounding to my naive ears. As we passed each other he grinned widely at me and did a slippery dance on the icy snow.

"Hey!" he shouted through his smile. "Its OK! You can just GLIDE!"

I laughed and carried on walking, smiling down at the frozen path.

"Yeah" I thought. "I can just glide."

I liked him, and his care-free slippery dancing. This year I resolve not to worry to so much, and free myself up to glide.

Now I am going to tentatively go back into the other room and have more loop-pedal adventures.

Available link for download

10 Gadget Menggairahkan di Tahun 2009

Beragam cool gadget, new tech product, online service di tahun 2009..

The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic










Ponsel keluaran Nokia memiliki keunggulan berupa touchscreen, bentuk yang sexy akan menggairahkan pasar ponsel di tahun 2009. Read more..


Custom Dell Notebooks










Dell sebagai perusahaan notebook terkemuka akan merilis bentuk notebook yang memiliki desain funky. Read more..


Sony Rolly







Sonny Rolly yang merupakan produk MP3 keluaran Sony, mampu berputar - putar menyerupai tarian. Read more..


Big Stage Web Application






Sebuah layanan web, dimana user atau pengguna internet bisa mengupload 3 foto dan secara otomatis big stage akan membuat beragam konten, diantaranya : film trailers, foto, video games. Read more..


Pacemaker







Pemutar musik portabel yang bisa dibawa kemanapun dijuluki juga pocket sized DJ System. Kita bisa memainkan dan mengkombinasikan musik dengan telapak tangan saja. Read more..

New Intel Chip





Intel mengeluarkan produk chip terbaru dengan kecepatan 3 kali peningkatan kinerja dari chip terdahulu. Read more..


Transparent Toaster

















Pemanggan roti tembus pandang ini memberi nuansa eksotis dan sexy. Read more..

New Google Android Phones & Applications



Goole Android adalah open source yang digunakan untuk produsen ponsel di tahun 2009. Pengembangan Android berbasis cellphone dan aplikasi. Read more..

2009 BMW M3 Convertible









Mobil BMW M3 menggunakan teknologi canggih, memiliki julukan MDrive System. Read more..

Resident Evil 5 on PS3







Permainan video games paling spektakuler, dirancang khusus pada Playstation 3. Read more..

Available link for download