Random Musings & Mundane Details

Blog moved to ArtSindlinger.me

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Sun, 20 Jul 2025 00:37:00 +0000

IMG_20101203_230355.jpg

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 05:05:00 +0000

IMG_20101203_230355.jpg, originally uploaded by sindlinger.

After Spending a Good Chunk of Saturday Driving Back and Forth on Devon, We Capped the Day with Dinner on Devon

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 00:21:00 +0000

While I know it's just one of many colorful Chicago neighborhoods, the stretch of Devon between say Ravenswood and California is one I always find very visually interesting. Sari shops next to grocery stores next to store fronts offering GSM phone unlocking services next to restaurants next to the National Bank of Pakistan next to etc. etc. etc. Sensory overload.

And it's jamming at all hours. 3pm traffic. 9pm bumper to bumper traffic. Never stops. Great energy and people watching, as long as you're not in a hurry. And since there is plenty of time at every stop sign and red light, I decided to talk some random shots as I crawled along the strip yesterday.

Love seeing the Cabbage sale featured prominently in the Patel Brothers window.

Still need to get into Adelphi some day and try the fine Indian wine that the sign seductively promotes.

Flyer in the window is for 'Free English Classes for Women'. Knowledge is power.

I'm not 100% sure what Nayab Mart carries, but if you're in a pinch at 3am, they'll be open for you.

All this driving back and forth on Devon got me in the mood for an Indian dinner. It had been a few months so we were due.

Though I was almost swayed by the Chop Suey Cocktail Lounge, I couldn't quite persuade Judy that was a good idea.

We intended to try something other than our usual (Indian Garden), but Al-Habib Grill failed because it didn't look like they served alcohol and I was ready for at least one beer last night. Then we considered giving Tiffin another chance, but as we walked up to its fancy, stylish exterior we peeked inside and saw the boring grid layout of tables that were just a bit too close together and remembered why we didn't like it the last time we were there. So, we walked on to the old stand by.

But at least we mixed it up some. First, no wine. Kingfisher to wash it down, as it probably should be.

Then, we went the three app and split one entree route, finally learning after umpteen visits that we always have way too much leftover when we each get our own entree.

Vegetable samosas, cashewnut rolls and aloo tikka

And the main dish, Murg Makhani, which was excellent with the Kandhari Naan.

Dinner @ Topolobampo for Judy's Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 22:07:00 +0000

Like much of the rest of America, Judy has become obsessed with Rick Bayless. After the Top Chef Masters show I heard a regular refrain of "we should go there". But just try getting a reservation. No es muy facile. Try it over at OpenTable. You'll get a bunch of options Tues - Thurs at 5:30 or 9pm. But booking 6 weeks out, I managed to finagle a 7:15 slot during Judy's spring break week when a Wednesday night dinner date could actually work. A belated celebration, but still squeaked it in during the birthday month, so I'm counting it.

Though I had been to Frontera / Topolo twice before through work functions, I had never actually eaten upstairs in either dining room. So we were pretty pleased with our corner booth table in the front room.

The guacamole and jicama chips is a nice opener. Really could have just eaten those all night.

Warmed up by a few glasses of cava (thought I had remembered the name of the brut rose cava, but cannot find it anywhere via the Google. Guess it will just be a special one night thing) and some jicama chips, we were ready for the main show. We each went with a 5-course tasting menu. Judy chose the 'Celebration' and I opted for the 'Michoacan'. Italicized words indicate its the actual menu description. Non-italicized words are my less eloquent take on how we liked the dish.

Pollo con enchiladas a la plaza
Pan-seared red chile "enchiladas" of jicama "tortillas." Crispy chicken, roasted carrots and potatoes, homemade fresh cheese, pickled jalapeno.

Bad picture, nice opener. The jicama 'tortillas' were nice and spicy, the breaded chicken cubes were quite tasty. A winner.

Pescado crudo "al pastor"
Samshimi-grade Hawaiian day-boat catch with La Quercia prosciutto crust, lime pudding, three-shile salsa, grilled pineapple, red chile cracker.

This was Judy's. I think she liked it.

Churipo de Lujo
Savory red chile short rib soup with epazote, chayote and chochoyotes (corn masa dumplings).

Back to me. Not my favorite. The corn massa dumplings were nice, but the smoky, peppery main flavors of the soup were a bit too strong for my palate.

Mariscos en Chilpachote
Grilled baby octopus, Viking Village sea scallop, soft-shell crawfish, PEI mussels, tender squid in velvety chilpachote broth of chipotle chiles, epazote and tomato. Yuca "sand".

Definitely a Judy dish. Again, think she liked it.

Pescado con dos Chiles y Uchepos
Smoky walleye capped with roasty arbol chile-peanut salsa. Uchepo crumble, roasted tomato-guajillo sauce, Nicholas Farm beets, wood-grilled knob onions.

This was my favorite. Who knew? I like walleye. At least this walleye. A few of the dishes were served with fresh tortillas so you could work up some very fancy DIY tacos. I made 3 of them on this dish alone. They were awesome. I might now be a fish taco guy.

Carnitas de Puerco
Roasty golden carnitas of Maple Creek pork shoulder and pork belly (slow-cooked confit style) with fresh green tomatillo-avocado salsa, homemade tortilla, line air, radish.

This was Judy and she barely touched it. We were getting full and learning our lesson that, really, we don't need to be doing multi-course meals.

Borrego en Mole Negro
Roasted Elysian Fields lamb "ribeye" in classic Oaxacan black mole (made from chilhuacle chiles and 28 other ingredients). Seared lamb belly, black bean tamalon, huazontles, jamaica whip.

I was also apparently getting a little buzz from the Cava, as I forgot to get a shot of this dish until I was half way through it. Also probably explains why I'm eating medium / medium rare-ish lamb. Not something I'm usually inclined toward.

Arroz con Leche de Coco, Nieve de Zapote Negro
Coconut ride pudding with creamy tropical black sapote nieve. Toasted rice biscocho, orange cream, puffed rice.

This was a very nice dessert. Any other night you might say it was a really great dessert. But on this night they also had ...

Cafe con Leche y Chocolate
Very chocolatey chocolate ganache cake with espresso pudding, bittersweet chocolate swirl ice cream, cookie crunch.

I've said this before and I'm sure I'll say it again, but at the time, this seemed like the best dessert ever. Ridiculous.

You might also have noticed that they sauced a little 'happy birthday' on the plate. When I originally made the reservation six weeks prior I had indicated it would be for my wife's birthday. But I hadn't said anything at all at the restaurant, so it was nice of them to remember that touch. Thankfully, there was no birthday sing along tableside.

Later, I asked our waiter, Paco, if I could see the menu one more time, intending to take a picture of it since I would never remember everything we had been served. Paco did us one better. He got a nice 'happy birthday' autograph from Chef Bayless himself.

All in all a nice evening. But I left uncomfortably full. Next time, I think we'll opt for the Frontera bar area. Seems that would be more my speed.

Spending a Saturday Watching Hockey and Making Questionable Food Decisions

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 12:25:00 +0000

While most other people were resting up and getting ready to watch some Elite 8 basketball games, a friend and I were going to watch the * real * tournament: Mens Hockey. Specifically, the Northeast Regional opening game between BC and Alaska.

After a false start at Trinity, an alleged BC bar that confirmed multiple times over the phone they'd be showing the game but then didn't actually have the necessary channel, we fell back to the old stand by, Finley Dunne's. It's kind of in no man's land @ Lincoln and Cornelia, but you'll know you're in the right area when you see the landmark Pelly's Liquors sign.

With a swarm of about 7 fans, we managed to get the D2 mens basketball championship pushed off the main TV.

The Tang Burger was surprisingly good. And before all was said and done, about 80% of those tater tots were gone, too.

Oddly, or maybe typically, there seemed to be some kind of private party happening in the backroom that involved young couples with toddlers. But if that wasn't weird enough, three grandmas ambled in and grabbed the table next to us.

Inertia took over after the hockey game and we wound up watching the whole Butler / K State game, too. But I try to limit my Saturday afternoon drinking to no more than 6 hours, so after that it was time to schlep back home via the L.

Finley Dunne's is conveniently located near the Paulina brown line stop

With the wife out having a girls' day / night and therefore abandoning me for dinner, I was left to fend for myself. And that equals El Norte.

All in all, a solid way to spend a gray, chilly Saturday afternoon in March.

Colombian soccer on GolTV (Now you tell me)

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 19:28:00 +0000

Post bocce night, post SNL, I pulled up my recording of Millionarios vs Nacional. Learned that Millionarios is the premier tream from Bogota and that Nacional is one of two solid clubs from Medellin.

Further research on Wikipedia revealed that the souvenir shop coffee mug I picked up in Bogota for La Equidad is kind of like picking up a White Sox mug in Chicago instead of a Cubs mug, or maybe a Mets mug in NY instead of a Yankees mug. Yes, La Equidad is a team based in Bogota, but they are absolutely not the city's iconic club.

In fact, if you check out the historical performance by club within Colombia's Primera A, you see that they are one of the three least successful clubs in the league. No wonder why there was only one token mug in that store, sitting there amid dozens of Independente Medellin mugs.

The Death of MySpace

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 14:28:00 +0000

Another Funny Target Women: Jewelry

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 04:45:00 +0000

"Jewelry face is the ultimate goal of jewelry. It says 'I'm touched' or 'I love you back' or 'I guess we'll be having the sex now'".

H1N1: To Vaccinate or Not to Vaccinate?

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:44:00 +0000

Had a couple of conversations about swine flu this week (ok, H1N1). After having my crazy bout of illness after Labor Day, I've felt that was my close call this season. Totally irrational belief, but that's where my head's been at. But this week's discussions, including the imminent availability of the vaccine at my wife's school, have led me to reconsider. And for me, that means a bit of research.

* Vaccination is 1,000 times less likely to be harmful than getting the flu itself

If I'm correctly interpreting the info below, excerpted from an Examiner article, then the odds are 1,000 times greater for having a problem w/ the H1N1 than they are of having a problem with a flu vaccine. Comparison isn't perfect (using 1976 flu vaccine complications as a basis), but directionally useful, in my opinion.

How safe is it? For many people, particularly parents, this is the big question. A great deal of concern stems from vaccinations given in 1976. Of 40 million doses given, 400 cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome (a syndrome involving creeping paralysis, often permanent) were reported. The cases were never absolutely linked to vaccination and it's never happened again. Researchers are keeping a close eye on this batch of vaccines. According to Bruce Gellin, director of the national vaccine program, of the10 million doses administered by late October, not one resulted in side effects more serious than soreness at the injection site or stomach aches. When weighing the pros and cons of vaccinating yourself or your child, keep in mind the facts. We know at least 1% of those infected by H1N1 will become seriously ill and may require long-term care. Meanwhile, if Guillain-Barre is a true risk of innoculation, that risk is 0.001% and, as yet, no side effects have surfaced. Also, single-dose vaccines do not contain any mercury-based preservatives. If you're still concerned (and there's absolutely nothing wrong with placing a lot of thought into this decision), talk to a health professional. You can also check out the national vaccine reporting system, by visiting VAERS' website:vaers.hhs.gov/index.

Couple of additional reference links:

- WebMD- Is the H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine Safe?

- CDC Vaccine Q&A

"Merchant Database Compromise" - Not Something You Want to See

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:21:00 +0000

Logged into my Citibank account and was greeted with this. Awesome.

My 1 hour Comcast Customer Service Live Chat Transcript

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:17:00 +0000

Last night I unexpectedly spent an HOUR with Comcast customer service chat. Unbelievable. Full transcript of the experience below. Not great times.

user art_ has entered room
art>
site not recognizing my username, so i cannot sign into my account online
analyst Franz has entered room
Franz>
Hello art_, Thank you for contacting Comcast Live Chat Support. My name is Franz. Please give me one moment to review your information.
Franz>
Thank you for contacting Comcast. I am very happy to assist you!
Franz>
I would be happy to assist you with that. Please be assured that I will do everything I can to help you with your concern.
Franz>
In order for me to help you with your concern, allow me to pull up your account. May I have your account number?
art_>
well, that's what i'm trying to get to, franz
art_>
but i cannot sign into my account
art_>
and i do not see an option to recover username or password
art_>
my username has always been my email address
art_>
i'm not sure why it's not working now
Franz>
I will provide you the login again
art_>
great
Franz>
May I have the last four digits of the socials registered in the account?
art_>
XXXX
Franz>
Thank you.
Franz>
Please allow me a moment
Franz>
I'm still working on it. Please allow me another moment.
art_>
ok
Franz>
Thank you.
Franz>
May i know what error message you encounter art?
art_>
sure - let me try to log in again and i'll let you know
Franz>
Thank you.
Franz>
Take your time.
art_>
missing or invalid information - username not found
Franz>
I apologize for the inconvenience.
Franz>
I will need to transfer you to our Internet department to reset this for you since I got an error here on my end okay?
art_>
ok - so what do i do? stay here and someone else will jump in?
Franz>
That is correct
art_>
ok
Franz>
Please wait, while the problem is escalated to another analyst
analyst Maria has entered room
Maria >
How are you doing today?
analyst Franz has left room
Maria >
Hi there, Art.
Maria >
How can I brighten up your day?
art_>
hi
art_>
do you not have the history of this chat?
art_>
i cannot log in to my account online
art_>
site is telling me my username is not recognized
Maria >
I am checking on it now. Thank you for that, Art.
art_>
thank you
Maria >
You are much welcome! I understand that you are having issues with your email login. I am more than willing to assist you with your concern.
Maria >
Before we proceed, can you please provide the following information to secure the privacy of your account.
-full account number
-last four digits of your social
art_>
i cannot get you my account number b/c i cannot login to my account
art_>
but the ss# is XXXX
Maria >
That is fine, Art. Thank you for that information.
Maria >
Is it okay if I reset a password for you?
art_>
sure
Maria >
Cool! Thank you.
Maria >
Art, may I know the name of the account please.
art_>
i'm not sure what you mean by 'name' of the account
Maria >
May I know who is the holder for this account? Or to whom was it named?
art_>
should be me, art sindlinger
Maria >
I see. Please give me one moment while I pull up the account for you.
Maria >
Will that be okay?
art_>
ok
Maria >
Cool! Thank you.
Maria >
Thank you for patiently waiting, Art.
Maria >
May I know what username are you having troubles with?
art_>
sindlinger@gmail.com
Maria >
I see. Thank you for that, Art.
Maria >
May I know what services do you have from Cocmast please?
Maria >
Comcast I mean.
art_>
i have digital cable
art_>
have had it for a few years now
art_>
am trying to upgrade to triple play
art_>
so i'm a hot lead here
art_>
but i can't log into my account
Maria >
Thank you, Art. May I know what site are you having troubles with logging on to your email account?
art_>
https://www.comcast.com/Customers/CustomerCentral.cspx
Maria >
Wow! That is great, Art. We really appreciate your loyalty for our sevices.
Maria >
About your email login, there is no available username and password since you are subscribed for our cable service. In order for you to have an email account, we need first to subscribe to our internet service.
art_>
argh. really? i've been trying to login to the wrong site?
art_>
where do i login to my cable account?
Maria >
Yes, Art. If you are subscribed with our internet service, you need to login to comcast.net for you to access your email.
art_>
i am not trying to access my email
art_>
i don't have email with you, at least not that i care about
art_>
i am trying to login and manage my cable account
Maria >
With your existing email address, you need to log on to gmail.com for you to be able to access it.
art_>
?
art_>
i'm not sure i understand you
art_>
this is what i'm trying to do
art_>
i receive my 'comcast statement ready for viewing' emails from you
art_>
it includes this link
art_>
http://www.comcast.com/payonline
art_>
that prompts me for my username, which is my email address
art_>
i enter my email address and get the 'missing or invalid information' message
Maria >
I see. Thank you for that information, Art. Let me check the details for that. Please give me one moment to do it. Thank you.
Maria >
Thank you for patiently waiting, Art.
Maria >
About your issue, can you please type comcast.com on your address bar.
art_>
ok
Maria >
Good! Then, look for CREATE ACCOUNT located at the upper portion of that page beside SIGN IN.
art_>
ok. but i have an account, don't i?
Maria >
Yes, Art. You already have a cable account with us but with email, you need to subscribe first with our internet service.
art_>
i don't understand.
art_>
i registered my account with comcast.com 11/14/2004
Maria >
Yes, Art.
Maria >
I can also see that here on my end.
Maria >
Do not worry, your cable account is existing and we have a record of your service.
Maria >
Have you created an account in comcast.com, Art?
Maria >
We need to do that for you to be able to pay your bills online.
art_>
what?
art_>
you're really losing me now
Maria >
I am sorry about that, Art. Can you please look for CREATE ACCOUNT on that page beside SIGN IN.
art_>
what do you think i have been asking about for the past 45 minutes
art_>
i have an account
art_>
i have been paying my bill online for 5 years
art_>
that is the account i am trying to log into
art_>
but your system is not recognizing me today
Maria >
Okay. I do apologize about that, Art.
art_>
and i can't believe after 45 minutes in this chat you guys still do not apparently know what i am even asking about
art_>
this is nuts
Maria >
I sincerely apologize for that, Art.
art_>
at this point i'm honestly not very interested in apologies
art_>
i am interested in accessing my account
Maria >
Yes, Art. Can we please try logging on to your account this time with my assistance.
Maria >
Just click SIGN IN.
art_>
ok
Maria >
Thank you. Can you please use your username and password.
art_>
do you know what the sign in experience looks like
Maria >
Just sindlinger,do not include @gmail.com. Thank you.
Maria >
Yes, Art.
art_>
same error message
Maria >
May I know what error message are you receiving please?
art_>
it is the same error message
art_>
art_(Mon Oct 26 2009 22:02:51 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time))>
i enter my email address and get the 'missing or invalid information' message
Maria >
I see. Is it okay if I try it here on my end, Art?
art_>
sure
Maria >
Thank you. Can you please provide me your username and password, Art.
art_>
are you serious
Maria >
For me to check the problem Art, I need to try it here on my end so that we will be able to solve your issue with your login. Rest assured that you login is secured. But, if you have doubts about it, it is fine with me.
art_>
maria, i think you have entirely missed the point of why i initiated this chat session
art_>
i have given you what i know to be my username
art_>
and i have told you that the system doesn't recognize me
art_>
and i have asked if there is some way to reset my password, like EVERY OTHER online service out there
art_>
the ol' 'forgot your username or password' link
art_>
which apparently does not exist on comcast.com
art_>
and apparently live support is not able to help either
art_>
this is absolutely crazy
Maria >
Okay, Art. I do apologize again. I will give you the link for you to change your password. Please give me one moment.
Maria >
I am really sorry if I messed up with your issue. I do apologize about that. Please calm down so that I can provide you the necessary remedies for you to login to your account.
art_>
maria - i have been asking about a simple issue for an hour. please do not tell me to calm down. if you can provide the link you reference, we can both go on with our lives. thanks.
Maria >
I will, Art. About your current account that you've been using for 4 years already, I can see here that it you need to register again for you to be able to login to your account. The error you received was caused by the merging of comcast.com and comcast.net sites.
Maria >
What we can do now is to create an account with the same email address that you have for you to access your account.
Maria >
Will that be okay, Art?
art_>
sure
Maria >
Thank you.
Maria >
Can you please click CREATE ACCOUNT in comcast.com, Art.
art_>
ok
Maria >
Please inform me if you are able to register successfully.
art_>
maria, i do not have my account number.
art_>
it's in my account info online
Maria >
I can provide you with that, Art.
art_>
great
Maria >
Here is your account number: XXXXX
Maria >
Thank you.
Maria >
Please inform me if you are able to create an account successfully, Art. Thank you.
art_>
looks like i'm in
art_>
Maria >
That is great, Art! Good job.
art_>
really wish we could have gotten to this point 40 minutes ago
Maria >
I am really sorry of what happened earlier.

Lookalikes: Nouriel Roubini and Linus Van Pelt

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:39:00 +0000

Not sure why this hasn't occurred to me before. I've certainly seen Roubini (aka, Dr. Doom) enough on CNBC. But the light bulb went off this morning.

It's not just the resemblance (the gourd-like head shape, the unkempt hair) -- Roubini and Linus also share a reputation for doing their fair share of pontificating. Which is one reason I found it surprising to learn that Roubini is apparently such a player.

Image credits:
Invertia, Green Retirement, RGE Monitor, 9timezones, NY Daily News, The Press Posted in the Tribune Times, Clarification,

You Should Check Out the Intelligence Squared Debate Series on Bloomberg

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:03:00 +0000

Read about Intelligence Squared in a recent NYTimes article and coincidentally caught a broadcast of it last night on Bloomberg. Wasn't bad. I won't kid myself and suggest (or hope) that this will have any huge influence on the rest of TV news coverage of important issues, but it's a nice alternative nonetheless. I hope they keep it going.

By the way, my personal boycott of CNN / Fox News / MSNBC is somewhere past a month now. Maybe longer. Feels great, too.

Charting the S&P 500 & GDP Growth

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 16:06:00 +0000

Yesterday I took a look at the relationship between the S&P 500 and the unemployment rate. This morning I wanted to look at how the S&P and GDP figures align (or don't align) over the years. Again, I didn't quickly find the charts I was looking for, so I created my own.

Using S&P data from Yahoo! Finance and GDP data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, I looked at two things:

- Plotting same year S&P 500 growth and GDP change
- Plotting current year S&P growth and next year's GDP change

I guess the difference here is whether you think the market is reflecting current mood / environment or is it anticipating what lies ahead. It's probably some combination of both. How's that for illuminating and actionable insight?

Some stats here that I perhaps knew but never quite processed fully until looking at this is how the years after big drops really do snap back.

1974: down 29.7%
1975: up 31.5%

2002: down 23.4%
2003: up 26.4%

2008: down 38.5%
2009 YTD: up 18.3%

Again, these charts will be most legible if you hit the "full" setting in the player below.

S&P 500 + Gdp 1970 2009

View more presentations from sindlinger.

Charting the S&P 500 & Unemployment Rate: 1980 - 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 19:47:00 +0000

This is what I did with my Saturday.

Hearing both a lot of debate about the merits / feasibility of a "jobless recovery" and chatter on CNBC about people feeling anxious regarding the sustainability of the stock market's ongoing rally, I wanted to look at a correlation between unemployment rates and the S&P 500 over the past big unemployment spikes / recessions. But I could not quickly find any charts making this connection. So, with historical S&P data from Yahoo! Finance and unemployment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, I put together my own chart, which is embedded below.

The only way it will be remotely legible is if you hit the "full" setting on the slideshow player. You can also download it, too. I've spent more time putting it together than analyzing it, but here is what I'm seeing at first glance:

- The early 80s period and the early 90s period are rather similar
- The degree of the moves in the early 00s period are substantially greater than the two earlier periods
- In all three of the prior periods, the Low (L) in the S&P was seen before the Peak (P) of that period's unemployment rate.
- After the Peak (P), the S&P didn't really dip back to test the lows much

We've seen a pretty dramatic recent low in the S&P (March '09) and unemployment seems to be nearing a peak / plateau period. Does this bode well for the S&P in the near term and intermediate future?

Charting the S&P 500's monthly close & Unemployment Rates: 1980 - 2009

View more presentations from sindlinger.

Update:
I'm also including a base version of the chart without all my add ons.

Charts S&P500 And Monthly Unemployment Rate Blank

View more presentations from sindlinger.

24 Hours in Utah for a World Cup Qualifier

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 01:00:00 +0000

While I would have preferred to check the Costa Rica game in DC, squeezing a recreational Wednesday night trip into the work schedule is tough. So if I wanted to see a qualifier, Sandy, UT on 9/5 was my best shot.

View from the SLC airport was about what you would expect, I guess. Kinda brown, kinda mountainy.

After checking into the Hotel Monaco and dropping our bags we still had ~4 hours until kickoff. So we wandered out and soon found the Red Rock Brewery. Our criteria were beer, food and some TVs. Check.

A Blonde Ale

Prosciutto wrapped caprese salad

Dude with a pretty unfortunate hair style

Pre-game was successful, now it was time for the game. Asked for a cab at the Monaco, wound up in a van with Chafer, who became our handler for the rest of the day.

Trip to the stadium was relatively quick, leaving time to roam about, survey the tailgating scene and try to offload the extra pair of tickets I had purchased thinking for sure I'd be able to flip them and cover the weekend's beer expenses with the proceeds.

Not quite.

Rio Tinto Stadium holds 20,000 for soccer. Announced attendance at the game was 19,000 but it looked like less than that actually showed up. And at least one third of the crowd was wearing the royal blue of El Salvador. Net: not the best environment for trying to sell extra tickets. But during our stroll we were approached by a woman brandishing a turkey baster who offered us a "gin shot that tastes like lemonade". Would have been rude to refuse such a hospitable offer. And it did somewhat soften the blow of eating the cost of those extra seats.

Fortified, we headed in.

Took me a few shots to realize that the camera on my phone was on the low quality / low res setting. Sweet.

Nice place to see a game. Just too bad the SLC metropolis couldn't come support the squad.

These guys were representing, though.

Our seats were decent, a few rows behind the El Salvador bench.

Could have done without the super enthusiastic high school soccer player behind us shouting out "MAN ON!" and "WATCH THE SWITCH!" and "COME ON BECKERMAN, THIS ISN'T MLS, SHOW 'EM WHAT YOU GOT!". But the view was solid.

Place emptied out quick enough.

So it was time to meet our man Chafer for the ride back to the Monaco.

And there he is.

I actually took a more in-focus version of this, but honestly, this one is probably an appropriate representation of how things were feeling.

Chafer was solid. On time and had the cooler stocked with Coors Banquet, as we requested. At least, as we requested once we were advised that our choices were pretty much mainstream domestics. When in Utah, do as the Utahans do.

So we asked Chafer for some nightlife suggestions. He offered a few, but the first one we got to was Lumpy's.

Standard pool table scene downstairs. Not so standard bar service. Bartender had to ask his colleague what a Black Russian was. Should have aborted the order right there.

After a few unimpressive games we ventured upstairs, which turned out to be the right move.

All the TVs you could possibly want.

Just skip the mixed drinks and stick with beer.

Think I stopped taking pictures at this point. Until I got to the airport and saw this evidence that some Utahans do indeed have a sense of humor.

Still Waiting for the Novelty License Plate to End all Novelty Plates: IMA JKASS

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 12:39:00 +0000

Saw this on the road yesterday.

If you can't quite make out the plate, I tried to zoom in a bit with my limited photo 'editing' skills.

It reads NV MY MPG.

Really? For better or worse, the Prius has already become something of a polarizing statement, even when they aren't plastered with juvenile, antagonistic messages.

Now, to be clear, I am not a Prius hater. Far from it. I have rented a Prius and enjoyed it. I know, like and respect a number of people who manage to own Priuses without feeling the need to congratulate themselves on their environmental consciousness and economic savvy via novelty license plates. And I own a Toyota Yaris, so I'm all for great "MPG" (yay!).

But "NV MY MPG"? Come one. That's not funny. That's just being a jackass.

500,000 Reasons to Pay Attention to the Market & Your 401K Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 12:14:00 +0000

An invaluable lesson learned the hard way
In 2000 & 2001 I saw my modest 401k cut by two thirds, as the NASDAQ went from 5,000 to 1,800. I thought I was doing everything right. I had been contributing with every paycheck. Had aggressive allocations since I was still a relative youngster. Thought everything was fine (there was still a touch of that go-go 90s vibe in the air, after all). But after I had settled into my new job and went through the process of setting up a new 401K and rolling over the old one into a Roth IRA, I had a WTF kind of moment. Two thirds - gone. That's nuts. I didn't know what to do, but I knew there had to be a better way.

I wish I could remember exactly how I found Dick Fabian's Mutual Fund Wealth Builder, because if anyone tipped me off I want to give them proper credit. But I may have just found it in Borders. And it changed my life. I know that might sound pretty weird and cultish, but it's true. His message isn't complicated. It gets pretty repetitive in places it definitely has stretches of high corniness. But the bottom line is he outlines a straightforward approach that is easy to follow and it can save your @ss in years like 2008.

The point is there are macro market trends that can give you a 'red light' or 'green light' kind of signal. Either get to safety and wait out the down draft, or get back on the elevator up.

I'm oversimplifying here, but if you see a couple of major, broad market indicators close below their 200-day moving average, that's a bad sign. On December 27, 2007, the S&P 500 dropped below its 200 day moving average.

Image Source: Yahoo! Finance
S&P 500 closes below its 200 day moving average on 12/27/07

That was a real crap time for it to break down because I personally wasn't paying as close attention as I usually do. And by the following Friday the S&P was down ~7% from November (seems like a quaint concern these days, though). If I was truly adhering to the system I would have reallocated my 401k out of traditional 'long' equity funds and gotten to safer ground with the S&P still around 1,478. Because I had seen this kind of show before and it wasn't pretty.

Image Source: Yahoo! Finance
S&P 500 breaks down in September 2000, beginning a downtrend that didn't turn until March 2003, after a drop of ~33%.

But I didn't. I waited a little bit, in case it was a false signal. I looked for it to get back up above its 50-day moving average as a sign. By late February that wasn't looking likely and I got out when the S&P was around 1,380. Took a little hit, but it could be absorbed. Comes with the territory, as they say.

That's the good news (for me, anyway). The problem is then that my 401K plan doesn't have any choices designed to really grow even during a bear market. We have a couple of short term income funds and a bunch of longer term funds that are great as long as the broader markets are great. In case you hadn't noticed, the broader markets haven't been great this year.

Most of my current 401k options have tanked along with the market

Here's how it looked yesterday when I pulled up the performance table. Not good times.

Publicis Groupe 401K choices

Publicis Groupe 401K choices

And you can see in this series of charts comparing the individual funds to the S&P 500 year-to-date that they all have been taking the same ugly ride down.
Note: charts were grabbed last night, before things got even uglier today. Also, the S&P is the red line in each chart, the blue line is the specific fund being compared to the S&P.

T. Rowe Price Growth Stock (PRGFX) - year to date

Image Source: Yahoo! Finance

Artisan Mid Cap Inv (ARTMX) - year to date

Image Source: Yahoo! Finance

American Beacon Small Cp Val Inst (AVFIX) - year to date

Image Source: Yahoo! Finance

Hotchkis and Wiley Mid-Cap Value I (HWMIX)

Image Source: Yahoo! Finance

Fidelity Freedom 2025 (FFTWX) - year to date

Image Source: Yahoo! Finance

Fidelity Freedom 2040 (FFFFX) - year to date

Image Source: Yahoo! Finance

Fidelity Freedom 2010 (FFFCX) - year to date
This is one of my favorites. Designed for those getting ready to retire in 2010. Should be getting into pretty 'safe' territory here. Down 25% year to date. Good grief.

Image Source: Yahoo! Finance

Fidelity Contrafund (FCNTX) - year to date

Image Source: Yahoo! Finance

One of two options I have in my 401K where I wouldn't have gotten crushed by this most recent downturn is PTTRX. Fortunately this is where I moved everything back in February. Those who advocate buy and hold, dollar cost averaging on the way down, smart and safe asset allocation and other similar nonsense would have howled at this move. But, Dick Fabian's red light / green light system tells me to move. I moved.

PIMCO Total Return Instl (PTTRX) - year to date

Image Source: Yahoo! Finance

The options I wish I had in my 401K

Earlier this year I asked someone in corporate HR about getting a bear market fund option in our 401k. I was told that kind of vehicle was speculative and irresponsible (I'm paraphrasing as I can't find the email to get the exact language). I was told, however, I could make a formal request in writing with some rationale. I might direct them to this post. What seems irresponsible to me is that some people are in a two-years-until-retirement fund and getting 25% of their @sses handed to them in 9+ months.

Wouldn't it have been nice if I could have allocated some share of my balance and ongoing contributions to one of these three?

Again, charts are as of last night, S&P is red, highlighted fund is blue

Prudent Bear (BEARX)- year to date up >20%

Image Source: Yahoo! Finance

Rydex Inverse S&P 500 Strategy Inv (RYURX)- year to date up >40%

Image Source: Yahoo! Finance

Grizzly Short (GRZZX) - year to date up >60%

Image Source: Yahoo! Finance

It would have been more than 'nice'. It could have made an enormous difference in people's 401k balances 30 years from now. To illustrate exactly how much of a difference it could have made, I ran a few simple scenarios.

The bottom line break down

Assumptions:

- Initial 401K balance of $50,000 when S&P 500 triggers the bear market alarm as it did on 12/27/2007
- A total drop of 33.3% in the S&P before it triggers it's next bull market alarm (at yesterday's close of 984.84, the S&P was 33.3% below its 12/27/07 close of 1476.27
- After the 33.3% drop, no further contributions are made and all portfolios make 8% annual returns for 30 years

- Portfolio A does not get out at time of the bear market trigger and rides down with the S&P
End balance: $335,647

- Portfolio B gets out at the time of the bear market trigger and stays in cash on the sidelines
End balance: $503,133

- Portfolio C gets out at the time of the bear market trigger and reallocates to 50% cash, 50% a bear market fund designed to deliver returns inverse to the S&P
End balance: $586,876

- Portfolio D gets out at the time of the bear market trigger and reallocates 100% to a bear market fund designed to deliver returns inverse to the S&P
End balance: $670,619

- Portfolio E gets out at the time of the bear market trigger and reallocates 100% to a bear market fund designed to deliver returns that are twice the inverse of the S&P
End balance: $838,105

Now, depending upon the size of your initial stake at the trigger date, the absolute numbers will vary. But whether you have $5,000 and are just starting or $1,000,000 and are close to finishing, the percentages are the same.

* Take a 33% hit and it will take you ~6 years to get back to even at 8% per year.

* Get on the sideline and wait for the next up trend and you finish with 50% more money.

* Get out and reallocate into an aggressive bear market fund and you could have an extra $500,000 in 30-years. But, that might be speculative and irresponsible. Best to just put your lil' eggs in something nice, like FFFCX.

UPDATE 11/3/2009:
From WSJ.com:
Paragraphs below speak to the value of avoiding losses. Rest of the article ('Cruel Math of Big Losses') provides some conventional tips for those who might not be comfortable with technical trend analysis as an approach for sidestepping these big losses.

"If an investment declines 10%, it takes about an 11% gain to break even (assuming you don't pump in additional dollars). If the drop is 20%, you need a 25% gain to recover. A fall of one-third requires a rebound of 50%. And if your investment falls by half, "you need a double," or a 100% return, says Mr. Wiener, the New York-based editor of the Independent Adviser for Vanguard Investors. The recovery percentages grow exponentially because you have so few dollars working for you after a big loss.

Last year, the average diversified U.S.-stock fund was down 37.5%—requiring a 60% advance to break even—and plenty of funds were down 50% or more. Investors looking at this year's performance listings should know that some big gainers are volatile funds that were big losers last year; thus, investors' holdings may still be worth far less than they were in late 2007."

A Tale of Two Bags - High Sierra Sport's Customer Service Comes Through

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 12:04:00 +0000

Earlier this year I bought two carry on expandable bags from High Sierra Sport . One has been through maybe 15 - 20 trips and is still solid. The other starting falling apart after trip number 3 or 4.

Note the left wheel caving in. It sticks like that, which kind of nullifies the whole rolling concept.

Below you can see how the handle grip started unraveling

This was pretty disappointing. And because I am sometimes a lazy procrastinator, I didn't take my receipt to the place where I bought it (the Randolph location of City Traveler) within the 60 or 90 day return window. But the bag was still covered by its warranty. And while it took more back and forth via email that it probably should have to get a response from High Sierra's customer service folks, I have to say that once I did connect with them and sent back the pieces they needed to confirm what kind of replacement bag I needed, they got the new bag to me within two or three days.

And my sweet orange bag and I are back in business.

Pictures from NLDS Game 1 - Cubs v Dodgers

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 14:12:00 +0000

Well, I was luckier than the Cubs were. By far. What I saw was the first game of a sweep that has broken hearts all over Illinois. But, for it's worth, I had a great view.

Aisle BLPN33 Row B Seat 3

You know your seats are good when you're right next to the photographer well

Manny on first

Long faces and rally hats - not a good sign

Greg Maddux pitching mop up in the 9th. Weird.

My Lucky @ss is Heading to the Cubs Game

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:41:00 +0000

Not only that, but I have a preposterously good seat, thanks to the very kind folks at Tribune Interactive.

Cold or not, this will be fantastic. And I have no qualms whatsoever rooting against Lowe, Nomah and Manny (would be different story if it were, say, Wake, Youk and Papi who had defected the Nation).

Shouldn't Jerry Manuel be Holding a Clarinet or Something?

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 15:20:00 +0000

A couple weeks ago I was watching SportsCenter and saw some shot of Jerry Manuel out of uniform, wearing maybe a grey t-shirt, seated with his back against a mostly blank wall, looking up toward the cameras. Something about that just made me think he should be on stage at an old jazz club holding a clarinet rather than filling out major league lineups. While I couldn't find that image of Manuel, the images below give you a sense of what I was thinking. The shot of George Lewis, in particular, is uncanny in how well it captures what I imagined. Manuel has a bit more of a beatnik look, but still, this is pretty close.

Image sources: Jerry Manuel, Zimbio / Jeff Gross - Getty Images; George Lewis, George Lewis Society; Blue Note, Martin & Jopparelli

21 Hours in New York

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 00:24:00 +0000

Had a quick trip for some meetings. Managed to pack a few things into 21 hours.

Stayed at the Flatotel (see my review).

They didn't have a mini bar, so I found Cafe Duke, which was brilliant (another mini review).

Look past the piles of trash - place is brilliant inside

Had some meetings at ESPN. Love this particular wall whenever I see it.

Enjoyed a nice lunch at The Palm.

'Parmesan Truffle Fries' with the Palm's beer (sort of Bass like)

Ground Ahi Tuna burger with sweet potato fries (which were brilliant)

Got 5 minutes of fresh air on a brilliant late summer afternoon that felt like fall.

And saw one of the MNF out of home installations with the turf effect.

Touring the ESPN Campus in Bristol, CT

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 17:10:00 +0000

(People who still call me "Arthur": my mom, and the security desk folks at ESPN)

As my wife likes to remind me weekly, I am spoiled.

I get to do some pretty cool things in the name of 'work'. Nice meals, big games, etc. And over time you get used to some of these things as 'coming with the territory'. I wouldn't say you take them for granted, but after 8+ years of it the 'wow' effect isn't as strong as it was, say for example, the very first time I got an afternoon of free beer, sun and baseball on a rooftop in Wrigleyville.

However, every now and then you get to do something really cool and unique that snaps you out of your nonchalance and reminds you how freaking lucky you are not to still be writing table tent copy promoting monthly catering specials for a local bagel bakery chain (although those were good times, too, in their own way).

On Monday September 8th, I got to log work hours that involved touring some of the ESPN campus in Bristol, CT.

It was literally like this SportsCenter commercial with Peyton and Eli Manning.

At one point we were in that hallway and our host pointed out that yes, it was the hallway from that commercial. I resisted the urge to back trip one of my colleagues.

Below is a shot of a mini football field which you may or may not see figure into an NFL Countdown this season. Would be nice to see the guys take their mini run throughs outside once or twice.

Pretty cool hallway. Wouldn't be bad walking through that everyday.

Unfortunately there weren't any games going on when we were there, but we were told it can get pretty heated on this court.

The set where NFL Live is shot. One of a number of studios we got to see that day.

Early days shot of Berman. One of many classic pictures hanging on the walls.

The NASCAR studio. That car was actually raced once by Tony Stewart. I've been to one race but never got this close to a car. Much more compact than you might imagine seeing them on TV.

At one point during the tour we got to "see the sausage being made", if you will. They were producing a quick phone interview between Bob Ley and Bobby Knight, getting Coach Knight's reflections about Don Haskins, who had died over the weekend. Was pretty interesting seeing all the logistics involved in putting that together. The areas highlighted by the yellow boxes are (1) the graphic slate showing a head shot of Coach Knight and something like a 'by phone' note, and (2) Bob Ley in the studio doing whatever he does while the production folks patch the call together and whatnot. Got to hear Knight refer to Haskins as a 'tough, honest son of a bitch' or something along those lines.

Other notable things that I didn't capture with my Helio:

- Linda Cohn walked right by us while I was txting someone about something. So I missed seeing her directly, but through my peripheral vision I would estimate she's like 5'1", tops.

- At one point Kordell Stewart and Jamaal Anderson also walked past us. Jamaal Anderson is listed as 5'11". No way that's true. Maybe 5'9". And, for what it's worth, he has his own MySpace page.

All in all, pretty damn cool.

Tonight's Agenda: Persepolis

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 19:57:00 +0000

Tonight's Agenda: Persepolis ... and what wound up being a mediocre Chilean Merlot from the Super Foods (not a big surprise, I suppose). Movie was great, though. Feel free to click through this link to buy it so I get my 11 cents as an Amazon affiliate.