Holiday doldrums: I've been working on a brief overview of the most recent BIS Quarterly Review (that's Bank for International Settlements - sort of a global central bank and international financial regulatory organization) but I'm having trouble making myself finish it. The review is 81 pages of excellent, but rather dry analysis, of statistics and global trends in financial markets, bank business models, foreign currency reserves, and undiversifiable risks arising from securitizations. It's not actually as boring as it sounds (yes it is) but it's time consuming to pull out the interesting bits and connect them to potential future market moves. Which is the reason I exist. Until I can get that organized, here are a couple of time wasters that you may find entertaining if you're stuck on the trading floor this week, while everyone who makes more money than you is on the beach in St. Bart's or skiing in Aspen.
Great white sharks roaming the mid-Atlantic: Like most sane, rational people (who read Jaws as a child and spends way too much time watching the Discovery Channel), I have a pronounced fear of sharks. Specifically, being bitten in half below the waist (haha) by a great white shark while floating walrus-like in the swells off the beach. Or in Lake Michigan (you don't know).
My exaggerated fears led to a life-long, land-based interest in these magnificent animals. OCEARCH has been researching and tagging great white sharks and other apex predators to provide protection for the sharks, and education for the public and other scientists about these deeply mysterious creatures. Thanks to these incredible (and incredibly brave) researchers, I also have a new appreciation for just how often they are probably cruising the surf nearby, not eating me.
Courtesy of Shark Tracker, above is the 2-year tracking history of Mary Lee, a 16 ft, 3,500 lb great white shark who spends most of her time cruising the beaches of the mid-Atlantic, with the occasional vacation to Bermuda. If you want a sincere appreciation for just how big a 16 ft great white is, take a look at the pictures of Mary Lee being tagged on the site.
There are a lot of sport and commercial fishermen among my family and friends, and their encounters with or sightings of great whites have been exceptionally rare, but awe inspiring. Personally I hope to never see one in it's natural habitat or kept in captivity, but I applaud the scientists at OCEARCH and elsewhere who continue to respectfully learn more about them an share that knowledge with us.
Nostalgia on New Year's Eve: There are a lot of stupid things you can do in your 20s, and I endeavored to do most of them. The more reckless of these pursuits required spending a lot of time at bars, listening to local bands. When I was in Chapel Hill in the 90s, one of the best of these was the Sex Police. Alternative angst was not their style: the Sex Police were raucous, ridiculous, energetic and had a horn section.
They are reuniting for New Year's Eve show at the Cat's Cradle. Although I doubt I will find myself there in body, I will be there in spirits.
Hope everyone has a safe and happy turn into 2015. Then back to business as usual.
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