Code. Design. Explore.

First meal in Budapest… pasteries!

I set off for my second European excursion in 3 years.  The last trip was a 3 week backpacking trip through 5 countries.  Need I say — rushed?  Well I’m entering this trip with the mindset of a slower pace.  In addition to the extra sleep I hope to gain, the real benefit is to soak up more of the cultures in the countries I am visiting.

I took off from San Diego with the destination of Praha (Prague, Czech Republic).  Of course there are no direct flights to Praha.  I wouldn’t expect that.  I can’t even get a direct flight to DC!  So I bounced around from San Diego to DC (huh.. actually I guess I can.. but only when I’m still en route I guess).  Then DC to Vienna, then Vienna to Praha.  I have no problem with lay overs, but I do have a problem with the airports.  I mean can I actually count Austria as a city I traveled to?  Sure I was in the airport, but I didn’t get a feel for the city.  I wish airports were fitted more to the culture of that city.  I mean I know everyone is in a rush, but for those with layovers over 4 hours there should be more than just shitty airport food.  I digress… Read the rest of this entry »

I just watched Zeitgeist, a 3 part movie on Religion, the 9/11 attacks and the federal reserve. This comes two days after reading Charles Eisenstein’s essay on the Money and the Crisis of Civilization and one day after seeing the new Bill Maher movie, Religulous.

First I should preface this short blog entry with the fact that these last 5 months have really been an eye opener for me. I could probably be considered by some to live a relatively simple life. I admit that I too confuse the line between want and necessity, but there are many things I can do without. This doesn’t make me better, nor worse, it just makes me… me. And that is the point.

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I could not believe that the DOW had lost 777 points on Monday.  It was the market’s worst day in history.  Of course we know it was triggered, in (large) part, because the House voted against the bailout plan.

I’ve been investing for about two years now, but have never seen this before.  Some people have been trading for 30 years and have never seen this before!!  The market has been so volatile lately and for good reason.  No one has any clue as to what is going on.  To make sense of recent news, everyone and their pets have written on this topic.  The news lately has really been about 3 things.  The bailout, the election and Sarah Palin’s lack of understanding for evolution.

Two good blog posts (aside from my favorite that I mention below) that I’ve come across recently are the Top 10 Articles on the Financial Crisis and Maturity transformation considered harmful.  They try to give insight into the cause for the current crisis and one even puts forth the notion that the American banking system is flawed at its roots.

I’m starting to agree.

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