Y2HH

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ Mar 27, 2014 -> 12:51 PM) What unions are you willing to gut? Police, Fire, Teachers? If you start f***ing with the unions they'll f*** with you right back. The problem is they aren't going to tax themselves out of the problem THEY and their cronies created. That pension money didn't simply evaporate...it was stolen, and that's merely one piece of the budget pie they're missing. They've raised every tax, sticker fee, fine, and whatever else you could think of over the past decade and not a single additional cent was paid into that missing pension, and if anything, our crumbling infrastructure has never been worse. All that increased tax money evaporated and continues to evaporate year after year, and nothing actually improves. If anything, it gets worse, causing them to ask for even more. Quinn and the rest of them need to go in IL. I don't care who you replace them with at this point...they all need to get the f*** out.

QUOTE (Tex @ Mar 25, 2014 -> 09:59 AM) I was reading a slate article about the missing plane and how the airline is getting some heat for using text messages to inform family members that the airline believes everyone died. Later it is reported that this was after calling and trying to speak directly with everyone. What is considered today as acceptable ways to deliver bad news? In the old days of the 20th century delivering bad news (not just life and death stuff) was always face to face. It was considered rude and a terrible breach of etiquette to tell someone for example that they were fired over the phone, via mail, etc. Always face to face. Now it seems that a phone call is an acceptable substitute. How many people have received bad news via facebook status messages? So when do we use email? mass email? Text? Facebook? Phone? When do we just have to get in front of the person and tell them face to face? This is just another one of those "the kids are all right" moments in time. Things change, time marches on, and what were once tried and true methods for a plethora of reasons fall by the wayside and something different replaces them, for a whole different set of reasons that will one day be questioned again. The previous generation almost always feels these changes are for the worse, but for the current and future generations, they actually tend to change for the better. Is email or text less personal than having a complete stranger deliver the news face to face? I don't think so in this case. A stranger is a stranger whether via text, email or in person. Also, it's important to keep in mind that in this current day of fast moving information, if you want to be the one that breaks the news, waiting until you see this person may be too little too late, they'll probably have already heard by the time this meeting occurs.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Mar 21, 2014 -> 12:56 AM) It's probably just my fanboyism, because I absolutely adore Tesla (the car manufacturer, and the one of the greatest inventors of all time, Nikola Tesla), but I really think/hope that Tesla is going to be huge. It's already pretty much in a market of its own as a 100% electric luxury car (Mercedes may have a model?), but I just believe in Elon Musk and his vision. The day they get Teslas down to the $30K range (late 2015 according to Musk), and I have a real person job, I will be buying one for sure. The issue for Tesla is it's an infant market that lacks infrastructure -- and while they're taking steps to do something about that -- it's been a slow roll out. Tesla is 100% hype at the moment, they have a great company name, etc., but the bottom line is their cars are too expensive and the second the others decide to flip the switch, they'll be in a over saturated market and find themselves in a race to the bottom in pricing. Tesla will be fine so long as they're one of the only games in town, and while a few of the others have dabbled in this area, none of them have dove into the deep end yet. That said, a day WILL come that Ford, GM, Fiat (Chrysler), Porsche, BMW, VW, Volvo, Nissan, Hyundai, Honda, etc., decide to do exactly that, and when that happens, Tesla is going to find itself between a rock and a hard place. They'll be priced way higher than the cheaper mass production models from Ford, Honda, etc, and find themselves too closely priced to someone like Porsche. Why would anyone spend 75k on a Tesla when they can spend 85k on a competing Porsche? Now, aside from that, let's talk numbers: https://www.google.com/finance?q=tsla&e...sU5CzCdHFqQGBEQ Tesla (TSLA) is trading around $234 P/E: N/A (you cannot have a P/E ratio when you make no money) EPS: -.70 (losing 70 cents a share) Dividend: N/A They have $845,000,000 in the bank (from their IPO and continued share issuance to raise more money) and owe $606,000,000 Their debt has doubled in the last two years, meaning it will probably double again Keep in mind the only way this company has made any money so far is to issue additional shares year after year, as they don't make any money on their one and only product. Now, these numbers aren't all bad, as they're showing growth -- but as I was talking about above, it's easy to grow in a market nobody else is bothering with at the moment. But when the competition arrives in mass, and it will, they're going to find growth much harder to come by, and if they continue building that debt as they've shown they probably will, they won't have the profits to cover it. And by the way, Musk can crow about a 30k Tesla by 2015 all he wants -- that's never going to happen. The only way that happens is if they create a new, separate, non-luxury model, but that car you see now will NEVER be 30k. All of this considered, that doesn't mean Tesla will fail, they very well may succeed -- but these are the types of things I personally consider before investing in a company. As an investment choice, there are better out there, in markets with less competition waiting patiently on the sidelines, with far less inflated stock prices.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Mar 19, 2014 -> 05:04 PM) What about eating turkey and falling asleep at the wheel? Not for nothing, as I know you simply used this as an example, but Turkey contains less L-tryptophan than cheddar cheese, and about the same as chicken. The amount of turkey you'd have to eat to produce this effect is more than most would actually eat, even on Thanksgiving, and those to do eat that much would have to do so on an empty stomach WITHOUT eating anything but the turkey. Mixed with other amino acids, the sleep effect produced by L-tryptophan is negated.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 19, 2014 -> 01:52 PM) Smoking anything is bad for you, however its not even remotely like tobacco. I use a vaporizer, it doesnt ignite the plant whatsoever. It's not as bad as tobacco, and supposedly has anti-cancer properties, but turning your lungs black can't be good no matter what material you do it with.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 19, 2014 -> 01:24 PM) I disagree wholeheartedly. Marijuana doesnt contain carcinogens like tobacco and the heart attack risk you speak of has no validity other than a questionnaire aimed at proving a correlation between the two. Not to mention edibles is by far the largest market for people which wouldnt have any cardiovasular effect no matter how false the studies are. Marijuana DOES contain a lot of carcinogens, just like tobacco. Not sure where you heard that. Look no further than the inside of a bong.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Mar 19, 2014 -> 01:35 PM) Siri has it's own stock??? Or are you referring to Sirius XM? I tried getting my dad in to buying Tesla back in November when their stock was at a low of like $125. He declined and now they are double that. That's a company I wish I had money to buy stocks with 7-8 years ago when I was raving over their prototypes. I'd be a very rich man right now if I was born 20 years earlier. SiriusXM. Tesla is something I agree with your father on, despite their stock price, they simply don't have the numbers to support it. That's 100% speculators, and wherever the speculators are, I don't want to be. Hindsight is also 20/20, but despite that, Tesla is only where it's at because of hype.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Mar 18, 2014 -> 11:28 PM) Exactly. The same applied to the Gear. It was definitely a smart watch, but its exclusivity to Samsung-only phones and its lack of third party apps made it less appealing. Not to mention I wouldn't pay $300 for one. Google's Now interface transfers well to watches. The interface is similar to what's on Google Glass. Personally, I think a well-done Smart watch at the right price may sway me to buy one instead of Google Glass and I thought I was hell bent on buying Glass no matter what. The problem I see with smart watches is battery life. The last thing I need is ANOTHER device I have to charge all the time, and the more capable of the smart watches tend to have 1-2 days battery life, which is beyond abysmal for such a limited device. The Pebble is about 5 days, but it's so limited and it's screen is so suckfest that I have no interest, especially at it's over hyped price point. Until a smartwatch has 1+ week battery life, I don't think they're very viable for much. Can't even go on a camping trip and trust it to live. Which is why I stick with my jewelery watch. Unlimited battery life.

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ Mar 19, 2014 -> 10:17 AM) I didn't really put 2 and 2 together but Oberweis is the ice cream guru? Yes.

QUOTE (bmags @ Mar 19, 2014 -> 10:10 AM) Dillard would have destroyed Quinn. And here's Rauner. I doubt the guy gets to November without being sunk by his corruption. Sounds like he's a perfect fit for IL governor.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Mar 19, 2014 -> 09:22 AM) Not that it's terribly relevant, but these were ruled unconstitutional in South Dakota based on a statute that states the notice must be given to you in person by an issuing officer. They should be unconstitutional everywhere, as they bypass due process.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Mar 19, 2014 -> 08:36 AM) Your property taxes aren't set by the state. The governor has zero to do with that. Durbin will crush Oberweis, but the race for governor will probably be pretty close. Quinn has been very mediocre and Rauner doesn't seem to want to carry the social conservative baggage with him that could hurt him in some of the suburban areas. Property taxes were just used as an example. Our state institutes it's own taxes and fees in it's own way, yet no difference is ever made. Instituting taxes on businesses that simply pass it on to the tax payers doesn't help much, either. Nickle and diming the middle class into the lower class won't do much to help their cause.

QUOTE (Jake @ Mar 19, 2014 -> 08:17 AM) I've always been a fan of Dan Rutherford, but I know him personally. Doesn't look like he has a chance after the "scandal." That alone makes me not want to vote for Rauner I like the things Rauner "says", but we all know better when it comes to what they'll actually "do", and what they actually "mean" after they're in office. I hate when politicians promise things you KNOW they won't or can't deliver on, because the rest of the state government would never pass such laws. That said, IL doesn't have a very good track record when it comes to governors. I'm just sick of all the added fees, taxes, and money generating schemes they've implemented around the state, when despite all of these increases, we find ourselves in more debt, and our credit rating getting cut year after year. Since buying my house in 2007, my property taxes have doubled, yet nothing has changed. The pension system is still an unfunded mess, the entire state is in debt, etc. It just gets old after a while when you realize none of the added money is actually doing anything other than disappearing into the connected peoples pockets.

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ Mar 19, 2014 -> 12:08 AM) What is wrong with Rauner. I need to do my research on the candidates but I'm somewhat tired of the Illinois democratic machine. ANYONE but Quinn IMO. This guy is a bonehead, typical IL politician. I'm pretty sick of most IL politicians, from the inept alderman all the way up to govs we continuously elect time after time. For a state with taxes up the ass, fees on top of fees for everything, money generating red light cameras, they're one of the worst states in the union when it comes to credit rating and debt...and there is no excuse for it all of those things considered. If anything, IL should be one of the richest states in the union.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Mar 18, 2014 -> 01:12 PM) Well that's why you should be smart enough to diversify in long term stocks as well as the penny stocks. The only reason I am doing penny stocks is because I only have a couple hundred dollars to play with just to get my feet wet. I have stock in Exxon, McDonalds, Walgreens, Yahoo, Fifth Third Bank, and others that I've owned for 15 years now, I just do not have control over them because my dad deals with that. He's been doing this for over 20 years now, and I think this is the first time he has gotten in to penny stocks. In fact, he had an investment club meeting last night with this investment club he started, and he said they don't even pay attention to penny stocks, it's all the more technical and big money stocks they trade as a club. Maybe one day I'll have enough money to join his club, but I'll make my mistakes now with small dollars. I speculate with a very small percentage of my money, just not with penny stocks. For example, I've bought TiVo, etrade, Siri, and a few others, but they still had fundamental numbers to back my decision to speculate on their futures. Despite being speculations, I still bought them as long term investments. I don't deal with penny stocks because I don't trade actively, it costs too much in commissions and short term tax, not to mention it's a lot of work. I have had a few losers I've speculated on over the years, and wrote them off in losses, but that's only happened twice. For the most part I stick with fundamentals and dividend investing and it's made me quite a bit of money over the years. A few recent speculation trades I've made was grabbing 500 shares of amd and zynga.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Mar 18, 2014 -> 02:52 AM) I'd still love to see someone who could consistently do this on a yearly basis...getting at least a 10% rate of return before taxes/inflation/commissions are taken into consideration...and maintain this track record for a minimum of say, five years. We always here about the winners and big percentage gains, but that's only part of the picture. That's why I tend to shy away from this sort of trading. I know quite a few people that have had some short term success in these OTC markets, even for a span of a few years, but it's never pretty in the end. All it takes is to get burned one time with these types of trades to wipe out everything you've gained to that point, as traders will tend to fool themselves into think they can't lose. I've been investing (not trading) for well over a decade, going through both crashes in the 2000-2010 span, and I've come out ahead both times. When I'm going to invest a few thousand dollars into a company, I need to see numbers that support that investment. I want to see profits, or signs of real turnaround, I don't like heavy debt loads unless they have the cash to back them, etc. I also tend to stick with dividend paying stocks, so I'm being paid WHILE I'm holding it for long term growth. The other thing people tend to gloss over when they "win" is the fact that if/when you sell it, you're going to lose a huge percentage of that profit to taxes, as short-term cap gains are taxed at ordinary income.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Mar 17, 2014 -> 12:37 PM) PHOT is just soaring right now, while OSLH is just falling like a rock. I keep looking for a spot to jump in on PHOT, but it won't stop growing. PHOT has done this 5 other times in it's past -- going from a few pennies to ~60 to 80cents before crashing again. This is common for OTC stocks, they usually have very quick runups followed by very harsh corrections, so the idea is to get out BEFORE that happens. You won on this one, just don't hold all of it too long now, it just doesn't have the numbers to be where it is, and for an OTC stock, it's trading at massive volumes because speculators are piling into that industry. These cannabis based stocks are all seeing these types of jumps right now, which is why I'd beware. When everyone wants in, you want out...when everyone wants out, you want in. http://www.thestreet.com/story/12525417/1/...mp;cm_ven=YAHOO

Purchased T (AT&T) and VALE (VALE SA) today...both at very attractive prices considering their ~6% dividends.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 13, 2014 -> 11:43 AM) I meant the STATES shot themselves in the foot. You really think Tesla, who will get big time incentives from all these states involved, is going to choose a state that told them they can't sell their cars there? No way. If they have no where else to go they will.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 13, 2014 -> 09:09 AM) I had to post this somewhere... So, New Jersey's Governor Christie passed an Administrative Action (no need for the legislature) that effectively bans all direct car dealerships. Cars MUST be sold by third parties. This move effects exactly one company - Tesla, who will have to close it's two dealerships in the state as a result. Leaving aside the amazing hypocrisy here, of Christie's touting of free markets and then doing the opposite and stifling competition... and leaving aside how awful it is for the government of a state to target a specific business this way to make other businesses happy, turning the state into a tool for businesses driving out competition... this, to me, is a great example of how the corporate money invading politics actually results in business-stupid policy. Here's the kicker... there are two other states that have passed similar laws or actions - Texas and Arizona. Funny thing, Tesla is right now looking to build it's new Giga battery factory, with seven thousand jobs at the beginning and more later, as well as a possible new vehicle plant nearby with thousands more jobs. There are four states in the running - Texas, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico. This is called shooting yourself in the foot. Congratulations, TX and AZ (and NJ). Your "leaders" are lining their warchests with lobbying money, while costing jobs and tax revenue that would actually help people in your states. So the more that things change, the more they stay the same?

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Mar 12, 2014 -> 11:42 PM) A couple thousand here and there. And mostly pot stocks. Excuse me for being snarky when you tell me my dad doesn't know what he's doing. And I am a novice in the stock world, I just work with the small amounts of information I retain when my dad tries to educate me on the subject. I'm not saying your father doesn't know how to invest, but that's not what he's teaching you. Day trading OTC/pink sheets is straight up gambling. You'd be better off learning the basic fundamentals of investing first, so you can understand WHY you'd want to invest in a company, versus buying penny stocks for minimal gains (if any) considering the commissions alone in a mostly rigged game.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Mar 11, 2014 -> 03:15 PM) I'll let you know when my dad stops making money on them. Let me know when your dad stops getting lucky, instead. I hate responses like this, that sound snarky but lack any real information. What kind of money are we talking about here? Why is he buying THOSE specific stocks? I saw those stocks you're buying, and there is no fundamental or technical indicators to buy either. It's like you (or he) threw darts are a board of stock names and just arbitrarily chose them. Let me ask you an honest question...do you have any idea what you're doing or why?

QUOTE (raBBit @ Mar 11, 2014 -> 03:41 PM) Yeah, there definitely are winners in OTC stocks. It's just traditional belief that they're manipulated and largely trash which is true in part. Hell, a lot of people are making a lot of money on these pot stocks that are all OTC and pink sheet. I made a killing on $PLPL in January and got cocky and invested that money into $SKTO. I made more than 50% on $PLPL and lost 30% on $SKTO. I still netted the 20% though. This just has to be money you're not relying on obviously. Things happen fast and are much more volatile. Plus, the people that are in penny stocks are very sheepish so a little pullback can turn into a large drop when shares start dropping like flies. The low number of outstanding shares and complete lack of trading volume is why these stocks are easily movable/easily manipulated. A person with some disposable cash in a quantity of thousands can move these stocks with a single trade, in either direction they choose.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Mar 11, 2014 -> 01:31 PM) Surely it's not the best route to go but if you utilize stop gaps and do your dd you can come out on top. I have actually had a huge day today because of two OTC stocks in $MINE and $ELTP. I wouldn't even recommend that to a person that doesn't work in that industry. I don't believe in day trading, especially today. I think that day is done.