The Frog Bog Pontification from the pond. It's funny. Except when it's not. But it usually is. Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 0 0 3 1702

Articles from The Frog Bog

Dog Bites Quarterback 2007-07-18 09:12:31 Michael Vick was indicted by a grand jury for various counts related to dog fighting yesterday.   If he’s not guilty, I hope his name is quickly cleared.  If he is guilty, I hope he sits in a jail cell until he is no longer able to play football. To the people who claim that more attention was brought to this case because he is Michael Vick: you may be right.  But he was also signed to a $130 million contract a few years ago because he is Michael Vick.  If you’re gonna take the positive aspects of celebrity, you’ve got to be prepared for the negative. To the people who claim that what he does on his property is his own business and dog fighting is no big deal- you exhibit a complete lack of empathy (the ability to put yourself in another’s place and feel what that individual feels), which is a common trait in the most violent of criminals.  You may be a sociopath.  Seek therapy immediately.  In fact, I’m gonna go medieval on you.  This is a ...

The Fearless Frog’s Stock Picks for July 16, 2007 2007-07-16 09:56:14 The background info about The Fearless Frog is here. The more recent background info about TFF’s patented Alphabetic Inversion and Chart Reversal Strategy is here. Today Lehman downgraded WTI, which opened at $25.57, so TFF is upgrading ITW, which opened at $57.68. Deutsche upgraded HES, which opened at $66.69, so TFF is downgrading SEH, which opened at $18.60. DG was acqired by KKR for $22/share.  It stopped trading July 9th so I froze the price of GD at that day and will leave that initial trade (DG vs. GD) on the books and keep that date’s valuation.  The DG takeover helped lock in a 37% loss for TFF.  Eeek.  The TFF portfolio dropped a half percent to the Wall Street portfolio this week. I blame Friday the 13th.  The complete numbers for the year so far, complete with closing prices from THAT DAY, are here. - ...

Our Big Trip Part 12- Buffalo, South Bend and the Windy City 2007-07-13 09:36:04 The background info about Our Big Trip is here. A Big Thanks I would like to thank Beth for doing such a great job on the last update. She worked long and hard on it and saved your humble narrator a few brain cells. And I need ‘em. Sunday, October 5: We got up and went to the Coffee Bean in Buffalo for brunch. They had one of those motion-activated ghosts that makes ghostly sounds when you get near it, which Oscar loved. This drew his attention away from the piano, which he enjoyed banging on. This wouldn’t have been an issue except for the fact that the pianist didn’t appreciate Oscar’s accompaniment. I would have tipped him a buck or two, as I usually do, but he was such a creep that I didn’t. Oscar’s not even my kid and I wanted to close the piano lid on the guy’s fingers. I can’t imagine what kind of a brute I’ll be if I ever have any offspring. The food was a New Orleans-style brunch, and it was hot n’ spicy n’ fl ...

Top 5 Bread and Cheese Concoctions 2007-07-11 05:58:07 Had a bit of trouble sleeping last night, which is really nothing new.  It seems to have gotten a bit worse over the last few weeks, which is perhaps normal given recent events.  So I was having a midnight snack at 4am when I realized how important it was to educate the public about the importance of those two essential food groups that constantly seem to be overlooked: the bread group and the cheese group.  Currently fruits and vegetables seem to be getting a lot of press, and I don’t want these nutritious and healthy food groups to be left in the collective cupboard.  So, in order to help you increase your bread and cheese consumption, my favorite ways of combining these two nutritional staples: 1.  Toasted cheese (Cheddar on Rye) (this was the snack I was having).  Toasted cheese on steroids. 2.  Bruschetta (roughly two parts fresh sliced tomato, one part fresh mozzerella sliced thin and olive oil, black pepper and basil fresh from my back porch to taste, served on toa ...

The Fearless Frog’s Stock Picks for July 9, 2007 2007-07-09 11:15:43 The background info about The Fearless Frog is here. The more recent background info about TFF’s patented Alphabetic Inversion and Chart Reversal Strategy is here. Today Citigroup downgraded TYC, which opened at $52.10, so TFF is upgrading CYT, which opened at $65.91. Lehman upgraded SLGN, which opened at $59.24, so TFF is downgrading NGLS, which opened at $33.95.  Not too often that a four-letter stock symbol can be reversed and still be a valid symbol.  Pretty cool.  Yes, I am complete geek. The charging locomotive that is the TFF portfolio continued its rampage this week and gained almost 1 percent on the Wall Street portfolio.  The complete numbers for the year so far, complete with closing prices from Friday the 6th, are here. - ...

The Bluebird of Happiness Didn’t Poop on My Birthday Cake, But The Mourning Dove of Ridgefield Pooped on My Oregano 2007-07-06 08:25:22 Yesterday, I put up a post in which I postulated that perhaps my late father came to visit me in the guise of a Mourning Dove.  It turns out that was not correct.  In this shocking Frog Bog expose, I offer you the complete, unadulterated truth.    This is my house (don’t get excited, we only rent the upper half).            This is the oregano at my house (in the darker container) (you can see the parsley and cilantro in the background- the first round of oregano perished, so this is round two).            This is the cute baby Mourning Dove hanging out on the deck near the oregano at my house.             This is the cute baby Mourning Dove POOPING IN THE OREGANO on the deck at my house.       This is the cute baby Mourning Dove hanging out with his parents WHO ARE NOT GIVING HIM A PROPER SPANKING FOR POOPING IN THE OREGANO on the back deck at my house.        This is the cute baby Mourning Dove poop in the oregano on the back deck ...

Reincarnation in a Dovebird 2007-07-05 07:36:07 Sort of starting to feel like a human being after the passing of my father a couple of weeks ago.  Some days are better than others, but I know that’s just the way it will be for a while.  I spoke to a friend of mine a few days ago, and she said that a couple of days after her brother passed away, she saw an eagle circling above her.  Her brother was into riding his motorcycle and being in the wind and celebrating the freedom offered by America, etc., so she figured that her brother had come to visit her.  I normally poo-poo these types of stories as people sort of trying to make sense of something senseless, or decide for sure that death is merely a doorway and not an end, etc.  But yesterday I was sipping my morning coffee staring out the back door in the sort of trance I’ve been beginning most days with (the mornings are tough- it seems to get easier as the day goes on).  I was leaning against the back door when a Mourning Dove landed on the porch not 6 feet awa ...

The Fearless Frog’s Stock Picks for July 2, 2007 2007-07-02 10:25:47 The background info about The Fearless Frog is here. The more recent background info about TFF’s patented Alphabetic Inversion and Chart Reversal Strategy is here. Today Citigroup downgraded PHM, which opened at $22.45, so TFF is upgrading MHP, which opened at $68.09. Deutsche upgraded TRB, which opened at $29.56, so TFF is downgrading BRT, which opened at $25.76. The TFF steamroller took a bit of a breather this week and still trails the Wall Street portfolio by about three percent.  Three and a bit more than a half percent, to be honest. The complete numbers for the year so far, complete with closing prices from Friday the 29th, are here. - ...

Hilmar Robert Mueller, 1943-2007 2007-06-25 11:13:57 Those of you who stop by here often have probably noticed a marked decline in the number of posts I’ve put up recently.  This is because I haven’t been home much.  I generally look at this site as a blog where I just sort of take a funny or amusing look at what’s going on in my life or the world in general, instead of a diary blog where I say, “Today I’m depressed and it’s raining so I fed the cat and went back to bed.”  But perhaps a little diary-like entry will be somewhat cathartic.  About 10 days ago my father was diagnosed with cancer.  Three days ago he died.  The diagnosis came quite late, perhaps largely due to the fact that my father never complained about anything and would have been the last person on earth to admit that he was in pain.  The good news is that my siblings (and most of our significant others), his wife and I were all present and holding him when he passed.  He did not suffer long.  He had a horde of visitors s ...

The Fearless Frog’s Stock Picks for June 19, 2007 2007-06-19 10:02:32 Yes, I’m doing this on Tuesday.  This weekend has been a bit hectic.  Pardon the delay.  I promise these picks will be just as profitable as any Monday picks we at TFF would have made.    The background info about The Fearless Frog is here. The more recent background info about TFF’s patented Alphabetic Inversion and Chart Reversal Strategy is here. Today Stifel Nicolaus downgraded DDE, which opened at $14.65, so TFF is upgrading EDD, which opened at $19.84. UBS upgraded BAC, which opened at $50.17, so TFF is downgrading CAB, which opened at $21.64. The TFF portfolio’s charge continued unabated this week, and the gap between the TFF portfolio and the Wall Street portfolio continues to shrink. The complete numbers for the year so far, complete with closing prices from Friday the 15th, are here. - ...

The US Open Winner 2007-06-14 08:42:02 I’m gonna say that Jose Maria Olazabal wins the US Open with a final score of 5 below par.  Remember, you heard it here first.  - ...

I’m Not Too Cool For Pier 39 2007-06-13 08:55:06 WARNING-NOT FUNNY POST ALERT!  There was a thing on msn yesterday about the top things not to do in various cities.  I looked through the list to find Pier 39 in San Francisco, and, yes, it was there.  I’m not sure why locals always poo-poo tourist locations.  I think it’s the “my thing” phenomenon.  I give guitar lessons, and I saw this happen about 15 years ago with Nirvana and about 3 years ago with Modest Mouse.  The band is the biggest thing in the universe to the cool kids, but as soon as they get some recognition, exposure and airplay, the kids who were fans from the start crucify them.  Pier 39 is a touristy area.  So is The Pike Place Market in Seattle, The Riverwalk in San Antonio, and the one street that runs through Sturgis, South Dakota during biker week.  But they’re all still really fun to visit if you’ve never been there before.  We have enough money that anyone who thinks they can get some of it will most certainly b ...

100 Frogster Facts- Fact 5 2007-06-12 09:45:53 Fact 5 about me is that I always, always, always wear shorts if the temperature is above 40 degrees fahrenheit (for my European readers, that’s 4.444444444444445 degrees celsius (formerly known as centigrade)).  4.444444444444444 degrees celsius would be iffy, and 4.444444444444443 degrees celsius is definitely long pants weather.  This leads some people to think I am 1) insane, or 2) a real iron man.  The answer, of course, is number 2.  The reason for my temperature toughness is that I am 25% Scottish.  For those interested, I am also 25% Viking (blonde hair, blue eyes), 25% German (perfectionistic), 25% Italian (I LOOOOOOOOOVE pizza), 25% Irish (my beard comes in red) and 25% Atlantean (I’m deathly afraid of sharks).  As we all know from watching Braveheart, my Scottish ancestors wore kilts.  In addition, and we have learned this from watching the golf tournament at St. Andrews, Scotland is always cold and foggy.   Obviously, if you are a hairless Scot r ...

The Fearless Frog’s Stock Picks for June 11, 2007 2007-06-11 09:42:24 The background info about The Fearless Frog is here. The more recent background info about TFF’s patented Alphabetic Inversion and Chart Reversal Strategy is here. Today Stifel Nicolaus downgraded STK, which opened at $39.85, so TFF is upgrading TSU, which opened at $36.19. UBS upgraded UST, which opened at $52.96, so TFF is downgrading TSU, which opened at $36.19. The warmer weather has certainly heated up the TFF portfolio.  While the TFF portfolio still trails the Wall Street portfolio, the last couple of weeks have seen a definite move in TFF’s direction.  The complete numbers for the year so far, complete with closing prices from Friday the 8th, are here. - ...

A Spring Chicken Reports on the Latest News 2007-06-07 11:04:10 Plenty of news, lately.  Plenty of news.  11-year-old kids shooting farm animals for sport (guess which state THAT happened in?), professional athletes defending dog fighting as something that, if done on private property, is no one else’s business (TFF has now moved Clinton Portis from the OK list to the not OK and to be rooted against list), Bush finally doing something about global warming by restarting the Cold War and Paris Hilton being treated like anyone else in society and going to prison for 90 45 23 2 1/2 days. But the biggest news lately is the quiz in the recent Time Out New York magazine, which can be clicked to from here.  This quiz helps you to determine your New York age.  It is more or less based on the old saying that you are as young as you feel.  The quiz, however, takes it a step further and requires proof of how young you feel.  So you can’t answer that you’d LIKE to go out and hear live music three nights per week, you have to answe ...