nate mcguire

Alright. So you’ve had your fall preview, now its back to things that really matter.  52 inch TV, burgers, brats, and beer. GET YOUR HORNS UP.

Tomorrow is the last ranked test in the schedule from hell for my Longhorns. We travel to Lubbock to face #7 Texas Tech. I’d be lying to you if I wasn’t worried about this game, especially after Tech spanked Kansas like a red-headed step child at wal-mart last Saturday. However, Mike Leach (a certified douche-bag), is 1-7 against Texas in his pirate filled realm at Tech.

So get drunk, wear orange, and kill yourselves a red raider.

What Starts Here Changes The World. We’re Texas.

tylerjameslee has some live videos of the ads here. Whiny bitch.

With Halloween around the corner (tomorrow knuckleheads), a fall themed post seemed appropriate. Halloween after halloween, fall after fall there is a consistent problem with the beginning to the holiday season: Candy-Corn. Probably the most disgusting candy ever created, candy corn remains, steadfast in fall culture.

If you drank a bottle of corn syrup and ate a candle, threw it up, and ate it again, that’s what candy corn would taste like. Fall doesn’t want to taste like that.

Fall wants to taste like pumpkin pie, turkey, and sure, any other acceptable candy on Halloween. Candy corn = not an acceptable candy. Candy corn = disgusting.

Its not about the colors; I like yellow and orange. Heck, the longhorns are the perfect fall color. Orange is not ugly. Candy corn has the colors of mustard (favorite sandwich spread), cheddar (best cheese), and fall—its not candy corn’s fault it was made this way. No matter what, candy corn is still ass flavored, and I do. not. want.

I don’t hate fall. But I do hate candy corn. Please do us all a favor and don’t ruin childrens’ Halloweens by giving it out to them.

After a recent discussion with my friend, it came to my attention that there are a lot of stupid people in America.  This movie, directed by Oliver Stone, “portrays” George W. Bush’s two terms as President.  A lot of people I’ve talked to apparently are under the impression that this is some sort of documentary, showing us the truth behind Bush’s presidency. It is not.  Oliver Sone is an interesting, but undoubtably controversial director, and his movies should be taken as such.  Stone has no qualms about making a movie and portraying his point of view, his movie JFK illustrates this beyond a doubt (and pretty much ruined his credibility). So please, go see this movie, as I probably will, but don’t be ignorant and take it for fact. Yes, W was not a great president, but he also got dealt a pretty crappy hand. Oliver Stone wants to exploit this.

With an expected jump in the financial markets today, I thought I would ruin all of your hopes and dreams and fill you in on what is probably just a dead-cat bounce.

Although the markets will most likely end up today (foreign markets were up as much as 14% and US futures were high), there is some very negative news on the horizon. Investors are always hoping that the downturn is going to end so they can throw their money back in the ring.  Hold off on that, especially since the markets and a lot of our elder’s retirement accounts have already lost approximately 40% in the past month.

Today the Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) was released (last Tuesday of each month), with some historic news, and not the good kind. The CCI is low. As in the lowest it has ever been. The Conference Board’s confidence index decreased to 38, less than forecast and the lowest since monthly records began in 1967. With Americans’ wealth disappearing, $2 trillion in the past 15 months [US News & World Report], and corporate layoffs on the horizon, the outlook for the economy is bleak.

Most people have heard of the CCI and understand that it is an index of consumer confidence, and an important indicator of future economic prosperity or downturn. A lesser known index, but probably more important, is the Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI). The PMI is a measure of the manufacturing sector’s outlook and is released on the first of the month for the preceding month. A rating of 50 or above indicates economic growth, while below 50 indicates downturn. Although the US has turned into a service industry driven by consumer purchases, manufacturing is still where recessions tend to begin and end. Because of this, investors (you should too) follow the PMI closely. Right now we’re is at a delicious 43.

With this in mind, follow the markets closely, keep track of your money, and don’t lose your job. Happy Tuesday.

I don’t want to turn this into a political battleground, but now that the NY Times has endorsed Obama, I feel like it’s time for me to put in my 2 cents. Barack Obama should be the President of the United States. I know, you were really wondering what I thought.

In an interesting article by the Financial Times, an obviously right leaning financial newspaper, they state that Obama would make a better president than McCain.  I like to read articles from traditionally republican (read: loves money) sources that support Obama because I feel that they give a less-biased outlook on the election, and from a European source considered to be one of the leaders in financial news reporting, I find it refreshing. However, they make another point, which people are overlooking at the moment.

“Rest assured that, should he win, Mr Obama is bound to disappoint. How could he not? He is expected to heal the country’s racial divisions, reverse the trend of rising inequality, improve middle-class living standards, cut almost everybody’s taxes, transform the image of the United States abroad, end the losses in Iraq, deal with the mess in Afghanistan and much more besides.” [FT]

If he could do half of these things, I would be elated. The key to happiness in life, ladies and gentlemen, is low expectations.

RTFA: Obama is the Better Choice, Financial Times

So this weekend in Austin was great. TJL and Erik hosted me up at my old house and endless excitement ensued, minus the whole only winning by 4 points to the okies.

Moving on, not to ruin your Monday or anything, but it appears as if the wost of the financial crisis isn’t over.  If you’ve been living in a hole the past 3 months, we’ve been experiencing the worst series of events for our economy, likely since the great depression. The state of our economy and this crisis was predicted by a few, who at the time were considered loony, like my professor of money and capital markets last semester and this guy, Nouriel Roubini. Roubini, one of the few ‘loonies’ to predict this crisis, is on another tour of doom throughout the world stating that, and I quote, “I fear that the worst is yet to come”, and the financial crisis is nowhere near over.

In my limited experience and knowledge, as well as the fact that this dude was right last time, leads me to believe that we are more screwed than most people realize, including the fact that the so called ‘bailout’ is going to cost us billions and not really speed up the recovery all that much.

“What does Roubini think is going to happen next? Rather worryingly, in London last Thursday he predicted that hundreds of hedge funds will go bust and stock markets may soon have to shut – perhaps for as long as a week – in order to stem the panic selling now sweeping the world.” [Times Online]

start hiding money under your mattress, that is, if you still have a job.

I made a mistake, I left you at your most vulnerable. I’m sorry, but I’m back, and everything will be okay.  I’ve updated the theme, and I can’t promise that I’ll post as often as you or I would like, but you will be experiencing some quality shit.

A lot has changed in the month I’ve been gone.  Obama/McCain only has 12 days left, the economy has gone into the toilet, my Longhorns are number one in the country, fall has started, winter is on its way, and I’ve been working my butt off and hoping it pays off in the end.

I’ve decided to take the site in a little different direction, the specifics of which will remain in my head. Look forward to my upcoming posts tomorrow and this weekend, but in the meantime, please check out the good stuff going on at www.tylerjameslee.com and Erik’s blog at www.blaclab.com.

This specifically is a solid post: A How to Guide: Texas Tailgating