jcon

She said she wanted 5-doors hence the wagon suggestion, kata. I'm sure the Camry is a nice car but God forbid she drive something interesting.......

OP never mentioned budget, but even as nice as the cars kata mentioned are, I believe they are more they type of ''2nd'' car in the household, not the family runabout. Many people with the cars above will have something like a CRV to dink around town in. I'd go with the CRV over the Pajero, especially if she thinks the Pajero is too big. CRV has crap brake and throttle response, but it checks all of the OP's requirements pretty well.

Other options are the wagons - Audi wagon with Quattro or a SAAB 9-5 wagon should be able to get you onto/off of some semi-back roads.

Hi RedFx, no I don't trade any US-equities but I was just mentioning OMX because I see it as potentially having a similar fate as BGP (which was sad, because I like Borders - I don't really care for OfficeMax, however....).

Good trade on Deer, congrats.

What about LinkedIn? I want to barf over the fact that it hit 120+ today, that's just unreal. Are we in another tech bubble (social/work/whatever network bubble)? Anyway I'd like to see the options series for LinkedIn!

Instead of being Ron Paul, I was kind of hoping for the return of ''bingobongo'' but alas we couldn't be so lucky. I'd also like to know where Abrak is - though I think I've said this before (or maybe I thought it) I imagine him counting his money on a yacht somewhere after making bank in 2011 and TV is the last thing on his mind. I don't think you are ''Gambles'' because you don't sound so, well.... Gambles-ish. So I'll stick with Ron Paul until I find something better for you Best of luck Ron!

Jim Rogers' maths seems to be a wee bit flawed

known crude reserves are drawn down 6% per annum

based on the assumption that present crude consumption (86mm b/day) will increase by 1.5% p.a. (according to EIA) a total of ~600bb barrels would be used througout the period Rogers mentioned. that's approximately the equivalent of the known crude reserves of Venezuela and Saudi Arabia.

Oh come on, Naam - don't let something so inconsequential as ''real math'' get in the way of hyperbole and ''fake math.''

The playbook is ''use fake math to make a point then when confronted with real math say, ''well yeah but that doesn't matter because it's going to happen anyway (and throw in a ''so in a way, you just proved my point'' for a real fake-logic home-run).''''

This goes for statistics, logic, reality, or anything else a politician/banker/used-car salesman might want play with

George Soros dumped $800M worth of Gold this week, so I'm guessing that's a good indication of where its value is moving...

If HE has sold the majority of his funds holding - I think others should take note. He has been rather successful over the years!

If Soros dumped any gold, I assure you it wasn't this past week.

That's free advice.

You don't need oil to fuel a warp drive, duh.

Perhaps Jim's bow-tie is so tight that it's not allowing lateral thinking such as the above.

Engage.

...

I have been a poster on here in the past, just signed in with my twitter account....

However - this appeared on his twitter .. So ??

'RonPaulNews Ron Paul News

Ron Paul: Sell the Government's Gold http://bit.ly/lCZYbZ | LRPT'

Wait, does this mean RedFxTrade is Ron Paul?

Ron, about those put options, I get what you mean about the 'binary bet' - but I would think that there is something else out there that could make more money than those particular puts - I'm just guessing, maybe OfficeMax puts (and calls for that matter) for when they go out of business Borders (BGP)-style? Just my 2 cents Mr. Paul.

Just to add some fun to the ''practicality snoozefest"

Here are some cars that are a bit different - though in BKK, you do see plenty of beautiful cars on any given day.... these are just from this afternoon

Almost Magnum P.I. (he had a 308GTS (Targa), not a GTB like below, but close enough - this is pretty awesome to see in BKK):

Or, perhaps an old-school 965 (911 Turbo):

And in the background of that 965 above there is this for the folks who like the VW (it is mint btw):

Or perhaps for a Lolls Loyce Silver Spur for highway comfort:

On-topic, there is a car in every pic above that combines safety and value (plus some character) - I know george is a fan of the brand!

Excellent Russell Napier interview on the long view...S+P to 400

Great reset coming. Emerging market currency will be the place to take shelter.

I m not so sure about this above statement. I actually think that the emerging market money flows could reverse and we could see a weakening of these currencies as they have been effectively a carry trade beneficiary. I would have liked John Authers to ask him about gold and the USD in this environment he describes, although a clue is that he says commodities will be hit hard. Does he expect a falling S+P, falling T-Bonds, and a falling USD? Or will the USD rise in this situation. I think we are at an incredibly important juncture right now on what will happen next. A lot of careful thinking of all the possibilities is required.

Thoughts anyone?

I think the idea of buying a series of out of the money put options on US T-Bonds is very attractive at this juncture. The Lehman TLT etf is going to have cheap options today.

I'm not sure I can comment on the S&P call but everybody is going to talk their book so when it comes to this stuff one has to take a few steps back.

About the options, I don't know what volatility is like in the options you mentioned but I probably would not be buying volatility right now. I would guess that vol is rich at the moment. Anything out of the money is going to have a big fat premium in it and could get crushed in volatility terms. Just my 2 cents going into the summer.

I store my cars for 3-4 months at a time here in Thailand but I've never done anything special.

My question is about the waxing/polishing as I'm considering this now and I'm going home soon for the summer - should I wax/polish them before I leave, or after I come back? I've always done it after I've come back but does doing it before storing it offer more protection?

Also regarding spraying the engine compartment with WD-40. Is there a difference between WD-40 and Sonax spray? And do you just spray everything in sight?

I cover my cars when I'm here but when I leave I take the covers off because I find that moisture tends to build up under the cover if it's not used regularly - agree/disagree?

Wait a minute, did Ford steal from the Land Rover parts bin when they owned them?

Those side vents look like the ones from the Freelanders!

Yikes that Mazda truck is ugly IMO.... I know they try to keep the design similar across the various cars/trucks under brand, but the style of the Mazda 2/3 does not look good in truck form.

ignis, what you may have seen could be an Explorer or perhaps even an Expedition (I've seen 2) - the rear window does not really wrap around to the sides, but it kind of looks that way because of a visual illusion with the rear pillars. Or I could be wrong and Ford has some other vehicle around town!!!

tb86, if you're having a party near the end of May, how about an invite to me and board member EvilDrSomkid? We're both young guys and into cars (out of the motor forum section), and it would be nice to check out all of the toys in that garage

PM the party details if you're having one!

It wasn't the AUD nor the Au trade that almost caused problems, it was the Ag trade! I put it in my gf's O_da account (I don't have one, I think I brought this up with Paulo about a month or two ago - where is he btw), and I didn't really check the balance as it was only a relatively small trade - I figured I'd transfer more into the account but at T+2 for the transfer, I woke up on the morning of my birthday to see that if Ag would trade to about 40.6 I would be closed out of that position due to their ''margin closeout'' feature.... I would have had some 'splainin' to do had that occurred . It was a nice b-day present to not have gotten to that point. Now it's in-the-money and a balance transfer should hit tomorrow just to make sure that doesn't happen again......

I'm not a fan of leverage, but small positions with leverage in a relatively large account can work (as opposed to large leverage in a small account - the path to destruction).

All 3 trades are still on. I think gold is going to get hit as per my options-collar-post a few pages back. Silver will gyrate, but it's going to get crushed IMO - I think it's worth throwing some money at a spec short even now, but time and price will be huge.

edit: clarity.

I thought this was about car tax not 60's pop songs?.

Was looking in to this car : http://www.thaicar.c...omer_id=Tent647

But it might be a bad ide and i should maybe go with Volvo insteed . .,

That is a rare car in Thailand. Not a bad price.

Go for it. I know a good garage in BKK where they can service it.

Don't know any good garages in Patters.

OT, but EvilDrSomkid I sent you an email (real email, not PM) - sorry I was late getting back to you! Figured you'd read this in the forum.

;

Re: Audi cars - dominique355, you gotta post pics of your S5 - those things are just awesome

What I wonder is why does zorro always talk about "The Dow?"

p.s. How long has this zorro/midas back-and-forth thing been going on???????????????????? I think we're in ''years'' territory, jeez...... Midas doesn't seem to attack zorro but zorro always feels the need to attack midas - I wonder why? I think I'm going to write a screenplay now, the names ''zorro'' and ''midas'' should make interesting characters.

What's gonna change about the Greek economy if they default?

theoretically Greece could do an "Argentina 2001/2003" and get rid of 70% of its sovereign debt.

Hopefully that will cause them to get a new currency, which then gets crucified. If that should happen, which I place the odds at 1:10, you may find me here for an extended vacaction:

we might also look at a couple of islands at bargain prices

The biggest shame is that the Greek women just aren't as attractive as the Argentinian ladies (that also applies to the currency should they get a new one....)

OK Ladies and Gentlemen, let's all play nicely.

We are all entitled to our opinions which is why I've not removed any posts.

I don't go for heavy moderating as the housing forums are a nice quiet backwater, however, any more petty bickering and posts will be removed and holidays handed out.

On a personal note, I'm not a one for shouting to all and sundry how much (or little) of anything I have, I just don't hold with the wow factor, modest on the outside, to my standards on the inside.

+1 Crossy!

Your house may be modest, but I bet it's one of the most electrically-safe houses on TV! I'd type more but my computer keeps shocking me

Just when those folks are patting themselves on the back and digging up holes for the ''heavy duty trolleys," then begins the shanking. Just like a real shanking, it won't be pretty. Rejoice a pop to 38/oz, then a left-right-center shankfest.

5:55pm 37.98728 - what happened afterward? SHANK FEST.

This trade happened so fast it's just violent. I believe that's as close to 38.x that we're going to get. I could not even make the trade though my bank so I did it on O_da. 6:50pm 100K HKD (equiv) @ 37.30716 10x leverage. Just a small trade but I said I'd do it and I did. This thing (IMO) is so over. It will be 5-handle in no time (35, that is).

villagefarang, I think you have started a great thread (unfortunately, it was only a matter of time until the haters from other parts of the forum come in). While it is sad that people come to bash for no reason, it is nice that you gave the benefit of the doubt, at least.

I hope everybody keeps up the good work here.

tb86, I look forward to partying at your house and sniffing out the keys to what looks like a 911 Cabio parked in front of the infamous ''cheap chairs.'' It will be like Ferris Bueller's Day Off, when Ferris takes Cameron's Dad's Ferrari to the the car park in Chicago

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVACbEHkV2Q

Actually, from now on I think you should refer to those chairs as the ''cheap seats''as a joke whenever you have guests over

Really guys? Come on.

There exists a massive options collar in Au at around 13xx with the collars around 15xx and 11xx (depending on the source, I believe the numbers are 157x on the upper collar and 116x on the lower collar for the futures). We've hit the upper collar to a tee (I never would have believed it if I didn't see it myself). I firmly believe the options will wag the futures dog from now until the end of the summer, at least).

I don't know what large Ag option positions are out there, but I will lay on a short as promised just for your enjoyment if we bounce to 38.x.

All trades are still in, and there is no such thing as 2nd thoughts - there exists only the other side of the trade. 2nd thoughts would imply emotion, which does not make a good trader.

Au/Ag shorts are/will be 12x levered. I would prefer something like 5x, but it is a spec trade so I'll take the 12x.

Just like 4 days ago, 3 days, ago, 2 days and yesterday, I'm still going with Au 13xx by end of summer (and now I've told you the low end of the collar so it's there), and silver sub-20 (I said 18, but to make that call is a bit super-trader-ish). It won't be necessary to ask me every single day until the end of the summer if I'm still in the trade, it's a spec and and I'm in until my bank says I'm out (or I say I'm out). All of you can run the numbers yourselves and let the chips fall where they may.

Now watch as the options make the futures.

lanna: in a hedge-only world, I'd say 7-10 Ag and 400-550 Au (or less). I believe you were actually making a statement more than asking a question (lanna-zen-yoda-style), but I'm just tossing it out there. Crude would be the best one to quell the speculation, as it matters most.

edit: grammar

sub-edit: Obviously, I have a trading bias that takes into account options. That is to be expected, as it is the product in which I cut my teeth. Whenever I consider something, my first thought is ''what's happening in the options market?" Others of you may have a different bias as to why you make the trades you do (here is where I would normally insert coin-dealer jab, but I won't -- dangit, I just did ).

Hi midas,

The end-of-the-world stuff was in response to gregb's response to badge's response to gregb's response to my response, not to you

I don't know how to approach the rest of the conversation anymore. I think you need to look at the world with a bit of a larger lens, but who am I to say. You see what you want to see. I'm not even going to go there with that last post about the max keiser thing, but I laughed out loud.

Just when those folks are patting themselves on the back and digging up holes for the ''heavy duty trolleys," then begins the shanking. Just like a real shanking, it won't be pretty. Rejoice a pop to 38/oz, then a left-right-center shankfest. Everybody is entitled to their own opinion, you've heard mine.

tb86, I think your house looks excellent. Big thumbs up! Don't worry about posters like Nawtier, yuck.

Is this the house for which you posted plans some time ago? If I recall correctly, I remember thinking that thing was going to be a huge build, but you've pulled it off quite nicely. Excellent!!!

Heavy fare for a Sunday afternoon (call your mothers, it's Mother's Day in the US!), so I'll try to keep it short.

@gregb: I think there are some logic ''flaws,'' if you will (no offense), in what you've posted about the 30-50year time frame. I don't really want to get into it right now, but I would just say perhaps consider the idea that the biggest effect on final outcomes is made in the first few choices. That's the idea behind adaptive testing (the newer standardized testing, for example), and I'm sure somebody versed in game theory can better explain it. So to make giant assumptions about a 50year time frame (yet ironically, saying there is ''too much to consider to make a short-term prediction'') kind of goes against that idea.

Somewhere in the Financial Crisis thread there was a discussion in which I brought up evolutionary theory and make a connection with finance. Abrak mentioned chaos theory, the butterfly effect, and random walk. There was a nice little discussion in there, and maybe you can access it through the search function. You mention physics and geology, and base your entire financial future on the assumption of total collapse of society. Well, with such an entrenched view, it's obviously difficult to have any type of real discourse, so I would just say perhaps consider that beyond physics and geology, there is also mathematics, biology, psychology, philosophy, etc., etc. and they would all need to be considered to create a well-rounded world view. To relegate anything to ''collapse of civilization'' is well, counter-productive. Humanity will not fail - Adapt And Survive, that is a theme bigger than any collapse of any certain ''civilizations'' at any given point in time. Like I said before, I don't like to fade evolution. If you really don't believe that humanity will survive, then well that's what you believe and I wish you the best.

There was also some graphic posted which highlighted some collapse of the world (with a convenient time frame, no less). I don't remember the thread, but I did make a promise to report to the members of this board about my battle with the zombies in 30-40 years. That still stands. I hope Will Smith is still alive to help me and to keep me from eating my future wife out of hunger and despair. I Am Legend v.2.0.

In short: badge pretty much said it already, and I agree with him.

@midas: I didn't mention a sustained recovery in the USD- I believe I said that I believe the DXY can run on a tear up to the high 70s in short order. Beyond that, who knows. I don't believe we will live in a future world exchanging PM coins, however. If anything, I take the opposite view in that we will go even beyond paper "fiat" and go even more into electron ''fiat.'' Then some folks will really froth at the mouth. I say go with the flow, but hedge accordingly. It's quite simple really - and must less stressful. You don't want to be the guy who nobody wants to invite to the party because all they talk about is the end of the world (not saying you are, but just sayin'). BTW, I know you like to read zerohedge, but I'm calling a top in that site. It seems to have had its own parabolic blow-off (see comments section for proof - people have become emotional/delusional over such a small thing, and that sends a big signal aka reminds me of "message boards" during the dot-com bust).

Re: Faber - I'd rather see Naam in a Worf-suit sporting a German/Klingon accent talking about "Earth's Bonds vs. Klingon Bonds." Now that would be entertainment.

edit: grammar