They could have just hired me

Apologies that I didn't blog about this the MINUTE I heard about it, but if you haven't heard of the SAC Capital scandal, let me fill you in.

A senior trader, Andrew Tong, thought that junior traders were too aggressive. But where there is a problem, there is a solution - I'll let DealBreaker explain:

For those of you who don’t have Google alerts set up for “some pretty fucked up shit,” Andrew Tong, who was fired last year from the hedge fund, has accused Ping Jiang of sexual harassment that had Tong taking female hormones (which he bought on the black market) in order to reduce aggressiveness and make him more effeminate, and, in turn, a better trader. Additionally, there’s been talk of “sexual relations between two men.” Tong has also stated that the hormones caused him significant emotional and physical distress, as well as impotence.

You can also watch the video on CNBC about the story. Pretty screwed up, right?

Up in Stamford, SAC employees are flummoxed. Not by the accusations, per se, but the rationale behind them. "If taking female hormones actually helped you do your job, they would simply hire women here," one said. "But they don't.”

Umm, yes, because the senior guy was having sex with the junior one...

Anyway, I was a complete wuss when I was trading, I had no idea that style was in demand.

R.I.P. My Alter Ego

It used to be, when you googled my name, the top hit would be a page on the Philadelpia Eagles site, doing a fan spotlight of someone with my name (even including the 'Jr.'). It was a tragic, but uplifting read. He talked about how he and his father had bonded over being fans of the Eagles, and how after his father's passing, he was able to continue being a fan.

That site is no longer up. It seems that it was taken down from Eagles site, and if you google me, it doesn't show up anymore. But, as many of you have seen, the picture from that site lives on, as my avatar in various places (like in Google Talk). I discovered that the site was down when someone asked me "What's that picture?" I was upset when I couldn't find it. It was like I lost an old friend. The article was a funny heartrending portrayal of a man - a man who wore funny hats with Eagle's wings on them.

Most of the details from that article escape me. I remember he mentioned his rough upbringing, and there was some story about how he taunted a Giants fan at some contest in a bar.

The only remnant of the intense Eagles fandom of my tocayo is a pic still on the Eagles site, shown above.

Meet me at the front

During my first visit to the gf's new school, I spent a couple of minutes waiting for her at the school's entrance on Hester St. I felt weird - hanging outside of a high school, after school, by yourself, just looking around, I felt that everyone was looking at me, wondering what I could possibly be doing there. Not that it was a big deal, but I was glad when she came down to bring me in.

Fast forward a week or so - The school makes the front page of the Post. The headline: After-School Sex Specials. There was a brothel operating nearby, that was targeting the school's students, operating out of the Robo-Pong Training Center, a ping pong hall.

The men would try to lure students to the Robo-Pong Training Center by distributing business cards outside the school, sources said. The cards were printed only with a contact number, an image of a topless woman - and a word, "Good."

It seems Time Out New York put a clip up of that very place on YouTube (that's my speculation). I'd never heard of robo-pong, but it is like a batting cage for ping pong, in that you have a machine aim balls at you to hit. Anyway, from Gothamist:

The NYPD ran a sting operation and undercover cops (from the 21 Jump Street division?) were told, "You can pick any of these girls for sex, and it will cost you $35." A police source told the Post, "It was obvious that they were targeting young students, because the prices were so low [$35-60]. Most brothels charge at least $100."

This is the kind of stuff that ruins the reputation of men who are waiting outside of high schools for their girlfriend-teachers. KS - I'll visit your school, but meet me at the front.

Dragon Wars

The How The World Works post begins like this:

WARNING: Under no circumstances should the following post be interpreted as a positive review of the movie "Dragon Wars: D-War." By reading any further, you absolve How the World Works from all potential liability for psychic pain suffered, in this universe or any other, as a consequence of viewing "Dragon Wars."

I'm such a freak, I kind of want to see it.

He goes on to quote Dustin Pittman at The MovieBoy.com:

"Dragon Wars" is destined to go down in history as one of cinema's most blunderingly, catastrophically bad big-budget films of the last few decades. Only worth seeing with a large group of friends and a bottle of hard liquor by your side, the movie bypasses the barest hints of behind-the-scenes sanity and enters a realm where the viewer legitimately wonders if what he or she is watching was made by homo sapiens."

Not likely though. I already got the gf to see another South Korean movie, The Host, with me (which was very good). I doubt I'll have luck on this one too, especially when I can't possibly lie about it maybe being good. 17%!!