Author: Robert

That’s what our DNA, our fingerprints, our brain neurons, our bodies, our faces, our stock market, our nature, our planet, our galaxy, and our universe all have in common.

Highly recommended videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE2EiI-UfsE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hvD5kLqjuw&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2bAlIK4KkE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RE2Lu65XxTU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4fUjzqCC-8&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E2U9D1sakw&feature=related

Highly Recommended Wikipedia Readings:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibonnaci_Sequence

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractals

This is the movement in question: [Link 1] [Link 2] (The “Occupy Wallstreet” movement has the respectable goal of getting back at banks for raising fees, by encouraging depositors to move all their money to credit unions).

I posted the following message to the Facebook page of the movement, as well as to the Facebook profile of its founder:

As one of YOU, I fully support your cause (I really, WHOLEHEARTEDLY do), but here is why I refuse to join:

This is a bit scary to the extent that it could cause a bank run if it gets enough exposure. Ironically, a bank run would probably result in another round of bailouts.

Even if there’s no bailout, keeping in mind that the fractional reserve system has banks only holding 10 or 20% of depositors’ money in reserve, the other 80% will have to be compensated from the FDIC. And guess what ultimately backs the FDIC? Tax-payers’ money.

This is a financial system that’s designed to fuck over the American consumer no matter how you try to fight it. Granted, I presented a worst-case scenario where the movement would have enough exposure to deplete banks of all their reserves. Even a grass roots movement that would cause a hindrance of, say 5%, can potentially put banks in the red enough for them to have to tap into the FDIC.

I should also note that I acknowledge FDIC’s insurance limit of $250K, but most millionaires are millionaires because they’re smart enough not to hold all of their money in cash (via checking or savings accounts, or even CDs). Hence, most of the lost money resulting from a bank run would in fact be within the FDIC’s insured limit since most accounts are under $250K in value, and since most wealth held by banks is an accumulation of such accounts as opposed to million-dollar accounts.

Please view these links for reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_run
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractional_reserve_system

Best,

Robert Rafii

…here’s a chat log from a conversation I just had with a good friend.  Keep in mind UNIX underpins both Mac OS X, Apple’s desktop operating system, and iOS, which runs the iPhone and the iPad.

My Friend: did you hear that the father of C and one of the inventors of UNIX passed away recently?  that guy did so much more for us than that steve jobs ever did
Me: i did not.  steve jobs is overrated.  i don’t make light of anyone’s death but i’ll just share my philosophy with you in a photo.
My Friend: ritchie invented the programming language every reputable OS is written in
My Friend: have you ever heard of the kerrigan and ritchie book about C
My Friend: this guy was dennis ritchie
Me: i haven’t heard of him.  which is further testament to the sad fact that the guys who deserve real credit are often fucked over by others
My Friend: http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2011/10/thedennisritchieeffect/
My Friend: this was literally the guy who invented C and helped invent UNIX at bell labs
My Friend: very important fellow
Me: isn’t it peculiar that he died 3 days after jobs?
Me: maybe nature is trying to prove a point.
Me: that people who matter the most are the ones that we often overlook
Me: nature: “don’t believe me? here i’ll kill this guy 3 days after steve job’s and you’ll see.”

I don’t agree with this article, but it’s an interesting read.

http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/112616/imf-bombshell-age-america-end-marketwatch

What is Fallibilism?

The beauty of fallibilism, in my opinion, is that it echoes the notion of the paradoxical universe.

I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.  

– Socrates

In January 2010 I predicted that the then-10K Dow would reach 12,000 by the end of the year.  I’m pretty impressed with myself:

I think agnosticism is logical to the extent that it is equally impossible to determine the origins of the universe as it is to determine the origin of God(s), granted God(s) exist in the first place.

The relationship between the self and self worth is best defined as being correlated with the self’s understanding of its subjection to the will of others to the extent that we are subjugated by how others perceive us.

This disgusting fact undermines our true integrity, granted we strive more to please others than to please our very selves.  This by no means should be confused with the act of giving or the idea of selflessness, for it is one thing to please others through caring for the common humanity we share with them, and it is another thing to please others through superficial means in an attempt to feel accepted and worthy.

The true value of self worth, though not fully attainable in the contemporary state where individuality is irrelevant (see earlier blog posts) is inherent in our ability to distinguish vanity from veracity when we attempt to determine what action is appealing and what action is factually just to our character.

I kid you not.  At least I can tell you that that I received a hit to my blog from the “Executive Office Of The President USA” (EXOP).

I’m pretty sure it’s a legitimate hit because the President (or his peons) were searching on Bing for foreign holders of US national debt through this URL: www.bing.com/images/search?q=Holders of US national debt&FORM=BIFD –> And of course, as of today, the third image that loads on that page is from my most popular blog entry (which actually has been getting hits from search engines quite frequently).

Oh, and for those of you wondering how I tracked the hit–I use a hidden counter that displays the Internet Service Provider (ISP) and approximate locations of computers that access my blog.  In this case, the  ISP was listed as the “Executive Office Of The President USA” (EXOP) and the location was tracked as Washington, District of Columbia.  Click the image to the left to see what it looks like.

The be sure, I also traced the IP address of the hit and I can definitely confirm that it was a government hit from the Obama administration.  Of course, the address on that page displays the location of the network, hence the address is a random place in DC.  This is typical for any ISP–if I track my own IP address, it won’t spit my exact address.  However, given the fact that the Organization Name is EXOP, and that the search term is relevant to something the president’s administration has been concerned about moreso than ever, I would conclude that someone from his cabinet, if not himself or his close peons, has indeed accessed my Blog.

I’m presidential now, motherfuckers! 🙂

P.S. White House, please update your browsers to IE8 at the very least, or just use Firefox.  I can’t believe they’re using IE7–security breach imminent! Although I must say that the fact the IP I tracked is using older software/hardware reinforces my belief about the identity of the user, namely due to the fact that the White House has been known for using outdated technology