discussion comment
13 years ago
^^^^^^^^^^^^
Pretty short limb, steve.
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13 years ago
@doug,
This exchange demonstrates the differences between a trader (you) and a business operator (me). My oil hedge was dead easy to figure out since I know my cost of production to the penny and the estimated length of time needed to drill out my land position. Accepting the profit margin that the $106/bbl hedge guaranteed was a no-brainer. My plan is to extend the land position and flip the company with these three years of juicy profits on the books to entice a buyer.
The USD-CAD hedge demonstrates what a buffoon I can be in markets where I have no real expertise. I suppose if I had done even some rudimentary research I might have done better. Seat-of-the-pants investing is no better than buying lotto tickets. I pondered this hedge a great deal but pondering is no replacement for down-and-dirty real work; and I just did not do that. I have decided to let USD-CAD $.90 be my stop-loss floor on this unfortunate hedge. In addition, I will want to see a pretty quick reversal in the trend of this cross rate. I will take the losses on this hedge if the rates are still at current levels in the new year.
I can be such an ass!!
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13 years ago
@Dougster,
You are killing me with your prescient calls on USD. I put on a hedge for my USD-CAD exposure at $1.025. Most recent quote this AM - $.9636. OUCH! That is a 6% hit to my profit margin. I did much better with my oil hedge - $106/bbl through 2013.
My gut and my brain both tell me that USD must fall vs CAD (and sooner rather than later). HAH! Forex market doesn't agree with me! I am going to keep that dollar hedge in place for while, at least until the profit margin hit approaches 12%. At that level it would make sense to eat the the loss on the dollar hedge and capture the profit premium that a $.90 spot CAD would add to my oil hedge.
What are your thoughts, Dougster?
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13 years ago
@fetish_dancer,
The full monty is obligatory in any Canadian club that I have visited. In Alberta clubs, because lap dances are too expensive and too tame, you must have serious dance chops to attract tips. Gymnastics are popular, particular the rhythmic variety. One of the best stage shows I have ever seen involved the naked splits done while using a trapeze above the stage - quite a sight, let me tell you! Another terrific show was done to a Beach Boys 4-song medley. The dancer started out in a bath robe, then sarong and bikini, then bikini bottoms, and finally, the full monty as she strutted and gyrated to 'Good Vibrations'.
Lot of hootin' 'n hollerin' from farmerart at that performance. I went up to the stage and tipped her a brown.
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13 years ago
@steve229,
Our Horsemen may be slow but 'they always get their man'.
I have even had a visit from a horseman to the camp. He was checking for unregistered firearms; everything kosher with my operation.
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13 years ago
@dudeanonymous:
It is not a real vacuum that the girls use. It is a magnetic device on a cord. Dancers walk around the stage with this thing picking up the loonies and toonies (they are magnetic coins). It is much more interesting when the girls bend over to pick up the coins manually. Many tantalizing vistas can be on offer!.
@Doc_Holliday:
Beer works just fine with old farmerart.
You should have seen the look on the asshole's face when he looked up from the floor and saw that it was an old fat bald guy who had whacked him. He was ready to go and I was willing to oblige him but a bouncer rushed over to stop things. Even though the dancer on stage came to my defense, the bouncers evicted me from the club. I hung around outside for a few minutes to see if the asshole wanted to pursue the 'discussion', but he was a no-show. Old farmerart was feeling kinda feisty that night - I was really ready to pour the boots to that jerk.
I have never seen such gross behaviour by a customer in a SC.
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13 years ago
I want to hire this guy. Can always use a superman on an oil rig. Ever had a job, staxwell?
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13 years ago
You guys should visit an Alberta SC just to see how dancers are tipped on the stage. As has already been mentioned, there are no $1 or $2 bills in Canada. Tipping dancers in Alberta clubs is done by the loonie toss. Dancer rolls around naked on stage as guys toss loonies (or toonies) at her pussy. Hit the spot and the dancer will give you a poster or fridge magnet after her set is finished.
Needless to say, this gives openings to drunks to be real assholes. Throwing the coins like fastballs. Heating the coins with a lighter so the dancer is burned. I once saw a jerk drop the loonie in a puddle of puke and then flip the coin at the dancer. (I cold-cocked that bastard and be damned if I wasn't the one thrown out of the club!).
I detest this loonie toss. But, on the whole, Alberta dancers love it. I have seen a dancer scoop up over $300 in coins with her silly little loonie vacuum after just one set on stage.
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13 years ago
I can confirm maverick's post about Vancouver prices. I was once even invited to pay $60/song by a stage dancer at No 5 Orange. Said invitation was declined. For 4-5min of pure air in Alberta SCs you will be permitted to pay $30, but 'business' deals can often be negotiated while a PL is paying this extortionate price for air dances.
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13 years ago
shadowcat,
I'm a bit confused about this story. The last time I was in Red Deer this club was closed. A brief google search turned up three different addresses and two different phone numbers for this club. Back-searching the phone numbers produced a different club name for one of the addresses. Two of my contractors/suppliers are based in Red Deer; next business meeting with them will give me a chance to get to the bottom of this.
X-Static, Red Deer's other SC is an excellent club (by Alberta's lame standards) and is in the same block as the addresses given for the club mentioned in your story.
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13 years ago
Not quite, CTQ.
The Fed still has one big howitzer to fire. Flood the world with dollars straight from the printing presses, not t-bills or bonds. Switzerland just did this recently - setting the swissie at 1.2 euros. The Swiss are now sucking up euros like crazy and shoveling Swiss francs out the door of the room holding the printing presses. Whatever they are doing with all those euros is unknown. I am pretty sure they are not buying Greek, Irish, Spanish, Italian, French bonds! Gold, perhaps?
A strong dollar is exactly NOT what the US economy needs right now. Bernanke has been slyly devaluing the dollar by manipulating the bond market (exceedingly well, in my view). However, events in Europe have put paid to this campaign. The fear and terror in European financial markets is sending 'hot' money to the US in super tanker loads; and the dollar cross rates are going to the moon. Good luck to you, Mr. Bernanke.
For me in my oil play, the US dollar movement has cost me a 5% hit on my profit margins so far. I didn't get my CAD-USD hedge right. I got the oil hedge on at a pretty good price, thank heavens. My production is hedged at $106/bbl through 2013. I am real pissed with myself for getting the dollar hedge wrong.
End of steve's economics tutorial.
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13 years ago
There is also a Climax, Saskatchewan in Canada. I have been there and can report that nothing climactic happens in that place. My favourite name in Canada is Dildo, Newfoundland.
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13 years ago
From the point of view of a Canadian entering the US, things seem to be more intrusive than what you describe. I was held for secondary inspection at Blaine, Washington for four hours on one of my trips. Another time, I was searched and questioned closely at Sweetgrass, Montana by US border control upon LEAVING the US. Entering North Dakota north of Minot was just as awful. Pre-clearance at Calgary Int'l Airport was so long and drawn-out one time that I missed my flight. Curiously, I find the Windsor-Detroit crossing (tunnel not bridge) to be the easiest of any land crossing that I have used since 9/11. I am positive that my passport # has been flagged for some reason or other. I have curtailed my travel to the US as a result of these discourtesies. US can do whatever it wants on its borders but this level of control is now affecting commerce, tourism, and plain old neighbourly relations with its largest trading partner and best friend in the entire world - Canada.
I am dreading my business trip to Houston in January.
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13 years ago
I have also accomplished the mission in doggy in one of the crannies of the VIP in Million Dollar in Mississauga. Otherwise all ITC deeds have been done in cowgirl (forward or reverse) - not my preferred positions.
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13 years ago
In a Toronto area club, the Vip consists of curtained cubicles containing a comfortable easy chair for the customer and an ottoman for the dancer. On one of my visits the dancer started out cowgirl with me in the chair. She found it uncomfortable and jumped off. She gathered the ottomans from two other cubicles and pushed them together with the one in our cubicle, making a bed-like structure. This contraption extended into the VIP's common area but, since we were alone in the VIP, she laid back on this bed-like structure with her legs spread and beckoned me forward.
What was I to do?
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13 years ago
And even though steve seems to be inspecting something interesting in his rectum I will continue the debate. Dougster is correct in his observation that objectification of the dancers as sex fantasy dolls is what we PLs do in clubs. But, humiliating the dancers plays no part in my fantasies; it even destroys part of the fantasy. My position is unmoved.
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13 years ago
The highest paid toolpush here in the north makes $55,000/mo for a 20on-10off work tour. That is about $200/hr for a 14hr day. Now, I am the boss and must surely be worth more than that; let's say at least $500/hr. For a spectacular hour of entertainment from a hot dancer I have no problem paying her the hourly rate I have assigned to myself.
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13 years ago
I don't agree. Any time I have seen this, the dancers were obviously uncomfortable with it. It is de-humanizing - like probing the fruit in a bin at the supermarket. Yuck!!
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13 years ago
Jeez, steve, the most recent cheque I cut for my drilling contractor was EIGHT figures!! I was thinking more on the lines of raising some risk capital from my tuscl buddies.
Anybody interested?
Sheesh................
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13 years ago
@steve229:
The mud suit that roughnecks wear while working on a rig would be perfect SC attire. Smooth for dancer comfort (probably a little slippery when wet, however). Waterproof (embarrassing shot spots would never seep through). Impervious to nasty stains and ugly buglies.
Good idea. I will wear mine on my next trip to the Cannonball in Toronto. Would I need my hard hat?
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13 years ago
What are pants? Short gasps to force air into one's lungs?
For those of us who speak the English language I think you are referring to an article of male clothing properly called trousers.
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13 years ago
@OhioVoyeur:
Thanks for the heads up about the Columbus SC scene. I shall make a point of keeping my chaste self out of those disgustingly raunchy clubs in your town.
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13 years ago
@Club_Goer:
That is a very provocative statement and I disagree with it very much. I have no university education, just a rural Grade 12 high school education. I am very well read and continue to read to satisfy my curiosity and catholic tastes. During my long business career I have been surrounded by multitudes of university graduates. My experience with most of these people suggests that those of higher education have a more narrow focus on the world; viewing the world through the blinkers of whatever specialty their education has given them.
Most of the interesting people I have met during my life are generalists, people who have many skills, people who have traveled, self-made individuals, people who have had many different jobs, people who have more than one language, creative people, people who can THINK. University education does not necessarily give a person the traits that I value so much; in fact, I would argue that higher education discourages these talents, particularly creativity and independent thought.
Society desperately needs the expertise of university-educated people but society also desperately needs the sort of people I have described. As I view the world, society has too many of the first group and nothing like enough of the second group.
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13 years ago
^^^^^^
Yes, Jack, I agree. I am always delighted to visit Detroit clubs for a sedate SC experience. It is such a pleasant change from all the debauchery one sees in clubs in the Toronto area.
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13 years ago
At the Toronto clubs that I frequent the girls seem to be doing Bachelor degrees in HJ and post-graduate studies in BJ and FS.