anaverageamerican's dashboard

anaverageamerican replied on March 27, 2008 01:03 to the discussion "The Golden Rules for successfully playing the HUBDUB" in Hubdub:

Umm kruijs, why did you start this thread if you were going to post, "Do not trust any advice or suggestions"?. That seems a bit counterproductive to me, if you get my drift 8^)

anaverageamerican replied on March 23, 2008 04:12 to the idea "Leaderboards: the new solution" in Hubdub:

Wow, we're coining new words, which is pretty cool! I think both Spitzer and 4d are verbs. As far as I know the only person who's name, in the English language, is an adjective, is Rube Goldberg.

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

anaverageamerican replied on March 22, 2008 22:32 to the discussion "Props to the Community and the Admins" in Hubdub:

I've been a software developer for somewhere around 25 years, and I cannot tell you how many projects that I have been involved with failed (that doesn't sound too promising, stop reading now 8^) because the business didn't know what it _really_ wanted, and the development team knew _exactly_ what the business needed.

Open communication, and honest assessment of goals, are the keys to success.

One last point I'd like to make is that Hubdub is still in beta, and in my experience as a user, being in a beta always sucks (actually, now that I think of it, in my experience as a developer, being involved in a beta also always sucks). There are bugs, you're trying to accomplish things but the software balks ... that's business as usual for beta-testers. The payoff, from the user side is you gain credibility with the company/development team, so they take your input more seriously than that of "regular" users. The payoff for the company/development team is the creation of a set of super-users who can keep you on the right track in the future.

So it always sort of starts out as a lose-lose (or at least invest-invest) proposition, but can develop into a win-win proposition in the long-term.

anaverageamerican replied on March 22, 2008 22:07 to the question "Sort and search your open predictions" in Hubdub:

I want to see why all the cash disappeared!

anaverageamerican replied on March 22, 2008 22:06 to the question "Sort and search your open predictions" in Hubdub:

Wow, you still actually _read_news? In between work, family, and Hubdub, I don't have time to _read_ the news, I'm too busy HubSpeculating on it!

anaverageamerican replied on March 22, 2008 22:01 to the question "Sort and search your open predictions" in Hubdub:

Tom, I contacted you through the leave feedback, tiny text box, and asked you to email me, which you did. I _really_ am working 24/7 (okay. maybe more like 12-13/7, but taking Easter off 8^), so I never got back to you.

kruijs (is that equivalent to Chris in English, in some other language?, sorry, not a flame, just a random thought. I've posted before how I think in very non-linear ways 8^), has asked for my number one thing, to be able to sort on the amount to be gained/lost relative to investment. I'd like to be able to sort on multiple factors, like amount to be gained and suspend date, or maybe more appropriately, in my case, amount to be _lost_, and suspend date.

The other thing that's been bugging me about the sortable list is that it doesn't appear to remember how I had it sorted . So I sort by Close Time, go and look at the question I was predicting, hit the Back button, and the list is once again in some random order, so I have to sort it again,

I'm sure I'll have more suggestions as time goes on, and if Hubdub publishes an API, I might quit my day job and form a company with ltmod selling Hubdub addins for the HubWealthy (must be paid in USD or Euros, though we might speculate on Iraqi Dinars 8^)

anaverageamerican started a conversation in Hubdub on March 22, 2008 03:48:

Props to the Community and the Admins

Hubdub seems to have emerged from the usually contentious Internet as a community that is focused on the future. I've been participating on the 'net since I was a contributor to rec.autos.sport.f1 on the Usenet back in the late 1980's. I've participated in numerous forums, and only a couple have approached the serious community involvement of Hubdub.

The folks participating in these forums, both from the user community, and the admins, have maintained a very high-level of discourse, a focus on improving the site, and a degree of respect for one another that is all too lacking on the 'net.

Props to you .. Hubdub users and admins!

anaverageamerican replied on March 22, 2008 03:30 to the discussion "Tits!" in Hubdub:

If it isn't already obvious I'm pretty much a Libertarian, as such I feel that freedom of expression trumps freedom of taking offense. If you find some HubTopic offensive you have the right to avoid that topic, not wager on it, and even leave some (civil) comments about why you found it offensive.

You do _not_ have the right to impose your sense of morality on the entire Hubdub community.

anaverageamerican replied on March 22, 2008 03:16 to the idea "Leaderboards: the new solution" in Hubdub:

It was my impression that many members of the highest echelon of the leader board were looking for a way to sequester large amounts of cash to enable them to better compete with the Hub Polloi in percentage earnings. If that is the case, I agree that it should be entirely voluntary and there should be a codified mechanism by which a FBofHD depositor should be able to withdraw all, or some, of their deposits.

In fact, it was your acceptance of HubMarxism, that started my train of thought, and I'm _very_ impressed that so many of the HDers at the top of the leader board supported redistribution of H$. My thought is that the voluntary sequestering of H$ by the HubWealthy might eliminate the need for any top-down meddling in the market.

Also, InfernalMachine, I never interpreted your comments as a personal attack, or an attack on my ideas. I propose things, some are good ideas, some are not so good. They all require that folks with other opinions challenge them ... that's how synergy occurs. People freely expressing their opinions, but open to the suggestions of others ... I think _this_ community embodies that spirit to a degree I have rarely seen on the 'net .. and I've been on the 'net since it was Usenet, and not Internet.

anaverageamerican replied on March 22, 2008 02:59 to the idea "Leaderboards: the new solution" in Hubdub:

You would probably wind up with a HubBernanke reducing interest rates to obsessively low levels. This would not only punish the depositors in the RBofHD, but cause significant HubFlation ... the condition in which H$ retained as cash lose value. Remember the Carter Presidency (or maybe the Bush 2 Presidency)

anaverageamerican replied on March 22, 2008 00:11 to the idea "Leaderboards: the new solution" in Hubdub:

InfernalMachine,

I think a couple of clarifications are in order,

First I only proposed taxes half-seriously, and if that can apply to t*ts, it should also apply to taxes (though I agree that at my point in life taxes are more important).

Second, I never said anything about the bank forcibly redistributing wealth. It was my impression in past threads that there was a sentiment amongst the HubWealthy to compete on an equal basis with the HubPeasants, so I proposed that it might be possible for the HubWealthy todeposit, and "lock away" some of their HubRiches in an account , so they were returned to HubPeasantry, That way the HubWealthy could once again prove their superiority to the HubMortals, and their accumulated HubRiches could provide a safety net for HubWealthy who have fallen on hard times.

anaverageamerican replied on March 21, 2008 22:07 to the discussion "Tits!" in Hubdub:

Kind of like the recent Fark headline, "What kind of a-hole kills a 71-year-old realtor? James A. Hole, that's who (with mugshot)". The alleged perp's name really is James A. Hole. Is using his name offensive? Is the not-so-subtle innuendo in the headline regarding his name offensive?

I believe political correctness, and worries about the Nanny Police, is stifling public debate on many important topics. I believe firmly in the right of free speech, less so in the right of people who are offended (rather than damaged) to stifle the free speech of others.

So I might personally find the use of the word "tits" in a HD questions offensive, but that doesn't mean I believe the question should be voided. In the free world everyone has the right to free speech, and I have the right to be offended by their free speech.

If I find it offensive, I won't invite them to be my friend!

anaverageamerican replied on March 21, 2008 21:11 to the idea "Gender issues" in Hubdub:

Actually, only half of it. My youngest son (skipper) turned me on to Hubdub. My wife and elder son think we're idiots for expending so much effort on it .... and I'm sure we are spending WAAYYY less time on it than you folks at the top of the leader board.

I spend far more time here on GetSatisfaction than I do on HubDub. But I'm working 60+ hour weeks on a, behind schedule, technology project that is offering bonuses to work overtime and meet deadlines. That's $, not H$.

OTOH, skipper and I are having fun with Hubdub. We are close to one another on the overall leader board, and have a great time trying to stay ahead of each other. I think the (revised) quarter end changes will engender more of this type of localized competition. I will probably never exert the effort to get to the top of the HD leader board, but I will exert the effort to make sure I'm ahead of, or at least competitive with, everyone I know "in the flesh".

anaverageamerican replied on March 21, 2008 20:59 to the idea "Leaderboards: the new solution" in Hubdub:

Even though I'm not in _your_ tax bracket, I think the Royal Bank of Hubdub is a great idea. If it could be used to lock away some of the H$ of the HubWealthy so they could compete on an equal basis with us HubMortals, I think it would be widely used by the HubWealthy. It might be a way for the site to remain more level, and more fun for everybody, without imposing top-down HubWealth redistribution plans or HubTaxes (top-down management of markets has a proven record of being unsuccessful).

In fact, you mentioned Warren Buffet, who is a proponent of the wealthy paying higher taxes (apparently he has not noticed the incredible economic growth in the parts of Eastern Europe that have adopted a flat income tax).

So the questions are going to be, should there be a Federal Bank of Hubdub (Royal is sooo out-of-date)? Will the HubWealthy deposit significant amounts of their HubFortunes voluntarily? And under what conditions should depositors be allowed to withdraw H$? (These are not necessarily in any order, I probably should have put the last one first)

Lastly, I think this is a pretty long-term idea, so let's have a serious, considered, discussion about it, There's no need for anyone to "get their drawers in a bunch" over this. If it ever happens it probably won't happen for a while.

anaverageamerican replied on March 21, 2008 20:45 to the idea "Gender issues" in Hubdub:

Since English seems to have selected itself as the language of Hubdub, I don't think any users with a gender neutral username should object to being referred to as "he". It might be rooted in Victorian Male-Dominance Syndrome, but it is common usage in the English language that the word "he" is not always gender specific, but the word "she" _is_ always gender specific.

Actually, this raises an interesting point, albeit via a fairly circuitous route (my mind tends to work that way). English appears to have selected itself as the language of Hubdub, despite the fact that there are obviously a number of non-native English speakers using the site.

I wonder why? Perhaps it's the site's roots in Scotland (where they _almost_ speak Engish) and focus on the US (where they speak several regional dialects of English 8^).. It might be the relative importance of teaching English in non-native English speaking countries vs. the relative lack of importance that US schools place on foreign language study. It might be the opportunities available in English speaking countrie, that provide an incentive for non-native English language speakers to learn English. I don't know, I just find it interesting.

anaverageamerican replied on March 21, 2008 20:30 to the idea "Gender issues" in Hubdub:

But then the whole, on the Internet nobody knows if you're a dog thing, goes right out the window. Right Skipper? Skipper, SIT!

anaverageamerican replied on March 21, 2008 13:38 to the idea "Leaderboards: the new solution" in Hubdub:

This seems to be a much better solution, at least for now. Infernal's comment about HubMarxism triggered a thought for the future. How about an income tax (though I guess it would _really_ be a capital gains tax), Then we can all argue about whether to tax the wealthy or screw the middle class 8^)

Eventually, there would be a HubGovernment, HubLobbyists, and HubCorruption scandals!

anaverageamerican replied on March 21, 2008 03:28 to the discussion "Hubdub Quarterly Reset Issues" in Hubdub:

It's 11:25 EDT here on the East coast of the US. Time to get to work for extremely over worked programmers, like me, who've been spending all evening on GetSatisfaction discussing Hubdub issues.

anaverageamerican replied on March 21, 2008 03:17 to the discussion "Hubdub Quarterly Reset Issues" in Hubdub:

I think the "scale everyone back by a set percentage" is superior to the Hubdub plan, but I still think it is full of holes. The intent of the quarterly redistribution is to level the playing field between the H$ Extremely Wealthy and the H$ Poor. But like all wealth redistribution plans, the Hubdub plan has flaws. Foremost, it will not only reduce markets, but change them in all sorts of unpredictable ways. Hubdub will become a roulette wheel rather than a news prediction site, or perhaps a slot machine or a lotto ticket.

Hubdub had a plan that was not too well received. I proposed a plan that might have been better received, but stil had significant issues.

HD community let's hear your ideas about quarterly rescaling/redistribution/reeducation 8^)

Inquiring minds want to know!@

anaverageamerican replied on March 21, 2008 02:17 to the discussion "Hubdub Quarterly Reset Issues" in Hubdub:

Hubdub Admins, no disrespect is intended, but I noticed an eventual lack of participation in the thread you guys created ... also I noticed a lot of concern about the chaotic influence refactoring markets would have.

Props to Hubdub for reaching out to the community in the first place.