George Papayiannis » Coffee

Koumbaro

George A. Papayiannis — Sat, 01 May 2010 04:50:01 +0000

Where Tumblr Comes In

George A. Papayiannis — Sat, 01 May 2010 04:45:13 +0000

This is where Tumblr comes in. It’s the future of social networking if your image of the future features intelligent discourse. I love reading other Tumblr users replies, because they’re thoughtful by virtue of the fact that if they’re not, they’ll bring the intellectual property value of their own blog down, and that’s a commodity on Tumblr.

— JM

A Comment on the Yen

George A. Papayiannis — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 14:55:48 +0000

"At this point, it is worth noting a small bit of history. We began our career trading foreign exchange back in the 70's for what was then NCNB in Charlotte, N. Carolina, and we can recall well trading the Yen/dollar at 165 and higher. Indeed, we can recall not too long before that when the Yen/dollar rate had been centred upon 225. Thus, with that past history it is not difficult for us to envision the Yen/dollar rate moving readily to "Par" when it may well be quite difficult for others to even imagine that possible. It is to our advantage then to recall that history, and it is further to our advantage to understand that something truly tectonic in nature is taking place in the Yen/dollar and Yen/Non-US dollar relationships. Henceforth we shall try our best not to be concerned about 25 and 50 "pips" in the Yen/dollar relationship, for we envision hundreds upon hundreds of "pips" as the trade unfolds… multiples of "big figures" passing by over the course of the next several months and years." – D. Gartman (Mar 31/2010)

Mrs Watanabe Likes….

George A. Papayiannis — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 23:53:22 +0000

"Of particular interest, Mrs Watanabe likes Brazilian bonds. Holdings of Brazil fixed income instruments stood at JPY1.34 trillion in February, nearly a third more than last February. Consider that a Brazilian real money market pays her 6% a year, 55 times more than she can get if she takes advantage of the government’s relaxation of the deposit limit. Some reports also suggest keen interest in Chinese equities, but Japanese investors have a clear preference for bonds over equity, according to Ministry of Finance capital account data." – Marc Chandler

Think About It This Way

George A. Papayiannis — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 23:14:25 +0000

“‘Tony, think about it this way. If your worst enemy drops sugar in your coffee, what’s going to happen to you? Nothing. But what if your best friend drops strychnine in your coffee? You’re dead. You have to stand guard at the door of your mind.’ He was saying that the selection of [my friends and advisors] will matter more than anything else, and that you can’t take anybody’s approach as sacrosanct.” – Tony Robbins

If I Could Go Back..

George A. Papayiannis — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 18:33:00 +0000

..and change one thing in my life, I would have lived with my sister in University.

A Comment on Greece from June ‘93

George A. Papayiannis — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:38:18 +0000

“If all of the Greek islands were merged with the mainland, it would be about the size of Alabama; there are 10 million Greeks – and perhaps another 4 million living throughout the world, who still think of themselves as Greek. They are, thanks to their history, magnificent patriots and nationalists – and abominable citizens, who deeply mistrust every government they’ve ever had. Essentially they are fierce individualists, who mistrust so much whatever government happens to be in power as the very idea of government. The have almost no sense of civic responsibility – Pericles complained about this at length – and History has never given them much of a chance to work out a stable system of government.”

A Christmas Note from Ben Stein

George A. Papayiannis — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 21:59:49 +0000

Here with at this happy time of year, a few confessions from my beating heart: I have no freaking clue who Nick and Jessica are. I see them on the cover of People and Us constantly when I am buying my dog biscuits and kitty litter. I often ask the checkers at the grocery stores. They never know who Nick and Jessica are either. Who are they? Will it change my life if I know who they are and why they have broken up? Why are they so important? I don’t know who Lindsay Lohan is, either, and I do not care at all about Tom Cruise’s wife.

Am I going to be called before a Senate committee and asked if I am a subversive? Maybe, but I just have no clue who Nick and Jessica are. Is this what it means to be no longer young. It’s not so bad.

Next confession: I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don’t feel threatened. I don’t feel discriminated against. That’s what they are: Christmas trees. It doesn’t bother me a bit when people say, “Merry Christmas” to me. I don’t think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn’t bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a
creche, it’s just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away. I don’t like getting pushed around for being a Jew and I don’t think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can’t find it in the Constitution and I don’t like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren’t allowed to worship God as we understand Him?

I guess that’s a sign that I’m getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we knew went to.

A Toronto Rainbow

George A. Papayiannis — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 02:17:52 +0000

TSN: Top 10 Reasons Why You Can’t Possibly Like Vince Carter

George A. Papayiannis — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:25:44 +0000

10. Tipping off the Sonics
9. Michelle Carter (his mother)
8. No More Dunking
7. All-Star Controversy
6. Injuries
5. Peterson Ejection
4. Graduation / Game 7
3. “Come on, MVP?”
2. The Trade
1. Didn’t Always Give 100% – “Do you think Vince Carter has pushed himself, as hard as he should have pushed himself?” VC: “In years past, no”.