A Dancer's Corner

russianswinga @ 2009-09-30T01:26:00

2009-09-30T08:29:52Z

You probably noticed that I haven't posted much lately. This is mainly because I never liked writing long posts or keeping a journal. I find that Facebook fits my style much better than LJ ever did or ever will, and allows me to keep people informed about my life with greater frequency and detail. I'm able to randomly drop in links to things I find interesting, view other people's links and videos right in the home page. I will still keep this account, but only as a photo host. Please don't expect further entries here. If you're reading this, you've probably already friended me on facebook.

russianswinga @ 2009-08-19T09:19:00

2009-08-19T16:30:58Z

Starting pictures from Monterey 2009 Car weekend

The Governator checks out some choice Bentleys, Mercedes and Auto Union racers. It pays to be in the right place at the right time with the right camera and the right lens.

russianswinga @ 2009-08-04T10:54:00

2009-08-04T17:54:58Z

"That girl needs to be in a bikini. Oh wait, this is a funeral, isn't it? Black bikini then." - Jeremy Clarkson

I can haz Mac

2009-07-09T16:29:26Z

So the time has come for me to replace my aging desktop. I do a fair bit of high definition video editing, and my requirements were simple: a Macintosh with power, and lots of it. Oh yeah, and I didn't want to spend a lot of money either, so the shiny 8-core Mac Pro for $3.5K is a bit out of my price range.

My original plan was to make a Hackintosh with the parts adding up to about $1400. This would be a Core i7 based computer, which when overclocked would give even a top of the line Mac Pro a run for its money in HD rendering performance. Unfortunately the realization set in that when combined into a working machine, these parts become practically worthless. I would not be able to resell this computer for any reasonable amount of money down the road when I needed to upgrade. Ever tried to sell a custom built PC? If a top-of-the-line Dell XPS gaming laptop, purchased by me in 2008 for $1200, right now would not fetch even half that money, what chance would my custom rig have? It would just not be a smart financial decision to build a machine for the price of a used car which I will literally throw away in two years. Macs, on the other hand, lose only about 1/3 of their new value over two years. Yep, time to get the genuine hardware. It will be cheaper in the long run.

I spent a good chunk of my workday yesterday hunting Craigslist for a perfect mac. I decided that I needed an aluminum iMac between 2.4 and 2.8 ghz, 2GB ram (I would upgrade to 4 myself). Several deals fell through, the machines were either sold, or the owner wanted too much $$ for them. I reached a deal with one owner, only to have him turn around and ask for more money because he had other offers. I told him to pound sand.

Ultimately, ended up using Apple's free Ipod touch promotion and purchased a new machine, a 24" imac. I'll put the ipod touch I got free on eBay if noone wants to buy locally (anyone need an 8GB iPod touch still in the box for $200? Shameless promo!). Plus the computer itself was another $100 off for an educational discount.
When savings are factored in, my gorgeous new 24" iMac comes in at about $1200 plus tax. The specs on it are: Core 2 duo 2.66ghz, 4 GB Ram, 620GB HDD. Plenty fast for doing the editing, and any rendering I usually have the computer do at night when I'm asleep.

Now comes the long saga of juggling data from multiple externals to re-arrange everything for the new machine. But with this purchase, I'm finally completely free of Windows! (my laptop, a Dell XPS, is currently running OS X Leopard) Having used windows since version 3.11, I shed a tear for microsoft. But it won't be a big tear.

The 5-year delay

2009-07-06T17:02:21Z

russianswinga @ 2009-06-22T13:00:00

2009-06-22T20:02:45Z

Well, another year has passed and I'm single again. This was a long time coming, and I tried everything I could to stop it from happening... but that's like standing on the tracks in hope of stopping a train. I know we both made the right decision, but that doesn't seem to fill the emptiness inside...

RCR cometh!

2009-06-10T18:07:57Z

The Rental Car Rally is almost upon us. I have the whole weekend planned out, including a Vegas stop on Sunday night.

I spend about 4 hours doing the decals for the car. My tools are my printer and an exacto-knife as well as a blank roll of vinly. Which means making a lot of templates, cutting out over them, then applying the vinyl (an art of its own).

The nose of the lotus is practically impossible to wrap at all, let alone successfully. I've decided against trying to make the entire nose black as I don't have the hundreds of hours it would be required to wrap the whole theing. Instead, I'm wrapping the top portion of the nose, along with a number right down the middle. The front can stay yellow. I'm trying to keep the car accurate to the Speed Racer movie, but since I don't have the Number Nine's nose cone anyway, I don't think a bit of yellow right up front will make a difference.

My girlfriend will be working on the costumes on friday to bring them up to standard. I'm using a racng head sock as a basis for a cap/hood for my head. The result should be sweet.

Yaoi time!

2009-06-05T22:03:00Z

International relations

2009-06-01T19:59:49Z

Love it!!

2009-05-29T22:02:44Z

The logistics of getting drunk

2009-05-27T15:13:28Z

More Nigel

2009-05-17T22:52:53Z

... because a little bit of Nigel is never enough...

This IS my happy face. Now hand over the raisins.

With this cuteness, I will take over the world.

russianswinga @ 2009-05-11T21:41:00

2009-05-12T04:42:33Z

Some more photos from the calendar photoshoot. Enjoy!

russianswinga @ 2009-04-22T18:20:00

2009-04-23T01:23:01Z

I'm outraged at the Miss America Pageant. Not because Miss California lost due to her views on gay marriage (an inappropriate question to ask in a pageant) but because a judge then openly called her a b*tch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX8CYgPfPzY

World, meet Nigel

2009-04-08T06:15:20Z

Contemplating a chinchilla

2009-04-02T23:03:06Z

I'm contemplating getting a Chinchilla. I will have to figure out what room he can reside in, as my room gets pretty hot in the summer and I'm not inclined to run the AC all day. Will have to talk this over with the landlord.

The Pirate Bay trial

2009-03-09T17:34:54Z

russianswinga @ 2009-02-24T09:24:00

2009-02-24T17:24:56Z

For the Horde!

2009-02-12T21:28:44Z

I hate this market

2009-02-09T16:49:00Z

…It’s almost like people don’t want you to make any money.

Take the stock GTCB. Great pharmaceutical company, extremely undervalued, with a drug ATryn in the FDA pipeline.

Atryn got approved Friday at noon. For any normal company in a normal time, this would roughly triple the value of the stock for a day or so, then it would settle to about double the levels. Instead, the stock fell. In other words, the best, most important thing that could happen to this company happened, and now the investors want out?

What happened was that more people shorted the stock than actually bought it. More people bet on them failing than on their success. This lessened the enthusiasms of actual investors (the perception of bad news is worse than bad news itself). They wanted out, flooding the market with cheap shares. In the end the investors that believed in the company and bet on their success lost money despite their success.

I’m done trying to predict this market. It’s like betting on blackjack, getting a 21, and losing!

I think I’ll fly to Vegas now, since there if you win, you actually win.

best buy

2009-02-04T18:20:44Z

What now, bitches?

2009-02-04T00:10:58Z

Reposted from craigslist: What am I doing wrong?

2009-01-28T20:10:53Z

THIS APPEARED ON CRAIG'S LIST
What am I doing wrong?

Okay, I'm tired of beating around the bush. I'm a beautiful
(spectacularly beautiful) 25 year old girl. I'm articulate and classy.
I'm not from New York. I'm looking to get married to a guy who makes at
least half a million a year. I know how that sounds, but keep in mind
that a million a year is middle class in New York City, so I don't think
I'm overreaching at all.

Are there any guys who make 500K or more on this board? Any wives? Could
you send me some tips? I dated a business man who makes average around
200 - 250. But that's where I seem to hit a roadblock. 250,000 won't get
me to central park west. I know a woman in my yoga class who was married
to an investment banker and lives in Tribeca, and she's not as pretty as
I am, nor is she a great genius. So what is she doing right? How do I
get to her level?

Here are my questions specifically:

- Where do you single rich men hang out? Give me specifics- bars,
restaurants, gyms

-What are you looking for in a mate? Be honest guys, you won't hurt my
feelings

-Is there an age range I should be targeting (I'm 25)?

- Why are some of the women living lavish lifestyles on the upper east
side so plain? I've seen really 'plain jane' boring types who have
nothing to offer married to incredibly wealthy guys. I've seen drop dead
gorgeous girls in singles bars in the east village. What's the story
there?

- Jobs I should look out for? Everyone knows - lawyer, investment
banker, doctor. How much do those guys really make? And where do they
hang out? Where do the hedge fund guys hang out?

- How you decide marriage vs. just a girlfriend? I am looking for
MARRIAGE ONLY

Please hold your insults - I'm putting myself out there in an honest
way. Most beautiful women are superficial; at least I'm being up front
about it. I wouldn't be searching for these kind of guys if I wasn't
able to match them - in looks, culture, sophistication, and keeping a
nice home and hearth.

* it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or
other commercial interests

PostingID: 432279810
THE ANSWER
Dear Pers-431649184:
I read your posting with great interest and have thought meaningfully
about your dilemma. I offer the following analysis of your predicament.
Firstly, I'm not wasting your time, I qualify as a guy who fits your
bill; that is I make more than $500K per year. That said here's how I
see it.

Your offer, from the prospective of a guy like me, is plain and simple a
cr@ppy business deal. Here's why. Cutting through all the B.S., what you
suggest is a simple trade: you bring your looks to the party and I bring
my money. Fine, simple. But here's the rub, your looks will fade and my
money will likely continue into perpetuity...in fact, it is very likely
that my income increases but it is an absolute certainty that you won't
be getting any more beautiful!

So, in economic terms you are a depreciating asset and I am an earning
asset. Not only are you a depreciating asset, your depreciation
accelerates! Let me explain, you're 25 now and will likely stay pretty
hot for the next 5 years, but less so each year. Then the fade begins in
earnest. By 35 stick a fork in you!

So in Wall Street terms, we would call you a trading position, not a buy
and hold...hence the rub...marriage. It doesn't make good business sense
to "buy you" (which is what you're asking) so I'd rather lease. In case
you think I'm being cruel, I would say the following. If my money were
to go away, so would you, so when your beauty fades I need an out. It's
as simple as that. So a deal that makes sense is dating, not marriage.

Separately, I was taught early in my career about efficient markets. So,
I wonder why a girl as "articulate, classy and spectacularly beautiful"
as you has been unable to find your sugar daddy. I find it hard to
believe that if you are as gorgeous as you say you are that the $500K
hasn't found you, if not only for a tryout.

By the way, you could always find a way to make your own money and then
we wouldn't need to have this difficult conversation.

With all that said, I must say you're going about it the right way.
Classic "pump and dump."
I hope this is helpful, and if you want to enter into some sort of
lease, let me know.

Peer reveals "Cello Scrotum" hoax

2009-01-28T17:20:05Z

Appearently a doctor made up a condition called "cello scrotum", the irritation of the ballsack caused in a cellist that pressed their instrument too close.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7853564.stm

Andrei vs Biggie Smalls

2009-01-18T07:20:13Z

Click "HD" to be taken to the full-size clip