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My new personal best is 273 notes in a row in 100 seconds. I've done it twice in the last week. That speed was good enough to help inch my way up into 4th place. And when I say inch, I really mean it. As seen in the picture above, I'm just 1,200 points ahead of the person in 5th place (out of 161+ million). Whew!

I need to play roughly 0.5% faster overall (on 11 different scales) in order to get to #1. That definitely seems doable given enough practice and patience.



I've latched myself onto this mini-game like a honey badger would. Giving up is not an option! :)

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Five
Nine

I'm now in 5th place on Rocksmith's Scale Runner mini-game (PS3 version). My absence here has not gone unrewarded.

I ran scales for two hours on the couch yesterday while watching War of the Worlds (again). I also made two attempts to get a better score within the game. The first attempt earlier in the day was a dud. I played well but just couldn't find the speed. The second attempt paid off. Hit 272 notes in a row on two different scales, 271 on another, 270 notes on six more, and 268 on the remaining two. As seen in the link below, 268 notes in 100 seconds was my top speed just a few weeks ago.

Overall, that's nearly 8 hours of guitar practice in one day. Needless to say, my fingers sure are numb!

I don't know what my ultimate top speed will be, but I really don't think that I've peaked yet. If I can go just a fraction of one percent faster (while speeding up my slower scales, which will definitely happen with more practice), then I'll be a contender for the top spot.

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Nine

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I made it to number nine on Rocksmith's Scale Runner mini-game. It took me 5 1/2 hours of continuous play to get there (in addition to the massive number of hours played over the past 7 weeks). I hobbled my way off to a hot bathtub after making the attempt, lol.

9 (number)


Anecdotal evidence sides with the Japanese on this one, not that I'm complaining! :)

In related news, the economy continues to hobble along as well. I suspect many investors may someday take a bath after their attempts to set new high scores in the S&P 500. Once again, this assumes that the Fed hasn't permanently put a stop to recessions even as our economy remains incredibly weak. Just a theory!

That's me playing. My girlfriend shot the video. It was my third or fourth attempt at a reasonable score. 12.3 million is a keeper, much to the delight of my girlfriend. I warned her that it could take 20+ attempts, especially with the added pressure of someone watching me (and being videoed)!

At 136+ million as a total for all 11 scales, I currently hold the 34th best score on Rocksmith's Scale Runner mini-game. I expect to move into the top 10 in the not too distant future.

Is it a guitar addition? A video game addiction? Let's call it both.

Once again, sorry for not posting much lately. I doubt it is permanent. If/when the cracks begin to form in the dam again my posting activity will surely increase. That's assuming that the illusion of prosperity has not been replaced by actual prosperity of course. I don't really think it is much of an assumption!

Let's start with a chart of corporate dividends divided by corporate profits.


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We almost made it to 100% during the great recession. Hurray!

Contrary to the general opinion of the financial media and so-called financial experts, is it any wonder why some companies might hoard some extra corporate cash in case it happens again?

Now let's look at the 10-year moving average to eliminate much of the short-term cyclical noise.


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Companies are no longer willing to exponentially grow their dividends relative to their corporate profits? I know. It's all very shocking! Congress must make companies pay more! Pass a law or something!

Perhaps I should summarize without the sarcasm. Stick a fork in it. The unsustainable exponential growth party's over. We may still grow some but in my opinion we will never grow like we once did. Not even close. There are just too many headwinds and at least some of the ponzi-style tailwinds aren't holding up all that well either (as seen in the charts above).

And lastly, my posting frequency has been greatly diminished lately. Sorry about that! I do not believe it is permanent. My latest obsession is learning to play the guitar. I played from 5:30am to 8:00am last night. I was just running scales. I'm definitely not a morning person and man, oh man, are my left hand's fingers sore. :)

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Sarcasm Disclaimer

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

Sorry I haven't been posting much lately.

Let's just say that I've been taking a break from my computer. As a night person, I somehow managed to get on a morning schedule. On the one hand, it allows me to see the sun. That's a good thing I guess. On the other hand, it allows me to see the sun! ;)

I'm fairly sure it is just temporary. I shall return with more charts in the not too distant future. I can't define exactly when that will be but if I'm still on a morning schedule several weeks from now I may need serious medical attention, lol.

And on that note, I shall leave you with something to remember me by.



I played a bit of Rocksmith today, but not at anywhere near this level. Not even the same ballpark!