Ashley's Big Secret Blog

Seeing Double on Highway 50 - our tax dollars at work, times two

2009-09-28T19:09:00.000-07:00

As we drove to lunch on Sunday, we noticed that every road sign for over a mile was duplicated. Not one or two, but every sign had its exact double next to it.

The stretch of Highway 50 with the double signage was resurfaced and the signs, even though most were clearly not needed, were added as, after all, it wasn't their money.

On Monday morning, shortly after these pictures were taken, the highway crew chopped down the older of the two signs, leaving just one sign. However, as these pictures will attest, most of the signs did not need to be replaced.

Milton Friedman once described why government does not spend taxpayer money the same way you or I would spend our own money.

Milton said that if you are spending your own money for something for yourself, you care about the quality of what you are buying and the cost of it.
If you are buying something for someone else with your money, you care about how much it costs, but not so much about the quality.
However, if like the government, you are buying something for someone else with someone else's money, you are not overly concerned with how much it costs or how good it is.

I guess Milton knew just how the Highway Department could replace all the signs on Highway 50, even the ones that you cannot tell the difference between the new and the older signs. The Highway Department is just spending someone else's money on something for someone else.

Such waste does not seem a smart way to stimulate the economy or run a Highway Department in tough economic times.

Pictures from the CME video shoot

2009-02-22T18:05:00.001-08:00

What an amazing experience!

Last week, we shot a three-part video series on learning to trade sponsored by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. I read my script from a teleprompter, was filmed on two cameras while wearing makeup. The entire video was taped in a studio in front of an infinity wall. For a young guy from Indianapolis, this was pretty heady stuff.

The three videos cover:

Part One: Getting started - My theory of trading and three setups I like

Part Two: Developing your trading plan

Part Three: The why and how of using a trading simulator

The CME contracted 7th Wave Communications, a world-renowned video production company, to produce the videos. Thanks to the CME's desire to produce a series of videos with the highest production values and Seventh Wave's expertise, the three videos will very likely be the most professional futures training videos made to date.

For me, this was the experience of a lifetime. Thanks to Brain Burkhart and John Timmerman from 7th Wave and John Conolly, Paul Hayward, Bob Guardi and Liam Smith from the CME, along with my partner and wife, Toni, we have created something special that will set a new standard for professionalism in trader training. I am proud to have been part of it.

The videos are set to be released in late March or early April.

Copyright © 2009 by Jeff Quinto

Yesterday was a glorious day in Lake Geneva.

2008-12-11T09:13:00.000-08:00

My wife and I took a walk on the lake path and I took a few pictures. There is no trading lesson to be had. Just some pictures of a beautiful place on a perfect winter day.

The first picture is of Toni and a wood spirit.

Yes, I said wood spirit. When we pass it, we touch its nose for good luck.

Does it work? I cannot say for sure, but it couldn’t hurt.

How I lost the piano wars

2008-05-19T18:41:00.000-07:00

My youngest daughter started taking piano lessons when she was five years old. She started learning with a Suzuki piano teacher in Kansas City. When we moved to Chicago, we found one of the leading teachers and our daughter became one of her star pupils.

I used to love to see her perform at recitals, usually held on in an elaborate recital hall at the Fine Arts Building in downtown Chicago.

The only problem, and it was a real problem, was that although our daughter liked the attention she got at her recitals, she hated practicing. This problem was exacerbated by the fact that her teacher insisted that she practice several hours a day.

The teacher said our daughter had real talent.

Insisting that she practice started our, now-infamous, piano wars.

We would ask, beg, cajole, threaten, and, lastly, scream at our daughter to get her to practice. Our daily emotional outburst would result in either our daughter grudgingly practicing, or my wife and I exhausting ourselves explaining the importance of the piano practice.

Even with her uneven practice schedule, she became quite an accomplished piano player.

My wife and I were happy.

We traded in our baby grand piano for a grand piano. We envisioned our daughter some day thanking us for forcing her to learn to play the piano. Our efforts seemed worth it.

Our daughter became so proficient that her teacher insisted she enter a citywide piano competition. Our daughter was 12 and would compete against the best in her age group from around the greater Chicago area. The competition was held at Triton College, somewhere in the western suburbs of Chicago.

Because I did not know where Triton College was, we arrived late and mistakenly sat in the room with the 14-16 year old pianists. As we missed our daughter’s age group and she was two years younger than the children in the group, they let her play.

When her time came to play, she was amazing.

When she finished her performance, I clapped so loud that I thought they might ask me to leave. She came in second in the citywide 14-16 year-old age group.

That was the last time I heard her play in public.

We still have the grand piano and somewhere we have her awards, but she quit because, as good as she was, there was no joy for her in her playing.

I lost the piano wars because I failed to appreciate that excellence in anything should bring joy, as well as awards. Whatever you do may be hard, but it also needs to be fun.

No one can reach and maintain the high level of performance necessary for excellence in anything unless what they are doing brings them joy.

This is why we emphasize that the ideal of success in Transformative Trading is to be a Successful Really Happy Trader, or SRHT as we call it. Unless there is joy in what you do, any monetary success you attain will be incomplete and will not last long.

If you are a serious trader, your trading should bring you joy – the kind of joy that comes from doing something well - the kind of joy that comes from effortlessly executing your plan and knowing that if you just follow your plan and make good trades, the market will reward you with profits and joy.

Your goal should be to advance your trading to the point where trading is joyous.

Wishing you joy in your trading, Jeff

Copyright ©2008 Jeff Quinto
All rights reserved

Old home week at Childrens Memorial Hospital

2008-04-14T20:00:00.000-07:00

Most of you reading this will remember the difficult summer we had in 2006 when we almost lost Creighton. He was in the hospital for a total of four and half months, including two months in the Intensive Care Unit at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, where he arrived by Life Flight Helicopter from Wisconsin on June 19, 2006.

On Friday, Creighton had similar symptoms and, after eight hours in the emergency room in Wisconsin, he was driven, this time, by ambulance to Children's Memorial Hospital's Intensive Care Unit. By the time he arrived, the nurses who remembered Creighton were at the ready. Denise had left a note and Dana, one of Creighton's favorites, had finagled her way to being his nurse on his arrival. Later, his all-time favorite, Heather, became his nurse and we knew everything would be fine.

It was great for all of us to see the doctors and nurses who had, literally, saved Creighton's life the year before on the job protecting him from harm, this year.

Luckily, for us, Creighton's condition, today, is nowhere near as critical as it was in 2006, so we are assured of a good outcome, this time.

Amazingly, my memories of Creighton's hospital stay in 2006 are all positive and life-affirming. He received world-class care. Our Aetna Health Insurance did its part and Creighton left the hospital in his best health in years.

Every time I hear politicians talking about our broken health care system, I think of our experiences and wonder what they won't do and what they won't say to get votes. They are very likely to ruin a working, albeit imperfect, system and replace it with healthcare on the model of the postoffice.

As for Creighton, he ordered Toni and I out of his room, this evening, when the pretty new nurse arrived for her shift.

Quite Something

2008-03-15T13:06:00.000-07:00

Leslie Russell
1930-2008

When I started dating my wife, Toni, I was shown pictures of her mother who was a twin. It was easy to see that she was beautiful and I was told that she was quite something, although quite something was not clearly defined.

About a week before I met Leslie, I met her twin sister, Debbie.

The first thing that Debbie told me was that although she and Leslie were twins, they didn’t look a bit alike. When I finally met Leslie, contrary to what Debbie had told me, I realized that she and her sister looked exactly alike. Even though they were identical in every way, or perhaps because of it, they alternated throughout their lives between being inseparable and not talking to each other.

Leslie prided herself with never giving in and always doing what she felt best. She was not easy to be around during the early years, but time made both she and I calmer and I grew to cherish her friendship.

She loved people, places and things either intensely, or not at all.

She loved bingo.

I remember one night when we were broke. Leslie had won the big pot at bingo and woke us up after midnight as she spread hundred dollar bills on our bed. She was excited because she was able to give us money that she knew we needed. She was completely, totally unselfish.

She loved politics.

She had been some sort of Republican Party official in Iowa, but, as she grew older, she favored a more liberal version of politics and delighted in watching MSNBC and CSPAN. In the early days of our friendship, she and I used to argue about politics, she taking the liberal view and me the other view. I never changed her mind on anything I can remember, but I respected her opinion, and she mine.

She loved games.

She and Toni would play Rummy Cube for hours. They must have played thousands of games with the scores about split between Leslie and Toni. Leslie, also, loved crosswords and she would randomly ask people questions about history, geography and sports, not to engage them in conversation, but in the hope that their answer could help her solve a crossword puzzle.

She loved her family, especially Creighton and Ashley.

Ashley recently confessed that Leslie had bought her beer for her Junior Prom party. I was not surprised. The party was just a few kids in our home. No one had a car and nothing bad was going to happen.

As for Creighton, she loved him through everything. They were a team - Creighton and Grandma Leslie. Creighton was a challenge and Leslie proved herself to be “quite something” in her love and support for him.
When Leslie was first diagnosed with bladder cancer, we went to what we were told were great doctors in Chicago. Leslie was not satisfied with these first doctors and asked for another opinion. I thought this was just Leslie being her irascible self. Then, we found a doctor who was actually a great doctor. He is recognized as one of the leading, if not the leading, bladder cancer specialists in the world. Once again, Leslie was right in not accepting what was not right for her.

As her disease progressed, she fought bravely. She never complained and she was happy to help in whatever way she could. She and Toni continued their marathon Rummy Cube games and she continued her crosswords. She sat daily by the fire that we kept roaring day and night as long as she wanted to sit there watching politics on TV or listening to country music.

She left us peacefully after a final, brave fight. We shall never forget her.

She was quite something.

Ashley's Big Secret plans first ever trip to New Glarus!

2008-03-07T17:10:00.000-08:00

Thanks to our official Ashley's Big Secret cartographer, MJ!

Ashley's Big Secret buys new limo - trades in heterodoxmobile

2008-02-15T18:24:00.000-08:00

Here it is.

The new Ashley's Big Secret limo with Secret Keepers , Ashley and Toni, and ace limo driver, Jeff off on a jewelry buying trip.

What's next - an Ashley's big secret corporate jet?

Stay tuned.

Our thanks to MJ in Muncie.

Featured Artist of The Week: Jason Collett

2008-02-10T19:31:00.000-08:00

On our podcast this week we featured Jason Collett- he's AWESOME! We are definitely digging this song. Click on the arrow below to download it for free!

Jason Collett
"Charlyn, Angel of Kensington" (mp3)
from "Here's To Being Here"
(Arts & Crafts)

More On This Album

Featured Artist of the Week: Phantom Blues Band

2008-02-03T19:07:00.000-08:00

This song was composed by Ray Charles, and is really one of my new faves! Download it free below!

Little Mack Simmons
"Hooked On Your Love" (mp3)
from "The Best of Little Mack Simmons: The Electro-Fi Years"
(Electro-Fi Records)

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Featured Artist of the Week: Teuber, Peterson, Johnson, Bishop

2008-01-27T15:19:00.000-08:00

After hearing the song, Greensleeves, played on a flute roughly 548 times today, I thought I'd have it as the featured song on our podcast. As it turns out, this is a pretty cool recording of an old song. Enjoy!

Hans Teuber / Dave Peterson / Jeff Johnson / John Bishop
"Greensleeves" (mp3)
from "Winter - An Origin Records Holiday Collection"
(Origin Records)

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More On This Album

Two stories - A great sparkling wine for under $20, actually, under $4, and great place to eat on the Rhine River if you look trustworthy

2008-01-02T05:41:00.000-08:00

First, I love not knowing the price of wine I drink because it allows me to taste the wine without any preconceived notion created by its price. Sometimes when I find out the price I am disappointed that so much was spent on something so dismal. At other, better, times, I am blown away with how wonderful a wine is at such a reasonable price.

Elke, a friend of ours brought three bottles of Schloss Biebrich Sekt (Sekt means sparkling in German) to us on New Year’s Eve. As she is from Germany, her bringing a German sparkler was apropos. Germans drink more sparking wine per capita than anyone else, and, along with their fame in white wines, it only makes sense that a German sparkling wine should be good.

The Schloss Biebrich Sekt Elke gave us compares to any under $20 sparkling wine in taste and at $3.99 at Trader Joe’s it is an extraordinary value.

As you can see from the label, it is a serious looking wine, as well.

It is made outside of Wiesbaden, Germany where there is a castle named Schloss Biebrich, which is pictured on the label. Wiesbaden is a great place to start visiting the vineyards of the Rhine River Valley. It is 30 minutes from Frankfurt airport and a world away from the commercially-oriented Frankfurt.

My favorite memory of the Rhine River wine region was when we were trying to find a suitable place for lunch with a view of the Rhine River one fall day several years ago. We kept driving up to likely looking restaurants and I would jump out of the car and open the door of the restaurant only to find it jam-packed with Germans – imagine that!

After going through all of the restaurants in three little towns, all packed with Germans eating lunch, we saw a sign for the town of Piesporter. I headed for it because Toni and I (mostly I) drank gallons of Piesporter Goldtropfchen, an easy to drink, pleasant, low-alcohol, low priced German white wine, when we were younger.

On the way, up the hill from the Rhine River Road to Piesporter, we saw a small hotel; that advertised a restaurant, the Burg Schwarzenstein. As you can see the hotel sits among the vineyards and, as you might imagine, the restaurant is something very special.

We sat by the window looking at the vineyards and the Rhine beyond and made friends with our waiter who was excited that we were Americans so that he could practice his English. He explained that all of their wines were grown on the estate and suggested a variety of wines over the course of a two-hour lunch that culminated in our drinking wonderful sparkling wine, the first German sparkler I had ever tasted.

After our wonderful meal, we were presented with an appropriately large check for all of the wine, food and fun for the four of us. My friend Dennis and I fought to be the first to hand the waiter our credit card, but he told us that they did not take credit cards, only cash. As the bill was several hundred dollars, in German Marks of course, we told him that we did not think we had enough cash to pay for the meal, as we always used credit cards.

The waiter told us that our lack of cash was not a problem as we could write a check for our lunch. We explained that we did not have a German bank account, as we lived in Chicago. He said that they would gladly take a US check from us, as we seemed like such nice, trustworthy people.

As luck would have it, we were able to find enough German Marks between us to pay for our lunch and we left with a wonderful memory of German sparkling wine and German hospitality.

Happy New Year, Jeff

P.S. Just so you know, we do take credit cards at Ashley's Big Secret and we have a great selection of gifts you can give yourself. After the holidays, you deserve a gift, or two, or three. You have been nice to everyone else, now be nice to you.

Featured Artist of the Week: etypejazz

2007-12-11T12:28:00.000-08:00

For my good friend Kyle, I wanted to find a great song to play on the podcast: this version of 'Little Drummer Boy' couldn't be better!

Download this song free by clicking the arrow next to "Little Drummer Boy".

etypejazz
"Little Drummer Boy" (mp3)
from "HOHO Volume Two"
(Etypejazz)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
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Stream from Rhapsody
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Win This: Snake Charmer Bracelet!

2007-12-10T11:08:00.000-08:00

Starting today, you can go over to theBudgetBabe.com and enter to win this completely fab Snake Charmer Bracelet!

I totally love theBudgetBabe.com, and am so excited to be collaborating with this fabulous chick on a contest! Give her some love!

Here are some other fun snake things we love:

Sizzling Snake Ring: ON SALE $28.00

Snakeskin and Chain Bracelet: $18.00

Sizzling Serpentine Necklace: $18.00

For fabulous accessories, visit AshleysBigSecret.com.

Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.

Ashley's Faves: Dramatic Winter White

2007-12-07T13:35:00.000-08:00

I am just crazy about lucite sets for the holiday season. They are festive, versatile, and fancy! Finding just the right accessories for winter white can be tricky- especially if you don't want to spend a lot of dough.

Clear Crystal Set $22.00

For fabulous accessories, visit AshleysBigSecret.com.

Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.

Trend Update: Bolero Jacket Bust!

2007-12-06T11:13:00.000-08:00

As originally posted here, I saw this bolero jacket at thebudgetbabe.com (new favorite blog!) and became OBSESSED with finding a bolero jacket of my own.

So I went over to Target to try the exact bolero jacket in the picture, and it was a total bust. Literally. I was WAY too busty to get that thing buttoned. Undeterred, I went to four different stores on my mission to find one that fit and looked good. I finally found one in a black and white houndstooth at Maurices that I thought would do the trick.

I wasn't quite sure about it, so I tried it on in front of the Style Council, which consists of:
- my mother (style icon, fashion buyer and fashionista, aka Toni of the Ashley's Big Secret Podcast)
- my boyfriend (perpetual nice-guy, incapable of saying anything negative about my appearance, possibly out of fear)
-my father (maker of infuriatingly correct, if unspecific fashion critiques, such as 'something about that just looks... wrong')

The verdict? An overwhelming 'that jacket makes you look like a giant houndstooth barrel'. Apparently, this one just isn't a trend for the busty.

So I bought this to make myself feel better:

Black Tie Optional Ring
Originally $72.00
On Sale Now! $57.20

For fabulous accessories, visit AshleysBigSecret.com.

Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.
© Copyright 2007. Ashley’s Big Secret, Inc.

Ashley's Faves: Classic Rope Set

2007-12-05T10:10:00.000-08:00

I'm totally loving the conservative, chic look of the Classic Rope Set ($27.00). With parties, people to impress, and so many places to go, I definitely need something versatile, classic and pretty. Loving it!

Classic Rope Set $27.00

For fabulous accessories, visit AshleysBigSecret.com.

Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.

Christmas Gift Update: Frank Sinatra

2007-12-05T09:58:00.000-08:00

Here's my sketch of Frank Sinatra for Mr. Wonderful's christmas present. It's part of a set of three styalized portraits of the rat pack. See Dean Martin here.

I'll post the completed version shortly. Wish me luck!

All my other holiday shopping is done here, of course!

For fabulous accessories, visit AshleysBigSecret.com.

Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.

Let True Beauty Shine Through!

2007-12-03T05:09:00.000-08:00

I am just LOVING this commercial! It's so important to teach young girls that they don't have to look like a supermodel. How long did it take you to realize that it was much more important to find a flattering look for you instead of beating yourself up about your hips/cellulite/skin/grey hair/breasts?

While I'm on my soapbox, kudos to Seventeen Magazine. I still read this mag every month to stay on top of trends, and have taken note that they now have style tips for fuller figured girls, something I would have loved (and really needed) when I read it as a teenager.

Accentuate your natural beauty!

For fabulous accessories, visit AshleysBigSecret.com. Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.

Sparklers and Sparklers, Part Deux

2007-11-30T11:23:00.000-08:00

This is the season each year when our family gets ready for the Holidays in every conceivable way, and several inconceivable ways.

For my part, I do two important things:

I put enough Christmas lights on the trees in our front yard to assure that our house is visible from space; and

I pick up our supply of sparkling wine for the Holidays in three categories (good, better and best, but more on that later).

As for the lighting our front yard, I believe that if a few lights are tasteful, then thousands of lights must be, well… really tasteful.

At last count, we have over 4,000 small lights on the trees and bushes in front of our house. I am about 2/3s done, but my budget for lights has already been depleted. Based on this year’s budget overrun, we may, or may not, break the 5,000 light barrier before 2008.

In a perfect world, we would get some sort of honorable mention for our lights based on the fact that we are spending hundreds of dollars in electricity so the 4-5 cars that drive in front of our house every evening will be amazed. Based on the lack of traffic in our neighborhood, our display is nothing if not exclusive.

As to my theory of Sparking wine for the holidays, I believe that you should have good inexpensive sparkling wine (under $10) for your everyday holiday drinking. My favorites in this first and least expensive category are Domaine Ste Michelle Blanc de Noir (white made from red wine grapes) and Cristalino, sort of a baby Kristal for $390 less per bottle than the more expensive, similar sounding Champagne.

I use the second category in holiday sparkers, the better wines, as a prelude to nice dinners with friends. My all-time favorite under $20 sparkler is the Roederer Estate Anderson Valley Brut Non Vintage Proprietary Blend. This is Roederer’s California vineyard in the Anderson Valley, north of Sonoma Valley. It is a beautiful winery producing a beautiful wine and Roederer is one of the premier champagne producers in the Champagne region in France. This is the same winery that makes Kristal, mentioned in the previous paragraph, which runs a cool $398 a bottle. The $20 Brut is phenomenal, without being phenomenally expensive... just like you-know-what.

As for the extra special Champagne, I like the same wine that Winston Churchill drank (why not?) - the Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill Cuvee. It is a spectacular high-end wine that is wonderful to drink for a special occasion. It is a bit pricey ($198 a bottle), but what the heck, if you shop at www.AshleysBigSecret.com, you will save enough money on gifts for your friends and for yourself, that you can easily afford to splurge on a bottle of Champagne that is both wonderful and a bit of history.

Most importantly, as Sir Winston used to tell all of his friends, “shop online at www.AshleysBigSecret.com for the best in high-end costume jewelry at unbelievable prices.”

Wishing you Happy Holidays,

Your pal, Jeff

For fabulous accessories, visit AshleysBigSecret.com. Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.

Cool Holiday Hairdo: Gwen Stefani's Look

2007-11-29T12:31:00.000-08:00

Ok, so after my last post, if occured we might actually need some holiday hairdo ideas that were actually do-able. I think this would look so awesome at a holiday with a little black dress and a funky skull and cross bones necklace. ($12.00)

New Idea for My Holiday Look

2007-11-29T12:13:00.001-08:00

Who doesn't want to look their best during the holidays? Do you think I could get away with showing up Christmas morning with my hair done like this?

I didn't think so either.

Funky looks that won't make your grandmother have a stroke are good, too!

Crystal Clear Set $22.00

Grandpa Rapping

2007-11-29T11:27:00.000-08:00

For the record, this is my actual grandpa.... He's an entertainer at heart, and cracks us all up!

Look fabulous for your next holiday gathering!

For fabulous accessories, visit AshleysBigSecret.com.Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.

© Copyright 2007. Ashley’s Big Secret, Inc.

Go Ahead and Tell Me This is Not Your Mother

2007-11-29T09:04:00.000-08:00

I was flipping through The Pile Of Purge Blog that The Daily Purge boys write, and thought I would fall off my chair. Seriously though- tell me this is not your mother at Christmas time. Not only do I know it's my mother, but I know it will be me in about 2 years.

Look nice for the tree!

2007-11-27T12:16:00.000-08:00

I am just LOVING this fabulous combination! Something about this time of year makes me want to wear lots of gold and brown... but I'm not to be boring!

These fabulous earrings are Jungle Fabulous Earrings, and are only ten bucks!

The necklace is our Dramatic Gold Circle Necklace for $30.00.

Loving it!!!