Favorite blog posts of 2007

By: Ray Pellecchia

File Under: Miscellaneous

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Fellow blogger Dinosaur Trader kindly asked those on his blog roll to pick their favorite posts they had written in 2007, so that he could put together a cumulative best-of post.

For me, finding a favorite post was a little difficult, because:

a) Scanning through your own writing is like listening to a recording of your own voice. You get that do-I-really-sound-like-that feeling, over and over again.

b) When DT sent the request I was already in my year-end, eggnog-induced haze.

Anyway. The first post below is the one I liked best/hated least. Also below are a couple-three others that I didn't hate as much as all the rest. Your thoughts, as always, are welcome.

All of this left me with a single blog resolution for 2008: generate some better content, man!

Blogging about NYSE Galacticnext markets, 5 billion years from now -- This post takes off from a news item about how the solar system will change over the next 5 billion years, which got me wondering about what markets will look like at that time, and trying to have a little fun with it. Hey, I believe in long-term thinking.

'The floor is not going away, OK?' -- This one replays pre-CEO Duncan Niederauer's comments at an analyst conference. I liked the attitude in the headline, taken right from his remarks, all direct, forceful and competitive as he always is. I wrote at the time: "I don't think I've ever heard anyone talk so candidly and authoritatively about the real value and utility of the trading floor. Call that kiss-up if you will, but I just love the way this guy talks, and more than that, the way he acts on what he says. This stuff has needed to be said -- and done -- for a long time. In Duncan, our market has an advocate with the expertise and wherewithal to make things happen, and that's why I'm devoting some this time and space today to his comments, without apology." Half a year later, I think that's all even more true than it was the day I wrote it.

Next time someone sounds sure about what's going to happen, read this -- A good reminder from John Kenneth Galbraith about the fallibility of predictions. When you've had more than your fill of pundits on any given topic, pull this one out.

The strongest muscle -- A reflection on Anne Allen and other retiring colleagues. This is an obviously sentimental choice, but I sincerely believe that it's people who distinguish any organization and define what it does and how it does it, more than technology, facilities or any other factor. OK, so I'm a big mush.

Thanks again to DT for prompting this.