Worst Adverse Excursions in October

Added on by C. Maoxian.

If you survived these outlier moves in October 2025, congratulations! It’s a good practice to go back and study all the outlier moves from the prior month at the start of a new month.

Click on any chart to enlarge it.

October 6: SPRB, SOPA

October 7: GLTO, ZNB

October 8: XBIO

October 9: TTRX

October 10: QNRX

October 13: ELBM, STI

Ocotber 15: COOT, GNPX

October 16: RYOJ

October 17: RANI

October 21: NERV

October 22: ARMP, BENF

October 23: SCNX

October 24: GNTA

October 27: CODX

October 28: VSEE

October 29: CMBM

October 30: BQ, INTS

BMW X3 Tail Lights Over the Years

Added on by C. Maoxian.

My wife was recently paid off for a drug debt with a Beemer X3 (this is an inside joke). I didn’t like the car at first, but it’s growing on me.

2004 E83

2005 E83

2006 E83

2007 E83 Facelift

2008 E83 Facelift

2009 E83 Facelift

2010 E83 Facelift

2011 F25

2012 F25

2013 F25

2014 F25 Facelift

2016 F25 Facelift

2017 F25 Facelift

2018 G01

2021 G01

2022 G01 Facelift

Movies Watched -- Diamonds of the Night (1964)

Added on by C. Maoxian.

In Czech and German … 67 minute running … a Holocaust movie so not something you should voluntarily watch… very promising beginning, I’m sure the guy who made Son of Saul (which is great) was inspired by it … but this movie, despite its short length, could have been tightened up considerably … the flashbacks and fantasies became repetitive, the scene with the ridiculous old German men, with their beer steins and sausages, holding them hostage could have been shortened a great deal… in short, the director needed a firm editor but didn’t have one … still, this is not a bad movie, it could have been a very good movie, and possibly a great movie, if I had edited it. It’s worth seeing, no matter what.

Essay by Michael Atkinson (that I haven’t read yet) … OK, I read it, it’s good.

New York Times' 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Apparently this list came out in July, but I just learned about it now. Here are my brief thoughts about their 2020s picks:

  • the zone of interest -- holocaust as performance art (though I love Glazer)

  • anatomy of a fall -- awful

  • oppenheimer -- too long

  • tar -- awful

  • everything everywhere all at once -- awful

  • aftersun -- not terrible, but also not good enough to recommend

  • past lives -- ain't seen it yet

  • the worst person in the world -- not terrible, but not recommendable either

Brewing a Cup of Hachi Sutera #4 Sous-vide from Blendin Coffee Club

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Blendin Coffee Club has started a premium monthly coffee subscription called “Pinnacle Coffee Subscription” priced at $40. I instantly signed up for this because I’m lazy and like a curated selection delivered to me without making any effort. I also subscribe to Proud Mary’s Deluxe subscription, priced at $39.

Blendin’s first coffee for its Pinnacle Coffee Subscription is a Geisha from Panama called Hachi Sutera #4.

The “sous-vide” processing of the coffee is described in the little card above.

Lovely beans and aroma… grinds like a Geisha for sure.

Do you even sift, bro?

Fines sifted out, only a perfectly consistent grind remains, 800+ micron grind only (1200 micron max). I now grind 20 grams of coffee which should yield 15 grams of perfect grind after sifting. This coffee ground a little finer in the Comandante C40 at 25 Clix, so I’ll just brew 215 ml instead of 225 ml.

Usual recipe, 15:1 water to coffee … 200 degree Fahrenheit water … bloom pour, second pour, third pour. Beautiful color.

You can instantly tell from the color in the cup that it’s a Geisha. Very clean mouth-feel, a lot of acidity (complex sour) on both sides of the tongue which diminishes quickly, coffee-forward for sure, not a tea-like Geisha. Since I’m not a fan of coffee, I prefer the Geishas that are super tea-like and only have a hint of coffee flavor at the end, the after-taste … those are the best Geishas in my opinion.

This is nice and clean and complex sour, but too coffee-forward for me.

On an end note, I now take the five grams of fines that I’m left with and add them to the top of the wet grinds and brew 300 milliliters worth of water through them to make a second cup of coffee which I put in a thermos.

The five grams of fines and 15 grams of spent wet bed make a perfectly fine 300 ml of coffee for the road.

Movies Watched -- The Laughing Policeman (1973)

Added on by C. Maoxian.

109 minute running time but feels longer … some dummy on YouTube said this was an “unknown classic” from the 1970s so I watched it, but I can tell you why it’s unknown: it’s terrible. The story is no good, makes no sense, is disjointed, it’s just garbage, like a bad TV show … Walter Matthau just chews gum the entire movie like he’s a cow chewing its cud. (I loved Walter Matthau in The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 (1974), which is a good movie.)

Bruce Dern adds some needed energy, but the story is so bad it doesn’t make a difference. Scenes from San Francisco gay bars were interesting … Bruce Dern tells a transvestite, “save my seat, fellow,” which was worth a laugh. America was dead-near rock bottom in 1973 and you can see it in this movie.

Here’s a nutter website that links to all the movie locations in San Francisco.

(When I was young, I read all the Per Wahlöö and Maj Sjöwall books and enjoyed them… they’re good.)

Being a fruit is no crime these days.

Vous Êtes Sur Fip

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Sid Mashburn changed my life when he recommended Radio FIP. Radio FIP is the greatest radio station in the world, without a doubt. Commercial-free, news-free, talk-free … great, interesting music curated by talented people … it’s the best. I listen every day from 7:00 until 13:00 New York time.