The optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds.The pessimist fears it is true.

If we see light at the end of the tunnel, it the light of the oncoming train.

We're living among infinite possibilities. And the prevalent philosophies of post-modernist pessimism that come out of the universities are really a major tragedy. The opportunities for progress and change… are absolutely tremendous. Anybody who tells you that we're running out of resources or in a terrible mess--they are idiots. We can't run out of resources. Resources exist when the human mind sees how to use something. To say we are running out of resources is like saying we are running out of brain cells.

When things are at their blackest, I say to myself, 'Cheer up, things could be worse.' And sure enough, they get worse.

The underlying fundamentals remain decent, but the pessimism is getting higher. The biggest hindrance right now is oil prices, part and parcel with Iraq.

The market has been pretty oversold and pessimism was and continues to be widespread, so the slight improvement in the economic data this morning and the fact that the Fed kept interest rates unchanged speaks to that pessimism for now. But tech continues to suffer, when other sectors are doing fine today (Thursday).