Slashdot Mirror


"Time-Traveler" Busted For Insider Trading

Chester sent in a story that has been making the rounds for a bit, but if you haven't bumped into it, "Yahoo! TV came up with this weird story about a guy who caught police's attention by gaining $350 million from mere $800 in two weeks. The twisted part is that he justifies his knowledge about stocks by saying he is a time-traveler from year 2256!"

27 of 534 comments (clear)

  1. This is from Weekly World News by rdewald · · Score: 5, Funny

    While very high in entertainment value, if you start posting stories from Weekly World News we're in for a ride. These are the people that are also reporting that Saddam made a gay porn film in 1968 in which his "acting" almost moved the reviewer to tears.

    My favorite was the sex, liquor and drugs diet I saw about this time last year in WWN.

    --
    The best way to do is to be.
  2. Typical Slashdot by elefantstn · · Score: 5, Funny

    I can't think of anything that typifies Slashdot better than posting a four-week old article from the Weekly World News.

    --
    If it ain't broke, you need more software.
    1. Re:Typical Slashdot by neurostar · · Score: 5, Funny

      I can't think of anything that typifies Slashdot better than posting a four-week old article from the Weekly World News.

      I can...
      a dupe of a four week old story from the Weekly World News

    2. Re:Typical Slashdot by for(;;); · · Score: 4, Funny

      > I can't think of anything that typifies Slashdot
      > better than posting a four-week old article from
      > the Weekly World News.

      Posting it twice.

      --

      "Whatever happened to fair use?"
      -- Duff-Man
  3. Re:No basis in fact, 100% fiction by Kallahan · · Score: 5, Funny

    Bah heathen, he's obvioulsy from the future. its a government cover up! if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and walks like a duck it's probably just a tool of the conspiracy.

  4. Re:My NTP must be broken.... by Daikiki · · Score: 5, Funny

    Maybe it's because you had to set back your clock in order to get Office to work again? ;)

    --
    I want the fire back.
  5. Stupid Slashdot Tricks by taustin · · Score: 5, Funny

    A) This is old news.

    B) It's a Weekly World News story.

    C) You missed April Fool's by over two weeks.

    D) You're stupid.

  6. It's a Weekly World News Story by Carnage4Life · · Score: 5, Funny
    For those who think it's a legitimate story because it's posted on Yahoo!, remember it's a Weekly World News story. Y'know like the crazy magazines in the MiB movie. Here's a selection from this week's headlines:
    1. WHY HASN'T MY NEIGHBOR AGED?
    2. First Interview With A Talking Fish!
    3. Saddam Starred in Gay Porn Films!
  7. Re:No basis in fact, 100% fiction by Mwongozi · · Score: 5, Funny

    Not only was it in the "Entertainment News & Gossip" section , it was also credited to that well-trusted news source, the Weekly World News.

  8. time machine by fjordboy · · Score: 5, Funny

    Alright, this is obviously a hoax, because he would have *known* that he was going to get caught! Not only that, if we've learned anything about time travel from hitchiker's guide to the galaxy, we've learned that you don't need to make high-risk trades...just put a couple of pennies in your favorite bank back in 1860 and then live off the interest in 2356 or whatever year. Sheesh...this guy had no class whatsoever. He has *no* clue where his towel is.

  9. I knew! by WPIDalamar · · Score: 5, Funny

    I knew this was fictional before all of you, because, I am in fact, from next Wednesday! I traveled back in time several days just to get the first post here telling you all it's false.

    But alas, my internet connection was too slow and I couldn't get FP!

  10. time traveller? by ih8apple · · Score: 4, Funny

    This has to be a hoax for no other reason than it would be pretty much impossible to turn $800 into $350 million in a short period of time, no matter what you knew. Even Hillary Clinton only turned $1000 into $100,000 and that took a year.

    Maybe's he actually a time-zone traveller who travelled 2256 miles (and 4 time zones) from the west coast. The whole thing sures smells of the wacky tobacy....

  11. Re:No basis in fact, 100% fiction by Elvisisdead · · Score: 5, Funny

    What if, once he got caught, he was eventually released. Then, he goes even further back in time to start the Weekly World News in order to make it a non-crewdible news story to cover his own arse.... He could just be an evil genius.

    --

    "Want in one hand and spit in the other and see which one fills up first." - My Dad
  12. Should have changed his Delorian settings... by ath0mic · · Score: 4, Funny


    ... really this guy should have gone back to 1986 and invest in a little upstart called ... uhh what was it?.. Macrosoft?... no that's not it.

  13. D'oh! by karlandtanya · · Score: 5, Funny


    Gullibility of /. editors revealed on fark!



    Fark

    --
    "Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." - Philip K. Dick
  14. Real Time Travelers by MisterMook · · Score: 4, Funny

    Puh-leease....

    As a current tourist in your quaint era, I can assure you that time-able persons such as myself amuse ourselves by participating in Slashdot forums, downloading p0rn, and watching that gem of two-dimensional entertainment - Saved By The Bell. We do NOT participate in "insider trading" since your credit cards are paltry to imitate using some peanut brittle, gum, and the inner workings of a common saucer part.

  15. Re:No basis in fact, 100% fiction by Xerithane · · Score: 3, Funny


    I'll have you know it's the eigthth most widely circulated paper.
    </accent>

    --
    Dacels Jewelers can't be trusted.
  16. More to the story by select+*+from · · Score: 5, Funny

    Although this comes from the WWN, it was also noted that in the year 2256 the Chicago Cubs still haven't won a World Series and Dick Clark is still alive.

    Those two items give the story some credence.

  17. Re:But is it Insider Trading? by Kevin+Burtch · · Score: 4, Funny


    Yes, he DID break a law...

    Specifically, the Temporal Interaction Act of 2236, section 7, part 32, paragraph A.
    Look it up!

    I'm sure there are other parts of the law he broke too, but IANALFTF.

    --
    - Preferences: Solaris 10 (servers), Ubuntu (desktops), Solaris 11 (personal servers) -
  18. this was on saturday night live 10 years ago by acomj · · Score: 3, Funny

    The skit was on snl after the 80s stock market crash. Future man with his perfect stock picking record refuses to tell if or when a recovery happens despite the pleas of analysts.

    When one of the analyst does himself in, they ask future man if they knew that would happen.
    "yes"
    " then why didn't you stop him"
    "I never liked him"

  19. Farked by NickFusion · · Score: 4, Funny

    Man, when Fark makes fun of you for being gullible, that's bottom of the barrel.

    Hell, that's about as embarrasing as appointing someone from DoubleClick as head of your national privacy adminis....D'oh!

    --
    What were you expecting?
  20. Hi, my name is Andrew Carlssin ... by Dossy · · Score: 5, Funny

    Dear Friends,

    My name is Andrew Carlssin. In September 2256 my car was reposessed and the bill collectors were hounding me like you wouldn't believe. I was
    laid off and my unemployment checks had run out. The only escape I had from the pressure of failure was my time machine and some stock ymbols. I longed to turn my advocation into my vocation. This December 2002 I went on a four month time-jump. I bought and sold a couple of stocks for BIG MONEY in April 2003.

    I'm currently under investigation by the SEC for insider trading, but all I need to do is get back to my time machine and return to 2256. I will never have to work again.

    Today I am rich! I have earned over $350,000,000.00 (Three Hundred and Fifty Million Dollars)) to date and will become a billionaire within 4 or 5 months. Anyone can do the same. This money making program works perfectly every time, 100% of the time. I have NEVER failed to earn $50,000.00 or more whenever I wanted. Best of all you never have to leave home except to go to your mailbox or post office.

    In October 2255, I received a letter in the mail telling me how I could earn $50,000 dollars or more whenever I wanted. I was naturally very skeptical and threw the letter on the console of my time machine. It's funny though, when you are desperate, backed into a corner, your mind does crazy things. I spent a frustating day looking through the want ads for a job with a future. The pickings were sparse at best. That night I tried to unwind by getting into my time machine and going back to hang out with Jesus. I proofread a rough draft of what would become the Bible and than glanced at the letter on the console. All at once it came to me, I now had the key to my dreams. I realized that with the power of the time machine I could expand and enhance this money making formula into the most unbelievable cash flow generator that has ever been created. Most of the hard work is speedily done via self-serve online brokerage houses throughout the world. If you believe that someday you deserve that lucky break that you have waited for all your life, simply follow the easy instructions below. Your dreams will come true.

    Sincerely yours,

    Andrew Carlssin

    INSTRUCTIONS

    1) Buy a time machine.

    2) Capture all of the open and close prices with the largest up or down changes for the past couple of months. Double-check all the numbers; you wouldn't want to lose all your money on a typo.

    3) Go back in time to the start of the prices that you've recorded.

    4) Start trading like nobody's business. Try to make some intentional mistakes to try and cover up your tracks -- don't be like me and lead the SEC auditors straight to your portfolio!

  21. Re:Weekly World News: not all of it made up! by The_Rook · · Score: 3, Funny

    right. the hot sheets have the best investigative reporters in the business.

    --
    when religion is no longer the opiate of the masses, governments will resort to real opiates.
  22. Re:No basis in fact, 100% fiction by smittyoneeach · · Score: 3, Funny

    You very, very ducked up man!

    --
    Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
  23. Re:No basis in fact, 100% fiction by Geekboy(Wizard) · · Score: 3, Funny

    Nonono, you got the quote wrong: "If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably tastes good with an orange sauce"

  24. Re:No basis in fact, 100% fiction by Nexus+Seven · · Score: 5, Funny

    If it weighs the same as a duck, its made of wood and therefore a witch.

  25. W3-Nazi Reporting for Duty by Vagary · · Score: 3, Funny

    Please don't mix presentation style with semantic markup. Your sentence is not the content of an accent, but should simply be presented on aural browsers using a particular accent. A simplistic example of the correct way to mark up your data would be:



    <span style="accent: scottish">I'll have you know it's the eigthth most widely circulated paper.</span>



    However following the standards set by the working drafts for XHTML2 you should instead give the span entity a unique id and set its style using an ID-selector in a page-wide stylesheet. You also may wish to provide alternative accents if the "scottish" one is not available on the user's system.