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After Mike Brown was terminated and Lakers fans cheered for the Zen master, it seemed almost automatic that Phil Jackson would take his familiar spot on the Laker bench. But this is not going to happen and the fault seems to lie roundly on Jackson's shoulders for making far too many demands. I guess Jackson is in the driver's seat having done all he needs to do in the NBA, but still is this not a sweet looking opportunity that even Jackson would have had a hard time passing up.

It has now becoming public news that the Lakers management have signed Mike D'Antoni to a four year deal more out of desperation than anything else. Don't get me wrong, D'Antoni did his bit with the Phoenix Suns and then the NY Knicks (Jeremy Lin shone in his trademark system). He has also had a marked influence on the Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant who has welcomed D'Antoni to guide the new look premier Los Angeles basketball team to a championship.

There has been a lot of mystery around the Jackson snub so to speak and analysts are pretty sure that Jackson must be kicking himself for believing that the Lakers top brass wouldn't call his bluff. Nonetheless, D'Antoni will now have a hard time living up to the Lakers fans expectations who wanted Jackson and are used to the success that he has brought the basketball team.

It will be interesting to see how D'Antoni steps up to the challenge after the Lakers have passed up the almighty Jackson for him. LA is in a spot of bother early in the season and this might be a great time to regroup albeit the recent resurgence by the team.

Low-carb diets are all the rage. Ever since the meat-fest known as the Atkins diet was introduced, society seems to be on a carb-free kick.

Why, you ask?

Simply put, eating low-carb can help promote weight-loss, while reducing the risk for type 2 diabetes. Seems like a win-win situation to me. One problem, however - most low-carb diets are aimed toward extreme carnivores. These diets are filled with bacon grease and T-bones. Is it even possible for a vegetarian to eat low-carb?

Foods without carbohydrates are those that are high in protein and fat. Crazy that eating so much fat can help you lose weight, but the body processes it differently when carbs are missing. The majority of these foods are derived from animal flesh. As a vegetarian, I really want to see if I can drop a few pounds by eating less carbs, but it may be hard.

What can I eat?

It seems like most full-fat cheese, dairy products and avocados are safe. But I really don't want to live off avocado and cheese omelets for the rest of my life. Plus, I try to avoid large amounts of dairy products. (I dream of one day being able to go fully vegan.)

Veggies do have carbs, but since they are packed full of fiber, they don't hit your pancreas hard, like white sugar does. I need to select vegetables that are lower on the glycemic index, such as leafy greens. Potatoes (my personal favorite) and carrots (another household staple) should be avoided. Hmm...I always thought these foods were healthy.

Fruits have to be eaten in moderation on a low-carb diet. That's not going to work for me, since they are a staple in my cooking. I'm also going to have to limit pasta and bread. I can totally manage that, and I'll choose whole grain over Wonder Bread.

I really want to follow this type of diet plan, but I don't think I can do it without severely limiting my options. Instead of trying to follow the fad, I'm just going to stick with what I know - lots of whole fruits and vegetables, mixed with a moderate amount of grain. If you are a vegetarian that follows a low-carb lifestyle, I would love to hear what you eat on a daily basis.

I usually eschew discussing politics on this blog, but this is a break from tradition since this news story is well and truly hot in the U.S. right now. It has become somewhat of a national soap opera.

It it is about an extramarital affair that former CIA chief David Petraeus had with his married biographer, Paula Broadwell. Broadwell and Petraeus share West Point roots and also a fitness regimen. Furthermore, Petraeus liked to have positive press and this is where Broadwell came in even more handy.

What is more, is that the Petraeus scandal has extended to an investigation on a hand-picked General by Petraeus, John Allen, with regards to his supposed e-mails to socialite Jill Kelley who was the whistleblower in the Petraeus affair.

It has been quite a sudden drastic turn of affairs in the Obama administration with his much praised CIA director having to resign and the future of his Afghan war commander in jeopardy. There has been concern that national security may have been compromised as a result of all of this, but President Obama maintains that this is not so.

David Petraeus is now turning his attention to his family after resigning as CIA director. Petraeus acknowledges his wrongdoings but this extramarital affair had its roots as far back as the Spring of 2006. The two ‘lovers’ had an undercover way of communicating that would have been difficult to get wind of electronically: they saved correspondences in the draft folder of the same e-mail and once each one was read it would be deleted and replaced by a reply message by the viewer. Very clever indeed!

I really felt that a post on this ultra-fast trading that relies on high tech machinery was a must on this Stock Fest blog. High Frequency Trading (HFT) is all about speed. Even a few milliseconds of time being created will lead to millions of dollars worth of profitable trades.

HFT is the quest to make faster and faster trades. Computers make tens of thousands of trades even when the price of a security goes from $65 to $65.01 to generate fairly good profits.

HFT firms across the globe are happy to pay the high fees necessary to make financial trade data transmission faster by a few milliseconds. High frequency traders now trade in the crucial financial markets such as London and Tokyo in addition to New York.

Highly complex algorithms and advanced mainframe computers will quickly parse through the financial data made available and pinpoint the prospects for HFT.

The CEO of Huawei Marine Networks, Nigel Bayliff tells us about the value of a couple of milliseconds: “A couple of milliseconds can roll out to a $20-million difference in [a trader’s] account at the end of the month.”

HFT firms are more than willing to shell out millions for even more blistering fast transmission speeds.  To put these astronomic costs into perspective, let's look at a recent project: A transatlantic cable being laid cost a staggering $400 million. The plus point of this project: HFTs save five milliseconds! But these milliseconds make all the difference.