NEW YORK (Fortune) -- My main man reader Deep Blue puts it best: "Market cannot make up it's mind and when that's the case it's usually down." Well, except for Friday it seems. But it's true, Mr. Market just meandering right now. Deep also got me interested in a couple of measuring companies this morning ...

HEWLETT-PACKARD: Okay so I have to weigh in here. Is it Dungeons and Dragons? Peyton Place? The Apprentice? Here's a simple little rule: Whenever a company hires a private detective agency (of course they're consulting agencies these days), you are asking for trouble. Did Patty Dunn (H-P's chairman) authorize illegal "pretexting" when she greenlighted the investigation? Who knows, but when the results came back, she had to have known ....or should have asked how the info was procured. H-P has been on "fi-yah" over the past two years ... almost doubling since Carly left. (All this pub, negative or not, is great for her upcoming book with the lame-o title "Tough Choices"). I think HPQ (Charts) gets mired from here on in. The easy money has been made and the low hanging fruit plucked. (And cliches have all been written.)

ESCO: I love it when they call a corporation "a diversified manufacturing company." A what now? All right, I'll 'splain: ESE (Charts), from St. Louis, Mo., makes filtration systems, remote meter reading equipment, and also RF shielding and testing (that would be protecting and measuring radio frequencies). Sexy, sexy, sexy! Stock took a big hit in late August after a big customer said it was delaying an automated meter-reading project. So what? There are other meter-reading projects! Stock has done well over time.

BADGER METER: This is also in the measuring biz. Mostly makes equipment that measures and controls the flow of fluids. (And you had to ask!) Pride of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Been around for 101years. Is a possible takeover target? Could be. (Maybe General Electric (Charts)?) Does a bit over $200 million. BMI (Charts) is cheaper than ESE, but only growing about 5 percent. Bet that the founder went to University of Wisconsin. Go Badgers!

LOOSE CHANGE: Hey it's fashion week in NYC starting today. Um, I'll be out of the office this afternoon at a strategic offsite ... Supa producer (Wishbone) Ashley saw the movie "Illusionist" and says:

I never pick up on any clues in movies ... I was totally blown away at the Sixth Sense. But with this movie I picked up everything ... so although the movie was cinematically good, it was disappointing because everyone likes to be surprised in the end ... but this movie didn't do it for me."

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E-mail Andy Serwer at serwer@fortunemail.com

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