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Madness on Bordering Department: No Use Rushin'

Despite some of the alarmist jitters around the 'net, last time I looked, we had made it through another week without blowing the world up in a nuclear confrontation over events in Georgia.  The Russian forces that went into Georgia are still there, but Russia insists that they have a deadline of tonight to withdraw to a 'buffer zone" area. But, they are not exactly rushing to tell anyone where that might be.

 

So, in the meantime, the non-radioactive type fallout continues:..  Investors are reported pulling money out of Russia, according to the BBC.  On the other side of it, oil has edged back under $121 today as the dollar has gained and war jitters have eased a bit.

 

Since everything in the financial universe is linked (or hedged, or leveraged) to everything else, these basic events mean that when you see headline like "Stock point higher on prospect of Lehman buyout" and subtitled "Stock futures up before Bernanke speech..."

 

Gold, which was up yesterday, has fallen back today.  You have to remember than gold-bugs are usually quite pleased with the effects of war on gold prices, and distain the impacts of peace on long positions.  While the Russian withdrawal is still being touted, the price of gold has dropped more than $10 in the early trading today (subject to change at a moment's notice).

 

Can gold fall further?  Why, sure!  But to zero?  To even $600?  Doubtful.  Especially when the L.A. Times posted on Thursday that "As demand jumps, Mint runs out of one-ounce gold coins." 

 

"Not Admitting Guilt"

Speaking of the L.A. Times biz-section, I trust you saw that the "Auction-rate probe expands to nearly 40 brokerages"?

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There's a curious thing going on in American jurisprudence lately that sticks in my craw (whatever a craw is...):  It's the reports of all these huge settlements of late which all carefully not that whoever is writing the check doesn't admit wrongdoing. 

 

How frigging stoopid (sic) do lawyers thing humans are?  Some big finance outfit writes a bazillion dollar check because they are protecting their reputation?  Gag me with a spoon.  Oh, and then they insist on the phrase "without admitting wrongdoing".  Notice they have stopped using the term "guilt" because that's pejorative?

 

I don't know about you, but to me when a check for millions or billions in paybacks for screwing the public is negotiated, the right thing for regulators to do would be extract an admission of guilt!  They usually are, right?"  Why not force them to admit it?   I mean or they wouldn't write fat-*ss check, if innocent, would they? 

 

But it's all how the corpgov club, complete with 'captive regulators' works.  Ya'll aren't supposed to get justice.  Nossir.  Just your money back...and then, only if you're lucky.

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The MainStreamMedia, being neutered by corporate ownership mostly, won't raise these points, but that's why the Internet's going to end up being taxed, or licensed, or both, at some point.  Can't have people wandering around shattering the illusions so carefully crafted to keep the public dumbed-down and docile.  More fluoride in the water, please. Why, if they weren't, we might actually have two political parties that stood for something, besides corporate contributions, socializing losses of crooked bankers, and privatization of profits.

 

But what's the use?.

 

Great (Fire) Wall of China

Now that the Olympic stories are about toast, we can get back to the usual stories about China.  Like this one:  "China blocks iTunes over all-star Tibet album free download."

 

Last time I heard, which was a couple of weeks back, UrbanSurvival was still available in China.  But, in a rather surprising move, we hear that our friends at www.halfpasthuman.com have been blocked.  Perhaps because their future-predictive software scans discussion groups in multi-languages, or maybe it's because they have an official government program working on predictive linguistics ("Ting" or 'the cauldron') which uses larger (multiple page) data samples than our garage-based enterprise's 2048-bit samples.

 

Transplants: Face Time

Oh, here's good news if you've thought about yourself as really, really ugly:  "Surgeons prepare for world's first full-face transplant."

 

The Political Correctness Police have asked me to post a reminder "Do not engage in mean-spirited forwarding of this message to employees or others from your corporate workstation as it may trigger an over-reaction by your HR department..."   I do expect a best seller about this.  Hey!  Maybe they'll title it the "Face Book"?

 

The Spies Among Us

Seems there are some new "guidelines" that would give the FBI broader powers of surveillance than already exist.  So broad are the powers, says the NY Times, that they'll now be allowed ..."to open a national security or criminal investigation against someone without any clear basis for suspicion, Democratic lawmakers briefed on the details said Wednesday.".    Who would have ever thought that we'd need more 'guidelines'.  I thought we already had a near-perfect set of them (Hint: The Constitution).  But right to privacy?  Haha...you got to be kidding, whatzzat?

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Fortunately, I long-ago concluded that if you're willing to live a simplified lifestyle, label yourself a nutjob, and renounce the debt monster and such, it is still possible to live an honest / truth-telling life.  But, even that is getting more difficult.

 

Weight-based Insurance

"Extra pounds mean extra insurance fees for Alabama workers..."   Say, I don't suppose the state is negotiating a lower dental plan price? Since folks may be eating less, there'd be less wear on their chompers, and that would lower dental work...

 

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Coping: IOUSA Worth Seeing

Although you probably have a pretty good idea how the financial world works if you read UrbanSurvival and the subscriber-based companion Peoplenomics.com sites, there's a new movie out which will jump-start your knowledge/awareness building if you are a recent convert to the 'Complete Reality School of Economics".  A reader in Chicago sends this review of last night's opener:

"The movie was good, David Walker (former comptroller of the US Govt'), was spectacular.  Not only does he get it, but he's a  fantastic communicator and should be the running for the white house.  

 

You'll need to catch his Q&A comments on YouTube once they become available, they're Ron Paul-esque.  The movie covers about 45% of everything that you remind your readers of on a daily basis, the remaining 55% of the movie is composed of silly interviews with teens & clueless adults and colorful graphs.

 

Being that the movie was about debt, there was great discussion about the origin of it, its pros / cons and what we can to do eliminate it before our future generation's quality of life is impacted.  Funny side note about social security and the public's terror that it won't be around in 15 years or so; SS is not and should not be our biggest concern, it needs to healthcare and prescription drug programs- they constitute a much greater % of our deficit that SS.  All said, it was a well put together documentary with the real value being the Q&A afterwards.

 

By the way, I've always viewed Warren Buffet as a realist, but seeing and listening to him with his more critical peers, my opinion of him has changed, he's an idealist who suffers from a "we'll always find a solution / don't worry about America / we are too great a   country to fail (we've heard that one before, haven't we?)" hypnosis.  

 

At the end of the day, we (you, me and most of your readers) are not the target audience for this movie, we've all already been informed of the current state of things via various resources- this movie was produced to open the eyes of those who have feared to look into the ugliness that has become our fiscal reality- you do a excellent job of reminding us of this everyday..."

Yup.  Definitely on the 'must watch' list.

 

Government's "6-Inches"

In the inbox from a reader was this update on how various cities around the country are coming down hard on people with lawns that don't pass muster:

Ha! HaHa! your 1st report on vegetation height violations (vhv) was amusing to me (as it relates to my current situation), but the 2nd vhv report prompted me to let you know how lucky those people should feel. I live in the city of Phoenix AZ (most of the time), and the vhv is 6 INCHES. That's right, the incredibly, ridiculously, I-have-to-use-a-ruler to determine that amount has been effect for awhile. This can be verified on phoenix.gov/NSD (neighborhood service (surveillance?) dept) website. During the past year, my husband & I have prioritized our alternate (read: survival) property, so our city property mtc. occasionally gets behind. We have a very lonely & bored widow on the block watch committee, who reports us EVERY TIME a few blades approach the 7 inch range (OMG, THAT must be the reason real estate values are falling!). The offense is always been taken care of before the city checks out the complaint, but it's gotten to the point where we now treat it as a game (the yard needs mowing; oh, let's wait till 6.25"!). Also, the city employee lady who comes out is really friendly & we always have a nice little chat. And I'm sure she's grateful to us for helping out with her job security, in these city budget sensitive times.

On another note, I've been committed to the idea of a write-in candidate for prez for some time now (haven't yet decided who). I'd really like to see a national movement for that idea - any thoughts on how to seed the current language for that? I know it won't get a write-in in office, but a big enough chunk of alternative voters would rattle the PTB a bit.

It's a good thing that I don't live the mainstream corporate sales & marketing life anymore.  Otherwise, I'd do up a big presentation on how the lawn-care industry could make billions by passing 'anti-weed legislation". 

 

Here's the pitch in a nutshell:  Cities would simply make it 100% illegal to have a lawn inside city limits with any weeds in it.  That way, everyone would have to 'round up' a bag or two of weed killer every year in order to comply with the zero-tolerance for dandelions laws.

 

Growing dandelions for wine-making or to throw in a really healthy salad?  (Assuming you're not allergic, of course...).  Nossir, the cities could save you from such a fate by simply outlawing dandelions.

 

New more revenue streams in those ag chemical corporate reports?  Let's outlaw crabgrass and throw people in jail for mandatory two-year minimums without trial for repeat violations.  Like: the second one.  That way we could grow the prison population, too - which would what?  Create more employment!.

 

Not enough revenue yet?  Well, we all know the dangers of coastal Bermuda, right?  Therefore, and in order to protect the visual quality of our neighborhoods and revolve the design issue of inconsistent grass colors and textures, "We hereby resolve that coastal Bermuda is illegal and must be replaced with one of the two following color-matched fescues..."

 

OMG, think it can't happen in America?  Of course not!  Sad reality bite here:  That America has been replaced with a Constitutionally-deficient, overly intrusive sham masquerading as a democracy while in reality it has been co-opted by major corporations.  But then you knew that, down as some level of which you dare not speak, I 'spect...

 

Nuts & Bolts & Wars

A reader note brings up an interesting question -- first the note:

"I read somewhere that part of the reason "we" won WW2 was that so many of our GIs were good old corn-fed Midwestern farm boys who knew how to keep the jeeps and tanks running. Supposedly the Germans were brilliant scientists and engineers but they were somewhat lacking in practical mechanical knowledge.

It's food for thought."

There're a lot of us who have looked at various strategic issues facing our military in the future and this is one of them.  I can just see a future battle front where a platoon leader calls "Time out!  Everyone put new batteries in your Land Warrior gear now!"

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While adding whole new dimensions to the concept "blue screens of death" (BSOD)  it also reminds me that if you want to read up on an American here and "advanced" war gaming, go read the history of "Millennium Challenge 2002" and the 'low-tech can kick your butt if you get too enamored with technology lesson taught the Blue side by  Red commander Marine Corp Lt. General Paul K. Van Riper.

 

But that would probably get me started on why Georgia is, in my view, defending the wrong border...there's one bordering Texas, New Mexico, Aridzona, and California that we should give equal attention to.  And what about defending the Washington DC borders from the lobbyist insurgences who have seized it?

 

Rural Government Growth

Boy, glad that all of my home construction projects here at the ranch are underway.  Why?  Because, speaking of government "piling on" the regulation game, we received a reader note that home inspections of new construction are ab out to get underway here in Texas starting September 1st. 

 

The Texas rules don't seem to apply to the private owner (just builder/remodelers if I read it right) but give 'em time.  Just any old excuse to add staff and expand government, huh?

 

'We're Cool'

The Farmer's Almanac says a really cold winter is ahead.  Not much in the way of stocking up to do here, but then again, our annual heating bill is measured in low hundreds, not thousands like up north.

 

No, I'm not going to talk about my woolly worm, thanks.  This is a family-oriented web site. But, how is your Pyrrharctia isabella, doing?

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Send snip and save items to george@ure.net

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Around the Ranch: The Motorized Bike Community

Last weekend, one of the items in the Peoplenomics report was about minimizing gasoline costs with a small gas-powered bike kit (complete with a couple of pictures).  Then, after my commodities broker told me he had picked up small gas bike motor kit on eBay for about $120 (plus $50 shipping) I figured I would have to get onboard.  So, I ordered one.

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I've made an interesting observation:  More and more, seems like the internet is spawning 'communities' around a new or rediscovered technology.  I see it once in a while when a micropreneur builds a new part for this hobby or that at www.emachineshop.com.  Another case is where a Chicago client turns me on to the whole 'community' that has sprung up on the web around the Hobby Zone Super Cub electric airplanes.

 

It's also starting to appear around the small gas engine conversion for bicycles, too. For example, a couple of guys up in the Seattle area have launched http://www.sickbikeparts.com/ to provide add-on parts (and improved upon parts) for the bike motor conversion kits.

 

My list of parts (before I even get the kit in hand) included a 'mountain' gear, a spark plug, gas cap gasket, new clutch cable, and so forth.

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I can't tell you how many times I've said to a friend "Have you seen this (group name) web site?  Too cool, huh?"  I feel like a cross being Einstein and Columbus when I discover one of these new gems.  I remember passing on "American Antigravity" as while back, for example.

 

But it's not just about new technology:  It's about applying new technology to old technologies - like steam power - to come up with new 'best of breed' solutions.

 

If you're thinking about developing a microprenuerial enterprise around one of your hobbies, consider this:   The ones that seem to grow best have fairly low entry price points.  The Super Cub and the bike motor basic products are right around $200 as a 'get-started' price.  And, they don't take a lot of time or energy to get going.  Plus, there are a zillion ways to develop add-ons.

 

Although different than vworld communities, like www.stardoll.com or www.secondlife.com, there seems to be a growth pattern developing here.