Maunderings for October 20, 2013

The World is Out to Get You!

Well, apparently breathing China's air isn't as bad as we thought... At least compared to many places in the Middle East. The World Health Organization released their latest research on outdoor air pollution recently and Quartz was nice enough to break it down into a nice chart. The worst Chinese offender doesn't even come close to breaking into the top ten worldwide. Not that it can't get bad in China, but at least they aren't blaming it on the U.S., like a certain four letter country seems to be. I guess that what happens when your entire economy is based on pumping oil out of the ground.

And if you're lucky enough to survive the air pollution, it's your vitamins that are going to kill you. The BBC reports on overuse of dietary supplements this week, and I tend to agree that taking a ton of something that you are not sure what it does can't be good in the long term. Especially given all the new research into the microbiom, aka: our elusive gut bacteria.

Also on the Beeb, and reiterating something I blogged previously, you really don't need to drink more water than you feel like you need. Australian researchers recently proved it. If you live in a temperate climate, you probably need six to eight cups of liquid a day, but that can come in the form of food, coffee, beer, or (gasp!) tap water. If you're thirsty, have a drink, but don't force it on yourself.

Today's moral is pretty basic: Don't believe the marketing hype; your body is amazing and can usually take care of itself as long as you listen to it. As long as you don't live in Iran.

Maunderings for June 19, 2013

I've unintentionally taken a little while off of updating (again) while I spend some time at home in Colorado.  It's really nice to be back breathing the thin, dry, clean air and drinking good, fresh beer.  Drinking seems to be a theme today...

Even though China is a huge country and the wealthy seem to be obsessed with high end whiskey, 99.5% of all hard liquor consumed in China is baijiu.  So when the Economist graphed the top ten consumers of real spirits (vodka, rum, Scotch whiskey, gin, tequila), China doesn't even rank.  Unsurprisingly, Russians drink the most of anyone by a large margin.  What did surprise me was that the French drink ten times more Scotch per person than Americans (but non-Scotch whiskey wasn't mentioned, so that could have something to do with it) and that Filipinos drink nearly five times more gin than us.  Since gin and Scotch are my liquors of choice, I'm trying to bring our average more in line with global standards, and I encourage you to do your part.  ;)

This article about the worst charities in the U.S. will make you both want to drink and not feel bad about spending money on booze instead of donating it to these scams than donate less than 1% of their proceeds to their supposed beneficiaries.

This could either make you want to drink more or make you feel a little better about your situation. In China, graduates from Chinese universities are four times more likely to be unemployed than those with only an elementary school education. At least it's not just American college graduates who think that they're entitled to a better job than they are qualified for:

Jason Zhang, the recruiter who has years of experience hiring people, rolls his eyes at this type of candidate. "Chinese college graduates these days think they’re really special," he says with a smile. "The problem is -- they’re the only ones who think that." 

Zhang says Wang and many others in China’s class of 2013 will go all summer thinking they’ve got lots of options, and will probably end up unemployed.

Aaand, I forgot to hit "post" a few days ago, so here's bonus drinking related update, just for good measure. According to Telegraph in the UK, via Gothamist, the world's gin supply is in dire straights because of a fungus that is attacking juniper berries, the pungent herb that gives gin its gin-ness.  I regard this as a real emergency, but I am also surprised that there's no synthetic alternative available for desperate times like these.  But, necessity is the mother of invention, so maybe Britain will start to be innovative again and there will be.  In the meantime, enjoy your gin while you can, people!

Whoo hoo! I'm a statistic!

Initial claims for jobless benefits jumped 32,000 to a seasonally adjusted 516,000 in the week ended Nov. 8, the Labor Department said Thursday.

And I'm one of them. Now if I ever get these so-called "jobless benefits" it'll suck a little less.

Thank you, Veterans

Today, the 11th of November, is the 90th anniversary of the signing of the armistice between the Allies and Germany at Rethondes, France, marking symbolic end of World War One — signed on the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" in 1918. It became known as "Veterans Day" in 1954 when President Dwight Eisenhower and congress passed a bill declaring it so.

I'd like to take this opportunity to give thanks to all who have served and are serving our great country in our military. Their sacrifices make it possible for the rest of us live the lives that we live today in freedom and without fear of outside attack. Thank God for our service men and women.

In related news, President Bush honored veterans today at the rededicate of the World War II aircraft carrier USS Intrepid in New York where he also received the Freedom Award from ...someone that I can't seem to find. The President gave a very enjoyable speech, but I can't find a video of it yet, so here is the text of the speech. Hopefully the video will get posted and I'll add it here. Here is coverage of the event from the AP and Bloomberg.

Boy, this being home during the day sure lets me watch a lot of news...

Biden "guarantees" International Crisis

This may be one of "say it ain't so" Joe Biden's most significant slips of the tongue yet. Yesterday he let it slip that he believes that within six months of Obama's presumptive election the world will test us with an international crisis. He goes on to babble about the "little people" showing the way and ends trying to prop up the utter lack of experience his running mate possesses, but the important part was already out of the bag.

The rest of the world doesn't trust an Obama presidency. The rest of the world looks at an Obama presidency as an opportunity to exploit our new found weakness in leadership and judgement. The rest of the world looks to take advantage of an inept President Obama to further their totalitarian fantasies. I am honestly truly frightened of what an Obama presidency may bring to America and the world.

If you want a little more convincing, listen to these two clips from Glenn Beck's radio show Monday.
YouTube - Glenn Beck Radio - Biden "guarantees" International Crisis
YouTube - Glenn Beck Radio - Biden "guarantees" International Crisis 2
Glenn, as usual in my opinion, goes a little overboard on the fear and conspiracy, but the message remains valid.

Save the world this election. Vote republican.

Less than Happy Anniversary

Crap.

The stock market's collapse accelerated Thursday as bank lending remained stubbornly clogged and investors remained unwilling to hold anything except cash and government debt, no matter how tiny the returns for doing so.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined for a seventh straight day, plunging 678.91 points, or 7.3%, to 8579.19. Blue chips last dipped below the 9000 level five years ago. Thursday's fall was the Dow's third-worst all time in point terms and 11th worst in percentage terms. During its recent losing run, blue chips have fallen by a startling 20.9% and are down 39.4% from their record high, which was hit exactly one year ago. (WSJ, 9 Oct 2008)

All that basically sucks, but it doesn't look nearly as bad when you look at the (really) big picture...It doesn't look quite as bad.

Personally, even though my 401k is probably getting hammered in the rear right now, I've got long enough before I need to draw from it that this decline in prices is basically a buying opportunity. Not a pretty one, but even though my value has gone down, my buying power has increased significantly!

Also, crude oil prices fell to their lowest point in eleven months today, to under $87 a barrel, but gas prices at the pump haven't kept up the pace:

The last time oil sold for $87-per-barrel was October 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. But current gas prices nationally and in Phoenix remain more than 60 cents higher than last October.

The national average stands at $3.40 per gallon, well above October 2007’s $2.77, according to AAA. Phoenix-area average prices stand at $3.27 per gallon compared to $2.65 a year ago. Current prices, however, are down from summer highs of more than $4 per gallon. (Phoenix Business Journal, 09 Oct 2008)

I don't know why that is, but I don't like it.

And further proof from the WSJ that the stock market operates purely on emotion and speculation, not hard data:

Strategist Jim Paulsen, of Wells Capital Management in Minneapolis, said the fear that has seized the market lately may be an unintended, self-fulfilling consequence of recent efforts in Washington to pass a $700 billion rescue of firms saddled with illiquid mortgage securities.

"To sell the bailout to the public, everyone from the President on down had to go out and tell people how bad everything was, that the world was coming to an end," said Mr. Paulsen. "Ever since, people's expectations about the economy have gotten worse and worse and worse, and their reaction to each new action to fix the problems has gotten worse and worse and worse."

Oh well. Remember, buying opportunity!

**In other news, I might have to figure out how to be Freddie Mac for Halloween. :D

This week on the web

Here's a mish-mash of stuff that I accumulated over the past week that I mean to blog about, but never got the chance. I may have to start doing this every week, or at least when I think about it. It's kinda like James Taranto's Best of the Web Today on WSJ.com, but not daily, and quite a bit less clever. I may have to start doing this every week, or at least when I think about it.

Still uncomfortable with Obama and his elitist arrogance? You're probably just subtly racist. (link)

Steve Tobak explores the alternative-energy bubble on CNet news. "What, you don't believe that there's an alternative-energy bubble? Then you're just not paying attention." (link)

"With [Moqtada al] Sadr's 'retirement,' we've taken another long stride" towards a irreversable victory in Iraq. (link)

"Coffee Served Right" (wing) at the Conservative Café in Crown Point, Indiana. "Latte-swilling liberals welcome, too." (link) & (link)

"China breaks Olympic promises on rights, media, pollution" -- Are we supprised by this? (link)

Busweiser (Anheuser-Busch)'s takeover by Belgian InBev may have been motivated by European corporate taxes that are nearly half of what Anheuser-Busch payed in America. How does that happen?! (link)

"Suddenly being green is not cool any more" in Britian. (link)

Well, there ya have it. I read and posted those articles, so I think they're probably worth a little bit of your time to read. If you have some time, that is.

Black Holes "Racist"

A special meeting about Dallas County traffic tickets went pear shaped this past Monday when county commissioner Kenneth Mayfield (who is white) described the central collections office as a "black hole" because paperwork routinely gets lost there.

The Dallas Morning News describes what happened next:

Commissioner John Wiley Price, who is black, interrupted him with a loud "Excuse me!" He then corrected his colleague, saying the office has become a "white hole."

That prompted Judge Thomas Jones, who is black, to demand an apology from Mayfield for his racially insensitive analogy.

Mayfield shot back that it was a figure of speech and a science term.

Apparently, certain black democrats in the Dallas County, Texas (namely Commissioner John Wiley Price and Judge Thomas Jones) are either totally ignorant of some basic principles of science or are unapologetic, bigoted race-baiters.

A black hole is

...a region of space that has so much mass concentrated in it that there is no way for a nearby object to escape its gravitational pull. ... Incidentally, the name 'black hole' was invented by John Archibald Wheeler, and seems to have stuck because it was much catchier than previous names. Before Wheeler came along, these objects were often referred to as 'frozen stars.'" (source).

This seems like a pretty reasonable description to apply to an office where paperwork goes in and is never seen again. And I am pretty sure that replacing the non-catchy and less correct term "frozen stars" with "black holes" was not racially motivated.

Some people's kids. Sheesh.

*Update (18 July 2008): 850 KOA radio host and Rocky Mountain News columnist Mike Rosin expanded on this debacle in a column in today's paper. Mike's much funnier than I am, but he does get paid for this kind of thing. I'm glad this story got some national attention. Stupid people need to be called out into public once in a while.

Barack is the company he keeps

(Video is a little NSFW)

Barack Obama's mentor, Jeremiah Wright of Trinity UCC (United Church of Christ) preaching on the notion of a black Jesus being oppressed by white people and his tirade against Hillary Clinton stating that, "Hillary ain't never been called a...."

What a racist piece of trash.

If "Jesus taught" Jeremiah Wright "to love [his] neighbor" so much that he would never be "reduced to their level" of hatred, ignorance, bigotry, etc, uh, wuddaya call that, Rev? And this guys is Barack Hussein Obama's "spiritual mentor". Rev Wright and Obama's America-hating wife, Michelle, don't bode well for the concept of the 'open minded,' 'caring,' 'hopeful' liberal that he is trying to portray. This paints a picture of a resentful, entitled, bigoted man with delusions of grandeur and misplaced priorities for a presidential hopeful, completely unable and undeserving to be our next president.

Back in January, Newsmax.com had a very interesting article about Barack Obama's Racist Church, the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. Apparently,

...its pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. subscribes to what is called the Black Value System.

While the Black Value System includes such items as commitment to God, education, and self-discipline, it refers to “our racist competitive society” and includes the disavowal of the pursuit of “middle-classness” and a pledge of allegiance to “all black leadership who espouse and embrace the Black Value System.” It defines “middle-classness” as a way for American society to “snare” blacks rather than “killing them off directly” or “placing them in concentration camps,” just as the country structures “an economic environment that induces captive youth to fill the jails and prisons.”

In sermons and interviews, Dr. Wright has equated Zionism with racism and Israel with South Africa under its previous policy of apartheid. On the Sunday after 9/11, Wright said the attacks were a consequence of violent American policies. Four years later, Wright suggested that the attacks were retribution for America’s racism.

“In the 21st century, white America got a wake-up call after 9/11/01,”...

Obama has tried to distance himself from his mentor's most radical stands, but as the column goes on to say,

...if Obama rejects Wright’s warped view of this country, why does he continue to attend his church, raising the question of whether Obama secretly agrees with his friend and mentor? At the least, Obama’s membership in Wright’s church suggests a lack of judgment and an insensitivity to views that are repugnant to the vast majority of white Americans who are not bigots.

I suppose you can decide for yourselves whether Obama and his comrades are fit to run the most powerful country in the world. That is, unless the "Clinton Machine" gets to him first. But they, and the McCain Camp, are probably too worried about being called racist to call him out on any of this.

William F. Buckley Jr., Rest In Peace

William F. Buckley Jr. was the founder of conservative magazine "National Review" and one of the earliest and most influential personalities in the modern American conservative movement. He died Wednesday 27 February, 2008 at his home.

His magazine's editors remember their founder and inspiration here, and a National Review columnist remembers him as a true gentleman here. More remembrances have been posted even since I started writing this post. The Wall Street Journal reports his death here.

Even though I do not agree with all of Mr Buckley's opinions, he was one of my favorite columnists. He always had such a way with words that it was hard not to at least see precisely what he was saying. He will be truly missed, but his movement will rumble ever forward in his memory.

Candidates On The Economy

The recent turmoil in the world financial markets gives us one more chance to the the differences in Democrats and Republicans first-hand. Consider the reactions to the Federal Reserve Bank's 3/4 point rate cut early this morning, from the Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire:

Hillary Clinton -

“This is a global economic crisis,” Clinton said at a news conference early this morning. “It has pushed the Fed into an emergency meeting and a rate cut in an effort to take whatever action can be taken on the monetary side to begin to try to stabilize this situation which is obviously deteriorating.” She went on to say that President Bush already should have convened a “working group on financial markets. … This has to be regulated across markets with regulators here and regulators around the world.”

John McCain -

McCain, on the other hand, didn’t apply the pressure, though he did put in a plug for his stimulus plan, consisting mostly of tax cuts, and a plug for the Fed. “The role of the Federal Reserve is to ensure that our financial markets are well-functioning and to support economic growth,” he explained in a statement. “I am confident that the action taken this morning to cut two key rates will support these goals. The U.S. economy has proven to be quite resilient. I am concerned about financial market events, but with the right leadership and pro-growth policies the economy can weather this upheaval.”

Mitt Romney -

Getting serious — and optimistic — Romney said: “I can tell you from my own personal experience that every time I’ve seen things really get scary and the markets really collapse that I put aside that fear for a moment and say, ‘Ah-ha, is this a buying opportunity?’ Because my experience has always been what goes down, comes back up.”

He then returned to the presidential pitch, saying that restoring the economy’s health “is going to require, I believe, action on the part of leadership in Washington to do those things which will convince the world that America is going to come back strong and our economic foundation is secure.”

If we decode Hillary's feverish panic, we see fear, reactionism, short-sightedness, and a propensity for oversite and regulation. Contrast that with the realism, confidence, optimism, and enthusiasm presented by McCain and Romney.

Even though I'm not a huge fan of either of the Republican candidates, they do understand that the stock markets operate on speculation, fear, and hope. I think that it is obvious which party has a better grasp on moving forward and growing the American economy.

Thompson Drops Out Of Republican Race - WSJ.com

Damn. Now that the only consistent conservative is out of the race, I guess I'd better figure out who to caucus for on Tsunami Tuesday (05 Feb).

Matt's 2007 Stock Market Wrap

Despite Doom And Gloom, Stock Markets Post Gain For 2007

The U.S. stock market finished out 2007 with gains in all three major indexes, despite the fear, uncertainty, and doubt about the economy - the credit crunch, real-estate slump, and a "looming recession" in particular.

Even though the Dow Jones Industrial average lost 101 points on New Year's Eve, it still ended the year up 6.4%, at 13,265. That ain't bad, but it is down quite a bit from a high of over 14,000, reached for the first time ever in 2007. The S&P 500 only rose 3.5%, but the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was up 9.8% on the year

Even though there were some impressive gains, there were some substantial losses. Citigroup, who apparently bought my mortgage from Dutch lender ABM AMRO this fall, was the worst performer of the blue-chip index, falling 47% on the year. Marketwatch.com reports "The banking giant was 'the poster boy' for this year's subprime-market meltdown and subsequent credit crisis."

The year 2007 grew increasingly volatile as the year went on. As the Arizona Republic reports:

As 2007 progressed, the market was characterized by rising volatility, with what seemed like day after day of sharp losses on Wall Street.

"From May 2003 through January 2007, the Dow never dropped more than 2 percent in a day," reported Phoenix investment firm Keats, Connelly & Associates. "That was a period of stock-market stability unmatched in more than a century, but it couldn't last forever."

Indeed, it didn't. In the second half of 2007 alone, the Dow fell 2 percent or more on nine separate trading days, with most of that coming after subprime-mortgage woes made headlines in August.

The Dow also had three daily gains of 2 percent over that stretch.

From what I'm reading around the internet, for 2008 it looks like technology and health care have a potential for growth, which makes sense with everything these days relying heavily on tech and an aging Baby-Boom population willing to pay for decent health care. Potential trouble stops could include the financial sector, auto manufacturers, and other transportation stocks, which also makes sense with the price of oil and trouble in the lending industry.

Looking ahead, the Arizona Republic goes on:

As 2008 unfolds, the key question centers on recession risks. A contracting economy could push stocks into a tailspin, as happened from 2000 to 2002. But if the economy can avoid a slump, the market could be poised to make it six winning years in a row considering that interest rates are easing, corporate profits are holding up and inflation so far remains under control despite a weak dollar.

"I think we're seeing the worst of the financial situation now," said Barbara Walchli, Phoenix-based portfolio manager of the Aquila Rocky Mountain Equity Fund. "I see slow growth or even no growth for the economy, but I don't expect negative growth," she said.

One wild card for the stock market is the election and campaign rhetoric. With no sitting president or vice president in the race, the field is wide open.

"The election will cause some anxiety," predicted Jeff Young, an adviser at First Financial Equity Corp. in Scottsdale. "It's a big unknown since no incumbent is running."

All in all, I'm going to have to agree with the cautiously optimistic outlook of the AZ Republic. I feel that the economy can probably weather the coming year without any major issues, even if the housing sector doesn't come back. I would not expect a lot of broad growth, but don't expect the market to tank, no matter what the Dominant Liberal Media would like you to think. I am pretty impressed with the resiliency of the U.S. consumer and markets in light of all of the volatility and overblown news about the subprime mortgage problems. Which, by the way, only make up something like 4% of the mortgage industry.

Sources: Arizona Republic, Marketwatch.com

British Woman Banned From Entering New Zealand Because She Is Too Fat

And you thought the United State's immigration laws were crazy!

Oh, Shit.

(Article)

"Un-Freaking-Beleavable" -- Go Rockies!

Yay! The Colorado Rockies just won the sudden-death tie-breaker game with the San Diego Padres, 9 to 8, to clench the National League Wildcard spot in the post-season playoffs. This was only the seventh one-game playoff in the history of Major League Baseball.

It took the Rockies 13 innings, 10 pitchers, and four hours and forty minutes to beat the Padres in a genuinely wild game. Now they travel to Philadelphia to take on the Phillies on Wednesday in the first round of the NL playoffs. Tonight's game was the 14th win of the last 15 games, so you know the Rockies are playing some really good baseball, and with an MVP candidate and a Rookie of the Year candidate on the roster, I hope they keep it up!

Even if they get swept in Philly, this has been the winningest season in team history, and this season saw a club record eleven-game winning streak just a couple of weeks ago. This is/was a great year for baseball in Colorado.

And this great finish the the regular season just a few short months after people were calling for the Rockies' manager's head on a platter. Oh, what a difference a few wins makes.

The last time the Rockies won the NL Wildcard was twelve years ago, today. Just for a little perspective, that was 1995, the same year that OJ Simpson was acquitted of murder. I think the state of Colorado needs a win!

Rockies rally to beat Padres in NL wildcard thriller - Guardian Unlimited Sport

Rockies' hard work rewarded big-time - The Official Site of The Colorado Rockies

Tag Outlawed and Ethanol's Effect on the Brown Cloud

Here are two articles that I do not have time to elaborate on right now, but still want to share:

First, a little blurb about a Colorado Springs school banning tag because it's too competitive. What kind of kids are we raising these days?

And second, an article about how the environmentally sensitive, no make that crappy, "E10" ethanolated gasoline may actually be hurting the atmosphere more than it is helping. Sounds like another case of the environmental wackos imposing their "solutions" on everyone without really knowing what it will effect.

I'll try to expand on these later.

Australia gives up on parenting

The Australian government recently announced a $189 million, taxpayer funded plan to curb online porn. Does that seem like they are overstepping their bounds by just a little? Since when was it government's duty to keep my dirty little courser off of porn sites?

And even though that $189 million is Australian dollars, it's still a big ol' chunk of money that could probably be better spent.

To take it one step further, the Australian Parliament is evaluating a proposal that would impose jail time on anyone caught "trafficking" pornographic videos. And by trafficking, they mean possessing five or more.

What happened to the Australia that wasn't a socialist nanny-state?

The Treacherous High Seas of Bureaucracy

An English town council baned a boy, 6, from flying Jolly Roger at his pirate-themed birthday party - because it is 'unneighbourly'. His parents must apply for planning permission at a cost of £75, and then an assessment of the 5ft by 4ft flag's "impact" on the surrounding area of Stone, Staffordshire, will be undertaken.

Talk about overreaching government control. Having to pay $120 and waiting at least a month to see if you can fly your choice of flag in your own back yard seems a little ridiculous. However, I do know that many cities have codes concerning signage, banners, balloons, and the like, but I thought those were only concerning things that can be seen from a public thoroughfare.

Ahoy, maties! Run 'er up the flagpole, but just make certain ye pay the good councilpeople off first! Yarrr!

Facebook in the news

Facebook seems to have been getting a lot more attention from the "real" media these days than it has in the past, and most of it seems to be pretty possitive. Unlike the reactionary stories of (potential) stalking and security concerns and the ensueing (mock) outrage when Mark Zuckerberg introduced the News Feed feature and then opened Facebook's membership up to the whole world, they are now getting coverage on CNN and in Time.

Apparently there is a new found fascination that these new - mostly older - members have with their new online toy. They seem to mostly embrace the "real identity" that Facebook provides and holds people too. Unlike MySpace with it's crypto-pseudo-identities which a lot of people are not comfortable with, on Facebook you are who you say you are. If you search for my name, my profile (or some portion thereof) shows up. Obviously, a lot of people are more comfortable knowing that they are talking to who they think they are.

Anyways... here is a good article from AllThingsD's Kara Swisher on this topic, and below is the video they reference.

Like they say in the article, "You can ignore Cox’s typical ruminations on Facebook being voyeuristic and elitist (of course and who cares)."

Yay Facebook.