Crash

You really have to sort of feel sorry for Fed chairman Bernanke. Running the printing presses is the last thing you want to do when inflation really gets rolling, but not increasing the money supply will doom major chunks of the economy. And this is an election year, after all. Not that anything will save the Republican party at this point, but I'm sure there is significant political pressure to keep the presses rolling, creating yet another bubble economy that will pop on someone else's watch. Personally, I don't see that working real well if prices of basics like food and gas take a significant jump as they seem poised to do.

This should be an interesting summer.

Male Thought Process

Survivor - Michigan Style

This popped up in my Google Alerts this morning:

Due to the popularity of the Survivor's shows, Northern Michigan is planning to do its own, titled 'Survivor - Michigan Style.'

The contestants will start in Traverse City , travel over to Kalkaska and on to Grayling. Then they will head north to Gaylord, Mackinaw City , and St Ste Marie. From there they will proceed west to Iron Mountain and Copper Harbor . Then they will go south-east to Escanaba and St. Ignace, and the final leg will be back to Traverse City .

Each will be driving a pink Volvo with California license plates and a large bumper sticker that reads: 'I'm gay. I'm a Vegetarian. Beer is harmful to your health. Republicans suck. Hillary in 2008. Deer hunting is murder, and I'm here to confiscate your guns.'

The first one that makes it back to Traverse City alive wins. Good luck to all contestants!

Heh. Most people who don't live in Michigan (which as any true Michigander knows includes anyone living in Detroit) fail to realize that Escanaba in da Moonlight was not a comedy; it was a documentary.

Perspective

Oil hits a new high.

Gas prices are going with it.

(Even as inventories are rising.)

Gold is at a record high.

The Euro is at a record high.

So, the real question is, are prices going up, or is the dollar losing value because the Fed is running the printing presses full steam ahead?

Old News

Packaged as new news. It's been at least a decade since sugar pills were shown to be a more effective treatment for depression than Prozac:

Almost 50 clinical trials were reviewed by psychologists from the University of Hull who found that new-generation anti-depressants worked no better than a placebo – a dummy pill – for mildly depressed patients.

Punchline:

Mind is urging GPs to consider alternative therapies such as exercise – particularly outdoor exercise – which it believes has shown to be very effective in combating depression.

Heh. Right. Exercise. Outdoors. Besides, if millions of prescriptions for Prozac are replaced with outdoor exercise, who's going to pay the multi-million dollar bonuses to the drug company CEO's?

UPDATE: Don't stop taking your meds because, while they do nothing for your depression, they do screw up your body chemistry and stopping cold turkey can have serious consequences. And big pharma's stocks will suffer. I'm not sure which consequence the medical industry is more concerned about.

Look At All the Good News!!

Wholesale prices jump.

Gas prices jump.

Oil prices jump.

Home sales tank.

Weeeeee! Are we having fun yet?!?!

Wow

When things go bad down on the (wind) farm:

Global Warming is the New Cooling

Global warming alarmists pretty much claim that any weather can be blamed on global warming. So I guess this is more evidence for global warming:

The U.S. National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) reported that many American cities and towns suffered record cold temperatures in January and early February....

China is surviving its most brutal winter in a century....

And remember the Arctic Sea ice? The ice we were told so hysterically last fall had melted to its "lowest levels on record? Never mind that those records only date back as far as 1972 and that there is anthropological and geological evidence of much greater melts in the past.

The ice is back....

Showing that solar activity has entered an inactive phase, Prof. Sorokhtin advised people to "stock up on fur coats."

The last time the sun was this inactive, Earth suffered the Little Ice Age that lasted about five centuries and ended in 1850. Crops failed through killer frosts and drought. Famine, plague and war were widespread. Harbours froze, so did rivers, and trade ceased....

We don't know what we don't know. Maybe we should spend some of the billions spent on global warming conferences (aka Bash America Again) finding out what is actually happening.

Let's Burn Food!

Gee, if you burn up food, what is left ends up costing more. Who knew? I mean, other than anyone with an ounce of common sense (which obviously excludes anyone running for president).

You First

Uncle Al and Friends do a lot of yakking about reducing per-capita CO2 emissions. We all know about Al Gore's hypocritically enormous carbon footprint, but just what would zero-net-carbon look like? Notice the table at the bottom comparing CO2 emissions to life span.

Downloads Will Kill Blu-ray

I love when I come to the same conclusion as the insiders do. Blu-ray will be about as significant as DAT. (Do I even have any readers that know what that is?)

Mortgage Lenders Are Your Friend. Really.

Long time, no hear

Sorry for such a long time between my posts. Just plain laziness --- I have all the time in the world to get on the computer after I get home from work (Tues-Fri) -- but I don't get on to post.

Work is still going well. It has been kinda slow lately. Some good news regarding work. I am currently working on my MCC (Master Cruise Counselor) accreditation and am pretty close to finishing it all up. I just signed up this past November. Right now I have the accreditation of ACC. I will be going to Florida the first part of March to get the rest of my ship inspections and "training classes" done. I have to have 30 cabins booked under my office and another 7 night cruise personal experience and I'll be done. I did have the 30 cabins booked, but some were under the corporate office (group space) and I found out those do not count! :-( I am getting my wedding group cruise (10 cabins) transferred to my office, so I get to count those again. After those are finalized, I will only have 2 more cabins to book. Anyone want to book a cruise?!!!!! I figure after Ric and my Mediterranean cruise in April/May, I should have those two more booked. Then I can turn in everything and be done with it. Pretty good -- just over 6 months to finish it up! (Trying hard to pat my back without hurting myself! LOL)

This is definitely the place to work on cruise accreditation's. I probably would have never tried this in Michigan. I was having a hard time getting the 15 cruises booked in a 12month time frame when I signed up there to work on my ACC. I did a report at AAA and from Jan 1, 2007 through the end of Jan 2008 I had booked around 67 cabins! And that was in my first year with them moving from Michigan. The next level (ECC) has to have 50 cabins booked in a 12 month time period. At first that scared me alot! I thought 30 was going to be tough. Now, after running that report and realizing how many cruises we actually book here in Arizona, I think I may go for it.

Not too much new on the home front. I haven't gotten into a good routine yet with Ric gone most nights. Right now I just read a book or watch a movie or stare into space. I have alot of things I want to do ...... card making, organizing things, letter writing, phone calls (gotta watch that time zone), online training for work, etc. Oh well --- I will get to it sooner or later. My biggest thing now is to look through everything and try to find a couple saving bonds that I misplaced. I know I had them at Arcosanti and now I have no idea where they are. I have a "study book" that some good friends recommended I work through. I read/skimmed over the first chapter after I got my own copy and decided it was going to be tough work. So....I put it down and haven't looked at it again. Another cop out. It is tough to get motivated for some reason.

Speaking of copping out. Weight. Yep, I've put it back on since starting an office job again. From last Jan to this Jan, I put back on about 25 lbs. :-( I really have to cut back on portions and start walking and/or riding my bike. I keep saying --- when the weather is nice ....
Yeah, procrastination is my middle name!

Well....now that I've bored you with this long post.....I will sign off shortly. I will try to post more often (or at least once or twice before we leave on our cruise tour) Take care and good night to all my family and friends. I am thinking of you and miss you all. The phone works both ways (especially in Kalkaska where my cell is still a local call for you) I am making a promise here and you can keep me honest and check on me. I promise to write somebody a letter (not email) at least once a month. I figured I would go with once a month and not once a week --- might be easier to keep that promise. Who will get a letter in February???? Watch your mailbox!

A Pournelle Two-fer

Jerry Pournelle's view on Obama's policy goals.

Jerry Pournelle's view on the daily headlines.

Of course, what does he know. He's just a science fiction author.

We never listen to our most intelligent citizens, just the loudest ones.

Arcosanti Slideshow

The Daily Courier's web site has a slide show of Arcosanti images. Doesn't really show that much, but it is a good example of how careful editing and framing can make something rather mundane look very enticing.

The Future of Health Care

Health care can be rationed by economics or by bureaucrats. But have no doubt that it will be rationed:

Seriously ill patients are being kept in ambulances outside hospitals for hours so NHS trusts do not miss Government targets....

..."patient-stacking" was putting patients' health at risk.

...shocking systematic failure in our emergency services....

Conservative health spokesman Mike Penning said: "Not admitting people to hospital but stacking patients in car parks beggars belief in the 21st century."

Britain already has Hillary-care. It doesn't seem to be working out too well. Do we really think it will be any better here?

Why We Don't Pay for Cable

Reason number one:



Reason number two.

Hmmmmm

I know that when I lived in Flint, every major drug ring bust would reveal that Flint cops were running it. Anyway, I find a lot about this story that is... well... interesting.

More Penn Says

Penn Jillette on global warming and falsifiability. If your theory proves everything, it proves nothing.

Wrong or Evil?

Penn Jillette says: Disagreeing Doesn't Make You Evil.

This is a recent phenomenon and has done serious damage, possibly permanent damage to this country.

And I don't think Obama is more likely to be assassinated once he is elected president. I just wouldn't want to be in the sights of the Ice Bitch.