Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Good idea Japan. /sarc

Japan Wants To Turn The Moon Into A Giant Power Plant.

I know - take the most expensive form of electricity. Wait for it. Then put that vastly more costly form of electricity on the moon. It even sounds like something a mooninites would say! Because expensive electricity is what has always moved nations forward. But.... It's new. And I'm told Japan likes that.

Dear Atheists - shut up already.

Atheist Billboards To Flood California City As Non-Believers Make Holiday Push.

Hands down - there is no one on earth that believes in religion less than I do. Since I was a child. Having said that - I do like food and presents.

Are there any atheist food holidays? No? Then shut up you idiots. And quit fucking with this Pope. I'm not even an atheist convert, but when the Pope said "look, we will let you into heaven - just don't be a dick" I was pretty cool with the guy. So don't be a dick! Not that I need it. Hell is going to be a pretty fun time.

If anyone should be mad - it's the Catholics. He is just letting me in without all the guilt and work of religion?! I thought that was more than pretty decent.

If you atheists can't get through the holidays, maybe you aren't strong enough to be real atheists. We don't need to convert people with billboards. We get there in our own way. You made a choice - quit whining about how people don't understand you.

The turkey well.



Apparently Turkeys are smart enough not to travel the city during Thanksgiving. Or even the whole month of November. I haven't seen them in town since October. So I went up to the place where this all started. The VA hospital on the hill. I'm not sure why people (everywhere, apparently) had a burning urge to bring these back.

You can't eat them. Right? They are really starting to take over in large numbers, and I've even seen a dead one once on the freeway. A couple of weeks ago I went up to the VA and there were 100's of them. They musta been laying low today.





Holiday gloom.

There is enough shitty stuff in the economy to read about so I wasn't going to post about that today. That is until I saw the oil inventories from last night. Which were bloody frightening. Of course, we don't really know what the real story is any more about financial data because President Money Bags is in full propaganda mode. BUT - this is the read I believe. Emphasis mine.

"The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that crude supplies climbed by 3 million barrels for the week ended Nov. 22. Analysts polled by Platts expected a decline of 1.5 million barrels.

Late Tuesday, however, the American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday had reported a much bigger 6.9 million-barrel increase so crude futures managed to pare some of the earlier losses that sent prices to a low of $92.04."

They expected a decline of 1.5 million barrels. That is a huge miss. Almost 8.5 million barrels.  This kind of a miss is as big as during the deepest parts of the recession. Enjoy your holiday to the fullest because things are about to get real. If we are having a build like that, deflation is back to breathing down our necks. Which means the printing presses will start in earnest. And us much as people hate inflation - it feels a million times better than deflation. I'm not saying it is.

People are geared towards status, so the more expensive something is - the more people want it. Hey - it's not my rules. Look around. They may bitch about it, but that doesn't change the stupid impulses that we all have.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Yesterday I turned on all of the gesture and voice controls for my phone.

I just realized I can now text in the shower.

Monday, November 25, 2013

This is the craziest shit I've ever read.

Let me summarize, because I can't steal that much of this guys article without looking like a dbag - and you have to read the whole article at archdaily.com.

In Japan - houses depreciate like cars, so after about 15 years the house has lost all of it's value. And after about 30 years they just tear them down and start over. People never expect to sell their houses. So, it doesn't matter what you do to them. You just tear in down in a couple of decades and build a new one because Japan festishizes newness.

If Japan doesn't put you off nation building - nothing will. Their women still don't work! It's a hugely dysfunctional system. It's like the broken windows parable every single day there! It's also probably why Japan is in a perpetual liquidity trap.

Throughout the whole recession I've wondered why inflation has been so hard to catch fire. In Japan, it's apparently because they just throw money away.  It reaches the system, but in ways that do not benefit the economy in any substantial way.

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Wow. Now we're giving Iran humanitarian aid? Maybe they can sign up for Obamacare.
Man, this blog starts to really suck between here and the beginning of January. Just sayin'.

Friday, November 22, 2013

I find the economy really freeing right now.

Before sob stories made you feel bad. Now I just ask how they voted and brush all pity aside. It's fantastic really. Not that Romney wasn't the worst candidate on earth.

Really there wasn't much difference between the two. One wanted you to work, and the other just couldn't give a shit. And yes - I voted for Romney. I was in the Ron Paul camp but knew he couldn't get the votes and felt Gary Johnson was this generations Ross Perot. He pulled enough votes to turn the tide.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

One last chance before you go.



I got these this morning before it really started raining. It's been a long time since we've had rain. A looong time. And it feels soothing in a way I can't describe. Of course in a couple of months I will be irritated the sky keeps shitting on me, but for now it feels really good.





Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Thank gawd for Obamacare. Yes I said it.

It's the only thing which causes enough pain for people to understand the insipidness of socialism. Unless people feel the pain of it themselves, they will never stop voting for it.

Normally the soci's try to mask the pain so it can become more deeply entrenched until it's too late. Obamacare causes wide spread pain that hits everyone equally. This will speed up the rejection of this system. I believe it with all my heart.

There was a reason we were the last democracy on Earth to have nationalised health care. It's because those systems suck. But Americans are too stupid to know because the only thing they know about Europe is from food menus when they go on vacation.

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Fisker in the wild.



I'm sure you know how I feel about these cars. Still - they are incredibly rare. 2500 made. I'd chase one down now if I was going in the exact same direction. I wouldn't go out of my way. I've seen them a bunch of times at the car shows before they even hit the road and I never once posted the pictures because they pissed me off with their douchery.

The interesting thing I found about this particular car was the front window had a giant crack in it. Which seemed odd considering you have to make an effing million dollars to own one. Parts must be really hard to get.



Friday, November 15, 2013

The supermarket graveyard.

I've seen relatively few people talk about this, so I will.

Time tends to warp these days with the news cycle so I think this happened a week or two ago. It's the reduction in food stamps. When I heard about my eyes grew wide because when you make a purchase at the store now and you're ready to pay, your choices are ATM, EBT, then credit.

Credit has always been the second choice as long as I can remember. That means that EBT is supplanting people who pay via credit card. The things people use the most, are put first. Grocery retailers are basically on welfare themselves because that segment is obviously very, very large. A reduction seriously spells trouble. And this is how you know.

Safeway the parent company of Dominicks in Chicago just laid off almost 6000 people and is closing 72 stores. Now I've never been to Chicago, but if that happened in California you would notice it.

This is an interesting trend.



I don't know why - I like tiles the way most girls like new shoes. It's an oddly tactile experience. You have to feel everything.

When I saw these I was really intrigued. It's a new trend that I've never seen before. Though it makes sense because modern architecture is going through a renaissance. It's the birth of round. Round tiles are a bitch! Only half of the surface is attached. If one of these gets tapped in the middle I bet it cracks. I still loved them in a way.





And then I saw these. Now I've seen just about everything. Just in case you wanted your house to look like a boozy crack whore. They even tacitlely felt different in the spots.



If people aren't capable of understanding how mortgages work, how do you expect them to understand something as complicated as health care? We R fucked.

Ruby, Ruby, Ruby.



Anyone who's been reading my blog for a year or more will know that all the Mantids around here get named Jeff. Here, here and here. Except this one.

I wasn't going to have a mantis as a pet this year. I forget what I had going on at the time, but I just didn't have the energy this year. Yeah, I know it sounds off kilter, but people have birds as pets, and this pet only lasts a few months. Anyway.

I saw her almost week ago and scooped her up. I figured it's late in the season. She hasn't found a mate yet, and it's going to get cold soon. I guesstimate she'd last a week or so due to her color. When they get old they get a deeper brown color.

So, I had her in the house for a couple of days. Not even in an enclosure because I wasn't going to feed her really. She's super temporary. She basically just stayed in the kitchen on her own. She's not very strong now and even though she has wings she's not going to go exploring.

After a couple of days I thought we should set her free because I didn't want to have to track down her dead carcass.

Later that night I noticed she was still there. And it was getting cold. So I broke down and brought her back in for the evening. Oh yes I did.

We fed and watered her.

The next day I put her outside again. Only to find that evening she was still in the same place. And last night it was starting to get super chilly. By the time I brought her in you could tell she was like "what the eff"? I was living with heat. She was really weak.

I guess I'm going to stick her back out today and see what happens. It's the first time I've brought the same mantid into the house three times.



Thursday, November 14, 2013



DNF = Did not finish.

I told you.



I almost forgot I said this. It's still true. I know because I walked through this world for five years dying inside trying to figure out when these people woulds stop believing this crap.

Everyone, and I mean everyone was fine with it because they were convinced it wouldn't effect them. I talked about it here in Soon everyone will be awake. This was before they realized that it would in fact effect them no matter what they thought. Everyone is for socialism until they have to pay.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Fall. California style.



No. I'm not dicking with the saturation. There has been no rain to drop the leaves and it's crushingly beautiful around here. That is why real estate costs so much.





Tuesday, November 12, 2013

I've had it with people who think robots are going to take their jobs.

This started after a well read economist I follow started posting articles about how robots are going to take all of our jobs. At first I would just laugh, but the idiots who continue this meme have grown to such a feverish pitch that I read a story that irritates me just about every month now. And economists should know better! Economists know about the economy (allegedly). Not about robotics. Did the advent of computers take all of our jobs. NO.

It bothers me so much because it takes an overly simplistic view how how complicated robotics are. What kind of education it takes to make these magical things take your jobs. Not to mention specialized labor. And the people needed to build these robots who will eventually take your jobs!

I was just at a conference where a couple of these types of machines were being pitched. Their sales hype is convincing especially with some of the drink bots. (Which in the past I've shit all over) But only because these types of items provide a certain level of consistency that make it really attractive to retailers. Meaning that every drink is the same. This makes inventory control better. Which is really what companies want. Not to fire you despite your paranoia.

There are electronic vending machines in every single airport. Did that put Best Buy out of business? NO.

I'm less convinced with the food bots like the one described in this article from Zero Hedge. Even though they are going to try them. I can't imagine what it takes to keep a machine like that clean enough for safety standards. Has the vending machine been guilty of putting tons of people out of work? Again - NO. Still the meme persists. It's irritating.

Things that make me want to beat the crap out of you.

Turning a 10-15 second video into two minutes by re-racking the video over and over and over. Making it so it takes a full minute to see the actual reason you stopped in the first place after discovering it was only a 15 second vid. Tops. Because it's so much effort to drag your mouse to the point you want to re-watch. I might get carpal tunnel or gain some muscle definition by using my body as feeble as moving a mouse is. This is the jaba the hut generation.

Stick an ad layer on top of that which is longer than what the original video should be. Then you find some asshole that actually took that 15 second video and made it into 7 minutes. The windmill ensues.

And really I'm not even going to show you how cool the stunt was because these guys are just dicks. Re-rack that video and stick it in your butt.

Tick tock.

I wonder how long before it dawns on Wall Street that the insurance industry just committed suicide. I mean, they did just commit suicide, right? They booted a ton of paying customers, and didn't really get that many customers in return. I would go in and rebalanced anything you your 401k's health care related. I rebalanced on Friday. I mean, the whole market is going to go - but anything insurance related will be punished deeply. See how cronyism works folks? They make you think you will make a ton of money, and then you just go bankrupt. It's easier to take you over comrade.

Monday, November 11, 2013

What is happening to Russia?



There is something about Russia that really entertains me right now. Dashcam videos, evil hamsters, bears as pets, and Russian Jackass. And now the Russian police covering Daft punk. Seriously. This is not the cold war Russia I grew up with.

Update - for some reason the vid got taken down. If I find another one without ads I'll re-add it.

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Definitely Bad Ass.



Some guys at these shows love to have all the doors and hoods up. I think it ruins the lines of the cars. So I don't have any pictures of the car just looking normal. You will have to view it from google images here, or watch the vid at the end. And honestly, it wasn't easy to get any shots of this car. It was in a shadow and people were just camped in front of it everywhere. I almost blew right by it. Which would have sucked. This is one of the cooler kit cars I've seen.

It called a GTM Factory Five Supercar.








Saturday, November 09, 2013

If rainbows threw up.



Some of these cars I might have passed right by - but California is having an amazing fall this year. There hasn't been any wind or rain to strip the trees yet and it just makes you want to cry how pretty it is. Taking pictures of cars...... not so much. It distorts the colors of the cars and makes everything rainbow bright.






This car is from the same guy who had the fire car at the half moon bay car show. Here.











Thursday, November 07, 2013

Obamacare is hugely deflationary.

All of my deflationary indicators are flashing bright red. When gas started tumbling I started feeling nervous. We had a pretty big build. It wasn't a 2009 level build where it wasn't uncommon to have 8.9 million barrels. Still. While everyone is bitching about the website and the administration, I only hear the sounds of ice cracking.

All of this disruption isn't costless. And right before Christmas no less. I think Ocare is going to be a massive shock to the system. People are pretty private about their health care choices. This creates a massive unknown that people are unable to react to.

Tuesday, November 05, 2013

Marshmallow fail.



Maybe chocolate mint flavored marshmallows weren't the greatest idea. I only noticed them because I thought there was a bag of moldy marshmallows on the shelf. What do you think? Moldy. Right?

Things that can not go on forever - will not.



Source Here.

If this chart doesn't scare the pants off you - I don't know what will. Only two times in 200+ years have interest rates been this low. Now and during the great depression. We are already five years into the cycle. Prepare while you still have time.

Monday, November 04, 2013

Jagged little secrets.

I've been spending quite a bit of time at the home improvement stores trying to get ready for my appraisal.

On Friday I was buying something. I had my tape measure out and the sales gal strolled up on me. We did the usual small talk, and before I knew it she volunteered she'd lost her house. I was stunned, honestly. Wow, we're already at that stage, I thought. Then it was like I was floating out there in air for a couple of seconds. I don't even remember what I said to cause this revelation. My mind was on my own crap. And what do you say to that? The only thing you can, I guess.

Everyone I know lost their houses, I replied. I'm the only on who didn't. And before you know it we were having this super raw conversation. She was confirming every suspicion I had about the recession. People have been in such vulnerable places that you are at best getting half truths. But this girl didn't know me. She had nothing to hide behind or from. And obviously the stigma is completely gone.

Even I can't judge her. I know how much pain people were in just by their zip code. A starter house in California is more money than most people will make in a lifetime. When you are 40% down - it changes you. Forever. Even I thought about walking away a million times. A good majority of people who lost their houses also lost their marriages. I started noticing it a few years ago. I was never quite sure if they were having problems first, but now it's clear that the houses took them out. The divorces came second.

You don't really have to try that hard to hear these stories. Even I try to tread much more lightly as not to hit a landmine. I've just heard so many of them it affects me. But that girl... that moment will stay with me for a really long time. It was the rawest 20 minutes I've had in a while.

Friday, November 01, 2013