Monday, August 29, 2011

"Sex Strike" in Colombia

From Agora Financial's 5 Min. Forecast

"... from Colombia, we see that a “sex strike” has achieved its objectives: The government has agreed to pave a road.

The “strike of crossed legs” began in late June, with 300 women in Barbacoa refusing their husbands sex until the road connecting the remote town to the rest of the country was paved:


Now that’s a protest…


The town of 40,000 is linked to the outside world via a treacherous mountain road stretching 35 miles to the nearest town. Even in the best of times, the trip took four to six hours. But after heavy rains and landslides in the last year, it’s more like 10-12.

Under pressure from the town’s deprived men, the National Roads Institute has given in: Construction is set to begin Oct. 11.

And just to make sure the government keeps its word, the strike is set to continue until then: “The Barbacoan community,” says a statement from the women, “is aware that there have always been many promises made here that have never been kept.”

Tough crowd…"

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Uh-Oh IV

From September 2011 issue of Currency Capitalist:

Wrong Again, Economists

"Every month the Wall Street Journal publishes a survey of economists. In January, the headline read 'Economists Optimistic On Growth.'

At the time economists were optimistic. They expected the U.S. economy to grow by a respectable 3.3% in the second quarter.

But they were wrong. The U.S. GDP came in at 1.3% for the second quarter, less than half that. And this is just the initial estimate that will be revised later.

Export figures for the second quarter were recently revised lower. Since exports play a key role in GDP growth, this revision in exports will result in a lower GDP number for the second quarter.

So when the revised second quarter GDP numbers come out in late August (after we go to press), I expect to see another pathetic number.

The GDP number for the first quarter was already revised down from 1.9% to an anemic 0.4%. That’s a huge revision. If the second quarter suffers a revision of the same magnitude, we will dip into negative growth.

Again, these economists are looking at the same data that I am, but they’re still optimistic. In fact, as recent as three months ago, economists still expected the U.S. economy to grow by more than 3% this year.

Economists at Goldman Sachs still maintain to this day that the chance of another recession is only 33% in the next nine months.

Unfortunately, history doesn’t agree.

Right now, our year-over-year GDP growth stands at a very concerning 1.6%. If you go back all the way to 1950, you’ll see that every time our GDP growth dropped below 2%, our economy was either already in a recession…or we fell into one within a year.

In other words, history is already predicting another recession. Just nobody wants to come out and say it. "

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Uh-Oh III



Video Link

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Blame politicians or ourselves?

"Very seldom are people willing to blame themselves for the problems they create. They always want to blame someone else: the Chinese, Republicans, Democrats. It’s a natural, normal human response, but blaming someone else does not solve the problem.

...

We can blame politicians a little bit, but the bulk of the blame lies with the American people. That was kind of an epiphany for me. During the 1980s, I would occasionally have lunch with Senator Jesse Helms from North Carolina. He knew that I was highly critical of agricultural subsidies, handouts to farmers.

Something Jesse Helms told me at one of our luncheons made me realize some things I had not realized until then. He said, “Walter, I agree with you 100% that these farm subsidies ought to be eliminated.” But then he asked, “Can you tell me how I can remain the senator from North Carolina and vote against them? If I do what you say, I would be voted out of office.”

Applying his observation today, we can note that the biggest expenditures by the federal government are Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and prescription drugs. Along with other entitlements, these expenditures amount to almost 60% of the federal budget. The beneficiaries of these programs vote in large numbers. Politicians who talk about cutting these programs are going to run into trouble. We have to get the American people, as much as politicians, to respect the Constitution.

...

Keep in mind something that Richard Nixon said to John Ehrlichman, who warned that Milton Friedman, an economist and Nobel laureate, advised against the policy Nixon was pursuing. Nixon’s response was, “Milton Friedman is not running for reelection.” These people in Washington have commitments and responsibilities that I don’t have. I don’t owe anybody anything, so I can be perfectly honest. When you are trying to get reelected, or appointed to a high-level position, or hoping to have a high-paying job when you leave government, you just can’t say the sort of things I am free to say.

...

We have to ask ourselves, “Are the American people any different than the Romans, the British, the French? Are they different from Spain or Portugal?” These were all once great empires that went down the tubes for bread and circuses, for huge spending. There is every indication that Americans will go the same way."


-- Walter Williams in the Casey Report

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Life

Friday, July 08, 2011

Sunday, July 03, 2011

Collaboration

Friday, June 17, 2011

iPhone Controlled Cannon Tosses Beer From the Fridge

from Casey Research:

"At the end of the day, folks, we need a break. So is it too much to ask that we not have to trudge all the way to the refrigerator in the kitchen, in order to reward ourselves with the adult beverage of our choice?

Thought not.

Luckily, there are clever hackers out there who have been pondering the same question, and Carnegie Mellon grad student Ryan Rusnak, surely suffering as we have, arrived at an ingenious solution. He married an iPhone to a retrofitted dorm fridge, added a few off-the-shelf parts and… drum roll, please… came up with something we always knew we needed. A beer cannon.

That’s right, you simply touch your phone screen to select the brand of brew you want at that moment (works with soft drinks and iced tea, too, of course), then press the Fire! button, and the cannon will shoot an ice cold can across the room and right into your hands.

Best of all, basic directions for building your own cannon – which’ll set you back about $400, a small price to pay for this kind of convenience, in our opinion – are posted here, and the app to operate it can be downloaded from the iTunes store for free."

Thursday, June 09, 2011

HA! II

Wednesday, June 08, 2011

HA!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

A Union Army Soldier's Letter to his Wife

Sullivan Ballou, a 32-year-old soldier in the Union Army, to his 24-year-old wife:

"July 14, 1861
Camp Clark, Washington

My very dear Sarah:

The indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days -- perhaps tomorrow. Lest I should not be able to write again, I feel impelled to write a few lines that may fall under your eye when I shall be no more ...

Sarah my love for you is deathless, it seems to bind me with mighty cables that nothing but omnipotence could break; and yet my love of Country comes over me like a strong wind and bears me irresistibly on with all these chains to the battle field.

The memories of the blissful moments I have spent with you come creeping over me, and I feel most gratified to God and to you that I have enjoyed them for so long. And hard it is for me to give them up and burn to ashes the hopes of future years, when, God willing, we might still have lived and loved together, and seen our sons grow to honorable manhood, around us. I have, I know, but few and small claims upon Divine Providence, but something whispers to me -- perhaps it is the wafted prayer of my little Edgar, that I shall return to my loved ones unharmed. If I do not my dear Sarah, never forget how much I love you, and when my last breath escapes me on the battle field, it will whisper your name. Forgive my many faults and the many pains I have caused you. How thoughtless and foolish I have often times been! How gladly would I wash out with my tears every little spot upon your happiness. ...

But, O Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and fit unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you; in the gladdest days and in the darkest nights ... always, always, and if there be a soft breeze upon your cheek, it shall be my breath, as the cool air fans your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by. Sarah do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait for thee, for we shall meet again ... "


Ballou was killed a week later in the first battle of Bull Run.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Theater of the Absurd: The Irish Bailout



Link if above video does not play: Ireland Hot Spots 1



Link if above video does not play: Ireland Hot Spots 2

Saturday, April 16, 2011

A few things I appreciate about America ...

Electricity that's always on, A Shower with good water pressure, Instant on hot water, broadband, a car horn I rarely have to use, ...

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

The Uranium Reactor

From Casey's Energy Report:

"The typical nuclear fuel cycle starts with refined uranium ore, which is mostly uranium-238 but contains 3% to 5% uranium-235. U-238 is the most common uranium isotope but does not undergo fission, which is the process by which the nucleus of the atom splits and releases tremendous amounts of energy. By contrast, U-235 is not very prevalent but is fissile. As such, uranium ore must be enriched to boost the proportion of U-235.

Once in the reactor, U-235 starts splitting and releasing high-energy neutrons. The U-238 does not just sit idly by, however; it transmutes into other, fissile elements. For example, if an atom of U-238 absorbs a neutron, it transmutes into short-lived U-239, which rapidly decays into neptunium-239 and then into plutonium-239.

When the U-235 content burns down to 0.3% the fuel is spent, but it contains some very radioactive isotopes of americium, technetium, and iodine, as well as plutonium. This waste fuel is highly radioactive and the culprits, these high-mass isotopes, have half-lives of many thousands of years. As such, the waste has to be housed for up to 10,000 years, cloistered from the environment and from anyone who might want to get at the plutonium for nefarious reasons."

Saturday, March 26, 2011

DIFFERENT WAYS OF LOOKING AT THINGS

From Casey's Daily Dispatch:

Two guys were discussing popular family trends on sex, marriage, and family values.

Bill said, “I didn't sleep with my wife before we got married, did you?”

Larry replied, “I'm not sure, what was her maiden name?”

***

“Mr. Clark, I have reviewed this case very carefully,” the divorce court judge said, “and I've decided to give your wife $775 a week.”

“That's very fair, Your Honor,” the husband said. “And every now and then, I'll try to send her a few bucks myself.”

***

An old woman goes to the wizard to ask him if he can remove a curse she has been living with for the last 40 years.

The wizard says, “Maybe, but you will have to tell me the exact words that were used to put the curse on you.”

The old woman says without hesitation, “I now pronounce you man and wife.”

***

Two reasons why it's so hard to solve a redneck murder:

1. The DNA all matches.

2. There are no dental records.

***

A blonde calls Delta Airlines and asks, “Can you tell me how long it'll take to fly from San Francisco to New York City?”

The agent replies, “Just a minute.”

“Thank you,” the blonde says and hangs up.

***

Friday, March 25, 2011

America Inc.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Funny Stuff



Wednesday, March 09, 2011

It takes 43 muscles to frown, and only 17 to smile ...

"... Similarly, it is more beneficial to pursue positives than feed on negatives. Our heads may nod yes, but our hearts know better – it's not so easy. But, a life rightly lived is a life that doesn't bear the pain of a grudge seeking negative revenge.

It is a special moment when a person stops living in defense of himself, stops getting even. He quits calculating and maneuvering; he just starts living. He doesn't stop listening, he just listens better. He doesn't throw away his education, he just finds what works for him and does it. He doesn't stop caring for others, he just finds his love is itself reward enough, acknowledged or not. He doesn't stop reaching, he just grows what he knows, and passionately seeks for more. He doesn't cut himself off from others, but he is delivered from a need to always seek their approval. He doesn't pretend he has no fear, he just learns to walk with inward peace. " -- Richard A. Nelson

Friday, March 04, 2011

Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Subprime Borrower?

Friday, February 25, 2011

Hunger & Revolution

From Daily Reckoning:
"Hunger was largely responsible for the French Revolution. Mobs gathered in front the Tuileries Palace, protesting the high cost of food. Inflation and bad weather had driven up the price of a loaf of bread to almost an entire day’s wages by an ordinary laborer.

Marie Antoinette, wife of Louis 16th, is said to have asked:

“What are they complaining about?”

“They have no bread,” came the answer.

“Well, let them eat cake,” was her witty, but ultimately fatal, reply.

She lost her head in the Revolution. So did thousands of others.

Mobs need scapegoats. And hungry mobs are not particularly careful about whom they choose."


The Ben Bernanke prints money => Food Prices go up => Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Libya, ...

Obama Budget Cuts Visualization

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Sunday, February 06, 2011

The economy is so bad that…

From SimoleonSense.com:
The economy is so bad that…

I got a pre-declined credit card in the mail.

I ordered a burger at McDonald’s, and the kid behind the counter asked, “Can you afford fries with that?”

CEOs are now playing miniature golf.

If the bank returns your check marked “Insufficient Funds,” you have to call them and ask if they mean you or them.

Hot Wheels and Matchbox stocks are trading higher than GM.

Parents in Beverly Hills and Malibu are firing their nannies and learning their children’s names.

A truckload of Americans were caught sneaking into Mexico.

Motel Six won’t leave the light on anymore.

The Mafia is laying off judges.

BP Oil laid off 25 congressmen.

Congress says they are looking into the Bernard Madoff scandal. Oh great! The guy who made $50 billion disappear is being investigated by the people who made $1.5 trillion disappear!

Zach Wahls Speaks About Family



Video Link

Saturday, February 05, 2011

Uh-Oh II

From DailyWealth.com:

Our national debt has doubled since 2005.

We've borrowed more money in the last five years than we had in the entire history of our government until then.

This isn't sustainable. The government's annual deficits now routinely surpass $1 trillion.

The first $1 trillion deficit came in 2008 – and the government explained it away as the consequence of the financial crisis. But we racked up another $1 trillion deficit in 2009 and yet another in 2010. We'll have another in 2011 and so on.

The government cannot increase tax revenues enough to cover our spending or repay our debts – ever.

Our annual deficits have become completely unlinked to taxes. Total federal income taxes and corporate taxes generate $1.1 trillion a year in revenue, and we still ran a $1.3 trillion federal deficit last year. So even if we increased tax revenues by 100%, we would still have fallen $200 million short. This is totally unsustainable.

We can't repay our debts.

Total debt outstanding in the U.S. currently exceeds $55 trillion. That's $681,165 in debt per U.S. family. There is simply no way to repay (or even maintain) debt of this magnitude using the income of the average American family, which is slightly less than $50,000 per family per year. Interest alone on these debts (based on a 5% rate) would total $34,000 per family every year. Total debt in the U.S. economy is unsustainable and can't be financed without printing vast new sums of money.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Joke of the day Mubarak and Obama

Obama: "Hosni, I think you need to write your goodbye letter to your people."
Hosni Mubarak: "Why? Where are they going?"

Actual Ads from UK Newspapers

From Casey's Daily Dispatch

FOR SALE BY OWNER. Complete set of Encyclopedia Britannica, 45 volumes. Excellent condition, £200 or best offer. No longer needed, got married, wife knows everything.

WEDDING DRESS FOR SALE Worn once by mistake. Call Stephanie.

FREE YORKSHIRE TERRIER. 8 years old.
Hateful little bastard.
Bites!

FREE PUPPIES. 1/2 Cocker Spaniel,
1/2 sneaky neighbor's dog.

It's all in the details!

From Casey's Daily Dispatch

A young monk arrives at the monastery and is assigned to helping the other monks in copying the old canons and laws of the church by hand.

He notices, however, that all of the monks are copying from copies, not from the original manuscript. So, the new monk goes to the abbot to question this, pointing out that if someone made even a small error in the first copy, it would never be picked up! In fact, that error would be continued in all of the subsequent copies.

The head monk says, "We have been copying from the copies for centuries, but you make a good point, my son."

He goes down into the dark caves underneath the monastery where the original manuscripts are held as archives in a locked vault that hasn't been opened for hundreds of years. Hours go by and nobody sees the old abbot.

So, the young monk gets worried and goes down to look for him.

He sees him banging his head against the wall and wailing.

"We missed the R! We missed the R! We missed the R!"

His forehead is bruised and he is crying uncontrollably.

The young monk asks the old abbot, "What's wrong, Father?"

With a choking voice, the old abbot replies,

"The word was......................

CELEBRATE

(Of course I know that it’s spelled “celibate,” but it’s funny nonetheless.)

Monday, January 24, 2011

Friday, January 21, 2011

Girl Falls In Mall Fountain While Texting (BuzzFeed.com)

"Friends don’t let friends text and walk"

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Saturday, January 15, 2011

THOUGHTS FOR THE NEW YEAR

From Ed Steer's Gold & Silver Daily

Throughout the rest of 2011...May you always make the right move.


May your cup runneth over with love.


May you always find shelter from any storm.


May you remain good looking and looking good!


May you find the perfect diet for your soul.
[If this face doesn't make you want to stop eating sausage, nothing will.]



May you find perfect balance in the company you keep.


May you have as much fun as you can, before someone makes you stop.


May the worst thing that happens to you come in slobbery pink and furry tan.


May you manage to make time for a siesta.


May all the new folks you meet be interesting and kind.


May your accessories always harmonize with your natural beauty!


Should your mouth be bigger than your stomach, may you have a chewing good time!


May you always know when to walk away...and know when to run.


And may your friends always bring you joy!


MAY YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL NEW YEAR FILLED WITH LOVE, HAPPINESS...AND HOPE

Friday, January 14, 2011

The New Yorker: What the Science of Human Nature Can Teach Us

" 'I guess I used to think of myself as a lone agent, who made certain choices and established certain alliances with colleagues and friends,' he said. 'Now, though, I see things differently. I believe we inherit a great river of knowledge, a flow of patterns coming from many sources. The information that comes from deep in the evolutionary past we call genetics. The information passed along from hundreds of years ago we call culture. The information passed along from decades ago we call family, and the information offered months ago we call education. But it is all information that flows through us. The brain is adapted to the river of knowledge and exists only as a creature in that river. Our thoughts are profoundly molded by this long historic flow, and none of us exists, self-made, in isolation from it.'

'And though history has made us self-conscious in order to enhance our survival prospects, we still have deep impulses to erase the skull lines in our head and become immersed directly in the river. I’ve come to think that flourishing consists of putting yourself in situations in which you lose self-consciousness and become fused with other people, experiences, or tasks. It happens sometimes when you are lost in a hard challenge, or when an artist or a craftsman becomes one with the brush or the tool. It happens sometimes while you’re playing sports, or listening to music or lost in a story, or to some people when they feel enveloped by God’s love. And it happens most when we connect with other people. I’ve come to think that happiness isn’t really produced by conscious accomplishments. Happiness is a measure of how thickly the unconscious parts of our minds are intertwined with other people and with activities. Happiness is determined by how much information and affection flows through us covertly every day and year.' ”




Read more @ What the science of human nature can teach us : The New Yorker

Saturday, January 08, 2011

Uh-Oh!!

"...if China, which currently has one tenth the number of cars per capita as Americans, was to reach par with the US, we would need, by one estimate, seven more Saudi Arabia’s to meet their needs."

Read more @ buisnessinsder.com:

Monday, January 03, 2011

Funny Cartoons ...




4 Laughing Babies