It's Sunday, a morning that NPR uses for spiritual pieces. They don't do religion these days, but they feel that Sunday ought to be different from their all-politics-all-the-time fare. So they did a long piece on 9/11, about how it was connected to (they didn't come right out and say caused by) some obscure fault in American souls. And it led to a long dark time of reduced civil liberties at home and evil ass kicking overseas.
Arrgh.
Needless to say I don't agree with that "interpretation" (distortion) of the last ten years. In fact, we suffered an unprovoked attack in time of peace that caused 3000 deaths. That's worse than Pearl Harbor. We got serious about it, and struck back with some heavy blows. Al Quada is a shadow of it's 2001 self, we killed Bin Ladin, we overthrew Saddam Hussein and the Taliban. Not a bad score all things considered.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
The horse business
According to the Wall St Journal, 14805 race horses were sold at auction, for $617 million last year. Damn, that's a lot of money for horses. Of course, I'm not into horse racing. If we were talking motor racing, now that's different, I could relate.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Suvival of the lucky
How smart are spiders? Every up and coming web spinner needs to get a web spun so he/she can eat. Some lucky spiders spin in a workable corner and raise a good looking, bug catching web over night. Less lucky spiders try to spin a web from my eaves to my deck railing. It's a web too far, no spider has that much silk in his little bottom, plus people on the deck wreck the web by merely bending their elbows (as in lifting a beer can to their lips).
I watched a number of small junior spiders starting web spins. They were jumping off from my deck sun umbrella, into the air, trailing silk behind themselves. Could they know if the breeze would take them to a nearby anchoring point from which a successful web could be spun? I doubt it, I think they just leap off into the air and hope for the best.
So, I think the survival spiders, those that spin a good web, are the ones lucky enough to land on a nearby anchor spot when they leap into the unknown air. Most of 'em miss, and expend their limited supply of silk on blind alleys. Then they starve to death.
Which is too bad. I'm basically on the spider's side. They eat mosquitoes which is a very good thing and to be encouraged.
I watched a number of small junior spiders starting web spins. They were jumping off from my deck sun umbrella, into the air, trailing silk behind themselves. Could they know if the breeze would take them to a nearby anchoring point from which a successful web could be spun? I doubt it, I think they just leap off into the air and hope for the best.
So, I think the survival spiders, those that spin a good web, are the ones lucky enough to land on a nearby anchor spot when they leap into the unknown air. Most of 'em miss, and expend their limited supply of silk on blind alleys. Then they starve to death.
Which is too bad. I'm basically on the spider's side. They eat mosquitoes which is a very good thing and to be encouraged.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
GOP Debate
I watched it for about an hour before falling asleep in front of the tube. Looks like Rick Perry and Mitt Romney got all the airtime, the other candidates were just stage decoration. The moderators sucked. Nobody committed hari kari on live TV.
Apprenticeships
NPR ran a piece on apprenticeships this morning. They talked about the need for more trained workers, and speculated that apprenticeships were the way to train them. Some incredible percent of Germans are apprentices. Sounded good.
They did not talk about the real reason American companies don't do more training, the fear that expensively trained apprentices will then quit and take a better paying job with someone else.
They did not talk about the real reason American companies don't do more training, the fear that expensively trained apprentices will then quit and take a better paying job with someone else.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Regulation. It hits everything
NPR was running a piece on a new website that connected travelers with homeowners renting out rooms. Air B&B they called them selves. It seemed interesting, and apparently successful. One Air B&B user reported she had a waiting list, and was making enough money that she could give up waitressing and do B&B full time. Sounds cool, money can be made. What's not to like?
Then NPR rained on the parade. B&B owners were being required to obtain hotelier licenses, pay a rooms tax, suffer inspection, and generally get regulated to death. Arrg.
Then NPR rained on the parade. B&B owners were being required to obtain hotelier licenses, pay a rooms tax, suffer inspection, and generally get regulated to death. Arrg.
Home refinance to fix Great Depression 2.0
Yesterday's Wall St Journal had a piece on home refinancing. With home mortgage rates in the cellar (4% !!) people could refinance and reduce their monthly mortgage payments. They estimated that refinancing from a 6% mortgage to a 4% mortgage could save the borrower several thousand dollars a year. Not bad.
In the past, consumers have rushed out and spent such savings. The Keynesians see a massive home refinancing creating the demand needed to get the economy growing again. Other, saner, commenters think the consumers would use the windfall savings to pay down credit card debt, or just put it in the bank rather than spending it.
Me, I think American consumers are rational. In these times of layoffs and job losses, the rational thing to do is save the money in case of job loss. Which can happen to anyone, anytime. And the consumers know it.
In the past, consumers have rushed out and spent such savings. The Keynesians see a massive home refinancing creating the demand needed to get the economy growing again. Other, saner, commenters think the consumers would use the windfall savings to pay down credit card debt, or just put it in the bank rather than spending it.
Me, I think American consumers are rational. In these times of layoffs and job losses, the rational thing to do is save the money in case of job loss. Which can happen to anyone, anytime. And the consumers know it.
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