I read for at least 3-4 hours each day. Often, I read the entire comment threads of subjects that interest me. The comment thread on a blog is the cumulative voice of like minded individuals excluding trolls and lunatics. Sometimes I stumble onto a comment that absolutely captures the essence of a subject.
Central bankers hate precious metals. They cannot counterfeit gold and silver. Gold and silver represent real money- not the shit they print. So without further adieu, I want to present a comment I stole from Dave in Denver's blog, The Golden Truth.
Buckler writes: "It is interesting that many of the same people who are
now abandoning stock markets because of their 'volatility' over the last
few years are the same people who become affronted at the slightest
mention of the possibility of precious metals price manipulation. A
moment's serious contemplation should make things clear. The precious
metals and gold in particular have always been the 'alternative' to
government promise based on and created out of thin-air money. As such,
the precious metals have always been Public Enemy No. 1 as far as the
money manipulators are concerned. Anyone who aspires to intervention in
an economy and the political power that it gives is and always has been
an enemy of gold. As long as there is a central bank manipulating money
and interest rates, all markets are manipulated by definition. To
imagine that the precious metals would be overlooked is ridiculous."
The
same with Jim Grant, publisher of the Grant's Interest Rate Observer
letter and perhaps the only gold advocate with enough respectability to
be frequently invited to speak at respectable forums, like CNBC. Grant
may have remained this respectable by refraining from too much pointed
criticism of the financial powers.
But interviewed this week on
CNBC by Maria Bartiromo, Grant got very pointed indeed. The Federal
Reserve, Grant said, "is in the anti-capitalism business. ... The Fed
ought to get out of the manipulation business. ... They ought to
forswear the intervention in markets." Grant strongly implied, for what
may have been the first time, that among the markets being manipulated
and intervened against is the gold market. The interview is six minutes
long and it's posted at CNBC here:
http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000080414
Sunday, April 1, 2012
The World is Fat
My world anyway.
A few years ago, I was sitting at a breakfast buffet in Branson, Missouri with my ex- wife. I had never seen so many fat people in all of my life. In fact, I did not see one person who I considered to be less than 50 pounds overweight in the entire restaurant. The restaurant was huge.
Now to be sure, an all you can eat buffet is going to draw a skewed percentage of obese folks. I would expect the opposite effect in a health food store or farmers market.
You wanna see something that will blow your mind? In 8 years, 75% of all Americans will be obese. Wow. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/your-country-fat-presenting-14-years-exponential-american-obesity
A few years ago, I was sitting at a breakfast buffet in Branson, Missouri with my ex- wife. I had never seen so many fat people in all of my life. In fact, I did not see one person who I considered to be less than 50 pounds overweight in the entire restaurant. The restaurant was huge.
Now to be sure, an all you can eat buffet is going to draw a skewed percentage of obese folks. I would expect the opposite effect in a health food store or farmers market.
You wanna see something that will blow your mind? In 8 years, 75% of all Americans will be obese. Wow. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/your-country-fat-presenting-14-years-exponential-american-obesity
April Fool's Day Will Never Be the Same
As a young kid, I never missed a chance to pull pranks on my little sister. Her absolutely predictable behavior made April Fool's day a wonderful day.
I guess my favorite prank was putting salt in the sugar shaker. The first year I did that, my sister poured her usual pound of sugar over her cereal and took a bite. She got this funny look on her face. I saw her take a second bite, smacking her tongue, and then I watched as this nasty and contorted look overcame her. She proclaimed that the cereal was sour.
By that time of course, I was laughing my ass off. I enjoy pranking people but getting pranked- not so much.
The absolute worst prank ever pulled on me was by my cousin Scott. In fact, it was nearly 40 years ago and just thinking about it- still pisses me off.
After school, Scott and a friend (Kelly Kneivel, now that I think about it) were walking near St. Ann's church in Butte. Scott was holding a bottle of Mountain Dew. I should have known something was wrong when that cheap bastard offered me a swig and like the gullible kid I once was, I took a gulp.
Let's just say that swig of Mountain Dew was about 98.6 degrees and tasted real salty. Although I have never consumed any piss on a regular basis- I can honestly say that I've tried the stuff once. I didn't care for it.
My little sis lives in Seattle now. My cousin, the piss pusher, lives in Kansas City. I gotta square that account one day. Something really vile and disgusting. In fact, as I sit here, my mind is wandering with wonderful thoughts of revenge. Maybe I will send him a little package at X-Mas... heh.
Make sure you go out and pull some shit on someone today. There's no point in having April Fool's Day if you can't have a little fun at someone else's expense.
I guess my favorite prank was putting salt in the sugar shaker. The first year I did that, my sister poured her usual pound of sugar over her cereal and took a bite. She got this funny look on her face. I saw her take a second bite, smacking her tongue, and then I watched as this nasty and contorted look overcame her. She proclaimed that the cereal was sour.
By that time of course, I was laughing my ass off. I enjoy pranking people but getting pranked- not so much.
The absolute worst prank ever pulled on me was by my cousin Scott. In fact, it was nearly 40 years ago and just thinking about it- still pisses me off.
After school, Scott and a friend (Kelly Kneivel, now that I think about it) were walking near St. Ann's church in Butte. Scott was holding a bottle of Mountain Dew. I should have known something was wrong when that cheap bastard offered me a swig and like the gullible kid I once was, I took a gulp.
Let's just say that swig of Mountain Dew was about 98.6 degrees and tasted real salty. Although I have never consumed any piss on a regular basis- I can honestly say that I've tried the stuff once. I didn't care for it.
My little sis lives in Seattle now. My cousin, the piss pusher, lives in Kansas City. I gotta square that account one day. Something really vile and disgusting. In fact, as I sit here, my mind is wandering with wonderful thoughts of revenge. Maybe I will send him a little package at X-Mas... heh.
Make sure you go out and pull some shit on someone today. There's no point in having April Fool's Day if you can't have a little fun at someone else's expense.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Pick a Bottom, Ryan*Updated x 2
I've been waiting for you Ryan Leaf.
Ryan Leaf was one of the greatest NFL "busts" of all time. He was a great quarterback for Washington State in the late 90's and took them to a rare Rose Bowl appearance. He was drafted second behind Peyton Manning and all I really remember was that NFL teams that looked at Ryan said he had a shitty attitude. I always suspected otherwise.
Ryan faded away. He popped up a decade later after he was busted for burglary and drug charges in Texas. That's when I knew for sure. http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/ryan-leaf-ex-nfl-draft-bust-arrested-in-montana-burglary-and-drug-possession-charges-033012
I have always taken an interest in Leaf for a couple of reasons. He is a Montana boy like myself. There are so few of us that I hated to see all of that talent go to waste. But mostly I think, Ryan reminded me of me- sans any marketable talent. Reminding me of me can only mean one thing.
You got a bad attitude kid. Ok, so how do I fix that? No one ever handed me the instructions.
Welcome to the "I just don't feel comfortable in my own skin club" Ryan. That's the club where the members try to change how they feel. The club where we lose touch with any spirituality we may have had- and where sometimes our emotions go bad shit crazy. Where sometimes and always later on, we scratch our heads and ask, "What were we thinking?"
I think there's a decent chance you fit in here with us.
We don't talk about the club much, Ryan. It's like fight club and it's first rule. There is no fight club. We don't feel like exposing ourselves for another attack or some more emotional abuse. We've had enough when we get here. So we pick a bottom and mostly we shut up and get well.
You are not required to punish yourself any further Ryan. No need to completely self destruct.
It's bad enough to see all that talent go to waste but it is an unmitigated disaster to throw your life away too, Ryan. It's time to pick a bottom and find your solution.
*I snipped this on 4/1.
Ryan Leaf was one of the greatest NFL "busts" of all time. He was a great quarterback for Washington State in the late 90's and took them to a rare Rose Bowl appearance. He was drafted second behind Peyton Manning and all I really remember was that NFL teams that looked at Ryan said he had a shitty attitude. I always suspected otherwise.
Ryan faded away. He popped up a decade later after he was busted for burglary and drug charges in Texas. That's when I knew for sure. http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/ryan-leaf-ex-nfl-draft-bust-arrested-in-montana-burglary-and-drug-possession-charges-033012
I have always taken an interest in Leaf for a couple of reasons. He is a Montana boy like myself. There are so few of us that I hated to see all of that talent go to waste. But mostly I think, Ryan reminded me of me- sans any marketable talent. Reminding me of me can only mean one thing.
You got a bad attitude kid. Ok, so how do I fix that? No one ever handed me the instructions.
Welcome to the "I just don't feel comfortable in my own skin club" Ryan. That's the club where the members try to change how they feel. The club where we lose touch with any spirituality we may have had- and where sometimes our emotions go bad shit crazy. Where sometimes and always later on, we scratch our heads and ask, "What were we thinking?"
I think there's a decent chance you fit in here with us.
We don't talk about the club much, Ryan. It's like fight club and it's first rule. There is no fight club. We don't feel like exposing ourselves for another attack or some more emotional abuse. We've had enough when we get here. So we pick a bottom and mostly we shut up and get well.
You are not required to punish yourself any further Ryan. No need to completely self destruct.
It's bad enough to see all that talent go to waste but it is an unmitigated disaster to throw your life away too, Ryan. It's time to pick a bottom and find your solution.
*I snipped this on 4/1.
The council has
provided professional and personal support to Leaf as he battled a
prescription painkiller habit, Witter said. Leaf's struggles with
addiction came to public light three years ago when he faced drug
charges in Texas.
He was still on
probation for those violations when he was arrested in Montana. He was
released from the Cascade County Detention Center in Montana on Friday
after posting a $76,000 bond, authorities said.
Witter said the
advisors had dinner with Leaf in Seattle less than a month ago. Leaf had
lost a significant amount of weight and showed other signs of his
battle with the brain tumor and nearly two months of daily radiation
treatments. That therapy ended in December.
"Addiction is a
lifelong affliction and you can never let your guard down," he said.
"The bottom line is we want Ryan to get all the help he needs."
The hits just keep coming. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/ryan-leaf-arrested-again-no-not-repeat-saturday-181316796.html
The hits just keep coming. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/ryan-leaf-arrested-again-no-not-repeat-saturday-181316796.html
Friday, March 30, 2012
When Cops Lose Their Minds
I guess if I had to subtitle this and capture a theme I'd say...most things when done in moderation... are acceptable. That includes ticket writing.
For the record, I am a retired cop. I absolutely hate seeing articles like this one. Turning ticket writing into a sport. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/03/30/memo-calls-for-connecticut-state-troopers-to-outperform-colleagues-by-writing/?test=latestnews
A certain amount of traffic enforcement is necessary. Quotas and chicken shit tickets don't qualify. I can honestly tell you that in the quarter century that I pushed a patrol car around- I never made a sport out of writing tickets or generating revenue. I wrote a bunch- most all of them were at least 15 MPH over. Pushing quotas and contests means cops have to dip down to hit numbers. That means a proliferation of chicken shit tickets.
I also started a traffic school. I did that because it was a good idea for people and it helped them avoid points and higher premiums. I did not do it to create a revenue source for government.
Writing tickets to the motoring public subjects citizens to triple jeopardy. First they have to pay large fines. Secondly, the insurance companies latch onto those violations like vultures and jack insurance rates just as high as the market will bear. The third consequence is loss of your driver's privileges.
Ok, I get the responsibility side. But stealing from the public has to have some limits.
The state police in Idaho are notorious for writing chicken shit tickets. They are professionals. I have seen 5 MPH over the limit tickets issued by troopers on a straightaway in the desert where not even a self respecting rabbit crosses the road. People written tickets for crossing the white line on a ramp to get around some semi- chugging down the ramp at 20.
That is the kind of garbage I hate to see. Government loves to call driving a "privilege." I disagree with that conclusion. Driving is no more a privilege than riding a bike or eating out- in fact I hate that whole propaganda "privilege" spiel. Driving in America is huge business. Without cars, we'd have no giant oil companies, no giant steel and auto industry, no auto dealers, auto parts, tire dealers, no auto insurance industry. No jobs.
When I was a kid cop, we were taught to write tickets in the spirit of the law. What happened to that arcane idea?
Are their better ways to force traffic compliance? You bet. By incentivizing drivers rather than punishing them. By giving people huge insurance breaks or other rewards for ticket and accident free driving and not making motorists wait for those rewards until they are 40. Performance based and individualized. Government and insurance companies could do that rather than employing the punishment theme. But clearly, they like skinning motorists. One day a savvy entrepreneur will change all of that with a new kind of insurance company.
Law enforcement really is about serving the public, not punishing them. Compliance was the original goal. Any monkey can write tickets. Even in Connecticut.
For the record, I am a retired cop. I absolutely hate seeing articles like this one. Turning ticket writing into a sport. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/03/30/memo-calls-for-connecticut-state-troopers-to-outperform-colleagues-by-writing/?test=latestnews
A certain amount of traffic enforcement is necessary. Quotas and chicken shit tickets don't qualify. I can honestly tell you that in the quarter century that I pushed a patrol car around- I never made a sport out of writing tickets or generating revenue. I wrote a bunch- most all of them were at least 15 MPH over. Pushing quotas and contests means cops have to dip down to hit numbers. That means a proliferation of chicken shit tickets.
I also started a traffic school. I did that because it was a good idea for people and it helped them avoid points and higher premiums. I did not do it to create a revenue source for government.
Writing tickets to the motoring public subjects citizens to triple jeopardy. First they have to pay large fines. Secondly, the insurance companies latch onto those violations like vultures and jack insurance rates just as high as the market will bear. The third consequence is loss of your driver's privileges.
Ok, I get the responsibility side. But stealing from the public has to have some limits.
The state police in Idaho are notorious for writing chicken shit tickets. They are professionals. I have seen 5 MPH over the limit tickets issued by troopers on a straightaway in the desert where not even a self respecting rabbit crosses the road. People written tickets for crossing the white line on a ramp to get around some semi- chugging down the ramp at 20.
That is the kind of garbage I hate to see. Government loves to call driving a "privilege." I disagree with that conclusion. Driving is no more a privilege than riding a bike or eating out- in fact I hate that whole propaganda "privilege" spiel. Driving in America is huge business. Without cars, we'd have no giant oil companies, no giant steel and auto industry, no auto dealers, auto parts, tire dealers, no auto insurance industry. No jobs.
When I was a kid cop, we were taught to write tickets in the spirit of the law. What happened to that arcane idea?
Are their better ways to force traffic compliance? You bet. By incentivizing drivers rather than punishing them. By giving people huge insurance breaks or other rewards for ticket and accident free driving and not making motorists wait for those rewards until they are 40. Performance based and individualized. Government and insurance companies could do that rather than employing the punishment theme. But clearly, they like skinning motorists. One day a savvy entrepreneur will change all of that with a new kind of insurance company.
Law enforcement really is about serving the public, not punishing them. Compliance was the original goal. Any monkey can write tickets. Even in Connecticut.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Come Get Some... Gun Porn
I loved the Spas 12 with a J hook. Until I saw this. The SRM 1216.
A few days ago, a friend of mine introduced me to this shotgun. Built right here in Boise. It's a shade over two grand- but if you want to annihilate an army of zombies and fast- I'm not sure there is anything better than this. So if I could only have one gun in the bunker with me at the end of times, it would probably be this bad boy. Note those familiar hills in the background.
Then there's this. Good luck getting one of these.
A few days ago, a friend of mine introduced me to this shotgun. Built right here in Boise. It's a shade over two grand- but if you want to annihilate an army of zombies and fast- I'm not sure there is anything better than this. So if I could only have one gun in the bunker with me at the end of times, it would probably be this bad boy. Note those familiar hills in the background.
Then there's this. Good luck getting one of these.
I Don't Dial 911
A couple of days ago, some kid comes to my door trying to sell me one of those home alarm systems.
He had no idea who he was talking to. But I liked the kid so I invited him in. Sales pitches always have the same scripted components. The first thing salesmen do is try to create a need for whatever it is that they are selling. So I had to listen to the part about the burglary that happened only a block away from my house last week. It sent chills up my spine.
Well, not really.
If I really wanted to mess with this kid I would have asked him a bunch of pointed questions about that burglary- knowing full well he would not be able to answer them- but I liked the kid. So I let him run a bit with the script. They were going to install the alarm system for free... in exchange for putting a sign in my yard. Yea sure. Anyway...I finally had to stop him. I said kid there is nothing in my house worth dying for and I'll stack my preparation and skills up against most idiots short of a tactical team.
Today, I saw this and stole it. I love the west.
He had no idea who he was talking to. But I liked the kid so I invited him in. Sales pitches always have the same scripted components. The first thing salesmen do is try to create a need for whatever it is that they are selling. So I had to listen to the part about the burglary that happened only a block away from my house last week. It sent chills up my spine.
Well, not really.
If I really wanted to mess with this kid I would have asked him a bunch of pointed questions about that burglary- knowing full well he would not be able to answer them- but I liked the kid. So I let him run a bit with the script. They were going to install the alarm system for free... in exchange for putting a sign in my yard. Yea sure. Anyway...I finally had to stop him. I said kid there is nothing in my house worth dying for and I'll stack my preparation and skills up against most idiots short of a tactical team.
Today, I saw this and stole it. I love the west.
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