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Monday, March 31, 2014

Winter in the Midwest

Ya, ya, ya, ya, winter can be a bitch. I will admit I did not get out enough due to the cold and the wind. It just challenged us and made the stove so comfortable it seemed easirer to read and write and pontificate. I was relaxed, not racked with guilt, not comatose, but snug in the glow of the fire. Yes, I complained here and there and the pain of not being able to ice fish was staggering but sweet Jesus, the idea of being out on the ice,(not the final metaphorical ice) was not in my realm of commitment, not now.

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I enjoy the beauty of snow formations, as long as I can see them from the window of our warm home, warm vehicle, or weather permitting, say 10 degrees or above and no wind, from the trail to Skunk Lake . The falling snow is wonderful but if driven by a minus 10 degree wind, my weakness comes out, or is it age. We tried to be brave, to make a go of it but it would seem that after all that time, all that winter, we hit the trail only six times. Had we had to check the trap line on a daily basis, we would have gathered no plue, told no stories and disappeared into the dreams of Dr. Zhivago. I feel bad about it because it was a goal to get out and be apart of the cold, the winter, the Wisconsin life, but 62 days, or what ever it was, of night-time below zero dampened our spirit. It was just too much.


We are still not discouraged because we know that this cold, this blowing cold, these November winds, keeps this area clean of development, clean of population growth. Some complain and they leave, some have been here for years and tire of it, but we have held strong knowing what we have is good. We just have to keep saying, "Embrace the winter. Do not complain". It is a thing of beauty. It brings the balance of weather and there is summer, fall and spring, oh yes spring.

So today as this spring creeps in, I can look back and see the beauty while the maple sap flows. The Ice discs, little platelets,  of my brother's stream and Mike's ice tables are but a small sampling of winter's sculptures and beauty.They noticed them so it must be they too are taken in. Mike M. put it this way, "After this beautiful, magical, winter I'm thinking of starting a new religion, worshiping ice ........ in caves, ravines, glasses of scotch, anywhere ......... "Go with the flow" will be the only commandment and any other rules will be carved in ice ......... every new religion needs a descriptive name, so I'm open to suggestions ........."


I feel warmer now as if the winter laid the ground work for embracing this warmth. It is good.


Revolution Watch---Front Running and Algobots

I have always watched the stock market, partially as entertainment and partially because I wanted to be a player, you know, an investor. I have poured in my thousands, or is it hundreds, into various investments like wind power only to find them take a dive because they are not really economically viable---yet.


In reality, the more interesting part of the stock market is the system of economics, both locally, nationally and globally that drive the system. In the past few years, particularly after '08, it is obvious the amount of shenanigans that is going on in all places is profound. Now, we like to think that this is free market capitalism and Adam Smith's free hand of the market is keeping everything in order.

But in the last 6 years it has become glaringly obvious that the system is corrupt and being manipulated by a cast of characters not part of any free market system. This would include the Federal Reserve (which is really a private bankers organization), the US government, big banks and all their creative "instruments" such as Collateralized Debt Obligations, Credit Default Swaps and assorted Derivatives. We must also include Quantitative Easing, a euphemism for printing money. Keep in mind every country has it's own version of this and that would include places like China that is a state, a totalitarian communist state, operating in the capitalistic world.

What it comes down to is it is really a big mess with manipulators all over the place trying to manipulate currency values, control national debts and make millions for the 1%, mostly while the average dude gets bent over to take the big one. It has been quite a show, equal to any dramatic soap opera that features various screwings of all sorts. From my point of view, very exciting in a macabre sort of way because it is becoming daily more obvious the entire fiasco is not sustainable in any way.

It simply is a big pile of shit with the wealthy of the world raking in the dough and those on margins, on the edge of utter starvation and collapse. Nothing fair about it. Just is what it is. This actually has made Americans rich as a group----so far. I pity the poor over populated countries with no natural wealth to exploit. Nature will know no mercy---isn't even as we speak

Now, I have known about some of the real oddities for some time, as have many others---that is where I got it from. I have really enjoyed this process of "Front Running" the stock market. Front running is using inside information to make bets on the stock market. So if an individual knows something about the potential of a stock to move he can buy it very quickly thus making a nice pile of green backs. It is not as if this individual is doing actual work, he is just scamming the system. To some degree this is illegal but of late, the rules have changed and no one wants to prosecute a banker or investors---they are "market makers". So the fixed casino goes on.

In the last few years a new game has come on the scene where high-speed algorithmic (algobots) computers have learned to front run the stock market thus making tons for the dudes who own the monster computers. It seems the computers can go on the internet and determine what is "trending" then instantaneously make a buy on the market knowing in advance the stock will go up or down. They can play it both ways.

Most interestingly, the computers can also affect what is "trending" thus playing the game in all directions. What is fascinating is  they can do this on very tiny margins so if the computers were to make 10 million in trades in 5 seconds, they can make tens of thousands of dollars. It is legal and hard to detect. It is a rigged game. I just heard that 87% of all trades on the market are done by algobots! What a trip. Me, I make maple syrup.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Sloth, Wrath, Greed and Envey


 I recently ran across these illustrations of a number of human traits and found them to be most interesting. I am from Wisconsin so they really made me happy in that we seemed to fair pretty damn well. I have used national maps before to illustrate other characteristics like importance of education, income parity and maybe religiosity---maybe I also threw in NASCAR interest as well.

The message was always the same and that was it appears, I have found a place, this Wisconsin,  that fits my style. Pretty cool. This particular batch, and there are a few more, was put together by Kansas State University as a way of measuring the presences of these attributes in a given population. http://blog.revolutionanalytics.com/2009/05/mapping-the-seven-deadly-sins.htm

I would think that their methods might be suspect but still entertaining, but the effort as near as I can tell, has a real academic bent to it. LUST for instance was measured by the amount of sex crimes that were reported in any given area during a specific amount of time. Probably includes all sorts of buggery and so on.


WRATH was measured by court records of excessive anger manifested in criminal charges. Keep in mind I am not giving a complete or comprehensive representation of their methods but just a generic comment, or an attempt to paraphrase their statements.

SLOTH probably was done by determining how many folks tended to sit on their asses and not seek to better themselves or their community. GREED possibly on the aggressive desire to have material things and at any cost.

ENVY, I suspect, was determined by the amount of robberies, thefts, and other assorted rip offs. One would think that Wall Street would probably be the center of the last two charts but if one looks real close it is obvious New York is always very red so it would seem this is the center off all issues. Wonder why?

On these graphs one has to notice the the upper Midwest is rather blue and that means the least amount of deviation form the standard. It doesn't mean we are pure as the driven snow, but we are well situated to enjoy a reasonable life of leisure not drowned in pretentious lusting for goods and lust--I am lustful but it is all aimed in one direction--if you know what I mean, and it is not toward myself in an act to take advantage of myself---like some of you. Anyway, I am feeling good about this and willing to get puffed up like a toad. So there.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Are we but Children?


“In ever real man a child is hidden who wants to play.”  Fredrick Nietzsche

While I never ran into this quote until I was rather old, I realized that it is a point of view that has always gleefully traveled in my veins. I’m sure some will say, that is why I have always been so immature, or juvenile, and occasionally infantile in my behavior. This guy Nietzsche is very smart and even famous for his writing, so he demands respect. What this amounts to is, I now have justification for the way I act. I mean, it has always been clear to me, DNA was behind my continual desire to play.

Now, the implication of the quote is that I have the possibility of being a child (chronologically, there may be some slight questions) and on first reading, that is the direct implication. Let’s look at the possibilities.


All my trashed joints and daily nagging of assorted pains are a clear indication I will not be crab-walking around on the carpet pushing kiddy building blocks around----but maybe later. There is also the flexibility attribute that kids have---not going to happen. I have, for years, enjoyed the image of the toddler who, while standing, begins to sense that he is about to topple and he just sits down, boom. The idea of stumbling, catching myself and then just plopping down is genuinely frightening. It would appear my bum has largely fallen off, if one knows what I mean. Just no cushioning left. Butt first on the ground would be embarrassingly unsightly and a giant pain in the butt. More than likely, it would involve a broken hip---at least a dislocated bum. Clearly, I will not be a toddler again so the infantile label given to me is not applicable.

In my analysis of “play” possibilities, as say a teenaged child, hormonal development has to be an immediate consideration. I may not naturally be able to come up with some hormones, and imagining a huge dump of testosterone flowing through my old veins, leaves me alarmed.  If I were to move in this direction, it would be through supplements. To top it off, I see adds on TV advertising some sharp-eyed lawyer whose services are aimed at addressing legal issues for testosterone therapy. It seems the testosterone treatment has the possibility of inducing every known disease man has ever known---possibly one as serious as really acting like a teenager. So in terms of the “play” associated with being a teenager, it would seem, that is also out the window.

If the age of 16 was desirable “play“ level,  I would also have to be hell bent on really looking cool. One’s mind might say ‘cool’, but the mirror would speak another language. Plus, the act of wearing shorts in subzero weather would be down-right life threatening.

Without much effort, it is easy to eliminate some of the “play” activities that one might consider as we get older and the above examples quickly illustrate just a few of the problems. Still the “play” and “child” statement  has to be given more consideration because it has to be true. So just how do I approach this directly and use it to bring out the “child” and the “play” of Nietzsche.

  One of the play activities is clearly to ride a bicycle. While I may not be able to zip around and do wheelies, I can, in my way, move about, no, not looking cool by wearing spandex and a $200 dollar helmet, but it can be done, providing there is not another crash and burn, the big auger in. I have noticed some friends have gone back to using a tricycle, just like we had as a six-year old. So, this is truly a form of childlike play.

Mostly, the ego has to take a bath, the part that says, “act my age” so that sitting at the dinner table with a couple of carrots hanging from my nostrils is Ok---oh yes I can. Can we, in a juvenile way, look at things of interest---like girls? Of course, and talk stupid and make inappropriate comments, maybe noises about politicians or our friends? Yesseree. Is eating an ice cream cone and acting like a little kid, all thrilled and drooling, fair game?---yes. Can we pursue folly and be foolish---I would say better than most kids.

We can also play bocce ball, be real clever, sit around complaining of our and other’s maladies, drink a nice toddy with flare, all with a child-like sense of glee. Basically, I want to talk big and act smart while playing with life. We can swim, but probably should not go for the revealing swim wear like a thong bikini---particularly the dudes---you know, the type we used to wear while on the south coast of France. 

Easily we can do some corn bag tossing and play horseshoes while exchanging nonsensical juvenile banter. That is “Play” and it is child-like. Even if our minds are failing, still, we can play---maybe do the same thing everyday and think it is something new. What it comes down to is Nietzsche is right. There is a child there and it is time to play.






Saturday, March 8, 2014

Revolution Watch---Natural Gas and Reality

I recently heard that natural gas was about to be exported to the Ukraine as a a way of putting it in Putin's face. With the Ukraine getting 80% of it's natural gas fuel from mother Russia it would seem they have themselves in a bit of a pinch-----along with most of Europe. So sure as hell, we get some of our politicians of both strips from Boehner to Udall  thinking it is time for us to start exporting our "abundant" natural gas all over the world.
/http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/report/2013/11/05/78610/u-s-liquefied-natural-gas-exports/

The first time I heard this, (and that was we were already doing it), I was a bit startled, like soiling myself,  because it has been illegal to export crude oil and natural gas with a few exceptions. The gas out of the Cook Inlet in Alaska is sent to Japan (and that will be stopping soon as that source is getting weak ---and Anchorage is getting spooked). In the lower 48 we do export some but it is not in liquid form and it goes to Mexico and Canada. We also have been importing from them and have for years. The US is, for most purposes, self sufficient in natural gas, particularly since the fracking started.


LNGexports_fig1 copy

Recently, however, there has been a push to be able to export some liquefied natural gas because there is a bit of a glut here due to the fracking---but keep in mind there may only be a 5% difference between a glut and a shortage. The push has come from gas companies who want to get more than $4 per unit as it cost around $6 to produce it in these new multimillion dollar frac wells----that would be the ones that last only about three years. It sells for up to $20 in other countries. There reasoning is obvious, and they don't really give a shit about the USA but want money.

The odd part of this all is that the amount of natural gas here is not really that abundant but everybody is all hyped up due to the narrative being seized by the gas companies. Art Berman an independent analyst has spelled this out clearly. The Bakken and Eagle Ford plays are already showing signs of being in decline with only the Marcellus showing strength. At present, Obama has approved a couple of liquidizations plants but they are NOT built and only one is started. The companies have said it will be 2015 before it is ready to go. So where the hell do we think we are going to get this liquid natural gas is beyond me.
http://oilprice.com/Interviews/Shale-Gas-Will-be-the-Next-Bubble-to-Pop-An-Interview-with-Arthur-Berman.html

It is also widely thought that by 2015 it will be obvious that there is not that much gas and no one will be willing to export it---as the price here goes up. Simply, the "Red Queen Affect" will kick in and no matter how hard they try they will not be able to increase production. Why these politicians think there is so much gas is beyond me. Either they are incredibly ignorant or are lying sons-a-bitches.

The other day a politician suggest we export crude oil. What? We import 7-8 million barrels a day! and will never be oil independent. What jackasses. What is this game? Most disturbing is that no one seems to even mention the idea that we may need to save some of this stuff for our kids and grand-kids. I mean, Jesus Christ, the alternatives so far discussed will never scale up. We have to drag this one-time allotment of fuels out as long as we can.

I guess my main point is that we need to get real. We need to understand what we have and what we do not. If we were to cut our fuel use by half, like Europe, this treasure we have in the ground, will last for maybe a century but if we sell it hither and yon it will be gone in my life time. Fricking idiots.

Sunday, March 2, 2014

A Cup of Tea----The Way to Start a Day


I don't know for sure if having that slow cup of tea in the morning is a function of being, for the most part, pretty much retired. But it seems every part of the hot cup has become a welcome gift of the morning.

It is true, I am dragging my miserable ass when I roust out in the morning at the early hour of, say, eight. That too may be a function of age but then I don't clearly ever recall jumping out of the sack full of fire. I am just an ass-dragger. Each morning after stumbling down the stairs from this old Victorian  I fire up the stove and get that water on. I appreciate the free natural gas that is always there. Ya, I could fire up the wood burning cook stove---really. It is so hard to imagine how up until 70 years ago that is the way it was---and they did not drag out at eight----it was sun up. So, I appreciate what I have, because I have tested the other way. I know this gas is a gift.

Hot water.! What a treat. Then there is the tea, maybe a nice Earl Gray, possibly a roasted Russian Caravan. The smell lifts up in the cold kitchen air, the smell exotic, maybe a smell of many ages. For me two lumps a sugar brings out the flavor as I shuffle off to my spot on the leather sofa in the front room. If I am lucky, the wood burning old stove is now warm and it will roust me from my morning trance. All is good.

I even admire the various cups, the ones I have made years ago while a potter. The there is the classic mug from our years (one week a year) in the lighthouse service. There are all little pieces of our history, all memories as I work myself into the day. Tea and the morning news, small talk, birds to watch, cold to curse, all gifts of a slow tea in these later years.

The Fusion Dream----Revolution Watch

For all the techno-triumphalist out there fusion is probably one of those sources of energy they view as the ultimate source. What is interesting about this dream is that it has been around for ever. As a teen, I clearly remember hearing that fusion was 20 years off, and then as a thirty year old it was 20 years off and in 1999 it was 20 years off. After reading today's New Yorker article on fusion it would seem it is maybe 30 years off.

In fact, in reading the piece, one can not help but get the idea that the struggle itself is so great and complex the goal will never be met. He never says that but the tone of the article is such that it leaves the reader thinking the science is so complex that it will collapse in a heap as Joe Taniter has written about. Is it just a physicists wet dream? Almost a dream they know they have to pull off or life is not going to play out too well. Are the scientist using the old economist proverb, "It is easier to exploit the economics of a subsidy than the economics of reality."

Probably the most interesting aspect of the project, one aspect that is hit but not pounded, is the cost. This project has been going on for years, over there in France, and little has come of it. It is not even built because the design keeps changing as new information keeps coming in from all over the world. It is chaos. Governments are actually working together to fund the damn thing and there are forever shortfalls. Tell me just where would the countries of Africa get the funds to build one of these things? South America? Who the hell operates them? Private businesses can't afford to build the fission nuclear plant now being built in Georgia. The cost is just out of reach for the world where natural resources are diminishing---which is where our true wealth is.

But the real ass kicker is that the project to this point is just an scientific experiment. It is not a generating plant at all but just a giant experiment in creating a "Plasma" of energy. If they should do something where more energy is created than is put into it, then they have to build another one, or many as they say, along with electric generators to go with them. "TWENTY YEARS?!" you have to be kidding me? No wonder many people in the scientific community simply state this is not possible.

Interestingly, the article also has statements by famous, highly intelligent physicists, saying (but saying quietly in the piece)  that all of the alternative, sustainable options do NOT scale up and that fossil fuel sources are very, very  limited. It would seem that while the article was written to bring the public up to date on fusion, but when taken in it's entirety, lays out a rather bleak message, maybe not even intending to. In a financially constrained world, in a resource constrained world, in an environmentally challenged world where are they going to get the funds or materials to build these things. It seems a cruel joke that we are even talking about them.