tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post6064111459504712652..comments2024-03-28T21:41:52.558-04:00Comments on The Elephant Bar: Sherman's March of Revenge and DestructionDeuce ☂http://www.blogger.com/profile/13472858446242700869noreply@blogger.comBlogger137125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-45162210959613659992010-04-09T18:58:10.690-04:002010-04-09T18:58:10.690-04:00This day in history: On April 10th 1633 bananas w...This day in history: On April 10th 1633 bananas were supposedly displayed in the shop window of merchant Thomas Johnson. This was the first time the banana had ever been seen in Great Britain. It would be more than 200 years before they were regularly imported. In 1999 remains of a banana were found at a Tudor archaeological site on the banks of the Thames River. This would seem to date it 150 years earlier than Thomas Johnson's banana. A classic food mystery! The word banana is a derivated from the Arabic meaning finger. Some believe the banana was the forbidden fruit of Eden.MeLoDyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04658982778792168451noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-9020161936968043822010-04-09T18:37:46.537-04:002010-04-09T18:37:46.537-04:00cheerscheersMeLoDyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04658982778792168451noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-63679759538195916362010-04-09T18:33:12.041-04:002010-04-09T18:33:12.041-04:00The smoking light is lit and it is happy hour whic...The smoking light is lit and it is happy hour which lasts till 2:00AM EDT.Deuce ☂https://www.blogger.com/profile/13472858446242700869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-63796054516818208462010-04-09T18:30:40.201-04:002010-04-09T18:30:40.201-04:00Don't forget the booze.Don't forget the booze.MeLoDyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04658982778792168451noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-25140286339259273202010-04-09T18:10:25.951-04:002010-04-09T18:10:25.951-04:00Should we pop some popcorn?Should we pop some popcorn?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-87881560946571421562010-04-09T18:06:55.915-04:002010-04-09T18:06:55.915-04:00: )
Will do.: )<br /><br />Will do.trishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14139410627244875589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-28640073562487355372010-04-09T18:02:03.068-04:002010-04-09T18:02:03.068-04:00bring it on Red.bring it on Red.Deuce ☂https://www.blogger.com/profile/13472858446242700869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-3133735577447757002010-04-09T17:26:10.688-04:002010-04-09T17:26:10.688-04:00You needn't.
We have unfinished business...You needn't.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />We have unfinished business.<br /><br />Don't go anywhere.trishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14139410627244875589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-5235001765407984122010-04-09T17:19:02.374-04:002010-04-09T17:19:02.374-04:00Did I thank Trish for her inspiration on Todays...Did I thank Trish for her inspiration on Todays' post?Deuce ☂https://www.blogger.com/profile/13472858446242700869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-73386366095704915122010-04-09T17:17:47.774-04:002010-04-09T17:17:47.774-04:00My Dear, I'm just almost Certain you are.My Dear, I'm just almost Certain you are.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-12663111058284772112010-04-09T17:13:56.780-04:002010-04-09T17:13:56.780-04:00I am probably the only one here who got my William...I am probably the only one here who got my William Tecumseh on while eating an open-face pimento cheese sandwich on klosterbrot deli rye.trishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14139410627244875589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-10144014937939327742010-04-09T16:41:21.960-04:002010-04-09T16:41:21.960-04:00Especially, when the $400+ Billion/yr (in today...Especially, when the $400+ Billion/yr (in today's dollars) is going to Saudi Arabia, or Iraq.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-86454500147761836182010-04-09T16:39:35.938-04:002010-04-09T16:39:35.938-04:00You can't, I don't believe, have "Vig...You can't, I don't believe, have "Vigorous Growth," and "Low Inflation" with $3.50 + Gasoline.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-46716990266721613642010-04-09T16:38:07.645-04:002010-04-09T16:38:07.645-04:00At some point (maybe sooner than later) Oil become...At some point (maybe sooner than later) Oil becomes too expensive to use. Let me repeat, "It. Becomes. Too. Expensive. To. Use."<br /><br />Big-Time Pardigm Shift.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-65160714301296212762010-04-09T16:37:10.265-04:002010-04-09T16:37:10.265-04:00vigorous growth and modest inflation are the only ...vigorous growth and modest inflation are the only way I can see out of the debt trap Quirk. Do you foresee another way?Ashhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16688752302081088907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-23654017706039648022010-04-09T16:35:52.626-04:002010-04-09T16:35:52.626-04:00An article this morning: BP is shutting down 1/2 ...An article this morning: BP is shutting down 1/2 of the production from Thunderhorse. For those of you unfamiliar with Thunderhorse, it's the Deep Water Gulf Platform that took 10 years to get "up and running." <br /><br />It seems they've gotta go 6,000 ft down, and replace a lotta stuff. Presumably, when they get this half fixed, they'll have to go fix the "other" half.<br /><br />The Brazilians, now, find that that much ballyhooed deepwater discovery of theirs (Tupi) has considerably less oil than was "estimated," and it might be just a little too deep, and too difficult after all.<br /><br />You see, here's the problem. Most of the stuff they're "finding" now is going to require oil in the $100.00 range when all is said and done. That's $3.50 + gasoline. If $3.25 gasoline puts you in recession, and destroys "demand" then, what the hell?<br /><br />And, the Banker says, "Hmmmm. How Many Billion?"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-35066855506706759852010-04-09T16:25:45.751-04:002010-04-09T16:25:45.751-04:00Krugman is probably right, as far as he goes; but,...Krugman is probably right, as far as he goes; but, as usual, he doesn't go very far.<br /><br />The American Economy is at a true "inflection" point, just as it was in the late 1920's.<br /><br />We have too many people, now, working unproductively in the "Wrong" jobs.<br /><br />An ex. - I saw an article the other day about a fully automated coal mine. In a few days a small town in WV will be holding services for 25 Coal Miners. <br /><br />The days of men going down into the coal mine are about over. They could more productively be used somewhere else. We have, at least, 4 times (to pull a figure out of my ass) more people working in the Chevy plants than we need for the required output. <br /><br />It's the 21st Century, and we're still doing some (most?) things the same way we were at the turn of the 20th Century.<br /><br />We're getting 20 miles out of a gallon of gasoline (or ethanol) when we should be getting 40, or more.<br /><br />Paradigm shifts are HARD. That's where "failure" normally occurs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-73618882952741287512010-04-09T16:17:11.365-04:002010-04-09T16:17:11.365-04:00"America’s public debt will be manageable if ...<i>"America’s public debt will be manageable if we eventually return to vigorous growth and moderate inflation."</i><br /><br />And puppies are cute and water is wet.<br /><br />Krugman is a moron.<br /><br />(And another obviously sad comment on the jury handing out the Nobel prizes)<br /><br /><br />.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-19589370279698408012010-04-09T15:47:53.800-04:002010-04-09T15:47:53.800-04:00My reading of the entrails leading to my predictio...My reading of the entrails leading to my prediction for the future is that we are heading toward a second dip. I hope I'm wrong but I don't see that any structural changes have occurred affecting what led us into the last crisis we've only just kicked the can down the road. The recent rise in the markets appears similar to the rise that followed the first crash of the depression. I hope I'm wrong though. Really I do. Krugman wrote today along a similar line only different (he was talking lessons from the Greece situation). The whole piece is worth reading but here is his conclusion:<br /><br />"What worries me most about the U.S. situation right now is the rising clamor from inflation hawks, who want the Fed to raise rates (and the federal government to pull back from stimulus) even though employment has barely started to recover. If they get their way, they’ll perpetuate mass unemployment. But that’s not all. America’s public debt will be manageable if we eventually return to vigorous growth and moderate inflation. But if the tight-money people prevail, that won’t happen — and all bets will be off. "<br /><br />http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/09/opinion/09krugman.html?hpAshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16688752302081088907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-49105482411781040932010-04-09T15:33:19.346-04:002010-04-09T15:33:19.346-04:00BTW, the cost of ethanol at the refinery-gate is n...BTW, the cost of ethanol at the refinery-gate is now about $1.44. Subtract the $0.45 Blenders' Credit, and you're looking at <b>$0.99/gal.</b><br /><br />Like I said, Oil is on "The Wrong Side of History."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-21014185075949307262010-04-09T15:29:01.029-04:002010-04-09T15:29:01.029-04:00The Higher Highs, and Higher Lows that we're s...The Higher Highs, and Higher Lows that we're seeing in the Oil "Forwards" Contracts seem to track pretty well with my theory on the looming demise of "floating" storage.<br /><br />The EIA Inventory reports have been "Bearish" now for something like ten weeks running, but the bears are having a hard time pushing oil back below $84.00 this go-round. If they fail to break $80.00 I think that will be telling.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-2872019191272267222010-04-09T15:24:41.564-04:002010-04-09T15:24:41.564-04:00Well, I think we can agree that low gasoline price...Well, I think we can agree that low gasoline prices are "better" than High gasoline prices. :)<br /><br />My current pet theory (that I, absolutely Cannot prove) is that we're coming to the end of the "floating" storage, and that it's taking a higher, and higher price to get it onshore.<br /><br />I, also, am Not confident that Saudi Arabia, or anyone else, can come up with the oil needed to make up for the loss of that "reserve" that we've been drawing from for the last six months, and for the added demand from Asia.<br /><br />My horror scenario is that prices rise until we slide back into recession far enough that we drag China into recession, thereby reducing demand enough to halt the rise in prices. <br /><br />Well, actually, the REAL horror story would be if supplies fell enough that even the OECD, AND China going into recession couldn't pull prices back down (but, that is, at present, probably unlikely.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-61294353560459648582010-04-09T15:07:51.765-04:002010-04-09T15:07:51.765-04:00Oh yea, in recession before the financial crisis. ...Oh yea, in recession before the financial crisis. What would lead me to believe that oil prices cause the recession would be consistent high prices BEFORE signs of recession. The trouble is determining when a recession actually starts. It is all interrelated for sure.Ashhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16688752302081088907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-85915282843561929442010-04-09T15:02:04.383-04:002010-04-09T15:02:04.383-04:00Ash, I think many of us overlook how dependent our...Ash, I think many of us overlook how dependent our system is on the ability (and, willingness) of the lower 1/3 to move around, and contribute to the economy. <br /><br />But, when the lower 1/3 goes into a shell it feeds all the way up the food chain, and it's the lower classes that are hammered by higher gasoline prices. An extra $30.00/wk is a Hard Tax on someone supporting a family on $11.00/hr.<br /><br />Remember, we were in recession well before the financial "crisis."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-72125861451144140212010-04-09T14:58:58.645-04:002010-04-09T14:58:58.645-04:00Correlation definitely does not imply causation. ...Correlation definitely does not imply causation. It is a chicken and egg kind of thing. Booming economy = increased usage therefore increase in price and the converse being true. The economy is such a dynamic thing with many inputs that I'm skeptical that one input would be so determinative. I suspect that the price of fuel is more a function of the economy than a determinant but I have little evidence to support such a contention. I'm curious as to evidence indicating the contrary.Ashhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16688752302081088907noreply@blogger.com