Month: May 2014

Nothing like new adventures in the World of Woo-Woo to set things on course for the day:

Hi George,

I had a strange bit of woo-woo yesterday.  I was folding clothes in my bedroom and dividing mine to stay in the house or go out to my workout room.  A little later I took the clothes out to the workout room, dumped them on the floor, and then proceeded to put them into drawers.  As I picked up the last sweat shirt, I noticed something blue on the floor.  I picked it up and it was underwear that my youngest son would have outgrown about two years ago.  No one has any idea how it got there.  I know it wasn’t there when I started folding clothes.

Best,  Dennis

No telling how this kind of thing happens.  But like the other stuff that goes missing, hides out in some alternate dimension for a while, and then shows up back in this one – but at an unusual place (or one we have looked at previously) – the article involved is definitely more “personal” in nature.

I don’t know why this might be the case, except that maybe (as a wild guess) it has something to do with the way humans manifest things from their “field”. 

Stand by while we collect data on what colors of underwear seem to disappear most often…

WoWW 2

This report from reader Jeff is pretty good – and notice again how it is a “personal” item?

Back in younger days I had a set of Keys go missing. Set in same place on dining room table every day. Son was over (1st grader) and when we needed to leave keys were gone.

He swore he didn’t touch them. Several years later was moving and wanted to take the table apart to move. Leaned table on its side and the keys fell out from under the table.

Whether he put the there or they “moved” never know but after remaking about a dozen keys and then getting locks changed it was an expensive WoWW.

One other research note if you’re following along:  A lot of the WoWW stories seem to happen in the proximity of young children – right on up through about mid-teen years.

Read More

Oh boy!  Here we go, again.  Another one of those “hide under the bed” or cuddle with your squeeze in silent fear stories – the stuff of horror tales – is coming true right before our eyes.

Not following?

Let me begin at the beginning then.  With Mary Shelly’s novel Frankenstein, then. 

You remember the plot, I’m sure:  “Mad scientist” type gets a body of a recently dead fellow, except he really gets the body of a just-deposed murder, and shocks it back to life using electricity.

If you’re over 40, or so, you will remember this as a fine and scary black and white movie.  But since, oh, about 1960 or so, this was the first of our “Horror Stories” that came true.

You’ll recall my great^{^6}grandfather, Andrew N. Ure (1778-1857) was doing research in his Glasgow (Scotland) University digs in the period immediately following 1801 when he’d picked up his MD ticket (such as they were at the time).

In his researches, he had become fascinated with the work of  Galvani and others who had begun to study how electricity could be used to cause muscle contractions.  The family “PR problem” was that he was experimenting on a convicted murder/thief’s body; that of one Matthew Clydesdale.

Fire up the source cells and apply the juice and what happened?  From Andrew’s notes:

“Every muscle of the body was immediately agitated with convulsive movements resembling a violent shuddering from cold. … On moving the second rod from hip to heel, the knee being previously bent, the leg was thrown out with such violence as nearly to overturn one of the assistants, who in vain tried to prevent its extension. The body was also made to perform the movements of breathing by stimulating the phrenic nerve and the diaphragm. When the supraorbital nerve was excited ‘every muscle in his countenance was simultaneously thrown into fearful action; rage, horror, despair, anguish, and ghastly smiles, united their hideous expressions in the murderer’s face, surpassing far the wildest representations of Fuseli or a Kean. At this period several of the spectators were forced to leave the apartment from terror or sickness, and one gentleman fainted.’”

We all know what happened next:  PR trouble showed up in the form of Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein published anonymously in 1818 in London as a poke at care-to-guess-who?

Curiously, the name (Frankenstein) was the name of the scientist, not the monster; in the book the large Lurch was known as Adam:

The creature has often been mistakenly called “Frankenstein”. In 1908 one author said “It is strange to note how well-nigh universally the term “Frankenstein” is misused, even by intelligent people, as describing some hideous monster”.^[30] Edith Wharton‘s The Reef (1916) describes an unruly child as an “infant Frankenstein.”^[31] David Lindsay’s “The Bridal Ornament”, published in The Rover, 12 June 1844, mentioned “the maker of poor Frankenstein.” After the release of James Whale‘s popular 1931 film Frankenstein, the public at large began speaking of the monster itself as “Frankenstein”. A reference to this occurs in Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and in several subsequent films in the series, as well as in film titles such as Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.

All of which gets us to how this first Horror Story became real.  Fast forward to the mid-1950’s and going into the 60’s under Wikipedia’s entry about “defibrillators…”

You see, the horror story evolved and began to “come true” over about a 40-year period of time when medicine, if you’ll forgive me, made some “shocking advances.”

-chest method[edit]

Until the early 1950s, defibrillation of the heart was possible only when the chest cavity was open during surgery. The technique used an alternating voltage from a 300 or greater volt source delivered to the sides of the exposed heart by ‘paddle’ electrodes where each electrode was a flat or slightly concave metal plate of about 40 mm diameter.

Read More

Let the good times roll?  Well, IF you believe the latest figures out, then unemployment dropped dramatically tis month:

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 288,000, and the unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage point to 6.3 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment gains were widespread, led by job growth in professional and business services, retail trade, food services and drinking places, and construction.

Read More

The first stop (after the headlines, o’ course) is in the World of Woo-Woo (WoWW) where things continue to heat up. 

Reader Dian’s got a case here which defies explanation:

Hi George,

I’m a long time reader and I’ve always been interested in the WoW reports. I don’t know if mine counts because it isn’t about any disappear/reappear event. Tuesday morning I was in the shower getting ready for work, and expecting the appearance of my house cleaner. I heard a woman’s voice say, very clearly, “May I come in?” and although a little surprised (we have two bathrooms) I replied “Of course”. I peeked out from behind the shower curtain, and no one was there. The house cleaner didn’t show up until 2 hours later, so I have no idea who the new lady in the house is … just thought it was interesting.

Hmmm…the obvious question:  Any details of the voice?  Young/old, cute, ugly sounding?  Impressions?

Young, soft, female, friendly – not anyone I know or have known and no Texas accent – but loud enough to be heard over the sound of water in the shower.

Yep, that’s an odd one, alright.  Let us know if you hear the voice again.  Ask something liker “Come on it…and gimme them Lotto numbers for Saturday’s drawing…”

(If that works, send half, lol)

How Reality Works

Reader Bill’s been looking at all these WoWW reports and he’s come up with a theory which I kinda thought was self-evident:

…spent my early career years partly on a “6-plate, flat-bed Movieola” 35mm filmediting bench.  So, when I saw your graphic representing the Universe bifurcatingupon someone, somewhere making a Quantum Observation (a.k.a. “decision”). and two film tracks proceeding forward in time forming a “Y” at the decision point, it fit right into my World View.

Now, here’s the New Idea:

While folks discuss the split point voluminously, they never mention the two  tracks reintegrating, rejoining, a bit down the road.  No reason I can see to forbid a Perfect Reintegration — and maybe several more splits and splicings as we bump along on the road to wherever we’re all going…

Read More

Yes.  If the market collapsed between now and the end of June, I will be fabulously wealthy. 

And I was doing fine living out this delusion until three things happened Wednesday:

1.  The Fed took a middle road.

2.  The Peoplenomics.com  Trading Model was back in bullish mode this week

3.  I ran out of Tums

When all three things stack up like this, I buy the most highly levered insurance policy I can find.  In  this case (one minute before the Wednesday close) I bound a put option on a triple levered downside (bear) ETF product.  That way, if there is a melt-up, the ETF bear product will drop like a free-falling safe and my put option will protect me from losing my shirt.

I might have just gone to cash, but it I wanted to do that, what’s the point of gambling?

With that, Personal Incomes are just out:

Personal income increased $78.4 billion, or 0.5 percent, and disposable personal income (DPI) increased $68.0 billion, or 0.5 percent, in March, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $107.2 billion, or 0.9 percent. In February, personal income increased $54.3 billion, or 0.4 percent, DPI increased $47.6 billion, or 0.4 percent, and PCE increased $54.7 billion, or 0.5 percent, based on revised estimates. Real DPI increased 0.3 percent in March, the same increase as in February. Real PCE increased 0.7 percent in March, compared with an increase of 0.4 percent in February.

And the choice parts:

Personal outlays — PCE, personal interest payments, and personal current transfer payments — increased $109.7 billion in March, compared with an increase of $57.2 billion in February. PCE increased $107.2 billion, compared with an increase of $54.7 billion.

Personal saving — DPI less personal outlays — was $487.7 billion in March, compared with $529.4 billion in February. The personal saving rate — personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income — was 3.8 percent in March, compared with 4.2 percent in February.

The market looks to open about flat, though gold is down.  But the real thing to watch is the Baltic Dry Index which continues to decline and is now down to 943 in this morning’s reading.  Which means choppy to down more often than not.

Still, I one a put on a put (which is like a call, but without having to give up being a bear to do it) because…well…either money in that or in Tums.

Waiting on War

Notice how since pro-Russians are taking more real estate the story has been driven from lead item in most media outlets?

Ethics of state death penalty and the Dow closing at a record high (not accompanied by the S&P or NASDAQ, so it reeks of painting the tape) displace it.

You’re not supposed to think through the implications of China becoming the world’s largest economy, either.

Nope, nothing to see here, move along, citizen…

Hey, Al! Department

Dear former vice president Gore;

Did you see what the National Weather Service delivered this morning?  A frost advisory for parts of Texas.  Here it is MAY and where is our you-know-what?

Here Come the Drones

Quietly released as a safety advisory to pilots:

April 21, 2014, the FAA announced that the first of six selected test site for performing unmanned aircraft system (UAS) research is now operational in North Dakota.
The FAA granted the North Dakota Department of Commerce team a Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (COA) to begin using a Draganflyer X4ES small UAS at its Northern Plains Unmanned Aircraft Systems Test Site. The COA is effective for two years.

Read More

This morning’s column is a little shorter than usual due to Universe delivering our favorite “theme” live and in person.

Life’s theme for Thursday may be found online here.

“So, Ure, what exactly is ‘piling up?’”

Brother in law was admitted to the hospital Wednesday.  A kind thought or prayer is appreciated.

As you may remember, this man is the closest thing you’ll find to a shortened  “Rambo.”  Rangers, SF, two tours in ‘Nam and usually last guy out of the LZ’s.  Endlessly sharpens knives…

He’s had a persistent cough for three months and northing seems to be touching it (cipro, the whole spectrum of stuff) and so he’s in taking advantage of TriCare to name down just what’s going on.

Best case?  I’ve got my money on walking pneumonia because the other bet (CHF but we don’t talk about that possibility) is not one I want to think about.  Symptoms fit, though.  Worse at night/laying down/at night.  Gradually improving through the day.  Time for the pokenprodders.

Instead of jumping online and writing my usual long, glib column, I was busy looking for homecoming gifts this morning and now (is it time yet?) we get to the rock tumbler part.

Panama Bates, like all good foot soldiers (even ones who hid too well in a training exercise and had to walk 600 miles out of Turkey years and years back) always keeps his eyes on where he’s walking.  And he likes archeology.   So he finds things (like curious rocks and old coins and this and that’s.

Besides, rock hounding is fun.

Here lately, he’s been talking about going up to Arkansas just after a good rain has come through in order to look for diamonds.

If you haven’t looked yet, a gander at Crater of Diamonds State Park over here will give you a worthwhile destination for your RV’ing.

Sifting though yards of dirt sounded suspiciously like real work to me, but intrepid rock hounds are driving by things like the 6.19 carat White Diamond found up there.

Oh sure, states always have their hooks out for money, but this one place (Arkansas) gets a little slack in my book for at least giving state residents an even chance.

Naturally, his trip has been postponed.  (We haven’t figured out how to lash a hospital bed to the pickup yet.

So when he comes home, he’ll be arriving to find a rock polishing kit consisting of  a 6 Lb Rotary Dual Drum Rock Tumbler Lapidary Polisher along with assorted add-ons and grits and bags of stones.

Nothing aids recovery better than projects around that you’re looking forward to.   If nothing else, the getting up to turn off the clatter ought to get him up and around quickly.

All three of us around the ranch have somehow missed the lapidary/stone polishing angle to life.  I’ve thought about it many times, as has he, but it was time to find the right stuff this morning to cheer his recovery.  Priorities matter.

Elaine will be the ultimate beneficiary, though.  She loves decorating with odd things and a bunch of polished stones ought to keep her busy for months plotting “just the right thing” to do with them.

The Major’s Visit, I

This afternoon, meanwhile, my buddy who I grew up with, will be arriving for 11-days of boys reliving childhood.  Except instead of riding bikes to Tacoma from Seattle or being chased by a hatchet-wielding hobo, we’ll be flying the Beechcrate up to KSPS where his son is in fighter ace /air combat school.

And that meant…

Spending hours Monday polishing the Mouse(keteer).  Just rubbing out and polishing the tops of two wings ate a three hour hole in the day.  And (along with everything else) may have something to do with sleeping through the alarm this morning.

Junior, the Inventor

So here’s my son trying to fix a light that used to come on over “hot files” in the med clinic he works in. 

“Hold on a minute, I have an idea…” he said when the light above stopped working.

Enterprising as always, he hung an LED lantern from his “at desk prep kit” and presto!  New light called a  “Portable Chart;s Up Indicator Light  (PCUIL)” system.

I’ve advised him not to get too excited about patenting it…

But in today’s medical market, it may warrant a startup and high dollar IPO.  Yes, things really are that crazy in medicine.

Quips

Making the Rounds: 

“If Cliven Bundy had name his ranch Benghazi, the feds would have NEVER shown up…”

And…

I happened to be in the airport office when one of our local pilots came in and while rat killing (Texese for shooting the bull) said something that wasn’t 100% politically correct.

“Watch it, or you’ll never own an NBA team,” I warned him.

Consider yourself warned, too.

Canine Cause and Effect Dept.

Local delivery driver lady for a large national moving things absolutely, positively, overnight company dropped off my latest prize from Harbor Fright yesterday.

In the process went into some detail about how her jacket was ripped up by a local dog a few miles away.

Which led to her going into some detail about how dangerous this dog was (coon dog of mixed heritage and all).

Turns out, when I got deeper into the conversation, she’s a dog owner herself.  Has a female Pit.

She swears it would never hurt a fly and is perfectly trained.

My money’s on the dog surprising her one of these days.

Killer breeds are, near as I can figure, very much like politicians.  They all seem OK.

But then when you least expect it….

A daily search of Google’s news engine for [dog bite] makes my case air tight.

Read More