Rally Ahead of Jobs, Elections, Courts, Etc. – Shaving Speed Index

Buy the rumor, sell the elections?

It’s going to be a hard morning on the bears who crawled under the bed Friday fearing the end of the world.  We’re sure the dust bunnies appreciated the visit, though.

News Compressor: ON

Please refer to your Program for the layout of today.  Nothing-then-something is the planning schema for the week.

1. America’s midterms: The political decision point arrives tomorrow
More than 54 million ballots have reportedly already been cast ahead of the November 3 congressional elections, with Republicans fighting to retain control of both chambers and voters weighing the Iran war, tariffs and living costs.

President Donald Trump spent the closing weekend campaigning in Iowa and Kansas, while a contentious Michigan Senate race complicated Democratic hopes of winning the Senate.

American voting procedures receive legal clarification. A September Supreme Court decision rejected the administration’s attempt to impose new federal mail-ballot requirements immediately before the midterms, allowing states to continue their established procedures.

2. Iran: Diplomacy continues under the shadow of renewed military action
Iranian negotiators and Qatari mediators continued a third day of talks in Doha on November 1, exploring a possible agreement that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but no final settlement was announced.  (You’re turning blue! Don’t hold your breath so long, next time, right?)

Separately, American officials reportedly warned regional allies to prepare for possible renewed strikes and Iranian retaliation after the November 3 elections, although no final American decision had been reported. Running the clock until polls close.

3. Ukraine: The energy war intensifies as a local ceasefire expires
Russian attacks damaged Ukrainian electricity infrastructure across four regions, leaving hundreds of thousands of households without power, while Ukraine reported major drone attacks against Russian industrial targets.

A six-day humanitarian ceasefire around Russian-held Oleshky expired after enabling civilian evacuations, but it did not produce a broader reduction in fighting. So much for “give peace a chance.”

4. Energy shock: The world’s emergency cushion is disappearing. The chief executive of the UAE’s national oil company warned that nearly one billion barrels have been drawn from global inventories since the Hormuz disruption, while diesel stocks in some regions are at their lowest seasonal levels in 35 years.

With Brent crude around $110 per barrel early and shipping costs substantially elevated, the energy crisis remains a direct threat to inflation, transportation, agriculture and industrial production. Structural vulnerability increasing.

Inside Pages

Israel’s election aftermath. Last week’s results will stand despite allegations of interference from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party. Coalition negotiations could produce a change of government, although the opposition’s ability to assemble a workable majority remains uncertain.

Gaza ceasefire under strain. Israeli strikes killed at least eight Palestinians on Sunday, according to local medical authorities, while Israel said it targeted militants. Disarmament and troop-withdrawal negotiations remain stalled. Which part of “surprised…”

India confronts election-roll protests. Thousands demonstrated in Delhi demanding the resignation of the chief election commissioner after a voter-list revision removed more than 130 million names.

New Zealand approaches its general election. Voters are scheduled to elect a new parliament on November 7, with economic weakness, unemployment and living costs among the principal campaign issues.

China changes its monetary operating framework. The central bank injected 541 billion yuan into the financial system and shifted its principal policy-rate anchor toward overnight lending operations. Analysts interpret the adjustment as easing financial conditions without a conventional headline interest-rate cut.

Beijing rolls out additional stock-market support. Chinese authorities announced another securities-sector liquidity operation potentially exceeding 100 billion yuan following an October decline of 8.5% in the CSI 300 index.

Gold recovers after a severe selloff. Rebouncing toward $3,900 an ounce Monday after Friday’s sharp decline, helped by falling oil prices and changing interest-rate expectations. Silver also recovered, as we eye Samsung battery evolution.

Technology stocks face a valuation reset. Deutsche Bank upgraded American technology shares after a selloff that reportedly erased more than $2 trillion from Nasdaq 100 market capitalization during October.

South Korea doubles down on artificial intelligence. President Lee Jae Myung proposed a record national budget including 21.3 trillion won for AI-related investment, emphasizing semiconductors, physical AI and data centers.

Somali piracy resurfaces. Pirates seized an Iranian fishing vessel carrying 23 people off northeastern Somalia, raising concerns that it could be used to support attacks against commercial shipping. Arggh.

Where’s the beef? A New Mexico cattle crossing reopened October 26 under tighter controls against New World screwworm, while confirmed cases in Texas and New Mexico underscore the continuing threat to livestock production.  We have a “steak” in the outcome.

What Goes Up: Comes down as nine people died Sunday when a Learjet 60 crashed near a roadway in Greenacres, Palm Beach County. The crew had reported dangerous weather conditions, but investigators have not established the cause. I’m not afraid of much when flying but afternoon T-storms over Florida always make the list.

Around the Ranch: The Shaving Speed Index

I knew the market would be higher this morning from the moment I got up.

“Alexa, what is the price of Brent crude this morning?”

“Under 110.”  And it continued since.  Rally almost sure to follow.

The other “way of knowing” however, is much more subtle.  I call it the “Speed of Shaving Index” and it’s a subset of the “Speed of Ready” index.

The “Speed of Ready” index depends on the day.  Some days, it includes a shower, a sit on the throne – before-hand if you’re lucky – then toweling off and “putting on your school clothes.”  Because life is all lessons, right?

The “Speed of Shaving Index”

…is a subset of the Speed of Ready.  And we should note in passing that the Speed of Ready is a sexually discriminating index.  Women have a different time index than men. Theirs is more “Speed of Appearing.”  As in a movie (or life) cameo for the day. My observations indicate that the Speed of Appearing usually runs up to 40 percent longer than the male counterpart’s Speed of Ready.

The Speed of Shaving subset of Ready is a simple-enough thing.  If you find yourself going electric and you’re done in 15-seconds, the results look very much like malpractice in lawnmowing.  There will be bald spots, missed areas, scalped hillside tops and the like.

High stress days – where your Animal Body just knows shit’s going to blow up before Miller time – are where you can feel the day’s tensions even before showering.  Related: The Speed of Drying Index.

Today, my Animal Body was telegraphing from the jump:  “Take your time. The office and shop look passable and all that’s lacking is the Scotch, cold-cuts, and fresh bolillos.”

The shave today was leisurely.  Not so much as to doze-off during; just relaxing in anticipation of a warm shower and hot coffee – and some red light on the thymus to keep the mitochondria snorting.

The Key Observation: (This is where being domain-aware pays off!)

Long ago, our ancestors would notice these low-level prompts. They didn’t always work, but they do change the odds a bit.

Thing is, high-pressure consumerism and the rat-mill life has neutered that part of our brains.  We disconnected from the tides, moon phases, and here most recently any hanger-on remnants of weather impact – thanks to air conditioning.

Your Animal Body still senses. At some level your Observer gets a hint.  And then adrenaline hits, or you kick it.

Today – early at least – is a kick-back day.  Enjoy! Stress will be back later in the week so enjoy this one to the max.

A Kero-Lamp Note

The Zephyr asked a dandy question in an overnight Comment: “All years reading comments never remember kero-lamps mentioned?”  He’s referring to kerosene lamps.

Well, there has been – over time – plenty of talk about non-electrics. Always a useful thing to have when the AI wars break out and humans behind the keyboard try to take down the whole world.

We covered it thoroughly – spread out – and with-it things like the crank LED lights, the 100-hour candles, and all the rest of it.

Still, if you’re new to prepping (the Ready after the day’s shower and coffee), here’s a micro school on what matters and how we got here:

First, kero-lamps are one part of a class of light sources we can domain-map as liquid-fueled burning light sources.

Second point is the fuels have different risks, but the two main ones are fire while the second is suspended particulates from the fuel.  Diesel is the most problematic because of its higher smoke potential.  On all lamps, practice is in order a) while there is still a fire department to call (if you fuck-up badly) and b) so you get used to ventilation and wick maintenance.

Turn the wick too high and the burner can’t mix enough air with the fuel vapor. Incomplete combustion gives you smoke and soot; keep the flame below the point where visible smoking begins.

Use only the fuel specified for your particular lamp. Until the experts all die in which case whatever works is how survival past the edge will operate. Never gasoline, though!

Kero-Lamp Selection

Let’s go shopping and get Monday rolling with a good dopamine hit, shall we?  As you cruise the Amazon choices, pay close attention to the burner.  Ah, the burner. Fond memories of Mary the Burner Turner (and Ace Young, and Paraquat Kelly from the KMET times) we now “turner our attention” to wicks.

Round, soft wick: If you mean the little cord-type wick, it draws fuel up to a small flame—simple, but modest illumination. Don’t confuse that with a tubular round-wick burner, which admits air through the center and produces considerably more light.  Pappy always said “Don’t let your wick be soft.”

Flat, woven wick: This is the familiar ribbon wick in an ordinary kerosene lamp or hurricane lantern. It produces a broad yellow flame, with brightness controlled by wick height; turn it too high and you get soot along with your illumination.

There’s no NIST-traceable definition of what constitutes true “hurricane” lamp ratings that I’ve ever been able to find.

Aladdin style: This uses a tubular woven wick to heat a mantle until it glows bright white—the mantle supplies most of the light. No pumping is required, and output is substantially greater than an ordinary flat-wick lamp, although the fragile mantle adds upkeep.  (We’re waiting for Disney to tell us which Middle East country Aladdin was from.)

Latest improvements: This is a mature technology, so the advances are mostly refinements. Aladdin’s current MAXbrite 500 family improves burner fit, airflow, wick adjustment, and chimney design to reduce flame spikes and improve brightness. However, it originated in 2015—“current” doesn’t mean freshly invented! Matching high-output chimneys offer another improvement; the manufacturer claims up to 20 percent more light under suitable conditions.

And for Zephyr an apology for not keeping this top of mind.

Write when you light up.

George@Ure.net