Communications

Lots of buzz coming out of San Diego where Comic-Con has been going on and with it, word of a new super-hero (Avengers: Age of Ultron) flick to start shooting in February. 

 

I have a terrible confession to make:  I love those comic book movies:  Super Man, Green Hornet, Spiderman…Yessir, that’s one thing America is really, really good at:  Escapist pap.

 

All of which got me to thinking back on my youth because I figure things are pretty much the same for young people today as they were back in the day.

 

When I was a kid (1950’s) comic books were going for a dime…this was in ’55 to ’57, or so.  By the time I finished high school (’67) the price of a comic was up to a quarter.

 

Just for the hell of it, I decided to see what a 1967 comic book should be going for in 2013 dollars.  Turns out the answer adjusted for inflation is $1.75.

 

To be sure, the cost of printing has been backed out, and the price of video distribution clicked back in, but Yessir, this explains how my kids were watching comic book-like flicks for a buck each when the video store down the street was having “Dollar Tuesdays” in the 1980’s.

 

Marvel was acquired in 2009 by Disney for $4.24 billion, but seems to me that when you step back and look at the category broadly that assuming we don’t blow ourselves up in the meantime, Disney’s approach (buying a franchise like Marvel) will continue to play well at the cash register.

 

So, while there are reports that  Disney’s “The Lone Ranger” will lose $200-$300 million, seems to me that over time, the mouse is still alive and one of the few things I could put in a portfolio without dirty hands.

 

Besides, new upcoming stars like Zac Efron are generating plenty of ink.

 

Now, if they would just get on with building a theme part on all that land they have acquired here in Texas…

 

There’s been a lot of speculation around the web over the past few years that a 10,000 acre Disney property in Texas would make sense…and a poll over at WDWMagic suggests that the leading site would be near Austin.  There’s good transportation there, nice airport, land is not as pricey as up in Dallas, and the weather less “iffy” than down on the Gulf around Houston.

 

I’m going out on a limb here, but Disney announcing a new park would make sense over the next year, or so for a number of strategic reasons:

• The interest rates for big projects may never get much lower than it is now. 

• The price of land has been stagnant in many parts of Texas (down at 2003 prices nationally) so that’s one major cost to consider.

• Politically, it would be a slam dunk since fair-haired Rick is already running for the White House, you can bet his administration would been over backwards to help Disney – plus it would be a capper for him politically in his “What I have done for Texas” PowerPoint’s.

• The Texas economy is already leading much of the rest of the country so investment risk would be lower.

• And…in terms of local/regional visitors, the combined population of Dallas and Houston, both within driving distance from Austin, is somewhere over 6.5 million in the Dallas Metroplex and another 6.2 million in Houston….there’s almost 13-million.

• Now toss in Austin/Round Rock (1.8 million) and San Antonio (2.2 mil) and you come up with…

• 16.2 million potential visitors, which means the population density is almost as good as for the original Disney Land.

Mind you, I’m not saying they will make any announcement, but intuitively it seems to me that if anyone really wanted to prove the recession was over and that good times were just ahead, an announcement by Disney of a new US park anywhere would be about as good an indicator as you could find.

 

Sometimes, a short-term hiccup in planned cash flows can be overcome with a bold new vision.  I don’t think anyone would question that and I think it Walt were still alive, he’d be putting down bets about here.

 

Thanks to the liberalized use of “eminent domain” putting the land together shouldn’t be that difficult….but whether Disney is run by visionaries or accountants is what’s on the table.  If interest rates begin to climb (and go up more than half a percent, or so without Disney announcing a vision) I guess we’ll have a hint which faction won.

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Less than amusement:  7 people were injured this weekend at the Cedar Point amusement park in Ohio when the log flume ride malfunctioned.

 

And a woman was killed after falling out of the roller-coaster at Six Flags Texas Friday night.

 

Power of the Purse?

Don’t have second-source on this, but here’s some interesting blowback reported by Reader Rick from up in the Dallas area:

 

“Waiters are getting Trayvoned. At restaurants some black people come in, eat, leave no tip with note “No justice, no tip.” Happened to my son THURSDAY night at a 5 star restaurant in Dallas. “

 

Of course there are also lots of white people who also don’t tip based on race but it strikes me as one of those “anyone who stiffs the help is wrong” kinda things.  Bad manners on either side.

 

Coming for Your DNA

Reader Michael, who worries about such things, says buried in the latest Obama HIV initiative is a plan to get DNA samples of everyone in the country.  Or, at least those under 65.

 

Which is interesting, since people over 65 might actual remember the Constitution and the promise years ago that your “Social Security Number wouldn’t never be used as a form of National Identification.”  Yeah, uh-huh, you bet.

 

Lab Notes

One other lab leftover:  Did you see the UK Mail’s report on the biggest virus ever found on earth has been spotted?  And yes….it may have come from (you’re gonna love this…) Mars!

 

OK, that might explain men…we’ll be looking for the Venusian equivalent next…

 

Sure seems like it would fit with the Velikovsky spin-off notion of Venus arriving, ripping up Mars and planting Earth, though…

 

Write when you get rich…

George Ure (george at ure dot net)

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Here are some useful ways to spend your money…

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I don’t know if you’re old enough to remember the early days of advertising, and this maybe goes back to the days when man was not yet fully immersed in online media, but in the early days of rock ‘n roll advertisers often used the “mystery promotion” which involved doing advertising related to a particular date or place.

 

“Stay tuned to the super – 610 because this weekend we’ll…” And there would be somebody interrupting preventing the message from being complete.  Those kinds of promotions on radio increased average quarter hours and TSLs; time spent listening.

 

It’s a classic advertising ploy and one that can often be used in order to develop buzz around an upcoming event, especially if the event is a brand-new one and has no track record to otherwise attract interest.

 

If I told you “Be at the corner of Main Street and Willard Avenue at 10 o’clock Saturday because I’ll be giving away money…” You might be in being there.

 

A more complete disclosure about what my intent was, on the other hand, might keep you away. “Be at the corner of Main Street and Willard Avenue at 10 AM Saturday because I’ll be giving away three cents.” You see how some of the excitement, some of the mystery went away?  Classic American hype.

 

So now what we’ll do, to kick off an otherwise boring Thursday summer workday, is we’re going to combine some good old-fashioned advertising hype with the shortwave radio mystery stations that broadcast nothing more than numbers.

 

What has come to our attention (courtesy of reader Ryan), is a most curious set of YouTube videos which begin with the phrase “how to pronounce…”

 

The first one I found was “How to pronounce 77.” all it says is that “something is going to happen and 77 days.” I have no doubt that it will, since the sun has a high statistical probability of coming up on that day.

 

In the exciting “how to pronounce 76” the assertion is made “I’ve been trying to tell you something for 11783 days. Something is going to happen in 76 days.“

 

“I’m awake now, things are clearing up I’m not saying the words now. something is going to happen and 75 days.“

 

“I’ve got a minute, let me tell you what I think is going on. Something is going to happen and 74 days.”

 

“Tensions between the districts has spiked in the last few months. Something is going to happen and 73 days.”

 

“You can see it in the markets. Everyone is ready for a storm. Something is going to happen and 72 days.“

 

“They’re singing a new song in the streets of the zone. Something is going to happen and 71 days.”

 

“I have plenty of information to keep me company.

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I’ve been doing research since returning from our conference up in the Northeast about the details underlying Big Data.  This is scarier stuff than I ever imagined and it has already led to a world where people can be targeted for either failure to report income or spending that is unusual – or both.

 

Yes, picture a world when a government near you can inspect literally every aspect of you income and spending to see if things are within “acceptable norms” and if not?  Something serious to begin considering.

 

The prospect of living in a society where everyone is constantly under a real-time audit may seem absurd, but I can tell you how it’s being done and how to write the code to do it.

 

So that’s coming up for Peoplenomics subscribers and as a kind of lead-in to that we’ll do an update tomorrow on Digital Tulips – those upstart digital currencies.

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A number of my acquaintances have in the past chided me (even called me a fool) for reporting every single dime of income I have and paying tax on it.  Not even trying to use available tools to “structure” a low tax situation because those can become contentious and any tax money saved in the short-term can come around and bite in the long-term both in terms of tax counsel and then, if not successfully defended, back taxes and penalties.

 

All of which was proven more or less right yesterday when a source told me they data files exist on every American and now, as data is being linked in (even if in meta data form) that can begin to sketch out you personal cash flow statement.

 

Example:  If the sum of your checking account checks plus your credit card charges equals more than the reported income on your most recent tax filing, you might become “interesting” in the world of Big Data since such arithmetic is trivial and instant.

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I’m sure one of our readers down in Ecuador (yes, you, Bruce) will send me a “Ha! Told you so, Ure!” but I’m not yet prepared to abandon America yet, although living in a country where cash flow outlier people can be targeted is, admittedly, a whole other kind of “police state.”

 

And maybe even that label isn’t quite right.  After all, tax laws are on the books, incomes are easily tracked, expenses are easily tallied…but what becomes interesting is how government approaches the problem of squeezing money out of us turnips.

 

To be sure, such a system could just automatically, once per month deduct taxes due, but that wouldn’t be any fun, would it?

 

In a world where there are no jobs (negative job growth in actual goods production/manufacturing) we need jobs, even if they are government jobs. 

 

Consequently, as the new data tools arise, rather than automate the taking of a government cut of our labors directly, a system of bureaucracy and – for extreme cases, jurisprudence and prison, can be maintained as well – ensuring almost unlimited employment opportunities in government.

 

Well, like I said….digital tulips tomorrow and deeper discussion of the mechanics of how this works on Saturday but even if you don’t like paying taxes (*and I don’t particularly enjoy giving away 30% either) the systems are being cobbled up now that will facilitate real-time financial monitoring of all Americans.

 

You know all those “FEMA camps” being supposedly built in America?  What IF such camps were where people who lied about their incomes (as outed by their spending records) were going to be put which the big switch is turned on and enforcement using the computers begins on a massive level?

 

I’m starting to idly think about converting myself into a corporation and offshoring myself.  Maybe have a corporate development center in East Texas, but move all banking and hard assets out.  But, of course, even that doesn’t work.

 

Remember Cyprus?  Offshore banks seem to be worse than our own.  And besides, the US authorities claim 10-years of  authority to collect taxes from expats even if you make it out the exits.  Not to mention there goes Medicare and Social Security income, too.

 

So how to play it?  I’ve thought about moving back onto a serious offshore sailboat, but DHS marine patrols have gone nuts…and in states like Washington which have decriminalized marijuana use, the feds are still enforcing draconian weed laws which (Whoa!  is that a roach?) allows for confiscation of boats or whatever.

 

Government confiscations of cash almost never work out for the little guy, either.  It’s a very asymmetric relationship.

 

In the end, we may all be forced into a kind of governmental “honesty” by the evolution of Big Data.  But what’s scary is the logic which says it’s all “legal” because tax laws and such are on the books already.

 

As my source pointed out: ” ‘Bout the only thing you can do is move further back in the woods.”  We only have a block to go before services end already…not even cell phone coverage…

 

The haunting question from all this? 

 

Can a government-run surveillance society – where “honesty” is computer-monitored  really be considered a “free” society?

 

Proponents of Big Data answer “Of course!”  They wrap it up in a flag and with a side order of anti-terrorism. 

 

Proponents of a Constitutionally protected right to privacy, unreasonable search and seizure, and other antiquated notions (including me) disagree.

 

Social maps, cross references to all major purchases, and a real-time view of everything you spend:  The fact is you’ve already been digitized.  Right down to keying in what food you eat in those grocery store discount card programs.

 

All that remains to be seen is how “Honesty enforcement” is rolled out.  Just a little more CAT-6 cable and a terrorism event is all that’s needed and almost sure to come.

 

Related Read

See the Frontline page about “Two American Families” if you missed it.

 

Says tipster Charles: read a bit.

 

I second that and scroll down to the comments section and read the first entry from Mikeguru completely.  Very good perspective on things.

 

And speaking of which, tipster Anthony says Paul Craig Roberts discussion of how the corpsncrooks have seized power is worth a read, too.

 

Something in the Air?

Maybe this is related to HAARP being off the air, or maybe it’s just how the stars have lined up this week… But whatever the cause a number of readers have been reporting trolls, outbursts among former sane people, and all kinds of odd behaviors of late.  Like since Saturday. 

 

Seems like something may have slipped but not sure what.  If you notice an uptick in people acting crazy, though, please let me know.

 

(Spouses don’t count…looking more at the general weirdness levels.)

 

Eight Second Ride, Dept.

A sure sign of my aging is that I have no interest in jumping out of an airplane in what skydivers call the “Horny Gorilla Exit” and then trying to ride the back of a partner in free-fall like a cowboy on a bull in the arena.

 

Which is why my son’s latest videoed adventure on YouTube is so odd.

 

I will admit, I was impresses to see the clenched fist/open hands being used for fine vertical speed adjustments…and his break-away and landing (at the end) was good.

 

He’s coming up on 50-jumps now, packs his own gear, and is quite accomplished for how long he’s been at this. 

 

I just wish he’d taken up something just a bit more sane:  Tightrope-walking the Grand Canyon or catching bullets in his teeth…

 

The Inventive Cat & Product Engineering Course

Our friend Bill (who sends in lots of cool observations about Life) noticed the reaction of Zeus the chicken/cat to the Roomba yesterday:

 

“FYI I snipped your little piece about the Robot Vacuum, with flowery credit added too I may say, and sent it around to some of my friends who have cats.  All agreed, the idea of a Robot Cat Stalking Toy is a big winner.  A million dollar idea.  Now if I only had some financial backing and the know how to start a business I would be rich, and so would you…. “

Well, holder, Newt:  Let’s run the numbers on this:  Traditionally the inventor’s piece of the action is 2% of sales price.  The rest goes into manufacturing.

 

Elaine’s figured that there are about 80-million cats in the USA, but as a marker, unless it’s as good as a pet rock, you’re only talking about 5% of the market buying…so that would be 4-million units.

 

Since both Bill and I want to make $2-million each on this, that means we need $4-million in royalties at 2%…which means a top line of $200-million.

 

Which means our price point needs to be (200-mil/4-mil units) or $50.

 

Now, if you haven’t done business with Big Box stories, you need to know that the BOM (bill of materials) for a product needs to be less than 33% or the retail price and 30% is even better.  That way, the retailer can mark up 40% (or more) and make money to cover their costs (shelf space and inventory and portion of SG&A on their side).

 

Which means our price out of China (delivered here) needs to be $16.66 and then we only have a 1-2 year window.  Set aside $50K for plastic mold costs…yikes!

 

Seems like too much work to me.  How about instead I reveal that when Elaine’s not roboting, I use one of these to keep Zeus entertained:

 

Syma S109G Apache AH-64 3.5-Channels Mini Indoor Helicopter  $21 bucks and no lead time.   A bit of thread and a 1″ round styro ball optional. 

 

Make sure you have the external load endorsement for rotorcraft in your logbook.

Deer Us!

Yes, I may be an idiot when it comes to deer control, figures reader Dave:

 

“George,  on the height of your deer fence – be aware that a standing deer can jump 6′ and a running one can clear a 10′ fence.  Hope that 18” addition is enough!

Hmmm…another reader (Roberta) offers this:

 

“I built my new deer fence last year and it seems to be working- thanks to a guy on YouTube.  He stated that deer can jump upwards, but can’t jump outward at the same time. So what he built would probably be only 5 feet tall if it were vertical, but since it is angled outwards it freaks the deer out. It has worked great for me so far. But I’ll still be replacing the dwarf orchard it protects, due to Japanese beetles. Back to the drawing board…”

Bill in California has an electrifying idea:

 

“Deer fences need to be at least 8’ tall to keep out the deer and other 4 legged critters or just to keep out the deer, electric fence with strips of aluminum foil with peanut butter on the alu foil.  Deer lick the peanut butter, get shocked leave fence alone and the garden.  This was told to me by an ag agent in TN as being the best way to deer proof a garden after the deer thanked my for their garden smorgasbord of over 100 x100 in size and all were 6” plus in height peas, corn and the list goes on….”

 

Someone else mentioned “blood packets” which some county ag offices have. They leave a smell of blood which the deer think is a predator kill, and so they won’t come near.

 

And says another Bill, t’ain’t just deer you will have problems with.  Raccoons are a nightmare, too:

 

“George,   In view of Weatherford’s “Parker County Peach Festival” last weekend, here’s my collision with Mother Nature..  

 

Score: 8 to 1

In view of Weatherford’s “Parker County Peach Festival” this weekend, the late frost caught most peach trees in bloom….

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