W.O.E.S. (World On Edge, Soon) – Mow Man

Friday wrap-ups are easy to write these days. You start with a list of the week’s major events.  Then you close your eyes and just sort of “see it” as a cartoon. “What would today look like with a hit of windowpane in the Ovaltine when I was a kid?” This ain’t Hanna-Barbera, but you’ll … Read More

Amazon Proves It: Consumers Done — ATR: YAB in Works

Great to see the “signs and portents” lining up.  And with a nod to Andy, indeed the world is right on schedule. Like one of those childhood puzzles, where you had to slide boards with holes in them so a marble could drop through, we have arrived where holes are aligning now and the “through-drop” is … Read More

City-States in the Cross-Hairs

Last week we gave Peoplenomics readers a first look at our book Downsizing.  Today, a follow-up chapter. This one deals where to live and we go through a lot of choices. Key thing is the logic and seeing how the modern city-states work and how states are slowly having their powers diluted through local option … Read More

Martket Roulette: Small Biz Steady, Tariff Tantrum, Uprisers

The early futures today were…what’s the word?  Confused about where to head next. Seasonality: One possibility is that the rally will be back from break in a minute and will stampede higher toward Labor Day – a traditional “late summer high” pattern. Fundamentals:  Somewhat stable, which could telegraph sideways for a while.  This morning, the NFIB … Read More

ShopTalk Sunday: Old Man, Hot Welds, and a Rack

NOT that kind of rack; listen up old men. Today we’re walking through how Mr. Ure slapped together some primer-coated solar rack extensions — in the kind of heat that’d melt a possum’s tail. If you’ve ever had to work in blistering temps but couldn’t wait on weather, there are some field-tested hints here to … Read More

Holidazed

With the Downsizing book done this week (download it as a .PDF here), we’re thinking it’s time for serious snoozing. A few headlines (spoiler: the world is still nuts) and the outlook from the Wax Witch for what’s ahead, we plan on digging in to non-destructive pillow-testing More for Subscribers ||| Master Index 2018 to Present … Read More

Fourth for Fools, City-State’s Rise, Working the Cold Snap

If you slept in this morning brothers and sisters, here’s the embarrassing question few have the gumption to ask:  “Why do you work harder for others than you do for yourself?” The most precious resource we have is time.  We’re all here as “little gods in training” trying to figure out how we’re going to manage … Read More

Inflationary Vote Comimg, Jobs Land, Charged Body Weekend

TL;DR?  (Too Long; Didn’t Read?)  We’re going to make it easy on you, buba. Not a corporate PowerPoint.  But straight Joe Friday – “Just the facts, ma’am…” Inflation’s Coming Developer Trump’s “big bountiful bill” – if you hadn’t figured it – is all based on a developer’s best friend: inflation. Leverage, leverage, leverage. There are … Read More

A Zipper-Gripper Market and Book Release

“A zipper-gripper? Really?” Yeah, really. Because when markets start making that nervous metallic skreee sound — the kind where the handle’s caught halfway up and the teeth aren’t quite aligning — it’s not a bad time to ask whether someone’s about to get… well, you know. (R-17? “Screwed!) The ChartPack this week? Let’s just say … Read More

One JOLT or Two? WalMart Unbreaks, Fourth Checklist

Top of the IIQ pile today we have reader Big Al Brown who is asking the only question that matters to some of us: “Per my Brainamp at closing today. 02/19/2025 = 52758.04 06/30/2025 = 53104.54 Dow still lagging but the other two are way up. Do you think it is valid intraweek? Do you … Read More

Web Woes Worsen, Nukes Ahoy?

Remember my book “Broken Web” from back in 2012?  I had no idea when it would show up, exactly. Nor did I have any idea which of multiple threat vectors would be “the one that got us.” Then I got a note from my AI stack: “You’re not alone in facing issues with Walmart’s online … Read More

ShopTalk Sunday: Bad Water – Poisoning America?

Ham Radio Note First:   This is Day 2 of Summer Field Day – one of the two times a year when ham radio types take to the field and pretend the balloons have gone up or thh world, in some other way, have gone over the edge into the gridless abyss.  Field Day rules are … Read More