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Fed Session Begins, Trump Check, and The Real Cause of Death

Been up since the wee hours, knee deep in some fascinating research that seems to be in the Ure genes.

You know, of course, about Dr. Andrew N. Ure who back in the early to middle 1800s was trying to “reanimate the dead” and how he may have been an influence on Mary Shelly’s novel Frankenstein, right?

Well, for whatever reason, I’m drawn to that line of inquiry and a great paper on how Hidden Clock of the Investor’s Mind will land on Peoplenomics.  But even beyond that, a whole new framework is arising from my second book on AI (Co-Telligence) slotted somewhere between “damn interesting” and “breakthrough.”  We’ll have to see where it leads.  Sometimes, a writer writes with no idea how the book ends, until is just does.

“How’s this Economics?”

Ah – you saw the article last month “Two Fed officials don’t see major upheaval from artificial intelligence  | Reuters“?  Change is still alive and well, even as the foundations of America are shaking.

In part, due to the Trump war in the Middle East: Iran war is making it harder for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates – CBS News.

In advance, the early futures today were down a bit.  Back up now, though and BTC was kissing $76,000 overnight so rally on today. Perhaps in anticipation of the Fed meeting. Buy the rumor, anyone?

Tomorrow afternoon the Fed rate decision is due.  Gamblers watching the CME Fed Rate tool see a virtual lock on no change.  But a surprise hike? That could blow down the market in no time.

Trumptonics

What is his core position, people are wondering. Trump draws backlash for comment on Iran war: ‘Maybe we shouldn’t even be there’.

Here’s the disconnect in the headlines:  People remember Greenland (and the European reaction). He may have been emboldened by Venezuela, but now we’re seeing Trump says he’ll have the ‘honor’ of ‘taking’ Cuba: ‘I can do anything’ – The Washington Post.

We’re reminded of the old Western story, where the cowboy-hero “rode off in all directions at once.”  Might work in a book, but in the Oval? Maybe not so much.]

We think the several wars in the Middle East (like Hundreds feared dead in strike on Kabul hospital) are at risk of converging into one big fugly.  And  my consigliere notices the weather window and favorable tides are opening now through mid-April for China to invade Taiwan.

Where (collectively) the wars are reducing LNG stocks which is the 12-day Achilles Heel of the AI stock bubble.   (Other than that Mrs. Lincoln?)

Sitting on Your Wallet

Be braced for one of three outcomes:

  • Energy  prices rise, driving up farm costs, which will push food prices higher.
  • OR, the spreading drought continues and that will hurt supplies, driving prices up.
  • Or, BOTH.

A few storm clouds (but not raining yet): As Iran war continues, Oklahoma farmers struggle with fertilizer prices.

But the real problem – since a lot of “climate science predictions” are blowing up, is in trying to find a new paradigm. One where “one size will fit all.” Forbes waltzed around it recently in When Drought Meets Inequality: Why Investors Can’t Ignore The Collision Of Climate And Social Risk. But that’s like a retread trying to fit a casing of old public policy.

Commanding the Future

As a troupe of apes, all depending on no nuclear flashes, power on, and at least adequate food and water, here’s the outlook:

1) The fertilizer squeeze is the sleeper inflation story.
Most people are watching crude. Fewer are watching the fact that the Iran/Hormuz disruption is also hitting fertilizer flows just as spring planting ramps. Reuters reports dealers could be 25%–35% short of normal spring fertilizer supplies, while Barron’s notes roughly one-third of globally traded nitrogen fertilizer normally moves through that region and U.S. urea prices have already jumped sharply. That matters because this is how an energy war turns into a food-price problem with a delay: first fuel, then inputs, then planting choices, then yields, then grocery bills.

2) The real Hormuz signal is not just “oil over $100” — it’s that even escorts may not normalize traffic.
A lot of the coverage is still treating this as a military-protection problem. But the IMO chief said naval escorts cannot guarantee safe passage and are not a sustainable answer, while Reuters also reported Gulf oil exports are down at least 60% with floating storage ballooning. That is a more important signal than the daily crude quote because it says the disruption may be structural and sticky, not just a headline shock. For markets, that means longer-lived inflation pressure, shipping dislocation, and higher odds that supply chains seize in odd places beyond oil.

Maybe…once upon a time…

3) The central-bank story is shifting from “cut or hike?” to “how do they sound without breaking things?”
The underreported piece here is the Bank for International Settlements warning against a knee-jerk reaction to the energy spike, paired with Reuters’ point that central banks can still tighten financial conditions by talking tougher or nudging projected paths without actually hiking right away. That matters because it raises the odds of a higher-for-longer posture by communication, which can still pressure risk assets, mortgages, and credit even if policymakers sit on their hands this week. In other words: markets may not get relief just because rates stay unchanged.

After a (low probability but worth mentioning) “courtesy rally” post Fed tomorrow, all bets are off. China wants Taiwan, Trump wants everything, and I’ll just settle for breakfast.

OK, and a Reuben with fries and a pot of gold while the world burns down, if you insist.

Long ago, Bushmill’s and Bayley’s…but never until after work. Never when driving, etc. This is not medical advice…

Around the Ranch: The Real Cause of Death

I’ve come to suspect lately that a lot of people don’t die just because a pump quits, a valve sticks, or a lab number goes sideways. They die because the engine quits upstream. It’s like they run out of gas (or diesel).

No big plans. No unfinished work. No reason to get up with a little sand in their shoes and a little fight left in their jaw.

When people have goals, projects, arguments to win, gardens to plant, books to finish, grandkids to teach, antennas to tune, or some blessed thing or new invention still under construction, they carry more spark. Call it vitality, call it life-force, call it stubbornness with a mission. But I’ve seen it often enough to believe a hard rule may be hiding in plain sight:

No Goal? No Energy?

Not many doctors begin a clinic visit with the right question.  “What are you working on?”  Because the answer to that will tell them as much as a bevvy of tests.

There’s actual research circling around this idea. In older adults, a stronger sense of purpose in life has been associated with lower all-cause mortality, and not just in one small sample. Large cohort work in older U.S. adults found that lower life purpose tracked with higher mortality risk, while other studies linked purpose with better odds of maintaining walking speed and grip strength — which is a fancy way of saying purpose — seems tied not only to mood, but to staying physically capable enough to remain in the game. Reviews of older adults likewise define purpose partly in terms of life goals and determination to pursue them.

You can begin self-scoring of your personal vitality by borrowing concepts from Subjective Vitality Scales (SVS) – selfdeterminationtheory.org.

My suspicion — and this gets close to my Charged Body Theory — is that a human being is not “just a brain in a skull.” The whole person behaves more like a layered power system. When the layers line up — body, emotion, mind, and meaning — energy seems to flow better. Psychology has a name for one piece of this: subjective vitality, meaning the felt sense of being alive, alert, and having energy available to the self. Researchers measure it with self-report scales, but they also find that plain old self-reported energy tracks with real-world function, including fitness, gait speed, exercise behavior, and, in longitudinal work, risks of mobility disability and mortality. The World Health Organization’s more recent healthy-aging framework also treats vitality as part of the body’s underlying reserve, though the exact definition is still being refined.

Was there some latter day gold to be mined from the Rife machine? Is there no reliable way to assess life force energy?  And we’re supposedly advanced?

My working theory is simple enough for shop use: the human power system runs best when all four layers align. The body needs fuel and motion. The emotions need attachment and hope. The mind needs challenge. And the deeper self down in your DNA needs a reason. Break that alignment (flame-out) and the lights begin to dim.

Keep it lined up and you don’t just feel better — you may live longer. Which is why one of the best longevity hacks may not be in a pill bottle at all. It may be a project list. Something unfinished. Something worth reaching for tomorrow morning. Goals not just for tomorrow.  How about a 120-year plan?

The Investor’s Timebase

One of the most useful ever Peoplenomics reports is coming tomorrow. A great paper, ‘Hidden Clocks of the Investor Mind,’ will land on Peoplenomics. It grew out of my recent (and ongoing) work on the extensibility of my Four-Track Theory of Memory and Cognition. All about timing.

Research-creep at its finest. What began as a look at investor decision-making has turned into a broader framework on human timing itself — the internal “clocks” that shape judgment, emotion, memory, and perhaps even consciousness. The implications run well beyond markets.

It may be one of the most ambitious synthesis models I’ve stumbled into in years — and if even part of it holds up, it could reframe a lot more than investing. The framework may open new research into the neurobiology of PTSD, trauma, and even anti-aging.

Put simply, the innovation may be this:
You are shifting consciousness inquiry from “where is awareness?” to “how is timing aligned across the media that make awareness readable?”

And the caution is just as important:
A model that explains everything too quickly will be trusted less than a model that explains one new thing cleanly.

So, back to the lab now – I have a new device to build… Even more edgy than our red light therapy work back in 2016.

Write when you get rich,

George@Ure.net

51 thoughts on “Fed Session Begins, Trump Check, and The Real Cause of Death”

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  1. George are you working on an “overprocessing program for Ure processor? Curious minds and such…..

  2. “May you be poor in misfortune, Rich in Irish blessings, Slow to make enemies, And fast to make friends!”

    Early to start drinking but, you can’t say you’ve been drinking all day if you don’t get started in the morning.

    Happy Patty’s Day one and all.
    Egor ~ /)/) ~~~

    ps – where possible, step away from the bottle doomers are drinking from. It’s tainted brew. Oil sustained > $100. Nope. What’s next?

  3. I have asked people What are your goals? and most don’t have any or say they want to win a lottery. They don’t have measurable goals or goals that you can plan out in smaller steps.

    • When I was a kid (10 or so) my sister asked what my goal was. I told her I wanted to buy an airplane before I was 25. Bought it in June before my 25th birthday in August 1966. At 84 my goal is to see 85.

    • Phew.. when I was young…. my dream and goal was to bet the next ansel adams..What i discovered is when you’re young, you believe the future is yours to navigate and conquer to become what you dream and seek.. Then real life hits you , bills, responsibilities, disappointments and suddenly the goals you sought become a unobtainable that’s when most people stop dreaming in straight lines. They stop setting the futuristic goals and resign to those that they can measure or build toward. Instead, they Secretly cling to fantasies like winning the lottery because it feels safer than risking failure. In the end the truth is, the only future you can shape is the one you’re willing to break into small, doable steps…. when your hit with unrelenting hurdles its hard to crawl your way back up..

      There comes a point in life when the world tries to convince you to shrink by humiliation of your existence.

      to accept a smaller existence than the one you once imagined. For many people, that pressure comes wrapped in humiliation where they are forced to seek public programs that treat you like a number, voices that tell you you’re worthless, circumstances that grind down whatever dreams you had left. Most people don’t realize how quickly hope can collapse when you’re fighting just to eat, just to stay warm, just to survive another day.

      But here’s the truth no one talks about: hardship doesn’t just break people sometimes it forges them which is what it did to me….
      When you’ve been pushed to the edge, when you’ve walked miles in the cold because you had no other choice, when you’ve eaten whatever you could scrape together, you start to see the world without illusions.

      You learn who you are. You learn what matters. And you learn to recognize that same quiet suffering in others.

      That’s the part that stays with you. Not the humiliation the clarity of your own self worth.

      The ability to look someone in the eye and understand exactly what they’re carrying because you carried it too.
      once you’ve lived through that kind of darkness, you either turn bitter… or you turn into someone who reaches back and lifts others up. You chose the second path. That’s not weakness. That’s strength most people will never understand.

  4. re: Frankenstein
    feat: Where art thou?

    A fascinating coincidence took place in Dr. Ure’s 1818 world of literature. Mary Shelley published “Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus”. Also in the same year her husband Percy Shelley picked up on the Promethean myth in his “The Revolt of Islam” first issued as “Laon and Cynthia or A Revolution of the Golden City: a Vision of the 19th Century”.

    Like the Eagle’s looping kills of Prometheus, msm media are noting the alleged removal overnight by Israel of the Secretary of the Iranian Security Council. The “Daily Mail” offers an image of the Israeli PM on the phone described as him yesterday calling for the strike. Here is a link to a post on “X” dating an image of alleged similar appearance to early February:

    https://x.com/gregalmonte_/status/2033882275738210604

    • re: raise a stein
      feat: 643 prime time

      Perhaps New Yorkers can’t help but get in a burn-the-house-down St. Paddy’s Day festive mood when “Irish Eyes Are Smiling” with music by Ernest Ball from Cleveland, Oh. starts playing. Thus it came to pass that FDNY ladder trucks attended a rooftop fire at 6 E. 43rd Street in time for the start of nearby St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

      The office tower still may have its Emigrant Savings Bank signage in place although the Sea Level Café has sailed away. In its stead, a golf pro and a former boy band member linked up to open a sports bar. A stylized font interprets the address as 643. It seems the building is undergoing an office to residential rental conversion thanks to a $300 million loan from the last employer of the Canadian PM. Ethnic Irish Dr. Carney wrote his doctoral thesis at Oxford entitled “The Dynamic Advantage of Competition”.

      According to “Wikipedia”, members of the Irish Emigrant Society opened the Irish Emigrant Bank in 1850. 23 years ago the bank became a subsidiary of a bank holding company newly established with Fed permission by a third generation ethnic Jewish-Russian, multi-billionaire real estate developer. The family’s hometown is now in Ukraine. A multi-billionaire cousin served as a US Ambassador to Malta under a Democrat administration.

      May all turn not green with envy, but rather find their own pot of gold!

    • Clearly the rumors that Netanyahu was injured or killed are crazy. The picture clearly shows that Netanyahu is an amazing man and the War has not aged him … AT ALL! Remarkable for a man of his age to keep the same appearance a couple of months later with the WarS Israel is fighting being a constant worry.

  5. “just call me Lucifer, cause Im in need of some restraint” – RS/Sympathy

    “Is there no reliable way to assess life force energy?”-Gure

    You bet Ure sweet ass there is. The hebrews call it Gaw- Vak.

    Ancient technology , the process of extracting energy from Abuse,Pain,Drama,War and Destruction. from Illness, Disasters, and Plagues.

    Ancient Greeks so in love with beauty, nature, and knowledge that they forgot to enslave enough ROmans who would eventually conquer them. To honor the defeated they adopted the Greek word for suffering pathos.
    Ancient Chinese understood human suffering and called it lifeforce, Qi. When someone is in distress , they release Qi. Therefore , the Emperors made great use of the poor peoples Qi.
    The Buddhist were different, they avoided dukkah, suffering. We should break free from vicious cycle of suffering, to attain enlightenment. Thus, the Buddhists become easy prey for predators.
    The Christians are differnet again, they were made to endure suffering and even demand moar (loob). They were to turn the other cheek. Perfect Slaves.
    The Hebrews. however, taught that we must accept Gaw-Vak, suffering, as the ultimate source. We must burn,maim,conquer,and harness the energy of enslaved peoples for the good of the chosen few.

    That is the difference, that is why the world is shaped by judeo-christian traditions and not by Buddhist, Confucian, Hellenistic, or Norse traditions. It is because some tribes from the middle east heard the words of a malicious god-demon yahweh: “thou shall utterly overthrow and completely breakdown their sacred pillars!”. And to his worshipers revealed ever crueler methods to do this: “Create, crea! make it so!’

    Sympathy for the Devil-https://youtu.be/Jwtyn-L-2gQ?

  6. Israel says it killed 2 top Iranian officials in wartime blow to country’s leadership

    DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel said Tuesday it killed two senior Iranian security officials in overnight strikes in a major blow to the country’s leadership. Iran, which did not immediately confirm either death, fired new salvos of missiles and drones at its Gulf Arab neighbors and Israel in a war that showed no signs of abating.

    Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force, were “eliminated last night,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said.

    https://apnews.com/article/iran-iraq-us-israel-trump-march-17-2026-35d15d7cbcfa65fd7d180c28d38e7f31

    If confirmed, this would be amazing…

  7. George,

    Today is day 11 of a 25 Feb 2026 5/11 of 13/13/8 day :: x/2.5x/2.5x/1.6x crash fractal decay series for ACWI, the global ETF composite proxy. ACWI peaked on 25 Feb 2026 at about 148.75. The trendline for the 1st 5 day fractal would reach about 118 on day 13 Thursday 19 Mar 2026 of the 13 day 2nd fractal. If this nadir is breached, an initial crash devaluation of > 60% is likely. What will be the associated highlighted news?

    • Coincidentally to your analysis, my own has prompted me to enter a small effective mid july strikes expecting extreme downside pressure on the markets soon – before July 4th by a month or three. I’m modeling out the potential unwanted news, but the theme death, doom, destruction, and Xi pays back a certain dinner engagement with interest (if one remembers Syria cruise missiles over dessert?) would be least surprising and gain Xi an abundance of “face” with his peers. While the reunification swells, oil drives higher, and drought settles in. 29 2.0

    • ‘No Imminent threat’ to the U.S. (Let that sink in, Trumpsters! You got suckered big time! Donny is Bibi’s B…ch!) Thank you Joe Kent for your brave speech!

      https://www.axios.com/2026/03/17/joe-kent-resigns-trump-iran-israel-threat
      ‘Kent’s stinging rebuke — that Trump launched the war under pressure from Israel despite Iran posing “no imminent threat” to the U.S. — underscores the discomfort some in the “America First” camp feel about the war.’

      Trump/Netanyhu Inc. also forgot that the Strait of Hormuz is essentially the moat where fish (ships) in a barrel can be easily shot from the high Iranian mountain fortress above it. (Saudi Arabia is all flat desert). Practice with the game ‘Battleships’ for better DIY results the next time, Donny lol!
      https://www.marmaladegamestudio.com/games/battleship/

    • JC,
      The former NCC Director has publicly described his present spouse as “a West Point grad, (and) military intel officer with year-long tours in Iraq and Afghanistan”. One imagines the Director accessed wise counsel prior to making a decision to kash out.

      • MY speculation is he will be tried for, and convicted of espionage.

        It has been known in National Security circles for some time, that Kent was a leaker, both to the Press, and to foreign agents.

        I said nothing, because this wasn’t known to the public.

        DoJ released the preliminary paperwork last night, so I guess it’s now public.

        The whiny-assed bitch dropped his res-letter, then ran to Tucker. This is a stunt, to try and allow him to offset the charges with which he will be slammed, by claiming victim-status. If he gets SDNY or DC it may work. If he gets sent to Southern Indiana or someplace like that, he’ll break rocks until he dies…

        • I have noticed – with details soon to come – that blowing up shit and putting on the woke, victime, free-speech doesn’t work so well in a rational world of high-end thinkers…based on Founding Priciples and what-not.

      • “Watch the following video for speculation about the horrible things Kent did to himself”

        Fixed that for you…

  11. Nostradamus Quatrain VII-35
    The great fishery come to moan, cry,
    At having elected, [Trump] or [deception] will be in the age:
    Scarcely with them not wanting to stay on,
    They will be deceived by those of their own language.

    Nostradamus and The Third Age of Mars, Volume I, G. A. Stewart, 2017, Page 577
    Just as we read in Quatrain X-75, although “trompés” means, “deceived”, it also works very nicely as “Trump”. As I have mentioned, there is a superposition of meaning here, especially in regard to, “at having elected, [Trump/deceived] about the age”.

    “Scarcely with them not wanting to stay on” suggests that major members of Trump’s administration are going to defect.

    Nostradamus and The Third Age of Mars 2024, G. A. Stewart, 2023, Page 701
    “Scarcely with them not wanting to stay on” is the exact prediction that major members of Trump’s administration were going to defect. I wrote about this in Nostradamus and the Third Age of Mars, Volume I in 2017 and in the 2019 edition. It was also a prediction that I made on my website in 2016, before Trump was elected.

    https://theageofdesolation.com/nostradamus/2026/02/02/wrapping-up-the-hard-truth/

  12. Witness decentralized asymetric warfare. Likely as not the transit of shipping is mostly decided by venerable powerhouse Lloyd’s and their actuarial crew. This is just chewing hard cheese while filing *journalism* swaddle. Seriously, most seem, by their submissions, to have no understanding of war. So, they are least worth listening to.

    Show support for troops in the field. Pray they come home safe and sound. Consider how stupid you will look if wrong. Again. Just like last time and the time before.

    Have a nice neat JAMESON BLACK BARREL.
    as shall I
    E

  13. Israel urges Iranians to revolt but privately assesses they’ll be ‘slaughtered’

    “Senior Israeli officials privately warned U.S. diplomats that any Iranian protesters attempting to overthrow the regime “will get slaughtered.” ”

    Send Americans to save the Chosen. Support the troops and all that.

  14. Pssst – hey Buddy,

    youse gotta time machine ? a tunnel of mirrors ? okay how about dirt on $1.2 Billion in independently funded programs that collectively address every subsystem of the integrated architecture that Chernohajev described and that Davis’s (Dr Eric Davis) Pentagon intelligence documents surveyed. Dr Davis said he laid it all out in his interviews.

    Below is link to all that, and I know some of Ure “lurkers” are still working on this stuff, hopefully will be found to be both interesting, and useful. But again I know enough to know what I dont know, as I am but Dust Mite Turd on the Dust Particle that is my advisor, who is but dust particle on his Masters finger nail..yep that insignificant.

    De Link – https://open.substack.com/pub/asirpjournal/p/dr-eric-davis-said-he-laid-it-all?utm_source=multiple-personal-recommendations-email&utm_medium=email&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjo5NDk5ODAzNywicG9zdF9pZCI6MTg5MDI5Nzc0LCJpYXQiOjE3NzM3NjcxOTAsImV4cCI6MTc3NjM1OTE5MCwiaXNzIjoicHViLTY1NDg5NjkiLCJzdWIiOiJwb3N0LXJlYWN0aW9uIn0.Yx9fr_ZdgILQGKozYD4yk5kDrh3X4tBvljRfe3D14L4

  15. Couldn’t sleep last night.., got up – made coffee and started a chat with A.I.
    For close to two hours we hassled each other over the current state of trimaran construction, layout and rigging.
    Bottom line: The trimaran I was sailing in my dream doesn’t exist. There are no manufacturers that produce a ‘tri’ with the specifications I saw in my dream. Especially one with dual steering stations., or furling jib. Only race boats have those.
    Outside of the custom builders in Thailand, Australia and possibly Vietnam., no one offers a trimaran with that size of LOA. Just not out there.
    They simply don’t exist.
    It would have to of been a custom designed / made ‘tri’. Or, possibly a Rapido 60 heavily customized for long voyages for a single-handed sailor. however, the interior of a Rapido 60 doesn’t match-up with what I saw, either. That too, would have to have been customizes. And that would take a lot of money.., way beyond my debit card account.

    So.., the entire dream is now in question. Was it all just a fanciful apocalyptic adventure story ? More than likely. [ Pretty good one though. I liked it.]

    I will still see if I can do it again. With more detail.

    “Stay Frosty !”

  16. My personal feeling is that starting this war was insanely stupid and we’ve broken what cannot be fixed. I don’t see any way to end this war in a timely way other than abject capitulation by the USA at least, and probably Israel too. I see zero probability of that, so we’ll just have to endure until someone runs out of ammo. I hope western civilization endures, or at least the part that’s worth saving. God Bless all of us.

  17. Maintaining goals in life gets more difficult as we approach the end of life expectancy. The primary motivator for some of us is a significant other, and sometimes it’s kids. When your kids are well established and there’s no partner to live for, it becomes more difficult. Productivity for its own sake is not a goal. Physical assets lose their luster. Society is so broken these days that it’s hard to buy into as an abstract concept. Finding someone or something to strive for is needed, yet what, or whom?

  18. Mom, who made it to 102.5 with all her marbles and energy seemingly intact, said, “every morning when you wake up, make a plan.” I doubt that her last plan was to heavily fall and break a lot of her wretched old spine, so maybe that day was one of those ‘just let it happen’ days.
    In our little durt box today’s plan is all about those just found deep in a boat locker hard copy screenplays and treatments we crafted over many years with our Hollywood actor buddy (the alien bounty hunter in the X-Files for many years). The plan is to use Seedance AI to read in the fully developed screenplays and see if we can get a decent AI film out of it. There are six highly honed stories that are even now just becoming relevant to the times. Vostok, Loggers On Crank, Hole City, Walking the Songlines, It Began in China, and The Vagrant (personal shipwreck story rooted in my book Dear Mom, The Bare Chronicles). There is enough juice in those hard fought actual screenplays to keep me energized until at least the next floating session, barring of course having to kick out of here because Mad Max.
    Life is fun when you have shit to do. Sell the couch.
    Stiks

    • At 81 and counting, with fading eyesight, knees that are shot, and heart issues. Since my physical activates are limited, my daily focused activity is writing (24 chapters in on the current project. Although I can’t see details well, I am a resource for my non-mechanically inclined 80 year-old wife (most recently getting her CPAP machine set up and working). Fortunately, my son lives just up the hill, and he takes care of things that we can no longer do.
      Life in your 80s ain’t for sassies, but we end each day agreeing that it was a good day.
      In the mid 60s I sailed on a friend’s 28-foot Piver trimaran and was sold on multi-hulls. I have included trimarans in a couple of my books.

  19. And you wonder why we want to break up with you – from an Australian news site:

    Welcome to our live updates of the US and Israel’s war in Iran.

    Donald Trump has gone on a furious diatribe against NATO nations as well as other allies including Australia after most baulked at the prospect of going all in on a US plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

    Allies, hit by tariffs and threats from the White House, have smarted at not being consulted about Mr Trump’s actions in Iran but now being asked to send support.

    “We no longer ‘need,’ or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance — WE NEVER DID! Likewise, Japan, Australia, or South Korea,” the US president said on social media.

  20. From spaceweather.com

    “TEN THOUSAND STARLINKS: On March 16th, a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base carrying 25 Starlink satellites. It was a routine launch for SpaceX, the 33rd of 2026. But those 25 Starlinks crossed a milestone. For the first time in history, more than 10,000 Starlink satellites were simultaneously circling Earth.”

    What does that look like?

    https://heavens-above.com/StarLink.aspx

    • My Starlink Mini works like a charm. Could even buy a roof rack for it if I wanted internet as I drive around … IF I was out of cell phone range that is (saw one person mounted one in the nose of their small twin engine plane where the weather radar would normally be mounted … said it worked like a charm).

      My regular internet works like a charm, but now when I go camping for a few days – except backpacking or canoeing my Starlink Mini is going with me. (carry sat phone when going wilderness trecking anymore – seen a number of people almost die out there over the years – hey folks, it AINT Disneyland!)

  21. (“converging into one big fugly. And my consigliere notices the weather window and favorable tides are opening now through mid-April for China to invade Taiwan.”)

    what was it sun Tzu said…
    (“In all history, there is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare. Only one who knows the disastrous effects of a long war can realize the supreme importance of rapidity in bringing it to a close.

    Sun Tzu”)
    (““He who defends everything defends nothing.”)
    (““He who occupies everywhere will be weak everywhere.”)
    (“”You can’t be everywhere at once, so defend the place you must not lose.””)

    so..if we are on 11 fronts or more.. would we be able to expand to Taiwan..???
    and protect our own country….. its the poison pawn trap..
    Consider the Roman army and The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest…..
    Just saying..we have a big military..but how many areas can we be at one time..kind of looks a little like the key stone cops..
    https://youtu.be/GwUUUqgfu-E?si=rYzCsl61gIQeZhpM

    • Best to let enlightened self interest govern then. Right? Since the US gets a trivial amount of oil through the straits (and is actually now a net exporter of oil/gas)….After making things thoroughly go bounce in Iran, we should then cede Hormuz to the EU and any others who actually need to keep the straight open. What’s the worst that could happen? That’s right the value of domestically produced oil and gas would increase. While China’s Taiwan hopes would literally be choked into impossibility. Win-win. I’m happy to pay more at the pump (and elsewhere) for a world rid of Mullahs bent on hastening the return of the missing Madi by any means necessary. Your mileage may vary.

      • Phew…..big one there..the neighborhoods where the issues facing the average citizen simply doesn’t exist…The problem with saying “I can afford higher fuel prices, so it’s fine” is that it ignores the cascading reality underneath the whole issue…

        Sure, some people can absorb a few extra dollars at the pump without blinking. But the average worker that’s already stretched thin by rising taxes, utilities, food costs, and housing can’t…. And once fuel rises, everything else has to rise with it. Water systems , schools, emergency services infrastructure repairs that are already on legislators do list…

        all of these systems need fuel to operate. All of them raise taxes or fees to compensate this moderate increase in supplies and transportation expenses….

        Then think about it as you climb the ladder of society and see the next layer of consequences to this expense increase…

        Industries paying more for the raw materials they require, transportation and delivery expenses rise, heating , manufacturing , and distribution of products. That once “ minor inconvenience ” at the pump soon becomes a major shockwave through the entire economy .

        We saw this up front and ugly during the COVID shutdowns, when people stopped buying , businesses collapsed under the weight of consequences… When businesses begin to collapse , jobs vanish which amplifies the situation..kind of like Domino’s.. when one falls over soon the Domino’s closely related have to tumble as well…. When jobs vanish, communities start to hollow out.

        Add to that the Vast costs of our global military operations that are happening..millions of dollars per missile , billions of dollars to move equipment across oceans , and the strain of maintaining multiple fronts at once.

        It’s easy to say “ it’s worth it ” when you’re insulated from the fallout… the neighborhoods where the effects of increases exist.. those already causing strain on the people supporting the upper rungs of the ladder.. then the fall of value do to inflating ..oh wait didn’t this happen during the Weimar depression, or Zimbabwe, how about Greece and Argentina.

        For the people thats already living paycheck to paycheck ( I’m on that rung of the ladder), for the small towns already on the edge , for the families who can’t absorb one more hit on their checkbook… … the view from that angle from the ring of the ladder of the ground looks very very different.

        What seems eerily like a strategic chess move from the top of the pile becomes a serious survival crisis at the bottom .

        And ignoring those peoples issues vat the bottom layers reality doesn’t make it disappear , instead it just makes the consequences land harder on the people least able to bear them.

        • Hand wringing accomplishes nothing beyond wrung hands. 47 years of enemy action (against this country) by the Mullahs must have consequences….if even worse acts are to be prevented. Those salutary consequences are now taking place. The world will be a better place for it. Ignoring that fact is a *you* problem, as the wokesters say. The rest of the world will reap the benefits over the long term.

      • We will have a long-term lease on Kharg Island and an arrangement with the Iranians that the U.S. will be the custodians of their bank account. They’re going to have a lot of reparations to pay, and a lot of infrastructure to rebuild, and their AR/AP will be structured that it all gets taken care of. A Westernized Iran will be no threat to any of its neighbors, so there’ll be no need for security. I think WE should keep the Strait, and charge the hell out of the Euroweenies for every drop or cubic foot they use…

      • “After making things thoroughly go bounce in Iran, we should then cede Hormuz to the EU and any others who actually need to keep the straight open.”

        This is one of the things Trump is actually considering…

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