Other than Political Distractions? Try These…

Forget the BS the MSM is putting out today.  There’s no election is sight and the news cycles are dominated by either Tropical Leftover Barry stories or the ongoing political absurdity that will drive any rational person to grab the remote.  Reruns of The Nanny are more interesting…

This morning, we’re going to talk practical and sensible, unlike our politically-crazed peers.  Instead of getting worked up over nothing actionable, we’re going to stick with nose on the grindstone, chase the _(money)_ bag practical and leave the world of hype aside.

Are You Investing In Yourself?

I’m guessing you’re sick and tired of the political BS the country has descended into.  Since there’s no election, anywhere in sight, I mean, like, why bother?  How about we use this “time of great distractions” to kick some ass and rock our personal lives?

By this measure, there are really only a handful of stories that matter and 99% of the media have either missed these or just aren’t trying to help the people we all serve.  Let’s roll through a few things that matter.  And are actionable…

This is Amazon Prime Day

And in retailing, that’s a biggie.  Retail sales data tomorrow, notwithstanding.  I’ve already $200-bucks worth of things we need,. like a small dorm fridge for the ‘guest room/gym.’

Today’s Prime Day Tool Deals just about ensure you won’t get anything productive done today.  Not to mention that your click-finger may need to be sprayed with coolant now and then.  You have our permission to shop because it’s one way you can…

Increase Your Productivity

Been meaning to mention something I ran across in the book “Machine Shop Secrets” and it  deserves to be burned into your memory right next to our “Everything is a Business Model” axiom.

It’s simply this:

“Turn Personal Time into Machine Time.”

This can change your when implemented.  As a core philosophy it’s really damn good.  People, especially men, tend to focus on things in serial fashion.  But if you have the right assortment of machines and tools (like computers), you become a maestro of Life.  You choreograph machines.  The more you work ‘in concert’ with them, the faster you get things done.

Give you an example:  I type fast.  You get to occasional typo because I compose at 70+ WPM and check as I go.  My outputting as a writer is (for a 1,100 word column) about 16-minutes of work.  Double that for link insertion and sips of coffee.  Toss in a poddy break, too…

I put fingers to keyboard for 90-minutes, tops.  And it only happens with high reliability because of the tools I use.

Which applies to economics, making money, being a high energy/high output person how?

Understand Life is about the same length for all of us.  So, what are the ‘cheats?  One of the biggest is turn personal time into machine time.

My processor is fast, and the SSD screams.  For a change-up there’s a real clicking mechanical keyboard.  And when output sags, I’m two clicks from DragonSpeaking Professional.  It doesn’t get used much, but for editing a book?  Hell yes.  Have Dragon read it back and listen to how your voice (as written) sounds when spoken out loud…because so many people sub-volcalize when they read.  Helps style.

Turn Personal Time Into Machine Time. 

Same thing in the shop:  Elaine wanted some footstools.  Whipped out two of them in a half hour.  Reason?  Tools, Tools, Tools! Supplies, Supplies.   Table saw, chop saw, belt sander, central shop vac, and all the drill bits used regularly go into a Hitachi impact driver/drill with a 4X over-sized battery.  BANG!  Out come the projects.  (Witnesses call my work pace maniacal – but I’m just focused on keeping the machines working.

Even mowing the lawn, I’ve been able to knock 15-minutes off the task by continuously focusing on “Is the blade cutting right now?”  If you keep your tools making chips (metalworking), or making sawdust (wood shop), cutting grass (in the yard),.or laying down output on a ‘puter, you can’t help but awe people.

When it’s game on, getting The Grind right means having a tool engaged at all times – including your brain.  (Manic mental self-discipline revealed here, isn’t it?)

Do Elaine and I use a lot more Amazon than most people?  Why hell yeah we do. We’re willing to pay the slightly higher price for goods (due to shipping) because on the back-end, I can take care of things so fast, it’ll make your head spin.

Will I pay $10-bucks more for a bag or three of potting soil than if I drove into town?  Sure.  But that’s two hours of “Personal Machine” (me) time that I can work on projects around here or for a consulting client.

So to mention Amazon as ‘news?’  Well, over the course of the next year this first little ‘news item‘ can save you many personal time DAYS worth of driving, parking and fart-around time that doesn’t make chips, clicks, or sawdust..

High output people focus on results not how we get there. Output is the measurement of Life.

Next really useful news story?

The Market is Going Up

This is a huge story where the mass media have missed the elephant in front of their eyes.  Last week, remember there were a bevvy of stories about how the “national debt has ballooned up” to historic levels?  Duh.

Where the MainStreamMedia screwed the pooch was trying to blame Trump.  Completely muffed it.

As we said at the time, all spending originates in the House of Representatives.  Trump’s just spending what he’s told to implement by the budget moguls of the House who in turn get their orders from the K Street Mafia.  Who in turn have turned lobbying into an extortion racket with political favors the currency..

So where the REAL story?

Go look at the Fed H.6 Money stocks measure.  Says in the most recent 90-day window (table 2) that the annualized rate of increase for M1 (the most narrow of money measures, cash and demand accounts) has been screaming up at 6.1% rate.

What’s more, as the ‘money wave was coming’ you can see the annualized rate to the end of May on the 90-day printing of M1 was an astounding 11/4% annualized.  Yes, student at the back of the class with your hand up, this is why the market is going up.  There’s so damn much money sloshing into the system things HAVE to go Up.  It spills into the market.

In the Saturday Peoplenomics subscriber report, we ran out the annualized rate on the most recent weekly change.  Over 9% annualized,

Translation?  The Fed still has the pedal to the metal.  And as long as this continues, we have no reason to expect anything other than money will be slosh over into markets. Which is likely to mean long positions ought to scream upward toward our late August top window and maybe beyond.

If you want to see the future, all you need to do is know where to look to see how much of a ‘thumb on the scales’ the Fed is applying.  Today, it’s a sack of concrete, not just a primary digit, or two.

The late Marty Zweig said it best:  “You can’t fight the Fed.”  Our rewrite of that view is something like “Go with the flow and roll in the dough…”  but it’s hard to beat “You can’t fight the Fed.”

Empire State Manufacturing

Courtesy of the NY Fed:

” The headline general business conditions index climbed out of negative territory, rising thirteen points to 4.3. New orders were little changed, and shipments increased. Unfilled orders and inventories continued to move lower, while delivery times were longer. The employment index remained negative, falling to its lowest level in nearly three years. “

Badda-bing!  After the data, Dow futures up 52.

Useful Items

Is this a harbinger of a strong Retail Sales report tomorrow morning? Citigroup profit beats estimates on gains in consumer lending.

Yet another reason we have been focusing on sustainable food production is evidenced in Food Shortage Warnings Begin As Tropical Storm Barry Rips Through America’s Heartland. The charts in Saturday’s Peoplenomics report explain why.

While the trade talks are running like sap in winter, What to Make of China’s Economic Slowdown: CEO Daily, offers Fortune.  A view echoed in the NY Time’s China’s Economic Growth Hits 27-Year Low as Trade War Stings.

Echoing in the South Bay as Peter Thiel Slams “Treasonous” Google For Choosing China Over US Military.

If you followed the later episodes of Designated Survivor, you’ll find it interesting that Codebreaker Alan Turing Will Be on Britain’s New 50-Pound Currency.

Thought this was pretty interesting: Why We Love Advice Columns, According to Psychologists.  A fair bit of gobbledygook but our conclusion is people are just generally more weak-willed, lazy, and unsure of themselves (as in stupid) than they’d admit.

Trump Bash of the day?  Theresa May: Trump’s ‘go home’ remark to congresswomen ‘completely unacceptable’ reports the BBC.  Who cares about a b ashing Brit?

Tulips Are Dying!  Digital ones, anyway:  Bitcoin is down to $10,210 at press time.  Dream on, but at least tulips were semi-edible.  Bitcoin is just an anti-environment energy waste supporting mental masturbation.  But there’s several “born every minute” as Barnum didn’t say… But today, people don’t know who Joseph Bessimer was…

Moron the ‘morrow!