The End of “Flat-Land” News

Advances in data summarization and presentation has outstripped the average human’s ability to live  effectively with “Flat-Land News.” That is, to admit that most of what passes for “news” is wholly incomplete, lacking of context and riddle with fake “forced-choice” presentation.  Because it falsely distills complex events into bi-polar choicing that is most often agenda-driven. … Read More

Retail Fails and Trump’s ADHD Micromangement Woes

Although the Trump-haters are out in force – trying to drum up another phony impeachment drive – there and  still several much more important stories in play this morning, so let’s use brain cells instead of our adrenals, shall we? Wuhan Scorecard Death toll is up to to 1,384 and the confirmed cases (which China … Read More

Breaking: Consumer Prices & the Wuhan Willies

Consumer Prices are just out from thge Labor Department: “The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.1 percent in January on a seasonally adjusted basis, after rising 0.2 percent in December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 2.5 percent before … Read More

Anagnorisis & the Wuhan Workout

As the death toll worldwide continues to mount – passing 1,116 on 45,204 confirmed – , we eye the next set of personal escalations.  This morning a look at what we’ve done already that you may wish to implement ahead of further events. After, some morsels of data – and perhaps a Celebration of Lunation … Read More

Markets In Denial – Goldman Hypes – (MoR) Pending

You have permission to be confused.  Not just a little bit, but totally  totally awed by how much denial, misdirectioin, and partial truth is afoot in the world.  Too early to label as the opening round of the Decline of Civilization, but the indicators are murky, at best.  Could be… On the Plus Side MarketWatch had … Read More

First Contact? Global Idiocy Contagious?

The monumental spread of Digital Mental Disorders  (DMDs) has never been so apparent as it is this morning.  Because while we have potentially  monumental news of possible First Contact with other worlds, the balance of the news flow remains as pathetic as last week’s. Contact? On the arXiv.org website, we have the abstract of a … Read More

Prepping: Fix-It Shop Basics (Part I)

OK, suppose the worst happens:  the lights go out – the Internet has been attacked – but where you live, dedicated worker are getting the power on a couple of hours per day. You have been able to scrape-by – supplementing some wholly inadequate stored foods with a few fresh veggies from your quickly-planted garden. … Read More

100-Year Toaster: Ch. 16

As we wrap up, we explore solutions using the Global Commons model. As suggested in a phone call this week by my consigliere. Who also contributes some dandy insights into the spread of Wuhan Virus at the top of this morning’s report. 724+ dead now. Also up is Podcast #8 for subscribers by clicking here. … Read More

5W Friday: Work, Wuhan, Witness, and Woo-Woo

The W’s have it this morning.  Yeah – It’s a real cluster-something down at the far end of the alphabet… 1W: Work The Labor Department is just out with: Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 225,000 in January, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 3.6 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported … Read More

Job Cuts Soar – Modern Plague Spreads

Breaking:  Challenger Jobs Cuts soar to an 11-month high: Job cuts announced by U.S.-based employers jumped 106%, from December’s total of 32,843 to 67,735, the highest monthly total since February 2019, according to a report released Thursday from global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. Last month’s total is … Read More

Tax Time Preps

You can’t live 70+ years – filing tax returns for 57 years – and not learn a thing or three about how to make tax-time easier. Since most of the major brokerage firms will have their data ready for import into  tax software programs in a week or two, I sat down and started the … Read More

Dems Blow Iowa + Taking Down Canada

“If they can run a Caucus, how can they run a Country?  – G. Ure None Won Iowa The first BPL (Big Pant Load) of the morning hails from Iowa.  Remember, we framed last night’s Iowa Caucuses as a “Statewide IQ test.” Well, the whole left-side of the state failed.  As of this morning, the … Read More

Market’s Monday Rally But Then What?

Doggonit!  If I had just looked at the market charts, instead of working in the shop this weekend, I would have seen that the Chiefs were going to win.  Because?  (For those of us not hooked on Vegas-style T&A half-time shows, having sourced our own locally…) Investopedia has a good article on the “Super Bowl … Read More