Making:  Ah.  Another weekend arrives.  And with it, the chance to get out to the shop and get some Make! on. Don’t ask me why, but this weekend I happened to be looking at Craigslist and I noticed that where were a lot of cheap ovens for sale in our area.  One could get a used electric … Read More

This is getting to be a lot like fishing.  I mean, with apologies to Robert Mueller, the markets are where the fishing is much better. But, even at the “best spot on the lake” sometimes you just sit in the boat, take a bite of sandwich, wolf-down more coffee and…..wait. The Dow, S&P, and NASDAQ are off recent … Read More

Financial Mindset:  Here’s a terrible secret that most people aren’t aware of: Nearly 100 percent of the time, you are either a) making money or b) spending money.  Even while sleeping. That’s because there is still the HVAC, a light on somewhere, and even those ubiquitous “wall warts” sucking down small but measureable amounts of … Read More

Hmmm… not sure if the (lazy) mainstream media is willing to tackle some stories because they involve math, but this morning we run out some numbers to settle the question. Depending on party, and whether you like the teach of Apprentice, or the Sage of Omaha, we’ll see who puts what kind of returns on … Read More

Please don’t take this as another attack on former president Obama, but the Federal government has a serious “clean hands problem” leftover from his time on Pennsylvania Avenue. If it were only the matter of the FBI’s mishandling of the purported Russia story – which nearly a year on still has only produced irrelevant process charges … Read More

Reader Input Request (RIR):  As you know, I have started working on the periodic updates and upgrades planned for UrbanSurvival. Just by being here, you’re already a highly esteemed member of our Board of Directors. In order to make sure we continue to deliver a quality product, please take the time to send an email … Read More

We are fast approaching that part January where we have been eyeing a confluence of events in our charts, channels, technical indicators, and entrails of small animals, where a change of winds will be worked out. Specifically, now that Bitcoin has reached our $16,279 target level (and then some), we could be set for a … Read More

Personal Performance:  A word this morning about one of the most important tasks I go through on Monday morning.  I “score” my weekend. Sometimes, even the commies get things (partly) right, you know.  Take the late Chairman Mao. Before we get into the “scoring” part, a refresher on “criticism, self-criticism” from Wikipedia: “A struggle session … Read More

We’ve been trying to figure out what our “Next Adventure” will be and honestly, it turns out to be a lot harder to nail down than we ever thought. We can live virtually anywhere, but that doesn’t help.  Because we have a very specific set of criteria…and it makes for an interesting exploration asking “What … Read More

What we have today is the “target-rich environment” for investigation, introspection, and investment.  There are so many pieces in play, it’s hard to know where to start. This being Friday, though, let’s get the little (but important) items off the list first: You will recall our target level from our Elliott Wave spreadsheet modeler for … Read More

Communications: Forget Specter/Meltdown for a minute.  And, if you’re a Mac, Android, or Linux user, stick around – you may get some jollies. Because this morning I’ll tell you the tale of tracking down a miserable bug in Windows 10 that I spent much of my “down time” working on over the holidays.  Try 12-hours … Read More

Of course, the “offishul” job report doesn’t come until this time tomorrow.  But already, we have two indicators out to consider.  The first of which is the Challenger Job Cuts Report.  If you’ve been booing president Trump, might want to keep reading… “CHICAGO, January 4, 2017 – U.S.-based employers announced 32,423 job cuts in the … Read More

Prepping:  Last weekend was SKN – Straight Key Night – in ham radio circles.  I had gotten everything ready for the event – moved equipment around, rewired the antenna switching, moved power, control lines and more.  Everything seemed set… But, as soon as I fired up the old Gonset GSB-100, the room began to get a … Read More