I like wagering. I go to casinos and play penny slots…and I usually walk out even or ahead. (That’s before counting the value of free drinks, too.) The thing about casinos is not the odds so much as the timing. You can get into a bad trade, for example, but by deftly timing your exit … Read More

I don’t honestly know where to slot this note. It could be prepping (because it works with many project items), or cleaning (because it is), or whether it’s just good practice in the ultimate prepper shop. So put it where you will, it’s a short discussion. As part of our mega antenna project, I needed … Read More

We focus on two major economic exercises (in futility) around here.  One is making money in the stock market with our rather unorthodox approach.  The other is a bit of futuring based on understanding the consequences of contemporary economic data. This morning we are pleased to report some major harmony is evolving between these two … Read More

Hot off the press release from Case Shiller, S&P, CoreLogic: NEW YORK, October 25, 2016 – S&P Dow Jones Indices today released the latest results for the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices. Data for August 2016 shows that home prices continued their rise across the country over the last … Read More

No, we can’t afford it, but we have some friends and colleagues in that league. And this is the time of year they go snowbirding. The idea is pretty simple, really. In the summertime, the weather is never so good as it is in the Northeast, Great Lakes, or Northwest parts of the country. The … Read More

While we wait for tomorrow’s S&P 500 Housing Report, and we suffer through a bunch of Fed-Speak speeches between now and then, there is really only one major story pressing the marketing higher this morning. That’s the proposed merger of Time Warner with AT&T. In a CNBC interview, AT&T chairman Randall Stephenson argues the point … Read More

You ever wake up on a Monday morning and the only thing on your mind is food??? That’s me today.  Und zo…. Although we have house guests (and I am getting a lot of serious work out of derr Major) not too many people, guests or Elaine, seem anxious to get up and hit the … Read More

Regardless of age, with luck you will have to face the two toughest questions of retirement:  When to actually retire and then how to find the “right” place to live. Thanks to a Florida reader, this week we look at the problem as an email exchange with the reader where we kick around some of … Read More

Step 1. Pour yourself a big glass of water. Step 2. Down 2 ibuprofen or aspirin. Step 3. Three hits of Boost Oxygen. Step 4. Continue reading. The U.S. Department of “Cozy” Step-wise: 1.Over here (on Real Clear Politics) is a story about Megyn Kelly going after DNC whozit Donna Brazile for alleged question leaking. … Read More

Some discussion about the joys of Structured Thinking seems like a fitting end to the week. Been chatting back and forth with a long-time reader in what will turn into a Peoplenomics report this week: The Topic is Retirement: Should I Go or Should I stay? Got my tax bill advance in the mail this … Read More

Yeah – it’s all a distraction. As we explained in our Peoplenomics.com report Wednesday, we have much bigger fish to fry, not the least is which is the potential for nuclear war over the U.S. ongoing efforts to change out the government in an independent country against whom we have not “declared war.” The debate … Read More

If everything went according to plan, my buddy the retired Major from Gig Harbor will just be stirring as he and his wife arrived at Uretopia Ranch last night. Last, as always, and now done with kibitzing until past midnight. They’re on a stopover enroute to a medical conference in SoCal next week. And we … Read More

Want something to worry about – I mean other than the big “Hillary Out” in the Enquirer (on news stands today)? We do a lot of modeling and test-fitting of bits of news – then let the mind wander to see what might be on the horizon. This morning we offer a shockingly comprehensive “piece-fit” … Read More