We launch into a new series of articles – ideal for first timers who have been denied the opportunity to make money with money before in life. Getting started in the market isn’t difficult, but when you’re retired and on Social Security…how does that work? We are about to find out. After the charts and … Read More

Normally, I wouldn’t begin with an “I told you so…” But this is a BIGGY. Because it’s a splendid example of how you can sit out in the backwoods of East Texas and figure out things long before the rest of the world. In the beginning, there was Social Media. It sounded like fun, although … Read More

I was sitting in the sun room one afternoon last week and it dawned on me that I didn’t really need to have as many radios as I have. And since my BroInLaw was eyeing the aircraft receiver monitoring Ft. Worth Center which is (to Elaine’s dismay) sitting a counter in the kitchen, I offered … Read More

No, it is not posting more inane crap on FB. No, it is not wasting time on Hollywood crap dressed as news. No, it is not recounting your weekend adventures, nor bragging about the size of your hangover or conquests of the weekend. And no, it is not about wishing that you were able to … Read More

A long-time reader, who we will call Steve, sent me a note this weekend that I’d get a real kick out of looking into the flat earth theories of one Edward Hendrie. Per his note, the author has a book on Amazon that makes a “case” for the world being flat. See The Greatest Lie … Read More

Yes, it’s like a casino. But why my kids are more inclined to buy a lotto ticket, have an M-Life card and visit Las Vegas, when there’s a casino of sorts that opens every trading day with much fanfare and bell-ringing, is beyond me. Even more to the point, the odds are better at the … Read More

Average workweek wages and average hours worked has always been one of my favorite doodles when tryng to sort through the “goodness” of employment reports. And it makes no difference whether the headline number is rolling around, positive or negative. The Federal Reserve database (FRED) has both series available – which makes a look at … Read More

There are some damn-fine reasons to mark off a few minutes on a “summer” Friday morning chat to talk for a few minutes about prepping and batteries. I can speak with some authority because my name somehow shows up on some patents related to battery state-of-charge instruments. On the surface, this is no big deal, … Read More

The first big story of the morning is that the European Central Bank held interest rates unchanged. “Monetary policy decisions 2 June 2016 At today’s meeting, which was held in Vienna, the Governing Council of the ECB decided that the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending … Read More

I don’t know if you have read any of Joseph Farrell’s books. They cover a wide range of topics but mainly center on the lingering after-effects of World War II. Specifically, there is a never-totally-disproven notion that World War II didn’t really end as history books proclaim. This goes well beyond the reports that the … Read More

This may sound like a “dog ate my homework” excuse, but on my latest trip to the eye doc, it was discovered that the eye pressure had dropped to a worrisome 5 – it should have been up around 12-20 at this stage.  As the eye doc explained, it’s sot of like having a flat … Read More

Just in is the closely watched S&P Housing report: The 20 city average was reported up 0.9% which is better than the 0.7% consensus. And with this, the Dow futures are up 40. Off to the eye doc… A House Flipping Tale I thought I’d pass on a fine example of someone being “late to … Read More

Better early than late, I guess. In 1983 I was pioneering computer data over radio – just 10 years early. And in 2003 when we bought this place in the Outback, a fair number of our friends thought I was nuts. (They were right, but that’s not the point.)  Instead, I was just 10-years early. … Read More