Short Pays Off, CFNAI, Pope Dope, and an Eastwood Moment

by

Yeah, there’s a lot to cover this morning, but it was looking (earlier) like that “wild-eyed” short position I loaded up on Friday at the close would pay off with a couple of loaded cheeseburgers in the Lunch Money Day Trading Account (LMDTA).

No, I don’t always win, but I also don’t always lose.  This was one of the latter.

CFNAI

It’s the Chicago Fed National Activity Indicator – and by some accounts, it’s a useful, how things are going in the middle of America view – and how “economic progress” under (whoever’s) administration is going.

We like the CFNAI because for the longest time (e.g.>30 years) America’s growth has seemed to be coastal (since coastcentric isn’t a word, yet).  Look where the growth is, and it’s not in the small towns and counties.  More likely to be in the coastal areas.  Pacific Northwest, the Bay, SoCal, NYC and the whole of the northeast.

The CFNAI is like a slowly propagating report on how coastal growth has seeped into the ‘Merican mindset.  Enough of this contexting, though – here’s the data…

“The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) increased to +0.05 in February from –0.54 in January.

  • Production-related indicators contributed +0.02 to the CFNAI in February, up from –0.32 in January.
  • The sales, orders, and inventories category’s contribution to the CFNAI was +0.02 in February, up from –0.12 in January.
  • Employment-related indicators contributed +0.01 to the CFNAI in February, up from –0.02 in January.
  • The personal consumption and housing category made a neutral contribution to the CFNAI in February, up from –0.08 in January.”

We also found last week’s rails report of interest:  Screams to us that the Fed has misjudged inflation and that we stand a greater-than-zero risk of rates going higher before they go lower.  Here’s why I’m thinking this in a nutshell.

“For the first 11 weeks of 2024, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 2,344,887 carloads, down 4.1 percent from the same point last year; and 2,759,413 intermodal units, up 9.0 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 11 weeks of 2024 was 5,104,300 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 2.5 percent compared to last year.”

This suggests to me that China is turning off America as a major source of raw materials, particularly this part:

“Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2023 were coal, down 12,033 carloads, to 55,990; metallic ores and metals, down 903 carloads, to 18,683; and forest products, down 92 carloads, to 8,431.”

On the other hand, last week’s AAR Railtime Indicators report was screaming that consumer goods were still going gangbusters.  When we looked at Port of Los Angeles data, we saw loaded imports were up 63.89%.  And you can’t just chalk all that up to the cross-viaduct rivalry with Long Beach.  They were up 29.4% in the February numbers just out last week, as well.

China’s Leash, Our Balls

Which means?  Well, this is a toughie.  The consumer goods are plain old cheap and on a roll.  Did you catch how Retailers Turn to ‘Extreme Bargains’ to Lure Shoppers as Consumer Spending Underwhelms?  And there’s yet another very well-heeled canary in the coal mine as Gucci’s China shock reverberates across the luxury landscape (fashionnetwork.com).

Not to make you paranoid (though it’s an understandable response!) but I think the Chinese have laid some financial Shao Lin on America here.  Realizing that we have to keep peddling our bonds, the jujitsu (or, with a bow, the aikido move) would be to feed into our largess.  Like cooking more and more food for a morbidly obese fellow, knowing that eventually, the reality of cardiovascular events will catch up.

So here we are, seeing “unexplained inflation” not realizing at a deep, core level that we are gorging the planet’s resources.  While at the other end of those $399 big screen UHD televisions at Amazon, is a country and region which buys our bonds and has plans – over time – to demand payment in kind.

And that’s how they will buy America out from under us.  The examples of their fine points may be seen in their acquisition of Vancouver B.C. which is now 20 percent Chinese and climbing.  At the same time, the number of young Chinese coming in through the leaking Joe border is also skyrocketing.

Thus, we are flipped and in a quickie judgment about in mid-air.  When we land, we’ll find ourselves surrounded with Chinese staging areas all set for the conquest of Greater New China, where the once-great United something-or-other once stood.

The Latest Pope Dope

This is an Easter-shortened trading week.  Which brings us to our annual atheism discussion of Holidays.  See, the financial markets take Good Friday off.  But the Union movement really missed the boat.  Being zealous – and with some number of socialists in the early days – they missed Easter as being a dandy holiday to bag for their collective bargaining deals.  You can thank slow-witted negotiators if you have to work Friday.  But down at Howar’s Church of the Almighty Dollar, no early alarms and sitting in traffic.

Teachers were a little smarter – they do “Spring Break” which allows them to keep God out of the classroom, sleep in, and not have to attend sunrise services.

Which gets us around to His Holiness/Eminence

Not doing so well, health-wise.  Pope skips homily at start of busy Holy Week during Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square.  He’s also got an uprising of sorts, having blessed same-sex marriages. Pope Francis Faces Growing Revolt explains it well.

A rational person (none of whom read this site) might look at this as a simple marketing problem.  Do some polling, come up with a consensus, and go where the majority want.  But, no, if this were a long-term marketing issue, we think a smoother transition path could have been taken.  But, that’s why history is so uneven, after all.  I mean, there’s been an LBGTQ+ segment of the global (religionist) market for…ever.  So, it’s not like there was a deadline to get the new position/product to market.

This is why I skipped Divinity School – that and having my buddy The Major drop out of seminary years ago (so he could marry, do “the family thing”) – made Business School a much better choice.

Religion’s modern problem is that government’s mandatory “collection plate” (taxes) is vertical market competition in social services, and the Pope is stuck right in the middle of it.  Meanwhile, the gender-marketers are going for both religious support and government co-branding, so it’s a real mess to quad-chart or SWOT. Both customer groups (govt. and religion) though supposedly separate (in a former America) seem to be targeting all-comers which makes it all a huge new growth industry, but you knew that.

Remember, though, Pet Rocks were a “growth industry” once, as well, so keep your temper tempered and just enjoy the show.  Popcorn?

Headless Headlines and Booming Bulletins

As we told you to expect, Vlad Putin thinks Ukraine had something to do with the terrorist attack last week.  So, what’s a dictator to do? Putin scrambles to save face after ignoring US warning of ISIS attack as it emerges one terrorist was pictured scoping venue: Two of four suspects plead guilty in court after genital electrocution torture and one being forced to eat his own EAR.

Plus, Vlad also unleashed a large, but so far non-nuclear attack on Kyiv (again): Russian missile briefly enters Polish airspace during massive missile attack on Ukraine.

Out in the WestPac: China bans purchase of Intel and AMD processors, Microsoft Windows for government computers. China going open source?

The Trump Media Industry is still filling us with minutia to ignore: Trump expected in court Monday for hearing on trial date in New York hush money case.

And then there’s Fools in Media:  NBC Journos Melt Down Over Network Hiring Former RNC Chair (thefederalist.com).

And Bitcoin continues under $70K.  But no shortage of hype ( CryptoQuant: Demand for Bitcoin ETF Could Increase as BTC Price Drops) or shortage of worry, either (Bitcoin Price Forecast: This $6.4 billion move could prevent $75k breakout).

Around the Ranch: An “Eastwood Moment”

Remember Inspector Harry Callahan?  Dirty Harry?

Besides his classic movie lines, like “Are you feeling lucky, punk?”  another of his classics came at the end of Magnum Force. Here’s how Clint Eastwood played it:

I had one of those “limit” moments this weekend.

Thank Bitcoin Miners

Strangely, this “Eastwood moment” of mine was all made possible by Bitcoin Miners.  You see, they have put an incredible demand on the computer hardware market.  As a result, we are now seeing a large number of “mining power supplies” coming into the ham radio market.

One of these is the HP SB-1200 DPS 30.  Which, at the right price, can give you a 70-100 amp DC power supply to run ham gear (and even linear amplifiers) for about $30 bucks a pop. They run on 120 or 240V. 100 amps is a screamer!

There are several versions of this, but a good video to “read you in” can be found over here: Server Power Supply – The Cheap Ham Radio Shack Option. (youtube.com).

My problem?

Well, I was able to find a dandy adapter from Parallel Miner:  See their Breakout Board Adapter compatible with HP 1200 watt DPS-1200FB – Parallel Miner.  It was like $15 bucks and worked perfectly.

Where had I gotten into trouble?  Seems my days of soldering parts onto very fine pitch SMD circuit boards may be over.  Because even with a 10.1 inch LED microscope, I was not able to get it right.

Today, I will put things back to “normal” on the supply, but sheesh.  Guess this is what being 75 is all about, huh?  Learning your “new limits” as the hardware abstraction layer of Bone Bag comes up on replacement time, huh?

Not done tinkering – yet, but it was a hard moment to deal with after a lifetime of being able to hack anything.

By the way, these power supplies are good for all kinds of things including new home-brew linear amplifiers:  Check out what a handful of these power supplies can do: BBI Built, 1000amp Supply Built With Dps-1200sb supplies (youtube.com).

I got over my “pain of failure” in advance.  Found a very well maintained TenTec Omni VII transceiver with filters.  Which means easy Morse code work.

There was one smaller victory on the bench, however: a tube-type Hallicrafters SX-146 was brought back to the 1 uV/-108 dbm state of operation…so I’m not ready for a funeral procession, just yet.

Still… “A man’s got to know his limits” is changing and best keep an eye on it. You can almost feel it on Mondays.

Write when you get rich,

George@Ure.net

85 thoughts on “Short Pays Off, CFNAI, Pope Dope, and an Eastwood Moment”

  1. “When we land, we’ll find ourselves surrounded with Chinese staging areas all set for the conquest of Greater New China, where the once-great United something-or-other once stood.”

    Stu had a vivid dream about the Chinese when he was young and living in New York. Chinese troops were marching in lock step down a NY highway.

    Hmm…

    • I had a dream where soldiers would come up to the door seen the dao symbol for peace and tranquility and turned around..
      Not that long ago.. there was a van full of migrants that were working as door to door sales people… one talked my wife into letting him demonstrate the item.. when I got home we had a good talk he noticed the symbol right away and when he started to discuss the quran.. he was shocked I knew .. then when I questioned him on the different sects of islam.. he was a little stumped.. I showed him and explained to him that is why there are like forty thousand christian religions and the same pagan religions etc.. but in the end they all have the same message what lies between them is the way the leaders of the different sects were pushed on their followers to gain the type of society they wanted.. but the message taught is the same without the interpretation of those that started their sect..

  3. Wife went shopping yesterday and was stunned at We Luv Pets to see the dog food isle that is always stocked from floor to ceiling, damn near completely empty. She did manage to get the last 2 bags of the brand we use so, lucky us !!

    She said she asked why the shelves were empty. The employee just said, “We can’t get deliveries.”

    I looked up, “dog food shortage” and sure enough, the chain is broken …

    https://www.rd.com/article/national-pet-food-shortage/

    Ya might wanna go look to see how things are in your area, if you have a fur-buddy. Especially if you’re particular about what ya feed them.

    • “CHEWY (dot) com” is a pretty good shop.

      I’ve been buying from them for a bit over a year. (Friskees 5-oz cans, ‘wet’ cat food in 32-can packs – fortified with “Dino” cat formula vitamin) Auto-shipping with you-adjust interval.

      “Rough Greens” dog vitamins company advises they have a cat formula coming in April.

      • I will check chewey out for beneful to see what they charge for it.. my dog is getting older.. can’t hardly eat hard dog food.. and is fussy if it tastes like something excreted from a cow or horses backside she aint touching it.. and she will look at you with that look.. well if you think its that great go ahead make my day punk LOL

    • Have you walked through CVS lately? There’s lots of shortages , especially if you need a specific brand. Eye drops, vitamins, and bandaides are our latest missing products. Haven’t found what we needed for 2 months. Aldi’s hasn’t had regular ribeye steaks for weeks, only the 1/4 inch thick steaks which I don’t like. I guess people are buying all they see when they find what they want.

      My daughter needed a specific kind of can dog food for her sick dog and couldn’t find any. The vet gave her a free dented can, all they had.

      • And this my felllw homegamers is the symptom of a Hyperinflationary boom. [Not available at any price].

        Got Blockchain? Not Advice do your own homework.
        Do workout a renewable grid down backup to your fossil fueled plan B.

      • And this my fellow homegamers is the symptom of a Hyperinflationary boom. [Not available at any price].

        Got Blockchain? Not Advice do your own homework.
        Do workout a renewable grid down backup to your fossil fueled plan B.

      • what I have noticed Eleanor is that they are eliminating items that they cannot get.. a popular snack cake company.. is a jobber.. the one guy he owns his truck and has to buy what he gets.. the same with the popular potato chip delivery guy.. what he gets you eat or you don’t..
        he and I was talking and he said getting it is tough.. he ordered seven hundred cases for a week order but got seventy.. so he has to extend the other products to keep from having empty holes..
        snapple.. hell the company that markets snapple doesn’t care about it.. so it gets the least desireable spot on the shelf.. that way if they decide oh well we should sell today.. they can fill it if not it doesn’t make a difference.. it isn’t the stores its the manufacturer.. I tried my damdest to get them to sell the product.. even told them I would buy a truck if they would give me a section of the wastelands to call my own.. but they said no.. see in the bigger cities.. they make more money..so those are the ones they cater to.. the outlying areas they could care less over.. the problem isn’t the manufacturer.. its the sales team.. the salesmen are paid not by commission like they use to be.. they are salaried.. just like what happened with the cabinet sales.. a good salesman can make a killing out there.. so if he is making more than the boss.. give him a salary.. doesn’t make any difference if he sells or not..
        so snapple is going bye bye.. great product but who cares enough to sell it..
        because one of the products I love.. I totally offered to take over a quarter of the state.. but I wanted the whole quarter of the state not just the outlying areas.. I told the CEO of the beverage company.. you know I could wear a monkey suit and sell the product.. it sells itself that is why it was number one for so long.. you need to inspire the sales people to sell it.. similar to golden Oreo’s snack packs.. I can get it from MEXICO cheap enough to buy it in the usa I have to get it from NYC and the cost is prohibitive.. then again the bakery is in Mexico..

      • Oh I wanted their whole sales catalogue not just the snapple.. they fail to sell any of their products and they have a great lineup of products to.. seen their shelf space go from forty feet long to four.. even walmart is screwing up.. mostly because the products that are store brand are not made locally.. so they eliminate them.. they cut staff.. and for the longest time didn’t have anyone filling shelves.. they got a new store manager and the shelves are being filled again.. it was a pet peeve of mine..
        If I have to run back to the cooler to get some milk and cream there is a problem..If I have to call customer service to get a checker out to the tills there is a problem.. fourteen tills and no checkers means someone isn’t paying attention to the front end.. if they want a help yourself store self serve self checkout.. then go catalogue and be done with it..duct tape the doors shut order online and pickup..

    • My kids each got an Augason Farms seed vault for Christmas, which they thought was neat (13 varieties, 14000 heirloom seeds, 17 bucks = no-brainer. I couldn’t buy the seeds alone for anywhere close to that. It’s now over $70…)

      I keep about a half-ton of dog and cat food in reserve. Because of this and despite the seed vaults, my kids think I’m nuts. They can’t understand I have no desire to do a Marie Prevost imitation.

      PetSmart acquired Chewy some years back. Chewy sells everything that’s in the PetSmart catalog except live animals, and for 10-40% less than their B&M stores. Every once in a while I’ll see something in short supply, but not usually the stuff I buy. I had my girl on Nutro for years. She had pups and I kept two of her get — raised on Nutro puppy. Purina bought Nutro about five years ago, then started dicking with the formula.

      When this happened, I dropped several hundred bucks (twice!) at Chewy to buy a ~10lb-20lb bag of every “top shelf” dog food they sold. The dogs got a double-elimination round-robin of foods, to see which they liked the best. The ones they didn’t like, I donated to the local pet-rescue and ASPCA. The ones they did, I bought big bags and figured out their consumption.

      The dogs each eat about 20 pounds of kibble per month (I also have a foster/rescue I took in a couple years back.) I purchase three different foods and rotate the dogs’ feed. I get a 40lb and a 50lb bag monthly, an extra bag every other, and store the open bag in sealed totes. The overage is how I built my reserve. Stocking a pantry or root cellar ain’t rocket surgery and doesn’t cost a fortune (yet…) You can’t forget your critters because if you do, when you’re on your last legs, they’ll damnsure not forget you…

      • (“my kids think I’m nuts.”)

        you are not the only one.. I gave each of mine a seed vault a couple of years ago.. in xmas gifts.. I usually give out.. some sort of light.. be the light in someones life.. and a tool or something that could be used.. and a message..
        this year it was t-shirts.. the little light was just the symbol for be the light in someone elses life..
        My kids think that what I see coming is just silly.. that everything is ok.. that the president and his administration has it all under control.. nothing stupid going on at all..no threats to the USA or our citizens.. that nothing is going to happen in our economy.. most of it is my fault to.. I didn’t want them to experience the things I have.. so I did everything I could to keep their lives event free..
        I do have a grinder or two more than I need… I have my favorite ones.. ( wonder mill)
        https://www.thewondermill.com/index.php/module/statics/action/view_listing/page/52
        totally love that one..
        The kids have this thing though.. they do think I am totally miss reading the headlines..

  4. I have an Omni VII.

    Got some bad audio reports.

    Probably the 2 SSB filters discussed in the TT group, beyond me to replace now.

    Using Yaesu FTDX10 now.

    • This one was just serviced by one of the three tt gurus in the world and a couple of parts replaced, new alignment – will be interesting to see how it handles the shipping out here…will keep you posted.
      It’s mainly for the CW and came with three filters and all for $600 inc mic and power

  5. George
    That’s a very interesting video about using server power supplies. I could have some uses for an inexpensive high wattage supply.
    I checked out eBay and yes there is a good supply of new and used units at good prices.
    I also found a seller who offers a breakout adapter board with cables for $10! That would make it super easy to use one of these power supplies. It would eliminate the need to modify the power supply.
    Great tip George!!

    • I went ahead and ordered a breakout board. The one with the cables is temporarily out of stock. There is also many vendors selling these breakout boards which seem to be made by the same company. So the one I am getting cost $11 including tax and shipping. Cables can be purchased separately.
      Last year I purchased a Mean Well SE-600 12 volt 50 amp switching power supply from Digikey. That was $110. By Using a surplus server supply I could have two supplies and a breakout board for the same cost. That would have done the job plus a spare unit. When I get some spare money I will buy one or two of the server supplies.

  6. “This is why I skipped Divinity School –”

    A guy I know went to Divinity School. Apparently all he learned was how to make white candy.

  7. Holy shit Gman, a spinoff business from BTC/BTC mining !?!?!?! Isnt this tale of workbench squinting really a tale of Hypocrisy ?

    Ures HYPOCRISY, why dirty up Ure Soul with anything BTC related ?

    Gone over to the DARK SIDE have we G-Pops ?

    Burned Ure cares away at the Grove this year did ewe? Did you get to participate in the “hunt” while rather queer song The Teddy Bears Picnic, played on the loudspeaker system? hmmmm

    Color me screaming with the FULL MOON – “Screaming With Vengeance”, the world was a manacled place”

    https://youtu.be/fHHBDK-vq0E?si=Il8Jp0oqdO43YHA6

    As Bill originated and Sherlock often quipped – The GAME is afoot, 2knight.

    • No! *Must I explain every moral act to outraged cretins?*

      We call it “recycling.” And it’s also a form of inflation fighting. Because a high amp DC power supply on Amazon typically goes for…oh, you look. I am selflessly filling up my own home with crap instead of some land fill. Can you claim as much?

      • LOL! I can certainly claim as much, though I’m trying to restrain myself. Sadly or otherwise, I don’t currently have a S.O. to restrain me. At this point with Spring almost here, I want to clean things up and store what I have in a more organized way, but that’s unlikely. Server supplies are interesting, but I actually have some high amp supplies from older embedded systems.

      • I can… LOL we have totes full of GOOD CHINA… LOL butter tubs and cottage cheese containers… my favorite story was my great grandpas solid gold Rolex.. it was the family heirloom.. my fathers prized possession.. I put it in a drawer.. then when we were going through a year without an income.. and I was still in a wheelchair.. there was an antique watch collector in our community.. a friend had taken me into town and we stopped by I told him about this old watch.. and he said not even looking at it he would give me five grand if I brought it in.. I went back home went to the drawer to get it.. and in the drawer was toilet paper tubes.. the wife tossed it out thinking it was just an old junky watch LOL LOL… and the grand kids were building castles .. all of the kids have brought over the toys they were afraid their parents would throw away… we found the dora the explorer sticker book the other day.. called the grand daughter whose it was.. and asked her if she wanted it for her girls.. ( we took it away because we had stickers everywhere.. ) she said not on your life.. she would have stickers from one end of the house to another LOL throw it away.. which we did..

      • Temptation get thee behind me! I have a 50 amp astron linear supply that runs the ham shack. I really don’t need another. Switching supplies? Buy two. They are not as long-term reliable as an iron core linear supply. A while back I did get a 50v 3kw server supply for a solid state amplifier I’m going to put together for 6 meters one of these days… a salvaged MOSfet amp module from the old TV4 Larcan transmitter.

  8. Re: a dollars trilogy
    feat: The South Gates

    Folks,
    The Royal Albert Hall on Kensington Gore opening concert before the royal family in 1871 began with a “Biblical Cantata” from Freemason conductor Sir Michael Costa of the Sacred Harmonics. The event closed with Rossini’s “La Gaza Ladra” (The Thieving Magpie) after Queen Victoria had left the building. The latter work apparently more recently appeared at the start of Kubrick’s “Clockwork Orange”. A century later the venerable setting lifted a ban thus allowing Ozzie to bring Ironman to the hall.

    Last week an entertainment company subsidiary to America’s 45th richest person announced that a 1990’s Simpson prediction will be fulfilled. Rappers Cyprus Hill from LA’s South Gate, Ca. will play one night at the Royal Albert this summer along with the London Symphony Orchestra. The group plans to reprise its album “Black Sunday”. It seems their hit single “Insane in the Brain” is a shoo-in for the setlist.

    • Bravo! Bravo – a splendid discography and musicology lovers reprise.

      Why, at this level of high functioning, a concert hall for big name axe must surely be in Winipeg’s future!

      • re: universal font
        feat: roll of the dacia

        George,
        Thank you for allowing me to indulge in my ramblings. Believe it or not, Black Sabbath played the then-new venue here (after Pink Floyd) two months before Ozzie’s Royal Albert Hall show, lol.

        You will be pleased to know that it was a Scotsman whose hobby of studying medieval manuscripts at the British Museum helped formulate the “Johnston” font introduced on the London Underground in 1916. Apparently Mr. Johnston’s inspiration came from the script on Trajan’s Column in Rome dating from 113ad. The original spiral stairway remains solid. However the emperor’s likeness atop the monument gave way to that of St. Peter in 1587 by order of Pope Sixtus V. The column celebrated the Roman emperor having won the Dacian Wars. Dacia was in modern day Romania from the Carpathians to the Black Sea.

        Speaking of Romania, it looks like msm is advising this month of the expansion of a NATO airbase to make it larger than Ramstein. Wiki quotes a 1219 first mention of the area as translating to “village of the Holy King”. Oh, and the President of Romania wishes to be the next Secretary General of NATO?

  9. I am not a market trader of any value, just a little account
    really small,,,, BUT the DWAC stock has made yuge swings up and down since the middle of Jan, and any trader of experience and knowledge could have made a fortune day trading it
    I just buy and hold for now, I am up $1600 on my little 185 shares, today, left the red ink behind as I was in red for a long time, when it hit near bottom I got 60 more @ 15.96
    started my first buy @ 60 shares @ 34.60 got another 25 @ 39.19 over the course of time
    just my little sandbox to play in,,, small taters, but I am having fun
    merger,,, ya baby

    • (“I just buy and hold for now, I am up $1600 on my little 185 shares, “)

      My father insisted I buy some stocks when I was young man.. I did and dam if over the years this stock grew.. I was up and I was down.. but I grew steadily.. it got up to fifteen grand.. the wife in the early nineties said.. hun I think you should sell.. I said nonsense it was the best thing I ever got.. then it plumeted.. and when I sold it.. it was worth like a hundred and fifty bucks.. lesson learned what goes up can go down..

    • Profound Gratitude is the Name of the game.

      a state of mind to be ever mindful of..hell Im grateful everyday I dont have a toothache or headache..

      *Gold already going to a Blockchain with associated NFT’s as da Currency . Other major Commodities to follow soonly.
      *yeah read that again*
      Did someone say organic growth opportunities spinning up around BTC ? No Worries see link to MOAR -Lightning??Ventures Thunderstruck 3.23.24 -click on beehive link when yo get there..Putting Ure money to WORK, so’s You dont have to.

      $100k is short term target BTC. Longterm – will be used by majors to move major amounts .
      * been using coinbase account for CHKing acct past month on Dips I buy, on da Squeezes, be lightening the bal. A CHKing acct that pays you back ! how sweet is that ?

      * All above is NOT financial advice, and may not have ever happened, ever .

      ** Yo, What Check box you be talking about Mr Willis?

  11. Thats so odd that you would post a clip and talk of Clint today. I also had a semi dream state thinking of Mr Eastwood early this morning. I had a dream state thought he would be passing soon. It upset me as hes one of my all time favorite actors. Whata legend. After that I woke up and couldnt sleep any more.
    Then to read here and you also must have had some Clint on your mind. very interesting
    I wonder how many other folks thought of Clint this morning

    George

    • What you call ‘dreams’ is like another life to me with characters I’d known before but under different circumstances; Nevertheless, it’s just like another life to me. However, those episodes fade away too soon after awakening even though I try in vane to remember them. Pleasant dreams to all !!

  12. ‘Dreams’ strange one this morning just as I awoke,,, there was this little imp about 6 inch tall with a spade shape at the end of it’s tail,,,, I smashed him and woke up
    hummm, I never seen one of those before

      • instinct is the only reason I can figure out, as I asked myself the same question, when I was thinking about it , upon waking,,,, like having a snake facing me and I have a shovel, bam, I don’t like snakes
        It was just momentary event , it was there and I smash it and dream time ended. I was awake.
        It was very odd and the only time I have seen one in a dream, that is y I posted .
        https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Imp

        • My mini me.. when his babysitter killed a snake.. I always tell the kids.. don’t kill anything unless it is for protection or for food..
          He was crying ..(he was four) and said Papa can we put it in my bag and save it.. I said no honey it is gone.. well took him to pre school.. when I picked him up and took him back.. he asked the baby sitter.. so are you making a stew from the snake LOL LOL LOL…
          He goes all summer picking up the snakes then gets me to help him relocate them to a place where no one will hurt them LOL LOL

  14. Quote of the Day:
    “As A Trader It’s Not Your Job To Be Right, It Is To Figure Out What Others Will Do”

    Stolen from a ZeroHedge headline.

  15. Looks like Boeing is setting up for a bailout.

    The last time the CEO stepped down was 2019 when Boeing then asked for a bailout but was redirected after the American Rescue plan, “The Senate package includes a $17 billion federal loan program for businesses deemed “critical to maintaining national security.”” And a “carve-out is separate from the $58 billion the Senate package is providing in loans for cargo and passenger airlines…”

    Recall that’s when bailout supporters started parroting, “critical to maintaining national security.” After, plane parts started raining from the skies.

    Who can even keep track?

    And don’t forget Republicans indicated they wouldn’t pass a budget without comprehensive border security.

    And then last Friday, “Democrats and Republicans in the House narrowly passed a $1.2 trillion spending package Friday to fund a majority of the government for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.”

    So that’s that.

  16. “You can thank slow-witted negotiators if you have to work Friday. ”

    I actually don’t know anyone other than Gov workers and school teachers that get Good friday off.. or any of the other holidays.. back in early eighty.. when they were first sending mom from home to work… we use to have sundays off.. then the store went to half days.. and xmas the store was closed.. but after that.. everyone works twenty four seven.. all through the eighties I tried to get the gym I worked out at to stay open over night just so night workers and evening shift workers would be able to enjoy the facility.. it was a no go deal.. today it is open twenty four seven..

  17. The pope’s church scared the living crap out of me at age four when they essentially told me that I was going to hell to burn forever and the hoops I had to jump through to avoid hell were impossible for me! The church violated my inner self even at that tender age. IMHO, churches and religion are not for kids.

    I never forgave them. My mom was devout and thought I should be a priest. What a horrible fate! No way was I going to forego the only real joy and fulfillment of female flesh for the dubious “joy” of wearing a costume and waving my hands around while chanting! I left home at age 17 and vowed never again to sleep under my parents’ roof. I never did. It’s incumbent on each individual to find his own God in his own way.

    If the church is so infallible, why are their rules always changing? The one that they don’t change seems to be about going to hell. The difficulties of avoiding hell are so challenging that at age 13 I just decided that it was impossible, so I might as well just live life as an outcast. Eventually, I found my own inner compass that was stomped on so badly by the external rules of family, church, school, and state.

    • Yes, the externals surely did beat you up. Lemme offer a thought;
      Men who would seek authority over others have a bad character flaw. I’ll not defend them. Mostly, they’re poorly socialized from an early age. The world has a lot of them. They do a LOT of damage. They offend and alienate many people. Some so badly that their wounds never heal.

      > break <

      Now, if I rob a bank at gunpoint and upon leaving, I pause at the door, fire two shots into the ceiling, and holler that I did this in the name of George Bush, and then I escape — do the police issue an alert for the arrest of George Bush?

      Silly point to make a point. God doesn't get the blame for bad guys claiming to be his agents — no matter how "well-intentioned" they claim to be. (And they may face their own comeuppance eventually — but it is not given to us to know.) But it doesn't matter — you're only responsible for you.

      All the hoo-rah, and Krappe, and, yes, evil, done by them is indefensible. Even so, set it aside.

      I can't imagine how sad to go through life Hopeless. So, let me offer this — weak as it may seem. It's called "The A,B,Cs of salvation, it's very simple, and it goes like this:

      Admit (to yourself at least) that you're a sinner. No "better" and no worse than any of us.

      Believe that Jusus was real and was what he claimed.
      (Hard for me — Many questions nag; and won't go away quickly. Some, I still wrestle with. It ain't easy.)

      Confess — report, claim, admit, say, state, witness — pick a word you like– to other people that you've done that. (For we draw strength from each other.)

      A — B — C.

      Simple. Needs no embellishment beyond that.

      If this doesn't offend you, then I have one more very brief comment on the issue.

      I wish you well.

      • Thanks William. I’ve largely found my own way, with some help from specific individuals. I’m not a joiner and don’t understand churches, though they work well for some people. The effort to socialize is emotionally draining, even if sometimes enjoyable to a degree.

        I won’t use the word “sinner”. It’s toxic to me. It feels shaming, and there’s too much free floating shame in the world. I believe it translates to “losing your way”, but in a modern context it implies other things. I will admit I’ve screwed up when I have – no point in deceiving myself. No need to share that beyond the mirror, and no need to involve others unless they were directly hurt by me. Conversely, if I’ve done something right, a quiet inner contentment can exist without being advertised. My intention is to do more good than harm in this life, and enjoy it as best possible while I’m here. Most of us on this site are circling the drain in this incarnation, but we can certainly create and leave value behind for decent people.

        I have only two rules in my life: “Be Kind”, and “Tread Lightly on the Earth”, but I repeat myself. Honoring our Creator is implied.

        • Edgar Cayce said that the definition of sin was to ‘miss the mark.’ Like aiming for the center of the target or the bullseye and missing it.

          Edgar Cayce also said that all sin comes from selfishness, it is the first sin, selfishness, and all others arise from it.

  18. “Pope skips homily…
    He’s also got an uprising of sorts, having blessed same-sex marriages…
    A rational person might look at this as a simple marketing problem. Do some polling, come up with a consensus, and go where the majority want.”

    6%

    60 people out of every thousand…

    That’s been a static number since the Hanging Gardens were still hanging.

    Out of any random thousand humans there will be:

    42 homosexuals,
    2+ celibates
    2 transsexuals/transvestites
    <2 ritual abusers

    Oh, and 12 paedophiles.

    As far as "marketing" goes, I'd guess around 80% of Catholics, worldwide, treat all the above practices except celibacy as deserving of disdain, revulsion, or death, so I'm really not seeing a marketing angle. 'Seems to me that'd be like trying to sell a flag made of toilet-paper to people who're in a tornado…

    The commie in the Vatican cannot change the Word of God, no matter how megalomaniacal he becomes. If he is "adjusting" Church Doctrine to welcome a small segment of society who engage in fringe sexual practices, I wonder if there's a sector in particular whose practice he's trying to legitimize…?

  19. “Out in the WestPac: China bans purchase of Intel and AMD processors, Microsoft Windows for government computers. China going open source?”

    Nope. The Chinese manufacturing model is:

    “If you make stuff in our country, the CCP gets a free license on your entire patent portfolio.”

    The CCP banned Windows on all government computers when Win98SE came out and still had the backdoors in the OS to allow FBI/CIA entry, which the Chinese spook-hackers (and people like Steve Gibson) had found in Win/3, Win95, and Win98. The Chinese wrote their own, first BSD, then Debian, back in the late 1990s, just like our CIA did for secure computers (and later, smartphones. That’s why Obama using his personal Blackberry was made into a big deal.)

    The Chinese couldn’t ban x86/x64 processors because they lacked a viable alternative. I’m not sure there’s a “back door” in a CPU, anyway. ISTM a hard-coded board-level “vulnerability” would be in the physical BIOS or southbridge chips, not the processing chip. Then again, all I did was take actual smart people’s engineering and assemble it to make an occasional buck, so this is just a guess…

    With that said, I’m guessing the CCP opened Intel’s portfolio and built their own fab, and the facility is now “up and running.”

    TSC-who?

    • It seems fairly well confirmed that a version of MINIX with protocol stack is or could be running at ring -2 on Intel systems from Sandy Bridge forward. Something similar apparently exists on the newer AMD processors too. For those of us without clearances and/or insider contacts, we might as well just presume that all common processors available to the public are compromised at the hardware level. I’m not aware of any easily available non-Intel/AMD processors from China or elsewhere, and if they existed, who could access them remotely. China is doing the right thing(for China). We are stuck with whatever the Far East produces. For those who never saw Dragon Day, it’s a movie worth watching and learning from.

      China produces televisions, and we watch them. Does anyone even know what undocumented “features” exist in light bulbs, electronic locks, and other devices that are IOT connectable?

      • My Smart TV is too Smart for Me.

        My Smart TV is too smart for me,
        That’s why I never get naked in sight of my smart tv.
        I slip by it in the middle of the night
        I rush past it when the time is right.

        My Smart TV is too smart for me;
        I never talk to much in front of my Smart TV
        as my Smart TV is smarter than me.

        When I handle the remote and mute that sucker
        I know it’s just me that it can now hear betta.

        Each program I watch, each moment of laughter
        I know that TV is just getting smarta!!!

        Oh, dear me, I got a TV smarter than me
        IF I pull the plug will it go away?
        Or does That Smart TV still have a say?

        Oh my God that Smart TV is Smarter than Me!!!

        When we moved I wanted to keep my old tv
        but my hubby said, “no it’s too heavy.”
        So, we got this flat screened spying creation
        And now it tracks all of our excuses and splaining,
        arguing, complaining, figuring and saying.

        I got a TV smarter than me, we only watch 4 stations, but it’s still spying on me!!!

        • Your old TV used the CRT itself as its video source. People keyed-in to the EFF in the ’90s know why Embassies and Langley got layers of lead shielding and the first tech-savvy DNI lost his shit when he saw the computers and video screens in the (unshielded) White House.

          Do not believe this is anything new. All video screens emit (and can capture) images; all speakers are extremely-sensitive (albeit not very clear) microphones. What’s “new” with the “smart TV” is it is on all the time and has battery backup for when the power goes away… oh, and the guys in the white van with the directional 30db “tunnel antenna” (yes, I DO have one. NSA and CIA dumped them all when the world went to LCD/LED/Plasma video screens. They work really well with Orinoco cards.) no longer need to be sitting outside your house, to receive the signals.

  20. “And then there’s Fools in Media: NBC Journos Melt Down Over Network Hiring Former RNC Chair (thefederalist.com).”

    WHY?

    Ronna Romney McDaniel has been one of the Democrats’ most-effective weapons in the battle to win political advantage in elections. I should think they would welcome her with open arms…

  21. “Seems my days of soldering parts onto very fine pitch SMD circuit boards may be over. Because even with a 10.1 inch LED microscope, I was not able to get it right.”

    This is why my son got me a Plugable:

    https://plugable.com/collections/microscopes

    Normal display is my 32 incher, although if I needed something bigger, the TV is just a 5ghz coupler away.

    • SMD chips. That’s why I went to already assembled modules instead of rolling my own!
      But that’s basically what I did in my engineering career. Unless it’s a really odd duck of a design it’s better all the way around to just buy it. There are vendors too numerous to list that make modules for any purpose. From control to measurement and more it’s available. I’m not saying it’s dirt cheap as it’s usually not but you need to balance the cost versus your ability and budget. The off the shelf device has usually been through the test and debug stage which your home made part must go through. That in its self is worth the extra cost. Your time is also worth something! Usually a lot! How much of your life do you want to give up on soldering microscopic parts? Just some ideas for all the makers to consider.

  22. Apparently Ure readers are not the only ones asking questions about narratives surrounding the 4/08/2024 solar eclipse:

    https://www.zerohedge.com/political/why-national-guard-being-deployed-during-great-american-eclipse-april-8th

    No 1’s or 3’s in the date, so maybe we can throw out diabolical conspiracies, for just this once ?

    I did order some ISO-rated clip-ons from the Zon. Normally I would ignore an eclipse, but I will just have to see what the national guard is protecting us from.

  24. There are an awful lot of pieces on the global Chess board right now. Damn, it’s getting crowded out there.

    Who will get pissed-off first ?

    • Its the poison pawn trap.. use up our reserves and put out the money in to many places.. we either have the Cloward Piven strategy and go bankrupt.. or they close the loop
      get us out on to many fronts leave the front and back door open… I believe it will be Kim in NK that will give the order to begin.. while we are in to many places to defend any of them with any length of time.. all while the admin is bringing in hundreds of thousands.. millions..

  25. It doesn’t really matter what you think. It is what ‘they’ think. It is their beliefs., their rules that you had better learn and fast., or you will loose – guaranteed.
    You can’t beat a school yard bully with appeasement. Spare me your Buddhist mantra, you need a baseball bat. And while we form committee after committee to try and determine what is ‘appropriate action’., the entire world is pointing and laughing at the giant that can’t get it’s hands out from underneath his fat immobile ass.
    The joke is on us., the citizens of this country. We are the ones who are going to be in the cross-hairs. When it breaks loose., and it will., it will not stop for years. Thousands of soccer moms, office drones, movie goers and Starbucks denizens are going to pay the price.
    Our country’s enemies are planning and trying to kill us – it is time someone with some guts cries havoc and releases the dogs of war. And damn soon.

    • “You can’t beat a school yard bully with appeasement.”

      Growing up, I beat a bunch of ’em with me fists… ;-)

      “When it breaks loose., and it will., it will not stop for years. Thousands of soccer moms, office drones, movie goers and Starbucks denizens are going to pay the price.”

      I’m not sure this is a bad thing. When one is too stupid to live, and too conceited to admit their shortcomings, maybe a genetic housecleaning is what Universe will demand?

      “Our country’s enemies are planning and trying to kill us – it is time someone with some guts cries havoc and releases the dogs of war. And damn soon.”

      They’re not trying, yet. There’s definitely some high-order planning going on, and it will probably take an 11-figure net-worth to maintain insulation from the fire, when it DOES arrive.

      As for releasing the “dogs of war?”

      Against whom? We have become so PC we’re not allowed to identify our actual enemies or plan against them. Instead, we have to plan against the current State bogeyman (Russia – who WILL kill us all, but ONLY IF WE FORCE IT TO DO SO) and leave places like Iran (who will destroy us as soon as they’re capable of doing so) and China (which plans on owning us and winning their war against us without firing a shot) alone.

      Remember, Mr. Obama gutted the military by firing or retiring every general officer who knew how to fight. Most of what we have left aren’t worthy to command a garbage scow or the crew required to load it.

      • Obongo was just finishing the clintonista’s project of neutering the warfighters. This how the MoS (MastersofSpeech) runs the planet, always have as gods chosen. The”Castodions” of this planet..

        “They are not equal. Their leaders are psykers who have evolved to traverse the Fifth Dimension. They consider themselves above and beyond humanity. They own everything on this prison planet, or will own it soon, and the subdued humans are their inmates.” -T.Paterburg

        “The greatest tool of Control on the planet – Social Hierarchy. And the West has created by far the most impenetrable social hierarchy on the planet, with gods chosen people at the top.”-TP

        We ALL being Played…and I think tRump knows.

        • “The greatest tool of Control on the planet – Social Hierarchy. And the West has created by far the most impenetrable social hierarchy on the planet, with gods chosen people at the top.”-TP”

          We are NOT being Played !!!!
          We are doing it our selves on
          a daily basis with ‘hero worship’
          in every phase of endeavor, IMHO.

      • The next War will be won, or lost, in the Bio Lab, forget things that go “Boom” or individuals confronting other individuals directly or by machines.

        Bio Labs. The scientists in both White Coats and those in those full Bio Lab Protection Suits are the ones who will Win or Lose the War.

        With the Human Genome now decoded and Gene Splicing now widespread and common it is those tasks which will be the most important when it become a “Full On” event.

        Don’t believe me? Just ask the 90% of the American Indians who did not survive the coming of common European diseases.

        Jared Diamond in his book “Guns Germs and Steel” gave a real world example of a tribe up the Missouri River from St. Louis that that lost over 95% of it’s people, going from many many thousand to just a two to four hundred or so in just 4 to 5 months, most in 90 days, due to European diseases. The Tribe’s Warriors never had a chance to fire a single arrow or raise a single tomahawk in that fight for the survival of their tribe. When it was over there not even enough people left to bury the dead. Skelatons were still being found just lying on the gound several years later.

    • ” due to Churchill’s ethical and moral values ”

      They were just like Hitler’s and Stalin’s, IMHO !
      Peace keepers have ethical and moral values ;-(

    • Oh, boy, can you imagine the lives saved if traitor Churchill had taken the peace offering?

      Hundreds of millions….

      That’s what a Traitor will do; take your countrymen to war and slaughter them all in the name of their God, the Devil.

  27. At approximately 2:20 am, EDT, a cargo container ship hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. It was a direct hit under power on one of the major main span supporting column pairs. The bridge is truss arch structure and was entirely collapsed into the water. The deck was at approx. 185 feet above the water and the water is 40 degrees F. Cars and construction crews were on the deck. It’s been declared to be a mass casualty event. Local PD has two helicopters in the air orbiting the scene. No word as yet on Harbor Patrol or Coast Guard status.

    Someone took a video and it appears to be deliberate, though there’s no proof so far. The ship is registered in Singapore, FWIW.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTzPOMwMJOs

    • Looks to be deliberate. The ship [ outbound – headed to Sri Lanka.] was maintaining a straight course – to clear under the bridge., then veered off it’s course and headed directly for the base pylon. GPS confirms this action.

      • Clearly loss of control … but no indications of anything deliberate on the Bridge can be stated at this point in time.

        Loss of control of a BIG ship when it is going through a narrow channel can be a disaster, and SOMETHING is often going to break.

        Go check out what happened in Lorain Ohio a few years back when an ore freighter the size (length and weight) of an aircraft carrier (similar in size to this ship) lost control as it entered into the Lorain channel and was approaching the major bridge up ahead.

        With what little control that Captain had he elected to take out a HUGE marina versus take out the major bridge. A hundred or so boats, some up to 60′ -70′ feet long were sunk and people who were on those boats were reportedly fleeing down the docks for their lives, some only in their underwear (thank goodness it happened mid week versus the weekend when the marina would have been packed with people).

        Nobody died in the Lorain Ohio accident, which was a miracle … but lots of damage was done and entire large marina was basically destroyed.

        Loss of control of 100,000 ton ship while moving at a high rate of speed (this ship was going 8 knots – at Lorain they were only going about 4-5 knots – in a harbor or narrow channel often does not end up with a good ending.

      • Yep, they will spin it, but as far as I can tell, it was a direct hit, just like it was planned.

        Maybe, they wanted to demolish the ship for insurance purposes and needed to slow down travel, and shipping – and managed to do it in one fell swoop.

        Never before discovered electrical problems; rightey mate, causing a catastrophic failure. Looked like they ‘pulled it.’

        Better stock up.

        • “tree lil burds pitched by my doorstep, signing a sweet songs of melody pure and true..”

          White Hats ?

          Balt. – very porous port, always looking the wrong way so as to miss the “dark” “traffic” ..

          Now rerouted, new PoC’s will be little more rigorous in inspecting cargo/contents..

          “..sayin ‘this is my message to you, dont worry..”

Comments are closed.

Toggle Dark Mode