Just a reminder, you still have time to pick up a card or flowers, if your significant other expects that sort of thing… and what a nice surprise if they don’t!
n
Added- 64F and foggy. Weird smells too. Swampy, with an extra tang.
Did we kill a bunch of russian mercenaries? If we killed a hundred, how many russian mercenaries are there in Syria?? WTF are we playing at here? Why are we dancing on a powder keg with a road flare dripping fire?
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-02-13/us-strikes-kill-100-russian-soldiers-syria
Why are we there at all if it is ” a conflict that started as a domestic crackdown only to morph into a proxy war involving Islamic extremists, stateless Kurds and regional powers Iran, Turkey and now Israel.”
Russian mercenaries???
n
45F and overcast. Supposed to be raining later….
37F and breezy today, bit of an overcast.
12F in Korea last night for the Olympics. That’s cold.
Watched men’s biathalon. I like biathalon because I can’t imagine the training to be able to shoot like that, and because the medals are up for grabs. Last olympics the world favorite and ‘grand old man’ came in dead last. This year, the three guys who had dominated the results all year ALL shot poorly and missed out on medals. That made for a much more exciting finish as people realized they had a chance to actually medal.
Also watched a bit of figure skating, ice dancing, and snowboarding. Which leads me to the title of this post. I’m a grumpy old man. Yup. Watching those punk kids doing skateboard tricks on the snow IN THE OLYMPICS brought it home. And they are GOOD, they are extraordinary athletes, and they are exciting to watch. Another thing that brought it home was when the russian female figure skater made the Sign of the Cross as she left the ice. I remember very well when that would have gotten her sent off to Siberia, figuratively if she was lucky, in actuality if not. 30 or more years ago. Sheesh I’m feeling old today.
nick
Watched some curling and women’s biathalon last night. Both were good, both had USA eliminated from the medal running.
The speed skating is good too.
Very interesting camera tech, robots everywhere.
n
65F and thunderstorms, with heavy downpour at the moment.
Daughter’s basketball game this am, and my hobby (that isn’t prepping) has a monthly meeting… so I’ll open with this thought….
From watching the Olympic ceremony last night, who could have predicted that [probably] Trump’s hard line with NORK would bring them to the table? And, it’s abundantly clear, the only way to be taken seriously on the world stage is to become a nuclear power. Man o man, did we really want to set that example for the mass o crazies?
nick
Well, not exactly ‘finally Friday’ as this week blazed by.
Currently 56F and overcast, with T-storms in the area forecast.
I’ve been thinking. (smell the smoke?)
Most of the immigration rationalizing has to do with bringing in workers and ‘vigorous breeders’ to support the current populations as they age. This is based on a crucial and WRONG idea that those imported populations WILL IN FACT support the current one. WHY WOULD THEY? They have little in common. They most certainly have their OWN interests and desires. They are from tribal and low trust societies where they feel no obligation to help anyone outside their clan. Further, the desire to import large numbers is based on another flawed set of assumptions. The idea that the country MUST REMAIN an IMPORTER instead of an EXPORTER and a consumer based economy instead of a maker based economy. The Powers that Be KNOW that the current setup is a Ponzi scheme. The only way to keep a ponzi going is to continually bring in new <s>participants</s> suckers. But the new suckers have NO intention of participating in the ponzi or any belief in the usefulness or desirability of the ponzi.
Thus we know it will not work. So…
There is no problem with a declining population if standard of living doesn’t also decline. A smaller family can better afford nice things, vacations, education, etc. than a large family. So too, a nation that concentrates on quality over quantity can prosper even with an overall decline in numbers.
The ponzi WILL collapse.
If you bake that into your assumptions, you should DIS-courage mass immigration. You should focus on doing more with fewer people (which we already do with robotic factories, and machines instead of laborers.) As (if) population declines, there will be more to go around, and standards of living will rise. Focus on enabling technologies. Focus on exporting. Focus on doing well at things the unwashed masses can’t do. There will always be unwashed masses. They’re vigorous breeders with large families (and by the way, how is that attitude NOT racist in today’s environment?) Focus on shifting from BEING the unwashed masses to providing goods and services TO THEM.
Then, as your population enjoys the fruits of their labor, they can start raising kids again, and slow or reverse your population decline.
TBTB are trapped in their mindset. They have always seen themselves as a small exclusive elite at the top of a pyramid of lesser masses. They think it will continue, and if the current masses are refusing to cooperate and not breeding at replacement levels, they’ll just replace them with masses that WILL. They miss the fact that the imported masses are NOT the same as the domestic masses (who only devolved into masses relatively recently historically.) The imported masses will have no trouble or qualms about throwing out the existing PTB, and replacing them with their OWN elites.
And while there is a certain amount of schadenfreude in the elites getting their comeuppance, unfortunately, that will wreck the place for the rest of us. We need to fight against their plan, show that it’s wrong, and based on false assumptions, and strengthen our own positions at the same time.
nick
going places I’ve been….
Not much content from me today, talk amongst yourselves….
n
This week is half over and I’ve hardly started. Time flies.
More later…..
Oh, the cold has returned after our brief warm spell. 44F and misty wet this am. Forecast for T-storms all day changed to ‘showers’. As soon as I trust them enough to make plans, they change the forecast. Better not be raining tomorrow. Grrrr.
nick
61F and 100%RH this morning. In other words, slightly cooler than shirt sleeves weather with heavy mist.
Dog let himself out.
Today is a “keep an eye on the markets day.” Lots of potential pigeons coming home to roost. I know, doom and gloom, and we’re still here… yep. 2000 Tech meltdown anyone? 2008? We’re overdue. If you are still in the markets, why? How much higher can it go? Why? If your investments are up, think about ‘locking in your gains.’ Don’t be greedy.
As well prepped individuals, we’ve already built a rainy day fund, equal to [whatever makes you comfortable but] at least a couple months expenses or a new transmission. We already have some cash on hand [might want to increase that, you can always put it back later], we already have food in the pantry and on the shelves, we already have some of our stored up lifetime of work — money saved — in some physical goods that will hold their value [lead, steel, or PMs] so we don’t need to panic or make radical moves, right?
However, when there are storm clouds on the horizon, you clean up the yard and make sure you’ve got what you need to get by for a while.
Keep your eyes open, think about what you’d do if you didn’t have access to your retirement accounts for a while, couldn’t use an ATM (or were restricted to how much you can withdraw), and most importantly, WHAT YOUR NEIGHBORS might do in that situation.
nick
51F with 92%RH and kinda clear here in Houston this AM.
Seems that there was a sporting event yesterday. Given that it was in the middle of a city with a large Somali immigrant population, they decided to take extra precautions against terror murderous attacks.
Great BIG .fed and .gov presence. Great opportunity to see what an active police state might look like if you are inclined to believe that way. Keep your eyes open on the web for AAR and analysis. What we know for sure is: air cover; loads of intel-from stingray flying overhead to social media monitoring; roadblocks; papers required for access; weapons free zones (and not in the fun way); etc.
Thankfully no problems. If the jihadis listened to Sun Tzu, they would have ‘attacked where your enemy is weak.’ I’m genuinely thankful that they didn’t. I’m horrified by what TPTB think is required to have a safe game. How in the heII did it come to this? Soldiers with HMMVs manning roadblocks in the street….
I watched about 10 minutes of game when the wife succumbed to peer pressure (family rooting for Pats) and turned it on. I was mystified by the tide ads (seen in passing without paying attention), don’t know what to think about the coke diversity special, and that was it. Oh, saw the Bud ad about canning water for relief efforts.
I guess it was a good game if you are into that. I realized when discussing it with the wife, that I stopped watching the NFL after Superbowl 20, Da Bears! Don’t miss it.
Plenty of madcap shenanigans in big cities as a result. Don’t be there is good advice and appropriate in this case. ADDED- and I note that there is plenty of video showing it is not the usual suspects.
As we start this week, let’s remember absent friends, and OFD, and the others in our lives that might need help….
nick