Realization

I just realized I did not post a single word in 2017 - so here are a few for 2018. This gets me all caught up. 

Duh!!!!

From a recent news story out of Yahoo!: “Oil prices tumbled below $40 for the first time since the summer of 2004 Wednesday despite an announcement from OPEC of a record production cut of 2.2 million barrels a day. Markets had already priced in a vastly reduced flow of oil and traders focused instead on troubling economic data that points to a long and severe recession. Demand for gasoline over the four weeks ended Dec. 12 was 2.7 percent lower than a year earlier. Meanwhile, the dollar suffered its biggest one-day decline against the euro after the Federal Reserve cut a key lending rate target to historic lows. That would typically lead more investors into the crude market because oil is bought and sold in dollars and you can get more bang for the buck. But investors in this harsh economic climate are holding onto their wallets like never before, betting there's not enough global demand to support higher crude prices, said Gene McGillian, an analyst at Tradition Energy. "Oil prices should be a lot stronger," McGillian said.” This goes to show that speculators control the price of oil - speculators and middlemen and nobody else. Demand dropped 3% but prices dropped 70%. Explain that to me please. A weak dollar should mean higher prices but it does not – explain that to me. I have said from the beginning that speculators control much of the markets. Right now, they are scared to death and do not want to lose any money if they can avoid it. Regardless, that beautiful woman on the left does not care – she’s dead. We are not. Don't you wish you could stay 35 forever?

What bad economy???

I get out quite a bit. I see places - I hear stories - I read stories - I meet people. Every single day. From all accounts, the economy isn't doing well but I don't believe that at all and neither should you. Someone is trying to fool us. I see stores packed with customers. There are long lines everywhere. I see customers buying big ticket items. I see lots of people at banks - depositing big chunks of money. Every single day. I see that concerts with very expensive tickets get sold out. I see sporting events being filled to capacity. I see restaurants packed with people having a good time. Where is the bad economy the media is talking about???? NOT HERE, that's for sure.

Marketing 101

Sometimes, the only thing that will draw a crowd is something truly remarkable or outlandish. A dog with the head of a cat. Or a cat with six legs. Marketing is not as easy as it looks. One never knows what the public will like. One sure thing there is - pretty women. They are ubiquitous. You see them on magazine covers, billboards, newspapers, the internet, etc. Of course, if you own a bar, hire the most attractive female bartenders you can. You can't go wrong, unless the competition does that too. Here's a bartender dressed for the occasion, but without customers. Maybe the bar hasn't opened yet. Who knows?

Aeroflot Flight 821

By now, you've heard of the crash of Aeroflot Flight 821 in Perm, Russia. The story I read said the plane didn't hit any homes when it crashed. We don't know exactly who was on board. Some years ago, a famous conductor was flying to Dallas from Mexico City in a small private plane. He was flying the plane himself. The plane developed some technical difficulty along the way and it crashed in some secluded area far from anything. He was traveling with his girlfriend. I suspected foul play. I suspect foul play here too. Who really knows why planes suddenly develop engine trouble just after they have been thoroughly checked? The scenario makes no sense. Of course, I could be way off in my suspicions too. Russian and Eastern European planes have a pretty bad safety record. Fly American Airlines, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, or Southwest Airlines next time.