Experiment

I am today conducting an experiment in blogging. I cannot disclose what it is because it might spoil things. In fact, it WILL spoil things so I will just keep quiet about it. I will tell the secret in a few days. I'm sure it will be interesting - at least to me it will.  It is not even necessary to post a picture with this blog - the words will be sufficient.

Ambrose Bierce said: "The properties of ink are peculiar and contradictory: it may be used to make reputations and unmake them; to blacken them and to make them white; but it is most generally and acceptably employed as a mortar to bind together the stones of an edifice of fame, and as a whitewash to conceal afterward the rascal quality of the material."

I like the phrase "...edifice of fame."

Greed

From a recent news story: “BOSTON (Reuters) - Taking his private equity firm public paid off big for Blackstone Group LP's Stephen Schwarzman, who became the top-paid chief executive in the United States last year. But the surest route to big bucks was running an oil or natural gas company. Their CEOs represented seven of the 10 highest-paid U.S. CEOs in 2008, according to a report by independent research group The Corporate Library.” Schwarzman was paid $702 million last year. That’s close to two million dollars per day. Does this not seem just a bit odd? How much do sugar cane farmers in Cuba make? I bet you Schwarzman thinks he deserves it. He is beguiled. hehehe. Capitalism is ok, but one annoying problem with it is that NOBODY can ever tell you how much is too much.

Air Cars

I'm sure you've heard already - there's this company which is manufacturing cars that run on compressed air. I think it's in India but I'm just guessing. It might be in Alaska for all I know. That's not important to me. What's important is the car itself - if it's real. All these years, car companies all over the world have been going along with the oil companies to produce cars that take as much money out of your pocket as possible. Now comes this little upstart company which will cut your car fuel bills by 80% - imagine that!!!! Someone is bound to get in a lot of trouble over this.

CUBA

Well, ladies and gentlemen, it is quite safe to assume that the new administration will open a huge doorway to Cuba. Now, the big thing here is to figure out which industries will most benefit from the new policy. I would say practically everything. The trick will be to get the banks to finance the myriads of new ventures that are being planned (as we speak.) Good luck to all of you and try not to stuff your faces with too much turkey.

Whining about oil prices? part 1

Some people have said that U.S. gas prices are low compared to Europe's so we should not complain - we should be grateful. Rex Tillerson is of that opinion. Later - in part two - I shall post an interview with this man so you'll know how very right he is on this issue. I hope this is not too terribly political for you. I did say I would stay clear of political, religious, and sexual issues. The painting to the left depicts a serious oil spill somewhere sometime - not the Exxon Valdez, obviously.