Something is not quite right …

and I am rather wonky and posting will have to wait.  I am sure I will return in fighting form but not today … the letters are dancing too much and it makes them hard to organize into words.  We have an adventure planned for today as well, and I need to find my equilibrium and I have been looking for it all night to no avail.

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28 Responses to Something is not quite right …

  1. EO says:

    I think this is an excellent and even handed article about why an aversion to inflation is always and everywhere a conservative phenomenon (my apologies to Milton Friedman for paraphrasing that line) , and from this it makes total sense that the entire industry of hard money, goldbuggerism, austerity budgets, demonizing the Fed, exists to serve the agenda of the wealthy.

    The rich are not interested in a bigger pie. They like the pie just the way it is.

    http://www.interfluidity.com/v2/5561.html

  2. EO says:

    Josh Brown linked this one today. Nice.

  3. Dryocopus pileatus says:

    to add my two cents to the article… also consider the power of the baby boomers who are entering retirement now. their economic and political strength has taken the USA from the “free loving” 60’s, to the “greed is good” 80’s, to where we are now with what some call social Darwinism. let’s face it, the boomers in the Western economies have had it pretty good, and it is only natural for them to fear losing what they have. until they can be outvoted (they have died off), i am afraid that the future looks rather bleak for every generation coming behind them.

  4. Dryocopus pileatus says:

    this patch of tropical paradise is in my back yard. it was taken a few minutes ago, at 48 degrees (9 C). i can take in this view from my bedroom window too. though it is early in the day, i am tempted to bring in a lawn chair, sit by the window, and drink some beer.

  5. EO says:

    Here’s a couple of Subaru vids I like, especially from a direct comparison with other cars point of view.

  6. Dryocopus pileatus says:

    you are obsessed EO. but i did get what i asked for – well sort of. i tried to find some side by side comparison videos of Outbacks vs. traditional SUV’s. i myself have found that SUV’s are too high off the ground and therefore are too unstable on uneven ground. in my experience, the best vehicle for off road driving is old and cheap technology – the Willy’s Jeep. my Grandpa had one and over 100 acres of land, much that was too sloping for even pasture in SW Wisconsin (the Driftless area). in fact i learned to drive stick when i was still a kid driving his 1949 Willy’s.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willys_MB

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driftless_Area

    hey, i just got approved for another $7500 zero percent credit card, but only for a year this time (the taper). not bad for someone no longer even counted as unemployed. anyway, i think i’m going to bet it all on Harvey Organ. i mean this time the COMEX really must be running out of silver right? even these internet wizards (shills?) at some point must fear being labeled “the boy that cried wolf”.

  7. EO says:

    Of course I’m obsessed. That’s how I roll, you can just ask Mrs. O about that. She’s used to it by now, and just goes with the flow, and knows all things will pass.

    I don’t like all these high-up-off-the-ground SUV’s either. Sadly, with the 2005 model revision Subaru jacked the Outback up to the outer limits. I drive one of those or newer, or a Forester, and I feel like I’m perched on top of a ladder going down the road. Plus, you lose about 3 mpg via the simple act of putting the identical car 2 or 3 inches higher off the road. That still matters to an aging hipster like myself, though it doesn’t seem to phase anyone else.

    The older Outbacks (’99 or older) have some issues of their own, worth avoiding. The ’00 to ’04 is still good, though also with some issues you just have to live with. Starting in ’05 forget about it if you don’t like your butt in the clouds going down the road. So, I’ve already warned The Wife that , just like the guys who keep old Mustangs and Camaros around forever, I’ll be keeping myself behind the wheel of ’00 to ’04 Outbacks from here on out. If I find another good one, maybe I’ll retire the dog car. If I find another one that I can’t resist after that, we’ll have to rotate, and keep the extra one parked out at a brother-in-laws place or something. Currently doing some actuarial calculations. My life expectancy vs how many old Outbacks I will need and what kind of mileage I can find them at…

    All I ever wanted was a smallish station wagon, all wheel drive, and not too frickin high off the ground. It doesn’t seem like I’m asking for much, but they don’t really make them anymore, and the old Outback was the pinnacle of the type.

    Did I link this article already? I don’t know but here it is again, lamenting the demise of the station wagon in the US, and also blaming the Outback itself for killing off the wagon. The old Outback was up higher, but not that much higher, until 2005, but it started a toxic trend. Here’s a little secret too. ’90 to ’07 Legacy wagons are great, and not jacked up at all, but very, very hard to find in decent shape.

    http://qz.com/259000/why-americas-love-affair-with-the-station-wagon-is-over/

  8. EO says:

    Here’s one for sale right by you, DP. 1997 Legacy Wagon, only 150000 miles, $3295. I test drove this baby. These have the old 2.2L engine, which is legendary in Subaru circles for being absolutely bulletproof and going forever, with none of the head gasket issues that plague the 2.5’s in all the Outbacks.

    It goes like a sonofabitch, but my only concern was egregiously bad tire wear on the front left tire. Something might be wrong somewhere with the axle or the all wheel drive train. Or the other way around, if you drive long enough on one outlier tire like that you will actually damage your all wheel drive. So not knowing more about that situation, I had to pass on it. But it was tempting! If the AWD is not damaged, that car could have another 100000 miles in it no problem. If I had bought it I would have done a $600 timing belt job on it, and add a $300 set of cheapie new tires. So now it’s over 4 grand, but it would likely go a long, long way with little headache.

    http://www.carsforsale.com/used-cars-for-sale/1997-subaru-legacy-janesville-wi-234662775

  9. EO says:

    I got pretty busy today, trying to explain the fundamentals of the gold market over at Dan’s. I link it here because I think it is probably my most patient and objective attempt, with only a tiny bit of snark, which I couldn’t resist, to enlighten some people who are desperately in need of enlightenment. Though after all these years, I don’t even know why I try anymore. I guess because if I link it here, then I can easily link to this post in my list of links from this blog. So maybe this is more housekeeping for me than anything. Please indulge me.

    http://traderdannorcini.blogspot.com/2014/09/hedge-funds-exiting-gold-once-again.html

  10. EO says:

    And fuckit here’s a tune.

    I had this album in high school. A girl that I was hot for asked to borrow it. Of course, whatever you say. By the time I got it back it looked and played like it had been left out in the driveway and run over for months. Learned a lot on that one…

  11. EO says:

    Here’s one. 2007 Subaru Legacy Wagon. Last of it’s kind, discontinued for 2008. I just wasn’t looking to drop 12k right now. Well, maybe if it was the blue one… 😉

    http://www.carsforsale.com/used-cars-for-sale/2007-subaru-legacy-horicon-wi-228810949

  12. EO says:

    I’m actually still thinking about that green one in Janesville. How do you think it would go over with Mrs. O if I said “I’m buying two cars. Didn’t I tell you I’m buying two cars? I would only have three then, because the Dog Car isn’t dead yet. Where do we park them all? Oh, come on, think big babe!”

  13. EO says:

    This is essentially Mrs. O’s car right here, lol.

    She doesn’t need three old ones. Just one nice new one. Very sensible, that Mrs. O.

  14. Dryocopus pileatus says:

    cookie of the day is peanut butter.

  15. EO says:

    omg, I had no idea how many totally sick Sub vids are out there. I haven’t linked even the tip of iceberg. I’ll stop with this one, just cuz it has a nice song with it.
    We made more apple pies today. Filling the freezer.

  16. Pete Maravich says:

  17. xty says:

    In 2002, this was our dog car. I am a little spoiled when it comes to off road talk, but they were beaters that hubby made work. 94 Range Rover long wheel base, with independent airbag suspension that he rigged a control box up to. The dog on the left was not ours, and Wolf, R.I.P., on the left was. And yes, that just is the licence plate it still bears as it sits in the woods, oddly able to start and tow the sailboat. I will be back to relate our strange adventure, once we deal we the detritus of the weekend.

    And good morning and nice to hear from Pete!

  18. xty says:

    And after he got that licence plate, he realised that the next alphabetically would be Derangee, which in french would be the feminine form of the adjective meaning deranged, with an accent over the second of the three e’s, which he painted on. So a his and hers deranged moment, for a bilingual crowd, but I liked to claim that he was the derangor, and I was the one who had been deranged.

    And yes, Mrs. EO we needed two for parts. I used to say he would be happy when we had as many parts cars as there were parts on the Range Rover.

  19. EO says:

    Nice. In honor of Wolf and his Dog Car. and good morning.

  20. EO says:

    “The experiment isn’t over until I am proven right.”

    The Fearmongers and Fed Haters continue to dig in their heels, or keep their heads in the sand, or up their asses, as the case may be.

  21. Dryocopus pileatus says:

    yup EO, everything is fucking great. that’s because things don’t absolutely suck… and you know the world is black and white. good grief.

    do not take this comment personally. i am just sick of such simplistic arguments, and they of course are gaining in volume as we approach the midterm elections.

    oh, be careful being a FED apologist. sure seems likely bankers are going to hang (again). do you want to make a long term bet? even odds seem about fair.

    the statement above is correct in that the experiment isn’t over yet. just for shits and giggles, let’s see what happens if Scotland goes independent! what effect might that have on world power dynamics – think City of London.

    so this post rubbed me the wrong way. we are all adults here. or we can just go back to talking about nothing.

    i’m not pissed, really. you guys know i pull no punches.

    you guys also know that i have contact with friends relatives/overseas. we are not getting the real news at all. we aren’t even getting the real news domestically about anything. so anyway…

    rant off.

  22. Dryocopus pileatus says:

    i haven’t felt like i do now since the crisis in Greece a few years back. i feel things are getting dangerous again. it’s not only because of world events i am aware of. i seem to pick up on things. it’s that empathy thingy. people are angry, afraid. but you do not have to believe in any of that. doesn’t bother me. but i do hope that people don’t ignore obvious reality. look back in history to see what happens when the public chooses to ignore the obvious…

    but just to prove i’m not pissed.

  23. EO says:

    Sorry, but I don’t see the world-at-large caring one bit about what Scotland decides. Only in an anglocentric world like ours does it make the papers at all.

    And like it or not, the Fed seems to have pulled it off. The folks are still out there saying “the Fed will never be able to unwind that balance sheet!”. Well guess what, they don’t have to unwind the balance sheet. That’s the next big thing that crowd is going to get wrong.

    There are always ups and downs. There is always a down on the way, and when it comes the professional perpetual doomsters throw a party and say I told ya so. But there is always an up on the way as well. At what point is the argument over?

    And how about this crap weather, eh?

  24. Dryocopus pileatus says:

    who said anything about the world caring about what Scotland decides?

    but even if they don’t, which i don’t agree with, maybe they should? maybe there are other “peoples” that are watching this with extreme interest, thinking that if the United Kingdom is vulnerable to break up, maybe their position in far weaker countries, and their longing for independence, isn’t so hopeless? or maybe the PIIGS well say screw this austerity and the EU too.

    and the FED hasn’t exactly pulled it off, which is my point. i could nit pick that article, but i will let it go. let’s just say that the U.S. economy has never been worse in my adult life – and not just for me personally or just where i live. seriously, can anyone argue otherwise? i think this old saying says it best, “don’t piss down my back and tell me it’s raining”.

    yes, this weather blows. i welcomed the cool down initially, so i could do some physical work around here. now i’m not liking running the furnace while it is still summer, and i’m starting to fear another winter from hell. well, at least it hasn’t frosted here yet. (i still have a garden)

  25. Dryocopus pileatus says:

    rise and shine! this post is for the morning crew. no one posts evening/night anymore. i will check in tomorrow afternoon.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2721809/The-ultimate-hangover-cure-Milwaukee-bar-brews-beastly-Bloody-Mary-topped-entire-fried-chicken.html

    yup, that’s a whole fried chicken in there…

  26. EO says:

    You could feed a small army with that thing. And good morning.

    It’s 38 degrees here. Blah. This winter already sucks. And the grass still needs mowing. It’s the worst of all worlds.

  27. EO says:

    On the upside, being damn near frozen, I have to believe the popcorn has got to be pickable soon. It will be nice to get that all in, and stop feeding the hodag.

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