Newsflash: Sky is BLUE!

In an "unexpected" move, China has censored web access for the media during the Beijing Olympic games.

...International Olympic Committee (IOC) press chief Kevan Gosper told Reuters that both he and the international media had been taken by surprise that some politically sensitive websites had been blocked.

Note to the Olympic committee and media: What part of the term, repressive government, do you not understand? It is easy to see how a country willing to ruthlessly and bloodily suppress Tibet (not to mention commit the brutality of the Cultural Revolution) would be more than willing to inconvenience a few journalists.

Did nobody expect this? How naive.

Face it, the Olympics may be a propaganda opportunity for the PRC, but it will do nothing to substantively change the character of that nation.

Watchmen

I just read the Watchmen for the first time, since I didn't read it the first came out, I guess I just wasn't interested back then. I just finished reading it to see what all the hubbub was about and since my professor-friend from church was kind enough to loan it to me.

First thoughts: Dated. Paranoid. Leftist. Fantasy. (not necessarily in that order)

Second thoughts: *Excellent* characterizations. Excellent depth of back-story and a well-thought out plot, although dated--as I said, the plot of the story comes across as a paranoid fantasy, which is kind of fun. Interesting symbolism, the foreshadowing worked will. The whole idea of Mr. Manhattan and squid creatures I thought to be Moore’s nod to the marrow of comic books: supermen and weird aliens. It was executed well without being overdone. I also enjoyed the interweaving of the "historical" pulp comic within the storyline and the various epistolatory interludes--a great device to download large amounts of backstory with a minimum of storyline interruption or silly flashbacks. It really was a book that I had to think through as opposed to the story lines of other comics.

In all, I can understand why many consider this so great. On the other hand, I’m glad I read it now rather than twenty years ago—my tastes have changed and I enjoyed it much more today than I would have then.

Someone made fun of Obama

And it was a newspaper too, in Europe no less.

Of course by posting the link, this blog could be shut down like others that have yet to acknowledge Obama as the savior.

He ventured forth to bring light to the world
The anointed one's pilgrimage to the Holy Land is a miracle in action - and a blessing to all his faithful followers by Gerard Baker

And it came to pass, in the eighth year of the reign of the evil Bush the Younger (The Ignorant), when the whole land from the Arabian desert to the shores of the Great Lakes had been laid barren, that a Child appeared in the wilderness.

Daily Mutterings

Let me state for the record I'm not a huge fan of mortgage bailouts. I could be made to understand why the government feels the need it has to "do something" about this pressing concern--because the chattel (voters) are clamoring for relief from "predatory lenders" who took advantage of them. "It's not our fault," they cry, "We wouldn't be in this position if it weren't for the big, bad wolf with huge eyes, and big teeth, and 0% down mortgages. Besides, it's for the good of the economy."

What a fairy tale.

Defaulting borrowers and lenders alike are equally at fault for low lending rates, bizarre mortgage products, and fast 'n easy money. It's not solely on the shoulders of the lenders. They made the money easy, but somebody reached into the cookie jar and took far more than they could eat--"Their eyes were bigger than their stomachs."

Borrowers and lenders made their bed, they should be made to lie in it. Many families could have emulated the neighbors (now in danger foreclosing) and taken out variable rate loans with 0% down to buy their houses; many could even have used such techniques to buy "more". They did not. Fiscal prudence forced them to accept the reality they could not (should not?) afford "more" where their neighbors pretended the economy would supply their desires. Historical insight reminded them of the adjusted maxim, "Whatever goes down, must come up." Too bad the neighbors didn't look to the past.

What part of cyclic economies did the neighbors not understand?

Economies run in cycles and grow in spurts. The incredible growth in recent years must inevitably result in a time where the gears of the nation must rest and catch its breath. 'Tis natural. It's like pruning a tree, the deadwood--the inefficient companies, the bad fiscal decisions, the poor lending practices--must be cut away and burnt. Hence, I see no reason why the government should bail out greedy corporations or greedy borrowers. The problem with a bailout is that the welfare of the greedy lot will be forced upon those of you who were fiscally conservative, or smart enough to know when to refinance.

eBay

EBay profit rises but shares fall 5 percent: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

EBay listings surged 19 percent from a year ago, after suffering declining growth much of last year. But growth in active users eluded the company, rising a mere 1 percent.

I'm not terribly surprised by the apparently plateau of eBay's userbase at all. It almost mirrors my own experience as a buyer and seller of used goods and trinkets through the auction site. I used to buy a lot and sell a little over the years since 1994 (I think). I've bought and sold Hot Wheels, electronics, software, games, ephemera, printer suppliers, and camera equipment.

But, I've decided to avoid buying anything there. Frankly, I've grown tired of:

• Auction Fees--too many fees for this service: listing fees; final value fees; fees to bold your auction; fees to use templates; fees to use an automated listing client; etc etc etc. There is no end to fee-age.



• PayPal Fees--as an eBay buyer/seller, you are virtually locked into their payment system, PayPal, which charges you an extra few percent for allowing others to pay you through the system. This on top of the auction fees.



• Fraudulent sellers--I bought a new cell phone on eBay and that was a BAD MISTAKE. The phone was marked by Sprint as stolen and the seller disappeared. "No matter", I thought, "there is the Buyer protection guarantee." HA! Little did I know what a farce that is. It took a month of going through all of eBay's steps to resolve the matter with the seller (no response) and filing the proper paperwork, to only have eBay deny my $200 claim. Luckily, I had used a credit card through PayPal and I filed a claim in 15 minutes over the phone with my credit card company and received a credit without a hitch. PayPal sucks and this incident was the beginning of the end for me on eBay. I no longer feel safe in ordering from any seller there.



• Pricing -- You have to know your prices on eBay, even for commodity goods. Just because it's on eBay, it's not always a good deal.



• Counterfeit or Misrepresented Goods -- It's well known that eBay is a thieve's den of counterfeit goods. How do you know what you're getting? I've ordered used stuff on eBay and they showed up as not quite the same thing as listed. And the seller? Nowhere to be found. Jerks. And if you want it resolved? Heaven forbid you'd want...



• Customer Service -- Since you're ordering from any number of people on eBay, you're beholden to varying levels of customer service. Some are good, some are great, but some are just lousy. It's difficult to gauge and frustrating to resolve if you need to return or resolve anything.

So, it is no surprise that I have relegated eBay to the back burner of my Internet shopping, unless I'm looking for something truly odd or weird. I am of the opinion any money I might have saved shopping on eBay is better spent on piece of mind and customer service from more reputable online dealers. "You get what you pay for," is not always the case at eBay--sometimes you get less.

Sucks to be Northrop Right Now

It is highly likely the Air Force will reopen the tanker contract previously won by NGC and subsequently protested by Boeing. At stake is $35 billion. Obviously, the winner today is Boeing's KC-767AT proposal and NGC's KC-45 proposal the loser, but I argue the real losers are the armed services who will have to endure yet another delay before a replacement tanker will come online to replace the aging KC-10 and KC-135 fleet.

I ask you, after the Boeing fiasco where that company was penalized for rigging the first attempt to award the contract, how did the Air Force blow this one? I would have thought all of the t's were crossed and the i's dotted; now it seems the Air Force dotted the former and crossed the later.

Although the KC-45 airframes produced in Alabama, they are EADS designed Airbus A330s, a European product. Boeing 767s are produced and designed in Seattle. Is this a case of parochial protectionism? I would argue we need to overlook such concepts, for it is far better to procure best-of-breed products, we would be endangering our servicemen and women to do otherwise. Of course, where products involve sensitive or classified information, I argue to keep it all onshore. The tanker, though, is an airframe, not communications encryption.

One might also suspect a deep conspiracy--with defense dollars dwindling for new development because of ongoing war commitments--this could be a ploy by the brass to further delay committing money to this project on the contractor's dime until a new fiscal year comes about.

In the end, we taxpayers can only watch the DoD as it compounds newer and more ingenious ways to budgetary disaster.

MMmmmmm

"Yes, give me the Blattaria Lovers special. Extra legs, please."

Pizza Hut caught for roaches in the pie. Mmm mmm good!

Congratulations

Thank you, Colombia, for taking on FARC and freeing American hostages and a highly-celebrated French-Colombian politician. It would seem the rebels were deceived into giving up the hostages, being tricked into thinking they were being relocated. For their efforts, the rebels who accompanied the hostages, "were neutralized".

With much prejudice, I would imagine.

Welcome home, Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell--still employees of Northrop Grumman Corp--after five long and bitter years of captivity. During my stint with NGC, I remember the occasional press release coming across my inbox concerning their status and company's efforts at seeking a resolution. In the end, it took bold military action.

I hope all the rescued will be able to transition back to freedom in due time.

As for FARC...so long, suckas.

Here's an Idea...BUDGET

So, California finds itself in another budget deficit brought about by a combination of a declining economy and increased spending. So obviously, the answer is to raise property taxes by reassessing businesses benefiting from Prop 13. In the article, the union-backed California Tax Reform Association calls assessment of business property under Prop 13 "poor fiscal and land-use policy". The gist of the article is to flog the idea for yearly property reassessments of businesses for the purposes of taxation.

Wrong-headed move my friends. This just shows the problem of the public mindset towards government spending.

The liberalists intend for you to believe the woes of a budget deficit are brought by the underpayment of taxes by businesses and, although not explicitly stated but certainly meant, those citizens in certain tax brackets. After all, it is a truism in American politics that "faceless" corporations and the "rich" are getting away with robbery. In short, the CTRA wants us to buy into the idea "not we're spending too much, it's that we're not making enough".

How many of us have fallen to that line of argument in our own personal fiscal operations? I'll raise my hand as long as you raise yours. But the first rule of mastering your personal finances is not getting a higher paying job or winning the lotto. The first rule is to control your spending.

The solution to California's fiscal problems is to spend less. Don't create additional programs. Don't allow the status quo to drain the treasury. Don't raise taxes. When there isn't any money in the checking account, don't charge up the credit card. What's true for the kitchen table budget is true for public government.

Riding into the Sunset with Bill

Mr. Gates recently reduced his role at Microsoft, effectively beginning his ride into retirement--a life of philanthropy, apparently (and good for him).

And so, I thought it would be appropriate that I should, in part, ride along with him--selling my shares in Microsoft which I have held since 1993 . Perhaps holding so long was not one of my better judgments in view of the last few years of non-performance, but I'm more of a buy-and-hold kind of guy and Microsoft had treated me okay over the years.

So long Bill, and thanks for the 4-bagger.