Friends-Sweethearts of the Rodeo

My friends Janis and Kristine moved to Nashville with
their families 20+ years ago and only play music on the Friday after Thanksgiving - I went to see them this year
and had a nice visit. Leonard and Kristine lived in our back house in Redondo Beach. Unfortunately it was way too short...maybe again next year.

Thanksgiving Update

Happy Thanksgiving to All-

I was able to enjoy the holdays with my daughter and her family in Pennsylvania.

We even got enough snow for a snowman

and snow angels. I ripped out the old upper

bath carpet and Aleta laid new tile.

Fall Colors in the Northeast- even poison ivy!

I have managed to finish the rest of leaves today. I am also continuously trying to clear the brush and poison ivy and found two specimens today. That is substantially less than when Phil used to say "Don't come out here!" I want to keep the brambles and p.i. out so the kids can have their own personal park to play in.

Techsid 4.6 liter V-8 - 585 hp

I have just found out from my buddy Nigel that my Grand Marquis Merc was the crossover year for the Ford use of the Techsid (Ferrari) 4.6 liter motor that also ran in the SVT 99 Cobra at 585 hp and is capable of 1600 to 1700 hp.

Mk III Leaf Plow - Aleta's Forest

I have added a permanent mounting for my 'Leaf Plow' so now Aleta can do the installation herself next year. It is really impressing the neighbors how we move so many leaves - with so little effort. It is really nice to excape to the tranquil rural life. The obligations are still there but on our timetable.

My How America Has Changed - Now PC Is In Favor

Today was the date of Henry Stanley’s finding Dr. Livingston 138 years ago. Here follows an excerpt from “The Autobiography of Henry Stanley" upon his arrival in New Orleans in 1859.

“The view of the sky was as freely mine as another’s. These American rights did not depend on depth of pocket, or stature of a man…I possessed privileges of free speech, free opinions, immunity from insult, oppression, and the contempt of class; and that, throughout America, my treatment from men would solely depend upon my individual character, without regard of family or pedigree."

My Current Occupational Therapy

Besides my observations on the economy...

I have finally got the Jeep motor to a state where it is looking like a motor again.

I really enjoy pulling up next to a Navigator and revving the motor so the frame twists during a power brake. Thise guys don't even take their 4WD SUV's off road ha ha ha!

Insights From Our Founders

Bernanke, Geithner & The Media - recovery - NOT

Mainstream media is opining that we are in a

recovery even maybe a result of the stimulus!
Karl Denniger(http://market-ticker.denninger.net/) has overlaid this chart with the dollar and The S&P 500 from the March lows to today.
Notice the near-perfect inverse correlation. The Dollar goes up, the market goes down. The Dollar goes down, the market goes up; near-perfect correlation
Folks, you don't have to engage in any sort of "conspiratorial" thinking on this whatsoever. You only need examine the facts. The rally in the market has exactly nothing to do with the economy and the outlook for it. It is tied to one and only one thing - the decline in the dollar. It is responding to hot money flows that are being intentionally generated and, if you follow them as an investor you will be crushed, just as those who bet on recovery in Japan following their original collapse were.

A California Workaround...

I am back in CA now and can sure tell it...those crooks in Sacramento are at it again.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-state-tax31-2009oct31,0,2028140.story
The provision is one of numerous maneuvers state lawmakers and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger approved in the summer to paper over the state's deficit. Many of the changes, including the extra withholding, were little noticed outside of Sacramento. Savvy taxpayers can get around the state's maneuver by increasing the number of personal withholding allowances they claim on their employer tax forms, said Brenda Voet, a spokeswoman for the state's Franchise Tax Board.