Posts from — January 2016

Walmart shuts 269 stores worldwide:

On Friday, Walmart announced it will close 269 stores globally as it struggles to compete with online retailers like Amazon.

The news came as US retail figures showed lower than expected holiday sales figures across the market.

Sales rose just 3% in November and December, falling short of the expected 3.7% growth according to the National Retail Federation.

The Walmart closures will affect 10,000 US workers and 16,000 worldwide.

All of the casinos (stocks, bonds, commodities) are dropping like bricks, and the ‘economics pundits’ continue to claim that they have reached bottom and will be climbing shortly.

Chinese banks have a load of uncollectable debt caused by over-building real estate, which has stopped, causing greatly diminished demand for commodities.

The big problem is how the talking heads are going to convince people that they might know what’s going on…

Position: 43.0N 27.8W [ 4PM CST 2100 UTC].
Movement: North [350°] near 40 mph [65 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 70 mph [110 kph].
Wind Gusts: 85 mph [135 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 485 miles [780 km].
Minimum central pressure: 986 mb.

Currently about 290 miles [ 470 km] North of Terceira in the Azores.

Alex has transitioned to a post-tropical cyclone and this is the NHC’s final advisory.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

Position: 34.7N 27.6W [10PM CST 0300 UTC].
Movement: North [010°] near 22 mph [35 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 80 mph [130 kph].
Wind Gusts: 95 mph [150 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 175 miles [280 km].
Hurricane Wind Radius: 25 miles [ 35 km].
Minimum central pressure: 984 mb ↑.

Currently about 275 miles [ 445 km] South-Southeast of Faial Island in the Azores.

The last time there was an Atlantic hurricane in January was 1955.

A Hurricane Warning is in effect for Faial, Pico, Sao Jorge, Graciosa, and Terceira in the central Azores.

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for Sao Miguel and Santa Maria in the eastern Azores.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

The BBC reports on Nikki Haley, the Republican who took on Trump. This over emphasizes the supposed ‘attack’ by Governor Haley on Donald Trump. She said Republicans needed to chill out and start governing.

But the US is being overtaken by the ‘Great White North’ in the race for most political whackoes: ‘Kudatah’ against Notley’s NDP government sparks social media hilarity. Just read it to appreciate how the US has affected the Canadians.

Regarding the two US boats the Iranians seized, it would appear that the vessels had problems and entered Iranian waters. The treatment of the sailors is no different than any arrest. The sailors were armed and did trespass, so the Iranian reaction was no worse than what the US Coast Guard would do in similar circumstances.

In the early hours of January 13th, 1969 I was forced to accept something that I had known for a while, but had pushed to the back of my mind: I was mortal and was going to die.

This was the first of several incidents when my chance of survival was a good deal less than 1 in 2. This wasn’t the scariest, but it was the first, and following on the heels of the terrible events of 1968, it had the biggest impact.

In the end the only “death” was an airplane, Rivet Ball, the Air Force’s only RC-135S. The military version of the Boeing 707, the fuselage broke in half, like an eggshell, on impact. A very talented pilot, John Achor, the aircraft commander, was responsible for that miracle.

I provide more detail on my other site.

This CBC article is important to my local economy: Canadian dollar drops under 70 cents US as oil dips below $30. With a conversion rate like that our normal ‘snowbird’ migration from the Great White North has been reduced to a trickle. Ontario and Quebec plates used to be common during the winter months, but they are a rarity since oil and the ‘loonie’ have been dropping.

The US military seems to have forgotten that Saddam’s version of the border between Iran and Iraq has not been officially recognized. This has resulted in two US patrol boats and 10 US sailors being detained by the Iranians. It would appear that the sailors will be released quicker than the last time this occurred.

Obama gave his last State of the Union address, which is an official job requirement, but hasn’t had any real effect on anything in decades. Before he sets any goals, he already knows that Congress intends to block anything he proposes, just as it always has.

The most important news story today is the passing of David Bowie who was associated with the music industry and wrote songs I didn’t like, but a lot of other people did. He was younger than me, but had been battling with cancer, which he did not advertise. It is certainly sad news for close friends and family, but the news media have gotten a bit carried away reporting on it.

Crude oil has dropped to $31 a barrel, and some talking head on a financial channel admitted he didn’t know why it hasn’t rallied.

The price is supposed to be determined by supply and demand, but you need to remember that there are two supplies involved: the supply of the product and the supply of cash available to the consumers of the product. There is an over-supply of crude oil, and the refiners have been increasing their profits by maintaining their prices while their costs have gone down. This is why the airlines are still charging extra for fuel, and the price of gas hasn’t dropped as fast or as far as the price of crude oil. When you add in the pollution problems in India and China which have caused restrictions on vehicle use to be imposed, lower oil prices have not led to higher demand. People have more necessary things to buy with their limited supply money.

So a guy who is not a journalist is being criticized for writing an essay for a magazine following an interview with a criminal on the run. Apparently, rather than identifying the criminal and giving him an advance copy of the essay with a right of final approval, the non-journalist should have kept the source anonymous and given him final approval, like “real journalists” do.

The world’s stock markets are continuing to drop, but you can become an instant billionaire with a $1 2 Powerball ticket. This is the modern economy – a 401L(ottery) is probably a better way of financing your retirement than a 401K.

Update: My bad, apparently this game is $2 a chance, rather than 1.

Having had multiple cold fronts move through with heavy rains for over a month, it appears that the latest front is going to actually take the local temperature down to around freezing early Monday, so I have been making some preparations.

The Pacific Northwest and Northern California seem to be in a wet cycle, which is good news for them, but their good news is balanced by the bad news in Australia, which has been having destructive bushfires. Both circumstances are part of the effect of a strong El Niño condition.

Ellroon has found a wonderful Photoshop of the Oregon occupation.

California is getting rain, a lot of rain. The precipitation that is falling as snow in the mountains is really good – for skiing and the water supply, but there are mudslides in the burn zones and floods in SoCal, where the infrastructure just can’t handle heavy rain.

In addition to the flooding in Los Angeles, they have a major environmental and public health problem in the form of a natural gas leak:

The governor of California has declared a state of emergency in a suburb of Los Angeles over the leaking of methane gas from an underground storage field.

Methane is an even worse greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, and they don’t believe they will be able to stop the leak before February. People living nearby are reporting health problems.

It seems like every time something goes right for California lately, something else has to happen to offset it.

С Рождеством Христовым to my Orthodox friends who are still waiting to see how the calendar reform works out.

Trump is pointing the Birther mob at Ted Cruz. Other Birthers question Rubio’s citizenship, and a few are calling him an “anchor baby”. There are a lot of reasons to question the men’s suitability for any public office, but their citizenship isn’t one of them.

TransCanada has a hissy fit:

TransCanada has filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration and plans to file a claim under the North American Free Trade Agreement over the U.S. government’s rejection of the company’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline.

I wonder if they understand the US rules about discovery, because I don’t think they want to hand over all of their data concerning that pipeline.

Today marks the Feast of the Epiphany, end of the twelve days of Christmas, and Día de los Reyes in Spanish-speaking countries.

This is the customary day for gift exchanges in many Christian cultures because it is the day that the Magi finally arrived in Bethlehem with their totally inappropriate gifts after putzing around for a week and a half because they didn’t want to ask for directions.

[Give me a break! They bring soft metal, smelly tree sap, and bitter medicine associated with embalming to people who could use a hot meal, baby clothes, and diapers.]

Oregon federal building occupied by militia protesting prison sentence of ranchers

A family previously involved in a showdown with the federal government is part of a group that has occupied a building at a national wildlife refuge in Oregon, and is asking militia members to join them.

Ammon Bundy — the son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who was involved in a standoff with the government over grazing rights — told The Oregonian on Saturday that he and two of his brothers were among a group of dozens of people occupying the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

The protest began as a rally in support of Oregon ranchers facing jail time for arson.

These are armed individuals violating Federal and state laws, but the police apparently don’t see a need to arrest or shoot. They are protesting people going to jail for starting fires during a drought. Oregon has had a very serious wildfire problem, just like most of the Western states.