Dust... No, not the kind from the Golden Compass

...though if you've never read Philip Pullman's trilogy His Dark Materials, I can recommend it. Don't bother with the movie. Oh, and be warned: this is possibly the most sacrilegious blasphemy ever written. And I say that as a compliment, not as a criticism.
In a semi-conscious effort, I am going to attempt something a little less ranty and a little more geeky. Anyway, my client computer (does it really count as a server/client setup when you have one server and one client?) went into alarm yesterday with an overheat. Let's look at the graph, shall we?
I am amazed at what a small amount of dust (and I've seen large amounts! This was small in comparison) will do. 1 minute of air blast at 30 psi dropped 20 degrees Centigrade. That's some serious heat.

Investment advice...

Scott Burns is an investment advice columnist that used to work for the Dallas Morning News. his advice is generally level headed and on track. He continually out performs the high priced big firms using his do-nothing couch potato methods. There, that's the background. His article today is spot on. Go in read it. I'll wait.
My sentiments exactly. The idea that Washington is going to solve our problems scares the bejeezus out of me. Is there nothing they can't screw up? Show me a shining example where they have managed money in a fashion that actually worked.
The one thing missing from the article is the role of the consumer in all this... and where did they learn their stupidity. Again, from the government. Where else do you learn that debt can only be solved through getting a loan?
Though, to be honest, I cannot suggest something that will fix this mess. The true Capitalist in me says don't do the bailout. Bad businesses deserve to fail. But since the government has had its fingers in the fail from the beginning, it's hard to just sit back and watch it fall. It's the economic equivalent of the war in Iraq. Sure, they got us into the mess through lies and deceit. But once they muck it all up, it's not like you can just drop it and walk away.
[edit]
It looks like the bailout is a done deal, which I pretty much thought it would be. To me the more important question here is not the obvious "how do we pay for it?" It's now what are you going to do to keep this from occurring again? And the only answer I can stomach is: Get your grubby hands out of it.
[edit yet again]
Fail.
I could continue to rant how the government caused all this but the armchair quarterbacks have raised another thing that has crawled right up my ass and died: The fact that the whole economy revolves around credit. (Whether that is, in fact, a fact is left to your own judgment). Let's assume that is true. I cannot tell you just how wrong this is. Yes, credit is needed. Yes it is a tool. But it is a tool in the same way dynamite and a Colt 45 are tools. They are tools that are to be used cautiously and sparingly. It won't happen, but it would be nice if there was a lesson in this where we (as a country) learned that assets are more important than liabilities. Credit should take a back seat to savings.

Ike photoshoot

First things first: bugger the power. My freaking tractor is trapped under a 12 inch monster tree top. (I know it doesn't look that big in the photo. It is.)


Alternate viewpoint... There are a couple of small sheet metal dings on the hood, but for what this looked like, it really aint too bad.
Oh yeah... This is our power pole and meter. The wire sort of snakes across the ground under that same tractor tree. As a side note, one benefit of those newfangled electric meters that they can read remotely is that they can tell if your power is on. So they can close the ticket. If you have live power that is laying on the ground, they will continue to close the ticket because they can see the meter. Now that's progress.Hillbilly Electric company to the rescue! Climb up tree #1 and tie off rope. Run rope through eyes of power pole. Toss rope over branch of tree #2. Tie rope to tractor. Raise pole.
No good fix is complete without duct tape. Yes, I do see that crease in the conduit. Yes, I am curious as to the conditions of the wire beneath it.. Don't worry, I wrapped a shower curtain around the duct tape, so I am sure it is water tight.
Thar she is all a braced with them thar 2 b fors. Its hard to make out the rope still strung at the top, but its still there, holding us up.
And here is the company photo: Hillbilly Pire and Lite (HPL)

...on the economy and presidential candidates

I get sick of hearing about which presidential candidate will do what for taxes and the economy. Let me point out a couple of things:

• Presidents do not make laws. In particular, they have no ability to assess taxes. That is congress.
• Yes, the current president is an idiot. But if you want to blame the whole housing crisis collapse on a president (and ignore the first point) then you have to put it on Clinton. Yes, he (congress) did a lot to influence a balanced budget. I commend him on that. But he (or, like I said, the congress that was in session during his presidency) bolstered the Community Reinvestment Act¹ -- you know -- the legislation that mandated the housing crisis.
• The economy will turn up. It always does. Whomever gets elected next will get credit. And the credit is not theirs to own. I say this not knowing who is going to win. But one of them will say in 4 years "are you better off today than you were in the housing/banking crisis of 2008?" and invariably people will say "yes." It ain't his fault that it gets better. I am warning you now.

¹Interestingly enough, I heard reference to this on mainstream media for the absolute first time yesterday -- though I have been talking/reading about it for months. Of course, the interviewer ignored it, so it was only a tiny blurb.

crap -- they are not the same

I checked it out in my dictionary:

in·sur·ance - (noun) - a: the business of insuring persons or property b: coverage by contract whereby one party undertakes to indemnify or guarantee another against loss by a specified contingency or peril
Pon·zi scheme - (noun) - an investment swindle in which some early investors are paid off with money put up by later ones in order to encourage more and bigger risks

Oh my god. They are different! I didn't know either, so don't be embarrassed. But as for AIG, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- these are not insurance companies. Usually, instead of a bailout for a Ponzi scheme, you prosecute -- I wasn't sure if you knew that either.