If you saw the movie 2012 this weekend, you were not alone: Elaine & I went Friday with one of our friends and it was a) great computer graphics…damn fine and worth seeing for that alone; b) thin on plot, but that may have been a function of overwhelming CG, and 3) a monster bringing in $225 at the box office globally.
After seeing the movie, I came home to the ranch and wondered if maybe I shouldn’t call the Texas Railroad Commission this week – since they’re the people in charge of capped off oil and gas wells in our neighborhood. Since our property is literally across the street from a 600-acre drilling reserve, I figure if I can lease out part of our land to a wildcatter, maybe I could at least find one of the capped off wells to turn into a neutrino detector, like the old mine shaft in India was used for in the movie.
Not sure it would work. With my luck, I’d strike oil, instead, although that wouldn’t be such a bad thing; E & I have jokes about doing a a real-life Beverly Hillbillies…
But the movie was entertaining, although I’m not sure where all the water comes from. What’s more worrisome is the alternative to 2012 which I outlined in the Saturday column for Peoplenomics subscribers.
Of note: There’s only one itsy-bitsy-teeny sunspot today over at Space Weather and it’s really, really small. Who needs the earth’s crust going walkabout when we have bozos at the helm? We’re doomed by stupidity, anyway, it seems. No fair doing double shots for breakfast, or popping a second pill…you really oughta suffer through Monday’s like the rest of us.
Car Pollution Tax Scams
The report that “Dutch drivers to pay tax on road time, not car” can be read any number of ways. One is that it would be fair to tax people for pollution purposes depending on how much they drive. But does that really make sense?
As I’m reading it, a lot of this global warming stuff (which is inconveniently happening to other planets in our solar system) is nothing more than a way for governments to reorganize to extract continuing tribute from taxpayers.
You see, governments globally have a problem: They need more money to do things like bail out their banks, build their militaries and so forth. So what do they do? Invent global warming and tah-dah! Excuse to play three-card Monte with taxes.
In some places – like the Netherlands case – the concept is to use technology to install a mileage tax. In other places, like Texas, the sweetheart deals are cut to lease freeways that were paid for by taxpayers once, out to foreign outfits which reap profits and pay a piece to government.
Here’s the nitty-gritty: In both cases, you’ve got roads – a huge sunk cost fixed asset. How does government monetize a fixed asset to fund its never-ending growth? Simple! Lease it out (Texas and other states) or install a new ongoing tax regime (Netherlands).
Of course, people would be grabbing their pitchforks is this was put before the people directly, so a slow-motion scare tactic can be used, social engineering at its best and what do you get? Bippity Boppity Boo.
If pollution is the problem, sticking a sniffer up a car’s exhaust pipe tells the truth in PPM. GPS mileage-based taxes? Ding ding ding: Loser. Tax scam. Fixed asset conversion to rent.
Optimist and Pessimists Test
You know how to tell the difference between an optimist and a pessimist?
The optimist says it’s 39 shopping days till Christmas.
The pessimist says its 1131 days until 12/21/2012…
The realist says we mostly end up broke either way….
The UrbanSurvivalist says see you tomorrow morning…planning to start my Christmas Want List.
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Send your comments to george@ure.net
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Peoplenomics This Week
Life Through Business Model Glasses
“Life Through Business Model Glasses” Ever wonder what would cause a person (like me) to ask “What’s the Woo-Woo business model worth?” Here’s the cause…Ever since I got serious about trying to understand business back when I was a newscaster, I’d come to a working conclusion that almost all human activity may be viewed at some level as competition between business models. Whether you talk about religion, government, family, or more conventionally-structured businesses like the traditional plumber six blocks over, everyone it seems is running a business model – although most will deny it’s their sole motivation. Using this approach, we can not only develop clearer focus in our personal lives, but also gain understanding through questions we never thought to ask before. Like: “What’s a UFO worth?” and “How big is the woo-woo business?”
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“Live on $10,000″ A Year
With another round of layoffs due to start later this month…a round which will start to axe many of the middle managers who have managed to avoid the HR grenades…might I suggest a preemptive tactical move? Voluntarily dropping your lifestyle back a bit, since we’re all being marched down that road by either circumstances or some out-of-control-PTB types who write checks to Washington lobby and to anti-reformers in California! A good starting point, at least if you’ve still got $10-bucks is my e-book “How to Live on #10,000 a Year…or less!”
It’s an automatic download. It’s written in an information dense style: The whole thing runs about 65 pages, but it gives you a vision of how to not only live on the cheap, but also how to migrate up the economic foodchain if you have a little hustle left… Click here for the index and details.
MyGroPonics
My commodity broker JB Slear and I have written a simple book to get you started on high density hydroponics. It’s an example of how someone with a little creativity, access to a few ‘dollar stores’ and willing to try out some new farming techniques can grow an amazing amount of produce sin a very small space – like even an apartment balcony (if it gets some sunlight). Sound interesting? It’s just $10 bucks here…
Pass It On
The business model of this website is base Simply click here and send a link to this site to everyone on your distro list…Nothing more dangerous than sharp, clear-thinking upstarts who ask a lot of questions, eh? Unless you believe WTC-7 fell over on its own, of course….
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