Wednesday Flotsam and Jetsam

Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.

There's an old saying that things end badly or they wouldn't have ended. Think that saying applies to John Harbaugh getting fired in Baltimore. Now we're getting reports of lots of drama inside the Ravens locker room and I have to confess I think Lamar Jackson may be quickly sliding in his capacities as a top QB. He may not even be the best QB on his own roster anymore. Any coach who takes this job should go into it with eyes wide open.

As always - please Subscribe, hit the Like button, or share the Link. Thanks!

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks.

Life Advice

More Linky Links

More stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Lee Zeldin has transformed the EPA. His alliance with RFK Jr. and MAHA should also not be overlooked.

- From the archives: Today is a holiday in Ireland that I'd like to see adopted here.

- Tim Ferriss: Why you should seek more awe in the new year,

- Why the Trump administration is taking over Washington DC public golf courses.

Life Advice from Ralph Waldo Emerson

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Matt Ridley: The great climate climbdown is finally here.

- New Harvard president faults faculty activism for chilling campus debate and free speech. Progress I guess but isn't Harvard's way of punishing a student is to give them a B instead of an A?

- The most important question of your life.

- Now I'm upset I did not watch this game. This was amazing. Instead I watched Iron Man II and Iron Man III as background as I read. Mea culpa!

Tuesday Flotsam and Jetsam

Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.

The New England Patriots finished the season 14-3 and now have the most 14 win seasons of any franchise in the NFL. And I must say this one was the most unexpected. I am truly grateful for this season and that Drake Maye and Mike Vrabel are even considered to be in the running for MVP and coach of the year never mind possibly winning those awards. No matter what happens in the playoffs - this is all gravy.

As always - please Subscribe, hit the Like button, or share the Link. Having said the above - aren't the best things in life those which are unexpected? My expectations of the Pats have been met. Go Pats!

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks.

The League

"When major college powers such as Alabama, Auburn, Stanford, Harvard, Michigan State, and many others elected to not field squads during the war, the NFL became one of the few places fans could watch football. Even though many of the best players were overseas and its product was diluted, the NFL was thriving during the war. In fact, it was thriving because of the war." John Eisenberg The League: How Five Rivals Created the NFL and Launched a Sports Empire.

One of the founders of the league - George Halas even enlisted and received a Bronze Star from the Navy. This was in fact Halas' second war. The idea that baseball was pastural while football was martial was beginning to become very clear.

College Football Thoughts

Results from the transfer portal are starting to pour in plus we ready for the playoff semi-finals. Some thoughts.

Was having these thoughts anyway so figured I'd jot the down and share on Substack.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Glenn Reynolds: Trump, Maduro, and What's Next? Some of the memes are pretty good. Many a truth is said in jest. Worth a read.

- The Maduro Raid: Early reports and cautions. Some excellent points.

- Bettie Boop and Blondie enter the public domain. Detective Sam Spade also enters the public domain - does that mean we'll see a modern Humphrey Bogart-type character in books or films?

- The rise of the machines.

TDS in a Nutshell

Via

Monday Flotsam and Jetsam

Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.

A busy weekend of news and this promises to be be a busy week too. Did the Iranian regime just topple? Is Cuba next? Plus the NFL playoffs are set and today is black Monday for coaching firings. All this and I plan another College Football Thoughts post later, Enjoy!

As always - please Subscribe, hit the Like button, or share the Link. Thanks!

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks.

Michael Crichton

...The greatest challenge facing mankind is the challenge of distinguishing reality from fantasy, truth from propaganda. Perceiving the truth has always been a challenge to mankind, but in the information age (or as I think of it, the disinformation age) it takes on a special urgency and importance. 

We must daily decide whether the threats we face are real, whether the solutions we are offered will do any good, whether the problems we're told exist are in fact real problems, or non-problems.... Michael Crichton (from a 2003 speech)

How the Raid in Venezuela Effects the World Oil Markets

The chant of "no war for oil" has been heard many times. Except this time there was no war but there was plenty of oil. The taking of Maduro by the US Military was historic in many ways more than one.

Venezuela has the largest oil reserves by far and with Mauro now gone these reserves are opened up to the world. These reserves in large part will be controlled by the US and coupling this with the need of the Venezuelan people for hard cash does not bode well for the oil producing nations of the world.

But how does this effect the other nations of the world? Have a new post up on Substack to look at that question.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Peter Attia with some past tips on nutrition and exercise.

- From the archives: The self-education of Louis L'Amour. Have a lot of respect for Louis L'Amour and highly recommend his autobiography.

- The making of a market maker. From September but new to me. Worth a read.

- Chief of the Joint Chiefs Dan "Raisin" Caine on how the military captured Maduro.

Some Memes You May Enjoy

Many a truth is said in jest.

- Everyone's returning for Avengers Doomsday it seems.

- A little McDonalds humor.

- A little Marco Rubio humor.

- Trump administration foreign policy in a nutshell.

Venezuela Libre Flotsam and Jetsam

Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.

As you can tell from the title - today's offering is mostly about Venezuela and the capture of Maduro. I plan to do separate post on what this may mean for the oil markets. Suffice it to say that this operation may be to oil what the Comstock load was to silver or Sutter's Mill to gold.

As always - please Subscribe, hit the Like button, or share the Link. Go Pats!

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks.

Venezuela Libre

Linky Links

 Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Nitwittery update: the bias against novellas. Off the top of my head I'd add Cannery Row or A Moveable Feast to that list.

- Jonathan Turley: The US captures Maduro and his wife. The legal case against Maduro.

- One of Scott Adams best videos.

- Charles Murray on Who is Ayn Rand?  Old but Rand's books aren't exactly new. (HT Execupundit)

Never Break Us Apart - INXS

Saturday Flotsam and Jetsam

Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.

While we were sleeping, the US Military captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro. All this was accomplished without a single battle being fought or the US declaring war. What comes next becomes the biggest story in the world.

As always - please Subscribe, hit the Like button, or share the Link. Thanks!

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks.

Truth

More Linky Links

More stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- The Central Bank in Iran is signaling a major loss of control by the government.

- CBS News: Everything we know about Minnesota's massive fraud schemes.

- The impact of the massive deregulation of the Trump administration. An underreported and perhaps under appreciated aspect of Donald Trump's first year back on office.

- From the archives: 8 rules to do everything better.

College Football Thought

Yesterday was full of playoff bowl games and today the transfer portal officially opens. Lots of thoughts to share.

Was having these thoughts anyway so figured I'd jot them down and share on Substack.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- MTV Channels bid farewell to viewers. MTV came in with a bang and left largely unnoticed with a whimper.

- Glenn Reynolds: UBI for me, but not for thee. It's a good argument for a balanced budget.

- The future of warfare is not a swarm of small drones but lasers? Interesting.

- An appreciation of Scott Adams.

The Bad in Each Other - Feist

Friday Flotsam and Jetsam

Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.

When the full story of the Somali fraud is told not just the rash of tax dollar thefts in Minnesota but nationwide - I expect it be told in a book or documentary. Don't be surprised to see that called Somali Pirates. In fact I'm somewhat surprised that nickname hasn't caught on already.

As always - please Subscribe, hit the Like button, or share the Link. Thanks!

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks.

Word for the Day

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Seven Tips for the New Year. Good advice.

- Kevin Kelly's Data Manifesto.

- Ironies and compromises at the nation's birth. As an aside - I like Joseph Ellis as a writer. (HT A Layman's Blog)

- Are the walls closing in on Ilhan Omar? Oh what a tangled web you weave when first you introduce legislation to deceive.

College Football Thoughts

Some New Year's Day college thoughts and observations.

Was having these thoughts and observations anyway and figured I'd jot them down and share on Sustack.

Truth

New Year's Day Flotsam and Jetsam

Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.

Think DOGE has shown its weight in gold in exposing government waste, fraud and abuse and I hope that not only does DOGE become permanent but that state governments also adopt a DOGE of their own. I do wonder if it's now time for a new "Department of Government Clawbacks" to go after all that tax dollar money that went out the door to frauds in the past. Probably need a more catchy name for it though.

As always - please Subscribe, hit the Like button, or share the Link. And why not start off the new year with a subscription? Happy New Year!

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks.

Neil Gaiman's Tips for the New Year