Total US Crude Oil Imports -- Historical Data -- January 4, 2017

I wonder if the increase in US crude oil imports, for the most part, was along the northeast coast. RBN Energy noted that when Saudi Arabia changed course in 2014, Bakken CBR to the northeast practically came to a standstill. [See first comment: I had forgotten about contango and storage; a lot of oil imported this past month could have gone into storage anticipating better prices in six months.]

I don't know. I'm sure the data is out there but that would be beyond the scope of this blog.

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Mexico

I've been posting a number of links to stories regarding Mexico; one can start here. Mexico could be facing a "perfect storm" and it isn't beyond the pale to think that Mexico could face more dire economic straits than what folks are talking about. After the election I returned to watching MSNBC and CNBC  (I won't watch Fox News except in passing). But after two weeks of "Morning Joe," I grew tired of MSNBC and switched completely to CNBC, but that, too, has become tiresome and trivial. I am amazed that "they" can talk for twelve hours and have so little to say about what is going on in Mexico and what is going on in Canada.

What made me think of that was this story over at the AP today: "scuttled Ford plant has Mexico fearing more under Trump."

When/if Mexico implodes, there will be a lot of finger pointing, and I won't be surprised if Mexico's problems are blamed on a change in American policy. Good, bad, or indifferent, there will be some in America who will say that it was Mexico's own failure to help stem the tide of illegal immigration that got Donald Trump elected. Actions have consequences.

As I write that, my mind begins to wander, but those thoughts will have to wait. Our older granddaughter has finished water polo practice and is ready to head home.

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Straw Man

By the way, here's another "straw man." CNBC talking heads all day talk about how few cars made by US manufacturers in Mexico are really sold back here in the states. In fact, they tell you, 90% of US cars made in Mexico are sold around the world. So the obvious question is why aren't US companies building those cars in the US to sell around the world. And that is a great example of a "straw man" argument.

When I heard that Ford's profit margin or cost savings or however "they" measure it, amounted to a measly "10% savings." That is incredible. Ford would building a factory in Mexico just to save 10%. I assume there's enough inefficiency in US plants that could easily be tightened, knocking off that 10% waste, and doing just as well here in the states. And for the country (the US) all those folks working, paying taxes, supporting their communities, their churches, their schools. When I heard that we're talking a measly 10%, I understood even better why Trump and US workers are so enraged about sending jobs overseas, or across the border to Mexico. Now with relatively inexpensive energy here in the states compared to counties that need to import fossil fuel, something tells me the US may be competitive enough to offset the difference in labor costs.

And, oh, by the way, saying that an American worker costs several times more than a worker across the border is another straw man argument. The issue is not the "cost" of an individual worker but the productivity of the manufacturing plant as a whole.

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Grousing

Yesterday, the cupcakes over at The Los Angeles Times were grousing that the snow pack this year was 70% of normal compared to 105% at this time last year.

Twenty-four hours later the forecast is for up to 20 feet of snow to be dumped on parts of California in the next few days. I can hardly wait.

This tells me two things:

There is a God.

And God has a huge sense of humor.

Go, God!

By the way, snow pack can be tracked here: http://snowbrains.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/west_swepctnormal_update.png.

And you can change the "date" by simply changing the year/month in the URL. Seriously. I will try ot remember to check snow pack two months from now.

The photo below was taken by "Lois and Clyde" near New Salem, ND.

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Grousing Redux

Full disclosure: I have a Costco card, basic membership, $55 / year.

I "never" shop at Costco. I've been to our local Costco once in the past year and did not buy anything. No, I guess I've been there twice. The other time was with my wife. She bought a chicken. (Not a live chicken but ... you know what I mean....)

There is talk that Costco may raise the price of basic membership from $55 to $60. I would still renew. I would renew up to $75/year. I would probably even renew at $100/year, and I would probably shop there just as often.

The one time two times I went to Costco this past year I noted that many of the customers looked no richer nor no poorer than I (looked). In fact, it was getting to look a lot like our local Wal-Mart. Based on that observation, I think Costco would be smart to raise the basic membership to $75/year. Maybe more.

Didn't Mark Twain Groucho Marx say something to the effect that he didn't "believe" in clubs: he wouldn't want to be part of any club that would accept him as a member? Costco is starting to get that "feel." (An eagle-eyed reader caught my "Mark Twain" mistake.)

Quick: what's the average family income for a Costo shopper? for a Sam's Club shopper? Answer here.

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By Popular Request, The Science Page

All living things on Earth fall into one of three main categories, or domains: Eukaryota (us), Bacteria (not us), and Archaea (not us, either).

The defining characteristic of eukaryotic cells is the presence of a nucleus.

I knew all that. The following is new to me.

In eukaryotic cells and in archaea, the DNA is wrapped every so often along its length around blobs of a protein called histones.

Only eukaryotic cells have cytoskeletons. And only eukaryotic cells have kinesin and dynein. The latter are two remarkable motor proteins that drag other molecules or entire organelles around inside the cell, literally walking along tubular tracks.

That's from The Cell: A Visual Tour of the Building Block of Life, by Jack Challoner, c. 2015. This information might be important if you have a cocktail party to attend this weekend. Or not.