First: Kerry and Obama are becoming more and more irrelevant every day.
Second: Devon.
Third: Don just sent me an incredibly interesting link to The Motley Fools. Everything in that article has been stated explicitly or implicitly so many times on the blog it boggles the mind. Regular readers "get it."
Fourth: the price of oil moves up another half a percent, and the dollar is flat, so one can't attribute this all to the strength (or weakness) of the dollar. Right now, it's all about the weather (not the climate; that comes later), and that's why the "first" above is relevant, and they aren't.
Things are moving much more quickly in my arena than I would have imagined three months ago. My arena is energy; my focus is fossil fuel; my insane obsession is the Bakken.
But there are too many things happening too fast; I can't capture it all fast enough, so this cryptic note which will remind me of things to write about later.
The tipping point for this momentary manic episode: the market was down 50 points in early trading; I was absorbed in writing a note to the granddaughters, and when I came back to the market and e-mail, I was shocked: the market, Devon, price of oil, Don's link to Motley Fool.
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Nothing should be read below this line. The note above is the post. But in the momentary manic mood I need to capture the thoughts running through my mind. "Figuring out" F. Scott Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby was an incredible breakthrough for me. I can now enjoy the book and the movie over and over, not worrying about the meaning. I get it. It only took 62 years to figure it out. It is not quite the same feeling when I learned who the "real" Shakespeare was, but it's in the same ballpark.
I dread leaving this Saturday for a cross-country trip. I dread the separation from our two granddaughters. Once I start, the trip will be incredibly wonderful. Once I pull out of that San Pedro/Los Angeles driveway and head east on 10, then north on 15 to Las Vegas and then who knows how, up to the Bakken, I will do well. But this week, or what is the rest of it, is and will be hell, anticipating the separation. So, when I saw the market, the price of oil, Don's note, it took my mind off the impending separation and a moment of mania took over ... and whenever a moment of mania hits, I need to find a song quickly to bring me back or keep it going, depending on the moment, so the video, played loudly....
Oh, my God, I feel it in the air
Telephone wires above are sizzling like a snare
Honey, I'm on fire, I feel it everywhere,
Nothing scares me any more.
Kiss me hard before you go
I just wanted you to know
That baby, you're the best
I'm feelin' electric tonight
Cruising down the cost goin' 'bout 99
Got my bad baby by my heavenly sideAnd that's the anthem for this road trip, I guess.
I know if I go, I'll die happy tonight
Oh my God, I feel it in the air,
Telephone wires above are sizzling like a snare,
Cruising down the coast goin' 'bout 99....
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I don't think the pundits have figured out why the minimum wage has all of a sudden become so important. The "low-information crowd" -- which is not being used disparagingly -- does not understand why, but they are already feeling "it." The "it" being the intended consequences -- intended, at least according to Jay Carney, so breadwinners can spend more time at home with their families -- of ObamaCare. I opined from the beginning that ObamaCare will make incredible cultural changes for Americans, included a federally-mandated workweek of 30 hours. That's why the minimum wage has become so problematic for incumbent politicians right now. The "low-information crowd" is starting to feel the effects of the 30-hour workweek. It will only get worse. The minimum wage has not been raised (yet). Going from 40 hours to 30 hours is a 25% pay cut. A raise in the minimum wage to $10.10 by the end of 2016 is not going to come close to making up the difference. Blame it on ObamaCare but the "low-information crowd" won't connect the two.
One needs to hear what energy experts are saying: killing the coal industry needs to be re-thought. Obama and Kerry are becoming irrelevant to everyone but themselves.
The warmists who are willing to debate the subject intellectually need to look at the data. Obama and Kerry are becoming irrelevant to everyone but themselves. There was a great line Don Johnson threw out in a Miami Vice episode that pertains. He was out the door to save someone's life, when some idiot wanted to discuss gun rights; Don said something to the effect that he would debate that later when he had the time. Right now he was just trying to save a life. The folks in New England paying for CapeWind are probably having that same "aha" moment. CapeWind may be important but right now we're freezing. And dying.
It seems the only place on earth that is actually warmer is the Arctic. The warmists explain that the the warming Arctic is responsible for one of the coldest winters on record. And on the other side of the earth, the Antarctic, a gazillion times bigger than the Arctic, is actually getting bigger based on whatever data we have. The earth tilts slightly off its vertical axis. According to wiki, the axial tilt is 23.4 degrees, with the Arctic tilted away from the sun. Wouldn't it be a hoot if the axial tilt has shifted to 23.399999999 degrees and that accounted for the slight Arctic warming, and the Antarctic cooling, as the former is tilted closer to the sun, and the latter is tilted farther from the sun. Of course, that's just tongue-in-cheek, but I wonder if the warmists have put that data point in their computer models. It would explain everything. And, of course, the US has started to lean so far to the left, that alone might result in the earth wobbling slightly off its axial tilt.
Okay, I've settled down. This will probably all be erased later when the meds wear off.
I'm going to close up shop for the day. Back on the bike. Good luck to everyone. Oh, that's right. No one was supposed to read below the asterisks.
http://peakoil.com/forums/what-s-the-most-you-could-afford-to-pay-for-a-gallon-of-gas-t68974-40.html
ReplyDeleteScroll to the basil_hayden post..on 2/17..I just figured out the other day what you're eluding to above concerning Obamacare and minimum wage.
Have 2 20-year olds at home working 2 part time jobs (Walmart, Subway, ~25 hours each) each; they spend all their money on gas going between jobs for crappy short 4-hour shifts. They're just spinning their wheels. No hope of full time 40 hours at either place, no other jobs available, and they can't go to school if there's no gas money, even if they borrow to the hilt for school loans. I've been trying to convince them to head to the Bakken, but there's no place to live....Catch 22....
So will we have those that work 40-hour weeks (what a joke, never less than 50 with almost all unpaid OT) for X per hour and those that work 30-hour weeks for $10/hour? Then when the cost of everything goes up, do the people who work 40 hours a week and get paid X get a 25% raise to afford the things they used to be able to buy? Caste system anyone? Where does it end? Can I retire yet?
1. A number of issues; can't address them all. But you are correct about all the money being spent on transportation to get to these minimum-wage jobs. (The trend in the price of oil over the past few weeks is interesting.)
Delete2. My wife and I were just talking about the cost of an apartment in the Bakken. There is a segment of the population (and that segment is getting smaller every day) that is being "gouged" by the reality, or the perceived reality, of "no place to live" in the Bakken. In fact, the cost of lodging has decreased significantly since the boom began. The $2,000 apartments are being shared by four men ($500 each) who never see the apartment except to sleep (sort of like "hot bunking" on a submarine) but instead of paltry enlisted US Navy wages they are pulling down $100,000/year. But, yes, I do get your point. Despite the reality, or perceived reality of a lack of housing, workers continue to flock to the Bakken. And, to the best of my knowledge, there are very few folks living in parks in the Bakken any more, which was the story when the boom began. That is not true in some our larger more progressive cities: I see a lot of folks living in parks in northern California; Portland (OR): Washington, DC; and New York City, just to name a few. But I don't think are any folks living in parks (other than trailer parks) in Williston, the heart of the Bakken.
3. Just as four men share the cost of a $2,000 apartment, four minimum-wage earners are sharing the costs of their apartment. I was fortunate to have only one roommate when I was in college (the dorm room was probably 200 square feet (20 x 10), but many state universities house three or, even, four students in one dorm room. Meanwhile, look at the two highly paid engineers sharing an apartment in "Big Bang Theory." Many low-wage earners are also living with their parents, and if under 26 years of age, are on their parents' insurance policy. These minimum-wage earners have almost no expenses.
4. Finally, retirement. Some do well in retirement; some don't. Folks living / working / waiting for retirement are going to be missing the best days of their lives. Carpe diem.