Rikiki

9 Comments

    • Grand Energy Debate Warms Up in Washington [view article]
      >>Paulk8756

      It is nice to know that someone can still read and analyze. Thanks for your comments.

      Clarifications:
      1-- As you surmised, my point was about raising the price of fuels. Whatever the political systems exist in Europe and for whatever intent they had in taxing fuel, the (perhaps unsought) consequence of reduced consumption and higher efficiency resulted. I have great negative feelings about socialism. I am foremost a Libertarian by philosophy and a Republican by party. I am a native American citizen who grew up in a family where "waste not... want not" and "eat all you put on your plate" were rules of the day.

      2--My parents were immigrants from Germany in the 20s. I was born in the Midwest, completed most of my graduate studies in CA and served my country for 6 years in the Navy. I earned the right to b*&^ch about conditions caused by the current "dumbed down" voters and political "leaders". For nearly 40 years since I became a Republican in college years, I have observed my fellow Americans slip into the morass of more government.

      3--I concur that we have tried to support a more stable world and tried to keep the inter-country slaughter to a "minimum"... to our loss of precious young men and women in the military and to our financial detriment caused by hijacking a large portion of our GNP. We still have troops in Germany, Korea, and the Middle East. It is expensive to be the last line defenders of the free world. Because of our "Protector of the Free World" syndrome, we do not have the resources to spend on our own population.

      4-- Having lived in MN, CA, HI, WA, TN and TX, I can assure you my observation of not only government waste but also of individual's waste is valid. . And, I was speaking about mainly scarce resource waste
      ----------------------...
      >>JHM47
      If you could not READ my post try this.

      1--I did not condone any sort of European governance. If you were an economist, you would immediately note that Europeans who raised taxes on fuels for whatever reason garnered a welcomed collateral effect of reducing consumption. If you are not familiar with that language, then try this.... Reducing consumption and raising efficiencies was a side effect of whatever their intent was. I simply do not care what European intent was, as one who has had scads of college courses in economics, only the consequence matters.

      2-- So Europe is becoming a "third world country. Who cares? I never took a pro-European stance in my position.... merely an economic observer of facts. Emulate?? Read with your mind and don't presume to be able to vet my stands on economic issues or political systems.

      3--DA you are probably too young to remember what people burned in furnaces during winter for millennia. Wood, then coal, then heavy petro and now natgas. As a matter of fact many people do buy wood or harvest wood each year for the winter months. In many parts of this country wood pellet stoves are gaining popularity, as are high efficiency wood stoves. When the folks in Boston are paying $1,000 per month for winter fuel oil., those folks in Wisconsin, Maine, Washington, Idaho, Montana and New Hampshire. will be better off.

      4-- I have been a proponent of Nuclear powered everything since my first college course in physics that dealt with the matter. I have followed the Nuclear Navy since the USS Nautilus was launched. We Americans have acted like a bunch of sheeple with regards to nuclear energy generation. The US Navy has had well over 100 nuclear reactors in ships since the USS Nautilus. Nuclear Works.

      5-- I have a long-standing proclivity for diesel vehicles not electric. Next car,, I think CNG and maybe in a few decades a truly satisfactory hybrid diesel/electric. Electric... maybe like the early 1900s electric trucks... only in cities, I don not foresee an electric traveling from Austin to El Paso on one charge any time in my lifetime.

      READ, THINK, THEN REACT.
      Rikiki

      PS I support certain government projects especially the Interstate highway infrastructure, the TVA, BPA, and certainly government power infrastructure for power transmission lines. T. Boone has it mostly right in my opinion.
      Sep 15 12:51 PM
    • Grand Energy Debate Warms Up in Washington [view article]
      >>Paulk8756

      It is nice to know that someone can still read and analyze. Thanks for your comments.

      Clarifications:
      1-- As you surmised, my point was about raising the price of fuels. Whatever the political systems exist in Europe and for whatever intent they had in taxing fuel, the (perhaps unsought) consequence of reduced consumption and higher efficiency resulted. I have great negative feelings about socialism. I am foremost a Libertarian by philosophy and a Republican by party. I am a native American citizen who grew up in a family where "waste not... want not" and "eat all you put on your plate" were rules of the day.

      2--My parents were immigrants from Germany in the 20s. I was born in the Midwest, completed most of my graduate studies in CA and served my country for 6 years in the Navy. I earned the right to b*&^ch about conditions caused by the current "dumbed down" voters and political "leaders". For nearly 40 years since I became a Republican in college years, I have observed my fellow Americans slip into the morass of more government.

      3--I concur that we have tried to support a more stable world and tried to keep the inter-country slaughter to a "minimum"... to our loss of precious young men and women in the military and to our financial detriment caused by hijacking a large portion of our GNP. We still have troops in Germany, Korea, and the Middle East. It is expensive to be the last line defenders of the free world. Because of our "Protector of the Free World" syndrome, we do not have the resources to spend on our own population.

      4-- Having lived in MN, CA, HI, WA, TN and TX, I can assure you my observation of not only government waste but also of individual's waste is valid. . And, I was speaking about mainly scarce resource waste
      ----------------------...
      >>JHM47
      If you could not READ my post try this.

      1--I did not condone any sort of European governance. If you were an economist, you would immediately note that Europeans who raised taxes on fuels for whatever reason garnered a welcomed collateral effect of reducing consumption. If you are not familiar with that language, then try this.... Reducing consumption and raising efficiencies was a side effect of whatever their intent was. I simply do not care what European intent was, as one who has had scads of college courses in economics, only the consequence matters.

      2-- So Europe is becoming a "third world country. Who cares? I never took a pro-European stance in my position.... merely an economic observer of facts. Emulate?? Read with your mind and don't presume to be able to vet my stands on economic issues or political systems.

      3--DA you are probably too young to remember what people burned in furnaces during winter for millennia. Wood, then coal, then heavy petro and now natgas. As a matter of fact many people do buy wood or harvest wood each year for the winter months. In many parts of this country wood pellet stoves are gaining popularity, as are high efficiency wood stoves. When the folks in Boston are paying $1,000 per month for winter fuel oil., those folks in Wisconsin, Maine, Washington, Idaho, Montana and New Hampshire. will be better off.

      4-- I have been a proponent of Nuclear powered everything since my first college course in physics that dealt with the matter. I have followed the Nuclear Navy since the USS Nautilus was launched. We Americans have acted like a bunch of sheeple with regards to nuclear energy generation. The US Navy has had well over 100 nuclear reactors in ships since the USS Nautilus. Nuclear Works.

      5-- I have a long-standing proclivity for diesel vehicles not electric. Next car,, I think CNG and maybe in a few decades a truly satisfactory hybrid diesel/electric. Electric... maybe like the early 1900s electric trucks... only in cities, I don not foresee an electric traveling from Austin to El Paso on one charge any time in my lifetime.

      READ, THINK, THEN REACT.
      Rikiki

      PS I support certain government projects especially the Interstate highway infrastructure, the TVA, BPA, and certainly government power infrastructure for power transmission lines. T. Boone has it mostly right in my opinion.
      Sep 15 12:51 PM
    • Grand Energy Debate Warms Up in Washington [view article]
      Folks, it is not just congress that impedes progress on the energy front by its foibles. Specifically, the congress wants above all to be reelected.. viewed as a great job by those there.

      The voters, who constantly reelect these career politicians, want low prices for petro-fuel.... their immediate gratification requirements and hedonistic and profligate lifestyles demand it. (aside... what is the savings rate in the USA?...What is the average credit card and non mortgage debt per household/)

      Clearly, to most knowledgeable economists and thinkers, the price of fuel must rise, either by shortages( natural or contrived) or by government intervention. Europe has adopted a high fuel tax (originally to support massive socialistic programmes) which has the additional effect of reducing consumption by causing the consumer to seek ways to maximize the fuel efficiency of vehicles and moderate petro based lifestyles (jet skis, riding lawnmowers, ATVs, long auto trips, truck frame based SUVs, second or third cars, etc...). Americans from government down to states, counties, cities are downright WASTEFUL of energy resources, particularly gasoline and diesel fuels and even electricity. It is the way we grew up in an era of cheap energy. People want to continue this wasteful lifestyle even knowing the longer term consequences are quite undesirable. American consumers by stubbornly demanding lower prices to support their accustomed lifestyles act like temperamental spoiled pre-teens.

      Americans have got to look to more than their current consumption habits and think about what they will be leaving on this planet for their children and more future generation. The current generationS are clearly the "ME" generationS. They are selfishly hedonistic to the detriment of those who will follow. Until Americans have the will to vote for representatives who will look to the future and who will institute the necessary programmes providing realistic sources of new energy and for conservation of existing resources, we will be in a constant crisis mode with respect to energy and maybe even eating.

      I cannot believe that most religions in the USA promote "helping your fellow man" (in church that is) and then proceed to squander their "God given" resources to the detriment of their children and future generations.

      Get real people. People are selfish. Government must take action to
      I. conserve energy resources (by raise the prices via taxation of petro-fuels relative to hydro, solar, wind, and geothermal)
      II. Promote heavily the conservation of all energy resources by reducing waste. E.G. Penalize the big rig driver with big $ ticket if he lets his 2 gallon/hour run in the parking lot. Penalize all entities which read neighborhood meters from narrow ranging non-electric vehicles. There are literally thousands of little things that can radically reduce the use of petroleum and all resources.
      III. Promote and build an infrastructure nationwide for recycling waste of all sorts. Many progressive cities and counties already have this is place.

      Will today's generations vote for the type of individual who works for the future of America and not just for the current registered voter? Probably not. It will take a major war or 1973 style petroleum supply disruptions to even get serious about the programmes needed. Maybe when Americans must have a "victory garden" producing food to survive, the reality of conservation and alternative energies will find a "Mr. Smith goes to Washington" class of "public servant".

      I have hope.Rikiki

      Sep 14 11:57 AM
    • No Matter Who's Elected, Alternative Energy Wins [view article]
      Uncle Fred needs a longer memory. Both Republican and Democrat administrations have ignored energy sources since President Carter was blindsided by the huge petroleum spike (caused by some OPEC countries). All presidents and congresses since that time have elected to do nothing but bury heads in the sand. The current impetus vis a vis petroleum policy in Republican circles is "ENERGY INDEPENDENCE" and "DRILL, DRILL, DRILL,,,, here!" Democrat policy is still mired in a democrat controlled congress which has accomplished very little while it has the upper hand. All elected officials seem to loathe the only policy that has been proven to work. Raise the price of gasoline by adding more taxes to it. If the price resulting is high enough, there will be a mass exodus from large pickup trucks, SUVs and older fuel inefficient vehicles. The new petroleum stingy vehicles will be adopted.... We have 40+ years of European experience to prove it.
      Liquid petroleum fuels are inelastic to a certain price point and starts to become more elastic above that. All we need is a congress with GUTS to do the right thing for the future of this country.
      Rikiki       Sep 04 10:22 AM
    • Is Steve Jobs Sick Again, or Just Thin? [view article]
      Thin (lean) is better than (fat) obese. Has our FAT people culture changed how we think of thinner as abnormal? Fat people tend to get more bad illnesses and live shorter lives. Author should do some work on the treadmill and look in the mirror more often.

      As any team manager, Jobs would be replaced with a likely surrogate from his team. NOTICE that I, as a former business owner, said TEAM. A sane business owner or leader is always is training (grooming)his successor(s). This grooming of the team also has a good side effect is that one can take a vacation now and then and leave the "trainee(s)" in charge of the operation.
      Rikiki       Jun 10 09:49 AM
    • Congressional Insanity: Sue OPEC over Oil Prices [view article]
      Our intelligent public servants elected by our educated populace at work! There should be only be two absolutely mandatory requirements before running for public office in both Federal and State governments.

      1. Every public elected individual must personally prepare his own income tax returns within 8 clock hours and be audited by the respective Federal and State taxing authorities.
      2. Every public elected official must take and obtain a certified "B" or better grade in college level "Economics 1" and in high school level "ethics".

      There should be also a limiting of terms of office for these arrogant condescending twits.

      Rikiki
      MN, CA, HI, WA, TX       May 23 11:37 AM
    • Drivers Are Feeling the Pinch [view article]
      Most respondents to the "Oil crisis
      completely skip the second half of the Supply/Demand equation. I see tremendous waste of gasoline and diesel fuel here in Texas and around the country in summer.

      1. Each summer nearly every county road and highway is sheared by gasoline and diesel tractors which pull huge rotary mowers to mow medians and shoulders of roads ( sometimes dozens of feet wide). When did this "beautification&q... or "fire abatement procedure" become so required of nearly every county in the country? How many millions of gallons of fuel are wasted. How many tractors sit idle 9 or 10 months of the year.

      2. Each summer millions of households mow the lawan many times a summer. And how many millions of weed whackers/trimmers (gas/oil poluters) run hours each summer. Here in Texas $3-4000 riding mowers are common place. And there are A LOT OF THEM.

      3. Texas Drivers routinely let their cars set in parking lots with engines running even on temperate days and nights. Diesel pickup drivers are the worst offenders. Texans are BIG WASTERS! I have lived in many other states than Texas.....! I even witnessed a brand new Volvo in the Post Office lot in Cedar Park, TX on an 80 degree day running for at leas 20 minutes while I was mailing a package. There was no person or animal in the car. Destroyed my illusion about Volvo drivers being "Tree huggers"

      3. Independent truckers routinely let their rigs run for hours on end especially in summer overnight. A Kenworth size rig will burn near 2 gallons just running at idle. The independents bitch about fuel prices and yet they seem to be the worst wasters. Go figure. Hey guys check into an airconditioned motel and turn the engine off!

      Conservation and wise use of a limited resource can help reduce the demand side of the equation. I have no real hope for counties to do the conservation thing.... they will just bury the increased fuel cost for mowing in the budget and then raise your taxes to cover it.

      Rikiki
      Round Rock, Texas       May 11 12:30 PM
    • Agricultural Commodities: Playing an Acknowledged Theme [view article]
      If indeed the climate is warming, the amount of land in the extremes of North and South of continents will come into production. They will be growing more grains in heretofor unfarmable land in Alberta, Alaska, Siberia, Chile, New Zealand, etc.

      Availablility of water irrigation is critical. Israelis "made the desert bloom" as we have done in the US in the San Joaquin valley, the Coachella Valley, Rio Grande Valley and others. The San Fernando Valley was desert before water was brought down from the north is the 20s and 30s. Humongus areas here in Texas are desert because we cannot move fresh (desalinated) water from the GOM 200 miles inland. There is really little if anything with the water delivery capability of the Central California Water Project or the Colorado River Project in the entire world.

      Crop yields have grown considerably in the past 20 years.. Due both to use of fertilizer and genetic selection.

      The urbanization factor in land use will mitigate itself as the tiime and cost of commuting become become unbearable for the vast majority of people who cannot handle the burden. People will resign themselves to living in European "stacked boxes". Perhaps some remote housing deveopments might even revert to farm land. Not a lot of people will commute daily from Tracy, Manteca, Gilroy and from Patterson, CA to San Jose any more.

      It is the price of energy sources and human population grown which are the real limiting factors for the standard of living level around the world. Both have to be controlled to ensure adequate food supplies and quality of life for humans.

      Rikiki

      Apr 29 01:45 PM
    • Chesapeake Energy, Monsanto: Paying Tit for Tat [view article]
      If you indeed are bullish on the mentioned stocks and want to do call options, I suggest you use a bull call spread. By doing so you will limit your loss if stock goes south. You can achieve almost the same effect with a bull put spread. Limited losses, and of course limited gains result from selling (often) the front month higher call and buying a like number of lower strike calls with the stock price somewhere (usually) in the middle of the spread. Spreads give the option trader more control of his money in the speculative kitty. Gamblers in volatile stocks with naked call positions can get skinned very quickly. See BIDU, CF, POT, ISRG. et. al.
      Rikiki
      Apr 27 10:24 AM
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