A quiet, romantic Irish ballad (heh) ...... Happy St.Patrick's Day
PS - - Drive Safely, I'll be out there.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Saturday, March 16, 2013
A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass div
Saro Jane - by Country Gazette (sometime between 1983 and 1988)
Alan Munde - Banjo; Gene Wooten - Dobro; Roland White Jr - Mandolin; Mike Anderson - Bass
Alan Munde - Banjo; Gene Wooten - Dobro; Roland White Jr - Mandolin; Mike Anderson - Bass
Friday, March 15, 2013
Banking Div (trust us subsection)
Seems that the folks at JP Morgan Chase all look like Sgt Schultz. You'd think that the money they get/got paid their understanding of the rules would be better ......oh well.
There will be no solution until Congress and the regulators are out of the banks' pockets.
We'll never stop good, ole fashionerd greed, but the best quock solution to the problem was proposed by Barry Ritholtz in the Washington Post last year. Here's the meat of the solution (based on a time-machine glance of a letter from the Chairman of the FDIC in the near future to the bankers :
There will be no solution until Congress and the regulators are out of the banks' pockets.
We'll never stop good, ole fashionerd greed, but the best quock solution to the problem was proposed by Barry Ritholtz in the Washington Post last year. Here's the meat of the solution (based on a time-machine glance of a letter from the Chairman of the FDIC in the near future to the bankers :
"Therefore, as chairman of the FDIC, with the full support of my board of directors, we have decided upon the changes in the regulations covering federal deposit insurance:
1. Effectively immediately, we have increased the FDIC deposit insurance for any U.S. bank that engages in ANY trading of derivatives or underwriting securities or other investment banking activities by threefold. This threefold fee increase goes into effect immediately. It applies whether these trades are hedges for proprietary trades or are made on behalf of clients.
2. Effective in 90 days, we are LOWERING the maximum insured deposit liability to $100,000 per account for derivative trading firms. Effective in 180 days, the insured maximum insured deposit liability will drop to $50,000 per account.
3. Effective one year from today, on May 23, 2016, we will no longer offer deposit insurance for any firm that engages in derivative trading or securities underwriting or that engages in investment banking.
4. Any bank with fewer than 1,000 depositors or less than $1 billion in assets may apply for a discretionary waiver of these rules.
We have been forced to make these changes because of the very real risks that your leveraged derivative trading has created. One or more of you may suffer an enormous loss, and that poses a risk to the DIF. Our governing statute requires the FDIC to act in such circumstances.
It is not our position to tell you what sort of non-depository banking activities you may engage in. Those are business choices you and your firm are free to make. However, it is our position not to engage in foolish insurance underwriting. We have elected to be more conservative in our risk management as well as the underwriting assumptions we make. Therefore, we cannot guarantee the kinds of risks that your firms have been undertaking.
This action should delight many of you. In the recent speeches of several bank CEOs, many of you have longed for a return to the days of less regulation and a truer free market. Once you no longer qualify for our insurance due to your other businesses, you will be freed up from all of the onerous bank reviews and regulations that are part and parcel of FDIC insurance.
As a bonus, without the intervention of government guarantees, those of you who continue to have depositors will finally be able to compete in a free and open market. Without FDIC insurance, your depositors will be making their decisions based on your reputation and their assessment of the safety and security of your operations — and not Uncle Sam’s willingness to continually bail you out.
You have the FDIC’s best wishes for success in the future — just not our insurance."
Perhaps someone down in the GWTP will have the cojones to do something - - this would be a good start.
Shipwreck ... div (brand death subsection)
During all my years in the travel industry, Carnival was always considered the "low-end" of the mass-market cruise lines. I personally never sailed with them, but considered all client reports and criticisms when recommending a particular ship. Based on performance and the latest news, I don't think anyone could convince me to recommend them, let alone go up the gangplank.
I don't know what the future holds for the company, but despite the refunds and offers of future freebies, I see nothing but a death spiral of Carnival.
Hopefully, one of the successful lines WON'T buy them to be used as a loss-leader.
I don't know what the future holds for the company, but despite the refunds and offers of future freebies, I see nothing but a death spiral of Carnival.
Hopefully, one of the successful lines WON'T buy them to be used as a loss-leader.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Saturday, March 9, 2013
A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass div (Old + New subsection)
Wheel Hoss - an old Bill Monroe number done by a combination of Hot Rize and the Punch Brothers (in, of all places, the BB King club, New York City).
SPRING !!!!! DIV
Went out for my walk around the neighborhood lake this morning. Hard to believe that last Wednesday was supposed to be the "Great Snowstorm of 2013 (so far anyhow)." Temp was about 60 and lots of pretty girls out in tight leggings exercising. Ah !!! an old bear can have some pleasures, eh ??
Watched a boy cardinal chase a girl cardinal for over a minute, but they never stayed still long enough to snap a picture (guess photo immortality wasn't on their minds). Did however come upon a lone flower resplendent in its spring regalia. Not sure just what it is - - one of the guys i paddle with is a botanist, he could probably name it; I tend to identify flowers by color - red flower, yellow flower, blue flower, etc. The daffs (I recognize those) are up, but not in bloom yet - - maybe three days or so.
Watched a boy cardinal chase a girl cardinal for over a minute, but they never stayed still long enough to snap a picture (guess photo immortality wasn't on their minds). Did however come upon a lone flower resplendent in its spring regalia. Not sure just what it is - - one of the guys i paddle with is a botanist, he could probably name it; I tend to identify flowers by color - red flower, yellow flower, blue flower, etc. The daffs (I recognize those) are up, but not in bloom yet - - maybe three days or so.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Random Hits Div (Snowquestration subsection)
Snowing here in the environs of the GWTP, so had a nice read of the WaPo along with the coffee.
Yesterday, one couldn't go five minutes without listening to the varied and sundry predictions of how bad the storm would be. I'm sure that the local supermarkets were stripped of their bread, milk and toilet paper, which are the usual purchases. I cannot for the life of me (having lived on the Northern Plains for twelve years) figure out the mentality in this region for a snowstorm. It isn't like you are going to be isolated for weeks (and what nutritional value toilet paper holds continues to escape me).
Let's see - - the one thing hardly heard yesterday was about the continuing fiscal dilemma facing our ever-knowledgeable Congress. The visible TSA lines at the airports seemed to be small and moving. Perhaps it's because now you can carry a knife or a hockey stick through security (I'm not sure how well the hockey stick will fit into the overhead bin, but who cares -- freedom WOOHOO !!). I'm not sure that this will make the lines move any faster, but can't help but wonder why folks still have to remove their shoes???? Seems to me that if there's one thing that slows down the "security" lines is the shoe fetish.
Former Congressman Bob Ney had some things (not nice) to say about Speaker Boehner in his new tell-all book. Seems that the Speaker hasn't progressed too far from the days when he passes out tobacco lobbybribes campaign checks out to members on the House floor years ago. At least he has his priorities straight.
The President doesn't seem to know how much Capitol janitors are paid. Semms to me that considering the shitty people they have to clean up after, they don't get enough. Maybe if they were furloughed and the congresscritters had to carry out their own trash and scrub their toilets they might get the message.
Another Bush is making presidential noises. It's important to remember that he once was regarded as "the smart one." I'm not sure that the country is ready to vote for another one.
The NRA is encountering a little resistance from, of all places, the gun industry. I personally think that 100% background checks are a good idea. Yeah, I've heard all the negatives, but a little enforcement against those trying to skirt the system would go a long way. Perhaps the sponsorship of a
NASCAR race by the NRA (hopefully, Buckshot Jones will emerge from retirement to participate) will be able to overcome the backlash.
So much for the snowy days entertainment.
Yesterday, one couldn't go five minutes without listening to the varied and sundry predictions of how bad the storm would be. I'm sure that the local supermarkets were stripped of their bread, milk and toilet paper, which are the usual purchases. I cannot for the life of me (having lived on the Northern Plains for twelve years) figure out the mentality in this region for a snowstorm. It isn't like you are going to be isolated for weeks (and what nutritional value toilet paper holds continues to escape me).
Let's see - - the one thing hardly heard yesterday was about the continuing fiscal dilemma facing our ever-knowledgeable Congress. The visible TSA lines at the airports seemed to be small and moving. Perhaps it's because now you can carry a knife or a hockey stick through security (I'm not sure how well the hockey stick will fit into the overhead bin, but who cares -- freedom WOOHOO !!). I'm not sure that this will make the lines move any faster, but can't help but wonder why folks still have to remove their shoes???? Seems to me that if there's one thing that slows down the "security" lines is the shoe fetish.
Former Congressman Bob Ney had some things (not nice) to say about Speaker Boehner in his new tell-all book. Seems that the Speaker hasn't progressed too far from the days when he passes out tobacco lobby
The President doesn't seem to know how much Capitol janitors are paid. Semms to me that considering the shitty people they have to clean up after, they don't get enough. Maybe if they were furloughed and the congresscritters had to carry out their own trash and scrub their toilets they might get the message.
Another Bush is making presidential noises. It's important to remember that he once was regarded as "the smart one." I'm not sure that the country is ready to vote for another one.
The NRA is encountering a little resistance from, of all places, the gun industry. I personally think that 100% background checks are a good idea. Yeah, I've heard all the negatives, but a little enforcement against those trying to skirt the system would go a long way. Perhaps the sponsorship of a
NASCAR race by the NRA (hopefully, Buckshot Jones will emerge from retirement to participate) will be able to overcome the backlash.
So much for the snowy days entertainment.
Monday, March 4, 2013
Saturday, March 2, 2013
A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass div
Back Where I Started - The Bluegrass Album Band:
Tony Rice - Guitar and lead vocal; Jerry Douglas - Dobro; Doyle Lawson - Mandolin;
J.D. Crowe - Banjo; Bobby Hicks Fiddle and Mark Shatz - Bass
Tony Rice - Guitar and lead vocal; Jerry Douglas - Dobro; Doyle Lawson - Mandolin;
J.D. Crowe - Banjo; Bobby Hicks Fiddle and Mark Shatz - Bass
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