Playing games

One of my hobbies, or at least for the last 7 years, has been online gaming. I heard of a new game and found a group of like minded individuals that I hoped, I could join and play for the time I thought I would try out this hobby. The game was PlanetSide a rather unique game in that it was a fast paced shooting game but it had a persistant "world" and so earned the lable MMO (MMOFPS). Even to date it stands with a very small group of games that offered what it did. PlanetSide ( which is a Sony Online game) is soon to be shutting down to one last world server, and is offering old crusties some free time to woo us back or at least have one last hurrah. Its been very enjoyable so far. PlanetSide; was one of the first truely "mega-games" that our online group threw the entire weight of the group into. We were extremely successful, and the times there have been stated by many to be the best times they ever had in gaming .. even though it was nearly 7 years ago. One of the reasons that we were so succesful and what really made the game worth while was the very REAL commraderie. Our group (by the way its Sturmgrenadier: www.sghq.com) was compose of people from all walks of life, but those that really made us shine seem to be the military and former military among us. They shaped our game play, they shpaed our realationships both to each other and to other players within the game.

Recently, at our monthly mens breakfast (yes at church) we had an amazing speaker. His name was Bill Buckley (not sure of the spelling) a former coach at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (2007 national champs). In his presentation he laid out a covenant that the team had with each other. But as he went over the presentation, I realized there here was the nuts and bolts of what we had as group of folks playing a game on the internet. While he drew parallesl to sports, he said that the same points could be used in any realtionship... parent-child, teacher-student, wife- and husband, and follower to God.

First he differentiated between a contract and a covenant: a contract is derived to protect each party- it is self centered and is bound by law. A covenant is a promise of committment, a realtionship centered devise based on concern for each other and the group as a whole. It is enforced by honor and loyalty.

1) I accept the absolute authority of my leaders. Ah yes, PS created a strange dynamic, SG leaders my might not be running the game operations - they therefore were subject to those that otherwise were their underlings. This rule created a dynamic that made following easy, and operations smooth.

2) I will work to build a culture of honor. SG has always stated that negative attitudes and forum trashing were not tolerated. Its actually one of the harder rules to follow.

3) I will be a roll player. Its hard when playing a game, to not jump out and be special. PS as a game made that a deadly mistake. Other players marvled at our ability to stay focused and function as a team.

4) I will grow strong as a leader through character and competence. It was amazing to see new players move up through the ranks and even take over the highest positions in SG's team. Yet that allowed the game to stay fresh and allow new players with vigor to continue the traditions of those that left or simply grew tired of directing opertaions.

5) I will grow in my abilty to overcome offense. I commit to bring all critism, insult, correction, and unfair treatment to the light by refusing to allow these things to cause resentment or bitterness. Through the SG charter, there was always a way to feel that you could at least take a problem to someone that would listen to your concern, and hopefully correct the situation. It still required the person to "buck -up" and understand the overall scope of the situation: its just a game.

6) I will be tough. I will not tolerate whinning or weakness in myself or my team-mates. Flying off the handel in PS was not tolerated. Since it took an overt action to vocalize ones frustration, such actions were not tolerated. Be mad in your house, but don't make us suffer your tantrum in comms( communications).

7) I will be passionate. I will play with enthusiasm. Sure PS was "just a game" but the emotions, the passion to win, and to do so decisively was contagious. How could you not all but snap-to when orders came down to "drop drop drop".

8) I will look forward to our rewards. Our greatest satisfaction was a complete domination of the game. We did so early on. And later we remained one of the few groups of players that still played to "move the map".

9) I will finish. PlanetSide, had a rather short heyday. But as a popular second game for many SG, it has lasted way beyond the lifes of all other FPS games. I played PS for 4 years straight as my primary game. I don't reget any time I spent there.

PlaneSide as a game had, and still has, many problems; but it created one thing, that I have yet to see replicated in any game: The game allowed players to form in to groups by the sheer might of their own covenant. I miss that bond more than the game itself.

HUA SGPS

Pine

Its not racism

So.. been home with a summer time cold/sinus deal, which has forced me to watch way more TV than I a) really want.. b) is good for anyone. So giving the current media circus over the "beer summit" at the White House, I watched only a small snippet of some panel discussion on race relations in the US. Without knowing the facts( of the incident).. and really without caring about the facts, there are a few things I would like to expound upon. Before I go too far though.. let me say that I feel I am treading a very fine line.. it is in fact a "be careful what you wish for" post.

There is a 3000 lb gorilla in the room on this, and to ignore its existence is to dismiss any credence on the part of the speaker. And yet, it is exactly that gorilla that all the pundits are ignoring. Going there is very very dangerous. So lets do it then.

I have no doubt that blacks in general are treated by police authorities as more likely to be guilty of some crime than white counter parts. But I will only concede that and return that native Americans ( where they can be found) are treated even worse, and that Mexicans are treated even worse than that AND that Arab "looking" individuals are treated EVEN worse than that. So as far as I am concerned any pundit that would look to change how those with authority look ONLY at one racial group (blacks) are in effect just as bad or even worse than those that would say that treatment is currently equal. But I submit that these problems are, on the whole minute and petty. There is a much bigger problem, one that feeds the above problem. In fact as far as I am concerned anyone wishing to deal with the above problem only should utterly be dismissed, for they can only feed the larger problem regardless of what path they look to.

The 3000 lb gorilla is the willingness of the general public and the courts to instill a since of empowerment to authorities to usurp rights of the general public for the security and "good" of the public. In my opinion this empowerment has been growing for decades and has lead to a momentum function that allows the current court/police/political system to charge forward, with no restraint available to the public. We have created our own monster, and it will devour us.

There are many aspects to this monster, and to be fair, it every ones fault.. that is to say the police operate as they feel they expected too, the courts want to assist with the mission and they respond as they feel they are expected to, and the politicians... they are elected to make problems go away, with the general expectation that they will do so without bothering the general populace. Therefore I submit that police function as they because we allow it. But to truly get change we to removed the function of self empowerment and then regain a system with sufficent checks and balances that make such actions simply not expected .. not tolerated.

Emergency Post- Comcast

So... I am home sick today when I get a sales call from Comcast.. seems their every-other-ad-for comcast-phone isn't enough coverage for them.. now they need to call their own subscribers to give them a "DEAL".. of course it's not any better than the "deal" they would give any one else off the street.

They guy starts by asking me how much I pay now for phone service.

"$17.99" I reply.

With out a skip, he begins reading his prepared text... for only $19.99 per month ( for the first year) ...... after that only $39.99 per month.

Wait lets get this straight ... gee I can pay $2.00 more per month now and double that after only 12 payments .. wow do I feel stupid... I should jump right on that!!! But hey, he's just a mouth... he's reading a script.. so I cut him some slack. Unfortunately he uses the slack to make his most powerful plee.

"But OUR service does not require you to use a computer or even have a computer" he states feeling vindicated that he just put a fantastic deal out on the table.

"Nor does mine" I state flatly.

"Really?" he protests "I didn't know that was possible, are you sure?"

OK ... hey look I am 46 years old... don't call my house on sales call and then proceed to 1) offer me a deal that costs more ( and not give up) 2) call me a liar, or challenge what I know to be true.

" I have been working with computers for over 23 years, I have extensive network and server experience, yeah I know what I am talking about... thanks for the call."

"Sir.. we don't charge for installation..."

"thanks for the CALL." Click.

OK folks heres the deal:

There are a very few "systems" that do require a computer of these only SKYPE has any real following. Skype is from free to maybe $20.00 a month.. Certainly not $39.00 a month. The other is magic jack. Both do require a computer to be on and running to use.

http://www.skype.com/

ALL OTHER SERVICES RUN WITH OUT A PC ON OR EVEN PRESENT.

So when you get a call from Comcast. Thank them, and then check on your own. Here's is what I found to be true:

The MOST expensive cable phone serive available is COMCAST @ $39.99 .. every other service beats them.

Second most expensive is Vonage, They have two main tiers; a limited service for $17.99 and an umlimited for $24.99. and yes, I use Vonage.

All other servies are cheaper, but usually not by much, the cheapest I found was $9.99. I started to sign up with them, then forgot, then tried the next month... they were gone. Others took thier place at $9.99, but I was uncertain of thier stability. I do think a good service could be found with unlimited called for $15.00 or so. But for $3.00 more (and a limit on calls) I went with a big dog vendor. I probably will change if I see a significant change in the market as my main house phone is nothing more than a method for sales people to call me ( ala' Comcast).

How does it work:

Either you buy your own little box or they sell/rent you one much like your cable modem. The box will need to go between the cable modem and house phone. I my case, I have 2 "wired" computers, a server, and an access point PLUS the phone adapter; therefore I have cable router and even a network switch in order to plug all that up. No, it's not complicated .. less so that most VCR recorders were back in the day. One luxury I do have is UPS- Uninterrupted Power Supply. A UPS is basically a combo - battery, battery charger, and DC to AC converter. When the power goes out the UPS uses power stored in the battery to keep things running for a short time. I figure mine is good for about 2 minutes.

So the cable modem plugs into the router.. the router plugs into phone adapter, and the phone adapter ( in my case) plugs into an unused phone jack. All the phones that are also plugged into the phone jacks in the house get a dial tone from that little box. Presto.. same old phone number (no charge), same dial tone, comparable phone quality, plus caller ID! All on my same old standard phones.

Point being: Do not be fooled by misleading scripts by Comcast. They charge MORE for nothing more than any other cable phone service. That is not to say they may not have a good deal .. the triple pack (cable-internet-phone) for $99 a month for a year is a good deal, until the ride runs out and prices return to about $150 a month.

Vonage- http://www.vonage.com/

VOIP- http://www.voip.com/l32/

lingo- http://www.lingo.com/

Got questions? Google is your friend or hit me up at: pinetor@yahoo.com

Can we change banking?

So, last time found Pine bemoaning the fact that knowledge of the problems with banking does not fix them, nor does the weak protests from the site that I last spoke of. Between then and now I did have the oppurtunity to attend a Lending Club "webinar", put on by big-wigs from the internet company. It was all very well done and I have nothing bad to say about it in total. However, putting the two "threads" together did give me an idea. Hold on this is a whopper of a Pine-ism.

So in the Lending Club presentation (in the beginning) they showed how banks did thier lending:
depositors put in money for which they are paid under 2% and borrowers borrow at over 12% with the banks keeping the difference. Gee and I thought I was the only dummy who thought that was how it works! You can go read one of my earlier posts for a full explaination, or heres the short of it:

There is a third party banks use called the FED. The banks put all deposits in the Fed and earn 6% on that PLUS they are allowed to loan 9 times that amount back out. If anything lets say they can do this at PRIME.. but really its more like FREE! So a bank gets money from the Fed currently at 0% percent and loans this at 13%, all while making 6% on the orginal deposit that they pay under 2% for. OK OK; so banks are making a mint .. so what???? Hey I don't really care how much they make .. the problem is each loan creates NEW money, money with no real good or service to back it up (only the PROMISE). Since this fishy money goes into the economy .. all money that was derrived via real goods and services MUST be devalued by the amount of the loan. AND THAT MY FRIENDS IS INFLATION. So the trillions in loans is devaluing the money you WORKED for, your real money buys less. This ONLY occurrs because banks use the FED to loan out money that otherwise does not exist.

BUT Lending Club does not do this. Because Lending Club uses lenders that must fund the loans directly with real cash money, there is no inflationary function called into play. That is to say the Lending Club makes money available without causing inflation which devalues the value of everyones elses money. So that idea of not working for big banks or pulling your meanger sums out, instead use a system such as Lending Club... which does not cause inflation to reduce the loans that do. By golly every true real AMERICAN should endeavor to swich loans and investments to Lending Club.. its the only thing that is GOOD FOR AMERICA!

Yeah, I know.. thats rather over the top. But when even Lending Club is afraid to say the obvious truth its kinda funny ... ole Pine don't care ........ I will.

Back to money

I apologize for being away so long... but then considering that maybe only 5 people have even read my blogs... I feel comfortable knowing that no-one is holding my feet to the fire for another dose of pine-isms.

before we start.. umm I had a drink of wine... this my need to be edited later ;0

So during lunch today, as usual I looked to see what the internet thought of how the real world was doing with its money. In doing so I found this website:

http://www.endfinancialfraud.org/

I spent time I really didn't have reading writing that while similar to mine... left me very flat.

Were I a "big Bank" this guy would be my best friend. Someone with poor communication skills trying to convince the world he knowns something

no-one else does. While he might be right about the "evil" of it all, he is dead wrong about any cure. Not working for big banks

and not banking at big banks... is like spiting in the wind... too little. Knowing the problem, does not make it go

away. But then I am not sure what would make it "go away". Damn Rodenberry, took the easy way out... in his Star Trek fantasy the earth

had figured it all out... but it wasn't show worthy, so we here are wondering how to get there from here. Spock save us!!

I have really really enjoyed my adventure on:

www.lendingclub.com

If you do go there PLEASE use my code of pinetor to either become a borrower ( I get money) ort a lender ( YOU get money).

To date I have made $2.47 on a total investment of less than $450.00 US. This week will see no less than 8 loans come due for there first payment

netting me around $6.50 .. of which 2/3'rds will be my own money back. Still... I am making ( they say) about 12.16% on $450.0 US

and thats saying something! My committment of $250 a month will have me with $950 at the site about the 6th of August.

Time to move off the economy for a rant

Well I went to bed tonight at 10:30... after tossing for 2 hours.. I find myself right back here. So I might as well make use of this late night for ramblings.

For going on sixteen years now my mother has shook her head at my continued mis-spent efforts to be a part of the "democratic process". To quote her "why do you waste your vote?" In a way I guess she is correct I haven't voted for a winning candidate for president in 16 years, in fact my candidate didnt even come in second! Wow, must be a record. But did I really waste my vote, or did she in reality, waste hers; even though she has voted for a winning candidate... Lets delve into it.

My mothers contention is that I waste my vote because I consistently vote for candidates that are neither republican nor democrat, they are, or at least have been, completely "un-electable" owing solely to their non-affiliation with either of the major parties. Well, its true. My candidates never win. Therefore, my vote is pretty much null in the grand scheme of things. Does that mean that her vote then did count? Either she got her parties candidate elected or she at worst negated a vote for the "other" party. Maybe, but lets look at what really has happened.

I have always heard talk of the "two-party system". Now the truth be told, as far as I can tell there is no law nor does the constitution support such. No, the two-party system is a term created by the two dominate parties, who wish to keep all voters in line and voting for either one of the two parties. Its only the two dominate parties that want a two party system. So what does it take to be the winning party in a two party system?  Simple, you have to get more people to vote for your party then vote for the one other party. THAT'S IT.  Whats the best way to do that?  Simple again, appeal to the most people. How do you do that? Simple again, by making sure your party excludes no-one, and is the best at making the most people "happy" with your agenda. Well, how do you do that? Simple again, by maintaining the status quo, and by guaranteeing them mediocrity. So Pine, what does that mean or prove, isn't your momma still right? Nope! And here's why:

In a two party system there is always one winner and one loser... always. So about half the voters didn't get what they wanted.  But! per above, since the only thing that matters to a party is winning, and to do that the winning party MUST move away from any extreme points of view on any and every topic, at least half (or more) of those that voted for the winning party only got about half (or less), of what they really wanted in terms of THEIR agenda. That is to say at least another 25% of all voters while their candidate "won" really didn't get views represented. And that means that for any election, in which either a democrat or a republican won, at least 75% of the voters "lost". Now... who wasted their vote?  

When I cast my vote,  all the candidates (all the world?) can be sure of this: I voted for someone that MOST closely represented MY views. For the past sixteen years, that candidate was neither democrat nor republican. The two parties have both moved so toward the middle, they have both done as much as they could to not offend, to not represent any extreme sentiment, they both promised things they had no ability nor desire to deliver, that neither party in any way shape or form came close to representing me. All the world loves a winner... but I prefer to stand by one who is right, even if it means that for sixteen years.. I have voted for the loser. I therefore must take solace in that, I did not waste my vote on someone that does not and cannot represent my veiws ( and in reality cannot represent ANYONE's views)

To paraphrase one of my favorite authors: "I am not for either side, for no-one is altogether on MY side".

PS: If I have offended any voter that has voted democrat or republican in the last sixteen years, really, I am ok with that! And yes I blame both parties and their system for the last 16 years and the next 8 years at least (yeah I just can't leave the economy out completely).

The begining is at hand

Famous quote: " Everyone has 20/20 hindsight"

Corrolary: "Hindsight gets better over time, or inversely 20/20 hindsight prior to everyone elses hindsight equals foresight"

So last week I watched as the DOW dropped 186 points in one day and on the same day gold rose by some amount that now escapses me. Assumption: investors left the stock market for whatever reason ( profit-taking, bad reports) and needed a place to put that money. They can put it into dollars or they can put it into a nearly equally liquid asset: GOLD. They chose gold. Gold is an expensive alternative to dollars, so why choose gold? Because investors thought that they would "loose less" in gold than in dollars. But dollars are free? Yes..... unless the dollar you stored that night was worth less than what it was the next morning, and by an amount more than the cost to move into gold and back out. Us regular folk might want to consider what that means....

I think non-investor types have a hard time in realizing the the dollar itself has a value that moves in relation to other stores of wealth. Now then today we have BOTH the stockmarket and gold rise! What does it mean???? Its mid week, trading is not over so traders first moved out of the dollars to the market, but something happended.. I am not privey to what, but the dollar began a real slide down... so investors moved even more away from dollars some to stocks and some gold. Money is losing value, the term you need INFLATION.. yes INFLATION. Now many things contribute to the price of an item, but when ALL items raise in price against any one currency ( thats US Dollars) then the ONLY reason is inflation. So last week investors chose to have all options open some dollars, some stock, some gold... today they moved so that they have only a little dollars, more stock and more gold ( and other commodities such as oil). I am also willing to bet a lot of FOREX type moved to euros or any other currency than dollars as well.

So what does it all mean? Well, in 1981 I was graduating High school, just as my daughter is doing this very week. Back then we had a democrat in the white house....er just like now, and gold was at $1000 per ounce...er just like now... and intrest rates were 12% on a house, 18% on a car, and 25% on a credit card. Everyone had money, but because prices kept changing it never bought much, we saw minimum wages get raised up every year or two to try and keep up ( but it never did) and getting a job was hard.... hmmm I wonder what we are in for now?

I can't paint a more clear picture. Inflation is comming. It's 1981 all over again. Get ready or be bowled over. You read it here first.

Take that CHASE!!!!

Ok... today is a good day.
So I have 3 credit cards ( or did!):
Credit Union Visa @ 9.9% Had since 2006
Chase MC @ 12.24% Had since 1986
American Express I have no idea Had since 2001

Well the AE.. I never use it. They sent me a new card to replace the old card... but you have to verify it from your home phone.. but I forget.. so its been like 6 months. I think I used the original one time...

I had called Chase last month and said they needed to lower the rate or else. So my rate went from 16% to the current 12.24%. Today I got my Credit Union card ( which is the card I use mostly anyway) and saw the rate was 9.9%. OK how can a tiny CU in no-place Mississippi charge so much less that the titantic CHASE .. a CC I have been with for OVER twenty years! I was pissed. So I called CHASE again and said: "I need you to drop my rate and it needs to be no more that 8.9%." The lady said that I was at thier lowest rate already. I simply said in that case I need to cancel my card.
Done.
20 + years and Chase and I are ready to call it quits. No begging, no sales... just bye.

It took me 3 minutes to find a shredder and shred thier card. Truth be told I never liked them. They are like wolves feasting on carrion. If Chase with all thier wealth cant/wont beat EVERYONE else then the truth is out. Chase is a bottom feeder. They only want high risk card holders.. those that they can gouge... trick ... sucker. They are prefectly fine cutting loose low risk card holders. As a low risk card holder ... I am equally happy to be rid of them.

I challenge everyone to drop one credit card this month!

and keep doing it until you only have 1!

Man this feels great!

Quick followup

I just wanted to do a quick follow up. I found this 2002 article on the web. I still can't find the particular Federal law change I am looking for, but this gives some very good information About how and why Credit card issuers have been able to thwart state laws. 

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cc/20020320a.asp

PS: I have no idea if it is good form to comment on ones own post, but I think this read is worth it. 

Pay now or pay for ever

So Obama wants to protect us from the evil doings of Credit Card Companies ( aka big banks) at least that is what the web is abuzz about...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090514/pl_nm/us_financial_creditcards_obama_7

Well that is all well and good, and indeed I hope he succeeds. But twas but a year or so ago that the Credit Card Companies drove a stake through a long held state power - they usurped the usury laws powers. Usury? Need a refresher?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usury

So usury law as commonly practiced in the USA, is where states decide at what point interest rates are so extreme as to be criminal. Ahhhh, had I but written this 9 months ago... well actaully I did, just not is such an open forum. So many readers then laughed.. "interest? the credit card companies are throwing cards at me with rates as low as 4%! What do I care what the laws says, as long as rates are low in an open market". No one noticed then, and no one cared. Even now few realize just what the federal law did... but now... now I think a few more may care!

Pre-(the unamed law CC god law) The federal government did not set nor enforce any usury law, nor did they prevent any state from doing so. It was rather like religion. Each state figures out what they like. In the state of Mississippi the legal limit was 24.99%. Does that number look familiar? Yep, thats the rate one is used to seeing as being the maximum rate charged by Credit Cards. And it was limited by the state. However, there is now a new Federal law that now over-rides any state law. The new state law imposes the same limit... 24.99% so what is the big deal? The big deal is that the Federal law now adds the US prime lending rate to the limit. So if the US prime lending rate is 1% then the max that can be charged by a Credit card is 24.99% plus 1% for a total of 25.99%. OK so the Credit cards can make a little more money .. no big deal you say. Wrong! you see the prime lending rate is an arbitrary number. It is used by the US to manipulate the economy in hopes of keeping the economy strong. It is not meant to be used to determine interest rates on private debt. If the government determines that a high rate of interest is needed to protect the economy,, there is no limit on how much the prime lending rate can change. Its just as easy to make it 50%.. or 60 % as it is 2%. Its a tool for a specific purpose. But for banks its a sure fire way overturn all state laws, make a hefty profit, and make sure that from now on, no matter what the Fed does to the prime lending rate... banks win.

Just out of curiousty? what is the current rate on your card?
How many invitations for new low rate cards have you gotten this month?, last month? the month before?
Want to make some sure fire high dollar money? Pay off that Credit card... NOW!

Grrrr- innocense lost, Dow tumbles and AU ??

Just a quick note today:

The big news today is that all markets in the US dropped at one point the DOW was down 184 to 8284.89.. Gold meanwhile began correcting early on, but rallied as the DOW fell. Standing at 925.90 @ 3.17 CST. Silver however, made its correct along with Gold early, but did not follow going up nearly as much as it followed going down yielding a loss for the of .22 @ $14.00.

So what does this mean?

Well... it does mean one thing. Those people who do play the market still consider GOLD a tool to be used as it always has been, a hedge against inflation. Is gold money? No, but it is a tool to be used when investors feel they have little other options. Silver on the other hand should be considered or actually .. it just should not be considered. The only ones buying silver are investors that have not figured out that silver is not Gold.

Sadly... when I look at these numbers.. I do not see gold going up in price... instead what I see is the US dollar droping in value. To see it clearly simply look at other currencies and how they have faired over the same time frame. The percent change in US dollar verus all others shows that the world moved away from US dollars and went.... well went to anything else including GOLD. In fact I would say that if I had $1000 in the bank this morning (which I do) then this afternoon that $1000 has lost value to the same extent that GOLD has risen. So lets say my $1000 is now $997.... in one day.... per thousand... and everyone who has US dollars lost that... around the world. So if you had say... 1 million US dollars what would YOU do??

Gold is not money.. but it is a tool.

PS: Platinum has done noting but dropped. For some reason Plat is only being seen as a commodity like copper or oil. Its value is what the market demands via its use (mostly in automobiles). Since the auto industry is on extremely hard times... the need for plat is down thus the value of plat is down.. ie it is logically following demand. So like silver, plat has not been seen as a store of wealth. Perhaps my gold fever should consider golds big brother.

PPS: I read on Kitco:
Gold should top out at $1200 and retreat to $1100
Silver should top out at $20 and retreat to $11

Given those... I think there is too little room to play with Gold, and silver is certainly off my list until it returns to norms of $11 or even $9. World supply of silver is high right now.

Oh no ... must resist..... Gold bug!!!

Dernit...

Dabnabbit!!!

I am following gold again, and silver, .. and .... oh ok and Platinum. I swore I would never do it again. But I am weak. I can't help myself. The dollar is sooooo weak right now. And gold is.... sooooooo shiney!!!!

Truth is, as far as I can tell silver is the only thing I have never lost a dime a on.  Yet still, silver is like playing mumbly peg, sooner or later someone is gonna get stabbed. It all started for me back in 1981. Gold prices and silver, were soaring, but then so was everything else; milk, bread, gold.  So I dropped by this little shop that had opened in a vacant bank building and bought 3 ounces or so of silver. It was shiney! It clanked! I liked it!!! A few months later I was bored with it, and sold it un-ceremoniously for about 10% profit. Whoa, a whole $27 worth! Yeah I wasn't impressed then myself. 

Years later, and the bug hit again. I bought coins on ebay, and sold some at a slight profit ( got rid of the culls) and then I found Kitco. Kitco is evil like chocolate is evil. A bottomless pit to throw money you thought you had at.. only to squirm while you watch KitCast all day at work.  Somehow, in early 2000's I invested as much as $100 in silver... and yeah broke even getting out. In all truth through, if you have the bug... none beat Kitco. 

So once again I am watching the precious metals market. Looking to jump in a "pool" of gold or silver or even the big dog.... PLAT! Yet even as I look.. my head says "nooooo.... stay away!!" For now you know the folly... the gold market is rigged.. silver is a fools game and PLat is for the big boys with deep pockets. 

What I didn’t know about money in the USA

I distinctly remember watching a “cartoon” that explained about money in the USA. The cartoon was probably made in the late 1940’s to early 1950’s. In the cartoon, it explained how when the public put their money in the bank in savings, the bank would in turn, either loan the money to business’s or to investors that in turn loaned money to businesses. It stressed very clearly how, in order for business to expand, investment was needed from the public via savings. Of course, the public could side-step the bank and invest directly, but that wasn’t the norm in 1947. The moral seemed to be that banks needed the money saved by its patrons in order to make loans. About two weeks ago, at the age of 46, I learned that it was not true. Banks do not loan out the money they take in from savings. Tied to that reality then, is just how money is “made” in the USA these days. Before I go on too far, understand that I am still figuring this all out in my head, I am not in finance for a living. My advice is to read this and look elsewhere to see if it can be disproved.

The Federal Reserve System
The Federal Reserve System is a “tightly held” private corporation. In order to become a part owner you must be a nationally chartered bank. In reverse then: the US Federal Reserve is OWNED by banks. The Federal Reserve or “The Fed” is broken up into twelve districts; banks in each district then determine the money supply for their district. Before we go much further we need to mention the US Treasury. The Treasury actually “prints” or “coins” the cash money. The Treasury is run by the US government. Banks make a request to the Treasure for money, and the Treasury supplies the cash money. But estimates are that only 2% of the US money supply is in “cash”. So where is the other 98%???

Banking 101 in 2009
For a bank to be a member of the Fed they must put up capitol, a pool of money deposited with the Fed. The bank earns 6% interest on that money and they are then allowed to loan out 9 times the amount held at the Fed. Its that “9 times” bit that caught my eye. First question to ask is; in a time that banks are loaning money at 5.5% interest for houses, why would they do that when they can get a guaranteed 6% with the Fed with zero risk? They wouldn’t and they don’t. The banks want to keep as much cash as possible on deposit with the Fed so that they can multiply its effects by that 9-times figure. Well if a huge percentage of their patron’s money is itself on deposit with the Fed, then where does the money come from that banks loan? Basically thin air. The bank is allowed to loan money it does not have, up to 9 times what is on deposit with the Fed. The money does not exist until a potential borrower comes in to borrow the money. When the loan “go through” the borrowers account is credited with the amount of the loan. If need be the bank simply calls up the Fed, and asks for some paper cash. The Fed charges a small printing fee (7 cents per bill) and the money is sent to the bank. But the real “money” does not exist or if it does then it exists “as debt”. Welcome to the new world. Money = debt (of someone else). Now for myself, I think they went too far, but here is what I understand their thinking is.

The money supply (available credit) should be equal to the current money supply plus productivity for some period plus some percentage (lets say 2%). So when you hear the nightly news tell that the US government has declared that the US productivity has risen by 2% for the last quarter (three months) that means there was 2% rise goods and services. Banks then can loan what is already out plus 2% plus 2% or four percent, as long as it is under the 9 times factor that any one bank has on deposit at the Fed. What does it cost the bank to loan money? As far as I can tell NOTHING. (Not entirely true, the member banks must give 3% of revenues to the Fed) A 5% loan is means a 5% (100% of the 5%) profit on whatever amount was loaned. Given that, a bank would be stupid to loan out money that patrons put in savings! Instead it deposits that money with the Fed and loans out free money available to it via Fed rules.

I would doubt all this, except how would one explain that banks loan out money 5%(risky) at less than what the Fed will give 6%(zero risk) and that banks will only pay 1% or 2% on deposits. There is no way that deposits equal loans in the US. All this makes for certain results. For example, in good times when there is productivity, the money system can supply all the money needed to continue to fuel a robust and growing economy. But when productivity shrinks the system does not work so well. It does not like contractions, or even non-growth. With out borrowers, the money supply cannot grow. This is why congress agreed to borrow the money. Borrowing money “creates” money, and experts hope to “jump-start” the system by having the government itself borrow money. Unfortunately for the tax payers, we have to pay it back plus interest.

The system also creates inflation. My understanding is that the experts seem to think that a small amount of inflation is a good thing. This is probably because the looseness of the money allows for even only marginal businesses to try their hand in the market. From what I have read if inflation is equal to productivity then you’re pretty much at a wash. 2% inflation for 2% growth would mean you simply stayed in the same place economy wise. But for those holding on to money any inflation means you lost purchasing power of your money for that time period. Only if your productivity rose by as much as inflation would you make any gains. By having a 9 to 1 ratio and by allowing loans to exceed money supply by 2% inflation is guaranteed. The scary thought being that those number may be determined by the Fed, and thus I assume they can be changed also!

And then the housing bubble came...

Plant sperm!!!!!

Getting older... and appearing wiser.

Just like everyone else I have been reading on the economy, or is that having news of it shoved down my throat.. either way, I formed some opinions early on, that somehow seemed ahead of the curve. Instead of screaming about it... I just kept mulling it over, until I felt I had a pretty idea of my position. This morning I finally ran into someone that was having the same "ah HA!" moment, that I had already gone through. We had a good chat on it, and basically concluded the following:

This year is gonna suck.
The next 10 years will probably suck... about on par with 1979 to 1990. Yes, case you missed it, times were hard for a lot of folks during that time.
The governments new method for dealing with the same type crisis, is to tax and spend in the name of keeping money flowing. So unlike in the 1980's where those that DID save had at least a little money to invest, this time, your money will be taken forcably as taxes and you will have no chance to participate in the recovery. Its lose in the market then loose to the government.

Any winners? Well I hear that AIG... you know AIG; the private insurance that the government gave 300 BILLION dollars to, to bail them out; well seems they have enough money that they in turn are buying up other failing investment firms. So lets see if I got this right: AIG is going to be given my money so they can buy up firms which are under-valued due to AIG's malfeasance.. but since the government gave them MY money, I will not have any to invest in the market. Yep guberment at work.

In other news, my daughter washed 2 cars this weekend.... just 2 days before every tree in the state cut loose with more pollen than has been seen in years. Everything is yellow-green!

Speaking of pollen. Ok so this stuff is EVERYWHERE... it gets tracked in the house, in the cars, on the cars, in the driveway, on the windows... what is this stuff? Its pollen, you know plants create pollen which is then transfered to the "flower" of a like plant to produce a seed ( usually in the form of nut, fruit, berry). So the flower is pretty much akin to female reproductive system, leaving pollen to equate to male.....
Thats right, your house, car, clothes... are all covered in plant sperm. I am now patiently waiting to look wise while folks from around the country contend with this attack of thier prudish sensabilites.... if we can block smut on TV... surely we can outlaw plants from fornacation in public!

The New Stimulus Bill of Feb 2009

I hear that Obama has signed, or will sign the new stimulus package. I am sad. This 800 Billion spending spree, will cost each tax-payer approximately $244,000... nearly a quarter of a million dollars. And... that is on top of all other taxes the tax payer must pay. I could probably digg around for the real numbers, but I suspect that a hard working, non-college educated person ( such as works in hospitality), could safely assume that is equal to half of thier lifetime income. Considering that all other taxes must be paid as well.. such a person could see 5/6 of all their income ever earned taxed away. Of course, given the norm, that would not happen... instead taxes will need to be raised on those BETTER able to afford it. Though I am not sure there are enough of them, now or for a good while into the future.

The details of what we are going to spend this on are still comming out, but by all account there is plenty of pork:

a mag-lev train from Disney World CA to Vegas NV -1 BILLION Dollars!
new golf carts for federal employees to cruise around Washington DC
another stab at "clean coal" - a failed program abondoned by Bush and critizied by everyone EXCEPT the coal companies. http://ohvec.org/links/news/archive/2005/fair_use/10_16.html


To be sure, this is probably a "better", than just giving money back to taxpayers, in terms of the money being spent to create jobs (over here), Ala Bush, but by all accounts.. this bill is a good bit longer on spending (on anything) than on creating new jobs, or re-building infrastructure.

In other news... it seems that the state of Mississippi, would be slated to recieve 2 billion dollars. However the Governor, is actually wanting to look at the bill, as there may be conditions that would have to be met, including the changing of current MS state laws... Ok, he just went UP several notches in my book. As far as I am concerned, they can give us the money no strings attached.. or they can go jump in a lake.

My expectations are such: I completely expect the spending of the money to cost $200 Billion. That is to say that of the $800 billion to be spent, only $600 will actually be put into "purchases" with a full 1/4 lost to government overhead. Of the $600 Billion that is spent I expect 50% to be mismanaged or basically stolen. Of the remaining $300 Billion that is spent I expect 50% to be further mismanaged ( at a lower level) such that even though the project is completed, it is not functional or will end up costing so much in maintenance or ongoing costs, that it will be scraped, later. Whew... bleak yes? So of the remaining $150 Billion, hopefully some good will come of it.

Many Firsts for old man Pine

Welcome, this first post will be short. Mostly, because I am at work at lunch and have a whole 10 minutes to get to the next meeting!

Who is Pine? I am.. Pine is my alterego created when I began playing online games. I like the idea of Pine. I named him, not that my name is unfortunante. But as a creation, I get to move Pine in directions unhibited by real life. I suspect that if you come back enough... you will find out a good bit about the person behind Pine.

Why am I wanting to blog? There are things I want to say, to no-one and to everyone. I am hopeful that this will be a good place to do that. Politics, economy, rights advocacy, oh and cars and guns... and things that old men would talk about.

Well, goodness. I will need prep time it seems.

till I have more time,

Pine