Proof positive that socialists are economic morons.
Oil, being a fungible commodity sold on the open international market, is sold in bulk lots without regard to the nationality of either the buyer or seller. In other words, every drop of crude Mr. Potatohead "sells" to some other country will result in one other drop of oil marketed by some other oil-producing country becoming available for the USA to buy instead.
Sheesh. I'm a high school drop-out and I recognise this for the null statement it is. The only way possible for a country to deny oil to another country is to not sell it at all. In Humpty-Dumpty's case, this is the only action he is absolutely certain of not doing. As long as he wants to remain big dog in his squalled kennel of a benighted country, at least. Poor Venezuela ...
* To the tune of some song by that other loon Madonna about a different SA economic disaster.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Minute of William
Kevin Baker's recent
kind comment on my state of health, which came as something of a surprise (I knew I read him, but was unaware he returned the interest), prompts me to inquire as to how his experience building long-range
precision rifles might apply to a bit more restricted setting.
A bit of history to inform what follows might be in order. I sold my own Remington 700 (in 25.06) because there isn't a long enough distance firing range in the Tyler area at which to fire it. Unlike in many other states, Texas - at least this portion of it - doesn't have any large tracts of publicly held land (by the BLM or the like), and most people are understandably hesitant to let people shoot on their property without their direct supervision. Whether in the 25. or 30.06 caliber, such a rifle is designed for 300 to 500 yard range shots and Kevin's desired metric of 700 yards for his current project isn't all that much of a stretch for the gun itself. Remington 700's appear at the National Match at Camp Perry every year, after all, and have for decades now held their own on the 1000 yard range - in the hands of master shooters of course, which qualification gives rise to the title of this particular post.
Given the quantity of sharp sticks and cohearent light that's gone into my eyes in recent years, I can actually see surprisingly well: 20/25 corrected to 20/20 with glasses, with only some loss of peripheral vision. Even so, I can no longer make out the target well enough to attempt anything more than a desperation shot at a distance much over 200 yards. My thought here is to discover what options I might pursue, with a gun I already own, to turn it into a reliable shooter at it's ballistic practical extreme, that I can also fire at a local known-distance outdoor range.
I own a Marlin 983S that I intend to use as the basic platform, with which I can shoot 3/8 inch groups (from a rest) at 25 yards indoors without a scope (ie: the gun's basic accuracy exceeds my ability to shoot it).
I had thought to dress it up with a Simmons 22 Mag scope, but those are limited to 60 yards definition adjustment at most. Granted, you can see further then that through them, and they are priced quite attractively too (Lock and Load have three in a display case priced at $45 and change (EDIT: $47.95 as of 12/01/07) + tax), but the object here is a rifle I can shoot to the limit of my ability at 100 yards, so consultation regarding optics seems to be in order.
As well, my preference in ammo tends toward CCI (who have a really cute home page graphic - that dial-up users might find annoying, a rotating series of color graphics might cause ya'll some problems) because of their uniformity of quality and their breadth and depth of market penetration. Errr, so to speak ... ;-)
All of which prompts me to wonder if some other brand has a comparable reputation for performance. I don't expect to be participating in match shooting (although the occasional friendly wager might arise, cough Kim du Toit cough), so I wouldn't be buying much of anything expensively exotic, but I'd probably try a box or two of something highly recommended if only for the uniqueness of the experience.
Returning to CCI's ammo, I'm wondering if anyone has a recommendation as to which of these magnum cartridges might be best for this purpose?
Suggestions regarding slings, rests or other outdoor range equipment would also be useful. It's been many years since I shot on an outdoor KD range (and the standard of the era was an unlined canvas "pad" and a couple sandbags, if that), so I'll have to acquire most of that as well once I have a better idea of what's out there.
You're right Kevin, this stuff can get expensive fast. I'm going to have to go to the range tomorrow just to vent the anticipation a little (you've all heard the lyric; "That's my story and I'm ...").
kind comment on my state of health, which came as something of a surprise (I knew I read him, but was unaware he returned the interest), prompts me to inquire as to how his experience building long-range
precision rifles might apply to a bit more restricted setting.
A bit of history to inform what follows might be in order. I sold my own Remington 700 (in 25.06) because there isn't a long enough distance firing range in the Tyler area at which to fire it. Unlike in many other states, Texas - at least this portion of it - doesn't have any large tracts of publicly held land (by the BLM or the like), and most people are understandably hesitant to let people shoot on their property without their direct supervision. Whether in the 25. or 30.06 caliber, such a rifle is designed for 300 to 500 yard range shots and Kevin's desired metric of 700 yards for his current project isn't all that much of a stretch for the gun itself. Remington 700's appear at the National Match at Camp Perry every year, after all, and have for decades now held their own on the 1000 yard range - in the hands of master shooters of course, which qualification gives rise to the title of this particular post.
Given the quantity of sharp sticks and cohearent light that's gone into my eyes in recent years, I can actually see surprisingly well: 20/25 corrected to 20/20 with glasses, with only some loss of peripheral vision. Even so, I can no longer make out the target well enough to attempt anything more than a desperation shot at a distance much over 200 yards. My thought here is to discover what options I might pursue, with a gun I already own, to turn it into a reliable shooter at it's ballistic practical extreme, that I can also fire at a local known-distance outdoor range.
I own a Marlin 983S that I intend to use as the basic platform, with which I can shoot 3/8 inch groups (from a rest) at 25 yards indoors without a scope (ie: the gun's basic accuracy exceeds my ability to shoot it).
I had thought to dress it up with a Simmons 22 Mag scope, but those are limited to 60 yards definition adjustment at most. Granted, you can see further then that through them, and they are priced quite attractively too (Lock and Load have three in a display case priced at $45 and change (EDIT: $47.95 as of 12/01/07) + tax), but the object here is a rifle I can shoot to the limit of my ability at 100 yards, so consultation regarding optics seems to be in order.
As well, my preference in ammo tends toward CCI (who have a really cute home page graphic - that dial-up users might find annoying, a rotating series of color graphics might cause ya'll some problems) because of their uniformity of quality and their breadth and depth of market penetration. Errr, so to speak ... ;-)
All of which prompts me to wonder if some other brand has a comparable reputation for performance. I don't expect to be participating in match shooting (although the occasional friendly wager might arise, cough Kim du Toit cough), so I wouldn't be buying much of anything expensively exotic, but I'd probably try a box or two of something highly recommended if only for the uniqueness of the experience.
Returning to CCI's ammo, I'm wondering if anyone has a recommendation as to which of these magnum cartridges might be best for this purpose?
Suggestions regarding slings, rests or other outdoor range equipment would also be useful. It's been many years since I shot on an outdoor KD range (and the standard of the era was an unlined canvas "pad" and a couple sandbags, if that), so I'll have to acquire most of that as well once I have a better idea of what's out there.
You're right Kevin, this stuff can get expensive fast. I'm going to have to go to the range tomorrow just to vent the anticipation a little (you've all heard the lyric; "That's my story and I'm ...").
Thursday, November 29, 2007
And that will be enough of that
Just returned home from an evening spent in the tantalising presence of the lovely Lana at Mother Francis Hospital's emergency room. Physically captivating she is, with that patina of toughness - rigorousness really - that good nurses develop to disguise the emotional reality underneath that we all possess. Lovely woman as I said, who I may seek out to ask for a date; certainly I have no remaining modesty, dignity or reservoir of shame unrevealed to her any more. On the other hand, she also knows I have no communicable or blood-born diseases and a reasonably well-paid job with decent health insurance. Take the good where you find it I always say.
Pending her descent into social questionability, I did come away with a quantity of amlodipine besylate, aka: cumadine. I've been waking up in the middle of my sleep with a sensation of overpressure throughout my body lately. Without any notable degree of excess fluid retention. Millions of people live with high blood pressure, I'm no different from any of them I expect. I'm still going to find out what happens when I get rid of a third of me.
My other departing gift (not really, I had to go to a pharmacy and buy it also) is something called protonix. I presented in the ER as a rule out heart attack patient. I was pretty certain I was suffering (and that's the proper word, believe me) from pronounced gastric distress that was radiating throughout the thorax. To the degree that my back muscles were going into spasm and I was sweating uncontrollably. I don't have any of the other sensations commonly associated with acid reflux or heart burn, but the upper abdominal muscles clenched in the seizure from hell more than makes up for it, trust me. I'll see what my regular Doc has to say, but 'till then it's down the neck with one of each every day.
Two rounds of blood work, an EKG and an x-ray and apparently my heart is in surprisingly good condition - no qualification, just surprisingly good, so there's that. A blood pressure reading of 218/142 probably isn't one for the record books, but it's a distinction I can do without, thank-you-very-much. F#@k me ragged, I'm only in my 50's and I'm already going completely to crap physically. Things is gonna change around here. I fully expect to live 'till something kills me, but I have no intention of that thing being my own laziness and stupidity.
Pending her descent into social questionability, I did come away with a quantity of amlodipine besylate, aka: cumadine. I've been waking up in the middle of my sleep with a sensation of overpressure throughout my body lately. Without any notable degree of excess fluid retention. Millions of people live with high blood pressure, I'm no different from any of them I expect. I'm still going to find out what happens when I get rid of a third of me.
My other departing gift (not really, I had to go to a pharmacy and buy it also) is something called protonix. I presented in the ER as a rule out heart attack patient. I was pretty certain I was suffering (and that's the proper word, believe me) from pronounced gastric distress that was radiating throughout the thorax. To the degree that my back muscles were going into spasm and I was sweating uncontrollably. I don't have any of the other sensations commonly associated with acid reflux or heart burn, but the upper abdominal muscles clenched in the seizure from hell more than makes up for it, trust me. I'll see what my regular Doc has to say, but 'till then it's down the neck with one of each every day.
Two rounds of blood work, an EKG and an x-ray and apparently my heart is in surprisingly good condition - no qualification, just surprisingly good, so there's that. A blood pressure reading of 218/142 probably isn't one for the record books, but it's a distinction I can do without, thank-you-very-much. F#@k me ragged, I'm only in my 50's and I'm already going completely to crap physically. Things is gonna change around here. I fully expect to live 'till something kills me, but I have no intention of that thing being my own laziness and stupidity.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Travails* du Toit
Kim and Connie du Toit provide daily updates of their journeys through southern Germany and northern Austria. Not to be missed by those who haven't been to that part of Europe in a while, like myself (has it really been 27 years?).
* It's long been my understanding that "travail" was the root word for the more modern usage "travel"; there is no implied judgement of my friends in it's usage here.
* It's long been my understanding that "travail" was the root word for the more modern usage "travel"; there is no implied judgement of my friends in it's usage here.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Premature my ass!
And so, Instapundit displays his ignorance about the complexities inherent in organising a parade like this one ought to be (and it's not before time I must say, the guy's range of expertise is almost scary ...).
Granted this is only the end stage of the Iraq Campaign; most of the units that will rotate out of Iraq over the next 18 months or so will do so to begin training up for eventual deployment in the Afghan theater of operations. The Iraq Campaign has been won and now must be brought to it's administrative conclusion as well, but the war rages on however little we here at home can see of it.
I wonder what airfare to, and hotel prices in, Baghdad will be like a year from now? If standing on a street corner yelling and applauding like a fool for a day is the most direct contribution I can make to the war effort then so be it. We too serve, and all that rubbish.
I particularly liked this little understated gem:
The negotiations will bring to a formal conclusion the U.N. Chapter 7 Security Council involvement in the occupation and administration of Iraq, and are expected to reduce the number of American troops to about 50,000 troops permanently stationed there ...
Anybody taking bets on how long it will be before those boys and girls are providing the infrastructure for activities that used to occur in places like Bad Tolz and Munich, just for instance? I fully expect for Iraq to become our (the US and allied country's military forces) middle-eastern equivalent of the US Army's National Training Center in California.
Further to that, if the Israeli's can just hang on for a few more years, I also won't be surprised to see Iraq and Jordan enter into a treaty with that country to construct a pipeline for Iraqi and Jordanian crude oil directly to a Mediterranean port facility.
That ought to flush the Saudi's out into the open.
Granted this is only the end stage of the Iraq Campaign; most of the units that will rotate out of Iraq over the next 18 months or so will do so to begin training up for eventual deployment in the Afghan theater of operations. The Iraq Campaign has been won and now must be brought to it's administrative conclusion as well, but the war rages on however little we here at home can see of it.
I wonder what airfare to, and hotel prices in, Baghdad will be like a year from now? If standing on a street corner yelling and applauding like a fool for a day is the most direct contribution I can make to the war effort then so be it. We too serve, and all that rubbish.
I particularly liked this little understated gem:
The negotiations will bring to a formal conclusion the U.N. Chapter 7 Security Council involvement in the occupation and administration of Iraq, and are expected to reduce the number of American troops to about 50,000 troops permanently stationed there ...
Anybody taking bets on how long it will be before those boys and girls are providing the infrastructure for activities that used to occur in places like Bad Tolz and Munich, just for instance? I fully expect for Iraq to become our (the US and allied country's military forces) middle-eastern equivalent of the US Army's National Training Center in California.
Further to that, if the Israeli's can just hang on for a few more years, I also won't be surprised to see Iraq and Jordan enter into a treaty with that country to construct a pipeline for Iraqi and Jordanian crude oil directly to a Mediterranean port facility.
That ought to flush the Saudi's out into the open.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Thanks Hud
For this and this Songza link. I've always had a partiality for American Pie. It's a good song too.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Awlll Whall
Al Fin, who's resource-filled side bar has gone AWOL again, has a new post up regarding "peak oil" and it's cyclical mythological status as "crisis". This is the topic of a book by Italian oil industry executive Leonardo Maugeri titled: The Age of Oil.
Which is not to say that such an eventuality isn't possible, you understand. Simply put, the previously little recognised fact is that we simply haven't done the necessary exploration to determine what level of oil reserves actually exist in the world today.
Despite its long history as an oil producing region, the Persian Gulf is still relatively virgin in terms of exploration. Only around 2,000 new field wildcas (wells made for exploring the presence of hydrocarbons in the subsoil) have been drilled in the entire Persian Gulf region since the inception of its oil activity, as against more than 1 million in the United States. p. 221 TAO
I didn't know that; my impression has always been that "oil companies" were steadily drilling away, "depleting the resources" of these avaricious third-world dupes, who just don't know what's being done to them yadda, yadda, you take my drift, I hope. Mr. Maugeri's point about the lack of modernisation in nationalised industry autocracies is quite correct. As is his example of price instability's negative influence on development of production and refining capacity.
All of which contribute to the elevated price of oil and it's plethora of refined products upon which much of the civilisation we consider normal here in the early years of the 21st century is built. And which gives reassurance that the same market forces which work to our present short-term financial discomfort also provide stimulus for our coming relief. Not only is that just how markets work (thank you
Adam Smith), that cyclical process is what stimulates regular advancement in new technologies that would be too costly to pursue otherwise. We call this technological progress and too often fail to acknowledge just what it is that so often drives individuals to be the "mad inventors" we so admire after the fact.
MORE: This recent TEDTalk by Juan Enriquez seems pertinent to this discussion. I've never tried linking a video before, let's see how well this works out.
Which is not to say that such an eventuality isn't possible, you understand. Simply put, the previously little recognised fact is that we simply haven't done the necessary exploration to determine what level of oil reserves actually exist in the world today.
Despite its long history as an oil producing region, the Persian Gulf is still relatively virgin in terms of exploration. Only around 2,000 new field wildcas (wells made for exploring the presence of hydrocarbons in the subsoil) have been drilled in the entire Persian Gulf region since the inception of its oil activity, as against more than 1 million in the United States. p. 221 TAO
I didn't know that; my impression has always been that "oil companies" were steadily drilling away, "depleting the resources" of these avaricious third-world dupes, who just don't know what's being done to them yadda, yadda, you take my drift, I hope. Mr. Maugeri's point about the lack of modernisation in nationalised industry autocracies is quite correct. As is his example of price instability's negative influence on development of production and refining capacity.
All of which contribute to the elevated price of oil and it's plethora of refined products upon which much of the civilisation we consider normal here in the early years of the 21st century is built. And which gives reassurance that the same market forces which work to our present short-term financial discomfort also provide stimulus for our coming relief. Not only is that just how markets work (thank you
Adam Smith), that cyclical process is what stimulates regular advancement in new technologies that would be too costly to pursue otherwise. We call this technological progress and too often fail to acknowledge just what it is that so often drives individuals to be the "mad inventors" we so admire after the fact.
MORE: This recent TEDTalk by Juan Enriquez seems pertinent to this discussion. I've never tried linking a video before, let's see how well this works out.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Thanks
Some things to give thanks for via the boys at The Speculist.
And Kim says it well to all those who serve in distant climes at our behest. Fair well, with added thanks from just another member of the NoR ...
Today is the day we Americans gather together to express our gratitude as a group. Which must make for a particularly cacophonous message I must say. So here's my contribution to the celebration and my sincere thanks to those who have given my life what meaning it has.
And Kim says it well to all those who serve in distant climes at our behest. Fair well, with added thanks from just another member of the NoR ...
Today is the day we Americans gather together to express our gratitude as a group. Which must make for a particularly cacophonous message I must say. So here's my contribution to the celebration and my sincere thanks to those who have given my life what meaning it has.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Rush (Limbaugh) to opportunity
From yesterday's (Tuesday, 11/20) on-air broadcast of the Rush Limbaugh Show:
RUSH: "The Dubai government agency that bought into Deutsche Bank this year said on Monday it was considering investing in US financial services firms affected by the mortgage-market crisis." (laughing) The thing is, Dubai could wipe out the debt; they could wipe out the crisis. "DIFC Investments, one of the agencies Dubai has used to buy foreign assets, is identifying 'good opportunities for acquisitions' in the United States, the governor of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) said on Monday. Asked whether the targets could include US banks such as Citigroup and Merrill Lynch, Omar bin Sulaiman told Reuters: 'Without mentioning names we have a track record of taking stakes in banks, with the right partners for management. The price has to be right and the strategy has to be aligned,' he said. Asked whether it made sense to invest in banks which have taken a hit from the mortgage crisis, he said: 'Yes, but we are looking at all sectors not just financial sectors.'"
Let me pause for a moment and pose the rhetorical question, when your boat is actively sinking, are you really going to refuse an extra bucket because of who is handing it to you? Granted, you will question his motivation and be suspicious of whatever terms might come along with the aid, but are you really prepared to risk destruction because the aid offered comes with an increased potential for risk? If you are, then I hope you're a Democrat or a Paulian. The Republicans have enough troubles already without taking up the cause of national suicide as well.
Returning to the matter at hand, anyone who was paying attention back in the late 1980's and early 1990's will likely remember the furor over Japanese investment in property and business here in the US and how they were "buying the country out from under us" and similar nonsense (yes, I'm looking at you Ross Perot). Other then the obvious fact that we Americans have more job opportunities and better cars and trucks to drive, anyone still want to argue that the "Japanification" of the USA was a bad deal for our country?
That's precisely how I view this potential investment from Dubal. The Dubai World port's terminal deal had the same potential as did the earlier Japanese investment, but fell afoul of the institutional racism that is fundamental to the Democratic Party. I'm confidant this latest proposed return investment of US currency into our economy will be recipient of at least as bad treatment by all the usual suspects once again.
Which is silliness personified in this particular instance. With the possible exception of medicine, the financial sector is the most closely monitored and heavily regulated sector of our entire economy. This isn't a question of a few iconic buildings or a geriatric monolithic industry hiding from reality in ravaged Detroit, but the principle mechanism for operating our country. That's what the dollar is after all, the tool we - and the rest of the world - use to do the work Americans are so justifiably recognised for. If we don't allow foreign entities to re-invest our currency back into our economy, we contribute to the decline in our currency's value everywhere.
If we keep doing that to ourselves long enough, we get to experience soon the sensations that are Zimbabwe today.
Disclosure: I suppose I should mention that I am a Rush 24/7 member and have been a semi-regular listener (job and other commitments allowing) since the late spring of 1989 or thereabouts.
RUSH: "The Dubai government agency that bought into Deutsche Bank this year said on Monday it was considering investing in US financial services firms affected by the mortgage-market crisis." (laughing) The thing is, Dubai could wipe out the debt; they could wipe out the crisis. "DIFC Investments, one of the agencies Dubai has used to buy foreign assets, is identifying 'good opportunities for acquisitions' in the United States, the governor of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) said on Monday. Asked whether the targets could include US banks such as Citigroup and Merrill Lynch, Omar bin Sulaiman told Reuters: 'Without mentioning names we have a track record of taking stakes in banks, with the right partners for management. The price has to be right and the strategy has to be aligned,' he said. Asked whether it made sense to invest in banks which have taken a hit from the mortgage crisis, he said: 'Yes, but we are looking at all sectors not just financial sectors.'"
Let me pause for a moment and pose the rhetorical question, when your boat is actively sinking, are you really going to refuse an extra bucket because of who is handing it to you? Granted, you will question his motivation and be suspicious of whatever terms might come along with the aid, but are you really prepared to risk destruction because the aid offered comes with an increased potential for risk? If you are, then I hope you're a Democrat or a Paulian. The Republicans have enough troubles already without taking up the cause of national suicide as well.
Returning to the matter at hand, anyone who was paying attention back in the late 1980's and early 1990's will likely remember the furor over Japanese investment in property and business here in the US and how they were "buying the country out from under us" and similar nonsense (yes, I'm looking at you Ross Perot). Other then the obvious fact that we Americans have more job opportunities and better cars and trucks to drive, anyone still want to argue that the "Japanification" of the USA was a bad deal for our country?
That's precisely how I view this potential investment from Dubal. The Dubai World port's terminal deal had the same potential as did the earlier Japanese investment, but fell afoul of the institutional racism that is fundamental to the Democratic Party. I'm confidant this latest proposed return investment of US currency into our economy will be recipient of at least as bad treatment by all the usual suspects once again.
Which is silliness personified in this particular instance. With the possible exception of medicine, the financial sector is the most closely monitored and heavily regulated sector of our entire economy. This isn't a question of a few iconic buildings or a geriatric monolithic industry hiding from reality in ravaged Detroit, but the principle mechanism for operating our country. That's what the dollar is after all, the tool we - and the rest of the world - use to do the work Americans are so justifiably recognised for. If we don't allow foreign entities to re-invest our currency back into our economy, we contribute to the decline in our currency's value everywhere.
If we keep doing that to ourselves long enough, we get to experience soon the sensations that are Zimbabwe today.
Disclosure: I suppose I should mention that I am a Rush 24/7 member and have been a semi-regular listener (job and other commitments allowing) since the late spring of 1989 or thereabouts.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Via Instapundit
So, is it us or me? We should have an answer by late next spring, it seems.
Kevin Baker posted the layman's definitive review of what's at stake a week ago. Hie ye hence for the full treatment.
Kevin Baker posted the layman's definitive review of what's at stake a week ago. Hie ye hence for the full treatment.
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