Posts Tagged ‘economy’

The Reality of this Election $10 vs $20

Posted: October 16, 2024 by datechguy in economy, election 2024, personal
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D J Giles: Just a minute. You’re selling horses to Maximilian in preference to your own country’s army?

John Henry Thomas: No, I’m selling horses for $35 in preference to 25.

The Undefeated 1969

There are a lot of really stupid arguments being made by a lot of people who think they’re very smart concerning what this election comes down to.

But for all the idiocy that’s being spewed by “experts” let me break it down to one simple thing.

The best fish in the city of Fitchburg Massachusetts is at the 5th Street Diner. This has been true since they opened in the year of the great Ice Storm. It was true when Ed and Tina ran the place as husband and wife and it’s still true now that they have broken up and Tina works the morning and Ed the evenings. No matter how you slice it they have the best fish and chips and I would highly recommend it to anyone.

But if you want to understand what his election is all about I can’t think of a better example then the fish and chips at the dinner.

Four years ago when Donald Trump was president I could go down to the 5th street diner and get my fish and chips and a diet coke with a ten dollar bill in my pocket (they don’t take plastic)

When I got the same meal today four years later, it cost me a $20.

That is what this election is about.

Choose wisely

Under the Fedora: From the Waitress’ mouth, No Interest, Tre Sorelle to Billy Bob’s, Forester, Cromwell and Graves Who and finally the Bright Side of a Split

Posted: August 29, 2024 by datechguy in culture, economy, under the fedora
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Now that I’m used to getting up at 5:14 AM for work I decided instead of dropping off the car last night for the oil change and general check before the inspection sticker to drop off my car at my mechanic’s early this morning and walk to a local diner where the waitress was surprised to see me alone as I’m normally there with my wife (off at work) or my priest (saying mass). As the election is close and she sees people daily I asked her what she was seeing.

She said things tended to vary depending on what people do but a lot of their regulars were doing OK (lots of contractors) and that in general for their base it wasn’t as bad as it’s been.

It wasn’t the answer I expected but that’s fine. I ask questions to get data point not confirm prejudices or advance agendas.

After breakfast I walked back down to the mechanics garage. He had since arrived and said my car would be ready around 9:30. When I returned after a sojourn at my sons house nearby the car was ready and would despite its age pass Massachusetts rigorous inspection on it’s first try.

But the real story came when we discussed the idea of him getting an apprentice as he had been doing this for 30 years. He told me that young folks simply weren’t interested in doing the work because that’s what the job was, long work and the few that did were snatched up by dealerships that could pay more.

It will be a sad day for me when he eventually retires, but I suspect by that time my driving days will be done.

After my inspection I ran some errands and headed out for lunch. On my way I spotted something interesting. A while back the daughters of Sabino the baker whose bread we used to buy as a kid and whose bakery burned down in a fire in my early teens, opened up a place in Leominster named Tre Sorelle which was an Italian food and items specialty shop. Sabino himself used to come in once or twice a week and I was able to buy the bread I had as a youth and give my sons a taste of it. The place closed a long time ago and has been empty, drove by today and saw it’s been transformed to a fast food place called Billy Bob’s.

Times, tastes and populations change.

Speaking of tastes changing I found myself in the mood to re-read Bernard Cromwell’s Sharpe’s Eagle or Robert Graves’ I Claudius or one of the later C. S. Forester’s Hornblower books during lunch. As I arrived at the restaurant 10 minutes before they opened and there was a Barnes and Noble’s 3 minutes away I ducked over to search for one of the three to pick up.

When I checked the fiction section the only one of the Sharpe’s books there was Sharpe’s Tiger the only Hornblower Book was Mr. Midshipman Hornblower which I had at home & wasn’t in the mood for and neither I Claudius or the sequel Claudius the God were in sight.

As little as 20 years ago it would have been unthinkable for a fiction section of a large bookstore to be deficient in any of those volumes but again, time and tastes have passed me by.

Finally you might remember the rather ugly split between Project Veritas and James O’Keefe who was the founder and face of the organization.

As you might have heard James being James he’s has continued on with his work even infiltrating the DNC this month and exposing some very iffy stuff from Act Blue concerning donations details of which you can find at OMG (O’Keefe Media Group).

but apparently Project Veritas is also still soldiering on and has an expose with a Lawyer who appeared for the FDA admitting on an undercover video that they abused their authority

I’m pleased Veritas is soldering on as it’s better to have more than one group doing that job that the media used to do.

Five AM Thoughts Under the Fedora Chicago on the Potomac What are they Hiding? , War involves killing? Who wouda thunk it! ,Get on With it, Adjusting the Schedule

Posted: March 25, 2024 by datechguy in Israel vs Hamas, News/opinion, under the fedora
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During the Obama years when his administration was young I pointed out repeatedly that he was basically a cheap Chicago Machine Pol.

It’s apparently much worse in the sense that his administration and the Biden admin that his people control have basically brought Chicago politics to the national level, where every part of government is used to quell & destroy opposition on one hand and the levers of power simply exist to enrich friends and perpetuate the machine, even down to the lowest civil service level.

They have remade the courts, the civil service and even the military in their image and the consequences of this are likely to destroy America or drive it toward Civil War and worst of all they’ve done it at the behest of our enemies.

I really don’t have words to describe what I think of the people who have allowed it to happen for the sake of power, status and greed but that’s a post Christian society for you.

A couple of days ago I saw it theorized that the reason Gallagher is resigning in a way to prevent his +15 GOP seat from being filled is to help the Democrats get the House long enough to declare Trump an “insurrectionist” and try to disqualify him per the SCOTUS ruling that killed the cases in Colorado etc.

There was a time when I would have laughed such a theory out the door but the incredible irrational fear and obsession the deep state and the left has of Trump has demonstrated that no tactic is beyond them.

This type of fear suggests that however bad and whatever illegalities and unconstitutional acts I might suspect have been going on during the Biden/Obama years, it’s much worse and they’re totally afraid of being exposed.

I must confess that I’m completely confused by how some people react to events in Ukraine and Russia

They are at war with each other and now have been for over two years. During war both sides try to attack the other, try to destroy infrastructure and target the other side. This tends to lead to death and destruction the scale of which depends on the size of the parties involved and the state of their military. This is how war actually works. It’s why it’s something to be avoided if at all possible.

So will people PLEASE stop having fits when Ukraine hits Russia and when Russia hits Ukraine and acting all shocked when it happens and concentrate on finding ways of ending the war instead. Surely there are easier ways of acquiring graft then this and frankly for those worried about the Russian Bear the lessons of this war would seem to be that the bear is not what people think it is.

Speaking of Military Confusion I’m a tad confused by Israel’s delay in moving into that final big Hamas City. I understand there might be logistical issues that they may be working out and given what we’ve seen there is plenty of mopping up to do farther north but I suspect if anything is going to move Hamas to made a deal for those hostages it’s the impending fall of that final safe haven.

Of course I’m still shocked they haven’t gone all General Sherman or more General Lemay on Gaza but that’s their call not mine.

Finally day one of up at five off to work at 6am, mass at 6 pm and home maybe 7-8 has gone without incident. It’s been 20 years since I’ve done 10 hour days so the real test isn’t the easy Sunday, it will be the Monday facing rush hour traffic and the Wednesday when I’ve done four straight.

Given the Biden economy & and the debt it’s helped me accrue combined with the empty tip jar I’m thinking of picking up a part time job on that now free day I have but I’m going to wait till I’ve done this a month or so to see how this sixty something body handles 10 hour days over the long haul first.

An Interesting Side Note Concerning the “Bloodbath” of Job Losses at Work Women Choosing the Better Portion

Posted: March 21, 2024 by datechguy in culture, economy
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This week has been a tough one at work. For many people Tuesday was their last day. Last night was the last day for others and today will be the last day for many people I’ve worked with or for over the last six years who were either let go or had to leave because they can’t work a morning shift.

There are a ton of Hispanic people leaving many in management positions who had worked their way up since coming to this country though solid effort and I suspect that they are going to express their displeasure at losing their position at the ballot box when the time comes.

But I want to focus on two ladies in particular, both are young one married under 4 years with one son under two and other other married a bit longer with several children. Both were management and got separation packages that will hold them over for a few months at least.

I spoke to each of them and unlike several of the men who are rushing to get interviews they have decided they are going to spend their newly free time at home with their kids.

This is likely a good move, particularly for the younger mother. You can always get another job even if it’s one below the standard of living that you’re used to but the time with your children when they’re young comes once and the ability to not only share it with your children but to shape them in the image you wish rather than where today’s society wants to lead them is the single most important task a parent has.

Of course once the severance is used up decisions will have to be made but it will be interesting to discover if the benefits of a 2nd solid full time pay in the house trumps domestic life once they get a taste of it. Will need force them back into the workforce, will the economy take a turn after the election and they find themselves suddenly solicited by the company that let them go?

Or will they decide that the value and rewards of being a mother at home for their children is worth the financial sacrifices necessary to continue in that role?

I likely won’t know what choice they will make as I rarely see them outside of work, but it would be fun and fascinating to find out.

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