One year ago today: June 6, 2019, the rotten chair.
Five years ago today: June 6, 2015, picks sides early.
Nine years ago today: June 6, 2011, Google maps – your WiFi, that is.
Random years ago today: June 6, 2008, tonight was a flop.
Happy D-Day. This won’t mean much to most, but here is the advance made on the speaker cabinet today. The coverage is due to it being the largest precision cabinet I’ve ever built, in my life I mean. And it took every trick and tool I’ve learned about making small boxes. This is for a 12” bass speaker which are really only 11” and a ring mount. I found this size of box convenient to work with. You bet it was nice to have all the right tools and to cut the pieces on a real table saw. And have the pieces fit together on the first try. Notice the speak sits back in a small recess. This is not to accommodate the grill.
Plus, it is the first project built in the new lean-to. And that was nice. The area is equipped with fans, great lighting, and it was a pleasure to work in that environment. Such a long time I waited in this life to have such a workshop. What about the other two sheds, I heard someone ask. Well, you see, since the help on this place never showed up, both of them are used mainly for storage. I can take on small jobs, but anything more than a foot long and I bump into things.
I put the shoulder roast in a slow oven for six hours. It’s the recipe for pulled pork, which is kind of descriptive. That’s generally how you get this kind of meat off the bones, but you are supposed to think it is something special. That’s the whole morning and this was a lot of fun. Something may come out of it, the box is certainly higher quality than the original and what you see here is only $14 worth of lumber. It went well enough that I had to pay attention to no over-exert. I took regular breaks instead of siesta, and started re-watching “A Bridge Too Far”. This is the debacle at Arnheim that has been glossed over more than any British defeat except maybe Dunkirk.
Some of the presentation is laughable, but it does follow the official story-line to a tee. Darn rights the two political generals, Patton and Montgomery “disliked each other intensely”. War is brownie points, and both those little boys should thank their lucky stars they didn’t have to go up against the ultimate jackass of them all, MacArthur. My personal opinion of all three is that, given their numerical and material supremacy (not just superiority), they could not have possibly lost in the end. The fact they took so damn long is a commentary on their bumbling ineffectiveness as military leaders.
But they know how to conquer them press releases. MacArthur went so far as to personally edit every copy, removing the name of any other general and replacing it with his own. That’s how we know he single-handedly beat the Japs. Montgomery was well aware of the power of the Yankee newspaper empire. And to his chagrin, it was glorifying Patton. If Monty made a repeated mistake, it was his tendency to think if he won a battle, he won the war. He would over-pursue a retreating enemy, thinking he had them on the run. Hence, he calculated the shortest distance to Berlin and so what if it ran through the low countries on a single road embankment.
Movies are made to sell tickets, so the accuracy of this version is only as true to the facts as that allows. We cannot have anyone even suggesting the average German soldier was not a Nazi. When he fought well, it was because he was a fanatic. Besides, they had just been defeated in the Falaise Pocket. And if they knew anything about fighting a war, they would not be retreating in the East. If you got that, you’ll enjoy this movie.
Miss Landmine.
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Waiting for glue to dry, I’m now an hour into the movie. First take a look at the squirrel baffle being tested, you’ll see why in a moment. The DVD. It was my business partner at the time, RofR who told me about the movie, the nearest theater was 60 miles away. Like many with limited knowledge of the weapons and tactics, he found the whole movie fascinating and accurate. My opinion was more reserved, but it does capture the mood and was one of the first to not present the Germans as bumbling fools. But they were careful to show all the upper brass living in chalets and dining in style. For it’s time, then, it was a trendsetter. Almost a hundred years later, we still have yet to see a movie that accurately shows the German side.
Everywhere else, her merchant ships were gong to the bottom. However, long before Pearl Harbor, the US was actively at war with Germany. She reported submarine positions to the British, dropped depth charges, and committed other acts of war. Hitler’s declaration was a formality, he knew what was really going on. The big banks were backing America as the only nation that could pay back war loans. They were not about to repeat the mistakes of the First World War, where England and France could not pay, and Germany under Hitler was putting the profiteers in concentration camps. But that United States, with a constitution that made for a weak central government, that place was ripe for the takeover.
One scene that amused me was the “creeping barrage”. The idea is to advance behind artillery that blasts open the way. The problem is that your artillery is bunched up and static and the first few layers of the barrage throw up a huge wall of dust and dirt. This movie shows the enemy quietly waiting for the shells to hit them. Duh. From behind that dust, the Germans would immediately have flattened the British positions by Nebelwerfer which were stationed in the area.
Also, the Germans were experts and pulling back to solid bunkers until the barrage passed over, then stream out to take on the advancing tanks. Usually a hit on one American tank stopped all the others and the Germans had a five minute window to open up on the infantry. What saved the Allies most of the time was the German lack of manpower. Germany had never intended to fight either England or the USA. You have to thank Churchill for that.
I’ve got some third-hand news, so do not quote me. One of the first things I did was check in at the Fubar to make sure all my PA gear was in good order. It was. But the talk, of course, centers on the buyout package she’ll take for the property. They are offering about half what it is worth, considering she is losing her livelihood. It’s too early for numbers, but the talk is about some guy they know in similar circumstances who got screwed.
He had a property he’d completely fixed up and it was backed by twenty acres of nature preserve, in all, a very enviable location. For that matter, in Florida, an irreplaceable situation. They argued back and forth and finally offered him $1.7 million. But he wanted more. So he took them to court, figuring if he loses, he could still accept the $1.7 million. Do you see the error? How could he get screwed?
Simple. Judges in America all too often know the people the little man has to sue in these scenarios. My first question was what religion was the Judge. I guessed it right. The Judge looked over the situation and ruled that the property was only worth $800,000 and that’s all he got. This is the type of pitfall designed into the system to keep Judges and lawyers employed, if you ask me. The guy sued for more, not less. But to find out of the Judge could interfere with a standing offer would require going to a higher court and in America, justice costs money. It also acts as a deterrent to this sort of civil suit. And you can bet the Judge and the head of the Highway Department had supper at the club that night.
Meanwhile, take a look at this little guy busting his balls to get at the birdseed. I may put a baffle on the pole since, as you see, he nearly made it once.
ADDENDUM
I just knew you liked reading today. I’ve been pursuing the unanswered questions about the Auvoria displays and most are turning out to be standard accounting terms. Auvoria has just given them some positive spin or in the alternative, a euphemism. A pity, though, that I had to do such homework. It’s becoming ever more clear that much of my initial questioning went over a lot of heads. I learned why balance and equity are different. It’s what I thought and the question could have been answered easily at the time instead of them going on about “over-thinking”.
This is not a care-free investment, I likely told you that already. But I will continue even while the Reb looks for alternatives. Why? Because I can’t say it, but we are about three times smarter than anyone we’ve dealt with at Auvoria, and they claim to be making money at it. That’s harsh if you are on the receiving end, but this is business, not Fantasy Island.
What is the difference between balance and equity? It’s the instantaneous effect an immediate closing of all positions would have on your real money. Too many buzzwords? Okay, in accounting terms, it is your bank balance if you paid all your bills and collected all your debts at this instance. I’m used to seeing these two items listed separately, not the net effect. Because in real life, it’s rare event. It’s also a poke in the eye because I speed-learned that chapter back in the 90s just to pass the exam. Little did I know that by 2000, the USA would base their entire education system on that flimsy concept.
Where do things stand this week? I propose to keep trading in fixed mode. The other option is trailing equity, which demands a lot of attention. I’ve decided to learn how to calculate the margins on my own even though the software is accurate. We seem to have come on board just as the system was adding the trailing equity app, which I would otherwise have presumed they should have had for years now. Hmmmm. Also noted is how many of the “uppers” on the Auvoria totem seem to have learned the trading top-down. It makes sense now, if they had been accountants or had specialized training, they may never have gotten into it.
I can’t believe I just said that.
