Microsoft 'Leaving Door Wide Open' For Google - Forbes.com

Microsoft 'Leaving Door Wide Open' For Google

I blog a great deal about Apple and my company's use and love of their products. However, it is interesting to watch the developing (or, already developed) animosity between Google and Microsoft. I used to loath Microsoft, but hey, at least they kept developing products for Mac. Enter Google. They are starting to take over the world. Slowly but surely they are becoming the new super-power that everyone loves to hate. Now, it seems, as this Forbes article points out, they have a pretty good word processing product to add to their portfolio.

"Goldman Sachs said Google's recent acquisition of Upstartle, the maker of the Writely online word processor, brings the company one step closer to competing with software giant Microsoft.

The analyst said the news was 'directionally negative' for Microsoft .

'We disagree with Microsoft's approach of ignoring the consumer market for a hosted solution and leaving the door wide open for Google to come in and establish a presence in the consumer or potentially the small business market,' the analyst wrote in a recent note."

Does Apple Need A Security Czar?

This sounds like a great idea to me. For us Mac users, we revel in the fact that we don't have to scan our computer each morning for viruses, we don't have to think twice about opening questionable files, and we snicker when another "Worm" headline makes the news. Just ask Microsoft - if they had gotten ahead of the security pitfalls and issues effecting their OS years and years ago, they would be ahead of the curve today.


MacSlash | Does Apple Need A Security Czar?: "Anonymous Coward writes 'BusinessWeek's Arik Hesseldahl asks if perhaps Apple should appoint Chief Security Officer. 'This person would be a well-known computer security expert, ideally from outside Apple, who would wave the flag for all things related to Mac security, debunking myths, correcting the record, and providing a public face when issues crop up.' He says. He also says it would be a good way to get ahead of public perceptions that Mac security may be 'eroding.' 'In matters related to product marketing, it's the public perception, not the reality that really matters....And once you've lost a user's confidence, it's hard to get it back."

Singing the Praises of......Krystal

I never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad there is a Krystal near my home in Nashville. It's the one at the 70/100 split between Belle Meade and Bellevue.

We lost power last night during that fierce storm, and it's still off on Friday morning. We used our candles, flashlights, and gas stove, and did not have any problems really.

This morning I was beginning to have have internet withdrawals, plus I was waiting on a couple of business e mails. What to do, what to do...? I did not want to head down to Panerra Bread, my first thought. I had to be on the "other" side of town.

So, I dropped the oldest off at school and then headed back to the "neighborhood" Krystal. So, here I am blogging away in the parking lot, because I just don't want to be tempted to order hash browns, and all the artery clogging stuff they serve inside.
But I will head inside and get some java in a few.

The signal is clear, the signal is strong, so this is good. Krystal Hot Spot! Only in the 21st century!

Newspapers May Get Look At Future if Knight Sells

But key to the future valuation of newspapers is how fully and swiftly they embrace the Internet, said Colby Atwood, vice president of Borrell Associates Inc., a media research and consulting firm. (from the Washington Post)


"Symbolic of the woes afflicting the newspaper business, Knight Ridder put itself up for sale in November in response to pressure from shareholders to lift its stock price. Like other publishers, Knight Ridder has battled rising newsprint prices and falling circulation. Readers in recent years have migrated to other media for news, including the Internet."

Iran remarks 'provocative' - U. S.

CNN.com - I don't mean to be turning this blog into an all political blog, with a Middle East bent: but that's where all the interesting news seems to be these days. At least to me. I think there is so much happening in the Middle East these days that the entire world is changing right before our eyes. Ironically, the determining factors of how we live out the rest of our lives---are being played out right now and in the next few years over there. If Russia lines up with Iran and Hammas, we're set for a major diplomatic struggle against US, Israel, and Iraq (assuming we maintain control).. The first stop is the United Nations, and we all know their track record of maintaining peace amongst the world's factions.

The article quoted is from CNN World.

"After weeks of talks and diplomatic maneuvering over the crisis, the international community Wednesday moved one step closer to taking action against Iran."

Clinton Says New York, but Money Hints at '08 - New York Times

This New Yorkk Times article says it all, Hillary will be a candidate in 2008 for the big enchilada

"Already, the Clinton finance team has amassed more cash than any other potential Democratic presidential candidate, $17.1 million, underscoring what many Democrats say is the tactical edge that Mrs. Clinton has going into 2008, with an experienced and well-financed campaign.

But as important, Mrs. Clinton's finance team appears determined to build such a big bank account and to develop relationships with many of the party's top fund-raisers in an effort to make it harder for potential rivals to compete in 2008, Democrats closely monitoring the Clinton camp's efforts say."

The Mac OS is safe after all

| Mac OS X Hacker Challenge Ends Early

From MacSlash


If "professional" hackers can't hack into the Mac OS via a Mac Mini, it's safe to say that yes, Virginia, we are all safe from those scoundrels. (there was an earlier post about the Mac OS being manipulated last week by a virus, but details were sketchy).

Quoting from MacSlash-

Remarkably, the server held up well under those assaults (this is a Mini, remember!), and not only served that traffic, but deflected over 4000 ssh login attempts and any number of scanning tools. Do we call this a success? Ummm... I'm going to go with a yes.

I can't believe there is a puff piece on Bob Schieffer much less the CBS Evening New

But of course, it is from the Washington Post

Do people still watch this show?

Television's Aging Rock Star


"If you were casting about for a hot personality to juice up a struggling news show, a white-haired man of 69 would probably not jump to the top of the list. But a year after Schieffer was tapped as a temporary replacement for Dan Rather, he has loosened the collar on a buttoned-up newscast and made modest progress in winning back viewers."

Russian/ U.S. relations take Chill Pill

Here we go again--Rift developing between Russia and U. S. From Reuter's


"The top diplomats from Russia and the United States exposed their countries' widening rift on Tuesday, publicly airing disagreements over how to curb Iran's nuclear programs and other issues, such as trade and democracy."

Looks like Secretary of State Condaleezaa Rice and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov "exchanged complaints" about the other's policies.

In diplomatic terms, this is pretty big news. Normally, these things can be smoothed over behind closed doors. If they become public, as we are learning, then it could mean that Russia is leaning towards supporting Iran with nuclear weapons, and supporting Hammas in Palestine. This is definitely worrying the Bush administration.

I am also learning through blogging that Reuter's runs some stories that can be a bit on the dicey side---in other words, articles such as this one plus the one on Civil War in Iraq are not seen in major U. S. Media sources. Reuter's is definitely anti-Bush anti-American in my brief tenure of observing such differences between media reports.

U. S. envoy warns of Civil War in Iraq

Rumsfeld says claims of Civil War are exaggerated. Of course, this is the same guy that said we would be welcomed to scenes of wild jubilation in the streets: "U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad told The Los Angeles Times that the toppling of Saddam Hussein opened a 'Pandora's box' of ethnic and sectarian tensions that could lead to a full-blown civil war.

He seemed to contradict what Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press.

The Washington Post wrote today that its polling indicates most Americans think a civil war is likely."

Runaway Bride Bobbleheads--I wish all of these types of stories turned out like this

Hockey Fans Go Nuts for Runaway Bride Bobbleheads From Fox News

"The bobblehead features a generic woman's face, with a veil over her head, a sweat shirt that says 'I [heart] Duluth,' a pair of running shoes labeled 'Adios' instead of Adidas and a picture of the state of Georgia on the back."

This was one of the most captivating "real life drama" stories of 2005. We were in Duluth, Ga right after she came back home and the whole truth came out about her flying the coop. She was the hottest topic all over this community just southest of Atlanta. One of the newest statements that I hear these days is "It's all Good'. Can't say that I'm real hip, but it seems the hip crowd uses that statment a great deal. It seems an appropriate time here to use that term---It's all Good----! She is safe, was never harmed, maybe a bit psycho, but she can get treatment for that--and now, the bobblehead!

Adobe Photoshop Product Manager Says 2007 before Intel Switch

Adobe Photoshop Product Manager Speaks from MacSlash

"Don't look for a shining ray of light here: Adobe Photoshop product manager John Nack has gone on record about his company's efforts in moving their flagship product to Intel. With some of the more mature apps, like Photoshop, Illustrator, it's a really big project, and there's a lot of work to move the code from Code Warrior over into Xcode, get that compiling, and then get that compiling on Mactel. So it's something where it's a long process. I wish we could do it faster. He goes on to explain how closely they're working with Apple to make it happen. But still, no firm dates, and no dispelling the math that we're looking at 2007, most likely."

Two Vols suspended, charged with possession of crack

Anthony Passley and Jordan Smith charged with possession of crack

Fortunately for Vol fans, these guys don't play a great deal of basketball. However, this is publicity that we don't need. Passley came over with Pearl from Milwaukee-Wisconsin.

The BAT&TMAN TOWER

AT&T to buy BellSouth for $67 billion:

"After spending millions of dollars to rebrand AT&T Wireless Services Inc. stores as Cingular stores and hundreds of millions of dollars more on marketing the new Cingular after its $41 billion acquisition of AT&T Wireless in October 2004, Cingular will now become AT&T if the merger with BellSouth is completed.

The BellSouth name also would be absorbed in the deal.

“It’s going to be confusing,” said industry analyst Jeff Kagan. “This is the reinvention of the telecommunications industry.



Confusing. You can bet on it. What a fascinating story, though. The tele-communications industry has alwasy been fascinating to me since the early days of Bernie Ebbers (with all of his Nashville connections via Diana Day, etc) plus just the fact that LDDS (remember them, this is the precursor of MCI , after Worldcom) grew up down here in the South before the oh-so-well-known crash. Before the bad stuff happened, the New York analysts were scratching their heads over the incredible returns that Bernie and Co (by that time MCI) was posting on the Street. By the way, how in the heck did Bernie Ebbers get convicted of a crime and yet, Richard Scrushy is running around preaching in Birmingham? This makes no sense to me, b/c he is guilty as hell, but back to topic....No one could understand how MCI was doing a 20% return and then, there was AT&T (they were all in the same copper long distance business) returning about 7-8% at the time. Totally perplexing to management and analysts at the time--Same business, same rates, how could AT&T be losing so much margin??? Those numbers single handedly forced Michael Armstrong (then CEO of AT&T) to venture outside of t/c and start buying cable companies amongst other things to lift his bottom line. What a disaster. Little did he realize that MCI was cooking the books. AT&T almost went under. I suppose their is justice in the business world every now and then with this announcement today, although management and ownership (back to confusing) has changed quite dramatically. But, the good ole' guy, AT&T, is now back in big big way. We'll miss our downtown Nashville BellSouth tower , but it will be re-branded to reflect the acquisition.
Welcome back AT&T! Just treat our Nashville Bell South folks with care!

Thanks for the weekend release--sure to miss Prime Time

Associated Press clarifies what Bush was told about levee breaches in New Orleans.

Clearly, President Bush was in the loop and did not flippantly dis-regard the situation in New Orleans as was surmised or as was the intention of the Bush bashing party last week by the media.

Tropical Storm In March?

Click on this link (from USA TODAY)
... and you can see the satellite image of the storm that is just north of Cuba. No further strengthening is expected, but this is a highly unusual occurrence.

Dung Pressure Makes Gas

Wired News:


That is indeed the headline of this article. Well, maybe a little editorialism, but not a great deal. 'Nuff said..

Rich Karlgaard talks about the New Media in 2006

This post by Rich Karlgaard of Forbes on his blog talks about how we citizens no longer want to stand by and consume media, but rather, we want to "create media".


My friend and Godfather of Nashville bloggers, Rex Hammock of Rexblog.com fame who is an inspiration to us all, has blogged about this many times---and that is, the fact that the media is in a new era, one that is embraced by some orginzations, but not others. But it goes beyond the traditional media right down to where you work in your office every day----Rex has continually articulated for every organization, however large or small, to blog, and/ or to empower people within a business or non profit to open up and to express themselves in some way, shape or form--not privately, but publicly. This is the new media. This is how communication is happening. At every door step, around every corner, in every town.

What scares the beJesus out of the traditional media cronies is that they don't know what to make of this, and they are trying to make sense of it right now, just like the rest of us!

The Brokeback Effect

Japanese Manufacturer sells out of first production of Men's Girdles : "'Men are getting so much more fashion conscious these days that they're starting to pay attention to the lines of their body and their silhouette, just like women,' said a spokeswoman at Triumph International Japan, a leading underwear firm." --Reuter's

Still Thinking about Buying a Florida Condo?

This year's hurricane season could match the record breaking destruction caused by storms in 2005, the United Nations warned. (Reuter's)

In 2005, an unprecedented 27 tropical storms, 15 of which became full-blown hurricanes, battered Central America and the U.S. Gulf coast, killing more than 3,000 people and causing tens of billions of dollars in damage.

'We have reason to fear that 2006 could be as bad as 2005,' Jan Egeland, the undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs who coordinates U.N. emergency relief, told Reuters on Wednesday.

Please consider the source here--the United Nations. They really don't know jackshit. I'd wait for the professor from Colorado State, Dr. Gray who is usually right on target. His final predictions usually come out in early to mid April for the upcoming storm season.

McNair will be back (as if there were much doubt)

Move by team assures QB McNair a Titan in 2006

From ESPN--

But, this article makes it clear that next year will be his last year as far as I can tell. This leads me to believe that the Titans will move to draft a quarterback with our first round pick. This could be Vince Young (most likely) or possibly Jay Cutler.

This article was posted around 1 pm today (thursday). This is something the Tennessean, or a local radio show should have broken, or received some advance notice on earlier today.

Risk Free Investing?

Fed Official Warns of Changes--Washington Post

A top Federal Reserve official warned yesterday that the U.S. financial system is evolving faster than the ability of investors, lenders and regulators to evaluate and manage the risks involved.


Sounds to me like he is sounding an alarm that does not need to be sounded. Most people who invest realize that there are no guarantees. Wait. I forgot about the trial lawyers. They are always out to blame somebody, and then, if successful, they then capture 99% of the "settlement", then distribute what paltry sum remains to the actual people who lost the money in the first place. But, I digress. Here is quote that sums it all up-


Geithner said recent financial innovations have helped the economy absorb various financial shocks, "but they have not eliminated risk." He added, "They have not eliminated the possibility of failure of a major financial intermediary. And they cannot fully insulate the broader financial system from the effects of such a failure."


Again, there are no guarantees.

Mac Competes with 3rd Party Vendors

Playlist: From companion to competitor

My good friend since childhood, Paul Griffin of Griffin Technology is probably the least known most successful entreprenuer/company in the entire state of Tennessee if not the entire Southeast. He has built a company off of Elm Hill Pike that is incredible, and if I was not sworn to secrecy, I would tell you how many millions of dollars in business he is doing. It is in a word, stunning. And let me just tell you that Paul still wears jeans to the office and drinks a 48 ounce Coke from the tap from MapCo every day.He has not lost his sense of "earthiness" and he hasn't gone out and bought a yacht or a McMansion in Williamson County. Hell, he thinks dining out at Flemming's is too expensive. But, he could have all of that and more.

I point to this article above because I honestly wish that Apple would stay out of the peripheral business and just keep on doing the big stuff. Let guys like Paul and the fine folks at Griffin Technology continue their roll for years and years to come. Congratulations to Paul, Stephen Woolverton, Jeff Pack, and all the gang at Griffin. Here's one guy that will not buy a Mac made peripheral.

Colt sells for record $16 million

Colt sells for record $16 million

Bet you were thinking about the Indianapolis Colts. Wrong Football Breath. This story is about a real colt, you know, a horse. With spring in the air, it's time to start thinking about horse racin'! Steeplechase is just around the corner!

She probably drank beer from her Tippy Cup

Child brings cocaine to second-grade class from USA TODAY

The President must play Rugby--

Bush Vows Bin Laden's Capture During Surprise Visit to Afghanistan

Check out these quotes from the Fox story-

The president and his wife stepped off Air Force One under a bright, sunny sky against a background of snowcapped mountains. Security was extremely tight.

Secret Service agents were deployed around the plane with automatic weapons-

Bush's entourage flew into the city from Bagram Air Base in a flotilla of heavily armed helicopters. Two door gunners on a press helicopter fired off a short burst of machine gun fire at unknown targets as the aircraft flew low and fast over barren countryside.

World Cup Friendly in Nashville!

The U. S. National Soccer Team to play at the Coliseum on May 23rd

This is HUGE HUGE News Soccer Fans!! This is the summer for the World Cup, held every four years, this year in Germany!! Rewind to 2002 when our men's team went all the way to the semi-final round (in Japan I think) and gave the U. S. so much to cheer about after 9/11! Remember in 1999 when Brandi Chastain tore off her shirt after the women won the World Cup with Mia Hamm, everyone's favorite?? This is soccer at it's best. The U. S. National (men's team) will come to our fair city (soon after Sasha and company) to play a friendly (a serious match but one that is not as serious as to count for anything) at the Coliseum. Expect mega huge stars like Landon Donovan, Josh Wolf, Eddie Pope and more. The game will be played against an as yet to be determined opponent on May 23rd at 6 pm at the Coliseum!! Wow! The next week, our guys will head to Germany for the whole enchilada.

Yes, skeptics, the Olympics do mean something

USATODAY.com - Mike Lopresti from USA Today finally speaks to me and analyzes the 2006 Olympics for what they are and what they aren't (probably should have used past tense as in were/weren't). Plus, he bashes Bryant Gumball, and gosh, I wish so many other media types would do the same. This is my favorite quote from the article-

Perfectly within his province as a critic (to bash the Olymics). But it is unsettling to ever hear anyone measure a sport's worth because of its racial profile? Do we accept the person who says the NBA is too black to watch? Can't we all get along, even if no one cares about the Nordic combined?


"

Look Who's coming to Nashville!

Champions on Ice

Sasha, Michelle, and all the gang!

Apple could bid for Disney

Apple could bid for Disney: Barron's - MarketWatch

If this happens, all bets are off----Apple will adopt Windows as their operating system (OS) and Apple will officially move 100% into the entertainment world. They will be a purveyor of all things music and video, digital that is, and they will continually come out with neat little gadgets (hardware), and they will control and own the content. Of course, this is just my prediction, but it does not take a rocket scientist to see that the stars are aligning for Jobs and Co to get out of the OS business, and just do things where they can dominate, or , at least lead. It has to get in their craw that only 4-5% of the total computer world love and use their OS. On the other hand, I read where 70% of portable music digital players that are sold--are IPODS.
Let's hope this insanity over IPODs starts to subside, or at least, let's hope I'm wrong about all this.

The Diary Of Anne Frank plus today's War in Iraq.

Anne Frank Center

I woke up early on Sunday morning, brewed some java, and turned on HBO. The Diary of Anne Frank caught my attention. Although I was aware of the story behind Anne Frank, I have never read the book, seen the play, or watched the movie. No one else was up around my house, so I settled in and became captivated with the flick.

The movie was filmed in 1980, but the story will live forever as a true depiction of the German Jew haters of the 2nd World War, as well as the struggles inherent in hiding in a four room apartment for 2 years. The protagonist teenager, Anne Frank, kept a diary of her family's self-induced captivity above her father's office in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. They were Jews hiding from the Germans and trying to wait out the war while avoiding capture.

Unfortunately, the Frank's and their friends were ratted out, and they all got sent to Auschwitz. They all die except the father Otto. He returned to Amsterdam, and eventually found and published the diary in memory of his daughter.

The movie is a stark reminder of the Holocaust, and of the barbaric behavoir of a regime that would send a 15 year old girl and thousands of other ordinary folk to prison camp in the 1940's for the "crime" of being a Jew. Auschwitz and the other gas chamber camps run by the Germans were the highest crimes committed by any regime during the 20th century.

I went to the Anne Frank Web site (link is above), and it filled in the blanks that the movie left out. How incredible for Anne Frank to sum up her life by saying she had a profound belief that people are basically good.

Here's a quote--


"It’s a wonder I haven’t abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.

It’s utterly impossible for me to build my life on a foundation of chaos, suffering and death. I see the world being slowly transformed into a wilderness, I hear the approaching thunder that, one day, will destroy us too, I feel the suffering of millions. And yet, when I look up at the sky, I somehow feel that everything will change for the better, that this cruelty too shall end, that peace and tranquility will return once more" - July 15,
1944


What a courageous young girl and what a poignant story that reminds us all how real the Holocuast was and is. How incredible for our country to wait and wait and finally get sucked into World War 2, and then be seen as the nation that helped bring an end to the tyranny caused by Germany and Japan during this period.

I can't help but to compare and contrast this war with the war in Iraq. We were the aggressors in Iraq, not in WW 2. We were told that we would be liberators, and that people would dance in the streets of Baghdad upon our arrival, much in the same way the people of Europe reacted after D-Day. We were told that we would find mass quantities of chemical warfare items in Iraq. We were told that there would be no insurgency and that violence would end in Iraq. While many of the pronouncements by our government came true after WW2, I am sad to say that virtually none of them have come true during this war in Iraq.

Sweet Sasha

NBCOlympics.com Cohen planning to skate in World Championships

Hopefully, you saw the women's finals last night in figure skating in Torino, sight of the 2006 Winter Olympics.

Sasha Cohen was just mesmerizing. I could not believe her inner fortitude after (what proved to be) her minor falls. Her grace and elegance on the ice were extraordinary.

This morning the media is highlighting her falls, and her disappointing silver medal. All I am reading and all I am hearing is how disastrous her entire long program turned out to be..

Excuse me, but did those big media types see the same performance that I saw? Yes, she hit the ice a couple of times, but that was very early in the 4 minute program. She completely and totally overcame those mishaps and put together an awe-inspiring performance. She deserved the silver much more than the Russian, who had no little artistry.

Can you believe the pressure packed environment in that ice rink last night? I really cannot think of any thing similar in amateur athletics. In an effort to compete under those circumstances, each skater must have composure and nerves of steel to pull off an artistic, elegant, and athletic peformance.

Sasha Cohen is my new favorite women's skater since Tara Lapinski. I've always admired Michelle Kwan, but never have had a connection with her through the t.v. set. Sasha just jumps out of the screen and steals your heart.

Things are Worsening in Iraq

As Violence Ebbs, U.S. Envoy Warns of Danger to Iraq''s Future - New York Times


Lost in all the news about the port management snafu with the United Arab Emirates, the Dick Cheney hunting fall out, the Olympics, and my personal infatuation with the Tennessee Men's Basketball team, I now realize how badly things are going in Iraq. This is completely serious business about the sectarian fighting that has erupted surrounding the attempts at forming a new government in Iraq. Many people are now expecting a full blown civil war, something which Al Quaeda would love to see. This situation is very tenuous and tensions remain high, thus, a city wide curfew in Baghdad today, and probably for most of the weekend.

New Beasts of the East-How 'Bout them VOLS

Typically, winter is a slow season for sports fans, particularly University of Tennessee sports fans. I mean lets' face it, who watches the NBA anymore? When the Super Bowl is over, it's hibernation time until the MLS cranks up (that would be Major League Soccer to the uninitiated), and/or until football cranks up again, both pro and college. Speaking of soccer, this year is a "bonus year", as we have the World Cup cranking up this summer. More on that later.

What a special treat this winter has been. Although I have not blogged about it, the Winter Olympics has been great. It reminds me every 4 years of the finer things and finer sports that surround cold weather.

But the real surprise and the real treat has been the performance of the Vols Men's Basketball team. I'll bet we've watched more basketball this winter than the past 10 winters combined. Check out this article from the Knoxville News Sentinal about the stunning victory last night over the Gators.

'Survivor' producer Mark Burnett looks to Web

'Survivor' producer offers tips

Mark Burnett sees a complete revolution of how television is watched, particularly as broadband continues it's march across America, and as DVR's (aka TIVO devices) become commonplace in homes.

That is probably pretty much common sense. But what is fascinating to me is that Burnett is working his way towards the internet and will begin producing "shows" available only on AOL, and other huge portals.

And then he wants to take on newscasts for the web to produce news shows as they have never been produced.

This guy will be fun to watch in the coming years. Which begs the question--why is Katie Couric reportedly going to leave the Today Show and move to anchor the CBS evening news?

Sounds like someone is running for President

Frist at odds with Bush over ports deal

Um, that would be Bill Frist. Get an issue that the general public knows nothing about, throw in a little terrorist scare, and voila, you've got a perfect opportunity for a politician to capitalize with headlines like this one in today's Tennessean.

Let me tell you, this port thing is the biggest political hooey that makes Washington---Washington, and that provides so much fodder for radio talk shows.

Our ports have been run by "foreign" companies for decades. The United Arab Emirates is not Saudi Arabia or Iran, or Iraq. These people know what they are doing, and besides it's a private company, not the government of UAE.

But, that's hard to explain, and Frist is looking to score some political points after all of his negative publicity lately.

You've read it here First---Frist will go nowhere in Presidential politics--UNLESS, as has been rumored---Cheney resigns, and Frist is named VIce President some time next year. The odds of that happening are 30/70 right now.

Based Upon the ELVIS standard, this will last another 10 years

Convictions for Diana paparazzi

The "Elvis standard" is the length of time it takes the conspiracy theorists and the population at large to give it up, and to realize that their human icon is a mere mortal, and that, he or she has in fact, gone on to the Afterlife, hopefully Heaven. So, based upon the fact that Elvis died in 1978, and based upon the fact that it took about 20 years, or until 1998 for the Elvis sightings, and the "Elvis is still alive" propoganda to subside, we will continue to hear about Princess Diana stuff for another 10 years or so . There will be lawsuits, and the British press will hunt down every possible scenario of that night in Paris as well until about 2017. Again, based upon the Elvis standard---since Diana died in 1997---we've got a total of 20 years for similar articles to appear out and about. No one loved Princess Diana more than I (figuratively speaking). She is truly a Lady for the Ages. This article above is from the BBC. It seems now that they are still chasing after blame for photos taken the night of her untimely death. Rest in Peace Diana, we miss you.

First Mac OS X Virus?

First Mac OS X Virus?

One of the things we Mac fans love is the lack of virus makers out there. I'm not sure if that should be a verb or a noun--virus, or virus makers. Usually, people who love and buy Macs aren't part of the general population, ergo, we don't create computer diseases. It takes some lousy S-O-B to make a virus, so they don't just appear out of nowhere. Probably some IPOD dude out there that just discovered Macs in his teens or 20's who made this one... Anyway, I've always thought that it was the superior coding that the Mac OS guys had over the hole infested Windows OS. I may be wrong. In any event, this post above points to a virus with OSX out there somewhere. Stay protected!

Bryant Gumble is a Racist

Bryant Gumble needs to look no further than his vanity mirror to see a real live racist. Seems that Gumble made some comments on his recent showabout the winter Olympics and the lack of black athletes. Seems to me that any Olympic event is open to the athlete that works the hardest, trains the most, and commits his or her young adult life to the respective sport for which he or she chooses. Regardless of color. Regardless of nationality. Each country wants to send the best, period. Last time I checked, there aren't too many large mountain ranges covered in snow in Africa which would allow young blacks to have the propensity to compete or to get an interest in winter sports. Enter Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, etc., plus the other countries that have such climates. Bryant also laments that the ancient Greeks did not participate in winter sports, so why are they part of the Olympics now, he asks? Last time I checked, there weren't any high diving boards in Athens 1000 years ago, so the same question can be asked about the summer Olympics, but he doesn't go there. Bryant has always been bitter, always has had a chip on his shoulder, and has always had an irritating presence on the television screen. I don't even want to talk about Shawni Davis.

This puts it all in perspective

From Rich Karlgaard, one of my favorite columnists from Forbes--He calls this the funniest (read sarcastic) sentence written in 2006 about world and national politics--by Tony Blankley-


“In the absence of any pressing news these days – other than Iran's nuclear weapons development crisis, the election of Hamas terrorists in Palestine, ongoing worldwide Muslim riots and killing in reaction to a cartoon, Al Gore's near sedition while speaking in Saudi Arabia, the turning over of our East Coast ports to be managed by a United Arab Emirates firm, the criminal leaking of vital NSA secrets to the New York Times, Mexican military incursions across our southern border, the Iraqi crisis, Congress's refusal to deal with the developing financial collapse of Social Security and Medicare, inter alia – the White House press corp has exploded in righteous fury over the question of the vice president's little shooting party last weekend.”

Snow Event Downgraded

Looks like 1-2 inches if we are lucky. The moisture has evaporated from previous estimates.

Jerry Garcia and Yahoo News

Yahoo! News originated from the death of Jerry Garcia according to this article by Jon Friedman of Marketwatch.com.

You see, when the beloved Grateful Dead leader died, early in the morning on Aug. 9, 1995, Yahoo's brain trust flew into action. According to Yahoo folklore, co-founder Jerry Yang and other top executives promptly got together and forever changed the philosophy of what had been a directory site.
"Jerry said, 'We've got to do something,'" Neil Budde, who has been Yahoo News' general manager since 2004, told me with a smile. Yahoo promptly constructed a page linking to the coverage of Garcia's death.

"That was the genesis of the full coverage of Yahoo News," Budde said.

Another Heavy Snow Warning!

Please be advised that "heavy snow" in this area has now been redefined as anything over 2 inches....

LET's HOPE THIS ONE HAS LEGS WINTER WEATHER FANS

CST SATURDAY...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NASHVILLE HAS ISSUED A HEAVY SNOW
WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 12 PM CST
SATURDAY. LIGHT SNOW WILL BEGIN TO SPREAD INTO MIDDLE TENNESSEE FROM THE WEST AND SOUTH BEFORE MIDNIGHT. AFTER MIDNIGHT...THE SNOW WILL BECOMEMORE WIDESPREAD AND HEAVIER. BEFORE THE SNOW TAPERS OFF SATURDAYAFTERNOON...2 TO 4 INCHES ACCUMULATION IS LIKELY IN MOST LOCATIONS.A HEAVY SNOW WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS AREEXPECTED OR OCCURRING. SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE FORECASTTHAT WILL MAKE TRAVEL DANGEROUS

Weather Discussion from NOAA

We might get some winter weather after all tomorrow--

SATURDAY...PRECIPITATION WILL BE ALL SNOW ACROSS THE NORTH HALF OF
THE MID STATE AND THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL CUMBERLAND PLATEAU. ACROSS
SOUTHERN MIDDLE TN...THE PRECIPITATION WILL FALL AS A MIXTURE OF
RAIN...SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN.

TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO BE QUITE COLD ON SATURDAY AND HIGHS WILL
REMAIN IN THE MID 20S TO MID 30S THROUGHOUT THE DAY. THUS...SOME
ACCUMULATION OF ICE AND SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS MIDDLE TN
BEGINNING SATURDAY. LOWS SUNDAY MORNING WILL RANGE FROM THE LOW TEENS
TO LOW 20S.

AS IF THAT WAS NOT ENOUGH WINTER WEATHER...ANOTHER STORM SYSTEM
WILL SPREAD MOISTURE BACK ACROSS THE AREA SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND
SUNDAY NIGHT. AGAIN...A MIXTURE OF WINTRY PRECIPITATION WILL BE
POSSIBLE FOR THE MIDDLE PORTIONS OF THE VOLUNTEER STATE

What is Al Gore up to?

The Shame Of Al Gore

This guy wants to be President again. I used to like Al Gore a little. Now, I think he has gone off the deep end. Surely, he understands that we are involved with a war on terror, whether or not you agree with Iraq or not.

Say it Ain't So--Will Apple Adopt Windoze?

Here is an article that local Mac guru Michael Petruna sent my way that speculates in a very well laid out fashion that Steve Jobs and Co is laying the groundwork to get out of the OS business. Could it be possible that our beloved Mac CEO is only interested in building cool machines and cool music players, and really wants to get out of the operating system (os) business that put mac on the map? Goodness Almighty, let's hope not. That's what makes us love the Mac. They're so easy to use and THERE ARE NO VIRUSES that we can catch. Mike says not to worry, but the article points out some very interesting facts, such as their inability to see a spike in sales of hardware since the IPOD phenomena (and what a phenomenon it is) , and the fact that the total market penetration of the MAC os is still only 5%. Would Jobs take on Michael Dell?

Quote from the article:
Apple has always said it was a hardware company, not a software company. Now with the cash cow iPod line, it can afford to drop expensive OS development and just make jazzy, high-margin Windows computers to finally get beyond that five-percent market share and compete directly with Dell, HP, and the stodgy Chinese makers.

Winter Weather Moving South of Nashville

Here is the latest post from the National Weather Service Forecast Discussion Group:
Maybe we'll get something out of this system, but it's still a tough call.


MUCH COLDER AIRMASS FROM MONTANA (1056 MB HI) WILL SPILL INTO
MID STATE FRI INTO SAT. MEANWHILE...STALLED FRONT OVER GULF COAST
STATES COMBINED WITH DENSE COLD AIR WILL PROVIDE OVERRUNNING
SCENARIO LATE FRI NITE AND SAT. MODELS HAVE BEEN GETTING CONSISTENTLY
COLDER (AS SUSPECTED) AND AM MORE CONFIDENT FORECASTING WINTRY
TYPE PRECIP FOR FRI NITE AND SAT...ESPECIALLY N. GFS MORE GUNG-HO
WITH QPF AMOUNTS FRI NITE...BUT THIS LOOKS SUSPECT. SAT LOOKS LIKE
A LIGHT SNOW EVENT FOR MOST PART...MAYBE AN INCH OR 2.

AS FOR TEMPS...DID NOT STRAY MUCH FROM MAV NUMBERS.

.LONG TERM...
AND IT DOESNT END THERE. AN INVERTED TROF STARTS TO TAKE SHAPE
ACROSS CWA SUN AND SUN NITE. CONSIDERING COLD AIR IN PLACE HAS NOT
HAD MUCH OF A CHANCE TO MODIFY...AND TO COME INTO BETTER AGREEMENT
WITH SURROUNDING OFFICES...WILL TREND TOWARD A MORE WINTRY
FORECAST FOR THESE PERIODS...BUT STILL KEEP THE 50% POPS.

It all sounds good for us winter weather fans, but the good stuff is going to be south of here. Monday may be our best chance. Stay tuned.

Democrats and Republicans/What a Blur

That's right. There's not much difference any more. Both parties like to spend money. A lot of money. Republicans no longer stand for conservatively fiscal principals. They're right there with the Democrats proposing and passing HUGE federal spending initiatives such as the presciption benefit for seniors, the agriculture subsidy bill of a couple of years ago, and the no child left behind act just to name a few. Read this story to find out what some politicians are thinking about 2008.

Apple Geek Udpate

MacBook Pros Starting To Ship, With Faster Chips


Well, Mac fans, better late than never, after a 6 week delay, they are on the way. I'll wait to hear from the folks that really put these things to the test to see how the new chips are performing. When it comes to this kind of stuff, I'm a follower, not a leader.

It's about time

France steps up rhetoric on Iran


We can't be the only dog in this hunt. Maybe this will be the issue that brings our countries back together on the same American-European front.

Iran has the second largest reserves of oil in the world. They have 30% unemployment. Their economy is a disaster. Why would they spend billions of dollars on nuclear energy when clearly, they don't need it? They are up to no good, plain and simple.

Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan Airport, Etc.

I flew into Reagan National today. What a great tribute to the nation's 40th president.. Flying into Reagan airport is a real treat, because you fly right over the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Mall at the White House, and you can see the Pentagon, and Georgetown University. Lots of sights to behold.

I could not help but think about Reagan's influence on my life and this country. He was such a positive influence on my life--having been President at a time when the country had been in a major negative funk. Everyone was pretty much convinced that Japan was going to be the next economic superpower, we were fighting with Iran over the hostages, inflation was at 21%, and I was just at the age where I was paying attention to all of these things. All I wanted to do was to be a small businessman, get out of college and get on with life. This is no BS--Reagan gave me the confidence to go out into the world and to have faith in America. No other President in my lifetime has come close to reaching out and touching me personally with his speeches, dialect, policies, or personality. I hereby salute Ronald Wilson Reagan.

I was Downtown Rotary President on February 11th 2004 when ole' Ronnie moved into the great unknown, and left us here on earth for his journey to Heaven. There were about 300 people at Rotary that day, and I had the task of paying tribute to Reagan, and announcing his death, and holding a moment of silence. I pretty much choked up but got through it okay. He was just simply an inspiration and for some reason, and to this day, I don't really know why I feel so strongly about the man.

Reagan single handedly pulled the country out of the doldrums through his unique blend of wisdom, humor, and leadership with principles. Incredible. And I felt like I knew him, and only met the guy once in a long line of thousands of supporters. Take Care Ronnie. I miss you.

You Be the Judge--Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's is arguably one of the worst diseases known to mankind, as the disease just totally robs someone of their life long personality and reduces them to mental mush. It scares me more than cancer. Recently, I ran across these 2 articles. Which one do you suppose is more accurate?


Education Reduces Alzheimer's Effects

Or this one

Alzheimer's disease progresses more rapidly in highly educated people


Here is key quote from the second article:

"A key question remains whether these effects are truly due to years of schooling or due to other factors related to education, such as wealth, occupation or lifestyle".

The "face" of Alzheimer's for me will always be Ronald Reagan. It pained me to watch his decline and I'll never ever forget that letter he wrote to the country before he slipped away to his ranch. Here it is--

I have recently been told that I am one of the millions of Americans who will be afflicted with Alzheimer's disease.
Upon learning this news, Nancy and I had to decide whether as private citizens we would keep this a private matter or whether we would make this news known in a public way.

In the past, Nancy suffered from breast cancer and I had my cancer surgeries. We found through our open disclosures we were able to raise public awareness. We were happy that as a result many more people underwent testing.

They were treated in early stages and we were able to return to normal, healthy lives.

So now, we feel it is important to share it with you. In opening our hearts, we hope this might promote greater awareness of this condition. Perhaps it will encourage a clearer understanding of the individuals and families who are affected by it.

At the moment I feel just fine. I intend to live the remainder of the years God gives me on this earth doing the things I have always done. I will continue to share life's journey with my beloved Nancy and my family. I plan to enjoy the great outdoors and stay in touch with my friends and supporters.

Unfortunately, as Alzheimer's disease progresses, the family often bears a heavy burden. I only wish there was some way I could spare Nancy from this painful experience. When the time comes, I am confident that with your help she will face it with faith and courage.

In closing let me thank you, the American people, for giving me the great honor of allowing me to serve as your president. When the Lord calls me home, whenever that may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future.

I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead.

Thank you, my friends. May God always bless you.

Sincerely, Ronald Reagan

Reader Alert--BLOG Light plus Writer's Block

Now that I have updated the comments section (see below) I find myself traveling the next couple of days and so, I'l be away from the laptop for a while--good timing, huh? That's probably a good thing, because I've been a little challenged lately with figuring out interesting stuff to post. Truthfully, I've been forcing it lately. That's not good. It has to come naturally. I think they call this a writer's block. I'm in one right now. It just hasn't been hitting me lately. it could be the winter funk. I'll work it out--stay tuned.

Reader Alert--Comment Section Updated

Thanks to my brother, Peter, I have updated the comments section to allow people to more freely post comments, without the hassle of seemingly having to sign up for your own blog, amongst other things. Now, the hassle is gone, and it's easy to post comments on this blog. Not that I am expecting any. Just thought you would want to know dear readers.

How did the Media get this way?

Now, the media is upset with the Bush administration for not telling them about the Cheney hunting accident in a more timely manner.

There could probably be an entire branch of the media that could look "behind" each and every story coming from Washington to fill up an entire web site or newspaper. I mean, instead of running "first run stories", or instead of making the "headlines", they could start a publication or internet site and just run the "story behind the story", or question every facet of every "first run" story.

Here are some examples of articles we are missing:

1. More coverage on how Cheney's press people came to the decision about how and when to release details of the hunting accident, and who was involved with the strategy. Focus more on the precise time line of events-

2. More coverage on the quails in south Texas, their breeding grounds, and their mating habits-

3. Get a local hunting angle by interviewing a local guide. Compare and contrast prices of buckshot in south Texas with other areas of the country. Show graphs and charts depicting the sales data relative to the time of year, and the different hunting seasons.

4. Research other Vice Presidents and their respective hunting interests. Discuss which Vice President became President and show which ones were hunters and which ones were not hunters. Play the hunting angle but extend into fishing. Before guns, determine research into trapping to cover the 19th century Vice Presidents as well.

5. Interview other people who have hunted at the Armstrong Ranch in South Texas. Get a tour of the ranch. Re-create the hunting accident with artistic intepretations. Do a time line and determine how many quails were killed during this hunt. Find out what happened to the quails. Work in a Dan Quayle angle.

And so, here we are in 2005 media coverage!

Sharks

Peter Benchley died, the author of Jaws, which was made into a movie three or four times. Here is a quote from his daughter:

"Spielberg certainly made the most superb movie; Peter was very pleased," Wendy Benchley told The Associated Press.

"But Peter kept telling people the book was fiction, it was a novel, and that he no more took responsibility for the fear of sharks than Mario Puzo took responsibility for the Mafia."

Okay, I blame it on Spielberg then.. By the way, I'm sorry Mr. Benchley passed away.

Here is another article from today, Shark frenzy closes Australian Beaches:

Blame it on human instinct, or blame it on the glorious great white shark from Jaws? Richard Dreyfus was never the same after that movie anyway.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this--other than, it was interesting seeing both of these articles in the same news day, a mere few posts apart on most major news wires.

I hope they had a "bug" in the room

They don't mention it in this article, but one would think that Sheriff Daren Hall and company would have some sort of listening device planted in the room when allowing Perry March to meet with his father at the county jail. Or, am I giving our local law enforcement officials too much credit? It would be easy to "rip-em" here, so let's see what develops.

Exit Wound for Team USA--Michelle Kwan

Michelle Kwan has always had a competitive spirit, an incredible smile, and wonderful grace on the ice. Add to her list of descriptive talents---maturity beyond her years. She has always been one of my favorite women athletes. Here is what she had to say about pulling the plug on her final attempt to compete in the 2006 Olympics:

"I've learned it's not about gold," she continued. "It's about the spirit of it. I have no regrets. I tried my hardest and if I don't win gold, it's OK. I've had a great career. I've been lucky. This is a sport and it is beautiful."

For Kwan, the ultimate dream will never come true. She'll never win Olympic gold, but her impact on the sport will last forever. Good bye and farewell to a great, great lady who ironically, has achieved so much more than Olympic Gold in her short life. She has achieved maturity beyond her years, a maturity about which most professional athletes have no clue.

Winter Bummer Land

Looks like a surge of warm air pushed up into Middle Tennessee right after sunset on Friday, which raised the surface temps from 33 degrees to 36 degrees. We were looking great around 5 pm and then POOF, all the early snow turned to rain and snow mix. Par for the course for Nashville. It's about 11 pm on Friday, and all we have is a wet, nasty, mix of rain and some snow. We had all snow at 5:30 pm. We have digressed snow fans. Once again, we were on the border, and the border turned to the "dark side". We were bracing for a fabulous concentration of a winter wonder land, and well, we ended up with a winter bummer land.

I'm jumping on the bandwagon

...HEAVY SNOW WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 AM
CST SATURDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NASHVILLE HAS ISSUED A HEAVY SNOW
WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 AM CST
SATURDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

Best Part of Bredesen's Budget

You read it here first--check out this appropriation:

$23 million for renovation of UT-Knoxville’s Ayers Hall

Thank you Governor. This building was a rat hole when I was up there in the early 80's. It looks nice from the road, but up close, it's in desperate need of updating and repair. I hope the legislature passes this part of the budget.

Their Day Is Coming

Zillow is aimed at generating profit from advertising and is not intended to put real estate agents out of work by letting home shoppers and sellers do their own research, according to Barton.

This quote was taken from an article about the new web site, Zillow.com
which launched this week. It's a new web site aimed towards the residential real estate market.

What they are trying to do is to create a site that gives people an idea of what a particular home is worth in markets all across the country.

The title of this post is--"their day is coming". That is in reference to real estate agents and the entire process of consumers paying 6% of the purchase price of a home to real estate agents, which, as the reader should know, is split 3% and 3% to the buying and selling agent.

Here is my question--Why is the commission still 6% when home prices have quintupled in the past 10 years? Has the work load of the real estate quintupled? Doubtful. It could be argued that their work load has decreased because of the internet. Oh sure, the advertising costs have increased for the agents to run a print ad in the newspaper---probably from $100 to $300, but the prices of homes have absolutely skyrocketed, so the commission of 6% is completely whacko in my opinion.

I do think the point of Zillow is to slowly erode the "worth" of real estate agents, and I do think there will be more sites in the future that chip away at the "tools" that previously were only known to agents. This will result in real estate agents, at the minimum, to decrease their commission rates to consumers.

Slowly but surely, consumers see the non commission based competitors creeping up--Red Rocket Realty is the only one that comes to mind right now. Most consumers can buy and/or sell a house now with the help of the internet.

Much in the same way discount brokers have taken over the buying and selling of equities in the stock market, I predict the same will happen in real estate in the next 10 years.

Just as full service stock brokers still have a place in the world of stock market trading, there will always be a place for full service real estate brokers as well. But, there is going to be a major shake out one day , and Zillow.com is just the beginning.

This is not original thinking, as I'm sure you've been exposed to this thought before. Why hasn't this happened sooner, might be the best "topic" to be posted.

Not Too Fast--on the Snow

With temps in the 40's on Friday afternoon, I have a hard time believing Nashville will see much snow.

Special Weather Statement from the National Weather Service:
AFTER A VERY WARM JANUARY...FEBRUARY IS TURNING OUT TO BE MUCH MORE WINTER-LIKE. A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL DEVELOP ALONG THE GULF COAST AND MOVE NORTHEAST FRIDAY. THIS SYSTEM HAS THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL...UP TO 4 INCHES OR MORE...OVER THE MID STATE FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY.

Now, read this post from Jason, at nashvillewx.com, the news 2 weather blog:

For Nashville and points south, I think our surface temperatures will be stubborn and have a tough time falling below the freezing mark before midnight. Bear in mind, it can be above freezing and still snow (like Wednesday evening) but it's tough for the snow to stick when temperatures are in the middle 30s. In the higher elevations north and east of town, the change to snow should occur more quickly...and I expect slightly higher accumulations in those areas as a result. For the snow lovers, I do think just about everyone sees snow by early Saturday morning. My gut tells me that 4" is probably too high for Nashville, but possible in the higher elevations. For Music City and points south...at this point in time...let's shoot for around an inch or two, and see what happens over the next 24 hours.

Makes Total Sense to Me

QALAT, Afghanistan - Police killed four people Wednesday as Afghans enraged over drawings of the Prophet Muhammad marched on a U.S. military base in a volatile southern province, directing their anger not against Europe but America.

The U.S. base was targeted because the United States "is the leader of Europe and the leading infidel in the world," said Sher Mohammed, a 40-year-old farmer who suffered a gunshot wound while taking part in the demonstration in the city of Qalat.

It may take 200 years for the Middle East to come around

Here is quote from President Bush today-

"We believe in a free press," the president said. "We also recognize that with freedom comes responsibilities. With freedom comes the responsibility to be thoughtful about others."

I agree. Let's talk about Al Jazeera here and other press sources of Middle East populist anger. Why do they air comments, video, and audio from Al Quaeda? Do they not realize that this behavior is insensitive to Us(a)? Why do they ridicule and conduct violence over the Danish press for doing nothing more than airing their views (and cartoons) via freedom of the press? Oh, because of the sacred Koran? Is the Koran more sacred than human life? These people are imbedded in a culture thrown back to the Dark Ages. Their behavior is incredulous.

We are heading for a war between the 21st century and the 15th Century. I hope it is a cold war and not a nuclear war. I am an optimist by nature believe it or not. The only hope is for moderate Islamists to step up to the plate and lead. That is not happening. This is a slow burning fuse.

Add another team to the list--2005/6 UT VOLS basketball team

From John Pennington--I'd link you to the site, but it's a paid site--

The seasons that are the most special are the ones that no one sees coming. (I'm speaking of positives here, not of #3 football rankings that lead to 5-6 seasons.)

I remember the 1985 Tennessee football team that slugged it's way to UT's first SEC Championship in 16 years. The year before, the Vols had finished with 8 wins, but there were no high expectations for '85. No one saw the championship, the blowout of Miami, and a #4 national ranking coming. That's why the '85 team, that didn't even win 10 games, is in most circles more beloved than the undefeated National Championship team of 1998.

I remember the 1991 Atlanta Braves. "From worst to first," Skip Caray screamed. A team of ne'er-do-wells that won and won and won... nip and tucking their way past the Dodgers for their first division title in nearly a decade. No Braves fans (were there Braves fans in '91?) saw that coming before the season.

I remember the 1995 baseball Vols. Helton, Trammell, Dickey. "The team of destiny is going to the field of dreams," Mike Keith yelled. It was a feel-good moment for the entire area... especially Knoxville, which had provided many of Rod Delmonico's stars.

Not only were those teams and their seasons unexpected successes, but they all had something else in common, too... they all served notice of more success to follow.

Tennessee's greatest football era in history has covered the 20 years since 1985. The Atlanta Braves still haven't lost a division title since 1991. The baseball Vols have now been to 3 College World Series in 10 seasons.

Add another team to the list: The 2005-2006 UT men's basketball team.

(note --in case you missed it--The Vols slammed KY last night at Rupp Arena--if you are keeping up, they are in sole possession of first place in the eastern division, with an 8-1 SEC record and a 17-3 overall record)

Apple Geek Update

Most of us don't care how the things work, as long as they work. But there is a rabid local Mac community that watches every move that the (now fabled again) company makes, both with their new world of digital music players, and with their traditional hardware computers. No one I know is jumping up and down (with joy) about the switch to Intel chips (and they certainly are not buying the new laptop), despite the reveling in the traditional media and the praising by the analysts.

Here is yet another article that points to the possibility that they jumped the gun with the switch to Intel, which, in case you missed the post last week, can't even run the Adobe software yet.

I still say he is Guilty, Guilty, Guilty

But, this article shows how much I know about solving a crime at least when it comes to the Perry March/Janet Levine case.

Chris Matthews of MSNBC--Bloggers Can Cause Riots?

Here is quote from last night's "Hardball"--Chris Matthews posing a question to correspondent David Shuster--

"Let me ask you this. We have a blogging situation out in this country where people basically through their own ingenuity and their own wit are able to develop messages based on their own personal reporting and editing that they can send anywhere. They are their own editors. What happens when bloggers sending stuff out without even the institution of a newspaper or TV station behind them and that incites a riot? How do we avoid this?”


Chris, get a grip. Bloggers aren’t going to start riots unless all you mainstream media representatives get together to demonstrate against the truth.-- --Noel Sheppard from NewsBusters.com

Don't Laugh--World War 3 looming?

I've assembled several quotes from articles in recent days about the escalation of radical islam in the Middle East and in Europe. As I have opined in recent days, the emergence of Hamas in Palestine, the election of the radical islamist in Iran, plus the situation in Syria and other middle East countries, combined with the incredible outpouring of contemptable behavior over the caricatures of Mohammed in the Danish newspapers----have left people over here wondering about a situation far more serious than our administration realizes...Remember when the Bush administration said that we would be "welcomed with open arms" in Baghdad? More and more, we are witnessing a clash of cultures, a clash of religions too. Plus, we are seen as favoring Israel despite the facts of democratic elections in Palestine, and we are knocking on the door for another war in Iran. How can these developments be justified by a general cry of a "War on Terrorism?" Read on...

From Gene Inger



This is more, as we see it; a clash between modernity in Islam and fundamentalism; as contrasted to a 'clash of cultures' between East and West. It may become that if all the fanatics like the Ayatollahs, and their quislings in Syria and even Iraq have their way. It's already almost impossible to stand-up for what is right, decent or tolerant in so many Islamic countries (by civilized standards); so governments kowtow basically to the mob, and you hear things like Pakistan refusing to allow doctors or hospitals to buy pharmaceuticals from any country where the cartoons were reprinted. Nonsense. They hurt themselves, and deprive their people; largely not the big drug companies.

We'll not have much more to say on this for now; other than the overtones of a world war emerging are there; that's what the Islamic extremists actually want, we're fairly convinced. It's going to be tough, but only the Islamic world can defuse this situation. The rhetoric from the Islamists won't allow the rest of the world to calm the issue very much; because they don't want it calmed, no matter what they may say to the media. They are agitators.




From Tom Porteous


Worse, Bush's State of the Union address marked a clear broadening of the war on terror. No longer does the U.S. government limit itself to speaking of a narrow war against terrorists, or a struggle against an "evil ideology" of Islamic extremism.

According to Bush, the West's opponent in a new global conflict that has replaced the Cold War is now "radical Islam"—the very political ideology to which increasingly large numbers of Muslims are committed, if the successes of radical Islamists in recent democratic elections in Palestine, Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon and Iran are any evidence.

As the furor over the cartoons shows, the further we go down this road, the more the "war on terror" will infect cultural outlooks and popular attitudes both in the West and in the Muslim world, poisoning relations between them. We must not allow a military and intelligence battle between a coalition of governments and a bunch of extremists and desperados to develop into a real conflict between cultures and peoples.






From Rhami Khouri


I nearly fell out of my car window Monday morning while traveling around several of the fine universities in North Carolina, when I read U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's statement on the Hamas election victory in Palestine. She stated: "I've asked why nobody saw it coming. It does say something about us not having a good enough pulse."

Good grief, Condoleezza, this is not about having or not having a good enough pulse. It's about the consequences of the last decade of Israeli and American policies toward the Palestinians in general, and the Islamist resistance movements in particular. This is not a time to persist in simplistic, counterproductive policies that will only further strengthen the forces of military resistance against the Israeli occupation, and wider Arab-Islamic political resistance against America 's blatantly pro-Israeli position.

To add a new dose of American perplexity and wonderment now to several existing layers of mistaken policies on Arab-Israeli peacemaking will be of no help to anyone. If Washington 's initial reaction is bewilderment at why it did not see this coming, and a reaffirmation of its policy of placing Israeli security above Palestinian security, then we are all in far more serious trouble than we can imagine. What is required now is a combination of honesty, independent analysis and composure that have long been missing in Washington's policies on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.


Thanks to my brotherly sources for sending me these articles from which to quote-

On To Marcia Trimble and Tabitha Tudors

I know he is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, but I think Perry March is toast.

Torry Johnson is going to have to seriously think about going for the death penalty.

Now, I don't have time to look up the links, but it's time to find the killers of Marcia Trimble and Tabitha Tudors.

Bonaroo 2006--Woodstock Grown Up

Have you ever noticed the impact of Bonaroo on the local economy, or otherwise, have you ever thought about attending this most magnificent concert event just down the road from Nashville? I'm talking to the probable readers of this site--you know--the well adjusted, 30's/40's/50's something crowd that normally has sworn off large concert events...like me??? Too many people our age think this event is what Woodstock used to be--but I think Bonaroo has grown up and ultimately achieved what Woodstock could never become---the ultimate repetitive outdoor concert event.

Of course, the major local media always seems to concentrate on the drug intake aspect of the (very minor portion of the) attendees, or, in the same vein (no pun intended) of the News of the Weird of how some people die at the event. The media will never give credit where credit is due. You've read it here on this site--Bonaroo is a cultural and economic phenomena--and I officially salute it's creators and management.

We were sitting in a restaurant in SteamBoat Springs, Colorado about 3 years ago and we were chatting up the server. She about flipped when she realized we lived about 60 miles from the Bonaroo event location. She had purchased her tickets on line (Which by the way, is the ONLY way to buy tickets--NO TICKETMASTER ALLOWED--which is another subject, but which it totally and completely a great idea)---but anyway, it's totally amazing what Bonaroo has accomplished in such a short amount of time.

It has become THE concert event for most 20's/30/s something (concert-going) people. It continues to draw as many people as they allow tickets to be sold.

Just last summer, we were at the airport a few days before the event, and there were tons of people picking up their back packs and their gear at the baggage claim area, obviously, not heading to local hotels. They were totally phsyched about heading down towards Manchester (we overheard these conversations), and they were renting cars, stopping by local restaurants, basically going by grocery stores, and doing most of their prep work here in Nashville. Quite an impact here locally.

Also last summer (pre-blogging), Sharon and I took our daughter, Rachel, to camp in Mentone, Alabama. We happened to be traveling around the second week of June. We stopped in Monteagle on the way back, and noticed a bunch of people at a local restaurant taking a break from Bonaroo. The interstate was packed and so was the town. Bonaroo impact is well known south of here.

All in all, it was a slow news day, and just thought I'd share these thought with you. If you want to look at who is playing this year, or if you would like to get up a group of people and go, here is where you need to click to read about Bonaroo.

Super Bore Overview

Sierra Mist was by far the best commercial so far (this was written at half time). This was the commerical with the guy at the airport security point--who gladly gave up his Sierra Mist as opposed to getting a more detailed screening shall we say from the security folks. Who cares about Pittsburgh and Seattle?---the game that is. I have no allegience or interest in either team. So, it has become the Super Bore Game at our house. The interest is in the commercials, and the entertainment factor, as it is with many other homes in this area I assume. Have you ever heard so much hype for the Rolling Stones? Mick is the fossilized star of stars, is he not, and most assuredly, will put a new twist on rock till ya drop. And how about Bud Light? Their commercials were not so humorous this year. Definitely an off year for the Budweiser creative ad agency folks. However, the streaker commerical (the lamb without any fur) who ran through the football game between the Clydesdales was by far the best.

Okay, I went off line for a few minutes to watch Mick and the Boys. My most favorite recent memory of a Super Bowl half time show was Bono's and U-2's tribute to America in 2002. Paul McCartney last year was pretty good. And now, ranked third in recent history....is the Stones. I do think they need to finally give it up. Start Me Up was never a great song, who knows what the second song was, and Satisfaction, was too long, too stale, and too redundant. The stage was cool with the tongue and the people in the middle. Ron Wood looked okay, and so did Charlie Watts. Keith Richards and Mick Jagger weren't necessarily over the hill as much as trying too hard to be actively entertaining. At one time in my life, I enjoyed these guys. True enough, I had the volume cranked this year and was hoping to be inspired, but I kept thinking--these guys were so good about 20 plus years ago---We were in college when the classic, classic album, Some Girls, was released. We played that album (and cassette) incessantly. Here we are 27 years later, and they are headlining America's Favorite Football Party. I'm just glad there was not a material malfunction, and I was just wondering--why couldn't we have Stevie Wonder at half time and Mick at the Pre Game Show? Stevie and company (despite microphone issues ) was superbly excellent before the game--the Stones were just not that good, sorry folks...Give them an "A" for persevering and for performing through the ages, but enough is enough. If you want to listen to a band that sounds just as great now as they did in the 1960-s, look no further than the MOODY BLUES !!!!!! Justin Hayward gets my vote for the rock star of the ages----and now, yes, the football game has been completed, no new memorable commercials were premiered in the second half, and the Steelers won the game.

After a front page article on Saturday....

About Perry March's dad possibly pleading guilty ....Plus the article hinted that the authorities were close to finding out details of Janet Levine's whereabouts.....

You'd think the Tennessean would have had a follow up article on Sunday--somewhere, anywhere in the local, or front section. Again, not that I read the TNSN as much as I used to--- but this case sells papers. The Tennessean continues to baffle me.

Vol Men's Basketball--How Good Are They?

..Looks like we'll find out these next 2 weeks as the Vols go on the Road. Read these comments from John Penningon-


Another week, another couple of wins for Bruce Pearl's Band of Believers. Ho-hum.

At 16-3, there's no question that this team is now in the NCAA Tournament (probably a 3 or 4 seed) barring a total collapse.

But at their current pace, a total collapse doesn't even seem like a remote possibility. This team, which has already maximized its potential, seems to be getting better as the season goes along.

The short bench, which had the potential for being a weakness, has proven to be just the opposite.

The fact that UT does not have a consistent scoring threat aside from CJ Watson and Chris Lofton has not hurt because a different player seems to step up in each game... when needed.

The fact that 6'4" Dane Bradshaw is the team's leading rebounder hasn't hurt, either. Don't get me wrong, the Vols' losses have come when they've shot poorly in games against tough post-dominated teams, but so far... there have only been 3 such games.

Now, after a heart-to-heart with Bruce Pearl, even Major Wingate, who had been a bit of a disappointment on the year, has begun to assert himself.

The 13th ranked Vols now face a tough stretch in their schedule. Four of their next five games will be played away from Thompson-Boling Arena:

At Kentucky
At Georgia
Auburn (and one-time UT coaching candidate Jeff Lebo)
At Alabama
At Florida

New Twist on a "REALITY" Show

Have you heard about the live Cirque De Soleil: Delirium event upcoming to the GEC on May 9th? This is taken verbatim from the press release:

Driven by an urban tribal beat and awe-inspiring visuals, musicians, singers and dancers transform the arena into joyous frenzy .DELIRIUM is the quest for balance in a world that is increasingly out of sync with REALITY.

Joyous frenzy? Can you imagine you and your best 18,000 friends in a joyous frenzy together? Okay, Okay, who, exactly, is out of synch with reality? What has this marketing person been smoking?

Local Apple Guru Says New Intel Based Macs Released Too Soon

Michael Petruna, a local Mac expert, and I'm proud to say, an exemplary employee of U. S. Hospitality Publishers,Inc. , points to this posting on SlashDot's website that says Adobe is not ready to support the new intel based Macs. As most of you know, Adobe is THE DADDY of mac software for graphics--and if they're not on board yet, then no one will be buying these macs until they are ready--at least no one in the graphics industry...

Best Chance of Snow this winter--Next 7 days

From the National Weather Service "forecast discussion" group:


WRAP AROUND CIRCULATION IS STRONGER AND WILL PULL DOWN MUCH COLDERAIR INTO NORTHWEST MIDDLE TENNESSEE AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND SPEEDS WILLINCREASE. TEMPERATURES PROFILES ARE COLD ENOUGH FOR CHANGE TO SNOWACROSS MOST OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE BY 04/12Z. THERE COULD BE SOME LIGHTSNOW ACCUMULATIONS IN NORTHWEST MIDDLE TENNESSEE TONIGHT...POSSIBLY
GETTING INTO THE NORTH/WEST METRO NASHVILLE AREA TOO.

00Z GFS80 AND 06Z NAM12 IN BETTER AGREEMENT WITH -8 TO -10 C H8 AIR
MOVING OVER MIDDLE TENNESSEE ON SATURDAY...WITH MORE MOISTURE
HANGING BACK NEAR THE TENNESSEE RIVER INTO THE AFTERNOON. SNOW
SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE INTO THE DAY...MAINLY NORTH
AND EAST MIDDLE TENNESSEE. THE NORTHERN CUMBERLAND PLATEAU COULDRECEIVE UP TO THREE INCHES OF SNOWFALL INTO SATURDAY NIGHT.
.LONG TERM (MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY)...COLD PATTERN CONTINUES AS ADVERTISED. THE NEXT CHANCE OFPRECIPITATION COMES SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY. MODELS SHOW LARGE
DIFFERENCES WITH TRACK OF SURFACE LOW ASSOCIATED WITH CLIPPER
SYSTEM...AND WILL CONTINUE CHANCE OF RAIN OR SNOW MOST AREAS. THENANOTHER SYSTEM WITH REINFORCING COLD AIR MAY BRING ANOTHER CHANCE OFSNOW TO THE REGION AT MIDWEEK.

Fall Out from the Big Speech

These are comments from Gene Inger, a thoughtfully long winded, but mostly accurate analyst. Thanks to my brother Dortch for these comments, cut and pasted from Inger's newsletter.

There is a significant 'flap' developing with OPEC, as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries today warned that President Bush’s proposal to reduce much US dependence on Middle Eastern oil could badly jeopardize needed investment in Gulf oil production and refining capacity. Gee, well they should have been accommodative to the needs of the United States in many aspects over recent years and appreciative of the sacrifices the U.S. made for them not only in the region, but in the Balkans too.

Tennessee Tops Vandy Moves to 11-0 at Home. Pearl Wears Orange Jacket A-LA Mears

Yes, some great news out of Knoxville for a change. Tennessee Beats Vandy. Read it and weep Commodore fans.

And, read the article too--Bruce Pearl actually went to see legendary coach Ray Mears, and asked his permission to bring back the Orange Sports Coat against Vanderbilt and Kentucky! How cool is that!!??

(note to all non UT Fans--Ray Mears used to wear an orange jacket to every Kentucky and Vanderbilt basketball games in the 60's and 70's, which would absolutely perturb those fans)!!

Do you think Fulmer can coach his way out of this one?

The Vols finish the 2006 recruiting season with a class ranked anywhere from No. 15 to the mid-20s by various national services. Scout.com ranked Tennessee 24th in the nation and seventh in the SEC.

Fulmer declined to talk about specific players that spurned the Vols but spoke to the overall recruiting landscape at a press conference Wednesday evening.

"There's guys that just lie to you - flat lie to you," Fulmer said. "That goes back to upbringing."

The bad news for UT continued into the afternoon when Aleric Mullins from East Lake High in Wendell, N.C., signed with North Carolina. A source close to UT's program said Mullins told UT's coaches that he was committed to being a Vol during his Jan. 13 official visit.

"We certainly fought through some ups and downs as we fought the recruiting battles from a different position than we've been in since I've been a football coach," Fulmer said. "That's after a sub-par season, so that presented some challenges."

Sub par? How about disastrous?

Guess who was ranked number one this year--Our old nemesis--Florida!

Who Reads Newspapers Any More?

Read this article
about how advertising revenue continues to decline at the Tribune company's print newspapers. I'm sure they are scratching their heads wondering what to do. Look at your own habits. Do you read newspapers as much as you did, say, one, five, or ten years ago? I still subscribe to the Tennessean and the Wall Street Journal. Half the time one or both papers goes into the recycle bin having gone unread that day. The Sports section of the Tennessean is the only section worth reading anyway.

Here is one nugget from this article: Online revenue climbed 40% to $46 million, largely due to the improvement in classified help-wanted ads.. Times, they are a changin'.

Political Grandstanding at it's best

Specter must be up for re-election this year.

Senate hearings on record oil company profits

Trying not to get drawn into the State of the Union

Why? Beacause you just can't get away from it today, and everbody is blogging about it, and I'm being sucked in like a piece of lint into a vacuum cleaner.

Well, I think this is the best article about the whole speech, even though it was a post interview on his plane ride down to Nashville for this speech today at the Grand Ole Opry.

Let me tell you it was a fabulous State of the Union speech. I'll just comment on the energy section, and won't get sucked into the Hoover or Oreck section of Iraq, etc. Why in the world would anyone expect any type of governmental action on the price of oil? Is Exxon, or BP, or anyone for that matter taking advantage of the situation? Absolutely not! These guys are running their businesses, and they are having a hard time meeting supply with the demand. I have no problem with Exxon or any oil company making a bunch of money right now. Thank God they are in business and have the resources to get gasoline to the market. Put that in your pipe and smoke it !

What I loved about the President last night, and what I think hit a major home run in the State of the Union Speech was the comment on developing an alternative energy source to oil in "W"'s lifetime, and maybe even in the next 10 years or less. That would be awesomely cool if we could get away from depending on the rogue nations to supply our nation with oil--plus we would not have to deal with their own insecurities. We have to look beyond oil, and not short sighted goals such as drilling for oil in the Alaska or------raising the fuel efficiencies aka MPG's of cars. What good would all that do? We need to find another source of energy (as I opined in a previous post BEFORE the State of the Union speech). It's not rocket science....Oil gets us into trouble, because we are addicted to it---like a junkie on heroin.

In conclusion, I'm always proud to be an American, but I was especially proud of President Bush on Monday night. Yes, it's old news and I'm sorry for this late post, but he hit on all cylinders....ahem, one criticism...the $14 billion in program cuts last year was micro BS---in a trillion dollar budget, he should have cut $150 billion or more....George Bush likes big government to the point of it being his achilles heel.

As for the up and down on separate sections of the "isle". How could the Democrats applaud and make noise about NOT doing something about Social Security ? It was like, naaa naaa naaa naaaa naaa naaa (sung to hey, hey, hey, good bye)....How could they be proud of putting off inevitably more than likely, the plain and simple fact that social security is going broke, and has been going broke?

What original, unique idea have the Democrats come up with lately? Name one.

Yes, I turned down Tix to see "W"

President Bush is speaking today at the Grand Ole Opry House and I could have been there. But, I would have had to been there by 10Am, gone into lock down mode around 11 am, hope that he was on time, and speaking around 12:10 pm, and then waited for the "all clear" from the Secret Service after his speech around 12:45 pm or so, and probably been back in the office by 1:30 pm. That is just too much hassle for me. I did see him the last time he spoke at Vanderbilt Medical Center, and I went through all of the above. I have to admit, it was very very cool when he came out on stage, and "Hail to the Chief" was played and the Secret Service was all over the place. Plus, seeing the Blackhawk helicopters buzzing around West End and Hillsboro Rd area--before, during and after his speech. I guess I'm just not a political junkie the way I used to be. Seriously, there are people today who are so pumped up to see "W" that they can hardly contain themselves. This is what they live for--a Presidential visit and speech. This is what keeps them motivated--seeing their man in person. That used to be me. I used to think about running for office and playing the 'ole political game, but somewhere along the way, other priorities, and other interests surfaced. The only way I got tix to the event today was by financially supporting Bob Corker for Senate, so I guess I'm still a little involved in the whole thing. Suffice to say, it's good to know your Congressman, Senator, or Governor! And let's hope good men and women out there still want to serve the public. God knows we need them, whoever and wherever they are!

Google Wierdness on Wall Street

You are probably hearing how google got wallopped in the stock market after hours on Tuesday. Now, I'm not a fan of Google if you are a regular reader, you know how I feel about their increasing, shall we say, hegemony, but their earnings were up 82% from the previous year in the same quarter. That is absolutely balls to the wall, incredbile. Now, Wall Street is rewarding them with a huge shellacking. I'm involved with several small businesses. If any of my businesses had earning up 82% over the previous year, same quarter, I'd be high fiving the entire office, and probably dishing out bonuses to boot, along with buying a keg of beer on a Friday afternoon, if not 2 kegs. Wall Street is just a strange, strange world of pushing the envelope of 'figgers, and never being satisfied with tangible results that are "below" expectations of some numbers crunching MBA-grad 20 something pencil pusher.

More Google--From Rexblog.com

Do know evil: John Battelle asked the following two questions to Google and in both cases they told him, the answer is "yes":

"1) "Given a list of search terms, can Google produce a list of people who searched for that term, identified by IP address and/or Google cookie value?" 2) "Given an IP address or Google cookie value, can Google produce a list of the terms searched by the user of that IP address or cookie value?"

My comment--It's true--Google is the second coming of Big Brother.

OIL Issues

I don't have a problem with Exxon making $10 Billion last quarter--did you see that their profit margin was around 8% ? As a comparison, Proctor and Gamble had a profit margin of 13% last quarter. Maybe we should get mad at P&G for making so much money off of soap and TP? I don't find myself in the windfall profit tax area of the debate.
Exxon is making a fair profit on the product they are producing, distributing, and selling. That's how an economy based on capitalism is supposed to work.

I do find myself concerned, however, that Exxon is not re-investing enough funds to look for new sources of energy--That is what we desperately need. A new source of energy that can be rapidly turned into an inexpensive source of fuel. I don't think Hydrogen is it. It is too expensive to convert to energy (although water is the only needed ingredient besides hydrogen). Hybrid fuel cells have promise--but they depend too much on oil still. I'm going to keep posting on this challenge.

Read these thoughts from Steven Leeb, a leading analyst and stock guru-


OUR DEPENDENCY ON THE KINDNESS OF ROGUES


The danger we must be ever on the lookout for is an oil spike. Today, oil prices are being driven higher by 1) a long-term gap between supply and demand and 2) the political problems within the world’s largest oil producers.

Last Thursday – to pick the most recent example – Iran’s president threatened to put an embargo on oil exports from his country if the IAEA refers the issue of Iran’s nuclear program to the UN Security Council. Eoin O’Callaghan, an oil analyst for BNP Paribas, warned that such a move could push oil prices over $90 a barrel – exactly the type of spike we have been fearing, because it would mean we need to switch to a more defensive investment posture.

We have said several times that America’s dependence on rogue nations for our oil supply is our biggest liability. From Iran to Nigeria, Venezuela, Iraq, Saudi Arabia – all the big oil exporters are either undeveloped, unstable, or renegade economies. The reason for this is simple. All the stable, developed, friendly countries that have oil are already using all the oil they produce and, like us, are looking to buy more.

In a recent article by Fortune Magazine writer Nelson Schwartz, billionaire investor George Soros is quoted as being “very worried about the supply-demand balance” in oil. What’s more, Soros comments, “Iran is on a collision course and I have a difficulty seeing how such a collision can be avoided.”

If that isn’t enough, the article also quotes Hermitage Capital’s Bill Browder who thinks oil could reach $262 a barrel.

My new book, The Coming Economic Collapse (which was finished last October, and will be released next month), makes a similar prediction.

So where does that leave us for the near term? Right now, stocks are still enjoying seasonal strength, having recovered a little last week. And this strength may continue for the next two weeks or so. However, our Master Key is still close to neutral, so after then all bets are off.

Again, I must stress: keep an eye on oil. If it does experience a spike above $90, that could create weakness in all stocks, even energy stocks, as it would imply the start of a recession.

Back to my thoughts----I don't have a problem with Exxon making $10 Billion last quarter--did you see that their profit margin was around 8% ? As a comparison, Proctor and Gamble had a profit margin of 13% last quarter. Maybe we should get mad at P&G for making so much money off of soap and TP? I don't find myself in the windfall profit tax area of the debate.
Exxon is making a fair profit on the product they are producing, distributing, and selling. That's how a capitality economy works.
I do find myself concerned that Exxon is not re-investing enough funds to look for new sources of energy--That is what we desperately need. A new source of energy that can be rapidly turned into an inexpensive source of fuel. I don't think Hydrogen is it.It is too expensive to convert to energy (although water is the only needed ingredient besides hydrogen). Hybrid fuel cells have promise--but they depend too much on oil still. I'm going to keep posting on this challenge.