In Defense of Minas Tirith

'click on the image for a larger view'

"In Defense of Minas Tirith"
24 X 30 (acrylic)
2008

This is the product of my summer fishing trip described in an earlier post - Gone Fishing. This painting was commissioned by my son. It was inspired by a scene from the movie Lord of The Rings: Return of the King. The original image is found on the official web site. I truly enjoyed this project. The architectural detail and the play of light and shadow was at the same time challenging and satisfying. I was particularly happy with the way the stormy skies came out. I hope you enjoy it.

Please visit my online art gallery for more. http://www.static-art.blogspot.com/


CW

The Vista Experiment...

... is over.

When I got a new computer I decided since it is part of my job (at work and in my personal life) to support computer users I should stay on the "cutting edge". I had Windows Vista Ultimate installed on my new laptop.

After taking over a week just to get a few client software packages loaded - considering that the productivity suite came pre-installed - I dug in and started to get to know all that was Vista!

As happens with every new operating system older software can have trouble loading and working. The one thing that Vista had that I applauded was the ability to install and run software as if it was on the older operating system. This actually seemed to work well. But that's where it ended for me.

Let me sum up my opinion of Windows Vista: What a piece of crap.

I am not a Microsoft basher at all. Even though I work with both UNIX and Linux regularly I did not find need to elevate them above what is the defacto standard desktop operating system. Since Windows XP SP2 has been a very, very good system for years I had gotten past any knee jerk Microsoft bashing. Solaris, Mac and Linux have become darlings because their basic under lying structures are modular and can, in a sense, protect the core operating system from "locking up", but they are also less useful in many respects. Windows tries (and mostly succeeds) in being all things to all people. Until Vista...

With Vista I had serious stability issues whenever I used my laptop as a laptop. Locked in the docking station it seemed to work OK, but ladies and gentleman it is a laptop! Crashing aside what bothered most me was a sense of value. Vista had no apparent value over XP SP2, none. All the fancy look and feel only made the computer boot and run slower than it should have.

On top of that the venerable Microsoft Office Suite that came pre-installed was simply horrible. In many ways it was needlessly changed making it ultimately less usable. Edit Copy, Edit Paste, Edit Select All, Edit Delete - it used to be just that easy. Not any more. Attention: Steve Ballmer, Bill Gates this was NOT an improvement.

I don't want to go into all the reasons I have given up on Vista, I just want to get my work done. I want to stop playing around on Google searching for ways to put Vista back to the way Windows used to be. FYI Classic View is not the answer either, believe me. And I know I am not alone; computer maker Dell will once again offer Windows XP on new systems, responding to customer complaints. The decision reverses a Vista-only policy the PC seller has moved to since the release of Microsoft's latest OS. The web is full of disgruntled Vista users. Corporations are seriously considering Linux for the desktop for the first time because the end of the Windows XP life cycle means they have to do something and going with Vista isn't it.

Plain and simple my friends, Vista sucks!




CW

Will the Bubble Burst?

There is no doubt that the price pressure on a barrel of oil has subsided a bit it the last few weeks. Falling from a high of $147 (U.S.) to around $113 even as the crisis in Georgia was ramping up. We all know - or we should know - that the oil business is not only one of the most important aspects of any economy it is also one of the most complicated.

There has been volumes written on the part the oil speculators have had in all of this. I am one who believes speculation is definitely a large part of the run up in the per barrel price. I have only to cite the fact that New York Times economist Paul Krugman argues that it's not a speculative bubble, because there had been no build-up of inventory. If there is one thing you must know about Krugman is he is very nearly always wrong. The truth is there is excess inventory. Before the Saudi's substantially increased production (this after both the President and Vice President "asked" them to) and having learned Iran has been floating 30 million barrels in tankers there was no inventory crisis. Even after demand in the world's number one oil consumption economy fell for the first time in decades prices remained high. So, simple supply and demand could not have accounted for the huge run up in prices or this mild pull back.

It's safe to say speculation operates on a human emotional level which can't be divorced from the raw logic of economics 101.

There is a fine article in The Australian business section today that speaks about the psychology of the speculators:

Citigroup energy analyst Tim Evans argues inventories are already rising, with Iran storing 30 million barrels in ships offshore, because storage at its Kharg Island oil terminal is full. The International Energy Agency notes that at almost two months supply, OECD oil stocks are also above their five-year average level.

Evans cites the definition of speculative bubbles by Yale economist Robert Shiller, who says they arise when news of price increases spurs the enthusiasm of an ever larger class of investors who, despite doubts about the real value of the investment, "are drawn to it partly through envy of the other's successes and partly through a gambler's excitement".

Peak oil -- the theory that the world's oilfields are in irreversible decline -- was the elixir that got investors going.

But, speculation is not the whole story. The weak U.S. dollar is probably more responsible for this situation than anything else. It's hard to understand the seeming disinterest for so long in the value of the dollar by the Fed and the Bush administration. Sure there are winners and losers in every move by the Federal Reserve and the Treasury department, but as the weak dollar spurs oil prices higher absolutely offsetting any gains exporters might make it makes you wonder what the upside is... Besides huge profits for the oil companies and those hostile regimes that have nationalized their oil businesses. As the dollar has gained strength in the last few weeks the barrel price has fallen - cause and effect.

There was also the announcement by President Bush that he suspended the no-drill ban in continental waters. The Democrats have also hinted that they will loosen their grip on drilling bans. This may have forced speculators to realize that peak oil is not anything more than "political peak oil".

There is one positive to $4.00 a gallon gas. It has quelled some of the public acceptance of Global Warming as a serious and detrimental crisis worth killing the American economy over. If nothing else this was a taste of what is to come if the eco-nut burgers get their way.


CW

American Millionaire Murdered in Beijing

This is shocking and incredibly sad. While I obviously didn't know Todd Bachman I can't help but feel for him and his family. He was the CEO of an institution here in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Bachman's Garden Center has been around for as long as anyone can remember and we've all shopped there. My heart breaks for the family.

I see little mention of the man himself in the articles I've read. Except for the local newspapers the fact that he was a wealthy and successful businessman is hardly mentioned. There is speculation that the Chinese government has censored the local news of the murder - gee, that's hard to believe...

It's hard to know what to make of it - other than it should be a bigger story than it is. Perhaps this paragraph from Time.com's story explains why it isn't front page news for days:

The murder did not appear to have been pre-meditated. "It seems like a senseless act of violence by a random individual with no motive," says Richard Buangan, spokesperson for the U.S. embassy in Beijing. "They were not targeted because they were Americans." The USOC said the victims had not been wearing any USA apparel. Still, athletes and officials walking around the village were stunned, and even a little afraid. Violence against foreigners is rare in Beijing and across China...

If it was terrorism or directly attributably to Mr. Bachman being an American (or a millionaire) then maybe this would be a true "international incident" in the eyes of the main stream press.

God Bless the Bachman's.



CW

One Nation Under "O"

Yes He can...

...do anything he wants. Is symbology even a word? It should be. Something about the study of symbols and symbolism, right?

Never before in American presidential politics has pure symbolism been taken to such heights. Barack Obama has either officially or unofficially spawned a marketing campaign unseen in this land since the pet rock. Selling the Obama brand of style over substance is all the rage in the smart set.

Some of this stuff is not the work of Obama or his "team". Some is the work of over zealous supporters and some the inevitable work of his detractors. Some of it is a natural reaction as pretty, young Obamicans are literally fainting and collapsing at his feet, while the media darlings swoon all over him. The funny and goofy stuff is completely understandable. When the candidate takes himself so seriously that he is incapable of any self-deprecation at all - then nothing is sacred.

On the other hand when the candidate himself has all the American flag decals removed from his official campaign plane in favor of his own logo it makes you wonder about his priorities. Are the stars and stripes safe in Obamanation?









Nearly everyone was a little taken aback when he trotted out his pre-presidential seal. Biting comments in the main stream media forced the Obama people to quietly retire it - but not before it became a "symbol" of his pretentiousness.

The latest that has passed my radar is the "Obama Salute". Yes, George W. Bush had his - the 3 finger salute in the form of a "W". Presumably a spontaneous incarnation by the President himself. Kinda neat, really. Of course you can't mention Bush without also a mention of Hitler, now can you? Adolph had his own salute. Heil Hitler! Remember that? We all watched Hogan's Heroes... Anyone, anyone, Bueller? OK, it was the arm straight out a 30 degree angle, palm facing down. C'mon you gotta remember that!

Well, it has come to my attention that a marketing firm has come up with an Obama "salute" that they are hoping spreads like wildfire. It is a pair of hands with fingers interlaced depicting a new and intriguing symbol. It is an "O", a zero, zip, nada, nothing.

If you really think about it - two hands with fingers interlaced can perform no actions, can accomplish nothing, and can hold, manipulate, and release nothing. This meaningless gesture is a admission that together we can accomplish nothing. Simply put, we are too busy trying to impress ourselves.

Honestly, I doubt Obama is behind this thing, but it only goes to show you that the anointed one has attracted the goofiest among us.

It makes you wonder if the people who support Obama have an elevator that even reaches the top floor???

We can only hope that a President Obama, once sufficiently mugged by reality, can be the Super "O" we all have dreamed about. A man who can propel us beyond the petty and back stabbing world modern politicians have occupied for as long as our memory serves. Long Live Super "O"!

Gone Fishing

Well...

I'm taking some time off to go fishing with my son and his best buddy. The three of us head up to God's Country in northern Wisconsin every summer. If you've never been to northern Wisconsin in the summer you really are missing something. Although I live in the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes here in Minnesota I really do love Wisconsin. It is a very different geography than the granite and jack pines of northern Minnesota.

The little lake we visit is chock full of small mouth bass of about the 1lb variety. The fish will mostly safe in the mornings... The boys will sleep in late while I have coffee and set up my easel and paint another masterpiece as the sunshine dances across the water. It will be very pleasant. After lunch (their breakfast) we take a swim and generally laze about. Come around 4PM we load up the boat and go fishing 'til sunset. The only trick is to find out what they're biting on this year.

See you in a week or so.



CW

Can Mc-what-his-name Win?

After writing my last post (see below) I realized I too have contributed to the phenomena of Barack Obama in my own little way - based on the number of readers of this page - very little.

So, what about McCain? Can he win? He gets about 1/10th the press that Obama gets. He looks terrible, really terrible. He sounds bitter and frankly a bit out of touch sometimes. He was a media darling for 6 years while he denigrated the Bush Administration at every turn. Now, suddenly he's an awful little man who wants to spoil the Obama coronation. He has absolutely no momentum, no spark, no real message and yet... My God, the polls show him within striking distance.

I know of not one single person who is enthusiastically behind McCain, not one. There were plenty of people solidly behind George W. Bush both times. Isn't McCain supposed to have all this integrity and righteousness? Isn't he the anti-Bush? What gives?

Are people intuitively wary of the Obama phenomena? Is it the real and justifiable fear of creeping socialism that America rejects at the polls time after time now coming at them like a freight train? I hope so, but I honestly don't get it. Seriously, Barack should be at least 15 points up on McCain.

Either the polls are wildly off or the major media doesn't have the power it thinks it does. But then I look at the current administration. The media has relentlessly piled on Bush for 7 straight years. (GW's inarticulateness surely doesn't help). But they were similarly after Bill Clinton in his 2nd term and his wife in the recent primaries. So, yes the media has the power to influence. So, why is McCain hanging in there? The media clearly does not favor him...

Time will tell. I sure hope McCain can say or do something that will energize the electorate. Of course with the major media more or less ignoring his policy declarations he's going to have to do it with that effervescent personality of his!


CW