Posted By RichC on August 13, 2011
Every once in a while I look at the right hand column of my blog to see what interested me in previous years. I noticed The Navy catapults the last F-14 Tomcat post from back in the summer of 2006.
Has it been 5 years?
Posted By RichC on August 13, 2011
After noting the increase from Netflix back in June and being pretty frustrated at the “percentage” increase in price, we’ve still opted to stick with Netflix as a streaming only service. If the need arrives to see a new release, we’ll pick it up a Redbox or a local video store … perhaps encourage some new local entrepreneurs?
I wonder how many others either cancelled NetFlix or shifted to the $7.99 “streaming only” subscription … rather than paying the $15.98 for both streaming and DVD by mail?
Posted By RichC on August 12, 2011
The week of August 7 – 12th
I shouldn’t have spent the day in my office watching the markets, but I did and thankfully it was a semi-relief to not see a selloff at the end of the day. For those who’s job it is to manage their client’s money (and handle their phone calls), they will head home to lick their wounds and question their line of work; for those who manage their own savings, it will be to shut down the computer, make excuses and find something mundane to do in order to take their mind off of this stressful week (I’m going to mow the lawn!)
For most long term investors who are saving for college or retirement the week was another reminder that trying to grow (or preserve) savings is not for the faint of heart. It isn’t easy and very few were are able to sell at a top and rebuy at a bottom or have picked the right mix in order to feel successful – as financial experts would suggest …“don’t even try.”
NEW YORK—U.S. stocks remained solidly in positive territory as an upbeat retail sales report trumped a weak reading on consumer confidence, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average had its first back-to-back gain in more than a month.
As one of the most volatile weeks in Wall Street history ended, the blue-chip index closed up 125.71 points, or 1.1%, to 11269.02, led by Boeing, which rose 4.4%. Hewlett-Packard gained 3.6% and Caterpillar rose 3.5%.
The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index in late afternoon gained 8 points, or 0.7%, to 1181, led by industrial and consumer discretionary stocks. The index hasn’t had two consecutive sessions of gains since July 22.
The technology-oriented Nasdaq Composite rose 15.30 points, or 0.6%, to 2507.98.
Posted By RichC on August 12, 2011
Without too much expectation we watched the presidential hopefuls in the Republican debate last night and came away surprised. Several of the candidates in Iowa avoided the canned talking points and went out on a limb in presenting fresh and thoughtful ideas; almost all candidates convinced me that the field is far more qualified than expected. For the most part, the press had previously presented the field as “ho-hum” and as Newt Gingrich forcefully stated, spends too much time looking for “gotcha moments.” After last nights debate was over, the only on with a black-eye was one of the questioners Chris Wallace. In my “new” opinion, the GOP has a strong field and seeing President Obama’s track record I have no problem voting for any candidate from this group as a replacement.
In my opinion, the current front runner Mitt Romney continued to look presidential and handled himself as a leader. He was able to fend off any attacks on his record with a smile and gracious response. He was also able to make President Obama the target of his criticism rather than the other GOP candidates … probably appreciated by Republican voters who aren’t happy with excessive in-fighting. Although I enjoyed learning about each candidate during the back and forth attacks, it may take a little time for the bad taste in my mouth to disappear before I’d be supporting their “primary” campaign. I found it uncomfortable watching the midwestern “nice guy” Tim Pawlenty going after fellow Minnesotan Michele Bachmann … and vice-versa. Rick Sandtorium who presented several great points regarding the constitution and American history was far brighter than I previously gave him credit, but his back and forth with Ron Paul and Michele Bachmann had me cringing. On the other hand, the wildcard Ron Paul and his strong libertarian positions is definitely a different kind of Republican than the other seven who were on the stage.
As for Herman Cain and Jon Huntsman, both did a fine job and presented their ideas and reason they would be a better president than Obama … but they didn’t do enough to move their campaign to the top three, yet. As one of the candidates mention (I think Newt), there is still a long way to go in the primary and even those who have not declared their candidacy have plenty of time to enter the race … pointing to previous presidential primary runs. Point being is that a noted Texas governor Rick Perry has yet to declare his candidacy and has plenty of time to “sell” his campaign to voters.
Here’s my top 5 which I have unscientifically ranked base strictly on my observation: (my reasoning for ranking governors so high is that I would like a business-minded executive with actual experience in both the private sector and in politics)
Posted By RichC on August 12, 2011
In the tech and gadget world, few devices are attracting buyers like smartphones and their grown-up counterparts the “touchscreen” tablets. Besides deciding on which carrier offers the best price/service, consumers chose a mobile OS and the manufacturer of their device. One of the most confusing decisions we make is “4G” — a loosely defined higher speed connection for data. After reading a retrevo.com article it looks obvious that quite a few consumers who are forking over hefty dollars have no idea that they aren’t running at 4G speeds (particularly iPhone an Blackberry users). Another point I would add is that even users paying for 4G capable phones and service aren’t regularly using the higher data speeds due to a carriers footprint AND often times purposely in an attempt to preserve a phones battery life (turning off the phones 4G radio). How many smartphone owners do you know that are clueless?
A Third of iPhone Owners Mistakenly Think Their Phones Have 4G
Maybe the “4” in the iPhone 4 name gives iPhone owners (34%) the false impression that they already own a 4G phone but the fact is Apple doesn’t offer a 4G phone at the moment. Coincidentally, a suspiciously large percentage of Android and BlackBerry owners may be suffering from the same delusion. BlackBerry owners (24%) are almost as confused as iPhone owners since RIM doesn’t currently offer a 4G phone. At least some Android owners could be answering correctly as Android 4G phones like the HTC Evo 4G or Samsung Infuse 4G have been available for some time. If nothing else this large number of “misinformed” phone owners serves to emphasize the fact that consumers are quite confused about 4G.
Posted By RichC on August 11, 2011
Great news for aviation experimenters — the personal jet experimental protype known as the SubSonex made its first flight. Way to go!
August 11, 2011 – A little yellow jet was spotted over Oshkosh Wednesday morning (August 10) and soon it was confirmed that John Monnett’s SubSonex had made its first flight. Jet sailplane pilot Bob Carlton, who wowed AirVenture crowds two weeks ago, was at the controls for the 14-minute flight. Thursday Bob took to the air for a 45-minute flight that included four landings and a climb to 5,000 feet, which Carlton joked took about two minutes.
The flights are the culmination of at least four years of development including an engine change and a design review to address controllability during takeoff and landing. It was a happy day for Sonex Founder John Monnett, who designed the SubSonex for the recreational pilot.
The first flight was exciting, but after watching repeated landings on Thursday the entire Sonex team was giddy and impressed with the jet’s performance.
“Awesome. Awesome,” John Monnett said as he listened to Bob Carlton describe how the plane performed on Thursday’s flight. Later Monnett talked about how far the project has come: “It’s a proof-of-concept. Hey, can we build a jet? Yes, I guess we can. I think I’ll call it the ‘Little Hornet,’” he mused, referencing the Hornet’s Nest, which is the official name of Sonex’s research and development facility.
Carlton was selected to be the test pilot in part because his Super Salto jet-powered glider uses the same Czech-built PBS engine (První Brnenská Strojírna Velká Bíteš, a.s. TJ-100), which is capable of 240 pounds of thrust.
“It was great – flies like an airplane,” Carlton said after the first flight. “The faster I went, the better it felt.”
Carlton kept the throttle at 70 percent during the first flight as he checked out the low-speed characteristics of the aircraft, including how it performed in a stall. On Thursday’s flight Carlton used 90 percent throttle as he worked on expanding the test envelope, staying mostly in the airport traffic pattern to establish performance at different airspeeds. The two flights will allow the SubSonex to expand the test area away from the airport.
“It’s an exciting day for Sonex,” Monnett said after Wednesday’s flight. “Usually I am in that seat, but especially with the trepidation we had with the other gear, we knew this would solve that problem.”
The aircraft originally sported a tandem landing gear with outrigger gear on each wing tip. Controllability became an issue in the “transitional phase approaching takeoff speeds,” Sonex said in a June 2010 press release announcing a design review of the aircraft following a taxi-testing incident that caused minor damage after it departed the runway.
The SubSonex emerged from the review with fixed tricycle landing gear and it did about eight high-speed taxi runs on Monday, raising up the nose a few times to test the new configuration. Monnett said the nose gear will eventually retract.
“It’s kind of a vindication more than anything,” Monnett said. “Once we get a retractable gear on the nose at least, we’ll see where we go with the program. I probably envision this thing is going to end up with a folding wing like the Onex.”
While the SubSonex someday might be a kit, the project is still on the backburner in Sonex’s Hornet’s Nest facility while other kits in development – such as the Onex – are being finalized.
First flight:
Second flight:
————————-
Posted By RichC on August 11, 2011
I listened and nodded in agreement to a little optimism this morning in a CNBC interview which paints a slightly different picture as it pertains to the financial health of consumers, US bank and companies. So far today (Dow about 11000 over the lunch hour) this might be making some sense to those who may have oversold U.S. stocks due to panic and fear?
Jim Paulsen of Wells Capital suggest that there is a “mania of pessimism.” Who knows what the market close will bring?
James Paulsen Mania of Pessimism (1 min 30 sec)– August 11, 2011
Posted By RichC on August 10, 2011
Maybe it just that we’re looking to point fingers or for a reason to remain pessimistic in our interconnected economies, but most reports I’ve been reading are now looking at the possible downgrade of French banks … and government. This spilled over to US markets (particularly banking) and started the day negatively.
After some regrouping mid-day buyers of stocks started picking up a few shares, but by late afternoon selling accelerated based on fear of what tomorrow and the future holds. For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 520.29 points, or 4.6%, to 10719.48, while the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index slid 51.83 points, or 4.4%, to 1120.70 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 101.47 points, or 4.1%, to 2381.05. All 30 of the Dow components and all 10 of the S&P 500 sectors were in negative territory.
Posted By RichC on August 10, 2011
Perhaps China adding their first aircraft carrier is just a sign of the times, but I see the modernization of China’s military as an unsettling long term move; call me distrustful considering their original statements and China’s questionable authoritarian government’s history.
A Chinese company purchased the empty hull of a carrier called the Varyag from Ukraine in 1998 on the understanding that it would be used as a floating casino, but it was later towed to Dalian via the Black Sea, the Mediterranean and the Straits of Malacca.
China officially acknowledged only last month that it was refurbishing the vessel, and tried to ease regional concerns by saying it would be used for "research, experiments and training" and would take a long time to become fully operational.
That aside, experts have said that China is a long way from matching naval airpowers of the world when it comes to a threat to the US. They can use it or an eventual “operational carrier group” to better control the Asian waters where they have recently had disputes over territorial claims. For now their adding a first aircraft carrier may just be a symbolic step … but defense experts say that a shipyard in Shanghai already have other “indigenous carriers” under construction “which could be launched by 2015.”
Posted By RichC on August 9, 2011
Although I’m tiring of watching the fickle up and down action of the stock market … as are those who might stumble across my blog these couple of weeks … it is better to be able to say that the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished near session highs today. The 429.92 points – 3.98% gain wasn’t guaranteed even though many analysts saw the selling as “over done” … considering corporate balance sheets have been looking better (and frankly the US financial situation isn’t any different than anytime earlier this year). Still, it did feel better to to see the Dow close above 11,000 at 11239.77.
As for the day, the up and down action saw the index gained as much as 243 points at its morning then attempt to hold to the positive ahead of the Fed decision on interest rates. They signaled an “obvious” struggling US and world economy by saying they would hold to the existing low interest rate environment for “at least another two years.” This slow or no growth economy sent the markets instantly tumbling … but … as quickly as it went south, buyers may have had enough of the selling. The parking of capital at near zero was given a second thought and some may have decided that positioning in an over-sold equity was better than the yields available elsewhere.
Of course who knows what tomorrow will bring … we can only hope the jitters are enough to wake up those serving US in Washington DC?