LOW OIL PRICES GOOD OR BAD
October 21, 2014
Here’s why I’m not an economist. Thus morning I read an article that claims falling oil prices are an indication of an economy in trouble. I read the article not really understanding how they came up with this. It would seem to me that if oil prices drop and that’s passed on to the consumer (Which of course it’s not) then they resulting saving would result in more consumer spending. Not only that falling oil prices are a sign that there is plenty of oil which means a lot of the programs to rid ourselves of oil dependency are working. It seems to me the one losing money or might have to reduce their pay by a few million are oil companies. Now I know someone much smarter than me is going to claim this is a worldwide catastrophe. Bull shit: just because a corrupt regime in Africa or Venezuela might collapse because oil is the only thing they have going for them does not mean that a country like America which is succeeding, albeit slowly weaning itself away from oil dependency shouldn’t do anything stupid. I mean we already give big oil tax breaks and subsidies that do nothing but increase their ridicules profits. I know when I get into issues like that my view might seem to be over simplistic but I know if I’m saving money on food because transportation prices are dropping. I’m going to buy T bones instead of Hamburger. The same applies to anything else I might buy. I don’t think a slight reduction in profit for the oil companies should result in a negative but rather a positive effect to the economy. This is Flounder saying CIAO from Medellin, Colombia.
I VOTE FOR QUALITY
October 20, 2014
Welcome to Monday thought I’d start this week off by getting involved in a subject that I usually stay away from, the American fast food world. It would seem that the Iconic Company Mc Donald’s is suffering a loss to its bottom line and of course analysts all say it about price. They never give credit to the American people that they might be fed up with the quality of the food. They don’t think that people might just be tired of a product that rarely looks or tastes like their ads. I took a look around the internet and found that while McDonalds’s and Burger King still hold the edge in the burger world I’ve noticed a funny trend. People are getting tired of paying for so so food and are switching to burger companies like In and Out Burger that don’t pre cook their food. One rising star is 5 Guys burgers now there a little more expensive but according to what I’m reading the quality is there. I’m sure price is an issue for a lot of people (it is for me) but since people are working harder for their dollar I think quality is becoming an issue. Unlike casual clothing where you can buy the same styles at discount stores food quality seems to be a big issue. Look at the Super markets and you’ll see companies like fresh foods and Trader Joes are making huge inroads into the traditional Super Market scene. Now Jeff has worked in both Supermarkets and Restaurants, so he knows how to get the best at reasonable prices. But the average person doesn’t have this knowledge so they depend on word of mouth and today that ward is quality over price. What does this mean in the scheme of things? It could result in cheaper prices at the big fast food chains but beware they have a tendency to reduce portions and quality to offset the price reduction. God forbid they have to drive a Nissan instead of a BMW. This is Flounder saying I’m suddenly hungry so I’ll say CIAO from Medellin, Colombia.
THE DANGER IS REAL
October 17, 2014
Well I’ve been reading a lot about Ebola lately and I’m surprised to find that some people believe we’re being fed just enough information to scare us. That might be true as some countries worry more than others. What worries me more than anything else is that this will cause a more racism and set the whole process back a hundred years. We learned to control aids once we realized what was going on by research and education. Is it completely under control no but it isn’t the instant death sentence it once was. I’ve been reading stories about Ebola almost from the beginning and one thing I notice is in the beginning they isolated the villages that had it and that the death rate was almost a 100%. Now they’re not able to isolate it as well as in the past, and it’s managed to cross borders with a 70% death rate. The only thing good about it crossing borders is that people in the advanced countries are starting to take it much more seriously and more attention means more money and research is going towards it. When it was first discovered there was a greater fear that it would cause a worldwide pandemic. The fear is still there but the doctors aren’t standing next to dead bodies predicting it. For those that think this is just media scare tactics, you may be right to a certain degree. But to completely look the other way and say the threat isn’t that great, well your libel to wake up one morning and find out it’s too late. When the Plaque hit Europe people weren’t worried because it stayed in the ghettos. The same thing with Ebola when it was first discovered it was poor Africa’s problem so well send them some medicine and a few doctors and that’s that. Now people are beginning to panic in some places. Panic is not the right response either is closing borders to the sick. Getting the research people to work together and not have the secrets and back stabbing that went on and still goes on to certain degree in Aids research. It is only a matter of time before some disease either wakes up or comes back to kick human kinds ass may be this is it may be not. This is Flounder saying CIAO from Medellin, Colombia.
WHAT REALLY IS TERRORISM
October 16, 2014
Terrorism not a nice word but what really is terrorism? Is it the bomb that goes off in the subway? Was 9/11 the ultimate terror strike? Well for me terrorism isn’t the bomb or the plane or the gun it’s the effect. You can see the effect everywhere soldiers at airports closed circuit cameras all over. You read about it too you phones being monitor emails, being read more security at airports. You see what I’m getting at true terrorism is designed to mess with your way of life to make you feel so unsafe that you’ll give up some freedom. If you want to look at it on a smaller scale go to a not so nice area and watch as some kid with gang colors takes protection money from one of his neighbors. Now you’re wondering why this happens or how could it happen well as for the big stuff you know bombs, planes, gas, or radiation Americans, like the Israelis just chose to ignore it till it happens to them. You don’t think that after 9/11 people in the Midwest didn’t go whew glad it wasn’t us before they became outraged at the attack. Most humans have a very short memory for tragedy that doesn’t directly affect them. Now let’s take a look around are there protests over the security do American worry about the next attack or the loss of privacy. I don’t think so I think they walk around with the idea it won’t happen to me or they wouldn’t dare do it again. Maybe they wouldn’t but we have our own group of whack jobs in America and they just might do it again. I think that some of the security in place such as monitoring you phones and computer activities are a little unnecessary and quite frankly I think the information being gathered is being misused. I don’t have actual proof of this but if you’ve read my Blog before you know that it’s mostly my opinion designed to make you think. This is Flounder saying CIAO from Medellin, Colombia.
ANYTHING GOOD GOING ON
October 15, 2014
It took me a long time to get started today because I can’t find anything good to write about. It must be really hard to be a reporter now a day since all you write about is bad stuff. I mean take the TV news down here all it shows is guy getting shot I robberies kids and women getting attacked bad car accidents. The same thing in the US all the news is about Ebola, ISIS, Hurricanes, and other disasters. I’m beginning to wonder does anything good ever happen. People love to blame Video games, Movies even some cartoons for the problem with the youth in the country. I don’t think so all they have to do is turn on the TV too the news and there’s enough stuff there to depress any one. I think pretty soon you’re going to see commercials with guys walking around with signs saying the end is near and you need to buy this or that now. If you watch or read the news you’ll see that you might as well just go rob a bank because there’s nothing good going to happen for you. When did we reach this point where Bambi was declared to violent for children to watch but war wasn’t? Well I’m going to go watch some Mighty Mouse cartoons and then take a nap. This is Flounder saying CIAO from Medellin, Colombia.
AND YOUR FAVORITE IS
October 14, 2014
Yesterday began the holiday season so we thought we’d ask what your favorite is. Now another question is; is it the same one you had as a kid? Jeff’s is Christmas but his problem revolves around the fact that he still thinks of it with a child’s expectations. And in Colombia Christmas is all about partying till you drop not what Jeff enjoys. Now some people love Halloween which is referred to as Children’s day down here and if you’re careful you can have a really good time with your kids. Just remember not everyone wearing a mask he a good guy. Thanksgiving was Jeff’s second favorite Holiday because he spent it with family. He’s tried to keep it going down here but people just aren’t into it. Then we have New Years Eve which in the US has become a night to out and enjoy and over priced dinner with friends. In Colombia it’s just another day to get drunk and be stupid. The rest of the Holidays really don’t mean much to the average Colombian since they don’t get the day off unless they work in an office. People do take some time off depending on whether the day will be slow or not. One thing about Colombia and the holidays you don’t see a lot of high prices unless you go to an American style mall. Ok so you know what Jeff likes I on the other hand prefer the one that result in people sleeping late and staying quiet. This is Flounder saying CIAO from Medellin Colombia.
WHAT DO YOU THINK
October 13, 2014
Today is Columbus Day a day celebrated in a lot of countries including Colombia. We thought it would be interesting to ask why? Since there seem to be a lot of evidence that would indicate that North America was found and explored long before old Chris got here. Now the funny thing is the Scandinavians aren’t really upset about Chris getting credit. Just like the Spanish don’t worry about too much either it seems that only the Italians get bent out of shape if someone says he didn’t discover America. I personally don’t give a shit give Chris credit for the southern Hemisphere and let the Vikings have the Northern one. One huge difference I see is Chris did his discovery more or less by accident while the Vikings not only discovered the American coast line but went on to explore all the way to the Minnesota. Now the claims of these two groups of supporters are almost as violent as intense as an argument of religion of politics. Once again I must say who cares? This is not one of those historical events where a significant lesson is to be learned. It’s not like there’s a lot cause and effect like a world war. I look at the Vikings being the smarter ones they found a little part of this huge country settled down not looking to conquer the place. They got a long with the Indians didn’t try to expand thousands of miles just lived lie and enjoyed. The Italians and the rest sought riches and land at the expense of the local population. Well now that I look at it maybe there is something to be said for the most aggressive people learning to get along with others in order to survive. While other simply wanted to dominate and steal what they could. Maybe that’s why today the happiest people in the worlds live in Scandinavia. Well this is Flounder saying CIAO from Medellin, Colombia.
DO YOU BELIEVE
October 9, 2014
Since it’s nearing Halloween I thought it would be appropriate to discuss things like UFO’s, Aliens, Ghosts, and Demons. We’ll start off with UFO’s and I guess if you believe in them than you must believe in Aliens. It’s funny that the two major camps on the subject can’t produce scientific proof one way or another. I mean we have no proof, at least none that the general public is aware of that would say yes there are UFO’s and Aliens out there. We also don’t have actual proof that they don’t or that God exists. If Aliens were proven to be real it would affect how we view religion and God. Now Jeff believes in Alien life forms being out there it just doesn’t make any since that with all those stars and planets that there wouldn’t be life out there. Now for those that believe that God only put life on this planet why did he make all the rest? Why not just leave earth and a sky why stars and solar systems with life supporting planets if Earth was his creation. Jeff has seen many things he’s been unable to hve explained. One was during a particular bad thunder storm when he saw a small cloud separate itself from the storm then fly back and forth across the sky. When he asked people who should know at weather stations and science teachers they looked at him like he was crazy. Nobody had ever seen anything like that. A couple of years later a movie came out called Close Encounters of the Third Kind and they used that effect. People say if there were aliens out there would they want to deal with us after all were not exactly peaceful. And if they did want to talk to us why is it they always chose people from rural areas and not some scientists instead. Well if you want to measure the intellectual growth of a society look at it lower points not the higher ones. If you keep going back to the lower ones you’ll be able to see how they progress and then you’d be able to get an idea of the whole human race. Personally if I was an alien I’d make contact with a cat after all CATS RULE. This is Flounder saying CIAO from Medellin, Colombia.
STUFF = CLUTTER
October 8, 2014
Well we missed a post yesterday because Jeff’s wife left for a week at the beach and Jeff hates the beach. So I was thinking what to write about and as usual to topic of STUFF came to mind. You know each one of these words I’m typing is stuff. The result of stuff is clutter it can happen anywhere. Just look in your closet or under the kitchen sink. The worst place to have clutter is in your head because it can cause all types of problems. Sometimes people have too many people in there and that really screws things up. But just normal clutter can make it difficult to see thinks are get things done, it causes procrastination. You know what I’m talking about you start a project and the next thing you know you have all these ideas floating in your head. And you know what ideas are they’re stuff and stuff causes clutter so you end up sitting on the coach watching senseless TV programs. Now we all have stuff in our heads. Albert Einstein had a whole lot of stuff in his head and every once and awhile he was able to get it together and make some since out of it and everybody said he was a genius. How we handle stuff is how we determine how smart we are. Stuff isn’t just the closet full of old junk it’s your head and what’s inside it. Cats are lucky we get to much stuff in our head we just go take a nap, maybe that’s something you guys should think about. You know when a writer says he has writers block that’s nothing more than too much stuff in his head and he needs to take a break so the stuff can settle down and he can find the right stuff. Well like I said when a cat has too much stuff he goes and takes a nap so this is Flounder saying CIAO from Medellin, Colombia.
CHANGE NOT ALWAYS FOR THE BETTER
October 6, 2014
So I was sitting around with Jeff on Sunday afternoon and he starts talking about all the changes he’s seen in his life and how a lot have not been good. First he remembered being able to get a bunch of his friends and going to the school yard to play stick ball but that was banned because drawing the box on the school wall was considered defacing school property. Next came, baseball and how the gang would get together and go down to the park and play a little pickup game. But that was soon stopped because organized leagues were afraid we’d damage the fields. Next they said you needed to reserve the field and have insurance before you could use it. The town Jeff and I lived in, before we moved down here, Parsippany has about thirty ball fields that stand unused because of this. The same applied to touch football they even wouldn’t let you play in the street even with no cars you were considered a traffic hazard. Then of course came, the money sports like car racing. At first all you needed was a car and a track now you need sponsors and you have to be an engineer. Most of the other things we did as kids now are cost prohibitive except for basketball. That’s why kids from the poorer parts of towns excel at that sport it doesn’t take a lot of money to play. This strikes Jeff as funny because they’re always saying that they want parks and such to keep the kids off the streets. Well that’s how I spent my Sunday; this is Flounder saying CIAO from Medellin, Colombia
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