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    Home»Swarfblog»Industry Scuttlebutt
    Swarfblog

    Industry Scuttlebutt

    Lloyd GraffBy Lloyd GraffJune 28, 2011Updated:January 21, 201412 Comments3 Mins Read
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    The yellow flag was waved in April and it feels like business has been in neutral for three months. Personally, I’m tired of it. This was supposed to be the big rebound year, but the earthquake and the oil speculators stole it from us for at least a quarter.

    I like the spigot from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve being turned on. It alerts the oil hoarders that they can’t always play games with commodities like oil and win. What is the “real” value of a barrel of oil? Nobody knows. But $3 gas would be a welcome sight and with horizontal drilling for both oil and gas hitting its stride in North America it is quite possible pump prices could fall under that magic $3 mark. We always underestimate the possibility of change. Who predicted the fall of Communism, the Arab Spring, the rise of Apple and fall of Microsoft, the Facebook challenge to Google, a black President, the near collapse of Wall Street, dropping home prices, 3% ten-year bonds, and Boston winning the World Series? What are the odds of an alien attack? I don’t think I want to know. Hopefully they’ll come as tourists to Disney World.

    ********

    Why are Americans so fascinated by the topic of aliens from space attacking “us?” I haven’t seen any movies or TV shows about them landing in Peru or the Congo. What’s so bad about the jungle? Aliens don’t dig parrots, I guess.

    And aliens seem to have no interest in music. Rock, jazz, opera, sitar—seems like it’s all just white noise to them.

    ********

    I have yet to write about Lebron and the “collapse” of the Heat in the NBA Finals. I know you’ve been waiting with baited breath.

    I buy into the Bill Parcells theory of winning and losing. There is a moment in most close games when both teams have pummeled each other for two hours and one of them finally gives in, while the other pushes through. One team believes in itself just a little bit more than the other. The Heat’s Lebron, Dwayne, and Chris needed more “heat treating” to withstand the remarkable Dallas comebacks throughout the series.

    Most championship teams need to lose before they can win. The heat treating of sports team takes place when a coach can help the players believe that winning is built on learning from defeat. Lebron will win championships. He needs a little more of a supporting cast—and the core belief in his ability to win the big game. It will come—eventually—and yes, we will applaud him for his perseverance when it finally happens.

    Question: Do you believe in aliens from outer space?


    From the movie "Alien"
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    Lloyd Graff

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    12 Comments

    1. Scott on June 28, 2011 9:32 am

      Xenomorphs are serious business Lloyd.

    2. Lynn G. Schneider on June 28, 2011 10:27 am

      Aliens? Aren’t they the same idiots who mismanage the economy. Big Ben?, hell yes he’s as strange as they come.

    3. john on June 28, 2011 10:31 am

      We are not alone… Just have to get better proof of this matter. I mean as big as space goes I mean really how can we be the only ones.

    4. doc on June 28, 2011 10:44 am

      It’s not just about earthquakes and oil speculators. Europe is on the brink of financial collapse….and that is slowing down the U.S. and world economies. If European countiries go bankrupt, the effect on the U.S. economy will be enormous…….think the 2008 U.S. financial meltdown X 100.

    5. David Blackburn on June 28, 2011 10:45 am

      Do we observe less intelligent species, without their knowledge, on our own planet? If we we had the ability to travel to other galaxies, would we observe other species if found? The universe is huge and there are millions of planets like ours. There has to be other worlds that have been around much longer than us and are much more advanced than us. Our planet broadcast a lot of noise, somebody has to know that we exist.

    6. Peter @ Polygon Solutions on June 28, 2011 10:49 am

      No on the aliens, but the Godzilla story is gaining ground with the recent disaster.

    7. JACK FROST on June 28, 2011 11:51 am

      Look around. These people have something growing out of their ears. They don’t look like earthlings. They know nothing about this earth. How can they be humans. Aliens, yes!

    8. Richard Rudy on June 28, 2011 12:05 pm

      Llloyd, I believe in aliens just as much as you seem to believe in free markets. It sounds like you’re attempting to justify the government’s cynical play at voter manipulation by (very) temporarily lowering the cost of a gallon of gasoline.

      You say you like the idea of turning on the SPR tap because it alerts “oil hoarders” that they can’t always play games with commodities and win? Really? Be careful what you wish for.
      You ask, what is the ‘real’ value of a barrel of oil? ” I ask, “what’s the ‘real’ value of a Hydromat?” That value, like everything else, is what a willing buyer will pay to a willing seller under the prevailing conditions at any given moment in time. The government should stop flapping around in economic issues trying to “fix” things. They never get it right because they’re too concerned with the politics of a decision. That’s how we got Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the whole financial mess that grew therefrom. Next thing you know they’ll be coming after you because you “speculated” on a factory full of used screw machines.

    9. Sunnyjeff on June 28, 2011 12:47 pm

      Is $3 a gallon gas possible? Only if we allow offshore drilling again, but add some safety precausions. An we have to start building nuclear plants again. The technology has improved in the last 40 years. We can learn lessons from Chernobyl and Fukishima by taking the correct safeguards. This will spur the economy.

    10. Harold A Voshage on June 28, 2011 2:05 pm

      Lloyd, Awhile ago you wrote re DMG. A few years ago I was touring Germany and John
      Servin, a dealer of DMG asked me to visit factories in Bielefeld, Seebach, Kempton, and
      Frompten. I was treated very well even a del lunch at one plant. They all had apprentice
      programs. Their machines were almost impossible to sell because their west coast service
      was almost non existent.
      Harold A Voshage

    11. Jerry Johnson on June 28, 2011 2:09 pm

      LLoyd;

      I love you man, but you just don’t get it. Earthquake and oil speculators ??

      The aliens and the economic gremlins are in Washington – not in nature or on Wall Street – and headed by the Ruler Obama who you voted for.

      How can you continue to support Obama when he not only is hell bent on destroying this economy, but Israel as well. The guy is truly moronic in his Presidential capacity. Are you possibly from another Planet ??

    12. Lloyd Graff on June 28, 2011 2:20 pm

      Jerry,
      I love you man.
      You finally nailed it . I came from Planet Obama of the Xenamorph galaxy far, far away. Screw machines were my Destiny.

      How did you guess?

    Graff Pinkert

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