First Week of 2010 Fireworks

It is indeed Friday at last! Had some requests last post so you know some serious fun is on the way. Did you know it is Wild Card Weekend for the NFL? Sweet.

First Week of 2010 Fireworks
After about two months when things seemed catatonic out there, the first week of 2010 had plenty of fireworks set off which may or may not preview an unsettled year. I will summarize the big stories and then on to the Friday Night fun as I think we all need it!

Jobs Number
After plenty of whispers of a positive print, the BLS number was still negative this morning. I had imagined the markets would go up any way the data came out but they stayed about flat which was a surprise to me.

Here is a "the market knows everything" test that you can try at home:
2010 Census Hiring Employment Scam
It is well known, and I mean WELL KNOWN that the Census hiring this year is going to be very large and may add up to 1.2 Million workers over the first half of the year.

The experiment:
Data Input = More workers hired in the clearly "government" sector and attributed to Census hires will show a positive jobs print.
-Experimental results
1) non market moving as this is well known
2)touted as a turnaround in jobs and markets soar on every print
If (1) then I would submit that maybe things are not as fantasy land and made up as I think. If (2) this market is pure fantasy and nothing after that will change my mind.
Place your bets.

All Your 401k's Belong to Us
In a possible echo of the move Argentina has made to corral capital for funding, your 401k may have to purchase Treasuries should demand fall from other buyers. Not that demand will fall of course, how could that happen?:
401k/IRA Screw Job Coming?
Government control is expanding and I thought all this was going to end when Bush was out of the office? NOT!

The Many Signs of Credit Recovery
Here are some headlines that show how strong the US Economy is coming back:
Consumer Credit Plunges Record 8.5% In November
or try
Consumer Credit Plunges $17.5 Billion On Consensus Of -$5 Billion, Largest Drop On Record
Of course I think this is correct, credit should not be expanding to people that cannot pay it back. The Keynesian's will keep trying though.

Friday Night Entertainment
Make way for the mix of fun, trivia, and music!

Best Fails of 2009
Is there anything more funny than terrible falls, spills, and chance accidents? As long as it is someone else then the answer if No!

A compilation of the best FAILS of 2009.
My favorites:
-1:41 mark; mugger gets knocked out!
-2:32 mark; man makes narrow escape!
-3;55 mark; poor cat!
-5:24 mark; never drive through those open air zoos!
Enjoy!

Celestial Bodies
Get your minds out of the gutter!

I will post some pictures of things in Outer Space and you can guess where/what they are. This will make you Google searchers have a hard time! I would make this a contest, but every time I hold a contest and offer prizes like books, silver ounces, or guest posts on the blog nobody seems interested! the last winner opted for a guest post and never got back to me! Anyways, here goes.

1.)

2.)

3.)

4.)

5.)

Good luck!

Rock Blogging
I had no idea that today was Elvis Presley's birthday! Reader Anon requested Evis again and it would be a shame not to have a little "King" on his birthday. Enjoy "Now or Never":

Great studio take.

From last week, loyal reader C-T wanted some AC/DC and there is nothing wrong with that! Try out "Money Talks":

Rock out!

I have a long lasting love affair with Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac so any chance to play them is ok by me so by request here is "Dreams":

She is wonderful.

Now I have no idea why this song has been stuck in my head but today I was thinking about the song "Mr. Bojangles" which has been covered by many artists over the years. My Dad (has he been gone 14 years?) used to play this song on his old acoustic guitar and I always would listen. I found this cover by a guy that even sounds like my Dad did and the guitar work sounds identical. Try it out if you like:

I get chills on that one. Sorry about that!

Two more to close the show.

I love the Roy Orbison song "I Drove All Night". Maybe you will like it:

Nice!

Last Call! You know I am going to hard core the last tune. But what to play?

"You've Got Another Thing Comin'" is a classic that somehow I have overlooked during this blogs life, so here it is from Judas Priest:

Very Nice!

Have a good night.