Academic-Capital

Consumer confidence improves again in June following a positive trend over the last four months. The index works off a couple of different assessments. The Present Situation Index rose from 148.7 to 157.7 and is a measurement of consumers' assessment of current business and labor market conditions. The Expectations Index which is a shorter term assessment of labor, income, and business rose to 107.0, up from 100.9 the prior month.  You can read the publishing from The Conference Board and their findings on new business applications. See Consumer Confidence June.  The think tank has some excellent charts and graphs for you to review. ( Side note: They appear copywrite so I didn't want to share without permission. The purpose is to sum up complex information very quickly for readers. That is especially important for executives that are bombarded by information everyday.).  Consumer confidence is about how people feel and is a little more grass roots in its evaluation than some o

While Covid was an difficult challenges for the U.S. it also offers a few opportunities to reset the economic system and give access to business opportunities to a wider group of Americans. Some are frustrated by a growing gap between the rich and poor and lack of access to wealth and opportunity. This is even more apparent in minority communities hit hard by the pandemic. This may be an opportunity to rese the economic system to something more sustainable. One of the ways to equalize income and wealth is a bottom up approach where small businesses and old fashion entrepreneurship work to create opportunities and business ownership across the country. This would have positive implications for the economy, tax revenue, and ensuring people have access to capital that can help to level the growing income equality gap.  Government should balance the need of small, medium, and large businesses without passing laws that skew legislation and create economic instability. Too many large corpora

 Near Rapid River boat launch you will find a place not too far from town but looks like you just jumped back into another world. For those who live in the city it only takes about 20 minutes drive (less time than going to the grocery store).  In my case I am using an inflatable dinghy that should have long sunk. Yet...I'm here so that is what is important.  Talked to an "old timer" that was fishing and he was sharing how they didn't have reels when he was young. You had a 12' pole and a 12" line. That was it! He also said that it used to be easier to catch fish and they lower the catch limit because of that depletion. Making sure we protect our environment may help these fish come back.  Everyone in the world wants fish and the Great Lakes is a very large system for breading native species. It might be possible with time and sustainable commerce to ensure part of the profits/revenue derived from Great Lakes goes back it improving the lakes and the native spe

Sometimes I wonder how people can willingly engage in illegal and corrupt activities without thinking about the moral rights and wrongs of their activities. We see this in business and in social settings where a "culture of corruption" that leads people down very dark paths. It is hard for people to think about their choices when the people around them confirm the "truths" of a situation.  I suspect that human nature is to follow. We are herd animals, not very different from our cousins, that take our cues from others. Such herds are likely led by more dominant members that set the tone for everyone. If they are willing to engage in such activities it is likely that others will follow.  One study states the dangers of group think and how it can cultivate homogenous behaviors, " ...groupthink foster criminal activity by cultivating homogeneous behavior, conformity, resemblance, shared values and identical ways of thinking across and within firms. This herd behav

Diving is slowly starting to become a popular activity in the UP.   In this case we dived a private quarry stocked with Bass 

We have another election round coming and I'm thinking about how polarized we have become as a society. There should be some way to make it through the cycle without doing long term damage to society. There is a possibility we might even get a little more polarized if we don't sort of think of central shared values that tie us together. The voices we hear (not all) are either all on this side or all on that side leaving most of the large sleeping middle confused.  Contrary to radical belief, those in the middle are not enemies because they can take the best of both worlds and frame it into something that works for a wider group of people (They are the ones who give us the "wiggle" room in voting to get things done.)  The loudest and often most ignorant voices in the room should not be the one's making the decisions the rest of us have to live by. Such individuals play a short-term gain that helps rally lots of people to their side by poking their life grievances b

 Jobless claims for week ending June 19th, 2021 continue their descent as an overall trend. As jobless claims go down we should see some pressure on wages to move up as labor supply shrinks.  " In the week ending June 19, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 411,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 6,000 from 412,000 to 418,000. The 4-week moving average was 397,750, an increase of 1,500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 1,250 from 395,000 to 396,250 ." (See Jobless Claims June 19th, 2021 )

There are people with problems and there are those who push their problems on others. On the surface people might seem very normal, friendly, and outgoing. However, when their fragile sense of self is bruised, or someone appears to be an obstacle, some will do almost anything to harm their targets; including criminal activities.  The first thing you will notice about the perpetrator is that he/she is highly social and calculates everything by its social value. That make their world a very small one in which all interactions are about gaining support and reflecting back on them their superior image (i.e. lots of attention seeking behaviors.) In most cases, people sort of get the message and understand what is going on in an intuitive way (You can see the differences in their facial expressions and what they are saying and we can often subconsciously pick this up. Training helps make it more accurate.)  Yet, there are some scenarios where life for some hasn't changed much since highs

Who doesn't love aliens? I'm actually not an alien buff but when something unexplained comes along it sort of perks my interest like a puzzle. Its something no one has figured out so sometimes I like to think of the possibilities and build a model (green propulsion through solar powered panels that revers polarity and suck/push vessels through the air. No idea...sounds good? 🤷) The report says, " These reports describe incidents that occurred between 2004 and 2021, with the majority coming in the last two years as the new reporting mechanism became better known to the military aviation community ".  I would take this as government having their ears perked and in turn taking a more formal approach to collecting UAP data. It is also another way of saying we need more data and need to learn how to observe their observation.  XFiles...... As they observe us we should develop mechanism to observe them. They do not get into our operations and we should not get into theirs.

 We often think of ourselves as the last species on the planet. That isn't necessary true and it will be hard to sort of say that conclusively. We change and we evolve based on our environment (Evolution as our leading theory). We have three different species of which Dragon man is now considered the closest to our own and possibly our ancestors (remember that many people carry some level of Neanderthal DNA in them).  I heard people talked about gifted people as a small step in human evolution and capacity. I'm not the expert in this area. I will say that we continuously change the more generations we reproduce the more there will be small reproduction variations that lead to genetic differences.  Its interesting because I have read some studies that seem to indicated a small percentage of people outside the bell curve might a link in advancement of species and/or it could be common in every species (unrelated to evolution but just variation of genetic codes). No idea🤷 Anyway.

The World Investment Report 2021 came out. You can look at the World Investment Report 2021 . For more details on Foreign Direct Investment you may want to see FDI Global 2021 .  What I find interesting is that the FDI for mature economies like the U.S. and Europe experienced significant decline in investment. It might have something to do with declining profits and doubling up on existing strategies.  The U.S. is investing in infrastructure which is great because it can lead, with better policies, to improved economic inflow.  Countries will be making a choice about values as a new cold war risk rises (some trends indicate it has started across multiple fronts with supply line and investment adjustments but its not enough to say with certainty) between authoritarianism and freedom oriented national models (This is where political choices may begin to count again. So we might want to pick leaders/politicians based on ability versus their "connections" as well as those who can

It looks like the Senate and President Biden are getting close to an infrastructure deal. We are at that point where people are seeing the mistakes of constant outsourcing to low cost providers and the market is beginning to adjust in favor of the U.S. (I guess they had a deal about the same moment I posted this). We have let our infrastructure get old and unused as manufacturing waned. The technology and information we have available today is much more than it was in the past. We will need new digital models that range from advanced manufacturing to cryptocurrency and digital GDP. A strong infrastructure would lead to increased international investment (There are some signs supply chains and investment are increasing). The type of infrastructure is going to make a difference as companies seek environments that are most likely produce results. 

Hate crimes are not only about violence but sometimes move into other realms of life such as social status, money, and mental health. Some of these might be hate crimes while others might be more along the lines of "hate behaviors" (Sometimes the lines are blurry).  One may be deemed illegal and the other distasteful they are both an intent to harm the target(s) and create wedges in society. While they seem different they are more or less variations of the same thinking that comes from the same dark personality traits/factors that want to exploit and dominate. Each person (specifically officers, judges, and others) may see things differently based upon their awareness of the "facts" of the case, the direction of their investigatory questioning, access to information, and familiarity with the members involved (personal histories). Sometimes snap judgements and heuristic thinking makes its way into the system starting with interaction with the officer all the way thro

Ok...my senses might be a little dull...because I admit I'm not the best painter. However, I try and that makes me a little bit of a hard charger (in relative terms). Haven't thought about it much but I guess art improves other sensory ordering mechanisms that lead to greater perceptual awareness. They say that art tones the sensory skill and ability of people to differentiate things in their environment (work or pleasure). Ok...I guess in theory that kind of stands to reason. When you focus on visual colors, shapes, tone, etc... you are going to understand things in your perceptual field better because you built mental differentiations that would be hard to be aware of in everyday life. Let us say for a moment that engaging in art as a "refined" activity (nothing is refined in my art yet) could impact visual acuity in other areas of visual fields. We become better at pattern recognition and greater awareness of our surroundings (That could be important in different a

Watching the Escanaba City Council meeting gives you insight into the nature and activities of a town. In this meeting there were a number of agenda items that could impact the activities and employment opportunities of the area. I'm kind of curious what is going on with Northern Machine and whether it is expanding (there are a number of market reasons why it might). The town administration looks as though it takes great consideration over the needs of the town and thinks about its choices in order to help the "livability" of local residents. That is what makes small town live beautiful.  Basic Notes of Meeting -Discussion on Net Metering: My only general opinion here without looking into detail on the topic is to encourage as much alternative energy sources as possible.  -Some sale of property to a local business Northern Machine. There was some discussion on the creation of new jobs (You can hear 100 jobs in the background. Its still poor audio.) There is a sale of some

Just a mile or so below the paper mill dam is the the mouth of the Escanaba River. A nice little place to launch boats or throw a fishing line in. I'm getting more into fishing these days as it just seems natural. Reminds me of how things might have been a few thousand years ago.  There are very few places left where the ancient past and the present seem to be connected through shared activities like fishing. While I might fish for fun and a if I'm lucky a dinner, in the past they fished for food and livelihood.  There used to be a hot commercial fishing market in Delta County's beginning. There were a couple of villages in Wells, Fairport, and other places that made their living off of the Great Lakes fish. (P.S. You might want to check out the Delta County Historical Society. See DC Historic Soc. ) I keep thinking about getting a commercial fishing license and an old commercial fishing boats and making a hobby out of it! Maybe I could feed a couple of small stores. (Yikes

Inflation is in debate this year among global economists! Whether it will rise substantially and damage the economy or whether it will not be a big factor because there is plenty of cushion (I was looking around for some economic information and came across this video). More money usually means devaluing of that money and in turn purchasing power. In traditional systems we find money tied to precious metals like gold (Theoretically it could also be a pack of different commodities that have some global value. See Commodities as Market Predictors ).  Basically, the debate is between different policies and whether or not continued support is helpful or not. I looked at a little study about India to see if I could understand better. See I ndia Inflation and Fiscal Stimulus . Debt, supply, demand, economic performance, manufacturing, etc... all make their way into government decisions and those decisions have some (not all) influence over market activities.  Some argue for more government i

The Cat Walk! Strut Your Stuff Stud!! Mo is my horse.🐎 He is named after the mascot Escanaba called Esky-Mo. He isn't a high end horse and more like a family average "Joe" type horse. Does well on the trails and listens to commands. The best thing about him is his personality. He is just a lover! 💓 He might be big and powerful but he is an empath (p.s. horses have actual personalities much like humans. See Horse Personality Assessment ). At times he makes sounds to get an echo response from his herd when practicing (Its annoying sometimes when you trying to get him to train.).  I'm not sure if I actually want to sell him. I was sort of thinking of training horses and selling them just to pay for the hobby of riding and playing with horses. In some ways, I'm helping the industry because I'm taking green and rescue horses and training them for actual use and placement with families. I got Mo some Fly Boots. He looks Fab! Sometimes we are a little serious abou

The video shows a lot of anger and a lot of violence. While we can be shocked that there is a retired officer involved in the crowd we really shouldn't be. By the sheer volume of people participating in the insurrection/riot we likely have officers, bakers, mechanics, lawyers, and lots of other occupations present (It there is a high concentration of public service employees then that might be more of a concern.). What I think what is more disturbing is that there are divided American loyalties (Again...remember some of this might be homegrown and some of this might have been pushed a little by foreign interference/intelligence. Maybe? 🤷) within our public service industries (This is why we need a method of reporting radicalism, extremism and hate groups). Its doesn't matter whether your Republican or Democrat because the consequences will fall on all of us the same. The rhetoric, how we select our politicians, the culture of conflict, people striking political points versus w

 Fishing is a great past time and I have been getting into it more each year. Perhaps someday I might try my hand at small scale commercial fishing operation on the weekends (I hear they don't make any new commercial fishing licenses in Michigan but you can buy them from people retiring.) Ok...not like a serious commercial fisherman but just more along the lines of sitting on the back with ice tea working on my lap top in hopes something bites. I could think of worse place to have an office view than from an anchor.  Ok...don't laugh....I'm stuck with this! It was a cheap dinghy I bought from a Chinese vender (Some of their products are good while others are bad but this one definitely didn't hold up to my expectations. I try and buy American but we sort of stop producing products in some markets.) It worked well for a year and then It must have been on gravel or something because it had like 20 different holes all over one side. I thought, "Well, its junk now...bu

As you can tell from the video the Rapid Response Team resigned in protest of a conviction. I'm not going to discuss the merits of the specific case as its not central to the issue I'm discussing here. It should be noted that this is just more of an opinion and not necessarily an attempt to convince others of what to believe. When you watch what is going on in the news you will find that this is a societal discussion on how much authority and how much accountability there should between policing and the public. People seem to jump to quick conclusions and believe that police are either all bad or police are all good (This is a direct result of Right and Left radicalism and not a reflection of what is actually occurring). As with most things in life its not that simple; its a mixed bag.  Policing is difficult business with lots of danger and not always the best working conditions. The vast majority of officers are honest, selfless, and want to help their communities. From time t

I posted a picture I took on Facebook. I asked the question, "Cancun or Escanaba?" About half the people got it right and the other half didn't. Beaches are a tourist attraction and in Escanaba the beach is ideally located on the other side of the Marina down a short walking/bike path. I walk and job there sometimes. It would be something that visitors would enjoy.  Bring your boat, hang out on the beach, shop and eat (Still need to figure out if a shuttle during certain seasons would work to bring traffic to and from dining to the park and hotels and mall. Perhaps a deal with cabs and/or shuttle might help during certain seasons to get tourists to move around and maximize their economic value. Maybe a loop of some type that runs around these areas until like 10 pm. I saw in once in Breckenridge. Works great!) Would a shuttle between marina, downtown, hotels and mall help? Yes...it might be worth the cost during certain summer or winter (if we maximize winter tourism). 

SpaceX launches advanced GPS for Space Force. See Falcon 9 Description  carries a GPS satellite that has antijamming abilities as well as more accurate signaling for military (not sure if it will be used for civilian applications as well 🤔) If your interested in a career in the Space Force they are recruiting. I'm sure its not for geeks only. I suspect they have room for "Geek" and "Jock" combos (There are people out there that play sports and read. 😲 See Space Force Site

Job growth is expected, inflation could rise, supply chain issues , holdings of securities continues, economic recovery not the same for all people's, and a few other things as they relate to general administration of the Fed. You can read a nice summary at  Federal Reserve meeting full recap: Chair Jerome Powell’s market-moving comments (This is why we need to shorten them back to the U.S. and if absolutely necessary then use Mexico as a low cost regional partner. Advance high end manufacturing and low cost manufacturing have a place in the product life cycle. See Product Life Cycle . We have become accustomed to tax hoping and moving facilities to Asia. However, there is no reason why we wouldn't consider building these options in North American first. See I nvest Global Supply Chain and See Delta County Great Lakes Shipping Mode l)

 A few friends and I went to Au train last weekend to dive. What I found was something that looked like an old cart wheel off of the 1870's dock at Bay Furnace.

President Biden just left the summit and he discussed the need of supporting human rights and standing up for essential principles that promote healthy international commerce. The "idea" that is the root of a philosophy is what makes each country and culture different. It is the ideological histories that help develop those ideas into full bloom where they create large groups of followers (Sometimes empires). The U.S. has its long ideological chain that crisscrosses with older philosophers that were used to develop the Russian ideological mindset (Each ideology has its own confirming logics and symbolisms that make it subjectively true for adherents. This is why culture is programming of the mind. See Culture and Negotiation ).  From the video you can tell there was significant discussion on cyber security. Russia has been said to use cyber because it is relatively cheap, bounces around the world (making it difficult to track) and there are many different cyber groups working

 GM announced major investment strategy changes by putting together a package that will help it launch into the next generation. We are moving to a whole new platform of development where American creativity and sense of equality (hopefully) will help push our people and our nation into the next Renaissance. I applaud these changes because they are important aspects of creating long term strategic values versus looking at fill holes in the dam today.  If GE (and other large companies) invest along with our government in not only in next generation products and services but also spear head industries (aerospace, military, cars, etc...) we can create additional innovations at other places that will rely on this technology.  I have been working on a cluster theory on how to speed up innovation quickly and think there is an opportunity to expand that value. There are cross breeding between different industries like space craft, robots, military equipment, outdoor equipment, ship building,

There are selfish people in this world. There are people who devalue human life and high five their friends. Ok...I don't mean normal selfishness in terms of wanting certain things out of life and making choices over one's time. That isn't selfish unless you are unfairly damaging others. The kind of selfishness I'm talking about is along the lines of chill your bones selfishness with no regard for others (You know the type that scoff, smirk, make jokes and spread intentionally misleading information when you demand they respect your familys boundaries.).  What is worse is that the friends that associate with them support these behaviors and engaged in them without really thinking about what they are doing (They acted but didn't think about why they were acting or the information provided to them as being out of character.). It is a sign of deeper dysfunction within their friend network (comprised mostly of amateur highschool players from 30+ years ago). While the gr

We are making a strong effort to counter some of the issues our nation faces in terms of emerging threats. We need a strong military that knows how to create new leading technologies through government-industry partnerships (Remember that innovation is built from a wide base meaning that putting the right industries in the same place can make a big difference. See a model I'm working on  DC MultiClusters ). In this case, the DOD wants to create innovative methods of updating their technologies to ensure they keep next generation development ahead of their competition. That is important because our new battlefields will not only need new ways of thinking but also new technologies that can match and beat our competitors.  See Military in a Data Rich World  and E-Learning Modern Warfare . We are moving into micro-electronics, artificial intelligence, R&D ($28 Billion), cyberwarfare, space fighting, advanced technology, robotics and much much more (I once came up with a Macro-AI wa

Space Force launched Tactically Responsive  satellite  from Vandenberg Space   Station. While it may seem to some that the Space Force isn't necessary it would be without knowledge of the next major economic revolution (hopefully with the U.S. leading it) in which advanced global networks, high tech manufacturing, digital economy adjustments and much more. We are talking 5 G and beyond in a way that helps our environment become cleaner through more accurate metrics while pushing our industries to the top.  The U.P. is developing its own space and naval capacities as well as the U.S. looking at the Great Lakes as one of those waterways that will help manufacturing come back in the region. I'm working on a Digital Age economic cluster model for Delta County that include the aerospace, military, outdoor prototype manufacturing mixed with an export oriented port (Could also be used to repair military ships and other high tech retrofitting as well as shipping prototype/custom produ

 Munising's (Technically Au train) water is cold but crystal clear. We went diving the other day and I have a few nice underwater pictures to share but need to process them. You can see some of the one's I took with my camera. Notice the old smelting operations. We followed some of the wreckage from an old ore dock. The town and furnace was destroyed by fire in 1870's and no one rebuilt. See Bay Furnace History . The dock was 1400 feet long and when we were there I came across what looked like an old cart wheel (will show pictures later). You can out a ways before the drop off. The water was freezing! I took my glove off and my fingers started to sting.