tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30210655Sun, 13 Jul 2008 14:18:29 +0000http://robertwboyd.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Robert Boyd)Blogger190125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30210655.post-53931116204589719Sun, 13 Jul 2008 13:54:00 +00002008-07-13T09:18:29.170-05:00art And I especially love A Life of Picasso: The Triumphant Years, 1917-1932. This book, as with the previous two volumes, is too overwhelming to try to reduce into a pithy blog post. Read it (but start with the first volume) and love it. Just to leave you with a taste, here are a few pits I liked. On Classicism: Picasso saw eye-to-eye with Stravinsky, who believed "the only critical exercise of http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/YzJO/~3/334328807/jaime-picasso.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Robert Boyd)<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=fooV1J"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=fooV1J" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=2Vu0oJ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=2Vu0oJ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=267gpJ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=267gpJ" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://robertwboyd.blogspot.com/2008/07/jaime-picasso.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30210655.post-6001618920517976156Fri, 11 Jul 2008 22:17:00 +00002008-07-11T17:29:06.049-05:00oilfinanceOK, let's say you have four missiles sitting around. I don't know what they cost, but let's say it costs less than $3.9 million to fire them and replace them. Does that sound reasonable? Because if it does, then Iran made money off their missile test on Wednesday. Here's how I figure it. According to BP's Statistical Review of World Energy, last year, Iran produced 4.4 million barrels of oil a http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/YzJO/~3/333074289/irans-easy-money.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Robert Boyd)<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=tvHQcJ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=tvHQcJ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=hy849J"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=hy849J" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=bGFOsJ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=bGFOsJ" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://robertwboyd.blogspot.com/2008/07/irans-easy-money.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30210655.post-4799259449501429900Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:34:00 +00002008-07-10T12:57:40.274-05:00oilfinanceHow can speculation in the futures market affect spot prices? This is a question I’ve asked several times over the past few weeks. I was doubtful that this could occur, because in a futures market, the futures price is based on the spot price (and a couple of other things—interest rates, the cost of storage, and for commodities, the convenience yield). I heard several convincing explanations why http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/YzJO/~3/331993051/oil-speculation-explained.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Robert Boyd)<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=e1kC9J"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=e1kC9J" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=XzxGdJ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=XzxGdJ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=jvX3QJ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=jvX3QJ" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://robertwboyd.blogspot.com/2008/07/oil-speculation-explained.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30210655.post-5713251169045074514Wed, 09 Jul 2008 01:08:00 +00002008-07-10T06:47:10.043-05:00energynatural gas T. Boone Pickens announced his vision for lessening the U.S.'s dependence on imported oil today. You can read more about it on the site he's set up, PickensPlan. Here's what Justin Fox at Time has to say. Fox does a little more motive sifting than I'd like, but that's inevitable, for reasons that shall become clear. The plan, in a nutshell, is this. The U.S. should convert as much of its http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/YzJO/~3/330482932/pickens-plan-for-wind-and-natural-gas.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Robert Boyd)<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=OGXcAJ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=OGXcAJ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=WLWZmJ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=WLWZmJ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=DqltZJ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=DqltZJ" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://robertwboyd.blogspot.com/2008/07/pickens-plan-for-wind-and-natural-gas.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30210655.post-8155099286517897868Tue, 08 Jul 2008 01:22:00 +00002008-07-07T20:26:06.380-05:00 Maybe moving there would be a good diet plan. And stay the hell out of Mississippi, if you value your heart! (I theorize that Massachusetts moved down in the obesity ratings when I moved away.) (Hat tip Richard Florida, who got it from Strange Maps.)http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/YzJO/~3/329379308/one-more-reason-to-love-colorado.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Robert Boyd)<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=JVGESJ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=JVGESJ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=OzOphJ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=OzOphJ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=9ITwHJ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=9ITwHJ" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://robertwboyd.blogspot.com/2008/07/one-more-reason-to-love-colorado.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30210655.post-6972904099429888558Sat, 05 Jul 2008 19:08:00 +00002008-07-05T14:17:07.455-05:00music I saw this at the Houston Punk Archives blog, and decided to pass it on: I’m working on a permanent Pain Teens archive that will be a part of my Bliss Blood website, and I was wondering if you could put the word out, even though we weren’t exactly punk, that maybe some of the Houston folks might have photos, flyers or other memorabilia that I could add to my page. People should email me at http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/YzJO/~3/327557069/request-from-bliss-blood.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Robert Boyd)<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=5j076J"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=5j076J" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=L9WEeJ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=L9WEeJ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=oQhtAJ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=oQhtAJ" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://robertwboyd.blogspot.com/2008/07/request-from-bliss-blood.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30210655.post-2549966083764501607Fri, 04 Jul 2008 14:29:00 +00002008-07-04T09:41:35.527-05:00economicsart Portrait d'Olga, 1921. Pastel and charcoal. I'm reading the third volume of John Richardson's overwhelming A Life of Picasso, and an odd coincidence struck me--both Picasso and John Maynard Keynes married ballerinas from the Ballets Russes (Olga Khokhlova and Lydia Lopokova respectively).http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/YzJO/~3/326775340/great-men-and-their-ballerinas.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Robert Boyd)<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=d5o9AJ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=d5o9AJ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=qU2D6J"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=qU2D6J" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=Bz9hcJ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=Bz9hcJ" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://robertwboyd.blogspot.com/2008/07/great-men-and-their-ballerinas.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30210655.post-3134730376866388759Sat, 28 Jun 2008 14:13:00 +00002008-07-09T07:04:40.923-05:00music "Don't Trust Whitey" T-shirt design by James Kochalka The Michelle Obama "whitey" canard has got me remembering. When I lived in Seattle, I was really into old-school wild-style graffiti. The kind with the big, balloony, semi-abstract letters, created with multi-colored spray paint. Near where I lived, there was a slice carved out of a hill along the road which was covered with a large flat http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/YzJO/~3/315363571/whitey.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Robert Boyd)<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=2XvxXI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=2XvxXI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=QsmvoI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=QsmvoI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=vUFC4I"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=vUFC4I" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://robertwboyd.blogspot.com/2008/06/whitey.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30210655.post-712976972850245050Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:55:00 +00002008-06-17T20:11:04.989-05:00artHouston Streets I demand that citizens place said nude art on their front porches. If they do not have front porches, place the art in their front yards. It is critical that we do this here in Houston to help keep Robert Hurt of Kerrville from visiting our city. "Nude women, sculptured women," he told the state Republican platform committee, which sat in rapt attention. Of all the evils in http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/YzJO/~3/314258142/i-demand-public-nude-art.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Robert Boyd)<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=Ii9WpI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=Ii9WpI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=q8W8iI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=q8W8iI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=Mn3PBI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=Mn3PBI" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://robertwboyd.blogspot.com/2008/06/i-demand-public-nude-art.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30210655.post-5332590771114280645Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:34:00 +00002008-06-16T06:08:31.422-05:00Houston StreetsThis is, I believe, Greens Bayou. I took this shot from the fifth floor of a parking garage, just south of the North Sam Houston Parkway. It's amazing that there would be such beautiful undeveloped land inside the beltway. But really, if you look at a map of Houston, there are curious blank spaces all over it (few as lovely as this, no doubt). So why does development gravitate to places like Katyhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/YzJO/~3/312974498/view-from-my-parking-garage.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Robert Boyd)<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=1yIhvI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=1yIhvI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=UdgSzI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=UdgSzI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=W82nxI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=W82nxI" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://robertwboyd.blogspot.com/2008/06/view-from-my-parking-garage.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30210655.post-5154824935283109392Sun, 15 Jun 2008 19:18:00 +00002008-06-15T21:08:39.902-05:00oilOne thing I don't understand is why the Democrats are so keen on preventing drilling in ANWR (and the West Coast and East Coast continental shelves). I understand and am sympathetic with the environmental argument. But can that be weighed against 1) $4/gallon gasoline, and 2) huge transfers of the world's wealth into the hands of the dictators, fanatics, thugs, kleptocrats and all-around scumbagshttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/YzJO/~3/312541387/conserve-and-produce.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Robert Boyd)<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=vmZ1SI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=vmZ1SI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=05PhJI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=05PhJI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=7xRoOI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=7xRoOI" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://robertwboyd.blogspot.com/2008/06/conserve-and-produce.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30210655.post-4605124072575212847Sun, 15 Jun 2008 17:42:00 +00002008-06-15T13:04:04.393-05:00the corporate worldscandalsfinanceaccountingThis short notice in the Houston Business Journal caught my attention. Waste Management Inc. as been named one of the world's most ethical companies in a list compiled by business magazine Ethisphere. The findings were released this week in New York at a joint conference between Ethisphere and Forbes magazine, titled "Driving Profit thought Ethical Leadership." The Houston-based waste and http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/YzJO/~3/312500266/redemption-story.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Robert Boyd)<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=njSEEI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=njSEEI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=0toDYI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=0toDYI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=RpeHlI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=RpeHlI" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://robertwboyd.blogspot.com/2008/06/redemption-story.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30210655.post-469442457162005848Sat, 14 Jun 2008 16:24:00 +00002008-06-14T14:55:30.724-05:00comicsbooks IDW has been doing an amazing job of reprinting Terry and the Pirates. The entire classic strip had previously been reprinted by NBM, and as much as I treasure those NBM editions, IDW's version puts NBM's to shame in terms of the quality of the reproduction of the strips and the presentation. Volume 3 (covering 1939 and 1940) is key for the strip. I think when Caniff started the strip, he http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/YzJO/~3/311959663/idw-has-been-doing-amazing-job-of.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Robert Boyd)<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=2x1YvI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=2x1YvI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=Yl8gSI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=Yl8gSI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=Psq4PI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=Psq4PI" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://robertwboyd.blogspot.com/2008/06/idw-has-been-doing-amazing-job-of.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30210655.post-3191978968844899359Sat, 14 Jun 2008 15:27:00 +00002008-06-14T10:41:37.311-05:00oilFactory buildings in Northwest Houston I always knew Houston was basically a blue-collar city, and this just confirms it. Industrial employment in Texas remained flat over the past year while Houston ranked first in the nation in terms of manufacturing jobs, according to a recent report. Houston has 222,072 manufacturing jobs, according the article, compared to Dallas's 92,223. So the feeling inhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/YzJO/~3/311899442/blue-collar-city.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Robert Boyd)<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=QCJt8I"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=QCJt8I" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=DpxFhI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=DpxFhI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=t8tdjI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=t8tdjI" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://robertwboyd.blogspot.com/2008/06/blue-collar-city.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30210655.post-3517998212424290319Sat, 14 Jun 2008 13:34:00 +00002008-06-14T09:00:24.104-05:00finance...but on this issue, I sometimes feel like I'm in a minority, and it's good to have him on my side! Basically what I believe is what we were taught in Finance 101--markets are efficient and you can't regularly beat the market (although you can have good luck for certain periods). Obviously most people in the financial management business disagree--otherwise, why would you have hedge funds and http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/YzJO/~3/311836252/its-not-big-deal-to-agree-with-warren.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Robert Boyd)<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=9HnDfI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=9HnDfI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=CWO7AI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=CWO7AI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=JPYf8I"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=JPYf8I" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://robertwboyd.blogspot.com/2008/06/its-not-big-deal-to-agree-with-warren.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30210655.post-6386983368800290894Wed, 04 Jun 2008 10:19:00 +00002008-06-04T05:23:17.173-05:00Houston Streets This is from the Flickr photostream of "meltedplastic." It's a house on Syndor at Lyons near 59 North, just north of I-10. (Hat-tip to Neon Poisoning.)http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/YzJO/~3/304453710/more-houston-photos.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Robert Boyd)<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=aOqgPI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=aOqgPI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=YSepCI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=YSepCI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=mK0x9I"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=mK0x9I" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://robertwboyd.blogspot.com/2008/06/more-houston-photos.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30210655.post-7789412287217143445Wed, 04 Jun 2008 10:10:00 +00002008-06-04T05:14:04.774-05:00 This is from Is This Houston?, the genius phone photographer of our city. He has a great term for this somewhat familiar sight: shoefiti.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/YzJO/~3/304435687/shoefiti.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Robert Boyd)<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=pJAbMI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=pJAbMI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=y18L9I"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=y18L9I" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=iz6XeI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=iz6XeI" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://robertwboyd.blogspot.com/2008/06/shoefiti.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30210655.post-3942354318223656499Tue, 03 Jun 2008 00:05:00 +00002008-06-02T20:04:48.063-05:00comics The software I used today had names that sound like 60s-era Marvel Comics villains.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/YzJO/~3/303354598/maximo-and-cognos.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Robert Boyd)<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=j0JapI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=j0JapI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=45QFPI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=45QFPI" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=C0XoCI"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=C0XoCI" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://robertwboyd.blogspot.com/2008/06/maximo-and-cognos.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30210655.post-8719134816504314857Sat, 31 May 2008 18:56:00 +00002008-05-31T14:01:21.519-05:00 My Economist came in the mail today and I was amused to see this map. Can anyone identify the problem? (Hint: it has already been corrected in the online edition.)http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/YzJO/~3/302010266/slovenly-cartography.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Robert Boyd)<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=He4LOH"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=He4LOH" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=oKdyOH"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=oKdyOH" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=jG2fzH"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=jG2fzH" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://robertwboyd.blogspot.com/2008/05/slovenly-cartography.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30210655.post-9133286371498431911Sat, 31 May 2008 14:48:00 +00002008-05-31T11:53:11.428-05:00oilfinance To continue the previous post, some commentators have suggested that the run up is not just speculation, but deliberate market manipulation. This overheated post by Philip Davis compares these manipulations to previous manipulations, such as those by Enron in the California power market. Just ponder that those 378,974 contracts were traded on the NYMEX today 425,099 times. That’s a churn rate http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/YzJO/~3/301935827/oil-speculation-part-2.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Robert Boyd)<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=wzsYsH"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=wzsYsH" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=ZbApzH"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=ZbApzH" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=hXDX2H"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=hXDX2H" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://robertwboyd.blogspot.com/2008/05/oil-speculation-part-2.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30210655.post-8444360217208909384Fri, 30 May 2008 11:26:00 +00002008-05-31T09:46:44.165-05:00oilfinance "Deep speculation. The oil speculator's dream." Harper's Weekly, February 11, 1865 They just won't stop talking about oil. The most recent run up in the price of oil has people flummoxed and alarmed. Not a few people have suggested that the market is being manipulated--indeed, Frum implied as much in my previous post by suggesting that investors were hoarding oil in order to sell it at a more http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/YzJO/~3/301935828/oil-speculation-part-1.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Robert Boyd)<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=ZMQILH"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=ZMQILH" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=o559OH"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=o559OH" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=saBUDH"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=saBUDH" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://robertwboyd.blogspot.com/2008/05/oil-speculation-part-1.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30210655.post-7912006080671835724Thu, 29 May 2008 11:36:00 +00002008-05-29T06:44:21.450-05:00oilfinance David Frum, financial genius Is David Frum just stupid, or did he leave out something important here? Imagine that you're a speculator. You own a bunch of oil you bought at prices ranging from $75 to $125 a barrel. You are hoping that the price will go to $200. But nothing lasts forever; already Americans are driving less and switching to more efficient cars. A recession in the United States http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/YzJO/~3/300518938/just-little-bit-about-oil.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Robert Boyd)<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=CXQuRH"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=CXQuRH" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=DrUjVH"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=DrUjVH" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=9sq2mH"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=9sq2mH" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://robertwboyd.blogspot.com/2008/05/just-little-bit-about-oil.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30210655.post-7211413285144781925Thu, 29 May 2008 00:29:00 +00002008-05-28T19:35:06.386-05:00artHouston Streets Installation by Gary Sweeney (hat tip to Neon Poisoning) Aaargh. There is so much interesting stuff to say about oil, but it's hard to absorb all the new information and opinion floating in. In the meantime, this piece by Gary Sweeney is clearly the greatest art ever created that has Houston as its subject.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/YzJO/~3/300201208/if-you-lived-here-youd-be-home.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Robert Boyd)<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=dIf8cH"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=dIf8cH" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=v9birH"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=v9birH" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=FbwjEH"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=FbwjEH" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://robertwboyd.blogspot.com/2008/05/if-you-lived-here-youd-be-home.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30210655.post-5460187814230720752Wed, 28 May 2008 01:20:00 +00002008-05-28T06:46:46.617-05:00oilfinanceAnd if so, why? This guy says oil futures curves are usually in backwardation, meaning the further out in the future you go, the cheaper the futures price. Now I don't know--I haven't actually looked at a lot of forward curves. But this doesn't make sense to me. I can see how seasonal variations might create backwardation--so, for example, if oil usage is higher in the summer than in the winter http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/YzJO/~3/299490533/is-contango-unusual.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Robert Boyd)<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=wADqUH"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=wADqUH" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=w3q4GH"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=w3q4GH" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?a=IMmwEH"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/blogspot/YzJO?i=IMmwEH" border="0"></img></a> </div>http://robertwboyd.blogspot.com/2008/05/is-contango-unusual.html