Sitting back.

Today's Tids Issue 4,267

Goodbye November, So-long Rains:

These are the days of intense setting suns and sculped clouds. The days of long shadows that frame the beauty of winterscapes; of defining contrasts and rich simplicity. The ocean depths seem darker, yet the cresting waves burst in air with diamond confetti. I love my fading autumn. I love the cooling air and vivid, softer scenes of change.

Cohen’s admission of lying comes just days after President Trump submitted written answers to Mueller questions. I wonder…?

The road to success is always under construction.

The Question:

Peace is generally nice. Here’s a list of Peace Treaties. Name the war that each ended. Treaty of Versailles, 2^nd Treaty of Paris, Treaty of Tempe, Treaty of Canandaigua, Treaty of Ghent, 1898 Treaty of Paris and Treaty of San Francisco. Bonus: When was the first Treaty that banned the use of Chemical Weapons?

The Headlines:

--Stocks Muddling In Anticipation of Trump/Xi Meeting; Nasdaq And S&P Pick Up In Late Morning.

--Marriot Acknowledges That Personal Data For 500 Million Of Customer Accounts at Starwood Division (Sheraton, Four Points) Have Been hacked.

--Trump, Justin Trudeau And Enrique Pena Nieto Join Together To Sign new USA, Canada, Mexico Trade pact.

--FBI Raids Trumps Former Tax Attorney Edward Burke; Tax Lawyer Had Saved DT $14 Million In Property Taxes.

--Jerome Corsi Says He Will File Criminal Charges Against Mueller.

--The Cowboys Upset The Saints With Stifling Defense.

Just in case you have been curious about the direction of the new Dem controlled House, their first bill HR-1 will, among other things Trump oriented, mandate Presidents to disclose tax returns “as part of a package to improve government transparency”. Cable news is sharpening their pencils.

Note to Zak Preston: It’s sticky stuff for your fingers, sticky stuff…not Wesson oil.

A donation is a country full of money.

I’m all of a sudden noticing that these Tids are leaving the Tids machine much too late. I either have to get up earlier or write less.

All these afternoon TV talk shows do is intensify the divide in America.

The reason I’m not attracted to avocado dip is because when I look at it, I can only think of The Exorcist.

We know that SUV’s have practically driven sedans out of business in the USA. So, I wanted to se what was selling in Europe. Economists say the the SUV effect is equally strong there. The Ten Top selling cars in Europe are VW Golf, VW Polo, Renault Clio, VW Tiguan (Just withdrawn from US by VW due to low sales), Nissan Qashqai, Ford Fiesta, Skoda Octavia, Peugeot 208, Citroen C3 and Ford Focus. Of interest, Fiat’s 300 is only #23. It is also said that Tesla is doing very well, taking market share away from big, expensive German sedans.

The President of the USA seems firmly planted in panic mode.

Stacy Adams received more votes than any Democrat in the history of Georgia. Yet she says there was voter suppression. Politics lives in an illogical world.

In case you didn’t know like me, the Skoda Octavia is a Czech small family auto.  

PS: There is nothing at all wrong with tax attorneys legally saving clients millions in taxes.

Reading Between the Lines Movie Reviews:

--Regardless of all the publicity about tis new Exorcism film, The Possession of Hannah Grace, it is advised by critics and humans that you avoid at all costs. An Exorcism out of control takes the life of a young woman Hannah. She returns with demons and all.

--Anna and the Apocalypse is a Zombie movie that isn’to bad if you like walking, disfigured dead people. This is a musical comedy! Surprise! When a zombie apocalypse threatens a sleepy town, teen Anna and friends rise up, slashing and singing to overcome destruction, They soon realize it may be entirely hopeless and they turn to each other.

--Rudyard Kipling’s Mowgli comes alive beautifully on the big screen. A lad Mowgli in the middle of two worlds – the jungle and civilized society – navigates through the dangers of his uncertainty to find his destiny. Great cast, beautiful to watch; exciting.

The Answer:

The Treaty of Versailles ended WWI. The 2nd Treaty of Paris brought to a close our magnificent Revolutionary War. Treaty of Tempe (196BC) in ended the 2^nd Macedonian war (Good for Jeopardy). The Treaty of Canandaigua end the wars between the US and the Iroquois nations. In fact, there were over fifty treaties involving agreements between the US Government and Indian tribes and groups of tribes. The Treaty of Ghent ended the 1812 War with England. The1898 Treaty of Paris stopped the Spanish American war almost before it began. Remember the Maine. Treaty of San Francisco officially ended the US war with Japan in WWII. Another Treaty of Paris officially ended the war in Europe against the Axis. There were hundreds of treaties over the years that ended wars or settled disputes with various Popes and/or the Holy Roman Empire.  Bonus: In 1675, the Strasbourg Agreement between France and The HRE banned the use of Chemical weapons, in this case Poisoned bullets.

There were many Treaties of Paris over the centuries proving once again that love is stronger than bullets.

Did the Tids seem a little meatless today, like an all cauliflower Tids? Maybe I was mesmerized by the sheer power of sunlight sparkling in clean crisp air.

Hope you all feel it this weekend! Enjoy it – E-v-e-r-y-b-o-d-y!

Statistical contamination.

Today's Tids Issue 4,266

Within Humility, Answers:

In this morning’s edition of the comic strip Buckets, a character mused: “I miss the good old days when nuclear war was the only thing to worry about.”

These days we are bombarded by myriad life nuisances, the most prevalent of the moment being the seasonal criminal activity of Porch Piracy. Yes, the immoral among us have taken advantage of internet buying like no other demographic. And they are saving more money than any of us – including shipping. Our nefarious neighbors lie in wait for the arrival of a UPS or FedEx truck, and quickly snatch the newly delivered goods off the porches, patios and stoops of America in seconds. Or, you may see rather beat up vans following the delivery trucks on a planned klepto campaign. This new epidemic tis sad. Too many people want something for nothing.

And, how about the piracy at our borders. That’s about all this caravan is -- organized piracy designed to take advantage of a media unwilling to consider all of the facts. That perhaps there are leftists out there who would just about anything to alter the sensible rules about entering and living in America. Turnoff the TV cameras. Then we can talk. Featuring an interview sample of one unfortunate alien family is bad research, pure and simple.

One of my daughters sent me this last night: “You know what’s wrong with my brain? On the left side nothing’s right, and on the right side there is nothing left.”

The Question:

What do you think have been the most sought after Christmas toys since the year 2,000.

The Headlines:

--Markets Headed Down After Huge Fed Spurred Rally; Investors On Sidelines Waiting For Trump-Xi meet; Consumer Spending Surged In October; New Jobless Claims Rise.

--Congress Not Happy With WH Explanation Of Saudi Shenanigans; Reps and Senators Concerned By Absence of CIA Director Gina Haspel.

--Trump Ad Putin To Meet On Saturday At G-20; Trump Also Will Have A Major Much Anticipated Meeting With Xi On Trade.

--Gasoline Found Selling For Under $200 In 20 States; 8 More Under $210; Lowest Is In Denton Texas At $169; Highest is Hillsboro Oregon At $2.69.

--Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen Pleads Guilty To Lying To Congress About Russia Deal.

--NYC Mayor Gets Booed At Lighting Of Rockefeller Christmas tree; Tony Bennet Off is Game; Diana Ros Shines.

--US May Be Caught In The Middle Of Deepening South Korea/Japan Deputes.

One of the reasons that alcohol grew in favor over the centuries was because it was safer than water. When I drank a lot, I remember thinking, I just want to be safe.

Phrase of the day: “Epistemic Humility” – Proceeding without the baggage of pretense and presumption. EH is considered quite rare, as most people will state opinions emphatically without the possibility of there being another conclusion or fact possibility.

There are some very significant college football games on tap this weekend. Most meaningful in many ways is Georgia versus Alabama. It is essentially a playoff game with the Red Tide currently number one and the Bulldogs #4.  If Georgia wins, they will assure themselves a spot in the Final Four, and you can be sure that execs will give Alabama another spot even if they lose. That would leave Oklahoma and Ohio State outside looking in. These two, now in 5^th and 6^th place also have big games. The Sooners play its historic rival Texas and the Buckeyes play Northwestern for the Big Ten title. If Georgia, and the two OSU’s lose, perhaps, just perhaps Central Florida gets into the finals. CFU hasn’t lost in two years, but are always on the outside with their nose pressed against the window. Win one for Rodney Dangerfield.

It isn’t unusual to see more jobless claims in the waning days of a year, as companies pare down to get yearend balance sheets in order.

Timing changes everything that looks like it should be the same

I liked George Harrison because he was the “Quiet Beatle”.

Solid professional journals in fields like medicine, economics and law, reject 96% of submitted papers or articles. The crap is found in some commercial journals. Know your sources.

Basically, the reason I’m not reporting or commenting much on the Mueller accused and suspects is because all of them are calling each other “Liars”.

How can something called the “Dead Sea” -- be dying? Well, it is according to recent headlines, and millions will be spent to make if return to merely Dead from seriously dead status.

The NFL has some very good games this week. The Tids Pickers were pretty solid last week going 11-4. We are now at 107-66-2 (61% - Creeping up but will never make the objective). Tonight’s game could be very good. The Saints with Drew, almost-as-old-as-Tom, leading the way. NO should be a heavy favorite, that is, if the Cowboys return to there stumbling ways of a few weeks ago. But, Dallas is at home, and they have been playing much better. I can’t jump off the Saints’ heavenly cloud on this one. They are just playing great, and there will be no let downs for the them or Texas born Drew Brees on this one.

There are some good NFL “Posers” again this week. Indy should win at home, but Jax has a new QB and O-Coach and been given a few solid boots to the posterior, so they could surprise. I’ll stay with Indy and Luck locked in. Pitt has been on the verge of losing several times, and the Chargers under the control of another quality QB geezer, Rivers, are at home and are also one of the best teams the Steelers have played. The Steelers really need this one, but I go old man Rivers and LAC. Carolina needs this one too, but have let a few slip by. TB is a nemesis, but I’ll take the Panthers. Cleveland is in last place and Houston in first in their division, But the Browns have played tough all year long. Tough pick here. But Houston is putting it all to together with better people overall. Miami/Buffalo doesn’t mean a whole lot, but these two rivals are in it for pride. The Bills have looked good and the Dolphins will shiver in the cold winds off Lake Erie. Philly and Washington are playing for the division leadership, depending on what Dall as does tonight. They will know the Cowboys fate  when their key game begins. Washington is hurt. Philly is a question mark. But I’ll pick the Eagles. The Pats have the Vikes at home which should be a very good game. I’m going with the my beloveds because I am a shallow homer, but I’ll be holed ng my breath in a game that could go either way. Both teams need this one badly.

Of the rest, I have Chicago over the Giants in a close game between the two old franchises. Denver is showing us a lot of improvement and should beat a crumbling Cinncy. The Rams will make the Lions whimper, and Green Bay will enjoy their day in sunny Arizona. KC should have a field day against historic AFC rival Oakland, and Seattle will get healthy against San Fran. The Jets are just looking lost at times, and the Titans still see hope inter division. Mariotta should beat the returning rookie Darnell. Enjoy the weekend.

There was a national craze called “Power Posing”. A woman named Amy Cuddy became the darling of Ted Talks. Her promise, based on what has now been deemed to be flimsy research, was that after two minutes of power posing you could completely change the demeanor of your character. Amy followers aplenty awoke each morn to spend hours standing before the mirror, legs spread, with wide open arms or hands on hips. A replication study with a better sample and upgraded research standards complete disproved her theory that posing actually changed the neuroendocrine. Didn’t happen. But, the new study did agree that some people imagined they were better.

In my business career I remember owners of successful companies in New England wearing plaid shirts with straw in their hair an on their shoulders greeting pinstriped visitors up from the big cities. The big city sellers never had a chance. So much for power posing. I always proscribed to the theory of “Suck them In.”

Something bothered me about the following quest on a community internet bulletin board: “I’m new to the state and am hoping someone could recommend a housing (Tenants Rights) lawyer in the area, preferably one who may want to offer free first consultations.” Hmm.

Basically, what GM is finally doing is getting smart.

The Answer:

#1 is Fingerlings (2017). The next in order are Beyblades (2002), Hokey Pokey Elmo (2003), Disney Frozen Snow Glow Elsa Singing Doll (2014), Zhu Zhu Pets (2009), Bratz Dolls (2001), Tekno The Robotic Puppy (2013), Remote-Controlled BB-8 (2015), LeapPad Explorer (2011) and #10 – NES Classic Mini (2010).  The next five  were Xbox, WiiU, iPod Touch, Razor Scooters and Nintendo DS. The electronic stuff dominated the gift list of the 2,000’s Hope you picked the rght presents!

Socrates on Epistemic Humility: “The only thing I know is that I know nothing.” Don’t fear being wrong, accept the possibility that you may be.

The lack of EH is basically a cause of not listening, instead spending the time building a counter argument without hearing exactly what you are countering.