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Kohl's And The Rest Of The Retailers Are In Deep Trouble

Tyler Durden's picture




 

Submitted by Jim Quinn of The Burning Platform

Kohl's And The Rest Of The Retailers Are In Deep Doo Doo

“Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are pliable.” ? Mark Twain

I never believe government manufactured numbers. They will always be adjusted, massaged, and manipulated to achieve a happy ending for the propagandists attempting to control and fleece the sheep. Yesterday, the government produced retail sales numbers for August that were weak and the corporate MSM propaganda machine immediately threw up bold headlines declaring how strong these numbers were. Positive stories were published on the interwebs and Wall Street hack economists were rolled out on CNBC, where the bubble headed bimbos and prostitutes for the status quo like Jim Cramer and Steve Liesman declared the recovery gaining strength. Woo Hoo.

If everyone else is whipping out that credit card, why aren’t you? Credit card debt has reached a new post recession high. They tell me consumer confidence is soaring. Forget about the 92 million working age Americans supposedly not in the labor force. Forget about real household income hovering at 1999 levels. Forget about median household net worth still 30% lower than 2007. Forget about what you see with your own two eyes in malls, strip centers and office parks as you motor around our suburban sprawl empire of debt. Those Store Closing, Space Available, and For Lease signs mean nothing.

I didn’t get a chance to peruse the commerce department drivel until this morning. They put out unadjusted data and adjusted data. Shockingly, the adjusted data is always rosier than the unadjusted data. I wonder why? I can understand the rationale for adjusting month to month data due to holidays and calendar events. But I still don’t trust the adjustments. There should not be a major difference when comparing year over year data. The adjusted data should reflect the same relationship to the unadjusted data on a year over year basis. Well guess what? It appears our friendly government drones may be pumping the current data to give the appearance of recovery. Here are my observations after taking a look at the government propaganda report:

  • The unadjusted retail sales were only 3.2% higher than last August. Considering government reported inflation of 2%, that is a pretty shitty result. But have no fear. The “ADJUSTED” retail sales for August were 5.0% higher than last August. WTF? Guess which number gets reported to the sheep?
  • Hysterically, your government drones consider lending deadbeats $40,000 for seven years with no money down to drive away with a GM deathtrap SUV as a retail sale. The billions in subprime auto loans led to an 8.8% YoY surge in “ADJUSTED” auto sales. It seems the unadjusted number only went up 5.3%.
  • When you back out the Federal Reserve/Wall Street pumped auto sales, which will ultimately result in billions of written off bad debt (you’ll pick up the tab), unadjusted retail sales were only 2.7% higher than last August. With real inflation of 5% or more, real retail sales are negative on a year over year basis.
  • Despite financing deals of 4 years with no interest, furniture and electronics retail sales were flat versus last August. If there really is a housing recovery and 2.1 million more Americans are employed versus last August how could these discretionary sales be flat, and negative on an inflation adjusted basis?
  • Grocery store sales were up only 2.1% over last year. Even the government is reporting 2.7% food inflation in the last year. We all know it is closer to 10%, so people are actually reducing the amount of food they are buying. That is a sure sign of an economic recovery.
  • Clothing store sales were flat and department store sales were negative versus last August. So much for the back to school storyline. I do believe August is back to school time. The Sears and JC Penney Bataan Death March trudges toward bankruptcy.
  • What did surge was sales at restaurants and bars. They soared by 6.8% versus last August. We already know Darden, Yum Brands and McDonalds have reported dreadful results, so either the government is lying, soaring food prices are being passed on to customers, or people are so depressed by this awesome economic recovery they are drinking themselves into a stupor.

As a side note on the accuracy of this government data, in a previous role at IKEA, when I was a much younger man, I was responsible for filling out the monthly government retail surveys for the Census Bureau. The government drones collecting this data do not check it. They do not require proof that it is right. It is self reported by retailers across the country. Filling out this crap for the government was about as low on my priority list as whale shit. If I was really busy, I’d make the numbers up, scribble them on the form and put it in the mail. The numbers the government are accumulating are crap. And then they massage the crap. And then they publish the crap as if it means something. It’s nothing but crap.

When you see the headlines touting strong retail sales, you need to consider what you are actually seeing in the real world. RadioShack will be filing for bankruptcy within months. Wet Seal will follow. Sears is about two years from a bankruptcy filing. JC Penney’s turnaround is a sham. They continue to lose hundreds of millions every quarter and will be filing for bankruptcy within the next couple years. Target and Wal-Mart continue to post awful sales results and have stopped expanding. And as you drive around in your leased BMW, you see more Space Available signs than operating outlets in every strip center in America.

My anecdotal proof of this relentless slow motion retail trainwreck is twofold. We received our second 30% off discount coupon from Kohl’s in the last three weeks. We are so indifferent to these constant offers that we didn’t even use the first one. I have to wear dress clothes to work every day, so I went over to Kohl’s this morning when they opened at 8:00 am to get some dress shirts and pants.

The parking lot was an oasis of empty spots and there were maybe 5 customers in the entire store. I went to the mens’ section and was shocked to see about two dozen 60% to 80% off racks. There are usually two or three racks. The store was overflowing with summer merchandise. Summer is over. The store should have been overflowing with Fall merchandise. They are clearly in the midst of an inventory disaster. I found excellent dress shirts on the 70% off rack. Everything I bought was at least 50% off, even before my 30% coupon and another $10 menswear coupon.

I live in a relatively upscale suburban area and still this Kohl’s is an absolute disaster. Their gross margin is going to be hammered. Profits are going to implode. Kohl’s has always been a favorite retailer of the middle class. Decent quality at reasonable prices. Their comp store sales were between positive 5% and 15% for years, until the 2008 financial collapse. Their struggles since then coincide with the decline of middle class incomes and the fake jobs recovery. The fact that they are spiraling downward flies in the face of the propaganda being spewed by the government and media.There is no recovery for the average American.

My second data point happened on Thursday. An accident on the Turnpike forced me to take Lincoln Drive and Germantown Pike home from work (1 hour and 55 minutes of agony). I hadn’t taken this route in about six months. Germantown Pike winds through the Chestnut Hill section of Philly. This is an artsy fartsy area with boutique retail, chic outlets, and fancy restaurants. The upper middle class frequents the area. The retail stores were always open, occupied and busy.

Not anymore. I saw dozens of empty storefronts, Space Available, and For Lease signs. The open stores had no customers. The trendy eating establishments had few patrons. Even the yuppie latte drinking areas are beginning to crumble. Every office park I passed had Space Available signs in front. The amount of vacant retail and office space in this country is too vast to comprehend and is being under-reported by the real estate whores whose job it is to rent space. Ignoring the facts and the truth doesn’t change the facts and the truth.

Do you believe the government and the corporate media, or do you believe your own two eyes?

You can ignore the government reported happy talk. When retailers and restaurants report their actual sales and profits, the truth shall be revealed. It will set you free.

 

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Sun, 09/14/2014 - 09:13 | 5215730 y3maxx
y3maxx's picture

...WHERE IS IT SAFE TO LIVE?

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 09:33 | 5215756 hedgeless_horseman
hedgeless_horseman's picture

 

 

I live in a relatively upscale suburban area and still this Kohl’s is an
absolute disaster. Their gross margin is going to be hammered. Profits
are going to implode. Kohl’s has always been a favorite retailer of the
middle class. Decent quality at reasonable prices.

I live in a mid-scale, formally rural area, and have never been in a Kohl's, so I have nothing to worry about?

The local economy in Texas is booming.  Definitely.  Yet, we still manage to overbuild...especially strip malls.  The boom is ugly, but the bust is really going to suck.

In similiar news, here is a photo from The Houston Chronicle of XOM's new headquarters that is now being constructed just south of The Woodlands, Texas. What do they know?

 

http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2013-11-05/hockey-sticks-day

 

 

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 09:34 | 5215779 negative rates
negative rates's picture

I believe it's cheaper to build a new building than to try fix up one of those closing store units, it's just like a car, as soon as you occupy it, it's worth goes down 20% and the cost of any labor is prohibitively expensive.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 09:44 | 5215803 hedgeless_horseman
hedgeless_horseman's picture

 

 

If we didn't have empty strip malls, then where would all the unemployed open cross-fit studios?

Speaking of cross-fit, I need to finish my barn work this morning. 

Y'all be cool.  Peace!

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 09:52 | 5215825 NoDebt
NoDebt's picture

"There should not be a major difference when comparing year over year data. The adjusted data should reflect the same relationship to the unadjusted data on a year over year basis."

Putting my economist hat on for a minute, I just gotta say I agree with that statement COMPLETELY.  But only if your intention is to tell the truth, not obfuscate it.  Guess which mode we're in right now.

And don't get me started on CPI calculations and GDP deflators.  Same nasty bag of tricks going on with them, too.

The US economy has not see anything like sustained REAL ACTUAL GROWTH in over 30 years.  

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 10:14 | 5215869 max2205
max2205's picture

Philly is a shit hole

 

 

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 10:34 | 5215915 Carpenter1
Carpenter1's picture

I live in Vancouver, Canada's San Francisco/Los Angeles, full of Mercedes driving yuppies, and bungalows selling for 1 million+. It's just as he says here. I've lived here my entire life and know what "normal" is.

Big malls are 20-25% empty, for lease signs on entire new developments in upscale areas, for sale signs on retail and office space. Nobody ever sold such great income streams as retail or office space before, and I would know, 18 years I worked as a rep where I was in malls and retail outlets, never saw units for sale, ever.

It's even hit the premium market. Our highest end fashion district is a street called Robson st. That street would have waiting lists for units and rent is $20,000 per month for a small space, upwards of $50,000 for a larger one.

Now there's for lease signs popping up everywhere and I've noticed a drop off in the quality of stores. No more high end retailers necessarily, now you see low end Vietnam style neon lit windows with big ugly tables splayed with cheap fake leather products, $5 Chinese plastic junk, and no rhyme or reason to what's being sold.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 11:09 | 5216025 AssFire
AssFire's picture

I live in The Woodlands if any of you want to know what the opposite of this article is like. Hedgeless is right-  everything is packed and lots of construction everywhere. Most people here are oblivious or don't care about the other (especially the blue) areas of the country. Of course, I am for secession.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 11:25 | 5216072 yrbmegr
yrbmegr's picture

Woodlands/Conroe will have another 3 years of growth at the current pace, and then things will start to moderate a bit.  Traffic there is impossible.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 11:30 | 5216078 Gaius Frakkin' ...
Gaius Frakkin' Baltar's picture

The phrase "recovery gaining strength" and its cousins have been used since 2008. The fact they have been used continuously up until late 2014 (and presumably well beyond) is all the evidence you need for it being complete fucking Newspeak BS.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 16:15 | 5216883 0b1knob
0b1knob's picture

Sort of related, GM stops all sales of the Corvette and orders a recall of all 2015 models.

http://blog.caranddriver.com/little-recalled-corvette-gm-stops-sale-prep...

The Corvette is the high prestige high margin GM product.   And they are f*cking even that up.  Aren't you glad Choomboy "saved" them?

GM chapter 22 within 3 years.  Probably less. 

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 20:20 | 5217447 philipat
philipat's picture

Probably within two so that our "Dear Leader" can again screw the bondholders and bail out the Unions as a departing gesture of good will?

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 20:35 | 5217474 flapdoodle
flapdoodle's picture

More likely they will stay in business building M1A1 Tanks for the Russian Front.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 21:40 | 5217608 CrazyCooter
CrazyCooter's picture

y3maxx, I moved to Alaska. I lived in Texas most of my life prior (born there). TX is a great place, but its a tax haven (wiki used to list this - they don't anymore). Basically any company in the US can drop a fat plus to their bottom line by relo-ing to TX (and a few other select states). Think CA to TX.

That said, TX is in a giant influx of carpet baggers. Folks from somewhere else, with somewhere else values. Destroying the political base (in the sense they are skewing it in another direction).

I suppose AK could say the same about me.

YMMV.

Regards,

Cooter

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 22:17 | 5217669 Shocker
Shocker's picture

Look at the Job Market... Kinda tells you where retail is heading

Job Situation - http://www.dailyjobcuts.com

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Sun, 09/14/2014 - 23:02 | 5217757 Elvis the Pelvis
Elvis the Pelvis's picture

Retail is in trouble because no one has an extra dime to spend.  This points to deflation.  I have no idea what the inflationists are talking about.  Despite the effort of the FED, money is disappearing every day.  Deflation.  Learn it, live it, love it.

Mon, 09/15/2014 - 02:09 | 5217990 SeattleBruce
SeattleBruce's picture

Bouts of inflation and deflation will curse us into the reset.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 22:25 | 5217693 disabledvet
disabledvet's picture

I had no idea I was telling so many people from Texas to drop dead. Anyone here from Ohio?

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 23:04 | 5217762 The9thDoctor
The9thDoctor's picture

Large shopping malls with anchor department stores are an outdated business model. It's peak was in the early to mid 1990s. eCommerce replaced it.

In Phoenix, malls are decaying rapidly, yet in the last decade the land surrounding Deer Valley Airport and Scottsdale Airpark is booming with development, even in this "recovery". Lots of small, internet-based startups are occupying these spaces and they are selling their goods and services online.

These businesses advertise on facebook, twitter, craigslist, backpage, google adsense, etc.

Why Sears, Penneys, and Radio Shack exist even into the 2010s is perplexing. They should have been toast along with Wards in the year 2000. The only thing I can think of is they are front organizations for something bigger going on.

Mon, 09/15/2014 - 01:26 | 5217961 walküre
walküre's picture

The mall killed all that was great about main street shopping in America. It killed decent stores with knowledgeable staff owned by family operators who gave a shit about their customer. The malls are occupied by big corporate nationwide or even global brands where the staff is AT THE MOST just good enough to sort the red shirts from the green pants and put those back in the shelves.

Every dollar spend at the mall is 98 cents spent on leases and Wall Street profit margins (shareholder value), 1 cent for staffing and 1 cent for product.

When malls die, America has a chance to come back. Small to midsize private businesses are the key to turning America around. Starve the banks, starve the shareholders and starve Wall Street.

It's very simple, folks. There is no free lunch and the parasites had their free ride for far too long.

Tue, 09/16/2014 - 09:35 | 5222347 fallout11
fallout11's picture

Unfortunately for any brick and mortar store, of any size, technology and interconnectivity (i.e. the internet) are rapidly rendering the previous business model obsolete.  When you can order any shoe or shirt on earth, in any size, and have it delivered to your door within 5 days or less at competitive (or less) cost (saving on inventory, real estate, clerks, parking, traffic/travel/crowds), why would you bother with driving around town trying to find it instead?
Except for items that are needed in less time or do not ship well (groceries, convienent stores, services), and "boutique" goods, physical retail will be dead and gone within 15 years, in much the same way that video rental stores already are.

Mon, 09/15/2014 - 07:07 | 5218138 fallout11
fallout11's picture

Car & Driver's hand selected review model Corvette blew an engine, during their test drive.
http://bizbeatblog.dallasnews.com/2014/09/corvette-in-car-and-driver-long-term-test-fleet-blows-engine.html/
GM makes garbage. 

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 13:22 | 5216456 RockyRacoon
RockyRacoon's picture

Thanks to you folks for letting me know where I DON'T want to be when the collapse gains momentum.

I kinda like it here in my "rural" state.  Lots of folks within an hour's drive who have self-sufficient farms and lots of fresh water, ponds with fish, lakes with cheap water-front lots.   ...and they have extended a welcome should I decide to join them.   I'll just pull my fair share of the load.  I've slopped pigs before and I can do it again.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 16:09 | 5216870 The Big Ching-aso
The Big Ching-aso's picture

On a long enough timeline we're all broke, tired, fucked, disillusioned, mindless, soulless, enlivened, numb, drained, skeptical, naive, wizened, artful, compassionate, passionate, lukewarm, fanatical, empirical, loving, hateful, envied, pitied, and partially semi-conscious out of a standard blissfully boring day.

The rest of the fruitfull time we're sitting here scratching our ass waiting to die.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 16:47 | 5216961 Binko
Binko's picture

Great comment. You just described the default human condition. Most people spend their entire lives running frantically, bickering and fighting and elbowing for advantage just so they can enjoy the temporary pretense of escaping their humanity.

I re-joined the gym after a few years away. Gyms used to be social places. Now 95% of the patrons have their precious phones strapped to them while exercising and the earphones always in. Also there are dozens of TVs everywhere you look. Everybody is in an electronic bubble within another electronic bubble and there is virtually zero human interaction.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 18:19 | 5217163 Vullsain
Vullsain's picture

Just got back from the gym myself and what you describe is absolutley correct. Many of them will sit like zombies on a weight machine staring at their smart phones. I actually timed one of them today for a reference, 2 weak ass sets in 45 minutes on a chest machine until someone finally cut in.

 

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 21:26 | 5217579 zorbathefreak
zorbathefreak's picture

You timed someone for 45 minutes at a gym?

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 21:35 | 5217596 TeethVillage88s
TeethVillage88s's picture

This is English Culture.

We follow the English Empire in this Business Office Culture. We are to be Empty Suits, Bureaucrats. We are to be too busy with work or device to be human.

In London you can see these guys in Suits. They might have been in the Military for all the personality they have. They don't pay any mind to anyone and see to be living through some trauma of some sort. Could be that Office work makes you into this introverted machine. Could be if you allow your inner world to be controlled you lose your humanity.

If you work in a large organization you notice this too. People are odd in order to avoid having real conversations since anything personal can be use against you.

It is both competition & Management and a kind of fascist tattle tailing that occurs. Aanything personal can be use against you.

- Machines we are
- Losing Humanity we are
- Serving an Evil Organization we are
- Losing our time and our freedom too
- It is Enslavement

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 21:37 | 5217600 TeethVillage88s
TeethVillage88s's picture

Actually what is the difference from Communism, ...except for Perception. Which means = Mind Control, Voluntary Indentured In-servitude.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 23:24 | 5217801 SHRAGS
SHRAGS's picture

Currently reading Robert Anton Wilson's 

Illuminatus! Trilogy - You have just described Hagbard Celine's "Don't Whistle while your pissing" Robot to a tee.

Its actually a fantastic managemnt book with a heap of laughs: https://web.archive.org/web/20140816230525/http://www.cs.utexas.edu/user...

Mon, 09/15/2014 - 02:14 | 5217991 Ralph Spoilsport
Ralph Spoilsport's picture

"All hail Discordia!"

Mon, 09/15/2014 - 08:53 | 5218277 tarsubil
tarsubil's picture

I went kayaking with a bunch of people this weekend and everyone had a fun time. We went to dinner and half the people were glued to their phones. God help us if we get water proof phones. There will be no escape.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 21:02 | 5217538 Charlie hustler
Charlie hustler's picture

You ain't kidding about that electronic bubble friend.
I take it hand in hand tho. There's alot of good deals to be found these days too.
I got a great discount on a hooker the other day and didn't have to pay extra to bare-back her but, yep, she talked/surfed her smart phone the whole time I was laying that pipe to her.
A good deal is a good deal tho.
I take it all in and live pretty easy. I figure I'll be dead soon enough anyway.
You guys need to stop playing pussy and get yours before it's allllllll gone.

Long live the republic

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 11:27 | 5216077 Gaius Frakkin' ...
Gaius Frakkin' Baltar's picture

.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 11:43 | 5216114 hedgeless_horseman
hedgeless_horseman's picture

 

 

I live in The Woodlands...

...but you must be browsing from Internet Free Texas, because I am pretty certain that TWT Politburo blocks ZH inside The Bubble.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 12:46 | 5216330 AssFire
AssFire's picture

Haa, the Bubble.. the term is now complete as the ladies tell me since Nordstroms moved in there is no reason to ever leave the bubble.

I am never on an interstate, but do leave the bubble to go to Magnolia (also very white- but kinda trashy) where my office is.

The Woodlands has been paying the city of Houston extortion money to keep from being annexed and to keep public bus transportation out- that would be a bubble popper. Houston is 3rd world- when it was just the illegals it was bad, but since Katrina- well you know.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 14:53 | 5216668 Vampyroteuthis ...
Vampyroteuthis infernalis's picture

Hello fellow Texans, I live in the DFW area in North Texas. The Dallas area seems to be schitzophrenic in nature. The well-to-do areas like Uptown, Preston Hollows and etc are doing well. Once you leave those posh areas, it is nothing but miles of "For Lease" everywhere you go. Good luck trying to find Americans in many of these places.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 22:30 | 5217702 disabledvet
disabledvet's picture

Drove north from DFW to Oklahoma once. Had to be the longest strip mall on the face of the earth. I swear it was at least 100 miles long and lasted almost to the border.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 15:01 | 5216683 Son of Loki
Son of Loki's picture

Take a drive through Garland or Mesquite just outside of Dallas and the picture is quite different. Huge vacant malls sit almost idle. I stopped at one just for kicks and the only 4 friggin stores open out of the dark dozens closed down included a pizza place, “authentic antique Chinese vase” store selling these ‘antiques' for $28/vase [ I had to restrain my gf] and a wedding dress place with sparkly velvet gowns of all colors including “amarillo, morado, y azul,” and  starting at $18 [“cash only” the sign in the window says].

 

The pizza guy said as the neighborhood became “more diverse” … crime rose, stores closed down due to theft, zero foot traffic, and so on. House values plunged and [employed] consumers moved further out.

 

Depends on the neighborhood in Texas same as anywhere else.

 

My cousin lives in an area called Sugar Land and seems to like it there [after all, I read that’s where Delay lives]. He echoed what you said about The Woodlands being nice as well as Cinco Ranch and Fulshear areas outside of The Big H.

 

I'd like to drive down to Galveston and Corpus some day and see what they're like these days post-hurricane...anyone know?

 

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 15:56 | 5216838 TuPhat
TuPhat's picture

Bay City, about half way to Corpus from Houston on 35 is booming.  A Tennaris pipe plant is being built and several chemical companies are adding capacity.  Of course all the typical unemployed still can't find work and never will.  Rent for an apartment has gone way up, close to Houston prices, and traffic is bad.  Takes 15 to twenty minutes to get across town on the one road.  Walmart was crowded yesterday but it is the only place in town to shop.  I don't recommend moving here or any place further south if you don't speak spanish.  I figure english will continue to be spoken in Bay City for another 5 or 6 years maybe.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 15:58 | 5216846 JamesH
JamesH's picture

Corpus looked dead when I was there in February

 

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 17:54 | 5217115 BlindMonkey
BlindMonkey's picture

Nice. Well done sir.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 15:59 | 5216848 tvdog
tvdog's picture

Sugar Land is supported by many hospitals and other outposts of the medical industrial complex.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 16:46 | 5216957 americanspirit
americanspirit's picture

My daughter-in-law has a MS in environmental Science and is currently in a PhD counseling program at UT Corpus Christi. She told me of a city-wide study just completed that pegs the median non-verbal IQ of the entire K-12 school system at 87. She says that in the past three years the bay has gone from marginal to toxic - people who fish in the bay and eat their catch are flooding emergency rooms with strange rashes and neurological symptoms. The Oil & Gas industry is booming and destroying the ecosystem top to bottom in the process. Gangs are flourishing - whole neighborhoods are no-go zones for single police cars. Housing is expensive because O&G workers can afford to pay $2000/month for a POS shack, and they do.

I don't know anything about the retail sector in Corpus but with that median IQ of 87 I would guess that there's not a lot of high-end activity. On the other hand, WalMart and Dollar store are probably doing OK. And GM dealers of course.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 18:33 | 5217196 HobbyFarmer
HobbyFarmer's picture

Americanspirit, I don't know if I should up or down arrow you.  Your post is so sad for the future of this nation.

Something tells me I'll never read about that study....can't let the truth out.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 19:57 | 5217390 unitwar
unitwar's picture

Galveston is booming.   Cruise ships and oil rigs everywhere.   Galveston is nicer now than it has ever been.   

Mon, 09/15/2014 - 07:11 | 5218141 fallout11
fallout11's picture

Large swaths of Atlanta and surrounding core suburbs are in similar shape, this article nailed it pretty well.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 15:50 | 5216819 Jack Burton
Jack Burton's picture

"but since Katrina- well you know."  My god, I can only imagine what the areas those folks moved into have become. The Jungle?

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 15:57 | 5216840 TuPhat
TuPhat's picture

The Hood

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 19:40 | 5217358 CCanuck
CCanuck's picture

The "WeRobb'n-Ya" Hood

Mon, 09/15/2014 - 00:21 | 5217887 Hurricane Harry
Hurricane Harry's picture

Once again I feel compelled to give thanks for the many great contributions of the NOLA refugee community and their culture to our society.

Their peaceful and generous nature makes them ideal neighbors, lending testimony to their exceptional family values and parenting skills unrivaled by any other culture.

Their commitment to academic excellence enriches our schools and serves as an example to all who strive for cultural prominence as a people. Real Estate values are fueled by the influx of these noble people into an area due to their caring and respectful nurturing of these communities. They serve as a shining example of enthusiasm for self-improvement through hard work, and a self-reliant can-do nature.

Without their industrious and creative drive, we would be so much poorer as a city, nay state.

Mon, 09/15/2014 - 02:00 | 5217969 atomp
atomp's picture

Wicked.

Mon, 09/15/2014 - 08:23 | 5218225 VAD
VAD's picture

fucking awesome

Mon, 09/15/2014 - 07:28 | 5218167 The Chief
The Chief's picture

Think an upscale Sierra Leone.

Mon, 09/15/2014 - 07:23 | 5218158 A82EBA
A82EBA's picture

I'm in The Woodlands area also, just across fm 2978. Took early retirement cause I got tired of the traffic to downtown.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 17:20 | 5217038 EINSILVERGUY
EINSILVERGUY's picture

I agree

I live near Jersey Village and its a tale of 2 cities. Houston is booming for the most part, especially the energy corridor along I-10 from Memorial City out to Katy.  Texas is fortunate that we have weathered things pretty good but Im not sure how much longer. I use to work at HP but left in July for what I thought was a better job.  HP is culling their older people and especially the work force in California ( higher wage costs and especially the wage laws around vacation etc). If you are not in Houston or Austin you probably won't have a job in IT in a few years and they are actively working to offshore jobs to Mexico. I figure its just a matter of time before they cull the local employees. 

I have been telling my wife for the last 3 years that Shit is going to hit the Fan. Intellectually she understands it because she trusts my knowledge and judgement (spent 10 years in Banking and Brokerage, anyone remember the infamous Kidder Peabody) but she emotionally can't believe that things will get bad when we shop at the Mall or anywhere in that area. I have to constantly remind her that what she sees in Texas is not what is going on in most of the country (especially in the bankrupt Northeastern States) or pockets like DC and Silicon.  

Sign me up for secession as well but I foresee Texas falling as well within 2-3 election cycles so it may already be to late for Texas as well. All of the California locusts are pouring into Texas and its only a matter of time before Texas is ruined.

Gone Galt

 

 

 

 

 

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 20:46 | 5217509 duo
duo's picture

I had to spend a night in a small town in southern Iowa a year ago when weather forced my plane down.  What a shithole.  Everything was falling apart except the WalMart and the hospital.  It looked like some small towns in Mexico that I drove through 20 years ago, signs in Spanish and all.  Goddamn depressing.  $75 got us a room in one of the two hotels in town, a fucking dump.

I'm not going to name the town, but Rubbermaid and some appliance company deserted the place a while back, leaving nothing but meat packing and the EBT economy.

Mon, 09/15/2014 - 05:50 | 5218096 Supernova Born
Supernova Born's picture

The first paragraph of the above post sounds like a novel that would get really good.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 17:32 | 5217067 blown income
blown income's picture

I have been trying to find a job so I can move to the Montgomery area but thanks to the Mexicans the Auto Collision biz they are doing it so cheap can't afford to move

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 11:14 | 5216048 SofaPapa
SofaPapa's picture

Reporting in from a relatively high-end shopping district in Miami here.  Also crumbling. Two of the "anchor" restaurants (pretty high-end) have gone down in the past year, and their loss is affecting the businesses around them.  I live within walking distance, and have been in these areas on Friday and Saturday nights recently.  The bars and "nightlife" spots are dead.  It's remarkably depressing.  I've seen these places when full, and they are no longer close.  No one is out.  Everyone hunkering down, it seems.  I've lived in growing vibrant economies.  This is not that.  And this is an area catering to those who have disposable income.  These are not McDonald's and Kohl's.  More boutiquey kind of stuff.  Long story short, if increasing numbers should represent growth, like the other commenters, I'm not seeing it; I'm seeing contraction.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 12:52 | 5216305 Bananamerican
Bananamerican's picture

Hunkering here in SoCal (below L.A. - above the Orange Curtain of Irvine, Newport Beach etc)
Sears iss Kaput. Ditto ze Best Bye und Radio Shakken....
"Infra$trucksha" spending is STILL off the charts. Seems like you can't drive several blocks or several freeway miles without seeing MAJOR roadway spending...also buckets of continued .edu $pending...
Someone passed the "Mexican full employment Act" and forgot to tell the gringos.
I don't know for a fact but I'd guess that Fashion Island (Newport) is doing fine.
Formerly middle class(now "desirable" neighborhood) RE prices ratcheted all year but homes are beginning to sit now (at lofty price points unaffordable to the middle...Chinese "hot money" has been here as well. (There's a LOT more of them than there are of us remember) A mini Sino invasion has taken place at my sons "desirable" elem school...arrogant, unfriendly bastards that drive like "Enter the Dragon"). Typical rents for homes? Now $2500.
There's a hint of Feudalism In the stifling heat of a rumored autumn this year, with a hint of "Elysium"....

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 15:05 | 5216690 29.5
29.5's picture

What I am seeing are "hotspots" developing in suburban areas. What was once a hotspot 5 or 10 years ago is slimming down and relocating further out from major cities to grab the cash from booming new residential spaces. Everyone in my area is trying to find the next new great place to raise a family within relatively close proximity to a downtown.

Kinda like leap frogging when you were a kid. Build a homedepot in a booming residential area. Then close shop 10 years down the road and move 5 miles down the road to where more contruction is taking place. Meh

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 20:49 | 5217515 duo
duo's picture

That's called "Section 8 checkers".

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 22:53 | 5217717 Manthong
Manthong's picture

Some of us saw this coming two years into the BJ Clinton regime. The Republicans failed to kill it when they took both houses.

I suspect the candy-asses will also fail to kill Obamacare if they manage to take both houses in November.

Jim Bovard had it dead nuts on twenty years ago when it started .

I still have the original snipped out of the WSJ .

http://www.jimbovard.com/Bovard_Wall_Street_Journal_1994_HUD_Wrecking_Ball_Suburbs.htm

The liberals seem to think that if you toss bad apples into a barrel of good apples the good apples will make the bad apples good.

 

 

 

Mon, 09/15/2014 - 03:44 | 5218040 FreedomGuy
FreedomGuy's picture

I live in a western city that is ostensibly doing well. I started looking for a condo about three years ago. I saw that Section 8 crap all around. I went to a new development next to an earlier phase and I saw what essentially looked like little pieces of "the hood" but it really nice looking townhomes. Of course, I eliminated this whole area as a prospect for housing. I know how these cancers spread. Your article link was spot on.

I then went driving through the city with a CPA friend of mine who pointed out some of the high priced properties in the high rises owned by star athletes and other wealthy types. I could not afford this neighborhood even though I was probably a top ten or fifteen percent income. Right next to this building was another loaded with Section 8 and also subsidized retirees. She explained how they get around the income requirements or fake it. Many retirees have little income but huge assets or even cash. Those do not count. Others game the system and hide income or purposely stay underemployed to maintain eligibility. The end result is people who are theoretically poorer can live in places that I the wealthier but fully taxed individual cannot, right next to the sports stars and wealthy.

This is the absurd upside down world the leftist creates. It is partly because the leftist cannot deal with reality. The reality is that there is a reason in America that some are poor and it has to do with lots of bad choices, bad work ethics, bad ethics and bad people. Putting them somewhere they did not earn removes any incentive to be better and they take all their bad habits with them. Moving termites to a new wooden home does not improve their disposition.

Mon, 09/15/2014 - 10:58 | 5218576 Pickleton
Pickleton's picture

the candy-asses will also fail to kill Obamacare

 

I believe you erroneously assume they want to or will even try to.

 

 

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 22:16 | 5217666 Woodrox
Woodrox's picture

your off by about 20 years in trend analysis

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 16:41 | 5216944 bitterwolf
bitterwolf's picture

FACT.San Diego area resident, only worse down here.Only spanish and tagalog spoken here.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 17:08 | 5217000 Bananamerican
Bananamerican's picture

ever ask yourself..."where did all the white people go"?

I do, and then i see them tottering carefully out to the curb with a cane and a trashbin on Tuesday mornings.

I wouldn't mind so much if the "New Jerusalem" was being perfected by the newcomers but that doesn't appear to be the case.

 

On second thought, i take it back...The New Jerusalem™ is arriving right on schedule

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 20:01 | 5217398 Woodrox
Woodrox's picture

Mortons steakhouse closing in the UBS bldg in Stamford ST.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 11:17 | 5216054 ElvisDog
ElvisDog's picture

In Vancouver, the answer is simple. The $1 million homes are being bought with hot money from China by Chinese oligarchs looking for a bug-out house just in case. The local Canadians don't see any of this hot money and are struggling. There aren't enough of the hot money types to keep the overbuilt Vancouver retail complex going.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 11:56 | 5216160 umdesch4
umdesch4's picture

I wish I could spam the green arrow on this post. It's not just the $1 million homes either. The huge swaths of condos going up along the Evergreen line (new skytrain extension through the suburbs east of downtown) have all been snapped up in exactly the same way, and they're not even finished being built yet. Somewhere in my post history, I shared the numbers for Coquitlam that I got from a real estate agent friend of mine, and they're scary.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 17:18 | 5217031 post turtle saver
post turtle saver's picture

hence the running joke, "Hong Couver"

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 16:02 | 5216853 ThroxxOfVron
ThroxxOfVron's picture

"Philly is a shit hole"

& people call ME negative and repetative?  Sheesh.

Thu, 09/18/2014 - 01:47 | 5229085 ozman
ozman's picture

Philly mmmm. Martin Armstrong, also in Philly, says us economy is recovering and there are no spots in restaurants or hotels. Seems to me Jim and Martin are wearing invert glasses. Been to Philly I would personally side with Jim's account as the probably truthful one.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 10:17 | 5215877 PT
PT's picture

The retailers are falling over and they are just letting it happen.  They are as powerless as a minimum wage worker.  Maybe they are working so hard they haven't got time to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.

Am I right or am I wrong?  Anyone got any insight into this?
Do the retailers have "other income streams" that allow them to not care about retailing?

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 16:07 | 5216861 tvdog
tvdog's picture

Sears and Penney's have substantial real estate assets, but they are mortgaged to the gills.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 22:56 | 5217742 disabledvet
disabledvet's picture

Hard to beat online tax free. Plus free delivery (courtesy of the Postal Service who is now taking all of Fed Ex and UPS's final mile.)

Amazon, Netflix, Tesla...they're changing the basic blocking and tackling of the economy itself. I still see parents taking their kids to the movies. I don't see too many shoppers interested in shit at any price anymore. Lot of high quality merchandise for very reasonable prices right now. People want their car to last 100 years, and their socks and shoes now too.

Underwear might be a different story...especially of the equity market tanks here. At some point Wal Mart is really gonna have to go full on 1990's here. What I've read is they're really pushing the food business now...good luck with that. Farmers have been giving away food this Fall...just living on ten bucks here, ten bucks there.

How the supermarkets stay in business is beyond me. Overhead, unions, rent, transportation...if they didn't have SNAP and public housing there would be zero foot traffic.

Still...interest rates are a long way from German levels. If fuel mileage on a standard US pickup truck goes to say...150 mpg...you can haul and pull a lot of stuff in that machine. If gasoline drops back to a dime a gallon (with a Tesla the price is ZERO btw) you could see a huge boom in consumption...even with a nasty negative GDP print.

Coal prices have totally collapsed already. This is true in China as well interestingly...

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 23:01 | 5217755 disabledvet
disabledvet's picture

Btw at 150 mpg and a twenty gallon tank you're taking 2 bucks for a fill up and 3000 miles. Given the collapse of driving in the USA since 2008 that three thousand miles would probably last most Americans six months!

Mon, 09/15/2014 - 07:19 | 5218151 fallout11
fallout11's picture

83% of Walmart quarterly revenue is now grocery based, and that figure has been rising every quarter for 5 years now. Eventually, the whole store will be groceries, as it is the only part of their overall sales that hasn't been in decline.  Further, of that grocery revenue, more than half now comes from "government cheese" money, i.e. MIC contracts/salaries, SNAP, WIC, EBT, etc, and this portion has been growing.  As a result, Walmart has recently started buying up parcels in inner city, underserved areas, where the grocery stores went under or left years ago, and opening a subsidiary chain of "Neighborhood Market" stores, half-sized Walmarts with only groceries, no merchandise. Everything in the store is WIC/Snap approved, making shopping simple. Parking is severely reduced (5 places per 1000 sqft of storespace, vs the usual 10), as Walmart sees many of their future shoppers as being carless.

Mon, 09/15/2014 - 02:24 | 5217993 PT
PT's picture

wow.  14 red arrows and only two attempts to show me the error of my ways, even though I specifically requested for people to tell me why I was wrong.  Was the first sentence or two too offensive for anyone to read any further?

Thanks to those who answered. 

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 09:58 | 5215839 Stackers
Stackers's picture

Hegless, you're doing Crop-Fit ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7Ew0Zl0hGA

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 10:22 | 5215885 GMadScientist
GMadScientist's picture

Before too long, we all will be.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 10:43 | 5215944 SmackDaddy
SmackDaddy's picture

hopefully

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 20:54 | 5217523 Dave Thomas
Dave Thomas's picture

Crossfit is in a bubble. 8 crossfit gyms popped up in the last year in my location.

 

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 10:21 | 5215881 Colonel Walter ...
Colonel Walter E Kurtz's picture

Exactly HH. Been telling people around my area that it seems either everyone is now a fitness guru or a brew-master. Getting in shape doing hot yoga or enjoying drinking beer does not necessarily make one an expert in either category. I have a feeling many of these newly opened businesses are people trying to make a go of something they like. My hats off to them, but I think many of them will have their eyes opened that business it is not a hobby (unless you are real lucky). My friends often ask why I have to work so hard on my fairly successful business, while they are of playing a large % of the time. Well, its because things have changed the last 15 years and it does not seem to be getting any easier going forward. Going to be some really shocked sheeple when the next downturn happens because they are believing the debt fueled papered over recovery. Going to be even less spending power in the hands of the consumer when it comes time to pay the bills we have just run up since 2008 that TPTB all hoped would reignite the economy. To bad we did not just tighten the belts and fix the structural mess.      

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 10:42 | 5215935 SmackDaddy
SmackDaddy's picture

haha, well thanks to Crossfit i've gone from being the big, scary, loud dude slamming shit on the floor to the guy all these faggots and skinny bitches ask for advice.  trends are funny that way. 

crossfit is for people who 1) have a cult-like mindset 2) prefer "training hard" to getting results and 3) sucked at real sports

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 11:24 | 5216070 F22
F22's picture

What's Crossfit??

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 11:51 | 5216142 SilverIsKing
SilverIsKing's picture

Has something to do with cross dressing I think.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 16:04 | 5216855 ThroxxOfVron
ThroxxOfVron's picture

Reversable undergarments???

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 11:52 | 5216146 Freddie
Freddie's picture

Probably extreme fitness crap.  Someone rents a warehouse or some crappy location where the rent is almost free.  They buy some ropes, steel bars for pull up and other really cheap fitness stuff.  Some guy or girl in cammo makes the fatties run around the block etc.  Like a fitness boot camp.

The owner is hoping to pull in enough to eat cheap and pay the $259 a month  lease on their small Lexus or BMW. 

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 12:57 | 5216370 insanelysane
insanelysane's picture

Spot on description!

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 13:33 | 5216475 Freddie
Freddie's picture

LOL!   It fits in perfectly with this article.  Some poor soul taking their last few bucks trying to create a fitness studio to survive.  It is way downsized fitness.

They attract a few hard core loons and fatties who are staving to death yet getting fatter on GMO and corn syrup in everything.  Sad.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 15:00 | 5216691 Marco
Marco's picture

GMO and corn syrup are no more capable of violating conservation of energy than the it's muh metabolism excuses from the fatties.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 21:55 | 5217631 Rubbish
Rubbish's picture

Do you know how hard it is to buy ice cream without corn syrup?

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 23:22 | 5217802 Freddie
Freddie's picture

I think they add corn syrup to everything. 

If you ever sit at the train tracks you see those black tanker cars on a frieght train.  They usually have one that has some chemicals or acid with a skull and bones on it with DANGER lettering.  The ADM corn syrup tank cars look the same and should have the skull and bones too.

Cargill has them too it says Corn Sweetner on the side.

Mon, 09/15/2014 - 07:23 | 5218160 fallout11
fallout11's picture

Corn syrup is now being put into bread and buns, it is that prevalent. On average, corn products now make up ~69% of the US dietary intake (see Michael Pollan's best seller "The Omnivores Dilemma", or here: http://edition.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/diet.fitness/09/22/kd.gupta.column/).

Mon, 09/15/2014 - 11:32 | 5218694 SoCalBusted
SoCalBusted's picture

Most of the tankers are lableled HFCS

High Fructose Corn Syrup

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 21:02 | 5217536 Dave Thomas
Dave Thomas's picture

Hey can you blame them? I remember walking into a ballys about 18 years ago and they ran a credit check on me and wanted to know if I could swing a 3000 dollar contract for a year lol. Everything old is new again.

 

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 11:54 | 5216147 Miffed Microbio...
Miffed Microbiologist's picture

I have always been attracted to high intensity workouts after someone showed me a picture of a professional marathoner ( thin, sallow complexion, lack of muscle def) and a pole vaulter ( strong, toned, fit and healthy looking ). So, being an all or nothing kinda gal, I borrowed a tape of Insanity and went for it. Damn near killed myself. I realized just being a stubborn determined asshole wasn't going to get me through this and I didn't have the funds to take a 3 month sabbatical from work to pull it off. So, I moved to HIIT on the treadmill 3 days a week and balanced it out with yoga and hiking. I had a body analysis done and I had the highest LBM of any female they had seen at my age so I decided that was good enough and maybe I didn't have to beat the tar out myself after all.

Several friends have recommended Crossfit so I am tempted to give it a shot.

Miffed;-)

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 12:18 | 5216228 COSMOS
COSMOS's picture

Hahaha great one Miffed.  I use dot run long distance in college, quite skinny, and would always say to myself I will never walk.  Now I am muscular and quite happy doing my walks daily and also working up a sweat in the gym with higher reps.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 13:00 | 5216378 Consuelo
Consuelo's picture

Fads are an amazing phenomenon to observe, Miffed...   Cross-fit is actually good for you though, provided you do not 'overtrain' - which is one of the chief (and accurate) criticisms of the fad.   I think it will stick around, but when the economic $washout comes, the owners of these fitness places will undoubtedly have to charge just ~slightly~ less than the typical $100 - $150/mo. current going rate...   Just slightly...

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 15:50 | 5216820 Miffed Microbio...
Miffed Microbiologist's picture

Tx Cosmo and consuelo,

I really am interested in trying after so many have recommended it. My problem is a very bad lower back from being thrown so many times off of horses and not seeking any care until 10 years later. My chiropractor was shocked at my X-ray and after 10 years of work, managed to get the vertebrae in some semblance of alignment. Part of doing yoga 4 days a week is to keep the flexibility and muscle tone up in that area.

Funny, being young you just don't think of the repercussions of wild ass foolishness. Coupled with a " really, you double dog dare me to do that? " impulsive approach to life, I'm thankful I'm still alive and not a quadriplegic.

Miffed;-)

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 16:07 | 5216864 espirit
espirit's picture

Would someone pay me to put in my winter garden?

I can guarantee an exceptional workout in 90 degree heat by digging and hoeing mounds.

For those especially concerned about enhancing upper body strength, my front tine rototiller is the go-to implement.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 20:22 | 5217442 SolarSystem1932
SolarSystem1932's picture

And my POS rear tined tiller lets me balance a beer hat.

Gardens aren't supposed to kill ya. 

If it's hard, you're doing it wrong.

Truth?  I Sharpen My Tiller Blades...laugh on that one for a minute.

 

 

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 23:00 | 5217756 TheMeatTrapper
TheMeatTrapper's picture

Nature doesn't use a tiller and neither should you. No till is the way to go. 

Mon, 09/15/2014 - 01:44 | 5217979 OldPhart
OldPhart's picture

My cross-fit regimine includes repeated twelve ounce arm lifts coupled with brisk walks to the fridge.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 18:34 | 5217194 Tinky
Tinky's picture

Given your scientific background, you are probably well aware of this, but just in case...

Skeletal adjustments are only a part of the route to regaining health and flexibility; the soft tissue must be addressed as well. In your case, the myofascia, in particular. If you have never seen a Rolfer, I would strongly recommend it. It is arguably (and certainly in my view) the most profound type of soft tissue therapy, and potentially far more impactful that almost any other form of massage.

Find a Rolfer in your area, if you haven't already, and I'll reimburse your costs if you don't find it to be of immense value.

Seriously!

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 23:30 | 5217819 Miffed Microbio...
Miffed Microbiologist's picture

Tx Tinky,

I will look into this. Your offer makes me believe you are very much in earnest. I know I must stay in shape to keep the pain at bay. Flabby core muscles will make it worse. There is nothing like lying in the ER praying for the painkillers to take effect. I'll try anything that would help me avoid that unpleasant experience again.

Miffed;-)

Mon, 09/15/2014 - 06:14 | 5218053 Tinky
Tinky's picture

Hi Miffed,

My offer is genuine. Rolfers perform to a remarkably consistent, and high standard, so as long as you are personally comfortable with whomever you contact, the work should prove valuable. It may well take several sessions in order to make the changes required in your body that will lead to long-term relief. However, you can certainly begin with one session, and continue or not as you wish.

There is a search capability at the main site:

http://www.rolf.org

One tip: schedule so that you have at least a day, and preferably a couple after the session during which you will largely be free to relax. It will take your body some time to digest the deep work, and it is not beneficial to be unser stress, either physical or mental, soon afterwards.

Please let me know how things go!

Cheers,

Tinky

Wed, 09/17/2014 - 15:43 | 5227407 Miffed Microbio...
Miffed Microbiologist's picture

Txt Tinky,

I have copied your info and see if their is anyone in san diego that is good. I have hope. Living with this is not fun. I wish I could go back in time and smack so me sense into myself.

In appreciation and friendship,

Miffed;-)

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 18:47 | 5217226 Peanut Butter E...
Peanut Butter Engineer's picture

Planet fitness is only $10/month

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 22:01 | 5217639 Vendetta
Vendetta's picture

Average Joe's Gym is only $8.50/month AND they have regular dodgeball events.

Mon, 09/15/2014 - 13:04 | 5219061 JB
JB's picture

Pushups, pull ups, crunches, and a brisk trot around the block are free. ;)

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 18:42 | 5217220 IronForge
IronForge's picture

Get a Good Bicycle, Miffed.

Hopefully, you live near(if not, get a bike rack to latch on the rear of your car) some great paths (trails for the mountain bikers); and can ride yourself, with family/friends, and/or join a riding club to enjoy the scenery and breath in the the good air.  It's nice to hike; but I personally prefer the extra speed and leg movements from the bike.

Beats running on asphalt/concrete (which takes a toll on the knees and foot arches); and forces you to moving your own bodyweight - a nice break from the "machine routines".

 

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 20:27 | 5217463 SolarSystem1932
SolarSystem1932's picture

Central Florida Workout:

7:00-10:00 AM

Machine:  Honda Push mower. 21 inch blade; Sharpened on eash gas fill.

Yardsize: 7 acres

Time to complete: 4 months.

Objective: Resistive Walking.

Benefit #1: Grass gets cut.

Benefit #2: Bye Beer Belly

Benefit #3: No Ebola exposure at local Gym.

 

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 23:36 | 5217827 Freddie
Freddie's picture

Stay hydrated with water my friend.  The humidity in central FL is a killer.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 10:58 | 5215994 swmnguy
swmnguy's picture

My favorite is the "Life Coaches."

At a certain point we'll have to admit that most of us are just farting around.  It'll be interesting to see how far things go before we do have to break down and face up.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 11:21 | 5216063 ElvisDog
ElvisDog's picture

Life Coaches, Cross Fit, personal yoga instructors, and all that kind of stuff caters to middle-aged white women with a lot of disposable income who are going through a mid-life crisis. But at least they are working out I suppose.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 12:55 | 5216366 Consuelo
Consuelo's picture

Speaking of that...   What ever happened to Tony Robbins...?    Last I saw, he had the scruff goin' and the messed up hair (trend) - so he's true to his Chameleon roots.   Used to really like watching his informercials in the late 80's, replete with the helicopter views of cliffside mansions, Fran Tarkenton, etc...   Back then it was the 'Wall Street' look - red power tie, suspenders, moose-backed hair.   Now it's black t-shirts, goat-t, scruffed hair.  $50k I think for one of is small-group excursions where he really helps you find yourself...   Oh Gawd...

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 18:39 | 5217217 putaipan
putaipan's picture

actually, the last i saw of him, he was doin' aprotect your wealth zh doom and gloom racket. no shit.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 22:06 | 5217647 Vendetta
Vendetta's picture

Yep... he has a look-at-how-huge-the-debt-is video and that it is so large even taking all the money from rich fucks like him wouldn't even come close to paying it off.  He does seem like a genuinely nice person but fuck... I don't need to hear it from people who have been making a killing on scamming people with 'motivation'

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 21:07 | 5217546 Dave Thomas
Dave Thomas's picture

I always liked Zig Ziglar myself, he brought an old fashioned Vaccum salesmen persona to winning.

 

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 16:09 | 5216863 ThroxxOfVron
ThroxxOfVron's picture

IF you really want a good laugh:

http://www.gettheguy.co.uk

I tech'ed one of his shows in NYC.  He is making milions of off exactly those insecure mainly mid-level professional women who scream feminism and rant about the glass ceiling, etc. when talking about men otherwise...

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 22:00 | 5217638 Rubbish
Rubbish's picture

Hand her a banana and say practice makes perfect.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 16:19 | 5216896 Sirius Wonderblast
Sirius Wonderblast's picture

I refer you to the Snakeoil picture at the top of this article.

There's nowt new in getting and staying in shape since God was a boy. Start low n slow, and build progressively, either concentrating on the aspects that ain't going so well or trying a different way. Technique, persistence, perspiration, and applied thought in roughly parts - I write as a former bodybuilder. The rest time is every bit as important as in the gym.

Here's the thing though - you don't need to part with bundles of cash, and spanky new threads make not the slightest difference. I visited a "fitness centre" recently, and watching the ant-trail of people going in and out patently no fitter (just poorer) was an eye-opener. Maybe they feel good about themselves for it, I dunno. Buy equipment secondhand, put it in your garage or basement, and apply yourself. If your doing it right, the outside world disappears for the duration - worth it in itself. Or get your mates to buy in and buddy up. Whatever works.

Well that's my view, anyway.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 11:26 | 5216076 SofaPapa
SofaPapa's picture

I agree.  We have reached the endpoint of the "post-modern economy".  No-one makes anything anymore.  Just trying to figure out ways to convince others to pay us for our time.  

This is actually a spiritual question as much as anything else. People are aware that the world around us is a facade, even if only on a subconcious level.  Look at suicide rates in the past 15 years, and you see that people are hurting.  We don't have any idea why we're doing what we do these days.  When people don't feel connected to a meaningful life, as opposed to a "how to con someone into supporting me" life, our current environment is the result.

The worm will turn, and this too shall pass.  But there will be a long way down from here before people return to real meaningful activities for their lives again.  Too many still think the image of success is success itself.  The spiritual vacuum is palpable.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 12:51 | 5216332 vulcanraven
vulcanraven's picture

Posts like this are the reason I keep coming back to Zerohedge

+1 to you sir

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 14:27 | 5216569 jbvtme
jbvtme's picture

i walked the streets of boston this weekend. i've been gone for thirty years. it's a cold hard place now and no one lives in the moment. i used to like the flirting and the smiles of lovely women that would keep me warm. i recall the work of the swiss photographer, robert frank who shot a portrait of this country called "the americans".  and walker evans and lewis hine. that time seems so romantic and so long ago. and so i curse the cell phone, and damn those opposed thumbs that tap a mindless message that has made strangers of us all. is the era post modern or post human? i'm leaving for the barn right now to pick up a gallon of fresh milk from alexis, a seventeen year old beauty, who milks a  jersey named luna with eyes to die for.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 15:03 | 5216695 Moe Howard
Moe Howard's picture

Who has the eyes to die for? The cow or the girl?

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 15:50 | 5216823 Moustache Rides
Moustache Rides's picture

Yeah.. and which one is getting milked?

Mon, 09/15/2014 - 06:41 | 5218121 jbvtme
jbvtme's picture

i was hoping that dropping the names of evans and frank might inspire more sophisticated conversation. alas, your handle betrays your intelligance.

Mon, 09/15/2014 - 11:18 | 5218639 Pickleton
Pickleton's picture

intelligance

 

It's bad form to try telling someone they're stupid because they reply with a joke, and you can't even spell 'intelligence' correctly.  Just sayin'.

 

 

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 18:59 | 5217263 Peanut Butter E...
Peanut Butter Engineer's picture

I'm thinking it's the cow's eyes since she has bigger eyes.

Mon, 09/15/2014 - 06:36 | 5218117 jbvtme
jbvtme's picture

and bigger tits.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 17:02 | 5216993 Binko
Binko's picture

Good post. It IS a form of post-humanity when most people disconnect from real human interaction in favor of full-time jacked-in electronic psuedo-interaction.

And it's going to get worse, a LOT worse. Consider all the kids who were born into a world of personal electronics and got their first iPad at 3 and their iPhone at 5. My guess is, within a few years, people will be getting skull implants of their electronics and will be hooked into the net full time. More science fiction come true.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 20:15 | 5217427 CCanuck
CCanuck's picture

Resistance is Futile

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 13:03 | 5216389 tiwimon
tiwimon's picture

"The worm will turn, and this too shall pass.  But there will be a long way down from here before people return to real meaningful activities for their lives again.  Too many still think the image of success is success itself.  The spiritual vacuum is palpable."

 

^^^ This ^^^ !!! Spot on SofaPapa... 

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 13:46 | 5216495 Pumpkin
Pumpkin's picture

Great post SofaPapa, very true indeed. 

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 14:03 | 5216534 Escrava Isaura
Escrava Isaura's picture

SofaPapa

 

You wrote: “ways to convince others…..” Then “this too shall pass”

 

SP, I am not here to convince you, but the importance of these debates at Zero Hedge, I believe, is to get a sense of the truly catastrophic reality we will be facing.

 

Let me give you an example: Nuclear Power Plants

 

A loss of one large Spent fuel pool is enough to render the area the size of NY State uninhabitable for about a thousand years. There are hundreds of Spent fuel pools. The US alone has about 80,000 tons of spent fuel. All of the world’s nuclear bombs is probably under 1000 Tons (Most bombs have just a few dozen kilograms for fissile material)

The Spent fuel pools need constant cooling 24x7x365. Failure to cool will result in the water beginning to boil in a day or two. After about 2 weeks the water level will drop to expose the fuel rods, which will catch fire and unleash hell on earth as they spread the nastiest radioactive material known into the atmosphere.

 

Once a Spent fuel catches fire is impossible to stop as no man or machine can approach it (FYI: High radiation levels disable electronics). The contaminated area will spread to other reactors and spent fuels forcing evacuations, without the infrastructure and people to maintain the reactors and spent fuel pools in the contaminated zone, they too will fail causing a domino effect until no parts of the earth remain free of contamination.

 

Unless something is done to address long term storage of spent fuel, I fear that all invertebrates will become extinct.  TechGuy, at Peak Oil Barrel

 

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 15:27 | 5216766 Freddie
Freddie's picture

Taxes and liberalism have made NY State laregly unihabitable.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 15:46 | 5216815 Escrava Isaura
Escrava Isaura's picture

What?

 

You're not connected to the Fed or Wall Street?

 

Ohh, Boy. You're so screwed!

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 16:28 | 5216916 tvdog
tvdog's picture

"all invertebrates will become extinct" - I think you mean vertebrates, i.e., humans and other animals with backbones.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 16:32 | 5216923 g speed
g speed's picture

+1  most things can be effected by choice ----this on the other hand is like "paying the rent"---maintenance has to be done. 

 FYI   --There is a group of congressmen that recently introduced bills that address the infrastructure where EMP will shut down the "grid". It's a start.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 19:23 | 5217315 SofaPapa
SofaPapa's picture

I appreciate your thought-out response.

As pessimistic as I am (and those who have read me for a while know I can be very pessimistic), however, I'm not 100% so.  In regards to the scenario that you propose, and other EOTWAWKI ones like it, I would say that it is equally easy to fall into the trap of assuming the perfect disaster as it is to fall into the trap of the perfect future.  In other words, I don't deny that there is bad shit out there, and some of it may come our way, but just as negative surprises happen, so do positive ones.  Complexity may work in our favor at times in currently unseen ways.  Just as we here like to find all the details which balance out the rainbow case for the future put out of Wall Street regularly, even in the event of catastrophic failures, I am capable of imagining that there may be positive forces which step in to dampen the consequences.  I don't have specifics, but my sense is that the extremes at either end are always frustrated by effects that no one saw before the reason for them to manifest came about.

It's not much of an opitimism, but long story short, I try to be equally skeptical of doom porn as I am of unicorn farts.  We don't understand nearly as much as we think we do.

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 23:15 | 5217783 Escrava Isaura
Escrava Isaura's picture

SofaPapa

I appreciate your response, too.

Anyway, I don’t see things as optimist or negative. I try to see things for what they are. Then, I go from there.

Now, about complexity, I respectfully disagree with you because complexity will always backfire. Just like debt, it feels good but the consequences can be devastating.

Complexity will lead to a nation strangled itself. Overwhelm a society.

 

Mon, 09/15/2014 - 07:24 | 5218159 SofaPapa
SofaPapa's picture

Human controlled complexity, yes.  We do not have the capacity to control the beast, much as those at the top would like to think so.  I have more faith in natural complexity, however.  It tends more toward balance than toward chaos.  Of course, that balance may not include human beings, so in the end, you may be right.  Either way, enjoy the ride.  It's the best we can do.

Mon, 09/15/2014 - 00:43 | 5217908 August
August's picture

My friends and family are mostly vertebrates, so i guess we'll be OK.

Mon, 09/15/2014 - 01:25 | 5217962 Harry Dong
Mon, 09/15/2014 - 08:14 | 5218210 gaoptimize
gaoptimize's picture

The nuke plant 9 miles from my home has installed a long duration passive (no power required) cooling system for their cooling ponds.  While reassuring, it has done little to reduce my disdain for Harry Reed and the rest of the anti-Yucca Mountain coalition.

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