Dan from Madison

Contango

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I learned a new word today, perusing this article that I found at Drudge (do I really need to give Drudge a hat tip?).

I don’t know a lot about the futures markets, but the article states that some contracts have become more expensive than the spot  price for oil, and that this is a rare event called a contango.   The article also states that this means that either the futures markets are unhinged, or that participants in this market are wagering that there will be a supply issue in the coming years.

I would be interested to hear what our commenters and blogmates (who know a  lot more about these types of things than myself)  have to say about this.

They Lead By Example

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Laura Washington is a journalism teacher at DePaul University and wrote this article in September of 2007, that I was pointed to by a link at Brillianter. Before doing a mini fisking on this, just a few words about technique.

It is easy to see why newspaper articles and articles in many online publications and magazines are poorly researched and hard to understand. When you have a teacher of journalism writing about something she clearly knows nothing about and provides no evidence to support her opinions, what does she expect her students to do?

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Random Act of Patriotism

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I left work a bit early today to shop for the troops. I have sent care packages to many people over the years since the Iraq War begun. I am approaching one hundred care packages now, most of them going to people I have never met.

As of late people I know have been deployed and I have concentrated my efforts on them.

Today in my grocery basket was two large bags of Jolly Ranchers, a dozen Hersheys bars with almonds, and a container each of Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and onion powder. The sauces and onion powder will be combined with other ingredients to make homemade beef jerky, always a favorite with the troops. The Jolly Ranchers and chocolate bars were going to be sent as is.

The woman behind me in the checkout line said that I was a sweettooth, just like her. I said that the chocolate wasn’t for me. She asked me “then who is it for?” I usually in these cases just say “for a friend”, but today for whatever reason said, truthfully “these bars and Jolly Ranchers are what a friend of mine who is now serving on an aircraft carrier said he wanted. So I am going to pack them up with some homemade beef jerky and send him a care package”. The woman said that I was a great person for doing that and I assured her that the truly great people are the ones on the carrier.

Just before I went to checkout the woman in front of me turned to me and said that she overheard my conversation with the woman behind me and insisted that I have her change – all $6.23 of it. “This is to help you ship that stuff to your buddy. Tell him he is appreciated.” Before I could refuse it she was gone and I was left standing there with $6.23 in my hand, which I really was quite unsure what to do with. The cashier said “Well put it in your wallet! And tell that guy that we are praying for him and love him and are so proud of what he is doing for us”.

What great people. It gets tiring at times being a conservative living in Madison with all of the hatred of the right that goes on here, but today was special…special indeed.

Frontside vs. Backside

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In my profession, I deal with many large corporations.   Many of them are household names that everyone has heard of.   I buy products from these corporations, mark them up, inventory them, and resell them for a profit.   I am a middleman, in wholesale distribution.   I suppose you can call me a relic that made it – I remember a long time ago many companies warning their distributors that with the dawning of the internet age that we would beome obsolete.   Nothing could be further from the truth – but I digress.

Consumers, by and large, see the frontsides of major corporations, or their retail marketing arms.   Very few people would know the ins and outs of GE’s locomotive division, but are very familiar with GE appliances such as washers and dryers.   It is very difficult for the average person to comprehend how large some of the companies in the Fortune 500 are, how they go to market, and how diverse many of these companies are.   Everyone who likes golf knows Titlest, but nobody knows who Fortune Brands is.

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Trying to Act Professionally

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I always try to act professionally at my job – I really do. It is never good to burn your bridges with anyone as you never know where you will end up – or where they will end up. On occasion the bridge must be burned, however. I think that is a normal part of doing business in a competitive marketplace. In other words, you can’t let someone stomp on you forever, or have endless meetings with you with the illusion that they are going to buy goods or services from you.

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