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BP Offshore Oil Strike Game from 1970

July 6, 2010 By Godfather 1 Comment

Funny that the BP Offshore Oil Strike game never really made it to the United States – well, at least in game form.

Two to Four Players compete at exploring for oil and building platforms. Players must avoid the “hazard cards” which read such set-backs as, “Blow-out! Rig Damaged,” and “Oil Clean Up Cost. Pay $1 Million.”

$1 Million? BP wishes it was only that much.

The rest of the info on the game is even more sketchy than the actual disaster. Supposedly endorsed by BP and other oil companies the game was produced around 1970 with little sales (wow, there is a surprise).

I suspect this game will now emerge from dark closets across Europe and start selling on eBay along with Connect Four Hurricanes and Chutes and Failed Car Companies.

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Filed Under Culture, Economy, Rants Tagged With 1970 board game by bp, bp board game, bp game oil strike, BP Offshore Oil Strike Game from 1970

Un-Healthy America is Stuck in the Middle…Again

March 22, 2010 By Godfather 7 Comments

I have, successfully, avoided political commentary on The Slow Bleed for the better part of 2010. Frankly, it was intentional but I guess even this hiatus cannot last forever.

Let’s start with last night’s monumental passing of the Health Care Reform package shall we?

For starters, let me be very clear. It is terrible that 40+ Million people living in the US do not have health care. Few elect not to have it while the greater part of the group simply cannot afford it. That tragedy certainly needs attention and needs to be fixed but in the correct manner. With that said…

The Bi-Partisan Bill with only One Party’s Votes.

Must Have: American’s will be required to have health care, or pay a fine. Seriously? Who decides what is affordable or not for another individual? Since when are American’s required to purchase something? Will we be required to purchase a Ford if the US car companies get in trouble again?

Dollars and Sense: “We,” the taxpayers, will pay somewhere around $950 Billion dollars, initially, for the plan. It may reduce the national deficit by $150 Billion in the first 10 years (second grade math tells me the plan then initially costs taxpayers $800 Billion right?). [Read more...]

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Filed Under Economy, Rants Tagged With Government Healthcare, Health Care Reform, Health Care Reform package, Is health care reform good?, Un-Healthy America, Will health care reform help me?

Giving Banks the “Bird.”

March 12, 2010 By Godfather Leave a Comment

Chock this up to the too unbelievable to be true category. Bank America is being sued for seizing a parrot.

If seems an employee contractor was sent to the wrong property when it believed the owner of the property was in default on her mortgage.

The women was not home at the time, but the contractor changed the locks, cut the water pipes and electricity, poured anti-freeze into the sinks and toilets.

If that was not enough, the contractor took Luke, her blue macaw.

When the women contacted B of A, she was told the company had zero tolerance for that kind of error; but the women still had to drive 80 miles to recover her parrot.

She is suing B of A for $50,000 in damages.

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Filed Under Economy, Rants Tagged With Bank Contractor Takes Parrot, Bank of America sued for seizing parrot, Giving Banks the “Bird.”

Budweiser Wins in Poor Economy

March 4, 2010 By Godfather Leave a Comment

Well, here is a surprise. People drink in a poor economy.

When people are depressed or undergoing financial hardships, they drink. Who would have thought?

My proof? Anheuser-Busch made $1.28 billion in the last quarter of 2009. Budweiser remains the market leader in the US and Brazil.

Sure some people will say it had nothing to do with the economy but I beg to differ. If it is not due to the economy, what is it?

  • Certainly there were not that many NASCAR events going on.
  • Martha Stewart has not changed from cooking with wine to beer.
  • With the increasing shortage on chicken wings; beer and wing combos have not increased.
  • Beer is still more expensive than water (for now).

Yep, I pretty much think it was the economy but will need extensive time and money to research fully.

[Insert government approved grant here for further testing]

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Filed Under Economy, Humor Tagged With Anheuser, Budweiser Wins in Poor Economy, InBev, Money from Beer

We Beat Our “Low” Expectations!

February 14, 2010 By Godfather Leave a Comment

Pop that campaign cork and go pick up that Snickers bar you had on layaway now!

The Commerce Department has just announced that retail spending, in January, was up o.5%. This far exceeded the estimates*.

*Understand the estimates were pretty low to begin with. Pretty much the economic equivalent of expecting a “special” kid to make the Taj Majal out Popsicle sticks. Unless it is the Elephant man or that kid from the movie Mask, it just isn’t going to happen.

Seriously? 0.5% is worth the “hey-the-recession-is-over” celebration?? Isn’t that the equivalent of some tourist going in and paying full price for a NASCAR t-shirt during the Daytona 500?

Ok, maybe it is a bit more, but certainly not worth celebrating the end of an economic crisis. I guess if we hear “it is over” enough times we will believe it.

What do you think? Now I can go buy an iPad?

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Filed Under Economy, Humor Tagged With Commerce Department Reports on retail spending, Economic crisis over?, Retail spending up in January

Treasury Loses $2.3 Billion on CIT Group.

February 12, 2010 By Godfather Leave a Comment

I just knew we should have invested in Franklin Mint Plates – no one ever listens to me. The government could have made a killing buying limited edition Who’s the Boss commemorative plates*  – but nooooo, the government had to “invest” TARP funds in the CIT Group.

In the treasury report released a couple days ago the government indicated the loss [on the loan to CIT] at $2.3 Billion. The loan was an effort to save the failing company which ended up declaring bankruptcy in December 2008.

However all is not lost…

So far Treasury has recovered two-thirds of TARP investments in banks and earned $17 billion in income from those investments. – oh, and one plate sent in by Mrs. Gladice Milson of Wells, NV.

*SPECIAL DISCLAIMER: I made up Gladice Milson. As far as I know, Who’s the Boss commemorative plates do not exist. Please do not try and buy them or send me hate mail if they actually do exist. Any investment in Franklin Mint plates is not recommended by the Godfather. Investment has risk. So do plates (they fall on the ground and break).

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Filed Under Economy Tagged With CIT Group Loss, TARP Loss, Treasury Loses $2.3 Billion CIT

Recession Has Ended, Now Get Back to Work!

February 10, 2010 By Godfather 2 Comments

Yea! The recession is over. What? There are no jobs available? But the recession is over! Oh, we have to innovate first? But no one is hiring people that will then innovate? It ended in the summer of 2009?! WTF, clearly a bunch of us didn’t get THAT memo in time for Christmas!

I am so confused. Can I buy the new Apple iPad or should I be buying rice and beans to store in my cellar?

This is from Mr. Greenspan on Meet the Press this week. (read the whole transcript here).

MR. GREENSPAN: The recession is over. It bottomed back in the middle of last year. And while it doesn’t have the strong momentum I had hoped it would have, strangely, because of the fact that we had such a strong fourth quarter, which was essentially using up a lot of the latent power of events, which was the gradual reduction in the rate of decline in inventories. We did it all in the fourth quarter, and we since–we shot our ammunition. So it’s going to be a slow, trudging thing, but I do think we’re going to be moving forward. And, as Hank says, the issue here is basically innovation. Innovation by definition is not forecastable, so we don’t know where the jobs are coming from. We don’t know how this market is exactly in terms of dynamics going to move forward. But we know that this process is under way, and there’s every reason to believe that it will continue to do so.

Click your heals and just believe Dorothy. There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home.

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Filed Under Economy Tagged With Greenspan, Greenspan Reccession, Meet the Press, Reccession has ended, Reccession is over
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