Not That anybody asked

02/28/2026

Not that anybody asked, but…

In the first 13 months of Reagan’s second term, the stock market (DJIA) rose 33%, setting a record high 9 times. 

Open-Close (DJIA 1292 - 1718)  +426

In the first 13 months of Clinton’s second term, the stock market rose 25%, setting a record high closing price 5 times.

Open-Close (DJIA 6448 - 8300)  +1852

The first 13 months of Bush’s Second term the stock market rose 5%, setting a record high closing of 0 times.

Open-Close (DJIA 10472 - 10522)  + 50

In the first 13 months of Obama’s second term, the stock market rose 20%, setting a record high closing 12 times. 

Open-Close (DJIA 13104 - 15704) +2600

In the first 13 months of Biden’s term, the stock market rose 12%, reaching record highs 11 times.

Open-Close (DJIA 30814 - 34512) +3698

In the first 13 months of Trump’s second term, the market rose 10%, setting a record high close 10 times. 

Open-Close (DJIA 43487 - 49626) +6139

Neil deGrasse Tyson

02/24/2026

Note- Michael E. Jordan - 

It’s not impossible to calculate the DJIA and express it in dollars; however, I can’t figure out how to do it. 

Instead, I’ve shown the opening and closing DJIA values 13 months later. Typically measured starting with the first day of each Presidents term and then looking up the closing value myself. I draw no conclusions from this data. It's very hard to analyze this kind of data because there are way too many variables. Suffice it to say, it's just Data. Data isn't inherently political, it's just data. It can be manipulated, however these are just pure facts with no analysis offered.I have always believed that Presidents typically have almost no control over the stock market, with a few exceptions, such as war, strikes on America, etc. You'll have to draw your own conclusions.

DJIA = Dow Jones Industrial Average. 

Somebody oughtta do somethin

 Wednesday, February 25, 2026

Somebody oughtta do somethin!!

 

How is it that a corporate CEO can make millions of dollars per year and millions more in bonuses and then feel justified in laying off people in his company to bump up the share price for the shareholders? Don’t the shareholders realize that, at some point, they could boost their own share price, invest directly in their own companies, and make more profit by having a nimble, well-trained, and well-staffed company? At least they would if it weren’t the same 250 people on every board in every company in America. There is no glass ceiling anymore; it’s an ASS ceiling. 

In the same train of thought, why is it that the news will report that a company laid off thousands of people, or closed a plant, or sold a whole division, and that bumps up the share price? Seems to me that bad news (less capacity and fewer employees to do the work) should key the directors and the shareholders in on the fact that they have the wrong upper management in the first place. 

Seems to me they ought to hold the CEO responsible for the problem, not the hourly staff. The CEO can hang on for 10 years, and he has a contract they have to buy him out of to get rid of him. Us? It’s a greased banana, and don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out. 

It makes very little practical sense to fire older workers because of high wages and hire younger workers because of low wages, because doing so makes the purchasing power of the money they are paid (the younger workers) worth less. You earn less, everything costs more, and your dollar doesn’t go as far as it used to. Global warming? Yeah, after we burn all the couches, chairs, and dinner tables to keep warm, maybe. 

In companies like the ones I just alluded to, the CEOs share a common personality type. They think, for some strange reason, that laying off people, constantly firing, and constant criticism will shake up the place and make people more productive. I just don’t get it. What happens when you constantly shake up the place is that everybody starts looking for a way to protect their job and keeps their head down, with very little effort going towards getting productive work done in the first place. Dilbert makes more and more sense every day. 

For some years now, corporate America has been chasing a share price at the expense of everything else. We have almost wiped out our ability to manufacture everything from tube socks to washing machines in our quest for lower costs and higher share prices. Large retailers like Wal-Mart have contributed to this idiocy for a long time, and I’ve yet to hear anyone ask the question that seems pretty obvious.

How are we going to buy anything in this new “World Economy” if we don’t have anywhere to work that pays a decent wage and if there are no companies left to be loyal to? What are we supposed to be loyal to now anyway? A Brand? “Yes ma’am, I’d like one TIDE t-shirt and two pairs of Viagra socks, please.” Get a grip! 

See, the thing is, we are in the middle of a fallacy that is a downward spiral. Fewer jobs mean fewer opportunities for money. Less money means less purchasing. Less purchasing is a negative economic trend. We will not be able to buy anything made in China for a while because we won’t have any money to buy it with. Who are all these poor third-world nations going to sell to if they can’t sell to us? I couldn’t tell as I am late for my shift at McDonald’s. Today is dumpster clean-out night, and the kids are starving!!


Thankx for reading my rant,

Bigmike

Repairing the Mercury Grand Marquis

Well, actually, it's any car built on this frame, like Crown Vics, etc.

Repairing some Grand Marquis's and Crown Victorias

I owned a Grand Marquis for about 20 years. There are a couple of things I found out in that time that require some maintenance, but not the kind that should requireyou to send it off, and it could cost up to $300.

The first thing I'll talk about is the lighting control module.

The Ford Lighting Control Module (LCM), often found in Panther platform vehicles (Crown Vic, Town Car) under the driver-side dashboard, manages exterior/interior lighting and commonly fails due to worn-out internal relays, resulting inheadlight failure. 

Symptoms include intermittent or non-functional headlights, high beams, and turn signals. Repairs can be made by replacing the internal relays or by using a bypass kit, which is often more reliable than sourcing a used unit. Common Affected Vehicles: Ford Crown Victoria, Lincoln Town Car, Mercury Marauder (Panther Platform). Also used on modern Ford models, such as the F-150 (2021-2023) and Escape (2017-2019).

Symptoms: Headlights (low/high beam) not working, intermittent function, or staying on when the car is off.

Location: Under the driver's side dash, between the steering column and the climate controls.

Repair Solution: Replacing the module's internal relays is a common fix, as is installing a bypass kit.

Diagnosis: Use a multimeter to check for voltage output to the lights. Recent Recalls/Issues

Some newer models (2025 Lincoln Nautilus, Mustang Mach-E) have had issues with LED driver modules, resulting in total loss of headlights.

In older models, failures aregenerally due to age-related wear on the relays.

For these issues, I can repair your module for less than about $125

Remove the old relays, solder in the new ones, and you're off.

The second thing is the AC/ Heater Control

After about 2 years of putting up with it, I finally decided to try to figure out what was wrong with my air conditioning inmy 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis. All it would do (Heat or Air) was blow through the defroster.

It had heat through the defroster.

It had AC through the defroster.

It was an equal opportunity piss-off. Wouldn't work well in summer or winter.

We live in Georgia, so both times of the year are bothersome, not too extreme in the Spring or Fall, and we can put up with it in the winter, because it doesn't get too cold. In the summer, though, it's a different story. 90-100 degrees outside, and the pathetic AC blowing through the vents was, well, pretty much worthless.

You got better cooling with the windows down.

Took it to the dealer. What a joke. "Well, buddy, your EATC (Electronic Air Temperature Controller) is probably out, or you need a new vacuum line." $100 to diagnose it (that's a hundred bucks to see if a vacuum line is holding vacuum), which is a ridiculous price. "The part is around $600 new, or you can get one on eBay for $200, costs about $100 to put it in." He said this with a serious face, without cracking a smile, coughing, or looking away, like most con men do.

I said "HAH". Cya. Bye. I'll put up with it for $600-800 dollars to fix it—no friggin way.

Then my good friend Google and I looked upon the internets for salvation, and behold, a wise man told me, "Follow these directionsand get the parts from McMaster-Carr (dot com) and do it yourself. Takes about 45 minutes, costs about $1.00 to fix, and it's no big deal.

Apparently, pretty much any 2002 - 2010 big-body Ford, Lincoln, or Mercury uses this part and has the same problems about 4 years after you buy the car.

So I took off a piece of trim, undid (4) - 7mm screws from the front, unsnapped (2) electrical connectors, and screwed off (2) speed nuts and had the unit out of the car in 3 minutes. No kidding (3) THREE friggin minutes!

Took the unit into my shop, followed the directions exactly, replaced (4) 7 mm o-rings. lubricated them, put it all back together, and guess what. Factory air, just like a new car at the showroom. Total time, 35 minutes. Most of that time was spent reading the directions.

So thank you to the internets for giving me this gift.

The directions came from ( http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=36922 ) and were posted by some guy with a handle of JACook Senior Member, and he fixed my car.

$700, my aching ass.

Oh, same internets fixed my wife's dual-zoneAC problem on her Grand Prix. $39.95 for a new electronic vent controller, and it will freeze you out—the dealerwanted $650 to fix that.

What a bargain, I used Google(and using my wife's logic), I saved $1310.95 and fixed two auto AC's

Pretty cool, huh? Thankx Internets !!!!

**** Direction to Fix a Ford EATC Controller ****

Replacing the o-rings requires disassembly of the solenoids, but that's really not that hard to do if one hasreasonably good mechanical aptitude. But first, make sure they hold a vacuum when not energized. Connect a hose to the center vacuum port (where the black tube was connected) and suck it. It should hold a vacuum. If it doesn't, the following fix probably isn't for you. The solenoid assembly comes off the EATC module by unscrewing the two T-20 Torx screws on the back side of the module. Pivot the rear of the assembly up, and disengage the tabs at the front of the module. Disconnect the solenoid connector. Lay the solenoid assembly on itsback, and remove the 10 screws holding the solenoids and plenum strap to the plastic frame. At the wiring end of each solenoid, you'll see two metal tabs folded over that hold the solenoid coil and armature to the solenoid frame. Straighten these tabs, then carefully pull out the armature while watching to make sure you don't lose the spring or plunger inside. Note the o-ring on the armature. That's what we're after. Next, slide the coil off the end of the plenum tube, and then pinch the ends of the solenoid frame together to release it from the plenum. Once the solenoid is fully apart, fit the armature back into the end of the plenum tube to check that the O-ring has a good, snug fit. If it does, clean the inside of the tube and reassemble the solenoid. You can replace the o-ring if you like, but if it fits well, there'sno need. Make sure you pay attention to the screw flanges on the solenoid frame. Pinch the end of the frame together to fit it back onto the plenum. The spacer that goes at the plenum end of the solenoid has an undercut inside diameter and four grooves. The undercut end goes toward the plenum, and you'll see four ribs at the base of the plenum tube that mate with the four grooves in the spacer. The armature slides back on next, followed by the plunger, and then the spring. (The flat end of the plunger goes into the hole first, if you missed how it came out.) Use a bit of dielectric grease on the o-ring (I used Nylog), but do not use any oil or anything on the plunger. Make sure the tip of the armature, where the plunger seals against it, is clean and shiny. Don't get any dielectric grease on the armature tip. Clean and dry is what you want here. Slide the armature back into the end of the solenoid, and while pressing everything back together, fold the metal tabs back over. Repeat this for each of the four solenoids. On mine, the leaking one was the floor vent door (red hose). It was obvious when I got to that one. The armature came out much more easily than the others, and when I test-fitted it back into the plenum tube, it was a much looser fit. You might be tempted to replace only the O-ring on the leaking solenoidand leave it at that. Don't. (Guilty as charged, yer honor...) Do them all the first time, or you'll be back in there again.

Thankx for reading my rant!

bigmike

Visit my blog online at http://bigmikerant.blogspot.com/

I encourage you to leave your own comments or reactions to my rants (even if you don't agree with me) in the comments section on each post.

Everything costs more

 And everything costs more.

I'm pretty detail-oriented. I use two different user-friendly accounting programs to track expenses across all three of my banking accounts and to record sales invoices, purchases, and other business-related transactions. One thing I can tell you is that, compared to last year, nothing has decreased. Every single thing costs more. Everything. No exceptions.

Just looking at basic things like Utilities. We are using roughly the same amount of kilowatt-hours as we did last year and the year before, and our cost is up by over 10%. Same thing with gas; it is up 7-8%. Same with water; you're using the same gallon we used last year and the year before, and you're paying more per month. There's no benefit to paying more; it just costs more.

It isn't like we added showers, air conditioners, or heaters. We're just paying more because everybody pays more; that's the problem. Our politicians don't seem to think that's an issue, or at least they don't act like it is. Yet to me, it's the biggest issue we have: the economy. Someone once said I think maybe Bill Clinton, 'it's the economy, stupid, or something like that.

The value of a dollar is lower than it was this time last year and the year before, which means its buying power is lower. Things are more expensive, so you get less bang for the buck. Gasoline and milk prices are up, and insurance on my house and car has gone up over the last two years in a row, and we have had no claims whatsoever. We are not more expensive to insurance companies, yet our costs are rising in line with inflation. It's unbelievable.

Where I live, there is a building boom that is probably 3/4 over. For the last couple of years, ok maybe four years, I think they have been building like crazy everywhere you look, there's a new apartment or new townhouse. And I'm not talking about a few; I'm talking about 2000 to 3000 units built over time in what were previously undeveloped areas. We've got a building boom underway at gas stations and convenience stores. There have been so many of them that my town had to put a moratorium on new convenience stores. They're not allowing permits to build anymore unless the project is already under construction for about the next year or so. Personally, I don't care what you do as long as we can support it.

There has been no progress in infrastructure growth. There has been really no improvements in electricity, that I am aware of there are no improvements in natural gas delivery, I don't think we have bought or paid for any new waste water regeneration or treatment facilities, and I am pretty sure that from driving around this area, they haven't done much to support the increase in traffic, or the schools or the roads, that goes along with building new places to live and new places to buy things.

The other issue that concerns me greatly is a glut in the market for this new housing, and it's all overpriced. I really don't see how buyers or renters can afford these new units, given how much they cost. I would hate to be starting a life right now. Warehouses, logistics services, Mill and factory operations, and, in large part, the service sector drive the economy in my town. I don't know whether building all these houses is for. A recent college graduate just starting life would probably have to work two jobs to afford one of the fancy apartments they are building. I watched a lot of them being put up, and I would not live in them myself. I've never seen these places go up so fast, with so much corner-cutting.

I talked to a County building inspector a couple of months ago, and he said he's working longer hours, sometimes six days a week, to try to keep up, and the quality of buildings is just pathetic. It is wild that the proposition that you can build expensive housing (that is, overpriced) in such quantities that you think your product is immune to a market downturn is kind of nuts. I wonder what they think will happen to all their nice, new, pretty apartments if we enter a downturn or recession.

It could be that they're building the next ghetto apartments with 40% vacancy rates and Section 8 housing.

I use social media personally and as part of small businesses I am involved in. I have never seen so many people asking for help as I have in the last six months or so. People are asking for rides to work because they can't afford to get their car fixed. They are also asking for donations of clothes because they cannot afford new ones or because they lost everything in a fire and have nothing left. People are outright asking for financial help of various kinds to buy baby diapers or formula donations, and so forth. It is amazing. I know a couple of people who work in food banks around here, and they say the crowds who show up at their doors for help are twice as big as they used to be. I wonder if that indicates that we have something coming that we are ready for? What do you think will happen if our economy actually does fall into a recession?

Things already cost more than they did last year. People in the technology sector (such as those working in IT) have lost about 30% of their jobs overthe last 24 months. That is one in three tech workers who have been laid off. Well, laid off and or eliminated. What are people going to do if they are around here, for example, if money becomes even tighter, who is going to buy all the goods produced in the factories here? Who will pay for new flooring when they don't have a job?

Economists predict that for every job loss in a specific sector, such as technology, there is a corresponding job loss in manufacturing, retail, logistics, or marketing. I don't understand and really don't have any way to predict how much farther this can go before we reach a breaking point. I mean, we may already be at a breaking point for all I know. We used to buy steaks to eat every once in a while, and we don't buy them now because they're too expensive. The cost of meat is crazy. Things like bread, butter, eggs, milk, pasta, canned goods, and cereal are all increasing in price, as if money were no object. It's got to reach a tipping point. Politicians always talk about lowering prices on things like prescriptions or food. Once the price goes up, has it ever come back down? Never in my life have I ever seen prices fall to prior levels.

I mean, at the grocery store prices right now, do you really think any of them will come back down? What has to happen is an upward pressure on wages, and owners don't want that because that increases their cost. There are still jobs out there that pay $10 or $11 an hour, and I'm here to tell you that you cannot survive on that kind of money anymore. You might be able to live in someone's spare room or with your parents, but making $15,000-$16,000 a year is not enough to pay for the gas that goes in your car to get you to work.

When you consider that the price of insurance is up, that the price of a new car or for that matter a used car has went up, that the interest rates on loans for you new and used cars have went up, that the parts to repair your car are up or have tarrifs attached to them, and, the rates that shops have to charge to stay in business have went up, I don't know where they think it's going to end.

On top of that, there are more homeless people in the United States of America today than there ever have been in every city, state, county, municipal area, you name it; homelessness is on the rise. We can't take care of our people who work, and we have more homeless people than ever before.

I'll bet every one of you already knew every bit of this.

I do not have any answers; however, if you didn't know this, you should consider it if you were thinking about leaving your job. If you have a job right now, you should think about it 38 times before quitting to go somewhere else. Right now, you want to be worried about the certainty of where your next paycheck is coming from. I would be more worried about keeping my job right now than I ever would be about whether they would pay a bonus, whether I would be allowed to take a vacation, whether I could cash out my PTO, or even about my workload. 

Thankx for reading my rant, 
- BigMike

Old habits die hard

So, you looked up one day, you're older now, maybe you're making more money than you used to, maybe you have a better car than you used to. You wonder whether what you are doing in your life is really what matters, or what you should be doing.

See, here is the thing: humans, by their very nature, develop habits. Sometimes those habits are great. They eat healthy, go to the doctor when they need to, and clip coupons before going to the grocery store. Those are just examples of habits you may have started when you were younger that you carried over as you grew up. The question is, are the habits that you have developed over time serving you well?

I once knew a man who owned a franchise of a popular ice cream store. Every year, that man trades in his old Cadillac or last year's Cadillac and gets a brand-new Cadillac. He was about 55 when I met him. I asked him one day in my youth, "You must have a lot of money," and he looked at me and said, "No, not really." Why do you ask? I said you always have a new Cadillac every year, every spring you buy a new car. I assume you have a lot of money because of the depreciation. He looked stunned. Then he said, " What do you mean? In the conversation, I was probably only 19 years old, and I told the man that one of the hallmarks of owning brand-new vehicles is that in the first year or two, they lose a high percentage of their value due to depreciation. I said to them, or at least I have always been told, that if it's 20% then, then a $5000 car would lose $1000 in the first year or two in its perceived retail sale or trade-in value. So my logic was that if you traded in your car every year, as he did, you were willing to give up that depreciation each year.

You see, he paid cash. Every year, he would say to the dealer, "I want a new Cadillac. What will you give me for my old Cadillac?" He never thought about what he paid for the original Cadillac to begin with. Old habits die hard. This scenario would be even worse if you financed your car. Here's what I mean: take the example I used above. If the car was $ 5,000 and it lost 20% of its trade-in value in the first one or two years, the dealer would only give you $ 4,000 for the trade-in. So you go to buy a new car, and you have to pay the dealer back the depreciation every time you buy a new car. If you financed your vehicle, the lender will be responsible for the loan, so you are paying for depreciation and your new car. Really, the only difference I told the man was that in your case, the depreciation comes right out of your checkbook. To him, the deal was personal; he liked how he was treated, and he dealt with familiar people, so it made sense.

Old habits die hard.

Now I tell the story about this man because he was a well-respected businessman who ran a top-notch operation, and I really liked him a lot, and I was just making conversation, but I've always been good with math. He told me he had been doing this for more than 20 years because it had been easy in the first couple of years. He said he negotiated with the dealer by showing up with the Cadillac, taking whatever they offered, and getting the new car.

We came up with a whole new plan. Can you do that with your life?

Are you buying name-brand goods because you always have?

Do you go to buy a car without thinking about all of the things that go into that transaction beforehand?

Do you think about the total cost of ownership, for example? Questions like: What does it cost to insure this car? What does a new set of tires for the car cost? How expensive will it be to maintain? Typically, how well does this car hold its value?

When you negotiate, how do you begin? Do you just ask the seller what their lowest price is? And then do you think that's actually the lowest price and you pay it? When buying consumer goods, do you do the same thing with them that you do with restaurants? If there are low-, medium-, and high-priced options, do you usually buy the medium-priced option? Do you ever wonder why that is? 

There are literally thousands of habits that may be ingrained in you, and the only reason they are used is that it's always been done that way.

I had a man tell me one time, "If you always do what you always did, then you'll always get what you always got." I don't necessarily get along with that man anymore, but I still remember it and think it was good advice.

Thankx for reading my Rant,

bigmike