Search Results for 'what is an associate'

[Tony (admin)]

I’ve just finished hammering out an agreement with BadFlag.com which makes awesome flag mounts for cars or anything with a surface their suction cups can stick to.

BadFlag is going to be providing prizes for some of the site contests here!  They are a new company with a very cool product, perfect for us to show our loyalty to the Utes, USA, or whatever flag/team you support.  This week’s Predict the Score contest winner of the Utah vs byu game will win a BadFlag, a $100 value! Plus it comes with an American flag (Ute flag not included). Check out the video:

Ute Hub also has associated with Bad Flag so you can use this link below or the flag image above to buy products and the hub will get a kickback to help support the site.

http://www.badflag.com?tap_a=23685-4de217&tap_s=159183-7fc406

[eastcoastute738]

zoobie is a derogatory term for a certain genre of people who attend BYU. The term evolved from the word zoo, which was a common nickname for the university in the 80’s. Possible explanations for this nickname may include the chaotic, often carnival-like atmosphere of raging hormones and desperate hunting for mates.
A zoobie is the quintessential BYU student. A zoobie is just a member of the flock of sheep. Zoobies don’t think for themselves, they are the oblivious morons who roam BYU campus in droves.
You can’t tell a zoobie by appearance only, although there is certainly a stereotyped look. Preppy sweater boys and plastic girls are often associated with zoobiehood.

[rbmw263]

I wouldn’t say this. He always has Utah ranked higher than most all of his AP associates

[GameForAnyFuss]

I’m LDS and this is absolute fact. LDS Utahns are a bunch of rednecks, not in the same vein as typical southern rednecks, but in our own way. One of those LDS Utahn redneck traits is pyromania. When I was growing up in California, I went through boy scouts in a non-LDS troop, and while we had our share of pyros there (hey, we’re talking about 12 year old kids here), it’s nothing like what I’ve seen as I’ve (unfortunately) been associated with boy scouts in Utah. Even the adult leaders are pyros here.

For the life of me, I’ll never understand why LDS people are so heavily patriotic American. It’s like we don’t understand our own history. America didn’t want us. America hated us. America did nothing about the Missouri extermination order against us. America turned a blind eye to the violence the pioneers suffered. The pioneers came to Utah to get out of America! So why are we now nothing more than flag-waving hicks? Yeah, yeah…the Constitution is a divinely-inspired document and whatnot. But it’s not like America follows the Constitution anymore, so what gives?

[Utah]

I have looked FOREVER for a bucket/fisherman’s Utah hat. Like you, I’ve only seen them associated with the Baseball team. If I ever see one, I’ll post here. 

I know last year, they gave them away for free at some of the Utah baseball games.

[Minnesota Ute]

Yup, that is so true.  But unfortunately the vast majority of people do not understand why that is, and therefore have no idea what if anything they can do about it.  The reason in my opinion that costs have fallen away from the wage curve is because the cost of things no longer follow productivity, because productivity has fallen due to the high degree of effort that must be put into things that have no productive benefit.  These would include everything related to government compliance.  So we are talking about everything HR wise that is required to comply with EEO, ADA, Tax, Medical Care, FMLA, just to name a few.  And without going into all the details, this also includes everything to do with Environmental Compliance, Health & Safety Compliance, Legal/Liability, Tax Compliance, etc etc.

I’ve discussed this here before that these same effects also drive economies of scale such that larger companies can afford larger departments to handle the compliance in all these areas.  Which on one hand does lower costs, at least initially, but then also drives monopoly in the long run which leads to higher prices.  And further, it directly exacerbates the wage gap because the larger the corporation, the more layers, the more distance between the top level management and front line workers.

In addition, in the specific areas you mention such as housing & healthcare, there are a lot of problems that come from government manipulating those markets.  Government artificially keeping interest rates low and having programs that are directed at increasing home ownership in low income groups increases the number of people that can borrow and buy, therefore pushing the price up.  But hell, that’s all good because the bank, who ultimately expects a bailout when it all blows up, says I can afford it.  In healthcare, the simple fact of allowing employers tax breaks for providing compensation in the form of insurance creates a much less competitive market for insurance.  And the whole insurance system disassociates the consumer from the actual cost of providing the healthcare which leads to higher prices.

And in all of this, I’m not necessarily passing judgement on the benefits of govenment, just explaining what I think is going on.  But let me go ahead and do that here, my opinion is that while there may be some role/benefit to government, the fundemental fact of government is that it never shrinks and never gets less, because it will always find new problems to solve.  And a good bit of the time, the solutions only make the problem worse, and even if it solves the problem, the program never goes away or gets cut when the problem disappears.  In fact, you almost never even have a pause in the growth because it’s always something new.  

Personally, I think we really need to look around and say enough is enough.  Air is cleaner, water is cleaner, people are healthier and living longer, can we just at least say stop, we don’t need any more regulations for a while, or at least start simplifying and eliminating old regulation?  Can we at least start with the military industrial complex and agree that system needs to be dismantled before they, and their cronies in washington, lead us into yet another conflict just to sell some more munitions.  Can we at least agree that taxes should be simpler even if not lower?  Can we at least agree that the family farm is dead and crop subsidies are horribly distorting the agriculture market and leading to unhealthy food system?  Could we just agree on something, anything, that isn’t just more government?

[UtahFanSir]

This is not politics, but here is the latest missive from economist Paul Kasriel: US Economy In 2017…

As I’ve posted before, I think Paul Kasriel is one of the best, if not the best modern day macro economist. I’ve posted his articles here many times. I’ve followed Mr. Kasriel since his Northern Trust days, some 12 years or so. His methods do not change and they took me awhile to understand and appreciate. They are what they are and being able to ferret out what is happening is part, a large part, of his unique skill. So when he says something I think is important, I take stock.

Here he talks again about an issue he raised on December, and I posted that article then. That piece dealt with a concept know as creation of money “out of thin air”. It is done in two ways, commercial bank credit and from the Fed. As Mr. Kasriel says, “If history is any guide, this weakening in bank credit growth excluding C&I loans is cause for concern with regard to the pace of economic activity.” Later he adds, “…a surge in inventories and C&I loans often is associated with a slowdown in the growth of final demand for goods and services. Hence, bank C&I loan growth often tends (sic) to lag growth in final demand for goods and services. That is, the behavior of bank C&I loan growth provides more information as to where the overall economy has been rather than where it is headed.”

For your edification, read the rest.

[UteThunder]

The joke here is the idea that spreading the homeless population around the valley is going to somehow help the homeless.

This plan seems to be nothing more than an effort to reduce crime in downtown SLC by reducing the homeless population residing in downtown SLC. In other words, they want to spread the crime around the valley, which sounds great for SLC, not so great for the rest of the county.

People who are against having a homeless shelter built in their neighborhood aren’t necessarily against helping the homeless, they are against the accompanying crime associated with having them in their area. And there is nothing wrong with that.

[UtahFanSir]

I’m putting this note in politics, but its really information that we all need to know. Kinda like facts, but also projections that are reasonable.

A good friend of mine is a research director for NextEra Energy Insight. I used to work for him when we were both at CERA, Cambridge Energy Research Associates, now part of IHS. He just released an extensive piece on coal-natural gas competition in power generation. Here are his key insights:

1. Coal-fired power generation output in the U.S. slipped to a four-decade low in 2016 and, from a plant utilization rate basis, registered its worst year in modern history. Low gas prices are mostly to blame, as cheaper gas-fired generation has been displacing coal.

2. The recovery in natural gas prices in 2H16 and into 2017 has allowed coal to recapture market share. Based on historical relationships, coal could grab more than 3 percent of total U.S. power generation back from gas–or the equivalent of just over 3 Bcf/d of foregone gas use in the power sector –if gas prices were to rally from recent levels and average $3.50/MMBtu in 2017.

3. But this upswing in coal output could prove ephemeral. A wave of new pipeline capacity from the Marcellus/Utica regions, plus growing gas production from oil wells, appears to be on track to cause gas production to again outpace demand growth as early as 2018, pushing gas prices lower and idling coal once more.

Coal is struggling for a host of reasons. The POTUS can only slow its decline in importance in energy contribution to the US. I actually think it better for the country to invest in the next thing. But pandering for votes is what politicians do. Here is my take…

When I worked for an oil company, I was for a time around a decade ago an industry advisor on a National Petroleum Council’s major report on the future of natural gas fundamentals. The work is done at the behest of and for the office of the president of the US. On that work, I met a guy who was a coal expert for a major Eastern US power utility grounded in coal power generation. He told me then that coal costs were rising quickly because the cheap and easy deposits in the Consuming East were gone, stripping ratios were rising quickly, and machinery technology to strip overburden had reached it maximum size. In the meantime, natural gas prices were breaking new records and that fielded a massive boom in gas development from shale.

Beginning in the early-1990s (and for the next decade), I also did power development, in effect selling our company gas as electricity in some markets around the globe, including in the US. About that time, GE, Westinghouse, Siemens, etc. were perfecting the aero-derivative gas turbine for power generation. Laws/regulations that prevented or limited the use of natural gas in power generation were removed, and changes to the public utilities regulator act allowed for market-based generation to be sold to utilities at avoided costs and for self generation. These developments were critical in the beginning of coal and natural gas fuel competition. For one, utilities now were under competition, and deregulating. But the biggest development was the economy  of scale for a power plant moved from 600 MW installed central power plants to 60 MW. As combined cycle gas-fired power generation matured over just a few years, the heat rate (read thermal efficiency) were nearly double that of coal, emissions were half (more than actually), installed costs were 40% that of coal, and as high spot natural gas prices did their work, supply began to explode.

At the same time as all of these developments, the coal generation fleet in the US was aging and moving toward what is called ‘useful life’. In 2013, more than half—51%—of the US’s electricity generating capacity was built before 1980. About 74% of all coal-fired power plants are at least 30 years old, and the average life of such plants is just 40 years, according to the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners. Given EPA emissions regulations–that I think are appropriate–it’s likely the coal plants will be replaced with natural gas when they’re mothballed. As a side note, the American Clean Skies Foundation was formed in 2007 (as natural gas supply was rocketing) and during its initial years, the foundation was chaired by the late Aubrey McClendon, the former CEO and chairman of Chesapeake Energy, which provided funding. Chesapeake was one of the most aggressive developers of natural gas from shale. Anyway, this foundation advocated for a cleaner, low-carbon environment through the expanded use of alternative energy sources and energy efficiency. Specifically, the promotional materials by this foundation at that time were decidedly anti-coal. Natural gas versus coal competition.

Bottom line: Utilities had a choice. Refit old coal plants with degrading coal reserves and dodgy emissions issues, or replace that rate base with new shiny, cheaper, cleaner, smaller gas turbines. Utilities spoke. Nearly 18 gigawatts (GW) of electric generating capacity was retired in 2015, a relatively high amount compared with recent years. More than 80% of the retired capacity was conventional steam coal. The retired coal-fired generating units in 2015 were older and smaller in capacity than the coal generation fleet that continues to operate.

What Donald Trump is doing is giving false hope to miners and allowing mine owners to squeeze a bit more out of their aging assets. Looking back like this will not make America Great Again.

[Utahute72]

That comment by Nunes is fairly indicative of they whole problem with politics today. Let’s look at the statement. He basically says that some Trump associates were picked up on surveillence as secondary sources. Well duh. If you are talking to people from other countries US citizens are likely to be picked up in these incidental ways, that’s why the rules against unmasking the US participant who wasn’t a target are so strict. Secondly, most of these intercept are totally benign, meaning it’s just normal business. So the fact that someone is picked up can be totally innocent. This in no way vindicates Trump’s claim of being a target of surveillence. It is also being blown completely out of proportion by the news media on both sides. Each side is trying to have an “gotcha” moment instead of doing their jobs.

It was interesting on the Sunday talk shows that CBS (I think) had a piece on just how polarized congress had become. Where there use to be some overlap in both houses over the past few years each side has withdrawn to the point that it is virtually impossible to have any kind of bipartisian agreement.

It was very interesting to hear Ezekiel Emmanuel complaining that the Republicans hadn’t brought any democrats into the process, consider how the Obama administration failed to do so in the first place.