US retail, factory order, and housing data all positive. But sentiment doesn't rise; Singapore gets factory boost; UST 10yr 4.24%; gold and oil firmer; NZ$1 = 60.1 USc USc; TWI-5 = 69.3

Prof Werner had this to say.

Wow, so redirecting money from speculating on property into actual productive business is good for an economy?

Someone alert our "party of business"...that is currently distracted going all-in supporting their personal property investments.

Loved the comedy, and glad I've finished my coffee so I didn't spill it when I laughed, but you forgot the #sarc tag.

Vlad certainly had pie on his face after his spin operation turned into actual deaths of his much treasured Muscovites. Probably why it took so long for the little man to appear in public with his clumsily concocted "flood the zone with sh!t" strategy? Blaming someone else is a national pastime in the Russki Mir . Probably socially engineered into the population after a century of being executed for looking at an official the wrong way.

If you're getting ads for gas station boner pills, these ads are typically personalized, you might want to clear your browser history/cookies.  

More likely stupidity meets immovable object. [Occam's Razor]

As the car grows more complex through the addition of features, components, and interconnected systems, it becomes more sophisticated but also more prone to entropy or disorder. This entropy can manifest in various ways, such as wear and tear, mechanical failures, or accidents.

The crash and destruction of the car symbolize the point at which the complexity of the system exceeds its capacity to manage entropy effectively. Despite efforts to maintain and control the car's complexity, unforeseen events or systemic weaknesses lead to a breakdown, resulting in a loss of functionality or even total collapse.

In this context, the crashed and destroyed car serves as a cautionary tale about the limits of growth and complexity within systems. It highlights the importance of understanding and mitigating entropy to ensure the long-term sustainability and resilience of complex systems, whether they are automobiles, ecosystems, economies, or societies.

There is a disturbance in the force today PDK as I have to agree with you on some points. ;).

Complexity is fragile, it's an innate qualification, but the answer is redundancy, careful redundancy with agreed degradation whilst repairs are made.  All important and complex systems cannot be complete without effective redundancy of agreed scope and depth.

Boat load of assumptions there PDK. I don't disagree with your concepts but you're assuming too much around the boat failure. 

Statistically you are right that if we build machinery then unless it is properly and fully maintained then it will break down (mostly, because even then it can fail for a variety of reasons), and Murphy's law states that when it does so it will be at the worst possible time. Simplicity does not guarantee success or protection, redundancy might, but I've seen redundant systems fail too. A good story which proves both your and my point; the F16 fighter is essentially a electric jet. Quadruple redundant flight control systems, engine driven generator, big battery and an auxillary generator (APU). One of the earliest failures that lead to a crash, the pilot reported a generator failure that initiated an automatic start of the APU, which then promptly also failed, and when the battery tried to take up the load it too failed. The pilot at that stage decided to give the plane back to god and walk home. No way left to maintain control of it. 

As to the stoneage response, again you're too quick to dismiss the linkage. As I said shit can happen at any time irrespective of the level of simplicity/complexity.

Agree 100%, to much complexity in IT systems for core services  worldwide, constantly trying to reduce costs, rather then simplify....

outsource to someone who outsources to someone else, ever been on a problem bridge where you realise no one from the company you purchased the service from is actually involved in provision?

Yes, and they will merrily extract materials and energy from the rest of the world - subjugating countries using military pressure, trade rules, IMF loans (dollarised debts), and monetary policy.  

Decaying power grid, old nuclear power plants, old rail lines and bridges.   So much maintenance.

We have same problems here, not sure we can afford to properly maintain current infrastructure in the face of extream weather events let alone upgrade to the next level of resiliance (all that talk has gone away with the flood waters) we lost power for 82 hours and we are only 10km from Silverdale....    for us its genset and petrol tanks at the ready at all times.

However you define it or describe it, the global growth is based and functions on debt. Defining and describing debt though is something else until the wolf starts knocking down and burning the various forms of houses. The large export concern I worked for, from the 70’s for 30 odd years is still going, after significant restructuring. Before rogernomics it was necessary each year to return to credit. The banks were not allowed to provide what was called hard core debt. By the time I left the debt was certainly hard core. The bank (banks by then in fact) rested their case, in simple terms, provided the interest could be paid,  all was then good. That I submit is an example of a building block in the monumental pyramid scheme of debt that the world compounds every hour of every day.

I agree, and it makes it incredibly hard to get decisions when you're a bureaucrat. With transport projects l, does the buck stop with the minister for Treasury, Housing, Transport or MBIE? 

It's ideology from a bygone era. 

Blah blah smaller government blah blah

Oh, but we need underwritten/bailed-out

Smaller government blah blah

Oh, but we need infrastructure to service

Smaller government blah blah. 

Peddling yet more decks on a sinking ship, with less officers on the bridge. That will work out well.