“When you engage with the hand of fate, brace yourself for calamity because life is essentially a JOKE!”
– Charlie Vurmin
(Artwork by Charlie Vurmin. Source: Institute of Sociometry)
Hard Luck Chuck
Certain actions in life are so dire that they cannot be undone. There are no second chances, no way to start over; the consequences are enduring.
Charles Twain Clemans, known as Charlie Vurmin, was a notorious punk in Pacific Beach during the early ’90s, residing in San Diego, California. He was part of a minor beach gang called the P.B. Vurmin. Our lives briefly intersected within the vibrant, sometimes chaotic skateboarding scene.
One afternoon, while skating at a famous elementary school playground in suburban San Diego, Chuck left an unforgettable mark on all present—a motley crew of skaters, punks, and drifters—by defecating on the concrete embankment in broad daylight.
This act of social rebellion showcased an individual with a few loose screws. What could possibly go wrong? Continue reading
Amazon has been busy this week, distributing layoff notices. By the end of this process, up to 30,000 employees could be affected, accounting for about 10 percent of its corporate workforce.
This significant workforce reduction will impact various departments, including Human Resources, Cloud Computing (AWS), and Advertising. Notably, this marks Amazon’s largest layoff round since 2022, which resulted in the loss of approximately 27,000 jobs.
The motivation behind these layoffs is twofold. First, they aim to address the lingering excess from the pandemic hiring surge, where online shopping thrived, and Amazon expanded its warehouse operations. Second, CEO Andy Jassy states the goal is to leverage Artificial Intelligence to “do more with less.”
In essence, these layoffs are not merely a response to typical economic challenges—like inflation or a gradual market slowdown. They signify a structural transformation within large corporations, leading to lasting ramifications for business, labor, and the overall economy. Continue reading
Recently, Fed Chair Jerome Powell announced that quantitative tightening is set to come to an end. This announcement will occur long before the Fed’s balance sheet approaches the $4 trillion mark, which was its level prior to the coronavirus monetary policy surge.
Between 2020 and 2022, the Fed expanded its balance sheet to an astounding $8.9 trillion by creating credit from nothing and loaning it to the U.S. Treasury through the purchase of Treasury securities. This process is known as quantitative easing.
The Treasury utilized these debt infusions for multiple purposes, including distributing stimulus checks, which fueled consumer price inflation to levels not seen in 40 years.
Any hopes that consumer prices would revert to pre-2020 levels have vanished. In the past three years, the Fed has reduced its balance sheet to approximately $6.6 trillion, yet it is now conceding before the job is even halfway accomplished.
During a recent address at the National Association for Business Economics conference in Philadelphia, Powell commented: Continue reading
“All the way out here, I just keep thinking about pulling out this incredible $100,000 nugget.”
This remark was made by Mike Hewlett, a 50-year-old welder from California. With gold prices soaring above $4,300 per ounce, he has shifted his hobbies from snowboarding, skiing, and dirt biking to prospecting, hopeful for a financial windfall.
Recently, he managed to extract a piece of gold about half the size of his pinky fingernail from the muddy ground in the mountainous region around Mount Shasta. He exclaimed, “I was jumping around like you see in cartoons!” When he weighed his discovery later, it turned out to be worth $175.
Sometimes, even the slightest chance of a massive reward is enough motivation for such pursuits. The thrill and anticipation make every moment spent worthwhile, regardless of the final outcome. Prospecting in California’s often-visited mountains in 2025 exemplifies this spirit.
Hewlett is not alone in this pursuit. Many, like Cody Blanchard—a sanitation worker from Sacramento—have caught the gold fever. Equipped with a metal detector, he recently unearthed quartz rock veined with gold. Continue reading
In the dynamic world we navigate today, the stories recounted here reflect a blend of individuality, economic shifts, and the enduring human spirit. Each narrative serves as a reminder of both the absurdities of life and the remarkable quests individuals embark upon in pursuit of their desires. From the reckless displays of rebellion to the complexities of corporate layoffs, and even the small victories in prospecting for gold, these experiences shape our collective journey through uncertain times.
