Fact Checking

From the FB cesspool of lazy economic thought there is this click bait making the rounds of the most fervent of my MAGA pals.....

 

Her unrealized TAX isn’t only applicable to your home. It’s applicable to any asset you own.
Car
Guns
Furniture
Jewelry
Art
Pensions
Stocks
Land and one of the biggest ones of them all 401K’s!

 

 

 

This precious nugget (likely the work of a Russian or Chinese Troll Farm) is hilarious. Thanks for bringing a grin to the face of this recovering financial guy.

It is important to note that, as always, major tax proposals like this face significant hurdles to becoming law.  Even if Harris becomes President of the United States, any major tax changes that might impact entrepreneurship and venture capitalism would require congressional approval.  Considering the deep divide in Congress the likelihood of a controversial proposal such as a tax on unrealized gains has an exceedingly low probability of passing into law.

So, aside from the fact that capital gains tax treatment does not apply to pensions, 401ks, IRAs and other retirement plans this presupposes the following:

Kamala Harris wins the Presidency.

The democrats win the House.

The democrats win the Senate.

The proposed legislation passes the House and Senate without any modification or mark-ups.

And President Harris signs it into law.

So, before my Face Book friends pee their pants over this; this is what it looks-like.  (Edited for brevity):  

• It applies only to individuals with at least $100 million in wealth (.01% of the population) who do not pay at least a 25% tax rate on their income (inclusive of unrealized capital gains). Payments can be spread out over subsequent years.    

• Within that $100 million club, you'd only pay taxes on unrealized capital gains if at least 80% of your wealth is in liquid assets such as stocks, bonds and crypto currencies; not shares of privately-held business or real estate.  One caveat for this illiquid group is that there would be a deferred tax of up to 10% on unrealized capital gains upon exit.

• In short, it would not apply to middle-income Americans like you and me. Or most startup founders or investors.  If I had to hazard a guess, it singles-out top hedge fund managers.
  

____________________________________________________________________

 

No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people.

 

- H.L.Mencken

Friday Music

Use your fancy noise-cancelling, blue tooth headphones with Apple Music or YouTube on your device at your own peril.

The Decibel Nanny may descend-upon you flashing an admonishment... 

 

Butt Ugly

The price of the 2024 Tesla Cybertruck starts at $81,895 and goes up to $101,985 depending on the trim and options. Until the rear-wheel-drive Cybertruck arrives for the next model year, with a starting price of $62,985, the lineup only includes the Dual Motor and Beast models.

Finally spotted one of these in the wild today.

That's a pile of scratch for a butt-ugly ride.... 

Shelf Life

Will Twinkies last forever? 

This is the iconic shelf stable baked good that was made popular during WW2 via a substitution of bananas for a cream-like filling. The rationing of all food during the war, including bananas, lead to major shortages. Some folks went 6 years without eating a banana during that time. After the war? They kept it as the cream filling because they sold way more and it became the most popular and loved shelf stable baked good of all time.

The Taco Revolution

Photo - Gerald Gaxiola

 

 

 

I've blogged about this once or twice before.

 

The members of Creedence Clearwater Revival dining at Taco Bell in San Luis Obispo, California on August 2, 1968. Their first album, titled Creedence Clearwater Revival, had been out just a little over two months after debuting on May 28th.

 

 

The Big Fibroma

On July 7 I scored some photos of a whitetail with a pendulous tumor.

Looks gross, eh?

I emailed the pics to a biologist I know who heads-up the UW School of Wildlife Biology in Madison to see if she might shed some light on the subject. She shared them with the DNR’s Chief Veterinarian.  Here’s the response back:

 

Hi all-

 

While I can’t make a diagnosis from a picture, the image would be most consistent with a fibroma. They can vary greatly in size and shape. Usually they’ll eventually regress. Sometimes that can be irritated by injury or insect bites but again that is self-limiting most of the time. These fibromas are just a lesion of the skin and caused by a deer specific papillomavirus. 

 

More info can be found here: https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/.../wildlif.../disease/Deerfibroma

 

Best

 

Lindsey

 

This showed-up on a trail camera last week.  Looks like it's improving all on its own... 

 

 

Getting Away From It All

More action photos of our Red Rocket - Ruby the Golden Retriever. 

Red River K9 offers boarding, grooming, training and daycare.  And because our red bundle of energy is in her formative years an opportunity to be away from us, socialize with other dogs and run with her pack is good.  She burns-off some energy, learns to make new doggie friends, get along with others and we catch a break for a day to square-away a class, projects and chores.

Dropped her-off Friday morning for a weekend running with the pack.  Picking her up this afternoon.

Photos from the kennel's Face Book page.....

 

Rib Fest

Lake, cousins, food, adult beverages, yuks. 

Another annual Rib Fest has come and gone; and thinking about it I hate to admit that I've sorta lost track of how many there have been.

No dogs this year, but there was plenty of terrific food (including ribs) and wake-boarding, jet-skiing, swimming, cruising, adult beverages, hot-tubbing, family stories, yuks and family.

 

As a consequence of the the family's growing numbers three years-ago we ditched the supper club Friday fish fry and I assumed responsibility for the experience to be held at home.

There were two kinds of fries, beer-battered onion rings, homemade coleslaw, tartar sauce, deli rye and of course, fresh water yellow perch.  Almost five dozen fillets all-told.  Once the oil is up to temperature everything comes-together in about 30 minutes (give or take).  Brandy Old-Fashioneds were involved too.

Yummy chow if you can get it.

Saturday featured more aquatic events, fishing from the pier, hanging out on the patio, More food  and the pièce de résistance:  food on a stick, ribs, sides and desserts.  

 Ohhh man. 

Our parents were the first generation to host summer gatherings like this.  Us cousins are the second generation to continue the tradition.  And it now includes the third and fourth generations.  And, by the way, we've raised the bar and amped-up our game.

Family.  
Channeling Robert Earl Keen - The road goes on forever and the party never ends.... 

 

August Night Sky

Binocular opportunity all night, tonight.  Don't sweat the light pollution.

Image credit: Chris Vaughan/Starry Night

After the full moon rises in the east it will cross the sky in the company of Uranus and the bright star cluster, the Pleiades. commonly known as the Seven Sisters.

You can locate the cluster to the upper right of the moon along with Uranus roughly the width of your palm to the right.

Fingers-crossed for clear skies.

More Of The Same Old Shtick

This was an overthrow of a president.  This was an overthrow.  They deposed a president.  It was a coup of a president.  They forced him out.  It was a coup.  That was the first coup of the history of our country, and it was very successful.

- Donald Trump

Our ride on the Trump Train has predictably made a whistle stop at the Rigged Election Station. 

Since Old Uncle Joe abdicated the reelection throne.  And following a vote of the delegates, at none other than the national party convention, the Democratic party's presidential nominee is officially Kamala Harris. 

In the last month things have gotten a bit more difficult for candidate Trump.  The polling has shifted.  The Vegas betting line isn't going in his favor.  And inasmuch as Donald Trump is incapable of political failure; naturally, this is all about dark forces conspiring to keep him out of power.  

Election interference arrives attired as a coup.  Consequently, the election is rigged and the results cannot be trusted.  

It's the same old shtick.

If you're not already riding the Trump Train with me; All Aboard!  The next stop will be unpredictable and fun.

Gopher Getaway

Things have gotten out of hand with the ground squirrel population around these parts.  Last week I reached the end of my rope and fetched the Daisy air rifle from the back closet.  Now when there is any porch sitting to do the rifle accompanies the sitter.

The dog reached the end of her rope too...

Fact Checking

We have an inflation crisis that is making life unaffordable, ravaging the incomes of working and low-income families, and crushing, just simply crushing, our people like never before.

- Donald Trump

The monthly inflation rate as measured by the consumer price index (CPI) soared to a high of 9 percent in June of 2022.  The annualized rate has dropped considerably since then  with the year-over-year rate last month of 3 percent.

Former president Trump would lead you to believe that President Biden is solely responsible for the recent rise in prices.  Of course I'm old enough to to have lived with inflation and have even blogged about it from time-to-time.  I purchased my first house in the early 1980s when inflation was roaring-along at double digits and a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage would set you back 14.5 %.  But I digress.  

As a recovering financial guy I know a few things about this subject.  First, inflation usually (but not always) rises quickly and falls slowly.  Second, we live in a market economy and therefore inflation rises and falls as a consequence of market forces and not by a president flipping a switch.

The recent bout of inflation has its roots in the COVID pandemic.  Lock downs caused pent-up consumer demand to spike as the economy eventually recovered from the Trump recession of his last year in office.  This was further aggravated by global supply chains disrupted by the pandemic.  Add-in the the government largess (expansion of the money supply or M-2) that began with stimulus spending under Trump that continued in the early years of Biden's term of office. 

Excess liquidity (money supply) + ravenous consumers (demand) + busted supply chain (product supply)  = increased prices (inflation).  

A simple supply and demand equation.  Economics 101.

It was a perfect storm of events the likes of which we haven't seen before; with responsibility shared by both presidents.  Corporate greed is the cherry on top.

Because this was a global phenomenon I would submit that Old Uncle Joe is incapable of influencing global economics on this scale.

I won't bore you any further; if you'd like to learn more on the subject simply type 'inflation' in the search box in the upper-left corner of the blog and a bunch of posts on the subject will pop-up for your late night reading pleasure.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump is playing fast and loose with the facts.

Getting Away From It All

 

Having a pupper who hasn't got any separation anxiety is a beautiful thing.  Whether it is for a day of daycare freeing us up for a class or a project or if we go on a European vacation for three weeks this is our pup's favorite new space. 

Red River K9 offers boarding, grooming, training and daycare.  And because our red bundle of energy is in her formative years an opportunity to be away from us, socialize with other dogs and run with her pack is good.  She burns-off some energy, learns to make new doggie friends and get away from it all.

I'd bet that for her it is how I felt as a kid and got a chance to go away for day camp or one or more weeks at a time fo scout or church camp.  

Dropped her-off Saturday morning for an overnight; photos from the kennel's Face Book page.  Except the last one - all tuckered-out....

 

 

Friday Music

 

Last Sunday we joined-up with a couple of neighbors to see Graham Nash perform at the the Door Community Auditorium.  Funny the large number of top acts that are tickled to perform at this cozy venue situated in Gibraltar High School in Fish Creek.  At 82 years of age he still has it.  The band included three additional musicians who alternated between percussion, base, keyboards, alto sax, lead and rhythm guitars.  They were solid.

2024 has possibly been a record year for us and live music.  I'd put this performance at the top of the list so far.

Anyway, Nash shared the story behind this song released by the Hollies in 1966; a second top ten hit here in the states.

Written by Graham Gouldman, who also composed hits for the Yardbirds (For Your Love) and Herman's Hermits (No Milk Today) as well as the Hollies' first US hit (Look Through Any Window).  In a 1976 interview Gouldman said the idea for the song came while he was riding home for work on the bus.

Remember The Old Electric Car?

 

In keeping with the electric vehicle theme there is this.

1909 Fritchle Electric Car. 100 miles on one charge. 

Low Price of $2000.

That is the equivalent of $69,000 in 2024 dollars.

You're Fired!

Last Sunday we got together with a couple of neighbors to grill out before the Graham Nash performance.

Naturally, our conversation touched briefly on politics.  My pal shared this.  He postulated that once the DNC concludes their party convention Trump is going to fire JD Vance. 

 

His theory is that Trump is gonna do something singularly Trumpian to shake up his campaign and retake the initiative from candidate Harris.

 

My response was how long before he fires his campaign team. 

 

Having noodled this around my brain for a few days I’m not so sure about firing the team vs. firing Vance. 

 

Considering the topsy-turvy electoral path of the past month maybe the GOP is poised for a coup and a reset?

 

Convention ends tomorrow.  Stay tuned.....

Nobody Drives A Green Sports Car

This piece of click bait has been floating around social media.....

I have no solar panels or a wind turbine.

I get my power from the grid like most everyone else - 89% of which in Wisconsin is generated by burning fossil fuels.  I did plant 40,000 trees decades ago; consequently my carbon foot print is likely smaller than most folks.  My conscience is clear.

My daily ride is a Ford Mustang Mach-E. I love the advanced driving technology and performance capabilities. My AWD Premium with extended range battery is rated at 346 hp and 428 pounds-feet of torque.   0 to 60 in 3.9 seconds is likely faster than most folks.

GM’s Corvette E-Ray has a 495 hp mid-engine set-up and an electric motor that sends 160 hp to the front wheels for an unfair advantage of 655 hp and 0-60 in 2.5 seconds.

Luring buyers to an electrified Vette or a racy EV isn’t a green pitch.  Nobody calls these “environmentally friendly” sports cars. They’re purchased because consumers are looking for performance, innovation or value.

A fully electrified Corvette is the next frontier. Porsche has plans to replace their Boxster and Cayman ICE models with EVs next year and Ferrari expects release of its first EV in 2026.

Daniel Pund, editor in-chief of Road & Track magazine, put it best; “many consumers previously drawn to fast, fashionable cars have shifted to luxury sport-utility vehicles or electric vehicles.”

And yes, they're expensive.  Get over it.

Hot Tip

A couple of months ago I was chilling-out at the airport in Chicago waiting for a connecting flight.  At a kiosk to purchase an $8 bottle of water the credit card terminal said ADD GRATUITY.  What the hell?  Tipping an attendant watching me process my own transaction?  An interaction that lasted less than 15 seconds?  I even had to fetch my own water.  The attendant's sole purpose was to scan the bar code.  Some days I think that this business of tipping has gotten out of hand.  

It's madness and it makes me grumpy.

Yet the madness has spread.  Both contenders for the White House have gone on record as supporting an exemption of tipped income from the federal income tax.  Donald Trump had this to say: It's a large group of people that are being hurt badly.  They make money - let them keep their money.

It's not an original idea and it enjoys a reasonably high level of populist support.  Because, (surprise, surprise) nobody likes to pay income taxes.  Nevertheless it is bad policy.  Allow me to explain.

Between 1972 and 1978 I worked in the restaurant business as a waiter and bartender.  As a consequence I know how tipped income works.  I made a pretty good living with this arrangement considering it was a part-time gig.  And just like today tips were taxable income fifty years ago.

In an election year this concept plays well with workers in the hospitality industry.  It is Silly Season after-all and Nevada also happens to be a swing state so I get the need for pandering.  Nevertheless, carving-out one form of income for preferential treatment while ignoring all other sources of income runs afoul of all manner of unintended consequences.

Most obvious is how are you going to pay for it?  The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) estimated that the Harris plan would increase deficits by $100 to $200 billion over a decade.  The Trump plan to exempt all tips from federal income AND payroll (FICA) taxes would reduce revenue by $150 billion to $250 billion.  So, how do you replace the loss of revenue?  Eliminating waste fraud and abuse ain't gonna cover it.  That worn-out refrain is bogus.  Unless you're willing to raise someone else's taxes the deficit and debt will balloon at an even faster rate.

The Trump plan has an additional consequence.  Exempting Social Security and Medicare reduces revenues to these programs thereby accelerating the insolvency dates for both.  It also impairs an employee's eligibility and level of retirement benefits.  

What about the matter of fairness?  A hotel or resort's tipped waitstaff may make the same hourly wage as someone working in a warehouse.  Is it fair that the person who pours you a drink pays less income tax than the person who is filling your Amazon Prime order?

Tipped workers tend to skew lower income.  Consequently, almost forty percent of them do not earn enough to to pay any federal income tax anyway.  They do pay FICA payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare however.

The CRFB has also raised a caution flag about the behavioral effects of making tips tax free.  The group suggests that this would incentivize employees and employers to make gratuities  a larger share of their income.  The practical consequence is the airport kiosk experience I shared at the outset.  When we swipe our cards we're going to see ADD GRATUITY not just at restaurants, cafes and bars - but a growing number of additional businesses.

Madness that will make me really, really grumpy.

Finally, some creative accountants, financial guys and other geniuses will get around to finding or creating loopholes for those at the higher rungs of the income ladder to exploit this federal largess.  Trust me on this.

If you really care about workers on the lower rungs of the wage ladder instead of singling-out a particular subset of workers for preferential treatment; how about a policy that treats everyone equitably.  All that really matters is disposable income; as it is lower-paid labor that struggles more than anyone else with the impacts of inflation. 

Consider this:  Expand the personal exemption, Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, and lower marginal tax rates.  Or some combination of all.  Using the existing income tax framework is an easier approach as we're already familiar with how it works.

And don't lose sight of paying for it.  Otherwise you're just blowing smoke up somebody's backside.

August Night Sky

The Full Moon appearing this evening is named after North America's largest fish - the sturgeon. Other names for this Full Moon include Green Corn Moon, Grain Moon, Barley Moon and Fruit Moon.  There is a great deal to digest about the moon this month as this full moon is a whopper.

The Sturgeon Moon has its origins in the great number of sturgeon that were once found in the lakes and rivers in North America.  It’s likely that with the arrival of European settlement the name was borrowed from native-American usage.  I live close to Sturgeon Bay - named for the large number of sturgeon found here when settlers arrived.  Nowadays, over-fishing has just about eliminated this species from the Great Lakes.  Sigh.  The largest population of sturgeon in the world can be found in the Lake Winnebago waterway system not too far away.

August's full moon is special.  Not only does it coincide with the Perseid meteor shower it also happens to be a Super Moon, a Blue Moon and will pass very close to Saturn! 

A Super Moon results when a full moon reaches 90% of perigee - or closest approach to earth.  Consequently, it should appear 30% brighter and 14% larger than a moon at its farthest point (apogee).  This is the first of four Super Moons for 2024 - three more are scheduled for September 17, October 17 and November 15.

If the moon looks larger when it is nearer to the horizon that is known as moon illusion.  A trick of perception that has nothing to do with astronomy.  This illusion occurs because of how our brain interprets distance and size.  When the moon is just above the horizon we see it alongside trees, buildings and other objects, making it appear larger.  When the moon is high in the sky overhead there's nothing to compare it to, so it looks smaller.  This is all about how our brain works.

There are two types of Blue Moon and neither has anything to do with color.  Ordinarily a Blue Moon is a second full moon that appears in a calendar month. The 1937 edition of the now defunct Maine Farmers' Almanac (not to be confused with The Old Farmers Almanac) explained in their calendar that a Blue Moon occurs when one of the four seasons contains four full moons instead of the usual three.  The August 21, 1937 moon was the third of four full moons that summer when for no apparent reason it was reported as a Blue Moon..  Ever since, a seasonal blue moon refers to the third full moon in a season that has four full moons.

In many parts of the world the August Full Moon will occult the planet Saturn. While not the same as an eclipse, an occultation (word of the day) occurs when one celestial object passes in front of another temporarily obscuring the latter.  In our part of North America observers will see the moon make a pass very close to Saturn rather than an occultation around 10 PM on August 20.

Finally, the Democratic Party kicks-off their convention today - yes, coinciding with a full moon - so the party should be a doozy.

I told you this was going to be a whopper.

Fingers-crossed for good viewing conditions tonight and tomorrow.

Same Old Shtick

If I were to give some advice to Donald Trump I would suggest that he stick to policy differences between himself and VP Harris.  You know, material like border control and immigration.  The economy.  The Farm Bill.  Possibly reaching out to independent and undecided voters?  Normal policy stuff.  Meandering, off-script, streams of consciousness is bananas.  Of course, nobody listens to me.  Besides, Donald Trump is gonna do what Donald Trump gonna do.  I'm willing to bet he doesn't listen to his own campaign staff.  

(Note to self:  Start a pool on how soon before he fires them)

Meanwhile, more of the same boring, tiresome, worn-out, sour grapes, litany of grievance and victimhood.  Grousing about Biden getting out of the race and lobbing insults about Harris's race, first name and intelligence.  Refreshingly, there is a hilarious mixed-up tale about a helicopter that almost crashed.  And of course, inflation.

Now you have millions and millions of dead people, and you have people dying financially because they can't buy bacon.  They can't buy food.  They can't buy groceries.  They can't do anything.  And they're living horribly in our country right now. 

Millions and millions of dead?  For lack of bacon?  Like I said; bananas.

Then, careening and colliding like a errant billiard ball - the stock market has a hiccup and he's disappointed it didn't result in an economy-ending crash. 

We have a lot of bad things coming up. You could end up in a depression of the 1929 variety; which would have been a devastating thing.  The country is very very sick. You saw it the other day with the stock market crashing.  That was the beginning.  It's gonna get worse.  It's gonna get a lot worse, in my opinion. 

Doom and gloom.  Ordinary people resent someone coming across as rooting for the economy to do poorly.  Nothing aspirational here.  Move along.

Finally, in the spirit of mine is bigger than yours there is the peculiar obsession over crowd sizes; inexplicably picking a fight with the late, great, Martin Luther King, Jr. insisting that the civil rights leader's march on Washington was dwarfed by his January 6th rally.  You know, the rally that immediately preceded the storming of the capital and ensuing riot.

Nobody's spoken to crowds bigger than me.  If you look at Martin Luther King, when he did his speech - same real estate, same everything - we had more.

Now there is the kooky assertion that the a crowd seen at a Harris/Walz rally last week is fake.  A fabrication courtesy of Artificial Intelligence.

photo - New York Times

Has anyone noticed that Kamala CHEATED at the airport?  There was nobody at the plane, and she A.I.'d it, and showed a massive 'crowd' of so-called followers, BUT THEY DIDN'T EXIST!  She was turned in by a maintenance worker at the airport when he noticed the fake crowd picture, but there was nobody there, later confirmed by the reflection of the mirror like finish on the Vice Presidential Plane.

She's a CHEATER!

Some of you might be thinking Trump is having a breakdown or possibly gone mental.  Not me.  This baloney sucks all of the oxygen out of the room and keeps him in the media spotlight.  Furthermore, it's just one more piece of a developing back-up plan. The 'tell' is this phrase:  

She's a CHEATER!  

Trump may be crazy; but crazy like a fox.  It's never too early to be laying the groundwork for denying an election loss.  There again, that too is more of the same old shtick.

We got a game-on, people.  So, hop on the Trump Train with me.  I guarantee you the ride to November will be unpredictably entertaining.

Fact Checking

We have more liquid gold under our feet than any other country by far.  We are a nation that has the opportunity to make an absolute fortune with its energy.

- Donald Trump

Not true.  This lie is easily disputed.

If you visit the Energy Information Administration, at 44 billion barrels of proven oil reserves we rank 10th.  Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Canada and Iraq rank (in that order) in the top five.

As a recovering financial advisor I happen to follow this sector closely and in a shameless plug for the blog encourage you to search for posts in the subject of energy markets.  Go to the Labels on the left margin of the homepage and click on Energy Markets.  Or use the search tool in the upper left corner for subject matter.

Cheers! 

Friday Music

The Ladies of the Roach Motel is a three-piece band that met at UCLA striving to achieve the rich California sound of the late 60's. From left to right, Sophia Bacino, Mariah Hill, Elle Overs.

Nice cover of an old tune...

Getting Away From It All

More action photos of our Red Rocket - Ruby the Golden Retriever. 

Red River K9 offers boarding, grooming, training and daycare.  And because our red bundle of energy is in her formative years an opportunity to be away from us, socialize with other dogs and run with her pack is good.  She burns-off some energy, learns to make new doggie friends, get along with others and we catch a break for a day to square-away a class, projects and chores.

Dropped her-off Saturday morning for an overnight; photos from the kennel's Face Book page.....

Perspective

Living here on the peninsula surrounded by water it is easy to take the great lakes for granted.  I suppose that's true for many of us from the upper Midwest who live a stone's throw from the largest body of fresh water on the planet.

To put everything in perspective here's a map of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence seaway superimposed on Continent Europe.....

Trailmaster

I've blogged about this before.

More of the same.

Brushing-out the trails with the Rhino bush hog is that it is dusty, stinky and loud.  There is the roar of the diesel motor, the clanging and clattering of the blades and and gear box on the mower.  And the stink of diesel exhaust.  A curious phenomenon that comes with brushing-out trails is that the deer will emerge from nowhere and stand at a polite distance and watch me before moving-on.  

 From the trail camera trapline there were these photos.  Me mowing out the field of view on camera #3 and then immediately after I exited the scene a doe and her fawn checking it out.

Go figure...

 

Two For The Price Of One

Last evening I went out around 10 PM or thereabouts to check on the Perseid meteor shower.  I scored about a half-dozen shooters when I was paying attention. Most of the time I was fiddling with the app filters on my iPhone in an attempt to deal with the clutter of light pollution low on the north-northeast horizon.  I swear, Sturgeon Bay must've had every last damn light turned-on.  Such is tourist season.  Sigh.

If you look at this photo locate Cassiopeia in the lower right corner.  Move left and down a bit and that would be the radiant from which the Perseids originate.   Too be fair, at their height they can materialize just about anywhere.  Fingers-crossed for dark skies this evening if you want to have a go at it.

click on image for a closer look

At 12:30 AM I figured I'd take one last gander at the Perseids before hitting the sack.  I was met with this.  A spectacular display of the northern lights.  Yowza!

 

 

All I gotta say is that this was a pretty good evening for looking at the night skies.  Two for the price of one!

The Perseids will be hanging-around tonight.  Maybe the Aurora Borealis will be back too.

Dark skies!