Freecycling

"Its about reuse rather than recycle."

http://potw.news.yahoo.com/s/potw/27257/freecycle

Marriage = Chain Reaction Game?

"Everyone would be better off if everyone stayed unmarried. Then you could go out with your same-sex friends every night. Presumably one could switch sexual partners quite often and quite easily as well, though oddly he did not mention this effect. But alas, one of your friends sees an opportunity to pull off an above-average marriage! He strikes. Why? Not out of love, but rather backwards induction. He knows that sooner or later all the others will marry and he will be left out in the cold. Others in the group all see the need to marry too. Everyone pairs off and loneliness sets in."

http://ragandbonebuffet.blogspot.com/2007/04/is-marriage-chain-reaction-game.html

Renting Children

"When unmarried couples date, they should be forced to rent a child for the duration of the evening (some call this "Markets in Everything"). That way they know how well they do when there is a child around. Special bonus deals will include children with runny noses and twins who slug each other. Note that this also will improve the marriages of the people who are renting out the kids."

http://ragandbonebuffet.blogspot.com/2007/05/even-better-idea.html

How to get People to Remember Things

"If you tell them to forget something, they are more likely to remember it, than if you tell them to remember it."

http://ragandbonebuffet.blogspot.com/2007/06/how-to-get-people-to-remember-things.html

What To Do At The Next Art Museum Visit

"If you're visiting an art museum, your Inner Economist has tips to improve your experience. In each room, decide which painting you'd steal. 'This forces us to keep thinking critically about the displays.'"

Hire Yourself
Discover Your Inner Economist
Reviewed by Carlos Lozada (Washington Post)

237 Reasons We Have Sex

Thanks to A for this one...

"It's more about lust in the body than a love connection in the heart."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070731/ap_on_he_me/sex_reasons

http://homepage.psy.utexas.edu/Homepage/Group/BussLAB/pdffiles/why%20humans%20have%20sex%202007.pdf (PDF File of the Study)

American Moves to Canada Reach Record High

The important thing, however, is that twice as many Canadians went to the States than Americans came to Canada. This tells me that the US is an overwhelmingly attractive place to live when compared to Canada. The figures speak for themselves. Also don't forget that the US has 10 times the population of Canada...

In 2006, 23,913 Canadians went to the US, resulting in a net loss of 12,971 to Canada when compared to the Americans coming to Canada.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/07/30/immigrants-us.html?ref=rss

The Smarter You Are The Less Sex You Get

"Each additional point of IQ increased the odds of virginity by 2.7% for males and 1.7% for females. But higher IQ had a similiar relationship across the entire range of romantic/sexual interactions, decreasing the odds that some teens had ever kissed or even held hands with a member of the opposite sex at each age...By age of 19, 80% of US males and 75% of US females have lost their virginity, and 87% of college students have had sex...but this number appears to be much lower at elite (i.e., more intelligent) colleges."

http://www.gnxp.com/blog/2007/04/intercourse-and-intelligence.php

25 Most Popular Business Websites

"We at eBizMBA here provide you with the Top 25 Business Websites ranked by a combination of Inbound Links, Google Page Rank, Alexa Rank, and U.S. traffic data from Compete and Quantcast."

1. Forbes
2. CNN Money
3. Yahoo Finance
4. MarketWatch
5. MSN Money
6. Business.com
7. Fool.com
8. Bankrate.com
9. Wall Street Journal
10. TheStreet.com
11. BusinessWeek
12. BizJournals
13. Bloomberg
14. Hoovers
15. Entrepreneur.com
16. FT.com
17. BusinessWire
18. Google Finance
19. CNBC
20. FastCompany
21. Kiplinger
22. Investors.com
23. Economist
24. SeekingAlpha
25. Barrons

http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/business-sites.html

12 Businesses That Work Thrive is Staffed by Girls in Bikinis

As for a dentist, it would probably make men (and lesbians) more willing to come in for their regular checkups, but I don't think that they would be more willing or happy to have extensive work done - i.e., root canals or wisdom tooth removal...

http://www.thebachelorguy.com/12-other-businesses-that-would-thrive-if-staffed-by-girls-in-bikinis.html

100 Tips to Improve Your Life

It probably only takes one of these to really "improve" your life...

http://www.behance.com/Featured/Articles/100-Tips-to-Improve-Your-Life/5591

Global Peace Index Rankings

It helps to be an isolated country...

1. Norway
2. New Zealand
3. Denmark
4. Ireland
5. Japan
.
.
.
96. USA
.
.
119. Israel
120. Sudan
121. Iraq

http://www.visionofhumanity.com/rankings/

Ranking of Swear Words by Severity

Do you agree with the list? The word "fuck" is used so much that it seems to have lost a lot of its "power." Nevertheless, when said in most situations (i.e., shopping at a mall, filling up at a gas station, etc...), it still turns heads...

1. Cunt
2. Motherfucker
3. Fuck

http://www.badscience.net/?p=228

How the Electoral College Works

Perhaps one of the most misunderstood concepts of the US...

http://people.howstuffworks.com/electoral-college.htm

The Most Energy-Efficient Form of Travel Ever Devised

"Bicycles -- the most energy-efficient form of travel ever devised -- deserve more respect. Pound for pound, a person on a bicycle expends less energy than any other creature or machine covering the same distance. Despite its popularity elsewhere, the bicycle gets little use or respect in the US, where less than 1% of all trips are made by bicycle."

http://www.sightline.org/research/sust_toolkit/solutions/bicycle/

How Swearing Works

Insight into all those four-letter words...

http://people.howstuffworks.com/swearing.htm

Top 100 Items to Disappear First During a National Emergency

Useful to disaster-prone businesses...

http://baconreport.blogspot.com/2007/07/top-100-items-to-disappear-first-during.html

Map: Countries With Universal Healthcare

But is the healthcare any better in these countries? Obviously, the best situation is to be a wealthy individual in a purely capitalist healthcare market because you will be able to afford the best doctors in the world (due to competition). The worst situation is to be a poor individual in a capitalist society. And middle-of-the-road is to have universal healthcare.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_healthcare#Countries_with_universal_health_care

Premium for Water Property

I've always wondered what premium one pays for waterfront/waterview property. Here is the answer (Note: I think it matters what city the property is located and what type of property you are comparing the water property to...this is just a general figure...):

"The median vacation home price i $200,000, while shorefront properties typically sell at a 50% premium and waterview homes at a 25% premium, real estate experts say."

Can You Afford A Second Home?
by Vivian Marino

Which Country Has the Most Beautiful People?

I find that the more time you stay in a country, the more you come to appreciate the beauty of its people. In addition, beauty can be found in all countries of the world. But more importantly, beauty is also in the eye of the beholder...

One thing I wonder is if men and women are considered "equal" (i.e., if the women are considered beautiful are the men also considered beautiful?) in a country/city....

This is one poll - only to be taken with a grain of salt...
http://www.bestandworst.com/r/?id=50881

Cities With the Most Beautiful Women:
http://www.travelersdigest.com/beautiful_women.htm

More Cities With the Most Beautiful Women:
http://www.askmen.com/fashion/travel_top_ten/20_travel_top_ten.html

Time May Not Exist

"Most of us tend to think of time the way Newton did: “Absolute, true and mathematical time... flows equably, without regard to anything external.” But as Einstein proved, time is part of the fabric of the universe... something that’s independent of the universe. In fact, says Lloyd, clocks don’t really measure time at all."

Newsflash: Time May Not Exist
by Tim Folger
http://discovermagazine.com/2007/jun/in-no-time

BBC Audio: Fetish in Japan

"In Japan, every sexual fantasy or fetish has its outlet. From so called image clubs where men can pretend they are in a train groping fellow passengers, and the "maid cafes" where clients are served and called "master" by girls dressed in French maid outfits, to a magazine dedicated to silicon "love dolls", the streets of Tokyo hide an incredible variety of business catering to sexual desires. Japan is a country of apparent contradictions. Japanese people have very formal work and interpersonal relationships. On the other hand, there is an extremely kinky underground world."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/specials/1741_world_stories/page10.shtml

How the Yakuza Works

http://people.howstuffworks.com/yakuza.htm

Dow Jones - Adjusted for Inflation

"Why adjust the DOW for inflation? If you don't, changes in the price of the DOW over periods of years are not meaningful. For example, the DOW was 11,000 at some time in 2001 and 11000 again in 2006. Financial reports will often look at these two price points and state that the DOW has 'stayed flat.' Not great but not bad, right? But inflation has increased at least 2.5% per year since 2001, although there is good evidence that the average inflation rate is significantly higher."

http://www.itulip.com/realdow.htm

List of Acquired Tastes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_acquired_tastes

The Real Threat To Americans

Why I don't worry (much) about terrorist attacks...

http://stpeteforpeace.org/real.threat.html

Local Food vs. Imported Food

"A gathering body of evidence suggests that local food can sometimes consume more energy -- and produce more greenhouse gases -- than food imported from great distances. Moving food by train or ship is quite efficient, pound for pound, and transportation can often be a relatively small part of the total energy 'footprint' of food compared with growing, packaging, or, for that matter, cooking it."

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2007/07/22/the_localvores_dilemma/

Economics According to Google

"For decades, many of the brightest graduates in economics sought their fortune in finance. In coming years, they will seek it in marketing, as the Internet gives all companies the information-rich environment once available only in financial markets."

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2007/07/19/economics-according-to-google/

Forward-Thinking Cultures

Singapore is smokin'...Russia and Venezuela are not...

Forward-Thinking Cultures
by Mansour Javidan
http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/hbsp/hbr/articles/article.jsp?ml_action=get-article&articleID=F0707B&ml_issueid=BR0707&ml_subscriber=true&pageNumber=1&_requestid=29055

Which Are The Books With The Smallest Print

"Editions of Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy often have excessively small print. Why? The major works by those authors are long. Larger print will make the volumes too long and thus too expensive. Perhaps more importantly the volumes will appear too forbidding to the average buyer.

"But isn't miniscule type for Raskolnikov hard to read? Ah...most of the people who buy the book don't read it. If miniscule type gets them to stop reading sooner rather than later, you might even call it a Pareto improvement.

"Self-help books almost always have reasonably large print or even ridiculously large print. The author doesn't have much to say and the publisher wishes to pad the book so it looks real. Furthermore most self-help books are read (at least in part), so to keep the reader happy the print should be large."

http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2007/07/which-are-the-b.html

Pinker's List of Dangerous Ideas

"In every age, taboo questions raise our blood pressure and threaten moral panic. But we cannot be afraid to answer them."

http://www.suntimes.com/news/otherviews/469317,CST-CONT-danger15.article

8 Tips on How Money Can Buy You Happiness

http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_project/2007/07/this-wednesda-3.html

There Are 12 Kinds of Ads In The World...

"After much research, Donald Gunn, creative director for the advertising agency Leo Burnett, determined that nearly all good ads fall into one of 12 categories —or "master formats," in his words.This slide show presents some recent ads exemplifying each of Gunn's 12 basic categories."

http://www.slate.com/id/2170872/slideshow/2170932/fs/0//entry/2170933/

New York Subway Map of the Internet

http://flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=856685651&size=o

Men Happiest With Smart Wives

Are women happiest with smart husbands?

"Every extra year of education a wife has under her belt significantly increases the chances her husband will report being highly satisfied with life."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/07/19/survey-men-happiest-with_n_56933.html

World Map of Faiths

http://www.spiegel.de/img/0,1020,775969,00.gif

MIT Finds Cure For Fear

http://pressesc.com/01184528191_cure_for_fear

Live Map of the World's Disasters

Database and map overlay of the world's disasters...

http://visz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/index.php?smp=&lang=eng

World Intenet Usage

World Population: 6.6 billion
World Internet Users: 1.14 billion
Penetration: 17.2%

"According to the average percentage growth of worldwide Internet adoption projected over time, Internet access won't reach fifty percent of the world's population until 2030."

http://50x15.com/en-us/internet_usage.aspx

5 Ideas That Will Reinvent Modern Computing

These ideas come from: Bell Labs, HP Labs, IBM Research, Microsoft Research, and Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), the former Xerox research facility that spawned Ethernet, laser printing, the GUI operating system and so much more...

1. IMAX at home
2. The Midair Mouse
3. The Perfect Machine
4. Extreme Peer-to-Peer
5. The Man-Made Brain

Five Ideas That Will Reinvent Modern Computing
by Cade Metz and Jamie Bsales
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2147447,00.asp

Ice Cream - Corn Connection

"What’s the connection between ethanol, the biofuel produced from corn, and a cherry vanilla ice-cream? Answer: the first is responsible for pushing up the price of the other. This month, the price of milk in the United States surged to a near-record in part because of the increasing costs of feeding a dairy herd. The corn feed used to feed cattle has almost doubled in price in a year as demand has grown for the grain to produce ethanol."

Ice Cream Makers Frozen Out As Corn Price Rises
by Suzy Jagger and Carl Mortished
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/markets/united_states/article2080599.ece

Ice Cream

July is National Ice Cream Month and July 15 is National Ice Cream Day...so what is the most searched ice cream flavor on Yahoo?

"Searchers crave vanilla, scooping up that flavor at double the rate of chocolate."

http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/72656/ice-cream-of-the-crop

The Wealthiest Americans Ever

"When wealth is measured as a percent of the economy, John D. Rockefeller was the wealthiest American ever. Many of the all-tme richest Americans made their fortunes during the Gilded Age of the late 1800s."

http://www.nytimes.com/ref/business/20070715_GILDED_GRAPHIC.html#

$55 Bling Water

How much would someone pay for water? It seems that there is a phenomena where when products/services are priced so high, certain people want that product even more, and will pay any price. It is an amazing marketing tool...but here is what reality says:

"The next wave in fancy water comes in a frosted bottle sparkling with Swarovski crystals, goes for $50 to $90 a pop and is called Bling H2O. Could have fooled me. In fact it did: I couldn't tell it apart from a $1 bottle of Poland Spring."

It's Water & It Costs 55 Bucks!
by Nicole Lyn Pesce
http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/food/2007/07/14/2007-07-14_its_water__it_costs_55_bucks_.html

Japan's Used Panty Vending Machines: Fact or Fiction?

"In 1993, used panty vending machines were declared to be illegal, so by using circular reasoning they had to exist in the first place, right?"

http://inventorspot.com/articles/japan_used_panty_vending_machines_5650

When Is Poor Good?

"As men get poorer, they pare back their relationships, making them less likely to contract or spread HIV."

In Zimbabwe, Fewer Affairs and Less HIV
by Criag Timberg

Water Intake Guidelines

Health advice changes as often as the seasons...and I'm sure these guidelines will change too...

"According to the American-based Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, women need around 2.7 litres of water a day, while men require 3.7 litres. Before you do the math and realize that equals 11 to 16 eight-ounce glasses of water daily, there is a caveat: The fluids consumed can be from a variety of sources including fruit, vegetables, juices, soft drinks and even caffeinated beverages. The institute reports that approximately 80 per cent of daily water intake comes from beverages, with the other 20 per cent derived from food."

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/columnists/story.html?id=88e89972-4ebd-48b6-a55b-87b42fad7bfd

What Do Teachers Really Make...

Quite a nice diatribe...my favorite line: "I can make a C+ feel like a Congressional Medal of Honor and I can make an A- feel like a slap in the face..."

http://random.cellfish.com/multimedia/110451

The Evolutionary Brain Glitch That Makes Terrorism Fail

The Evolutionary Brain Glitch That Makes Terrorism Fail
by Bruce Schneier
http://www.wired.com/politics/security/commentary/securitymatters/2007/07/securitymatters_0712

Why Doesn't Evolution Get Rid of Ugly People?

Why Doesn't Evolution Get Rid of Ugly People?
by Sharon Begley
http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/labnotes/archive/2007/06/27/why-doesn-t-evolution-get-rid-of-ugly-people.aspx

$60,000 Mattress

One might think that a $60,000 mattress is crazy, but think again. We spend much more time on our mattresses than we do in our cars (which can easily cost $60,000+). To me, comfort in a bed is more important than comfort in a car. Needless to say, if you can afford a $60,000 bed, you can probably afford a $60,000 car. But I would bet that more people who can't afford to buy a $60,000 item would go ahead and buy a car over a bed. It is just that a bed has no "sex appeal" - even though it probably the place where most sex is taking place...

"Mr. Burney is the United States sales representative for Magniflex, the Italian mattress company that makes the $24,000 foam mattress I was lying on in the Casa Poggesi bedding store on Crosby Street. His little dig was aimed at a Swedish mattress maker, Hastens, which stuffs its versions with horsehair and charges as much as $60,000 for them."

The Money's in the Mattress
by Penelope Green
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/12/garden/12mattresses.html?ex=1184904000&en=31bf5289b886c19a&ei=5123&partner=BREITBART

Dark Side of Technology

This shows that money and technology do not necessarily mean happiness...

"They have invaded every corner of our existence, promising a technological utopia of carefree living. But gadgets, it would appear, have also delivered a hi-tech hell...From sat-navs to security lights, mobile phones to printers, they bemuse, befuddle and annoy, driving the most passive of users into a rage."

"Scourges of the 21st Century:"

1. Speed camera
2. Ball mouse
3. Security lights
4. Alarm clock
5. Mobile phone speakers
6. Badly fitting headphones
7. Sat-Nav
8. Automated telemarketing calls
9. Interactive TV
10. Printers
11. Automated phone menus
12. Digital rights management
13. Novelty doorbells
14. Vehicle reverse warning beeps
15. Car alarms
16. Predictive text

Most-Hated Gadgets are Driving us to Distraction
by Gwyneth Rees
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/technology/technology.html?in_article_id=467786&in_page_id=1965

Investing Buffet Style

You want to invest? Well, there are only two words you need to know to do well. Warren Buffet. He is third on the Forbes list of wealthiest people (estimated net worth: $52 billion.) It makes sense you you should follow the advice of the wealthiest full-time investor on the planet. It also helps that his strategy is so simple. 99% of people do not follow his strategy though because it is not sexy. "Buy undervalued stocks and hold them for a long time." Nothing too fancy about that, right? Net worth speaks for itself though. The simpler the better...

"Buffett's philosophy on business investing is a modification of the value investing approach of his mentor Benjamin Graham. Graham bought companies because they were cheap compared to their intrinsic value. He was of the belief that as long as the market undervalued them relative to their intrinsic value he was making a solid investment. He reasoned that the market will eventually realize it has undervalued the company and will correct its course regardless of what type of business the company was in. In addition he believes that the business has to have solid economics behind it."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_buffet

Norway Millionaires

Although practically socialist, enough wealth has been created by the booming oil trade and the stock exchange to create an impressive number of millionaires...

"No other country has more dollar-millionaires per capita than Norway, Roger Gullqvist of Paris-based consulting firm CapGemini told newspaper Finansavisen."

http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1881847.ece

Petrol & Geopolitics

Petrol consumption per day...all the more reason why the US may want to consider becoming more energy efficient...

http://www.economist.com/images/ga/2007w27/Petrol.jpg

What Search Engines Store About You

Pretty scary stuff...

Your First Girlfriend -- And The Other Things Search Engines Store About You
by Mary Brandel
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9026638&source=rss_news50

What Evolution Left Behind on Humans

I'm not sure out some of this...he claims that toes (except the big toe) are not necessary for balance. I think we still use our other toes for balance and for climbing and fighting. Thoughts?

http://www.decimation.com/markw/2007/07/09/what-evolution-left-behind-on-humans/

Foreign Languages of the US Presidential Candidates

The most suprising fact comes from Colin Powell. He reportedely speaks Yiddish. My sense, however, is that when people claim they speak another language, it is usually very poorly. People love to claim that they speak another language, but in actuality, most people speak on a very basic level. The question is, what gives someone the right to claim they speak another language? I think that if people have taken more than one year of language classes, they usually claim that they can speak the language...

"Curiously, it seems that few American Presidents have been able to speak any language other than English. Only one has had a language other than English as his first language: though born in New York State, Martin van Buren (1837-1841), spoke Dutch before he spoke English. Of recent Presidents, Jimmy Carter is reported to speak imperfect but functional Spanish."

http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004699.html#more

The Many Faces of Al Qaeda

Follow the link to a fascinating analysis of Al Qaeda's current structure and speculation on why there has not been a major attack in the US.

"All signs indicate this group is no longer functional and cannot be replicated. Whether or not Osama bin Laden is still alive, al Qaeda as it once was is dead."

http://www.stratfor.com/products/premium/read_article.php?id=292004&selected=Analyses

CNBC & Mad Money Influencing the Market?

I've always wondered how much influence CNBC has on the stock markets. How about Jim Cramer's show on CNBC "Mad Money?" Also, how about a positive/negative review in WSJ or IBD? How about stock market games influencing stocks?

This is what my next research will focus on...

Roth IRA

Assuming you meet the income requirements, a Roth IRA is the single best investment tool at your disposal for retirement. If you start at 20 and dump the current maximum ($4000) into the account until 65, you will have over $3 million assuming you can make 10% a year. The easy part is putting the money in. The hard put is making 10%+ a year. 10% sounds easy, but not many can consistantly do that over a period of decades. It takes discipline and a simple investment stategy of "buy and hold." Now assuming you can make 15% a year on your investments, you will have $16 million by the time you retire. As you can see, the annual percentage you make is EVERTHING. It is interesting to note the steepness of the curve as you approach 50 years of age. That is when your money really starts working for you. Also remember that that money is tax free. So you will not be hit with any type of capital gains taxes before or after your retirement. The tax-free status is what makes this investment tool so attractive.

Roth IRA Calculator
http://www.dinkytown.net/java/RothIRA.html

So You Want to Learn Japanese?

Comical thoughts to think about before diving in...(certainly not all true).

http://pepper.idge.net/japanese/

6 Reasons Why You May Need A New Atlas Soon

*Kosovo
*Sudan
*Somaliland
*Iraqi Kurdistan
*Palestine
*Taiwan

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3903

50 Most Populous Countries

Interesting how there is no link for Congo or Burma...

http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0004391.html

Quote of the Day

Give a man a fish and he has food for a day; teach him how to fish and you can get rid of him for the entire weekend.

- Zenna Schaffer

50 Best Websites 2007

Most likely, you've never heard of most of these sites...

http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1633488_1639316,00.html

Map: How Many Americans Believe in God

Look at Oregon - almost all counties below 35%...probably the least religious state in the US. Middle America is a religious hotbed...

http://www.valpo.edu/geomet/pics/geo200/religion/adherents.gif

Quote of the Day

Why shouldn't things be largely absurd, futile, and transitory? They are so, and we are so, and they and we go very well together.

- George Santayana

Ferro-Cement Boats

Cement Boats? Yes...

"It is the cheapest and easiest form of construction for boats over 25 ft. And apart from strip-plank composite construction, it is the only viable material for large round-bilge boats within the amateur capability, without the requirements of special tools or a weather-proof building."

http://www.ferrocement.org/

US's Largest Banks

1. Bank of America
2. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
3. Citigroup
4. Wachovia
5. Wells Fargo & Co.

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0763206.html

130/30 Funds - HOT

Considered the new hottest thing in investing...

"So-called 130/30 funds are among the hottest products coming out of Wall Street. These funds adopt a hedge-fund-like strategy: They generally invest $100 in a basket of stocks that they think will rise in price. Then the funds short an additional $30 of overpriced stocks -- or borrow and sell $30 of these shares -- hoping to make money as the stocks fall in price. The funds then take the $30 that is received from selling the shares short and use that money to buy even more attractive stocks to create a fund that holds $130 of bets on stocks to go up, and $30 of investments that anticipate a fall in shares."

Variations, such as 120/20 and 110/10 funds, also are being created.

Alternative Answers
Gregory Zuckerman
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118349560004357040.html?mod=todays_us_the_journal_report

Crazy Food Prices

This may be why there the Land of the Rising Sun has $100 melons and $30 bunches of grapes...nevertheless, it suprises me how many meals can be had for much cheaper than meals in the US...

"Japanese farms average just 3.7 acres in size -- minuscule compared with the U.S. average of 494 acres -- making them relatively inefficient. As a result, food tends to be far more costly in Japan. The cheapest rice in Japanese supermarkets typically costs about $1.50 a pound, compared with less than a third that in the U.S."

Mindful of South Korea, Japan Considers Seeking US Trade Agreement
by Sebastian Moffett
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118393066733960259.html?mod=todays_us_page_one

Current Wars

There are nearly 30 wars/conflicts going on around the world as we read...

Although not included, many consider the Korean War to be ongoing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_wars

Ogasawara Ryu Reihou Institute

Ogasawara Ryu Reihou Institute is an etiquette school that specializes in teaching the art of beautifying daily behavior...They have even worked with Toyota to help them master etiquette...

http://www.ogasawararyu-reihou.com/english/contents1/enkaku.html

The Samurai Sell: Lexus Dealers Bow to Move Swank Cars
by Amy Chozick
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118393558292060374.html?mod=todays_us_page_one

400lb. Lobster?

"But there's one lobster fact that trumps them all: lobsters show no apparent signs of aging. They don't slow down or become weaker or more susceptible to disease. They don't get infertile -- older lobsters are actually more fertile than younger ones. Most lobsters seem to die because of something inflicted upon them and not because a body part failed or broke down. They're such hardy creatures that scientists aren't even sure how old lobsters can get. Add in that lobsters grow throughout their lives, and one has to ask: Is it possible that a lobster born before Napoleon and as heavy as an NFL lineman is chowing down on the sea floor?"

(The largest lobster on record weighed more than 40 pounds.)

http://science.howstuffworks.com/400-pound-lobster.htm

Currency Theories - Dollar Collapse

I've been reading lots of chatter about the US dollar collapsing...do I think it is partly paranoia? Yes. But do I think Americans need to save more. Yes.

"The only thing stopping the US dollar from collapsing is indeed the fact that so much of the world's reserves are invested in that very dollar."

Yes, lots of reserves are invested in the dollar, and therefore, it is in the best interest of these invested nations (China, Japan, etc...) to stay invested.

Why the US Dollar Will Collapse
by FN Arena
http://www.egoli.com.au/egoli/egoliStoryPage.asp?PageID=%7B90E34BAE-B2A1-4123-B80F-0BB403F8C72E%7D&Section=Feature

Why is Yawning Contagious

"New research suggests rather than being a precursor to sleep, the purpose of yawning is to cool the brain so it operates more efficiently and keeps you awake...The brain cooling theory says that when we contagiously yawn we are participating in an ancient, hardwired ritual that evolved to help groups stay alert and detect danger."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6270036.stm

Quote of the Day

"Economics is extremely useful as a form of employment for economists."

- John Kenneth Galbraith

Map: How Many Europeans Believe in God

I wonder why Swedes believe less in God then their closest neighbors, Norway and Finland...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Europe_belief_in_god.png

5 Second Rule Economics

Lots of different ideas about the 5-second rule here (the unwritten rule that states it is fine to pick up and eat food that has fallen on the ground). What is at play with the rule? My feeling is that it is more than 50% related to economics. If you drop an ounce of truffles or lobster on the floor, there is a strong chance that most people will pick it up, clean it, and eat it. Those foods are expensive and wasting them is not an option for most, even if it means putting a few grains of dirt down the gullet. But oatmeal or popcorn? I think that depends of what type of surface it was dropped on and for how long. If YOU think it is a clean surface, you are more likely to eat it, regardless of how dirty it really is...

"The beauty of the five-second rule is that it is utterly pliable and that it is not about food so much as it is about yearning and disgust and gastronomic history and evolutionary wiring and the implicit social contract we make when we break (and drop) bread with other human beings... Parents will, however, employ it on any foodstuff with a high per-pound price...The purpose of the five-second rule is not to protect you from bacteria but from ridicule...But that's not the point, either, is it? Eating off the floor is less about dirt and more about desire -- how much we are willing to deceive ourselves in the reckless pursuit of something forbidden...Brian Wansink, director of Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab, speculates that the time limit relates to human memory, how long we will recall that something dropped. "Much longer than five seconds and you start to forget the food was ever on your plate. It just looks like you're randomly eating off the floor," he says. Like we're dogs."

That Dropped Doughnut: How Soon, and How Often, Will It Come Back Up?
by Monica Hesse
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/07/AR2007070701294.html

Competitive Rock, Paper, Scissors: Skill?

Rock, Paper, Scissors (RPS) appears to be merely luck. But believe it or not, there is competitive RPS that is shown on ESPN - and it is not all luck. But I wonder if a player has no established move/strategy in mind, and if his choice is truly random, if it is still possible to predict his moves.

"Unlike truly random selections, it can be played with skill if the game extends over many sessions, as a player can often recognize and exploit the non-random behavior of an opponent."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock,_Paper,_Scissors

5 Things Worse Than Global Warming

I'm not sure if I'd personally list these as worse than global warming...

1. End of cheap oil (really?)
2. Collapse of ocean ecosystems
3. Coming water crisis
4. Deforestation
5. Nuclear Weapons

Five Things Worse Than Global Warming
by Chris Baskind
http://lighterfootstep.com/five-things-that-are-worse-than-global-warming.html

Sexy Names

The linguistics of love...How does your name stack up?

"It may seem counterintuitive that men with a smaller-sounding, front vowel in their names are rated as more attractive, but other studies show that men with slightly feminine features are considered more desirable. "Maybe women are subconsciously looking for more sensitive or gentle men," says Perfors. But if you're thinking of changing your name, don't go too far - men with women's names were rated least attractive of all."

Girly Names & Sexy Names
by James Hrynyshyn
http://scienceblogs.com/islandofdoubt/2007/06/girly_names_and_sexy_names.php

The Reading Cave

Not the best design, but good try...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/blog/post/PLNK1Y6FXW9FS8EYE

Socks Drawers & Sex

Fact of the Day:

"Men who don't organize their sock drawer have sex 3 times more a month than men who do."

http://www.motherjones.com/news/exhibit/2007/07/exhibit.html

Big Mac Index

"The Big Mac Index provides a rough guide to how far currencies are from fair value. The index is based on the theory of purchasing-power parity (PPP), which says that exchange rates should equalise the price of a basket of goods—in this case, a Big Mac hamburger."

http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displaystory.cfm?subjectid=7933596&story_id=9433804

Suicide Bomber = No Sex

"What distinguishes Islam from other major religions is that it tolerates polygyny. By allowing some men to monopolize all women and altogether excluding many men from reproductive opportunities, polygyny creates shortages of available women. If 50 percent of men have two wives each, then the other 50 percent don't get any wives at all. So polygyny increases competitive pressure on men, especially young men of low status. It therefore increases the likelihood that young men resort to violent means to gain access to mates. The other key ingredient is the promise of 72 virgins waiting in heaven for any martyr in Islam...It is the combination of polygyny and the promise of a large harem of virgins in heaven that motivates many young Muslim men to commit suicide bombings."

Three Best Quotes You Know

Throughout life, we hear hundreds if not thousands of quotes - some good, some bad. So if you had to choose only three quotes/theories to live by, what would they be? Mine:

1. KISS (Keep It Simple - Stupid)
2. The only thing to fear is fear itself
3. (Good) Information is power

Influence Through Speech

"New research reveals even if only one member of a group repeats their opinion, it is more likely to be seen by others as representative of the whole group...In fact, if one person in a group repeats the same opinion three times, it has 90% of the effect of three different people in that group expressing the same opinion."

http://www.spring.org.uk/2007/07/loudest-voice-majority-opinion.php

Who Owns The Media

Nicely laid out information:

http://www.freepress.net/content/ownership

Real-Time (Free) Translation Tool

It translates:

*English
*Spanish
*German
*French
*Italian
*Portuguese
*Chinese
*Japanese
*Korean
*Russian
*Greek
*Dutch

http://www.verbatimsolutions.com/freetranslation.php

10 Politically Incorrect Truths About Human Nature

A few of the ideas (check out the link below for explanations):

"Like it or not, human nature is simply not politically correct."

*Men like blond bombshells (and women want to look like them)
*Humans are naturally polygamous
*Most women benefit from polygamy, while most men benefit from monogamy
*Most suicide bombers are Muslim
*Having sons reduces the likelihood of divorce
*Beautiful people have more daughters
*It's natural for politicians to risk everything for an affair
*Men sexually harass women because they are not sexist


10 Politically Incorrect Truths About Human Nature
by Alan S. Miller and Satoshi Kanazawa
http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-20070622-000002.xml

90 Second Vid: Who Has Conquered the Middle East

5000 years of history condensed into a 90-second video...

http://redir.mivzakon.co.il/redir.aspx?id=7001

Men & Women = Equal Chatterboxes

"Researchers recorded the daily conversations of 400 university students in the United States and Mexico over a period of several days. They found that females spoke about 16,215 words each day, and males uttered an average of 15,669 words, which was considered a statistical dead heat."

Science Quiets Myth of 'Chatterbox' Females
by E.J. Mundell
http://health.yahoo.com/news/177093

Accepting First Offers

From Ask Marilyn:

Q: A wise businessman once told me that when selling an item you no longer want, such as a used car, you should accept the first offer, assuming it's reasonable. What do you think of this theory?

A: I think the theory, often cited by real estate agents, is good. When an item - or home - is first put on the market, it gets attention from the largest numbe rof people in the shortest period of time. At this point, a potential buyer is more likely to make an aggressive offer so that you don't turn down him or her and wait for better bids. Combine this scenario witht the fact that owners often have inflated opinions of their possessions (especially their homes), and it's clear that the theory makes sense.

Advice

"This young politico should have heeded the advice of the great Earl K. Long, former governor of Louisiana: 'Don't write anything you can talk. Don't talk anything you can whisper. Don't whisper anything you can smile. Don't smile anything you can nod. Don't nod anything you can wink.' And unless you want the whole wide world to know, never, never put it in an email."

Sex w/ Cousins: Dangerous?

On average, an unrelated couple has an approximately 3 percent to 4 percent risk of having a child with a birth defect, significant mental retardation or serious genetic disease. Close cousins face an additional risk of 1.7 percent to 2.8 percent, according to the study, funded by the National Society of Genetic Counselors, a professional group based in Wallingford, Pa., and the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Do Not Call Registry

The Federal Trade Commission does allow persons to list their cell phone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry by calling (888) 382-1222 or visiting www.donotcall.gov

Ports vs. Harbors & Flotsam vs. Jetsam & College vs. University

All ports are harbors but not all harbors are ports. A harbor is a sheltered body of water that is deep enough for anchoring boats and ships. Harbors can be natural or man-made. A port on the other hand, is an exclusively man-made facility on a sea coast or river side where boats and ships can load and unload. It consists of quays, wharfs, jetties, piers and slips.

Flotsam: Wreckage or cargo that remains afloat after a ship has sunk.
Jetsam: Objects floating in the water which has been cast overboard.

What is the difference between college and university?

The difference between a college and a university is that a college just offers a collection of degrees in one specific area, while a university is a collection of colleges. When you go to a university you are going to be graduating from one of their colleges, such as the business college. As to which is better, it depends on what you want. Single colleges tend to be smaller while universities are bigger, but universities are better known.

Real Estate Voyeurs

"If there's anything Americans obsess over as much as sports, pop culture and college for their kids, it's real estate."

http://www.zillow.com

A New Web Site For Real-Estate Voyeurs
by Walter S. Mossberg and Katherine Boehret

Anatomy of a Burglary

*Most buglaries occur between 10am and 3pm
*Burglars spend an average of 8 to 12 minutes in a home
*The typical house burglar is a male teenager who lives within a couple of miles of your home
*The chance of being victimized by a professional thief is low
*First stop: Usually the master bedroom, because most people keep their valuables there
*Do you hide your valuables in one of these popular hiding places: Dresser drawar, bedroom closet, or freezer? Guess what: Those are some of the first places a crook will look.

-7/5/07 Washington Post, Home Section

Testosterone Economics

From Tyler Cowen:

http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2007/07/testosterone-ec.html

The Root Causes of Terrorism

"When Princeton economist Alan Krueger saw reports that seven of eight people arrested in the unsuccessful car bombings in Britain were doctors, he wasn’t shocked. He wasn’t even surprised.

'Each time we have one of these attacks and the backgrounds of the attackers are revealed, this should put to rest the myth that terrorists are attacking us because they are desperately poor,' he says. 'But this misconception doesn’t die.'

So if it’s not poverty, what is it then?

So what is the cause? Suppression of civil liberties and political rights, Mr. Krueger hypothesizes. 'When nonviolent means of protest are curtailed,” he says, “malcontents appear to be more likely to turn to terrorist tactics.' "

http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/07/05/the-root-causes-of-terrorism/

Who Was General Tso & Why Are We Eating His Chicken?

"Is it possible that, struggling to carve out a new life in America under backbreaking adversities, and having heard of the sword skills of the remorseless General Tso (who had the top leaders of the Nian Rebellion executed with the proverbial 'death of 10,000 cuts'), the overseas exiles indulged in some gallows-humor about their old enemy? That the chopped-up chicken dish may have gotten its name from the sliced and diced victims of Tso's grim reprisals? This might conceivably explain why General Tso's Chicken is very much an overseas Chinese dish, filtering the hot, peppery taste of Hunan cuisine, through the sweetening process of Cantonese cooking...."

Who Was General Tso & Why Are We Eating His Chicken?
by Michael Browning
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A59302-2002Apr16

Lists

This is a great idea because you can keep lists to yourself or share with others. It can help you set goals and help inspire oneself by reading other people's lists. It may also be the future of social networking... That being said, lists can also have the effect on tying you down. They can put you in a "competitive" mode. Its all about balance...

"Lists are often the core of daily planning, the directories of what needs to be done next...but what about making lists of things you've already done? Not summaries of errands you ran in a day but broader catalogs of the things you've experienced throughout life? Check out Meosphere.com."

http://www.meosphere.com/

Economics of Lingerie

"Many younger women today have no compuction about earing inner-wear as outerwear...for instance allowing colorful bra straps to show without embarrassment. That creates a market for lingerie to change with the seasons instead of just being bout as 'repleneishment'...The intimate-apparel category is appealing to retailers because it has higher profit margins than regular apparel, drives store traffic and boosts customer loyalty."

Where shoppers say they spend the most lingerie dollars:

1. Wal-Mart (27.6%)
2. Victoria's Secret (9.6%)
3. Kohl's (5.6%)
4. JCPenney (5.3%)
5. Target (5%)
6. Lane Bryant (2.9%)
7. Macy's (2.9%)
8. Kmart (2.6%)
9. Dillard's (1.2%)
10. Sears (1%)

Retailers' Panty Raid on Victoria's Secret
by Ann Zimmerman, Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, and Amy Merrick

Political Repression = Economic Growth

"The unfree governments now understand that they have to provide a good economy to keep citizens happy, and they understand that free-market economies work best. Also, nearly all of the unfree nations are developing countries. History shows they grow faster, at least for a while, than mature nations. But being unfree may be an economic advantage. Dictatorships are not hamstrung by the preferences of voters for, say, a pervasive welfare state.

"So the future may look something like the 20th century in reverse. The unfree nations will grow so quickly that they will overwhelm free nations with their economic might. The unfree will see no reason to transition to democracy.

"Meanwhile, democracies may copy many of the market-friendly policies of the dictatorships, but it seems unlikely that free citizens will choose to reduce their own political freedoms."

http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2007/07/prosperity_in_jackboots.cfm

Searches Beyond Google

Only using Google for searches is like only using the New York Times for News - you'll miss a lot of stuff. Nevertheless, using Google is very convenient and quite thorough. But consider giving these guys a shot anyway...

*Dogpile (checks the Big Four: Google, MSN, Yahoo, Ask)
*Clusty (considered a "more comprehensive" search)
*Nelson Search (for journalistic peices)
*Intute (web-page quality checked by human researchers)
*AltaVista (popularity died when Google arrived, but said to now be like Clusty)
*Wayback Machine (can find history of webpages - but need exact URL)
*Bloglines (performs blog searches)

http://www.askreamaor.com/search-engines/8-ways-for-searching-the-dark-web-beyond-google/

World's Richest Man Changes Hands

Bill Gates reportedely is no longer the world's richest man. Carlos Slim of Mexico has overtaken Gates for the top spot. But why? Two reasons.

1) Shares of his American Movil stock have been skyrocketing
2) Bill Gates (and Warren Buffett) are becoming well-known for given their money away

This is why I don't mind the mega-wealthy. I'd rather have private citizens give billions to a give cause rather than have the government do it...

Mexican Tycoon Overtakes Bill Gates as World's Richest Man
by Fiona Walsh
http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2117330,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=24

World's Biggest Sailboat

Tom Perkins of venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Buyers has done well for himself...the 289-foot Maltese Falcon...Cost: $130 million.

http://www.wired.com/culture/design/magazine/15-07/ff_boat

Swarm Theory

"A single ant or bee isn't smart, but their colonies are. The study of swarm intelligence is providing insights that can help humans manage complex systems, from truck routing to military robots."

http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0707/feature5/index.html

Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test?

"When immigrants want to become Americans, they must take a civics test as part of their naturalization interview before a Citizenship and Immigration Services (INS) officer. The questions are usually selected from a list of 100 sample questions that prospective citizens can look at ahead of the interview (though the examiner is not limited to those questions). Some are easy, some are not. We have picked some of the more difficult ones."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19552808/

Why are Beer Kegs Dissapearing?

I wonder if there are fewer keggers in college these days...

"With metal prices rising, beer makers say they expect to lose hundreds of thousands of kegs and millions of dollars this year as those stainless steel holders of brew are stolen and sold for scrap...Some average keg-buying customers opt to forgo their deposits, which can sometimes range from $10 to $30, because they can cover that expense, and then some, if they sell to scrap dealers. He could not say how much kegs go for, because prices change locally. But given prices metal trading prices in the past year, a keg could fetch from $15 to $55 or more at scrap yards...While only about 12 percent of the nation's beer is sold in kegs each year, it costs brewers as much as $150 to replace each keg, so the thefts have a big impact. In the past few years, breweries have collectively lost about 300,000 kegs a year, Becker said, out of an estimated 10.7 million in circulation....kegs typically last 20 years....Most empty barrels weigh about 30 pounds. ..."

Beer Makers Losing Money on Missing Kegs
by Emily Fredrix
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070703/ap_on_fe_st/disappearing_kegs_5

Shower Curtain Effect

Why Does the Shower Curtain Move Toward the Water?

"In physics, the shower-curtain effect is the phenomenon in which a shower curtain gets blown inward with a running shower. The problem of the cause of this effect has been featured in Scientific American magazine, with several theories given to explain the phenomenon but no definite conclusion."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shower-curtain_effect

A Year Without Chinese Goods

"Author documents her family's attempt to not buy Chinese goods for one year; proves extremely difficult...About 15 percent of the $1.7 trillion in goods the United States imported in 2006 came from China, economist Joel Naroff writes in the foreword. "

US Family Tries Living Without China
by Cynthia Osterman
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN2425061320070628

Why Poor Countries are Poor

I question whether institutions like the World Bank are doing any good in poor countries when they are not even working to fix the root cause of poverty...

"Obviously, poor countries grew into rich countries by investing money in physical resources and by improving human and technological resources with education and technology transfer programs. But the picture is incomplete, a puzzle with the most important piece missing...Government banditry, widespread waste, and oppressive regulations are all elements in that missing piece of the puzzle...Unfortunately, it is not always so easy to get corrupt governments to change their ways."

Why Poor Countries Are Poor
by Tim Harford
http://www.reason.com/news/show/33258.html

Terrorism: Why No US Attack Since 9/11

"It could be that we've just been lucky...but I think there are two possible reasons for this long respite in terrorist attacks that the US has enjoyed. The first is scary: It's quite possible that al-Qaeda has decided not to waste time and assets on small-scale actions here and instead is determinted to make its next assualt on the US even bigger and deadlier than the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The second reason is that we have far fewer wannabes. The radical, anti-Western, jihadist ideas that inspire would-be suicide bombers in Britain and elsewhere in Europe have a much harder time finding receptive ears here...I think that's because the US, for all its faults, is still the most inclusive society on Earth. Our nation has a way of making outsiders into participants, a way of convincing people that they are protagonists, not just pawns. The US can fall short of its promises, but it has a genius for manufacturing possibility. If people have even a glimpse of a better tomorrow, no matter how unbearalbe today might be, they are less likely to pack a car with explosives..."

-Eugene Robinson, Washington Post 7/207

Employment & Injury/Death

140 million people are employed in the US. Approximately 4 million are reported injured or killed on the job each year. That means in any given year, you have a 2.8% chance of getting injured or killed on the job. I wonder what the definition of injury is though. Is a paper-cut considered an injury?

-March 20, 2007 Washington Post (The Numbers Game)

The Rice Cooker to End All Rice Cookers

Are people buying pricey rice cookers simply because of the high price (the "hype effect") or does the rice really taste that much better?

"More than four years ago, Japan's Toshiba Corp. began working on a top-secret electronic device. The $830 machine -- which some say resembles a tiny spaceship -- had a powerful vacuum pump to suck all the air out. It was designed to withstand 264 pounds of pressure, and it made use of silver and powdered diamonds. Production of the contraption, which takes about 30 people to assemble, started last year."

Making Perfect Rice Can Cost Big Bucks
by Yukari Iwatani Kane
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118092471979823451-search.html?KEYWORDS=rice+cooker&COLLECTION=wsjie/6month

What Happened Before the Big Bang

http://www.fortunecity.com/emachines/e11/86/big-bang.html

Fundamentals of Flight

Guide provided by the Department of the Army.

"From Bernoulli's principle to the challenges of night flight, the 392-page manual starts with the rudiments and builds from there."

"Fundamentals of Flight," Field Manual FM 3-04.203, May 2007
http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/army/fm3-04-203.pdf

Stock Split Psychology

After a stock splits, does it usually mean that a stock goes up? Apparently not. I do believe that psychology of price has the most influence of whether a stock will go up after a split. Momentum is important, but momentum can only last for so long.

"It is often claimed that stock splits, in and of themselves, lead to higher stock prices; research, however, does not bear this out. What is true is that stock splits are usually initiated after a large run up in share price. Momentum investing would suggest that such a trend would continue regardless of the stock split.

"Other effects could be psychological. If many investors believe that a stock split will result in an increased share price and purchase the stock the share price will tend to increase. Others contend that the management of a company, by initiating a stock split, is implicitly conveying its confidence in the future prospects of the company."

Stock Split: Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock_split

Stock Split Calendar
http://www.stocksplits.net/1splits.htm

Stock Split Calendar for US Companies
http://biz.yahoo.com/c/s.html

Manipulation of Prediction Markets

Online prediction markets can be manipulated, but the free market will eventually bring them back down to Earth...

"But it’s hard to manipulate markets for long. In the 2004 case, Bush’s re-election probability climbed back to 54 within minutes as profit-seeking traders spotted the free money. “When I heard about it, I started checking the betting markets in the early hours a lot more closely,” says Justin Wolfers. Robin Hanson and Ryan Oprea, economists at George Mason University, argue that manipulators can actually increase the accuracy of prediction in markets: by making big, unprofitable bets they are effectively subsidising the market and paying other traders to pay attention."

Undercover Economist: Tote That Vote
by Tim Harford
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/242d5378-22c4-11dc-ac53-000b5df10621.html

Do Political Assasinations Work?

Yes and no. Basically, if you are going to assassinate a political leader, make sure you kill him the first time, preferably in a regime that is considered a "mild autocracy." When using a gun, there is a 28% chance that the leader will be killed. A knife, 13%. And an explosive device, only 5%.

"Since 1875, national leaders have survived more than 239 assassination attempts and 59 leaders have been killed. In a study of assassinations of political leaders worldwide, we found that in some cases assassinations actually led to greater democracy. However, 80% of all assassination attempts fail, and a dictator may clamp down in response to a botched attempt, so a misfire may actually backfire."

From 7/1/07 Outlook Section of Washington Post (Aiming High)

Energy Map of America

Maps of nuclear, electrical, wind, geothermal, biomass, natural gas, oil, hydroelectric, and coal. The natural gas pipeline map is pretty cool. Louisiana is not even recognizable because the pipelines are so densely laid.

http://www.msnbc.com/modules/eoe/energy.asp

Guide to Never Feeling Tired Again

To be a productive citizen, it helps to avoid tiredness. Here are a few tips:

http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/your-guide-to-never-feeling-tired-again