"Specific cells in one of the three organs that make up the mosquito’s nose are tuned to identify the different chemicals that make up human body odour. To the mosquito some people’s sweat simply smells better than others because of the proportions of the carbon dioxide, octenol and other compounds that make up body odour."
Why Some Peopel Are Prone to Mosquito Bites
by Nic Fleming
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2007/08/30/scimozzie130.xml
Friday, August 31, 2007
Map: Cost of Home Ownership as % of Income
Colorado is suprising to me...is it because of expensive ski resort areas?
http://www.visualizingeconomics.com/2007/08/30/united-states-cost-of-home-ownership-as-of-income-map/
http://www.visualizingeconomics.com/2007/08/30/united-states-cost-of-home-ownership-as-of-income-map/
Who Gets The Most Public Holidays?
Spain topping the charts with 16 fiesta days...
1. Spain
2. Finland
3. Japan
4. Germany
5. Sweden
http://www.economist.com/daily/chartgallery/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9719355
1. Spain
2. Finland
3. Japan
4. Germany
5. Sweden
http://www.economist.com/daily/chartgallery/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9719355
Average Broadband Speed by Country
Source: Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
1. Japan
2. Korea
3. Finland
4. Sweden
5. France
.
.
.
14. US
http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/Images/commentarynews/broadbandspeedchart.jpg
1. Japan
2. Korea
3. Finland
4. Sweden
5. France
.
.
.
14. US
http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/Images/commentarynews/broadbandspeedchart.jpg
20 Things You Didn't Know About Death
Eighty percent of people in the United States die in a hospital. So if people stop going to the hospital, will that reduce death?
http://discovermagazine.com/2006/sep/20thingsdeath
http://discovermagazine.com/2006/sep/20thingsdeath
7 Rules to Understand People
Very Hobbesian view of people...
http://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/2007/08/28/the-critical-7-rules-to-understand-people/
http://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/2007/08/28/the-critical-7-rules-to-understand-people/
"Love Hotels" Not Just For Love
"Although love hotels continue to do brisk business in Japan, raking in nearly 4 trillion yen (17.1 billion pounds) in annual sales, according to Chaplin, the 1.3 million people who visit the 30,000 hotels each day often go there just to relax...Japan ranked last in a 26 nation survey of sexual activity released in July by condom maker Durex. The average Japanese had sex 48 times a year, well below the global average of 103 times."
Author says Japan Love Hotels Not Just For "Love"
by Emi Foulk
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070831/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_japan_love_hotels_1
Author says Japan Love Hotels Not Just For "Love"
by Emi Foulk
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070831/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_japan_love_hotels_1
Wikirage
This site lists the pages in Wikipedia which are receiving the most edits per unique editor over various periods of time. Popular people in the news, the latest fads, and the hottest video games can be quickly identified by monitor this social phenomenon.
http://www.wikirage.com/
http://www.wikirage.com/
The World's 100 Most Powerful Women
From Forbes:
1. Angela Merkel
2. Wu Yi
3. Ho Ching
4. Condoleezza Rice
5. Indra K. Nooyi
6. Sonia Gandhi
7. Cynthia Carroll
8. Patricia A. Woertz
9. Irene Rosenfeld
10. Patricia Russo
http://www.forbes.com/home/business/2007/08/30/most-powerful-women-biz-07women-cz_em_cs_0830power_land.html
1. Angela Merkel
2. Wu Yi
3. Ho Ching
4. Condoleezza Rice
5. Indra K. Nooyi
6. Sonia Gandhi
7. Cynthia Carroll
8. Patricia A. Woertz
9. Irene Rosenfeld
10. Patricia Russo
http://www.forbes.com/home/business/2007/08/30/most-powerful-women-biz-07women-cz_em_cs_0830power_land.html
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Bartering Up a Better Life
This young lad bartered a red paperclip for a house through a series of internet trades...not bad. Can the feat be repeated?
Bartering Up a Better Life
by Andrew Stark
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118834811175211711.html?mod=todays_us_personal_journal
Bartering Up a Better Life
by Andrew Stark
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118834811175211711.html?mod=todays_us_personal_journal
Beer Pong: Investors Rush In
With the World Series of Beer Pong (see bpong.com), you know that Beer Pong has officially "arrived."
"As beer-pong season hits a peak with the start of the school year, these beer-pong entrepreneurs are running tournaments and peddling customized beer-pong tables, balls and apparel...The game has been gaining fans on campus for more than a decade. But only in the past few years have entrepreneurs begun zeroing in on devotees who spend freely on beer, cups, balls and tournaments. The market appears to be expanding as beer-pong fans go on playing the game after they get out of college."
Thwock, Gulp,Kaching! Beer PongInspires Inventors
by Shelly Banjo
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118834341517511527.html?mod=todays_us_page_one
"As beer-pong season hits a peak with the start of the school year, these beer-pong entrepreneurs are running tournaments and peddling customized beer-pong tables, balls and apparel...The game has been gaining fans on campus for more than a decade. But only in the past few years have entrepreneurs begun zeroing in on devotees who spend freely on beer, cups, balls and tournaments. The market appears to be expanding as beer-pong fans go on playing the game after they get out of college."
Thwock, Gulp,Kaching! Beer PongInspires Inventors
by Shelly Banjo
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118834341517511527.html?mod=todays_us_page_one
One Hour In An Internet Cafe
The cost for one hour in an Internet cafe around the world:
*Shanghai: $0.52
*Kuala Lumpur: $0.62
*Bangkok: $0.75
*Jakarta: $0.77
*Manila: $1.23
*Hong Kong: $1.28
*Sydney: $1.93
*Singapore: $2.74
*Seoul: $3.01
*London: $4.03
*Paris: $5.81
*Tokyo: $6.04
*New York: $7.79
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118827274405810763.html?mod=todays_us_personal_journal
*Shanghai: $0.52
*Kuala Lumpur: $0.62
*Bangkok: $0.75
*Jakarta: $0.77
*Manila: $1.23
*Hong Kong: $1.28
*Sydney: $1.93
*Singapore: $2.74
*Seoul: $3.01
*London: $4.03
*Paris: $5.81
*Tokyo: $6.04
*New York: $7.79
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118827274405810763.html?mod=todays_us_personal_journal
Japan Trash Woes
Japan must have the stictest rules in the world on trash.
"Already, Japan burns about 80% of its garbage, compared with 14% in the U.S., and has two-thirds of the world's waste incinerators. But land-scarce Tokyo faces a dire situation: It's running out of places to put its trash."
Talking Trash: Tokyo Residents Feud Over Junk
by Amy Chozick
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118816154342309070.html?mod=todays_us_page_one
"Already, Japan burns about 80% of its garbage, compared with 14% in the U.S., and has two-thirds of the world's waste incinerators. But land-scarce Tokyo faces a dire situation: It's running out of places to put its trash."
Talking Trash: Tokyo Residents Feud Over Junk
by Amy Chozick
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118816154342309070.html?mod=todays_us_page_one
World's Metro Areas By GDP Per Capita
No city outside the US is in the top 25...
1. San Francisco
2. Washington
3. San Jose
4. Boston
5. Seattle
The first city outside the US is Paris at #26.
http://www.demographia.com/db-gdp-metro.pdf
1. San Francisco
2. Washington
3. San Jose
4. Boston
5. Seattle
The first city outside the US is Paris at #26.
http://www.demographia.com/db-gdp-metro.pdf
Bathroom Sex FAQ
Is tapping your foot really code for public sex?
"Yes. The signal has been around for decades in the US and Europe. Generally, one person initiates contact by tapping his foot in a way that's visible beneath the stall divider. If the second person responds with a similar tap, the initiator moves his foot closer to the other person's stall. If the other person makes a similar move, the first will inch closer yet again. The pair usually goes through the whole process a few times, just to confirm that the signals aren't an accident.
"Next, one of the men will slide his hand under the divider. This usually means he's inviting the other person to present himself, as if to say, "Show me what you got." The partner can respond by kneeling on the floor and presenting his penis or rear end underneath the divider. Or he can swipe his own hand under the divider, as if to say, "You go first." Some married men make a point of displaying their wedding band (like Sen. Craig allegedly did) to make themselves more alluring."
Bathroom Sex FAQ
by Christopher Beam
http://www.slate.com/id/2173033/
"Yes. The signal has been around for decades in the US and Europe. Generally, one person initiates contact by tapping his foot in a way that's visible beneath the stall divider. If the second person responds with a similar tap, the initiator moves his foot closer to the other person's stall. If the other person makes a similar move, the first will inch closer yet again. The pair usually goes through the whole process a few times, just to confirm that the signals aren't an accident.
"Next, one of the men will slide his hand under the divider. This usually means he's inviting the other person to present himself, as if to say, "Show me what you got." The partner can respond by kneeling on the floor and presenting his penis or rear end underneath the divider. Or he can swipe his own hand under the divider, as if to say, "You go first." Some married men make a point of displaying their wedding band (like Sen. Craig allegedly did) to make themselves more alluring."
Bathroom Sex FAQ
by Christopher Beam
http://www.slate.com/id/2173033/
An Eyeful A Day Keeps The Doctor Away
So is staring at women's breasts for half an hour equivalent to 1.5 hours in the gym?
"Staring at women's breasts is good for men's health and makes them live longer, a new survey reveals. Researchers have discovered that a 10-minute ogle at women's breasts is as healthy as half-an-hour in the gym. A five-year study of 200 men found that those who enjoyed a longing look at busty beauties had lower blood pressure, less heart disease and slower pulse rates compared to those who did not get their daily eyeful. Dr Karen Weatherby, who carried out the German study, wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine: Just 10 minutes of staring at the charms of a well endowed female is roughly equivalent to a 30-minute aerobics workout. "
An Eyeful A Day Keeps The Doctor Away
by Jonathan Hayter
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4161/is_20000611/ai_n14504639
"Staring at women's breasts is good for men's health and makes them live longer, a new survey reveals. Researchers have discovered that a 10-minute ogle at women's breasts is as healthy as half-an-hour in the gym. A five-year study of 200 men found that those who enjoyed a longing look at busty beauties had lower blood pressure, less heart disease and slower pulse rates compared to those who did not get their daily eyeful. Dr Karen Weatherby, who carried out the German study, wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine: Just 10 minutes of staring at the charms of a well endowed female is roughly equivalent to a 30-minute aerobics workout. "
An Eyeful A Day Keeps The Doctor Away
by Jonathan Hayter
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4161/is_20000611/ai_n14504639
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
China's Great Wall Becoming Less Great
The Great Wall will remain forever because it will always be rebuilt by China. But it is interesting to note that lots of fixes have been made to the wall over the centuries.
"Sand storms in northwest China are reducing sections of Great Wall to mounds of dirt and may cause them to disappear in about 20 years, state media said."
China's Wall Becoming Less and Less Great
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070829/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_china_wall
"Sand storms in northwest China are reducing sections of Great Wall to mounds of dirt and may cause them to disappear in about 20 years, state media said."
China's Wall Becoming Less and Less Great
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070829/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_china_wall
Does America Need a Recession?
"Central banks must stop recessions from turning into deep depressions. But it may be wrong to prevent them altogether."
Does America Need a Recession?
http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9687245
Does America Need a Recession?
http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9687245
Most Powerful Ethnic Lobbies
Most powerful ethnic lobbies, according to David Remnick of The New Yorker. Not in any particular order:
*Cuban-American
*Armenian American
*Israeli-American
*Greek-American
*Taiwanese-American
*Once-powerful ethinic lobby: Polish-American
*Up-and-coming ethnic lobbies: Mexican-American, Hindu-American, and Chinese-American
The Lobby
by David Remnick
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2007/09/03/070903taco_talk_remnick?printable=true
*Cuban-American
*Armenian American
*Israeli-American
*Greek-American
*Taiwanese-American
*Once-powerful ethinic lobby: Polish-American
*Up-and-coming ethnic lobbies: Mexican-American, Hindu-American, and Chinese-American
The Lobby
by David Remnick
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2007/09/03/070903taco_talk_remnick?printable=true
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Climate Change May Open New Route Between Pacific & Atlantic
The Northwest passage may soon be open to marine shipping...
http://clipsyndicate.com/publish/video/381242?wpid=47
http://clipsyndicate.com/publish/video/381242?wpid=47
Optimal # of Blog Posts Per Day
In a well-read (and money-making) blog, what is the optimal number of posts per day. I would say that there is (and should) be no set answer, but my guess would be around three to five. If it is much less, people will lose interest. If it is much more, people will feel inundated.
Matt Drudge: Most Influential Man in the World?
Matt Drudge can break stories like no other man, women or child I've seen. He may even have the power to influence the 2008 Presidential elections...
http://www.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=Where+Is+America%27s+Most+Influential+Journalist%2C+Matt+Drudge%2C+Coming+From%3F+--+New+York+Magazine&expire=&urlID=23622373&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnymag.com%2Fnews%2Fmedia%2F36617%2F&partnerID=73272
http://www.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=Where+Is+America%27s+Most+Influential+Journalist%2C+Matt+Drudge%2C+Coming+From%3F+--+New+York+Magazine&expire=&urlID=23622373&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnymag.com%2Fnews%2Fmedia%2F36617%2F&partnerID=73272
China's Future: Sexual Turmoil & "Bachelor Villages"
This is where robot technology may become very useful...I also see a huge growth opportunity for the blow-up doll market...
"...state demographers forecast that 37 million men will be unable to find wives by 2020. Already there are 18 million more men than women of marriageable age...The main reason for the imbalance is a traditional preference for boys, particularly in the countryside. Males are considered better at carrying on the family line, caring for elderly parents and earning money. Many farmers believe that raising a girl baby is a waste because she will marry into another family."
Crisis Looms as 18 million Chinese Can't Find a Wife
by Jonathan Watts
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2156355,00.html
"...state demographers forecast that 37 million men will be unable to find wives by 2020. Already there are 18 million more men than women of marriageable age...The main reason for the imbalance is a traditional preference for boys, particularly in the countryside. Males are considered better at carrying on the family line, caring for elderly parents and earning money. Many farmers believe that raising a girl baby is a waste because she will marry into another family."
Crisis Looms as 18 million Chinese Can't Find a Wife
by Jonathan Watts
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2156355,00.html
Current Standard of Living Unsustainable
A prediction that entitlement programs are going to cause us great pain in the future...here comes the results of the Baby Boom...
"The most serious threat to the US is not someone hiding in a cave in Afghanistan or Pakistan, rather, it is our own fiscal irresponsibility...our healthcare problem is much more significant than social security...Medicare is particular."
-David Walker, Comptroller General of GAO
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=KGpY2hw7ao8
"The most serious threat to the US is not someone hiding in a cave in Afghanistan or Pakistan, rather, it is our own fiscal irresponsibility...our healthcare problem is much more significant than social security...Medicare is particular."
-David Walker, Comptroller General of GAO
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=KGpY2hw7ao8
Guns = Wealth
Weapons ownership may be correlated with rising levels of wealth...I also imagine it is heavily correlated with law. Look at Japan, it is illegal to own a gun, and thus, gun violence is extremely rare...
"The US has 90 guns for every 100 citizens, making it the most heavily armed society in the world...US citizens own 270 million of the world's 875 million known firearms, according to the Small Arms Survey 2007 by the Geneva-based Graduate Institute of International Studies...Firearms are very unevenly distributed around the world. The image we have of certain regions such as Africa or Latin America being awash with weapons -- these images are certainly misleading, Small Arms Survey director Keith Krause said.
US Most Armed Country With 90 Guns per 100 People
by Laura MacInnis
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2007-08-28T174254Z_01_L28348938_RTRUKOC_0_US-WORLD-FIREARMS.xml&src=rss&rpc=22&sp=true
"The US has 90 guns for every 100 citizens, making it the most heavily armed society in the world...US citizens own 270 million of the world's 875 million known firearms, according to the Small Arms Survey 2007 by the Geneva-based Graduate Institute of International Studies...Firearms are very unevenly distributed around the world. The image we have of certain regions such as Africa or Latin America being awash with weapons -- these images are certainly misleading, Small Arms Survey director Keith Krause said.
US Most Armed Country With 90 Guns per 100 People
by Laura MacInnis
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2007-08-28T174254Z_01_L28348938_RTRUKOC_0_US-WORLD-FIREARMS.xml&src=rss&rpc=22&sp=true
Buzz Monitoring
Want to track yourself, others, and everything in the world? Here are some important tools:
http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2007/08/26-free-tools-for-buzz-monitoring.html
http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2007/08/26-free-tools-for-buzz-monitoring.html
Top 100 Classic Website & Top 100 Undiscovered Ones
A la PC Magazine:
Top 100 Classic Websites:
http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow/0,1206,l=213025&s=25234&a=212961,00.asp
Top 100 Undiscovered Websites:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2174685,00.asp
Top 100 Classic Websites:
http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow/0,1206,l=213025&s=25234&a=212961,00.asp
Top 100 Undiscovered Websites:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2174685,00.asp
Best Body Parts in Sports
The list is a bit of a misnomer since hair/mustaches and "intangibles" such as a smile are included in the list:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0708/best.body.parts/content.1.html
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0708/best.body.parts/content.1.html
Bike Scene: Amsterdam vs. San Francisco
Interesting entry on differences between Amsterdam bicyclists and San Francisco bicyclists.
Being a fairly small city which considers biking the norm, people in Amsterdam have developed their own unique bike culture. It appears that in Amsterdam, a bike is more like a car: No helmets, bringing animals along, formally dressed, multiple riders on one bike, etc...
In general, bicyclists in Amsterdam:
1. Can be found formally dressed
2. Have multiple riders on one bike
3. Wear NO helmets
4. Bring dogs along
5. Have Powered Generator (Dynamo) Bicycle Light
6. Have Spectacular Giant Security Chains
http://www.ski-epic.com/amsterdam_bicycles/
Being a fairly small city which considers biking the norm, people in Amsterdam have developed their own unique bike culture. It appears that in Amsterdam, a bike is more like a car: No helmets, bringing animals along, formally dressed, multiple riders on one bike, etc...
In general, bicyclists in Amsterdam:
1. Can be found formally dressed
2. Have multiple riders on one bike
3. Wear NO helmets
4. Bring dogs along
5. Have Powered Generator (Dynamo) Bicycle Light
6. Have Spectacular Giant Security Chains
http://www.ski-epic.com/amsterdam_bicycles/
Only 10 Female Leaders
About half the world is female. Only 10 are world leaders.
Europe has the most female world leaders. Here is the list:
1. Michelle Bachelet, President of Chile
2. Micheline Calmy-Rey, President of Switzerland
3. Helen Clark, Prime Minister of New Zealand
4. Luisa Dias Diogo, Prime Minister of Mozambique
5. Tarja Halonen, President of Finland
6. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of Liberia
7. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, President of the Phillippines
8. Mary McAleese, President of Ireland
9. Angela Merkel, Federal Chancellor of Germany
10. Portia Simpson-Miller, Prime Minister of Jamaica
http://awesome.goodmagazine.com/transparency/006/trans006girlpower.html
Europe has the most female world leaders. Here is the list:
1. Michelle Bachelet, President of Chile
2. Micheline Calmy-Rey, President of Switzerland
3. Helen Clark, Prime Minister of New Zealand
4. Luisa Dias Diogo, Prime Minister of Mozambique
5. Tarja Halonen, President of Finland
6. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of Liberia
7. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, President of the Phillippines
8. Mary McAleese, President of Ireland
9. Angela Merkel, Federal Chancellor of Germany
10. Portia Simpson-Miller, Prime Minister of Jamaica
http://awesome.goodmagazine.com/transparency/006/trans006girlpower.html
The Facebook Economy
"...Facebook did something MySpace still hasn't done: It opened up its network to developers and made it easy for them to make money from their applications..."
The Facebook Economy
by Lindsay Blakely and Michael V. Copeland
http://money.cnn.com/2007/08/22/technology/facebook_economy.biz2/index.htm?postversion=2007082307?
The Facebook Economy
by Lindsay Blakely and Michael V. Copeland
http://money.cnn.com/2007/08/22/technology/facebook_economy.biz2/index.htm?postversion=2007082307?
Monday, August 27, 2007
Social Networking: More Harm Than Good?
"Sites like Facebook are failing us because they do not do the thing that social networks are designed to do, namely: network. Websessed students spend their Facebook time keeping up with the infintesimal details of their acquaintances' lives through the egomanically titled News Feeds. Call it stalking, procrastinating or friend collecting, it doesn't build real connections...the bigger problem with Facebook et all...is that current sites assume that everyone in your life is on one happy network.
"Part of the problem is a numberg game. Oft-cited anthropological research puts the maximum effective group size at 150, known as the Dunbar number. Some groups - religious congreations, books clubs - splinger off when their numbers get too high for members to bond. Facebook does not."
An Unmanageable Circle of Friends
by Monica Hesse
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/24/AR2007082400481.html
"Part of the problem is a numberg game. Oft-cited anthropological research puts the maximum effective group size at 150, known as the Dunbar number. Some groups - religious congreations, books clubs - splinger off when their numbers get too high for members to bond. Facebook does not."
An Unmanageable Circle of Friends
by Monica Hesse
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/24/AR2007082400481.html
Fact of the Day
I wonder if exchange rates had anything to do with this...
"At the peak of Japan's real estate bubble, the wooded imperial estate at the center of Tokyo was worth more than the entire state of California."
"At the peak of Japan's real estate bubble, the wooded imperial estate at the center of Tokyo was worth more than the entire state of California."
Do You Know Any Chinese Brands?
I wonder what will be the first brand name from China that global citizens will recognize. True, while China might not have any notable brands yet, it does have intangibles such as its global influence and size. Chinatowns are in many (most?) major cities and Chinese restaurants are everywhere (and have been for awhile).
"...Japanese brands are respected and profitable. By contrast, despite the best efforts of personal-computer giant Lenovo and white-goods producer Haier, China has yet to build a single brand that most Americans could name. Japan is back."
Make Way for Japan
by Rowan Callick
http://www.american.com/archive/2007/july-august-magazine-contents/make-way-for-japan
"...Japanese brands are respected and profitable. By contrast, despite the best efforts of personal-computer giant Lenovo and white-goods producer Haier, China has yet to build a single brand that most Americans could name. Japan is back."
Make Way for Japan
by Rowan Callick
http://www.american.com/archive/2007/july-august-magazine-contents/make-way-for-japan
History of US Public Debt
"In 2006 the US government paid $406 billion for interest on its debt. It spent $61 billion on education and $56 billion on transportation."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_U.S._public_debt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_U.S._public_debt
World's Largest Cargo Ship
1302 feet - wow. That is more than the length of 3.5 American football fields...(a football field is 360 feet long and 160 feet wide).
"Check out the 'cruise speed'. 31 mph means the goods arrive four days before the typical container ship traveling at 18 to 20 mph on a China-to-California run."
http://toxicblogs.blogspot.com/2007/08/worlds-largest-cargoship.html
"Check out the 'cruise speed'. 31 mph means the goods arrive four days before the typical container ship traveling at 18 to 20 mph on a China-to-California run."
http://toxicblogs.blogspot.com/2007/08/worlds-largest-cargoship.html
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Map: Singles in US
The East Coast draws more female singles while the West Coast draws more male singles... Why?
"This map might explain why ‘Sex and the City’ is set in New York, and not in Los Angeles. And why there’s so much gang violence in LA. So why can’t all those single guys from LA and those thousands upon thousands of single girls from NYC meet up somewhere in the middle?"
http://strangemaps.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/mail.jpg
"This map might explain why ‘Sex and the City’ is set in New York, and not in Los Angeles. And why there’s so much gang violence in LA. So why can’t all those single guys from LA and those thousands upon thousands of single girls from NYC meet up somewhere in the middle?"
http://strangemaps.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/mail.jpg
Friday, August 24, 2007
How Accurate Are Weathermen?
We always hear about the accuracy of different things, but almost never in weather forecasting. So how accurate are weathermen and has accuracy truly improved with technology? To make forecasting better, I think there should be an annual (or monthly?) award given to forecasters who are most accurate.
By Cecil Adams of The Straight Dope
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/070824.html
By Cecil Adams of The Straight Dope
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/070824.html
The Traveler's Dilemma
"When playing this simple game, people consistently reject the rational choice. In fact, by acting illogically, they end up reaping a larger reward--an outcome that demands a new kind of formal reasoning."
The Traveler's Dilemma
by Kaushiku Basu
http://www.sciam.com/print_version.cfm?articleID=7750A576-E7F2-99DF-3824E0B1C2540D47
The Traveler's Dilemma
by Kaushiku Basu
http://www.sciam.com/print_version.cfm?articleID=7750A576-E7F2-99DF-3824E0B1C2540D47
In Search of the Ultimate Sushi Experience
An ode to Tsukiji --
"In search of the ultimate sushi experience, the author plunges into the frenzy of the world's biggest seafood market—Tokyo's Tsukiji, where a bluefin tuna can fetch more than $170,000 at auction—and discovers the artistry between ocean and plate, as well as some fishy surprises."
If You Knew Sushi
by Nick Tosches
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/06/sushi200706
"In search of the ultimate sushi experience, the author plunges into the frenzy of the world's biggest seafood market—Tokyo's Tsukiji, where a bluefin tuna can fetch more than $170,000 at auction—and discovers the artistry between ocean and plate, as well as some fishy surprises."
If You Knew Sushi
by Nick Tosches
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/06/sushi200706
Richistanis
"The entrepreneurial rich of the 21st century have created Richistan, a virtual country within their own country...Based on average family size, there are now more than 4 million children of American millionaires. And all those silver spoons are dipping into a record amount of disposable income and inherited wealth...The result is a booming new industry in courses for rich kids like the Skills Retreat in California."
Paris Hilton Syndrome and How to Avoid It
by Robert Frank
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/book_extracts/article1976765.ece
Paris Hilton Syndrome and How to Avoid It
by Robert Frank
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/book_extracts/article1976765.ece
Hegemon in Decline? Not So Fast.
Throughout history, the US has been in worse shape than it is now, even while the war in Iraq wages on...
"A superpower can lose a war—in Vietnam or in Iraq—without ceasing to be a superpower, says Mr Kagan, so long as the American public continues to support American predominance, and so long as potential challengers inspire more fear than sympathy among their neighbours.”
The Hobbled Hegemon
http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9401945
"A superpower can lose a war—in Vietnam or in Iraq—without ceasing to be a superpower, says Mr Kagan, so long as the American public continues to support American predominance, and so long as potential challengers inspire more fear than sympathy among their neighbours.”
The Hobbled Hegemon
http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9401945
$600-A-Pound Coffee
It's called Kopi Luwak.
"Human hands don't harvest the beans that make this rare brew. They're plucked by the sharp claws and fangs of wild civets, catlike beasts with bug eyes and weaselly noses that love their coffee fresh...In the animals' stomachs, enzymes in the gastric juices massage the beans, smoothing off the harsh edges that make coffee bitter and produce caffeine jitters. Humans then separate the greenish-brown beans from the rest of the dung, and once a thin outer layer is removed, they are ready for roasting. The result is a delicacy with a markup so steep it would make a drug dealer weep."
$600-A-Pound Coffee
by Paul Watson
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-coffee13jul13,0,681015,full.story?coll=la-default-underdog
"Human hands don't harvest the beans that make this rare brew. They're plucked by the sharp claws and fangs of wild civets, catlike beasts with bug eyes and weaselly noses that love their coffee fresh...In the animals' stomachs, enzymes in the gastric juices massage the beans, smoothing off the harsh edges that make coffee bitter and produce caffeine jitters. Humans then separate the greenish-brown beans from the rest of the dung, and once a thin outer layer is removed, they are ready for roasting. The result is a delicacy with a markup so steep it would make a drug dealer weep."
$600-A-Pound Coffee
by Paul Watson
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-coffee13jul13,0,681015,full.story?coll=la-default-underdog
The Colonization of Silence
An ode to silence, something we need much more of...
"...We find ourselves as a culture unable to assuage our loneliness except through the ceaseless accompaniment of our everyday actions. In such a world buying a book or a shirt is not merely to acquire a thing, to fill a need; it is, rather, to participate in the forced scripting of our lives according to commercial archetypes that tell us, through the imaginary film score by which we buy, eat, make love, crap, worship, and, eventually, die, not who we are but who we wish we were, who the music tells us we want to be.
"...Imprisoned by it as I am now, assaulted in every store, elevator, voice-mail system, passing car, neighbor's home, by it and its consequent immolation in the noise of the quotidian, it is lost to me as anything other than a kind of psychic rape, a forced intimacy with sonic partners not of my choosing. When music is everywhere, it is nowhere; when everything is music, nothing is. Silence is as crucial to the musical experience as any of its sounding parameters, and not merely as a kind of acoustical "negative space." Silence births, nurtures, and eventually takes back the musical utterance; it shapes both the formation of its textures and the arc of its progress through time."
The Colonization of Silence
by Andrew Waggoner
http://www.newmusicbox.org/article.nmbx?id=5188
"...We find ourselves as a culture unable to assuage our loneliness except through the ceaseless accompaniment of our everyday actions. In such a world buying a book or a shirt is not merely to acquire a thing, to fill a need; it is, rather, to participate in the forced scripting of our lives according to commercial archetypes that tell us, through the imaginary film score by which we buy, eat, make love, crap, worship, and, eventually, die, not who we are but who we wish we were, who the music tells us we want to be.
"...Imprisoned by it as I am now, assaulted in every store, elevator, voice-mail system, passing car, neighbor's home, by it and its consequent immolation in the noise of the quotidian, it is lost to me as anything other than a kind of psychic rape, a forced intimacy with sonic partners not of my choosing. When music is everywhere, it is nowhere; when everything is music, nothing is. Silence is as crucial to the musical experience as any of its sounding parameters, and not merely as a kind of acoustical "negative space." Silence births, nurtures, and eventually takes back the musical utterance; it shapes both the formation of its textures and the arc of its progress through time."
The Colonization of Silence
by Andrew Waggoner
http://www.newmusicbox.org/article.nmbx?id=5188
Real Source of Riches: Intellectual Capital
"Oil, soil, copper, and forests are forms of wealth. So are factories, houses, and roads. But according to a 2005 study by the World Bank, such solid goods amount to only about 20 percent of the wealth of rich nations and 40 percent of the wealth of poor countries. So what accounts for the majority? World Bank environmental economist Kirk Hamilton and his team in the bank's environment department have found that most of humanity's wealth isn't made of physical stuff. It is intangible. In their extraordinary but vastly underappreciated report, Where Is The Wealth Of Nations?: Measuring Capital for the 21st Century, Hamilton's team found that "human capital and the value of institutions (as measured by rule of law) constitute the largest share of wealth in virtually all countries."
Our Intangible Riches
by Ronald Bailey
http://www.reason.com/news/show/120764.html
Our Intangible Riches
by Ronald Bailey
http://www.reason.com/news/show/120764.html
Why Do Women Prefer Pink?
The human history of hunting and gathering may help explain why women prefer pink...
...The Bem Sex Role Inventory, which asks about personality traits more often associated with one sex than the other. This showed that the more feminine a brain was, regardless of the body it inhabited, the more it liked red and pink. All this suggests a biological, rather than a cultural, explanation for colour preference. And Dr Hurlbert and Dr Ling have produced one. They suggest that their result may be connected with the fact that the colour of many fruits is at the red end of the spectrum. An evolved preference for red, pink and allied shades—particularly in contrast with green—could thus bring advantage to those who gather such things. And if they can also remember which tree (or stall) to go and visit next time, then so much the better.
Sex, Shopping and Thinking Pink
http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9682588
And a retort:
Pink, Pink, Pink, Pink. Pink Moan
by Ben Goldacre
http://www.badscience.net/?p=518
...The Bem Sex Role Inventory, which asks about personality traits more often associated with one sex than the other. This showed that the more feminine a brain was, regardless of the body it inhabited, the more it liked red and pink. All this suggests a biological, rather than a cultural, explanation for colour preference. And Dr Hurlbert and Dr Ling have produced one. They suggest that their result may be connected with the fact that the colour of many fruits is at the red end of the spectrum. An evolved preference for red, pink and allied shades—particularly in contrast with green—could thus bring advantage to those who gather such things. And if they can also remember which tree (or stall) to go and visit next time, then so much the better.
Sex, Shopping and Thinking Pink
http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9682588
And a retort:
Pink, Pink, Pink, Pink. Pink Moan
by Ben Goldacre
http://www.badscience.net/?p=518
Internet Map: World Connection Density
"The Dimes Project provides several excellent data sets that describe the structure of the Internet. Using their most recent city edges data (Feb 2007), I created a set of visualizations that display how cities across the globe are interconnected (by router configuration and not physical backbone). In total, there are 89,344 connections. "
http://www.chrisharrison.net/projects/InternetMap/
http://www.chrisharrison.net/projects/InternetMap/
Atheistic Societies Are Happy Societies
"According to a major study there’s a very strong correlation between atheism and societal health."
I would note that suicides are quite prevalent in many of these countries...
Here are the most non-religious countries in the world, according to the findings:
1. Sweden
2. Vietnam
3. Denmark
4. Norway
5. Japan
6. Czech Republic
7. Finland
8. France
9. South Korea
10. Estonia
Atheistic Societies Are Happy Societies
by Daniel Miessler
http://dmiessler.com/blogarchive/atheistic-societies-are-happy-societies
I would note that suicides are quite prevalent in many of these countries...
Here are the most non-religious countries in the world, according to the findings:
1. Sweden
2. Vietnam
3. Denmark
4. Norway
5. Japan
6. Czech Republic
7. Finland
8. France
9. South Korea
10. Estonia
Atheistic Societies Are Happy Societies
by Daniel Miessler
http://dmiessler.com/blogarchive/atheistic-societies-are-happy-societies
Economic Indicator of the Week: Baltic Exchange Dry Index
Baltic Exchange Dry Index - sounds so, well, dry. But don't count this economic indicator out just yet. It can potentially signal a further credit cruch before it happens...
"Published by the Baltic Exchange, a ship-chartering marketplace in London for more than 250 years, the index reflects rates to transport bulk commodities such as coal, iron ore and grains in vessels from the relatively small to the gigantic...
Growth Gauge:Offbeat Indexes On Commodities
by Ann Davis
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118791023542507207.html?mod=todays_us_money_and_investing
"Published by the Baltic Exchange, a ship-chartering marketplace in London for more than 250 years, the index reflects rates to transport bulk commodities such as coal, iron ore and grains in vessels from the relatively small to the gigantic...
Growth Gauge:Offbeat Indexes On Commodities
by Ann Davis
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118791023542507207.html?mod=todays_us_money_and_investing
Average Wedding Cost: Mean vs. Median Feud, Again
I recently wrote about how statistics need to be examined more carefully. In one recent NYTimes article, the author quoted sex statistics using what some consider the "improper" method. It was a matter of "mean" vs. "median" usage.
Well, the WSJ uncovered another mean/median controversy - this time about wedding prices.
"The so-called average cost -- between $27,400 and $28,800, according to the latest iteration of these surveys -- is a mean. That's the kind of average you might remember from grade-school math: In this case, it's the sum of all the survey responses, divided by the number of people surveyed. The mean is especially susceptible to a single lavish exception: One $1 million wedding put into the mix with 54 weddings costing $10,000 each would boost the mean to $28,000, although among the 55 couples, $10,000 would seem a much better representation of the typical cost...For the three surveys, the median wedding cost is closer to $15,000."
Lesson to be learned: statistics can lie.
Weddings Are Not the Budget Drains Some Surveys Suggest
by Carl Bialik
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118790518546107112.html?mod=todays_us_marketplace
Well, the WSJ uncovered another mean/median controversy - this time about wedding prices.
"The so-called average cost -- between $27,400 and $28,800, according to the latest iteration of these surveys -- is a mean. That's the kind of average you might remember from grade-school math: In this case, it's the sum of all the survey responses, divided by the number of people surveyed. The mean is especially susceptible to a single lavish exception: One $1 million wedding put into the mix with 54 weddings costing $10,000 each would boost the mean to $28,000, although among the 55 couples, $10,000 would seem a much better representation of the typical cost...For the three surveys, the median wedding cost is closer to $15,000."
Lesson to be learned: statistics can lie.
Weddings Are Not the Budget Drains Some Surveys Suggest
by Carl Bialik
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118790518546107112.html?mod=todays_us_marketplace
Most Expensive US House Ever Sold
You think you're hot stuff with your multi-million dollar house?
Highest residential sale to date: $103 million. Investor Ron Baron purchased the 40-acre compound in East Hampton, NY. And now there are a handful of homes competiting for that top spot, including one in Beverly Hills and one in Lake Tahoe...
'Underpriced' at $100 Million
by Ben Casselman and Christina S.N. Lewis
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118791696265107415.html?mod=hps_us_inside_today
Highest residential sale to date: $103 million. Investor Ron Baron purchased the 40-acre compound in East Hampton, NY. And now there are a handful of homes competiting for that top spot, including one in Beverly Hills and one in Lake Tahoe...
'Underpriced' at $100 Million
by Ben Casselman and Christina S.N. Lewis
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118791696265107415.html?mod=hps_us_inside_today
Thursday, August 23, 2007
New Language: "Leetspeak"
I imagine that the language will gain even more currency when courses in college start teaching the language.
"For years, heavy users of Internet games and chat groups have conversed in their own written language, often indecipherable to outsiders. Now, some of those online words are gaining currency in popular culture -- even in spoken form...The language is sometimes called elite speak, or leetspeak, written as l33t 5p34k...There is no standardized code."
What Did U$@y? Online Language Finds Its Voice
by Christopher Rhoads
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118679550023894850.html?mod=todays_us_page_one
"For years, heavy users of Internet games and chat groups have conversed in their own written language, often indecipherable to outsiders. Now, some of those online words are gaining currency in popular culture -- even in spoken form...The language is sometimes called elite speak, or leetspeak, written as l33t 5p34k...There is no standardized code."
What Did U$@y? Online Language Finds Its Voice
by Christopher Rhoads
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118679550023894850.html?mod=todays_us_page_one
Is Cell Phone Use While Driving Really So Dangerous?
"...we document a 20-30% rise in cellular call volume during the time of the day-- 9pm on weekdays-- when cell phone providers systematically transition from "peak" to "off-peak" pricing. We then measure the resulting increase in fatal and non-fatal crashes during this period as compared to weekends and earlier periods which serve as controls. We find no evidence for a rise in crashes, and estimate small positive upper bounds for the effect size at 9pm (~1% for all crashes, and 2.4% for fatal crashes)..."
http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2007/08/is-cell-phone-u.html
http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2007/08/is-cell-phone-u.html
Rethinking Presidential Debates: Gameshows
"What we need is a way of conveying information to uninformed, unsophisticated voters in a way that is entertaining yet produces information about politicians that is correlated with real skills...I suggest a game show, So You Think You Can Be President? SYTYCBP would have at least three segments."
http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2007/08/so-you-think-yo.html
http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2007/08/so-you-think-yo.html
Sushi Debate Flares Up in Europe
Show me a study that indicates freezing kills all bacteria in sushi and I will take a closer look at this law...
"Japanese chefs in Britain who serve up raw fish are criticizing a law which requires them to deep-freeze their produce before they prepare their dishes, claiming the procedure reduces the quality of the end product...Since January 2006, it has been obligatory for all restaurants in the European Union to freeze fish which is going to be used for sushi and sashimi (sliced raw fish fillets) for a minimum of 24 hours at a temperature of at least minus 20 C."
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/070823/kyodo/d8r6f3ug0.html
"Japanese chefs in Britain who serve up raw fish are criticizing a law which requires them to deep-freeze their produce before they prepare their dishes, claiming the procedure reduces the quality of the end product...Since January 2006, it has been obligatory for all restaurants in the European Union to freeze fish which is going to be used for sushi and sashimi (sliced raw fish fillets) for a minimum of 24 hours at a temperature of at least minus 20 C."
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/070823/kyodo/d8r6f3ug0.html
NY Times Slips Up On Sexual Math
I quoted this article awhile back. But Slate's Jordan Ellenberg proves why the article's math doesn't necessarily add up.
"The problem is hiding in the distinction between the median (the number reported by the CDC study) and the mean (the number Gale was talking about). The mean is what people usually call the "average." To calculate the mean number of sexual partners among a group of men, you add together each man's sexual partners, then divide by the total number of men. The median, on the other hand, is the number you'd get if you line all the men up in order of their number of partners, then ask the man in the middle to state his count."
The New York Times Slips up on Sexual Math
by Jordan Ellenberg
http://www.slate.com/id/2172186/fr/flyout
"The problem is hiding in the distinction between the median (the number reported by the CDC study) and the mean (the number Gale was talking about). The mean is what people usually call the "average." To calculate the mean number of sexual partners among a group of men, you add together each man's sexual partners, then divide by the total number of men. The median, on the other hand, is the number you'd get if you line all the men up in order of their number of partners, then ask the man in the middle to state his count."
The New York Times Slips up on Sexual Math
by Jordan Ellenberg
http://www.slate.com/id/2172186/fr/flyout
Redheads Set for Extinction
"According to genetic scientists redheads are becoming rarer and could be extinct in 100 years...Global intermingling, which broadens the availability of possible partners, has reduced the chances of redheads meeting and so producing little redheads of their own."
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,22289891-23272,00.html
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,22289891-23272,00.html
How Important Are the 2008 Olympics for the Chinese Economy?
Answer: Not that important (from a macro point of view).
"We show the ratio of the metropolitan area population as a share of national population for the country in question. This is a good minimum proxy indicator for the relative size of the city economy in national GDP (minimum, since urban incomes are almost universally higher thanrural incomes). Look at Athens in 2004, Seoul in 1988, Sydney in 2000; these Olympicgames were clearly a "big deal" for the countries in question, since the host cities accounted for 20% to 40% of national population and almost certainly an even higher share of national income. Now look at Beijing 2008. As it turns out, Beijing comprises a total of 1.1% of the Chinese population and under 3% of Chinese GDP - the lowest ratio for any Olympic games in the past 30 years and likely the lowest ratio for any Olympic games in modern recorded history."
Source: Unknown
"We show the ratio of the metropolitan area population as a share of national population for the country in question. This is a good minimum proxy indicator for the relative size of the city economy in national GDP (minimum, since urban incomes are almost universally higher thanrural incomes). Look at Athens in 2004, Seoul in 1988, Sydney in 2000; these Olympicgames were clearly a "big deal" for the countries in question, since the host cities accounted for 20% to 40% of national population and almost certainly an even higher share of national income. Now look at Beijing 2008. As it turns out, Beijing comprises a total of 1.1% of the Chinese population and under 3% of Chinese GDP - the lowest ratio for any Olympic games in the past 30 years and likely the lowest ratio for any Olympic games in modern recorded history."
Source: Unknown
Sushi Economy: Future of Sushi to Take Place in China
This is an from an interview of Sasha Issenberg (author of The Sushi Economy) by Devin Stewart:
"The luxury-minded Chinese middle classes are starting to develop an appetite for sushi, and just about everything—supply, prices, and pressure on wild stocks—will be determined by how quickly they take to the food and how quickly they develop the wealth to drive the market. We've seen a version of this so far in Russia, Dubai, and elsewhere in East Asia: Consumption of sushi has turned out to be a pretty good indicator of full participation in the global economy. We've just never seen so large a population make that leap so quickly.
The future of sushi will likely take place in China. In a few years, you'll be asking me what I think of the Chengdu roll."
http://www.policyinnovations.org/ideas/commentary/data/sushi_economy
"The luxury-minded Chinese middle classes are starting to develop an appetite for sushi, and just about everything—supply, prices, and pressure on wild stocks—will be determined by how quickly they take to the food and how quickly they develop the wealth to drive the market. We've seen a version of this so far in Russia, Dubai, and elsewhere in East Asia: Consumption of sushi has turned out to be a pretty good indicator of full participation in the global economy. We've just never seen so large a population make that leap so quickly.
The future of sushi will likely take place in China. In a few years, you'll be asking me what I think of the Chengdu roll."
http://www.policyinnovations.org/ideas/commentary/data/sushi_economy
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Electric Hand-Dryers vs. Paper Towels: Which is Better for the Environment?
From Cecil Adams of Straight Dope --
I would not say the results equal a definitive answer, only a "best guess" - which means that it could be widely off...
"Una's best guess is that standard hot-air dryers use 5 percent less energy than paper towels in the first year, and about 20 percent less over five years."
http://straightdope.com/columns/070817.html?
I would not say the results equal a definitive answer, only a "best guess" - which means that it could be widely off...
"Una's best guess is that standard hot-air dryers use 5 percent less energy than paper towels in the first year, and about 20 percent less over five years."
http://straightdope.com/columns/070817.html?
Sovereign Wealth Funds - Causing Future Collapses?
A tool that can be used for both harm and good.
"...Foreign governments are increasingly converting their dollar holdings into investment funds to acquire companies, real estate, banks and other assets in the US and elsewhere. The fear is that these so-called sovereign wealth funds could destabilize markets or provoke a political backlash."
Largest Sovereign Funds (in billions) -
*UAE: $500-875
*Singapore: $100-330
*Norway: $308
*Kuwait: $174
*Russia: $172
*China: $66
*Qatar: $50
*Algeria: $43
*Australia: $42
*US: $39
*Brunei: $30
*South Korea: $20
*Malaysia: $18
Source: Peterson Institute for International Economics
A Fear of Foreign Investments
by Steven Weisman
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/21/business/worldbusiness/21wealth.html?pagewanted=2&ei=5124&en=d92692f4fdb3048a&ex=1345435200&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
"...Foreign governments are increasingly converting their dollar holdings into investment funds to acquire companies, real estate, banks and other assets in the US and elsewhere. The fear is that these so-called sovereign wealth funds could destabilize markets or provoke a political backlash."
Largest Sovereign Funds (in billions) -
*UAE: $500-875
*Singapore: $100-330
*Norway: $308
*Kuwait: $174
*Russia: $172
*China: $66
*Qatar: $50
*Algeria: $43
*Australia: $42
*US: $39
*Brunei: $30
*South Korea: $20
*Malaysia: $18
Source: Peterson Institute for International Economics
A Fear of Foreign Investments
by Steven Weisman
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/21/business/worldbusiness/21wealth.html?pagewanted=2&ei=5124&en=d92692f4fdb3048a&ex=1345435200&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
Chart: Who Owns the Internet
The answer is:
*IAC
*AOL
*Google
*Yahoo
*Microsoft
*News Corporation
http://www.mydigimedia.com/images/WhoOwnsWhat.jpg
*Another interesting chart to look at is who owns the Internet infrastructure in the US:
http://advice.cio.com/node/209
*IAC
*AOL
*Yahoo
*Microsoft
*News Corporation
http://www.mydigimedia.com/images/WhoOwnsWhat.jpg
*Another interesting chart to look at is who owns the Internet infrastructure in the US:
http://advice.cio.com/node/209
Reverse "Brain Drain"
There is no excuse not to fix this policy immediately.
"The huge backlog in US immigration visas is leading to a 'reverse brain-drain' that will force skilled workers to return to their home country, a report released Wednesday concludes. The study by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation found that more than one million potential immigrants, including scientists, engineers, doctors and researchers, are competing for 120,000 permanent US resident visas each year."
Tougher US immigration leading to 'reverse brain-drain': study
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070822/pl_afp/usimmigrationeducation
"The huge backlog in US immigration visas is leading to a 'reverse brain-drain' that will force skilled workers to return to their home country, a report released Wednesday concludes. The study by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation found that more than one million potential immigrants, including scientists, engineers, doctors and researchers, are competing for 120,000 permanent US resident visas each year."
Tougher US immigration leading to 'reverse brain-drain': study
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070822/pl_afp/usimmigrationeducation
If Commerce Is Booming, Are Global Trade Deals Needed?
"Yet multilateral agreements still are needed, says Mr. NaÃm. They are probably the only way to lower the most stubborn trade barriers in agriculture and the service sector. What’s more, it will be easier to curtail problems such as the deadly dog food and toxic toothpaste coming out of China if trade organizations work in concert with governments."
http://www.truthabouttrade.org/article.asp?id=8071
http://www.truthabouttrade.org/article.asp?id=8071
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Private Stock Markets
With such a high minimum requirement, at least most people don't have to worry about changing their investment strategy much...But I wonder how much will be reported about stocks traded on these private markets. I also wonder how public markets will impact the private ones...
"Nasdaq is set to launch a private stock market for superwealthy investors. Minimum requirement for trading: $100 million in assets. Any private firm can list on Nasdaq's new platform, which is called the Portal Market, and raise money by selling stock to an elite group of shareholders. These companies would remain private and not have to make public their financial statements or submit to federal regulation, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate accountability law...Once a tiny influence on the markets, private money has gained unprecedented power on Wall Street...For the first time last year, corporate America raised more money - $162 billion - from private investors than from initial public offerings, which raised $154 billionfrom the three major US stock markets...The boom in private money has become so important to the financial system that major investment banks, including Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers and Citigroup are setting up rival private stock markets of their own. But none will be as large as Portal, which will list the shares of about 500 firms on its first day of trading."
Nasdaq Gives High Rollers A Market Free of Regulation
by David Cho
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/13/AR2007081301170.html
"Nasdaq is set to launch a private stock market for superwealthy investors. Minimum requirement for trading: $100 million in assets. Any private firm can list on Nasdaq's new platform, which is called the Portal Market, and raise money by selling stock to an elite group of shareholders. These companies would remain private and not have to make public their financial statements or submit to federal regulation, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate accountability law...Once a tiny influence on the markets, private money has gained unprecedented power on Wall Street...For the first time last year, corporate America raised more money - $162 billion - from private investors than from initial public offerings, which raised $154 billionfrom the three major US stock markets...The boom in private money has become so important to the financial system that major investment banks, including Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers and Citigroup are setting up rival private stock markets of their own. But none will be as large as Portal, which will list the shares of about 500 firms on its first day of trading."
Nasdaq Gives High Rollers A Market Free of Regulation
by David Cho
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/13/AR2007081301170.html
Global Taxi Fares
The minimum starting fare of a city taxi when flagged:
*Kuala Lumpur: $0.57
*Shanghai: $1.45
*Singapore: $1.67
*Hong Kong: $1.92
*Seoul: $2.00
*Sydney: $2.34
*New York: $2.50
*Frankfurt: $2.70
*Rome: $3.14
*Brussels: $3.26
*London: $4.36
*Tokyo: $5.78
*Paris: $7.02
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118765505769303540.html?mod=todays_us_personal_journal
*Kuala Lumpur: $0.57
*Shanghai: $1.45
*Singapore: $1.67
*Hong Kong: $1.92
*Seoul: $2.00
*Sydney: $2.34
*New York: $2.50
*Frankfurt: $2.70
*Rome: $3.14
*Brussels: $3.26
*London: $4.36
*Tokyo: $5.78
*Paris: $7.02
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118765505769303540.html?mod=todays_us_personal_journal
Middle East: The Next Bangalore?
I find the time zone theory intriguing...
"Much of the Middle East offers the same appeal other outsourcing hot spots have: cheap, skilled labor. But companies are finding other advantages, including a time zone that roughly straddles the world's three biggest economies -- North America, Europe and Asia. The region's geographic proximity to Europe and a multilingual labor force also help. And with business booming in much of the Mideast, there is more demand for Arabic speakers."
Middle East Beckons as Outsourcing Hotspot
by Mariam Fam
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118764887501203428.html?mod=todays_us_page_one
"Much of the Middle East offers the same appeal other outsourcing hot spots have: cheap, skilled labor. But companies are finding other advantages, including a time zone that roughly straddles the world's three biggest economies -- North America, Europe and Asia. The region's geographic proximity to Europe and a multilingual labor force also help. And with business booming in much of the Mideast, there is more demand for Arabic speakers."
Middle East Beckons as Outsourcing Hotspot
by Mariam Fam
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118764887501203428.html?mod=todays_us_page_one
Index of Leading Economic Indicators
Indicator of the day:
"The index of leading economic indicators (LEI) is intended to predict future economic activity. Typically, three consecutive monthly LEI changes in the same direction suggest a turning point in the economy. For example, consecutive negative readings would indicate a possible recession."
The index of leading economic indicators (LEI) is a composite of the following 11 leading indicators:
*Average workweek (manufacturing)
*Initial unemployment claims
*New orders for consumer goods
*Vendor performance
*Plant and equipment orders
*Building permits
*Change in unfilled durable orders
*Sensitive material prices
*Stock prices (S&P 500)
*Real M2
*Index of consumer expectations
http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~nroubini/bci/IndexLeadingEconomicInd.htm
"The index of leading economic indicators (LEI) is intended to predict future economic activity. Typically, three consecutive monthly LEI changes in the same direction suggest a turning point in the economy. For example, consecutive negative readings would indicate a possible recession."
The index of leading economic indicators (LEI) is a composite of the following 11 leading indicators:
*Average workweek (manufacturing)
*Initial unemployment claims
*New orders for consumer goods
*Vendor performance
*Plant and equipment orders
*Building permits
*Change in unfilled durable orders
*Sensitive material prices
*Stock prices (S&P 500)
*Real M2
*Index of consumer expectations
http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~nroubini/bci/IndexLeadingEconomicInd.htm
Monday, August 20, 2007
Top Party Schools
Top party schools as they appear in The Princeton Review's 2008 edition of "The Best 366 Colleges:"
1. West Virginia U.
2. U. of Mississippi
3. U. of Texas, Austin
4. U. of Florida
5. U. of Georgia
6. Penn State U.
7. U. of New Hampshire
8. Indiana U., Bloomington
9. Ohio U., Athens
10. U. of California, Santa Barbara
http://www.kpho.com/news/13934107/detail.html
1. West Virginia U.
2. U. of Mississippi
3. U. of Texas, Austin
4. U. of Florida
5. U. of Georgia
6. Penn State U.
7. U. of New Hampshire
8. Indiana U., Bloomington
9. Ohio U., Athens
10. U. of California, Santa Barbara
http://www.kpho.com/news/13934107/detail.html
Stone Cold Sober Schools Top 20
Here are the top 10 from The Princeton Review's 2008 Edition of "The Best 366 Colleges:"
1. Brigham Young U.
2. Wheaton College (Ill.)
3. Thomas Aquinas College
4. College of the Ozarks
5. Grove City College
6. US Coast Guard Academy
7. US Air Force Academy
8. US Naval Academy
9. City U. of NY, Queens College
10. Webb U.
http://www.kpho.com/news/13934006/detail.html?rss=pho&psp=news
1. Brigham Young U.
2. Wheaton College (Ill.)
3. Thomas Aquinas College
4. College of the Ozarks
5. Grove City College
6. US Coast Guard Academy
7. US Air Force Academy
8. US Naval Academy
9. City U. of NY, Queens College
10. Webb U.
http://www.kpho.com/news/13934006/detail.html?rss=pho&psp=news
America's Best Colleges 2008
From US News & World Report...
1. Princeton
2. Harvard
3. Yale
4. Stanford
5. U. Penn
5. Calif. Inst. of Tech.
6. Duke
7. MIT
8. Duke
9. Columbia
10. U. of Chicago
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/t1natudoc_brief.php
1. Princeton
2. Harvard
3. Yale
4. Stanford
5. U. Penn
5. Calif. Inst. of Tech.
6. Duke
7. MIT
8. Duke
9. Columbia
10. U. of Chicago
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/t1natudoc_brief.php
The Two-Income Tax Trap
"In fact, for the typical 1970s family, paying 24% of its income in taxes works out to be $9,288. And for the 2000s family, paying 33% of its income is $22,374. Although income only rose 75%, and expenditures for the mortgage, car and health insurance rose by even less than that, the tax bill increased by $13,086 -- a whopping 140% increase. The percentage of family income dedicated to health insurance, mortgage and automobiles actually declined between the two periods."
The Two-Income Tax Trap
by Todd Zywicki
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118705537958296783.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries
The Two-Income Tax Trap
by Todd Zywicki
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118705537958296783.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries
A Chinese Century: Maybe in the 22nd Century
As soon as you start seeing a new China book hit Borders nearly every week, you know there is way too much hype about China's growth...
"What is clear is that China is unlikely to surpass the United States in G.D.P. in absolute or relative terms anytime soon."
A Chinese Century? Maybe In The Next One
by Lester Thurow
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/19/business/yourmoney/19view.html?ei=5090&en=21ce51f715e17f12&ex=1345176000&adxnnl=1&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1187629738-7WSh/KYCakcO6zlloWLsAw
"What is clear is that China is unlikely to surpass the United States in G.D.P. in absolute or relative terms anytime soon."
A Chinese Century? Maybe In The Next One
by Lester Thurow
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/19/business/yourmoney/19view.html?ei=5090&en=21ce51f715e17f12&ex=1345176000&adxnnl=1&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1187629738-7WSh/KYCakcO6zlloWLsAw
8 Tools To Ensure You'll Never Lose An Idea
Millions of great (and not-so-great) ideas are probably lost every day because people can't recall what the idea was. Here are some tools to try so that never happens again...
8 Tools That Ensure You'll Never Lose An Idea
by Glen Stansberry
http://blog.liferemix.net/8-tools-ensure-youll-never-lose-idea
8 Tools That Ensure You'll Never Lose An Idea
by Glen Stansberry
http://blog.liferemix.net/8-tools-ensure-youll-never-lose-idea
Energy Conversion
Its all about the simple fixes...
"Too much energy is wasted by converting it. We could cut energy use by as much as 30% in 10 years by removing some links from the energy chain."
Let The Sun Shine In
by Greg Blonder
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jul2007/tc20070731_540634.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_technology
"Too much energy is wasted by converting it. We could cut energy use by as much as 30% in 10 years by removing some links from the energy chain."
Let The Sun Shine In
by Greg Blonder
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jul2007/tc20070731_540634.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_technology
How Physics Can Explain Why Some Countries Are Rich & Others Poor
"The network maps show that economies tend to develop through closely related products. A country such as Colombia makes products that are well connected on the network, and so there are plenty of opportunities for private firms to move in to, provided other parts of the business climate allow it. But many of South Africa's current exports—diamonds, for example—are not very similar to anything. ..If the country is to develop new products, it will mean making a big leap. The data show that such leaps are unusual. "
Milton Friedman, Meet Richard Feynman
by Tim Harford
http://www.slate.com/id/2171898/
Product interconnectivity:
http://www.nd.edu/~networks/productspace/Images/spacelabels.pdf
Milton Friedman, Meet Richard Feynman
by Tim Harford
http://www.slate.com/id/2171898/
Product interconnectivity:
http://www.nd.edu/~networks/productspace/Images/spacelabels.pdf
Difference between Internet & Web
Most people use the terms Web and Internet interchangeably, but be careful...
http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/2002/Web_vs_Internet.asp
http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/2002/Web_vs_Internet.asp
Luxury Goods & Japan
Is it that Japanese love quality goods, or, is there an image to maintain in a largely middle-class society? Or, is luxury used to seperate oneself for the middle-class?
"Analysts estimate that 20 percent of all luxury goods are sold in Japan and another 30 percent to Japanese traveling abroad -- meaning Japanese buy half of all luxury goods. Today, approximately 40 percent of all Japanese own a Vuitton product."
-Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster
by Dana Thomas
"Analysts estimate that 20 percent of all luxury goods are sold in Japan and another 30 percent to Japanese traveling abroad -- meaning Japanese buy half of all luxury goods. Today, approximately 40 percent of all Japanese own a Vuitton product."
-Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster
by Dana Thomas
Economic Downturns & Treasury Spreads
"Usually an economic downturn is associated in a big increase in the spread between corporate and Treasury yields."
http://www.econbrowser.com/archives/2007/08/wheres_the_risk.html
http://www.econbrowser.com/archives/2007/08/wheres_the_risk.html
World's Costliest Ham Triggers Pork Envy
I'm always fascinated by pricing schemes. I imagine that all these legs will sell, and thus, the price is justified...
"Now, hard-core foodies are drooling over the prospect of something truly superlative from Spain, at least in price: a salt-cured ham costing about $2,100 per leg, or a cruel $160 per pound. It's a price believed to make it the most expensive ham in the world...The 2006 Alba Quercus Reserve (as this pricey pork will be known) won't be available until late 2008 and you must buy the whole ham or nothing at all."
World's Costliest Ham Triggers Pork Envy
by Amanda Rivkin
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070818/ap_on_re_eu/food_what_a_ham
"Now, hard-core foodies are drooling over the prospect of something truly superlative from Spain, at least in price: a salt-cured ham costing about $2,100 per leg, or a cruel $160 per pound. It's a price believed to make it the most expensive ham in the world...The 2006 Alba Quercus Reserve (as this pricey pork will be known) won't be available until late 2008 and you must buy the whole ham or nothing at all."
World's Costliest Ham Triggers Pork Envy
by Amanda Rivkin
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070818/ap_on_re_eu/food_what_a_ham
Chart: Democrats & Republicans Virtually The Same
Democrats and Republicans in the US are vitually the same.
"When examining the chart it is important to note that although most of the candidates seem quite different, in substance they occupy a relatively restricted area within the universal political spectrum. Democracies with a system of proportional representation give expression to a wider range of political views. While Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel are depicted on the extreme left in an American context, they would simply be mainstream social democrats within the wider political landscape of Europe. Similarly, Hillary Clinton is popularly perceived as a leftist in the US while in any other western democracy her record is that of a moderate conservative."
http://www.politicalcompass.org/usprimaries2007
"When examining the chart it is important to note that although most of the candidates seem quite different, in substance they occupy a relatively restricted area within the universal political spectrum. Democracies with a system of proportional representation give expression to a wider range of political views. While Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel are depicted on the extreme left in an American context, they would simply be mainstream social democrats within the wider political landscape of Europe. Similarly, Hillary Clinton is popularly perceived as a leftist in the US while in any other western democracy her record is that of a moderate conservative."
http://www.politicalcompass.org/usprimaries2007
US Trade Balance By Partner Country
Is the US terrible at exporting or are we just ravenous consumers?
Despite what many people think, the US imports more stuff from Canada than from China.
http://dataweb.usitc.gov/scripts/cy_m3_run.asp
Despite what many people think, the US imports more stuff from Canada than from China.
http://dataweb.usitc.gov/scripts/cy_m3_run.asp
The Truth About Recycling
Is recycling worth the effort?
"If done right, there is no doubt that recycling saves energy and raw materials, and reduces pollution. But as well as trying to recycle more, it is also important to try to recycle better. As technologies and materials evolve, there is room for improvement and cause for optimism. In the end, says Ms Krebs, 'waste is really a design flaw.'”
http://www.economist.com/science/tq/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9249262
"If done right, there is no doubt that recycling saves energy and raw materials, and reduces pollution. But as well as trying to recycle more, it is also important to try to recycle better. As technologies and materials evolve, there is room for improvement and cause for optimism. In the end, says Ms Krebs, 'waste is really a design flaw.'”
http://www.economist.com/science/tq/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9249262
The Earth Without Humans
Ever wondered what the Earth would be like if humans suddently dissappeared? Watch this YouTube Video to get some ideas:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5wP6m0d0xc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5wP6m0d0xc
Top 3: World's Most Expensive Beers
1. Vielle Bon Secours
2. Samuel Adams' Utopias
3. Tutankhamen Brew
http://www.socyberty.com/Lifestyle-Choices/Top-3-Worlds-Most-Expensive-Beer.40307
2. Samuel Adams' Utopias
3. Tutankhamen Brew
http://www.socyberty.com/Lifestyle-Choices/Top-3-Worlds-Most-Expensive-Beer.40307
Friday, August 17, 2007
Thread Count
"Here the measure is comfort per dollar. Generally, the higher the thread count, the softer a sheet will be.Theoretically it reveals the number of threads per square inch, but two twisted yarns acting as one (a.k.a. two-ply) can inflate that.Ergo, stick with counts from 200 to 500, as it's hard to pack more in an inch without double-counting twisted threads.The Company Store is known for its luxe sheets, many of which are made from Supima (read: American extra-long staple) cotton. "
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/moneymag/0708/gallery.value_sleep.moneymag/3.html
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/moneymag/0708/gallery.value_sleep.moneymag/3.html
Save or Splurge: The Kitchen
For new homebuyers, this may help you figure out what to throw money at and what not to throw money at...
*Refrigerator: save
*Microwave: save
*Pepper Mill: spend
*Knives: spend
*Cabinets: spend
*Garbage disposal: save
*Food processor: save
*Pots & pans: spend
http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/103363/Save-or-Splurge:-The-Kitchen?mod=oneclick
*Refrigerator: save
*Microwave: save
*Pepper Mill: spend
*Knives: spend
*Cabinets: spend
*Garbage disposal: save
*Food processor: save
*Pots & pans: spend
http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/103363/Save-or-Splurge:-The-Kitchen?mod=oneclick
Were America's First Inhabitants Japanese?
Another theory to ponder...
"The first inhabitants of North and South America could have been fishermen from Japan who traveled there in small boats, according to research in the latest edition of New Scientist magazine. "
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/070814/kyodo/d8r0trg80.html
"The first inhabitants of North and South America could have been fishermen from Japan who traveled there in small boats, according to research in the latest edition of New Scientist magazine. "
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/070814/kyodo/d8r0trg80.html
Yet Another Reason to Have Sex
"A study shows that men who have three or more orgasms a week are 50 percent less likely to die from coronary heart disease."
Want Yet Another Reason to Have Sex?
by Kelly McCarthy
http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-15.html
Want Yet Another Reason to Have Sex?
by Kelly McCarthy
http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-15.html
Thursday, August 16, 2007
The 6 Most Over-Hyped Threats to America
This teaches us an important lesson. People often overreact to things. If you know this fact, it is possible to take advantage of that - especially economically (e.g., in the stock market).
http://www.cracked.com/index.php?name=News&sid=2312
http://www.cracked.com/index.php?name=News&sid=2312
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
50 Most Powerful People in Washington
GQ's first-ever "50 Most Powerful People of Washington" list.
Condi Rice is #1 on the list...
http://men.style.com/gq/features/landing?id=content_5843
Condi Rice is #1 on the list...
http://men.style.com/gq/features/landing?id=content_5843
America Losing Height Race
Well not exactly. Americans, as a whole, are still extremely tall. Also, the US is a country of immigrants from all over the world, so it is tough comparing that to these tiny, homegenous countries...some people claim it is the European welfare states...I'd say it is more a matter of genes.
"Height is considered a bellwether of a society's well-being. As wealth increases, often so does height. Wealth usually improves nutrition and medical care, enabling people to reach their maximum growth potential and live longer."
2000 Height Rankings (average height of young adult males):
1. Netherlands: 6'0.44"
2. Denmark: 6'0.13"
3. Sweden: 5'11.02"
4. Czech Repeblic: 5'10.99"
5. Norway: 5'10.83"
6. Germany: 5'10.69"
7. Belgium: 5'10.63"
8. Canada: 5'10.60"
9. US (white): 5'10.51"
10. US (black): 5'9.88"
11. England: 5'9.76"
America Loses Its Stature as Tallest Country
by Rob Stein
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/12/AR2007081200809.html
"Height is considered a bellwether of a society's well-being. As wealth increases, often so does height. Wealth usually improves nutrition and medical care, enabling people to reach their maximum growth potential and live longer."
2000 Height Rankings (average height of young adult males):
1. Netherlands: 6'0.44"
2. Denmark: 6'0.13"
3. Sweden: 5'11.02"
4. Czech Repeblic: 5'10.99"
5. Norway: 5'10.83"
6. Germany: 5'10.69"
7. Belgium: 5'10.63"
8. Canada: 5'10.60"
9. US (white): 5'10.51"
10. US (black): 5'9.88"
11. England: 5'9.76"
America Loses Its Stature as Tallest Country
by Rob Stein
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/12/AR2007081200809.html
Loan Rate Interconnectedness
I've always been interested in how loans are determined and how they relate to government-set policies/rates. Following are a few examples...
Fact:
*30-year conventional fixed-rate mortgages generally follow 10-year Treasury notes.
*30-year jumbo fixed-rate mortgages (over $417,000) are not backed by securities issued by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac and therefor a considered riskier.
*Rates on auto loans move with the yields on three to five-year Treasury notes.
*Credit card rates are determined by the prime lending rate, plus other factors including a consumer's credit history.
Fact:
*30-year conventional fixed-rate mortgages generally follow 10-year Treasury notes.
*30-year jumbo fixed-rate mortgages (over $417,000) are not backed by securities issued by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac and therefor a considered riskier.
*Rates on auto loans move with the yields on three to five-year Treasury notes.
*Credit card rates are determined by the prime lending rate, plus other factors including a consumer's credit history.
Google Image Can Search Faces
I imagine that in a few years people will be able to upload their own faces and it will be searchable through a massive image database.
http://www.bridgetonova.com/2007/08/google-image-can-search-faces.html
http://www.bridgetonova.com/2007/08/google-image-can-search-faces.html
Map: Alaska Superimposed Over The US
Alaska if often a forgotten state, tucked up in the northwest hinterlands of the US. This map will give you a better perspective of the massive size of Alaska...
http://www.usmarshals.gov/district/ak/images/alaska-small.gif
http://www.usmarshals.gov/district/ak/images/alaska-small.gif
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Collapse of the US?
I'm skeptical about "doomsday" predictions. Nevertheless, it is important to study them so they don't actually come true. What gives this warning a bit more weight is the fact that it came from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which is considered non-partisan. Also, the 2008 election will likely bring deep change in US policies and practices which could potentially "fix" some of the concerns mentioned. In the meantime, it may be good for future politicians to be reading books about why societies collapse/fail.
"The US government is on a ‘burning platform’ of unsustainable policies and practices with fiscal deficits, chronic healthcare underfunding, immigration and overseas military commitments threatening a crisis if action is not taken soon, the country’s top government inspector has warned...Drawing parallels with the end of the Roman empire, Mr Walker warned there were 'striking similarities' between America’s current situation and the factors that brought down Rome, including “declining moral values and political civility at home, an over-confident and over-extended military in foreign lands and fiscal irresponsibility by the central government.”
Learn From the Fall of Rome, US Warned
by Jeremy Grant
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/80fa0a2c-49ef-11dc-9ffe-0000779fd2ac.html
"The US government is on a ‘burning platform’ of unsustainable policies and practices with fiscal deficits, chronic healthcare underfunding, immigration and overseas military commitments threatening a crisis if action is not taken soon, the country’s top government inspector has warned...Drawing parallels with the end of the Roman empire, Mr Walker warned there were 'striking similarities' between America’s current situation and the factors that brought down Rome, including “declining moral values and political civility at home, an over-confident and over-extended military in foreign lands and fiscal irresponsibility by the central government.”
Learn From the Fall of Rome, US Warned
by Jeremy Grant
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/80fa0a2c-49ef-11dc-9ffe-0000779fd2ac.html
Giving Money to Beggars
Should you give money to beggars? More on this later...
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/09/freakonomics-quorum-the-economics-of-street-charity/
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/09/freakonomics-quorum-the-economics-of-street-charity/
101 Frightening Ice Cream Flavors From Around The World
I was trying to figure out which one would be most expensive. My guess? Lobster ice cream, pit viper, or shark fin noodle ice cream.
"The Japanese have long taken pride in their ability to adopt, adapt and improve on customs, practices and styles from other countries. Having succeeded globally with cars, electronics and even fashion, it was only natural that the Japanese turned their hand to trying to surpass the West with one of its favorite culinary delights - ice cream. Here are some of their amazing inventions..."
http://www.who-sucks.com/food/101-frightening-ice-cream-flavors-from-around-the-world
"The Japanese have long taken pride in their ability to adopt, adapt and improve on customs, practices and styles from other countries. Having succeeded globally with cars, electronics and even fashion, it was only natural that the Japanese turned their hand to trying to surpass the West with one of its favorite culinary delights - ice cream. Here are some of their amazing inventions..."
http://www.who-sucks.com/food/101-frightening-ice-cream-flavors-from-around-the-world
Exotic Wood
In case you were ever wondering about exotic wood to make your next bookcase...Sure, everyone has heard of walnut and ebony - but what about ambonyna burl, osage orange, and tambootie?
http://www.exoticwoodgroup.com/
http://www.exoticwoodgroup.com/
How Much Does the US President Really Matter?
I've always wondered how much one person in the world matters. The US President is presumably the most powerful person in the world because the US is the world's sole superpower. But what makes him more powerful than, say, the President of Goldman Sachs, the CEO of Wal-Mart, mega-actors like Brad Bitt, or TV personalities like Oprah Windrey?
Simply put, they are each powerful in their own way. Power needs to be defined. If power means that you are able to affect as many people as possible (positevely or negatively), President Bush may not be the most powerful man in the world...
After all, how many people shop at Wal-Mart and watch Oceans 11? Probably more people than Bush is able to influence. After all, there is checks and balances in the US government. But US business (and Hollywood) is only checked by how quickly the government can keep pace, which is really not that quick.
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/13/how-much-does-the-president-really-matter/#more-1715
Simply put, they are each powerful in their own way. Power needs to be defined. If power means that you are able to affect as many people as possible (positevely or negatively), President Bush may not be the most powerful man in the world...
After all, how many people shop at Wal-Mart and watch Oceans 11? Probably more people than Bush is able to influence. After all, there is checks and balances in the US government. But US business (and Hollywood) is only checked by how quickly the government can keep pace, which is really not that quick.
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/13/how-much-does-the-president-really-matter/#more-1715
Food Price Shock
Could it also be that certain food prices were depressed for so long and that the market is finally catching up with itself? Have stores realized that they can raise the price of "essential" food items like milk and eggs and that people will still buy no matter what the price is?
"Why are food prices rising? "
"It's partly because of corn prices, driven up by congressional mandates for ethanol production, which have reduced the amount of corn available for animal feed. It's also because of tougher immigration enforcement and a late spring freeze, which have made farm laborers scarcer and damaged fruit and vegetable crops, respectively. And it's because of higher diesel fuel costs to run tractors and attractive foreign markets that take U.S. production."
Prices Surge for Staple Foods
by Kevin G. Hall
http://www.newsobserver.com/business/story/669829.html
"Why are food prices rising? "
"It's partly because of corn prices, driven up by congressional mandates for ethanol production, which have reduced the amount of corn available for animal feed. It's also because of tougher immigration enforcement and a late spring freeze, which have made farm laborers scarcer and damaged fruit and vegetable crops, respectively. And it's because of higher diesel fuel costs to run tractors and attractive foreign markets that take U.S. production."
Prices Surge for Staple Foods
by Kevin G. Hall
http://www.newsobserver.com/business/story/669829.html
IQ Ranges for Various Occupations
I guess this backs up people's fascination with marrying doctors and lawyers (not to mention the salaries)...
http://www.iqcomparisonsite.com/occupations.aspx
http://www.iqcomparisonsite.com/occupations.aspx
Wikipedia Manipulation - Editing Suprises...
Fascinating look at who edits Wikipedia articles by tracking IP addresses.
"Wikipedia Scanner -- the brainchild of CalTech computation and neural-systems graduate student Virgil Griffith -- offers users a searchable database that ties millions of anonymous Wikipedia edits to organizations where those edits apparently originated, by cross-referencing the edits with data on who owns the associated block of internet IP addresses.
Inspired by news last year that Congress members' offices had been editing their own entries, Griffith says he got curious, and wanted to know whether big companies and other organizations were doing things in a similarly self-interested vein."
See Who's Editing Wikipedia - Diebold, the CIA, a Campaign
by John Borland
http://www.wired.com/politics/onlinerights/news/2007/08/wiki_tracker
"Wikipedia Scanner -- the brainchild of CalTech computation and neural-systems graduate student Virgil Griffith -- offers users a searchable database that ties millions of anonymous Wikipedia edits to organizations where those edits apparently originated, by cross-referencing the edits with data on who owns the associated block of internet IP addresses.
Inspired by news last year that Congress members' offices had been editing their own entries, Griffith says he got curious, and wanted to know whether big companies and other organizations were doing things in a similarly self-interested vein."
See Who's Editing Wikipedia - Diebold, the CIA, a Campaign
by John Borland
http://www.wired.com/politics/onlinerights/news/2007/08/wiki_tracker
Study: It Doesn't Pay to Be Smart
I think the thing to remeber here is that there are different types of intelligence. There is a huge difference between "IQ test intelligence" and "business intelligence." Anyone, regardless of IQ, can have a high level of business/financial intelligence.
"Being more intelligent does not confer any advantage along, Zagorsky finds, looking at the data with statistical tests. Income does weakly correspond to intelligence test scores, he finds, where a one point increase in IQ test scores is related to an income increase of $346 per year. But at most, that same one-point increase in IQ leads to a net worth increase of at most $83, but probably zero...And when it comes to financial distress, smarts are no help at all. People with 140 IQ scores (a score of 100 is average) missed payments and maxed-out their credit cards more often than their lower IQ counterparts. "
Study: It Doesn't Pay to Be Smart
by Dan Vergano
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/columnist/vergano/2007-08-12-smart-not-rich_N.htm
"Being more intelligent does not confer any advantage along, Zagorsky finds, looking at the data with statistical tests. Income does weakly correspond to intelligence test scores, he finds, where a one point increase in IQ test scores is related to an income increase of $346 per year. But at most, that same one-point increase in IQ leads to a net worth increase of at most $83, but probably zero...And when it comes to financial distress, smarts are no help at all. People with 140 IQ scores (a score of 100 is average) missed payments and maxed-out their credit cards more often than their lower IQ counterparts. "
Study: It Doesn't Pay to Be Smart
by Dan Vergano
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/columnist/vergano/2007-08-12-smart-not-rich_N.htm
Beginner's Guide to Lockpicking
Ever locked the keys inside your house or office or lost the keys to your safe or file cabinet? Well this might help you out...
http://www.gunslot.com/blog/picking-locks-beginners-guide-lock-picking
http://www.gunslot.com/blog/picking-locks-beginners-guide-lock-picking
Monday, August 13, 2007
Here's a Tip: 20% is the New 15%
If you are going to restaurants and paying for them, you probably have at least some high school education. So I do not buy the arguement that people throw down 20% because it is easier to calculate. Yes, it IS easier to calculate in the mind (although cell phones can do it so you don't have to think), but most people still want to pay the "fair" rate for tips unless there was very good service.
"When I talk to groups of people, I ask them, 'How much do you tip, 15% or 20%?' And I'd say 90% to 95% are now tipping 20%," said Peter Post, of the Emily Post Institute. "And it's for the most basic of reasons: It's simpler."
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveMoney/HeresATip20PercentIsTheNew15Percent.aspx
Here's a tip: 20% is the new 15%
by Liz Pulliam Weston
"When I talk to groups of people, I ask them, 'How much do you tip, 15% or 20%?' And I'd say 90% to 95% are now tipping 20%," said Peter Post, of the Emily Post Institute. "And it's for the most basic of reasons: It's simpler."
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveMoney/HeresATip20PercentIsTheNew15Percent.aspx
Here's a tip: 20% is the new 15%
by Liz Pulliam Weston
How To Be Charming
I guess it matters how you define charm...
"What makes someone charming? Is it their bearing, their countenance? Is it their sparkling conversation? Their dazzling personality and razor-sharp wit? You might be surprised to know that it's really none of the above. As Brian Tracy says, "Charm is the ability to create extraordinary rapport that makes others feel exceptional." What's remarkable about this ability is that it's easily obtained, not genetic. There's no special trick to it; it just takes a little practice."
How to be Charming
by Andrea Dickson
http://www.wisebread.com/how-to-be-charming
"What makes someone charming? Is it their bearing, their countenance? Is it their sparkling conversation? Their dazzling personality and razor-sharp wit? You might be surprised to know that it's really none of the above. As Brian Tracy says, "Charm is the ability to create extraordinary rapport that makes others feel exceptional." What's remarkable about this ability is that it's easily obtained, not genetic. There's no special trick to it; it just takes a little practice."
How to be Charming
by Andrea Dickson
http://www.wisebread.com/how-to-be-charming
Men Average More Sexual Partners Than Women, Right? Wrong.
"Surveys consistently report that men in the U.S. population average seven sexual partners, while women average four. Everyone assumes men are cads and women are out to protect their virtue, so this makes perfect sense, except...
"By way of dramatization, we change the context slightly and will prove what will be called the High School Prom Theorem. We suppose that on the day after the prom, each girl is asked to give the number of boys she danced with. These numbers are then added up, giving a number G. The same information is then obtained from the boys, giving a number B.
"Theorem: G(EQUAL)B
"Proof: Both G and B are equal to C, the number of couples who danced together at the prom. QED."
"In other words, unless U.S. men are having tons and tons of sex with women who are outside the survey population (trips to foreign countries? prostitutes who don't tend to show up in these surveys?) it's mathematically impossible for men to average more sexual partners than women.
Rather, as Sevgi Aral of the CDC and David Gale, an emeritus professor of matehmatics at UC Berkeley assert in a recent piece in the Boston Globe, '...men exaggerate the number of partners they have and women underestimate.'"
http://blog.sciam.com/index.php?title=men_average_more_sexual_partners_than_wo&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
"By way of dramatization, we change the context slightly and will prove what will be called the High School Prom Theorem. We suppose that on the day after the prom, each girl is asked to give the number of boys she danced with. These numbers are then added up, giving a number G. The same information is then obtained from the boys, giving a number B.
"Theorem: G(EQUAL)B
"Proof: Both G and B are equal to C, the number of couples who danced together at the prom. QED."
"In other words, unless U.S. men are having tons and tons of sex with women who are outside the survey population (trips to foreign countries? prostitutes who don't tend to show up in these surveys?) it's mathematically impossible for men to average more sexual partners than women.
Rather, as Sevgi Aral of the CDC and David Gale, an emeritus professor of matehmatics at UC Berkeley assert in a recent piece in the Boston Globe, '...men exaggerate the number of partners they have and women underestimate.'"
http://blog.sciam.com/index.php?title=men_average_more_sexual_partners_than_wo&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
How Many 5 Year-Olds Could You Take on at Once?
To answer this question, the specific factors are important. If the kids had to knock you unconscious (as the writer suggests), I'd say it would be easy to take on a few dozen at once. It is not that you are that strong, it is that they are that weak...
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=1556673
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=1556673
US Slipping In Life Expectancy Rankings
My answer: It is quality, no quantity. Would you rather live 50 years of amazing life than 100 years of so-so life? People are obsessed with living longer. I'd rather be obsessed with living better.
"For decades, the US has been slipping in international rankings of life expectancy, as other countries improve health care, nutrition and lifestyles. Countries that surpass the US include Japan and most of Europe, as well as Jordan, Guam and the Cayman Islands. 'Something's wrong here when one of the richest countries in the world, the one that spends the most on health care, is not able to keep up with other countries,' said Dr. Christopher Murray, head of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. A baby born in the United States in 2004 will live an average of 77.9 years. That life expectancy ranks 42nd, down from 11th two decades earlier, according to international numbers provided by the Census Bureau and domestic numbers from the National Center for Health Statistics."
US Slipping in Life Expectancy Rankings
by Stephen Ohlemacher
http://www.physorg.com/news106121686.html
"For decades, the US has been slipping in international rankings of life expectancy, as other countries improve health care, nutrition and lifestyles. Countries that surpass the US include Japan and most of Europe, as well as Jordan, Guam and the Cayman Islands. 'Something's wrong here when one of the richest countries in the world, the one that spends the most on health care, is not able to keep up with other countries,' said Dr. Christopher Murray, head of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. A baby born in the United States in 2004 will live an average of 77.9 years. That life expectancy ranks 42nd, down from 11th two decades earlier, according to international numbers provided by the Census Bureau and domestic numbers from the National Center for Health Statistics."
US Slipping in Life Expectancy Rankings
by Stephen Ohlemacher
http://www.physorg.com/news106121686.html
Beautiful People Earn 12% More Than Uglies
If wonder if it is just that "beautiful" people have more self confidence, and therefore, have more drive to succeed financially...
"The researchers concluded that attractive people make more money because they found it easier to generate co-operation among their co-workers. The team ruled out another possibility – that the more successful were just more selfish."
Beautiful people earn 12% more than Ugly Bettys
by Roger Dobson
http://news.independent.co.uk/sci_tech/article2856870.ece#2007-08-12T00:00:01-00:00
"The researchers concluded that attractive people make more money because they found it easier to generate co-operation among their co-workers. The team ruled out another possibility – that the more successful were just more selfish."
Beautiful people earn 12% more than Ugly Bettys
by Roger Dobson
http://news.independent.co.uk/sci_tech/article2856870.ece#2007-08-12T00:00:01-00:00
Why Rich Kids Don't Stay Rich
"Despite all their supposed advantages, today’s rich kids have grown up in such bubbles of privilege that they’re not prepared for today’s increasingly competitive job market. They don’t make good investors, they don’t compete well for the top jobs, and they’re not hungry for success like kids who grow up in middle-class homes can be. Eventually, I argue, their money will run out. And much of the inherited wealth in America will flow back to people who actually earn it — as it has throughout history. This is what makes wealth in America dynamic, rather than dynastic."
-WSJ Blog
http://blogs.wsj.com/wealth/2007/07/30/why-rich-kids-dont-stay-rich/?mod=homeblogmod_thewealthreport?mod=fpa_blogs
-WSJ Blog
http://blogs.wsj.com/wealth/2007/07/30/why-rich-kids-dont-stay-rich/?mod=homeblogmod_thewealthreport?mod=fpa_blogs
Bar Codes Dissected: Diagram
Have you ever wanted to know what all those bar codes on your candy bars, mail, and toy packages mean? Now is your chance to learn:
http://www.barcodeart.com/science/science.html
http://www.barcodeart.com/science/science.html
Bloated Maps - Wow!
Check out the toy export/import maps...The War & Death map is pretty wild too...
"We all know what the world looks like. But a new series of extraordinary maps shows our planet in a very different light. Rather than defining each country by size, these computer-generated modified maps - or cartograms - redraw the globe with each country's size proportionate to its strengths, or weaknesses, in a whole series of categories. "
How the World Really Shapes Up
by Victoria Moore
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=439315&in_page_id=1811
"We all know what the world looks like. But a new series of extraordinary maps shows our planet in a very different light. Rather than defining each country by size, these computer-generated modified maps - or cartograms - redraw the globe with each country's size proportionate to its strengths, or weaknesses, in a whole series of categories. "
How the World Really Shapes Up
by Victoria Moore
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=439315&in_page_id=1811
Quote of the Day: Idealism
"Idealism is fine, but as it approaches reality the cost becomes prohibitive."
- William F. Buckley
- William F. Buckley
Fact of the Day: Murder
"African-Americans are victims of nearly half the murders committed in the US despite making up only 13 percent of the population...Most murder victims -- 93 percent of blacks and 85 percent of whites -- were killed by someone of their own race."
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=070809202217.9us2orhu&show_article=1
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=070809202217.9us2orhu&show_article=1
10 Best Natural Phenomena
There are actually 12. How many have you experienced?
1. Green Flash
2. Crepuscular Rays
3. Mirages
4. Sprites
5. Gravity Wave
6. Halo/Sundog
7. Aurora Borealis
8. Brocken Spectre
9. Moonbow
10. Gravity Hills/Electric Brae
11. Ball Lighting
12. Circumhorizon arc/fire rainbow
1. Green Flash
2. Crepuscular Rays
3. Mirages
4. Sprites
5. Gravity Wave
6. Halo/Sundog
7. Aurora Borealis
8. Brocken Spectre
9. Moonbow
10. Gravity Hills/Electric Brae
11. Ball Lighting
12. Circumhorizon arc/fire rainbow
Top 10 Mistakes of Shopping Cart Design
#10 is very true: Requiring a user to enter shipping, billing, and all personal information before knowing the final costs including shipping and tax.
Online shopping should always include the price and not try to hide it through various tricks that have been employed the past few years...
Top Ten Mistakes of Shopping Cart Design Revisited: A Survey of 500 Top E-Commerce Websites
by Shinvashankar Naidu and Barbars S. Chaparro
http://psychology.wichita.edu/surl/usabilitynews/92/shoppingcart.html
Online shopping should always include the price and not try to hide it through various tricks that have been employed the past few years...
Top Ten Mistakes of Shopping Cart Design Revisited: A Survey of 500 Top E-Commerce Websites
by Shinvashankar Naidu and Barbars S. Chaparro
http://psychology.wichita.edu/surl/usabilitynews/92/shoppingcart.html
Royksopp - Video
This video helps you see the big picture...reminds me a bit of "Why Man Creates."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHEIvF1U4PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHEIvF1U4PM
Hybrid-Electric Car Explanation
Simple explanation about how hybrids work:
Green Basics: Hybrid-Electric Cars
by Collin Dunn
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/08/green-basics-hybrid-car.php
Green Basics: Hybrid-Electric Cars
by Collin Dunn
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/08/green-basics-hybrid-car.php
An Entire Bookshelf In Your Hands
The fact is that people used to reading newspapers (print editions) and books (hard copies) will have an extremely hard time moving their reading to digital format. I don't see digital newspapers/books catching on for at least another generation.
An Entire Bookshelf In Your Hands
by Peter Wayner
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/09/technology/circuits/09basics.html?ex=1344312000&en=e417e3fa0ba7a772&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
An Entire Bookshelf In Your Hands
by Peter Wayner
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/09/technology/circuits/09basics.html?ex=1344312000&en=e417e3fa0ba7a772&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
Top 100 Reasons It's Great To Be A Guy
Many of the 100 are worthless and only suit the quirks of the writer. Nevertheless, these are the ones I like:
*A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase
*Your bathroom lines are 80% shorter
*All your orgasms are real
*Your last name stays put
*You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughfulness
*Wedding dress $2000; tux rental $100
http://darrel.knutson.com/jokes/men-women/guys.html
*A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase
*Your bathroom lines are 80% shorter
*All your orgasms are real
*Your last name stays put
*You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughfulness
*Wedding dress $2000; tux rental $100
http://darrel.knutson.com/jokes/men-women/guys.html
Nuclear Weapons Cost
I wonder if the cost of nuclear development and maintenance - which many argue has led to deterrance - is more cost effective than actually going to war and its aftermath...
*The US has spent more than $5 trillion on nuclear weapons since the 1940s
*We spend $6 billion a year maintaining our nuclear stockpile
*The US has almost 10,000 nukes; 5,000 are deployed, but this number is supposed to drop to 2,200 in the next five years.
*Russia has about 15,000 nukes; 5,700 are deployed, but this number is supposed to be reduced to 2,000 by 2012."
Do We Need New Nukes?
by Lyric Wallwork Winik
*The US has spent more than $5 trillion on nuclear weapons since the 1940s
*We spend $6 billion a year maintaining our nuclear stockpile
*The US has almost 10,000 nukes; 5,000 are deployed, but this number is supposed to drop to 2,200 in the next five years.
*Russia has about 15,000 nukes; 5,700 are deployed, but this number is supposed to be reduced to 2,000 by 2012."
Do We Need New Nukes?
by Lyric Wallwork Winik
Is There Unowned Land Left in the US?
Since the US government owns so much unused land, perhaps it may be a good idea to auction it all off to pay to some of the US debt...
Marilyn vos Savant writes: "No, the homesteading act was abolished in 1976, and the federal government now owns the public lands. They amount to 29% of all the territory in the US. The public lands - mostly in the West - are dominated by Arctic tundra, mountains, forests, grasslands and deserts. You may be suprised that the government owns about 85% of Nevada, 69% of Alaska, 57% of Utah, 53% of Oregon, 50% of Idaho, 48% of Arizona, 45% of California, 42% of Wyoming, 42% of New Mexico, and 37% of Colorado."
Marilyn vos Savant writes: "No, the homesteading act was abolished in 1976, and the federal government now owns the public lands. They amount to 29% of all the territory in the US. The public lands - mostly in the West - are dominated by Arctic tundra, mountains, forests, grasslands and deserts. You may be suprised that the government owns about 85% of Nevada, 69% of Alaska, 57% of Utah, 53% of Oregon, 50% of Idaho, 48% of Arizona, 45% of California, 42% of Wyoming, 42% of New Mexico, and 37% of Colorado."
Drinking Age Outdated?
Is the US drinking age (21) crazy? I would probably not mind the idea of lowering the drinking age to 18 (or possibly even getting rid of the age altogether), but I also would like the minimum driving age to increase to 18 for all states (with some exceptions of course). I think there is a much greater risk of driving-related deaths than alcohol-related deaths.
"It's not a radical notion. The rest of the world would likely find it rather cautious: Only three other countries - Mongolia, Palau and Indonesia - restrict purchasing drinks to those 21 or older. (Of course, some countries restrict alcohol for all citizens.)"
Should The Drinking Age Be Lowered?
by Sean Flynn
"It's not a radical notion. The rest of the world would likely find it rather cautious: Only three other countries - Mongolia, Palau and Indonesia - restrict purchasing drinks to those 21 or older. (Of course, some countries restrict alcohol for all citizens.)"
Should The Drinking Age Be Lowered?
by Sean Flynn
Why Do Humans Need a Balanced Diet?
With globalization, perhaps we are getting too much diversity in food products? Is it natural for me to be eating Chinese eel, Russian beets, and Argentinian mushrooms?
Marilyn vos Savant says: "Human populations survived well with less-than-optimal diets for millennia, but we know much more about how diet affects our health and life expectancy. Other animals need a variety of nutriets too. Horses are an example. They may survive on oats alone, but they don't thrive."
Marilyn vos Savant says: "Human populations survived well with less-than-optimal diets for millennia, but we know much more about how diet affects our health and life expectancy. Other animals need a variety of nutriets too. Horses are an example. They may survive on oats alone, but they don't thrive."
Friday, August 10, 2007
How Fed Injections Work
"In repos, the Fed buys U.S. Treasury, mortgage-backed and so-called agency debt from its 21 primary dealers for a set period, temporarily raising the amount of money available in the banking system. At maturity, the securities are returned to the dealers, and the cash to the Fed. Repos help maintain enough money in the system to keep overnight interest rates close to the central bank's target. They don't signal a policy shift. "
Fed Adds $19 Billion in Funds by Buying Mortgage Debt
by Ye Xie
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aWvmnW7kB4rM&refer=home
Federal Reserve policy actions in August 2007: frequently asked questions
by Stephen Cecchetti
http://www.voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/460
Fed Adds $19 Billion in Funds by Buying Mortgage Debt
by Ye Xie
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aWvmnW7kB4rM&refer=home
Federal Reserve policy actions in August 2007: frequently asked questions
by Stephen Cecchetti
http://www.voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/460
Company-Sponsored Drinking Marathons Are Back in Japan
"If you think Japan's hard-drinking business culture is as dead as the Sony Betamax, think again. After more than a decade of austerity (not to mention sobriety) during Japan's lengthy economic slump, many Japanese companies are thriving today — and they're reviving some of the business customs that were hallmarks of Japan Inc. during the booming 1980s."
Relax, Japan - The Company's Buying
by Toko Sekiguchi
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1651222,00.html
Relax, Japan - The Company's Buying
by Toko Sekiguchi
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1651222,00.html
Thursday, August 9, 2007
The Scientific Laws of Romance
"The Law: In a relationship, there exists a Constant Distance (CD) between two people that must be maintained at all times."
The Scientific Laws of Romance
by Ethan Todras-Whitehill
http://www.10zenmonkeys.com/2007/06/13/the-scientific-laws-of-romance/1972
The Scientific Laws of Romance
by Ethan Todras-Whitehill
http://www.10zenmonkeys.com/2007/06/13/the-scientific-laws-of-romance/1972
Chicken and Egg Debate Unscrabled
"Now a team made up of a geneticist, philosopher and chicken farmer claim to have found an answer. It was the egg. Put simply, the reason is down to the fact that genetic material does not change during an animal's life. Therefore the first bird that evolved into what we would call a chicken, probably in prehistoric times, must have first existed as an embryo inside an egg."
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/05/26/chicken.egg/
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/05/26/chicken.egg/
Q: How Big Is the Sub-Prime Mortgage Market?
In today's information-hungry society, many "disasters" are overblown...the subprimes MAY be a good example...
"Currently there are about 44 million mortgages in the U.S., and less than 14 percent of them are sub-prime. And only about 13 percent of those are late on payments, with the majority of late payers working through their problems with the banks.So, all in all, when you work through the details and get down to the number that really matters, only about 0.6 percent of U.S. mortgages are currently in foreclosure. That’s up a hair from roughly 0.5 percent last year."
Q: How Big Is the Sub-Prime Mortgage Market?
by Jerry Bowyer
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=Y2Y5NGVmODQzNTEwOGZmMzExNzRkYzBkMzA4OGI1ZGM=
"Currently there are about 44 million mortgages in the U.S., and less than 14 percent of them are sub-prime. And only about 13 percent of those are late on payments, with the majority of late payers working through their problems with the banks.So, all in all, when you work through the details and get down to the number that really matters, only about 0.6 percent of U.S. mortgages are currently in foreclosure. That’s up a hair from roughly 0.5 percent last year."
Q: How Big Is the Sub-Prime Mortgage Market?
by Jerry Bowyer
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=Y2Y5NGVmODQzNTEwOGZmMzExNzRkYzBkMzA4OGI1ZGM=
Why Is Catching a Baseball Taxable Income?
Don't get me wrong. I'd still love to owe $210,000 on a $600,000 ball. That is $390,000 profit.
"By most estimates, the ball that put Bonds atop the list of all-time home run hitters with 756 would sell in the half-million dollar range on the open market or at auction. That would instantly put Murphy, a college student from Queens, in the highest tax bracket for individual income, where he would face a tax rate of about 35 percent, or about $210,000 on a $600,000 ball. Even if he does not sell the ball, Murphy would still owe the taxes based on a reasonable estimate of its value, according to Barrie. Capital gains taxes also could be levied in the future as the ball gains value, he said..."
http://blog.mises.org/archives/006959.asp
"By most estimates, the ball that put Bonds atop the list of all-time home run hitters with 756 would sell in the half-million dollar range on the open market or at auction. That would instantly put Murphy, a college student from Queens, in the highest tax bracket for individual income, where he would face a tax rate of about 35 percent, or about $210,000 on a $600,000 ball. Even if he does not sell the ball, Murphy would still owe the taxes based on a reasonable estimate of its value, according to Barrie. Capital gains taxes also could be levied in the future as the ball gains value, he said..."
http://blog.mises.org/archives/006959.asp
Cracking The Cube
"Rubik's Cube has approximately 43 quintillion possible configurations. Kunkle, a computer scientist at Northeastern University in Boston, has proved that 26 moves are enough to solve any Rubik's Cube, no matter how scrambled. That's one move below the previous record. In the process of cracking the cube, he developed algorithms that can be useful for problems as disparate as scheduling air flights and determining how proteins will fold."
http://blog.sciencenews.org/mathtrek/2007/08/cracking_the_cube.html
http://blog.sciencenews.org/mathtrek/2007/08/cracking_the_cube.html
Wikinvest
This new site so not too impressive yet...but could be a "major player" in a few months/years.
http://www.wikinvest.com/
http://www.wikinvest.com/
50 Factors That Affect the Value of the US Dollar
This is partly why currency trading is so difficult...
http://www.currencytrading.net/2007/50-factors-that-affect-the-value-of-the-us-dollar/
http://www.currencytrading.net/2007/50-factors-that-affect-the-value-of-the-us-dollar/
10 Unsolved Mysterie of the Brain
"Of all the objects in the universe, the human brain is the most complex. There are as many neurons in the brain as there are stars in the Milkly Way galaxy."
10 Unsolved Mysterie of the Brain
by David Eagleman
http://discovermagazine.com/2007/aug/unsolved-brain-mysteries/article_view?b_start:int=0&-C=
10 Unsolved Mysterie of the Brain
by David Eagleman
http://discovermagazine.com/2007/aug/unsolved-brain-mysteries/article_view?b_start:int=0&-C=
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Six Degrees of Seperation
What I'm most interested in is "breaks" in the interconnectedness of humans. Why are people not connected, or, who is the person who bridges a connection...
"Six degrees of separation refers to the idea that, if a person is one 'step' away from each person he or she knows and two 'steps' away from each person who is known by one of the people he or she knows, then everyone is no more than six 'steps' away from each person on Earth...Knowing 42 people is not unreasonable to a person. One class or workplace can contain 42 people. Thus, if 42 of your friends knows 42 other people, and they each know 42 more people, and so on and so on until 6 chains have been formed, then that will encompass 6 billion people."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_degrees_of_separation
Three Big Flaws in Six Degrees of Seperation Theory
by Dan Vergano
http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/2002/2002-01-15-sixdegrees.htm
Separating You and Me? 4.74 Degrees
by John Markoff and Somini Sengupta
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/22/technology/between-you-and-me-4-74-degrees.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha25
"Six degrees of separation refers to the idea that, if a person is one 'step' away from each person he or she knows and two 'steps' away from each person who is known by one of the people he or she knows, then everyone is no more than six 'steps' away from each person on Earth...Knowing 42 people is not unreasonable to a person. One class or workplace can contain 42 people. Thus, if 42 of your friends knows 42 other people, and they each know 42 more people, and so on and so on until 6 chains have been formed, then that will encompass 6 billion people."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_degrees_of_separation
Three Big Flaws in Six Degrees of Seperation Theory
by Dan Vergano
http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/2002/2002-01-15-sixdegrees.htm
Separating You and Me? 4.74 Degrees
by John Markoff and Somini Sengupta
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/22/technology/between-you-and-me-4-74-degrees.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha25
Do Credit-Report Requests Hurt Your Rating?
Q: If I request a copy of my credit report, will that hurt my credit rating should I want to apply for a mortgage? One bank said I should not ask for multiple credit reports during the year because this would show up as multiple hits against my credit report and could lower my credit rating.
--J.S.
A: Requesting a copy of your own credit report is generally considered a "soft" inquiry, which shouldn't hurt your credit score. Other types of soft inquiries include ones that are initiated by lenders who want to make you a preapproved offer, or by prospective employers or insurers who want to check your credit report, says Rod Griffin, manager of public education at Experian, a credit bureau. "Hard" inquiries, where lenders pull your credit report in response to your application for credit, may contribute to a lower credit score depending on what else is in your credit report. Fair Isaac, the maker of the FICO score, notes that its scores ignore all mortgage and auto-loan inquiries made in a rolling 30-day period prior to scoring and typically counts mortgage and car-loan inquiries older than 30 days as one inquiry when they are made within a 45-day period.
Do Credit-Report Requests Hurt Your Rating?
by Jane J. Kim
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118652301207790891.html?mod=todays_us_nonsub_pj
--J.S.
A: Requesting a copy of your own credit report is generally considered a "soft" inquiry, which shouldn't hurt your credit score. Other types of soft inquiries include ones that are initiated by lenders who want to make you a preapproved offer, or by prospective employers or insurers who want to check your credit report, says Rod Griffin, manager of public education at Experian, a credit bureau. "Hard" inquiries, where lenders pull your credit report in response to your application for credit, may contribute to a lower credit score depending on what else is in your credit report. Fair Isaac, the maker of the FICO score, notes that its scores ignore all mortgage and auto-loan inquiries made in a rolling 30-day period prior to scoring and typically counts mortgage and car-loan inquiries older than 30 days as one inquiry when they are made within a 45-day period.
Do Credit-Report Requests Hurt Your Rating?
by Jane J. Kim
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118652301207790891.html?mod=todays_us_nonsub_pj
Newfoundland the New Hawaii?
"Climate change is attracting some of the tourism. The average temperature during the summers in Newfoundland and Labrador has increased by nearly four degrees Fahrenheit over the past 20 years, says David Phillips, the Canadian government's senior climatologist. From 2001 through 2005, there were an average of 123 days when the weather was 77 degrees or warmer. In 1991-1995, it averaged just 63 days. Over the last 50 years the growing season -- the gap between winter's last frost and autumn's first -- has widened by three weeks."
More Americans Warm Up To Homes in Newfoundland
by Douglas Belkin
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118653592482391230.html?mod=todays_us_nonsub_marketplace
More Americans Warm Up To Homes in Newfoundland
by Douglas Belkin
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118653592482391230.html?mod=todays_us_nonsub_marketplace
Wine Color Guide For Quality and Age
"While judging a wine for taste, ’smelling bouquets’ and spitting wine out can seem a little bit backwards (because, after all, isn’t wine for drinking?), it’s really about appreciating different aromas and tastes without being totally smashed. Color can tell us a great deal about a wine before we raise our glasses. Tilt them instead. Pouring a small amount of wine and tilting the glass at (approx.) 45º will spread the wine enough for us to observe a span of its color… and to determine the quality of a wine in the white, blush, or red families… where trees have rings, wines have color."
http://www.colourlovers.com/blog/2007/08/07/wine-color-guide-for-quality-and-age/
http://www.colourlovers.com/blog/2007/08/07/wine-color-guide-for-quality-and-age/
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Where Do The Best Athletes Come From?
Europe and Australia are athletic powerhouses...but let's not forget tiny Cuba...
http://www.unusualmaps.com/olympics.html
http://www.unusualmaps.com/olympics.html
Googlonymous
"When you make a search on Google, your ip address, the time, and what you searched for is stored in their database forever and this information can be used in a court of law against you. Google will willingly allow authorities to consult their database, they already did as you can see in the video below."
http://googlonymous.com/
http://googlonymous.com/
How Long Food Stays Fresh in the Fridge
*Pasta Sauce: 5 days once opened
*Mayonaise: 2 months once opened
*Cheese: 1-4 weeks
*Eggs: 3-5 weeks
*Leftovers: 3-4 days
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/06/earlyshow/health/main3136152.shtml
*Mayonaise: 2 months once opened
*Cheese: 1-4 weeks
*Eggs: 3-5 weeks
*Leftovers: 3-4 days
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/06/earlyshow/health/main3136152.shtml
Five Shocking Facts About Men & Sex
"The Journal of Urology put the average penis size at 5.08 inches, and the International Journal of Impotence Research put it at 5.35 inches. "
Five Shocking Facts About Men & Sex
by Jay Dixit
http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/index.php?term=pto-20070604-000001&page=1
Five Shocking Facts About Men & Sex
by Jay Dixit
http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/index.php?term=pto-20070604-000001&page=1
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Secret Lives of Japanese Host Men
"There are about 100 host clubs in Osaka, Japan where good looking guys would be hosts to girls who are willing to spend money on them."
This is a fragment of "The Great Happiness Space" Documentary.
http://bungabunga.tistory.com/entry/Secret-Lives-Of-Japanese-Host-Men-Gigolos
This is a fragment of "The Great Happiness Space" Documentary.
http://bungabunga.tistory.com/entry/Secret-Lives-Of-Japanese-Host-Men-Gigolos
The Secrets of the World's Richest Man
"Mexico's Carlos Slim makes his billionsthe old-fashioned way: monopolies."
The Secrets of the World's Richest Man
by David Luhnow
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118615255900587380.html?mod=home_we_banner_left
The Secrets of the World's Richest Man
by David Luhnow
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118615255900587380.html?mod=home_we_banner_left
Google Single-Word Translation
Currently translates English, French, German, Italian, Korean, and Spanish.
http://translate.google.com/translate_dict?hl=en
http://translate.google.com/translate_dict?hl=en
Google Single-Word Translation
Currently translates English, French, German, Italian, Korean, and Spanish.
http://translate.google.com/translate_dict?hl=en
http://translate.google.com/translate_dict?hl=en
Swiss Army Knife on Drugs
"As awesome as it is ridiculous, this incredible triumph of engineering is packed with 85 fully functional implements and is said to have over 100 functions."
http://www.firebox.com/product/1861?src_t=sbk&src_id=armyknife
http://www.firebox.com/product/1861?src_t=sbk&src_id=armyknife
Noses, Sexuality, and Mice
"The enormous difference between male and female sexual behaviour may be explained, in animals at least, by a tiny organ in the nose rather than by any gender difference in brain circuitry."
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,22194507-30417,00.html?from=public_rss?fromrss=1
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,22194507-30417,00.html?from=public_rss?fromrss=1
Horsepower Wars Killing More Than War on Terror
"While the tragedy of 3,000 lives lost on 9/11 has justified two wars, in which thousands of U.S. soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice, the tragedy of 245,000 lives lost in traffic accidents on the nation's roads during the same period has justified . . . pretty much no response at all."
Road Kill
by Gregg Eaterbrook
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-op-easterbrook5aug05,0,1379980.story?coll=la-opinion-center
Road Kill
by Gregg Eaterbrook
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-op-easterbrook5aug05,0,1379980.story?coll=la-opinion-center
Why Is Japan The Source of So Many Bright Ideas?
"When it comes to being awarded patents, the Japanese are world champions. Japan has more than 1,200 patents per million people—more than twice as many as Switzerland, the next most prolific country (with 500 patents per million), and more than three times as many as third-ranking America (with 350 patents per million)."
http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9586589
http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9586589
Why An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away
“'An apple a day keeps the doctor away'…but why? Do you really know what makes an apple so special? Why is it that we never hear an orange or a banana a day keeps the doctor away?"
http://www.succeedwiththis.com/9-reasons-why-an-apple-a-day-really-keeps-the-doctor-away/
http://www.succeedwiththis.com/9-reasons-why-an-apple-a-day-really-keeps-the-doctor-away/
Walking Does More Than Driving To Cause Global Warming
"Food production is now so energy-intensive that more carbon is emitted providing a person with enough calories to walk to the shops than a car would emit over the same distance. The climate could benefit if people avoided exercise, ate less and became couch potatoes. Provided, of course, they remembered to switch off the TV rather than leaving it on standby."
Walking to the Shops 'Damages Planet More Than Going by Car"
by Dominic Kennedy
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article2195538.ece
Walking to the Shops 'Damages Planet More Than Going by Car"
by Dominic Kennedy
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article2195538.ece
The Downside of Diversity
"Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam -- famous for 'Bowling Alone,' his 2000 book on declining civic engagement -- has found that the greater the diversity in a community, the fewer people vote and the less they volunteer, the less they give to charity and work on community projects. In the most diverse communities, neighbors trust one another about half as much as they do in the most homogenous settings. The study, the largest ever on civic engagement in America, found that virtually all measures of civic health are lower in more diverse settings."
The Downside of Diversity
by Michael Jonas
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2007/08/04/the_downside_of_diversity/?page=1
The Downside of Diversity
by Michael Jonas
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2007/08/04/the_downside_of_diversity/?page=1
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Sushi Eating How To
I'm still going over this one for accuracy...
Sushi Eating How To
by Eugene Ciurana
http://www.eugeneciurana.com/musings/sushi-eating-HOWTO.html?
Sushi Eating How To
by Eugene Ciurana
http://www.eugeneciurana.com/musings/sushi-eating-HOWTO.html?
Millionaires Who Don't Feel Rich
There are very few places in the world where being a millionaire does not make you feel rich. But there are few places in the US (and many other countries) where almost any sum of money does not make you feel rich.
"When chief executives are routinely paid tens of millions of dollars a year and a hedge fund manager can collect $1 billion annually, those with a few million dollars often see their accumulated wealth as puny, a reflection of their modest status in the new Gilded Age, when hundreds of thousands of people have accumulated much vaster fortunes...Here, the top 1 percent chases the top one-tenth of 1 percent, and the top one-tenth of 1 percent chases the top one-one-hundredth of 1 percent."
In Silicon Valley, Millionaires Who Don't Feel Rich
by Gary Rivlin
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/05/technology/05rich.html?_r=2&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
"When chief executives are routinely paid tens of millions of dollars a year and a hedge fund manager can collect $1 billion annually, those with a few million dollars often see their accumulated wealth as puny, a reflection of their modest status in the new Gilded Age, when hundreds of thousands of people have accumulated much vaster fortunes...Here, the top 1 percent chases the top one-tenth of 1 percent, and the top one-tenth of 1 percent chases the top one-one-hundredth of 1 percent."
In Silicon Valley, Millionaires Who Don't Feel Rich
by Gary Rivlin
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/05/technology/05rich.html?_r=2&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
Graph: Attraction Theory
Not quite sure what the null set is...I assume the creator of this graph thinks it is impossible to have perfect physical AND mental attractiveness...
http://www.whitepen.org/attraction-theory.gif
http://www.whitepen.org/attraction-theory.gif
Collapse of the CD Market
What this tells me is that CD prices are way too high for current market conditions. Buying CDs only makes sense for people who can't or don't want to get their music for free online or through friends.
"There is a story doing the rounds in the US that says a lot about the state of the music business. It concerns a young rock band who decided to stop selling their CDs at concerts. Selling CDs has, for many years, been a good way for an act to reclaim the margin that would otherwise have been snaffled by a retailer. But it made no sense to this band once they discovered that by selling CDs for $10 they were cannibalising sales of their $20 T-shirts."
http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=9735
"There is a story doing the rounds in the US that says a lot about the state of the music business. It concerns a young rock band who decided to stop selling their CDs at concerts. Selling CDs has, for many years, been a good way for an act to reclaim the margin that would otherwise have been snaffled by a retailer. But it made no sense to this band once they discovered that by selling CDs for $10 they were cannibalising sales of their $20 T-shirts."
http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=9735
The Coming Water Wars: Chart
If there are future water wars, the countries with the "best" water (see below) better start buying weapons to defend themselves. It so happens that the countries with the best water are also some of the most peaceful countries on Earth... My question: Why does Belgium have the "worst" water?
Best Water:
1) Finland
2) Canada
3) New Zealand
4) United Kingdom
5) Japan
Worst Water:
1) Belgium
2) Morocco
3) India
4) Jordan
5) Sudan
http://www.princeton.edu/~ina/infographics/water.html
Best Water:
1) Finland
2) Canada
3) New Zealand
4) United Kingdom
5) Japan
Worst Water:
1) Belgium
2) Morocco
3) India
4) Jordan
5) Sudan
http://www.princeton.edu/~ina/infographics/water.html
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