Why is New Zealand Poorer than Australia?

I wonder if geography explains anything...

http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2007/12/why-is-new-zeal.html

Trend Tracking - Pirated Songs/Movies

By tracking the most heavily pirated transfers on the net, one could easily find the hottest goods and trends...

http://www.wired.com/entertainment/hollywood/news/2007/12/YE_best_of_p2p

The Changing Face of British Cities by 2020

Is Britain's food revolution directly correlated to the growing diversity of its population?

The Changing Face of British Cities
by Amelia Hill
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/dec/23/communities.population

Fair Tax = 23% ...?

Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is pushing for a "Fair Tax" of 23%. This would wipe out the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), not to mention countless accountants...hmmm...

http://www.latimes.com/la-na-salestax24dec24,0,5286232.story?coll=la-home-center

Cool Food Fact of the Week

With 35 million people, greater Tokyo is by far the world's most populous metro area, with nearly twice the people of greater New York. There are 80,000 restaurants here - six times as many as in New York.

-From Washington Post, December 21, 2007 (Blaine Harden)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/interactives/tokyostories/vignettes.html

Real Estalker

Check out the celebrity real estate scene...

http://realestalker.blogspot.com/

Michelin Tokyo - Debut

The debut edition of the Michelin dining guide to Tokyo, published Nov. 22, 2007 immediately hit the top of the bestseller list provided by Kinokuniya Co., a nationwide book chain. The publication of the French-based tire company's first restaurant guidebook for an Asian city has become a popular topic of conversation, especially as eight Tokyo venues were awarded the top three-star rating.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/book/20071130TDY17005.htm

Capital of the World

London was just named "capital of the world," according to a comparison of the world's great cities.

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article3276224.ece

Top 10 News Stories of '07

Interesting how the Virginia Tech masacre (32 dead) was chosen as the top news story ahead of the Iraq War...My prediction is that global warming (now at #6) will move up to the top three starting next year.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071220/ap_on_re_us/ye_top10_stories

Bad Ideas Can be Contagious

This is one of the reasons why contrarian investing works...

"When people have limited information about something important -- a potential crisis in a building several stories high, a fire alarm that goes off in a crowded theater or a sudden drop in the stock market -- they use other people as guides to their own behavior. "

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/16/AR2007121601472.html
Bad Ideas Can be Contagious
by Shankar Vedantam

Image: Back Side Pleasure (NSFW)

Not sure if this is an actual Planned Parenthood ad or just a joke...

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/8762/plannedparenthoodvv4.jpg

Wikipedia vs. Knol

"Like Wikipedia, articles in knol (the name derives from “knowledge”) will be free to read online. In a departure from the nonprofit Wikipedia model, however, knol’s authors will be able to attach advertising to their work and take a share of revenues."

Google to Tackle Wikipedia with New Knowledge Service
by Rhys Blakely
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article3054287.ece

Priciest US Restaurants

"According to the most recent Zagat Survey of America's Top Restaurants, New York City continues to lead the way as the most costly U.S. city in which to dine out, with an average tab of $39.46. By comparison, Zagat's national average is $33.29, while New Orleans ($26.18) and Austin ($25.30) are the least expensive cities. Of course, U.S. restaurants cost roughly half of what their peers do in cities such as London ($79.46), Paris ($74.24) and Tokyo ($69.58)."

Top 5 Priciest US Restaurants:

1. Masa, New York City
2. Alinea, Chicago
3. Canlis, Seattle
4. Joel Robuchon at the Mansion, Las Vegas
5. Urasawa, Los Angeles

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/104021/Pricies-U.S.-Restaurants

Study: Liberal Arts Girls Put Out

Looking at the chart one can tell that things are a bit off. Nevertheless, it raises an interesting question - what major is most promiscuous?

http://www.ivygateblog.com/blog/2007/08/sex_on_campus_art_students_did_it_all_for_the_nookie.html

95% of All Email Sent in 2007 = Spam

"There was a time--2004 to be precise--when spam "only" consumed 70 percent of all e-mail. Those were the good old days. Today, as Barracuda Networks' annual spam report shows, upwards of 95 percent of all e-mail is spam. In 2001, the number was 5 percent."

http://blogs.cnet.com/8301-13505_1-9831556-16.html?tag=nefd.blgs

A Librarian's Worst Nightmare

Perhaps librarians should be required to fact check on Yahoo! Answers...It seems harder to police something like this than something like Wikipedia.

"The blockbuster success of Yahoo! Answers is all the more surprising once you spend a few days using the site. While Answers is a valuable window into how people look for information online, it looks like a complete disaster as a traditional reference tool. It encourages bad research habits, rewards people who post things that aren't true, and frequently labels factual errors as correct information. It's every middle-school teacher's worst nightmare about the Web."

A Librarian's Worst Nightmare
by Jacob Leibenluft
http://www.slate.com/id/2179393/nav/tap3/?sid13

Most Expensive Places to Buy Gas in the US

California takes the top five spots...

"West coast drivers are hit hardest. Those in cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles pay more at the pump than those in Houston or Dallas, where the average price per gallon Wednesday was $2.90 and $2.923, respectively, due to such factors as fuel taxes, environmental standards and costs of business like regulatory burdens and taxes."

1. San Francisco
2. San Jose
3. San Diego
4. Sacramento
5. Los Angeles
6. New York City
7. Buffalo
8. Seattle
9. Miami
10. Chicago

http://finance.yahoo.com/loans/article/103987/Most-Expensive-Places-to-Buy-Gas-in-the-U.S.

Vietnam = The Next China

So who will replace Vietnam?

"After China, Vietnam is emerging as the world's next factory of choice for labor-intensive goods. One can see that in the changing composition of the country's exports. Rice and coffee -- two of Vietnam's biggest agricultural exports -- are now becoming less significant to the $61 billion economy than textiles. Footwear shipments are gaining prominence over seafood."

After China, Vietnam Will be the World's Factory
by Andy Mukhherjee
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&refer=columnist_mukherjee&sid=aDjL0As_b1h4

Weather & Wall Street

Data reveal strong correlations between sunshine, and possibly other weather-related factors, and the performance of the stock market...

"If you consistently bought stocks when the sky was gray and overcast and consistently sold stocks when the weather was bright and sunny, and you did this over a period of 16 years across 26 stock markets around the world, you would . . . well, let's just say you would be lounging on a hot beach right now with a long, cool drink next to you. "

Wondering Wall Street's Mood? Look Up.
by Shankar Vedantam

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/02/AR2007120201558.html

US National Debt Grows $1 Million a Minute

Like a ticking time bomb, the national debt is an explosion waiting to happen. It's expanding by about $1.4 billion a day — or nearly $1 million a minute. What's that mean to you? It means almost $30,000 in debt for each man, woman, child and infant in the United States.

National Debt Grows $1 Million a Minute
by Tom Raum

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071203/ap_on_go_ot/nation_in_debt

Bicycling: Which Side of the Road?

Q: I've always heard that the safest way to ride a bike on the street is "with traffic" (on the side of the road, in the same direction the cars are moving), but I ride in the opposite direction instead. I feel I can see trouble approaching and avoid it, rather than not know what's happening behind me. Am I missing anything?

A: Envision a flow of pedestrians along a sidewalk, all walking in the same direction. One of them especially dislikes getting bumped, so he stays on the far right of the sidewalk. Now imagine the same scene with that one pedestrian walking in the opposite direction, against the flow of traffic. Which way is he most likely to get bumped? By going against the flow, you interfere with traffic, which can cause a crash, and your movements will seem unpredictable to card going in the opposite direction, putting you at even greater risk.

-From 12/2/07 Ask Marilyn, Parade Magazine

What the World is Searching For

If you click on the following link you can see what the top searches are on Yahoo. The searches are usually heavily sports and models/celebrities-oriented. A great look into the psyche of the US...

http://buzz.yahoo.com/overall

Republicans Report Much Better Mental Health Than Others

From Gallup:

*58% of Republicans report having excellent mental health
*43% of Independents report having excellent mental health
*38% of Democrats report having excellent mental health

One could be quick to assume that these differences are based on the underlying demographic and socioeconomic patterns related to party identification in America today. A recent Gallup report (see "Strong Relationship Between Income and Mental Health" in Related Items) reviewed these mental health data more generally, and found that men, those with higher incomes, those with higher education levels, and whites are more likely than others to report excellent mental health. Some of these patterns describe characteristics of Republicans, of course.

But an analysis of the relationship between party identification and self-reported excellent mental health within various categories of age, gender, church attendance, income, education, and other variables shows that the basic pattern persists regardless of these characteristics. In other words, party identification appears to have an independent effect on mental health even when each of these is controlled for.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/102943/Republicans-Report-Much-Better-Mental-Health-Than-Others.aspx