Can You Eat the Wrapper From Trident Gum?

"The offical answer - after calling the Trident company - is that the wrappers on Trident gum are not meant to be eaten along with the gum. It's just regular old wax paper."

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Can_you_eat_the_wrapper_from_Trident_gum

*The same apparently goes for Stride Gum wrappers
http://candyaddict.com/blog/2007/06/19/myth-busted-stride-gum-wrappers-should-not-be-eaten/

How Dentists Think

"In contrast to the surgical specialties of medicine, which are delivered in ambulatory care centers and hospital operating rooms, where the operating expenses and the cost of equipment and support staff are borne by hospitals rather than individual doctors, dental surgeons must pay for equipment, supplies, the electricity that powers drills and X-ray machines, malpractice insurance, rent on office space big enough to house the reception, a waiting room, clinical areas, and—often the biggest expense of all—staff to make appointments, submit insurance claims, and provide support services as dental assistants and dental hygienists.

"Unlike hospitals, which buy in bulk, dentists have very little leverage to negotiate discounts for fixtures and supplies. The economic inefficiency of dentists' working solo is mitigated by other factors. Expensive drugs, frequent technological advancements, and endless tests of dubious diagnostic value—all significant drivers of medical inflation—are largely absent from the dental world. Because every procedure typically incurs only a single charge, billing is much more straightforward and transparent than it is in most areas of medicine.

"Although dentists prefer to leave the money talk to their billing manager, they usually know the cost of every procedure, which isn't necessarily true of physicians."

The American Way of Dentistry: How Dentist Think
by June Thomas
http://www.slate.com/id/2229633/

*Take the Corah Dental Anxiety Scale Questionnaire
http://www.dentalfearcentral.org/media/dental_anxiety_scale.pdf

*Kleinknecht Dental Fear Survey
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6831/7/1

Is Fair Trade Coffee Worthwhile?

"The future of the Fair Trade-coffee movement is in question, as some backers raise concerns about whether it has reached the limit of how much it can help. In a private-industry survey last year of 179 Fair Trade coffee farmers in Central America and Mexico, more than half said their families have still been going hungry for several months a year...For most coffee growers, Fair Trade is still slightly more lucrative than the open market. Two years ago, the Germany-based Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO), which sets worldwide prices and standards, raised the minimum per-pound price of nonorganic coffee $o.09 to $1.35. That's $o.15 higher than the current market rate."

What Price for Good Coffee
by Ezra Fieser
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1926007,00.html

On Tariffs

*All but three significant trading economies have permanent tariff systems. (Hong Kong and Libya have none; Singapore imposes tariffs only on beer and a local liquor called samsu. )

*On top of this, the United States and many other countries have laws which, in special circumstances, impose temporary tariffs above permanent rates. These come in three types: "anti-dumping" tariffs are used most frequently, at an average of 166 per year since 2000; "countervailing duties" are second at an 14-per-year average; and "safeguards" are rarest, averaging 8 per year.

*The World Bank calculates the average worldwide tariff on manufactured goods at about 7 percent, and the average U.S. tariff at about 3 percent.

http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?kaid=108&subid=900003&contentid=255071

On Michelin Guide Reviewers

It is like the food CIA, or FIA (Food Intelligence Agency)...

"Michelin protects the identities of its reviewers to the point that they generally are not allowed to do interviews with the press, and must invent cover stories about their profession so that even friends and family don’t know what they do."

Michelin Builds a Campaign Around Its Secret Reviewers
by Stephanie Clifford
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/17/business/media/17adco.html?th&emc=th

*Also check out FamouslyAnonymous.com, a Michelin-run website which includes information about the jobs of reviewers
http://www.michelinguide.com/us/famously_anonymous/index.html

Handicapping Olympic Bids

Where will the 2016 Olympics be? See the BidIndex 2016...

http://www.gamesbids.com/eng/

Video: Table Manners

A five-minute video...

http://www.5min.com/Video/Learn-about-Table-Manners-Etiquette-83227367

*More table etiquette tips from Manners International
http://www.mannersinternational.com/etiquette_tips_table.asp

*10-minute Emily Post video on table manners
http://video.google.com/videosearch?sourceid=navclient&rlz=1T4RNWN_enUS268US268&q=table+manners&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=6WHCSp-ZI5DSlAfVur38AQ&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4#

*Video: How to Have Top Notch Table Manners
http://video.google.com/videosearch?sourceid=navclient&rlz=1T4RNWN_enUS268US268&q=table+manners&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=6WHCSp-ZI5DSlAfVur38AQ&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4#

How to Approach US's Wars

Excellent analysis...Here are some key points I liked...

*The counterinsurgency campaign proposed in Gen. Stanely McChrystal's strategic assessment will prolong the war for an additional five to 10 years.

*Instead of fighting an endless hot war in a vain effort to eliminate the jihadist threat, the US should wage a cold war to keep the threat at bay. Such a strategy worked before. It can work again.

*The Long War is a losing proposition; it will break the bank and break the force

*Devising a new course requires accurately identifying the problem, which is not "terrorism" and, despite Washington's current obsession with the place, is certainly not Afghanistan.

*The essential problem is a dispute about God's relationship to politics. The propostion that the two occupy seperate spheres finds particular favor among the democracies of the liberal, developed West. The proposition that God permeates politics finds particular favor in the Islamic world.

*At its root, this is an arguement about what it means to be modern. Power, no matter how imaginatively or ruthlessly wielded, cannot provide a solution.

*In confronting this conflict, the goal of US national security strategy ought to be limited but specific: to insulate Americans from the fallout.

*The strategy should emphasize three principles: decapitate, contain, and compete.

*Decapitation - targeting leaders for elimination - provides the means to suppress immediate threats to our safety. It won't eliminate the threat - Hamas and Hezbollah have survived the Israeli government's targeted assassination campaign - but it can reduce it to manageable levels.

Let's Beat the Extremists Like We Beat the Soviets
by Andrew Bacevich
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/25/AR2009092502011.html

Quote of the Day: On Being Rich

"The man is the richest whose pleasures are the cheapest."

-Henry David Thoreau

(Obviously, Thoreau never had a chance to try Balik Salmon...)

Stickers on Fruit

*How to decode the information on the stickers
http://www.earthyfamily.com/A-GMO.htm

*Laser labeling coming soon to fruits and veggies
http://www.slashfood.com/2009/09/11/laser-labeling-coming-soon-to-fruits-vegetables/4

*How to wash fruits and vegetables (interestingly, this article says that the stickers on fruits/veggies are edible, although some think otherwise...)
http://www.wikihow.com/Wash-Fruit-and-Vegetables

Are You Too Smart to Be Rich?

Economist Jay Zagorsky ran a study to determine whether brains translate into riches. His conclusion? "Intelligence is not a factor for explaining wealth. Those with low intelligence should not believe they are handicapped, and those with high intelligence should not believe they have an advantage." ... In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell explored example after example of how the successful became so. He concluded that "once someone has reached an IQ of somewhere around 120, having additional IQ points doesn't seem to translate into any measurable real-world advantage." It wasn't excess brains alone that sunk Long Term Capital Management, Enron, and the rest of the Wall Streeters. It was excess arrogance about those excess brains -- believing that because they were smart, they could do no wrong and anyone who questioned them just didn't get it.

Are You Too Smart to Be Rich
by Anand Chokkavelu
http://www.fool.com/investing/value/2009/09/28/are-you-too-smart-to-be-rich.aspx

Dealing With Iran & Afghanistan

"On pure logic, history or politics aside, the best course is to strike Iran and withdraw from Afghanistan."

http://www.stratfor.com:80/weekly/20090928_obamas_move_iran_and_afghanistan?utm_source=GWeeklyS&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=090928&utm_content=readmore

Tracing the Origins of Human Empathy

"Compassion and charity has deep roots in the origin of our species...Recent biomedical studies show that our brains are built to feel another's pain. Like tuning forks, we reflexively repsond to others' moods. We can weep at the plight of people we have never met or, spellbound by fiction, become cuaght up in the lives of people who never existed. Indeed, we may be hardwired for empathy...Most people can't help but yawn reflexively when someone else starts doing it first. No one knowsy why, but researchers recently learned that people better able to identify with anothers' state of mind also yawn more readily in response to others. Children with autism - a condition characterized by an inability to interact socially - don't catch yawns...But monkeys do. Chimpanzees will yawn when shown a computer animation of another monkey yawning."

Tracing The Origins of Human Empathy
by Robert Lee Hotz
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125382470366238705.html

Markup Hell

How does the Senate finance committee get through 564 amendments? Click the link...

Markup Hell
by Christophe Beam
http://www.slate.com/id/2229520/

Why Did Russians Get So Good at Chess?

"Because the Soviets subsidized the game. Chess has long been popular in Russia—Czar Ivan IV is thought to have died while playing a match in 1584. After the Bolsheviks took power in 1917, it became a national pastime. Soon after the revolution, Vladimir Lenin's supreme commander of the Soviet army, Nikolay Krylenko, laid the foundations for state-sponsored chess: He opened chess schools, hosted tournaments, and promoted the game as a vehicle for international dominance."

Red Squares
by Christopher Beam
http://www.slate.com/id/2229515/

Why Does Iran Need So Many Centrifuges?

"Because each one is so small. A centrifuge for enriching uranium consists of a thin vacuum tube with a rotor inside that spins around at tens of thousands of rpm. When uranium gas enters the tube and whips around at high speeds, the useful U-235 isotopes get separated out from their heavier cousins, the U-238 isotopes. The speed of the rotor determines how effectively a centrifuge can enrich uranium, and a rotor's maximum speed depends in part on the dimensions of the centrifuge. Since it's hard to maintain a balanced spin in a long tube, engineers have to keep the devices to less than a few meters in length. That means they can enrich only a few grams of material at a time."

Why Does Iran Need So Many Centrifuges
by Daniel Engber
http://www.slate.com/id/2229769/

The Richer You Are The More Likely Your On a Diet

http://www.ajph.org/cgi/content/abstract/86/7/1005?ijkey=fcc86dbf3f0bb00d29480b1266ed0f3f779da09a&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha

Does Poverty Make People Fat or Vice Versa?

"As a matter of public health, it might be more important to help poor people than fat people. According to epidemiologist Peter Muennig, the relative risk of mortality for being obese is between 1 and 2. That means that, controlling for other factors, someone who's really fat is up to twice as likely to die early as someone whose body mass index is in the normal range. But if you compare people from the top and bottom of the wage scale (with everything else held constant), the risk ratio goes up to about 3.5. In other words, it's much better for your health to be rich and fat than poor and thin."

Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Big Fat Asses
by Daniel Engber
http://www.slate.com/id/2229523/

The Evolution of Overconfidence

"How can such a condition have evolved when overconfidence can lead to destruction of communities and catastrophic loss of life? That's a mystery that many experimental psychologists have wrestled with, but now Johnson and Fowler say they have the answer. By creating a mathematical model of the way overconfident individuals compete against ordinary individuals, they show that there is a clear advantage in overconfidence. In fact, if the potential reward is at least twice as great as the cost of competing, then overconfidence is the best strategy. In fact, overconfidence is actually advantageous on average, because it boosts ambition, resolve, morale, and persistence. In other words, overconfidence is the best way to maximize benefits over costs when risks are uncertain."

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/24162/

Vote for the Idea That Will Help the Most People

I wonder if one can vote for population reduction...

http://www.project10tothe100.com/vote.html

What Can $20 Get You?

http://kottke.org/09/09/what-a-well-placed-20-gets-you

Will Sanctions on Iran Work?

"Research on the effect of sanctions is difficult to assess, but some scholars conclude that sanctions work about half the time. They are most effective when applied over a long period of time on small countries that are dependent on the outside world. Iran is a big country with oil, and it can build centrifuges faster than the international community can impose sanctions."

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/09/will-sanctions-work-against-iran.html#more

*NYTimes Blog on Iran Sanctions
http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/25/can-sanctions-work-against-iran/

Video: The End of Training Wheels?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbfe2_2DDc0&feature=player_embedded#t=13

How to Start a Non-Profit Organization

http://money.howstuffworks.com/economics/volunteer/information/start-a-non-profit-organization.htm

YouTube's Greatest Videos in 4 Minutes

http://www.isofa.tv/?vk=BudhFVnN2o0

On Fruits and Veggies

Q: I've read that vegetables and fruits are less nutritious than they were a few decades ago. Is this true?

A: Yes. As growers continue to produce larger, more robust crops, this is probably true. At least two kinds of evidence esits: 1) Historical food composition data show a decline in some vitamins, minerals, and protein; and 2) studies indicate that the larger the crop yield, teh lower the mineral concentration - a phenomemon that has been observed in both high- and low-yield varieties of vegetables.

-Ask Marilyn, Parade Magazine, 9/27/09

Oyster Ranching

http://www.oysterranching.com/

*$500 Tax Credit for aquaculture oyster float
http://www.blackpearlcrc.com/News_and_Events.html

*Chesepeake Oyster Guild
http://www.oysterking1.com/COG.html

*SMOCS BOCS
http://www.bayweekly.com/year09/issue_39/lead_3.html

*Oyster Restoration in Maryland
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/recreational/articles/oysterrestoration.html

*Chesapeake Bay Foundation Oyster Restoration
http://www.cbf.org/oysters

*Oyster Restoration Workgroup
http://www.oyster-restoration.org/

Quote of the Week: Lawmaking

Laws are like sausages. It's better not to see them being made.

-Otto von Bismarck

Great Recession Transforms Workplace, Workforce

"The work force is graying as college graduates can't find jobs, young workers get laid off and older workers delay retirement. People in white-collar jobs are feeling increasingly vulnerable to economic downturns, an insecurity that blue-collar workers have known for years."

Great Recession Transforms Workplace, Workforce
by Jay Reeves and Christopher Leonard
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Great-Recession-transforms-apf-1928204116.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=7&asset=&ccode=

A Boon for Bullet Makers

"Bullet-makers are working around the clock, seven days a week, and still can’t keep up with the nation’s demand for ammunition. Shooting ranges, gun dealers and bullet manufacturers say they have never seen such shortages. Bullets, especially for handguns, have been scarce for months because gun enthusiasts are stocking up on ammo, in part because they fear President Barack Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress will pass antigun legislation — even though nothing specific has been proposed and the president last month signed a law allowing people to carry loaded guns in national parks."

Bullet Makers Can't Keep Up With Demand
by Mary Foster
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6633316.html

Why Golf Courses Ban Push Carts

"Another plus for push carts, from the golf-consumer point of view, is the economics. When you bring your own cart to the course, you pay nothing beyond the green fee. Push-cart rentals, at $5 to $10 a round when available, are a bargain compared with the $25 to $30 that courses typically charge to rent a cart. From the point of view of courses, on the other hand, this is not a plus. In fact, it's the main reason so many courses ban push carts."

Why Courses Insist: 'Don't Walk'
by John Paul Newport
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052970204518504574420891621636098.html#mod=todays_us_weekend_journal

Work Better by Working Less

"A groundbreaking four-year study, set for publication in the October issue of Harvard Business Review, seems to confirm that getting away from work can yield unexpected on-the-job benefits."

If You Need to Work Better, Maybe Try Working Less
by Sue Shellenbarger
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052970203803904574429151858232582.html#mod=todays_us_personal_journal

On Newly Invented Sports

"Mojo Kickball is one of a number of recently invented -- and sometimes bizarre -- sports gaining a loyal following. The economy is one reason cited for the increased interest. An annual survey by the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association in Silver Spring, Md., found that, last year, casual pickup games in several sports, such as volleyball and basketball, were more popular than organized league games costing money to play."

Making Up a Sport Helps Folks Regain Their Mojo
by Anjali Athavaley
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125365483359331997.html#mod=todays_us_page_one

Recession-Proof Antiquities

"In the final days of the Bush administration, the U.S. government reached a far-reaching, highly detailed agreement with China that sharply restricts imports of, and trade in, Chinese antiquities (ranging from the Paleolithic period through the T'ang Dynasty and, in some cases, beyond). Other Asian nations have not been as strict, but the overall collecting mood has shifted. Many U.S. museums have recently adopted a Unesco-influenced acquisitions policy that requires proof either that an artwork left its country of origin before 1970 or has been legally exported since. In this newly constrained environment, dealers and auction-house officials say, buyers are bidding aggressively for the shrinking pool of Asian masterworks unclouded by potential disputes."

What's Still Recession-Proof
by Alexandra Peers
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052970204488304574428823072553750.html#mod=todays_us_opinion

What is Your Bed Philosophy?

"Your bed should look like you've moved into the best hotel in town. Buy the highest-quality bed linens you can afford. I prefer to use lightweight duvets with covers. No top sheet: enjoy the sensuous feeling of down all around you."

-Barbara Barry, Interior Designer in an interview with the WPost, 9/24/09

Philosphy of Food Project

How about getting a Master of Liberal Studies in Gastronomy at Boston University or studying at the University of Gastronic Sciences in Italy?

"The Philosophy of Food Project is housed in the Department of Philosophy and Religion Studies at the University of North Texas. It aims to disseminate information about the philosophical investigation of food; increase the visibility of food as a topic for philosophical research; serve as a resource for researchers, teachers, and students; galvanize a community of philosophers working on food; help philosophers engage in interdisciplinary approaches to food; form a bridge between academic food organizations and non-academic organizations including government agencies, non-governmental organizations, private charities, and community groups."

http://www.food.unt.edu/

*Most amazing syllabi ever
http://www.food-culture.org/ASFS-AFHVS-Syllabi2003.pdf

Axioms for the Computer Age

http://www.generationterrorists.com/quotes/1001e.html

*More immutable laws of the universe
http://mysite.verizon.net/charliez/murphy.htm

*Even more laws
http://www.xs4all.nl/~zira/murphy.html

Map: Furthest Point From a McDonald's

Looks like you need to go to South Dakota to get a respite from McDonald's...

http://blog.dagoosh.com/post/2009/09/22/furthest-point-from-mcdonalds.aspx

Graphic: Google Acquisitions & Investments

http://www.meettheboss.com/google-acquisitions-and-investments.html

Chart: The Most Expensive Cities

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rajkamalaich/3923439613/sizes/o/in/pool-767445@N24/

More on the Fat Tax

"We've known for a long time that any sin tax is likely to be a burden on the poor, since they're most prone to unhealthy behavior. But you might just as well say that poor people have the most to gain from a sin tax for exactly the same reason. It's also possible that revenues from a fat tax would be spent on obesity prevention—or go back to the community in other ways."

Let Them Drink Water!
by Daniel Engber
http://www.slate.com/id/2228713/

*More on Hedonic Hunger
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17531274

How do Prostitutes Pay Their Taxes?

"How do real prostitutes go about paying their taxes? They report their income on IRS Form 1040 Schedule C and pay self-employment tax in addition to ordinary income taxes. Sex-worker advocacy organizations regularly receive requests for tax advice. Some prostitutes, for example, might need help with the first line on the form—which asks the filer to identify her profession and service offered. It turns out that the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination permits a prostitute to leave this line blank or provide a vague answer like 'sale of leisure services.' The form also requires the filer to select a code for line of business. The ACORN employee recommended 711510 ('independent artists, writers, and performers'), but 713900 ('other amusement and recreation services') and 812990 ('all other personal services') would have been equally appropriate."

How do Prostitutes Pay Their Taxes?
by Brian Palmer
http://www.slate.com/id/2229094/

Which is Better for the Planet: Beer or Wine?

"In 2007, an analyst for the U.K.-based Food Climate Research Network attempted to tally up the nation's alcohol consumption-related emissions. Across the three categories considered—beer, wine, and spirits—the research didn't find any significant differences in greenhouse gas intensity."

Drink Responsibly
by Nina Shen Rastogi
http://www.slate.com/id/2229095/

Reading a Bill in Congress: Legislative vs. Conceptual

"Just when you thought the debate about health care reform couldn't get more obscure—is a co-op a public option? Will the CBO rescore the chairman's mark?—the Senate finance committee turned Wednesday morning to an even more arcane subject. It spent more than an hour arguing about whether to use 'conceptual' or 'legislative' language in the bill they will, one day, perhaps even in the year 2009, vote on."

Just Skim It
by John Dickerson
http://www.slate.com/id/2229223/

How Mean Are Drill Sergants?

"Drill sergeants of yesteryear did take a rough, discipline-and-punishment approach to preparing new Army recruits for combat. The disciplinarian tack seemed to make sense up through the Vietnam War, at least, because drafted soldiers were sometimes unwilling to get into line. But the drill sergeants of today are gentler."

How Mean Are Drill Sergeants?
by Juliet Lapidos
http://www.slate.com/id/2229216/

Llama Caddy

"Mountain climbers. Livestock guarders. Long-range spitters. And now llamas have a new distinguishing role to add to their resume: golf caddy. Yes, for $40 the llamas at Sherwood Forest Country Club will carry your bags, accompany you on a nine-hole run, and maybe even channel their peaceful temperament into quiet but unwavering moral support."

http://www.peoplepets.com/news/strange/north-carolina-golfers-let-llamas-carry-their-clubs/1

Last Words of Prisoners

If you were to die in a few seconds, what would your last words be?

Last Words
by Claire Cameron
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/opinion/20cameron.html

Pimp My Bed

"After years of catering to women, manufacturers are setting their sights on men. The new macho mattresses they're introducing have 'muscle-recovery properties' and cooling technology, on the theory that men are more likely to feel too hot in bed. The bed frames feature built-in TVs, iPod docking stations, wine coolers, safes and other guy-friendly gadgetry. Dave Shapiro, a 33-year-old real-estate investor in Philadelphia, paid $30,000 for a Hollandia International adjustable bed that offers a built-in 32-inch Sony flat-screen TV, surround-sound speakers and outlets for laptops."

Pimp My Bed: The Male Sleep Lair
by Ray Smith
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204488304574429070364650290.html

The Baked Bean Index & Other Odd Economic Indicators

"The baked bean index -- my colleague Anthony Reuben noted in the spring how the value of sales of baked beans -- a classic recession food -- had risen 21.6% in April compared with the same month last year. Could a reverse signal the start of a recovery?"

http://kottke.org/09/09/the-baked-bean-index-and-other-economic-indicators

100 Best Blogs for Econ Students

http://www.onlineuniversities-weblog.com/50226711/100-best-blogs-for-econ-students.php

Virgin-Hunting

Hat tip to Tyler Cowen...

http://manwhoisthursday.blogspot.com/2009/04/how-to-find-virgin-to-marry-if-you-are.html

Is Hashing Healthy?

Basically, it is all about moderation. More exercise (like more drinking) does not necessarily make one healtheir, and, in fact, could even do more harm than good...

"New research out of the University of Miami has found that the more alcohol people consume, the more time they spend exercising...By combing through survey data from 230,000 Americans collected by the 2005 Behavoiroal Risk Factor Surveillance System, the researchers found that while moderate drinkers did beat out the teetotalers, heavy drinkiers actually logged even more time exercising."

Making a Hash of Exercise
by Vicky Hallett
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/18/AR2009091801357.html

Concept of the Day: Lake Wobegon Effect

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

The Decline of Wikipedia?

"As Wikipedia has added layers of control to bolster accuracy and fairness, it has developed a kind of bureaucracy...There is a benign explnation for Wikipedia's slackening pace: the site has simply hit the natural limit of knowledge expansion. In its early days, it was easy to add stuff. But once others had entered historical sketches of every American city, taxonomies of all the world's species, bios of every character on The Sopranos and essentially evertying else - well, what more could they expect to add? So the only stuff left is esoteric, and it attracts fewere participants because the only editing jobs left are 'janitorial' - making sure that articles are well formatted and readable...Chi thinks something more drastic has occured: the Web's first major ecosystem collapse."

Where Wikipedia Ends
by Farhad Manjoo
http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20090923/us_time/09171192449200

NYTimes Series on Toxic Drinking Water

http://projects.nytimes.com:80/toxic-waters?WT.mc_id=NYT-E-I-NYT-E-AT-0923-L4

On Networking

http://www.contactscount.com/the8competencies.html

Patent Auctions

"The world can be a rough place for independent inventors. They can often find themselves in court, battling big corporations, spending piles of money on lawyers and leaving it up to judges and juries to determine the value of their hard-won patents. That could be changing. Wrangling over patents is beginning to move out of the courtroom and into the marketplace. A flurry of new companies and investment groups has sprung up to buy, sell, broker, license and auction patents. And venture capital and private equity is starting to pour into the field."

Patent Auctions Offer Protections to Investors
by Steve Lohr
http://www.nytimes.com:80/2009/09/21/technology/21patent.html?th&emc=th

The New Japan: Wal-Mart Shoppers

"Not long ago, many Japanese bought so many $100 melons and $1,000 handbags that this was the only country in the world where luxury products were considered mass market. Even through the economic stagnation of Japan’s so-called lost decade, which began in the early 1990s, Japanese consumers sustained that reputation. But this recession has done something that earlier declines could not: turned the Japanese into Wal-Mart shoppers."

Once Slave to Luxury, Japan Catches Thrift Bug
by Hiroko Tabuchi
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/21/business/global/21yen.html?th&emc=th

Following Trash & Recyclables on Their Journey

"Through the project, overseen by M.I.T.’s Senseable City Laboratory, 3,000 common pieces of garbage, mostly from Seattle, are to be tracked through the waste disposal system over the next three months. The researchers will display the routes in real time online and in exhibitions opening at the Architectural League of New York on Thursday and the Seattle Public Library on Saturday. One purpose of the project, said Carlo Ratti, director of the lab, is to give people a concrete sense of their impact on the environment in a way that might lead them to change their habits."

Following Trash and Recyclables on Their Journey
by Mireya Navarro
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/17/science/earth/17trash.html?th&emc=th

Why Do "Normal" People Talk to Themselves

“One is that when we are reading something that is quite complex, it helps to verbalize it aloud,” he said, “because hearing it, and hearing the language, gives us another cue for remembering those exact words. Listening to our internal auditory memory has been found to be quite helpful to understand a particularly complex sentence.” A second reason, he said, involves something called prospective memory. “As we get older, our ability to remember to do things we intend to do gets worse,” he said. Like string around the finger, hearing ourselves talk about these things can help us to remember to do them.

Thinking Out Loud
by C. Claiborne Ray
http://www.nytimes.com:80/2009/09/22/science/22qna.html?nl=health&emc=healthupdateemb3

Does Lack of Sleep Increase Risk of Getting a Cold?

"Studies have demonstrated that poor sleep and susceptibility to colds go hand in hand, and scientists think it could be a reflection of the role sleep plays in maintaining the body’s defenses."

The Claim: Lack of Sleep Increases the Risk of Catching a Cold
by Ahahad O'Connor
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/22/health/22real.html?em

End of Tuna Town in Japan?

"The cold waters here [Oma, Japan] once yielded such an abundance of bluefin, with such thick layers of tasty rich fat, that this tiny wind-swept seaport became Japan’s answer to California’s Napa Valley or the Brie cheese-producing region of France: a geographic location that is nearly synonymous with one of its nation’s premier foods...To maximize prices, Oma has registered its name as a trademark that can be used only with tuna brought ashore here. This has made Oma a brand that is gaining recognition even outside Japan. In March, a sushi chef from Hong Kong paid some $50,000 to buy half of a 280-pound Oma bluefin. The prices can be even higher: In 2001, a Japanese buyer paid a record $220,000 for a 444-pound Oma bluefin. One unfortunate side effect, said the town’s mayor, Mitsuharu Kanazawa, was that few of Oma’s 6,200 residents can now afford their own town’s tuna."

Tuna Town in Japan Sees Falloff of Its Fish
by Martin Fackler
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/world/asia/20tuna.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

Why do We Upgrade to Flat Screen TVs?

"Ever since the human being appeared, we've been hard-wired to hunt for better and bigger," said Martin Lindstrom, a marketing guru and author of Buyology. "And that makes us think, I don't want to end up being the last person on planet Earth left with a CRT."

No Audience Out There for CRT Televisions
by Michael Rosenwald
http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_13379345

Quote of the Week: Lobbyists

"Lobbyists have to lobby the lobbyists now."

-John Breaux, on how the new lobbying rules have impacted the industry, referring to how it is nearly impossible now to have lunch with Members of Congress and their staff because of the overly strict rules.

Lunch at the 'Power Section'
by Manuel Roig-Franzia
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/19/AR2009091902559.html

On Why So Many NFL Players Go Broke

"Within two years of retirement, 78 percent of NFL players are bankrupt or in severe financial distress. The 78 percent number is buoyed by the fact that the average NFL career lasts just three years. So, figure a player gets drafted in 2009, signs for the minimum and lasts three years in the league: He will have earned about $1.2 million in salary. Factor in taxes, cost of living and the misguided belief that there will be more years and bigger paydays down the road, and it becomes a lot easier to see how so many players struggle with money after their careers end."

Why Do So Many NFL Players Go Bankrupt
by Chris Chase
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Why-do-so-many-NFL-players-go-bankrupt-?urn=nfl,190555

Best Foods in the World - 50 Categories

The 50 Best Things to Eat in the World, and Where to Eat Them
by Killian Fox
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/sep/13/best-foods-in-the-world

Charts: Orders of Complexity

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ethanhein/sets/72157603838266990/

Do More Cheaters Use "Fake" Products?

http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2009/09/you-are-what-you-wear.html

Hyberbolic Discounting

"Some people are not only impulsive and impatient, but inconsistently so. They care a lot about a dollar today versus tomorrow, but could care less between a dollar either 10 or 11 days from now. Economists call this 'hyperbolic discounting.' Both behaviors - impatience and time inconsistency - could be a source of persistent poverty."

Psychology of Poverty and Temptation
by Chris Blattman
http://chrisblattman.com/2009/09/15/psychology-of-poverty-and-temptation

The Bribery Agenda

"The cost of treating obesity has doubled in a decade, to $147 billion. So how about Cash for Clunkers: we get to trade in that extra 20 pounds for a coupon good at the local farm stand. Roads and bridges crumbling? Why bother allocating $27 billion in stimulus money when we could pay people to reroute or, better yet, stay home? California plans on releasing at least 37,000 inmates to east prison overcrowding and save $1 billion. It costs $27,000 a year to keep someone in jail. It would be much more efficient to pay thieves not to steal in the first place."

The Bribery Agenda
by Nancy Gibbs
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1919149,00.html

4-10 Schedule

"A year ago, the Beehive State [Utah] became the first in the US to mandate a four-day workweek for most state employees, closing offices on Fridays in an effort to reduce energy costs. They pack in 40 hours by starting earlier and staying later four days a week. But on that fifth (glorious) day, they don't have to commute, and their offices don't need to be heated, cooled, or lit."

Thank God It's Thursday
by Bryan Walsh
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1919162,00.html

The Future of the Dollar

Excellent policy brief on why the dollar will remain king for the foreseable future...

http://www.iie.com/publications/interstitial.cfm?ResearchID=1290

Map: Genography

"From global DNA data, Genographic and other scientists have charted teh spread of humankind out of East Africa. The dates here represent the first arrivals in a region."

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/big-idea/02/queens-genes

The End of Grass-Fed Beef?

"Instead of roaming freely and eating to their hearts' content, a growing number of Argentina cattle are spending a third of their lives in US-style feedlots...All over the pampa, ranchland that was home to Angus and Hereford cows has in recent years been replaced by fields of soybeans, corn and wheat as commodity prices skyrocketed by more than 300 percent...The Argentine government established export restrictions and price controls to keep beef prices artificially low, and a currency devaluation made exporters of cash crops more competitive. Agricultural subsidies also helped make corn feed affordable for cattlemen, allowing them to move their animals off the land."

Day of the Gaucho Waning in Argentina
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/09/AR2009090903211.html

Poll: Job Well-Being

"Business owners have the highest overall well-being of any occupational group according to Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index data collected in the first eight months of 2009, followed closely by professionals and managers. Transportation and manufacturing workers have the lowest overall well-being."

http://www.gallup.com/poll/122960/Business-Owners-Richer-Job-Types.aspx?CSTS=alert

Saving the World With Condoms

"In the United States, each baby results in 1,644 tons of carbon dioxide, five times more than a baby in China and 91 times more than an infant in Bangladesh, according to the Oregon State study. That is because Americans live relatively long, and live in a country whose long car commutes, coal-burning power plants and cathedral ceilings give it some of the highest per-capita emissions in the world. Seen from that angle, the Oregon State researchers concluded that child-bearing was one of the most fateful environmental decisions in anyone's life. Recycle, shorten your commute, drive a hybrid vehicle, and buy energy-efficient light bulbs, appliances and windows -- all of that would cut out about one-fortieth of the emissions caused by bringing two children, and their children's children, into the world.

When it Comes to Pollution, Less (Kids) May be More
by David Fahrenthold
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/14/AR2009091403308.html

*Optimum Population Trust
http://www.optimumpopulation.org/

*Negative Population Growth (NPG)
http://www.npg.org/

Fixing Health Care by Paying Doctors Less?

Doctors' salaries aren't a large enough chunk of health care spending in the United States to make a difference. According to Reinhardt, doctors' net take-home pay (that is, income minus expenses) amounts to only about 10 percent of overall health care spending. So if you cut that by 10 percent in the name of cost savings, you'd only save about $26 billion. That's a drop in the ocean compared with overhead for insurance companies, billing expenses for doctors' offices, and advertising for drug companies. The real savings in health care will come from these expenses.

Let's Play Doctor
by Christopher Beam
http://www.slate.com/id/2227965/

Idea of the Week: Founder Visa

Every year, Graham's "Founder Visa" program would let in 10,000 immigrants who've shown a plan for starting a new company. These people would be barred from working at existing companies—in other words, they wouldn't be "taking American jobs." Instead, Graham argues, they'd be creating jobs: "If we assume four people per startup, which is probably an overestimate, that's 2,500 new companies.

Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Startup Founders
by Farhad Manjoo
http://www.slate.com/id/2228258/

Pic: Broadband - How the World Was Connected

http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8255695.stm

Do You Have the Right to Flip Off a Cop

"The law is clear that people have the constitutional right to use profanity, especially when it comes to government officials, because that is a form of political speech, Walczak says. But despite that, we have police officers regularly misapplying the law to punish people who offend them - that's really what it comes down to."

Do You Have the Right to Flip Off a Cop?
by Sean Scully
http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20090916/us_time/08599192312500

Questioning Zagat Surveys

Makoto better than Inn at Little Washington? Whose restaurant ratings do you really trust? Is Zagat Survey dead? Are online forums much better? Is there room for another survey/guide?

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/youngandhungry/2009/08/31/zagat-responds-to-yh-posts-on-makoto-and-its-repetitive-guides/

*Also, Omakase vs. Kaiseki
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/youngandhungry/2009/09/10/once-and-for-all-makoto-does-not-specialize-in-kaiseki-cuisine/

Illustrations: Getting a Good Nights Sleep

Those who cannot get a good night sleep will appreciate this...

http://niemann.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/14/good-night-and-tough-luck/?th&emc=th

20 Forecasts for the Next 15 Years

http://www.wfs.org/forecasts/

"Do you live a good and happy life or do you satisfy your immediate appetites? Is it better to be Happy Socrates or Happy Homer Simpson?"

The Long and Short of It
by Paul Bloom
http://happydays.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/15/the-long-and-the-short-of-it/?th&emc=th

Rule of Four

"Counting the months of decline, however, is a narrow gauge of distress. A better metric is the length of time it takes the economy to recover to the level of per capita income at its prior peak. After the most severe banking crises around the world in the postwar period, the economy has taken an average of four years to return to its previous peak in personal income. After the Depression, it took the United States 10 years."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/01/opinion/01reinhart.html

7 Cool Homes That Float

http://green.yahoo.com/blog/daily_green_news/145/seven-cool-homes-that-float.html;_ylt=ArAKzxIb946Ua01dsuQzBNmCfNdF

10 Bubbles in the Making

http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/article/325783/Ten-Bubbles-in-the-Making;_ylt=AvU_q05dyzurXUirGcIaNnCCfNdF?tickers=%5Egspc%2C%5Edji%2Cxlf

Turn Your Books Into Cash

http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/107668/3-ways-to-turn-trash-to-cash.html;_ylt=ApBcUnBj_DYfyVaberLRO5F0fNdF?mod=bb-budgeting

Intelligence Spending Disclosed

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090915/pl_nm/us_obama_intelligence_spending

D.O.C. Pizza

D.O.C. stands for 'Denominazione di Origine Controllata' Normally seen on authenticate bottles of Italian wine. There are only two pizzas you need to make to certify:Marinara: tomatos, oil, oregano , garlicMargherita: tomatos, oil, mozazarela, basil.

http://pizzaovenproject.blogspot.com/2007/11/doc-pizza.html

Interactive Chart: Shrinking & Growing of the Financial Giants

Really cool...

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/09/12/business/financial-markets-graphic.html

Modeling Group Behavior

"In the aftermath of the financial crisis, many experts want formulas for risk that look at human behavior and how it can change rapidly."

Wall Street's Math Wizards Forgot a Few Variables
by Steve Lohr
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/business/13unboxed.html?th&emc=th

Think Tank on US Decline

It is a decline but it is also a shift. Is it time to let other countries wield more power?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090915/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_us_power

Are Women Better Lawmakers Than Men?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20090915/pl_politico/27152

On Mattress Shopping

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/107728/Would-you-buy-that-mattress-again?mod=banking-budgeting

Word of the Week: Crapulous

Crapulous: Given to or characterized by gross excess in drinking or eating.

Fish of the Day: Hoki

"The world’s insatiable appetite for fish...has driven commercial fleets to deeper waters in search of creatures unlikely to star on the Food Network. One of the most popular is the hoki, or whiptail, a bug-eyed specimen found far down in the waters around New Zealand and transformed into a major export. McDonald’s alone at one time used roughly 15 million pounds of it each year."

From Deep Pacific, Ugly and Tasty, With a Catch
by William Broad
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/science/10fish.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

Balancing Neighborhood Retail

Interesting discussion on if/how neighborhoods should be zoned.

http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post.cgi?id=2198

Why do Universities Grant Honorary Doctorates?

http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2009/09/why-do-universities-grant-honorary-doctorates.html

Which Country Has the Most Nose Jobs?

Per capita, of course. Can you guess?
http://scienceblogs.com/gnxp/2008/04/nose_jobs_in_iran.php

Thought of the Day: Wealth Distribution

In order for everyone on Earth to become richer, do we need to use up more [physical] resources? (Certainly, printing tons of money does not make a nation richer over the long-term.) Should our goal even be to get richer as a whole? Should there be "poor" people on Earth? Should there be rich people? How about mega-rich people? Should everyone be equal? Why does the question of wealth distribution still persist?

Consulting Rates

I wonder if the formula saying that ones annual salary should 1/3 of the annual revenue you bring in holds true outside of the legal profession...And I wonder how prevalent that forumula is within law firms...

*Information about the "triple billing rule."
http://ezinearticles.com/?Consulting-Salary---Are-Your-Rates-Salary-Equivalent?&id=244654

*Salary Multiplier for Marketing Jobs
http://www.marketingscoop.com/marketing-salary-guide-multiplier.htm

*"The associate can expect to receive one-third of the total revenue he or she generates. That is, if the attorney's billing rate is $150/hr, the associate's pay will be roughly $50/hr (or approximately $100,000/yr based on a typical year of 2001 hours billed."
http://www.lawschoolcompanion.com/law-firm-basics.html

Philosophy of the Day: Trees & Humans

We need more trees and less humans.

Trademark Wars: Havana Club Rum

"Washington's 47-year-old trade embargo has kept Cuban products out of the U.S. — but hasn't prevented companies from using the communist island's brand names. As the U.S. and Cuba consider better ties, such trademark issues would have be settled before any easing of the embargo. The fight between Bacardi and the Cuban government for the Havana Club name already has played out in the U.S. courts and Congress for more than a decade — and is now before Spain's high court. Bacardi's Havana Club is an 80-proof rum that has sold in Florida since 2006, and sales have been so strong, it's thinking of expanding the label to other states, said spokeswoman Patricia M. Neal. Even though Cuba's Havana Club rum can't be sold in the U.S., the Cuban government still sued Bacardi for using the name."

Trademark Wars: US Goods Sold Under Famous Cuban Brands an Issue if Trade Relations Ease
by Michael Felberbaum & Will Weissert
http://www.latimes.com/business/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-cb-cuba-us-brand-wars,0,3174930.story

Interactive Map: News Dots

An interactive map of how every story in the news is related, updated daily.

"Like Kevin Bacon's co-stars, topics in the news are all connected by degrees of separation. To examine how every story fits together, News Dots visualizes the most recent topics in the news as a giant social network. Subjects—represented by the circles below—are connected to one another if they appear together in at least two stories, and the size of the dot is proportional to the total number of times the subject is mentioned. Like a human social network, the news tends to cluster around popular topics."

Introducing News Dots
by Chris Wilson
http://slatest.slate.com/features/news_dots/default.htm

The 50-Cent Rule for Charities?

If a charity spends less than half its funds on its programs, does that mean it's ineffective?

"While 50 percent of funds going to administrative costs seems awfully high, it's possible that there are organizations doing great work with that ratio. It's harder, for example, to raise funds for a highly contentious issue than something such as relief services after a tsunami. And more man-hours and mailings to attract funding would lead to a higher administrative-expense ratio. As Paul Brest, president of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, said, 'the ideal of every organization and those who support it is not to minimize, but to optimize all costs, including administrative costs.' So pay enough attention to the finances to make sure that most of the money is going to programs (I would say that less than 70 percent should make you look closer), but don't give much weight to hard-and-fast rules that demand every charity meet a certain threshold."

The 50-Cent Rule
by Sandy Stonesifer
http://www.slate.com/id/2227676/

Down With Megahertz

Why won't computer marketers make it easy on the consumer? They rarely do, but why? I think we merely lack simple common sense these days. Perhaps it is thought that large numbers are sexy. Here is a hint: they are not.

"This gets to a more basic problem with the way computers are marketed. Whether you're shopping online or at a store, a computer is presented to you as a blizzard of numbers—2.80 GHz Core 2 Duo, 3 GB RAM memory, 320 GB hard drive (7200 RPM), 512 MB video card, etc. The issue is more obvious on PCs, but it's true of Macs as well... This is an incredibly cumbersome way to sell a consumer product, and it's a mystery why computer makers persist in headlining these figures. I've got a better (and pretty obvious) idea for marketing PCs—tell us what the computer can do. Every machine on sale should display a tag that lists a half-dozen or so basic stats describing its capabilities. Off the top of my head, these would include: 1) how many seconds the computer takes to load up popular programs like Internet Explorer, Microsoft Word, and iTunes; 2) how quickly it can load Yahoo Mail on a 5-megabit broadband line; 3) how long it takes to rip a copy of Michael Jackson's Thriller CD to MP3s; 4) how many photos, songs, and movies you can store on its hard drive; 5) whether it's capable of playing full-resolution high-definition movies; 6) how fast it can auto-fix a set of 100 snapshots in a popular photo-editing application; 7) and, if it's a laptop, how long the battery will last given normal usage."

Down With Megahertz
by Farhad Manjoo
http://www.slate.com/id/2227769/

Why Economists Got It So Wrong

I wonder if it is better having economists who go after "ugly" women or men, rather than chasing after [outer] beauty... After all, the idea of chasing outer beauty without regard to much else can be applied to the economic/financial mess the world just went through...

"As I see it, the economics profession went astray because economists, as a group, mistook beauty, clad in impressive-looking mathematics, for truth. They turned a blind eye to the limitations of human rationality that often lead to bubbles and busts; to the problems of institutions that run amok; to the imperfections of markets — especially financial markets — that can cause the economy’s operating system to undergo sudden, unpredictable crashes; and to the dangers created when regulators don’t believe in regulation."

How Did Economists Get It So Wrong?
by Paul Krugman
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/magazine/06Economic-t.html?ex=1268107200&en=3f817f1f9f902f75&ei=5087&WT.mc_id=NYT-E-I-NYT-E-AT-0909-L21

Birth Order: How Important?

Frank J. Sulloway, a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of “Born to Rebel: Birth Order, Family Dynamics and Creative Lives” (Pantheon, 1996), points out that second-born children tend to be exposed to less language than eldest children. “The best environment to grow up in is basically two parents who are chattering away at you with fancy words,” Dr. Sulloway said. He cited a huge and well-publicized Norwegian study, published in 2007, which found that eldest siblings’ I.Q.’s averaged about three points higher than their younger brothers’.

Birth Order: Fun to Debate, but How Important
by Perri Klass
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/08/health/08klas.html?ex=1268107200&en=965503334afd1f61&ei=5087&WT.mc_id=NYT-E-I-NYT-E-AT-0909-L22

Half of Fish Consumed Globally Raised on Farms

"Aquaculture, once a fledgling industry, now accounts for 50 percent of the fish consumed globally, according to a new report by an international team of researchers."

Half of Fish Consumed Globally is Now Raised on Farms, Study Finds
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090907162320.htm

Chart: Top 20 Places to Launch a Career

http://www.hrmreport.com/news/us-job-market/

Map: Wealth Distribution Around the World

http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/mint-map-global-wealth-distribution/?display=wide

10 Best (and Worst) Companies for Customer Service

http://www.focus.com/fyi/customer-service/10-best-and-10-worst-companies-customer-service/

Woman's Breasts Are Men's First Fixation

Researchers found that virtually half - 47 percent - of men first glance at a woman’s breasts. A third of the "first fixations" are on the waist and hips, while fewer than 20 percent look at the woman's face. Not only are breasts often the first thing men look at, they also glance at them for longer than any other body part, the experts discovered, the Daily Mail newspaper in the UK reported.

Scientific Proof That Men Look at Women's Breast First and Their Face is Almost Last
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/lifestyle/scientific-proof-that-men-look-at-womens-breasts-first-and-their-face-is-almost-last/story-e6frf00i-1225770286482

10 Tips From Happy People

10 Tips From Happy People
by Jacob Silverman
http://health.howstuffworks.com/human-nature/emotions/happiness/being-happy/10-tips-from-happy-people1.htm

Why Men Spend

"Relatively recent overspending patterns among men are merely the result of an evolutionary drive to attract mates, according to new research from University of Michigan researcher Daniel Kruger. He found that society is engaged in a status race. Men who have a greater tendency to maximize their display of economic power (even if this means racking up credit card debt to do it) score relatively higher in mating effort. Punchline: those who show more bling have more partners in the short run, but the savers tend to do better when it comes to marital bliss."

Why Men Spend: To Lure Mates
by Mary Pilon
http://blogs.wsj.com/wallet/2008/12/15/why-men-spend-to-lure-mates/

Writing by Enumeration

"Why do readers like the list of n things so much? Mainly because it's easier to read than a regular article."

http://www.paulgraham.com/nthings.html

Why Are Germans Considered so Efficient?

Does the efficient make them such good athletes (I notice that they win a lot of sporting competitions)?

The Myth of German Efficiency
by Michael & Jennifer Meyer
http://www.newsweek.com/id/127910

Word of the Day: Bumpaholic

Bumpaholic (n): Women who love being pregnant.

How Do You Calculate Dog Years?

Most people think of one "human year" as equivalent to seven "dog years." But that's a bad predictor of longevity. The official formula, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association, equates the first year of a medium-sized dog's life to 15 years of a human's. The dog's second year equals nine years for a human. And after that, every year feels like five for a dog.

How Do You Calculate Dog Years?
by Christopher Beam
http://www.slate.com/id/2227076/

How Does the Government Count Lost Jobs?

How Does the Government Count Lost Jobs?
by Brian Palmer
http://www.slate.com/id/2227223/

The Cupcake Crash is Coming

The Cupcake Bubble
by Daniel Gross
http://www.slate.com/id/2227216/

Speed Shrinking

Like speed-dating but with psychologists/psychiatrists...I wonder what other "speed" things would be useful...How about speed fashion where different designers help dress you or offer fashion advice. And how about speed doctors to figure out what is wrong with someone.

"Ms. Tang went to talk about her fears with a panel of eight psychiatrists and psychologists offering three-minute sessions of what was billed as 'speed shrinking' to those whose regular therapists were on vacation or to anyone else needing a very fast dose of advice. "

Answer to Life's Worries, In Three-Minute Bursts
by Vincent Mallozzi
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/31/nyregion/31therapy.html?ref=health

Lingerie Football League

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/sports/Lingerie-Football-League-Sizzles-in-Season-Opener-57564497.html

*LFL Homepage
http://www.lflus.com/

The US Food Scene

"Just try having a dinner party today. You’ll have to contend with perfervid vegans, virtuous vegetarians, persistent pescatarians, lamb-phobics, tongue-phobics, veal-rights advocates, the gluten-intolerant, the lactose-intolerant, the shellfish-intolerant, the peanut-intolerant, the spicy-intolerant, and on and on in an ever-fragmenting array.

For God’s sake, don’t serve foie gras; a guest might show up wearing a suicide vest and blow the whole party to kingdom come. All this has a lot to do with the decline of traditional manners and the rise of personal assertiveness and the yuppie belief that we can engineer our own immortality. Food matters so much now that it can make tyrants of our dearest friends and neighbors.

"But Julia [Child taught us how to master French cooking, not American. American food had to be invented before it could be mastered.

"Great restaurants, like human beings, have life cycles: first they’re young and brash, then they mature, and then they get old and tired and eventually die. The chef must strive as hard as possible to fight this natural progression. As with all great art, innovation is key: the way to keep beating the competition is to keep coming up with new ideas. But new isn’t enough; the ideas also have to be good.

"And there’s even what I’ll call metamolecular or transmolecular cuisine, influenced by molecular gastronomy’s concern for gustatory structure but still building from classical forms. The brilliant Paul Liebrandt of Corton is the reigning master of this newest style."

America's Food Revolution

by Jerry Weinberger

http://www.city-journal.org/2009/19_3_urb-american-food.html

Buy & Sell Words on Twitter

http://pretweeting.com/

How to be Interesting

Very interesting, even though I do not agree with everything there...

http://ben.casnocha.com/2009/06/how-to-be-interesting.html

Question of the Day: Low Altitudes

Q: Are people who live at high altitudes affected when they travel to sea level?

A: In general, no. A few mountain-to-seashore travelers do get headaches and feel unwell for a day or two, but many doctors say there's no such thing as "low altitude" sickness. They often blame these complaints on migraines triggered by the stress of traveling. There's no danger in traveling to lower elevations.

-Ask Marilyn, September 6, 2009

Why Do College Costs Continue to Rise in a Recession?

Following are several reasons the article gives. Basically, many colleges/universities act like federal/state governments and cannot reign in spending. It must be hard for them to cut underperforming departments, just like it is hard for the Defense Department to cut underperforming technology. The lobby is too powerful. Another reason costs increase, in my opinion, is because institutes of higher education feel as if they have to compete with each other so they aren't out-ranked on "top college" surveys.

*Thanks to tenure, it's difficult to vote anyone out of office.
*Because of internal politics, it is difficult to cut departments.
*Sabbaticals and research prevent professors from teaching more classes.
*Significant investments in new administrative staff and security staff.

Why College Costs Rise, Even in a Recession
by Ron Lieber
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/05/your-money/paying-for-college/05money.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

A "Square-Root-Shaped" Recovery

That is what several financial analysts predict will happen to the economy. I wonder what other types of shapes/letters have been used to predict the economy. One always hears about V-shaped, W-shaped, L-shaped, and U-shaped recoveries.

http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/article/318749/The-Recovery-Will-Be-Square-Root-Shaped-Says-Schwab=

*On Shapes of a Recovery
http://www.smartmoney.com/investing/short-term-investing/The-Shape-of-the-Recovery-5-Chart-Signs-to-Watch-For/

Why Shouldn't We Wear White After Labor Day?

If You Must Know: Why Shouldn't We Wear White After Labor Day?
by Laura Fitzpatrick
http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20090908/us_time/08599192068400

Question of the Week: Restaurant Timing

Is there a best time to visit a restaurant? For example, is it best to avoid a restaurant right when it opens (thinking that the kitchen may not be ready or that the oils/greases/flavors/heat aren't to their full capacity)? Is it best to avoid a restaurant around closing time because the choicest cuts of seafood/meat likely have already been used?

On a similar note, I have read several things about timing the "restaurant cycle." For example, Tyler Cowen talks about the "shelf life" of fine dining restaurants. He writes: "First they cook for the critics, and it's wonderful. And they win awards and the word gets out. Then everyone starts to come and it becomes more mainstream. The chef is less concerned about developing a reputation and more about cooking for the masses. That can happen, he said, in as little as nine months."

http://www.tylercowensethnicdiningguide.com/2006/09/general_remarks.php

Best Pisco Sour in the World?

"Peru's main pisco production area is in the Ica region, a four- to five-hour drive south of Lima...My final mission in Peru is to taste the best pisco sour in the country, reportedly served up in the Bolivarcito, a bar attached to the Gran Bolivar hotel in central Lima. It bills itself as La Catedral del Pisco Sour."

Pisco-Sipping and Other Pleasures in the Land of the Incas
by John Briley
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/04/AR2009090402097.html

Learning From Health Care in Japan

Interesting facts about Japan's health care system...The one thing I would worry about in Japan is lack of innovation and risk-taking...

*Japan bans insurance company profits.

*The Japanese visit a doctor nearly 14 times a year, more than four times as often as Americans.

*They can choose any primary care physician or specialist they want.

*It is a hybrid system funded by job-based insurance premiums and taxes; it is universal and mandatory, and it consumes about 8 percent of the nation's GDP, half as much as in the US.

*No one is denied coverage because of a preexisting condition or goes bankrupt because a family member gets sick.

*It achieves its success by maintaining a vise-like grib on costs. After hard-bargaining with medical providers every two years, the government sets a price for treatment and drugs - and tolerates no fudging.

*As a result, most Japanese doctors make far less money than their US counterparts.

*Administrative costs are four times lower than they are in the US, in part because insurance companies do not set rates for treatment or deny claims. By law, they cannot make profits or advertise to attract low-risk, high-profit clients.

*The government has largely been unable to reduce the length of hospital stays, which are four times as long in Japan as in the US.

*Hospital doctors are often overworked and cannot hone specialized life-saving skills.

*Japanese are much less likely to have heart attacks than people in the US, but when they do, their chance of dying is twice as high.

*There are shortages of obstetricians, anesthesiologiests and emergency room specialists because of relatively low pay, long hours, and high stress at many hospitals.

*Skilled doctors tend to leave Japanese hospitals for the higher pay and predictable hours of private clinics.

*Medical malpractice insurance in Japan is not a major expense for many doctors, in part because there are relatively few lawyers.

*One of the great strengths of Japan's health-care system - the ability to see a doctor of one's choice and be seen quickly - has become one of the greatest curses for controlling health care quality and costs.

*There is compulsory obesity screening for 70 percent of the population. If people are found to be too fat around the waist, they are required to recieve conseling or excercise and diet.

*Only about 3 percent of Japanese are obese, compared with more than 30 percent of Americans.

Health Care in Japan: Low-Cost, for Now
by Blaine Harden
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/06/AR2009090601630.html

On Choosing a Fiscal Year

http://www.taxguru.org/corps/taxyear.htm

Average American Listens For 28 Seconds

This fact suggests that you have less than half a minute to get your point across when talking... I wonder if it is more relevant for interviews (jobs, TV, radio) or for daily talking with friends and colleagues. I also wonder the source of the study...

"The average American listens for 28 seconds before getting distracted."

http://www.parade.com/corporate/pr_index.html

Helping the Environment: Ecofont

Basically, the font has holes in the middle, thus conserving ink...Click on Ecofont's homepage below and see if you would mind reading it...

"The new Ecofont, from the Dutch marketing firm Spranq, aims to be one. Co-owner Alexander Kraaij says it uses less ink than other typefaces, thus saving money and resources. In fact, he contends, a company with 5,000 workers could trim up to $125,000 a year from its printing costs."

http://blogs.ngm.com/blog_central/2009/08/holey-grail.html

*Ecofont Website:
http://www.ecofont.eu/ecofont_en.html

9 Ways to Make Your Relationship Last

9 Ways to Make Your Relationship Last
http://dating.personals.yahoo.com/singles/relationships/24336/dating-tips-9-ways-to-make-your-relationship-last;_ylt=AjCSURkRjkgyzfkImvQvf8qCfNdF

How to Test Theories of Beuatiful Women

"You should apply location theory. Pick then a city of your choice in a country of your choice. Ask where, in that city, can the beautiful women be found. Will you find them in the most globalized parts of the chosen city? Probably so... I also believe that you'll find the most beautiful women in the parts of the city where different income classes mix and there is lots of inequality among passersby. That's in a museum, or in the Village, not in a Tiffany store or even in most of the upper East Side."

http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2009/09/how-test-theories-of-beautiful-women.html

*A Theory of Beautiful Russian Women
http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2009/09/a-theory-of-beautiful-russian-women.html

Prison & Trade

Why aren't are the able-bodied prisoners put to work? Why not train them, put them to work, and teach them some entrepreneurship skills so they can start their own firms or make a smoother transition into the work force.

About 100,000 of America's' 2.3 million inmates of state, federal and local prisons work in national and state prison industries. North Dakota's "Rough Rider Industries" produces a typical line of goods: including chairs, bookcases, prison uniforms, stop-signs and other light manufactures.

http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?kaid=108&subid=900003&contentid=255055

DC Statehood - a Fiscal Arguement

http://www.brookings.edu/testimony/2009/0713_dc_statehood_rivlin.aspx?emc=lm&m=228453&l=1&v=733624

On Security Clearances

"Some 2.4 million persons currently hold security clearances for authorized access to classified information, according to a recent Government Accountability Office report to the House Intelligence Committee, citing an estimate from the security clearance Joint Reform Team. This figure does not include 'some of those with clearances who work in areas of national intelligence,' the GAO noted."

http://www.fas.org/sgp/gao/gao-09-488.pdf

Broadway & Trade

"Why do plays go west across the Atlantic but not east? Some cite production costs. Ten years ago, West End producer Elizabeth McCann complained that 'You certainly can't produce anything on Broadway for $450,000. You can barely produce anything Off-Broadway for that,' and the cost-gap has grown since."

http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=255048&kaid=108&subid=900003

Global & National Trends

Scroll down to see the charts...

http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/papers/2009/0726_recovery_renewal/how_were_doing_index.pdf

Interactive Map: Scents of the City

An interactive "smell map" of New York City...

Scents and the City
by Jason Logan
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/08/29/opinion/20090829-smell-map-feature.html?ex=1267329600&en=64c3bbbf12e2b61f&ei=5087&WT.mc_id=NYT-E-I-NYT-E-AT-0902-L21

Facebook Exodus?

What is the typical amount of time it takes for an online social networking site to fail (think Friendster, MySpace, etc...)? Are you better off having used something that fails, or are you better off never have started using it in the first place? When is a website the "be all and end all" - as in, a site that will essentially last forever? Is Amazon.com that site?

Facebook Exodus
by Virginia Heffernan
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/magazine/30FOB-medium-t.html?ex=1267502400&en=f7e903e7a9a19300&ei=5087&WT.mc_id=NYT-E-I-NYT-E-AT-0902-L14

Facing Beggars

From the September 2009 issue of National Georgraphic...

Begging Laws: Here are some methods used to reduce begging (which one do you think would work best?)

*Ireland: A new law targets beggars who threaten violence, beg repeatedly in one place, or use children as props.

*India: Motorists can be fined if they give to beggars at traffic lights

*US: Denver's "sit and lie" law says people can't block sidewalks. The police give warnings; outreach workers offer help. Arrests are a last resort

Japan's Obession With Perfection Hurting Sustainability?

"Japan is making great strides in sustainability with their electric cars, their advanced energy schemes and their embrace of Kyoto Protocol goals, but their obsession with perfection is thwarting progress on the most fundamental understanding -- the idea that perfection is ultimately unsustainable."

Japan's Obsession with Perfection May Be Thwarting Sustainability
by Rick Seireeni
http://www.reuters.com/article/gwmSmallBusiness/idUS248695950720090903

Tipping Points

"When a big change is coming - be it in ocean circulation patterns, wildlife populations, or even the global economy - it is often heralded by telltale signs, scientists have found. One of the common warning signs of an impending tipping point is when a system takes longer to recover to equilibrium after it is disturbed. Most systems exist in temporarily stable states of equilibrium. If the system is perturbed by some force and pushed in a new direction, it usually moves back toward equilibrium quickly. But if the system is approaching a tipping point, it tends to take longer to recover its balance."

Tipping Points: What Wall Street and Nature Have in Common
by Clara Moskowitz
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20090903/sc_livescience/tippingpointswhatwallstreetandnaturehaveincommon

*A Civilizational Tipping Point
by Lester Brown

"We are in a race between tipping points in nature and our political systems."

http://www.earthpolicy.org/Books/Seg/PB3ch01_ss5.htm

HuffPo's Happiness Page

HuffPo has its own page on happiness...nice for a quick scan to learn something new...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/happiness?show_comment_id=30150187

Presidential Approval & Dow No Clear Relationship

http://www.gallup.com/poll/122567/Presidential-Approval-Dow-No-Clear-Relationship.aspx?CSTS=alert

The Lottery Curse

Perhaps the lottery officials should make it mandatory to take a course on how to manage money after you win the lottery.

How to Lose $3 Million in Six Years
by Mike Krumboltz
http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/92967?fp=1

Why are Rasmussen Polls Usually Outliers?

Scott Rasmussen apparently was a paid consultant for the George W. Bush 2004 campaign. That being said, it seems pretty risky to lie with statistics with so many watchdogs around, so there must be some explanation. Here is one:

"Rasmussen's polls are typically spot-on in the end, but he's been a consistent outlier on the approval rating issue. Part of this is that Rasmussen samples likely voters, while most pollsters are sampling adults or registered voters right now. The other thing is that Rasmussen gives for options: Strongly approve, strongly disapprove, somewhat approve, and somewhat disapprove. It may well be the case that, given a simple 'approve/disapprove' rubric, many people who somewhat disapprove of the job Obama is doing are unwilling to give a complete 'disapprove' answer. By adding the 'somewhat' nuance, Rasmussen may be nudging voters into the 'disapprove' camp."

http://realclearpolitics.blogs.time.com/2009/07/24/obama-upside-down/

*And an interesting point on polling in 2009:

"There are more BAD polls now than ever before; it confuses the issue and lets some folks cherry-pick what they want. The VERY erratic robo-polling firms have added to the confusion like never before."

-From September 2, 2009 MSNBC FirstRead

Question of the Week: Time

Does time appear to go quicker as we get older?

World's Best Paid Cities

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/107611/the-worlds-best-paid-cities.html;_ylt=AoV.Vq86YmOZVblwJ7QY8wKCfNdF?mod=realestate-buy

World's Most Expensive Cars

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/107546/10-most-expensive-cars-to-own-and-drive;_ylt=AqsBtZiZ31Y2lWwyAnT.BbeCfNdF?mod=family-autos

World's Most Expensive Hotel Rooms

http://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/107608/diplomats-help-boost-rates-at-worlds-most-expensive-hotels.html;_ylt=Ao_RJm3X4vadqB0EiwEF2qiCfNdF

The Hidden Benefits of Traffic Tickets

In Praise of Traffic Tickets
by Tom Vanderbilt
http://www.slate.com/id/2226509/?yahoo=y

Which Country if Hardest to Find on a Map?

http://waswerebe.blogspot.com/2009/08/maps-and-roundup-of-sorts.html

Do Opposites Attract?

"Do opposites really attract? A new study finds that when it comes to personality, people seek partners with their same qualities — but claim to want someone who is different."

The Truth on Whether 'Opposites Attract'
by Sally Law
http://www.livescience.com/culture/090327-similar-partners.html

Tightwads and Spendthrifts Attract

"Tightwads are likely to tie the knot with individuals who throw caution to the wind when spending money, often to the detriment of the marriage, new research suggests. Scott Rick of the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business and his colleagues found that whether a tightwad or spendthrift, participants indicated they were unhappy about their emotional reactions toward spending money. (For instance, a penny pincher would experience lots of inner pain when spending money.) The more dissatisfied they were, the more likely each participant was to be attracted to individuals with opposing spending views."

Tightwads and Spendthrifts Attract, Marry, Fight
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20090901/sc_livescience/tightwadsandspendthriftsattractmarryfight

Happiness Quote of the Week

"It is not in doing what you like, but in liking what you do that is the secret of happiness."

-James M. Barrie

Japanese Media - An Intel Perspective

A 67-page report from the Director of National Intelligence's (DNI) Open Source Center (OSC)...

http://www.fas.org/irp/dni/osc/japan-media.pdf

Quote of the Day: The Simple Life

"Finding a way to live the simple life today is man's most complicated task."

-Henry Courtney

Men's Underwear Index (MUI)

Another economic indicator:

"Here's the theory: Sales of men's underwear typically are stable because they rank as a necessity. But during times of severe financial strain, men will try to stretch the time between buying new pairs, causing underwear sales to dip."

Blue Chip, White Cotton: What Underwear Says About the Economy
by Ylan Mui
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/30/AR2009083002761.html?hpid=topnews