Background on the Rulemaking Process

http://www.ombwatch.org/files/regs/rcenter/backgroundpdfs/I.-V..pdf

and

http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscongress/a/fedregulations.htm

How Much Money Does the Average Rapper Make?

"The average rap artist makes under a dollar for every album they sell."

http://musicouch.com/genres/hip-hop/how-much-money-do-rappers-really-earn/

The Decline of the P/E Ratio?

The P/E ration has never been a perfect statistic, but there really is no "perfect" statistic.

http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/110510/the-decline-of-the-pe-ratio?mod=bb-budgeting&sec=topStories&pos=2&asset=&ccode=

Online Appraisals

A review of online appraisal sites...

Services Spot Hidden Gems Among the Junk
by Alina Dizik
http://topics.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703447004575450170902767324.html?mod=WSJ_article_related

Word of the Day: Sprezzatura

"Sprezzatura is an Italian word originating from Castiglione's The Book of the Courtier, where it is defined by the author as “a certain nonchalance, so as to conceal all art and make whatever one does or says appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it."

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

Why Do the British Stink at Basketball?

"One of the obstacles to basketball's growth here may be the country's surplus of outdoor greenspace. Even in densely populated London there are enough open patches of ground to throw down a couple of sweatshirts as goalposts and get a soccer game going. The outdoor basketball courts that are common in American cityscapes and suburbs are, in this country, seen as an extravagance. When pickup games do happen here, they are populated with plenty of Lithuanisans, Balkans, Poles, Iberians and Americans, giving them the feel of a secret society."

Why Do The British Stink At Baskbetball?
by Dave Kansas
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704476104575439331669732548.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

What is a Security Clearance Worth?

"Employees with security clearances earn nearly 25% more than those with similar skills and no clearance, according to a survey by ClearanceJobs.com, an online staffing agency."

http://www.allbusiness.com/human-resources/compensation-salary/871059-1.html

Home Values & Crime/Murder

I also recently remember reading about the Wone murder case in DC and how one real estate agent was quoted as saying that a murder in a house decreases the value by something like 25%...

"A sex offender living nearby can make a home take longer to sell and lower its value, according to a study by three Longwood University professors. The presence of a nearby sex offender reduced a home’s value by about 9 percent, the study found. Such houses took up to 10 percent longer to sell."

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/blogs/capital-land/crime-sweep-home-edition-98750144.html

Hindenburg Omen

"The Omen has been behind every market crash since 1987, but significant stock-market declines have followed only 25% of the time. So there’s a high likelihood that the Omen could be nothing more than a false signal."

Yes Folks, Hindenburg Omen Tripped Again
by Steven Russolillo
http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2010/08/23/yes-folks-hindenburg-omen-tripped-again/

A Quarter of the World's People Speak English

http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?kaid=108&subid=900003&contentid=255184

Measuring True Wealth & Well-Being

http://www.beyond-gdp.eu/

Phone Tap

"Basically, this is like bugging your own phone, for your own (totally legitimate) purposes. So the next time that pesky Wall Street Journal reporter calls you, politely ask if you can call him right back. Make him wait a few minutes, just because you can. Then dial My Phone Tap, which will prompt you for the number you want to call. From there on out, it will record all of your potentially scandalous musings for a mere 15 cents per minute."

http://www.urbandaddy.com/dc/gear/11043/My_Phone_Tap_Never_Get_Misquoted_Again_DC_DC_Website

On Blogging

Perhaps I'm more into paleoblogging or slowblogging, in general...

"Most popular blogs, like most popular media, regardless of genre, spend 99.9% of their time reacting to and arguing about something that's just happened, or is about to (maybe) happen."

http://kottke.org/10/08/summer-reruns

Beloit College Mindset List

"Each August since 1998, Beloit College has released the Beloit College Mindset List. It provides a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college this fall."

Check out the list for the class of 2014:
http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/

Does More Sugar Lead to More Cavities?

"Small amounts of sugar eaten frequently increase cavities more than large amounts eaten infrequently."

The Claim: More Sugar Leads to More Cavities
by Anahad O'Connor
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/17/health/17real.html?_r=1&nl=health&emc=healthupdateemb3

World Populations Maps by Longitude and Latitude

http://kottke.org/10/08/world-population-maps-by-latitude-and-longitude

What is a Year of Health Living Worth?

"The National Institute for Clinical Excellence uses a system called the Quality Adjusted Life Years measurement, which sets the value of a year of healthy living at between $31,000 and $47,000."

The $8,000 Pill
by Brian Palmer
http://www.slate.com/id/2264116/

Why Are Some Pharmaceuticals So Expensive?

"Because they fill an unmet need in the market. In the United States, the priciest medicines aren't necessarily the ones that cost the most to develop, nor those that save the most lives. The most expensive drugs are those that have no competitors. When a truly novel blockbuster drug hits the market, there is very little to guide manufacturers and insurers in their negotiations. The largest constraint is public perception. Insurers fear that, if they refuse to fork over the dough, their sick customers will be outraged. Manufacturers don't want the public or Congress to view them as price gougers. Negotiators eventually settle on a price between those two poles. Few drug makers are lucky enough to face this problem, though. Most debutant drugs find the market already crowded with similar products, and prices are set by the competition."

The $8,000 Pill
by Brian Palmer
http://www.slate.com/id/2264116/

Fact of the Week: Japan

"The average Japanese is now poorer than the average citizen of Mississippi."

Japan as Number Three, WSJ Opinion Peice

Lobster Shack Chaos

"Traffic near a seafood shack is so infamous, officials approved $100 million to build a bypass around the town."

In Maine Village, Lobster Goes Quickly, Traffic, No
by Abby Goodnough
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/31/us/31lobster.html?th&emc=th

Competition for Mates Shortens Mens Lives

"New research shows that gender imbalance, when men outnumber women, affects male longevity by an average of about three months."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,598963,00.html

The Case Against Long Commutes

http://www.gallup.com/poll/142142/Wellbeing-Lower-Among-Workers-Long-Commutes.aspx?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=syndication&utm_content=morelink&utm_term=USA%20-%20Wellbeing

How Economists Advise the President

http://keithhennessey.com/2010/08/08/economic-roles/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+KeithHennessey+%28Keith+Hennessey%3A+Your+guide+to+American+economic+policy%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Prediction Tools

http://islandia.law.yale.edu/ayres/predictionTools.htm

How to Pour Champagne

The scientists at the University of Reims say pouring bubbly at a slant, as you would a beer, preserves more of the tiny gas bubbles that improve the drink's flavor and aromas. The study — "On the Losses of Dissolved CO2 During Champagne Serving" — appears this week in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a U.S. publication.

Champagne Fizzincs: Science Backs Pouring Sideways
by Greg Keller
http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Champagne-fizzics-Science-backs-pouring-sideways-613414.php

How You Spend Impacts Happiness

"One major finding is that spending money for an experience — concert tickets, French lessons, sushi-rolling classes, a hotel room in Monaco — produces longer-lasting satisfaction than spending money on plain old stuff."

But Will It Make You Happy?
by Stephanie Rosenbloom
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/08/business/08consume.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

Video: Wild Moth Sailing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCY1EAp9FfY

Can Foods Trigger Migraines?

http://consults.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/26/can-foods-trigger-migraines/?ref=health&nl=health&emc=healthupdateemb3

Do Noises Wake You Up at Night?

The researchers discovered that the difference in a sleeper’s reaction to noise could be predicted by the level of brain activity called “sleep spindles.’’

Do Noises Wake You Up at Night?
by Tara Parker-Pope
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/09/do-noises-wake-you-up-at-night/?nl=health&emc=healthupdateemb1

Do Salespeople Make Too Much Money?

"Be happy when your salespeople make money; it means you are making money."

http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/10/do-salespeople-make-too-much-money/?ex=1297051200&en=17d58fcff2de76c4&ei=5087&WT.mc_id=NYT-E-I-NYT-E-AT-0811-L10

How Much Money Do You Need to Feel "Rich"

http://finance.yahoo.com/focus-retirement/article/110295/how-rich-is-rich?mod=fidelity-buildingwealth&cat=fidelity_2010_building_wealth

Is Reiki Quackery?

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/228486/reiki_is_it_spiritual_healing_or_fraud.html

On CIA Lobbying

http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2010/08/oge_cia.html

Are Federal Workers Overpaid?

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=2023582

Famous People and the Diseases They Were Afflicted With

Infectious Diseases:
http://www.examiner.com/x-7707-Infectious-Disease-Examiner~y2010m3d4-Famous-people-and-the-infectious-diseases-they-were-afflicted-with

Mental Illnesses:
http://www.mentalhealthministries.net/links_resources/other_resources/famouspeople.pdf

Celebrity Disease Blog:
http://celebritydisease.blogspot.com/

Question of the Day: How Many Days Does It Take to Relax?

I remember hearing something like three to five full days...but I must get a more accurate answer...

Question of the Day: Most Neutral Country

What is the most neutral country in the world?

My initial guesses: Switzerland, Sweden, Monaco, Greenland, Iceland. Any ideas?

Breathing in Humid Weather

http://www.ehow.com/about_6658936_breathing-humid-weather.html