G. K. Chesterton’s Gold Leaves is this week’s poem of the week.
Poem of the Week: 8/3/08-8/9/08
Reply
Category Archives: Front Page
Rant of the Week: 8/3/08-8/9/08
Xavier rants on the poor performance of a 911 operator.
Essay of the Week: 8/3/08-8/9/08
You will find links to these videos all over the internet. Even people who are fairly knowledgeable will find things in here that they did not know. How many people know that what you say to police officer can be used against you but not for you?
But little details aside, the central message of the videos is simple; when faced with an interrogation, keep you mouth shut.
Worldrecord with 12 Balls: Alan Sulc
YouTube – Worldrecord with 12 Balls Alan Sulc – Juggler 2008
Every run in this video is a world record.
The Two are Related
In the world of eye-popping earnings, GM has managed to beat even Exxon Mobil. Exxon made a profit of $11.7 billion in the second quarter; GM has manged to come out with a $15.5 billion loss, or $27.33 a share.
Anvils on Amazon
Want an anvil? You can get one at Amazon. Check it out Grizzly G8148 100 lb. Anvil.
Not too long ago I was wondering if it was still possible to buy anvils, and presumed it was not possible. Come to find out that not only is it possible but you can get it through Amazon. High-tech [click here to read the rest]
Don't read the fine print
Did you here about the great quarter we just had? GDP grew by 1.9%. Not to bad considering banks are failing and everyone is running around like the wold is ending.
There is only one problem. The number is only believable if you think that inflation was less then the headline consumer price index.From Credit Writedowns…..
What you see above is the GDP deflator series. This is how the US government gets from nominal GDP to the GDP number we all hear on TV. What’s interesting about these numbers is the GDP deflator uses its own inflation gauge , which is entirely different than the CPI.
Look at the highlighted numbers for Q3 2007 and the last quarter. How is it that inflation was 1.5% in Q3 2007 and 1.1% in Q2 2008? Are they smoking something? Uh, fellas, inflation has been rising, not falling to 1.1%. Hmmm.
Nominal GDP only grew 3.0% in Q2, so Q2’s real GDP number of 1.9% is so obviously false that I expect it to be revised down significantly next year.
If you go to his site, you can see the numbers for yourself. (h/t Market Movers)
Archimedes's Computer
Only now, applying high-resolution imaging systems and three-dimensional X-ray tomography, have experts been able to decipher inscriptions and reconstruct functions of the bronze gears on the mechanism. The latest research has revealed details of dials on the instrument’s back side, including the names of all 12 months of an ancient calendar.
In the journal report, the team led by the mathematician and filmmaker Tony Freeth of the Antikythera Mechanism Research Project, in Cardiff, Wales, said the month names “are unexpectedly of Corinthian origin,” which suggested “a heritage going back to Archimedes.”
No month names on what is called the Metonic calendar were previously known, the researchers noted. Such a calendar, as well as other knowledge displayed on the mechanism, illustrated the influence of Babylonian astronomy on the Greeks. The calendar was used by Babylonians from at least the early fifth century B.C.
Now you now its cool to grow your own food
For an upfront fee, the company will design and plant an organic vegetable garden in the customer’s backyard. Customers then have the option of maintaining and harvesting the vegetables themselves or paying a weekly fee for MyFarm to handle it. This movement appears to be growing; after two months of operation, the owner has already installed 10 gardens and signed up an additional five clients.
He Did It
From The San Fransisco Chronicle….
Cutting the pay of about 200,000 state workers to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 an hour would save California as much as $1.2 billion a month, the governor’s office said. Such workers would get regular pay plus back pay once a new budget is approved.
The layoffs of nearly 22,000 temporary, seasonal and student workers would save the state as much as $28.5 million a month, the governor’s office added. It is not clear whether workers laid off would be rehired when a new budget is enacted.
Slashing state worker pay will likely face a legal challenge from state Controller John Chiang, who has the responsibility to disburse pay checks, saying he will not go along with the governor.