Zimbabwean Dollar worth more on Ebay than in real life.
The 100 Billion Dollar note in Zimbabwe, which is approximately equivalent to $1.85 US Dollars, is worth somewhere around $40 on ebay.
That’s profound.
Month: July 2008
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Wiinjury
Yes, yes. I definitely did some damage. This is the nicest back muscle pull I’ve had since the last one, in 2006.
Alas, it’s rest and recuperate time. I’m just beginning my marathon training for the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco so that’s not too bad, but it looks like I’ll be doing my next triathlon without much ramp-up. Oh well, I’ll not be beating my PR at the Peachtree City Sprint Triathlon. That’s ok.
In better news, John Scalzi will be attending Dragon*Con! That’s pretty sweet.
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What the Hell do I know?
The Mortgage Crisis™ and the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac Bailout™ and their confluential conflagration are a great example of policy being set by politics, ideology and the media.
Why?
Because not 1% (and I bet less) of the people who are involved have a single clue about the pros and cons of a government bailout. All the congresscritters are voting ideologically and/or to curry favor with the voters. Does anyone know that this will work? No. There have been good examples both for and against government bailouts (socialism!).
A bad example often cited is the airline subsidy after 9-11. “Look what’s happening to the airline industry now!” The detractors have a point: should we have left the airlines to sink under their own weight 7 years ago rather than watching them slowly implode (if that’s not an oxymoron) now? Or was giving them our hard-earned tax money a way to let them try (somtimes fail) to make operational changes over time that lead to a stable industry? There’s no real way to tell. Economists legitamately do not agree and if the experts can’t agree, what should us no-good layabouts think?
Of course, this isn’t about economics, it’s about politics and who is successful at pointing the finger at whom. I look forward to seeing how it all falls out, even though (maybe especially because) it’s my tax money.
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I Have Wiinjured Myself
Friday night strength class + Friday night Wii Bowling + Saturday Morning Wii Bowling = “ouch ouch ouch ouch Oh my back…”
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I'm Psyched about $3.92 Gas
It’s frightening.
I got honestly excited because I had the privilege of buying $3.92 gas today, as opposed to the $3.95 from yesterday.
Little victories. That’s what counts, right?
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Plutopia!
One month from today is the 2nd anniversary of Pluto’s demotion from Planet status to lowly Dwarf Planet/Kuiper Belt Object. I’m thinking of doing a blog carnival, or having guest bloggers on board that day for a random series of tributes to our favorite solar body named after a Disney Character.
Any takers?
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Wiiiiii!
Jenn got me a Wii for out anniversary1. My arm is sore from playing tennis.
1We decided that the five year anniversary gift of wood and/or is silver silly. Electronics is much more in vogue. I got her a camera.
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Bad Selection
Pharyngula once again delivers the fun.
Rather than take you to the Pharyngula post directly (link), I’ll take you to the NY Times article that is linked from that post. It’s about how Natural Selection has been observed in recent times and a listing of some of the interesting studies.
Why am I linking to it? Because of this quote:
…in a forest in southern England, great tits have been shrinking (great tits are songbirds).
Yes, I am easily entertained.
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Favorite Photo of Last Week
This is Jenn, ready to hurry Meb along to a married state.
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Destroy! Before you get Eaten/Kidnapped/Killed
There’s a great BoingBoing short concerning the employment of the Fujitsu ME-P3M Hard-Drive destroyer. The story is very telling:
Terabytes stacked on terabytes, all into the Fujitsu ME-P3M. The big old machine that Sarah had helped carry down here. Laughing at the hand crank, screwing her face up as she pantomimed. Amazed at the grant for $35,000, but proud that she’d wrangled it. Please be dead, Sarah. Be dead and asleep.