tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78663599911039394962024-03-07T11:49:21.683-06:00Ancillary AdamsI'm sorry, I wasn't listening.Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03636780227204506887noreply@blogger.comBlogger1357125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866359991103939496.post-57023185280729646132014-01-06T21:04:00.004-06:002014-01-06T21:04:50.269-06:00Quote of the Day - Econ Edition<div class="tr_bq">
From a Benjamin Bratton <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/dec/30/we-need-to-talk-about-ted">Critique</a> of TED:</div>
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<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Communism in theory is an egalitarian utopia.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Actually existing communism meant ecological devastation, government spying, crappy cars and gulags.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Capitalism in theory is rocket ships, nanomedicine, and Bono saving Africa.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Actually existing capitalism means Walmart jobs, McMansions, people living in the sewers under Las Vegas, Ryan Seacrest … plus – ecological devastation, government spying, crappy public transportation and for-profit prisons.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Our options for change range from basically what we have plus a little more Hayek, to what we have plus a little more Keynes. Why?</span></blockquote>
<div>
An excellent question...</div>
Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03636780227204506887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866359991103939496.post-68507510706491325822013-12-18T15:37:00.001-06:002013-12-18T15:37:30.784-06:00Best Albums of 2013<div class="MsoNormal">
Wasn't sure if this was a great year for music or not. But when I started working through everything I listened to, I actually had a really hard time paring it down to 10. I persevered and here are the top 10.</div>
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<br /></div>
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10. Talon of the Hawk – The Front Bottoms<o:p></o:p></div>
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9. The Features – The Features<o:p></o:p></div>
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8. We the Common – Thao and the Get Down Stay Down<o:p></o:p></div>
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7. Willy Mason – Carry On<o:p></o:p></div>
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6. Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action – Franz Ferdinand<o:p></o:p></div>
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5. Untamed Beast – Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside<o:p></o:p></div>
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4. Trouble Will Find Me – The National<o:p></o:p></div>
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3. Pushin’ Against a Stone – Valerie June<o:p></o:p></div>
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2. Modern Vampires of the City – Vampire Weekend<o:p></o:p></div>
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1. Love has Come For You – Steve Martin and Edie Brickell</div>
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<br /></div>
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And my rather extensive list of runners up (in no particular order):<o:p></o:p></div>
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Foreverly – Billie Joe and Norah</div>
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Idle No More – King Khan and the Shrines<o:p></o:p></div>
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Hearts and Minds – Son Volt<o:p></o:p></div>
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Wakin on a Pretty Daze - Kurt Vile</div>
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VII – Blitzen Trapper<o:p></o:p></div>
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Southeastern – Jason Isbell<o:p></o:p></div>
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AM – Arctic Monkeys<o:p></o:p></div>
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Lightning Bolt – Pearl Jam<o:p></o:p></div>
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Isles – Wild Belle<o:p></o:p></div>
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Pythons - Surfer Blood</div>
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Gone Away Backward – Robbie Fulks<o:p></o:p></div>
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Muchacho - Phosphorescent<o:p></o:p></div>
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Carrier – The Dodos<o:p></o:p></div>
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Magpie and the Dandelion – The Avett Brothers<o:p></o:p></div>
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Shangri La – Jake Bugg<o:p></o:p></div>
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Country Mile – Johnny Flynn<o:p></o:p></div>
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From the Hills Below the City - Houndmouth<o:p></o:p></div>
Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03636780227204506887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866359991103939496.post-29575406141169263482013-12-05T13:06:00.003-06:002013-12-05T13:06:44.083-06:00Huh?So <a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/palin-hopes-bashir-s-unprovoked-won-t-stop-people-from-starting-a-business">Sarah Palin said this</a> in response to<a href="http://www.mediaite.com/tv/martin-bashir-says-someone-should-sht-in-sarah-palins-mouth/"> Martin Bashir's comments</a> about her and the rather nasty treatment she should receive for her comments comparing the debt to slavery:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Droid Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">"But I just hope that unprovoked attacks like that don't result in people being hesitant to jump in the arena anyway, to get out there and serve the public or start a business or really commit themselves to changing within their family, their community, their world, doing whatever that they can, despite the fact that in this world, you are gonna be hurt and attacks will come your way. I just hope an attack like that doesn't make people hesitate."</span></blockquote>
Some people paint. Some people play music. Sarah Palin talks nonsense. That is her art, and she is a master.Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03636780227204506887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866359991103939496.post-88222159522750877312013-10-31T12:42:00.001-05:002013-10-31T12:42:38.708-05:00OctoberI am down to one blog post a month this year, and I almost missed this month altogether. I still hope to get back at it at some point. I have been trying to decide whether Twitter, apathy, Words With Friends, less political outrage, or less Kansas City sports outrage have sapped my blog will. Probably a combination of all of the above, but I also have been able to get quite a bit more reading in recently. A bit of a paradox, since I could probably write more thoughtful posts about the interesting things I have been reading, and yet I find myself wanting to read more instead of write.<br />
<br />
Anyway, I should at least mention that after all of my bitching about Kansas City sports, we sit here with a winning Royals season, an 8-0 Chiefs team, and the MLS playoffs are beginning with Sporting as the 2 seed. These are the salad days I suppose. It is an unfortunate Kansas City fan phenomenon that I still can't shake the feeling that the bottom is about to drop out. I am, however, cautiously optimistic.<br />
<br />
Politics are in a state that I can hardly write another incredulous post. I think we live in a post-incredulity world.<br />
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Other than that, all is well. Happy Halloween!Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03636780227204506887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866359991103939496.post-63883984372606034242013-09-27T13:19:00.003-05:002013-09-27T13:19:56.443-05:00Only the Laws You Agree WithMissouri's Lieutenant Governor believes you should only <a href="http://www.kansascity.com/2013/09/23/4503629/kinder-mo-residents-should-skip.html">follow laws he supports</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Kinder, a Republican who is Missouri's second-ranking executive, sought Monday to discourage participation in the health insurance exchanges that form the centerpiece of the 2010 Affordable Care Act signed by President Barack Obama. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I would hope there would be active resistance to this law — that people would not sign up," Kinder said Monday.</blockquote>
This state continues to drift slowly towards becoming a place that would be unrecognizable to my ancestors, and mystifying to my offspring, and shameful to me.<br />
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<div style="color: black; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; height: 1px; line-height: normal; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-transform: none; width: 1px;">
<br />Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/09/23/4503629/kinder-mo-residents-should-skip.html#storylink=cpy</div>
Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03636780227204506887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866359991103939496.post-36463337317027267072013-08-14T21:53:00.001-05:002013-08-14T21:53:49.628-05:00Ugghhh...Took a break from Missouri news and political news for a few weeks... I poke my head back into it for a second <a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/missouri-state-fair-rodeo-clown-wears-obama-mask.php">and get this</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Droid Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">A clown wearing a President Barack Obama mask appeared at a Missouri State Fair rodeo this weekend and the announcer asked the enthusiastic spectators if they wanted to see “Obama run down by a bull.”</span></blockquote>
<br />
I think maybe my hiatus needs to be a bit longer.Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03636780227204506887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866359991103939496.post-21849999456428351872013-07-23T15:59:00.002-05:002013-07-23T15:59:29.198-05:00BoehnerComedy Gold.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7hZ9Itx0klSbnyS15cNPAw49G_a_V4R7MlX0ei6wua3UA9kemTxPevjXoDDEN7zn9D95f6zQpH-tNbOvnrIGF0EiX5bnEVdgRWEBgyKMoIh9cN1RZ7tzRD4Pdp1zEKSm0KV905Ld0VAc/s1600/funny+boehner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7hZ9Itx0klSbnyS15cNPAw49G_a_V4R7MlX0ei6wua3UA9kemTxPevjXoDDEN7zn9D95f6zQpH-tNbOvnrIGF0EiX5bnEVdgRWEBgyKMoIh9cN1RZ7tzRD4Pdp1zEKSm0KV905Ld0VAc/s400/funny+boehner.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
From<a href="http://rollcallnewspaper.tumblr.com/"> Roll Call</a>.Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03636780227204506887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866359991103939496.post-86879787297928443422013-06-27T12:21:00.000-05:002013-06-27T12:21:11.468-05:00KC, 1907The Library of Congress has some great photos of cities around the turn of the century. Here is<a href="http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2007663903/"> Kansas City in 1907</a>.<br />
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<img alt="[Kansas City, Missouri, business section]" height="240" src="http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/pnp/pan/6a34000/6a34500/6a34526r.jpg" width="400" /><br />
<br />
Via <a href="http://www.openculture.com/2013/06/amazing_aerial_photographs_of_great_american_cities_circa_1906.html">Open Culture</a>.Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03636780227204506887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866359991103939496.post-5123134971659891942013-06-26T13:34:00.003-05:002013-06-26T13:34:28.125-05:00Congratulations Galveston!To the good people of Galveston and surrounding coastal Texas, well done on electing to the actual U.S. Congress a person who would say this:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.984375px;">"The Supreme Court seems to be in collusion with the president and his injustice department." </span><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.984375px;"> - Representative Randy Weber</span></blockquote>
Texas!Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03636780227204506887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866359991103939496.post-73082708164076627422013-06-05T13:37:00.003-05:002013-06-05T13:37:34.387-05:00Royals Futility Becoming UnfathomableSam Mellinger puts up<a href="http://mellinger.kansascity.com/entries/so-you-know-just-so-were-clear-what-george-brett-taking-over-here/"> a few random facts</a> about the Royals current awfulness. Here are a couple of my favorites:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<ul>
<li>The Royals last hit two home runs in the same game on May 10. Forty-three players have done it since. </li>
<li>Royals are now 2-5 (.285) when allowing exactly three runs. The rest of baseball, entering last night, was 158-99 (.615).</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
I would add to what he has listed that the Royals are even bad by their historical standards, which is bad. They are currently on pace to hit 84 home runs this year. That is 36% less than last year when they tied for last in the American League. Brutal.Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03636780227204506887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866359991103939496.post-65584338479062309962013-05-28T12:44:00.002-05:002013-05-28T12:44:35.060-05:00Being the Royals<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgltv-GlEapqPQ1gzOr0CytfsnmbBwpjm8ddwA5BguIj5yv-QK1nmfii5xyxwvm3PQ9SdvwwIoq7-3JAc1MAViNJpLoGyqhD5mp8syH9AGZu4Eq7zzDcD8KtTmrJEQrkjOkLTU5ppWEJxc/s1600/14A2Ql.St.81.jpeg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgltv-GlEapqPQ1gzOr0CytfsnmbBwpjm8ddwA5BguIj5yv-QK1nmfii5xyxwvm3PQ9SdvwwIoq7-3JAc1MAViNJpLoGyqhD5mp8syH9AGZu4Eq7zzDcD8KtTmrJEQrkjOkLTU5ppWEJxc/s320/14A2Ql.St.81.jpeg" /></a><br />
Here is my favorite Royals stat of the moment, <a href="http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/27/4259510/royals-have-to-make-a-change.html">via Sam Mellinger</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.5px;">The Royals are a walking mess right now, baseball’s worst team in May, with fewer home runs than the Cubs </span><span class="italic" style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; line-height: 22.5px;">pitchers</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.5px;"> since May 15...</span></blockquote>
Very impressive.<br />
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Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/27/4259510/royals-have-to-make-a-change.html#storylink=cpy</div>
Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03636780227204506887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866359991103939496.post-6747397326289592782013-05-13T23:12:00.002-05:002013-05-13T23:12:53.963-05:00College PaysIf a college <a href="http://deadspin.com/infographic-is-your-states-highest-paid-employee-a-co-489635228">hires you as a coach</a>...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMSUB4xE5SMFOUq4yIYV7QZoTOWr1tIVfq8E4i-q2ZbtSqRhujBQlneuGziwK4db8c2wNquQXjt9YjmI5mKIovjzGlqQej7Uggj4uLP4CoX_7u-Jk_-IVPdyf9_7saYiaLeQfRnZa-GPU/s1600/k-bigpic.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMSUB4xE5SMFOUq4yIYV7QZoTOWr1tIVfq8E4i-q2ZbtSqRhujBQlneuGziwK4db8c2wNquQXjt9YjmI5mKIovjzGlqQej7Uggj4uLP4CoX_7u-Jk_-IVPdyf9_7saYiaLeQfRnZa-GPU/s320/k-bigpic.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03636780227204506887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866359991103939496.post-7089101552755575202013-05-09T16:25:00.000-05:002013-05-09T16:25:06.046-05:00Everyone Hated Computers (at some point)From the New York Review of Book's<a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2013/may/23/mandlebrot-mathematics-of-roughness/?pagination=false"> review of mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot's memoir</a>:<div>
<blockquote>
Complex dynamics had flourished in Parisian mathematical circles in the early twentieth century, but it soon led to geometrical forms that were far too complicated to be visualized, and the subject became frozen in time.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Mandelbrot saw a way to unfreeze it—through the power of the computer. At the time, computers were pretty well disdained by mathematicians, who “shuddered at the very thought that a machine might defile the pristine ‘purity’ of their field.”</blockquote>
So, when one of your relatives tells you they don't understand or like these newfangled computers just keep in mind that even the most brilliant mathematicians in the world felt the same way at one time. And if they could come around, certainly your uncle can too.</div>
Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03636780227204506887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866359991103939496.post-17951269416877641152013-05-09T13:10:00.003-05:002013-05-09T13:10:46.289-05:00You Talk FunnyHere is <a href="http://aschmann.net/AmEng/#SmallMapUnitedStates">an incredible map</a> of American English dialects. It's interactive and includes sound. Depending on how much of nerd you are, it could be a serious time suck.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje4wW0e48h6l4Wrl9W58lokh1jH_I0YpIBNlu_MD2XTYDhzpynkNMaw47_w2pnuy-zCLX30F36n5tHpKt_XXMcWM5gWMFDmLko_h0OJwqs6fhm7yVdjB46sv4j2s32qUoN36iufV1vygo/s1600/AmericanEnglishDialects.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje4wW0e48h6l4Wrl9W58lokh1jH_I0YpIBNlu_MD2XTYDhzpynkNMaw47_w2pnuy-zCLX30F36n5tHpKt_XXMcWM5gWMFDmLko_h0OJwqs6fhm7yVdjB46sv4j2s32qUoN36iufV1vygo/s320/AmericanEnglishDialects.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03636780227204506887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866359991103939496.post-24377896382248608002013-05-03T16:36:00.001-05:002013-05-03T16:36:29.258-05:00Juvenile FridayI don't remember Jeff Francouer in high school, but he must have been there.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNHzHb1elsixc1xTvWl9yBRfW9QiNqxZ3J5yihcUgZwfzPv3ZWKUH0PW-8NMSZBV5B4cSj6OaENr8KrVuwzABH6lbFrRY4tT0VHEDdpBhMVJ9hPUbcM6OKcaPzLl6VUjQ1XTsAxgtWRA8/s1600/Jeff-Francoeur-Royals-rascal-basket.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNHzHb1elsixc1xTvWl9yBRfW9QiNqxZ3J5yihcUgZwfzPv3ZWKUH0PW-8NMSZBV5B4cSj6OaENr8KrVuwzABH6lbFrRY4tT0VHEDdpBhMVJ9hPUbcM6OKcaPzLl6VUjQ1XTsAxgtWRA8/s320/Jeff-Francoeur-Royals-rascal-basket.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03636780227204506887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866359991103939496.post-73493204741573335512013-04-30T11:41:00.002-05:002013-04-30T11:41:50.495-05:00Money, Happiness, and EconomyIn a post passing along <a href="http://www.brookings.edu/research/interactives/2013/income-well-being">a study</a> that shows that money really does buy more happiness, Matt Yglesias makes <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2013/04/29/stevenson_wolfers_debunk_easterlin_paradox_more_money_makes_people_happier.html">a point on one of my favorite subjects</a>:<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.984375px;">What I do want to call attention to, however, is that both of these charts plot income on a logarithmic scale. That's to say that a $5,000 increase in per capita GDP will generate a lot more happiness for a poor country than a rich one. And by the same token, a $5,000 increase in income will generate a lot more happiness for a poor family than for an affluent one. </span><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.984375px;">This is a key grounds for believing both in the importance of economic growth and in the importance of concern about the distribution of that growth. To be a little crude about it, halving the income of a millionaire will let you double the income of many poor households.</span></blockquote>
If you are willing to accept that an economy exists to allocate resources, and that an economy works best when it is most efficient, then you pretty much have to be willing to accept that resources have more utility when they go to people with less of them than people with more of them. That is, of course, pretty simplistic. And you can certainly make an argument that in the real world the model changes due to a ton of outside influences and complexities. But it becomes pretty difficult to imagine that continuing to concentrate resources in the hands of a few creates a useful and productive economy.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.984375px;"> </span></blockquote>
Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03636780227204506887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866359991103939496.post-81702731239001304182013-04-30T11:25:00.004-05:002013-04-30T11:25:43.921-05:00We Live in the FutureAside from maybe Artificial Intelligence and sustainable energy, no piece of technology stands to change our lives like 3-D printing. So, this is pretty cool.
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/25401444" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="400"></iframe>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03636780227204506887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866359991103939496.post-79162174039369429922013-04-22T21:40:00.003-05:002013-04-22T21:40:49.615-05:00Noooo!!!To a kid that grew up in the 80s, <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/quora/2013/03/26/is_garfield_supposed_to_be_funny.html?wpisrc=obnetwork">this is just devastating</a>...<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 17.265625px;">Davis makes no attempt to conceal the crass commercial motivations behind his creation of </span><em style="border: 0px; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 17.265625px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Garfield</em><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 17.265625px;">. ... [Davis] carefully studied the marketplace when developing</span><em style="border: 0px; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 17.265625px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Garfield</em><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 17.265625px;">. The genesis of the strip was "a conscious effort to come up with a good, marketable character," Davis told Walter Shapiro in a 1982 interview in the</span><em style="border: 0px; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 17.265625px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Washington Post</em><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 17.265625px;">. "And primarily an animal. … Snoopy is very popular in licensing. Charlie Brown is not." So, Davis looked around and noticed that dogs were popular in the funny papers, but there wasn't a strip for the nation's 15 million cat owners. Then, he consciously developed a stable of recurring, repetitive jokes for the cat. He hates Mondays. He loves lasagna. He sure is fat.</span></blockquote>
I suppose I should have seen this coming. But still, that time that Garfield, Jon, and Odie all got rolled up in a window shade... that was really funny, right? Right?Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03636780227204506887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866359991103939496.post-49374494106540149002013-04-22T12:28:00.002-05:002013-04-22T12:28:37.343-05:00Happy Earth DaySlate has a piece with<a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/04/22/earth_day_15_facts_about_our_planet.html"> interesting facts about Earth</a>. I thought this one was particularly fascinating:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.984375px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">8)</strong><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.984375px;"> The Moon is farther away from Earth than you think. As an analogy, </span><a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2011/02/24/how_far_away_is_the_moon.html" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgb(255, 255, 153); color: #006699; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.984375px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">if the Earth were a basketball</a><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.984375px;">, the Moon would be the size of a tennis ball 7.4 meters (24 feet) away. </span></blockquote>
Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03636780227204506887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866359991103939496.post-4482952222080549052013-04-05T12:52:00.003-05:002013-04-05T12:52:31.088-05:00Friday Song Day PJ EditionSo blog contributor bigsmithdude just watched the Pearl Jam 20 documentary and is having a resurgence of interest. As a lifelong fan, I view this as a development to be encouraged. So, here are a few classic Pearl Jam performances for Friday Song Day.<br />
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This first one is actually a warm up from Saturday Night Live around 94 I believe. One of the things I love about this is that Pearl Jam were never really cool even when they were cool. You can totally see that in PJ20, but you can also see it here in the fact that Stone Gossard is wearing awesome sandles.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="236" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/3NW7wYau1LY" width="315"></iframe><br />
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Then there is this performance I remember watching on Letterman in 1996. Letterman always clearly loved Pearl Jam. Also, Stone continues his run here by looking like a candy corn or something, and McCready is wearing a silk shirt.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="236" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ElDxiT1AxDQ" width="315"></iframe>
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And finally here their 1993 MTV Music Awards performance with Neil Young. I don't know how this post became about Pearl Jam not being cool, but Neil Young is clearly the coolest dude on this stage. PJ have always had good rock idols though, and this is one of my favorite of their covers of those idols.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="236" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/fK4D52e6ZCU" width="315"></iframe>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03636780227204506887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866359991103939496.post-14518391039528556972013-03-28T08:43:00.002-05:002013-03-28T08:43:39.892-05:00The Royals are Good at What their Owner Wants Them to Be Good AtDepending on your source, the Royals payroll is up somewhere between a little and a significant amount over 2012. It is still near the bottom of the league, however. Just something to keep in mind when you see the new <a href="http://www.forbes.com/pictures/mlm45eidmk/29-kansas-city-royals/">Forbes piece</a> about MLB team values, and you learn that David Glass has made somewhere on the order of $361 million owning the Royals just in the increased value of the team. They also made $16.3 million dollars last year in operating income. Just something to keep in mind.Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03636780227204506887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866359991103939496.post-68334228660998296732013-03-26T08:16:00.003-05:002013-03-26T08:16:45.031-05:00A What Sink?<br />
<a href="http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/tenn-lawmakers-reassured-that-mop-sink-isnt-sink?ref=fpb">These people</a> are elected by a vote... of real life other people!<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
A few Tennessee lawmakers apparently inquired whether a new sink at the state capitol designed for custodial use was a sink for Muslims to wash their feet in before prayer, the<a href="http://www.tennessean.com/viewart/20130325/NEWS02/303250057/TN-lawmakers-confuse-mop-sink-Muslim-foot-washing-sink" style="color: #990000; text-decoration: none;">Associated Press reported</a> Monday. The lawmakers were reassured that it is simply a "mop sink." </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“I confirmed with the facility administrator for the State Capitol Complex that the floor-level sink installed in the men’s restroom outside the House Chamber is for housekeeping use,” Legislative Administration Director Connie Ridley wrote in an email. “It is, in layman’s terms, a mop sink.”</blockquote>
Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03636780227204506887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866359991103939496.post-28306840485544148352013-03-18T12:58:00.000-05:002013-03-18T12:58:01.477-05:00Conspiracy!This is a pretty awesome parody of 9/11 truthers:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="236" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2dvv-Yib1Xg" width="465"></iframe>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03636780227204506887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866359991103939496.post-36015520242050117212013-03-15T13:52:00.002-05:002013-03-15T13:52:32.712-05:00The Empathy PartyIn example 37,867,045,983 of why I believe the major difference between conservatives and liberals is that liberals have an ability to imagine what life might be like for someone other than themselves, here is Senator Rob Portman on <a href="http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/portman-reverses-gay-marriage-stance-after-son-comes?ref=fpb">why he no longer opposes gay marriage</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Droid Serif', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">"I'm announcing today a change of heart on an issue that a lot of people feel strongly about," Portman said. "It has to do with gay couples' opportunity to marry. And during my career in the House and also last couple years here in the Senate, you know, I've taken a position against gay marriage, rooted in part in my faith and my faith tradition. And had a very personal experience, which is my son came to Jane, my wife, and I, told us that he was gay and that it was not a choice and that, you know he, that's just part of who he is, and he'd been that way ever since he could remember."</span></blockquote>
I don't know if Rob Portman has any other kids. If he does, and it just so happens one of them is an illegal immigrant, a single mother, not wealthy, or has a pre-existing condition, he might just end up becoming a Democrat.Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03636780227204506887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866359991103939496.post-51239133080426372082013-03-08T12:42:00.002-06:002013-03-08T12:42:40.320-06:00Friday Song DaySallie Ford and the Sound Outside for my friends who love the Heartless Bastards.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="236" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/yyEEKPXNFpc" width="435"></iframe>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03636780227204506887noreply@blogger.com0