Hack the Planet!

 Or at least your local bar. After paying if you unplug a shuffel board game like this one the gate in the middle stays down. Its operated by solenoid I guess rather than a dead man elecrotromagnet like on nuclear control rods. $1 gets you shuffle puck all night.

Man I dont think he going to help us

Funny thing about me: I actually fucking know shit! Not like these goombas trying to weasel their way into the White House. I practically wrote the book on collapsing bridges, inflation, and the working poor, fuck-o. I even got a degree in nuclear engineering or some shit. You know how easy I could swoop down right now like a guardian angel and solve all your fucking problems? Snap. Bam. Do it in my fucking sleep. Just fucking try me.

-- Jimmy Carter

This blew my mind

Naked Capitalism points to a summary of the report by Reuters here, but you can go straight to the original text, albeit after jumping through some registration hoops, here. And it's worth it, because there are plenty more gems to be mined.

For example, the authors of the report also conclude that the overriding emphasis, on the part of all players in financial markets, on maximizing short term results, might not serve everyone's long term interests.

In plain English, it is not clear that existing compensation mechanisms effectively ensure that traders take into account the long-term interests of the bank for which they work -- i.e. its survival....

This leads to a second, somewhat disquieting, reason: in the financial industry, in contrast with other businesses, there is a point beyond which increased competition is not stability-enhancing, but rather potentially destabilizing. Heightened competition is beneficial in terms of providing a better service and eliminating poor performers in the industry; however, past a certain point -- difficult to identify -- more competition means more, and perhaps socially undesirable, risk-taking.

This is almost like saying that capitalism, as it is currently constructed, doesn't work.

At some point competition jumps the shark and makes people do stupid things that bad for the group in order to survive. I thought this was explained to everyone in A Beautiful Mind.    Anyway that was from a Salon blog post here about a report released by Moodys a credit rating agency

Speaking of competition I dont know who it was but someone was checking out Connections on DVD at the library. Since its now break time I am left as the only technology histroy nerd on campus. Series 1 of the show is older than me, I don't know what season ( Element of {1,2,3} ) I used to watch on TLC when it was THE LEARNING CHANNEL. Clinton and Stacey need to be fired and replaced by academics in cable knit sweaters once more.

Go See ..

Juno. It was funny. Go Tomorrow. Buy the soundtrack. Eat Cheesecake.

Things my brother said

My brother is so entertaining, heres a sampling of the gems he has dropped since Ive been home.

" If people want to do something patriotic they'd shoot their parents in the head when they turned 70. "

It is a succinct argument relating to a nightly news feature on the 2.1 kids/per lady birthrate we are experiencing. Ill keep you updated as more be come available.

By the way

If you hadn't heard I sprained my ankle severly.  Its gone from grapefruit to tennis ball size in a week.  I have been subsisting on the kindness of friends who drive all the way out here to pick me up on their way to dinner.

The injury has prevented anything else from occuring so I am  not very interesting good bye.
 

oh your god its december

Half a month flew by there didnt it. Its 3 am and in six hours I am putting a turkey in the oven. Right now its resting comfortably in the brackish solution I prepared earlier this evening. Tommorow is second Thanksgiving in Blacksburg a tradition I stole form Cincinnati. Credit lays at 33 E. Alot of things I'm thankful for are in Ohio.
     No one is getting any presents from me.  Id like to say because of my principles but it is because I am poor.  The existence of the blog and my destitution have a common origin in my wanderlust.
     I finally saw BRAND NEW on thursday after six years of Jude Law and the semester abroad.  Ill see ya later and remember to tell all those english boys you meet about me.