Archive for December, 2009
« Previous Entries Next Entries »Happy Holidays from Information Age 2.0
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by CARPE DIEM
The graphs above show what have to be historically unprecedented price decreases for any major innovation, technology, or a major consumer item (personal computers) over such a short period of time ever before in human history.
Advances like this in the great Information Age 2.0 happen so consistently […]
If You Thought the “Degree Gap” Was High Here…
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by CARPE DIEM
College admissions directors curious about the experience of touching a third rail can review what happened when the president of the University of Alberta suggested that Canadian males, including white males, needed a helping hand. She got fried … by her own students.
Last month, President Indira Samarasekera pointed […]
America’s Ridiculously Large $14T Economy
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by CARPE DIEM
I took some criticism for the post below comparing the amount of durable goods manufactured in the U.S. in November to the entire annual output of goods and services (GDP) in some other countries. Perhaps I wasn’t clear enough in my comparison, but I was trying to […]
Nov. Durable Goods Exceed Annual GDP of Chile
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by CARPE DIEM
CENSUS BUREAU — Shipments of manufactured durable goods in November, up three consecutive months, increased $0.5 billion or 0.3 percent to $175.9 billion.
For the entire year of 2008, the entire output (GDP) of these countries was:
Singapore: $181.9 billion
Ukraine: $179.6 billion
Chile: $169.5 billion
Philippines: $166.9 billion
Pakistan: $164.5 billion
Bottom Line: In […]
Quote of the Day
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by CARPE DIEM
Christmas begins about the first of December with an office party and ends when you finally realize what you spent, around April fifteenth of the next year.
~P.J. O’Rourke, Modern Manners
Jobless Claims (Four-Week Moving Average) Fall for 16th Consecutive Week to a 15-Month Low
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by CARPE DIEM
Merry Christmas!!
The Department of Labor reported today that initial claims for unemployment (4-week moving average) fell to 465,250 for the week ending December 19, which is the 16th consecutive weekly decline in claims, and the lowest level since the week of September 20, 2008, exactly 15 months ago […]
100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by CARPE DIEM
I’m in a trendy DC restaurant in the Woodley Park neighborhood, sitting at the bar, watching an overweight bartender munching down on a large pizza about three feet from me (it’s so close I could reach over and help myself to a slice, and this is at least […]
Retail Health Clinic Updates
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by CARPE DIEM
1. Scott Jagow at Marketplace writes about his recent experience getting “Fast, Cheap, and Happy Health Care” at a Minute Clinic.
2. Ronald Bailey at Reason speculates what real market-based health care reform would look like: A lot of routine care could be handled through retail health clinics located […]
Detroit Homes for Less Than $100, Starting at $10
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by CARPE DIEM
Price = $10 (2 bedrooms, 1 bath)
Price = $15 (3 bedrooms, 2 baths)
Price = $75 (3 bedrooms, 1 bath)
Price = $99 (3 bedrooms, 1 bath)
Florida Home Sales Increase for 15th Month, Southern California Homes for 17th Month
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by CARPE DIEM
1. Florida’s existing home sales rose in November, marking 15 months that sales activity has increased in the year-to-year comparison, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors.
2. Southern California’s housing market continued its step-by-step climb up from the January-February bottom as both sales and prices […]
Manufacturing Employment Falls to Record Lows, But Productivity Soars to Record High Levels
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by CARPE DIEM
Here’s some pretty grim news about U.S. manufacturing — employment in that sector fell below 12 million this year for the first time since 1946, and is now at the lowest level (11,648,000 manufacturing jobs in November) since March of 1941 (see chart, BLS data here). Since the […]
Close-up Photos Showing Frost’s Natural Beauty
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by CARPE DIEM
Here are some amazing close-up photographs of frost on a very cold window in a house in Minneapolis when it was 30 degrees below zero, highlighting the natural beauty of early morning sunlight streaming through the frost, captured from inside the house by Minneapolis photographer and musician Marcus […]
Bloomberg Financial Conditions Index Reaches Positive Territory for First Time Since Aug. 2007
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by CARPE DIEM
When it comes to the financial crisis of 2007-2009, the month of October 2008 was “Ground Zero,” by several measures:
1) The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index (VIX), a popular measure of the implied volatility of S&P 500 index options, soared to a record high of […]
RECOVERY: Existing Home Sales Highest Since Feb. 2007, Inventory Levels Lowest Since April 2006
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by CARPE DIEM
Highlights from today’s report on existing home sales:
1. Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – rose 7.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.54 million units in November from 6.09 million in October, and are 44.1% higher than the 4.54 million-unit pace in November […]
Politicized “Science”
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by CARPE DIEM
When a business accused of fraud begins shredding its memos and deleting its e-mails, the media are quick to proclaim these actions as signs of guilt. But, after the global warming advocates began a systematic destruction of evidence, the big television networks went for days without even reporting […]
College: Everything’s Going Up Except Core Faculty
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by CARPE DIEM
The chart above helps to answer the question “Where does all the tuition go?” (see post below).
The University of Michigan-Flint reflects a national trend that could be described as a gradual but persistent shift away from relying on full-time, tenured or tenure-track, “core faculty” to fulfill an […]
Yield Curve, Investor Optimism at Record High
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by CARPE DIEM
WSJ – A closely watched bond-market measure of investor optimism hit a record Monday, amid signs the U.S. economy’s recovery is strengthening. That measure is the yield curve — the difference between short-term and long-term interest rates on government bonds. That number is at its highest level ever, […]
Cartoon of the Day: Short-Run, Long-Run
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by CARPE DIEM
Michael Ramirez (IBD).
Snowy Fence
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by My Viewfinder Blog
Rail Fence, Canton, NC - 2009
(Click on photo to enlarge.)
_____________________
“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.”
- Henry David Thoreau
Hiding From The Dogs
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by My Viewfinder Blog
Fire Hydrant In Snow, Canton , NC - 2009
(Click on photo to enlarge.)
________________________________
A Christmas Thought
“The universal joy of Christmas is certainly wonderful. We ring the bells when princes are born, or toll a mournful dirge when great men pass away. Nations have their red-letter days, their carnivals […]
Happy Holidays
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by The Thin Red Line
Libdrone will not be updating again until after January 1st. Ron and Alan wish you a Happy Holidays and hope you will visit again next year.
Positively
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Book Nut
by Courtney Sheinmel
ages: 10+
First sentence: ”
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
There are some books that quietly creep under your skin and stick there. Sure, you know up front that they are issue books, that the sole purpose of the story is […]
Christmas Book Week, Day 3
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Book Nut
gFrom The Little House on the Prairie, which has been made into a lovely picture book called Santa Comes to Little House.
Laura and Mary never would have looked in their stockings again. The cups and the cakes and the candy were almost too much. They were too happy […]
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Book Nut
by Rodman Philbrick
ages: 9+
First sentence: “My name is Homer P. Figg, and these are my true adventures.”
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Life is not good for Homer P. Figg. His father was felled by a tree. His Dear Mother passed away, […]
Christmas Book Week, Day 2
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]Submitted by Book Nut
Happy Midwinter everyone! Find some sunshine, if you can, and pull out your (hopefully well-worn) copy of The Dark is Rising, and enjoy. If you haven’t read it yet, here’s a teaser to get you (hopefully) interested.
The snow lay thin and apologetic over the world. That wide grey […]
