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Posted in Creative ramblings on Oct 27th, 2008
Every now and then you read about a Civil War reenactment where someone gets shot with a live round. I would like to be the sort of person who doesn’t find that funny, but some dreams are destined to be unfulfilled. I give you…
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27372438/?GT1=43001
You might wonder how real ammo gets into a Civil War reenactment. [...]
Posted in Creative ramblings on Oct 23rd, 2008
I wonder if economics is making war obsolete, at least for the larger countries. Waging war is just too darned expensive, even if your enemy lives in mud huts. If you’re looking for the silver lining to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, here it is: They prove once and for all that the occupier [...]
Posted in Creative ramblings on Oct 20th, 2008
I keep hearing that the United States ranks low in student performance in math and science. This can be interpreted at least two ways.
Interpretations 1: The United States is doing a poor job educating students in two subjects that are vital to the future of the world.
Interpretation 2: Students in the United States realize they will never [...]
Posted in Creative ramblings on Oct 19th, 2008
I plan to start hoarding supplies soon. There should be some big riots after the election. Here’s a sequence of events and conditions that would lead to rioting. Do you see anything on the list that isn’t likely?
The economy stays bad for a another month
Obama has a clear lead in the polls before election day
McCain [...]
Posted in Creative ramblings on Oct 14th, 2008
As a general rule, wherever you find a large group of people who are baffled by complexity, you will find a smaller group of people making a good living screwing them. It’s true with all complex things: insurance, cell phone plans, legal stuff, technology, you name it. But it has never been truer than with [...]
Posted in Creative ramblings on Oct 14th, 2008
I find myself really excited for this Christmas. I happen to love giving people presents, and as Nayt and I try out this whole mutual gift giving thing (which is very strange for me) it’s interesting to see how we differ in our Christmas thoughts. Nayt, I find, engages Christmas-thoughts, oddly enough, in December. [...]
Posted in Creative ramblings on Oct 10th, 2008
The concept of retirement baffles me. I certainly see why people want to retire if they have unpleasant jobs, fun hobbies, and interesting grandkids. But why is it okay with the rest of society that individuals can simply stop contributing to the greater good?
Retirement is a fairly recent concept in historical terms. When the average [...]
Posted in Creative ramblings on Oct 6th, 2008
In the recent debate, Vice Presidential candidate Joe Biden said the wealthy would gain by paying higher taxes to lift up the middle class. The theory is that a healthy middle class is necessary for the wealthy class to thrive. Let’s call that Trickle Up Economics.
Viewed in that light, the unwealthy are more like an [...]
Posted in Creative ramblings on Oct 4th, 2008
I watched the candidates for Vice President debating last night. Sarah Palin said the credit problem was caused by predatory lending. In other words, the evil banks made loans to people who didn’t have good credit.
This raises an interesting question: What did the lenders know about the borrowers that the borrowers did not know about [...]
Posted in Creative ramblings on Oct 2nd, 2008
The only way to pay the government’s ballooning bills and reduce the budget deficit during an economic downturn is to tax the bejeezus out of the rich. The alternative is to borrow more money, thus making things worse. Realistically, cutting government spending is a worthy goal, but it won’t get us where we need to [...]
Brookes’ Bytes
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