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Archive for 2012
January 24, 2012
IN POPULAR MECHANICS, I talk about the Supreme Court’s GPS ruling. (Bumped).
A STATE OF THE UNION DRINKING GAME: “If the word ‘debt’ is used, take a sip of your friend’s drink and promise to give it back.” More at the link.
UPDATE: Tweet The State Of The Union. “Via David Codrea, we learn that the Presidential Advisors are sitting down after the State of the Union to answer questions via Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. . . . What we’ve never heard is an explanation of who is involved in Fast and Furious, the Gunwalker scandal. I think we should flood Twitter with some questions. Luckily, my good friend Bob Owens has given us some. Read the questions below and click to link to Tweet them to the advisors. Click each one to tweet all five!”
MEGAN MCARDLE: Retail In The Age Of The Internet.
It’s kind of embarassing how often I see the UPS man.
My household has made extravagent use of the benefits of Amazon Prime. We order grocery staples, hardware, paper goods, electronic accessories, air filters for the furnace, and oh yeah, sometimes books. The brown truck stops in front of our house several times a week. Since I am almost always the one who answers the door, I am beginning to worry that our unusually young and good looking UPS guy thinks there is an ulterior motive behind the volume of our orders.
At least I’m not alone. Almost certainly, you, too are ordering more and more of your merchandise via an online retailer. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course. But it gets a little sketchy when you start visiting big box retailers like Best Buy and Target so that you can have a look at the goods–and then place your order on Amazon.com.
That practice, known as “showrooming”, is becoming increasingly common, and it seems to have cut pretty deeply into the all-important Christmas profits of brick-and-mortar retailers.
The big-box folks complain about the morality of it, but given how many phony-coupon and bait-and-switch sales they’ve perpetrated over the years in order to exploit the inconvenience of changing your mind once you’ve come to the store, my sympathy is limited.
However, two thoughts: First, yeah, Amazon Prime rocks. Second, if you can’t compete on price, you’ve got to make the shopping experience more rewarding. Not sure Best Buy is up to that, but Target seems to have a clue.
And from the comments, this indisputable truth: “I predict that whatever happens, there will be people nostalgic for the way things used to be and agitating for the government to regulate things back in the name of fairness.”
IF YOUR FACEBOOK FRIENDS HAVE BEEN SHARING THIS DUMB CHART, YOU MIGHT WANT TO PASS THIS ON: A bogus chart on Obama and the debt gets a new lease on life. I’ve noticed it reappearing lately. From the WaPo:
This chart, originally created by the office of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, is as phony as a three-dollar bill. Our friends at PolitiFact did a pretty thorough takedown of it in May, giving it their worst rating: “pants on fire.” They even caught the Pelosi people in a bad mathematical error, based on the fact that the Democrats calculated the numbers as if Obama took office a year later than he did.
But it still circulates. Note: If you’re passing this on, you can’t make fun of birthers. . . .
I’D APPEAL THIS ONE, IF IT WERE ME: Judge Orders Defendant To Decrypt Laptop.
OBAMA AND BIDEN: Charity cheapskates? Certainly compared to Romney.
MORE GOOD CHEER FROM ZEROHEDGE: “Dreams Versus Reality” – Former IMF Chief Economist On Europe’s Last Stand. “When we combine multiple years of stagnation with leveraged financial institutions and nervous financial markets, a rapid shift from low-level crisis to collapse is very plausible. European leaders could take measures to reduce this risk (through further actions on sovereign debt restructurings, more aggressive economic adjustment, and increased bailout funds). However, so far, there is little political will to take these necessary measures. Europe’s economy remains, therefore, in a dangerous state.”
THAT WOULD BE COOL: Tiny Tunable Terahertz Beam Could Enable Real Handheld Tricorders.
HEH: Time for Warren Buffett and his Secretary to Release Their Personal Tax Returns. Put up or shut up, Warren.
THE LOOMING THREAT OF A SOLAR SUPERSTORM. “A coronal mass ejection now hurtling toward Earth should arrive during the Tuesday morning commute—possibly disrupting navigation and the power grid. Meanwhile, a radiation storm has been pummeling the planet all day. Experts warn this isn’t the first warning shot sent by the Sun; the next one could immobilize modern technology, and civilization, altogether.”
We should be hardening our systems now, against this and other threats.
AT AMAZON, warehouse deals in Grocery & Gourmet Food.
PREDICTIONS ARE DIFFICULT, ESPECIALLY ABOUT THE FUTURE — but you can win an iPad in the PJ Media Nostradamus contest.
CRONY CAPITALISM: Buffett’s Burlington Northern Among Winners From Keystone Denial.
UPDATE: Reader Gary Harmon writes: “The link to the Bloomberg story on Buffet profiting from the rejection of Keystone doesn’t work, no fault of yours. Bloomberg seems to have taken it down. Does the mayor have a stake in the Oracle’s rail biz?” Beats me. But there are some excerpts from the story in this ZeroHedge post.
21ST CENTURY RELATIONSHIPS: A Guide To “Dormcest.”
OVER AT THE VOLOKH CONSPIRACY, Prof. Brian Kalt is blogging about his new book, Constitutional Cliffhangers: A Legal Guide For Presidents And Their Enemies.
A SOTU THOUGHT FOR THE GOP, FROM READER JODY GREEN, given that we’ve now gone 1000 days without a budget: “I think they should all wear a 1,000 Days pin on their suits tonight. That would force the MSM to report the issue.”
UPDATE: Reader Kevin Rennells writes: “I’d like to see the Republican delegation all wear their loudest, most outrageous golf attire.” Heh.
ANOTHER UPDATE: The Hill: Republicans sport ‘1000 days’ button to highlight Senate’s budget failure. But what about the golf pants?
MORE: Keli Carender emails:
I’m on the hill today, visiting with Congressman, and we are finding that many of the GOP members are saying, “It’s against House rules to wear the ‘1000 days’ buttons at the SOTU tonight…”
Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t it “against the rules” to not pass a freaking budget for 1000 days???
Tell people to call their GOP Reps and Sens and tell them show some brass and wear the danged buttons tonight. And the establishment wonders why people are gravitating toward Newt. They want elected officials who want to fight, and if the political class can’t even get up the nerve to wear a button, how are they going to reform entitlements, reform the tax code, or cut any spending?
Is it against the rules to wear golf pants? Anyway, watch your Rep. tonight and see what he/she is wearing. (Bumped).
OBAMA OFFENDS THE CATHOLIC LEFT.
SAYUNCLE: Be Careful When You Leave America. “This keeps happening, travelers getting busted in NYC with guns. Man claiming to be a Navy SEAL arrested with a gun in NYC. Cops throw him in psych ward for claiming he’s a SEAL. Turns out, he really is.”
We need national legislation to protect the civil rights of Americans traveling to places, like New York, afflicted with irrational prejudices and backward laws.
RICHARD EPSTEIN: No ‘Sachs Appeal.’ Given the result of Sachs’ efforts on the Russian economy I don’t see why anyone pays attention to his views nowadays.
IN THE MAIL: From Rebecca MacKinnon, Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle For Internet Freedom. Particularly timely in light of the SOPA battle.
UPDATE: Hiawatha Bray writes: “Just finished writing a review of it for the Globe. Quite good. Very sound in its understanding of threats to Internet freedom from the private and public sectors alike.”