PicoBusiness

Do I have to start wearing a tinfoil hat?

Answer: No - this analysis is so obvious a blind monkey could find it in a pile of bananas.

It’s like a graph straight out of Econ 101

I find this quote rather silly:

Wal-Mart (WMT), the former poster child for corporate villainy, once again has surprised both its critics and its corporate peers by backing President Barack Obama’s plans to force employers to provide health insurance to workers, the Wall Street Journal reports

It’s funny because it’s completely backwards. Wal*Mart wasn’t a villain for paying relatively low wages - they offered jobs at certain wages, and people compete vigorously to take them. That’s hardly what one could call “villainy”.

On the other hand, backing Obama’s health care plan is absolutely villainous, because it is way for Wal*Mart to hurt their competitors who don’t currently offer health insurance (forcing them to raise their prices), and make it harder for new entrants to join the discount retail market. And if it’s harder for new entrants to join the market, Wal*Mart can raise its prices with less fear of competitive threat.

(and then have some pie)

If you’re skinny at age 40, you’re statistically likely to live 5 years less than your slightly chubby counterparts

I would guess this is because as you age, your muscles and bones maintain themselves better because you have more to carry around (but not enough to overlard, er, overload your heart). Also, those fat reserves can come in handy in emergencies, etc. Still, it does seem a bit counter-intuitive.

Anyone want a pop-tart?

In 1927, for example, President Calvin Coolidge’s sixteen-year old son Calvin Jr. developed a blister playing tennis without socks. It became infected. Five days later, he died. Before the advent of antibiotics, tragedies like this were routine.

1927???? Holy cow.

A textbook example of graceful rejection.

*Update* - they changed the article and removed all of these numbers, and added an amusing mistake: 1.5F (-17C) - heh.

hmmm

If today’s generation acts on climate change, the average US temperature will rise 0.4C-1.83C (4-6.5F) by the end of this century, said the draft, which was finalised in April.

If it does not, average temperatures could rise by about 2.1C-4.3C (7-11F) with catastrophic consequences for human health and the economy.

First, there’s no way those pairs of numbers go together, unless you roughly double the number, and add three.

Assuming that 180 degrees Fareinheit == 100 degrees Celsius (32 - 212 vs 0 - 100), then 0.4 degrees Celsius == 0.4 * 1.8 –> .72 degrees Farenheit, and 1.83 Celsus –> 3.3 Farenheit.

I mean, if I said the temperature rose from 25 degrees Celsius to 25.4 degrees Celsius, that’s…

C*9/5+32 == 77 –> 77.72 Farenheit.

A little over a year ago, I had an idea for a YA novel that would use an infant dragon as the protagonist. It turns out that someone’s already written that, so I can just enjoy their hard work instead!

Gunboat Diplomat? Attitude Adjuster? I know those names!

Pain as a moral good

It’s only a rumor, but I’ll go ‘Woo hoo!’ anyways.

Coyote sez:
“Archives: You gotta go see the big documents. The Bill of Rights, a copy of Magna Carta, the Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence are all there (though the Declaration has really faded).”

Ha!

(My emphasis)

May of 2009 - Global temperatures are now just 0.04 degrees above the 20th century average. Compare and contrast with the 0.75 degrees above average we saw in 1998.

hat tip: Watts Up With That?

*update* - fixed a wayward quote mark to fix the presentation.

This is neat

This too