It really is a small world; who would have thought… Everyone knows about Bernie (Madoff). And the people who read this blog are at the cutting edge because they also know about Dan Ariely, who was the subject of a post last month. Dan is a Behavioral Economist and the author of the best selling … Continue reading
Walter Cronkite passed away today, so we are down one icon. But thankfully the Economist’s Big Mac Index soldiers on. In a previous post we expressed concern that Big Mac might be supplanted by Big White, but our fears were unfounded. Herewith the latest Index, no ketchup required. Just to review, The Economist has been … Continue reading
This wasn’t going to be a post about multi-tasking, but I got distracted. And then I realized I was…wait for it… multi-tasking! But before we get to multi-tasking, my original purpose was to review an audible.com book. “Audible” books are a great way to spend your time when you are already spending your time. It’s … Continue reading
I know great food. I can’t tell you what it is, but I know it when I eat it. The Supremes would approve. Normally, when people write about food there is a drop-dead gorgeous picture of a serving sitting on the plate. It’s always beautiful and mouth-watering. Blah, blah, beautiful, scrumptous, juicy, simmering, yummy, whatever! I … Continue reading
Here are a number of Quotes from the main stream media this week. I’m not going to name the people who uttered the following because they would (hopefully) be embarrassed. The leading cause of death is old age. This was said in support of the idea that we should take antibiotics or other drugs to slow … Continue reading
The Credit Card guys have a bunch of algorithms to spot fraud. Supposedly, a sure-fire way to set off alarm bells a few years ago were these charges: A gas tank fillup. Another gas tank fillup. A charge at a Sporting Goods store. The idea was that the stolen card is first used to fill … Continue reading
Traveling in a foreign country teaches you to get familiar with a few key words in the local dialect, especially if you are language-challenged like me. So it’s been natural for me to learn some PLU when I venture out to the grocery store. Especially since PLU’s are just numbers. It’s not that I can … Continue reading
It came as a surprise to me that doing Art might have healing powers. When I shared this insight with Leslie I got the “you pitiful creature” look. And what else should I have expected from a full time artist? Dunno. Nevertheless, I feel compelled to spread it around. Most of the people who read … Continue reading
As readers of the blog know, I came out of the closet a while back and confessed that I married into a (wonderful) Rio Linda family. Over the past 20+ years I’ve been there more times than I can remember for family functions, holidays, BBQ’s and whatever. As a result, I believe I’ve got the … Continue reading
Is it possible that The Economist is moving towards replacing its Big Mac Index with a Big White Index? The Economist has been publishing their (not so tongue-in-cheek) Big Mac Index since 1986. It’s a reality check on world-wide currency exchange rates, based on the concept of Purchasing-Power Parity. Purchasing-Power Parity (PPP) says that exchange … Continue reading
This week from the Daily Telegraph of London, it’s reported that a gang of German Pensioners kidnapped and tortured a financial adviser after he lost their money on a Florida property investment scheme. The adviser was held in the basement of a vacation home, and over a period of four days was burned with cigarettes, … Continue reading