Civics
A Worrying Development
It seems that banks are now so afraid that their counterparts are insolvent, that they are not accepting letters of credit from other banks. This is a bit like a bank refusing to cash a check because the check draws on the account of another bank.
This is bad, because letters of credit are used as [...]
Credit Default Swaps: Another Part of the Puzzle
Something I have not spoken about, because I considered it tangential to the root cause of the current problems with the financial system , is the role of Credit Default Swaps. Although the real problem is that people essentially counterfeited money, credit default swaps were sometimes used as part of this process.
A credit default swap [...]
The Economy. Where we are, why we’re here, and the future. (PART 3)
Continued from Part 2
So whatever happens, we’re going to hurt a lot?
Yes. It’s going to hurt. A deflationary crash would be quick, and extreme. People who watch too many Hollywood movies think this means blood in the streets, but it really just means a lot of hard working people will be on the streets trying [...]
The Economy. Where we are, why we’re here, and the future. (PART 2)
Continued from Part 1
Please explain your three possible futures.
In a deflationary crash, a portion of the money within an economy disappears. This means that money becomes scarce. This means that what money there is becomes very valuable. Because the money looks valuable, everything else looks cheap. That is, prices tend to go down, and people [...]
The Economy. Where we are, why we’re here, and the future. (PART 1)
Where are we, why are we here, and what will happen? This post is my attempt to answers these questions as simply as I can. I have broken this post into three parts for ease of presentation.
This post will link to several other posts that will expand on a point. I will add links as [...]
Selling Old Magic Cards: Time Keeps On Slippin’…, Part Two
On the subject of actually selling my Magic: the Gathering collection, I have a few thoughts that have been tested somewhat and will continue to be tested over the next four-ish months.
The most important three things to do: sort, sort, sort! (hur hur…)
Keep now or forever hold your peace, or “Kill your babies.”
eBay vs. selling [...]
Saturday Potpourri: Well, That’s Settled.
Perhaps the most random thing to date on this blog, but I’m thoroughly amused. While surfing the ‘net on Wednesday I was led (via I-don’t-know-how-many links) to a Yahoo Answers page. Fine. However, at the bottom of the page other questions and answers are pimped, in two categories: “Open Questions” and “Resolved Questions.” I was [...]
13Sep2008 | John | Comments Off | Continued
Selling Old Magic Cards: Time Keeps On Slippin’…, Part One
After literally years of threatening to do it, and a couple of false starts, I’ve finally gotten serious about selling my Magic: the Gathering collection. I don’t have a trove of uber-valuable stuff; what I’ve got is thousands upon thousands of cards that can be sold in the $1 to $10 range. This has two [...]
11Sep2008 | John | Comments Off | Continued
Missing Metropolis Footage Found - How Cool Is That?
I’m behind the times by a few weeks here, but I don’t recall hearing this before so I’m going to guess that some of you haven’t, either. Fritz Lang’s film Metropolis, a seminal work of science fiction and, in my opinion, cyberpunk was originally released in 1927 but after only one viewing was significantly edited [...]
25Jul2008 | John | Comments Off | Continued
Just to be clear - I was as rusty as anybody at the table. It's not like I knew that it would work, I just knew that I was screwed from any sort of conventional point-of-view, so it was time to try something different. Now, having said that
You dirty dawg! This "one of the strongest players" knew exactly how sneaky you are, I just didn't realize it was your actual strategy. Ha-RUMPH.
Next time, blood will coat the streets.
Thanks for the info Ray! I just ordered one today along with an extra main motor, can't wait.
Hi Chad,
Yes, I am very pleased with my heli. The main motor gave up the ghost a few days after the above post, and I had to get another. I bought several, but so far haven't had to replace another. I fully expect to have to replace the current mo
Don't look at me, I'm no fan of tanking games. Every week should be played to their max ability in an effort to try to win. The Seahawks are not the freaking Knicks, afterall.
High draft picks are overrated anyways. You pay a lot of money, tying u
Politicians comes to mind. :D
Hm ... I had a different rationale for why this is stupid: It rewards failure. Businesses demand money from the government to rescue them from foolish and selfish financial decisions. At the same time, they scream against any kind of oversight or 
Hey John,
Nice to see GU coming along. Your 'proposal' makes a lot more sense now that I can see it in action. Very interesting set-up. I'm monitoring my traffic closely post-election. Merging The Big Stick into a larger network may make more sens
Go 'Dawgs, indeed. Richt's successes are more than admirable, and I've missed the hell out of him at the offensive helm these last eight years. Should be a great game, but I give the edge to the 'Dawgs. Even though Tim Tebow once touched a blind