Alan Kohler at the Business Spectator down in Australia does his best to explain CDOs, CDSs, and SPVs, then gets down to brass tacks: It is now getting very interesting. The three Icelandic banks have defaulted, as has Countrywide, Lehman and Bear Stearns. AIG has been taken over by the US Government, which is counted […]
In case you don’t know, there is a trend on the internet known as Rickrolling: Rickrolling is an Internet meme typically involving the music video for the 1987 Rick Astley song “Never Gonna Give You Up”. The meme is a bait and switch: a person provides a Web link they claim is relevant to the […]
Here’s a graph of US housing prices since 1975, both the stated prices and the same prices adjusted for inflation: As you can see, once you adjust for inflation, housing prices have peaked and then fallen three times in the last 30 years. I remember looking at a $35,000 house in the semi-rural area near […]
I have recently been re-reading The Ancient State by Hugh Nibley and just this morning finished reading “The Hierocentric State” (originally published back in 1951 in Western Political Quarterly 4/2). The article itself suggests that key aspects of the vast nomadic cultures of Central Asia (e.g., the Mongols) were idealized and emulated by more sedentary […]
Hell, this makes more sense than a lot of what Congress and the US Treasury are doing right now: True fact: I own a Pets.com sock puppet. I keep it in my office to remind me of the idiocies of the late 90s Tech Bubble. Problem is, I’m not the one who needs reminding. Hat […]
From the pages of Wall Street Journal via Greg Mankiw’s Blog, word of a sharp drop in the demand for mistresses for the rich and powerful: According to a new survey by Prince & Assoc., more than 80% of multimillionaires who had extra-marital lovers planned to cut back on their gifts and allowances. Still, only […]
Image o’ the day: At least the contribution is voluntary. Hat tip to The Consumerist. ..bruce w..
Statistics from Option Armageddon (click chart for a larger view): Any wonder that Citi needs a bailout?
Thanksgiving Day menu
We have family and friends coming over for dinner (actually, two of our grandsons have been here since Sunday; we’ve been having a great time with the Wii, the ping pong table, and the air hockey table), a total of 10 people. Here’s what I’m fixing for dinner: roast turkey (22.5 lbs) corn bread stuffing […]
Read More