This (purely notional) book is doomed to failure because it doesn't have some hook, plug into the zeitgeist, or promote a self-congratulatory picture of management ( Read more... )

1. People who pay no income taxes generally aren't enthusiastic about decreases in the income tax rate ( Read more... )

10. Opposite party is distracted by conducting multiple negotiations at once and frequently times out ( Read more... )

jpmassar points out that gold is worth more than platinum todayThe article wins for the most indirect possible way of indicating that the rising price of gold may not be driven by rational reasons: "Despite being a precious metal, most demand for platinum comes from industrial uses, mainly as a key element in auto catalytic converters." But what about the ( Read more... )

Abstract: When the Ancient Ones awake from their slumber, when the Invader fleet[*] finally arrives, when the Unspeakable Horrors from another dimension locate a portal; or the demon hordes escape Hell: how will they divide the Earth? Such entities may not be bound by the same laws of physics we understand, but it is certain that economic ( Read more... )

At dinner last night we were bemoaning the sorry state of the Hugo award nominations, when I had a flash of demented inspiration. Kickstarter + social networking + ranked-choice voting + fantasy sport drafts == get all your friends to vote for their favorite new works, bet on the results, and spin off a little extra cash for the winning artists ( Read more... )

According to one request, long enough to "allow the Hare कrishna Mahamantra... to be fully put on an internet domain name."

I'm not sure why harekrishnaharekrishnakrishnakrishnahareharehareramahareramaramaramaharehare is more spiritually satisfying than hare.krishna.hare.krishna.krishna.krishna.hare.hare.hare.rama.hare.rama.rama.rama.hare.hare, ( Read more... )

In the year 2246, the only word appearing in written English will be "grittier."

I'd be interested in any other exponentially-increasing word frequencies you can find. ;)

(*) frequency doubling every decade, starting from 10^-8 in 1980.

XKCD describes the typical college web site. How about Gustavus?

Items on Front PageCampus photo slideshow: yes ( Read more... )

Usually when I forget to grab my wallet or keys I have to just run back inside and grab them (and hope I didn't lock myself out!) But today marked a new extreme--- I didn't notice that my keys were missing until we'd arrived at our destination, and discovered that I couldn't lock the car doors ( Read more... )