March 2010
20 posts
5 tags
5 tags
“Combat deaths are seen as a measure of the magnitude and dangerousness of war,...”
– - Better
Now that is an explanation for falling murder rates that I have never heard before. Freakonomics suggested abortion, and mayors and the police credit themselves.
Also, the book is phenomenal. Highly recommended.
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3 tags
Teaching my sister about economic fundamentals
CR: Is it unacceptable to have a beard?
Me: I don't think that anyone in finance has a beard.
CR: But doesn't Paul Krugman have a beard?
Me: He's an economist. If you're an economist you HAVE to have a beard.
CR: Oh!
Me: See, that's the difference between finance and econ.
1 tag
What does the Health-care Law mean for you? →
A nifty little tool from the Washington Post.
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“People keep talking about ‘what’s the hardest thing, are you depriving...”
– No Impact Man, The Documentary (Netflix)
I’d read about this project in the New York Times and the New Yorker, and had impressions that this guy was pretty lame. This movie was a pretty good one, and I enjoyed what he was doing, and enjoyed the supportive and positive relationship he had with his...
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Renting v Buying an UWS 1-BR
At tonight’s awesome blogger meet up I spoke a bit with an interesting real estate agent/blogger. He told me that: * a one bedroom apartment on the west side, near central park, from the mid 60s through the 80s can probably be bought for $500,000 * Manhattan buyers are getting mortgages with 20% down, at rates below 6%
Bankrate says that a $400,000 mortgage at 5.75% will run you $2,330 per...
2 tags
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Bee-keeping in NYC →
That sounds cool.
Money-wise: $500 apparently equals 20,000 bees plus equipment, which should be >25 lbs of honey per year. So if honey costs $5.79/lb (if you need a zip code, try 10024), and your operating costs are de-minimis, then the bees and equipment only have to last 4 years to get your money’s worth - if you love lots of honey.
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pambeckman:
Not having coffee in the house for the third straight morning, and it is not ok. Beckman needs to wake up to the smell of the auto-brewing for the day to start off right. Murray and I are off to Starbucks…
I have trouble finding a balance with coffee. I gave it up for several weeks a few years ago, and life without it was just…gray. But when I drink it every day, I have...
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“From whence shall we expect the approach of danger? Shall some trans-Atlantic...”
– - Abraham Lincoln in his adress to the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois, 1838 (via jamesnord)
a) this may explain some of the fear of Soviet nukes (other than the well-deserved fear) - after they built the Bomb, the US became vulnerable to outside annihilation for the first time....
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Michael Burry - probably one of the best investors... →