Monopoly goes plastic

Why not skip debit cards altogether, and just package a DIY RFID chip kit, or a biometric fingerprint reader?

[via tha kott]

Compact Flourescent Lightbulbs

Replacing just one 60W bulb in your house with a compact flourescent bulb could save $1 BILLION with a "B" per year, if everyone in the US did it.

I knew compact flourescents were way more efficient, but that's some crazy math. We use one in our dog's room, for an exterior light just outside our basement door, and have more to replace other exterior lights once the current bulbs burn out.

We've found they just don't work for living spaces, though. I put one in our family room light for a night, and the light is just so, well, flourescent. Makes my brain hurt. Still, I'd think most people would have somewhere that one would make sense. They also last much longer, and don't generate the heat of a regular bulb.

[via kottke]

Put your money where your heart is

http://www.choosetheblue.com

Sounds like a pretty good plan to me. I've already tried to do this to the extent that I know about particular companies, but this site makes it pretty easy to see which company is on which side of the fence.

I actually wanted to do a site like this myself, but I haven't found the time. Now I don't have to, someone else did it for me. :-)


From the Choose Blue main page:

States that favored Kerry had higher IQ and higher personal incomes.

Maybe there was something to the caption on the cover of the Daily Mirror from yesterday?

This web page correlates the average IQ's of the states residents with the candidate that they voted for.

On another web page they correlate the average income of the states residents with the candidate that they voted for.

Apparently we need to either get more money into the red states for education, or introduce some genes from the blues states into the gene pool of the red states to help get their IQ's up above that 100 point threshhold?

Crazy Moneyball Stat

Over the weekend, I heard a stat that kinda made my brain wobble. Anyone who's read Moneyball (I haven't yet) probably won't be surprised, though.

Including the current season's games up to Saturday, and the past 4 full seasons, the Oakland A's have won just one fewer game than the New York Yankees.

This year, the A's payroll is $59,825,167.
The Yankees payroll is $183,335,513.

Duhon, from behind the $30 mil line...

As Duke's Chris Duhon hit a seemingly meaningless 3 pointer at the last second against UConn, John F. exclaimed, "He just blew the spread!"

Duhon's shot is estimated to have swung bet outcomes anywhere from $30-100 million dollars, and bets that were made for Duke to cover the spread were suddenly winners.

Nice doggie...

Check out these bad-ass Nigerian mofos with hyenas and baboons. When Seth and I were travelling from Botswana to Vic Falls, we came across a dead hyena on the road. That thing was freakin' big and intimidating dead.

Can you imagine the streak in your drawers (ahem, Q), if these guys came by for a visit? I don't think the pile in your shorts would keep them from finding your money. I'll bet Nigerian 419 scams would be a lot more effective with an added threat of hyena attack...

via boing boing

Moving a lot of new currency?

Be sure to wrap it in tinfoil. The newly designed bills contain RFID chips. Just don't microwave it. Technology, Ho!

via boing boing

Harvard figures it out

Harvard is guaranteeing that households earning less than $40,000 annually won't have to pay for their children's education at the school, which plans to reach out more to students from low- and moderate-income families. "We want to send the strongest possible message that Harvard is open to talented students from all economic backgrounds," President Lawrence Summers said.

This year, tuition, room, board and fees at Harvard cost $37,928.

uh. gee.. thanks Harvard...

Bartman foul ball goes for $106,000, will be destroyed

A group of buyers that included Harry Caray's widow Dutchie bought the ball, and will destroy it on Feb. 26th during the annual toast to Harry.

Steve Bartman will be invited to the ceremony.

What Goes Around

Too many elk shirts from loved ones at the holidays? (Let's not go there, okay?) Well, this site can help you avoid more crap you don't need and help those you like to help. Everyone wins, and you don't have to stand in line to return that acrylic sweater.

I first read about this in Anna Quindlen's latest article in Newsweek.

You can find my givelist here.

(They could use a little help with those URLs.)

Well Paid Cartoon Characters

Forbes' annual list.

Spongebob had a good year for a 4 year old.

Ban On Russian Ads Showing Euro Having Sex With the Dollar

----

Magazine publisher Igor Maltsev said he did not realise what the posters were supposed to represent.

"I thought the currencies were dancing on our poster," he said.

"But after hearing from Mr Presnyakov I saw that, yes, maybe, this is a love scene."

How Rich Are You?

I'm loaded. It's official. I'm the 53,957,565 richest person on earth.

I am in the top 0.899% richest people in the world.

There are 5,946,042,435 people poorer than me.

yay!

CD Price Drop From Universal

When CDs first were introduced we were always promised the price would eventually drop as the technology became cheaper. Well, nearly 25 years later Universal has finally annouced it is lowering the (wholesale) price of CDs to around $9.09, with the stated intension of eventually bringing the MSRP down to $10! Hopefully the other majors will soon follow suit. I dunno 'bout you guys, but I'd gladly plop down $10 for a CD rather than pay to download a bunch of warbly MP3s from iTunes. I'm no audiophile, but I have flexi-discs from the 70s that have better sound quality than even high bit-rate mp3.

Net Riddle

Solve the riddle, win the money.

Perfect for the recently (or soon to be) unemployed.

Keanu, Good Guy

Keanu shares the wealth with the production people who made the movie so cool.

This on top of the Harley motorcycles he bought for the stunt people, not to mention the money he's given to leukemia research on his sister's behalf.

Rock on, Keanu. It's nice to see someone value the people who help them be great.

Gates and Brokaw blow off $6 coffee tab

Therefore, as a service for potential victims of very rich people pretending to be normal people doing normal things in real places, we offer the following suggestions. Make a quick assessment of the coherence and competence of the entourage(s). You're looking for a harrassed but authoritative-looking person, possibly with a clipboard, barking orders - she (it quite frequently is she) may well order someone to give you $50 in order to get rid of you. In the case of the particular Watertown incident our guess is that the Gates entourage probably was not the one to approach; we've noted that Microsoft entourages, though frequently quite large, tend toward the uncoordinated.

via scripting news

2,623,684,608,000 Pennies

Ever wonder how big a cube comprised of ten thousand pennies would be? A million? A billion? I've spent many a sleepless night haunted by such questions. Well, my nightmares will soon be vanquished now that I have experienced the Megapenny Project.

What's $8 Billion, Between Friends?

Does Don Johnson have the smuggler's blues, caught with $8 billion (yes, billion) by German police?

Then again, that's chump change. Try getting caught with Two Trillion Dollars...

Gay Pride Twenties, coming soon to a wallet near you

Does anyone besides me think this is weird?

Dr. Seuss on the Economy

In today's Trib, economist Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors, expounds on the current recession: "Growth is up, growth is down, the economy's growth is all over town."

He later suggested that Cindy-Lou Who might be out of a job at the Whoville Truffula Refinery by the end of the quarter.

Corporations still own our court system

The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld lengthier copyrights protecting the profits of songs, books and cartoon characters -- a huge victory for Disney and other companies.

Hundreds of thousands of books, movies and songs were close to being released into the public domain when Congress extended the copyright by 20 years in 1998.

A contrary ruling would have cost entertainment giants like The Walt Disney Co. and AOL Time Warner Inc. hundreds of millions of dollars. At risk of expiration was protection for the version of Mickey Mouse portrayed in Disney's earliest films, such as 1928's "Steamboat Willie."

Congress passed the copyright law after heavy lobbying from companies with lucrative copyrights.

A nice story for a change

Contrasting the huge wealth in the world with the myriad ranks of the poor, this guy started the Grameen organization. It got it's start taking out loans on behalf of the poor, who couldn't get them themselves. (Sorry yer a credit risk.) But a little money could pull people out of their situation and this bank now works only with the poor.

Playboy Gets Bang-up Response To Last Wish

You can have a portion of this man's fortune, but it's going to cost you. If any of the ladies of House8 decide to do this... er, him... I get half as a finder's fee.

Illinois hideous quarter designs

Just in case there's anyone left in the solar system who doesn't associate Abe Lincoln with Illinois, he's thoughtfully included on the winning quarter design for Illinois...

Graphic Designers should clench their buttocks before clicking the link to all 5 design finalists for the coin. They feature the ugliest font ever created & appear to have been designed by a committee of eighth graders shortly before the 3:00 bell rang.

Connecticuts tree coin remains the best.

Jack Welch's GE Retirement

How about a little class warfare?

Jack Welch, ex-CEO of GE is going theough a nasty divorce, and his wife has generously provided a detailed list of his perks

Or maybe you'd rather peruse Forbes' magazine Fictional Fifteen, the world's richest pretend people

via The Smoking Gun

Jack Welch's GE Retirement

How about a little class warfare?

Jack Welch, ex-CEO of GE is going theough a nasty divorce, and his wife has generously provided a detailed list of his perks

Or maybe you'd rather peruse Forbes' magazine Fictional Fifteen, the world's richest pretend people

via The Smoking Gun

Jack Welch's GE Retirement

How about a little class warfare?

Jack Welch, ex-CEO of GE is going theough a nasty divorce, and his wife has generously provided a detailed list of his perks

Or maybe you'd rather peruse Forbes' magazine Fictional Fifteen, the world's richest pretend people

via The Smoking Gun

Save Karyn

Ok, so she ran up some foolishly huge debt, but by harnessing the power of the internet, we can save her.

Snopes Debunks Johnny Monorail!

Well, not really, but there are some pretty funny pictures...

Air Miles 'Threaten Dollar's Dominance'

Imagine paying a parking fine in Air Miles...

Space Available

A photo essay on the exodus of the dot-commers from San Francisco and the Bay Area.

Most of this pre-1997 crowd reported doing well and being excited that some of the hype is gone and the city can get back to being a more diverse place now that the irrational money has had a reality check.

The general belief was that the people who have left the city must not have lived their long enough to build professional support networks. And, they didn't come to the city because they loved the it or technology, they were after easy money. When the easy money went, so did they.

via Peterme

Wallet Makers Style New Euro-Fit Designs

A Treasury statement hailed the return of the coin-carrying purse and sought to reassure the fashion-conscious Italian public that the euro will not offend their sense of style.

"Leather-goods makers are getting their act together and have already designed new collections of "euro-compatible" products," the Treasury said.

Well thank Kee-rist for that! As long as there's something in a Leopard print.

I guess I never really thought about Europe changing currency in terms of wallet sizes and whatnot. No wonder they're all so cranky about the Euro. We Umuricuns certainly got our undies all in a bundle when the mint decided to re-design the quarter. Can you imagine if they suddenly tried to replace the paper dollar with a coin that was worth $5.00?

The Sacagawea golden dollar, which I just saw in person for the first time a couple of weeks ago, appears to be a smash hit. So much so, the mint has begun turning the surplus into high class jewelry.

It's a bit of a shame we can't get used to a dollar coin. English pound coins are so aesthetically pleasing. I haven't seen the new 2 pound coin yet, though. Maybe we should go to London after all, Graf!