From will: The local D.C. station has a slideshow of the most beautiful people on capitol hill. #1 was my D.A.R.E teacher in third grade. He's even more beautiful when he's exposing himself to you in the back of class.
The 'copters are playing the Double Door tonight at 8. The two winners of the show will play Lollapalooza this weekend, so all you Copterheads in the area better show up in force.
Wanted to use this thread for well wishes, and to lay down predictions on which other band will join the 'copters at Lollapalooza. My money is on Shockstars, just b/c they are the only other band from Chicago in the show. -decker
Informative article in the NY Times about why health care costs are more expensive in US than other countries in the world. It claims our doctors make 2 to 3 times more on average than in Europe. It points out that simply just cutting doctors salaries would lead to lower quality doctors since would-be doctors would go into other professions. It also points out that the cost of med school is now very high, although I would argue that's caused by the expected high earnings of doctors who become willing to pay a high price for the education.
It seems to me that the problem is a lack of price elasticity on medical procedures. The problem is that doctors recommend procedures, which are expensive, and the patients decide whether to buy the procedures, but it is the insurance providers that pay most of the bills. Since the patient in most cases pays relatively little for any given procedure, there is little price elasticity. This encourages doctors to raise the prices, which are charged to the insurance providers, which are spread around to everyone's insurance premiums. The same is true for drugs, although apparently costs in the US aren't as out of wack there. If patients had to pay a bigger portion of the bills, they would decline procedures more often, encouraging doctors to lower their prices. Of course, hospitals are obligated to provide urgent care, even for the uninsured, so in some cases the patient can't even decline (and bills go unpaid - again the costs are eventually spread to the premiums of the insured). I don't know exactly what the solution is, but I think that is a reasonable explanation of why medical costs are high in the US. But I'd like to hear other theories.
The Best Footballer (read Soccer player)...Thu Aug 2 2007
...and he is only 9. This kid is just ridiculous - too bad he signed with such a crap team. Manchester United just accepted him into their Youth Academy, I expect to see him on the pitch with the first team by the time he is 14. Filed under Art because this kid makes Christiano Ronaldo look like the prima donna punk that he is.
The tax break given to hedge fund and private equity partners is not authorized by any law and was never approved by Congress.A general partner of a private equity or hedge fund typically receives two types of compensation: a management fee tied to some percentage of assets under management and "carried interest" tied to some percentage of the profits generated by those assets(reference). Carried interest is taxed at the capital gains rate of 15% and can represent the majority of the managers' compensation. It's ridiculous, because the 15% taxation rate is meant for the owners of the equity who are taking on downside risk, not for people doing their jobs. -decker
From miolla: You have a Hello Kitty armband on. You live in Thailand. You are a cop. You do something bad. You'll be shamed by having to wear a Hello Kitty armband around the office.
And just for the record, on a recent flight Delta issued me someone else's boarding pass, TSA let me through security with an ID that didn't match at all, and the gate agent let me board.
...but for those who are interested in the recent market downturn, the WSJ offers a good explanation of what the causes were. The article is free for now, but I don't expect that to last for long.
They trace to changes in the banking system provoked by the collapse of the savings-and-loan industry in the 1980s, the reaction of governments to the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s, and the Federal Reserve's response to the 2000-01 bursting of the tech-stock bubble.
I wish we had a gif of an artist with a line through him so I could mark this as "Not Safe for CFA Students." -decker
AT&T censors Pearl Jam's webcast from Lollapalooza. They apparently didn't appreciate what Vedder had to say about the president. AT&T is calling it a 'mistake'. The Pearl Jam writeup brings up some interesting points about net neutrality. -hendrix
GTAre You Going To The Mall Later.... Fri Aug 10 2007
GTA 4 is going to be delayed, and the indian dude from the onion is pissed. - From Will
I have also heard that the Xbox 360 version may be a degraded version of the game... Microsoft doesn't want games to depend on the use of the optional Xbox 360 hard drive... - JT
From Caldeira: This random guy made a video for us, and it's pretty cool. The live footage (filmed at the Lollapalooza Last Band Standing finals) doesn't seem to fit the rest of the video, but the rest is pretty cool.
Bean: You know that scene in Jedi, when the super star destroyer crashes into the Death Star, and Admiral Ackbar slumps back down into his chair with the body language of both a feeling of accomplishment and a huge weight lifted off his shoulders? That's what I envision Brian's doing right now.
Pretty damn close. I almost drove off the road this morning when the NPR dude announced it. Oh my eye. -edhendrix
He also asked how to implant the video right on there like that. If you're coming from youtube or one of the other flash-video based sites, there's usually a link to embed the video or 'put this on your page' or something similar. Just copy/paste that and it should go.
On a side note, do people like the videos in-line or as links?
Summary of accomplishments: • 5-time All-Star (1942, 1950-1953) • American League MVP (1950) • Never struck out more than 42 times in a season • Anchored Yankee teams that won seven of nine World Series in his 13-year career • Served three years with the Navy in World War II • Yankees uniform No. 10 retired on Phil Rizzuto Day in 1985
Ms. Katz finds that some women who are divorcing can’t cash in on the value of a home because they or their spouses borrowed against it. “Women think when they get divorced they can have half of the house,” she said. “Most women don’t realize how much this house is mortgaged.”
An arrested woman was identified as a man and placed in a male detention unit... even after she was strip searched and insisted she was a woman. She's also pregnant with Mayes's child. -decker
Normal Guy Reviews The Worst Game EverFri Aug 17 2007
This is some guy making an attempt to play ET the video game which sucks balls. Seems like he has reviewed an assortment of other horrible games as well... enjoy - JT
Mountain climbers are also converts. Last year Anne Parmenter, a British mountaineer, climbed Everest using boots that had aerogel insoles, as well as sleeping bags padded with the material. She said at the time: “The only problem I had was that my feet were too hot, which is a great problem to have as a mountaineer.”
However, it has failed to convince the fashion world. Hugo Boss created a line of winter jackets out of the material but had to withdraw them after complaints that they were too hot.
Twin sisters bilk the government for $20 million. They charged just under (pinky to mouth) $1 million to ship a couple lock washers. There should be a new crime created for defrauding the government with penalties up to and including death. It's like beating up on handicapped kids.
I would like to thank the one sister for offing herself and saving everyone the effort.
Jeter gave Alba the herp. Fo' reals. This is some random gossip site, but the term "Chasing the Valtrex dragon" makes it worth the post. Also, their hookup web is a bit of entertainment. - hendrix
Krahulik agrees. "One time in high school, someone broke into my locker and stole my stuff, so I had to wear gym clothes for the rest of the day," he says, wincing at the memory. "I developed humor as a defense mechanism. Now I drive a fucking Mercedes."
Nickell the link along with this: Our leader in the fight against poverty - a hero to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. . . I'm waiting for him to announce he's returning his "advisor's fee" and the $150K of campaign money . . .still waiting . . .
WithLeather.com provides us with a glimpse into Chelsea's Frank Lampard demands in order to sign a new contract with the club. These are all hilarious.
Somewhat NSFW due to his lady-friend dressing like a stripper. - JT
The mannequin had on a pair of jeans with a couple small rips in the denim, and a button-down white shirt that wasn't tucked in. Now, you see these two pieces of clothing on their own and you think, "This guy's a dickhead." But throw in that navy blue V-neck, and suddenly we got an interesting fucking dichotomy going on. Did this guy wake up, throw on some clothes, and just happen to look awesome? Or—or—is he about to go out to a bar and be the envy of everyone who is too dressed up or not dressed up enough? Either way, the guy's golden. He cares, but he doesn't. Two levels.
Gonzales Resigns. Not quite as late as Rummy, but there it is. Can't wait to see what kind of incompetent douche bag they scrounge up to fill in for him. - hendrix (in case you couldn't tell)
If you're going to buy an HDTV, wait until after the holidays. This seems sort of like common sense, but there's a semi-interesting graphic (MBA approved) about LCD price trends. And there's a couple interesting consumer survey bits which should probably be filed under 'no duh'.
Morgan Stanley research indicates that two-thirds of American households will not buy an HDTV until the price of a 37-inch or larger set drops below $600. The price of a 37-inch L.C.D. set averaged about $1,200 in June, according to iSuppli. “When the price goes to $800, 17 million more Americans will consider buying one,” Mr. Melich said.
The revised supplemental would total about $200 billion, indicating that the cost of the war in Iraq now exceeds $3 billion a week. The bill also covers the far smaller costs of the war in Afghanistan. The Pentagon said recently that the cost of the Iraq war has surpassed $330 billion, while the war in Afghanistan has cost $78 billion.
Recorded music is getting louder at the expense of dynamic range. There's been a trend over time to make songs loud relative to others, and the only way to boost up the average loudness of a song on a CD is to compress the peaks. The result: bad music. -decker
Just wanted to point out this box score for LeBron James from Wednesday night in which he was 11-11 for 26 points, 4 assists, and 3 steals in 14 minutes of court time against Uruguay. That's right, 14 minutes. Homer's comment on Uruguay (sound). -decker
