Pizza Box of the Future

So simple, yet so amazing: http://www.asylum.com/2009/04/28/the-pizza-box-of-the-future-has-arrived/

100 Days

Today marks President Obama's 100th day in office.

CNN's First 100 Days in Pictures: http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/16/100.days.gallery/index.html

First 100 Days Then and Now: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/04/29/us/politics/20090429-100-days-then-now-graphic.html

Communities Printing Their Own Money?!?!?!

"As U.S. dollars and credit vanish in this economic crisis, more communities are looking into printing their own currencies."

"This concept isn't new. During the Great Depression dozens of complementary currencies flourished as thousands of banks failed. Today, it's estimated there are at least 2,500 complementary currency systems around the world, says Bernard Lietaer, a co-founder of the Euro and a local currency proponent."

"In the United States, there are alternative currency systems in California, Wisconsin, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Massachusetts."

"BerkShares are a form of local currency developed in the Berkshire region of Massachusetts two years ago. About 350 merchants accept BerkShares in addition to U.S. currency. People pay 95 federal cents to get one BerkShare or $95 for 100 BerkShares."

Read more at:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/wayoflife/04/22/printing.own.currency/

Clever Intramural Team Names

Here are some of the most clever intramural team names I have ever seen:

'Wii Not Fit'

'Slumdunk Millionaire'

'Bernie Madoff Madoff with our Talent'

'No Game This Week' (A horrific team named themselves this hoping that they could win by forfeit as the other team would assume that didn't need to show up)

The Most Popular Sport You've Never Heard Of

I present cup stacking:

http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/cup-stacking-the-most-popular/6065E56E-1FCD-4637-80E5-40F7AF8FD17D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyU5v0ZYMjI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNG3sgk02Lc

The Education Gap

Thomas Friedman had a great article on Tuesday in the NY Times highlighting the education gap in this country:

"In the 2006 Program for International Student Assessment that measured the applied learning and problem-solving skills of 15-year-olds in 30 industrialized countries, the U.S. ranked 25th out of the 30 in math and 24th in science. That put our average youth on par with those from Portugal and the Slovak Republic."

The whole article is well worth the read, and highlights what can be done, and what would have been possible if we worked to close the education gap sooner.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/22/opinion/22friedman.html?_r=1&em

Game Boy

The Nintendo Game Boy—the most popular game console of all time— was first introduced on April 21st, 1989.

Here is the 20 years history of the device that shaped the video game industry: http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2009/04/gameboy-timeline-HD2.jpg

Earth Day '09

What the world could look like in 2010:
http://lifestyle.msn.com/your-life/living-green/staticslideshowgreenchan.aspx?cp-documentid=18995580&GT1=34129

Paying It Forward

Patrons of the Harbor View Café in Charlevoix, Michigan got something strange with their meal last Wednesday.

In addition to being told their food, drink and gratuity were already paid for, they were asked to consider participating in their own act of benevolence.

“Someone who works for a local business owner just kind of came in on Monday (April 6) and presented the proposal,” said Harbor View Café owner Elizabeth Rich. “I thought it was a wonderful thing.”

The proposal was simple: The anonymous person or persons would reimburse Rich for all meals given throughout the business day of April 8.

On the bottom of each customer’s check, was printed the following: “Your meal and your server’s gratuity are the treat of an anonymous business owner today. All he asks is that you consider doing something kind and unexpected for someone else in the next week or perhaps take the money you would have spent there and contribute it or spend it elsewhere in our community. Thanks!”

The restaurant, located at 100 East Antrim St. in the Oleson’s Plaza, served more than 100 customers between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. that day.

Local resident Rachel Boss, who ate breakfast with a friend and her daughter, was shocked by the gesture.

“Not many people do these kinds of things these days,” she said. “It is very kind.”

Rich said the anonymous benefactor did something similar in another community, wherein he owns a business, with great success.

“One of our first customers just said ‘thanks’ and left a $20 bill on the table for the server,” she said.

The anonymous business owner paid nearly $900 to cover the cost of all the meals and tips.

“My whole dining room was full at lunchtime,” Rich said. “I did get some neat comments like ‘I hope it comes back to you 10 fold.’”

Other pleased patrons told Rich they were going to donate money to local schools and even help the family who were victims of a recent house fire.

While many speculated on just who the benefactor was, Rich said he wished to remain completely anonymous.


From: http://www.charlevoixcourier.com/articles/2009/04/14/news/doc49e487833abf5286515275.txt

Daily Links

Most Stunning City Skylines: http://www.forbestraveler.com/best-lists/skylines-international-slide-1.html?partner=playlist&thisSpeed=25000

Texas Governor Talks of Secession: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30252723/?gt1=43001

The 50 Most Brilliant Atheists of All Time: http://digg.com/d1opcn

"Bad Ass Number Crunchers"

Working for the IRS and carrying a gun.

Read on to find out....

http://www.cnbc.com/id/30226739/

Prison Nation

It's become a depressingly predictable event. Every few months, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, releases new figures showing that the US prison population has grown yet again and has reached a new all-time high.

As of June 30, 2008, more than 2.3 million people were behind bars in this country -- an increase of almost 20 percent just since 2000. This gives the United States an incarceration rate of 762 per 100,000 residents - the highest rate in the world, dwarfing those of other democracies like Great Britain (152 per 100,000), Canada (116), and Japan (63).

It wasn't always like this. For much of the 20th century, the US incarceration rate remained fairly stable. It began to climb sharply in the late 1970s, as a result of policy changes like mandatory minimum sentencing and the widespread abolition of parole. In the 1980s and 1990s, the "war on drugs" and "three strikes" laws fueled further growth. More people were going to prison, and staying there for longer periods of time. By 2004, the incarcerated population was six times what it had been in 1972.

Contrary to popular belief, the growing prison population has little or nothing to do with an increase in crime. In fact, crime rates fell steadily between 1991 and 2006, eventually reaching levels not seen since the 1960s. Yet the incarceration rate increased by more than 50 percent in that same period. It's clear, then, that political choice, not crime, has given the United States its massive prison and jail population.

There are signs that change may be on the way. Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA), long a critic of America's love affair with incarceration, has called the US criminal justice system "a national disgrace" and urged "a major nationwide recalculation of who goes to prison and for how long."

Our dysfunctional criminal justice system has been a long time in the making, and no one should have any illusions that it will be fixed overnight. But a National Criminal Justice Commission would be an important first step toward ending our shameful status as the world's leading prison nation.

From http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpost/20090410/cm_huffpost/185377

Wine....ON TAP?????

From the NY Times:

"Wine, stored in kegs and served through a method similar to a draft-beer line, may be the glorious future of by-the-glass pours in bars and restaurants."

"It’s just a trickle right now, but the keg and tap system has successfully taken hold in restaurants in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and in wine bars in the city of Napa, Calif.; in Atlanta; and in Traverse City, the heart of Michigan wine country. And it’s coming soon to New York City."

Full Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/08/dining/08pour.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

The Miniature Earth

The one video everyone should see:
http://www.miniature-earth.com/me_english.htm

Please forward it on...

Behind the Scenes @ Netflix

Picture Slideshow of the behind the scenes action at Netflix:

http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2007/08/23/netflix/

Oops!!

The University of California at San Diego mistakenly congratulated nearly 29,000 applicants on their acceptance earlier this month.

17,000 students were chosen as accepted students in the class of 2013, resulting in nearly 29,000 hopefuls being denied admission.

However, the school's communications office confirmed that a congratulatory e-mail was sent to all 46,377 students who applied for admission -- including the 29,000 who were rejected -- welcoming them to the campus.

A half-hour later, school officials said, they realized their mistake. Almost two hours after the first note went out, a second e-mail was sent, apologizing to 28,889 freshmen applicants for the mistake.


From: http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Youre-Out-Youre-In-No-Youre-Out.html?yhp=1

The Power Grab

Amazing article from Rolling Stone about the financial crisis. It will inform you beyond belief, and piss you off to no end.

Here is a snapshot:


"AIG admitted to having just posted the largest quarterly loss in American corporate history — some $61.7 billion. In the final three months of last year, the company lost more than $27 million every hour. That's $465,000 a minute, a yearly income for a median American household every six seconds, roughly $7,750 a second.

And all this happened at the end of eight straight years that America devoted to frantically chasing the shadow of a terrorist threat to no avail, eight years spent stopping every citizen at every airport to search every purse, bag, crotch and briefcase for juice boxes and explosive tubes of toothpaste.

Yet in the end, our government had no mechanism for searching the balance sheets of companies that held life-or-death power over our society and was unable to spot holes in the national economy the size of Libya (whose entire GDP last year was smaller than AIG's 2008 losses)."



The entire article is well worth the read:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/26793903/the_big_takeover

11 Minutes to Save the World

From the Wall Street Journal:

Last week's G20 summit was President Obama's first true international summit and for the most part it was seen as a success.

The "official" business was conducted from 7:30 am to 3:30 pm on April 2nd.

Of that eight hours, or 480 minutes, the first 55 were devoted to arrivals. The next 90 minutes were spent on breakfast, according to the summit schedule. At the 150 minute mark the leaders got together for the all important "family photograph."

Finally, at 10:20 a.m., nearly three hours into the event, the plenary session was slated to start, all 160 minutes of it.

All told the schedule shows 260 minutes for the mechanics of getting the leaders in, feeding them and taking their pictures, and 220 minutes for plenary sessions to talk about the crisis.

If one assumes everybody gets the same amount of time to talk, that gives each of the 20 world leaders exactly 11 minutes of floor time. But there's a catch. There are actually 30 attendees listed on the conference schedule, including the leaders of organizations like the Association of South East Asian Nations, the Financial Stability Forum, the International Monetary Fund, and so on.

So, assuming the equal time rule applies, each leader really gets a little over 7 minutes to convince the others about whatever their plan is for stimulus spending, financial regulation, boosting the IMF, or a global currency.

The Worst Ceremonial First Pitches in History

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVMiJdHTfUo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eDzJ_K9i_0

Pizza Mistake

Domino's is out nearly 11,000 free pizzas due to web promotion that was never approved by company executives.

Domino's had prepared an Internet coupon for a "bailout" ad campaign.

The promotion was considered in December but never activated.

On Tuesday, someone discovered the code word "bailout" was good for a free medium pizza. They ordered one for themselves and and posted the information online.

Word spread like wildfire displaying the sheer power of the internet.

It took a couple of hours for the company to realize what had happened but before they knew it they had served up 11,000 free pizzas.

Health Care

This morning in London, President Obama gave a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

President Obama spoke about the severity of the current economic crisis, noting the negative effects it has had on individuals jobs, worker's salaries, families' savings, and the overall financial system.

He went on to mention how it is causing extreme hardships around the globe because people are losing their health care coverage. He quickly had to correct himself, stating that was mostly an American problem.

This was a small portion of a vastly important news conference, but it reiterates one of the most fundamental shortfalls of our great country. Although health care leaves much to be desired overseas, it is provided to everyone, and is perceived as a right, not a privilege. We should never stop striving to achieve that same reality here.

Largest Banks 1999 and Today

What a crazy 10 years it has been.

Here is a comparison of the largest financials institutions in the world from 1999 to 2009. Click on each image to see a larger version.

1999:

2009: