Gin, Television, and Social Surplus – Here Comes Everybody via kwout

Seriously 200 billion hours squandered watching TV. Now Jeannie pointed out rightly that the people watching all that TV and the people writing long articles on the wikipedia might not be the same people. Meaning that if we were to all give up TV simultaneously the world wouldn’t likely jump up and start to do useful things. Holy crap 200 billion hours of TV blows my mind.

Decor Craft Inc., originally uploaded by timbu.

If I bought this keen cup I would probably break it by throwing it in the waste basket accidentally. It’s still cool.

The Economist has a great style guide online. Of particular note is the section on Americanisms.

“If you use Americanisms just to show you know them, people may find you a tad tiresome, so be discriminating. Many American words and expressions have passed into the language; others have vigour, particularly if used sparingly. “

I am from here, I can’t help myself.

Warren Buffet isn’t always right, but this Fortune article titled, “Squanderville versus Thriftville” from 2003 was dead on in some respects. I can’t say I favor his solution of tarriffs, but it is still an interesting read.

That link reminds me of this presentation on the sub-prime crisis that I found informative.

If that didn’t cheer you up try this one, “The Pentagon Strangles Our Economy: Why the U.S. Has Gone Broke“.