License Plates
The most recent entry in this e-mail discussion was from The Emirates Economist, who sent me this link, which seems to be "carnival" of license plate links.
Economics and the mid-life crisis have much in common:
Both dwell on foregone opportunities
C'est la vie; c'est la guerre; c'est la pomme de terre
. . . . . . . . . . . . . email: jpalmer at uwo dot ca
It is nice to know that in at least one province in Canada, the gubmnt has some confidence in consumer sovereignty....here in Manitoba, the government [sic] introduced legislation on Wednesday to repeal the Margarine Act, the province's law that keeps butter substitutes at arm's length, label-wise, from the real thing.
As Winnipeg radio station CJOB reports:
"The government [sic] wants to repeal the act because they believe people can distinguish the difference by now."
It is silly, not only because of the diversion effect, but also because, in the long-run, the aggregate supply curve is vertical and labour is mobile. Job creation is an empty argument.Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg recently provided a new reason for building a 75,000-seat stadium on the Far West Side of Manhattan - and it's not the Olympics, conventions, or professional football.
"Keep in mind that what this is about is jobs, jobs, jobs - and people need those jobs now," Mr. Bloomberg said the day the Metropolitan Transportation Authority voted to sell development rights to the Jets so that they can build a $2.2 billion home on the Hudson.
Mr. Bloomberg, like so many others, make the implicit claim that if the public doesn't build this stadium it won't get built and if so, then x jobs will no longer exist and/or will never exist. But this is silly.
I know cats and humans are different, but Alan's case deserves serious consideration. His view is consistent with what I wrote earlier here and what Brian Ferguson wrote here.I encountered it recently - my loved one was unwell, and I had an
appointment that day for examination (and experience suggests that even without a family doctor, I could have found one that day or the next). Lab results were available the next day, and the diagnosis a little rough, as home care would be needed. This was arranged the same day. Since then the patient has improved, though we know he has a serious kidney problem and are just trying to keep him well, but he seems to be enjoying life, and really looking forward to this summer.Of course the loved one is my cat.
Why can't we find a way to treat humans so well?
Critical Surgery for Health Care: Canada is currently under-performing virtually all industrialized nations offering universal health coverage. Harris and Manning propose eliminating the federal role in health care management and financing, strengthening health care financing by granting the provinces the tax room vacated by the federal government, eliminating barriers to private delivery and financing of health services, giving Canadians freedom to choose their health care providers, and giving those providers the freedom and incentive to provide faster access to better care at lower cost.
Viagra had been deemed not kosher since 1998 under strict dietary laws over the week-long Jewish spring holiday. ...So Viagra is Kosher, now, so long as the coating is Kosher. I wonder if the same ruling applies to Cialis.
The drug was previously prohibited because its coating was considered inedible over Passover, when contact with everyday ingredients, known as hametz, is forbidden under Jewish law.
...Viagra's Israeli manufacturers said they sought an answer after receiving queries from worried religious men.
Rabbi Mordechai Eliahu said the pill can be swallowed if it is encased in a special soluble kosher capsule first.
The cigarette was smoked at 11:59pm on 9 December 2004 by the owners of popular Auckland bar Malt.
New Zealand introduced a law banning smoking in most public places at midnight on 10 December.
The cigarette butt was described on the auction website TradeMe as a "priceless Kiwiana collector's item".
The successful bidder, who has not been identified, also received a certificate of authenticity, and a mounted display case.
Wisconsin Residents Seek Legalized Cat Hunting
Doyle says cat hunting won't happen
April 13, 2005 — Wisconsin residents support a controversial plan that would allow hunters to take out wild felines that kill birds and other small mammals. Governor Doyle says Wisconsin shouldn't become known as a state that shoots cats
Residents voted 6,830 to 5,201 for the plan last night at the spring meeting of the Wisconsin Conservation Congress.
The Department of Natural Resources says the plan passed in 51 counties, failed in 20, and tied in one. Statewide a majority of votes were in favor.
The question asked residents in all 72 counties whether the state should classify free-roaming cats as an unprotected species. That would allow hunters to kill them at will."Don't shoot 'til you see the nameplate on the collar."
Update: Alex disagrees with the title - says they taste more like rabbit.
The Hungarian Interior Ministry looks set to allow prostitutes to tout for business in shopping malls, local media reported.
The ministry is thinking of allowing dedicated shopping centres where prostitutes could strike deals for sex as long as they move to a place of their own to carry out the transaction, the daily Nepszabadsag said.
As BrianF said when he sent this to me, it would be interesting to learn more about the industries the employers and employees are from.HALIFAX (CP) - A report has recommended that Nova Scotians receive a 30 cent increase in their minimum wage this fall.The Department of Environment and Labour released a report Friday from the Minimum Wage Review Committee. The minister has until the end of May to respond. The report recommended the minimum wage be increased to $6.90 per hour.It also recommends a further increase to $7.15 by next April.The committee includes two employer and two employee representatives.
It did very well in Canada. Fahrenheit 9/11 consistently overperformed in Canadian cities; without that boffo business, the film's gross would have been significantly smaller than it was.
Under the loan agreement with China, all pandas born at zoos outside the country must be returned to China after the animals mature.
The United States trade deficit expanded in February for the third month in a row, reaching a record $61 billion, as rising oil prices coupled with America's hunger for foreign goods pushed imports to unprecedented new heights,my reaction was, "How long are foreigners, especially foreign central banks, going to continue to hunger for U.S. dollar-denominated financial assets (e.g. dollars and t-bills)?" As I have said before, I can be convinced otherwise, but I have some pretty strong concerns about what will happen if and when foreign central banks decide not to buy as much U.S.debt.
The US trade deficit in international goods and services is now increasing at an annualized rate of more than $200 billion per year. The accelerating trade gap is the primary reason that the US economy has been able to maintain its growth and shrug off higher energy prices. In the past few years, foreigners (mostly foreign central banks (FCBs)) have been willing to finance the expansion of the trade deficit.Jack, who tipped me to this article, wonders if now is a good time to buy gold.
That deficit however, can no longer continue to be financed by the FCBs. The total deficit is now well beyond the collective resources of all FCBs acting as group. ... the total current account deficit is now quickly approaching a theoretical limit of free total world savings.
People hold marriage ceremonies for their pets. The pets live together and become dependent on each other emotionally. When one member of the union dies, the other becomes despondent. They need to have some rights, to compensate them for their loss.
A vote by Mexico's congress to strip leading presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of immunity from prosecution over a minor public-works matter has laid bare the brutal battle to succeed President Vicente Fox in next year's election. ...But innocuously tucked away in the middle of the article is this:
Alejandro Hope, a political analyst with the GEA consulting group, said market-oriented economic changes over the last 15 years have eliminated much of the potential for payoffs and influence-peddling.
"It's not that Mexico is cleaner, but there is less opportunity to engage in corruption," he said.
The economic theory underlying variable rate pricing has proven, after some tinkering at the implementation stage, to be quite workable in practice. In fact, the practical realities of implementing charges have shown that theoretical perfection in terms of getting the prices right is less important in the grand scheme than keeping the transaction costs manageable. [Emphasis added]As I have written before here and here, we have pay-as-you-throw garbage collection in Clinton, Ontario. The major monitoring costs come at the collection point, making sure households do not mix garbage in with their recyclables or with leaves inside the large leaf bags. The recyclable collectors perform the first task curbside; the latter problem is reduced with the requirement that households use clear plastic leaf bags, not orange or opaque leaf bags.
In general, transaction and monitoring costs are low in Clinton, Ontario; that is why pay-as-you-throw works so well here.
Thanks to Out of Control for the link."With the introduction of this law and the production of the first generation of robot jockeys in August this year, the UAE will have adhered to the international regulations governing camel-racing while at the same time preserving the traditional character of camel races as a popular local heritage."
Parman, 27, is one of the nation's foremost female practitioners of jujitsu, a martial art that involves a good deal of choking and painful contortion of various limbs. She and her posterior are often in the public eye at tournaments, classes and demonstrations. They make regular appearances on the pages of such magazines as Grappling, and Submission Fighter. Parman is bent over in many of these pictures, committing serious violence against a supine opponent; her face is obscured but her fundament is in plain view. [thanks to BF for the link].
As Pfizer removed Bextra from the market this week under pressure from federal drug regulators who also issued broad warnings that other popular painkillers could hurt the heart, stomach or skin, people who rely on such drugs responded with dismay and a sense of weariness.
In interviews around the country on Friday, many people expressed skepticism about the new warnings and said they would rather tolerate health risks than constant pain.
Time preference is the economist's assumption that a consumer will place a premium on enjoyment nearer in time over more remote enjoyment. A high time preference means a person wants to spend their money now and not save it, whereas a low time preference means a person might want to save their money as well.
An e-mail campaign designed to lure people to a bogus Microsoft Web site is making the rounds as part of an attempt to install a Trojan horse, antivirus company Sophos said Friday.
Attackers are sending out fake e-mails that claim to come from Microsoft's Windows Update. People who click on the link in the message are steered to a site that looks like Microsoft's security update site, where they are urged to download fake patches.
.... "Microsoft does not issue security warnings this way," said Graham Cluley, Sophos senior technology consultant. "They don't send updates in an HTML format, so don't follow the links in an e-mail. If you want to see if an update is real, you need to go to the real Microsoft Web site and check there."People, however, are likely to click on the phony Microsoft update notices, given that they are making the rounds at the same time as Microsoft is poised to issue its regular monthly security update.
Social drinking can be fun, but sometimes knocking back just a few
can get a person in a lot of trouble. Alcohol is a depressant, thereby weakening the control we have over our behaviour and making us less inhibited. After just a few drinks we may tell off our boss at the Christmas party or flirt shamelessly with someone. Aha, say some people, as long as the drinking isn't too excessive, these problems can be licked with either strong coffee or a personal incentive to stay out of trouble. How true is this folk wisdom?Research psychologists at the University of Waterloo got a bunch of
undergraduates sloshed to find the answer. The researchers were interested in how much control could be regained by drunk students if they were given either caffeine (equal to about 2 1/2 cups of coffee) or a small financial incentive to sober up. Upon being inebriated with an alcohol-laced soft drink (equivalent to about three beers for someone weighing 150 pounds), the students were asked to complete a rather complex word game. The students who had been given just alcohol performed the worst, the drunk students with the small financial incentive to do well in the word game performed the best, and those who were given caffeine performed somewhere in the middle.The study, appearing in this month's Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology journal, only looked at behavioural control and has no implications for other effects of alcohol, such as diminished reflexes and spatial distortion.