Tag Archives: economics

A Question of Justice

Came across this thought puzzle via a MetaFilter thread which, in turn, comes from a review of a book called “The Idea of Justice” by Amartya Sen.Here's the puzzle…“Take three kids and a flute. Anne says the flute should be given to her because she is the only one who knows how to play it. […]

Here's One For All The Blackberry Lovers Out There

Fortune magazine has named Research In Motion, maker of the Blackberry line of products, as the fastest growing company in the world.  (Apple came in at 39.)On a more local note, Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, came in at #10 due to surging demand for fertilizer in places like China, India and Brazil.

Radiohead – Inexpensive Charity Single and a Free Song Too

Radiohead is no stranger to innovative music practices.  Recently, they've done a couple more…– a one-off charity single, “Harry Patch (In Memory Of), to support the British Legion, an anti-war song written using the words of the UK's last surviving WWI soldier, Harry Patch who died earlier this summer.– and a brand new song, “These […]

Kidlandia: Who's More Excited – Daddy or Pace?

Usually when I read TechCrunch, I find stuff that gets me excited about some new web site or technology.  And don't get me wrong – the make-your-own-Medieval map site, Kidlandia – is something I find pretty cool too.  Still, it's rare to find something that gets me excited about technology on behalf of Pace.  But […]

A Fun Math Puzzle

I used to love any sort of riddles, word games, math puzzles and the like when I was younger.  So when  I came across this one on Reddit tonight and it brought back my childhood.  (Er, that is if my childhood was spent trying to figure out how to time the stock market perfectly!) My […]

Canadian Tire Customer Service Fail

It started innocently enough.  A couple weeks ago, my dad called me at work to ask if I could stop at Canadian Tire on my way home to pay for some mirror extenders he'd ordered for his truck.  “They wouldn't take your credit card over the phone?” I asked.  “No.  They said you had to […]

Out With The Old, In WIth the New(s): Two Views of The Future of Newspapers

I recently came across two articles that propose radically different visions of the future of newspapers.  The two articles took specific interest in the New York Times which many consider the “newspaper of record” for the United States but which, like many newspapers, has been hemorrhaging money in recent years.  In the first article, a […]

Cory Doctorow on Copyright

Because Cory Doctorow's new novel, “Little Brother” is the first e-book I'm reading on my iPhone (very readable, thank-you very much), I got to see his copyright notice which I'm reproducing here in its entirety because it's such a great summary of how copyright should work in a sane and rational world: THE COPYRIGHT THING […]

Friday Fun Link – The Crack Cocaine of Auction Sites (July 10, 2009)

This article talks about a new auction site called Swoopo.com which is apparently super-addictive.  The gimmick is that the site is sort of like a cross between an auction, a lottery and those “you only pay $0.25/call to vote for your American Idol.  Er, vote as many times as you'd like!” deals.Every item up for […]

The Mayor of Hell Presides Over The Birthplace of the North American Free Public Library

Do you ever get disappointed when you realise not everything's online and instantly accessible?  For example, tonight I was reading a recent copy of Rolling Stone which had an article called “The Mayor of Hell”.  It was about Braddock, Pennsylvania, a dying town of 2900 in Pennsylvania which is still the site of Andrew Carnegie's […]