Economics and similar, for the sleep-deprived

A subtle change has been made to the comments links, so they no longer pop up. Does this in any way help with the problem about comments not appearing on permalinked posts, readers?

Update: seemingly not

Update: Oh yeah!


Wednesday, April 29, 2009

 
Idea for a TV show: "Britain's Least Haunted"

Basically, Professor Richard Dawkins (check contract availability; otherwise Simon Hoggard) shows up at a house or castle which has a lot of colourful local legends, and then stays there overnight, and literally nothing happens except that Dawkins stares coldly into the camera and reads the temperature out every fifteen minutes. For eight hours at a stretch.

I am not necessarily anticipating huge numbers of viewers for this show, but it could be the backbone of a "Discovery: Atheism" subscription channel, and based on the observed behaviour of the book-buying public, I am pretty sure that quite a lot of militant atheists would be happy to subscribe to the thing and never get round to watching it.
11 comments this item posted by the management 4/29/2009 05:18:00 AM

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

 
Secret Society of the Week: The Order of Camels

I've been neglecting the old blog - a few proper articles to come shortly, but for the time being, playing myself back in with a short post on one of my favourite American fraternal organisations:

Founded in 1920 in response to the American prohibition laws that were ushered in by the Eighteenth Amendment of 1919 and the Volstead Act of 1920. The order was strongly opposed to prohibition. The camel was selected as the order's emblem because it could withstand long dry periods. Members took but one oath, namely, to oppose prohibition. Any male over twenty-two was eligible to join the society. Local lodges were called "Caravans". The society was founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Did exactly what it said on the tin. A sensible society with a purpose and not too much faffing about. Whenever I start to get sick of the various cliques listed in the "Encyclopedia Of Fraternal Organisations", I turn back to the entry on the Camels and remind myself that there are still some sane people in this bloody world.

Next week: The Prince Hall Masons.
13 comments this item posted by the management 4/28/2009 03:19:00 PM

Thursday, April 23, 2009

 
In memoriam: JG Ballard
7 comments this item posted by the management 4/23/2009 05:04:00 PM

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

 
Only six months till International Talk Like A Pirate Day

... which is September 19. Here's a useful resource if you're planning on celebrating this year.
21 comments this item posted by the management 4/14/2009 05:49:00 AM

Friday, April 03, 2009

 
More parables of the crisis

... this one relevant to the "Geithner Plan", and the business of providing subsidies via FDIC guarantees ...

Reader, imagine that you are a very bad person. Imagine, in fact, that you are Al Capone, and you have been paying off the local DA for the last forever. Now, a sudden crisis has hit your organisation, and you need a great deal of help, that you know you are going to have to pay for.

Which option is likely to be more cost-effective - to pay a larger bribe to your friendly DA, or to suddenly try to open up a new bribe relationship with some other DAs from neighbouring districts who you've never really dealt with before? Which course of action is more likely to get someone to play ball? Which is more likely to have unforeseen consequences that land you in the slammer?
10 comments this item posted by the management 4/03/2009 05:55:00 PM


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