Kenneth's Thoughts

Rand Paul during Apple Tax hearing

Tue, 21 May 2013 13:17:00 -0400

SEN PAUL: I don’t know of anybody on this panel who tries to maximize their tax burden. I mean my question for Mr. Harvey : Do you take any deductions on your taxes?

MR. HARVEY: Obviously I do.

SEN PAUL: Do you choose to maximize your tax burden or minimize your tax burden?

MR. HARVEY: Uh minimize it.

SEN PAUL: Do you think you’re a bad person for doing that?

MR. HARVEY: Absolutely not.

Rand Paul Blasts His Colleagues, And Says It's Outrageous That Apple Is Being Harassed About Its Taxes

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:56:00 -0400

Rand Paul Blasts His Colleagues, And Says It's Outrageous That Apple Is Being Harassed About Its Taxes:

“Instead of Apple executives we should have brought in here a giant mirror,” he added. “Congress should be on trial here for creating a byzantine tax code.” -Rand Paul

It’s hilarious to watch the Senate being angry at Apple for not paying enough taxes. U.S. congress yells, “We created those loopholes only for our donors and contributors, not for you!”

A Virtual Weimar: Hyperinflation in a Video Game World

Mon, 20 May 2013 22:02:27 -0400

A Virtual Weimar: Hyperinflation in a Video Game World:

If historical cases of hyperinflation — real, and now virtual — have one thing in common, it is the instinct among its victims to blame the symptoms rather than the disease. During both the German and the Diablo 3 hyperinflations, “intrigue and artifice” were believed to be at work.

Economically, the tipping point in the transformation of inflation into hyperinflation is characterized by a profound drop in the outstanding demand for money: when holders of money expect the supply of money to increase — particularly without any sense of timing, bounds, or other guidance — monetary demand in the present drops in favor of surrendering money for vendibles.

The focus of possessors of money, therefore, devolves into an effort to capture known, present purchasing power against the likelihood of its decline in the near future. Saving, in any event, delaying consumption, is chastened; and if a cycle of declining purchasing power and rapidly rising prices ensues, ultimately the propensity to hold money declines precipitously and may fundamentally disappear.

This was demonstrated when, in a message board entry prefaced by stating “Sell Equipment before Patch 1.0.5 Hits!” (a patch is a piece of software added to an operational program or application as bugs are found, changes desired, or ways of improving performance discovered), a player warned that,

Blizzard just announced that the drop rates for [certain] items are going to be doubled … if you haven’t already, you should consider converting your current gear to cash … since real $ [are] the best hedge against gold devaluation[.][11]

If historical cases of hyperinflation — real, and now virtual — have one thing in common, it is the instinct among its victims to blame the symptoms rather than the disease. The Austrian economist Hans Sennholz noted that during the German hyperinflation, “intrigue and artifice” were believed to be at work.[12] Similarly, a handful of Diablo 3 players, frustrated about the decimation of their purchasing power, expressed increasing suspicion of manipulation and conspiracy theories.

I thought this was a fun little read about hyperinflation in an in-game marketplace.

"People who know what they’re talking about don’t need PowerPoint."

Mon, 13 May 2013 13:14:52 -0400

“People who know what they’re talking about don’t need PowerPoint.”

- Steve Jobs

"if I can’t explain it to you, it doesn’t matter if I have the best idea"

Mon, 13 May 2013 12:18:58 -0400

“if I can’t explain it to you, it doesn’t matter if I have the best idea”

- John Greening, Associate Professor at Medill’s IMC program

"You don’t create a culture. Culture happens. It’s the by-product of consistent behavior."

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 20:56:21 -0400

“You don’t create a culture. Culture happens. It’s the by-product of consistent behavior.”

- Jason Fried

15-Year-Old Kelvin Doe is an engineering whiz living in Sierra...

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 15:40:37 -0500

15-Year-Old Kelvin Doe is an engineering whiz living in Sierra Leone who scours the trash bins for spare parts, which he uses to build batteries, generators and transmitters.

I watched this video of Kelvin Doe and felt inspired. I’m also feeling grateful for all the opportunities I have being in grad school because of my parents.

Patrick Leahy (D) introducing bill to read your emails without warrants

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 11:22:28 -0500

This needs to be stopped:

CNET has learned that Patrick Leahy, the influential Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee, has dramatically reshaped his legislation in response to law enforcement concerns. A vote on his bill, which now authorizes warrantless access to Americans’ e-mail, is scheduled for next week.

Leahy’s rewritten bill would allow more than 22 agencies — including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Communications Commission — to access Americans’ e-mail, Google Docs files, Facebook wall posts, and Twitter direct messages without a search warrant. It also would give the FBI and Homeland Security more authority, in some circumstances, to gain full access to Internet accounts without notifying either the owner or a judge.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57552225-38/senate-bill-rewrite-lets-feds-read-your-e-mail-without-warrants/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=title

jaymug: in the early days of Apple Inc, Steve Jobs would...

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 00:38:05 -0500

jaymug:

in the early days of Apple Inc, Steve Jobs would occasionally sign computer chips, attach them to Apple stationery and send them out randomly to Apple fans

"The internet will provide the alternative to the government media complex that controls the news and..."

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 00:37:06 -0500

“The internet will provide the alternative to the government media complex that controls the news and most political propaganda”

- Ron Paul

"You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers."

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 00:29:35 -0500

“You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers.”

- Steve Jobs

Quantitative easing explained

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 17:54:47 -0400

Quantitative easing explained

“This was a very typical time. I was single. All you...

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 20:04:58 -0400

“This was a very typical time. I was single. All you needed was a cup of tea, a light, and your stereo, you know, and that’s what I had.” - Steve Jobs

"He who seeks beauty will find it"

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 23:11:00 -0400

“He who seeks beauty will find it”

- Bill Cunningham at his acceptance speech for the French Legion of Honor

Bill Cunningham New York - there’s something inspiring...

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 22:42:07 -0400

Bill Cunningham New York - there’s something inspiring about watching Bill at work in the craft he loves.

Record 88,921,000 Americans ‘Not in Labor Force’

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 12:58:00 -0400

The U.S. economy is worse. It’s plausible to attribute the reason to different reasons and people. However, the claim that U.S. employment figures have improved lately is completely false.

In July, there were 155,013,000 in the U.S. civilian labor force. In August that dropped to 154,645,000—meaning that on net 368,000 people simply dropped out of the labor force last month and did not even look for a job.

There were also 119,000 fewer Americans employed in August than there were in July. In July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 142,220,000 Americans working. But, in August, there were only 142,101,000 Americans working.

Despite the fact that fewer Americans were employed in August than July, the unemployment rate ticked down from 8.3 in July to 8.1. That is because so many people dropped out of the labor force and stopped looking for work. The unemployment rate is the percentage of people in the labor force (meaning they had a job or were actively looking for one) who did not have a job.

http://goo.gl/P9nZV

Yet, most media outlets today are stating the more Americans are employed because of 96,000 new jobs. The vast majority of mainstream media outlets fail to mention that 368,000 working age Americans dropped out of the labor force. That’s a massive net decline in employment. People who are unemployed but who are not collecting unemployment checks are essentially be written off as not being in the labor force (and thus not counted in the official unemployment figures). I’m not sure if this happening because of ignorance or willful negligence. Regardless of the reason, it reduces my trust in news outlets that don’t prominently report the data relating to decline in the labor force participation rate (when citing U.S. economic health).

The Labor Department counts a person as not in the civilian labor force if they are at least 16 years old, are not in the military or an institution such as a prison, mental hospital or nursing home, and have not actively looked for a job in the last four weeks. The department counts a person as in “the civilian labor force” if they are at least 16, are not in the military or an institution such as a prison, mental hospital or nursing home, and either do have a job or have actively looked for one in the last four weeks.

In July, there were 155,013,000 in the U.S. civilian labor force. In August that dropped to 154,645,000—meaning that on net 368,000 people simply dropped out of the labor force last month and did not even look for a job.

There were also 119,000 fewer Americans employed in August than there were in July. In July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 142,220,000 Americans working. But, in August, there were only 142,101,000 Americans working.

Despite the fact that fewer Americans were employed in August than July, the unemployment rate ticked down from 8.3 in July to 8.1. That is because so many people dropped out of the labor force and stopped looking for work. The unemployment rate is the percentage of people in the labor force (meaning they had a job or were actively looking for one) who did not have a job.

The Bureau of Labor Statistic also reported that in August the labor force participation rate (the percentage of the people in the civilian non-institutionalized population who either had a job or were actively looking for one) dropped to a 30-year low of 63.5 percent, down from 63.7 percent in July. The last time the labor force participation rate was as low as 63.5 percent was in September 1981.

http://goo.gl/P9nZV

Since the labor force participation rate is at a 30 year low, we can reach a few conclusions.

More people are gaining employment lately and the low labor participation rate is an extension of some unknown phenomena where modern U.S. citizens who don’t have jobs (but can work) just don’t want to work
The U.S. government is publishing true but misleading data regarding real unemployment trends. The commonly cited unemployment rate isn’t an accurate gauge of true employment in America. Media outlets and reporters referencing the unemployment rate are incompetant or willfully misleading the American public about the economic health of this country.

I lean towards the second option. The U.S. economy is in shambles and most of the economic and business reporters are misleading the American public about the employment health of the U.S.

"It was like he couldn’t help himself; he had to try."

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 00:58:25 -0400

“It was like he couldn’t help himself; he had to try.”

- Louisa Thomas on Andy Roddick not giving up on a set in his final match.

A fond farewell to American tennis's almost-golden boy

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 00:53:06 -0400

A fond farewell to American tennis's almost-golden boy:

A fantastic article about Andy Roddick by Louisa Thomas. I never really thought about it this way, but Roddick really does represent what America is all about. Roddick doesn’t give up. He doesn’t pretend to be happy about failure. Yet he accepts it and keeps fighting - despite disappointments.

In fact, Roddick does seem to embody America in some essential way. The man has the stars and stripes splashed across his shoes. He committed himself to helping his country win the Davis Cup with the same intensity that he threw himself into winning slams. He lives in Texas. Given the chance, he dated a pop star and married a model. Roddick is a mess of contradictions that speak to a kind of enduring American stereotype: smart-ass, arrogant, and intemperate, but also straight-shooting, generous, and thoughtful. He wasn’t the best — but he lived up to that old American slogan that he did his best.

“I keep hearing how great all these guys hit the ball,” Sports Illustrated quoted Roddick saying. “People just drool over so-and-so’s this or that. And then I hear how I can’t really do anything. But yet, I beat all these guys consistently. That kind of lends itself to me being a really good bad player.” Talk about backhanded compliments. But Roddick didn’t pretend he was something he wasn’t.

For an example of how much that meant, look no further than Roddick’s second-round match against Bernard Tomic. Tomic is a young, talented, and unusual player, a quarterfinalist at Wimbledon last year. One of the reasons Roddick indicated that he’d chosen his 30th birthday to announce his coming retirement was that there was a solid chance he would lose. Roddick has had an up-and-down year, hampered by injuries but winning two titles and even beating Federer. Still, most people weren’t favoring Roddick in the match.

But he spanked Tomic — and Tomic folded, losing so badly that he faced accusations of tanking. Roddick won his next match, an entertaining scrapper against Fabio Fognini. And suddenly it appeared that he might have found some magic in the warmth of the adoring crowd, that he might be able to ride this wave of affection deep into the second week. In the fourth round, he faced another former U.S. Open winner with a huge forehand, Juan Martin del Potro. Over the course of two days, with rain interrupting the first, Roddick pushed del Potro, winning the first-set tiebreaker and losing the second. But del Potro, who reminds me of a rangy bear with a grizzly’s swipe for a forehand, shook off his sleep. Once he started moving well, it quickly became clear that Roddick would lose.

After Roddick went down two quick breaks in the third set, there was a consensus in the commentators’ box that Roddick should conserve his energy and write off the set. Roddick seemed to hear them — or maybe he was just too tired to move with the same intensity he’d shown at the start. But down double-set point on del Petro’s serve in the third — in a set in which Roddick didn’t have a chance, in a game that, from a tactical point of view, he would be better off losing — he was still scrambling, sliding, desperately reaching for the ball. It was like he couldn’t help himself; he had to try. But he pushed a backhand long.

Soon after that, it was over. When he lost, there were no Americans left in the tournament. Yet again, he had been the last one standing. Does that matter? I don’t think so. The top men are playing sublime tennis, and I don’t care what their nationality is. They are playing the kind of tennis I love to watch. But the sport will still miss Roddick, and so, it turns out, will I.

Andy Roddick has what it takes to run a tech start-up

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 00:42:00 -0400

Question: Can you describe the feeling when you know that Rafael Nadal is hitting on all cylinders and you're trying to summon something and it's just not there?
Andy Roddick: It's a bad feeling. You know, it's almost worse than competing. You feel helpless, you feel — I think you'd rather be booed than have silence. You know, it's an empty feeling. It's not fun.
Question: Were you able to have fun at all today?
Andy Roddick: I didn't have a lot of fun today, no. But it's early.

"A Kickstarter where every project is guaranteed would be the same safe bets and retreads we see..."

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 00:37:25 -0400

“A Kickstarter where every project is guaranteed would be the same safe bets and retreads we see everywhere else. The fact that Kickstarter allows creators to take risks and attempt to create something ambitious is a feature, not a bug.”

- Perry

Sums up what is great about all Internet marketplaces.

(via cdixon)