My muse!

I know it's been a while.

I have been lacking inspiration for some time. But this cheered me right up. I have been musing on how to fix the out of date economies of several big industries in this country (and the world) - the music monopoly and print publishers. The internet should be free (and hopefully always will be). And ads don't work because unlike the limited space of a newspaper (where real estate is limited) the internet has limitless space and the ability to link endlessly away from a page where the ads are situated. Not to mention we all ignore ads to begin with.

But still the old guard refuses to admit defeat and devise a new way to weasel money out of the general public. They demand protection from us evil citizens - who "rob" them blindly.

And then I saw this article about France's attempt to curtail piracy - Top French court rips heart out of Sarkozy internet law. *BOOM* Completely stopped in its tracks. Access to the internet is an unalienable right. Plus - the government has no right to track an individuals internet use. Nor can a administrative agency impose justice. Especially without giving an individual due process under the law to defend themselves.

Stop complaining about being a billion dollar industry, music companies. Come up with a new sustainable business plan and stop whining. (I do in fact feel bad for print media - they are getting a bum rap and should be paid for the time. they were never paid much to begin with)

any revolutionary business plans you want to share?

More from the frontlines

This may be the most enlightened politician in America right now. Maybe...

Gov. Culver of Iowa, on why he will most likely NOT support an amendment to Iowa's Constitution banning same-sex marriage:

said the issue before the court in its unanimous ruling Friday involved only civil marriage, and that churches and other religious institutions do not have to perform them. "The court also concluded that the denial of this right constitutes discrimination," Culver said. "Therefore, after careful consideration and a thorough reading of the court's decision, I am reluctant to support amending the Iowa Constitution to add a provision that our Supreme Court has said is unlawful and discriminatory."

[The Daily Dish]

Not Condoning...

But wouldn't it be great if California could make an extra $1 billion a year in these tight economic times?

Going beyond that a brief history of the way things are...

A matter of time

As many of you know, because of I am a marine biologist, one of my favorite topics to talk about is ---

the current credit crisis... bet you new readers didn't see that coming.

I persistently follow the Planet Money Blog, a reliable NPR based source of financial news. A post today (found here, by Adam Davidson) should be heeded by anyone who has stock in a major bank, BoA, Citigroup, etc. The question of the day was: will the government have to nationalize the major banks of America to prevent financial ruin? And the answer was very eloquently, "Can't tell you even if we wanted to." Essentially, the government will not discuss such a move in an open forum for one big reason --

The government official told me that if word leaked out in any way that the government was even considering nationalization, it could spook the stock markets so badly that all those troubled banks would, instantly, become dead banks. Citi, Bank of America and other big banks, have shockingly low stock prices. But some people think that they are still overpriced--that those banks are insolvent and the only reason their stock has any value is because many investors believe the government will bail them out. Nationalization would, in most scenarios, mean the stock would lose all of its value instantly.

So any inkelling that the government might nationalize the banks, by any major news source or politician, could collapse the banking system of America in hours.

So if it does happen, expect the following events to occur. The US stock market closes Friday. Rumors start to fly of emergency meetings in Congress. Saturday more rumors and leaks become available. And Sunday, the Adminstration comes forward to announce the US banks are not the US Bank. All before the markets in Asia open. Crazy.

And we wouldn't even see it coming --

[the] government official is the kind of person who normally, well, leaks; tells reporters interesting things off the record. This person wouldn't budge. Not an inch. I asked: so, if you were just in a meeting where you decided nationalization is, clearly, the best option, you'd tell me you had never discussed it, right? This person said: yup.

Credit Crisis Video

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

For anyone who is unsure how we got into this mess. This super fun animation gives a very amazing background as to why we are in a recession and why we may have to nationalize the banks.

For even more information, check out this This American Life episode.

Wah wah trombones

For anyone who listens to Marketplace, you know the wah-wah trombones are for down days in the stock market. I have been mulling over a post about the terrible wildfires in Australia, and how they symbolize the future for CA. More on that soon.

But, I was just cruising the Internet, like one does, and came across this nugget of information at Daily Kos. In brief, the global economy was just three hours away from complete collapse in mid-September. Three hours away from a barter system and marshall law and anarchy. The end of civilization as we know it. You can read Daily Kos full post, but some choice excerts include:

Representative Sherman later revealed that members were warned that Martial Law would result if the $700 bailout plan was not passed, and Iguadland10 posted another video ascribing that particular warning to Paulson.

The New York Times quoted Senator Dodd as jumping in when Charles Schumer described the meeting as 'somber': “Somber doesn’t begin to justify the words,” he said. “We have never heard language like this.” Also from NYT: Although Mr. Schumer, Mr. Dodd and other participants declined to repeat precisely what they were told by Mr. Bernanke and Mr. Paulson, they said the two men described the financial system as effectively bound in a knot that was being pulled tighter and tighter by the day.

AND from Rep. Kanjorski:

Somebody threw us into the middle of the Atlantic Ocean without a life raft and we're trying to determine what's the closest shore and whether there's any chance in the world to swim that far. We. Don't. Know.

These are really, really terrifying points of discussion. Mainly because -- what the hell does the world look like the day after civilization ends? Daily Kos points out that things are still slipping, despite all the money being thrown into the problem. Assest prices are falling. And more assests are being affected as time progresses. (Remember $4.00 gas?) Economies are still "spiraling" downwards.

So with such scary thoughts before bedtime -- what do you think the end of the civilization would be like? If you heard on the news, that the economy had collapsed, would you go to work the next day? Would you buy a gun? Would you be the first into the streets looting? I can only imagine the carnage. But maybe I am missing something. What do you think would be the first to go?

Don't be a gayist!!

Here is a video from the Courage Campaign. It turns out that Ken Starr, on behalf of the "Yes on Prop 8" folks (read: Mormons), has filed a brief with the CA Supreme Court for a hearing that may retroactively instate Proposition 8. This would forcibly divorce the 18,000 couples who got married in the interim period of 2008, when gay marriage was legal in CA. The Supreme Court will hear arguments on March 5th, and make a decision within 90 days.

On a side note: what a great job to have... meh... I'll get back to you some time in the next three months. I want to be a Supreme Court judge.


"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

Vegans Win

And this is why you should think about NOT eating beef everyday --

• Pound for pound, beef production generates greenhouse gases that contribute more than 13 times as much to global warming as do the gases emitted from producing chicken. For potatoes, the multiplier is 57.
• Beef consumption is rising rapidly, both as population increases and as people eat more meat.
• Producing the annual beef diet of the average American emits as much greenhouse gas as a car driven more than 1,800 miles.

Do your part fair readers. Epic change always starts with you!

Recession

Because I have been constantly thinking about it and listening to NPR about it and reading about it, I thought I would take a second to write about the economy. I know super exciting. It won't take long. I promise. For me, it feels like watching the scene of a car accident as you drive by. You slow down, you stare, you think about how much that sucks and how you never want it to happen to you, but you shrug your shoulders and speed up and drive away. That is this recession to me. Grad school is (mostly) recession proof. The money keeps coming for the next 4.5 years regardless of the rest of the world. Which is nice to know. Not to worry I will continue to do my part in stimulating the economy -- one beer at a time.

With that said, an interesting side effect of the world at large right now, is the idea of price actualization. People finally realizing that we have been shafted for years with super inflated prices compared to manufacturing costs. The business world has been growing at our expense. Profits are down because for the first time ever, people are saying I am not going to pay $80 for a new phone that costs $11 to make.

This was posted on the Planet Money blog -- an excerpt from a book published in the last Great Depression:

The psychic effect of the depression, it seems to me, is generally a good one.... It has taught people the difference between speculative values and real values. It has hastened the death of sick industries, and proved the vigor of sound ones. It has blown up the old delusion that the amount of money in the world is unlimited, and that every American is entitled to a police captain's share of it. Best of all, it has taught millions that there is really no earthly reason why there should be two cars in every garage, and a chicken in the pot every day.

-- H.L. Mencken

I hope this how America endures this recession.

How is the recession affecting you? Feel free to rant in your comment that you know you want to leave...

Oh California...

So I am reading this article from Discovery.com - in a recent study from Sweden, they have found that free-range chickens are more likely to have

more bacterial infections (the most common cause of death), more parasites, and more viruses. They were also more likely to become victims of violent pecking and cannibalistic attacks.

In California, in the last election, many people around the world found out that even the most progressive state in America has its limitations. The failure to block Prop 8 was a travesty to human rights and a disgusting view of civil rights and love. But one of the things that made me most upset was that Prop 2 passed. What is Prop 2, you may ask?

Well, it's a law requiring chickens and other animals to be grown in free-range conditions. All this despite warnings from farmers and veterinarians, that free-range chickens are not always healthier. Chickens are in fact filthy animals. They are constantly in contact with their own excrement while they peck the ground, consuming food and waster alike. This sort of contamination was avoided in cages elevated above the ground, allowing waste to fall away from the bird. Cages also prevented violent, cannabalistic attacks, mentioned above.

It was common site on the streets in LA, pre-election, to see minivans and SUVs, displaying "Yes on Prop 2" and "Yes on Prop 8". People were content and eager to give more rights to ANIMALS, for conditions that did not make their lives better, while taking away rights from other HUMANS, essentially creating a type of second class citizen. As a good friend of mine suggested, maybe we should be starting PETH, People for the Ethical Treatment of Humans, as a counter to PETA.

What a world we live in. Good job California. Way to drop the ball.

The Man Who Should Have Never Been President

How did this man ever become President in the first place?

Just call me Digg Jr

Just a fun article from AskMen.com that I found through Digg.com. Too many .coms there?

It lists 10 commonly held myths and dismisses them. Like... humans only use 10% of their brains. Wrong. That Napoleon was short. Wrong. And that men think about sex once every 7 second. Wron..... well.... definitely not 7 seconds... maybe... 15 seconds... Got to let one thought finish first, right?

Oh the woes of Wall Street

Another note from Marketplace today -- this was Kai's closing comment of the day:

The good people over at the Nasdaq have been wondering the same thing we have: What's a good way to track how bailed-out companies are performing with all that government cash they've got?

Enter the newest stock ticker you'll want to be keeping track of. The OMX Government Relief Index includes companies that have taken TARP money, not all of 'em, just the ones that got a billion dollars or more.

Here's the kicker though, the index started trading Monday at an initial value of 1,000. Closed today at 941.

Well that's exciting news...

One can dream

So I was listen to Marketplace on NPR with Kai Ryssdal (my favorite radio host) on the ride home today, as per my usual routine and they had an interesting segment which I am going to paraphrase. They had on a soft-toned British gentleman, Charles Handy, talking about the current state of banking and where the future might lie. He had an interesting prediction/hope for the future.

I mean we may get back to a saner kind of world -- what Adam Smith called "cultivation" or "civilization" -- where we don't all sort of spend our life trying to make money, to buy things we don't really need to impress the neighbors, and so on. Where we actually do work -- not 60 hours a week, but 40 hours a week. Where we actually do take holidays. Where we actually get to know our kids again. Where it actually becomes smart to have a tiny car, to walk and bicycle and these sorts of things. And we may find we enjoy it actually just as much as the hectic pace that we've seen in recent years. I've often said that capitalism, particularly in America, is a very exhausting business. It tires people out.

Now, it may just be me, but that is definitely a future I could support.

Marine Monuments

President Bush has used some executive mumbo jumbo to immediately begin protecting 195,274 square miles of marine habitats in US waters. Not to worry none of those waters are part of the United States of America, but areas of the coast of American territories.

Beyond the absurdity of the wheres and hows, the areas being protects are pretty awesome. They protect some features unique only to the areas being preserved. Including the only active sulfur pool (not even sure what that it) inside the Asteroid Belt. While the marine biologist in me is always happy about more protected marine areas, the disappointed constituent in me wonders why not more and really, more executive powers?

You can follow this link to Discovery News to learn more.

Why...

... am I attracted to women out of "my league"? *grumble*

I don't think I realized until this year how much the internet "slows" down over the winter holiday session. I mean it makes sense -- say one person/department has off for the holidays. Anyone relying on those posts for their "news" then has to come up with something different or not post themselves. Thus it spirals out of control to the point where Israel has been launching an attack on the Gaza Strip for 6 days with little splash being made.

And even more so what about the sludge disaster before Christmas? A coal-based energy plant in the heart of America, much like all coal plants, has to deposit and store its solid remains (read: ash). This plant had it stored in a water-y sludge behind a damn, until the earthen dam ruptured. Spilling 1 billion gallons of toxic coal sludge into the local ecosystem -- into the watershed, a major watershed of the American South.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

So much for clean coal...

Shame, shame, shame

So in an effort to not only have posts about weed, masturbation, and sex in my first ten posts, my next... let's say... at least 4 posts will not contain such vulgar material and will instead steer towards the true direction of this blog.

I hope millions of Californians are out there questioning their vote on Election Day to ban gay marriage in our state. In an all to predictable move, the "Yes on 8" group has moved to nullify the 18,000 marriages performed during the short time they were legal. It makes me sick. I can't even begin to wonder who thought this was a good idea. If lines weren't drawn in the sand already -- they are now.

The Courage Campaign (if you live in CA and even if you don't and support gay marriage please sign their growing petition) collected and posted a number of pictures to put faces to the people whose rights will be violated should this legal maneuvering succeed. Check it out here.

Also, because he is much more articulate than I am, if you haven't seen John Stewart spar with Mick Huckabee on the Daily Show, check it out here.

[Courage Campaign]

BINGO!

Female G spot found!!! That's probably all I need to say.

*Skeet, skeet*

Also, scientist have shown, that if you happen to have one good trait about you, ex. healthy heart, height and longevity, your chances are better for having other good traits. Add to this list-- quality semen.

It seems that tall people, who will live to be very old and have strong hearts, now can add having good semen to online dating profiles. Hurray science!

*Glug, glug*

Melting glaciers are bad. Especially for people who hate the shore, beach, coastline, or whatever you are comfortable calling it. NASA released data showing that since 2003, 2 trillion tons of ice have melted from landlocked glaciers. That's 2 followed by this many zeros 000,000,000,000.

For one last number-- this has added 1/5 of an inch to the world's ocean. THE WORLD'S OCEAN. Like the 71% of stuff that covers the planet, the whole thing, increased by 1/5 of an inch in 5 years.