pull! push! Adventures in Internet land :-)
Monday, October 13, 2008
Caption this
(Photo from CNN.com)
Captioned:
"I'm gonna so get me one of those spa treatments like those AIG guys!"
Markets bounce on trillion-dollar bailout (CNN.com)
(Photo from CNN.com)
Captioned:
"I'm gonna so get me one of those spa treatments like those AIG guys!"
Markets bounce on trillion-dollar bailout (CNN.com)
Labels: AIG, caption, economy, finance, funny, humour, World
Friday, October 10, 2008
Caption this
(Photo from CNN.com front page)
Captioned:
"Oh crap. I forgot to unplug the iron!"
Dow bounces after plunging hundreds of points (CNN.com)
(Photo from CNN.com front page)
Captioned:
"Oh crap. I forgot to unplug the iron!"
Dow bounces after plunging hundreds of points (CNN.com)
Labels: caption, economy, finance, funny, humour, life, U.S, World
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
The similarity between potty training Plucky Duck and the economy
(Photo from CNN.com front page)
This photo was on CNN's front page today (at around 1:18 PM my time). It's not the first time that I've noticed these kind of shots. Desperate, worried, panicked, freaked-out, sky-is-falling, end-o-the-world, scared looking, trader-types and Wall Street operators. The above photo of this guy is no different, in fact, it's a classic.
Therefore, in tribute to young Plucky Duck and his potty training efforts (and in search of a laugh or two amidst all this doom and gloom), here are some less than suitable captions for the above photo that I doubt CNN would ever consider using:
1. Money go down the hole!
2. Stock market go down the hole!
3. Economy go down the hole!
4. Suggest a caption (in the spirit of young Plucky), leave a comment!
(Photo from CNN.com front page)
This photo was on CNN's front page today (at around 1:18 PM my time). It's not the first time that I've noticed these kind of shots. Desperate, worried, panicked, freaked-out, sky-is-falling, end-o-the-world, scared looking, trader-types and Wall Street operators. The above photo of this guy is no different, in fact, it's a classic.
Therefore, in tribute to young Plucky Duck and his potty training efforts (and in search of a laugh or two amidst all this doom and gloom), here are some less than suitable captions for the above photo that I doubt CNN would ever consider using:
1. Money go down the hole!
2. Stock market go down the hole!
3. Economy go down the hole!
4. Suggest a caption (in the spirit of young Plucky), leave a comment!
Friday, September 19, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Thoughts on why the taste of your next Mudslide may be sliding
DISCLAIMER: IANAE, IANAB (I Am Not An Economist, I Am Not A Bartender)
(Mudslide picture from A cat in the kitchen blog)
Recently, after a weekend out in 'The Gap,' a friend of mine mentioned that the taste of his Mudslide wasn't what it used to be. For the record, I'm a beer (Heineken) and soft drink (Coca-Cola) man myself. Another friend joked that I might try to correlate high gas prices and the change in taste of said Mudslide.
I did, here's my theory:
High gas prices result in high prices in general (this we already know, e.g. increased costs of living). High costs of living force people to cut back on the 'non-essentials.' A cut back in the 'non-essentials' is as a result of people having less discretionary income (which is money left over after the essentials like food, clothing and shelter have been taken care of, as per this Wikipedia article).
Less discretionary income may mean that businesses including: nightclubs, bars and hypothetically, academically and purely for the sake of this arguement, Club ABC123 (not the real name of the establishment where the Mudslide was served), may face a slowdown in business.
A slowdown in business may result in Management of Club ABC123 seeking to cut costs and to reduce expenditure. One way of doing this is to reduce the amount of any 'expensive' ingredients used in my friends' mudslide (or to seek inferior but cheaper, substitute ingredients).
Any reduction in quality ingredients and/or a switch to inferior ingredients all result in a reduction in the taste/quality of my friends' mudslide (from the point of view of my friend).
But what do I know? Remember, IANAE & IANAB.
:-)
P.S., I'm planning to do a little 'research' which, if I can get my hands on the data, will look to discover if any relationship exists (or doesn't exist) between the amount of spirits (i.e., alchohol) sold by distributors/manufacturers, and the performance of the economy, in Barbados.
(Mudslide picture from A cat in the kitchen blog)
Recently, after a weekend out in 'The Gap,' a friend of mine mentioned that the taste of his Mudslide wasn't what it used to be. For the record, I'm a beer (Heineken) and soft drink (Coca-Cola) man myself. Another friend joked that I might try to correlate high gas prices and the change in taste of said Mudslide.
I did, here's my theory:
High gas prices result in high prices in general (this we already know, e.g. increased costs of living). High costs of living force people to cut back on the 'non-essentials.' A cut back in the 'non-essentials' is as a result of people having less discretionary income (which is money left over after the essentials like food, clothing and shelter have been taken care of, as per this Wikipedia article).
Less discretionary income may mean that businesses including: nightclubs, bars and hypothetically, academically and purely for the sake of this arguement, Club ABC123 (not the real name of the establishment where the Mudslide was served), may face a slowdown in business.
A slowdown in business may result in Management of Club ABC123 seeking to cut costs and to reduce expenditure. One way of doing this is to reduce the amount of any 'expensive' ingredients used in my friends' mudslide (or to seek inferior but cheaper, substitute ingredients).
Any reduction in quality ingredients and/or a switch to inferior ingredients all result in a reduction in the taste/quality of my friends' mudslide (from the point of view of my friend).
But what do I know? Remember, IANAE & IANAB.
:-)
P.S., I'm planning to do a little 'research' which, if I can get my hands on the data, will look to discover if any relationship exists (or doesn't exist) between the amount of spirits (i.e., alchohol) sold by distributors/manufacturers, and the performance of the economy, in Barbados.
Labels: Barbados, business, drinks, economics, fun, funny, humour, life, random, thoughts
Friday, August 29, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
If the Joker had a lolcat
UPDATE: The image seems to have vanished. Oh well. Try googling for 'joker lolcat' and see what comes up.
Originally found via Digg.
Originally found via Digg.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Baby, It's Cold Outside!
DISCLAIMER: IANAM, I Am Not A Meteorologist (but I have been feeling really cold recently).
We island folk have been experiencing some irregular weather these last couple of weeks. The Nation newspaper wrote about it today, and has confirmed what most of us already knew, it has been unusually cold!
We're talking temperatures as low as 21.3 degrees Celsius. Now before you pooh-pooh and laugh off our concerns, remember that Barbados is in the Caribbean, i.e., in the tropics (a.k.a, the temperate zone?), i.e., in a tropical climate, where temperatures are usually between 28 and 33 degrees (at least, that's what my little in-car temperature gizmo reads whenever I push the button).
If you really want a laugh, then you should hear how some of us protest the half an hour or so commute to work, or the fifteen-minute wait while stuck in traffic, but that's island life, eh? I've been up North a few times, watched T.V and heard the horror stories from others and I've learned to appreciate that commute times and time spent waiting in traffic, are all relative and highly subjective.
But when the temperature drops to 21.3 in Barbados, it does cause quite a stir. As such, it was no suprise to find one or two funny comments on the weather in The Nation's article:
'Basically, I just go under the sheets but I don't mind it. In fact,
I like it because I get to sleep much better at nights since it isn't too hot," said Pastor Ricardo Payne of Elim Gospel Church, Workmans, St George. However, one of the members of his congregation added: "No, no! It's too cold at nights, man, I can't deal with it!"'
However, this comment takes the cake:
'Another elderly woman who lives in Bath, St John, said: "This cool air don't bother me. When I start to see snow is when I'll get worried."'
Ma'am, you're not the only one. If it were to start snowing in Bim, I'd get plenty worried too!
We island folk have been experiencing some irregular weather these last couple of weeks. The Nation newspaper wrote about it today, and has confirmed what most of us already knew, it has been unusually cold!
We're talking temperatures as low as 21.3 degrees Celsius. Now before you pooh-pooh and laugh off our concerns, remember that Barbados is in the Caribbean, i.e., in the tropics (a.k.a, the temperate zone?), i.e., in a tropical climate, where temperatures are usually between 28 and 33 degrees (at least, that's what my little in-car temperature gizmo reads whenever I push the button).
If you really want a laugh, then you should hear how some of us protest the half an hour or so commute to work, or the fifteen-minute wait while stuck in traffic, but that's island life, eh? I've been up North a few times, watched T.V and heard the horror stories from others and I've learned to appreciate that commute times and time spent waiting in traffic, are all relative and highly subjective.
But when the temperature drops to 21.3 in Barbados, it does cause quite a stir. As such, it was no suprise to find one or two funny comments on the weather in The Nation's article:
'Basically, I just go under the sheets but I don't mind it. In fact,
I like it because I get to sleep much better at nights since it isn't too hot," said Pastor Ricardo Payne of Elim Gospel Church, Workmans, St George. However, one of the members of his congregation added: "No, no! It's too cold at nights, man, I can't deal with it!"'
However, this comment takes the cake:
'Another elderly woman who lives in Bath, St John, said: "This cool air don't bother me. When I start to see snow is when I'll get worried."'
Ma'am, you're not the only one. If it were to start snowing in Bim, I'd get plenty worried too!
Friday, January 4, 2008
Question(s) for the People's Democratic Congress (PDC)
UPDATE, Jan/5/08: Finished the post.
DISCLAIMER: IANAE, I Am Not An Economist.
DISCLAIMER: IANAP, I Am Not A Politician.
DISCLAIMER: IAJAQAATPACOB, I Am Just Asking Question(s) As A Tax Payer And Citizen Of Barbados.
DISCLAIMER: IAJAQAACIWNPA, I Am Just Asking Question(s) As A Curious Individual With No Political Agenda.
The last disclaimer is important. This is a non-partisan (non political) post. I am not interested in the BLP, DLP, nor PEP. I am only interested in what the PDC recently had to say (at the time of this post, I cannot recall the exact date of The Nation's article which carried the PDC's comments), with regards to their goal of abolishing taxes (as well as interest rates and foreign land ownership, but I am interested in their abolition of taxes proposition and I will be focusing primarily on that).
My interests are purely academic. Not political. With respect to politics, I ask that reader's take note that, as far as I can recall (but correct me if I'm wrong), none of the other political parties (BLP, DLP and PEP), have ever discussed abolishing taxes.
It is only the PDC that has made this statement.
Now, why am I asking the PDC this question? Because (oops, sentences are not supposed to start with 'because', are they?), I am genuinely interested and curious, in trying to understand:
1) Why the PDC would want to abolish taxes and
2) How they (the PDC), intend on paying for and providing social services to the public if their party were ever to come into power.
Remember folks, I'm just a layman, seeking a little clarification and knowledge. That's all. No harm, no foul.
Before we go any further, what are taxes? From Wikipedia (albeit, not the most professional, nor academic site to reference, but a quick and easy one to use nonetheless):
"A tax may be defined as a "pecuniary burden laid upon individuals or property to support the government […] a payment exacted by legislative authority."[1] A tax "is not a voluntary payment or donation, but an enforced contribution, exacted pursuant to legislative authority" and is "any contribution imposed by government […] whether under the name of toll, tribute, tallage, gabel, impost, duty, custom, excise, subsidy, aid, supply, or other name."[1]"
I underlined 'support the government' because the government needs support in providing certain social services (police, fire, health, education, etcetera). The economists, politicians and academics can debate this definition and my addition, further. I however, will not. I will use the above definition as a suffice explanation of what a tax is.
NOTE: I am not saying that taxes are fair, or unfair, or that they are easy to pay, or that they are equally distributed amongst all of the different classes of society (i.e., low, mid and upper class, and everything in between). I am not interested in that. I'm not even interested in debating the tax rate in Barbados (for companies and individuals), nor am I interested in comparing it with other countries. No, take that discussion elsewhere, please. Better yet, go and debate it with a Tax Attorney or an Accountant :-)
To the PDC, I say unto thee: This, as far as I understand it from a layman's point of view, is why taxes are necessary and what they pay for: (Anyone out there is free to offer a counter arguement)
1. Roads. Taxes pay for the roads that we drive, walk, cycle and drive our donkey carts on. The roads may or may not be perfect (leave the politics out of this), but if the government decided to let a private sector company (i.e., companies that exist primarily to increase shareholder value, and to generate profits), take over the development and maintenance of the island's road network, what do you think will happen, PDC? Who do you think the bulk of the burden fall upon? The low, middle or upper income classes, PDC?
2. Water. Taxes pay for the water you use. Who will be able to afford, or have access to water supplies if there are no taxes to pay to the government (which uses tax revenue to provide these services)? Yes, I know that our water 'services' may or may not be the best (leave the politics out of this), but they are being subsidized and/or provided for, by the government. Can you imagine a privatized (or non-nationalized) water company? I recall from my CXC POB (Principles Of Business) studies that private companies exist to make a profit. I further recall from my MBA studies that private companies, of all shapes and sizes, are primarily interested in increasing shareholder value (shareholders are the people that own the company). The have to have increase the value that the shareholders made in the company, else they will investment in another business. Do you, the PDC, think that shareholders of a private water company (unless they are very morally and ethetically minded) are interested in the good of the people, or are they more interested in the bottom line?
3. Police. PDC, the taxes that you want to abolish help pay for the protection and security of life and property. The police also maintain law and order in society. (Leave the politics out please, remember this is purely an academic discussion). How, PDC, do you plan on maintaining law and order in society, as well as protecting life and property, when there are no taxes to pay for the police force? Do we then depend on private security firms, firms like Blackwater?
4. Fire. PDC, a government typically provides a fire service (leave the politics out of this please), do they not? What happens when someone's house or business burns down. Without taxes to pay for that fire service and the people that operate the fire service, who will put out the fires and protect life and property? Or are you, PDC, saying that this sort of service is best left in the hands of a private sector company? What if the less fortunate cannot afford to pay the bill after having a private fire company put out the blaze, what then? Or better yet, when someone's house or business is burning, they call the private fire company and negotiate a rate before putting out the fire. Remember, a private company is interested in their bottom line. Maybe it would be more competitive and beneficial to the public if there was more than one private fire company. That way, you'd have competition and one could always go to 'the other guy' for a cheaper price (you better hope that your house doesn't completely burn down while you haggle over price).
In conlusion, PDC, consider what I've said above, and apply it in turn to other issues like: Education, NIS, Health Care and whatever other government provided services you can think of (please leave the politics out). When you abolish taxes, let me know what you intend to substitute them with in order for Barbadians to have access to social services.
P.S., I'd like to wish everyone all the best for the new year!
DISCLAIMER: IANAE, I Am Not An Economist.
DISCLAIMER: IANAP, I Am Not A Politician.
DISCLAIMER: IAJAQAATPACOB, I Am Just Asking Question(s) As A Tax Payer And Citizen Of Barbados.
DISCLAIMER: IAJAQAACIWNPA, I Am Just Asking Question(s) As A Curious Individual With No Political Agenda.
The last disclaimer is important. This is a non-partisan (non political) post. I am not interested in the BLP, DLP, nor PEP. I am only interested in what the PDC recently had to say (at the time of this post, I cannot recall the exact date of The Nation's article which carried the PDC's comments), with regards to their goal of abolishing taxes (as well as interest rates and foreign land ownership, but I am interested in their abolition of taxes proposition and I will be focusing primarily on that).
My interests are purely academic. Not political. With respect to politics, I ask that reader's take note that, as far as I can recall (but correct me if I'm wrong), none of the other political parties (BLP, DLP and PEP), have ever discussed abolishing taxes.
It is only the PDC that has made this statement.
Now, why am I asking the PDC this question? Because (oops, sentences are not supposed to start with 'because', are they?), I am genuinely interested and curious, in trying to understand:
1) Why the PDC would want to abolish taxes and
2) How they (the PDC), intend on paying for and providing social services to the public if their party were ever to come into power.
Remember folks, I'm just a layman, seeking a little clarification and knowledge. That's all. No harm, no foul.
Before we go any further, what are taxes? From Wikipedia (albeit, not the most professional, nor academic site to reference, but a quick and easy one to use nonetheless):
"A tax may be defined as a "pecuniary burden laid upon individuals or property to support the government […] a payment exacted by legislative authority."[1] A tax "is not a voluntary payment or donation, but an enforced contribution, exacted pursuant to legislative authority" and is "any contribution imposed by government […] whether under the name of toll, tribute, tallage, gabel, impost, duty, custom, excise, subsidy, aid, supply, or other name."[1]"
I underlined 'support the government' because the government needs support in providing certain social services (police, fire, health, education, etcetera). The economists, politicians and academics can debate this definition and my addition, further. I however, will not. I will use the above definition as a suffice explanation of what a tax is.
NOTE: I am not saying that taxes are fair, or unfair, or that they are easy to pay, or that they are equally distributed amongst all of the different classes of society (i.e., low, mid and upper class, and everything in between). I am not interested in that. I'm not even interested in debating the tax rate in Barbados (for companies and individuals), nor am I interested in comparing it with other countries. No, take that discussion elsewhere, please. Better yet, go and debate it with a Tax Attorney or an Accountant :-)
To the PDC, I say unto thee: This, as far as I understand it from a layman's point of view, is why taxes are necessary and what they pay for: (Anyone out there is free to offer a counter arguement)
1. Roads. Taxes pay for the roads that we drive, walk, cycle and drive our donkey carts on. The roads may or may not be perfect (leave the politics out of this), but if the government decided to let a private sector company (i.e., companies that exist primarily to increase shareholder value, and to generate profits), take over the development and maintenance of the island's road network, what do you think will happen, PDC? Who do you think the bulk of the burden fall upon? The low, middle or upper income classes, PDC?
2. Water. Taxes pay for the water you use. Who will be able to afford, or have access to water supplies if there are no taxes to pay to the government (which uses tax revenue to provide these services)? Yes, I know that our water 'services' may or may not be the best (leave the politics out of this), but they are being subsidized and/or provided for, by the government. Can you imagine a privatized (or non-nationalized) water company? I recall from my CXC POB (Principles Of Business) studies that private companies exist to make a profit. I further recall from my MBA studies that private companies, of all shapes and sizes, are primarily interested in increasing shareholder value (shareholders are the people that own the company). The have to have increase the value that the shareholders made in the company, else they will investment in another business. Do you, the PDC, think that shareholders of a private water company (unless they are very morally and ethetically minded) are interested in the good of the people, or are they more interested in the bottom line?
3. Police. PDC, the taxes that you want to abolish help pay for the protection and security of life and property. The police also maintain law and order in society. (Leave the politics out please, remember this is purely an academic discussion). How, PDC, do you plan on maintaining law and order in society, as well as protecting life and property, when there are no taxes to pay for the police force? Do we then depend on private security firms, firms like Blackwater?
4. Fire. PDC, a government typically provides a fire service (leave the politics out of this please), do they not? What happens when someone's house or business burns down. Without taxes to pay for that fire service and the people that operate the fire service, who will put out the fires and protect life and property? Or are you, PDC, saying that this sort of service is best left in the hands of a private sector company? What if the less fortunate cannot afford to pay the bill after having a private fire company put out the blaze, what then? Or better yet, when someone's house or business is burning, they call the private fire company and negotiate a rate before putting out the fire. Remember, a private company is interested in their bottom line. Maybe it would be more competitive and beneficial to the public if there was more than one private fire company. That way, you'd have competition and one could always go to 'the other guy' for a cheaper price (you better hope that your house doesn't completely burn down while you haggle over price).
In conlusion, PDC, consider what I've said above, and apply it in turn to other issues like: Education, NIS, Health Care and whatever other government provided services you can think of (please leave the politics out). When you abolish taxes, let me know what you intend to substitute them with in order for Barbadians to have access to social services.
P.S., I'd like to wish everyone all the best for the new year!
Labels: Barbados, economics, humour, life, Philosophy, politics
Thursday, December 20, 2007
And In Other News...
Tigers kill man who stuck his arm into zoo cage in northeastern India
"GAUHATI, India - A man who stuck his arm into the tiger enclosure at a zoo in northeast India has died after two of the big cats tore off his limb. He says the man ignored warnings from keepers, crossed a barrier and stretched his hand into the enclosure that housed a male and a female tiger."
Viral Video of the Year Nominee: Human Tetris
"One of our 2007 favorites came all the way from Japan and it's fairly straightforward: Human beings are put in a stage with a moving platform that's made to resemble the all-time game phenomenon Tetris, the only difference is that the human beings are the blocks and they must fit into tiny crevices made of odd shapes." [Gadget Lab from Wired.com]
Why We do Dumb or Irrational Things: 10 Brilliant Social Psychology Studies
"Like eminent social psychologist Professor Philip Zimbardo, I'm also obsessed with why we do dumb or irrational things. The answer quite often is because of other people - something social psychologists have comprehensively shown." [via PsyBlog]
New Google Talk bots bring real-time translation to IM
"In Google's never-ending quest to collect and utilize the world's information, the company today introduced a new translation feature to its Google Talk chat client. Delivered as a series of chat bots, these tools can quickly translate a phrase or paragraph for you, and they can even be added to group chats to act as real-time translators." [via Ars Technica]
"GAUHATI, India - A man who stuck his arm into the tiger enclosure at a zoo in northeast India has died after two of the big cats tore off his limb. He says the man ignored warnings from keepers, crossed a barrier and stretched his hand into the enclosure that housed a male and a female tiger."
Viral Video of the Year Nominee: Human Tetris
"One of our 2007 favorites came all the way from Japan and it's fairly straightforward: Human beings are put in a stage with a moving platform that's made to resemble the all-time game phenomenon Tetris, the only difference is that the human beings are the blocks and they must fit into tiny crevices made of odd shapes." [Gadget Lab from Wired.com]
Why We do Dumb or Irrational Things: 10 Brilliant Social Psychology Studies
"Like eminent social psychologist Professor Philip Zimbardo, I'm also obsessed with why we do dumb or irrational things. The answer quite often is because of other people - something social psychologists have comprehensively shown." [via PsyBlog]
New Google Talk bots bring real-time translation to IM
"In Google's never-ending quest to collect and utilize the world's information, the company today introduced a new translation feature to its Google Talk chat client. Delivered as a series of chat bots, these tools can quickly translate a phrase or paragraph for you, and they can even be added to group chats to act as real-time translators." [via Ars Technica]
