News

Blogs

Other stuff

Comic Strips

Radio Stations on the web

Online references

• Yahoo! Maps
• MapBlast
• Mapquest

Weblog: January 2001

Friday, January 26 2001

Translation as a Transaction Cost (Econ 101?)

Apparently, I should spend more time reading economic theory papers. Or should've taken more econ classes in college.

"[B can maximize its own benefit by investing the minimum required to get A to invest in the common service.] ... Neoclassical economists tend to believe this kind of self-interest is ethically legitimate. Actor B has, after all, ensured A's continued existence and economic betterment...."

Wednesday, January 24 2001

My Zodiac

Chinese Zodiac: "Dogs are honest and faithful to those they love but they tend to worry too much and find fault with others. They make ideal secret agents or business people." (Or: "The Dog will never let you down. Born under this sign you are honest, and faithful to those you love. You are plagued by constant worry, a sharp tongue, and a tendency to be a fault finder, however. You would make an excellent businessman, activist, teacher, or secret agent.")

Mainstream astrology: "The Earth element of Taurus brings strength and the desire for solid ground, form and structure. Preservation is important. The Bull's fixed motivation seeks first to stabilize, then produce. Ruled by loving Venus, Taurus has great emotional depth. Friends and lovers rely on the warmth and emotional accessibility of this sign. Taurus represents consistency, loyalty, and patience. Fixed earth can be very rigid, too cautious to take some of the risks necessary in life. Sometimes the Bull ends up temporarily stuck in the mud. He or she may not want to rise to every challenge or potential. And stubborn? Ah yes! The Taurus Bull may always surface. This sign's Yin energy can go too far; Taurus becomes very, very passive -- even lazy. Balance comes with a reliable plan, one that satisfies Taurus' need for stability while allowing for action and accomplishments." (Or elsewhere: "This fixed earth sign in full contradictions in love, but ain't a wild dreamer. A Taurean means business, plans for tomorrow carefully. Works hard and needs lots of rest. The bull is affectionate, simple, plain, and stubborn.")

Tuesday, January 23 2001

"After the Fall"

Feed Magazine has a series of web pages of the future - from 2004, after the fall of civilization, what will your favorite websites be saying?

Amazon.com: "Our Editors Suggest: A Piece of Board With a Nail In It."

Yahoo News: "Tom Hanks won his third Oscar in as many years for his heart-warming portrayal of a man who sells his car to pay for a pepperoni pizza and spends the next ninety minutes eating it."

TheStreet.com: "Three months ago, Rice was a pick of mine and I moved on it like everybody else did. It doubled after Rotten Fruit (RTFD: FDSE - news- boards) fell off the cliff."

The Socialist Worker: "peer-to-peer software that will allow group sharing of MP3s, DVDs, Mpegs, Euros, Dollars, Rubles, and children."

And The New Yorker.

Sunday, January 21 2001

Online Political Advertising: Negative Effect?

A recent study seems to indicate that undecided voters who saw ads for a particular presidential candidate online were then less likely to vote for that candidate. The article reporting this doesn't say what effect ads had on people who claimed to have already decided.

Saturday, January 20 2001

GNUPedia Project - a collaborative online encyclopedia

Slashdot links to the Free Software Foundation's GNUPedia project, an attempt to build an online encyclopedia using submissions from random Internet users. Seems similar to Everything 2, at least what it was originally supposed to be.

Friday, January 19 2001

Jesse Jackson admits affair, having child with staffer...

Jesse Jackson, who I'd say has been underappreciated by both the public and the press for his efforts to make this a better country and world, admits to committing adultery and having a "love child." Salon has two original articles on the situation: one, with reactions from friends and foes; another, speculation on how/why this happened, and praise for his reaction to being exposed - accepting responsibility and retiring for at least the moment.

The author of that last piece draws a parallel between Jackson's transgressions and those of other famous preachers who've cheated on their wives. The difference, I'd say, is this: Jackson is most famous for fighting political and economic disenfranchisement (whether externally- or self-imposed) of African-Americans, other minorities, and the poor; not for preaching morality, or pointing fingers at others' moral transgressions. He's a preacher who deals with secular matters, albeit one who uses religion to motivate those of his followers who share his faith. Jerry Falwell's and Jimmy Swaggart's (the also-philandering preachers to whom he's compared) messages (or at least what came through the press) were based wholly on religion, and what they deemed to be moral or immoral based on that religion. They practiced those things which they railed against most in their speeches; Jesse Jackson practiced that which goes against his religion, but it's not religion or morality that he's been trying to sell; it's equality.

Wednesday, January 17 2001

Earth at Night

Friend George sent this link to a picture (cobbled together from several photographs, I assume) of the Earth at night. Courtesy of NASA. Makes me want a 40-inch monitor.

Tuesday, January 16 2001

Complaining About Poor Customer Service

A Washington Post article lists several websites that let you complain about your treatment at the hands of corporations; some will send email or real-world letters to the companies in the hope of getting refunds & results. Included: planetfeedback.com, mythreecents.com, thecomplaintstation.com, ugetheard.com.

Monday, January 15 2001

Environmental Factors Affecting Health

At SFGate: "The study, being published in today's edition of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, is the latest in a string of studies linking violence with television and video games. But it is the first to show that those tendencies can be reversed."

Slashdot readers attack a study reported on in a Sunday Times of London article which reports on a correlation between cell phone radiation and cancer of the eye (uveal melanoma). The abstract of the study itself doesn't say there is a cause-and-effect relationship.

Wednesday, January 10 2001

Diets, health...

A study says reducing salt intake will lower blood pressure after all; a U.S. Department of Agriculture report says most diets work for short-term weight loss, but only certain kinds (combined with certain behavior) will help you keep the pounds off; and the New York Times talks about A-type personalities taking up yoga.

Thursday, January 4 2001

Castaway = FedEx the Movie

Alex Abramovich, at Feed, discusses the continuing evolution of product placement in movies, specifically in light of the movie Castaway. The interesting thing about Castaway being: FedEx, which is featured prominently in the movie (main character is a FedEx worker, he lives with a bunch of FedEx boxes for a third of the movie, etc.), didn't pay for product placement; though a FedEx higher-up helped work on the script.

Whenever I read something like this, I find myself wanting to go watch The Truman Show again; whether the producers meant Truman to be a critique of the way Hollywood treats its audiences or not, that's how I perceive it.

Wednesday, January 3 2001

Online Lists of Jailbirds and Parolees

Privacy erodes further in the name of public safety: you can access online lists of prisoners and parolees in 18 states.

About this site

This is the personal web site for Edward (Ed) Piou. Consisting mainly of a blog (operational since 1999) and various photos.

Some online projects I'm working on

Politics

Charity, Non-profits...

A while ago, I decided to put my money where my mind is on a (roughly) monthly basis and give to:

Photos

Public events documented through pictures...