Web of Trust

Web of Trust is a browser add-on, I use it in both Firefox and Safari, it's available also for IE, Chrome, Opera, and I think more.

It's a pretty basic feature that I've found useful especially when browsing Google results. WoT will put a colored circle next to each link, telling you the reliability of the site as rated by other members. Green circle = good, red circle = bad. When you enter a bad site from anywhere, WoT will pull up a screen telling you the stats that make that site bad and ask if you really want to go there. Most of the time the answer is No.

For example, when searching for downloads, either for software or music. So many sites will pop up in Google claiming to let you download stuff, and you go there, click around, locate the file, click around some more, ladida, until finally you are told you must sign up or dance on your head in order to download that file. WoT usually warns of those kinds of sites.

Stay away from frustration and shady downloads -- use Web of Trust.

A mouse never entrusts his life to only one hole.

- Plautus -

Economics Seminars

What - Economics seminars this summer

Economics, politics, business, history, freedom.
Principles of trade, public choice, money.
If any of those words pique your interest, you may benefit from looking up the free economics seminars offered by the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE).

FEE is a non-profit based in New York.
They teach free market economics -- primarily Libertarian views. Some of their main points are private property, individual liberty, the rule of law, the free market, and importance of the individual and individual choice.
View some of their materials here to learn more about FEE.

Where -
College seminars in Atlanta, Georgia, and in Irvington-On-Hudson, New York (50-min train ride from NYC). High school seminars in Salt Lake City, Utah.

When - College seminars
June and July. Check out the complete schedule here.

When - HS seminars
1. July 9-14
2. July 16-21
3-4 lectures during the day, discussions, food, and some activities.

How much -
Paid for by donors (sponsors), the only costs are transportation and time.
Lodging + food = paid for.

Application deadline is April 16. There will be applicants from all over the U.S. and international students as well. It's a great place to meet people, and during these seminars you get to discuss the ideas and have plenty of people to answer your questions.

Why:

If you want a better understanding of our economy, how markets work together -- trade -- and politics move and mix, how markets go up and down and what some indicators of that are, so you can be successful personally, in work, and as a voter.

If you value freedom and want to understand how freedom is taken away and what can be done to take it back.

Media often misrepresents what's really going on, so it's important you can tell for yourself.

Similar organizations:
Hillsdale College (Constitution), Mises Institute, Hayek Foundation, the Ayn Rand Foundation, Foundation for Liberty, the Cato Institute, Institute for Justice, etc.

How:

Go to FEE.org to read more about the seminars and to apply.

Freedom is always worth fighting for.

Reusable Snack Bags

I'm not a big 'save the environment' person, though I do believe in conserving resources. And sometimes it's just fun. So I encourage you to try some reusable snack bags. You can find them on Amazon.com, for example the LunchSkins, or other places, like Waste Not Saks,  I don't know if there's a particular reason to get any brand over another, but I got the WasteNot Saks.

I purchased a bunch of them in August last year, mostly as an experiment. I wasn't sure when I would really use them. But the patterns were pretty, they came in two sizes, and I do get tired of using ziplock baggies for everything. So I got about 4 different patterns...

And I love them! I use them all the time, when I'm going to be out and about and need a snack. I like doing sliced apples. Note, very important, the sacks do NOT contain liquids, and they are NOT air-tight. So putting in anything that might leak doesn't work at all. You can use it for something like cookies or apples if they aren't going to be in there too long, the sacks won't keep them fresh, they just hold them. That said, I've left apples in there for hours and they get a little brown but are perfectly fine.

One problem I saw people mentioning (when I researched them) was that crumbs get stuck in the velcro. They do. I thought this might be a pain, but they actually cleaned out easily. Not really an issue.

How to clean: I sometimes just rinse the bags, depending on what I've used them for. Usually I'll rinse, scrub a little with a brush and some dish soap, rinse, then set out to dry. It's pretty easy. As easy as pulling out a ziplock and throwing it out in the end? No. But the sacks are much prettier :)

They are a little expensive, but I've had my sacks for a while, used them and washed them all several times, they are holding up well. I think they are well-made and won't fall apart. I find them convenient for a variety of snacks.

Give it a thought :)

この世界はすごいもん。

Get Rich Quick!

“They Must Be Making a Killing Off This Place...”

When I hear that line, I know this about the speaker: They know little to nothing of business, economics, and supply & demand. 

The particular time I’m thinking of was at a ‘bouncy house’ type of place — basically, the customer pays to jump on fields of trampolines. The speaker is thinking that all the company has to do is put in the trampolines, hire a guy to sell tickets, then sit back and rake in profits. 

If it were that simple, we’d all be running bouncy houses. 

I am not in the trampoline industry (or peripherals), but I can guess a few costs the company has that make them charge the prices they do. 

First, there’s the starting capital. That is, the building or space if purchased, the computers, the trampolines, the pads, the pits, the couches, the cubbies, and so on. The business needs to make the money to pay for the costs it has already accrued. 

Building: If purchased, it still incurs property taxes. If rented, there’s the rent.

Utilities: Lighting, washroom facilities, power, heating, cooling, etc.

Insurance: Location insurance, such as fire and theft, as well as liability. (Each bouncer signs a waiver, but what does that mean?)

Cleaning: With that many people, and that much space, it takes a lot to keep clean. The company must pay someone to do that cleaning.

Maintenance: The couches will need to be replaced after a few too many soda spills, but more importantly, I’d like to believe the trampolines are being well taken care of. 

Employees: Not only the guys selling tickets and applying wristbands, but the ones taking care of all the rest of the aforementioned stuff and the paperwork for it. i.e. Accounting, marketing, purchasing, customer database managing, legal issues, and so forth.

I’m sure there are even more costs I can’t think of at the moment — such as the business license — oh, and taxes — but the bottom line is, to quote Bastiat, there is the seen and the unseen. In this time of high regulation and taxing of businesses, lack of responsibility of consumers, and wide variety of methods with which to occupy our time, it’s surprising when a company can make it at all. If I’m there bouncing, and I’m thinking how much I like this service, I WANT the company to make a profit. No profit = no business. And if it takes $8 an hour — or, er, $9 now — then I guess I’m willing to pay that. And you, speaker of that line, were there, which means you were willing to pay it too.


TANSTAFL