Tuesday, March 9, 2010
What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
Scott Adams, a free-weight rack that arrived disassembled, a visit to Home Depot, and a Shop-Vac. What could possibly go wrong?
ClimateGate: Roundup...
Two informative posts at Watts Up With That?, one on the non-linearity of CO2's effects vs. concentration, and the other on yet another IPCC goof.
Totten in Romania...
The always-excellent Michael Totten recently visited Romania, and his resulting piece lives up to his high standards. Hit his tip jar, won't you? We need to keep him and Yon going...
Amazon Fights Back...
Several states have passed the so-called “Amazon tax”, intended to force Amazon to collect sales tax for the state. These tax measures are predicated on a redefinition of what it means to have “operations” inside the state (which in turn drives the issue of sales tax collection). Specifically the redefinition means that participants in the “Amazon Associates” program are counted as “operations”. Amazon Associates are owners of web sites that sign up with Amazon to direct traffic to Amazon in return for a (tiny) sales commission. For instance, were I so inclined I could sign up for Amazon Associates and then put links on my blog for you to click on to buy a book (or some other product).
The states that passed this law expected that Amazon would simply sigh and comply. They were wrong. Amazon's reaction is to play hardball: it is shutting down the Amazon Associates program for anyone in those states. This is a lose-lose-lose proposition: Amazon loses a source of referrals, the Amazon Associate loses a source of sales commissions, and the state loses the income tax (and most likely, some sales taxes) on the Amazon Associate's lost income. It's a great example of ignoramuses in government not realizing what the consequences of their actions would be (despite Amazon telling them loud and clear), and it's also a great example of an American business exercising it's freedom.
Let's hope the states wise up before too much time goes by. The last thing we need in this recession is more government meddling with successful business models...
The states that passed this law expected that Amazon would simply sigh and comply. They were wrong. Amazon's reaction is to play hardball: it is shutting down the Amazon Associates program for anyone in those states. This is a lose-lose-lose proposition: Amazon loses a source of referrals, the Amazon Associate loses a source of sales commissions, and the state loses the income tax (and most likely, some sales taxes) on the Amazon Associate's lost income. It's a great example of ignoramuses in government not realizing what the consequences of their actions would be (despite Amazon telling them loud and clear), and it's also a great example of an American business exercising it's freedom.
Let's hope the states wise up before too much time goes by. The last thing we need in this recession is more government meddling with successful business models...
Arthritis, of the Leaden Variety...
An Amercian soldier who served in World War II complains to his doctor of what he presumes is arthritis – and discovers that he has had a bullet lodged in him for over 60 years!
A Real Education...
Last month a student at NYU was peeved because a professor (Scott Galloway) wouldn't admit him to the class when he showed up an hour late. Professor Galloway is one of those rare professors with actual real-world experience. Read his response to the tardy student. I hope the student takes the professor's advice to heart.
After you read the letter, read the comments below – many are from teachers or professors, and you'll see why our students leave the educational system woefully unprepared for the real world...
After you read the letter, read the comments below – many are from teachers or professors, and you'll see why our students leave the educational system woefully unprepared for the real world...
Storage in the Cloud...
It's starting to happen, thanks to the conjunction of cheap bandwidth and cheap storage. Here's a great example: back up your Mac to Amazon's S3 (their storage-in-the-cloud service)...
When Engineers Have a Question...
...they figure out how to answer it. In this case, an engineer had a vital question: would a lava lamp work on the surface of Jupiter?
Why yes, it would...
Awesome, dude!
Why yes, it would...
Awesome, dude!