The Most Popular Link on Mises.org...

...according to a recent Mises.org Podcast ("Technology and the Market" by Jeffrey Tucker). When I heard that, I had to check it out.
http://mises.org/daily/3092

Turns out, this article touched a nerve. I can see why it is popular. Do we have enough police? Are they protecting us? Really?

"And yet, when it comes right down to it on the particulars, we can't stand the police. We keep a constant lookout for them when we drive. We dread being pulled over. We know in our hearts that they are out to get us, and represent more of a threat than a security for our freedoms.

"In the end, we need to realize that the police are like all other government employees: self-interested, living off tax dollars, parasitical on our liberties."

Welfare state, here we come

From Greg Mankiw's Blog:
http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2010/05/federal-budget-in-one-picture.html

And a related (and more detailed) document:
http://deathandtaxesposter.com/

Finally, a cartoon that sums up where we're headed pretty well.

Price gouging?

People who speak of "price gouging" always annoy me. People who say that don't really believe that you own your own stuff. They (society/government/???) have the right to take what you own. In short, you are not really free.

They also do not understand basic economics. Very frustrating. I like this article, though, which displays some rare common sense about this topic.

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2010/05/04/whats_wrong_with_price_gouging/

Song of the Day: Colin Hay - Waiting for my real life to begin

Beautiful song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4tcRlHY-3Q

Did you see the Scrubs episode that featured this song? If not, you might not appreciate this next clip. But it's my blog and I like it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcsrnT7Tv1o

Incidentally, Colin Hay has appeared as a guest on Scrubs several times. Here is one example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrGmcuj44DQ&feature=related

Skate to Work!

Finally skated to work this past week (Thursday) for the first time in a long time. It was work, and there are some dangerous parts, but it felt good.

Statistics (I skated additional miles in my neighborhood on the way back):

Skate from home to work
Date: Thu May 06 08:10:56 EDT 2010
Total Time: 01:00:27
Moving Time: 00:57:05
Distance: 10.57 mi
Average Speed: 10.59 mi/h
Average Moving Speed: 11.11 mi/h
Max Speed: 34.11 mi/h
Elevation Gain: 1356 ft
Min Elevation: 730 ft
Max Elevation: 1211 ft

Skate from work to home
Date: Thu May 06 19:01:47 EDT 2010
Total Time: 01:23:17
Moving Time: 01:22:06
Distance: 14.5 mi
Average Speed: 10.45 mi/h
Average Moving Speed: 10.6 mi/h
Max Speed: 33.55 mi/h
Elevation Gain: 1645 ft
Min Elevation: 716 ft
Max Elevation: 1148 ft

Here are some saved skates (past data, not what I did on Thursday):
http://www.buddyrunner.com/tblooming

Click on the first "Jul 02" link across the top to see my typical skate TO work, and on the second "Jul 02" link to see my skate FROM work. Note: Select only one at a time to see the map display.

Notice that the skate from work starts out with some really tough hill climbing in the first two miles. My old legs always feel it the next day!

Erotic Capital (explicit)

Slightly different direction with this post, but this is part of who we are. Call this part of my "I'm going to be true to myself on my own blog" resolution. Anyway, I found this article fascinating (thank you Google Reader!).

http://www.tinynibbles.com/blogarchives/2010/05/expanding-on-the-erotic-capital-theory.html?utm_source=feedburner

Most Influential Person on the Internet?

This is one of the funniest pieces I've seen in a long time. Have I asked before whether XKCD.com is the funniest comic ever? Oh yeah, I think I have. ;)

http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/54927