Double-share plough

From Hungry Ghosts By Jasper Becker, False Science False Promises:

China also experienced major setbacks when she tried to mass produce and use machinery based on impractical designs. … Another was a special Soviet plough designed for deep ploughing. The Chinese version, the double-share plough, cost ten times as much as a traditional plough but proved unsuitable for the terraces and paddy fields of southern China: 700,000 had to be withdrawn from use and melted down again.

My parents were amazing namers. That’s so me: I cost a lot, and I’m unsuitable for my environment.

Recall me.

 

Inside the Wall

Boy am I glad I’m in!

Top 50 Quality of Life Cities (from here):

Rank 2009	Rank 2008	City	Country	Index 2009	Index 2008
1	2	VIENNA	AUSTRIA	108.6	107.9
2	1	ZURICH	SWITZERLAND	108	108
3	2	GENEVA	SWITZERLAND	107.9	107.9
4	4	VANCOUVER	CANADA	107.4	107.6
4	5	AUCKLAND	NEW ZEALAND	107.4	107.3
6	6	DUSSELDORF	GERMANY	107.2	107.2
7	7	MUNICH	GERMANY	107	107
8	7	FRANKFURT	GERMANY	106.8	107
9	9	BERN	SWITZERLAND	106.5	106.5
10	10	SYDNEY	AUSTRALIA	106.3	106.3
11	11	COPENHAGEN	DENMARK	106.2	106.2
12	12	WELLINGTON	NEW ZEALAND	105.9	105.8
13	13	AMSTERDAM	NETHERLANDS	105.7	105.7
14	14	BRUSSELS	BELGIUM	105.4	105.4
15	15	TORONTO	CANADA	105.3	105.3
16	19	OTTAWA	CANADA	105	104.7
16	16	BERLIN	GERMANY	105	105
18	17	MELBOURNE	AUSTRALIA	104.8	104.8
19	17	LUXEMBOURG	LUXEMBOURG	104.6	104.8
20	20	STOCKHOLM	SWEDEN	104.5	104.5
21	21	PERTH	AUSTRALIA	104.3	104.3
22	22	MONTREAL	CANADA	104.2	104.2
23	23	NURNBERG	GERMANY	104.1	104.1
24	24	OSLO	NORWAY	103.7	103.7
25	25	DUBLIN	IRELAND	103.6	103.5
26	32	SINGAPORE	SINGAPORE	103.5	102.9
26	25	CALGARY	CANADA	103.5	103.5
28	27	HAMBURG	GERMANY	103.4	103.4
29	28	HONOLULU, HI	UNITED STATES	103.1	103.1
30	29	SAN FRANCISCO, CA	UNITED STATES	103	103
30	29	HELSINKI	FINLAND	103	103
30	29	ADELAIDE	AUSTRALIA	103	103
33	32	PARIS	FRANCE	102.9	102.9
34	34	BRISBANE	AUSTRALIA	102.4	102.4
35	35	TOKYO	JAPAN	102.2	102.2
35	37	BOSTON, MA	UNITED STATES	102.2	101.8
37	36	LYON	FRANCE	101.9	101.9
38	38	YOKOHAMA	JAPAN	101.6	101.6
38	38	LONDON	UNITED KINGDOM	101.6	101.6
40	40	KOBE	JAPAN	100.9	100.9
41	41	MILAN	ITALY	100.8	100.8
42	48	PORTLAND, OR	UNITED STATES	100.6	100.2
42	42	BARCELONA	SPAIN	100.6	100.6
44	44	WASHINGTON, DC	UNITED STATES	100.3	100.3
44	44	OSAKA	JAPAN	100.3	100.3
44	44	LISBON	PORTUGAL	100.3	100.3
44	44	CHICAGO, IL	UNITED STATES	100.3	100.3
48	43	MADRID	SPAIN	100.2	100.5
49	49	NEW YORK CITY, NY	UNITED STATES	100	100
50	50	SEATTLE, WA	UNITED STATES	99.8	99.8

Can you spot the only one outside the Wall?

 

Economists are Physicists Wannabe

Scientific American quotes MIT Economist Andrew Lo:

“Economists suffer from a deep psychological disorder that I call ‘physics envy,’ ” Lo says. “We wish that 99 percent of economic behavior could be captured by three simple laws of nature. In fact, economists have 99 laws that capture 3 percent of behavior. Economics is a uniquely human endeavor and, as such, should be understood in the broader context of competition, mutation and natural selection—in other words, evolution.”

Make it the 100 law.

 

Garmin usability

Nuvi’s usability is legendary. I haven’t used it, but as I research it, Garmin’s website is giving me a hint: I’ve never seen a comparison page that highlights the rows with differences and allows you to remove any row, though it’s trivial to implement. Hats off.

 

Crazy 8

(I later learned that melamine ends with a “min” sound, but what the heck.)

‘Tis was a year of craziness
With all kinds of killing business
China had riot, earthquake, and melamine
Terror in Mumbai, and for the rest of the world: subprime

After in-Greenspan-we-trust there came Bernanke
A nice fella from a neighbor of Kentucky
Let’s pray he knows how to salvage our stock
Not as a drunk jockey riding backward in the derby

Mr. Hanky Panky we have a problem
Your alma mater has lost its emblem
Blankfein & Co. bring home no cookie this year
Bet they’re cursing your super-G slalom

You stretched your arms in March, but in September you waved your hands
Bear was saved in a trap, but no such luck for poor Lehman
Dick Fuld may have to sell his houses and paintings
‘Coz his fellow Streeters couldn’t make a stand

For two days his calls for Lewis fell on deaf’s ear
While Ken was smooching with Buzz Lightyear
Mr. Thain saved the Mother from vultures
But he still had to give up his $10m in tears

It sounded a lot when SocGen lost $7 billion
But its trader was a kitten compared to other hellions
Detroit begged for 15 while 85 went down AIG’s throat
But nothing tops TARP’s seven hundred thousand million

Citi didn’t get Wachovia, and my best friend was laid off
Among 50,000 others, after billions of write-off
Even the Oracle had a deal fell through
But his $5b doubled so he’s still better off

In market good and bad, Uncle Bernie delivers 12 percent
Until blue blood spilled from La Villehuchet’s hand
$50 billion over 20 years would make Mr. Ponzi proud
But that’s not what his sons and the SEC can comprehend

Spitzer the prosecuter got hookupped
Blagjo the reformer got phone-tapped
Bleeping golden turns into bleeping nothing
When the muddy basement got mopped

We got a historical president in Obama
Even though New Yorker paints him as Osama
2008 would’ve been a lot more crazier
If the American people had picked the Old Man and the Grandma
YOU BETCHA!!!