 |
| SOURCE |
Friday, August 20, 2010
Ok, I hit a low point in finding examples of Complements for Microeconomics... :)
(HT: Division of Labour)...Complements---it is a dirty businesses...In economics we call two goods that are separate and distinct BUT primarily (or often) used together-- complements. If the price of one of the goods INCREASES then the Demand for the complement DECREASES and vice versa (the price of one good DECREASES then the Demand for the complement INCREASES). There is an inverse relationship between price of one and the demand for the other. Extra Credit: Which is the primary good and which is the complement??
Protesters---You have been warned!!
Pet Peeve alert: I am fed up with protesters! BUT not for the reason you might think...If you go to a protest and march with a pre-printed sign and tee-shirt I will automatically dismiss you as insincere and lazy, even if you are not. I will consider you a "corporate" protester with no substance...Ok, you have been warned...Be a classy 1st Amendment exerciser---make your own sign and shirt!!!
 |
| NY TIMES |
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
College Class of 2014---A list of things you have and have not known in your lifetimes...It also reminds us oldtimers how time flys!!
The Beloit College Mindset List for the Class of 2014(HT: Carpe Diem)
Most students entering college for the first time this fall—the Class of 2014—were born in 1992.
For these students, Benny Hill, Sam Kinison, Sam Walton, Bert Parks and Tony Perkins have always been dead.
1. Few in the class know how to write in cursive.
2. Email is just too slow, and they seldom if ever use snail mail.
3. “Go West, Young College Grad” has always implied “and don’t stop until you get to Asia…and learn Chinese along the way.”
4. Al Gore has always been animated.
5. Los Angelenos have always been trying to get along.
6. Buffy has always been meeting her obligations to hunt down Lothos and the other blood-suckers at Hemery High.
7. “Caramel macchiato” and “venti half-caf vanilla latte” have always been street corner lingo.
8. With increasing numbers of ramps, Braille signs, and handicapped parking spaces, the world has always been trying harder to accommodate people with disabilities.
9. Had it remained operational, the villainous computer HAL could be their college classmate this fall, but they have a better chance of running into Miley Cyrus’s folks on Parents’ Weekend.
10. A quarter of the class has at least one immigrant parent, and the immigration debate is not a big priority…unless it involves “real” aliens from another planet.
11. John McEnroe has never played professional tennis.
12. Clint Eastwood is better known as a sensitive director than as Dirty Harry.
13. Parents and teachers feared that Beavis and Butt-head might be the voice of a lost generation.
14. Doctor Kevorkian has never been licensed to practice medicine.
15. Colorful lapel ribbons have always been worn to indicate support for a cause.
16. Korean cars have always been a staple on American highways.
17. Trading Chocolate the Moose for Patti the Platypus helped build their Beanie Baby collection.
18. Fergie is a pop singer, not a princess.
19. They never twisted the coiled handset wire aimlessly around their wrists while chatting on the phone.
20. DNA fingerprinting and maps of the human genome have always existed.
21. Woody Allen, whose heart has wanted what it wanted, has always been with Soon-Yi Previn.
22. Cross-burning has always been deemed protected speech.
23. Leasing has always allowed the folks to upgrade their tastes in cars.
24. “Cop Killer” by rapper Ice-T has never been available on a recording.
25. Leno and Letterman have always been trading insults on opposing networks.
26. Unless they found one in their grandparents’ closet, they have never seen a carousel of Kodachrome slides.
27. Computers have never lacked a CD-ROM disk drive.
28. They’ve never recognized that pointing to their wrists was a request for the time of day.
29. Reggie Jackson has always been enshrined in Cooperstown.
30. “Viewer Discretion” has always been an available warning on TV shows.
31. The first computer they probably touched was an Apple II; it is now in a museum.
32. Czechoslovakia has never existed.
33. Second-hand smoke has always been an official carcinogen.
34. “Assisted Living” has always been replacing nursing homes, while Hospice has always been an alternative to hospitals.
35. Once they got through security, going to the airport has always resembled going to the mall.
36. Adhesive strips have always been available in varying skin tones.
37. Whatever their parents may have thought about the year they were born, Queen Elizabeth declared it an “Annus Horribilis.”
38. Bud Selig has always been the Commissioner of Major League Baseball.
39. Pizza jockeys from Domino’s have never killed themselves to get your pizza there in under 30 minutes.
40. There have always been HIV positive athletes in the Olympics.
41. American companies have always done business in Vietnam.
42. Potato has always ended in an “e” in New Jersey per vice presidential edict.
43. Russians and Americans have always been living together in space.
44. The dominance of television news by the three networks passed while they were still in their cribs.
45. They have always had a chance to do community service with local and federal programs to earn money for college.
46. Nirvana is on the classic oldies station.
47. Children have always been trying to divorce their parents.
48. Someone has always gotten married in space.
49. While they were babbling in strollers, there was already a female Poet Laureate of the United States.
50. Toothpaste tubes have always stood up on their caps.
51. Food has always been irradiated.
52. There have always been women priests in the Anglican Church.
53. J.R. Ewing has always been dead and gone. Hasn’t he?
54. The historic bridge at Mostar in Bosnia has always been a copy.
55. Rock bands have always played at presidential inaugural parties.
56. They may have assumed that parents’ complaints about Black Monday had to do with punk rockers from L.A., not Wall Street.
57. A purple dinosaur has always supplanted Barney Google and Barney Fife.
58. Beethoven has always been a dog.
59. By the time their folks might have noticed Coca Cola’s new Tab Clear, it was gone.
60. Walmart has never sold handguns over the counter in the lower 48.
61. Presidential appointees have always been required to be more precise about paying their nannies’ withholding tax, or else.
62. Having hundreds of cable channels but nothing to watch has always been routine.
63. Their parents’ favorite TV sitcoms have always been showing up as movies.
64. The U.S, Canada, and Mexico have always agreed to trade freely.
65. They first met Michelangelo when he was just a computer virus.
66. Galileo is forgiven and welcome back into the Roman Catholic Church.
67. Ruth Bader Ginsburg has always sat on the Supreme Court.
68. They have never worried about a Russian missile strike on the U.S.
69. The Post Office has always been going broke.
70. The artist formerly known as Snoop Doggy Dogg has always been rapping.
71. The nation has never approved of the job Congress is doing.
72. One way or another, “It’s the economy, stupid” and always has been.
73. Silicone-gel breast implants have always been regulated.
74. They’ve always been able to blast off with the Sci-Fi Channel.
75. Honda has always been a major competitor on Memorial Day at Indianapolis.
Most students entering college for the first time this fall—the Class of 2014—were born in 1992.
For these students, Benny Hill, Sam Kinison, Sam Walton, Bert Parks and Tony Perkins have always been dead.
1. Few in the class know how to write in cursive.
2. Email is just too slow, and they seldom if ever use snail mail.
3. “Go West, Young College Grad” has always implied “and don’t stop until you get to Asia…and learn Chinese along the way.”
4. Al Gore has always been animated.
5. Los Angelenos have always been trying to get along.
6. Buffy has always been meeting her obligations to hunt down Lothos and the other blood-suckers at Hemery High.
7. “Caramel macchiato” and “venti half-caf vanilla latte” have always been street corner lingo.
8. With increasing numbers of ramps, Braille signs, and handicapped parking spaces, the world has always been trying harder to accommodate people with disabilities.
9. Had it remained operational, the villainous computer HAL could be their college classmate this fall, but they have a better chance of running into Miley Cyrus’s folks on Parents’ Weekend.
10. A quarter of the class has at least one immigrant parent, and the immigration debate is not a big priority…unless it involves “real” aliens from another planet.
11. John McEnroe has never played professional tennis.
12. Clint Eastwood is better known as a sensitive director than as Dirty Harry.
13. Parents and teachers feared that Beavis and Butt-head might be the voice of a lost generation.
14. Doctor Kevorkian has never been licensed to practice medicine.
15. Colorful lapel ribbons have always been worn to indicate support for a cause.
16. Korean cars have always been a staple on American highways.
17. Trading Chocolate the Moose for Patti the Platypus helped build their Beanie Baby collection.
18. Fergie is a pop singer, not a princess.
19. They never twisted the coiled handset wire aimlessly around their wrists while chatting on the phone.
20. DNA fingerprinting and maps of the human genome have always existed.
21. Woody Allen, whose heart has wanted what it wanted, has always been with Soon-Yi Previn.
22. Cross-burning has always been deemed protected speech.
23. Leasing has always allowed the folks to upgrade their tastes in cars.
24. “Cop Killer” by rapper Ice-T has never been available on a recording.
25. Leno and Letterman have always been trading insults on opposing networks.
26. Unless they found one in their grandparents’ closet, they have never seen a carousel of Kodachrome slides.
27. Computers have never lacked a CD-ROM disk drive.
28. They’ve never recognized that pointing to their wrists was a request for the time of day.
29. Reggie Jackson has always been enshrined in Cooperstown.
30. “Viewer Discretion” has always been an available warning on TV shows.
31. The first computer they probably touched was an Apple II; it is now in a museum.
32. Czechoslovakia has never existed.
33. Second-hand smoke has always been an official carcinogen.
34. “Assisted Living” has always been replacing nursing homes, while Hospice has always been an alternative to hospitals.
35. Once they got through security, going to the airport has always resembled going to the mall.
36. Adhesive strips have always been available in varying skin tones.
37. Whatever their parents may have thought about the year they were born, Queen Elizabeth declared it an “Annus Horribilis.”
38. Bud Selig has always been the Commissioner of Major League Baseball.
39. Pizza jockeys from Domino’s have never killed themselves to get your pizza there in under 30 minutes.
40. There have always been HIV positive athletes in the Olympics.
41. American companies have always done business in Vietnam.
42. Potato has always ended in an “e” in New Jersey per vice presidential edict.
43. Russians and Americans have always been living together in space.
44. The dominance of television news by the three networks passed while they were still in their cribs.
45. They have always had a chance to do community service with local and federal programs to earn money for college.
46. Nirvana is on the classic oldies station.
47. Children have always been trying to divorce their parents.
48. Someone has always gotten married in space.
49. While they were babbling in strollers, there was already a female Poet Laureate of the United States.
50. Toothpaste tubes have always stood up on their caps.
51. Food has always been irradiated.
52. There have always been women priests in the Anglican Church.
53. J.R. Ewing has always been dead and gone. Hasn’t he?
54. The historic bridge at Mostar in Bosnia has always been a copy.
55. Rock bands have always played at presidential inaugural parties.
56. They may have assumed that parents’ complaints about Black Monday had to do with punk rockers from L.A., not Wall Street.
57. A purple dinosaur has always supplanted Barney Google and Barney Fife.
58. Beethoven has always been a dog.
59. By the time their folks might have noticed Coca Cola’s new Tab Clear, it was gone.
60. Walmart has never sold handguns over the counter in the lower 48.
61. Presidential appointees have always been required to be more precise about paying their nannies’ withholding tax, or else.
62. Having hundreds of cable channels but nothing to watch has always been routine.
63. Their parents’ favorite TV sitcoms have always been showing up as movies.
64. The U.S, Canada, and Mexico have always agreed to trade freely.
65. They first met Michelangelo when he was just a computer virus.
66. Galileo is forgiven and welcome back into the Roman Catholic Church.
67. Ruth Bader Ginsburg has always sat on the Supreme Court.
68. They have never worried about a Russian missile strike on the U.S.
69. The Post Office has always been going broke.
70. The artist formerly known as Snoop Doggy Dogg has always been rapping.
71. The nation has never approved of the job Congress is doing.
72. One way or another, “It’s the economy, stupid” and always has been.
73. Silicone-gel breast implants have always been regulated.
74. They’ve always been able to blast off with the Sci-Fi Channel.
75. Honda has always been a major competitor on Memorial Day at Indianapolis.
Cost of component parts to the New Blackberry Torch---"I see variable costs of production"--NICE graphic!!
Piece by Piece: The Suppliers Behind the New BlackBerry Torch Smartphone
 |
| Click on image to make bigger or go to link above |
From WSJ: ""...ISuppli estimated the total cost of the Torch's components at $171, plus $12 for manufacturing. The most expensive single part of the Torch, iSuppli said, is the display and touchscreen assembly, at an estimated cost of $34.85. The screen supplier was unknown. Memory chips, supplied by South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co., accounted for $34.25 of the Torch's component costs, the firm said.
The chip that serves as the electronic brains of the Torch--and also provides so-called "baseband" functions to manage communications--was supplied by Marvell Technology Group Ltd., a company in Santa Clara, Calif., that primarily uses manufacturing services in Taiwan to build chips it designs. ISuppli put the price of that chip at $15...."
Monday, August 16, 2010
It's official: China is second largest economy in the world...however Per Capita GDP is about equal to El Salvador...So is China rich or not???
The graphs below represent two perspectives on the recent news that China, in terms of GDP, has become the 2nd largest economy in the world (surpassing Japan, second to the US). It is impressive considering it made no appreciable increase until 1990-1995.
The first graph represents a dollar value of national output ("output method"). It shows the move into second place.
This second graph shows GDP per capita. Per capita GDP is found by taking the GDP number for any time period above and dividing it by the population of a country. By this measure, we get a different perspective on GDP. Per capita GDP represents in dollar terms how much of the production/national income is attributed to each person. By this measure, we can see China is WAY behind the US and Japan (many relatively poor countries as well). Obviously, China's population is very large, so this low per capita figure is somewhat a distortion. GDP per capita does not tell us anything about how this income is spead among members of the country. The income gains have not been uniform across the Chinese population, BUT the gains are significant and concentrated in an extraordinary number of people who are starting to excercise consumption power.
From Robert Reich on this subject:
""...Don’t be misled by these numbers. The important thing isn’t China’s ranking, nor the total value of China’s production, nor even the extraordinary speed by which China has reached #2.
What’s most important is the share China’s production received and consumed by the Chinese themselves. The problem is it continues to drop.
China has dozens of billionaires but the vast majority of the Chinese are still extremely poor. The typical Chinese lives off the equivalent of about $3,600 a year. That puts him behind workers in 126 other countries. (The typical Japanese earns the equivalent of about $39,000; the typical American, $46,400.)...""
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Who creates the MOST jobs by far in the US? Must see these charts!!!
Startups Or Behemoths: Which Are We Going To Bet On?
""...Kauffman Foundation has done extensive research on job creation. Kauffman Senior Fellow Tim Kane analyzed a new data set from the U.S. government, called Business Dynamics Statistics, which provides details about the age and employment of businesses started in the U.S. since 1977. What this showed was that startups aren’t just an important contributor to job growth: they’re the only thing. Without startups, there would be no net job growth in the U.S. economy. From 1977 to 2005, existing companies were net job destroyers, losing 1 million net jobs per year. In contrast, new businesses in their first year added an average of 3 million jobs annually.
When analyzed by company age, the data are even more startling. Gross job creation at startups averaged more than 3 million jobs per year during 1992–2005, four times as high as any other yearly age group. Existing firms in all year groups have gross job losses that are larger than gross job gains...""
Happy Birthday Social Security!! 75 years young. I hope you have many more????
Happy Birthday, Social Security: Now Here's 22 Scary Facts About America's Pension Crisis
1. 6 out of every 10 non-retirees in the United States believe that the Social Security system will not be able to pay them benefits when they stop working.
2. 35% of Americans over the age of 65 rely almost entirely on Social Security payments alone.
3. 56 percent of current retirees believe that the U.S. government will eventually cut their Social Security benefits.
4. There will be two workers for each retiree in 2025
5. Social Security paid out more in benefits than it received in payroll taxes this year
6. Approximately 57 percent of Obama's budget consists of direct payments to individual Americans
7. America's 100 largest corporate pension plans were underfunded by $217 billion at the end of 2008.
8. Approximately half of all workers in the United States have less than $2000 saved up for retirement.
9. 36 percent of Americans say that they don't contribute anything at all to retirement savings.
10. The number of pensions at risk inside failing companies more than tripled during the recession.
11. 24% of U.S. workers admit that they have postponed their planned retirement age at least once during the past year.
12. California has $22,000 per working adult in unfunded pension liabilities
13. California's three biggest pension funds are as much as $500 billion short of meeting future retiree benefit obligations.
14. In New Jersey, the governor has proposed not making the state's entire $3 billion contribution to its pension funds because of the state's $11 billion budget deficit.
15. It has been reported that the $33.7 billion Illinois Teachers Retirement System is 61% underfunded and is on the verge of total collapse
16. The state of Illinois recently raised its retirement age to 67 and capped the salary on which public pensions are figured.
17. The state of Virginia is requiring employees to pay into the state pension fund for the first time ever.
18. In New York City, annual pension contributions have increased sixfold in the past decade alone and are now so large that they would be able to finance entire new police and fire departments.
19. For all states, unfunded pension liabilities equal up to $3.2 trillion
20. Entitlement programs have a $46 trillion shortfall over the next 75 years
21. Debt plus entitlement spending may absorb 92 cents of every dollar of federal revenue by 2019
22. By 2080, debt and entitlement spending will eat up 50 percent of GDP
1. 6 out of every 10 non-retirees in the United States believe that the Social Security system will not be able to pay them benefits when they stop working.
2. 35% of Americans over the age of 65 rely almost entirely on Social Security payments alone.
3. 56 percent of current retirees believe that the U.S. government will eventually cut their Social Security benefits.
4. There will be two workers for each retiree in 2025
5. Social Security paid out more in benefits than it received in payroll taxes this year
6. Approximately 57 percent of Obama's budget consists of direct payments to individual Americans
7. America's 100 largest corporate pension plans were underfunded by $217 billion at the end of 2008.
8. Approximately half of all workers in the United States have less than $2000 saved up for retirement.
9. 36 percent of Americans say that they don't contribute anything at all to retirement savings.
10. The number of pensions at risk inside failing companies more than tripled during the recession.
11. 24% of U.S. workers admit that they have postponed their planned retirement age at least once during the past year.
12. California has $22,000 per working adult in unfunded pension liabilities
13. California's three biggest pension funds are as much as $500 billion short of meeting future retiree benefit obligations.
14. In New Jersey, the governor has proposed not making the state's entire $3 billion contribution to its pension funds because of the state's $11 billion budget deficit.
15. It has been reported that the $33.7 billion Illinois Teachers Retirement System is 61% underfunded and is on the verge of total collapse
16. The state of Illinois recently raised its retirement age to 67 and capped the salary on which public pensions are figured.
17. The state of Virginia is requiring employees to pay into the state pension fund for the first time ever.
18. In New York City, annual pension contributions have increased sixfold in the past decade alone and are now so large that they would be able to finance entire new police and fire departments.
19. For all states, unfunded pension liabilities equal up to $3.2 trillion
20. Entitlement programs have a $46 trillion shortfall over the next 75 years
21. Debt plus entitlement spending may absorb 92 cents of every dollar of federal revenue by 2019
22. By 2080, debt and entitlement spending will eat up 50 percent of GDP
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Mercedes-Benz take-off in China And Germany exits recession--Coincidence? Sales figures enclosed.
Mercedes-Benz sales by markets
July 2010 %Chg from Last July Jan-July %Chg Jan-July
Western Europe 47,100 -2.5 321,900 -0.1
– of which Germany 23,600 -1.8 146,000 -5.7
NAFTA 19,900 +7.4 140,200 +19.0
– of which USA 17,400 +7.0 121,000 +19.5
Asia/Pacific 23,300 +108.6 141,000 +68.3
– of which Japan 1,700 -5.9 16,900 +12.2
– of which China 14,600 +204.7 75,100 +132.4
"Sales at Mercedes-Benz continue to improve, rising by 17 percent in July. This marked the ninth month in a row that sales have increased at a double-digit rate. Global deliveries to customers amounted to 97,700 units last month (July 2009: 83,500). As a result, sales now total 654,400 units since the beginning of the year (January-July 2009: 566,600), representing an increase of 16 percent.
Mercedes-Benz made great gains in many automotive markets in July. The brand had its best month ever in China (incl. Hong Kong), where it sold 14,600 passenger vehicles (July 2009: 4,800), an increase of 205 percent compared to the same month last year. As a result, Mercedes-Benz remains the fastest-growing premium brand in China.
Mercedes-Benz achieved its biggest gains last month in the dynamically growing market of South Korea, where 1,300 customers bought a vehicle bearing the Mercedes star. This was five times the number sold in July of last year (plus 446 percent). Within the Asia/Pacific region, sales also rose substantially in Australia (plus 48 percent). Mercedes-Benz in July also achieved its best month ever in Russia (plus 116 percent). Record sales were posted as well in India (plus 142 percent) and Turkey (plus 155 percent)."
Friday, August 13, 2010
Is your Pet a Need or a Want? Don't ask an economist this question...
Pet survey: Is having one a need or luxury? Weigh in
Do you need or just want your pet? What about Internet connection and an annual family vacation? For many baby boomers, those are all basic needs, not luxuries, according to a new survey.Do you agree that having a pet is a basic need? Vote HERE
Eighty-four % of those surveyed said having an Internet connection is a basic need, and 66 % said shopping for birthdays and special occasions is. Fifty-one % said pet care is a basic need, and 50 % said taking a family vacation once a year is a need, not a luxury, according to a recent survey by MainStay Investments of 1,049 consumers aged 45 to 65. The report also said people would put off retirement and spend less now so they could afford the same lifestyle when they do retire. And as children leave home to start their own lives, pets can take on added importance for empty nesters.
Pet meds and care can be expensive. Veterinarian Patty Khuly says it's not unusual to spend $1,700 a year for quality pet care. There are 10 pet insurance companies selling brands for petowners who are devoted to having the same treatment options -- especially when it comes to cancer -- for their pets as they have for themselves.
All the people who sent in photos for our shelter pets loving life photo album would agree their pets are a basic need.
Getting Product to Market---By all means necessary...
A long time ago when I was stationed at the US Embassy in Bamako, Mali I witnessed extraordinary examples of resourcefulness on the part of people going about their daily lives meeting needs and wants...I never saw this though....
 |
| Chris Blattman |
BOO!! Here are some Friday the 13th facts and figures...
1. This Friday some people will be so paralyzed with fear they simply won't get out of bed. Others will steadfastly refuse to fly on an airplane, buy a house, or act on a hot stock tip. It's Friday the 13th, and they're freaked out. "It's been estimated that [U.S] $800 or $900 million is lost in business on this day because people will not fly or do business they would normally do," said Donald Dossey, founder of the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North Carolina.
2. So how did Friday the 13th become such an unlucky day?
Dossey, also a folklore historian and author of Holiday Folklore, Phobias and Fun, said fear of Friday the 13th is rooted in ancient, separate bad-luck associations with the number 13 and the day Friday. The two unlucky entities ultimately combined to make one super unlucky day.
Dossey traces the fear of 13 to a Norse myth about 12 gods having a dinner party at Valhalla, their heaven. In walked the uninvited 13th guest, the mischievous Loki. Once there, Loki arranged for Hoder, the blind god of darkness, to shoot Balder the Beautiful, the god of joy and gladness, with a mistletoe-tipped arrow.
"Balder died and the whole Earth got dark. The whole Earth mourned. It was a bad, unlucky day," said Dossey. From that moment on, the number 13 has been considered ominous and foreboding.
3. There is also a biblical reference to the unlucky number 13. Judas, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th guest to the Last Supper. Meanwhile, in ancient Rome, witches reportedly gathered in groups of 12. The 13th was believed to be the devil.
4. This fear of 13 is strong in today's world. According to Dossey, more than 80 percent of high-rises lack a 13th floor. Many airports skip the 13th gate. Hospitals and hotels regularly have no room number 13.
5. On streets in Florence, Italy, the house between number 12 and 14 is addressed as 12 and a half. In France socialites known as the quatorziens (fourteeners) once made themselves available as 14th guests to keep a dinner party from an unlucky fate. Many triskaidekaphobes, as those who fear the unlucky integer are known, point to the ill-fated mission to the moon, Apollo 13.
Please interpret this graph---Why did Healthcare Costs START to rise dramatically in 1985? Anyone know WHY?
This graph (the gold line specifically) shows the Consumer Price Index for ALL items in the market basket the govt. uses to measure changes in prices/price level in the US. The darker line shows the change in the price of medical care only. There is a direct relationship between the two up to 1985 then there is a rapid separation. Why was this year a watershed moment in the cost of healthcare. I was "only" 25 at time. I know an aging population is a part of it, but it cannot explain all the price change. Any ideas??
 |
| Source: Economix |
Ever wonder how your favorite company got its name? Find out here...
How 16 Great Companies Picked Their Unique Names
1. Google
The name started as a joke about the amount of information the search engine could search, or a "Googol" of information. (A googol is the number 1 followed by 100 zeros.) When founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin gave a presentation to an angel investor, they received a check made out to "Google."
2. Hotmail
Sabeer Bhatia and Jack Smith had the idea of checking their email via a web interface, and tried to find a name that ended in "mail." They finally settled on hotmail because it had the letters "html," referencing the HTML programming language used to help create the product.
3. Volkswagen
Volkswagen literally means "people's car." Adolf Hitler initially came up with the idea for "cars for the masses," which would be a state-sponsored "Volkswagen" program. Hitler wanted to create a more affordable car that was able to transport two adults and three children at speeds of 62 mph. He choose the car manufacturer Porsche to carry out the project, and the rest, as they say, is history.
4. Yahoo
The word "yahoo" was coined by Jonathan Swift in the the book Gulliver's Travels. The term represented a repulsive, filthy creatures that resembled humans (think: Neanderthal). Yahoo! founders Jerry Yang and David Filo considered themselves yahoos, and thought the term would be appropriate for their joint venture.
5. Asus
The consumer electronic company is named after Pegasus, the winged horse of Greek mythology. The founders dropped the first three letters for the high position in alphabetical listings. In 1998 Asus created a spinoff company named Pegatron, using the other unused letters of Pegasus.
6. Cisco
Contrary to popular belief and theories, Cisco is simply short for San Francisco. Their logo resembles the suspension cables found on the Golden Gate bridge.
7. Canon
When Canon was founded in 1933 under the name Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory. Two years later they adopted "Canon" after the company's first camera, the Kwanon. Kwanon is the Japanese name of the Buddhist bodhisattva of mercy.
8. Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola's name comes from the the coca leaves and kola nuts used as flavoring in the soft drink. Eventually Coca-Cola creator John S. Pemberton changed the 'K' of kola to 'C' to create a more fluid name.
9. FranklinCovey
The planning product line was named after Benjamin Franklin and Stephen Covey. The company was formed in 1997 from the combining of the two companies FranklinQuest and the Covey Leadership Center.
10. IKEA
IKEA is simply a random collection of letters, based from the first letters of founder Ingvar Kamprad's name in addition to the first letters of the names of the Swedish property and the village in which he grew up: Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd.
11. Lego
Lego is a combination of the Danish phrase "leg godt," which translates to "play well." Initially the company built wooden toys, and later switched to making plastic bricks. Lego also means "I put together" in Latin, but the Lego Group claims this merely coincidence and the origin of the word is strictly Danish.
12. Reebok
Reebok is simply an alternate spelling of "rhebok," an African antelope. The company founders found the word in a South African edition of a dictionary won by the Joe Foster, son of the Reebok founder J.W. Foster.
13. Sharp
The Japanese consumer electronics company is named after its first product, an ever-sharp pencil that was created in 1915.
14. Six Apart
Six Apart's name has one of the most interesting origins. The web company's co-founders Ben and Mena Trott were born six days apart.
15. Skype
The original prototype of the company's flagship product had the name "Sky-Peer-to-Peer," which was shrunk down to Skyper, then finally Skype.
16. Verizon
Verizon is a combination of the words veritas, which is Latin for "truth," and horizon.
1. Google
The name started as a joke about the amount of information the search engine could search, or a "Googol" of information. (A googol is the number 1 followed by 100 zeros.) When founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin gave a presentation to an angel investor, they received a check made out to "Google."
2. Hotmail
Sabeer Bhatia and Jack Smith had the idea of checking their email via a web interface, and tried to find a name that ended in "mail." They finally settled on hotmail because it had the letters "html," referencing the HTML programming language used to help create the product.
3. Volkswagen
Volkswagen literally means "people's car." Adolf Hitler initially came up with the idea for "cars for the masses," which would be a state-sponsored "Volkswagen" program. Hitler wanted to create a more affordable car that was able to transport two adults and three children at speeds of 62 mph. He choose the car manufacturer Porsche to carry out the project, and the rest, as they say, is history.
4. Yahoo
The word "yahoo" was coined by Jonathan Swift in the the book Gulliver's Travels. The term represented a repulsive, filthy creatures that resembled humans (think: Neanderthal). Yahoo! founders Jerry Yang and David Filo considered themselves yahoos, and thought the term would be appropriate for their joint venture.
5. Asus
The consumer electronic company is named after Pegasus, the winged horse of Greek mythology. The founders dropped the first three letters for the high position in alphabetical listings. In 1998 Asus created a spinoff company named Pegatron, using the other unused letters of Pegasus.
6. Cisco
Contrary to popular belief and theories, Cisco is simply short for San Francisco. Their logo resembles the suspension cables found on the Golden Gate bridge.
7. Canon
When Canon was founded in 1933 under the name Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory. Two years later they adopted "Canon" after the company's first camera, the Kwanon. Kwanon is the Japanese name of the Buddhist bodhisattva of mercy.
8. Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola's name comes from the the coca leaves and kola nuts used as flavoring in the soft drink. Eventually Coca-Cola creator John S. Pemberton changed the 'K' of kola to 'C' to create a more fluid name.
9. FranklinCovey
The planning product line was named after Benjamin Franklin and Stephen Covey. The company was formed in 1997 from the combining of the two companies FranklinQuest and the Covey Leadership Center.
10. IKEA
IKEA is simply a random collection of letters, based from the first letters of founder Ingvar Kamprad's name in addition to the first letters of the names of the Swedish property and the village in which he grew up: Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd.
11. Lego
Lego is a combination of the Danish phrase "leg godt," which translates to "play well." Initially the company built wooden toys, and later switched to making plastic bricks. Lego also means "I put together" in Latin, but the Lego Group claims this merely coincidence and the origin of the word is strictly Danish.
12. Reebok
Reebok is simply an alternate spelling of "rhebok," an African antelope. The company founders found the word in a South African edition of a dictionary won by the Joe Foster, son of the Reebok founder J.W. Foster.
13. Sharp
The Japanese consumer electronics company is named after its first product, an ever-sharp pencil that was created in 1915.
14. Six Apart
Six Apart's name has one of the most interesting origins. The web company's co-founders Ben and Mena Trott were born six days apart.
15. Skype
The original prototype of the company's flagship product had the name "Sky-Peer-to-Peer," which was shrunk down to Skyper, then finally Skype.
16. Verizon
Verizon is a combination of the words veritas, which is Latin for "truth," and horizon.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
"SHOW ME THE MONEY!" The Fiscal Stimulus money, that is...Nice chart showing the dollar amounts
 |
| Washington Post via ChartPorn Piecing together the stimulus
|
My, how prices have changed since 1942---Or have they?? See for yourself...
Item 1942 Price 2010 Price Inflation Adjusted Price
Oranges 1 cent (ea) 75 cents (ea) 13 cents
Grapefruit 5 cents (ea) 25 cents (ea) 67 cents
Apples 25 cents for 4 lbs $4.72 for 4 lbs $3.35
Potatoes 19 cents for 5lbs $2.31 for 5 lbs $2.54
(Note: I adjusted potatoes weight to match 5 lbs and used current russet potato price---not sure of the potato type in 1942)
How to read this:
(1) An orange cost 1 cent in 1942. If the price of oranges only increased as much as inflation increased from then to now, the price of an orange SHOULD be 13 cents BUT it is 75 cents. Orange prices increase significantly more than inflation.
(2) A grapefruit cost 5 cents in 1942. With inflation it should cost 67 cents, BUT it only cost 25 cents! What a deal on Grapefruit!
Using the same methodology, you can see Apples have increased faster than inflation but potatoes a little less than inflation.
This is not a perfect analysis of the changes in prices overtime. There are many variables that could affect prices of particular goods. BUT it is interesting! (C'mon, you gotta admit it...)
I used current pricing data from HERE and use the BLS inflation calculator HERE
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
View My Stats