2011年1月28日星期五

Alternative performance Vibram five fingers

Returning to their roots as a creator of athletic add-ons, Vibram introduced five finger shoes. The authentic concept for these boots and shoes was as an alternative to barefoot operating. Barefoot running may perhaps sound contrary with the suggestions your mom has given one all these many years, but it’s gaining pretty a using. The notion is that the human foot evolved to carry out without having the rubber-soled shoes and boots we have all turn out to be acquainted with. This implies the foot and more affordable leg tend to be natural shock absorbers, and this particular healthy method is impeded by running vibram barefoot which force the runner to land about the recover therefore sending the shock waves via the knees and hips. Barefoot working is really a strategy to decrease this impact and prevent normal injuries. The difficulty is an individual are generally limited to wherever anyone can run mainly because of objects that can injure the soles of one’s ft, Vibram five finger shoes.

An individual see these shoes and boots conform on the contours of the feet and toes precisely plus they suit the toes as being a glove. The soles of those boots or shoes are usually Vibram high quality T-1 overall performance rubber, which provides good protection for your foot though still permitting pure movements. Moreover to guarding the bottom of the ft, five finger shoes additionally provide anyone a lot better gripping energy to get a wide variety of terrains. Time magazine has referred to as these shoes or boots one of the most effective inventions of 2007. If one are usually a lover in the outdoors and go barefoot each opportunity you acquire these shoes are a wonderful strategy to safeguard your ft from injury. Coming back towards pure movements with the feet and more affordable legs might even avoid popular injuries for the knees and hips whilst no conclusive research possess however been executed. Its very important to note that experts claim though vibram fivefingers shoes supply more protection than barefoot these are nevertheless thin soled shoes and glass or other intense debris may penetrate the area leading to injury. General response to five finger shoes have been especially positive, though some people need a week or two to adjust to them. Having said that, over time you will probably probably fall in love with these shoes.

From an aesthetic point of view, some people think that a pair of these shoes a little bit ugly, but the vast majority of Vibram FiveFingers closed and owners report that they do not know how they can live without them. Reported that many people wear shoes, you use the Vibram FiveFingers crack they are no longer with the heart, blisters, plantar fasciitis, back pain, past problems. In addition to many of the Vibram FiveFingers speed even said they felt improved after wearing their posture and balance in Vibram FiveFingers. Finally,Vibram Five Fingers Bikila if someone is looking for an alternative to traditional athletic shoes, hoping to get foot pain or pain than the lower part of the Vibram FiveFingers is definitely worth further study. If you go to BarefootRunningShoes. org, you can find more information or Vibram FiveFinger shoes, Vibram Five Fingers understanding of barefoot running shoes.

2011年1月27日星期四

UGG boots is a Adroit Choice

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Abundant colours UGG Classic Boots On selling could possibly be revealed in it. even in spite of UGG Classic short Boots On selling the actuality that tired in the tremendous quantity of trendy boots, Ugg store, Ugg Tasmania candy UGG 5817 design boots will make you toy astonished! Their sheepskin insoles really really feel so soft and cozy that you just can positioned on these shoes without the need of socks. What’ s more, their versatile rubber soles can offer lightweight comfort UGG Classic short Boots On selling when walking. Featuring reliability craftsmanship, these boots can last for just about any quantity of seasons to come. It owns an ingenious and conventional image.In fact, many sellers report that revenue of UGG boots tend to be more powerful than ever, annually giving a seasonal increase to shoe sellers — and mainly because purchasers are utilized to the well-liked brand identify marketing out round the holidays, revenue ofUGG ® Australia On selling UGG revenue seem to begin escalating earlier every year

Therefore, sheepskin boots UGG Classic short are regarded for acquiring merchandise worth appreciating and expecting! Apart from UGG Classic short ultimate comfort and warmth on Ugg boots, stunning colours and trendy photo are also necessary.UGG Bailey important is really a calf high boot that may help you create a style statement. With an elastic strap closure as correctly as a ugg shoes logo button, this design may be applied up or cuffed decrease when you like. placing on these shoes developing a pair of skinny UGG Classic short jeans is positively well-liked this winter season. You also can show your feminine facet by matching them with short skirts and thick leggings. UGG Nightfall important not just assists to maintain your ft cozy but in inclusion make you a views turner when walking round the street. acquiring a trendsetter, Ugg will by no implies neglect this. Ugg Tasmania short boots are precisely with this kind. Incomparable comfort and durability UGG Classic short wins it a brilliant reputation.

Typically, this shoes UGG Classic short Boots will certainly pop out as swiftly as they make their very first appearance. despite the fact that UGG Nightfall Boots the huge bulky look seems breaking besides the style norm, this sort of an odd visual element will positively catch all vision balls and so these boots are loved by somebody who desire to try one thing positively fantastic to look fantastic and stylish. I listen to from the whole whole large amount of people who are searching for UGG outlet stores, so i have compiled this report of UGG Classic short Boots addresses and phone numbers. i have also integrated back hyperlinks to some quantity of chains and on selection sellers that typically stock options UGG Australia boots, so that you just can evaluate fees and come across deals and sales. They are created to acquire tear-resistant, thermal insulated that is why people adore owning no a whole lot under a pair of them. These flatted soled shoes are preferred by each grownup males and females for use a whole lot much more than rugged terrain ensuring protection for their UGG Metallic Classic Tall 5812 ft and however comfortable to feel.

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Earlier this month the PRC National Audit Office issued its first two reports of the year. Report 1 provides the results of a major audit of state owned agencies and banks conducted at the request of the National People’s Congress. Report 2 details 28 court cases involving fraud uncovered during the audits. These reports have been published in conjunction with the central government's current campaign to demonstrate that the problem of official corruption is being addressed. The very public display of these vibram five finger is part of a similar campaign for transparency in government affairs.

Report 1 provides the following statistics on the results of the audit campaign:

• RMB 122.3 billion in assets were recovered.

• RMB 7.7 billion in losses were averted.

• RMB 48.2 billion in irregularities were corrected.

• 1103 people received administrative punishment.

• 104 people were referred for criminal prosecution, with 95 ugg australia to date.

Report 2 provides a brief report on 28 “typical” matters that were referred for prosecution. These involved the following bad acts:

• Obtaining loans from government owned banks on false pretenses. The most common method was using real property as security for loans where no such property exists. More MBT Fanaka involved creating entirely fake business divisions.

• Converting government owned property to private use/using loan funds for personal projects.

• A common theme involves government relief payments. The standard scheme is to create a group of fake residents and then having payments due to such residents paid into the corrupt official’s bank account(s).

The extensive government funded construction in China is a fertile ground for corruption. A standard scheme works as follows: an officer is in charge of a construction project. He hires a MBT Kisumu to act as general contractor. The general contractor bills for the work at an inflated price. The two share in the illegal profit. The report discusses this sort of scheme as well.

The issuance of these reports is a good news/bad news event.

On the good news side, Report 1 shows that the central government is taking strong steps to rid government, banks and state owned enterprises of financial corruption. Report 2 breaks with tradition and lists the full names of the defendants and provides full details of the fraudulent activities, making clear that the government is serious about transparency. On the bad news side, the amount of jordan retro 1 shoes and fraud uncovered is a tiny fraction of the almost endemic fraud that pervades Chinese government, banking and business. Most Chinese, when reading this report, extrapolate out to what they see as the real magnitude of the problem. The result is a feeling of concern rather than a feeling of accomplishment.

There are two messages here for foreign companies doing business in China. First, be on guard at all times against fraud within your own Jimmy choo shoes and in connection with those with whom you do business. Second, avoid getting involved in this kind of activity at all costs. Though the chance of discovery and prosecution may be small, the chance is real and I can assure you that you will not enjoy a 14 year stay in a Chinese jail.

2011年1月25日星期二

Extra Tips On Selling Your Current Art

For the last 8,000 years, the wine grape has had very little sex. This unnatural abstinence threatens to sap the grape’s genetic health and the future pleasure of millions of oenophiles.

The lack of sex has been discovered by Sean Myles, a geneticist at Cornell University. He developed a gene chip that tests for the genetic variation commonly found in vibram five finger. He then scanned the genomes of the thousand or so grape varieties in the Department of Agriculture’s extensive collection.

Much to his surprise he found that 75 percent of the varieties were as closely related as parent and child or brother and sister. “Previously people thought there were several different families of grape,” Dr. Myles said. “Now we’ve found that all those families are interconnected and in essence there’s just one large family.”

Thus merlot is intimately related to cabernet franc, which is a parent of cabernet sauvignon, whose other parent is sauvignon blanc, the daughter of traminer, which is also a progenitor of vibram barefoot shoes noir, a parent of chardonnay.

This web of interrelatedness is evidence that the grape has undergone very little breeding since it was first domesticated, Dr. Myles and his co-authors report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The reason is obvious in retrospect. Vines can be propagated by breaking off a shoot and sticking it in the ground, or onto existing rootstock. The method gives uniform crops, and most ugg australia have evidently used it for thousands of years.

The result is that cultivated grapes remain closely related to wild grapes, apart from a few improvements in berry size and sugar content, and a bunch of new colors favored by plant breeders.

Cultivated grapes have almost as much genetic diversity as wild grapes. But because there has been very little sexual reproduction over the last eight millenniums, this diversity has not been shuffled nearly enough. The purpose of sex, though this is perhaps not widely appreciated, is recombination, the creation of novel genomes by taking some components from the father’s and some from the mother’s DNA. The new UGG ® Australia of genes provide variation for evolution to work on, and in particular they let slow-growing things like plants and animals keep one step ahead of the microbes that prey on them.

The grapevine fell extinct through much of Europe in the phylloxera epidemic of the 19th century. The French wine industry recovered from this disaster only by grafting French scions, as the grape’s shoots are called, onto sturdy American rootstock resistant to the phylloxera aphid.

Despite that close call, grape growers did not rush to breed disease resistance into their vines. One obstacle is that wine drinkers are attached to particular varieties, and if you cross a chardonnay grape with some other variety, it cannot be called chardonnay. In many wine-growing regions there are regulations that let only a specific variety be grown, lest the quality of the region’s ugg australia be degraded. More than 90 percent of French vineyards are now planted with clones — genetically identical plants — certified to possess the standard qualities of the variety.

The consequence of this genetic conservatism is that a host of pests have caught up with the grape, obliging growers to protect their vines with a deluge of insecticides, fungicides and other powerful chemicals.

This situation cannot be sustained indefinitely, in Dr. Myles’s view. “Someday, regulatory agencies are going to say ‘No more,’ ” he said. “Europeans are gearing up for the day, which will come earlier there than in the U.S., for laws that reduce the amount of spray you can put on grapes.”

At that point growers will have three options. One is to add genes for pest resistance, risking consumer resistance to genetically modified crops. A second is to go organic, which may be difficult for a UGG Nightfall as vulnerable as the grape. A third is to breed sturdier varieties.

Breeding new grapes takes time and money. The grower has to plant a thousand seedlings, wait three years for them to mature, and then select the few progeny that have the desired traits. But a new kind of plant breeding now offers hopes of an efficient shortcut.

The new method depends on gene chips, like the one developed by Dr. Myles, that test young plants for the desired combination of traits. The breeder can thus discard 90 percent of seedlings from a UGG Nightfall, without waiting three years while they grow to maturity.

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You and I learned in school that freedom of speech is a fundamental right that all people should enjoy. There's a practical reason for that. Without freedom of speech, governments and other moneyed interests would be in a position to abuse their power even more than they already do. And obviously voters need uncensored ugg boots in order to shape their government. Democracy only works when citizens and the media enjoy freedom of speech.

But what if freedom of speech is only a benefit in a democratic system?

China's system, as I have written before, reminds me more of a corporate structure, or a meritocracy. In a corporation, you're generally free to disagree with higher ups if you do it with data, and in a professional manner. Usually you need to go through proper channels, but dissent is generally allowed, and sometimes actively encouraged. If you're a jerk about your disagreement with your UGG Classic Cardy 5819, or you don't have persuasive data to back up position, you could get fired. But that's a stupidity issue, not a freedom issue.

China's leadership is packed with engineers and lawyers by training. I imagine that like any corporation, they appreciate the value of information when presented in a professional manner, and through proper channels. Unlike elected politicians, managers in a meritocracy are free to change position as new or better data emerges. The advantage of having only one political party is that everyone is on the same team. And if effectiveness is the goal, which apparently it is in China, I assume that new data is generally welcome.

An American politician is likely to lose his next election if he "flip flops" on an issue, even if the reason for the change is that new information has emerged. In that environment, practical politicians simply take the position that their party has established, confident that the free media will present both sides of every argument regardless of where the data leads. A free UGG Nightfall has the perverse effect of increasing the volume of information while simultaneously reducing its usefulness.

A free press is also a huge distraction. I would imagine that at least half of all the time and effort our elected officials put into their jobs has something to do with managing the media. Compare that to a corporate system in which managers are also concerned with image, but they focus most of their energy on getting the job done. I imagine that Chinese leaders have a similar MBT Tembea to act in accordance with data. And I imagine they spend little or no time worrying about how the media will treat them, since they control it.

What about the jailing of dissidents in China? On a human level, it certainly feels wrong to imprison someone simply for speaking out. It feels even more wrong when the dissident's only goal is to improve the lives of his or her fellow citizens. And it seems pure evil if the dissident has valid criticisms.

But what if the dissidents themselves are the ones who have it wrong? Suppose a dissident is stirring up public emotions in a direction that could be detrimental to the interests of a billion fellow citizens? Suppose, for example, the dissident is agitating for freedom of speech, a right that would be fitting for a Air Jordan, but would be nothing but trouble - perhaps serious trouble - in the Chinese system. In that case, should the Chinese leadership value the freedom of this one individual over the wellbeing of a billion others? What would Spock say?

I'd like to be perfectly clear that I know almost nothing about the Chinese system, and absolutely nothing about any particular dissidents. My emotional reaction is that no one should be in jail for voicing an opinion. But the rational side of me doesn't have any data to support the Jimmy choo shoes that the Chinese people would be better off with complete freedom of speech, especially since we know that free speech encourages leaders to ignore data.

America has freedom of speech. China has freedom of data. Where do you place your bet?

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In particular, the yield to these students. The president of Harvard, he would rather not do it! But MBT shoes women clearance now hungry ah! Assistant stomach feeling very innocent, Lawrence looked pitiful pestle Samu Si. The only men looking at now has his own poor eyes. Lawrence Hill Samu Si is helpless. Originally, he can put his men back, but if even his assistants have left, so he got left in this one Guanggansiling endured hunger. Students listen to sarcasm, Lawrence Hill Sa Musi think that if that happens, its also a bit too poor.
So. The assistant must not go! "Well, we" sleep, sleep on the're not hungry. "Samu Si Lawrence present a half-day principals come up with so hungry the only way a solution. While this approach a little bit 2, but it is also the only way . rattle when the cry, and assistant fell to the ground. now quoted century, the nation's top five in the U.S. city of Boston, or the city center. he actually used to sleep to relieve their hunger, which is really a great tragedy of life. "From the beginning I should not come to Boston, if not Boston, I would not have met the president of this damn, damn if you do not meet the principal, I would not be assistant MBT Tembea principal. If you do not become the assistant principal, I would not trapped in the school building today, no food, no drink sad reminder to the extreme, a little faint hungry assistant on the floor, the heart of the spit, then Yi Gulu out. He felt so sad reminder of the! "What did you say."
Lawrence Van Sa Musi heard a series of assistants that if the popular tongue twisters like beard speech stare. Darn, and those little outside of it when he did, did not expect the assistant and myself right. "I" I "assistant knew that I said something wrong, though the truth, but certainly should not say at this time. In particular, Lawrence pestle in a Samu Si has been extremely violent, jealous crazy most cases the bottom of my heart the words of the real out. "you a darn! I did not then, you just wash the dishes in the unskilled mbt raha women laborer in Boston. Not me. You never shall be annual salary of $ 40,000 is now the assistant, not me, you are less likely to buy a house, get married and have children, but you have betrayed me! You a rapacious, wild ambition of the thing, I jumped. Lawrence Park Assistant nose pointing to a Sa Musi pass swearword, the heart of all the resentment and anger all away, Assistant to vent out. Initially, the assistant was also accused of war to save trembling, face the daunting, but the curse in the end, the only assistant in mind that the MBT Bia to be scolded by father and mother were born out. Why you can then call me.
"Sa Musi, What do you think you are well! Well, without you, I mbt karibu do not now decent work, without you, I can not get a million dollars annual salary, without you, I can not get married and have children in Boston, But I do not have to pay What do you think! these years, I'm with you work like a horse, like dogs, loyal, but still scolded by you every day, you just a little flow, and will vent anger on me. Do you think I do have a good time! "assistant stared at Samu Si, Nu. A Samu Si Yi Leng Lawrence pestle. Past three MBT Changa, the assistant he had never been rebelling against him, contradict him, did not expect it at this critical moment of his betrayal, which made Lawrence a little Sa Musi extremely angry.
Extreme madness. "Go! You ******* out of here! From now on, you will no longer be my mbt wingu assistant, and I need your assistant this cruel and unscrupulous." Samu Si gate, said one finger. "Little stay away, Samu Si, such a person like you. No one was in the you, you wild and overbearing megalomaniac!" Assistant angrily grabbed clothes, going out. To the MBT Karani, down, bowed toward the "No matter how humble a pestle Thank you for giving me all the finish, never looking away. Darn, dog feces, crackling, all kinds of ugly words Shan Sa Musi from the mouth of Lawrence gushed. scold, but tired, the Lawrence Park Sa Musi entire teaching building at the moment only to feel alone with his unmarried.
I am a Samu Si Lawrence Park to you it will not be group of students yield silly! a Lawrence Samuel Tesla open the window pointing to a small number of students howling downstairs. But at the moment. suddenly force students in Carnival, no one care about a man upstairs in the bark. only time MBT Changa Lam Fung noted that the situation upstairs. "What people! "Responsible mbt tenga mid gtx for guarding. Pestle Sa Musi against President Lawrence fled by night a few students who came down the existing ... ... I, fellow students, I Samu Si falling out of that bastard, I will not for him effectiveness of it!

2011年1月24日星期一

vibram fivefingers shoes should certainly be the brand new

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2011年1月19日星期三

UGG traditional cardy boots may nicely be one of the most searched items.

In the stylish UGG lineup, UGG traditional cardy boots may nicely be one of the most searched items. And with regards to purchasing for just about any wonderful pair of UGG cardy boots, you’d much better get some useful particulars previous for you mind for the store, really. right here appear some recommendations to support you have your perfect shoes getting trendy.ugg boots knitFor every individual and every UGG devotee, UGG traditional cardy boot design is certainly a should within wardrobe. This shoes design qualities a knitted shaft with three buttons straight down the side.

The wool blended shafts will give your ft a definitely totally free really feel as well as the sheepskin liner will provide you getting a pampered really feel resulted by utilizing the extremely breathable comfort. as a accomplish result of the great durability, flexibility, comfort, thermostatic components and versatile style expressions, these boots are deemed since the most perfect selections for fall or spring wear.The boots are versatile to attire up. many thanks for the three ugg buttons straight down the side, this design may be used with uppers stretched as a great offer as entire height and buttoned for an stylish look, slouched and slightly unbuttoned for merely a little relaxed touch or cuffed all the way in which straight down for just about any lounge from the comfort.

This genuinely tends to ensure it is a versatile stylish boot. For instance, you can positioned on boot-cut jeans outside and since the day time heats up, cuff your jeans up and slouch the shafts straight down for just about any awesome appearance.ugg boots cardyThe coloring palette for this chic however at ease UGG boot design is extremely wealthy and right here will current several of them for just about any basic idea. Fig, oatmeal, jacaranda, swimming pool blue and indigo blue are all the broad range this year. Also other coloring selections are grey, black, stout, indigo blue, purple, pink, cream, white, etc. numerous colours are dedicated to arranged numerous mood for the design statement. also it is genuinely enchanting to positioned on the individual within of a shade to fixture your mood.

Kids UGG Crochet Boots - Selection For Fall and Winter 2010&2011

Not only are crochet UGG boots available for grownup males and females - there is primarily a fabulous assortment of children UGG Crochet boots this yr as well. These boots appear getting especially loved by tiny ladies and there are numerous beautiful appears and colours to accommodate even the youngest of fashionistas!

UGG traditional Cardy Crochet for Kids - using the Cardy boot assortment this year, there is primarily a instead ugg boots on saleextraordinary assortment of colours to pick out from. if you experienced been a shopper for these boots last year, you may possibly understand which they started to be considered a tad difficult to uncover because of the popularity. possibly the broad variety of colours will ensure it is a tad much less difficult to uncover possibly a superb vivid or earthy coloring in inventory for the 2009 and 2010 fall and winter seasons.

Suburb Crochet Boots for Kids - The Suburb is primarily a design that is different to other crochet boots from UGG - it carries a crochet boot shaft however the upper is founded from the beautiful gentle suede. A tad of “fluffy” sheepskin fringe as well as a leather-based lacing strap arranged away the show up and make them extra trendy - to not mention extremely warm!

UGG traditional Crochet Boots - you may possibly know previously that these may possibly be somewhat difficultugg boots cheap to uncover on collection but they are nevertheless available from some assortment merchants. I have found out on my searches for these UGG Nightfall that it is not merely feasible to uncover them, but for reduce price costs and often with 100 % free transport as well.

Crochet Knit Booties - for the youngest belonging toward young, these infant shoes are amazingly at ease with an internal sheepskin lining as well like a gentle suede sole. Even although they are effortless to slip on and away they will stay snug on babies’ ft owning a cinch tie on the best belonging toward boot. There are colours for boys and girls - jointly with colours which can be fitting for either.

No create a difference which belonging toward variations of children UGG Crochet boots may be probably the most right for merely a tiny one’s tastes or needs, you may possibly be assured which they possess the traditional appears and really feel - and obviously comfort so common of genuine boots from UGG ® Australia.

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UGG ® Australia can get very stylish and comfortable ugg boots sale according to their choice and will.Today, when you look at those wearing western wear out of necessity (that would be those working on ranches, herding animals, etc.), you can see that the two have very much found balance between subsisting off the land and living in what we might call modern society.
Nowadays, the most popular uggs outlet must be the UGG boots. This kind of boots with genuine Australia merino sheepskin is the emphasis of fashion.The footwear is guaranteed against manufacturer’s defects for a period of 90 days, starting from the date of purchase.A number of brands compete with one another in UGG Nightfall sale uk with all the latest features.In buying or deciding on for your army boots, you need to ensure that its of top quality and durability.
Therefore, if you spend long hours on your feet and are never sure of what the elements are going to throw at you then you really should consider waterproof tactical footwear.In fact, even the average Joe on the street has need of a good quality uggs outlet stores.The Trademark Row Resolved Suddenly in 2000, as a result of celebrity endorsement, the demand for the shoes soared incredibly and the Australian manufacturers started selling under the name Ugg boots.Makers have never compromised the comfort of these shoes over the years.
Long aluminum uprights are required on soft ground as their intake is deeper.Besides, proper football equipment includes suitable football uniform-NFL jerseys, football helmets, football hoots and so on.The softness of Australian sheepskin produces nike blazers shoes there snug, comfortable and fit like a glove.These creating mechanics contribute for the comfort and durability within the boots.But ensure you don’t put on these boots with truly formal attire like fits or perhaps a lab coat as that can be a style disaster.

Uggs Scientifically Proven To Give Your Feet Fungus

It’s official: uggs, the ugliest boots in existence that make grown women look like sloppy toddlers will give you foot fungus. Yeah, yeah, yeah, “They’re so comfortable! And cute! I wear them everyday!” Comfortable? Maybe. Until you start itching. Cute? I don’t know -– the dark, damp environment that is the perfect breeding ground for fungus that can burrow under your toenails? Oh, that’s just adorable, if you think gross things are adorable. And wearing them everyday gives them more time to breed fungus while you’re wearing them. Science wins, trend slaves.
And anti-trend slaves? Don’t try to act all cool about Uggs. You know who you are. “Oh, I was wearing them when only surfers wore them, before Britney Spears got her grubby little hands on them.” Guess what? They were stupid-looking then, too. Don’t get all Patton Oswalt on everyone over the dumbest looking boots in the universe.
Of course, technically, shoes in general can invite a dark, damp environment, the wool lining of Uggs might actually absorb the sweat that causes fungus, and the occurrence of foot fungus hasn’t increased since Uggs were thrust upon us all and took the streets. And my beloved Converse sneakers are probably prone to all the same problems. But you know what? Uggs are uglier. So, it’s your choice: Get foot fungus while wearing vibram barefoot shoes or a better-looking shoe. I don’t know about all y’all, but from this day forth, when I see Uggs, I’m gonna think foot fungus. Forever.
You’re next, Crocs.
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Within the last few years myriads of people have understood the benefits and the special delight in wearing the UGG boots.ugg boots on clearance They have become one of the most sorted out items among all as they not only enhance your appearance and make you look lavish and trendy but are also extremely comfortable.On the most alluring quality of the UGG boots is that you can wear them all year all. ugg boots clearance And third (and this is very concerning) was the change in core body temperature of the rats fed the artificial sweeteners.ugg boots sale clearance Their core body temperature decreased, meaning their metabolism slowed down.
The most astounding finding in the study was that even though the rats that ate the saccharin-sweetened yogurt consumed fewer calories overall than the rats that ate the sugar-sweetened yogurt, ugg boots clearance sale they gained more weight and body fat.

2011年1月18日星期二

South Korea Raises Rates As Inflation Stirs Concern

HONG KONG — South Korea unexpectedly raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point Thursday and announced measures intended to curb rising prices, the latest sign that policy makers in Asia and other emerging markets were increasingly concerned about inflation.

While prices in the United States, Japan and the euro zone have been creeping up slowly, inflation in many developing nations has risen rapidly alongside overall UGG ® Australia economic growth. Climbing commodity prices — in recent weeks, crude oil prices have increased to more than $90, the highest level since October 2008 — and adverse weather have helped drive prices up in some areas.

For example, India reported Thursday that a crucial index measuring prices had risen 16.9 percent in the week ending Jan. 1 from the level of a year earlier, while in China, the latest available data showed that consumer prices in November were 5.1 percent higher than a year earlier.

In South Korea, consumer prices rose 3.5 percent in December from the level of a year earlier, driven by price increases in petroleum and farm products, and the central vibram fivefingers shoes bank said Thursday that it expected inflation pressures to mount in coming months.

Double-digit price increases like those in India are the exception, and many economists argue that inflation remains manageable in many countries.

Still, food price inflation in particular is a sensitive issue in developing nations, where many people’s incomes go directly to necessities like cooking oil, vegetables and other foodstuffs.

As a result, many emerging nations have started to nudge interest ugg australia rates back toward precrisis levels and have instituted other measures meant to tamp down prices. South Korea’s latest action — its third rate increase since mid-2010 — takes the country’s key seven-day repurchase rate to 2.75 percent.

After an economic policy meeting Thursday, President Lee Myung-bak said the government would watch to make sure that prices for gasoline and other oil products were “at an appropriate level.” In recent months, gasoline prices in South Korea have jumped to an average of $1.69 a liter, or $6.40 a gallon.

The government also announced a six-month freeze on charges for various utilities, including gas and electricity, and requested that colleges and universities not increase ugg slipper tuition this year.

The Bank of Korea’s decision to raise rates on Thursday surprised many economists, who had not expected another increase until later in the year.

Still, many project that rates will gradually rise further in South Korea and other fast-growing economies as policy makers strive to battle higher prices.

“Inflation is on the rise, in Korea as elsewhere,” Kim Song-yi, an economist at HSBC in Seoul, wrote in a note on Thursday, adding that the central bank’s “pro-active stance” was a “good thing.”

Thailand nudged up its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 2.25 percent Wednesday, adding to similar moves in recent months, while China has raised rates twice recently and restricted nike blazers shoes lending by state-controlled banks, actions aimed at slowing its economy’s breakneck growth.

Mark McDonald contributed reporting from Seoul.

2011年1月17日星期一

South Korea Raises Rates As Inflation Stirs Concern

HONG KONG — South Korea unexpectedly raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point Thursday and announced measures intended to curb rising prices, the latest sign that policy makers in Asia and other emerging markets were increasingly concerned about inflation.

While prices in the United States, Japan and the euro zone have been creeping up slowly, inflation in many developing nations has risen rapidly alongside overall economic growth. Climbing vibram fivefingers shoes prices — in recent weeks, crude oil prices have increased to more than $90, the highest level since October 2008 — and adverse weather have helped drive prices up in some areas.

For example, India reported Thursday that a crucial index measuring prices had risen 16.9 percent in the week ending Jan. 1 from the level of a year earlier, while in China, the latest available data showed that consumer prices in November were 5.1 percent higher than a year earlier.

In South Korea, consumer prices rose 3.5 percent in December from the UGG ® Australia of a year earlier, driven by price increases in petroleum and farm products, and the central bank said Thursday that it expected inflation pressures to mount in coming months.

Double-digit price increases like those in India are the exception, and many economists argue that inflation remains manageable in many countries.

Still, food price inflation in particular is a sensitive issue in developing nations, where many people’s incomes go directly to necessities like cooking oil, vegetables and other foodstuffs.

As a result, many emerging nations have started to nudge interest rates back toward precrisis levels and have instituted other measures meant to tamp down prices. South Korea’s latest ugg australia — its third rate increase since mid-2010 — takes the country’s key seven-day repurchase rate to 2.75 percent.

After an economic policy meeting Thursday, President Lee Myung-bak said the government would watch to make sure that prices for gasoline and other oil products were “at an appropriate level.” In recent months, gasoline prices in South Korea have jumped to an average of $1.69 a liter, or $6.40 a gallon.

The government also announced a six-month freeze on charges for various UGG Nightfall, including gas and electricity, and requested that colleges and universities not increase tuition this year.

The Bank of Korea’s decision to raise rates on Thursday surprised many economists, who had not expected another increase until later in the year.

Still, many project that rates will gradually rise further in South Korea and other fast-growing economies as policy makers strive to battle higher prices.

“Inflation is on the rise, in Korea as elsewhere,” Kim Song-yi, an economist at HSBC in Seoul, wrote in a note on Thursday, adding that the central bank’s “pro-active stance” was a “good thing.”

Thailand nudged up its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage MBT Shuguli to 2.25 percent Wednesday, adding to similar moves in recent months, while China has raised rates twice recently and restricted lending by state-controlled banks, actions aimed at slowing its economy’s breakneck growth.

Mark McDonald contributed reporting from Seoul.

Europe’s Challenge: Fostering Growth Amid Austerity

PARIS — Economic growth is an elixir for struggling economies, but in Europe it’s likely to come slowly to the countries that need it most.

The recovery that has flickered to life in the United States and much of Northern Europe is missing in euro zone nations straining under huge debt and harsh vibram fivefingers shoes measures — places like Greece, Ireland and Portugal that have imposed large spending cuts and tax increases.

Those measures may eventually lead to healthier economies, but the process will take years, economists and analysts say. In the meantime, the drag on growth is increasing pressure on the euro, and tethering competitive countries like Germany, a major growth engine, to the faltering fortunes of the European Union’s weakest members.

Countries using the euro will grow an average of 1.5 percent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund, less than the 2.3 percent growth it predicted for the United States. While some of that difference reflects slower population growth in Europe, it points to the further relative ugg boots of Europe’s weight in the global economy.

That forecast was made before Congress passed a $858 billion package of tax cuts and incentives in December, which led some economists to raise their growth predictions for the American economy to as high as 4 percent. Europe has no similar stimulus to help stoke a stronger recovery.

The longer-term picture is little better. By 2015, the I.M.F. said, growth in the euro MBT Tembea will come in at just 1.7 percent.

To many analysts, the numbers add up to a long and painful journey back to prosperity.

“This is the most brutal slimming exercise you can imagine, without the help of an exchange rate devaluation,” said Thomas Mayer, chief economist of Deutsche Bank. “It will take time and it will create tremendous economic hardship in these countries.”

To be sure, there are some positive signs. None of Europe’s biggest economies are on the brink of recession: Germany expanded a healthy 3.6 percent last year, bolstering retro jordan in the euro area. Portugal and Spain, where growth is weak, conducted better-than-expected debt auctions last week.

But analysts were quick to point out that lenders demanded lofty interest rates for the bonds, reflecting worries that Portugal and Spain will eventually need a bailout and signaling skepticism among the markets that Europe can contain its crisis.

European finance ministers will meet in Brussels Monday and Tuesday to discuss increasing Europe’s bailout fund and institutional reforms, but on a broader level the debate will be aimed at protecting the single currency. The growing economic divide in Europe means the euro’s survival in its current UGG ® Australia can no longer be taken for granted if policy makers fail to come up with solutions to the Continent’s underlying problems.

While mild growth is expected to return to the likes of Ireland and Portugal within a year, those forecasts have already been tempered.

Exports are a big driver of the Irish economy, and are now the only bright spot after a contraction of its bloated construction sector. But sharp government spending cuts threaten to overshadow any export recovery this year. The I.M.F. now expects the economy to grow just 0.9 percent, down from a 2.3 percent forecast just a few months ago.

Portugal’s problems are different. Unlike Ireland, its banks are not troubled. But the government has high debts, and what feeble growth it has will continue to weaken as the vibram barefoot shoes curbs investments designed to stoke export growth, while wage cuts and tax increases hit the economy.

Worse, Germany’s economy will start to be buffeted by its neighbors’ problems: its growth is expected to slow considerably as the government spends more to keep the euro together. With less cash, its troubled neighbors are also curbing their purchases of German and other imports.

Most of Germany’s growth last year came in spring and summer. Since then, it has tapered off, and it is likely to cool to 2 percent this year before sliding to 1.3 percent in 2015, according to the I.M.F.

As recently as 2005, Germany was considered “the sick man of Europe.” But it sharply lifted its competitiveness after spending nearly a decade fine-tuning its vibram barefoot shoes to turn it into a manufacturing powerhouse. It deregulated labor markets, adjusted its tax code, and kept a lid on wages — measures similar to those being adopted in places like Ireland.

“It was a time that people don’t remember too fondly,” said Mr. Mayer of Deutsche Bank. “But competiveness came back. And that is the adjustment path that the others now have in front of them.”

Still, not every country can reinvent itself as a manufacturing giant, and those on Europe’s southern rim face a challenge in breathing new life into their economies. Greece, for example, is trying to turn itself into a “green economy” focused on renewable energy Vibram Five Fingers Flow Men, a plan the government hopes will create more than 200,000 jobs by 2015. But politicians face a struggle finding the billions needed to turn its dreams into a reality.

Tory Burch

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2011年1月14日星期五

Reasoning with the Unreasonable

I spend a lot of time trying to concoct arguments that are so persuasive that even a hardcore unreachable will say, "Golly. Not only was I wrong, but probably stupid as well, and perhaps a little bit insane. I now adopt your viewpoint as my own. Would you like a bite of my ugg australia ?"
My favorite fantasy in this genre is imagining what I could say to a kid that would make him think he should substitute his own judgment for mine. My fantasy argument goes like this:Kid: Can I climb on the roof?

Me: No. You'd get hurt.

Kid: I'll be careful. And my friend Brian climbs on his MBT Tembea all the time. He never falls off.

Now at this point you realize that regular reasoning isn't going to win the day. You have to resort to the "Because I said so" fall-back, but while effective, that never seems like a clean win to me. To the kid it appears you don't have a good reason and you're just being an ass about it. That's why I fantasize about the rest of the discussion going this way:

Me: Do you know who invented the retro jordan?

Kid: No.

Me: It wasn't a kid. In fact, nothing important has ever been invented by a UGG Nightfall. Do you know why that is?

Kid: I don't care.

Me: It's because your Christian Louboutin won't be fully developed until sometime in your twenties.

Kid: I'm not listening TRA-LA-LA-LA-LA!!!

Me: You don't understand why you can't go on the roof because your brain isn't developed enough to understand the risk involved.

Kid: You suck. I hate you.

Me: I'll make you a deal. If you can find anything in this house that was invented by a kid, I'll admit that kids know as much as Manolo Blahnik shoes and you can climb on the roof. Use my computer, which incidentally was invented by adults. Go nuts.

(seven hours later)

Kid: Golly. Not only was I wrong, but probably stupid as well, and perhaps a little bit insane. I now adopt your viewpoint as my own. Would you like a bite of my sandwich?

Me: Thanks, but the last time you washed your hands was in amniotic fluid.

Puppies are essentially little factories that take in small pellets and convert the raw material into barking and poop. My job, as vibram barefoot shoes of the factory, is to make sure the output happens in the designated grassy area. I'm sure I would have gotten a bad performance review yesterday, as little Snickers delivered a pallet of product behind the dining room table and decided it was a chew toy. I got the roll of paper towels, placed it near the hazardous waste area, and left to get my hazmat suit and chemicals. This was a mistake. When I returned, one minute later, the roll of paper towels had been beavered into confetti. The dining room floor looked like New Year's Eve in Times Square, assuming the mirrored ball is actually an exploding turd.

I have watched enough episodes of The Dog Whisperer to know that I must establish myself as the alpha dog. I do this by trying not to cry when she bites me. I think it is vibram fivefingers shoes. Yesterday when she took me for a walk, I saw a leaf and didn't pick it up with my mouth. And I'm getting used to wearing the harness.

He Thinks Voters are Stupid

I fantasize about running for President, but in the same way I fantasize about being Batman. I wouldn't want either job, but it's fun to think about how I'd handle certain situations. One situation that pops up all the time is when a reporter asks a candidate to respond to his opponent's vibram barefoot shoes promises to do the impossible. My fantasy answer would be "My opponent thinks voters are stupid."

The great thing about that answer is that it would generate world headlines. Second, it would resonate as being honest and accurate. You'd have to make sure you weren't making unrealistic promises yourself, and that's the hard part. But it would be a killer line.

Calling your opponent names, like flip-flopper, clearly vibram fivefingers shoes to some extent. But telling voters that your opponent thinks THEY are stupid would work even better, especially if it is clearly true that he thinks that.

I've also been working on good sound bites for both Obama and McCain. Obama's sound bite is easy. He took heat for suggesting a specific timetable for withdrawal before he had visited Iraq and talked to the generals. That seemed dumb. Then he made the best political move I have ever seen, by saying a President has to see the bigger picture, so generals in Iraq can't be the ones to determine when we leave. Agree with him or not, it was a brilliant political move. He needs to capture that in a soundbite: "Generals vibram barefoot shoes wars. Presidents make peace." It sounds like universal wisdom. That's a good sound bite.

Now that the Iraqi Prime Minister wants the U.S. to leave on Obama's timetable, McCain's biggest issue is gone. Even if you think McCain was right about the surge, it is no longer relevant to the election. No one cares that an old guy once made a good decision. The average voter doesn't know enough about economics to make the economy a powerful issue for McCain, and it's too late for him to start hammering on social issues. So McCain's sound bite needs to be something ugg australia vague yet persuasive. I suggest: "Do voters prefer words or actions?"

The great part of that sound bite is that everyone is programmed to automatically prefer words to action. And to the extent that Obama is viewed as a great orator, and McCain is seen as more of a man of action, you start thinking the sound bite actually means something. And phrasing the sound bite as a question forces the listener to automatically answer it, thus reinforcing it in the irrationsl part of the brain. It is the political equivalent of "If the glove doesn't fit, you must acquit." It sounds like a reason to the unreasonable part of your brain, which unfortnately makes most of your decisions.

The other sound bite I have been thinking about wouldn't work for the MBT Tataga, but it's funny: "Change is good until it's your turn to be the diaper."

Do you have a better sound bite for this election?

[Disclaimer: I don't think either candidate meets the minimum standard to be president. And I won't have a preference until I complete a poll of ugg boots that I'm working on now.]

2011年1月13日星期四

The Credit Crunch Explained

Yesterday I asked for links to any articles explaining how bad things could get if the $700 billion bailout doesn't happen. The best one I saw was this:
http://cozysnowboots.com

I like the clarity of that explanation, but it seems incomplete ugg australia. For one thing, there is no discussion of the positive aspects of a financial calamity, for example:

- Rent gets cheaper when housing prices fall. That's a redistribution of wealth from the rich to the poor.

- While it will be harder to get a mortgage for an $800K house, that house is only worth $500K now. That should make it a lot easier to qualify vibram fivefingers shoes.

- Gas at $4 per gallon is a necessary condition for creating the next economic boom: renewable energy and green technology.

- A good recession now and then is necessary to purge the economy of ugg australia that need purging.

- College students are starting to choose technology majors over finance majors, probably because of the financial headlines, and this bodes well for the future.

I also wonder if the Internet will take some of the steam out of a credit problem. The problem is a lack of credit, not a lack of people who want to borrow, or a lack of money to lend. When lending is constrained by geography, you might find that your local bank is unwilling to help you. But with the Internet, it seems we could always find a match between a lender and a borrower, at some interest rate. The people who have money to lend aren't going to be keen on the stock market or real estate for awhile vibram barefoot shoes , so there should be plenty of capital for private lending at attractive rates. Arguably, banks are an anachronism anyway. This might speed up the inevitable.

I own some real estate (an empty lot) I have been trying to sell. Every recent offer on the property has included a component of seller financing. I expect to see a lot more of that if bank lending dries up.

And allow me to leave you with a pinch of optimism, just because I can. I call it Adams' Rule of Obvious Calamities. It states that any calamity that is foreseeable by the public at large won't turn out so bad after all. The best recent example was the Y2K problem, where computers worldwide vibram five finger were expected to fail. It seemed impossible that those issues could be resolved in time, but they were.

The problems that hit hardest are the ones that sneak up on you. Our current financial problem is big, but I expect a recession to be mild and even useful MBT Tembea , precisely because so much human energy and attention is being focused on the fix.

The "Buy Some Local Crap" Tax

The only way to pay the government's ballooning bills and reduce the budget deficit during an economic downturn is to tax the bejeezus out of the rich. The alternative is to borrow more money, thus making things worse. Realistically, cutting government spending is a worthy goal, but it won't get us where we need to be. So I have a suggestion. It's impractical vibram barefoot, of course, but you wouldn't be reading this blog if you didn't enjoy noodling about impractical ideas.

Suppose the government passes a law requiring all relatively wealthy people, defined in some practical way, to buy extra crap they don't need from local providers. The relatively wealthy could dine out more often, buy some extra shirts, get a flat screen TV for the garage, whatever.

The result would be a stimulus to the economy that would lift all boats and fill the government coffers. The relatively wealthy wouldn't feel so bad about this form of tax Vibram Five Fingers Sprint Men because at least they end up with more shirts and flat screen TVs. This is the same principle as the $600 tax rebates, in terms of fiscal stimulus. But it wouldn't increase the deficit.

I know, I know, you will point out that our shirts and TVs are made overseas. But the local merchants get their markups, and that helps.

The best part of this clearly impractical plan is that the rich would have lots of options on how to spend their money. There is a lot of science supporting the idea that having freedom of vibram fivefingers shoes choice is essential to happiness. I would be happier spending $100 on two shirts I don't need versus paying $50 in taxes and having no control over how it is spent. Everyone wins.

The hard part is figuring out how to measure this "extra" spending compared to the baseline, so you can be sure the relatively wealthy are complying. So perhaps it needs to be voluntary, like recycling.

I can imagine a new sort of credit card that is used only for the "extra" purchases, provided by the usual banks and credit card firms, but with one important ugg australia feature: Everything you use the card for is public record, on the Internet.

I am convinced that the main reason people comply with recycling is that their neighbors can see who is being a good citizen on trash day. Peer pressure is important.

Obviously you wouldn't use the special credit card for beer and condoms, because the neighbors would be watching, or could be. I think this would induce people to buy harmless additional MBT Nama consumer items, or take extra domestic vacations, or buy extra birthday presents for friends.

Yes, this idea isn't practical. But how are the other plans looking?

2011年1月12日星期三

Predatory Lenders

I watched the candidates for Vice President debating last night. Sarah Palin said the credit problem was caused by predatory lending. In other words, the evil banks made loans to people who didn't have good credit.
This raises an interesting question: What did the lenders know about the borrowers that the borrowers did not know about themselves?

In theory, the people who got loans from the so-called predators had enough monthly income to pay the mortgage plus their other living expenses. The real risk was that the MBT Tupu would become sick, unemployed, unlucky, or irresponsible. Apparently we expect lenders to be better judges of the strangers asking for loans than the would-be borrowers are of themselves. How did the conversation between lender and borrower go in the old days, before predatory lending?

Banker: "Well, Billy Bob, you can afford this loan now, but based on that dumbass hat you're wearing, I give you two weeks before you drink a case of beer and drive your Chevy into a silo."

If a potential borrower has the monthly income to repay a loan, how much external risk should the banker accept? I think it's somewhere in the 2% range. In other words, a good nike air jordan 1 should turn down a loan for someone who has a 2% or greater chance of being doomed during the early years of the mortgage, before any equity has built up.

Lenders should be required to assign a doom factor to all loan applicants, like a fortune teller. It would be interesting to know, for example, that Wells Fargo has assigned a 20% doom factor to you. Then you could find out on the same day that you aren't going to own a house, and you have a 1-in-5 chance of becoming a hobo by 2010.

In one of my earlier career incarnations I was a banker. My job for a few years included reviewing and approving commercial loans for doctors and dentists. One day I declined a loan application for a dentist who, according to his recent tax returns, didn't have enough cash flow to repay the UGG Nightfall. My boss at the time reviewed my work and turned the decline into an approval without even looking at the financials. When I asked why, he explained that the borrower had a Chinese name. I questioned the wisdom of this lending procedure and he directed me to the files of delinquent borrowers, challenging me to find any Chinese names in there. There weren't any. I'm not judging, just telling you what happened.

Lenders should be required to assign a doom factor to all loan applicants, like a fortune teller. It would be interesting to know, for example, that Wells Fargo has assigned a 20% doom factor to you. Then you could find out on the same day that you aren't going to own a house, and you have a 1-in-5 Jimmy choo shoes chance of becoming a hobo by 2010.

In one of my earlier career incarnations I was a banker. My job for a few years included reviewing and approving commercial loans for doctors and dentists. One day I declined a loan application for a dentist who, according to his recent tax returns, didn't have enough cash flow to repay the loan. My boss at the time reviewed my work and turned the decline into an approval without even looking at the financials. When I asked why, he explained that the borrower had a Chinese name. I questioned the wisdom of this lending vibram barefoot shoes and he directed me to the files of delinquent borrowers, challenging me to find any Chinese names in there. There weren't any. I'm not judging, just telling you what happened.

Trickle Up Economics

According to a new study, women are attracted to intelligent men for both long term relationships and for hook-ups.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=5951979&page=1

The only time women are not attracted to intelligent men is when they have the option of a good looking guy who is dumber than pants on fish. Still, it's comforting to know that given the choice of two Jimmy choo shoes, women usually prefer the one who is not a moron. And obviously many women will still pick the guy who is both ugly and stupid if he has lots of money, good hair, is tall, or plays in a band. I did my own study to reach that conclusion. It's titled "Duh."

In my vast experience as an unattractive smart guy who was not always a syndicated cartoonist, there are in fact women who have fetishes for smart men. Not many, but they exist. My guess is that about 3% of the female public is in that group. That's probably good enough to keep the inventions flowing for a few more evolutionary steps.

The only risk to the future of UGG Nightfall is that nerds will invent a technology that is better than sex with another human being. I'll try to keep this next part rated PG-13, so please be patient with the indirectness.

I assume some entrepreneur is already working on creating a business where guys will be able to buy a lifelike female body part that plugs into a standard USB port, and can be controlled by someone else across the Internet. That artificial body part could mimic a hand, mouth, or woo-woo. In the short run, the business model would involve paying women, in countries where such things are legal, to control the device and appear on a web cam chat. In the long run, artificial intelligence and CGI women will be controlling the action, so the whole system would only cost $100, with no recurring fees. And that will be the end of humanity because nerds will stop mating, their genes will die out, humanity will revert to the Bronze Age, and all the attractive, dumb Christian Louboutin will be eaten by wild dogs.

I like to end on a positive note, so let's take a moment to be happy for the wild dogs.

In the recent debate, Vice Presidential candidate Joe Biden said the wealthy would gain by paying higher taxes to lift up the middle class. The theory is that a healthy middle class is necessary for the wealthy class to thrive. Let's call that Trickle Up Economics.

Viewed in that light, the unwealthy are more like an investment opportunity than a tax burden. If you can make the poor and middle class more educated, healthy, and better MBT Shuguli, everyone wins. That makes sense, to a degree. But would the wealthy gain enough financially to make the extra taxes a good investment? I wonder if that has ever been studied.

Perhaps there are too many variables to make any kind of general statement about the benefits of taxing the rich. If the government raises taxes on the wealthy and pisses away the money on sketchy wars and pork, that's probably a poor investment. If the money goes into education, healthcare, and alternative energy, that starts looking a lot more like an investment with a 10-year payoff.

Obviously higher taxes on the rich are counterproductive if it stops them from building new factories, or causes them to invest overseas. Maybe corporate taxes have to remain low no matter what, or everyone moves their operations to Ireland. You can always tax the retro jordan, since most people won't leave the country just to save money on taxes.

Henry Ford famously paid his factory workers more than the market rate so they would be able to afford cars. I've never seen a study of how that worked out for him. Does anyone have a link to tell me if investing in poor people benefits the rich?

Only Good News

Today I give you some positive news because frankly you need it.

Basic Instructions

Long time readers of this blog remember I was trying to help cartoonist Scott Meyer develop a syndicated comic strip. He already has a comic called Basic Instructions that is popular on the web, but its format and characters aren't a natural fit with mainstream ugg australia. And while newspaper syndication didn't work out, Scott just came out with a book that is a collection of his comics. I have a copy, and it is pure genius. Check it out.
http://cozysnowboots.com

The web site is here: http://cozysnowboots.com
Voice Update
In July I had surgery to fix my voice issue. For 3.5 years I have had spasmodic dysphonia, a condition where the vocal cords squeeze shut involuntarily when you try to talk. The projected recovery time from the surgery is 3-4 months, while the transplanted nerves in the neck regenerate. I was told that after a few months of only being able to whisper, the new nerve pathway would finally be complete, and one day I would wake up with a voice.

It happened this week.

I don't yet have a full voice, and I still can't talk above much background vibram fivefingers shoes, but it's a real voice. Unlike before, it is fully functional. For the first time in years I can use the telephone, and order food at a restaurant and be heard. It will take several more months for the voice to become essentially normal. I am delighted.

Creativity

Recently I was asked if human creativity is nearing its limits. It seems as if every idea has already been done. Regular readers of this blog know that every time I describe what I think is a new vibram fivefingers shoes, someone provides a link to an earlier description of the same idea.

I don't think creativity is coming to an end. I think creativity is increasing at an increasing rate, and always will.

Creativity is generally a combination of existing ideas. If there were only two concepts in the universe, creativity would be "What happens if we put them together?" If you add a third and fourth concept to the universe, the number of creative combinations shoots up.

The Internet allows you to check the originality of your idea quickly, so it sometimes seems that all the good ideas have been taken. But the Internet also seeds us with many more vibram five fingers shoe than we would otherwise be exposed to. Humans are like distributed computing for creativity. The Internet and the media and our daily lives dump huge volumes of raw concepts into our heads and we process and combine things until something new feels right.

Worrying comes from predicting the future on a straight line, imagining trouble increasing at some established pace. But the real future comes in leaps and bounces, with creative solutions Jimmy choo shoes faster than problems. I believe this is some sort of fundamental law of the universe, that solutions will always outpace problems.

Take a deep breath. You're going to be fine. Someone, somewhere, just thought of an idea that will fix everything. And you couldn't stop it if you tried.

2011年1月3日星期一

Cheapatopia - Location and Energy

I didn't read all the suggestions for location, but it seems clear that there could be more than one great place to put Cheapatopia. For example, some people might enjoy desert living, where the inexpensive land and plentiful solar power are a good combination. Others might prefer to live in a place with four seasons, preferably above a geothermal power source. I can imagine the roads, driveways, and sidewalks in Winter Cheapatopia being heated to 33 degrees after a snowfall, so snow removal is never an issue.

Let's assume there can be more than one retro jordan, and that economists and engineers can identify the best locations. Our next question is energy costs.

I'm going to back into energy costs by discussing a barter system first. Imagine that Cheapatopia uses money just like the rest of the world, but for convenience, cash is banned. All payments are made by a credit/debit card (the same card).

Beyond regular money, the citizens of Cheapatopia would have a barter system whereby they earn what I will call Karma Points for services performed. For example, if you babysit for a ugg boots, or walk someone's dog, you get some Karma Points that you can later spend to pay a neighbor to mow your lawn. You can still buy all of those services with regular money too, so this is just an option.

And perhaps seniors get double Karma Points for any services they perform, and kids get half points. That way the seniors can easily get help without feeling it is charity.

The key to making Karma Points work is a robust Internet-based service that sets prices for various services and keeps track of who has how many points. The real purpose of this MBT Fanaka is not just the convenience of getting stuff done, but the social interaction it causes. Most people make their friends from their organized activities, past or present. They find their spouses and lovers the same way. Cheapatopia increases your social involvement and therefore your social life.

Bringing this back to energy costs, I wonder if there is some modern equivalent of pyramid building, without the alleged slavery, that can be applied to modern times. Could a MBT Bia build an energy source through its volunteer labor that would be otherwise uneconomical?

For example, if you build an enormously tall tower, and put a wind turbine inside it, the natural air flow from the chimney effect creates energy. It's called a solar updraft tower.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_updraft_tower

Could citizens be enlisted, voluntarily, to contribute labor to building such a massive energy structure in return for Karma Points, or even reduced energy bills? I don't see it being practical either, but maybe you do, using some sort of pyramid design instead of a retro jordan. Assume real estate and labor are both cheap, and the project can last 20 years. The immediate benefit is in the social interaction it causes, and the collective goal.

Or suppose the city of Cheapatopia creates its own factory for building the type of equipment used in huge solar power plant generation. The most economical types are the plants that concentrate sunlight on tubes filled with water, thus generating steam to power turbines. Cheapatopia could be its own first customer. The beauty of this system is that it is modular. The more units you set up in the desert, the more power.

If Cheapatopia is located where there is more wind than sun, then the Jimmy choo shoes could busy itself making windmills. The point is that the city could be organized around the production of its own energy, both for social reasons and for economics. Once Cheapatopia met all of its own energy needs it could become a provider to others, using the profits for city improvements

Cheapatopia - Internet

Okay, so most of you believe the Karma system of payment that I described in the last post is redundant with cash, or at least contrary to human nature. I disagree, since I wouldn't walk your dog for cash, but I would do it for Karma points, so that I would feel free to ask you for a favor in return someday.

But I'll drop that from the plan because if Cheapatopia works in other ways, you will get to know all of your neighbors well enough to arrange for a free vibram barefoot shoes when you need one anyway.

The backbone of Cheapatopia would be social networking via the Internet. You might say Facebook does what you need, but I think something far more robust is called for.

For example, if you wanted to arrange an impromptu get together for any sport or activity, it would be nice to have a web service that matched just the right number of players, at just the right mix of skills, without much human intervention. I should be able to tell the vibram fivefingers shoes what I'm interested in, when I can do it, and how skilled I am. Then the system should find other players. And it should happen in minutes, because alerts would be sent to the smart phones of anyone nearby who was interested in the same thing. In Cheapatopia, every citizen is required to have a smart phone. And the city would have free WiFi everywhere.

Preparing meals could also be more organized and less expensive. It would be a lot easier to make a bunch of just one thing - say a big bowl of pasta salad - than to make several items for a meal. Imagine a system that matches you with the neighbors who have complementary dishes, and you all get together to trade Tupperware containers with your contribution. The MBT Tataga would keep track of whether you gave more than you got, and even things out over time.

Food preparation and games would be the primary way neighbors got to know each other. And it would substitute for more expensive recreational and dining options.

The web service should also match people who have no pets, but wish they did, with people who need their pets walked or watched while they are away. No money needs to change retro jordan because both parties benefit in the transaction. Few things are more fun than a borrowed dog.

Likewise, you could easily find someone to watch your kid for an evening if doing so gave their own kid a playmate to keep him occupied for that time. Babysitters would be unnecessary. Parents know it's often easier to watch two kids that are amusing each other than one kid who has nothing productive to do.

Ride sharing would be made easy in Cheapatopia by this same Christian Louboutin Heels system. But the only rides you would ever need would be to the nearest airport. There would be no cars within Cheapatopia. More on that later.