The trade deficit with China is in the hundreds of billions of dollars a year.  This is because we’re a big importer of Chinese goods and they don’t buy as much stuff back from us. In return though, the Chinese loan us money (largely through the government) or conduct investment in American companies.  But we’ve [...]

They get you paid! The logos of Vineyard Vines, Lacoste, and Polo are just a few of many well recognized clothing brands all around the world.  And for many the cost of such clothing doesn’t justify the brand recognition that comes from it.  Perhaps we should all take a page from the most materialistic people [...]

If you’ve never seen Cisco’s TelePresence system in action, you’re missing out.  I had the opportunity to use it last year and the experience was amazing.  Mind you, at a cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars it better be. TelePresence is a teleconferencing system that allows the users to meet face to face [...]

A smörgåsbord of awesome reads from the last few weeks. Enjoy. We’re running out of helium because the government is selling the stocks at way low market prices. Once we run out, we can’t make more, and it actually has industrial uses. The next cheapest place to get it is the moon. The Longevity Project: [...]

Did you know that owning a hybrid means you’re actually more likely to drive more? You’re also more likely to get traffic tickets. A company called Quality Planning conducted a study of hybrid drivers for insurance companies and found some surprising results. The first is that they drive more than non-hybrid drivers. One might expect [...]

Let’s do a thought experiment. There are currently 311 million people in the US. Let’s assume they all start managing money professionally this year. Each person has a 50/50 chance of outperforming the market. If they underperform then they drop out of the race and can’t keep investing. If they outperform then they invest again [...]

This country is way too obsessed with making things. Why is the job that makes the car more important than a job that fixes it? Why is the guy that builds the skyscraper more important than they guy that works in it? Let’s carry this logic to the extreme: why is the stethoscope maker’s job [...]

Inside Job is a documentary about the financial crisis that started in 2007. It is narrated by Matt Damon and won an Academy Award for best documentary this year. It’s a movie I’d wanted to watch for a while but hadn’t gotten around to it. It is of historical significance and is told in a [...]