Saturday, October 30, 2010

A time lapse halloween

This guy combines a couple very cool things to make a great thing.  He sets up a time lapse of himself carving a pumpkin with Ron Paul's face on it.  What makes this great however, is the audio he puts the film to.  Ron Paul asks congress What If? in the most passionate, principled and spot on correct anti-war speech likely ever made on that most dubious floor.  Take a look and listen:

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

A "fair market"

The other night I was driving by the largest agricultural fair in New England on a busy Friday night.  This fair runs the whole first week of October.   I have driven by this fair many, many times in my life and I noticed something each time about the prime parking spots near the entrance gates.  These spots happen to be on the lawns of the people that live proximal to the fairgrounds.  Depending on the time of the day, the day of the week, and even the weather, the cost of a parking spot changes.  On a rainy Tuesday midday it might be 4 dollars to park, but in the last Saturday night of the fair, you are likely to pay 12 to 15 dollars.

What I like about this is that I see it as analogous to the way prices fluctuate in a voluntary free market based on demand.  You can park a mile down the road for free, but if you just drove for 4 hours, 10 dollars does not seem that hefty a fee to be a 1 minute walk to the gate and the peace of mind that your car is safe. 

A colorful chart

A cheery interpretation of Americas perception of the other guys.