Perhaps you don't know what that means, but for those readers who get it, I'll say it once more, Hotty Toddy!
On Saturday, my favorite sports team, the Ole Miss Rebels (where my parents worked, and where I grew up as a child) kicked off their 2015 football season with a 76-3 shellacking of some cupcake high school team or whatever. But a win is a win, and a win by 73 points is, well, a rout.
My weekly digests can't be all "why so serious," so expect some football news when the Rebels win, and maybe some tears when they lose. Actually no tears. As an Ole Miss fan, you grow accustomed to losing, so the pill becomes less bitter over time. It's when we win that I'm unsure what to do...
Meanwhile, what better way to help your friends take their minds off a rough loss than to forward them the opt-in formso they'll have something to distract them midweek? (photo courtesy of fansided.com)
As always, happy Wednesday and happy reading!
This Day in History
1776 – America acquires our official epithet when Congress votes to formally name the new country The United States of America. This replaced the informal "United Colonies" which presumably didn't fit so well once we broke away from Britain and stopped being colonies. So if July 4th is our birthday, September 9th is our christening. Happy naming day, America!
When at Stonehenge
The world's favorite "how the hell did they build that" monument has a new neighbor, and change is never easy, especially when the rumors are that the neighbor's house will make yours look more a Hooverville (from the Guardian).
I've been fortunate enough to visit Stonehenge twice, and it's quite impressive. Astrology and geometry aside - although I'm still dumbfounded about how ancient peoples could line their monuments up with the celestial bodies - the most amazing thing about Stonehenge is how they stacked those stones on top of one another without any type of mechanical or even animal labor. No wonder people speculate Stonehenge was built by Merlin or by giants.
Looks like I'll need to pencil another visit to the UK into my future travel plans to see Stonehenge's new/old neighbor, and marvel at one of my favorite historical mysteries. (photo courtesy of English-Heritage.org)
Economic Evolution or Why "I Like That Guy" is a Poor Way to Vote
There are two themes here, so I'll start with what I think is easiest: Willie Nelson is the man (from GQ). I would love to hang out with Willie. I bet that would be a lot of fun. But I don't think Willie would make a good president. I bet Willie Nelson would tell you he doesn't think he'd make a good president, and that we're better off electing someone whose goal in life at age 82 isn't to start his own marijuana business.
Which brings me to the economy. If I were a betting man - wait, I am a betting man - I'd bet that the pot industry takes off soon. A decade before pot is legal everywhere seems too long a timeline; it's likely people are buying Willie Nelson's pre-rolled joints well before then. Since I'm not a venture capitalist with piles of money sitting around, I won't be investing in the pot industry, but I think it's a striking example of economic evolution. It's hard to imagine that even in the not-so-distant past, this would have been on anyone's radar, and now it has the potential to be a multi-billion dollar industry.
The interesting paradigm here is that while the government cannot and should not run the economy - that is the rightful role of the private sector - government does need to respond to the changing economy in order to regulate in a manner that does not stifle growth, keeps consumers safe, and raises revenue. This is much, much easier said that done, although admittedly it doesn't seem like there has been much of an attempt from our politicians, some of whom prefer overregulation to the point of ossification, and some of whom think it's okay to poison the well for profit. Perhaps a little of the wacky tobaccky will get our politicians thinking straight. I kinda doubt it though; I'm willing to bet most of them are already regularly using it or something much worse anyhow. (photo courtesy of Music Times)
Economic Evolution Pt. 2?
What do app start ups and dot.com bubbles have in common? I suppose we don't know yet, but perhaps we'll find out (from Vanity Fair). Over the past two decades the tech industry has exploded, but it has also imploded once as well, which has Silicon Valleyers worried about the next tech bubble.
As best I can tell, bubbles are just part of capitalism. Everyone wants to be part of the next big thing, and so money flows into trendy sectors until ultimately those sectors collapse under the weight of money they can no longer absorb or upon which they no longer provide returns. One metric the author uses to measure this is the number of "unicorn" companies, valued over one billion dollars, but not necessarily worth much at all. In essence, some of these tech startups are valuing their ideas at outrageous amounts simply because other ideas made outrageous amounts whether those initial ideas necessarily deserved it or not.
So what is the real value of an Uber, a TaskRabbit, an Instacart? Are those companies all here to stay, or will some of them implode a la dot.com? And for that matter what is value? Facebook adds almost unfathomable social value for people all over the world, but what are its revenue streams? How does it create money?
The products and services at the foundation of our economy may have changed, but the basic way it operates has not.
Economic Evolution Pt. 3!?!?
In addition to the tech boom, the last two decades has also ushered in the rise of China as an economic powerhouse. But like any power, China wants to play by its own rules (from the NYTimes). Chinese investments are pouring into countries around the world, but is the benefit mutual?
For a long time, America alone dominated the world economy, but that is no longer the case, and as China flexes its financial muscle around the world there are certain to be both positive and negative political and economic consequences. The question that faces America is how Chinese investment will change the dynamic of an economic paradigm that was once our sandbox, but is now being shared, and perhaps reshaped. Just one more theme to be followed as China takes its place on the world stage.
By George!
Legs for daysssss as George's human, Chris in Dallas, would say about him, and from this picture you can tell he hasn't quite grown into himself yet, which if anything, means he'll soon be even leggier!
George lives in Dallas with Chris and Chris's better half, Lizzie. A quirky Brittany Spaniel, George loves feasting on stuffed animals and sticks, and enjoys napping in his mom's closet or sometimes under the bed covers. He does NOT love the summer temperatures in Texas, so he has developed an interest in swimming. Whenever possible, George spends time with his older cousins Berkley and Butters whom he adores, but who are prone to treating him like the younger cousin he is.
You may be asking yourself, who names a dog George? Great question, George is actually named for Washington, as in Washington DC, where his humans met, and Washington state, where his human Chris proposed to his human Lizzie. Also, Chris attended Washington University in St. Louis, so George is carrying the baggage of quite a few Washingtons, but rest assured he lives up to the awesomeness of all of them. Big thanks to Chris and Lizzie for sharing George!!
Summer is Officially Over
If you're one of those "no white after Labor Day" people then go ahead and rearrange your wardrobe. If you're like me and you have the fashion sense of Cro-Magnon man then go ahead and keep wearing whatever you'd like. Or as I tell myself some mornings while I'm looking in the mirror, "you do you." It helps me get over the fact that my shirts and ties rarely match.
