I watched this episode that night, and was completely in agreement with Scott Adams.

Why Economists Wear Kevlar Underpants

Not since Football in the Groin has something so stupid been so entertaining.

Penny Arcade absolutely nailed it.

My favourite bit was the portable hard drive thing though.

This one is right up there with the Chicken and Elephant one.

I think we all have heard by now that the iPhone is pretty damn cool. And it does a lot of funky things.

But the question few have asked but all have wondered is this...

Will it blend?

Let's find out.

Does bursting into fits of laughter at reading this paragraph make me a bad person?

July 5 is National Workaholics Day. If you are reading this at a work computer, you know who you are. For those who feel they have a problem, Workaholics Anonymous has been growing throughout the country — though some chapters are foundering, given that so few people will leave work to make it to meetings.

Alright, this is far from scientific, but I think you will agree once you read this that the evidence is nonetheless compelling.

I am by no means a music geek, but I am a fan. I like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Robert Johnson, the Cure, Rage Against the Machine, Metallica and dEUS. Not a huge classical fan, I do love Vide Cor Meum by Patrick Cassidy. I may well attend a bluegrass show next weekend.

So, with that in mind, what song pops into my head and refuses to leave during my taxi drive home with the Author tonight?

You are right, it would have been my first guess as well...

My Lovely Mayo Mammy.

Would.

Now that I am completely up to date with my Security Now! podcasts, I've moved on to EconTalk, another very interesting series.

In any case, at the end of one of the episodes, the guy poses a question as an exercise, and I thought it would be good to post it here.

A tourist visits a remote island for a holiday. He does not realise the island has no money, and its entire economy is based on a barter system. Thus, when he checks into his lodgings, and goes to pay by cheque, he realises his money is of no use. However, his host is fascinated by the drawings and letterings on the cheques in his chequebook, and accepts a cheque in return for his lodging.

The tourist discovers that he can do the same for the rest of his expenses during his stay on the island, and writes a number of cheques to pay for his meals, drinks and the few mementoes he wants to bring home with him. These cheques are never cashed. After he leaves, his cheques remain in use and eventually become a means of exchange on the island, eventually replacing the barter system.

Since the cheques are never cashed, the question is: who paid for the original tourist's holiday? Was it free?

While I LOVE the question, I must admit I do not know the answer. I have an idea what the correct one is, but to avoid spoiling it, and to encourage some responses, I will put it in the first comment.

1. AC/DC.
2. Winning the Lottery (having had someone else buy your ticket for you)(*)
3. The fact that my new laptop is being delivered to me right now.

Edit:(*) I did not win the Lottery at all. I was merely thinking of stuff that would be cool. And were someone ever to mention the possibility of getting me a ticket, my ensuing rant about how the Lottery is utterly terrible to play from a probabilistic point of view would almost certainly result in me being told to stick my mathematics up my arse as the person was merely trying to be nice.

I am not entirely sure why I find this so disturbing. Such truly fucked up behaviour online should have occurred to me before this, and so I should not be surprised.

Why I Don't Feel Shame for My Misanthropy

Had St. Bill ever formed that People Who Hate People Party, I'd be happy to carry the card.

No matter how many times he told me to fuck off.

If a man is alone in the woods, and no woman is within five miles of him, is he still wrong?

It does occur to me that two posts like this, in the absence of any other for long time, leaves me open to accusations of misogyny, but I figured you commenting types would like the discussion...