Matt Lehrer

Month

February 2009

“I was involved in trading for 21 years and I can testify that traders consciously play the free option game. On the other hand, I worked (in my other job as risk adviser) with various military organisations and people watching over our safety. We trust military and homeland security people with our lives, yet they do not get a bonus. They get promotions, the honour of a job well done and the disincentive of shame if they fail. Roman soldiers signed a sacramentum accepting punishment in the event of failure. This is prompting me to call for the nationalisation of the utility part of banking as the only solution in which society does not grant individuals free options to look after its risks.” —Nassim Taleb

The idea of banks as utilities previously discussed here and here.

Feb 27, 20091 note
#economy #boringbanking
Bobby Jindal admits he made up that whole Hurricane Katrina story → tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com

spiegelman:

When did Republicans become so pathologically bumbling?

Unreal.

Feb 27, 200914 notes
Feb 26, 20094 notes
Economy "Recover"? Please. It Needs To Reboot → businessinsider.com

I’ve been thinking about this a lot and I think it defines the difference between the US consumer / economy and the rest of the world going forward. Since WWII and more so since 1981 / Reagan, US growth has been fueled by massive expansions in public and private debt. I don’t think that pace will continue for at least one generation, probably two - it took fifty-plus years after 1929 for the party to really start going again. I’m not saying ‘it’s different this time,’ I’m saying it wasn’t different the last few decades and we are now paying the price.

Feb 26, 20092 notes
#economy
Comments v. Reblogs

azspot:

Marco wrote:

This is exactly the rationale behind using reblogs as a means of debate and discussion.

The main reason I don’t allow comments is that I want to inspire debate. I think people do their best writing when they’re forced to defend their ideas on their own turf. It’s one thing to leave a comment on someone else’s blog, but quite another to put your argument in front of your own readers. It forces a level of consideration that, without fail, results in a higher quality exchange of ideas. —Alex Payne

No, reblogs do not serve as suitable “means of debate and discussion” in the same manner as comments.

Marco, I love Tumblr and believe it to be spectacular in how polished and fantastic a platform can be. And uncanny how just about every feature request I’ve desired has become implemented in a quality fashion. But reblogging is a poor substitute for commenting.

  • Reblogged posts are “tied” to a specific format. For instance, this very “quote” post, that I attempted to reblog, but I had to create as a “text” post, due to formatting concerns (as rendering this very text as a “quote source” would be an aesthetic abomination). Granted, might only be an issue for some Tumblr setups, but semantically, it makes sense that a photo caption or quote would be expounded upon in a lengthier post format.
  • Most reblogs are verbatim reproductions of the original post. A phenomenon that might be alleviated somewhat with the advent of the Tumblr “likes” feature, but I still see a great bit of reblogging that is of a “repeat only” nature. And it may not be evident from the Tumblr staff post reblogs, which are more likely to have additional text tacked on.
  • Unlike comments, following a reblog response stream is a tedious affair. Simple “he said, she said” encounters are simple, but a “thread” that winds its way through dozens of posters is cumbersome to traverse. Originally, when it was apparent that Tumblr would make the reblog the engine to accomodate reader feedback, I figured down the road would be a novel, nifty interface to facilitate that “follow flow”.
  • Institution of a responder wall of segregation. Readers who don’t have Tumblr accounts are silenced. Perhaps somebody who stumbles across a post has something of great value to add to the discussion (or the referenced article or source) does not wish to become a Tumblr creator, but is impelled to add an informed take.

Yes, I concede to all the considerations the anti-comment comment crowd casts — spam, the hateful ad hominem attacks, name calling, etc.…

And despite my Tumblr contrarian beliefs on comments philosophy, it’s really not a big deal for the simple truth that if a reader is so alarmed and stricken to respond, she can create a Tumblr log of her own (or WordPress/Blogger blog, Google page, etc.…) in less than 10 minutes to obtain a means of dissent.

Excellent summary.

Feb 26, 200925 notes
Play
Feb 25, 2009
Feb 25, 200920 notes
“‘The strength of America is not found in our government. It is found in the compassionate hearts and enterprising spirit of our citizens.’ To illustrate this point, Jindal told an anecdote about an unnamed government bureaucrat who during Hurricane Katrina told a sheriff that the sheriff couldn’t send out rescue boats without proof of insurance and registration. Yes, the GOP’s poster boy of the night was actually making the case that Katrina proved that citizens should trust Republicans more than Democrats.” —David Corn
Feb 25, 2009
#politics
I bowled my first-ever turkey last night.

Why is it called a turkey?

The term dates back to before the turn of the 20th century. In those years, scoring was much more difficult and to get three strikes in a row was quite an achievement. During Thanksgiving or Christmas week, the proprietor would present a live turkey to the first person on each team who scored three consecutive strikes. The term has carried over ever since.

Feb 25, 20091 note
what's your favourite word?

lovepuppy:

fullcredit:

lizziejeanne:

dweeler:

jspurg:

strawburyduck:

lovehopehate:

srsly:

theprosaic:

scatteredwords:

i like “carbaminohemoglobin” and “scattered”

hence my blog name.

sponge and box

Defenestrate.

Scandal

Superfluous.

atrocious

Unununium - 111th element on the periodic table

et cetera - it’s technically two, and it’s technically Latin. But I love it.

capricious

Gizmo.

Probabilistically.

Feb 25, 200982 notes
“We have lived through an era where too often, short-term gains were prized over long-term prosperity; where we failed to look beyond the next payment, the next quarter, or the next election. The only way this century will be another American century is if we confront at last the price of our dependence on oil and the high cost of health care; the schools that aren’t preparing our children and the mountain of debt they stand to inherit.” —Barack Obama
Feb 24, 20091 note
#politics
Japan Exports Plummet 45.7% → bloomberg.com

This is such a huge number, I don’t think I understand it.

Feb 24, 20091 note
#economy
What's up with this gchat virus?
Feb 24, 20091 note
Feb 24, 20091 note
#economy

Anyone else’s dashboard acting up a little? Posts disappearing and reappearing?

Feb 23, 20092 notes
American Express offering buyouts... to cardholders. → blogs.wsj.com

mandalay:

(via alexbalk)

I’d be interested to hear one of you financial people’s take on this. Chris maybe? -M

My guess is this won’t work because the people AmEx is likely to offer this to won’t be able to get a new credit card and do a balance transfer right now. If it does work, it sounds like a good deal for both AmEx and the consumer.

Feb 23, 20098 notes
Of Course We're Going To Inflate Our Way Out Of This Debt → feedproxy.google.com

Of course. But I’ve said this before.

Feb 23, 20093 notes
#economy
Is it time to overhaul the Dow index? → finance.yahoo.com
Why not? Here are my picks to replace any members of the DJIA that are kicked out this year (most likely General Motors, Citigroup and Bank of America):
  • UPS
  • Exelon
  • Google
  • Medtronic

A real stunner would be Toyota but I don’t think there’s ever been a foreign company included.

Feb 23, 2009
Feb 23, 20092 notes
Feb 23, 200921 notes
Next page →
2012 2013
  • January
  • February
  • March
  • April
  • May
  • June
  • July
  • August
  • September
  • October
  • November
  • December
2011 2012 2013
  • January
  • February
  • March
  • April
  • May
  • June
  • July
  • August
  • September
  • October
  • November
  • December
2010 2011 2012
  • January
  • February
  • March
  • April
  • May
  • June
  • July
  • August
  • September
  • October
  • November
  • December
2009 2010 2011
  • January
  • February
  • March
  • April
  • May
  • June
  • July
  • August
  • September
  • October
  • November
  • December
2008 2009 2010
  • January
  • February
  • March
  • April
  • May
  • June
  • July
  • August
  • September
  • October
  • November
  • December
2008 2009
  • January
  • February
  • March
  • April
  • May
  • June
  • July
  • August
  • September
  • October
  • November
  • December