From a fantastic article by David Owen titled "Penny Dreadful." Somewhere, I'm sure, there's a comprehensive list of penny factoids, but I just culled the best ones out of his article.
1. Pennies manufactured before 1982, which are ninety-five percent copper, are valued for metal content at two-and-a-half cents apiece.
2. It costs 1.7 cents to produce a penny - meaning that every year, the U.S. mint loses fifty million dollars on penny acquisition.
3. It costs 10 cents to produce a nickel.
4. Breaking stride to pick up a penny, if it takes more than 6.15 seconds, pays less than the federal minimum wage.
5. The U.S. government used to manufacture half-pennies but stopped making them in 1857 due to their limited purchasing value. In 1857, the half-cent purchased far more than a dime does today.
See? Isn't learning fun?
On my ipod: still the mountain goats...
In my fridge: tomato and red pepper soup
On my mind: sex, love, emasculation, war bonds...and furniture
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
sublime
A working definition of romanticism: A valorization of nature over social text, as over the machine; a preference for the experience of the individual over the group; a tone of high seriousness - melancholy being the "sublimest" tone - instead of wit, satire, learnedness; a faith in inspiration and spiritedness instead of reason's logic. (Baker 171)
A procedural example of melodrama: On the day that Dennis Brown's lung collapsed, spring rain was misting down on Kingston. Down at the harbor local cops were intercepting an inbound shipment. For awhile there it was chaos as they handcuffed and then roughed up some sailors. On the day my lung collapses it's not gonna be much different. (Darnielle 381)
On my ipod: something new
On my mind: same old, same old.
On my desk: a paper that's actually going somewhere...
A procedural example of melodrama: On the day that Dennis Brown's lung collapsed, spring rain was misting down on Kingston. Down at the harbor local cops were intercepting an inbound shipment. For awhile there it was chaos as they handcuffed and then roughed up some sailors. On the day my lung collapses it's not gonna be much different. (Darnielle 381)
On my ipod: something new
On my mind: same old, same old.
On my desk: a paper that's actually going somewhere...
Sunday, March 9, 2008
food politics is BACK
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/business/worldbusiness/09crop.html?hp
saw this great story in the NYT this morning. All caveats aside - and there are MANY, - I think this is great news. Having food priced based on actual market value is far preferable to the current mess of subsidies.
saw this great story in the NYT this morning. All caveats aside - and there are MANY, - I think this is great news. Having food priced based on actual market value is far preferable to the current mess of subsidies.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
So long, analog!
If you're anything like me, analog television is tucked away with Oregon Trail, SimAnt, the original Apple IIE and the blinking DOS prompt - fleeting, nostalgic, and almost entirely forgotten. Rabbit ears? Snow? Sounds lovely, but I still wouldn't trade it for a PC in every house. Apparently Congress agrees - as of February 2009, analog in New York will be no more:
Gotham Gazette: Though many New Yorkers don't yet know it, the clock is ticking on their television reception. The federal government has set Feb. 17, 2009, as the date on which television broadcasters must switch from an analog signal to a digital one. This change means anyone with a television set more than a couple of years old who wants to keep getting free broadcasts over the air needs to take action....A Consumers Union survey found that nearly a quarter of consumers who are aware of the transition believe they will need to throw out their analog televisions after 2009. "This would mean thousands of perfectly good televisions getting kicked to the curb," Kelsey worries, "resulting in an immense amount of dangerous electronic waste" -- something New York City already has enough of.
Half of the consumers whom this will affect don't know it's coming - that same survey reports that fewer than 50% of American viewers are unaware of the digital transition. Given that 80 percent of those who watch analog television still get it for free (mostly older and lower income viewers), the prospect of shelling out $50 for a converter - or worse, getting cable - will undoubtedly come as a bit of a shock.
So there it is: a moment of silence for the analog signal I never had and didn't know I wanted until it was too late. Farewell and adieu - you will certainly be missed.
Gotham Gazette: Though many New Yorkers don't yet know it, the clock is ticking on their television reception. The federal government has set Feb. 17, 2009, as the date on which television broadcasters must switch from an analog signal to a digital one. This change means anyone with a television set more than a couple of years old who wants to keep getting free broadcasts over the air needs to take action....A Consumers Union survey found that nearly a quarter of consumers who are aware of the transition believe they will need to throw out their analog televisions after 2009. "This would mean thousands of perfectly good televisions getting kicked to the curb," Kelsey worries, "resulting in an immense amount of dangerous electronic waste" -- something New York City already has enough of.
Half of the consumers whom this will affect don't know it's coming - that same survey reports that fewer than 50% of American viewers are unaware of the digital transition. Given that 80 percent of those who watch analog television still get it for free (mostly older and lower income viewers), the prospect of shelling out $50 for a converter - or worse, getting cable - will undoubtedly come as a bit of a shock.
So there it is: a moment of silence for the analog signal I never had and didn't know I wanted until it was too late. Farewell and adieu - you will certainly be missed.
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