He really should have grown some mustard.

As someone who grows and makes much of his own food, including until recently having bee hives, I can't help but wonder, where did he spend the $1500? Airfare? Sourced locally, and with the produce grown at home with manure instead of expensive fertilizers, that should have been about a $30-$50 sandwich (not accounting for the untold labor), including gas to drive to a farm for milk/chicken and to the ocean to get your salt water (OK, add another $50 if you have to rent a boat to get to clean water)...but for that, you probably get around 8-10 sandwiches before needing more chicken, making it really just a $10-$12 sandwich. I'm confused.

I got 5, 10, 12, 13, 20 and 29 [pretty awful for a supposed audiophile]

Solar shingles will be much harder to pay for themselves, they cost more and produce less, but they do look less obtrusive if that's an issue.
EDIT: One thing they have going for them is you can trap the water off your roof for yard usage like a metal roof, where normal tar shingles contaminate the water requiring a filter/oil separator. Here in Ca, that's a HUGE benefit, we have a terrible water shortage.
I live in N Ca, where we get tons of fog, and my panels/system have paid for themselves in under 1/2 their expected lifespan...so now I'm set for 10-12 years of free electricity, even though I live where there's less sun than most places. I can't fathom why every home in Phoenix isn't covered in them...it makes no sense whatsoever that they aren't taking advantage of their sun.

Congratulations to him on such incredible progress. All I can really say beyond that is... keep going. Much of what he's showing is actually stubborn subcutaneous fat reserves, not excess skin.

"This isn’t really bad news, believe it or not. It actually means that you’re almost there. It means that your “loose skin” isn’t necessarily out of your control. If indeed it is simply stubborn subcutaneous fat, once you manage to lose the excess fat, the “loose skin” might just disappear along with it. In fact, I’d imagine that most such cases of “loose skin” can and will be remedied in this manner. Men, get down to around 10-12% body fat before you start considering surgery or anything drastic. Women, get down to 15-17% body fat before taking any surgical steps." Read more: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-to-get-rid-of-excess-skin-after-major-weight-loss/#ixzz3UtOlXdsV

I had no idea they got that big nowadays. The last show I saw about displays, the largest ones they had were 10-12". And those were scary enough to curb my own pyro instincts. 48" seems like enough to shake an entire city.

If you aren't paddling you aren't surfing, you're just riding on a board..
Unless you are being towed into some 40'+ monster. In which case you aren't really surfing either, you're displaying your massive balls to the world. I've been pounded into the sand by 10-12' waves and come up wondering how I survived. I can not even fathom something bigger than that.

First things first: I read the article you linked as well as three others by the same author, given that he's teaching at a nearby facility. His article "The Three Types of Austerity" was quite enough to know that I'll never see eye-to-eye with him, or anyone of the same views.

"[Austerity] frees up resources for private investment" is a statement that does not match my perception of reality, given the absolute abundance of (financial) resources within the eurozone. It's a lack of demand for investments that's the problem, not supply. Savings are at record highs, investment is at an all-time low.

So, demand vs supply... we all know that discussion won't be resolved here, ever. It's utterly pointless. Same for the gold standard vs fiat, inflation good or bad, or any related discussion, really.

Instead, I'll try to reply to unrelated statements.

------------

"Do you think The Wire paid for their production assistants' healthcare? Did they make more than the $50/day for their 12 hour days (if they weren't working for free as "interns" for the 'privilege' of 'paying their dues' in 'the industry')?"

I know nothing about the situation on set of The Wire. My assumption is that it involved the regular amount of abuse of labour, including unpaid interns.

------------

"Haha, of course, "liberals" get a pass from other "liberals", but no pass for the Kochtopus (even though the Kochs give way more money to charities than The Wire would even be able to)."

Well, good for them. But I don't see why you drag them in here. You made a set of rhetoric questions aimed at hypocrisy by David Simon. I pointed out my view that any possible hypocrisy is dwarfed by the point he made vis-a-vis guilt/Perkins/watch/whatever.

------------

"Yeah? Like you know (the other) David Simon and can vouch for his "lack of guilt?" And "guilt" about what? Having money? Being successful?"

Feeling guilty about the discussion amongst the establishment regarding, for instance, the minimum wage. He finds it questionable how one can argue against giving a fella at Burger King 10-12 bucks an hour without feeling guilty for it. That's the disconnect we're talking about. When extremely wealthy individuals deny even the crumbs to the folks at the bottom.

Shamelessness was my addition, my interpretation. It was aimed at the demand for tax breaks and subsidies for extremely profitable corporations or extremely wealthy individuals. I would feel ashamed for any demands to my benefit if a) I didn't objectively need them and b) they would come at a detriment to others in worse situations than me.

Since I'm arguing from a different economic perspective than you, a shortfall in tax income (aka tax breaks) to me means either more taxes at another place, probably from weaker entitities who can't afford to buy their own representative, or a cut in essential services. I operate under a very broad definition of human dignity and see it as the first and foremost objective. Food, shelter, health, etc for all -- which might just be a reason why some people refer to me as a "pinko commie".

------------

"Does he? Really? How? And how are you doing more for "society" than that? Who are you and what exactly is your great "contribution" to society?"

He "weakens" society, economically, by suppressing aggregate demand. The more wealth you accumulate, the less of it, as a percentage, translates into demand. For an economy that depends on the circulation of goods and services, a massive and non-temporary accumulation of debt or savings (same coin, different sides) in the hands of single players (be it state, corporation or individual) chokes up the system. Less demand, less investment, less growth.
Accumulation is all fine and dandy if it translates into economic activity, but given the pathetic % of GDP that is being invested, despite mountains of unused cash that are forced into financial shenanigans looking for profit, I'd say it is dead weight and a drag.

But since you apparently share the views of Hollenbeck, all of that was probably hogwash to you.

------------

To answer your question: a human being and my great contribution to society is my charming personality, of course.

And with that, I bid you adieu. I've had long-ass discussions about Snowden/surveillance and other topics that led nowhere and I'm not interested in having one about economic theory, especially not in a second language. The floor is all yours, including the last word.

Or:

http://www.kansascity.com/2013/10/12/4549775/nightmare-in-maryville-teens-sexual.html

And the famous one:

http://www.democracynow.org/2013/1/7/hacker_group_anonymous_leaks_chilling_video

Which then was:

http://www.mrctv.org/videos/cnners-treat-steubenville-rapists-more-sympathetically-todd-akin?vdt=video_tab_block%257Cblock_2

Yeah, good thing we don't hold up rapist as hero's and feel sympathy for their lives being ruined . . . Welcome to the real world.

@MilkmanDan if you'd have been Truman you'd most-likely have picked at least one of these two targets as both were of military industrial significance and Nagasaki was such as well as a major port. Another criteria with regards to studying the blast effects was that the city chosen must not have been heavily bombed previously-They wanted a clean pallet for this little masterpiece of destructive power...can't recall now but there was a list of about 10-12 targets to choose from.

Your video, TDS 12/10/12 - Mitch McConnell's Self-Filibuster, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

10/10 for trolling. You got me. Responded to my comment where I said, verbatim, "NO ONE IS SUGGESTING THIS," to ask for number-clarification. This put distance between my comment, and then you could accuse me of saying that I think we should do that. Mad props.

Or maybe you weren't trolling. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and very politely explain the discussion, assuming you just forgot.

QM said something silly and hyperbolic:

If the liberal dream of seizing all the wealth of the rich came true (minus, I'm sure, Hollywood weirdos) they'd loot about 250 billion, enough to fund our entire precious thugverment for 10-12 days.

At least get your math right, man. No one is suggesting this, but if you seized 100% of the top 1%'s income, you'd get around $1.2T more from them than now, and that would just about cover 2012's deficit.

And $250B would cover 24 days.

In short, LEARN TO MATH.

Edit: Oh, yeah, and if you took all of the top 1%'s wealth, (which is what *you* said), you'd get $16T, enough to pay off our national debt or fund the federal government for 4-5 years.

Where did you get your figures? I don't believe.

http://videosift.com/video/The-National-Debt-and-Deficit-Deconstructed-Tony-Robbins

You do realize that direpickle wasnt actually suggesting that, right? he was responding to QMs free-fantasy about what liberals "really want": @quantumushroom: "If the liberal dream of seizing all the wealth of the rich came true (minus, I'm sure, Hollywood weirdos) they'd loot about 250 billion, enough to fund our entire precious thugverment for 10-12 days"

But I guess thats how it always work on your side, you make up your own insane "liberal agenda" and then ridicule it for being insane.

If the liberal dream of seizing all the wealth of the rich came true (minus, I'm sure, Hollywood weirdos) they'd loot about 250 billion, enough to fund our entire precious thugverment for 10-12 days.

The Right needs to step aside like an aikido sensei and just let the taxocrats raise taxes as high as they want, that way the left can OWN the turbo-boost they give to the Depression they're already creating,

>> ^BoneRemake:

>> ^PlayhousePals:
Wonder what she auditioning for. A Dance Troupe ... A Talent Show... The Circus? I agree with @Stormsinger. The beginning needs to be a bit more zesty =o)

She is auditioning for best hula hooper in the @BoneRemake VS @pumkinandstorm 10/12/2012 contest.

For your information I liked the clown nose, it sold the costume. It was not boring, maybe by societies NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW ! thought process. I liked the build up.
I do not know what the music is, but it sure is fantastic. That also sold it for me.


We are tied at 13