My favourite humourist on the rightward side of the political spectrum is P.J. O’Rourke, whose stuff I’ve been enjoying since high school. Along with Ben Stein (if we ignore his idiocy with his film Expelled for the time being), there’s enough sense and broad appeal in his writing for him to be able to contribute [...]
Category Archives: Money
P.J. O’Rourke’s Commencement Advice (or: “Fairness, Idealism and Other Atrocities”)
May 8, 2008 – 12:23 pm
The Presidential Candidates’ Net Worths
April 14, 2008 – 4:13 pm
For the curious, here are the net worths of the U.S. presidential candidates, as reported in Ramit Sethi’s blog, I Will Teach You to be Rich:
Taken from I Will Teach You to be Rich.
As one wag put it: “Yeah, Obama’s clearly the one we should be pointing out as the elitist candidate.”
What if Money Came with an Instruction Manual?
March 31, 2008 – 10:55 am
I make it a point not to give smug internet entrepreneur Jakob Lodwick any press (even our local “youth is the future” advocate Will Pate distances himself from this prat), but he does make a good point in a recent blog entry of his:
What if money had instructions on the back? Basic economic facts, wise [...]
The Credit Crisis, in a Single Picture
March 20, 2008 – 12:31 pm
A couple of readers have sent me email asking if there a more concise way of illustrating the “Credit Crisis”/”Subprime Meltdown” than the 23 comic panels in my earlier posting, The Credit Crisis, Illustrated. There is a single illustration that captures the essence of what caused the crisis, although it’s missing a lot of the [...]
The Credit Crisis, Illustrated
March 20, 2008 – 12:00 am
I thought I’d show another explanation of what’s being referred to as the “Subprime Meltdown”, “Subprime Mortgage Crisis” or “Credit Crunch”, this time using comics.
(I linked to the New York Times’ recent explanation in this entry.)
If you’re still wondering what the connection between people with no business carrying a mortgage and the collapse of Bear [...]
The “Credit Crisis”, Explained
March 19, 2008 – 12:28 pm
This is just what I was looking for: a reasonably simple explanation of the credit crisis, courtesy of the New York Times. If anyone knows of any other simple explanations that do a better job, please let me know in the comments!
“Putney Swope” on How Not to Negotiate Price
January 5, 2008 – 5:02 pm
In Robert Downey Sr.’s movie, Putney Swope, there’s a scene in which the title character meets with photographer Mark Focus (great name!). Things go badly for Mark when they start negotiating price…
As the blog Photo Business News & Forum puts it, it’s “further evidence of the negotiation axiom “whoever speaks first loses” after price is [...]
Buy This Guy’s Deadbeat Housemate’s Copy of “Rock Band”
December 31, 2007 – 12:24 am
Brent Ashley knows that I’ve had my troubles with a deadbeat housemate (whose debt of thousands of dollars I forgave recently), so he knew I’d be amused at this classified ad that appeared in the Toronto edition of the classified ad website, Kijiji:
Selling my deadbeat roommate’s Rock Band
Price: Best offer
Street address: Yonge & Finch, Toronto [...]
College Professor Salaries vs. College Football Coach Salaries
December 10, 2007 – 12:06 pm
BAD, or The Dumbing of America — A worthwhile read 15 years ago, and still relevant today.
In his book, BAD, or the Dumbing of America, Paul Fussell suggested that one of the best ways to make America a less dumb place would be to eliminate athletic scholarships entirely.
I agree — I think that the [...]
Forgiving the Deadbeat Ex-Housemate’s Debt
November 14, 2007 – 1:23 pm
The Ol’ Deadbeat Ex-Housemate
While doing a quick search for images, I stumbled across an Onion article that I’d read before but haven’t seen in a while: Housemates Reject Third-Roommate Debt Relief Plan…
Click the image to read the Onion article Housemates Reject Third-Roommate Debt Relief Plan.
That story reminds me of my own third-roommate situation from a [...]
We Need More Toronto Blogs
July 25, 2007 – 11:12 am
BlogTO’s and Torontoist’s ideal reader. Image taken from The Hipster Handbook.
Differences in Perspective
While I agree with Torontoist writer Patrick Metzger’s statement that Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty’s refusal to “share any of the billions of dollars that the province sucks out of Toronto each year” is wrong, I think he’s out to lunch with [...]
9 Confessions from a Former Enterprise Rental Salesman
March 15, 2007 – 3:41 pm
Photo taken from Consumerist
There’s always useful information over at The Consumerist, a blog devoted to helping you get the most bang for your buck as a customer (I’m not so keen on the word “consumer”, it implies that your role is to spend, not to think). Here’s an article for those of you who rent [...]
Make Your Tips Stand Out with Origami Cash!
February 22, 2007 – 7:31 pm
I’m going to have to learn how to leave tips that scream “Accordion Guy appreciates your service!”, like the one in the video below:
Other interesting cash origami can be found at this article on the Personal Finance Advice blog.
New Year’s Resolutions
January 2, 2007 – 7:11 pm
It’s traditional to list one’s New Year’s resolutions, so here are some off the top of my head…
Lower my cholesterol. No need for the Lipitor yet — my doctor says it’s a little high, but not so high that it can’t be fixed with some changes to diet and exercise.
Get back into the shape I [...]
