The Iron Yuppie

Man, I've been referring to this phrase/term for the longest time without knowing what the proper naming of it is:

Negative Externality

It's basically when whatever you're doing is artificially under priced because someone else is bearing the cost such as my zero percent credit card for 1 year (other people with high interest rates pay), the dollar beer at the local pub (those who get ultra drunk off the dollar beers and order the $100 bottle of Johnny Walker Blue) or, the one I feel most strongly about, the fact that someone can sit around spewing huge amounts of pollution and CO(2) into the air with no tax, since future generations actually pay the cost. Nice to have a definition on that finally wrapped up.

posted by Iron Yuppie  # 6/19/2007 11:34:00 PM 0 Comments

Mark Andressen mentioned off-handedly that the Dutch Tulip Bubble is largely a myth... based on this book. That's a pretty big academic shocker for me (btw, shockerpics.com? Hilarious!).

I realize every generation must go through this process of shitting on the previous one's analyses and inserting their own, but it feels like this time around is different (note, all fallacious arguments begin with that phrase). It just feels like every basic belief or thought is under more scrutiny than ever before. I believe it's almost built into our culture... we're desperate to be surprised,  and find out the "real story". Like Twinkies are never baked (they form like jello) or the Hindenberg exploded because of the paint rather than the hydrogen. Of course, it seems people tend to be overzealous in this regard. Because Twinkies ARE baked. And the Hydrogen DID contribute/cause the Hindenberg explosion.

posted by Iron Yuppie  # 6/15/2007 10:42:00 AM 0 Comments

Ok, I get it. I'm the last person on earth to see these. And I'm just passing this along as faithfully as a corporate shill. But these are hilarious, nonetheless:

Boo Squirty Lemon

Boo Plant-hating Light Fixture

posted by Iron Yuppie  # 6/15/2007 10:08:00 AM 0 Comments

This Red Interactive Agency site is really fun, though I'd be hard pressed as to say why. Great characters (thanks digg.com)

To use some of the more interesting characters, here's a list of the keywords... just type them in the message box and hit return and you'll be transformed (thanks Tim Matheson):

nay nay give me some hay = ed (Horse)

dead men tell no tales = nub (Pirate)

jiminy cricket! = hopper (Bug)

the last straw = cameljoe (Camel Man)

surley you jest = jester (Jester)

rumpelstiltskin is my name = unclesam (Uncle sam on stilts, he wont speak a word)

may i please have some blueberry pie? = gordon (Overweight man)

i shot a man in reno = jailbird (Bring back the convict, man with ball and chain)

i dreamt i was a butterfly = sun (Woman character that was removed, carries two fans)

posted by Iron Yuppie  # 6/11/2007 03:37:00 PM 0 Comments

Aw-e-some.

Lounging Pillow (thanks UberGizmo)

Just thinking about all those stereo effects that I've never heard while trying to be comfortable because the pillow blocked out half of the goodness makes me weep. Of course this doesn't quite explain how the material would be rigid enough to hold the shape (and keep the holes open) yet still be comfortable after I lay my giant melon down on it, but I'll leave that as an exercise to the reader.

Here are some pictures of it in action (thanks Coolhunting)

posted by Iron Yuppie  # 6/06/2007 08:20:00 AM 2 Comments