Barnyard Economics
Some people just toss this term around without much thouhght about its meaning. A friend of mine, who took an exam where this term appeared, tried to google it without much success. So I thought I'd do the googling myself and see what would come up.

Barnyard economics

Sense 1:'practical economics' as opposed to one influenced by inclinations and desired. Relevant article: "Barnyard Economics" by Denise Eby Konan, Associate Professor of Economics at University of Hawaii. URL (accessed 16 Dec 2004): http://www.colorado.edu/Economics/newsletter/summer01-konan.htm . Relevant book: Everything I Needed to Know About Business I Learned in the Barnyard by Don Aslett.

Sense 2: 'real world' economics as opposed to textbook economics. Textbook economics, for instance, says markets equilibrate; 'barnyard economics' denies it. Sample passage: "The real basis of economics was detailed in George Orwell's Animal Farm which made the astute observation that equality is variable. Nowhere is the application of such barnyard economics more obvious than in the stock market. Though laws have been passed to keep the large predators at bay, there is still enough size difference between the inhabitants of the barnyard to illustrate the fundamental Orwellian principle that some animals are more equal than others" (Dallas Brozik, Sharks and Lemmings: How the Stock Market REALLY Works. URL (accessed 16 Dec 2004): http://webpages.marshall.edu/~brozik/sharklem%20web.pdf

Sense 3: 'fundamental economics' taught through engaging methods other textbooks or classroom lectures. Relevant project: 'Barnyard Economics'. URL (accessed 16 Dec 2004): http://www.oup.org/pubs/curentp_2/vol.html . Sample passage: "Bill began a talk 'Barnyard Economics' as a hobby became popular with church groups, lodges, school, civic service and foreman's clubs. This talk was made throughout the Eastern half of the United States. "Barnyard Economics" took the mystery out of the principles of economics by reducing them to the shopman's language." URL (accessed 16 Dec 2004): http://www.communities.ninemsn.com.au/MorganCountyKentuckyGeneology/johnston.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=137

Math and Sex
What a /. read! An interesting juxtaposition here. :)

"People who boast about their I.Q. are losers." - Stephen Hawking (quoted in NYT, The Science of Second-Guessing, 12 Dec 2004)

Amish experience
Here's a NYT account of a family's experience with an Amish community. O, well, close. They were there as tourist. I wanted to experience Amish living myself, not for its religion but for the way they appropriate technology.

Links to touristy Amish experience:

Rocky Acre Farm: www.rockyacre.com
Green Acres Farm Bed and Breakfast: www.thegreenacresfarm.com
Country Gardens Farm Bed and Breakfast: www.thecountrygardensfarm.com
Lancaster County Farm Stay: www.afarmstay.com

Coffee addictive?
A study in the journal Psychopharmacology shows that coffee is addictive. Hmm... addicts anyone?

The Barbie stereotype and lust
Here's a piece on how men's preference for shapely women may actually have a biological basis.

Still in the area of sexuality, this article thematizes the notion of lust. Actually, it's a plug for Simon Blackburn's book Lust (Oxford).

School ranking
Another ranking that's causing a stir is Academic Ranking of World Universities 2004 where Harvard tops. The Economist picks it up, and all hell breaks loose.

Death by overwork
A word that came into general use in Japan in the late 1980s, "karoshi" means death brought on by overwork or job-related exhaustion.

It's probably heart attack, stroke, asthma, suicide due to to psychological stress. As a possible counterpoint to this phenomenon, a French writer recently urged workers to be "radical" in the workplace by doing as little as possible. Changing the system is futile, and going against the system will only strengthen it. So why work hard? :)

'Bread & Breakfast'
It's summer in Europe and many Europeans are backpacking. I kinda underestimated the volume of backpackers when I decided not to make any reservation way ahead of schedule. So there I was dragging my luggage in the streets of Stockholm, without a definite place to stay. To the rescue is this newly established inn:

STF Vandrarhem Fridhemsplan
Adress :Sankt Eriksgatan 20
112 39 Stockholm
Telefon : +46 8 653 88 00
Telefax : +46 8 653 89 20
E-mail : info@fridhemsplan.se
http://www.fridhemsplan.se/

Tip was given the good folks at Af Chapman, itself a very popular place among backpackers.

Following rules and breaking them
"Rules" in photography are meant to be broken. Here's a compilation of rules and tips as well as an encouragement to break them.

Canon EOS 300D (aka Digital Rebel) vs Nikon D70
I'm thinking of buying a digital SLR cam. It's been a while since I let go of my manual Nikon SLR. Prize-wise, Canon appears to be winning. On the geek side, Canon still wins, since it's got a hack already. Reviews: EOS 300D vs D70. Company blurbs: EOS 300D vs D70.

Ridiculous E-Mail Disclaimers
A friend of mine, who works for a media company, sends email with a footer. The footer is a disclaimer that's rather ridiculous. He can't help it because it's something that's attached automatically to his email everytime he fires one from his company computer. Here's a Slate piece analyzing the legalese of such ridiculous disclaimers. El Reg notes of the longest, the most PC, and the most incomprehensible of them.

Behold, Methuselah is coming!
... at least according to de Grey of Cambridge.

"Surviving on the mean streets of Washington on two dollars a day--that's a hack!"
says Hacker Adrian Lamo in this interview. An ealier piece on this kid: 1

Health illiteracy
90 million American adults have "limited health literacy," says this report. They have trouble understanding medical terms and directions.

Go, whack yourself!
Frequent sex or whacking may cut cancer risk, says a study. Here's report from Forbes, and reference to original JAMA article.

Drug dealer gives out drugs
Here's a Yahoo News story about Micro$oft giving out $1 billion worth of software to developing countries. In a recent move, the drug dealer hands out "good will" licenses to charity cases. Good will, of course, means obsolete software.

Threat to open source
Bruce Perens warns that the greatest threat to OS is software patent [ beebs report ]: "We're looking at a future where only the very largest companies will be able to implement software, and it will technically be illegal for other people to do so. "

How to do things with sleep
Aside from conserving energy, sleep actually does things... or so, says a cbs reportage on a recent Nature article.

IM for parents and kids
Today, NYT features a story on how IM could be used to promote parent-child relationship. The same feature, however, warns about the limits of such form of communication. Face-to-face communication still rules!

Smaller is better
Indeed, if you're talking about champagne: the smaller its bubbles are, the better. Here's a bit more from a fellow blogger.