Category: General Interest

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Recommended Reading

“I strongly recommend that every American acquire some basic knowledge of economics, monetary policy, and the intersection of politics with the economy. No formal classroom is required; a desire to read and learn will suffice. There are countless important books to consider, but the following are an excellent starting point: The Law by Frédéric Bastiat; Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt; What has Government Done to our Money? by Murray Rothbard; The Road to Serfdom by Friedrich Hayek; and Economics for Real People by Gene Callahan.
“If you simply read and comprehend these relatively short texts, you will know far more than most educated people about economics and government. You certainly will develop a far greater understanding of how supposedly benevolent government policies destroy prosperity. If you care about the future of this country, arm yourself with knowledge and fight back against economic ignorance. We disregard economics and history at our own peril.”
—Ron Paul, Representative from Texas

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Drinking green tea with starchy food may help lower blood sugar spikes

Mice fed an antioxidant found in green tea — epigallocatechin-3-gallate, or EGCG — and corn starch had a significant reduction in increase in their blood sugar — blood glucose — levels compared to mice that were not fed the compound, according to Joshua Lambert, assistant professor of food science in agricultural sciences.
The spike in blood glucose level is about 50 percent lower than the increase in the blood glucose level of mice that were not fed EGCG,
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-11/ps-dgt110812.php

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Click-through rates on Bing higher than on Google

“Most reports cited an increase in search spend anywhere from 13% to 29% year over year, partially driven by an overall increase in click volume. Kenshoo noted that click-through rates on the Yahoo! Bing Network were 29% higher than Google.
Marin found that Yahoo! and Bing are continuing to show solid growth in aggregate click volume, with an increase of 9% year over year, as well as a 9% increase in click-through rate.”
http://advertising.yahoo.com/blogs/advertising/search-engine-marketing-remains-key-growing-part-digital-183612184.html

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Ask Nintendo to Get Slave Labour Out of Supply Chain

I was disappointed to learn that of 24 major electronics companies, Nintendo was the only one to get a zero on its efforts to get slave-mined conflict minerals from the Congo out of its products.
Armed groups in the Congo round up villagers at gunpoint and force adults and children to dig for minerals used in electronics, from your cell phone to your gaming console. While other big companies have taken steps to make their products free of these slave-mined conflict minerals, Nintendo has just been ranked dead last in the industry in a report by the anti-genocide group, the Enough Project.
As Nintendo is getting ready to launch its newest Wii, it cannot ignore its responsibility to look at the connection between slave-mined minerals in the Congo and its products.
Will you join me in calling on Nintendo to take the first step and audit its supply chain?
http://www.walkfree.org/en/actions/nintendo

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Windows 8

Windows 8 has a completely new interface and is therefore a dramatic change for those of us used to the previous versions of it. Here is some data that may be of assistance to those wanting to do things they way we have for the last 17 years.
Windows 8: Is Microsoft’s new OS too odd to handle?
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/24/windows_8_should_you_upgrade/
Link to the start shells & some other useful tips in Microsoft’s ’official’ Windows 8 Survival Guide leaks – what you really, really need to know.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/25/reg_kb_surviving_windows/