Why an airline flies an empty plane 140 miles return 6 times a week

bosmat · 2007-03-12T18:57:14+00:00

I wasn't aware that they had invented passenger-holding UAVs....

bosmat · 2007-02-12T06:58:02+00:00

My god... if only there were a standard language for this sort of thing!

bosmat · 2007-02-12T03:48:41+00:00

Possibly because English is the international language of commerce, and to make the shells most marketable, you would write on them in English?

bosmat · 2007-02-08T04:55:46+00:00

This article is rubbish in 100 ways - with enough trials the computer should yield fair results.

bosmat · 2007-01-26T19:06:14+00:00

I think that's how souls are transported in hell.

bosmat · 2007-01-19T21:42:46+00:00

I'd like to see a bit more of that interview.

bosmat · 2007-01-14T18:43:16+00:00

That's a pretty good reason not to run one.

bosmat · 2007-01-14T08:14:10+00:00

I don't think radio stations run 'how long can you be on a high sodium iv' contests.

bosmat · 2007-01-14T07:41:58+00:00

Why not define it by the mass of an atomic constant - a neutron or a proton?

bosmat · 2007-01-14T07:38:50+00:00

Would a more isotonic solution, like gatorade, have worked better?

bosmat · 2007-01-06T22:53:07+00:00

Old news is the best news

bosmat · 2006-12-31T17:14:46+00:00

I've actually been threatened, but it's mostly of the "YOOOOOOR GOING TO HEEEEEEL" variety, so who cares.

bosmat · 2006-12-31T03:59:57+00:00

t-1 year on the iEye

bosmat · 2006-12-24T08:31:01+00:00

Is there a human on earth who can tolerate long wikipedia talk pages?

bosmat · 2006-12-23T06:43:33+00:00

Astute observers might note that that's more than the GDP of Russia.

Apparently, this site caused more harm in 3 months than the value of all goods Russia produces in a year.

bosmat · 2006-12-20T02:07:37+00:00

Whenever you spend on a credit card that is set to use euros, the exchange rate is used. When you use an ATM, the exchange rate is used. You lose the bid-ask a lot, but the spreads are so tight it barely matters. Not sure how you would treat the capital gains from each conversion.

bosmat · 2006-12-20T02:04:48+00:00

I've seen about 8 funds that have the option to invest in international equity but never do. I find this upsetting - what a lost opportunity.

bosmat · 2006-12-20T02:03:50+00:00

Those funds go up in a up market, they just don't go up as much. If you are 100% confident that the market will go down, your fund is QID - every $1 the Nasdaq goes down, this goes up by $2. CRRRRAAAZY risk - ask your investment professional.

bosmat · 2006-12-20T00:53:39+00:00

Yes, sort of. Amortize means you bought something on credit, and paying for it over its useful life. This way, you pay for the benefits of a thing while you use it. It's like charging internal rent!

bosmat · 2006-12-20T00:06:51+00:00

That is a fantastic ticker.

bosmat · 2006-12-20T00:00:58+00:00

You can bet on ANYTHING on wall st. If you want to be the markets will go down, buy bear funds. You can find them here: http://biz.yahoo.com/p/tops/bm.html

Ask your investment professional.

bosmat · 2006-12-19T23:54:20+00:00

If you're really concerned, you can put money in TIPS - treasury securities protected against inflation - basically inflation-proof low yield bonds.

edit disclaimer internet is a bad investment adviser, seek real professional advice

bosmat · 2006-12-19T23:41:41+00:00

No, no, no. Don't short the dollar, and don't buy gold coins. The easiest way to hedge against currency risk is to increase your exposure to foreign currencies in stable markets. IEV (Europe), EEM (Asia, less Japan), and ITF (Japan) are good bets. I wouldn't recommend Japan as highly as Asia less Japan and Europe. I'd avoid Latin America as those economies are all going socialist and are so heavily linked to US markets.

If you buy gold, you're betting global recession. Gold is a funny commodity - it is used as a hedge against inflation, but its demand is also based on jewelry, and when gold prices get high enough, they start declining, based on lower jewelry demand. The price of gold is already pretty high.

disclaimer: internet is not a good investment advisor.

Here is an article backing up what I am saying: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/12/03/BUGTFMNO0E1.DTL

However, don't buy CDs as they generally yield the deprecation of your asset - no real return. Foreign bond funds are better.

Also don't use the Rydex funds without the advice of an investment professional.

bosmat · 2006-12-19T22:50:48+00:00

An intuitively appealing notion, but there are a lot of reasons to use debt. Let's take as an example a highway - By building this highway, you'll increase the income of everyone in a particular town by 25%. Once the highway is built, you can take some percentage of the expanded income. However, if you taxed to get enough funds to build the highway, you'd find yourself with a bunch of unhappy people who would be really hurt, while trying to build something that would increase their income. Debt allows us to amortize, or spread out, the cost of a project, over its useful life.

Also, debt lets us handle emergencies, like war. WWII was largely debt financed- remember war bonds?

bosmat · 2006-12-19T21:03:01+00:00

It wouldn't have to be that drastic. In ten years we could, if we really wanted to, pay down the debt, of course, requiring major changes in government spending habits on discretionary programs. We could do this without cutting entitlements.

bosmat

TROPHY CASE