Peace, I’m out

Step 1. Start a hedge fund that foresees the subprime collapse.

Step 2. Collect 8 figure wealth (by inference from step 3).

Step 3. Close hedge fund with a anti-class, anti-government (in its current setup), pro-hemp goodbye letter.

Step 4. Glory

Security Theater

Feeling safe and being the safe are sometimes related and sometimes unrelated. Often, the world is a scary place and we want the government to make us feel safe. Bruce Schneier coined the term Security Theater to mean, security measures that are meant more for show than for effectiveness. For an example, you can do little better than this article examining the uselessness that is the TSA.

What’s the fastest position in baseball?

This discussion came up last night and there are two camps. The middle infield camp. And the center field camp. As a coworker says, “Short stops are the best all around athletes, but center fielders are the fastest. Because they have to cover the most ground.” In favor of the center fielders is this season’s stolen bases statistics. Anyway, the floor is open. Which position is fastest? How should we define fastest? Is there any reasonable way of quantitatively answering the question as you define it?

A case against the bailout

John Cochrane on Why the Bailout Plan Would Be a Disaster posted at Freakonomics

John Cochrane has written an insightful piece on the bailout. In short, he believes that the Treasury plan needs to be shot, have a stake driven through its heart, and be buried.

This is one of the most clearheaded articles on the subject I’ve read. I would like to see some of the plan’s defenders respond. It could be that congress did the right thing by turning it down, but for the wrong reason.

Yes, we need to do something. But “doing something” that will not work — with potentially dire consequences — is not the right course, especially when sensible and well-understood options remain.