Cities, Before and After
A site called Oobject features juxtaposed shots of cities before and after major events like war, natural disasters, and “property speculation.” Read More »
Monetizing Frustration
When I’m upset about the minor annoyances of life, I sometimes find it helpful to think of the price I’d charge for enduring the annoyance. For example, when my wallet was stolen, I wondered how many dollars would someone have had to pay me to consent to the taking. Read More »
Community Pirating
After jump-starting the economies of Somali fishing towns, local pirates are taking their local business further by setting up “stock exchanges” that host 72 pirate gangs or “maritime companies,” a Reuters article reports. Read More »
ClimateGate as Rorschach Test
In the 10 days since we first blogged about “ClimateGate” – the unauthorized release of e-mails and other material from the Climate Research Unit (C.R.U.) at East Anglia University in Norwich, England – it’s become strikingly clear that one’s view of the issue is deeply colored by his or her incoming biases. No surprise there, but still, the demarcation is clear. One of the best indicators: when you stumble onto a blog post about the topic, you can tell which way the wind is blowing simply by looking at the banner ad at the top of the site: if it’s for an M.B.A. in Sustainable Business, you’re going to hear one thing about ClimateGate; if the ad shows Al Gore with a Pinocchio nose, meanwhile – well, you get the idea. Read More »
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