Monday, August 03, 2009
Relocating
by Tom Bozzo
We'll be moving the show over to the long-neglected WordPress version of Marginal Utility. For those of you still checking in, please point your links to New Marginal Utility a/k/a http://atbozzo.wordpress.com/. To keep the forces of link-rot at bay, the archives here will remain.
Labels: Meta
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
The Moral of This Post Is...
by Tom Bozzo
For example, over on Facebook, where many of my formerly blogging friends are busy not blogging, Xtin (who promises to restart the estimable but intermittently-maintained Xtinpore soon) proposes:
The only problem, such as it is, with going straight for the terafuckit is that it deprives us of the ability to reminisce about the good old days when megafuckits and gigafuckits represented astonishing levels of not giving a shit.
Xtin's neologism just about perfectly captures the reasons for the relative silence of this blog over the last few months. So it's late 2000 and you're pulling up your Gore/Lieberman yard sign, thinking, "Hey, at least with this asshole Republican in office, I'll be crying my way to the bank," and the next thing you know, neoliberal financial capitalism is a smoking ruin! That tends to make ordinarily bloggable matters, say, the courtesy of SUV drivers towards urban cyclists, measurable in only in mega- if not gigafuckits unless serious bodily harm is involved; hence rather than expending the effort to express righteous indignation on the Internets, one instead builds LEGO Star Wars spaceships with one's kids.
(The fuckit, I assume, is like the util in mainstream economics and not interpersonally comparable, so don't worry if you don't agree that initiating a nuclear war in Civilization IV to be a terafuckit-scale activity — or maybe a hundred gigafuckits before building SDI.)
In the morning, I may wish that I'd posted this to the already-R-rated Total Drek, but well...
Sometimes things remind us just what our internet time-wasters are for.
For example, over on Facebook, where many of my formerly blogging friends are busy not blogging, Xtin (who promises to restart the estimable but intermittently-maintained Xtinpore soon) proposes:
terafuckit (n): Proposed SI unit for not giving a shit equal to one trillion "fuck it"s.As of this writing:
(click to embiggen)
The only problem, such as it is, with going straight for the terafuckit is that it deprives us of the ability to reminisce about the good old days when megafuckits and gigafuckits represented astonishing levels of not giving a shit.
Xtin's neologism just about perfectly captures the reasons for the relative silence of this blog over the last few months. So it's late 2000 and you're pulling up your Gore/Lieberman yard sign, thinking, "Hey, at least with this asshole Republican in office, I'll be crying my way to the bank," and the next thing you know, neoliberal financial capitalism is a smoking ruin! That tends to make ordinarily bloggable matters, say, the courtesy of SUV drivers towards urban cyclists, measurable in only in mega- if not gigafuckits unless serious bodily harm is involved; hence rather than expending the effort to express righteous indignation on the Internets, one instead builds LEGO Star Wars spaceships with one's kids.
(The fuckit, I assume, is like the util in mainstream economics and not interpersonally comparable, so don't worry if you don't agree that initiating a nuclear war in Civilization IV to be a terafuckit-scale activity — or maybe a hundred gigafuckits before building SDI.)
In the morning, I may wish that I'd posted this to the already-R-rated Total Drek, but well...
Monday, March 30, 2009
And We're Back
by Tom Bozzo
Amazingly enough, a couple people have told me that they miss the old Marginal Utility at least a little bit, and I haven't found the econopocalypse very conducive to econoblogging at Angry Bear. So for those of you who may still check in once in a while (or whose RSS readers do so), thanks for sticking with this site and rest assured that pictures of the kids and commentary on the Lego universe and elsewhere is forthcoming.
Labels: Meta
Saturday, August 09, 2008
I Spend Four Days in Canada and the World Changes
by Ken Houghton
In short, he's supposed to do for Scatterplot what I'm doing for AB.
I believe this only leaves Kim here. Or have I missed something with you as well?
Lego and family pictures should resume eventually.
Drek has invaded Scatterplot, starting with the claim that he can write posts "generally beneath the dignity of sociology."
In short, he's supposed to do for Scatterplot what I'm doing for AB.
I believe this only leaves Kim here. Or have I missed something with you as well?
Lego and family pictures should resume eventually.
Labels: blogging, Meta, Scatterplot, Social Science, Total Drek
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
So Much for Plausible Deniability
by Ken Houghton
As Armadillocon nears, and I head for the cold, a final reminder of where life really is. Everything I know about food I learned at the County Line, which apparently served me well:
You are 72% REAL Texan!!
You're way more Texan than average. You're parents were probably from here too. We're glad to have you. You probably go to the border for Christmas shopping and are well versed in BBQ, Mexican Food and .. well thats pretty much it.
How Texan Are You?
Labels: Eat Our Brains, just life, Meta
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Angelica Sings!
by Ken Houghton
For those unfamiliar with Battlepanda, here's an atypical introduction.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Flashing Back to the 1930s
by Ken Houghton
I got an 8. Surely someone can do better.
Via Mochi-tsuki, as I gradually return to life between multi-day medical tests.
I got an 8. Surely someone can do better.
 | 8 As a 1930s husband, I am |
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Hiatusville
by Tom Bozzo
To combat link-rot, if nothing else, this site isn't going anywhere, and pictures of the kids will occasionally appear on my Flickr page. Have a great summer!
This should be no surprise to regular visitors, but my work and non-work activities preclude contributing to more than one blog at a time. So please come on over to Angry Bear if you don't already do so; I'm trying to post more-or-less regularly over there (see here, here, and here for recent offerings).
To combat link-rot, if nothing else, this site isn't going anywhere, and pictures of the kids will occasionally appear on my Flickr page. Have a great summer!
Labels: Meta
Sunday, May 18, 2008
PSA: APL back to Active status
by Ken Houghton
Lots of posts about clipping coupons and other recession-fighting techniques (recession-talk seems to be a trend now), none of which discuss opportunity costs or retail loyalty cards.
Not that that's a bad thing.
Angry Pregnant Lawyer has returned to blogging (semi-)regularly.
Lots of posts about clipping coupons and other recession-fighting techniques (recession-talk seems to be a trend now), none of which discuss opportunity costs or retail loyalty cards.
Not that that's a bad thing.
One Great Thing about Blogging
by Ken Houghton
Case in Point: Ann Wilmer's blog Cake for Breakfast, in which she talks about caring for her mother, who is in the later stages of her life, and Alzheimer's.
I too wish she had started the blog sooner, but the elegiac ending—not to mention the notes on sources for help with Alzheimer's and, especially, for information on how to get help keeping parents at home with you—are not to be missed.
This has been said better than I, ad nauseam, by others but it always bears repeating: blogs prove to people that You Are Not Alone.
Case in Point: Ann Wilmer's blog Cake for Breakfast, in which she talks about caring for her mother, who is in the later stages of her life, and Alzheimer's.
I too wish she had started the blog sooner, but the elegiac ending—not to mention the notes on sources for help with Alzheimer's and, especially, for information on how to get help keeping parents at home with you—are not to be missed.
Labels: blogging, Health Care, Meta
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Blogging Update
by Tom Bozzo
Meanwhile, if you haven't done so, please check out the week's activity at AB:
In the off chance you were wondering why things are quiet here, it's because I've been blogging at the venerable Angry Bear for the last week — and expect to continue to do so until my co-bloggers take away the virtual keys. While I'd like to say that won't change things around here, a finite amount of time for blogging does mean that this site will be less frequently updated (by me) and focus more on matters of personal and/or local interest.
Meanwhile, if you haven't done so, please check out the week's activity at AB:
- Defending, in part, the Consumer Price Index
- On Chrysler's latest sales gimmick, extending fuel price hedging to the masses?
- Looking at the link (or lack thereof) between tax policies and the housing bubble
- Taking a whack at the Shadow Government Statistics alternative GDP series
- Refereeing "Jane Galt"'s efforts to debunk Harvard bankruptcy expert Elizabeth Warren on the plight of the middle class
- Finding new meanings of the term "bracket creep" on the Wall Street Journal's op-ed pages.
Labels: Angry Bear, Meta
Monday, May 05, 2008
Kathryn Cramer performs a useful service
by Ken Houghton
Just to be clear: this announcement (which is not in the order of importance of the poster) doesn't mean anything has changed here.
She doesn't specify her method, but I'm certain the guts-of-the-Internet-savvy can figure it out.
Just to be clear: this announcement (which is not in the order of importance of the poster) doesn't mean anything has changed here.
Labels: Angry Bear, blogging, Meta
Saturday, April 12, 2008
A Plea to the Blogsphere
by Ken Houghton
Five years? My brain hurts, a lot.
If you're going to read people (such as David Brooks) so I don't have to, could the excerpts please be shorter??
Five years? My brain hurts, a lot.
Labels: blogging, Brad DeLong, Journamalism, Meta
Thursday, April 03, 2008
If anyone cares, we Scored 17.4%
by Ken Houghton
And the addition, "This is 149% MORE than other websites who took this test," belies reality.
When Lee Papa can't even break 50%, they must be using a log scale.
But our reputation as a "family blog" is endangered, so I promise not to mention Christopher Cox for the rest of the week.
Which is absurd, in context.
And the addition, "This is 149% MORE than other websites who took this test," belies reality.
When Lee Papa can't even break 50%, they must be using a log scale.
But our reputation as a "family blog" is endangered, so I promise not to mention Christopher Cox for the rest of the week.
Friday, March 28, 2008
It's De-Lurking Day!
by Tom Bozzo
The commenter on this post wondered if I was fishing for early "happy birthday" messages at the time; I was not. Today's the big day — yes, folks, I'm now 40 — and that's still not what I'm fishing for. Rather, I'd like to hear a little about you, the Marginal Utility reader who's loyal enough to be reading this post. So please click on that comment link and say hello. Thanks in advance!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
In Case You Missed It
by Ken Houghton
Tom tends not to update the time of his posts at the end, and I've thrown a couple of cans of paint at the wall today, so go thee hither for a discussion of the other "upside-down" market: automobile financing.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Housekeeping
by Tom Bozzo
I did a minor procedure on the sidebar, mostly pruning deceased or moribund blogs from the 'roll. A few cases of non-deletion may constitute wishful thinking on my part. Anyway, if I deleted yours and it's not dead, the move is without prejudice.
Labels: Meta
Monday, March 03, 2008
Geeky Economists 4 Life
by Ken Houghton
YouNotSneaky! returns with a long post on utilities and, worse, a foray into the Buffyverse that should not go unpunished. Or unembellished.
Labels: blogging, mass media, Meme-A-Riffic, Meta
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Battlepanda Joins Yet Another 'Unity Movement'
by Ken Houghton
But I won't be adding it to my reading list. YMMV.
At least she's getting paid:
it's conceptualized as a site where the liberals, libertarians and even disaffected Republicans can come together on neutral territory and have productive conversations.
But I won't be adding it to my reading list. YMMV.
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Blogroll Amnesty, or Someone Else's Problems are Always Worse
by Ken Houghton
So our thanks go out to those who have us there. And while we might like to be included on others,* we're happy, especially as Tom is overscheduled and I'm scattered.
So, for tonight, I'm just going to give a shout-out to blue girl's Skimmer, whose travails on the ski slope today makes me feel much better about my old one. As Warren Zevon (or Madeleine Martin in Californication**) said:
Blogging means never having to know you're alone. So click one of those links on the right—maybe one you never have before—and discover another new world.
*Not that we would name AngryBear, for instance.
**Though, iirc, this verse was dropped from her performance.
Apparently it's the anniversary of Blogroll Amnesty Week, as commemorated by Lance and Blue Girl, among many others.
So our thanks go out to those who have us there. And while we might like to be included on others,* we're happy, especially as Tom is overscheduled and I'm scattered.
So, for tonight, I'm just going to give a shout-out to blue girl's Skimmer, whose travails on the ski slope today makes me feel much better about my old one. As Warren Zevon (or Madeleine Martin in Californication**) said:
I thought of my friends
And the troubles they've had
To keep me from thinking of mine
Blogging means never having to know you're alone. So click one of those links on the right—maybe one you never have before—and discover another new world.
*Not that we would name AngryBear, for instance.
**Though, iirc, this verse was dropped from her performance.
