Slick Deals

One of my friends told me about this site: slickdeals.net. It's essentially a database of various deals from around the internet (from sites like BestBuy.com, Amazon.com, etc.), updated continuously. Thousands of people frequent the site, and sometimes you're able to snag deals that may be out of this world. Example includes a $900 HDTVs from Best Buy selling for only $500 on an internet-only, first-come first-served type of deal. This site has the info first, and it really is a gem.

http://www.slickdeals.net/

Worthless Hipsters and taxes

Ok, it's enough. After reading this article: Occupying Wall Street, demanding accountability I have a few points to make. First off, the article's protagonist, Vincent, can simply be defined by this excerpt.

Vincent, 21 and unemployed, has suddenly become one of several unofficial spokesmen for Occupy Wall Street, a leaderless protest movement made largely of twenty-somethings upset with the state of the economy, the state of the war in Afghanistan, the state of the environment, and the state of America and the world in general.

My first thought that came to mind, how is Vincent a spokesman for anything, and who is he speaking for? My second thought, why don't these people do something actually productive to society and try to obtain a tax paying job rather than protest worthlessly. In the end, this protest won't get them anywhere, and they will have stayed unemployed, getting tax breaks themselves when that is their main arguing point. Don't get me wrong, in no way am I defending the bail out of the big banks, I'm mostly just perturbed by worthless hipsters 'fighting' for a cause that I guarantee they don't know diddly squat about. On a side note, if you can't tell, my opinion on hipsters isn't very high. I actually do believe hipsters are worthless (like goths), but I don't believe my possibly skewed opinion will interfere with my argument below.

So, one of the arguments are about the big tax breaks the rich get and how disadvantaged the bottom half of America is. I'm sorry, but that is just flat out wrong. The percent of individual income with tax returns of zero or negative tax liability is at an all time high of around 50%. That's correct, about 50% of Americans do not pay any taxes whatsoever, and actually a percentage of that 50% are beneficiaries from government programs. The non tax payer's percentage hovered around the 20's from 1950 to 2000, and only recently has it made a parabolic move. Both Bush and Obama are to blame for this spike.

So, who really pays for the bulk of taxes in the US? I"ll break it down. The top 1% of income earners pay roughly 40% of all federal income taxes and the top 5% pay approximately 70%. The bottom 47% pay no federal income tax at all. According to the Tax Policy Center, the bottom  20 percent pay -3.8% of the nation's taxes. What is interesting is that the next 20% are even better off at -4.3%. So cumulatively, the bottom 40% are net takers of Washington's money. If we were to compare, the top 0.1% of all income earners pay the equivalent of the bottom 80%. How is that not paying your fair share?

I'm going to group the rest of the hipsters into the same demographic as Vincent. They are part of a majority of America that pays nothing to Washington yet expects more. Doesn't it seem a bit ironical that they are complaining about handouts? Last I heard, we were not socialist Europe. (Although it seems like were headed that way) These hipsters certainly sound a lot like  the hipsters of Greece that started rioting over the decrease in Government austerity programs after the country went BROKE.

Yep, all that austerity really put Greece, and soon to be Spain and Ireland in a solid situation. Just ask Germany about that!

* Disclosure note: All facts and figures that I've stated above can be looked up freely at the IRS.

Macs vs PCs

Most interesting takeaway from the chart porn: Market share. 90% PC/Windows 10% Apple/Mac

South Korean Grocery Efficiency

Thoughts on this succeeding in America?

Experience Zero Gravity

To continue my theme of extremely cool/artistic videos, here is another one that will blow your minds. Enjoy!

Skate Illustration: Artsy!

Sweet moves and sweet filming.

F*** It, He's Going Deep: Why Rex Grossman is a Pro Bowler

Failure is a fundamental part of human existence. 

Needless to say, it’s a painful experience.  It’s embarrassing.  It can destroy our confidence and cause us to lose faith in our talents.  In short, no one enjoys failure.

But many times it can motivate us to perform at a higher level.  To challenge ourselves.  To test the limits of our abilities.  Consider basketball legend Michael Jordan.  As a kid playing basketball, he was routinely beaten by his older brother Larry.  In high school, he was cut from his JV basketball team.  In the NBA, he was battered and beaten by the Detroit Pistons in the playoffs for years before finally winning a championship.

These failures could have crushed his resolve and ultimately made him weaker.  Instead, they inspired him to do better:

“I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

Many times, failure is a necessary ingredient in the recipe for success.     

Now consider Redskins QB Rex Grossman.  Despite showing flashes of brilliance and the ability to operate a dynamic offense, Grossman has, for all intents and purposes, failed.  After failing to win the Super Bowl, he was essentially run out of town in Chicago.  He has been largely irrelevant ever since then.     

However, I do not think the book has been written on Rex Grossman.  In fact, I think Rex Grossman will play at a Pro Bowl caliber level for the Redskins this season. 

Ever year, someone in the NFL has a spectacular season that seemingly surprises everyone.  Last year, it was Michael Vick.  Before that, it was Brett Favre.  This year will be no different.  Rex Grossman will surprise us.

He will surprise the rabid detractors who have ridiculed him over the years.  He will win people over with his contagious moxie and gutsy demeanor.  He will lead a high-scoring offense with a veteran poise.  He will remind us why he won a Heisman Trophy.  Why he was a first round draft pick.  Why he led a non-descript Bears offense to the Super Bowl and put up a fight against the legendary Peyton Manning.    

And he will win games in the process.

It’s important to note how Rex’s time in Chicago has humbled him:

“Anytime something gets taken away from you and then you get it back, you have a different outlook, a different type of approach and respect to the position you're in,” said Grossman.  “To be the starting quarterback of the Washington Redskins is a huge thing, and I fully understand it. And it's my goal to take it and run with it.”

Rex has game.  

Rex’s confidence is undeniable (see above).  In May 2011, at a time in the offseason when it appeared the starting QB position was John Beck’s to lose, Rex continued to believe in himself.  He didn’t even have a contract yet, but in his mind, he was “definitely” the starter.

This is a man who has matured a great deal during his time in the league.  His story is so compelling because he has already failed and is now looking for a second chance.    

Many people rake him over the coals for his erratic play in Chicago.  In their view, he was the burden on that team.  But consider other quarterbacks who have played in Chicago under Ron Turner, like Kyle Orton, Brian Griese, and Jay Cutler.  Their play in Chicago under Turner’s watch was mediocre at best.  On other teams, they performed remarkably better.  Both Jay Cutler and Brian Griese made the Pro Bowl while playing under Mike Shanahan. 

Coincidentally enough, Grossman too now plays for Shanahan, a coach who has a knack for getting QB’s to play to at exceptional levels (see also: Jake Plummer, Steve Young, and John Elway).   

Remember, Rex has enormous talent.  In 2006, he had SEVEN games with a 100+ QB rating.  Consider this:

• The last Redskin QB to do this was Mark Rypien in 1991, who won the Super Bowl MVP that year.
• The last Redskin QB before that was Joe Theismann in 1983, who won the NFL MVP that year and took his team to the Super Bowl.
• The last Redskin QB before that was Sonny Jurgensen in 1970. 
• Donovan McNabb has done it only once in his career, back in 2004, when he went to the Super Bowl.
• Michael Vick has never done it.  Even in his dazzling 2010 season, he only had five games with a 100+ QB rating. 
• Peyton Manning has done it once.  It took him seven years, and it was his second MVP season.
• Oh, by the way, Rex Grossman did it in his first year as a starter. 

Redskin fans were able to see Grossman’s talent last season in the few games that he started.  The offense under Grossman looked noticeably sharper than it did under McNabb.  It wasn’t perfect, but you could tell Grossman knew what he was doing out there.  Against the Cowboys, Rex threw for 322 yards, 4 TDs, and two 2-point conversions.  He overcame a 20 point deficit and nearly brought his team back for the win.  This ability is something the Redskins have lacked for years.

“The game's slowed down a lot," the 31-year-old quarterback said. “As a younger quarterback you kind of see everything. And as a veteran, you see what you need to see.”

What’s more, Grossman’s surrounding talent is materially better than it was last year.  The offensive line is healthier.  Weak players like Casey Rabach have been released and improved with more consistent and reliable players.  The running back position is younger and more electric, thanks to the additions of Tim Hightower and Roy Helu.  The wide receiver position is incredibly deep.  Eight players deep, specifically.  This bodes well for Sexy Rexy.         

“I look around, this offense from top to bottom is better than that offense I had in Chicago [during the Super Bowl year],” Grossman said. “The defense is gonna make a ton of strides this year. I know they are. It’s gonna be fun. I know we’re gonna be a good team.”

This preseason, Rex continued his impressive play against the vaunted defenses of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens.  This should come as no surprise to anyone who has analyzed Grossman’s play over the years.  Give the man time, and he can carve a defense up.  His quick decisions against the blitz make him a lethal scoring threat.  Sure, he has made his fair share of mistakes.  Some of that was immaturity.  Some of that was inexperience.  Some of that was a bad environment in Chicago under Ron Turner. 

However, many seem to forget how dangerous he can be.  Many doubt him. 

“You can doubt me if you want, but it has no bearing on how I’ll play,” says Mr. Grossman. 

He doesn’t care what you think.  This Sunday against the Giants, he’s going to unleash the dragon and say, “F*** it, I’m going deep” to Santana Moss or Armstrong.  As a Redskins fan, you won’t recognize this offense, because it will actually score points.

Buckle your seatbelts and hold on your hats, folks.  It’s going to be one hell of a ride with Rexy. 

What Comment Should I Leave?

A funny flow chart that all facebookers can relate too.  I especially like the Creeper, Elder and The Acquaintance comments. Via Graph Jam

Simply, Amazing

Incredible video footage of a professional BASE jumper. At certain parts you can see how close the guy is to crashing into the ground.

The World According to an Alcoholic

Mark Cuban: Calvin and his people brought down the stock market

http://blogmaverick.com/2010/05/09/what-business-is-wall-street-in/

I jest a little, but an interesting read nonetheless from a successful entrepreneur (or is it, entlepleneul?). Traders--from day to high frequency--are responsible for bringing the stock market down in less than seconds.

That's partially unfair to say, Mark, Calvin and his friends are good guys who wouldn't do such a thing.

Some quotes from Cuban's blog post:

"To traders, whether day traders or high frequency or somewhere in between, Wall Street has nothing to do with creating capital for businesses, its original goal. Wall Street is a platform. It’s a platform to be exploited by every technological and intellectual means possible."

"The best analogy for traders ? They are hackers. Just as hackers search for and exploit operating system and application shortcomings, traders do the same thing. A hacker wants to jump in front of your shopping cart and grab your credit card and then sell it. A high frequency trader wants to jump in front of your trade and then sell that stock to you. A hacker will tell you that they are serving a purpose by identifying the weak links in your system. A trader will tell you they deserve the pennies they are making on the trade because they provide liquidity to the market."

"Big traders who are always leveraging up and maximizing the number of trades/hacks they make will always put the system at risk."

Editor note to Calvin--This is the perfect opportunity to attack Mark Cuban and let him know that the DC boys don't need a basketball team to play wallstreet ball.

Biolog 2: The Evolution of Dog Domestication

Recently, an episode of Animals Like Us aired on tv the other day. If you're not familiar with the documentary/series, it is a 10 episode program that highlights the separation that cultures or religions have attempted to establish between humans and animals. The documentary uncovers familiar topics seen in human society, but are rather perceived as foreign in the animal kingdom. This ranges from animal politics and language, to animal homosexuality and medicine.

Interestingly, the documentary reveals that perhaps baboons beat us to the domestication of our furry, tail wagging best friends.



Looks cruel, right? The dogs, though suffering from a rocky start, are finally a part of the family and enjoy its pleasures. My infant days hold shades of similarity of when my parents dragged me down flights of stairs by my feet, and I think I turned out alright too.

The video raises questions about dog domestication, most intriguing in my opinion: Did humans evolve alongside animal domestication, beginning with our primate roots? Or maybe, did animal domestication arose separately from humans and primates? While humans may own dogs for different reasons than baboons, the core of the man's best friend partnership is a mutualistic relationship where dogs serve as protectors in exchange for acceptance by the family.

Additionally, the observation of animals aside from humans being able to domesticate canines highlights how complex animal societies are than they first appear to be. Science is continuously surprised by animal behavior and its similarities compared to the human experience,as evidenced by how confused and amazed we are by some of the shit we see in the wild. If we really want to broaden our view and include our microbe friends, then humans are really unoriginal and uninspiring. If the tree of life held a dinner party, we would be this guy:



Animals Like Us is worth the watch. Unfortunately, it's not on netflix streaming, but a quick search online for episodes will provide a bountiful of links. Watch, be enlightened, then sing silent hosannas to the knowledge dropped here.


Biolog is a weekly series that brings to light the controversial, disturbing, fascinating, and thought-provoking topics of molecular and evolutionary biology. Written by biologist Gabe Guzman.

DC Boys Hiatus

Bo Dudes!

Apologies from the DC Boys for the lack of posts in the recent weeks, as we've been busy with moving in to new cities and starting new jobs. We will be up and running with new posts very soon!

-DC Boys

1,2, 3...Cheese!

PHOTOSHOOT! A Black Macaque at an Indonesian National Park got his hands on a professional photographer's camera, at which point hilarity ensues.

This silly monkey has no idea the fame and recognition he will soon receive from the viral web...or does he?

Inmate sues state over lack of porn in jail...

Frivolous litigation at its finest... Full story found here: Inmate sues state over lack of porn in jail

Biolog 1: Diet Sodas--Don't be fooled

We've all been there before--too calorie conscious to purchase that bottle of coke, so we opt for its diet counterpart, or its coke zero brother if you're feeling adventurous. But really, how do we know if it's sticking true to its "diet" label?

According to the American Diabetes Association, these innocent, sweet beverages are doing more harm than good. The "no calorie" tag has its price--and a large one, literally. The School of Medicine of the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio reports in one study that diet soda drinkers saw a 70% increase in their waistlines. After adjusting for age, height, weight, and other contributing factors during this 9.5 year study, researchers found an disturbing pattern: Those who drank two or more diet sodas a day saw a 500% increase in waistline growth greater than non-drinkers.

500%. The US economy could use a 500% growth increase right about now.

While it isn't clear how diet soda could contribute a [jelly] role to weight gain, earlier works have constructed a "if it looks and quacks like a duck" theory. As a race, humans have evolved to utilize glucose as our main source of energy. Glucose is found in countless foods--when consumed, the body will either use the simple sugar immediately as energy (ATP), or store it as fat. The presence of glucose preps the brain to expect a heavy calorie meal.

Aspartame, the synthetic sugar in diet beverages, serves as a glucose agonist. When the body ingests aspartame, it triggers the same response we have to glucose. The body is deprived of the expected calories, so naturally cravings and hunger pangs flood your mind. This effect was also seen in mice, where a high-fat, aspartame supplemented diet led to increased glucose fasting levels.

We're not 100% sure whether the effects on the mice are translatable to humans, and the researchers did not clarify how much asparatme they added to the mice diet. The lobbyists and diet soda groupies will sing for more details and more repeated trials before this battle is long over--in the meantime, I'll remind you of the only lesson I learned in biochemistry: "Everything in moderation." Finally, invest in one of these bad boys and love thy H2O.

Life is short and sweet, but making it too sweet will only make it shorter.



Biolog is a weekly series that brings to light the controversial, disturbing, fascinating, and thought-provoking topics of molecular and evolutionary biology. Written by biologist Gabe Guzman.

Behold the SUN

Photo released by Nasa earth Observatory on June 7, 2011 and taken from Nasa's Solar Dynamics Observatory.

Some Sleeping Tips

I stumbled upon an interesting LifeHacker article about a recent study that suggested that sleeping in hammocks rather than beds is more effective. In fact, it goes on to state that "the gentle rocking motion not only puts you to sleep faster, but the sleep is just plain better." Participants of the study all fell asleep faster in the rocking bed and their brain scans ( all were hooked up to EEG machines ) showed deeper sleep. I don't see hammocks replacing beds ever, but the results are pretty fascinating. On a side note, I'd also like to see a study on the effects of sleeping in hammocks on one's posture.

I found another useful article about calculating the perfect bedtime to where after a few nights you will naturally wake up without the use of an alarm. ( I wouldn't suggest going without an alarm altogether though ) The suggestion goes as follows:

To find your perfect bedtime, you should count back 7.5 hours from your typical wake time (the average person has 5 sleep cycles that last 90 minutes long, so that's why we should start with 7.5 hours). If you wake up within 10 minutes before your morning alarm after three days, that's your target bedtime. If not, move your bedtime back by 15 minute every three days until you do wake up before your morning alarm.

Monkey Business

It all started with a nightmare. Jyothi Raju dreamt one night that he was plummeting from an enormous stone structure. As he hit the ground, huge rocks began falling onto him, crushing his body to death. He had little idea how momentous this phantasm would prove to be.

The nightmare intensified, and began haunting Raju every single night like some horrible incubus from a myth. It weighed on his mind, driving him into a deep depression and pushing him to the verge of insanity. Extremely troubled, he left his home of Tamilnadu, India for a town called Chitradurga.

Despite hopes of a new beginning in Chitradurga, the nightmares continued. One day, Raju came across the famous Chitradurga fort. Feeling helpless and troubled by his harrowing visions, he decided to commit suicide by throwing himself off the giant stones of the fort.

As he began climbing the massive rocks, a strange feeling came over him. He soon realized that this was the very same stone structure that been terrifying him in his nightmare. Like a man possessed, he scampered up the entire stone wall, nearly 70 feet to the top. Upon reaching the top, Raju saw a crowd of tourists smiling and cheering at his remarkable act.

Touched by this experience, Raju rejected the idea of suicide and climbed down the wall. He went home. The same nightmare appeared again in his dreams that night, but miraculously, he was not frightened by it. On the contrary, he felt relieved and rejuvenated.

The next day, he returned to the fort, where he observed the local monkeys and studied how they climbed the walls. From that point on, he climbed the walls of the fort every day from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Later on, with the help of a spiritual practitioner, Raju realized that in an earlier incarnation, he was the leader of a monkey clan at Chitradurga fort. One day while climbing, a snake had bitten him and he died. As fate would have it, however, Raju’s monkey antics were not yet destined to end. 

Today, Raju entertains countless numbers of visitors with his amazing acrobatics. It is truly a magnificent sight to behold. Raju can effortlessly scale a wall using just his toes and fingertips. He hangs upside down from his feet like some fabled storybook bat in a cave. He gyrates and scurries about with primal simian instincts. He frolics with his monkey companions and even buys them food with the money he earns. In short, he is the Monkey King.

Weinergate Amish Style!

Stumbled upon a funny article about an Amish 21 year old who was caught sexting a 12 year old.

Police in Indiana say they arrested an Amish man who arrived in a horse-drawn buggy for a presumed rendezvous with a 12-year-old girl to whom he had sent sexually explicit cell phone messages.

Talk about a technology explosion; using a cell phone to meet up with a person in a horse-drawn buggy. If only he had not broken the cardinal Amish rule about technology, he would not have gotten himself in such a mess. Now he'll most likely be banished or excommunicated.  The horse-drawn buggy scene must have been a sight to see. Speaking of which, I'm sure Chris Hansen would have been licking his chops to be undercover for this dude.

The Future of Jet Travel?

Paris to Tokyo in two and a half hours? New York to Dubai in two hours? Cutting flights this short may seem like a fantasy, but after this weekend's Paris Air Show, these once out-of-reach feats will eventually become a reality.

Read the article from CNN for more details on this amazing story.

University of Phoenix Students --- Errr Wait.. Funded by You and Me?

Want to know an easy way to make lots and lots of moolah? Start a for-profit university just like good ol' DeVry and University of Phoenix! Yes indeed, these schools are publicly traded entities on the New York Stock exchange, and bring in revenues in the billions. How do these acclaimed universities make their money and provide such an incredible education to thousands of students? I shall explain.

I will start with some facts about the biggest for-profit university in the world, which is the prototype for almost all for-profit universities today, the University of Phoenix. The University of Phoenix,  which is owned by the Apollo Group, in 2002, had fiscal year end revenues at over $1 billion. In 2005 it was reported that Phoenix profits soared to $2 billion, equivalent to the total revenue of one of the top universities in world, MIT.  Last year alone, Phoenix spent over $130 million in advertisements; they spent more money on advertising than commercial companies such as Microsoft, FedEx, and Johnson & Johnson. I mean of course it is extremely important for a company focused on higher education to buy the name rights to the Arizona Cardinals football stadium. With such a large amount of money directed towards aspects of the company not related to improving its education, many have questioned the integrity of the company specifically in relation to recruiting. This makes sense since the for-profit model encourages schools to funnel profits to shareholders while keeping overhead low. This means fewer qualified teachers and less investment in instructional quality. Now let's talk about how these corporations dupe students into such high quality education.

Recruiting strategies of the for-profits are extremely sketchy to say the least. For-profits have been known to enforce and use quotas, deceptive tactics, dishonesty, high pressure tactics, and many more unethical procedures all to obtain as many students as possible. How do the Universities encourage such unethical behavior? Recruiters are paid commission based on the number of students they recruit. This obviously encourages recruiters to try and sign up students that they personally know would not be a good fit for the school and would most likely not succeed. Hmm... the combination of teaching recruiters unethical tactics and rewarding recruiters with commission pay seems like it should be illegal. Well after a few years, the government finally caught on and decided this was not okay. A lawsuit against the Apollo Group was filed, and while for-profit lobbyists and University of Pheonix officials insist they did no wrong, rather than go to court, the University of Phoenix quickly settled for $67.5 million. They were as guilty as Weiner.

Want to know when something is inherently wrong with the system? When people are saying it is eerily similar to the housing bubble.

In both cases loans—mortgage loans in the bank case, student loans in the for-profit college case—were made to people who were at high risk of defaulting, and in both cases “rating agencies” (credit-rating agencies in the case of the banks, college accreditation agencies in the case of colleges), were afflicted with a conflict of interest because they were paid by the institutions whose securities (in the case of the banks) or educational programs (in the case of the colleges) they were rating (Becker-Posner).

After a quick inspection on the fundamentals of each system, they do indeed sound extremely similar don't they?  To reiterate this point, loans were granted to people that certainly were not be qualified to obtain loans.  86 % of University of Phoenix revenues come from Federal Grants, aka student loans, aka tax payers, aka we are paying for this school. Last year alone, Phoenix made over $2.6 billion in revenue, with 86 % of the revenue provided by the honest American citizen. That equates to around $2.4 billion in profit from us given to the University of Phoenix. To calculate the industry's revenues as a whole we can assume that about 90 % of the revenues come from federal loans, which means that the industry's total costs are 90 % of its revenues. The total annual costs of the industry are equal to the student loans: $26.5 billion.

Now you might be wondering why I am seemingly bashing student loans even though the majority of students nowadays have student loans because of the ever increasing cost of higher education. In fact student loan debt is so large that loans across all universities is roughly equal to all credit card debt at around a whopping $750 billion.  Increasing education costs is a totally different matter, and my argument is not to call out student loans. What I am pointing out though is the quality of student loans given to for-profit University students.  The difference in the percentage of students who default on their loans in non-profit universities and community colleges as opposed to for-profit is the cog behind the evil money making machine.

Debt load at for-profit schools is more than twice that of private nonprofit and 4x that of public school students. (Source: The College Board) These debt numbers do not represent the ever increasing interest rate that students on the loans have to pay back, increasing student debt ever more. What is more sickening is the demographic that the for-profit colleges are targeting. They aim a majority of their recruiting towards the lower income people that they know will have to take a loan, and will have to pay the higher interest rates. This increases the profit margin for the school and the tax payments on law-abiding citizens. In fact some schools reportedly targeted people housed in shelters, halfway houses, safe houses, and homeless shelters. Schools have been known to recruit former prostitutes, drug addicts, and convicts. I am all for education for the betterment of our society, but isn't it quite obvious that these organizations are preying upon and misguiding these people? If you ask me, prostitutes and drug addicts are not exactly billed for higher education.

This system does not only hurt the tax payers and the government, but also the students of these for-profit universities.  Students that are duped into a phony education and monstrous debt, and are not able to pay back default on federal student loans. The key point is that the unpaid balance of the student loans cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. These students are hounded for life. In other words, this pretty much ruins the person's life. For the rest of their lives they will have collectable debt, garnished wages, get sued in court, and be ineligible for both federal and non-federal employment. This also doesn't include the myriad of benefits that these colleges provide to the students. Aside from shoddy teaching and education, most students are not ready for their specific occupations, and have extreme difficulties in obtaining a job. Because of lot of the universities focus is on occupational education, the worthless degrees are seen as even more worthless in the eyes of the potential employers.

On average, according to lobbyists from these for-profit universities, only about 10 %  of students default on their loans. This figure is only about 2x that of the default rate of regular university students. This number though is significantly lower than actual figures when changes to the default period are not limited to the small window that lobbyists cleverly created to base their figures on. A more accurate number is about 50 %. To give you a better picture, for-profit students represent about 10 % of all college students, but about half of the total defaults that occur. A total of $20 billion in federal grants is funneled to the universities each year, so for-profit universities account for $10 billion of that $20.

Now the next question you may be thinking is why is the default rate significantly higher than at other Universities. There are a number of factors, but the main reason is because the dropout rate from for-profit colleges is so high.  The dropout rate of for-profit colleges exceeds 50 %, much higher than the overall college dropout rate of about 33 %. Overall the federal government is likely to lose about $275 billion on its college loans over the next decade. While small in comparison to the financial collapse created by the housing bubble, the education debt will hurt the economic recovery and increase the federal deficit. So the next time you are laughing at one of the many ridiculous DeVry or Phoenix University commercials, just know it's actually them with the last laugh. The money spent to create and broadcast the annoyingly incessant commercials was paid for by you and me.

Life in the Fast Lane

Remember your 21^st birthday? Probably not.

But I’m sure you heard stories about how funny you were, how many shots you took, and how much you puked. You may have even gotten lucky and made out with someone. After that, any time some one questioned how much of a badass you were, you could always say, “Dude, you should have seen me on my 21^st….”

Guess what? You’ve got nothing on this guy:

Paragraph 10. “At the time of the collision, Defendant was going 85 miles per hour.”

Paragraph 12. “At the time of the collision, Defendant was having sex with a female.” (Ouch!!!)

Paragraph13. “At the time of the collision, Defendant was driving admittedly drunk.”

Paragraph 14. “At the time of the accident, Defendant was partially or totally in the backseat of the car.” (WTF?)

First of all, how do you even have sex in the backseat of your car and drive at the same time? Do you put it into cruise control? Do you steer with one hand as you make your way to the backseat? I can’t even begin to imagine what you do with a stick-shift.

Granted, he did eventually crash the car. And I'm not condoning drunk driving, for the record. Still, you've got to admit, this guy was doing some serious multi-tasking.

And check this out: there was a third person in the car while all of this was going on. What the fuck? What do you think he was saying while all of this was going on? Don’t you think he would have spoken up and said something, like:

“Um…hey man, I know it’s your birthday and all, but if it’s not too much to ask, is there any chance you could perhaps stop drunk driving at 85 fucking miles per hour and having sexual intercourse next to me as I sit here in the back seat. Thanks bro, happy birthday!”

The plaintiff, a cab driver, is seeking $75,000 in damages. According to the story, the defendant now insists that the third guy was driving at the time of the crash, but the third guy denies it. The defendant’s lawyer, Frank Prior, said there was “no statement by anyone that they were driving on the Beltway having sex” and “no facts on it.” Someone’s obviously lying.

Although it’s interesting to note what the plaintiff’s attorney said:

“Having sex at 85 miles per hour while drunk on a freeway is willful and wanton negligence.”

Notice he never mentioned “driving” specifically. Weak case, perhaps? Either way, some funky shit was going on in that car.

Keep an eye on this trial. Should be exciting.

You're Killing Me, Smalls!

Is Sandlot the best childhood sports movie of all time? I have it ranked up there with with a lot of classics including Hoosiers and Space Jam. Everytime I watch this, it brings me back to the good old days where I'd be roastin' 'mallows outside with my friends on a Friday night, not worrying about school/work/real-life like I am now. Nostalgia at it's finest.

Ham Porter: Hey, you want a s'more?

Smalls: Some more of what?

Ham Porter: No, do you want a s'more?

Smalls: I haven't had anything yet... so how can I have some more of nothing?

Ham Porter: You're killing me, Smalls! These are s'mores stuff. Now pay attention. First you take the graham. You stick the chocolate on the graham. Then, you roast the mallow. When the mallow's flaming, you stick it on the chocolate. Then you cover it with the other end. Then, you stuff. Kind of messy, but good!

Here are some Youtube videos to bring back the memories:

You Want S'more?

You play ball like a GIRL!

Hamilton "The Babe" Porter

The Great Baaaambbbiinooo!

Interesting headlines in the past week

Below are some interesting headlines I've encountered in the last week.

China: Teenager 'sells kidney for iPad'

Man with dead weasel accused of assault

Bus company shut down after officials find people traveling in luggage compartment -- again

Mountain lion killed outside New York City

Californian Hunts for Bin Laden's Body in the North Arabian Sea

A Californian named Bill Warren is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to help locate Osama Bin Laden's body at the bottom of the Arabian Sea in order to prove his death. With the help of investors from Chicago, Scotland, and New York, he has purchased expensive SONAR equipment that was used to help find the Titanic. With the aid of this "side-scanning" SONAR, will Mr. Warren be able to locate the notorious criminal's body? While many say the body is decomposed by now, Warren says that the body should be preserved by the rubber-lined and zipped Navy burial bag in which he is presumably wrapped.

If the body is found, Warren says he will take videos, photos, and retrieve DNA to help prove Bin Laden's identity. While this may seem like a reach, Warren has pretty good confidence that the body will be located. In his phone interview with CNN, he says he has an "approximate location" and will begin the hunt soon.

When asked why he is conducting such a search, Mr. Warren replied, "...because we are patriotic Americans and feel that President Obama failed to provide the proof."

World's Shortest Man

A Filipino 17 year old will be named the world's shortest man once he turns 18 on June 12. He is only 23 inches tall. The world's previous shortest man is just over 26 inches tall. Celebrations will ensue in his hometown of Sindangan!

Get a 11% Discount When Shopping

For people that do not do all their shopping (clothes and food) at Costco warehouse aka the greatest store ever, this article I stumbled upon courtesy of Lifehacker could prove to be quite useful for you retail shoppers.

Ask for a Tourist's Discount Card at Retail Shops for About 11% Off Your Purchases - Lifehacker

Apparently whenever you shop, you can ask for a Tourist's discount card whether or not you are actually traveling in order to save 11 % off your total purchase. I've never actually tried this, but comment back if this actually works.

Fresh Kid C

The 2011 Tornado Outbreak (so far)

First and foremost, I will say that I am not one to ride the so-called "Climate Change Train," attributing nearly every extreme weather phenomenon to anthropogenic warming...so I'll try to steer clear of that talk and simply say this: While humans are definitely having some sort of effect on climate, the extent to which it's occurring is unknown, and anyone who positively and scientifically attributes humans to significant global warming (and thus, our recent severe weather) needs some more facts.

The tornado outbreak of 2011 has been fascinating for both weather fanatics and the general population alike. Preliminary reports from the National Weather Service has the United States at a little bit over 1400 tornadoes for the year so far. That's already higher than the total for 2010, and we're only halfway through this year. With all this dangerous weather, many wonder why this is happening. It can't just all be a coincidence, can it?

Well, no it can't...there's a reason behind all of this rhyme: the combination of a weakening La Nina (causing a more intense jet stream), and warmer (~1 to 2 degrees) than normal Gulf of Mexico waters. In short, what is happening is this "weakening" La Nina weather pattern is causing the jet stream to dip farther south than normal, nearly reaching the Gulf of Mexico and it's abnormally warm waters. Low pressure systems are developing in the Plains states (near where this "dip" in the jet stream takes place). Colder Canadian air trails these low pressure systems, while warm, humid air from the Gulf is ahead. This essential mixture of cold, drier air and warm, moist air creates instability, a measure of the volatility of the atmosphere. When instability is high, severe storms are more apt to develop, and, thus, tornadoes as a result.

St. Louis, MO. Raleigh, NC. Tuscaloosa, AL. Joplin, MO. Springfield, MA. These are just a few of the places we have seen this Spring get hit with very strong tornadoes. While the footage may be awesome to see, we have to realize the power of these phenomena. We need to understand that while we may enjoy watching a 3-4 minute clip of a EF-4 tornado ripping through debris, people's lives are at stake. Learning more about how tornadoes form and predicting where they will form will hopefully save many lives in years to come.

Great creature, or GREATEST creature?

I’ll go out on a limb and say it: the octopus is the most impressive creature on the planet. That’s right, humans. The octopus puts you to shame.

Aristotle once proclaimed, “The octopus is a stupid creature, for it will approach a man's hand if it be lowered in the water.” That’s because Aristotle was jealous. Sure, he was a smart guy. But he couldn’t cope with the fact that an octopus’s brilliance trounced his own.

Now I know you’re already skeptical of my claim. That’s understandable. Just work with me here.

How about we start with what Michael Crichton wrote in his great book Sphere:

In fact, an octopus is so smart that the biggest limitation to its behavior is its lifespan. An octopus lives only three years, and that’s not long enough to develop anything as complicated as a culture or civilization. Maybe if octopuses lived as long as we do, they would long ago have taken over the world.

The octopus does things as a three-year-old that you and I could never dream of doing.

Don’t believe me? Take a look at this 600 pound octopus squeezing its entire body through a hole the size of a quarter. A 600 pound human could barely fit through a doorway, let alone a hole the size of a goddamned quarter.

Check out this guy, who figures out how to unscrew the lid off of a jar and devour a crab. Without ever being shown how.

Then there’s the Indonesian mimic octopus, an amazing shape-shifter with the uncanny ability to copy the physical likeness and movement of more than fifteen different species, including sea snakes, giant crabs, flounders, stingrays, and jellyfish. This animal is so intelligent that it will impersonate the creature that presents the greatest threat to the predator that’s hunting it. When scientists saw the mimic octopus attacked by a damselfish, the octopus mimicked the banded sea snake, the damselfish’s sworn enemy.

That’s all great, you’re thinking, but the damselfish sounds like a pussy. Not to worry. This octopus destroyed sharks at his aquarium on a regular basis.

Other octopuses astonished their caretakers in different ways. At the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium in California, one octopus disassembled a water recycling valve and directed a tube to spew water out of the tank for about 10 hours. It flooded the place with 200 gallons of seawater.

In another story, an octopus in England got out of its cage one night when no one was watching, went to the tank next door, ate a lumpfish, and went back to its own tank. Several more lumpfish died before the aquarium workers discovered the culprit.

While in Bermuda, psychologist Jennifer Mather observed an octopus catch several crabs and then return to its rock den to eat them. After its nice meal, the octopus gathered four stones and stacked them in front of the entrance of the den so it could sleep safely.

If that’s not enough, octopuses also show distinct personality traits. Yeah, you read that correctly. Some of your friends don’t even have personalities, for crying out loud. Scientists found that octopuses confronted with the same threat alerts and food stimuli react in different ways. Some were timid, others were aggressive.

Octopuses also engage in play — "the deliberate, repeated, outwardly useless activity through which smarter animals explore their world and refine their skills." When given a pill bottle to play with, one particular octopus propelled it back and forth at least 20 times, as if bouncing a ball. Another spread her mantle and "bubble surfed" on her tank's aerator jets. Others have been known to squirt their caretakers in the face with water for fun.

Consider this: a young octopus learns on its own with minimal contact with its peers and no influences of parental care or sibling rivalry. Scientists have found that octopuses can learn how to navigate their way through mazes, solve problems quickly, and then remember those solutions.

Oh, and in case you didn’t know, octopuses are also fucking psychic. Remember Paul the Octopus? He correctly predicted the winner of each of the German national football team’s seven matches in the 2010 World Cup and the outcome of the final match.

Think about that. Paul got 100% of his predictions right. He was two years old. Other animals tried to make predictions and failed miserably. The animals at the Chemnitz Zoo in Germany were wrong on all of Germany's group-stage games. A parakeet named Mani got some publicity for making several correct predictions during the World Cup, but foolishly chose the Netherlands over Spain in the finals. Paul picked Spain. Paul was right.

Oh, and by the way, here's an octopus that can turn fucking invisible:

That's all for now, folks. See you next time.

Improving your Web Experience

For some reason, I used to think that apps were solely limited to smart phones and iPads, but I recently found out that they are available on any platform (PC, mac, smartphone, tablet) for Google's web browser, Chrome.

If you were in the same thought boat  as me, you shall be enlightened. The most useful app that I've stumbled upon so far is Read Later Fast. I'm sure most of you have a habitual problem of maintaining twenty plus tabs at once, and have tried to solve this problem in a number of ways, like creating a long list of bookmarks. Obviously this can make your bookmark list quite disorganized and cumbersome. This app solves the problem of too many tabs in a highly organized way.

Some other useful apps that I have installed are Large Document, Google Reader Extension, and of course, Angry Birds. The Large Document app is particularly useful to upload large documents and files. It is extremely easy to use and upon uploading, the app gives the link to the URL where anyone can download the uploaded file. Additionally, there are Chrome extensions that can be downloaded to improve one's overall web experience.  For example: Ad Remover for Gmail. All these can be found at the App Webstore, so enjoy what Google has to offer, and post a comment if you find more useful apps!

Curb Season 8

Thank God this is coming back. (July 10th)