DNA Lounge Audio Archive including Questlove and DJ Spinna for Aug 2nd. If you are chilling out at your computer or looking for something to jam to check out the DNA lounge.

Any chicago heads -- SEPT 6th -- Sprite liquid tour featuring THE ROOTS, NERD and TALIB KWELI and then -- Questlove on the wheels of steel at Harry's that night.

Rising incomes vs. Happiness

Another good Economist piece on rising income levels and people's happiness (note - the article doesn't take into account inflation and I throughly disagree with the increasing tax rates to make people happier part at the end that was proposed by Lord Laynard).

This part was especially interesting and definitely rang a bell...

A second and more important reason why more money does not automatically make everybody happier is that people tend to compare their lot with that of others. In one striking example, students at Harvard University were asked whether they would prefer (a) $50,000 a year while others got half that or (b) $100,000 a year while others got twice as much. A majority chose (a). They were happy with less, as long as they were better off than others. Other studies confirm that people are often more concerned about their income relative to others' than about their absolute income. Pleasure at your own pay rise can vanish when you learn that a colleague has been given a much bigger one. The implication of all this is that people's efforts to make themselves happier by working harder in order to earn and spend more are partly self-defeating: they may make more money, but because others do too, they do not get much happier.

America's economy (via the economist)

The Economist takes on the productivity "miracle" (highly improbable one should say) and disects its effect on the economy. I think the Ben line is interesting, especially in light of the fact that Ben is one of the guys that has helped keep all of the overcapacity in the system (we are running at about 74% currently, that is if the capacity utilization numbers can be trusted, but that is a disortation for another day).


If demand continues to lag behind productivity, inflation as well as employment might fall again. In a prescient speech last month, Ben Bernanke, a governor at the Federal Reserve, warned that a growing economy might still be vulnerable to disinflation, or even deflation, if the recovery is not strong enough to take up any slack capacity. A predicament of this kind—the mirror image of stagflation—would not be unprecedented. The late 19th century saw over two decades of mild deflation, during which time many economies grew respectably. China routinely combines growth rates of 6% or 7% with near zero inflation.

While the academics debate the size of the output gap, both the Fed and the bond markets have to act on it. The latest productivity figures suggest the recovery has some way to go before it brings the economy back to its full potential, stirring inflationary pressures and inviting higher interest rates from the Fed.

CNN.com - Are you a Web addict? - Aug. 7, 2003

According to this article if you:

In a related article, published recently in Current Psychiatry, UF researchers presented five questions to help practitioners get a sense of their patients' Internet use. The points revolve around the acronym MOUSE:

• More than intended time spent online

• Other responsibilities neglected

• Unsuccessful attempts to cut down

• Significant relationship discord because of use

• Excessive thoughts or anxiety when not online.

you might be addicited to the web. I think that I might have a problem with this, the gym and reading...damn.

I know I got soul...
The new 15th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style is being released this month. It includes such interesting topics as:

Among the major changes in the new manual:

¶Capital letters. The old manual recommended using small capitals in some cases, like AM and PM. But it is difficult for writers on a word processor to switch from regular size capitals to smaller. "In the new edition we now prefer lower case a.m. and p.m., with periods in between," Ms. Samen said, "and we are saying small caps are an alternative."

¶Ordinal numbers. The Manual used to prefer 3d and 2d, but it is now O.K. to use 2nd and 3rd, "like the rest of the world," Ms. Samen pointed out.

¶Dates. Previous editions recommended the British style: 1 July 2003. Now one can write them "the way everybody does it in real life," Ms. Samen said: July 1, 2003.

Jacob Sullivan opines on Ar-noold and why you have to like the guy.

This quote shows you why the Oak is the man and could do a good job governing (plus pumping iron is one of the best movies ever made).


"I come from Austria, a socialistic country. There you can hear 18-year-olds talking about their pension. But me, I wanted more. I wanted to be the best. Individualism like that is incompatible with socialism. I felt I had to come to America, where the government wasn't always breathing down your neck or standing on your shoes."

Jacob Sullivan opines on Ar-noold and why you have to like the guy.

This quote shows you why the Oak is the man and could do a good job governing (plus pumping iron is one of the best movies ever made).


"I come from Austria, a socialistic country. There you can hear 18-year-olds talking about their pension. But me, I wanted more. I wanted to be the best. Individualism like that is incompatible with socialism. I felt I had to come to America, where the government wasn't always breathing down your neck or standing on your shoes."

PrestoPundit.com is going all out in covering Arnold for governer.

PrestoPundit.com is going all out in covering Arnold for governer.

Bloggers won't match Limbaugh (via www.instapundit).

Don't agree with this piece, but found this line interesting....

There is no doubt blogging is something to think about. Blogcount has estimated that there are more than 2 million blogs, though many never touch on politics. Although estimates are that just 4 percent of the online community reads blogs, they are followed by a better-educated and more upscale, influential audience than that for talk radio.

WorldNetDaily: Michigan crop circles 'no hoax'. This is like the movie Signs, which was terrible mind you.

Two new blogs that I am connected with and helping to run are now on-line.

The Chi-Burgh Connection featuring staunch libertarian musings from Ian Padovan and myself.

NBA Oliver featuring commentary from the wanna-be GM Oliver Rajic and college hoops reports from yours truly.

Lexar ships 4 GB 40x Compact Flash: Digital Photography Review

4g DAMMNNN!!! -- though it does run $1,499....

Reason interview with Imad Ahmad, a devout Muslim libertarian. Imad is shining the libertarian light for his fellow Muslims. Hopefully they will see the light, along with a whole host of followers from other religions.

What's the mission of the Minaret of Freedom Institute?

We have a fourfold mission: to counter the common distortions about Islam; to show the origin of certain modern values that came out of Islamic civilization; to educate both Muslims and non-Muslims about the value of freedom and free markets; and to try to advance the status of Muslims, whether they live in the oppressive east or the hostile west.

Let's elect this guy to Congress. He also has a paper on Murray Rothbard, the Austrian economist and Muslim economists.

Just reading something that I thought was rather profound from Charles Staley. Just finished this book called the Alchemist a couple weeks ago and his advice comes straight from the moral of that story (no it wasn't about lifters!).

If I had to briefly sum up my best advice to lifters out there, it would be:

• Make sure what you do in life is deeply rewarding to you, not done out of ego gratification or vanity.

• Develop a mission statement for your life. Get real clear about your purpose, what you do best, and what you need to improve.

• Discover the universal success principles that apply both to lifting and life (it'll save you a lot of time that way!)

• Finally, most of us are rather oblivious to the obvious solutions to our problems in life. Usually the answer isn't found in some high tech or obscure theory; it's probably right in front of your nose (example: you're fat? Then eat less!)

One last thing: all of us that are held up as "gurus" are just average people who managed to do things just a little smarter, a little more efficiently, and who most importantly, were true to their calling in life. Find yours and big changes start to happen. Trust me on that.

Check out this Forbes article(Forbes.com: Watching The Corporate Waistline), a rather fat article.

Companies are trying to slim down their workers, to slim down their health care costs. Good Luck....

"So far we've proven that we can't fight obesity in this country," says Dr. Dee Edington, director of the health management research center at the University of Michigan, who evaluates corporate health programs. "We keep setting weight-loss goals and we keep getting fatter and fatter." He recommends that companies offer small financial incentives, up to $200 per year, to increase participation in wellness programs.

Companies can't get too aggressive about slimming down their employees, as they might be accused of discrimination. "The issue of obesity has potential for employee discrimination in the workplace," says Judith Stern, vice president of The American Obesity Association, which defends the rights of obese Americans. Stern says corporations should make it easier for obese employees to lose weight by stressing education about health issues related to weight. She would like to see more food labeling in corporate cafeterias and more top executives participating in weight-management programs, to set a good example.

Ghost Dawg offers this summation of a 50 Cent article from the latest Flex magazine.

-- "The Show Big Report" reveals how rapper 50 Cent got that six-pack—he was shot nine times and couldn’t eat solid food for six weeks. I don’t personally recommend such a cutting program because chances are you’ll end up haunting the lonely afterlife with this Ghost rather than sweating the hotties at da club with a bottle fulla bub. Just try and tell these dead chicks you’re "into havin’ sex, ain’t inna makin’ love." --

Just one more reason not to ever ever purchase this garbage rag.

--Colin -- I don't recommend you attempt to get ripped abs like 50 did.