10 thoughts for December 5, 2013

It's official: I'm a lazy bum who prefers to jot down these 10 daily thoughts than write long form.

1. People still don't get it.  Bitcoins can't operate as a currency if it is volatile.  You and I can agree on a USD value for services rendered, because we know that the USD will not inflate or deflate in value, rapidly.  Bitcoins however, are not quick transactions, and in the 30+ minute wait for confirmation, the price may shoot up or drop like a rock.  Then what?  Do you take the loss?
2. And just exactly what sort of regulation do people think will stabilize prices?  The only regulation that I know of, to stabilize prices, is a Central Bank's manipulation of the monetary supply -- exactly what Bitcoin was meant to avoid.  Regulation as legitimization of Bitcoins doesn't offer stabilization; again, Bitcoins has a finite supply, and this shoots back to the Krugman story about the babysitting co-op.
3. As I said yesterday, the DA would state that he did not have enough evidence to effectively prosecute Jameis Winston.  It does not mean that Winston was exonerated, and I reiterate that if the DA had taken this to the grand jury instead of keeping it within his office, I believe that the grand jury would have voted to proceed to trial.  At least, it would have resulted in a pre-trial motion to force a judge to determine if there was sufficient evidence to proceed to trial.
4. Speaking of which, this quote strikes me as particularly naive: "we must trust in the Florida judicial system that it is fair."  If the DA trusted the system, he would have allowed the system to process this rape allegation in the normal protocols, right?
5. Not to belabor the issue around Winston, but this would mark the third Heisman candidate in four years whose moral character was under heavy scrutiny for questionable actions, and voters found someone to alleviate their conscience.  We had Cam Newton, Johnny Maziel and now Jameis Winston.  Voters need to get a clue: They're part of the problem.
6. The father of modern South Africa -- Nelson Mandela -- died.  At age 95, considering all the hardships he has gone through in his lifetime, I think it's fair to say that this man had an indomitable spirit for living.  Mandela is indelibly linked to the history of South Africa and the rights of all people all around the world, to be treated equally.
7. I spoke too soon about Pinterest pulling back from its experiment to include pins they think you'll like...today, a board full of crap.  And once again it appears that I might have to stop using Pinterest.
8. Russian diplomats scamming Medicaid?  WTH?  How in the world did they get their applications past the front desk?
9. T'was 28°F / -2.2°C outside tonight when I roamed around with the dog, with shorts.  It was a little chilly.  :D  It's supposed to drop to 12°F / -11.1°C in a couple of days...you know I'm going to go outside with shorts on, just to test my will!
10. The US 2013 Q3 GDP was raised to an annualized 3.6% gain.  Economists have taken to downtalking the number because the personal consumption expenditures (PCE / consumer spending) number has been declining, but that decline is modest.  Another look shows a stronger correlation of GDP growth to the recovery of federal spending from steep cuts.  Or as I keep harping on: Total GDP includes public spending.